Seireiden.
In a rather chilly room, Hecate sat on the bed, curled up into a tight ball, her head buried in her knees, rendering her face completely hidden.
And it had been like this for a while.
Watching Hecate in this state, the other two people in the room fell into silent contemplation, casting an atmosphere of indescribable stillness over the scene.
After a long while, Sydonay finally exhaled, and an unusual bitter smile escaped his lips as he spoke. "I've never seen Hecate like this before."
In response to Sydonay's words, Bel Peol also uncommonly echoed his sentiments.
"To be honest..." Bel Peol sighed and said, "This is the first time I've seen Hecate like this too."
Thus, the two Crimson Lords, who held the positions of general and strategist in the esteemed "Bal Masqué," found themselves troubled with furrowed brows.
Hecate's display was simply too astonishing, leaving the two Crimsom Lords, who had survived since ancient times, somewhat at a loss.
In the past, although Hecate was somewhat withdrawn, not easy to approach, and often silent, it was all due to her unique nature.
The heart of this young girl had always been empty, never filled.
As a result, she couldn't express her feelings fully.
However, precisely because of this, the girl's unprecedentedly extreme behavior made the two Crimson Lords, who had been with her since ancient times, unable to cope.
"Damn it..." Sydonay emanated a hint of hostility while expressing his hatred, "How could we allow my Hecate to become like this? Should we have killed that guy after all?"
"I never expected the other party to be an existence capable of achieving such a thing," Bel Peol glanced at Hecate, saying in a low voice, "What did Hecate see at that time?"
This was a matter that even Bel Peol, one of the Trinity who had calculated everything about Fang Li, couldn't fathom.
The only thing certain was that it was absolutely not something ordinary.
Otherwise, Hecate wouldn't have ended up like this.
"Is it a blessing or a curse to have the 'Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child)' fall into the hands of such a person?" Bel Peol whispered.
"Whether it's a blessing or a curse, we need to quickly figure out a way to extract Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child) from that human's brat body and then deal with him, permanently," Sydonay said in an uncompromising tone, "Keeping such a human alive is definitely not beneficial for us."
This was a bit too absolute.
But it couldn't be denied that Bel Peol shared the same sentiment.
Not for anything else, and it was only because Fang Li's body seemed to conceal a very significant mystery, making Trinity wary of him.
To feel such wariness towards a human was an unprecedented occurrence throughout history.
Keep in mind that Hecate, Sydonay, and Bel Peol were not ordinary Crimson World Denizens.
The three Crimson Lords, known as Trinity, were absolutely at the top, both in terms of qualifications and strength, in the Crimson World.
In fact, Trinity didn't have the same names in ancient times as they do now.
In the distant ancient era, the Trinity actually had different names.
Hecate's name in ancient times was Nüwa.
Sydonay's name in ancient times was Chi-You.
Bel Peol's name in ancient times was Xi Wang Mu.
Just by looking at these three names, you could get an idea of what kind of existence Trinity truly was.
However, the Crimson World Crimson Lord who was once revered under the name Nüwa in ancient times, now sat on the bed like a little girl who had experienced a nightmare, curled into a ball.
This was undoubtedly a surprising sight.
"Anyway, let's figure out a way to retrieve Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child)," Bel Peol said, "No matter how terrifying that human is, we must prioritize the Leader's orders."
"...I know." Sydonay scratched his head before he finally calmed down a bit and impatiently said, "I'll leave the matter of Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child) to you. Dealing with such complicated matters isn't my forte."
"I know." Bel Peol gave an identical response, saying, "It's my responsibility in the first place."
With that said, the two ancient Crimson Lords once again turned their attention to Hecate's body.
As for Hecate, she was completely immersed in her own world, not hearing Sydonay and Bel Peol's words.
No, it should be said that she couldn't hear them.
At this moment, Hecate's heart was completely filled with a question.
"Why?"
Recalling the ocean full of death, Hecate, in a voice only she could hear, spoke to someone somewhere.
"Why can you, filled with such things, still live like that?"
All along, Hecate had been praying, praying to completely fill her heart and body, to no longer feel empty.
Otherwise, she wouldn't consider herself alive.
Fang Li, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Hecate.
In Fang Li's heart and body, things were filled that even Hecate couldn't bear.
But being filled with such things, even if Hecate lacked emotions, she understood that it wouldn't count as being alive.
So, Hecate was truly bewildered.
"I who cannot be filled am not alive."
"You who are filled are not alive."
"So, what does it mean to be alive?"
"Do I count as being alive?"
"Do you count as being alive?"
"Why?"
These questions filled Hecate's heart.
Yes.
Only at this moment did Hecate realize that she was filled, no longer empty.
However, having questions meant that she had to find answers.
"I want to know the answers..."
Thus, Hecate remained immersed in the dual sensations of being alive and experiencing death. Tormented by the questions filling her mind and the death filling her thoughts, it was likely she wouldn't recover for a short time.
Sydonay and Bel Peol, who were taking care of Hecate, were unaware of this.
Seireiden was on the verge of chaos.
...
"Dīng Lā..."
The sound of chains gently echoed in this space.
In a temple-like structure seemingly situated in the void, on the central altar, Fang Li was still bound by thick chains descending from stone pillars on all sides. He lowered his head, resembling a slumbering figure with closed eyes.
A quiet atmosphere pervaded all around.
It wasn't until a certain moment that the head-lowered Fang Li spoke in a low voice.
"It's about time..."
Uttering these words, Fang Li lifted his head.
In his eyes, the Mystic Eyes, with an icy-blue glow, gradually shimmered.
...