Eros's mind was swirling with questions. Just as he was about to voice them, a slender, pale finger gently touched his forehead.
Once again, his vision blurred. Another abrupt scene transition.
This time, however, he found himself back in the gray mist where it all began.
Cecilia, watching the boy vanish suddenly before her, paused for a moment in surprise. Then she shook her head with a light laugh.
"So, the power wasn't enough after all," she mused.
Without hesitation, her gaze followed the flow of the bloodline's river downstream, finally locking onto the child sitting at the center of the ritual array.
Her slender, delicate finger pressed lightly, and a small wound opened on the soft, pale pad of her fingertip.
Scarlet blood seeped from the cut. With a single, graceful motion, she extended her finger, the gesture transcending time and space.
The blood flowed directly from the origin of the bloodline, reaching downstream and touching the boy's forehead at its farthest point—Eros.
Shadow Realm, Ritual Hall
The elders, who were waiting anxiously for the result of the ritual, watched in shock as Eros suddenly disappeared from their view.
Panic spread among them. Some of the more impulsive elders immediately stepped forward, intending to investigate what had gone wrong.
Before they could approach the array, the silver-white moon disc behind the ancestor's statue, which served as a decorative halo, emitted a faint glow accompanied by a soft hum.
"Woommm…"
The elders froze in place, startled by the unexpected change.
Before they could react further, an irresistible force swept over them, gently yet firmly pushing them back to their original positions.
Estelle, feeling herself being pushed back, immediately attempted to move forward again. However, Duke Lenka reached out and held her back.
He shook his head gently and said in a low voice, "If that great being intervened to stop us from approaching, it likely means there's no danger."
As he spoke, he subtly gestured toward the silver-white moon disc, now appearing plain and ordinary once again.
Estelle's anxious heart calmed slightly. She, too, understood the significance of that moon disc.
It was a relic forged by their ancestor, a divine artifact that should pose no harm to their descendant.
Another elder nearby added reassuringly, "The array is still active. Besides, we're in the very temple of our ancestor. Nothing will happen here."
As if to validate his words, Eros, who had vanished moments ago, suddenly reappeared at the center of the array.
The gathered elders collectively let out a sigh of relief.
Though they trusted that nothing would go wrong, not seeing the boy had still left a lingering unease in their hearts.
But before they could fully relax, it happened.
The next moment, it felt as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.
An indescribable presence descended from above, freezing the time and space of the entire Shadow Realm.
A suffocating pressure enveloped everyone present, leaving them trembling uncontrollably. It was as though an unseen hand was gripping their hearts with crushing force.
Then, the previously dim and ordinary silver-white moon disc suddenly radiated brilliant light, shielding everyone from the overwhelming, terrifying aura.
Once the oppressive presence was cut off, the elders collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Their faces were pale, their bodies drenched in sweat, as if they had just narrowly escaped death itself.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed in shock, "What is that?"
Everyone turned in the direction the person was pointing. To their astonishment, they saw a faint, nearly imperceptible finger hovering in midair, pressing gently against Eros's forehead.
Moments later, the shadowy image of a grand, flourishing tree appeared behind Eros.
A wave of vitality emanated from the tree's projection, spreading outward and enveloping the room.
As the life-giving energy washed over them, the discomfort and suffocating pressure they had just experienced completely vanished.
Instead, they felt an overwhelming sense of relaxation and rejuvenation.
A few of the elders even noticed, with shock and amazement, that old injuries and chronic ailments they had carried for years were gradually healing.
One elder stared at the projection of the ancient tree behind Eros, his expression filled with disbelief.
"The World Tree… that's the World Tree! And that presence just now—could it be the Great One of the Elves? Did They personally conduct the baptism for young Eros?"
Hearing this, the others were equally stunned, their faces a mixture of shock and awe.
But soon, the room was filled with joy and tears of excitement.
"To have a baptism conducted by a Great One—what kind of talent must this child possess?"
"Ancestor bless us! Our family's rise might truly be within reach!"
Meanwhile, an elder with a white beard muttered to himself in a daze, "So… we do have Elven blood in our lineage after all."
Duke Lenka, standing nearby, looked utterly bewildered as he turned to the elder and said, "Uncle, weren't you the one who told me that our ancestor once married into the Elves?"
The white-bearded elder scratched his head awkwardly. "That's what your great-grandfather told me when I was a child. I always thought it was just an exaggeration. After all, the family records don't clearly state which ancestor supposedly married into the Elves."
Duke Lenka's face turned blank. So you passed on a story you didn't even believe yourself?
Sensing his nephew's thoughts, the elder coughed and scratched his beard in embarrassment.
"Well, it seems it was true after all. Still, it's hard to believe… Little Eros actually caught the attention of that Great One during his bloodline awakening, and They even conducted the baptism personally."
Even Duke Lenka, who had high hopes for his son, found the situation hard to process.
After all, that was a Great One—one of the deities seated in the heavens, gazing down upon the mortal realm.
As the ancient tree's projection behind Eros fully materialized, the ethereal finger pressing against his forehead slowly withdrew. It vanished into the void, leaving no trace.
Just as the gathered elders began to relax, thinking the ceremony was over, they noticed something unusual.
The ritual array continued to operate. The glow of its symbols and the faint hum of energy persisted, signaling that the ceremony wasn't finished yet.
Meanwhile, Eros remained blissfully unaware of everything happening outside.
He was still wandering aimlessly in the gray mist, bored out of his mind. Nothing to see here but more fog.
Suddenly, a pale golden orb of light appeared out of thin air in front of Eros. Along with it, a string of text materialized in his mind.
After reading the text, Eros looked at the glowing orb in astonishment.
"Is this… a spell I've comprehended from my bloodline?"
From his understanding, this was essentially a skill—his skill. But the confusing part was that he hadn't done anything to earn it.
How did I unlock this?
Ah, whatever. Let's see what this 'Divine Art - Chapter of Life' can do.
Without hesitation, he reached out to touch the pale golden orb.
The moment his fingers made contact, the orb transformed into a streak of light and shot directly into his mind.