Lucien feels something special, unlike anything he's ever felt before, but also something that appears strangely familiar, a primal desire that moves his entire being.
He's felt that sensation before, just with a much lesser intensity, which makes him also find it usual.
Anyway, he loses some of his rationality due to how much intense that desire is and follows the mysterious call to an unknown place, ignoring Lust's warnings and questions.
In his current state, when his conscience is divided, most of his energies, such as demonic energies and the golden energy of Aylin's naginata, lose some of the influence over him, letting that primal desire guide him like a powerful instinct.
And so, his special vision wanders towards the south, precisely towards the Central Region. Just as his conscience quickly reached Tyrion's prison before, it arrives in the most dangerous and mysterious part of the Blue Star in a few seconds.
Lucien can barely see things the way his conscience travels at such extreme speed before arriving in an area where the sea currents begin to swirl circularly, creating a gigantic barrier that crosses the entire Blue Star through the center; that is the Central Region.
That natural barrier doesn't really block things but repels everything with incredible force, which only people above the Immortal Realm middle stages can pass through easily.
However, behind that barrier, the sea is even wilder, and only the most powerful people in the Immortal Realm or those with incredible water affinity could survive.
Yet, since Lucien is not in his physical form, his conscience easily crosses that barrier, ignoring the devastating force of the water.
He had no idea what lay behind the barrier, yet the shock is astonishing when he realizes that the place looks like a gigantic magical world, totally different from the other biomes he saw in the Blue Star so far.
There, the water has a special glow, and Lucien can feel that each drop has a lot of mana, making the creatures in that place grow much stronger than usual.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})And there are many creatures around. Lucien can see fish of all sizes, giant crabs, turtles big as mountains, which make Saria's great turtle look like a baby.
All those creatures inhabit that place peacefully, swimming around what looks like a gigantic vertical tunnel, where there is no apparent end, and gigantic blocks of rock create floating corals while the ocean currents dance madly.
The place looks wonderful and pleasant, but Lucien can feel the powerful auras of those creatures, and such creatures could easily kill anyone below the Immortal Realm.
He also feels even more powerful and hostile auras hiding in the darkest corners of that place, making him instinctively stay alert; it is evident that as Nea said, even the most powerful people in the Immortal Realm are not safe there.
But Lucien doesn't have time to enjoy the view or even find a safe path among so many dangerous creatures; only his special vision is there, and he continues to be attracted by the mysterious calling that takes him downward.
Like a bolt of pure energy, Lucien's conscience passes through everything in front of him like rocks and creatures, and so he continues for a few seconds, covering a few thousand miles.
As Lucien's consciousness travels through the central region of the Blue Star, that mysterious familiar feeling grows stronger, leaving him more confused.
Then, he arrives in front of a giant shell that glows with the most magical shade of blue he's ever seen. He can't discern if that shell is a creature, an object, or something else, but it's evidently in trouble as black spots like those roots in the Mermaid's Fortress are crawling over the shell's surface.
With his vision ability, Lucien can see that all of Tanu's dark magic residue is flowing towards that shell, probably being attracted to the same thing or being that is calling him.
Lucien barely has time to think as the calling grows stronger, and his conscience is drawn into the great shell.
The inside of the shell is even more surprising than the outside as there are walls that look alive but at the same time are like precious gems, shining in different shades of blue.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})There is no furniture around, and the ceiling is also made of gems; the shell looks like a vault, and the real treasure is in the center; It's a rectangular box that somehow looks like a glass coffin.
The coffin idea pops into Lucien's mind as he can see that there is a woman inside the glass box; she has long blue hair and very fair skin.
When Lucien sees that woman, something awakens in his heart; It's bizarre because he's never seen that woman before, yet, she looks as familiar as his sisters.
He tries to approach his vision to the box to see that woman's face, and while he does it, he also looks around. Black stains and roots are crawling across the floor and ceiling of the shell, seeping through its walls and around the glass coffin, clearly trying to reach that woman.
[Who are you???] Lucien can't help but wonder as his vision finally arrives in the glass coffin.
He's sure he's never seen that woman before when he looks closely at her face; she's beautiful as a fairy, and despite her eyes closed, Lucien doesn't believe he could forget such a beautiful woman.
She has a gentle countenance, thin blue eyebrows, a slim and delicate nose, rosy lips, and a lovely chin. She appears human due to her limbs, but there are small, delicate gills on her neck, which could be effects of the fish herb Lucien uses to breathe underwater or hybrid traits.
The mystery woman appears to be in a deep sleep as she wears a blue and white dress that doesn't cover much of her body. That dress looks like it's made of a magical, scaly material; It is also very similar to the Mermaids style and even has a fishtail at the end.
As he watches that woman, Lucien feels emotions he is unaware of, growing stronger and leaving him more confused. Emotions like affection, love, and tenderness reach a peak, and then, he feels a sharp pain pierce his heart, something that comes from nowhere and reaches everywhere.
[What the...] In the midst of so much pain and confusion, Lucien loses control of his vision ability, and his conscience is instantly taken back to his body.
He realizes what is happening and gets even more upset to be taken away from that woman, especially when she seems to be in need of help due to dark mana invading her space.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})[No, no, no... not now!!] He tries to regain control of his vision ability, but it's too late; he still doesn't know how to use such an ability properly and has his conscience sent back even faster.
He doesn't see that woman anymore, but that sharp pain is still with him, making his heart bleed without any sense. [No, no, no... not now...] He keeps repeating words that pop into his mind.
"LUCIEN?!?!" Then he hears Lust's voice again, echoing loudly along with other familiar voices.
"Lucien??? Lucien????? What happened???? Lucien, are you okay??!?!?" Everyone looks panicked, including Envy and Nea.
He feels a lot of pain, and his body refuses to react in any way. But Lust opens his eyes, even though it makes him feel even more pain, mainly due to the light.
"I... I'm fine..." He has trouble speaking as he tries to deal with so many confusing feelings and that strange pain. His eyes look wet, and his face even more. "Wha... what happened?"
"You stopped responding..." Lust speaks in a worried tone; in fact, she is very agitated that she has been unable to communicate with Lucien even for a minute.
"You told us about the Siren and her dark spell..." Sloth starts to explain as Lust can't speak and just hugs Lucien tightly while crying. "You said that the Siren discovered your presence, and so you were going to come back, but..."
"LUCIEN!!!" Saria can't control her emotions and also starts crying before jumping over him, trying to hug him along with Lust.
"Hey, calm down, girls..." He hugs both the crying ladies as he tries to understand what's going on. "I'm fine, you see."
He notices Nea and Envy gazing at him with concerned expressions and then turns his attention to Sloth, who continues to explain. "Well, you mentioned a mysterious calling and that you had to see what it was, and… you stopped responding us, physically and mentally."
"That's not all..." Nea speaks in an affectionate and concerned tone. "As the girls tried to talk to you... your eyes... you started to cry, I think, and then... blood... blood flowed from your eyes, like tears of pain..."
Lucien has his hands busy by hugging Lust and Saria, so they try to control themselves and gently begin wiping the blood from his eyes and face.
"What the hell..." He can't help but think aloud as it all seems too crazy, even for his unusual experiences.
"And you found it??" Envy quickly asks. She's worried for Lucien's safety but also curious as to what resulted in that.
He breathes a little, relieved as that mysterious pain fades, so he tries to think of everything he's seen. "My conscience was taken to a place behind a barrier of sea currents... a giant shell, and... a woman in a glass coffin."
"A woman?" Nea asks. "What was she like??"
"Long blue hair... pale skin..." Lucien begins to describe the mysterious woman, and again good feelings grow in his heart; Lust and the Mermaids notice that, which makes them confused and curious.
And the more he talks about that woman, the more Nea's expression changes, and soon she becomes very agitated. "Did you see her eyes?? What color were they???"
"Her eyes? I didn't see them; she was sleeping... I guess." And she explains.
Now it's his turn to be curious, as are the Sins, and Envy is the first to question Nea. "What aren't you telling us???"
Even Saria has no idea what put her mother in that state, so they look at each other before Nea speaks. "I think that woman might be the Water Spirit."
"The Water Spirit???" Lust does not hide her angry tone. She's actually furious because she hates to see Lucien in a dangerous situation when she can't do anything, so she's naturally already upset with the possible woman who put him in such a situation.
Sloth, on the other hand, makes a thoughtful expression. "Another Primordial? Hmm..."
"What do you mean by another??" Nea quickly asks.
"That's a long story..." Lucien speaks calmly, but he can't hide that he's apprehensive either. "Now, we have to go to that place."
"What?!?" Lust is clearly against that. "Do you want to run towards a woman who has just put you in danger???"
"That wasn't her fault." He quickly responds. "She is in danger; the dark energy is flowing towards her; she is helpless, needing my help."
Envy also doesn't think they should rush towards the mystery woman without thinking. "How can it be that way? I mean, if she really is the Water Spirit, it's not a Siren's spell that's going to hurt her."
"He might be right..." Nea speaks in a sorry tone. "If it really is the Water Spirit, she could be weak, and it's my fault..."
Lucien manages to get to his feet again and kisses Lust's lips before looking into her eyes. "Anyway, I know I must go to that woman... I need to help her... it's my duty!"
"How can this be your duty??" She tries to persuade him. "You don't even know her!"
"I know, this is weird…" He smiles. "But somehow, I know I owe it to her… it's like a primal instinct, something that goes against reason, but somehow, I know it's right."
