Chapter 320 318-Deity Keeper
Thunder raged across the azure heavens, a deep rumble echoing through the world.
With violent intent, Ethan roused Phito from slumber.
The illusion began to crumble, reality flickering in and out of existence.
Ethan felt his soul plunging into the abyss, on the cusp of suffocation.
Then he jolted awake with a gasp— "Heh—"
Lana Mokos hurried to his side, offering support:
"Ethan, are you alright?"
Pale-faced, Ethan gestured dismissively: "I'm fine, the real concern is Daphne."
With that, he shrugged off Lana Mokos's aid and scooped Daphne into his arms.
Her complexion was ghostly, her brows furrowed as if ensnared by a nightmare.
Slowly, she opened her eyes — orbs as clear as glass — and gazed tenderly at Ethan.
"Ethan, what's happened to you?"
Ethan's lips quivered as he eyed the dark shadows under her eyes:
"I'm fine. But what about you?"
Lana Mokos clearly sensed Ethan's emotional turbulence but dared not speak.
The situation with Daphne's physical state was peculiar indeed.
She had emerged from the illusion with only a slight sense of detachment from the space known as the Deityforsaken Land.
Otherwise, she appeared unscathed.
Yet, Daphne seemed as fragile as if stricken by severe illness, her spirit markedly frail.
Her current state of mind resembled a flame so delicate it might be extinguished by a mere breath.
Ethan understood all too well the reason behind Daphne's profound spiritual exhaustion.
It was the devilry of Phito—the demon who had shared her body, siphoning her spiritual power as his own.
During Phito's descent into the illusion, he drained Daphne's Power of Soul like a vampire in a frenzy, which led to her current state of fragility.
Daphne, her touch gentle upon Ethan's face, struggled to convey the warmth at her fingertips into words:
"Ethan, I thought I would never see you again."
"I was trapped in a dark room, unable to escape no matter how desperately I tried; I was beside myself with panic."
Tears welled up in Ethan's eyes, a glossy sheen forming as he felt a pungent sting at the bridge of his nose:
"It's my fault, I failed to protect you."
But Daphne weakly shook her head, her voice a faint whisper:
"Don't say that. The days spent with you were the happiest of my life. It's I who have caused you worry."
Standing off to the side, Lana Mokos felt utterly helpless as Daphne spoke with the air of imparting final wishes, instilling a multiplying fear within her.
Daphne attempted to muster a smile, yet the strength to do so eluded her.
The Power of Soul is the prime mover of human life.
Her spirit had dwindled to that of a feeble, dying elder.
"Ethan, you are one of the two most important people in my life. You must promise to live on."
The 'other' whom Daphne referred to was likely Phito, the one who had deceived her all her life.
Tears streamed down Ethan's face as he shook his head in desperation:
"No, no, Daphne, you must survive."
But Daphne's hands slipped away, and her eyes slowly closed.
Lana Mokos covered her mouth in disbelief at the unfolding scene before her.
She was well aware of the dangers that Deityforsaken Land posed, but she could never have imagined that merely stepping into this accursed place would result in the loss of a companion.
Ethan clutched Daphne tightly, his tears cascading like a spring unleashed.
"Daphne, hold on. I will awaken you," he pleaded through his grief.
Suddenly, Ethan's demeanor shifted; his eyes turned bloodshot, and a violent aura surged skyward:
"Phito, if you're a man, show yourself! What kind of skill is it to usurp another's body?"
"Come out, and I will offer you my own."
"You bastard! Daphne revered you, how could you stoop lower than a beast!"
Witnessing Ethan's demonic transformation, Lana Mokos instinctively stepped back.
This was utter chaos—Ethan, cradling Daphne's body, was calling out Phito's name.
Could it be that Ethan himself had not yet broken free from the Illusion?
Lana Mokos called out tentatively, "Ethan, what has come over you?"
Ethan roughly wiped away his tears and said with a raspy voice:
"It's nothing."
He lifted Daphne in his arms, his gaze growing heavy with dread.
Observing the darkening shadow at the corner of Daphne's eyes, he understood all too well.
Phito, realizing his cover was blown, was preparing for a brazen act.
The best course now seemed to be to kill Daphne—her Power of Soul and her flesh were intertwined.
Without Daphne's body to sustain him, Phito's dream of a bonded rebirth would dissipate like a bubble.
Yet, that would mean Daphne's end, with no chance of survival.
Ethan took a deep breath, seeking to cool the feverish panic in his mind:
"Lana, are you familiar with some aspects of Deityforsaken Land?"
The emergence of Deityforsaken Land upon this continent was no longer a marvel. Many ancient families, kingdoms, sects, and even individuals had, to varying extents, gathered intelligence about this enigmatic realm.
Lana Mokos furrowed her brows slightly, replying earnestly:
"Of course. Our Azure Empire is guarded by a Demi-god who emerged from Deityforsaken Land. Naturally, we possess quite a bit of information about it."
Ethan nodded slightly before probing further:
"Do you know of any place in Deityforsaken Land that is related to souls?"
Lana Mokos closed her eyes, delving into her mental palace to sift through the troves of information there.
"There's a site known as the Temple of Fallen Heroic Spirits. It's associated with souls. Legends say that remnants of a deity's soul linger there."
"And what else?"
"The Extradimensional Battlefield of Deityforsaken Land, where many wandering spirits are found."
"That's not quite right either..."
"What exactly are you looking for?" Lana Mokos inquired.
Ethan shook his head, exhaling deeply: "I am searching for a being with a formidable Power of Soul, or rather, someone capable of healing a soul."
Lana Mokos was visibly growing impatient, her voice raised in exasperation:
"What exactly is your attitude towards me? Can you not lay out everything that's happened? Then I can judge where we ought to head."
"Instead of now, where I'm like searching for a needle in the ocean's vastness, looking for relevant information, only to have you dismiss it each time."
Ethan fell silent for a moment, his gaze settling on Daphne. He recounted Daphne's plight, his tone laden with a deep, sorrowful melancholy.
After hearing the story, Lana's expression turned somber.
"So, you mean to say Daphne is currently trapped in a state of two souls sharing one body?"
Ethan nodded.
Lana Mokos's eyes were downcast, and after a long pause, she spoke:
"Then we have no choice but to try the Deity Keeper village."
"Deity Keeper?" Ethan furrowed his brows. "What's that?"
"It's not a 'what'," Lana Mokos started walking forward, "it's a place of human habitation, or more broadly, a city home to various races."
Ethan's curiosity piqued, he followed Lana and inquired:
"There are indigenous people within Deityforsaken Land?"
Lana Mokos shook her head slightly, speaking offhand: "Of course not. The original celestial wars filled this space with Runes of Law and divine essence. It was utterly inhospitable to life."
"After hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, Deityforsaken Land became accessible to humans."
"And these Deity Keepers, where do they come from?" Ethan asked again.
"They are like us, people who entered Deityforsaken Land." Lana Mokos looked off into the distance, her tone laced with irony. "Only, they chose to stay in Deityforsaken Land forever in pursuit of power. They breed, raise their young here, and over the course of many thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of years, their tribes grow stronger and larger."
Ethan squinted slightly, intrigued.
So, there were such wondrous places within Deityforsaken Land?
A cold smirk surfaced on Lana Mokos's face as she continued:
"They are a group consumed by a thirst for power, arrogant enough to believe they hold divine authority, even dubbing themselves Deity Keepers."
"Little do they know, they are but pitiable souls ensnared in grandiose delusions."
Ethan's eyes gleamed with a spark of interest: "Having spent so long in Deityforsaken Land, they must have grown very strong."
"Strong, indeed," Lana Mokos's tone shed its mockery, becoming grave. "They are formidable, not to be trifled with, which is why our forthcoming journey..."
Ethan posed his final question: "Have any deities emerged among them?"
According to Ethan's understanding, since the decline of the ancient deities, the emergence of new ones had become a rarity.
Lana Mokos shook her head slightly: "I do not know. At least, my sources have never spoken of such an event."
Ethan's expression turned peculiar, pondering the purpose of the Deity Keepers' prolonged stay in Deityforsaken Land if ascension to godhood was unattainable.
"Regardless, we must first pay them a visit," Ethan mused after a moment.
Lana Mokos agreed, but turned to Ethan with a serious demeanor:
"However, you must be cautious not to incite conflict with the Deity Keepers. They are very powerful."
Ethan's lips curled into a confident smile: "I have quite a bit of faith in my own strength."
Seeing this, Lana Mokos refrained from further comment, merely muttering under her breath:
"The Deity Keepers have always scorned us outsiders, treating us with marked disdain. This encounter will surely not be straightforward."
Ethan heard Lana Mokos's murmurs.
Yet, as he looked down at Daphne, her eyes tightly closed, he spoke with a resolve audible only to himself:
"Daphne, I will awaken you, no matter what it takes."
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