At this moment, she already regarded the two men before her as her absolute support and was willing to become their mutual pillar.
Luo En noticed the subtle movement of his foster mother under the table, coughed lightly, and stood up to take his leave.
"Time is of the essence, so I'll go prepare," he said.
As he spoke, he waved goodbye to Hades and Persephone and walked toward the garden gate.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to turn back and wink at Hades by the door, his face teasing.
The Underworld King chuckled to himself, then turned his head to look at Persephone beside him.
Under the faintly flickering fluorite lamp light, his once cold-as-ice wife showed a rare tender softness, her stunning beauty captivating. Her graceful upper body was now completely leaning into his arms.
In an instant, Hades understood and swept his beloved wife into his arms, turned, and stepped into the bedchamber, the door behind him silently closing.
The next day, in the dim Arima Cave, a garden golden bough embedded in the ground flickered dimly and brightly.
Sensing the special frequency resonance, Luo En abruptly opened his eyes during his meditation.
As usual, he tossed the fairy food wine and honey cakes he was carrying to Cerberus at the cave's entrance to satisfy his hunger, then stepped out and quietly made his way toward the Elysian Fields.
With practiced ease, he made his way unobstructed.
Luo En took only half the time it had previously taken to stealthily enter the Elysian Fields and found the Ivory Gate leading to the "Dream of Truth."
Following Hades's instructions, he activated the Mark of the Dead on the back of his right hand, placing the divinely pulsing seal onto the great ivory door.
After a moment, the pristine ivory door rippled like water, and a bizarre, dream-like landscape unfolded within it.
Ready, Luo En took a deep breath and stepped through the Ivory Gate.
After a familiar sense of hindrance, he found himself standing on the same dream beach he had arrived at before.
But this time, there was no warm welcome from Demon Ancestor Typhon.
Luo En scanned the calm sea and his face broke into a subtle smile; he reached for the Golden Holy Grail in the Magic Array and gently tilted it.
A stream of golden-red Divine Blood poured onto the sand and seawater at his feet, diffusing outward.
Suddenly, the quiet sea erupted into furious waves as a typhoon transformed into a savage beast; the blue sky flashed with lightning, and eyes formed by stars cast their gaze; from beneath the earth, thunder roared, and mountain peaks resembling giants began to shake violently...
The entire silent world seemed to come alive in an instant.
Facing these successive phenomena, Luo En smiled playfully, slightly inclined the Golden Holy Grail, revealing the flowing golden-red Divine Blood, and spoke leisurely.
"You want it?" he asked.
Immediately, the typhoon whipped up furious waves, the starfields tore the sky apart, and the earth split open...
Different phenomena expressed the same indescribable longing.
Seeing the intense reactions, Luo En's hypothesis was confirmed.
Indeed, he and Hecate shared the same origin of "Chance"; what Hecate could do, he theoretically could do as well.
For instance, awakening these Old Gods from their slumber and offering them a chance to return to the real world.
And it was this uniqueness that had made him a target of Typhon, who was still awake, the moment he landed in the Dream World.
At that moment, as the Divine Blood laced with Chance spilled, prisoners sensing this scent became excited and rushed toward Luo En on the beach.
"Don't rush; Hecate is still around, and even if you devoured me, it would be pointless, not to mention whether you can really consume me," he said.
Hearing the name of that jailer god and the reasoned analysis, the restless various consciousnesses calmed down somewhat, but a deep resentment still simmered throughout the Dream World.
"How about this," Luo En proposed, "Lend me some of your power, your Divinity, and I'll find a way to deal with her and get you out of this predicament."
The few Old Gods with their remaining self-consciousness fell silent.
Seeing this, Luo En, feeling as though he was enduring humiliation, tore open his outer garment, revealing the glaring Wheel of Hecate, and protested vehemently.
"Don't trust me? I have a grudge against her too!"
However, the Old Gods still did not respond, clearly not trusting his credibility or capabilities.
After repeatedly facing setbacks, Luo En steeled his heart and finally declared fiercely.
"Fine, fine, I'll guarantee it with my own soul, okay? I swear by the River Styx that I will do my utmost to rescue you, and if I fail to fulfill my promise or die along the way, my soul and my Divinity are yours!"
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
In an instant, the previously silent Dream World boiled over again.
One after another, the Old Gods, seeing hope, rushed to covenant with the intruder.
If successful, they could break free from this endless dream; if unsuccessful, they could still obtain that sliver of "Chance" needed to escape their confinement.
Either way, it seemed a good deal, so cheers to that!
Watching one eager predecessor after another rush forward to lend him power, Luo En pressed his hand downward, his handsome face breaking into a warm and radiant smile.
"Hold on, one at a time, there's enough for everyone," he said.