Shrouded Seascape

Charles' brows were knitted tightly as he looked at the writhing red flesh on the ground while pondering over Paiper's words.

This… thing, when combined with relic fusion, could indeed significantly enhance the strength of explorers. However, the mortality rate associated with relic fusion was still a tricky issue.

"Do you want to absorb it now? I can assist you personally," Paiper said, and a fleshy appendage resembling a suction cup extended from Its maw. It scooped up the living flesh and moved it toward Charles.

"Hold on," Charles said, raising a hand to stop Paiper's appendage.

"There's no need for you to be so wary of us," Paiper began. "Your death has no benefit for us at all. All of us have shared mutual interests now. Take your wife, for example. She once worked with Lylejay, killed our followers, and has stolen from us.

"Yet, we did not take any revenge because we recognized the fact that dealing with the seascape's imminent destruction takes priority, and all disputes can be set aside for now."

Charles cast a brief glance at Anna, then shook his head. "No, it's not that. I just want to know if this is all you have. You possess an entire Divinity's corpse, and this is all you can produce?"

Seeing Paiper's confusion, Charles continued explaining, "For example, I found the way to fuse relics into the body from the ruins of the Foundation. With this power as a catalyst, Hope Island was able to rapidly advance our technology, and we started an industrial revolution within a few short years.

"Since you have an entire Divinity's corpse, surely there must be more to gain than just this bit of flesh?"

Charles felt that Paiper was holding back. Divinities were dangerous, but a Divinity's corpse was a treasure trove with unimaginable potential. Who knew what secrets could be uncovered from it?

Moreover, the Foundation was able to harness a small amount of Fhtagn's power to create the Light God. So, the Haikors surely had more tricks up their sleeve.

"Indeed, we've gained a lot. For example, we have the Apostles and the Haikors, both of which we created. We have many other things beyond human comprehension too.

"However, humans cannot use them, and they are useless in the search for the darkness. That's why there's no need to know about them. If those things were useful, we would have used them to retrieve the darkness already."

"Is that really the case? Or are you hiding something from everyone?" Anna asked, her voice laced with apparent suspicion.

Paiper clearly didn't like Anna. "You have no right to speak to me. Our previous feud has not been settled yet. That sunken ship at the bottom of the sea is the product of your betrayal."

Paiper then turned Its massive mouthpart back toward Charles. "Do you want to receive this blessing now, or do you prefer to test it on someone else first?

"I've already tested it on a human. I must reiterate that our interests are aligned."

"Wait. I have the power of other Divinities within me. Is that going to be a problem?" Charles asked, touching the strange tattoo on his neck. Despite his skin being mostly gone, the tattoo had never disappeared.

"It's fine; there's no conflict. Regardless of whether it's relics or anything else, they're all from the same origin."

Charles watched the constantly pulsating fleshy sucker in front of him.

Suddenly, Anna narrowed her eyes. The room door swung open, and Linda walked in.

"Captain, let me try it first. As a doctor, I'm curious as to how this will alter human anatomy and enhance the relics' power."

Charles glanced at Linda, saying nothing. The next moment, the fist-sized sucker pressed itself against Linda's forehead.

Slowly, her body began to tremble and her eyes rolled back to show her white. It seemed as though Paiper wasn't infusing something into her but rather extracting her brain fluid.

Paiper's elongated body started to twist and turn in a slow and eerie rhythm. The entire process ended soon enough, in less than two minutes.

At the end of it, the only visible change in Linda was a red circular mark on her forehead. After returning to her normal state, she began to quickly examine herself.

"Physically, there's no change. But my abilities seem to have undergone some special change." As Linda spoke, she suddenly sank a notch, her legs plunging into the ground.

"Not only can I pass through others now, I can even pass through things myself. My power has been enhanced significantly." Linda continued sinking with each word. By the very last word, her entire figure had vanished into the floor.

A few seconds later, Linda emerged from the floor. "I feel like I can pass through anything, any material now."

Watching Linda's display of her abilities while listening to her elaboration, Charles was astonished. This was almost a qualitative leap.

"You may leave now. I'll talk to you later," Charles instructed.

Linda nodded silently and left the room.

Charles then turned toward Anna and said, "I don't need my crew to be my guinea pigs, neither do I want you to control them.

It was evident that Linda hadn't appeared on her own accord. She couldn't have been conveniently waiting outside the door.

"Oh my, you caught me. I promise it won't happen again. That was the last time," Anna replied with a playful smile as she slid up against him, pressing her body into his arm.

Meanwhile, Paiper was growing impatient. "I'm very busy. Please hurry up and decide."

Charles turned his attention back to the colossal worm. "Alright, let's do this and see how much it enhances my power."

As soon as the round, fleshy sucker attached itself to Charles' wrist, a sudden cacophonous din surrounded him. He found himself transported to a strange world where the colors of everything around him were constantly shifting. His body felt like it was shrinking and spinning while being pulled toward the center of this surreal realm.

In this hallucination, Charles lost all sense of time. He had no idea how long had passed when he found himself back in his room again. Paiper and Anna were still by his side.

"How do you feel?" Anna asked, her voice tinged with a hint of curiosity.

Charles raised his hands; transparent tentacles writhed like fine hairs on the back of his hand. They were no longer external foreign entities; they had completely merged with his body.

Charles had a feeling that this was the original form of the transparent tentacles and that their true nature and state had been severely suppressed by the ring they were contained in.

With a mere thought, a tentacle extended from the opposite wall and wrapped around a black spike on the cabinet.

Gradually, more and more tentacles emerged throughout the room, turning the room into a sea of tentacles that moved in sync with Charles' thoughts.

Just then, Charles felt his head throbbing in slight pain; he realized that this was his limit. His mind would be overwhelmed if he were to summon more tentacles.

As he looked around, a question popped up in his mind. What exactly are relics, and where do their abilities come from?

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