Boom! When "Shadow" launched an air projectile, Caine seemed entirely aware—his body snapped back, twisting mid-air, and he landed gracefully several steps beyond the several stair levels. Throughout the movement, his right hand remained pressed against the half-high silk hat resting atop his head, exuding ease. Seeing neither Enyuni nor "Shadow" attempt to pursue or follow up with consecutive attacks, Caine's smile grew more evident. "Interrupting someone mid-speech is truly uncivilized," he said. "I had intended to discuss how we might resolve your issues right before you. Now, I can only retreat." As he spoke, the translucent worm-encircled left side of his face trembled slightly, as if giving a playful wink to his former doppelgänger and to his own shadow. Then, with a cheerful expression, he walked back to Colin Ilyat, Deryck, and Lovira, shrugged, and remarked, "The hosts here aren't particularly welcoming. We'll have to step outside and discuss how to address their concerns." Regarding this flamboyant, seemingly emotionally volatile powerhouse, Colin Iliath held no contempt—because the way he had previously handled affairs demonstrated a keen attention to detail, something unlikely from a half-divine being who had lost his composure. "Very well," the Chief of Silver City responded to Caine's proposal. Deryck naturally agreed, while Lovie remained silent, offering no words. Thus, the four half-divines, along with the "Silver Knight" envoy, retraced their steps and stepped out of the gates of the King of Giants' Hall. Caine then had the towering guard—several meters tall, clad in silver armor—pull gently and deliberately at the massive gate, slowly closing it with a most courteous gesture. Throughout the entire process, Enyuni, who bore layers of dark ethereal wings, and the pure form of "Shadow" simply watched, neither attempting to intervene, as though an invisible wall had constrained their movements. After a while, dusk faded and darkness fell, as the world waited for the light of dawn to illuminate everything. Finally, a single ray of light rose, bringing long-awaited morning. At that very moment, Enyuni and the "Shadow" heard a steady tapping sound at the entrance of the "Kingdom of the Giants." Someone was knocking. Tap, tap, tap—after several repetitions, the great doors creaked open slowly and heavily, yielding to the pressure. "As you know, as a gentleman, I only tap with my fingers, never clap with my palms." The moment he finished speaking, Enyuni—who had remained silent throughout—spoke up: "You'll handle the 'Shadow' yourself, while the people of Silver City keep me busy." "Hmm?" Kline emitted a loud, exaggerated nasal sound, as though awaiting further explanation from Enyuni. At the same time, he raised his left hand and pressed it gently against his face. The transparent, writhing worms suddenly surged into motion—some diving in, others crawling out—swiftly completing the exchange. Enyuni, with his face shadowed and his dark hair slightly wavy, cascading down to his shoulders, continued in a low, steady tone: "You didn't summon the images from the historical rifts in advance because you knew the 'Shadow' could summon a projection of the 'Staff of Stars,' simulating the abilities of the 'Angel of Time,' accelerating the flow of time and dispersing your angelic allies. Likewise, he didn't prepare either—precisely for this reason." "And if you summon a saint who can maintain his presence for a longer duration, he can do the same—balancing each other out." "I hate playing against myself!" Kline nodded emphatically, expressing full agreement, and laughed. Eynui, his face blurred and features indistinct, glanced at Kline and the three half-gods of Silver City: "So you've already secretized the 'Silver Knight' guarding the gate, intending to use him as the lever that tips the scales." "This is his issue, not mine. He has no one to create secretized counterparts for—nor do you, perhaps?" Kline smiled gently at the former secretized Eynui. Eynui turned his gaze away from Kline and instead examined Colin Iliath, Deric, and Lovira: "The condition for you to counteract the 'Shadow' and triumph through secretized forms is that they can keep me engaged." As soon as she finished speaking, the shoulders of the secretized form, polluted by the power of the slumbering 'Angel of Darkness,' began to twitch, and one head emerged on each shoulder. They both were shadowed, with shoulder-length black curls, yet one seemed young and the other aged. Before Cline could react, Enyuni's right body suddenly snapped off, carrying the older-looking head with one-third of its torso. The severed body surged rapidly, instantly regaining its form, and on the shadow covering the head, two eyes emerged—vertical pupils, glowing with a pale gold hue. Instantly, the grand staircase leading to the ancient gods' realm collapsed downward, transforming into a barren, lifeless plain. At the plain's far end stood a city—its walls black, overgrown with weeds. The Silver City! The scene was so vivid that Deric felt his heart tighten, fearing that the unknown enemy might drag the half-gods to the Silver City and destroy it. Loviya, meanwhile, remained motionless as Enyuni grew two heads—her gaze fixed, her body trembling, as though sensing the presence of an absolute sovereign. Colin Iliad surveyed the scene, crossed his two straight swords, each glistening with the morning light, and said in a steady voice: "This is false." At that moment, Caine, using his transparent worms to form a palm over his mouth, yawned and asked Enyuni's true form: "Do you become stronger in dreams? Or does the dream allow you to transcend boundaries and launch an attack?" "If it were me, I'd definitely consider using the dream to induce my enemies, getting them to enter my range of attack willingly." As soon as he finished speaking, the barren plain and the distant castle both dissolved, and the magnificent staircase, bathed in dawn light, reappeared. At the same time, Enyuni's left body fractured, and the "younger" head carried off one-third of his flesh and blood. The shadow covering his face swiftly gave way to brilliant golden light, and in his eyes, two miniature "suns" seemed to shine. "Suns?" Klein first voiced his疑问, then burst into laughter, gasping for breath. "Haha! You want to use the 'Domain of No Darkness' to counter the 'Silver Knight's' 'light-borrowing concealment'? Yes, we do have three 'Silver Knights' here—worthy of your serious attention. But have you considered the Shadow's perspective? You haven't—you've only thought about yourself! He's merely a pure shadow. How much would he be weakened within the 'Domain of No Darkness'? Do you know?" As he spoke, Klein laughed louder and louder, to the point that the "spirit insects" on his transparent left face began crawling faster and faster. "Hahaha! And have you ever thought about your own exceptional abilities in areas like 'impurity,' 'decline,' and 'darkness'? Have you seriously considered how the 'Domain of No Darkness' might negatively impact you?" After finishing his laughter, Klein straightened up, his expression serious, and asked: "Now, how shall we address you? A small En? A small Yu? A small Ni?" Eynuni's body, still draped in shadow, slowly inhaled. "If you choose the path of the Hunter, you would surely be stronger than you are now..." Before he finished speaking, the layers of ethereal, dark feathers that had been trailing behind him suddenly unfolded and expanded, swelling until they completely covered the sky and encircled the entire grand staircase. A soft, diffused shadow now settled over the scene. Then, Eynuni directly crossed the previously invisible boundary and materialized before Colin Iliath, Loviya, and Deric. He had a way to overcome the obstruction! The younger version of him—the one who had branched off as the "Solar Saint"—followed immediately, raising his arms. The morning light intensified, blazing across every corner of the magnificent staircase, banishing all shadows and leaving nothing concealed. "The Domain of No Darkness!" Yet, the surrounding shadow boundaries remained intact, and the ethereal dark feathers clinging to Eynuni's form shielded him from the pure sunlight. And that "shadow" seemed to have donned a cloak, though dimmed somewhat, yet still displaying no signs of frailty. At the same time, the elderly form that had differentiated from Enyuni extended her right hand toward Caine. A violent yet ephemeral wind surged around her, carrying无形, diverse intentions, rushing toward Caine and his "silver knight" figure. "Mind Disruption!" It could either overwhelm a target with awe, instill fear, spark fervor, or cause partial loss of mental clarity. Right now, Caine, whose spiritual essence had lost its integrity, stood on the brink of collapse—his emotions and responses difficult to regulate. Should he now suffer the effects of "Mind Disruption," he would likely lose control entirely and shatter into a monstrous form. Enyuni understood his plight and recognized his vulnerabilities, and from the very outset, she had summoned her differentiated "spectator saint" to deploy a range attack that was both difficult to defend against and utterly overwhelming to endure. A gale laden with various emotions and intentions instantly "swallowed" Caine, yet the adventuring ranger—half himself normal, half himself wildly transformed—showed no signs of facial distortion, divine radiance, or bodily collapse. Instead, his right eye, which had been displaying an exaggerated smile, suddenly grew remarkably calm. While waiting for the Silver City exploration party, he had already summoned Miss Justice, asking her to infuse into him a virtual persona embodying his inner frustrations—a clown-like persona—thus restoring his spiritual integrity for a period of time! This explains why Caine remained relatively composed when leaving the Guardians' residence, yet appeared so flamboyant and eccentric when meeting the Silver City exploration party. Moreover, this virtual persona could now absorb several attacks targeting his "spirit." The calmness in his gaze quickly faded, and a gentle curve formed at the right corner of his mouth, perfectly symmetrical to the winding "spirit worm" climbing up the left side. It was a genuine smile. PS: I'd like to recommend a novel written by a friend of mine, "Rise from the Beginning of the Blade That Shatters the Pillar": After crossing over, Ye Yin hadn't even managed to launch his grand ambitions when he was brought down by frailty. The arrival of an ancient mirror disrupted his original trajectory, setting him on a series of nested adventures. Yet, who can tell me why a completely different universe would unfold the very script of my former planet?!