"The Labyrinthine Depths?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

The previous Pillars had all been sealed in the deepest and most dangerous areas of the Abyss. So why was the Pillar of Lust sealed in the shallow layer?

"Do not underestimate the Labyrinthine Depths."

Jade took a deep breath. There was deep fear in her voice.

"There is no physical danger there. In fact, there is not even a single demon inside."

"But that place has still become the grave of countless powerful beings, even divine powerhouses."

"Because the only true feature of the Labyrinthine Depths is illusion."

"It can see the deepest desire in your soul and place the person you want most right in front of you, in the most perfect and flawless form."

"Not just their appearance. Their personality, their expressions, even the deepest emotional bond between you-it can copy all of it perfectly."

"It will weave a gentle dream that you will never want to wake from. Then, using your emotions as an anchor, it will trap your soul inside the Labyrinthine Depths forever, until it withers away."

Jade stared at Aiden and spoke word by word.

"If you want to pass through the Labyrinthine Depths, there is one deadly condition-you cannot be single. Or rather, you cannot be confused about your own feelings."

"Because inside the Labyrinthine Depths, the clearer your feelings are, the harder it is for the illusion to interfere. The chance of you being replaced or deceived becomes much lower."

"But if your heart is completely empty, the Labyrinthine Depths will create a ’perfect lover’ just for you. And that is the deadliest poison, because it is almost impossible to resist."

After hearing Jade’s explanation, Aiden fell silent.

Feelings...

He had fought his way from the White City to the Sovereign City, from Earth to the Abyss. He carried the fate of all humanity on his shoulders, and there were indeed many women close to him.

But he had never truly sorted out those complicated feelings.

...

Late at night, the moonlight was cold and clear.

Inside a quiet room in Celestial Imperial City, Aiden sat cross-legged, silently studying the flow of laws within the Labyrinthine Depths.

Creak-

The closed door was gently pushed open.

A graceful figure with a hint of heroic spirit stepped in through the moonlight.

It was Cheryl.

Tonight, she was not wearing her usual battle Miko leather armor. Instead, she had changed into a simple white dress. Moonlight fell across her delicate face, softening some of her usual proud and fiery air, and adding a gentle beauty that could move anyone’s heart.

But her eyes were still the same as always.

Burning.

Direct.

"Cheryl?"

Aiden opened his eyes, a little surprised.

Cheryl did not smile and joke like she usually did. She walked straight up to Aiden and fixed her beautiful eyes on him.

"You’re going to the Labyrinthine Depths. I know."

Her voice was soft, but there was no hesitation in it.

"I also heard what Jade said."

"In the Labyrinthine Depths, the clearer your feelings for me are, the lower the chance that an illusion can fool you."

Cheryl took a deep breath. Her hands tightened slightly around the edge of her dress.

Then she asked the question she had always wanted to ask, but had never dared to say out loud.

"So I need to ask you..."

"What exactly am I to you?"

The question was so direct that it almost felt painful.

In an instant, the quiet room fell into a deathly silence.

Even when facing the Demon Gods of the Abyss, even when staring across space at Leon, the leader of Dawn Society, Aiden had never taken half a step back.

But at this moment, he was completely stunned.

He looked into Cheryl’s bright eyes, which held both stubbornness and nervousness.

Light flickered uncertainly in his double-pupiled eyes.

He thought back on everything they had been through together.

Then he fell silent for a long time.

At last, Aiden took a deep breath and slowly spoke.

"You are... one of the people I know I want to protect."

When Cheryl heard that answer, her eyes lit up like the brightest stars in the night sky.

But soon, she seemed to notice one word in particular, and the light in her eyes slowly dimmed.

"One of them?"

There was a faint bitterness in Cheryl’s voice that was hard to describe.

Aiden did not avoid her gaze. He nodded calmly.

"Yes. One of them."

"Kelsey is one. Zoey is one. Bella is one. Faye is one."

Each of those names was tied to him by fate and bonds he could never cut away.

Cheryl fell silent again.

She looked at Aiden, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.

"You know that’s not the kind of ’protection’ I’m asking about."

Cheryl bit her red lip. Her voice grew lower, but it carried the unique stubbornness of a Miko.

Aiden did not answer right away.

He looked at the girl in front of him, the girl who was willing to give everything for him. Somewhere deep in his heart, a wall of ice finally began to melt.

He said nothing.

Instead, he slowly reached out.

His hand was broad and warm as it gently covered the back of Cheryl’s slightly cold hand.

"Wait until I come back from the Labyrinthine Depths."

Aiden looked at her. His voice was gentle, but it carried a strength that made her feel completely safe.

Cheryl’s delicate body trembled slightly.

She looked at the large hand covering the back of her own. Feeling the warmth coming from it, she finally chose not to pull her hand away.

...

Aiden stepped alone into the strangest forbidden land in the shallow layer of the Abyss-the Labyrinthine Depths.

This place did not have the dead silence of the Still Depths. Nor did it have the madness and bloodshed of the deeper Abyss.

As far as the eye could see, everything was filled with soft, hazy light. It looked like the glow of the setting sun shining on the surface of a lake at dusk.

A strange fragrance drifted through the air.

It was not strong, but it was like the fresh scent of grass after rain, mixed with the faint sweet smell of a loved one’s hair. It slipped into Aiden’s nose from every direction.

With every step Aiden took, ripples of pink and pale gold spread out beneath his feet in the empty space.

The intermediate god-level divine power inside his body began to move on its own. The power of space and the Law of Thunder formed an invisible barrier around him, but even that could not fully block the strange scent.

Because the fragrance was not aimed at his body.

It was aimed directly at his Inner Spirit.

The mist grew thicker and thicker. The world around him began to change completely.

The blood-red sky of the Abyss disappeared.

The cold Golden Great Wall disappeared.

The terrifying Abyss Demons were gone as well.

In their place stood a warm and familiar city-the Great Shaw Empire, Celestial Imperial City.

The sun was bright, and the breeze was gentle.

"Aiden, you’re back!"

A lively, sweet voice rang out from the corner of the street.

Kelsey, with her usual twin ponytails, was holding a stick of candied hawthorn in her hand. She skipped toward him with a carefree smile on her face, a smile he had never seen before.

Not far away, Eira, the Empress of the Great Shaw Empire, was holding Cheryl’s hand. The two of them seemed to be whispering to each other like close friends, both wearing gentle smiles.

On the city wall, Zoey stood in light armor. When she saw Aiden return, she only waved at him from afar. Her eyes were filled with a sense of peace and quiet dependence that was hard to put into words.

Bella sat in a pavilion nearby, her fair fingers moving over the strings of a zither. The music was clear and graceful, almost untouched by the world.

High in the sky, Faye, the Heaven-Devouring Mystic Dragon, had turned into a small golden dragon. She happily flew through the clouds, letting out bright, clear dragon cries.

There was no threat from the Abyss.

No plot from Dawn Society.

No world-ending crisis from the Heavenly Demon Clan.

In this world, the Great Destruction had never happened. They were only ordinary people, living the calmest, simplest, and warmest days in Celestial Imperial City.

Aiden stood in the middle of the street. A rare look of confusion flashed through his double-pupiled eyes.

It was too real.

Everyone’s breathing, their expressions, even the warmth of sunlight on his skin-it all felt exactly the same as the memories deep in his heart.

Wasn’t this the final goal he had wanted most?

Wasn’t this what he had fought for since leaving the White City, after surviving countless battles and brushes with death?

Here, he did not need to carry the fate of humanity on his shoulders.

Here, he did not need to worry about the system draining him. He did not need to face Ming’s suffocating gaze from across space.

All he had to do was stop walking, and he could have everything.

At that moment, the power of the Labyrinthine Depths turned into the gentlest chains. Silently, they wrapped around Aiden’s Inner Spirit, trying to keep him forever in this perfect moment.

Aiden slowly closed his eyes.

Two lines of clear tears slipped from the corners of his eyes, completely beyond his control.

But just as those chains were about to fully lock down his Inner Spirit, Aiden suddenly opened his eyes!

Boom!

The intermediate god-level Law of "Spatial Lock" erupted in full force, together with wild thunder and pure light.

In that instant, the empty space within ten thousand miles was forcibly frozen.

The void shattered like a mirror. Those warm scenes and familiar figures were suddenly covered in countless cracks.

"This is indeed the ending I want."

Aiden’s voice was calm, but it struck like divine thunder from the highest heavens, making the entire Labyrinthine Depths tremble violently.

"But it has not come yet."

"You want to wear down my will with false peace? Pillar of Lust, you think far too little of me."

Aiden took one step forward.

Thunder and the Law of Light turned into two divine swords that could cut the sky itself, tearing the first layer of the illusion to pieces in an instant.

However, the moment the scene shattered, the mist of the Labyrinthine Depths did not fade.

Instead, it turned as red as blood.

An even deeper and more direct power of law struck straight into the deepest part of Aiden’s soul.

The mist rolled and surged.

Then, a graceful figure slowly walked out.

Cheryl.

She was wearing the same simple white dress from last night. Moonlight seemed to cover her forever, making her so beautiful that it was hard to breathe.

But this "Cheryl" was even more perfect than the real one.

The pride and stubbornness in her eyes were gone.

In their place were endless gentleness, obedience, and dependence.

Every movement she made, every breath she took, even the rhythm of her steps as she walked toward Aiden, perfectly matched Aiden’s deepest and most flawless image of a lover.

It was a deadly attraction that went beyond the body and branded itself directly onto his Inner Spirit.