Chapter 121: Qroshu’s Inner World

Their foreheads touched, their noses almost brushing against each other. The distance was far too close. Close enough for Nolan to clearly catch the faint fragrance lingering around Ailindel, fresh like gardenias after rain. Close enough for him to feel her warm breath lightly brushing across his lips.

Every muscle in Nolan’s body instantly tensed, and he did not dare move an inch. As a man who had been single across two lifetimes, with such pitifully little romantic experience that even he found it tragic, how could he possibly have dealt with a situation like this before? This was more nerve-racking than facing a charge of a hundred undead Black Knights. His heart pounded uncontrollably as his thoughts spiraled wildly. 

So this is what it feels like to touch foreheads with a beautiful Moon Elf?

Inexplicably, the memory of the dragon girl Evelyn stealing his first kiss flashed through his mind, along with that soft, damp sensation.

Below the altar, the other four had completely frozen in shock.

Little Donnie and Renee stared with their mouths hanging open, their jaws practically dropping to the floor. Even Romina’s perpetually guarded eyes widened in disbelief, clearly shaken by the scene before her.

But the strongest reaction came from Vivi. Watching the two figures standing together in such intimate proximity, almost like lovers, she wrinkled her nose and let out an extremely faint, extremely sour little “Tch.” The sound was nearly inaudible, yet full of unmistakable jealousy.

She wanted to rush up and pull them apart. But reason told her this was a critical ritual that could not be interrupted. That frustrating feeling of wanting to act yet being unable to do so made her chest tighten miserably, her tail swishing irritably behind her.

“Uh… What’s wrong with Sister Vivi?” Little Donnie finally noticed Vivi’s restless state and quietly asked Renee beside him.

Renee glanced at Vivi, who had deliberately turned her head away and was pretending to study the patterns on the wall.

In a tone that clearly said you’re too young to understand, she whispered back, “Nothing. You wouldn’t get it.” Leaving Little Donnie utterly baffled.

At that moment, Ailindel, her eyes still closed, spoke. “Your spiritual fluctuations are intensifying. Relax. Breathe deeply.” After a brief pause, she added, “Perhaps, just as you said, facing Qroshu’s spiritual essence may indeed be easier than facing him directly. Don’t be nervous.”

Nolan suffered in silence.

Knight Lady, what does my nervousness have to do with Qroshu at all?! You’re the reason, okay… I’m a perfectly healthy man in the prime of his life. You suddenly pull something like this on me and expect my mind not to fluctuate? If I stayed calm, that would be the abnormal part!

Forcing down the distracting thoughts, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Haaa.

The warm breath, carrying the distinct scent of a man, brushed across Ailindel’s face. Her eyelashes trembled faintly. The sensation made her cheeks itch slightly, and a strange unfamiliar feeling stirred within her heart. She was not some naïve young girl ignorant of the world. At this point, she had also realized why Nolan’s reaction had been so intense. A long-forgotten warmth quietly crept onto her cheeks. Quickly, she steadied her mind and forced herself not to think further.

Bzzzz…

Dense soul essence poured from her body like silver mist, instantly enveloping Nolan completely.

At the same time, another far more condensed strand of soul essence extended downward like an invisible thread, plunging directly into the abyss below where the Demon Overlord was imprisoned.

A dozen seconds later, Ailindel suddenly stepped back, separating from Nolan.

“Nolan!”

Vivi was the first to rush over, staring at him anxiously.

At that moment, Nolan simply stood there motionless with his eyes closed, as though he had fallen asleep standing up. She wanted to touch him, but feared interrupting the process, so she could only ask nervously, “Lady Ailindel… h-how is he?”

“Ahem.” Ailindel lightly cleared her throat, disguising the trace of unnaturalness in her expression as she restored the imposing dignity of the Heavenly Judgment Knight. “He’s already inside. What happens next depends entirely on himself.”

***

Entering another person’s spiritual world was an extraordinarily strange experience. Nolan felt himself instantly lose all weight, all mass, even the very concept of “self” becoming vague and blurry.

Then, a ball of incomparably warm energy wrapped around him. The sensation felt like a gentle embrace.

The next instant, he began moving at terrifying speed in a way that defied comprehension.

There was no direction. No destination. He felt like a tiny pocket of air trapped inside a glass bottle, swept along toward the unknown by some overwhelming force.

The scenery before his eyes shifted rapidly in bizarre, dazzling flashes. He caught sight of his own body still standing motionless atop the altar, while Vivi and the others surrounded it with anxious expressions. For a fleeting moment, he even saw an entirely different scene.

His old home. That tiny room. The bedside cabinet still held his favorite Glory game merchandise figures, and beside them sat the gaming pod that had brought him into this world.

That was… his hidden past.

The moment his mind drifted, a tremendous impact struck him.

Bang!

His feet slammed heavily onto solid ground. The massive inertia nearly sent him crashing to his knees.

Am I here?

Steadying himself, Nolan quickly surveyed his surroundings.

What he saw completely caught him off guard. This was not the hellish landscape he had imagined, filled with gore and rising flames. Nor was it some vague abstract realm of consciousness. This place… was a magnificent cathedral.

Massive white stone pillars towered high overhead, supporting a vaulted ceiling. The walls were adorned with exquisite murals depicting the Mother Goddess creating the world.

The style resembled the Cathedral of Mother Goddess Sethis in the Elfin royal capital, except this place was several times larger.

Only now, everything lay in ruins.

The pillars supporting the dome had shattered and collapsed. Every face in the murals had been violently scratched away, exposing the dark gray stone beneath and radiating a twisted sense of desecration and obsession. 

Several enormous holes had been torn through the lofty ceiling. Through them, Nolan could see an eternal night sky outside, packed with storm clouds where violet lightning danced wildly without making a single sound.

So this was the spiritual world of Demon Overlord Qroshu?

Nolan had originally assumed spiritual worlds would be far more abstract and surreal. He never expected a fully formed environment like this. It seemed a person’s spiritual world was a manifestation of their subconscious.

Nolan silently committed the observation to memory.

Lowering his head to inspect himself, he froze once more.

A light blue short-sleeved T-shirt. Gray casual pants. And on his thigh, a small dried dark-brown soup stain he had accidentally splashed there long ago. These… were the clothes he had worn most often back in his original world.

Looking at the familiar outfit, Nolan could not help feeling dazed. Deep in his subconscious, did he still identify more strongly with his former self?

Instinctively, he tried to summon his system interface. The UI window did indeed appear before his eyes, but it was entirely gray. Every class, skill, and stat was disabled.

“Oh?”

At that moment, a lazy, amused voice drifted out from the shadows deep within the cathedral.

“It’s been so many years. To think I’d finally receive a visitor.”

Nolan instantly focused all of his attention toward the darkness ahead.

The voice continued, carrying both the relaxed composure of a host and the playful cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.

“Welcome to my spiritual world. My little home, human.”