As Cetas continued to grasp the lime radiance, his Zeal continuously grew, gaining vitality like he never felt before.

Soon, a familiar feeling arose inside him, creating a sensation that he had only felt a few moments ago..

This!

A new Flourish was forming deep inside him.

It was unprecedented, of course.

Cetas had only become a Zealot for a few weeks!

And now, he was on the record to gain two Flourishes in not even an hour between.

It set a new record for Zealots.

Additionally, a new method of rising the ranks arose.

If this were to reach the light of day, then Zealots would explore all sorts of areas just to find these rare treasures.

But if Cetas absorbed the energy coming from the light, then how would he give it to the Prophet of Perfection?

Realizing this, he pulled his hand back.

"..?"

Surprised, Cetas could barely move his hand, let alone his entire arm..

He gritted his teeth, pushing all of his energy into letting go of the light. But alas, it was useless.

Zeal flowed to Cetas, pulsating full of life and energy!

So much so that it wanted to make him burst!

A mere Spark should not obtain this much Zeal..

It was dangerous!

If it continued further, then Cetas would be overwhelmed with Zeal.

"I have to let go!"

But no matter how hard he tugged, his arm seemed to suck the radiating light. Although it seemed that way, in physical terms, the light pulled his hand hard.

I’m gonna die!

His body filled with so much energy that Cetas only wanted to burst out in life. He wanted to spread his being into his surroundings, turning them into vast sprouts that grew in time.

But then, an explosion rang out in the distance.

Particularly, behind him—in the long tunnel filled with torches.

Black liquid gushed out from the tunnel, quickly making its way to fill the empty gaps of the enclosed space.

Along with it, myriad moths passed through as if searching for light.

The water and the insects raced across the tunnel, along the way, the ceiling cracked open and created more explosions for the two to enter.

Among darkness and moths, both aimed to reach for the light in the tunnel’s end. As if two minds clashed together, the water evaporated and the multiple insects suddenly plopped out and died.

As this was happening, the looming sense of Dread filled Cetas’s heart.

He felt two potencies touching his very being, one belonging to a very ancient, malice-filled Dread, and the other seeking to encase Cetas’ entire stature.

The former being stronger than the latter, yet still both possessing the same effects.

As they rushed through the tunnel, the torches dimming out one by one, Cetas could feel his pores bleed out by the intense clash of Dreads.

His body weakened and the surge of energy slowly disappeared.

But then, the radiating light filled him with vigor, cleansing all wounds and damage that he had succumbed to.

The roots in the tunnel slowly died out as a result of the two, its once vibrant stature now turned withered and cursed.

The tunnel crumbled, slowly becoming demolished into darkness.

It crept towards Cetas, no, the light in his arm and destroyed everything in its surroundings.

Soon it got closer to him, covering the roots of the room in desolation.

The tides of the black water rose, the myriad moths consumed the roots, and Cetas became devoured by their voracity.

He became submerged in the darkness, his body teeming with moths, and the light in his arm remained pulsating.

But before it could inject any more Zeal inside Cetas’ body, the insects ate his entire arm off.

Cetas screamed in pain

"AAARRRGHHH!!"

As soon as his arm was disconnected, the light immediately dimmed.

Still, Cetas received its boon, and thankfully, he did not die in its process.

The clash of Dread halted his inevitable explosion of vibrance, making him last a little bit longer in absorbance.

As he became completely underwater, meeting with the darkness once again, Cetas noticed something within his Zeal.

Now possessing 3 Flourishes, the information in Cetas’ mind immediately registered.

It seems that the most recent Flourish headed to the direction of the Elemental Origin..

His mind recorded his recent Zeal:

[Increased Zeal Capacity, Sands of History, Spark of Water, Good Water Control]

Then, underneath that category, a new subsection popped up in his mind.

It spelled an ancient presence, a Zeal that should not be housed by a mere Spark!

[Droplet of Life]

Cetas immediately understood what it was..

"A Conceptual Zeal."

The darkness around Cetas shattered like glass. It shouldn’t even be possible as the nature of darkness around him was liquid.

And yet it did, it shattered into a million small pieces!

Once it did, Cetas found himself in a radiant world.

Light seeped from every direction, covering his entire surroundings with emanating white.

As if the world had been encased in a paintless canvas, it stood still, everything in its vicinity was unmoving.

All except for Cetas..

Additionally, he felt a presence a couple of distances away. It belonged to an auburn-haired girl, curious about where she was..

"Elishia!" Cetas yelled out.

The girl noticed it, then looked towards the direction of the voice.

She screamed back:

"Cetas!"

Weirdly enough, there was no echo in this pure world.

At least I know she’s safe.

Looking around Cetas saw nothing but light in every path.

That is until, a Dreadful existence captivated his gaze.

In the middle of the colorless world, a Being was trapped in chains.

Cetas moved his head to look, but suddenly, a soft hand pushed it downward.

Then, he heard a voice.

"Don’t look. You’ll die."

The Prophet of Perfection?

Cetas questioned inwardly.

"Indeed.."

Her voice lost its luster, now speaking in several harmonious tones.

As if many individuals embodied a single voice.

"You’ve failed your task, Cetas."

What? Is that light not the treasure you sought?

"No, although you’ve failed.. You still paved the path for me to achieve it. But in doing so, you spelled the end of the world."

"Before us is a Drowned God.. Once it awakens and becomes free of its chains, the world will drown in its Malice."

Although Cetas could not see, the Prophet of Perfection looked at the boy.

"You’ve stolen something that lulled it to sleep, now, the Drowned God is doomed to awaken.. But I don’t blame you, if anything, I only have myself to blame. I used you as a key to fuel my own desire, and because of that, a Drowned God would soon awaken."

She paused for a second and then continued.

"Thankfully, there is still a century before it is to wake."

A hundred years.. Cetas thought.

"Cetas, we will meet again. And in that moment, I shall be your foe nor your enemy.

"And in the century before its wake, become stronger so that no being such as I can toy with you.."

"When you reach the level of a God-King, meet me and we shall fell this Anathema."

And what’ll happen to you?

The Prophet of Perfection smiled.

"You think I’ll sacrifice myself, fighting a Drowned God for a century?"

She laughed.

"I’ll run away and seek Perfection."

With that, she snapped her fingers and immediately, Cetas’ vision became blurry.

The white landscape in front of him spiraled as his eyes closed in vertigo.

Soon, the entire was filled with darkness.

Not the liquid form that tortured him, but darkness in the absence of light.

When he awoke, he was back at the Cathedral.

He noticed a familiar scent in the air, one that enticed him so dearly.

Cetas jolted upwards, looking around to see where the direction of the scent came from.

But alas, no one was there.

Only the people praying inside the Cathedral who now looked at him in bewilderment.

At the same time, Elishia came out of the praying booth in a hurry, making a thud sound as the door sprung wide open.

Barely stopping herself, Elishia yelled out of impulse, "Cetas!"

But before she could run to him, her senses got the better of her.

Now, the people inside the cathedral looked at them even weirdly.

Elishia made an apologizing gesture and slowly made her way towards Cetas.

"Did you-"

"Yes."

Cetas already knew what words would come out of her mouth.

She ran closer to him and gave a tight hug.

"I’m sorry you had to experience all of that.."

Having experienced the feeling of going through cycles in the short time she was submerged, Elishia sympathised for the young boy.

An unknown feeling arose from inside him.

It was the first time he felt Trust.

It was odd.. Although he had only been awake for a few weeks, Cetas was slowly gaining emotions like a human.

Even as a Depth-Dweller he slowly learned to be a human.

And still, he felt lucky to have companions that he could trust.

Ones that looked out for him, protected him.

Maybe he had companions like these in the past.

But he didn’t focus on that.

He returned Elishia’s embrace.

"Let’s go back.."

After experiencing such suffering for a long time, it was a surprise as to how the two handled the situation.

For now, they needed to rest. And later, they would process everything that happened with the crew.

So, the two left the cathedral and carefully walked back to Fifth Layer.

And thus, a week passed by in an instant.