"The ether here... it''s too thin, and almost impossible to manipte."


    The petite schr looked around, gazing up at the endless spikes and down into the bottomless abyss, murmuring, "How was this world... formed?"


    "Is it down there?"


    Ansel suddenly asked.


    "Uh... about one and a half million meters down."


    melle answered casually, "Tyr and the others are already waiting below, Falcon is ascending... oh, we''ve arrived."


    In this eerily silent and bizarre world, suddenly a towering whirlwind surged from below.


    Apanied by a crisp cry, a massive falcon burst out of the dark void below, its wings streaming with blue currents that shredded the unsettling ck matter, finallynding smoothly before melle.


    "Master, I apologize for the dy."


    Spoke the gentle and melodious Falcon with a flustered apology, while melle, with a smile, affectionately stroked its head. "Such words are unnecessary; without you, the final ingredient would have remained elusive... You havebored diligently during this period, Falcon."


    The majestic andmanding falcon responded with joy and pride, "This is where Falcon finds its purpose."


    "What are Tyrus, Torado and the others engaged in at present?"


    "They await yourmand... As per your directive, we have refrained from striking the prey."


    "Commendably obedient; I had presumed they might sumb to impatience and attempt a premature strike."


    "...In truth, Lawrence has already made an attempt, ceasing only after sumbing to death two hundred and sixty-seven times."


    "Ha, that impetuous guy..." melle chuckled and shook his head in amusement, "No matter, it is of little consequence. Dive again, and remember to safeguard those two youngdies."


    "Falcon understands... my young misses."


    It spread its wings and flew before Ansel and the others, bowing its head, "Please, be seated upon the Falcon''s back."


    The two girls almost simultaneously turned to Ansel, who merely smiled and shook his head:


    "Apany the Falcon; I shall follow my father."


    With these words, he tapped the boulder beneath him with his scepter, propelling himself towards the stone where melle awaited.


    "..."


    Helen watched Ansel''s retreating figure before swiftly averting her gaze to climb onto Falcon''s expansive back.


    melle''s Head of Wind fluttered its wings, enveloping Helen and Seraphina, along with itself, in a cyan stream of air before plunging directly into the abyssal depths.


    The descent of one million five hundred thousand meters would require considerable time, and seizing the opportunity, Helen, with hands gripping the Falcon''s feathers, inquired:


    "Your Excellency Falcon, Father... he seems quite resistant to this ce—not here specifically, but to the Zero Realm Enigma."


    "..."


    Falcon, in its rapid descent, nced back at Helen, its piercing cyan eyes that seemed to discern all, which Helen had long been acquainted with, but now she had no secrets to conceal.


    "Why would you think so?" Falcon replied.


    "Ansel... he does seem to be in a foul mood today," interjected Seraphina, "But I''m curious too, how did you find that out, little one?"


    "Intuition, and... understanding."


    "Understanding?"


    Seraphina snorted, "You understand Ansel? Do youprehend him as I do?"


    Helen slowly turned her head, "How old is father this year, down to the day?"


    The question immediately baffled Seraphina, who, upon regaining herposure, retorted, "Are you mad? Who would keep track of such a thing!"


    "Sixteen years, eleven months, and nine days."


    Helen calmly adjusted her sses, "I am one to remember such details."


    "Remembering such details… doesn''t mean you understandAnsel! I... I also know—"


    Seraphina''s mouth opened, but she suddenly faltered.


    She realized that although she could acutely perceive the subtle shifts in Ansel''s emotions, she found it challenging toprehend his thoughts, let alone grasp the specifics.


    In reality, this sensitivity was quite sufficient, but in the heat of the moment, Seraphina had to admit a truth: while she could empathize deeply with Ansel, shecked… a direct "understanding" of him.


    ...Wait, do those, ahem, postures and positions count?


    "Your expression suggests you''re considering whether bedroom skills could be included in understanding Father," Helen stated emotionlessly to Seraphina.


    "I am not!"


    "I have no interest in arguing about this... Lord con, I do not wish to trouble you, I merely seek an answer."


    After confronting Seraphina, Helen slightly lowered her gaze, "Nothing that upsets or saddens father should ever ur."


    "Has the young lord shown any unusual behavior?"


    After a brief silence, the Falcon seemed inclined to answer.


    "Father... did not inform me or Miss Seraphina about today''s journey to the Zero Realm Enigma. We are here because Mr. melle revealed this matter."


    "Because the master has already regarded both of you as the young lord''s pact heads... Miss Helen may need some time, but it''s inevitable. However, the choice on the young lord''s part..."


    Falcon pondered for a moment, then shook its head, "Apologies, Falcon cannot think of a reasonable exnation. The Zero Realm Enigma is not considered dangerous, and with the master''s protection, it is unlikely that anything untoward will happen."


    Meanwhile, next to melle, Ansel''s expression was serene; he indeed did not want Helen and Seraphina toe, but the reason was quite straightforward.


    Because he could not guarantee that he would control his emotions well—during this short journey with melle.


    And he especially did not want his uncontrolled emotions, detected by Helen, to be a weapon used by fate... as had happened with Seraphina before.


    But the unwanted event still urred; melle had designated Helen and Seraphina to apany them, and Ansel was the first to disbelieve that fate had no hand in this.


    "Annihtion, void, devouring, destruction..."


    melle half-closed his eyes, his hands waving lightly and joyfully, like a conductor of an orchestra, he eximed:


    "Truly... perfect. Such a multitude of annihtion elements blended together, yet achieving an ultimate bnce—this is what I''ve been missing... the final ingredient."


    He reached out obsessively towards something that didn''t exist, only a void filled with pitch-ck substance:


    "The final... fuse."


    Mature Hydral''s fingertips trembled slightly, his sea-blue eyes, almost identical to Ansel''s, sparkled with a madness that even the pitch-ck substance seemed to retreat from. With a casual grasp, the pitch-ck "ocean" created from endless annihtion and destructive elements was directly scooped out, instantly condensed by melle into a tangible entity.


    Without a second thought, he tossed the pill into his mouth, and then his entire body shook even more violently, not from injury, not from fear, but from... ecstasy.


    "Right... this is the taste, this is the feeling, this is the kind... of corrosion and destruction that even I am subjected to."


    The crazed Hydral sighed contentedly, then turned his head to look at Ansel.


    "It''s almost over, Ans."


    In the endless darkness, melle smiled and patted Ansel''s head: "After today, everything will proceed towards the perfection I have nned."


    It was just a moment, in the instant he turned his head, the chaos and madness in his eyes dissipated instantly, leaving only pure affection and gentleness.


    "I promised your mother, and I promised you."


    The doomedte-stage divine being whispered:


    "I will give you... a perfectly happy life."


    *