Chapter 201 (1): The Same Cinema, the Same Screening Room

“Don’t worry. The Astral Worm is gone.” Hearing his concern, Filomina lay on her young boyfriend’s chest and said, “Astral Worms are a rare species among Astral Beasts. They rarely stay in the same place due to their ability to jump in space. The Ministry of Magic has confirmed its departure.”

Obed being devoured by the Astral Worm was a claim made by Wayne and Filomina. Since there was the possibility of collusion, the Ministry of Magic organized a team to enter the Gate of Truth for confirmation.

There were indeed traces left by an Astral Worm in the Astral Plane, thus proving the cause of Obed’s death. However, the Astral Worm had not made an appearance and had likely gone elsewhere to hunt.

“The Astral Plane isn’t static, but an ever-expanding and moving universe. Just like how Earth rotates, every time we enter the Gate of Truth, the point of entrance shifts...”

“All in all, though, the distance won’t be that great unless there is spatial disturbance...”

Filomina was far more experienced than Wayne, and she was able to resolve his concerns with her knowledge. She added, “Moreover, we aren’t going to enter the Astral Plane since it’ll be too dangerous. I’ll create a portal, and through the lunar phase cards, I’ll select and comb through the Laws of the Astral Plane before guiding them into the dark domain.”

She continued, “It’s unlikely for my first attempt to succeed. It’s a difficult challenge that has stumped many Gold-ranked mages. Without you, I wouldn’t have tried it recklessly.”

“I get it. You’re using me.”

Filomina silently scowled at him, and just as silently, Wayne slapped himself in the face, pulling her into his arms for a kiss.

She pinched him on the waist. “Bastard, you can’t go a day without making me angry, can you?”

Wayne begged for forgiveness shamelessly, alarm bells blaring in his head. He had confirmed how deeply Filomina had invested herself in the relationship through repeated testing, and it turned out that she had gone all in. If he followed, he would likely catch feelings, too.

What was worse, his chips were already on the table.

Filomina stood in the center of the magic circle. Silver patterns glowed on her face, and her body slowly transformed. Her stunning elvish form made Wayne gasp in appreciation.

“Wait!” He raised his hand to interrupt her, urging her to sit down with her legs crossed before opening the Gate of Truth and making her first attempt to reach a higher plane of existence.

“Why should I sit down? Is there a reason?”

“The success rate will be higher. Just trust me.”

Filomina had never heard the claim, but since her young boyfriend was so convinced, she obliged with a chuckle, affectionately calling him childish.

She crossed her legs. Standing behind her, Wayne felt his heart stir at the sight of his white shirt holding on for dear life. He kindly released two buttons to save the shirt. If she had a problem, she should take it out on Wayne rather than shamelessly abusing a shirt.

“What do you need me to do?” he said bluntly. “I’ve never helped anyone rank up, not even to Silver rank, let alone Legendary. It’s best that you don’t expect too much from me, or the disappointment will be greater.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. Your original bloodline, especially your ancient god form, is far more impressive than you think.” Filomina took his hand from her shoulder and pressed it to her cheek, nuzzling it. “Go into your evolved form. When I’m with you, I feel calm...”

She didn’t know how to describe it, and ‘calm’ was only the closest approximation she could come up with. It was a kind of chaos that was difficult to put into words. Unlike the chaos of the Astral Plane, Wayne’s chaos disturbed her thoughts, but also reshaped her in the end rather than pushed her to an endless, irreversible insanity.

Yes, ‘calm’ was the most apt description.

The Hexagram, Cross Star, and then Triangle Star—the preparations allowed a mage to evolve their life further. It was a risky process. Just like how no two leaves were identical, each Gold-ranked mage was a unique entity. While the experience of those before them could serve as references, the learnings could not be applied one-to-one. Every mage had to figure out the appropriate details to fill in the existing framework on their own.

If they tried to fit themselves into a box, they would fall into the same fate as Marshall, who had lost himself in the process of evolution.

Marshall gradually understood everything, and in his pursuit of the truth of life, he lost himself to insanity. His recovery of his sanity and self had to be attributed to the help of an outside force. As for what it was, Obed, who had pushed him to the state, had to know; it was because Obed wanted that outside force that he brought about the total transformation of the Snow family.

If he hadn’t failed, he would’ve gotten what he wanted.

Filomina found her own outside help. She wasn’t aiming for an evolution as far-fetched as that of Marshall or Obed. She trusted that Wayne would be able to protect her, and she went all-in, giving away both herself and her thoughts.

Her blind trust made Wayne feel guilty. He didn’t feel the same confidence in her plan, and he attributed her certainty to her love.

He was the kind of man who resisted when someone pushed him, but yielded when someone opted for the soft touch. The more Filomina trusted him, the more ashamed he felt. He put aside all the lies and deception from the early stage of their relationship and saw the graceful and attractive High Reverend for who she was.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Beauty attracted only perverts, while genuine feelings begot genuine feelings. The empty words he had spouted to lead Filomina on ended up being his self-fulfilling prophecy.

The magic circle radiated light. The elven woman closed her eyes gently, her smooth, fair skin glowing softly as the lunar phase cards moved. Wayne pressed his hands on her shoulders. With her unreserved trust, he was able to see her perfect Golden Triangle, consisting of life, void, and self.

The life essence, knowledge, and thoughts reached an immaculate balance, influencing and amplifying each other. Filomina pushed the balanced Golden Triangle to its most perfect state. Then, activating the magic circle she had set up in advance, she opened a portal to the Astral Plane above the dark domain.

The Gate of Truth!

Wayne looked up at the sparkling rivers of stars, so beautiful that he wanted to peek in.

The

Book of Greed

made itself noticeable. Wayne merged with it and, with his pale hands on Filomina’s shoulders, extended the four tentacles from his back to wrap around her body.

Opening the eye on his chest, he saw a different Golden Triangle. Filomina specialized in the faith of Moonlight, supporting it with Nature and Sun. It should’ve worked since all elves of the Life Alliance did the same. As they reached a higher rank and gained greater power, their three faiths would also become more balanced, as if the three goddesses were sharing their disciples.

Pale moonlight, setting sun, spiraling nature... The void was flawed, and the thoughts had been corrupted. Her life essence was splotchy and dim.

Her unconditional trust gave Wayne a clear look at all of her. The mana that was a mix of three colors was neither pure nor authentic. Under the twisted overall framework, a strange balance was reached.

It was like a structure built with dominoes. Every precarious step she took made Wayne anxious. If this was the essence of a Gold-ranked mage, he would rather stay at Silver rank.

“No, I’m not like them,” he murmured, wrapping his tentacles tightly around Filomina. The white foamy tissues spread and enveloped her, almost forming a fleshy cocoon.

Filomina groaned, hearing low whispers in her head. She was losing the clarity of her mind to Wayne’s corruption.

Soon, another source of corruption came. The lunar phase cards rotated, guiding the grandness on the other side of the Gate of Truth into the dark domain. A complex array of lights bloomed, and a void that could not be perceived by the naked eye transformed into colorful energy.

The energy turned into matter, and then matter reverted to energy.

Under the

Book of Greed

’s aggravated gaze, the process repeated again and again until finally, the light silver energy particles turned into a void, entering Filomina’s body through the magic circle.

It was intercepted!

Wayne blinked innocently, realizing something. Two other tentacles reached out from his back, taking all the messy energy into his body.

Filomina remained balanced, getting nothing after all her hard work, while the

Book of Greed

had a feast.

There was a more satisfying feast waiting!

The two tentacles, dissatisfied with the lunar phase cards’ lack of efficiency, reached out toward the Gate of Truth. Wayne stopped them. Suppressing his desires, he injected the faith of Moonlight he possessed into his thoughts and then streamed his thoughts into Filomina’s body. After filling her up, he took the faith of Moonlight back.

The knowledge he shared with her had increased rather than decreased thanks to Filomina’s knowledge reserves. During the process, Wayne realized another ability of the

Book of Greed

. Its intangible mouth had an automatic filter that could remove impurities to extract the essence, turning the pale moonlight crystal-clear.

The frosted surface became a matte surface, and then wholly translucent.

As if she was being plundered for cultivation, Filomina blanched, the Golden Triangle in her body losing its balance. The whispers in her mind disturbed her thoughts and life essence, causing her body to transform.

She was evolving into Wayne’s form.

When he realized that the beautiful elf was going to become a tentacle monster, Wayne returned the faith he had seized and urged her through his thoughts to remember her human form.

It was a curious process. Wayne had thought that knowledge was limited, that once he had it, no others could. However, the unchanged amount of faith magic contained in the small eyeballs of the

Book of Greed

proved his assumption wrong.

“But the knowledge contained in those magical artifacts was taken by me...”

“Or is the process difference for a person and an item?”

“No. The knowledge contained by Shadow Nightmare stays the same. I gained it, but didn’t take anything from it...”

Wayne couldn’t figure it out. The question was beyond his current understanding. He went through the same filtering process for Nature and Sun, extending his thoughts to redraw the Golden Triangle in Filomina’s body, turning her into his shape.

“I think I’ve seen something like this before...”

He remembered that time on Dragonheart Island, when Blood Tyrant claimed an ancient god’s faith and turned the islanders into crocodile people. Similarly, if Wayne hadn’t insisted on Filomina’s elven form, she would’ve turned into a white, faceless tentacle monster.