The undulating mountains transformed into towering Divine Halls that seemed to pierce the clouds. The former magnificence was gone, leaving now only half of a crumbling building's structure, its roof long since collapsed, with the scattered bricks and tiles piled into little mounds on the ground.

Within this desolate Divine Kingdom, he saw the dried-up Divine Spring. The marble fence surrounding the spring had cracked in many places, and in the riverbed where the water once flowed, all that remained were parched earth and a few streaks of long-dried water stains.

The statue by the Divine Spring, once radiating sacred light, had lost its former aura of divinity, with half of its head fallen off. The Magical Artifact symbolizing Divine Power was broken into several pieces at the statue's feet.

He turned his gaze towards the seashore and saw the beach transformed into a spread of Gold Coins, shattered under the passage of time and turned into a sea of sand full of a sense of nostalgia.

The sky was overcast with clouds, and occasionally a few rays of light struggled to pierce through, shedding onto this broken land of the Divine Kingdom, adding to the desolate sadness.

He seemed to hear the joyful laughter of the Divine Kingdom's citizens from the distant past... but now all of it was drowned in this dead silence and decay.

"This is the world in their eyes."

Herbert swallowed lightly, feeling dazed for a moment.

In the eyes of the Heroic Spirits, they weren't in a mist-shrouded desolate mountain range but still living in the once glorious Divine Kingdom!

But with another momentary lapse, everything before his eyes reverted to reality, maintaining that wilderness forest appearance.

The inner world?

Which is real? Which is false?

Or perhaps everything is both real and false?

"..."

Thinking about this, Herbert suddenly bowed his head, trying to gaze at his own shadow.

But before he could see clearly what was within... the shadow slapped him.

Slap.

The shadowy tendril mercilessly hit his eyes, blocking his view completely.

["Hey! What are you peeking at there? You guy, you're really a bit presumptuous!"]

With a smile, Nenasha said: ["In the past, if you were this rude, I would have dug out your eyes."]

"Fine, then I won't look."

Seeing her stop him, Herbert pursed his lips and voluntarily gave up.

We're all so familiar now, and you're still getting shy!

["Hehe, I'm doing this for your own good~"]

"Ha."

Pace.

But listen to advice, eat a full meal.

Take risks when it's time, but don't mess around when you shouldn't.

Since Nenasha didn't let him look, she must have her reasons, better not force it—it wouldn't work.

Forcing danger without enough power just makes you awkward.

Humph, just wait, I'll note this down.

Someday!

Herbert bent down to touch the grass leaves, but with one exertion, half his body got caught underground.

"Hmm!"

Herbert was momentarily stunned, then blinked and slowly pulled himself out of the ground.

As his body passed through the grass leaves, he felt as if a mild electric current struck him, tingling and numbing.

Once he managed to control his form, he tried airborne flight.

Flying was impossible, but floating was feasible... though floating came with issues.

The speed was slow, not much faster than walking.

Moreover, Herbert found controlling direction difficult; a gust of wind would blow him off course, like a leaf swaying in the wind.

"Tsk! If only I could fly."

Just as Herbert wished that, a pair of Crimson Wings unfurled behind his back.

What is this!?

The Holy Mark wasn't imprinted on the flesh but resided in the soul.

Realizing this, Herbert moved his thoughts, the Crimson Wings expanded, and he soared into the sky—much faster than before!

Once free from the burden of raw flesh, this was the true speed of the Crimson Wings.

But after a brief moment of flight, Herbert realized another critical issue.

Consumption.

With his current power, his Spirit Body state couldn't be maintained for long, at most an hour.

And that's assuming he doesn't engage in fights, which would drastically reduce that time.

Though somewhat regretful, it was understandable.

Even the Mist Ghost Wolf, naturally capable of Half-Spiritualization, couldn't maintain Spirit Body state all times; it's too exhausting.

The state is usually used for crucial survival moments or as a fatal move.

"So the maximum distance for this outing is only half an hour? This..."

The Spiritualization ability is delicate; it makes the common painful mistake for all men.

Short.

And it's short in terms of time.

The Mist Mountains aren't small; also factoring in the return time, half an hour's straight distance doesn't cover much ground.

"Can only be cautious and use Spiritualization at crucial moments?"

Herbert thought, landing back on the ground, ending the Spiritualization.

At this moment, Fremay also raised her head, looking at Herbert, she suddenly asked, "Can your soul detach from the body?"

Soul detachment?

While Herbert was still puzzled, Nenasha had already understood what she meant.

["Can~ Oh! So this is what she plans to do."]

Do what?

What are you two strangers speaking in riddles again!?

"Uh... probably yes."

Right after he uncertainly said that, Herbert suddenly felt his body lighten.

Hmm?

As he wondered what's happening, he saw a familiar body directly falling forward.

So familiar.

White hair... isn't that me!!?

"Ah! Wait, my body—"

Just as he wanted to extend his hand to grab his flesh, someone acted faster.

Herbert watched as "himself" was firmly hugged by Fremay and his head buried deeply into that not-too-profound trench.

Meanwhile...

He coincidentally saw the mermaid lady's mouth corner curl in excitement and heard a low chuckle escape from her lips.

"Hehe!"

Herbert: ?

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