Aiden felt it.

It was a real emotion, so powerful that it almost melted away his reason.

He stood there as if his feet had taken root. He did not move forward at once, nor did he release his divine power.

He only looked quietly at the girl before him.

His Inner Spirit trembled slightly.

His will had never wavered, not even before the Abyss Demon God.

But at this moment, it faced the harshest test of all.

If this was fake, why was his heart beating so fast?

If this was only an illusion, why could he clearly feel that love so deep it almost drowned him?

The illusion of Cheryl wore the gentlest, most enchanting smile. Step by step, she walked lightly toward Aiden.

"You finally came back."

Her voice was soft and sweet, filled with a longing that made the heart ache.

"I’ve been waiting for you."

She slowly reached out her slim, fair hand, wanting to touch Aiden’s cheek.

Aiden looked at that hand, his expression more complicated than ever.

He slowly raised his own hand, as if he wanted to meet hers and hold that perfect tenderness.

However-

When their palms were only one centimeter apart, Aiden’s hand suddenly stopped.

Within that tiny distance, the Law of Space built an unbreakable wall.

A very human look of shock and hurt flashed across the illusion of Cheryl’s face.

Aiden looked at her. The struggle and confusion in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by an almost cruel clarity.

"You are not her."

Aiden’s voice was very soft, but it carried a crushing weight.

"The real Cheryl is waiting for me outside the Labyrinthine Depths. She is waiting under the threat of the Great Destruction, with death possibly falling at any moment."

"Her waiting has a price. It is heavy, and it is real."

"But you..."

Aiden looked coldly at the flawless illusion before him. His double-pupiled eyes were full of frost.

"You are waiting in an empty place where there is never any danger, and never any need to make a choice."

"A waiting that costs nothing is only cheap poison handed out by the Labyrinthine Depths."

"Do you even understand what love is?"

Aiden raised his head slightly. The illusion’s perfect face was reflected in his double-pupiled eyes.

"The real her does not have such a good temper. She would not always wait for me so gently."

"She would be outside the Labyrinthine Depths, so worried that she would stamp her feet. She would bite her lip and clutch the corner of her clothes until her fingers turned white. She might even curse me a thousand times in her heart."

"When I finally walk out of the Labyrinthine Depths alive, she will shove the Extreme Cold Crystal into my hand with all her strength. Then, with a red face, she will lift her fair chin and say proudly, ’Aiden, finish the fight first. Then come explain everything to me.’"

Aiden’s voice echoed through the empty void, carrying an indescribable warmth.

"Real feelings are never perfect."

"They have worry. They have the pain of waiting. They have awkward moments when you do not know what to say. They even have times when both people stay silent and sulk at each other."

"These imperfections are the proof that she truly exists. They are the hottest and most real warmth of all."

"But you are too perfect."

Aiden’s eyes suddenly burst with dazzling golden thunder and holy light.

Inside his double-pupiled eyes, divine patterns of law spun wildly, like two newborn suns.

"You are too good. So good that you don’t feel human at all."

"But that is not her."

Boom!

As Aiden spoke the last word, the pressure of an Intermediate God erupted from within him like a volcano that had been held down for a thousand years.

"Spatial Lock, shatter!"

Crack!

In that instant, the void within ten thousand miles broke apart like a mirror struck by a heavy hammer.

Under Aiden’s cold gaze, countless golden cracks began to spread across the perfect illusion of Cheryl.

The gentleness and obedience in her eyes turned into endless fear and unwillingness.

Bang!

The illusion exploded completely, turning into countless pink sparks that fell through the void like rain.

However, the sparks did not disappear. Instead, they gathered wildly in midair.

A moment later, a pink crystal slowly formed in the void, giving off a strange and seductive aura.

It was the core of the Pillar of Lust’s consciousness.

"You saw through me."

A woman’s voice came from the pink crystal. It was airy and hoarse, yet filled with endless temptation, echoing through the shattered void.

"But just now, you clearly wavered."

"If your heart were truly as cold as black iron, your hand would not have stopped one centimeter away from me."

The consciousness of the Pillar of Lust trembled slightly in the void. There was a trace of questioning in it, and also a trace of certainty.

Aiden stood with his hands behind his back. His clothes snapped loudly in the violent aftershocks of the laws.

"Yes, I wavered."

Aiden did not deny it. His double-pupiled eyes were calm and open.

"I am not a stone without feelings or desires. Faced with the deepest fantasy in my heart, of course I would be moved."

"But being moved does not mean being trapped."

The aura of the Pillar of Lust paused slightly, as if it could not understand such a complicated human feeling.

"For countless years, every being who stepped into the Labyrinthine Depths would fall completely, even if they only wavered for a single moment. They would become nourishment for this Abyss of mine."

"You... how did you walk out of it?"

Aiden looked coldly at the pink core. Thunder and the Law of Light wove around him, making him look like an undefeated god of war.

"Because I know the real her is still outside, waiting for me."

"No matter how perfect an illusion is, it is still only an empty dream."

"It cannot compare to even one ten-thousandth of that real person waiting for me in the cold reality."

Aiden’s voice was not loud, but it carried an unshakable will. It thundered through the depths of the Labyrinthine Depths.

The Pillar of Lust fell into a long silence.

The pink mist in the void rose and fell violently, as if this ancient divine pillar that had existed for ten thousand years was going through a fierce shock of the soul.

"I have existed for ten thousand years."

After a long time, the voice of the Pillar of Lust sounded again. It carried the weariness and sorrow of someone who had seen too much.

"Do you know how many brilliant and powerful beings, over these ten thousand years, would rather die inside my illusion than take even one step out?"

"Because the reality outside was far more disappointing than the illusions I created for them."

Aiden’s gaze was firm. His double-pupiled eyes stared straight at the pink core, and his voice was strong and clear.

"That is because they believed the real world outside was no longer worth looking forward to."

"But whether this world is worth hoping for or not is not something a stone pillar like you can decide for them."

"At least in my world, it is worth it."

The Pillar of Lust stayed silent for even longer.

In the end, the pink core trembled lightly. A ray of pure law-light separated from deep within it.

The sixth Recognition Crystal slowly fell.

The pink Recognition Crystal of the Pillar of Lust drew a beautiful arc through the void, then sank into Aiden’s forehead.

[Ding! Sixth Primordial Crystal detected. Beginning fusion. The base protocol of the 10,000x Critical Hit System has been forcibly activated...]

[Primordial Law resonance level increased. Host’s understanding of the world’s Law of Origin has risen from 54% to 57%!]

Deep within Aiden’s Inner Spirit, six Primordial Crystals shone like six stars. They burst with brilliant divine light and connected with one another, faintly forming an incomplete ancient formation.

The golden thunder and holy light surging around him slowly faded. The divine law patterns in his double-pupiled eyes also grew quiet, turning into a deep, bottomless darkness.

"Spatial Lock, withdraw."

Aiden spoke softly.

In an instant, the shattered void across ten thousand miles was rebuilt by an invisible divine power. Even the pink mist that had filled the Labyrinthine Depths for ten thousand years pulled back like a retreating tide.

He took one step forward. Space shrank beneath his feet, and his body turned into a streak of light. In a single moment, he crossed the boundary of the Labyrinthine Depths.

Outside the Labyrinthine Depths, fierce wind mixed with snow and ice howled across the barren land.

Cheryl stood quietly at the entrance, dressed in the long robes of a battle miko. Her robes snapped in the snowstorm, and she looked like a statue that had been waiting for a thousand years.

When she saw that familiar figure step out of the void, Cheryl’s body trembled slightly.

But she did not run to him right away.

She only pressed her lips together and looked Aiden up and down with her clear, spring-like eyes, checking him carefully, as if she wanted to make sure he had not lost even a single hair.

Aiden gave a slightly awkward cough.

Although the aftershocks of the laws inside him had already calmed down, the scenes he had experienced in the illusion still made him blush slightly.

Cheryl was clever and sharp. When she saw his expression, a faint hint of mischief flashed across her cool, beautiful face.

She reached into the pocket of her robe and took out a crystal that gave off a bone-chilling cold. Then she handed it straight to Aiden.

"Here. Take this."

Cheryl’s clear voice sounded especially bright in the wind and snow.

"Your face is a little red. Cool yourself down."