Liang Lai’s fingertips had just touched the yellowed parchment when the pages automatically turned.
A faint golden light seeped from the front page, condensing in the air into tiny crystalline dust.
She noticed these specks of dust formed new handwriting—exactly the same as the original owner’s script.
“To the awakened me / or perhaps the me who is no longer me:
If you’re reading this, it means the third pair of pupils has begun to awaken. This is not a Curse, but the Crown of Heart choosing its master.”
“You might not know what the Crown of Heart is. That’s normal, because there isn’t a single explanation for it in any book the Church provides. Even Pope Alphonse VII might not know about it.”
Liang Lai’s fingertip unconsciously brushed against her eyelid.
Hidden there was the second pair of golden pupils, a trait all Saintesses were born with.
But as for a third set of pupils—she hadn’t seen or sensed anything of the sort.
What’s going on?
Could it be that the soul swap in this body caused the Awakening that was supposed to happen to not occur?
Yet, the book clearly said “or perhaps the me who is no longer me.” It was obvious the Third Saintess, Liang Lai, had anticipated the possibility of someone else’s soul entering her body.
The pages continued to turn on their own, stopping on a page filled with bizarre patterns.
It depicted a human-shaped silhouette made up of countless tiny crystals, with a semi-transparent crown floating over its chest.
From the base of the crown, black root-like veins extended, wrapping tightly around the heart.
“The essence of the Crystalization Ability is the materialization of emotions.”
“Ordinary Saintesses can only manipulate inorganic Crystallization, but the inheritor of the Crown of Heart can solidify human emotions—fear, desire, hatred… even memories.”
Liang Lai’s breathing grew rapid.
This explained why, when she saved Dolosa today, the shadows of those black-robed men came alive to devour them.
The intense protective urge she had felt at that moment had manifested as an offensive Crystallization.
Suddenly, the page trembled violently.
A line of blood-red text floated onto the blank space:
Warning: Each use of an Emotional Crystal will accelerate the growth of the Crown of Heart. When the roots completely envelop the heart, the inheritor will—
The words abruptly cut off, as if forcibly erased by someone.
Liang Lai noticed a scrawled note at the bottom of the page, the ink still fresh:
“Don’t believe the Papal Hall’s explanation of the Light Erosion Phenomenon. That isn’t Pollution at all, it’s…”
The latter half had been repeatedly scratched out, leaving only a single trembling word:
“Liberation”
Liang Lai snapped the book shut.
Her temples throbbed, and the second pair of pupils burned hot beneath her eyelids.
A nightingale’s cry sounded from outside the window.
Compelled by a force she couldn’t resist, Liang Lai flipped to the last page and found a record of a strange ritual:
“Moonlight Baptism:
- On the night of the full moon, collect the tears of the cursed (must contain intense hatred)
- Mix with your own blood and drip into your left eye
- If successful, you will temporarily obtain True Sight—able to see through all disguised Emotional Crystals.”
A small arrow was drawn on the edge of the page, pointing to a nearly faded annotation:
“Pope Alphonse VII’s heart is empty!”
“In other words, the reason they have to choose a new Pope every so often is that many Popes cannot resist Emotional Indifference and the Oracle, causing their bodies to undergo Crystallization, their hearts gradually emptying, until all that’s left is a crystalline shell.”
“The so-called ‘Ascension to Godhood’ is a lie!”
A bead of ice crystal formed at Liang Lai’s fingertip, but at the moment it took shape, it turned an eerie dark red.
Liang Lai’s finger gently traced the glowing words on the parchment, the second pair of golden pupils trembling uneasily beneath her eyelids.
She took a deep breath, and, following the book’s instructions, laid both hands flat on the page.
“Emotional Crystal, materialize…”
She closed her eyes, recalling the soul-tearing fear she’d felt saving Dolosa today.
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed deep within her chest, as if thorns were sprouting across her heart’s surface.
When she opened her eyes again, she found a dark red crystal suspended in her palm.
Inside, twisted black mist was sealed—the very fear she had felt then.
“Did I succeed?”
The crystal suddenly shattered, and the black mist seeped into her fingertips like threads.
Liang Lai’s vision was instantly drowned in blood-red.
Countless fragments of memory surged in like a tide:
—Dolosa curled up in the corner of the Underground Sanctuary, her wrists bloodied from the chains;
—Pope Alphonse VII standing before the Crystal Crown, his chest hollow and empty;
—On a certain moonlit night, the original Third Saintess Liang Lai hid this Note in a vase, black markings already crawling up the back of her neck…
“Cough!”
Liang Lai suddenly collapsed to her knees, coughing up blood laced with crystalline shards.
The words on the page began to frantically rearrange themselves, revealing new content:
“Beginner Practice: Emotional Projection”
- Select a single emotion (starting with protective desire is recommended)
- Imagine the emotion as a tangible thread
- Lock onto the target object with your pupils
- When releasing, silently recite ‘Solidify’
She wiped the blood from her lips, her gaze landing on the white rose on the windowsill.
Remembering how Dolosa had trembled in her arms, a warm current surged from her heart to her eyes.
Golden dust fell from her eyelashes, condensing on the petals into a fine crystal armor.
“So this is… the defensive form of an Emotional Crystal?”
The pages suddenly flipped to the middle, exposing a spine-chilling illustration:
A white-haired girl pierced through by black roots, the ends of which were connected to countless agonized human faces.
Beside it, the following notes were written:
“Warning: Each use will accelerate assimilation”
“When the crystallization coverage exceeds 30%, you will become one of ‘them’”
“And most importantly, do not lose your own emotions”
Liang Lai’s fingertip brushed over the illustration, finding a line of small characters on the back:
“If one day you see colored crystals drifting in the air, stop using your ability immediately—that is Crown Malice, it is hunting.”
Footsteps sounded outside the window.
Liang Lai swiftly closed the Note, but in the final second, saw new blood-red words appear on the front page:
“Beware of Asterys’s shadow. That child carries Claudious’s scent. She’s being used—she’s a good child.”
Her Crystalization Ability flickered in her palm, this time turning into a warning deep blue.
“Creak~”
Just then, the door made a noise.
Liang Lai reacted instantly, stuffing the notebook into the drawer and shutting it quickly.
A fluffy white head popped in, followed by a sweet, syrupy voice drifting into Liang Lai’s ears.
“Mama~ you really are here~”
It was Delucia.
Behind her, Asterys hugged a toy bear, looking at Liang Lai with a mixture of shyness and obsession.
Liang Lai’s body went stiff.
Because she seemed to see Asterys’s shadow writhing.
Yet Delucia was standing right in front of her, alive and well.
Only when she herself slipped into someone else’s shadow would that person’s shadow come alive.
But Delucia wasn’t hiding in her sister’s shadow… so who was hiding inside Asterys’s shadow?
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