The interior of Rosehold Castle was spacious and opulent. Gold-plated chandeliers inlaid with Abyssal crystals hung from the vaulted ceiling, casting a warm golden glow that bathed the marble floors until they shone like polished mirrors, its grandeur rivaling that of a royal palace.
The servants attending to Lilith's daily needs were not hideous Abyssal monsters, but a retinue of ordinary thralls, mostly humans.
These servants were mostly low-level NPCs below Level 80, clearly poor souls who'd been captured and dragged into the Abyss, stripped of their freedom. Yet they didn't seem to suffer from cruel mistreatment; at the very least, they were all intact, no obvious scars marring their bodies, only an indelible timidity lingering in their eyes.
Kalis and Lia followed Lilith into the magnificent audience chamber. Lilith settled gracefully onto the throne upholstered with black velvet cushions, her floor-length dark purple gauze gown draping over most of her figure, leaving only a section of her shapely, smooth calves and jade-white arms exposed. Every gesture she made exuded the dignity of royalty and the allure of a succubus.
"You ventured deep into the Abyss. What exactly are you after?" Lilith tapped a finger lightly on the armrest, her voice laced with lazy curiosity.
Kalis repeated the explanation he'd given earlier: their trip had two purposes, first, to find the Divine Dew Spring, and second, to check on her injuries. Even though the visit was just a detour, he made sure to phrase it evenly out of respect for the Abyssal Princess.
But he'd clearly underestimated just how smitten Lilith was with him.
Upon hearing his words, Lilith's eyes immediately turned dreamy as she sighed softly. "If you didn't have feelings for me, would you risk your life traveling all the way to this perilous Abyss just to see me? You're playing hard to get, deliberately stringing me along, you wicked, charming man… But it's okay. Even so, I'm willing to fall for you hook, line, and sinker!"
By the end of her speech, the faint resentment in her eyes had melted into a hint of delight. The ferocious, menacing look she'd worn earlier vanished without a trace, and she reverted to the lovesick succubus utterly obsessed with him.
Kalis was left completely tongue-tied, his face twisting into an expression of helplessness.
Lia noticed his predicament and quickly stepped forward to help him out. "Your Highness, you've misunderstood. Actually, Kalis… he doesn't like women. He's just being polite to you, nothing more."
Kalis: "???"
Explain the situation, sure, but why did she have to slander him like that? He was a tough, red-blooded guy, for crying out loud! How could he not like women!
Thankfully, as an Abyssal NPC, Lilith had absolutely no clue what that particular human euphemism meant. She just smiled, pressing her red lips together, and shook her head gently. "You're lying to me. I don't believe it for a second. Earlier, when I hugged Kalis and kissed him, I distinctly felt his heart pounding wildly. That proves he has feelings for me."
"Really?" Lia turned to glance at Kalis, her eyes filled with confusion, and even a hint of judgment as if she were looking at some kind of deviant.
Kalis deadpanned his rebuttal. "My heart was racing because you ambushed me out of nowhere. I was shocked, that's all."
To stop the two women from going on and on about this ridiculous topic, he quickly cut in, forcefully steering the conversation back on track. "Let's get back to talking about the Divine Dew Spring. Lilith, can you tell me everything you know about it? I need it desperately. Without it, I can't complete my second advancement, and my strength will be stuck at a standstill."
"Well…" A look of hesitation crossed Lilith's face. She fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "It's not that I can't tell you. But this thing is extremely precious, so much so that not even I can just hand it over to you. It's absolutely vital to the Abyss. Only with my father, the Night Archon's permission can anyone lay hands on it."
A spark of interest flickered in Kalis's mind.
Earlier, when he'd asked Zerakel about the Divine Dew Spring, the lord had reacted with extreme hostility and attacked him on the spot. Now, even the esteemed Lilith was treating it with such gravity. It was clear that the Divine Dew Spring was no ordinary treasure to be obtained easily.
"What exactly is it? What does it do? And where can we find it?" Kalis fired off three questions in quick succession, his eyes brimming with eagerness.
Lilith explained patiently. "Divine Dew Spring is the name the gods use for it. In the Abyss, we call it Primeval Origin Fluid."
"Primeval Origin Fluid?" Kalis and Lia froze in unison. The name alone sounded ancient and powerful, brimming with untold might.
Lilith nodded gently, continuing her explanation. "That's right. Primeval Origin Fluid is a treasure beyond price, revered equally by gods and demons alike. It can enhance the purity of a divine or demonic bloodline and awaken the latent racial potential hidden deep within. Take me, for example. When I was a child, I absorbed massive amounts of Primeval Origin Fluid. That's what allowed me to evolve from a high-ranking demon into a perfect pure-blooded demon, granting me the flawless form I possess today."
"Besides enhancing bloodlines, it can also extend one's lifespan. Every single drop of Primeval Origin Fluid adds ten years to a being's life. The more you consume, the stronger the effect—up to a maximum of ten thousand years of extended longevity. Its value ranks among the top-tier treasures in the entire world."
"For both the Abyss and the Divine Realm, it's a core treasure related to racial survival and inheritance. It's never allowed to leave our domains. Anyone who dares to covet it will face the relentless, full-scale retaliation of our entire race."
Lilith's detailed explanation finally drove home the true value of the Divine Dew Spring for Kalis and Lia. Enhancing bloodline purity and extending lifespan, these effects easily catapulted it into the ranks of the game's most legendary items!
Even though they weren't entirely sure what specific benefits it would bring to players, Kalis already had a sharp sense of just how difficult it would be to obtain.
He mulled it over for a moment, then ventured a question. "You evolved after absorbing large quantities of Primeval Origin Fluid. But what if we only need a small amount—say, three or five drops? Would there be any way to make an exception for us?"
Lilith shook her head without hesitation. "That's impossible. Father would never agree to let Primeval Origin Fluid fall into human hands. Even if you went to the Divine Realm and begged those Supreme Gods for it, they'd turn you down just as flatly."
"What are we going to do then?" Lia frowned deeply, her face etched with anxiety. "If we can't get our hands on it, we'll never complete our second advancement. We'll fall hopelessly behind everyone else!"
She'd known from the start that obtaining the Divine Dew Spring would be no easy feat, but she'd never imagined it would be this hard—a treasure so precious that even the Night Archon guarded it closely. For two players still below Level 70, getting their hands on it was practically a pipe dream.
Lilith paid no mind to Lia's anxiety, but when she saw Kalis frowning too, she couldn't help but want to find a way to help him. So she asked, "What do you need this Primeval Origin Fluid for, anyway? Who sent you to retrieve it?"
"It was an elderly poet named Dafiona. She used to be a follower of the Moon Temple, and then…" Kalis gave her a concise account of the quest Dafiona had entrusted to them.
After listening, Lilith let out a soft laugh, her tone tinged with playful reproach. "Darling Kalis, you're far too naive. You don't have to rely on her for your advancement. Why not just find another mentor instead? As for that Lunar Magister, why don't you just find a way to kill her and take her Artifact for yourself? Problem solved, easy peasy."
Lia quickly chimed in to add, "That's what I thought at first, too. But I'm pretty sure I can't beat her in a fight. If we wait until we're strong enough to go back and challenge her, we won't even need her item by then. Besides… Kalis also needs Dafiona's help to complete his class change. That's why we teamed up to take this quest and came to the Abyss in the first place."
Kalis scratched his nose awkwardly. "Well, I just… I wanted to get my hands on a Super Artifact and play around with it. I never thought the Divine Dew Spring would be this ridiculously hard to obtain… Besides, if I kill Dafiona, what if she doesn't drop the Artifact at all?"
Playing games was all about having fun! Tempted by the allure of a Super Artifact-level reward, he'd naturally been willing to put in some effort to take the risk. For him, a trip to the Abyss hadn't seemed like a big deal at all, which was why he'd agreed to Dafiona's terms without hesitation.
But reality had turned out to be far crueler than he'd anticipated. After hearing Lilith's explanation, he'd realized fully just how absurdly difficult it was to obtain the Divine Dew Spring. That old woman Dafiona had totally tricked him!
Lilith watched him squirm in embarrassment and couldn't help but giggle, her eyes brimming with affection. "Silly Kalis. If you want a treasure, you should've just come to me directly. We demons may not be able to forge Artifacts ourselves, but over the years, we've slain countless gods and high-ranking divine envoys from the temples. The number of Artifacts we've seized from their corpses is more than you can imagine. All you have to do is ask… Well, almost. All you have to do is agree to stay here, to take good care of me, to be my man. Then I'll give you any Artifact your heart desires!"