The massive shield of light bounced out in all directions, encircling Ed. Among the intertwined runes on the shield of light, the symbol of the goddess of water is bright and clear.

Ed stared in a bit of a trance at the simple symbol—a round ring with three ripples in the middle, representing flowing water and life, which he had always thought of more like three small snakes...... The shield, this is not a spell he casts.

The small pendant floated in the water, and a small sapphire was embedded in the silver flower tray, and the surface of the not very polished surface was already showing fine cracks.

This is the necklace that Ada wore around his neck before leaving.

Would the necklaces sold to believers have a holy shield in them? He didn't know...... The shield was indeed a simple spell in the first place. But at this moment, the shield of light that protected him was much more powerful than he could have wielded on his own.

The doubts were quickly suppressed. He doesn't have time to think about that right now. He struggled to stretch his consciousness, feeling the resistance and response of the water.

He didn't know what was going on. Water was his domain, but in the darkness of the deep sea, it was as if two different souls had split into two different souls, eagerly responding to his call and binding him to death, as if they wanted to keep him here forever.

The shield of light dimmed from another thud, but he just stared at the Staff of Eternity. He couldn't see anything in the flickering light, but he knew it was there.

“...... It's just your blood that responds. ”

Baie Young's low voice emerged from the depths of memory.

- Even so, I'm not dead yet, so you've got to give me a response, right?!

Annoyance mixed with uneasiness, calcined into a certain firmness in the flames of anger: "...... You belong to me. ”

The swirling water carried a silent spell into the light. All the forces that entangle and collide with each other have a moment of stillness, and for a very short time, time and space seem to be frozen.

His slightly open right hand tightened suddenly, and the slender cane was already in his palm, as smooth and cold as he remembered.

Ed exhaled involuntarily—a hint of blush coming out of the bubbles on his lips.

The sharp pain that exploded and tore in his chest and abdomen made his whole body shrink into a ball. The restraints that locked his body were unsung at some point, and he involuntarily rushed upwards with the force of the impact, and then fell with it as the spear that pierced through his body sank with all its might.

Cold sweat and tears disappeared into the sea. He opened his eyes blankly, and in the faint light of the Staff of Eternity, he saw only a rapidly diffuse color of blood.

The blood gushing out of the wound was spreading out in circles, spiraling upward. His life was rapidly withdrawn with the warmth of his blood, leaving a heavy, cold, empty shell that fell limplessly, and his soul struggled involuntarily to break free from this pain.

He could almost hear the call from another world.

Giving up is an easier choice – even if the gods are gone, his soul will have a place to be, a quiet, peaceful, carefree world where all his pain and troubles will cease to exist......

But those pains and troubles, along with warmth and joy, are a real, complete Ed Singall, even if not perfect.

There are still things in this world that he can't give up.

He subconsciously shook his head, trying to stay awake. The tip of the spear was hooked, pulling him down, his eyes blackened and his whole body convulsed, half of his consciousness screaming silently in horror and pain, half of his consciousness roaring in anger.

He didn't want to die here...... He won't die here.

As his vision blurred, he saw his hand, white as bone in blood, still clinging to the Staff of Eternity. The swirling wave at the head of the staff lost its rhythm and appeared a little hasty, and the faint light in the wave was shaky, but it was not extinguished.

He pressed his other hand to his wound, not thinking about what kind of flesh blur it was. He felt the tip that had passed through his body and pulled it out with unusual coolness.

It wasn't very painful—his pain was probably numb, and the only thing he could feel was the coldness of the metal rubbing against his guts...... But it also made him more sober.

Halfway through the pull, he stopped. His remaining strength was no longer enough to heal such a terrible wound, so he simply ignored it. His heart was still beating...... Even if it is weak, it is enough.

He curled up, his forehead resting on the Staff of Eternity. He didn't realize that the gesture was like some kind of desperate prayer...... He didn't pray, he had actually gotten enough. He simply poured his consciousness into the Staff of Eternity.

It was supposed to be a part of him...... He gave it up, like he gave up his responsibilities, he gave up everything he didn't want to accept.

From the day he met Naria and Is, perhaps from the moment he was born, his fate seemed to be engulfed by a torrent. He couldn't help himself, stumbled, frightened and dazed...... Even if he already has the power to influence this torrent.

Wherever that power comes from or why, at least for now, it belongs to him.

Silver-like light spread out from the ball of light at the tip of the Staff of Eternity, at first faint and fragile, easily swallowed by blood, then gradually strong and bright, gentle but firm in the waves, scattered as the current swirled.

It stretched out in all directions, dispelling the darkness, the spear pushing out of the wound, mending the shattered entrails, reinfusing warmth into his cold, stiff limbs, coiling above his head like a crown of starlight...... It also illuminates the frosty silver white of his hair.

Ed slowly unfolded his huddled body. A shifting light flowed through his pale skin—and it didn't just come from the Staff of Eternity.

There was a light pouring down from the surface of the sea to the depths of the sea, and there was no obstacle to weaken it by half a minute, just like the aurora that Ed had seen in the canopy of the Far North Ice Sheet, changing colors with each flicker, only getting darker and darker every moment, as if it had lost its source, and could no longer continue.

He lowered his head, and the other end of the light curtain disappeared into the deeper ocean floor, a boat shadow, like a ghost lurking in the darkness, even if it swallowed the light, it only became more eerie.

The huge circle under the ship was fading along with the light curtain, and the low roar was dull like thunder through the sea. Cracks stretched between the circles, rocks cracked, and the altars that had been left in the temple tens of thousands of years ago had been completely destroyed.

Ed didn't know if Nine Toes had gotten what he wanted - the "door" had apparently been opened...... But he didn't die after all.

He sank down. At the same time, the black ship moved.