Lydia gripped the Festering Desire and stepped into the cave first, the dark purple runes flickering in the darkness, barely illuminating the path three feet ahead.
The moment she crossed the cave entrance, a thick Abyssal aura, so dense it could almost be squeezed out like water, rushed toward her.
The aura carried a cloying, sweet rot and a bone-chilling cold that felt like countless tiny ice needles drilling into her collar. She couldn't help but shudder, her fingers gripping the sword hilt trembling even more violently, and even her wrist went numb.
The cave's interior was more spacious than imagined, its rock walls covered in dark green moss. The damp surfaces seeped with sticky droplets that fell to the ground with a "drip, drip" sound.
This sound echoed repeatedly in the empty cave, mixing with the faint, distant moans of monsters, creating an exceptionally eerie atmosphere.
The deeper they went, the denser the Abyssal aura became, thick like ink that wouldn't dissolve. Even breathing felt labored, as if a giant, water-soaked stone was pressing against their chests, making it hard to breathe.
"Such a dense Abyssal aura..." Lumine frowned, a wisp of Geo element quickly condensing at her fingertips. The pale gold particles wove into a thin barrier, steadily blocking the path in front of everyone. "The aura here is more than ten times stronger than outside. It's as if the entire cave has become an Abyss nest."
Paimon hid behind Lumine, her small head popping out and then quickly shrinking back: "This is too scary! Could there be a lot of Abyss monsters hiding here? Let's just go back! I keep feeling like something is watching us..."
Lydia's face had long since lost all its color, her snow-white eyelashes trembling violently, and the unease in her eyes seemed ready to overflow.
The Festering Desire grew hotter and hotter in her hand, the dark purple runes flashing at an alarming frequency, as if frantically sounding an alarm.
She could clearly feel a familiar yet strange malice deep within the cave, a malice like countless cold eyes staring fixedly at her from the darkness.
This feeling made the hair on her body stand on end, and her steps even stumbled. If Venti hadn't quietly used Anemo to support her arm, she would have almost fallen to the ground.
"Don't be afraid, I am by your side." Venti quickly caught up, the cyan-green Anemo like a gentle veil, quietly swirling around Lydia's body, blocking out part of the Abyssal aura for her. "Just hold on a little longer, I won't let anything happen to you."
His voice was kept extremely soft, carrying the gentleness of the wind, yet also revealing an unquestionable firmness, as if giving Lydia a reassuring pill.
Dainsleif always walked at the very back, almost merging with the shadows in the darkness.
His gaze was as cold and hard as ice, vigilantly scanning every dark corner. His ears twitched slightly, missing no sound, however faint, beyond the dripping of water, ready to respond to any sudden situation.
The group stumbled forward, their steps uneven. The cave gradually narrowed until only two people could pass side by side. After turning a bend, it suddenly opened up.
But when the scene before them came into view, everyone froze as if cast under a petrification spell. Their faces were filled with disbelief, and they even forgot to breathe.
Beneath the rock wall at the deepest part of the ruins, a massive Statue of the Seven was suspended upside down in mid-air!
The statue's face was still the familiar visage of the Anemo Archon, but the once-clean stone had long since turned dark and black, covered in a web-like pattern of dark purple filth, as if it had been corroded by venom.
The statue was bound tightly at the top and bottom by dozens of iron chains as thick as bowls. The chains were embedded deep into the stone, their rusted surfaces entwined with dense dark energy.
That dark energy, like living snakes, slowly wriggled, crawling up the chains toward the statue's heart.
Even more shocking was the Orb held in the statue's cupped hands.
The Holy Relic, which should have been lustrous, translucent, and radiating with Anemo light, had now turned pure black, like a stone soaked in ink.
A continuous stream of dark energy poured from the Orb, spreading along the iron chains and corrupting the entire statue. The Abyssal aura in the cave grew so thick it almost solidified.
"This... this is a Statue of the Seven?" Paimon's mouth hung open in shock, her voice trembling. "How could it be hung upside down? And turned into this! Isn't this a desecration of the Anemo Archon?"
Lydia stared at the inverted statue, her body shaking uncontrollably, her teeth chattering softly.
She could clearly feel that within the dark energy radiating from the Orb, there lurked a malice that shared the same origin as the depths of her own soul.
It was the purest corrosive power from the Abyss, like an invisible hand trying to drag her soul into the darkness.
She instinctively backed away, the terror in her eyes reaching its peak. Even the Festering Desire trembled with her, emitting a faint hum.
Venti's expression was more solemn than ever before. He gazed deeply at the statue, complex emotions flashing in his teal eyes.
There was anger, regret, and a faint, barely perceptible pang of sorrow, as if he were seeing something he cherished being willfully destroyed.
"We cannot stay here long!" He placed a hand on Lydia's shoulder, his tone urgent yet firm. "This statue has been completely corrupted by the Abyss, and it has become a source of filth. Staying here too long might lead to who knows what."
The group had long since lost any desire to investigate, wanting only to escape this eerie place as quickly as possible, and they all nodded in agreement.
Lydia, supported by Venti, stumbled as she turned, the runes on the Festering Desire flashing more urgently, as if urging her to leave this dangerous place quickly.
The moment they took their first steps away, a very faint sound of movement suddenly came from behind them, like the "sizzling" sound of dark energy surging.
Deep within the ruins, the black Orb in the statue's hands suddenly floated out of thin air, hovering steadily in front of the inverted statue.
Immediately after, dark energy surged out of the Orb, condensing and swirling in midair, gradually forming a familiar figure.
An Abyss Knight!
The Abyss Knight's gaze fell upon Lydia's receding back, his eyes beneath the helmet obscured and unreadable.
He did not give chase, simply standing quietly before the inverted statue, the dark energy around him intertwining with the Abyssal aura in the cave.
It was as if he were guarding something, or waiting for something.
A moment later, the Abyss Knight's figure gradually became transparent, finally dissolving into a wisp of dark energy and merging back into the black Orb.
The Orb slowly descended, landing precisely back between the statue's hands, and the depths of the cave returned to deathly silence, as if everything just now had been a mere illusion.
-
The "sizzling" sound of surging dark energy from behind them, though so faint it was nearly drowned out by the sound of dripping water, did not escape Dainsleif's ears.
He had been walking at the rear of the group, his focus always tense, and now he suddenly turned his head as if pricked by a needle, his gaze locking onto the Defiled Statue in the depths like a falcon.
But what met his eyes was only the inverted Statue of the Seven, chained and upside down, with the black Orb held in its hands.
The dark energy still slowly wriggled along the chains, and the Orb rested quietly embedded in the statue's palm without the slightest movement. That bizarre sound from a moment ago seemed to be nothing but his own illusion.