Ashe leaned against the wall of the passage, sitting in the shallow waters of the Golden Flow. Vesser still had her back to him. If it had only looked like an “embrace” before, now she was completely lying in Ashe’s arms.

It was over.

The power of the Blood Seed was far more violent than Ashe had imagined.

Although Silver Lantern was still only sucking blood from his fingertips, the blood energy within Ashe was desperately escaping through this opening, flowing into Silver Lantern’s mouth.

The rate at which he was losing blood was no slower than if Silver Lantern had cut open an artery.

Ashe had a moment of clarity: perhaps the prototype of the Dragon Blood Cultivation System was to place the Blood Seed on a virtual realm creature like the Blade Fish Dragon, and then absorb the energy of other creatures through “complete consumption,” thereby condensing upper-tier dragon blood.

Both the Dragon Blood Cultivation System and the Blood Saint race likely originated from the miracles of the Gluttony Sect.

The Dragon Blood Cultivation System Silver Lantern used was a perfect foolproof version. She didn’t have to lift a finger; the Blood Seed would deliver the nutrients directly into her body. It was like a keyboard that could type on its own-as long as the author had an idea, it would automatically write a bestseller.

But the Blood Seed still retained its primitive feeding instincts. When Ashe offered himself to Silver Lantern, engaging in close contact, the Blood Seed quickly turned him into food.

After losing a certain amount of blood, Ashe no longer had the strength to stand and could only barely sit against the wall in the Golden Flow. He had some ability to resist before, but now, whenever he tried to act against Silver Lantern, the Blood Seed would maximally restrict his physical reactions.

It was like when he ate Lala Fatty-Lala Fatty wouldn’t jump up and punch him.

Fortunately, the flow at the end was slow, and more importantly, his will wasn’t weakened by the blood loss.

Silver Lantern was the same. Ashe could vaguely sense her excitement, whether it was the Blood Seed stimulating her appetite or some other influence.

Although their bodies were growing weaker, their spirits were becoming more and more exhilarated, to the point where the Golden Flow couldn’t wash away their intense thoughts. They sat there at the end of the Golden Flow, waiting for the hungry Circle Cicada to come and take its meal.

Silver Lantern’s head rested against Ashe, her hair tickling his nose. It was hard for him to move away, and he thought to himself that this was all the influence of the Blood Seed.

When he felt Silver Lantern stop biting his fingers and instead began to play with his hand, he asked, “Are you giving up?”

“I’m bored,” Vesser said. “I’ve bitten all ten fingers, every fingertip, every knuckle… I’ve completely memorized the feel of your hand. I’m tired of it.”

“Then where else do you want to eat?”  

“Would you give it to me if I told you?”  

Ashe mimicked her tone: “Do we have any other choice?”  

Vesser didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “Even if I stop sucking your blood, your life energy will continue to flow into me… If you hold me tighter, it’ll happen faster.”  

After a while, Ashe still didn’t move. He was still resisting any unnecessary contact. So Vesser grabbed his hand and wrapped it around her waist, leaning slightly into his embrace, like a foolish lover being intimate in the wrong place.  

Except her wrist was still dripping silver blood, staining Ashe’s clothes and falling into the Golden Flow, rushing toward the Circle Cicada. Ashe’s face grew paler, and silver flakes kept falling from his body, merging into Silver Lantern.  

This was their true portrayal-as long as Silver Lantern lived, Ashe would remain trapped in the curse of the Blood Seed. And Silver Lantern wouldn’t mind others bleeding; she was willing to offer all living beings as sacrificial offerings to the grand cause she aspired to.  

The surroundings suddenly grew very quiet, except for the increasingly close sound of cicadas, like the countdown to a funeral bell.  

“The difference between delusion and reality,” Vesser suddenly said, “is that in delusion, we’ll eventually come to an end.”  

“But in reality, we can stay like this forever.”  

“Spare me. I haven’t really done anything bad enough to deserve this,” Ashe said. “Being with you forever would probably count as the cruelest punishment even in the Sixfold Hell, right?”  

“Oh?” Vesser’s fingers lightly traced his chest as she whispered, “Do you really hate being with me that much?”  

“Of course,” Ashe said seriously. “I despise people like you-ruthless villains who stop at nothing. My companions and I have been dragged into this curse because of you. You’re cruel, selfish, and heartless… Who would want to be with someone like you?”  

Instead of getting angry, Vesser seemed even more amused. “But you’re still going to die with me, and then we’ll step into eternity together.”  

Ashe suddenly asked, “You keep talking about eternity in the Virtual Realm. What do you plan to do once you reach it?”  

Silver Lantern fell silent. Ashe thought she didn’t want to answer, but after a moment, she suddenly said, “I don’t know. After all, how can you know what eternity is like unless you reach it? Making plans now is pointless. Only when we reach eternity can we set goals…”  

“Unlike you, I’ve already made plans for after eternity,” Ashe said. “Since I’m dying with you, the first thing I’ll do in eternity is check if you’re nearby. If you are, I’ll get as far away from you as possible.”

“Then I’ll set a small goal for eternity too,” Vesser said. “If you’re right beside me when we get there, I’ll grab you. If you’re not…”  

“I’ll find you. Until eternity.”  

“That’s a truly vicious curse,” Ashe sighed, glancing at the Circle Cicada as it drew closer. “Meeting you is the second most unfortunate thing that’s ever happened to me.”  

“Don’t worry, we still have eternity,” Vesser said, raising her hand to gently caress Ashe’s face. “I’ll work hard to become the first.”  

Seeing this, Ashe suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. He also raised his hand and reached into the fox mask, his fingers brushing over Silver Lantern’s moist lips, smooth skin, delicate nose, and-  

Smack!  

Vesser slapped his hand away and looked up at him calmly. “What are you trying to do?”  

“I’m just doing what you’re doing,” Ashe replied.  

“You’re lying,” she said. “You’re touching my face more to figure out what I look like than out of desire.”  

Ashe didn’t deny it. “We’re about to die. Aren’t you going to take off the mask?”  

“My name and my face are mine alone. Even in eternity, I won’t reveal them,” Silver Lantern said seriously. “No one will see my face or know my name.”  

Ashe fell silent and didn’t touch her face again. He simply closed his eyes, a sense of detachment radiating from within.  

Vesser watched him for a long time before asking, “Do you really want me to take off the mask that badly?”  

Ashe opened his eyes and stared into the eyes behind the fox mask.  

“But if you want me to take it off, you’ll have to pay a painful price.”  

Ashe couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re about to die. What else can you possibly take from me?”  

Vesser studied him for a moment, then smiled. “Don’t regret it.”  

As Silver Lantern placed her hand on the mask, Ashe’s pupils constricted.  

Did he really want to see Silver Lantern’s true face? Of course, but that wasn’t the main reason. Or rather, the significance of Silver Lantern willingly removing her mask far outweighed the importance of her actual appearance.  

Now, this murderer who had killed everyone she once knew, destroyed countless cults, aided the Four Pillars Cult in its tyranny, and spread disaster across the Senlo Wasteland, was finally about to reveal her most authentic self to Ashe.  

He watched as she slowly lifted the mask, revealing the outline of her chin, and held his breath in anticipation.  

Then everything went dark. He couldn’t see a thing.  

Silver Lantern had covered his eyes with her hand.  

“I’ve taken off the mask, but whether you see it or not is another matter.”  

How infuriating. She was still playing word games at a time like this?

Ashe immediately tried to push her hand away, but he felt a weight press down on him. Silver Lantern had climbed onto him, her cold body seeming to merge with his. Then he felt a warm breath against his earlobe as she whispered, “It’s time to pay the price.”  

“You asked me earlier what I wanted to eat if I got tired of fingers, didn’t you?”  

“Now, I’m going to answer.”  

Ashe froze. His eyes were still tightly covered, the world plunged into darkness, but then he felt the warmth of another pair of lips against his own.  

He immediately reached out to push Silver Lantern away, but she caught his hand, rendering him completely immobilized. Both of them were weak, but Silver Lantern, with her superior physical condition, could overpower him-or rather, the Blood Seed was forcibly suppressing his ability to resist, ensuring he would quietly accept his fate as her meal!  

Ashe felt Silver Lantern’s breath lightly brush against his face. “I’ll give you one last chance. Right now, you’re holding my heart. If you just squeeze a little harder, you can kill the Silver Lantern you despise most with your own hands.”  

“Either you kill me now,” Vesser said, leaning in closer.  

“Or,” she kissed Ashe, “let me love you to death.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay