Ethan had actually already used his senses to investigate.

The cave didn't reveal any hostility, so for now, it was safe.

But caution was paramount.

He didn't let Anya follow him inside.

Holding the magical staff, Ethan slowly jumped into the cave.

The cave was quite dark, but the light from the magical staff spread out, and instantly, the darkness was dispelled.

The only one uncomfortable was Kaster, who was tied to the magical staff.

"Could you dim it a little? It hurts too much."

He wailed in plea.

But Ethan ignored him, continuing to carefully observe the cave's interior.

There was nothing there, except for what appeared to be a dug-up tomb.

"Where's the altar?" "At the back, at the back, there's a mechanism!"

Kaster shouted loudly.

Ethan finally dimmed the light from the staff slightly.

Following Kaster's instructions, Ethan approached the deepest wall, gently tapped three times on an inconspicuous section, then moved to another side and tapped four times on another wall, finally returning to his original position and quietly said "open the door" to the wall.

The door really did open.

The entire wall split down the middle and pushed to the sides, revealing the scene behind it.

It was indeed a place resembling an altar.

There were flames, the firelight came from torches hanging in the four corners of the room.

The firelight also illuminated the entire room.

It wasn't very large, with a regular structure, and in the center of the room was a raised platform on which a statue of a faceless female deity was enshrined.

The entire room was ochre, seemingly constructed of the purest loam.

Besides the statue, Ethan also noticed, behind it, a place that looked like a workstation or perhaps a small laboratory.

"The item is over there, just go and take it."

Because Ethan had been continuously using the magical staff, Kaster appeared exceptionally weak, his speech halting.

Ethan still stood at the entrance and didn't enter easily, although, at present, the altar room didn't seem to have anything unusual.

Yet, instinctively, something felt off.

He probed again with his senses, no danger; Ethan lifted the magical staff high and finally walked into the room.

And it was at that moment.

The whole time, Kaster, who had been wilting inside the bottle, suddenly burst into a sharp, long laugh.

"Hahahahaha, you finally fell into the trap! You finally fell into the trap! I'm going to skin you, drink your blood, slowly suck your marrow dry, and then live as you, snatching away your life! Only then can I vent the anger in my heart!"

As his laughter echoed, a dust-colored wind began to swirl around the altar, and the door behind Ethan sealed shut completely.

You saw Kaster twisting violently inside the bottle, as though he was breaking free.

However.

In the next moment.

He froze there, as if he had seen a ghost.

Of course, if he still had a face to express with.

His emotion, was just like that.

Because nothing happened, making his previous furious words seem like a joke.

You couldn't exactly say nothing happened.

Something had indeed occurred.

That was, all the dust-colored wind swept toward Ethan.

"Yes, yes, just like that, mighty Goddess, don't care what goddess you are, you damn brat, kill him for me! Then I'll indeed worship you, damn it!"

Things seemed to go exactly his way as the dust-colored wind wrapped around Ethan.

But Ethan didn't feel the slightest fear.

When the wind picked up, he finally understood why he instinctively felt something was off.

It wasn't off, but rather, it was a sense of déjà vu.

Now he remembered, that feeling was the same as when he had entered that dream room with the pool where he met Aphraela.

A sense of intimacy.

No, you couldn't say intimacy.

Toward Aphraela, it was intimacy, a kind of connection as if resonating with something.

In this room, the feeling was more of familiarity, as if to a friend or perhaps... a kindred spirit?

"Help me..."

As the dust-colored wind approached him, he heard a deep, weary female voice.

As if having slept for many years, finally encountering a native passerby.

"Who are you?"

Ethan asked.

"Help me..."

She just kept repeating the phrase.

As if it's the only thing she can say for now.

"Can you hear me? Who are you?"

Though Ethan had an internal suspicion.

After all, this place should count as the Earth Mother Goddess's altar, so the person would most likely only be her.

"Ashrakshma, help me!"

Hmm?

Ashrakshma, that's the true name of the King of Beihai.

For her to be able to say it fully, the answer was clear: it's the Earth Mother Goddess.

"I am Ashrakshma, who are you exactly? Answer me!"

Ethan persisted in his questioning, as it seemed the entity's consciousness was indeed showing signs of budding awakening, evidenced by her ability to utter the name of the King of Beihai.

"I am..."

The supposed Earth Mother Goddess hesitated for a moment, as if lost in thought.

"I am..."

"I am..."

"I... uh..."

Her message stumbled through self-questioning, self-pulling statements.

"Meness! You damn brat, what exactly are you doing?! Kill him already!"

At that moment, Kaster screamed angrily again, slurring curses.

And precisely due to his abusive words, the supposed Earth Mother Goddess seemed to gain some enlightenment.

After a brief silence, she finally uttered a sentence:

"I am... Meness, yes, I am Meness, Meness Teris! I am..."

"Mother Earth."

The final sentence delivered in a tone almost calm and indifferent, as if announcing something.

"Hello, Meness, have you awakened?"

Ethan tried asking.

"Thank you, Ashra, thank you for coming, also thank my disrespectful successor, please help me punish him; for now, I am powerless."

Ethan didn't expect her first request to be this, of course, he was delighted to oblige, so he promptly reactivated the magical staff, its light penetrating through the dust wind, illuminating Kaster once more.

Kaster's roar abruptly ended.

"Your Mother Goddess wants you to quiet down."

And adding to his utter breakdown were the words Ethan spoke.

What did it mean?

What did 'your Mother Goddess' mean?

Does it mean...

It can't be...

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

He had tried for so many years, made so much effort, was once so devout, and in the end, gained nothing.

Why!?

Unfair.

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