"So... so beautiful..."
Stepping through the portal into Irminsul's space, March 7th, Stelle, and Little Swarm were immediately captivated by the Immaculate beauty of the Eternal Garden before them.
If the garden they had seen outside was a peerless marvel of the mortal realm, this scene could only belong to the legendary fairylands.
Apart from the word "fairyland," none of them could find the words to describe this breathtaking vista.
"Enough gazing. If you keep staring, your Sister Lumina will end up as fertilizer for this garden."
Noticing their entranced expressions, Nahida cautioned them.
Snapping out of their reverie, they immediately turned to Nahida, their voices filled with concern. "Nahida, where is Sister Lumina now? Can you sense her presence?"
As the saying goes, the more beautiful a place, the more danger lurks beneath its surface. The perils lurking within this exquisite garden likely surpassed the wildest imaginings of even the most seasoned Cosmos people.
"Don't worry. This garden is safe. It's something else we need to be wary of."
Watching March 7th's constantly shifting expressions, Nahida sighed and offered a brief explanation.
Seriously, March 7th, can't you spend less time scrolling through short videos? You were already so naive and gullible, believing everything you see in those clips. Now you're even dumber...
Nahida mentally scoffed, while also feeling a twinge of concern for March 7th's mental well-being.
It seems I'll need to give her a serious talking-to once this is all over...
"Follow me, and hurry."
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Nahida set off at a run toward a specific direction in the Eternal Garden.
Seeing the urgency, March 7th and the others immediately sprang into action, scrambling after Nahida.
"Nahida, is Sister Lumina alright?"
"If you keep wasting time, she won't be," Nahida replied curtly, without stopping or turning back.
"Phew..."
Hearing this, March 7th and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.
At least Nahida had the time to answer questions, which meant Sister Lumina wasn't in immediate danger...
Though it didn't guarantee her safety later, it was still a welcome piece of good news.
"Is that... Sister Lumina's Staff?"
Moments later, Nahida stopped abruptly, her gaze fixed on something ahead.
Seeing this, March 7th and the others halted as well, following Nahida's line of sight. There, rooted in the ground, stood a familiar Staff, radiating waves of comforting warmth.
"Sister... Sister Lumina's Staff is here, so... where did she go?"
March 7th and the others had witnessed Lumina in battle and fought alongside her, so they immediately recognized the Staff before them as their Sister Lumina's weapon.
Logically, a weapon separated from its owner meant either an accident had occurred or that the weapon was being used to guard or protect something.
Given the circumstances, it seemed likely to be the latter...
March 7th grew increasingly curious. What exactly required Sister Lumina to use her Staff as a ward?
Having traveled extensively aboard the Astral Express, March 7th had seen countless wonders, including what some called divine artifacts. Yet, in her eyes, none of those so-called divine artifacts could hold a candle to this Staff...
March 7th followed the trail of warmth emanating from the Staff.
"Ah!"
In the next moment, March 7th seemed to see something, her eyes widening in sudden terror. A wave of fear and unease washed over her, as if her soul had been plunged into the eighteenth layer of hell, causing her to scream aloud.
But the sensation vanished as quickly as it had come.
"March 7th, are you alright?"
Once the sensation had completely dissipated, March 7th snapped back to reality, finding Nahida standing before her, cradling the Great Book in her hands, her face etched with concern.
"I... what happened?"
Even though the sensation had vanished, March 7th remained disoriented, gasping for breath, her back drenched in sweat. She had clearly been deeply shaken.
The pages of the Great Book turned continuously in Nahida's hands, and a wisp of green light slowly flowed from the book into March 7th's body.
Seeing March 7th's expression gradually return to normal, Nahida sighed in relief, closed the Great Book, and explained, "You just gazed directly into the Abyss."
"If not for the ring Lumina left you protecting your soul, and my timely intervention, you would likely have been completely corrupted by the Abyss, falling into it on the spot and becoming a living husk."
"Ah..." Hearing this, March 7th shuddered with delayed fear.
"When you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes back at you."
"So, don't go peering into random things from now on."
"If even Lumina had to abandon her Staff to resist it, how could you possibly glimpse its true form?"
Nahida walked over to March 7th and examined her condition. After confirming she was unharmed, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Hmm... So Sister Lumina has been fighting against something like this?" March 7th stared at the Staff rooted in the ground, radiating pulses of energy that kept the Abyss at bay. Her heart filled with worry.
But then she remembered her own Sister Lumina's strength and the sense of security she always provided. The anxiety eased slightly.
The invincible Sister Lumina could never lose to this Abyss!
"Nahida, we meet again."
Just as March 7th was thinking this, convinced of her Sister Lumina's absolute invincibility, a familiar voice echoed in their ears once more.
"Fuck! How is this thing still haunting us?!"
In the real world, watching the live stream, Little Bear accidentally cursed out loud when he heard the voice and saw the Abyss reappear before them.
Little Bear hated this Phandrea dreamscape. Part of the reason was the plot, but another was how many times he'd had to clear it from the start.
Even though each run was quick, the repetitive grind was starting to wear on him.
[Damn, the cockroach that won't die—they're talking about Phandrea, right? (scornful)]
[Stop faking your death already! If you didn't know better, you'd think Phandrea was the protagonist. (facepalm)]
[Resurrecting over and over, impossible to kill no matter how hard we try... are you the main character or what? (speechless)]
[Phandrea, huh? I'm gonna go beat Phantylia to a pulp on the Xianzhou later. (smirking)]
[LOL, Phantylia catching strays out of nowhere. Wakes up one day to find the entire world inexplicably hating her.]
Phandrea's frustrating behavior drove players to form groups and relentlessly bully Phantylia.
After all, Phandrea didn't appear in Weekly or Chaos challenges, so the only outlet for their frustration was to target Phantylia, whose name vaguely resembled hers.
Thus, Phantylia, as a Lord Ravager, inexplicably became the players' public enemy number one, and for the foreseeable future, she would become the most frequently killed Weekly Boss.
This wave of hatred truly came out of nowhere...
Well... not exactly.