As the skeleton knight had said, the Whore in her flesh-and-blood form did not break out of the cave. She could not exist for long and returned to the abyss of the astral world.
However, due to her forced descent and subsequent death in her role as a God Hand member, the entire dark realm began to distort. Strange vortices appeared in the sky, on the earth, in the mountains, and in the rivers, densely packed and intertwined.
This scene resembled Van Gogh's painting Starry Night.
"Let's go." Melina, seated behind Nidhogg, had exhausted her accumulated incantation power and spoke weakly. "This realm will become chaotic and dangerous."
The skeleton knight also said, "She's right. Let's leave as quickly as possible."
"Alright," Nidhogg agreed.
They rode on horseback. This time, they chose a shortcut and raced toward the intersection between the dark realm and the Narrow Valley.
Clop, clop, clop—
A quarter of an hour later, they burst out of the dark realm and returned to the relatively calm and peaceful Narrow Valley.
The wind and sunlight here were still so beautiful. Everything that had happened in the dark realm before seemed like a nightmare.
Upon arriving in the Narrow Valley, they could also let their mounts slow down and rest a bit.
At that moment, Melina spoke: "I need to recover and recuperate for a while."
"Furthermore, any incantations you obtain in the future will be performed by me. Do you have any other questions?"
After Nidhogg had unlocked "Incantations & Sorceries," Melina had appeared and unleashed a great incantation accumulated over many years. Nidhogg had suspected this would be the case, so he wasn't surprised by Melina's words.
Nidhogg nodded, thought for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Can you perform the Frenzied Flame incantation?"
Melina was silent. She stared coldly at Nidhogg with her right eye until he raised his hands in surrender.
"I thought you'd ask me who would perform the sorceries." Melina, wrapped in her cloak, slowly dissolved into white light and scattered. "Seeing your expression, I know you understand in your heart. It seems I don't need to say more."
Melina's figure completely vanished, and Nidhogg lowered his hands.
"An incredible power," the skeleton knight commented from the side. "Incantations and sorceries. I didn't expect you to gain such an enhancement just by venturing into the depths of the astral world."
He could clearly feel that Nidhogg was completely different from when he had arrived—after just one trip to the depths, he was far stronger than the skeleton knight had become after countless visits.
"I can only say it was a coincidence," Nidhogg replied.
Ordinarily, he couldn't have improved so quickly. It was mainly because he had encountered two major quests in a row.
The skeleton knight shook his head and said, "The speed of your power increase, along with the upper limit of your potential, which I still cannot perceive, is something I cannot match even after living for thousands of years. Perhaps in the future, you truly will be able to tear the web woven by the God Hand."
"My original purpose in venturing into the depths of the underworld was to find a path to the bottom of the astral world, into the Abyss, and discover a way to kill the God Hand."
"Let's go. Let's return. This journey has made you stronger. That is the greatest success. It also gives Flora and me more hope for the next round of the cycle of fate."
On the way back, Nidhogg was finally able to look at his updated quest panel.
「Level」
LV 83 (Mid-Rank Apostle)
「Quest」
Roundtable Hold & Great Blessing (Condition: Reach at least LV 108)
Elden Ring (0/7)
Junction (0 Zones Acquired)
Golden Tree (0% Growth)
Now he had transcended the ranks of low-rank Apostles and reached the mid-rank Apostle level—the combat range where Zodd and other Apostles resided.
The first quest, Roundtable Hold & Great Blessing (Condition: LV 108 or higher), was unsurprisingly another quest that could only be unlocked upon reaching a certain level.
However, the next three quests—Elden Ring (0/7), Junction (no zones acquired), and Golden Tree (0% growth)—were quite special.
Elden Ring, naturally, referred to the 7 Great Runes. Six of them belonged to Marika's lineage, held by the demigods. Only one, belonging to the "Full Moon Queen," was also connected to Marika.
The Junction was the stage where the story of Elden Ring took place, divided into many zones. The Golden Tree was the center of the Junction, the key to the Golden Order and Blessings.
Though not detailed, Nidhogg could surmise that these two quests, like Elden Ring, were also collection quests.
Especially when the Golden Tree reached 100% growth, something was bound to happen.
Nidhogg and the skeleton knight quickly left the surface of the astral world and returned to the real world. The sky outside the window was still dark. The withered tree stood there quietly, motionless.
Though the view of the Narrow Valley on the surface of the astral world was beautiful, Nidhogg felt more at ease in the real world. He took a deep breath of the air here.
When they returned to the Spirit Tree Pavilion, the door was opened by Schierke. The little witch looked surprised—she hadn't expected them back so soon.
The little goblin Ivalera had told her that if they went to such a dangerous place deep in the underworld, they probably wouldn't be able to return for several days.
Ivalera was also full of surprise. She hadn't expected them back so soon. If not for the deep aura of the astral world that still lingered on their bodies, she wouldn't have believed it possible.
Though it was the second half of the night, Flora had not yet slept. Noticing the return of Nidhogg and the skeleton knight, she put on her robe and came downstairs.
"It seems you've gained something tonight." Flora was quite interested and noticed at a glance that Nidhogg's aura had become completely different from before. "It's good to have returned alive."
"Thank you for the talismans," Nidhogg said. "The skeleton knight and I relied on them to avoid serious injury."
The skeleton knight also nodded.
Flora smiled slightly at Nidhogg and the skeleton knight, then turned to Schierke.
"Schierke, please take Nidhogg to the bath. I think he'll need a hot bath to ease his fatigue and pain."
Since her teacher said so, Schierke agreed and led Nidhogg toward the bath.
As for the skeleton knight, given his condition, he couldn't take a bath and had no need to. So Flora led him upstairs.
Bathing in the warm medicinal bath, Nidhogg let out a soothing breath. He gazed dreamily at the glass of the latticed window, which looked grey.
Schierke dutifully remained on the balcony outside the bath, curiously asking Nidhogg about his and the skeleton knight's adventures.
Nidhogg picked out what he could say and told it like a fairy tale, making the little witch and the little goblin exclaim from time to time at the thrilling journey.
At the same time, they formed an impression of Nidhogg and the skeleton knight: that both were quite powerful knights. They understood why Flora trusted them so much.
Over the following month, the skeleton knight and Nidhogg delved into the depths of the underworld every night, stepping into different worlds. But the dangers of that dark realm were no more.
After a month, Nidhogg's strength had improved. His level had risen from 83 to 86. But the Golden Tree's progress remained at 0%.
The skeleton knight also said at this point, "It's almost time. To not miss this Eclipse, we should set out early. The journey into the underworld will be temporarily suspended."
Nidhogg agreed. The moment of the Eclipse couldn't be far off.
The next day, they bid farewell to Flora, Schierke, and Ivalera, left the Spirit Tree Pavilion, and set out to return to the Kingdom of Midland.
Watching their figures disappear into the forest, Schierke, who had grown somewhat fond of them, couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Teacher, if the moment of the Eclipse is so terrible, will they really be alright?"
Flora could no longer accompany the skeleton knight and charge into the moment of the Eclipse.
She simply smiled gently and said, "It'll be fine. Trust them. It'll be fine."