Lin Gui looked at Eve's current attire.
He then glanced at the slightly crude wooden staff she had found on short notice.
Finally, his gaze fell upon her simple traveler's dress, which looked nothing like a nun's habit.
There was a clear look of doubt in his eyes.
The Holy Saintess of Light in his memory—
...wore luxurious holy robes, a mithril crown, and was enveloped in a soft, inviolable halo.
At a single glance, anyone could tell she held an exalted status, holy and mysterious, making people hold their breath in her presence.
But the Eve before him now...
Though she still possessed a somewhat reserved, elegant air, the mysterious aura that once enveloped her had long since quietly faded through their long journey and shared brushes with death.
At this moment, she looked more like a quiet, intelligent, and occasionally clever ordinary girl.
“Looking like this...” Lin Gui said hesitantly, “will they really believe you're the Saintess?”
Eve did not answer immediately.
She simply smiled, took two steps forward, and stood on a relatively clean patch of ground among the ruins.
Then, she performed a simple action—
She gently closed her eyes.
Lowering her head, her long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes.
Slowly, she raised her hands, crossing them before her chest in prayer.
Her fingertips touched gently, her posture natural and devout.
There were no luxurious robes, no crown, and no attendants.
Yet the moment her hands met, an indescribable aura of serenity quietly spread out, with her at the center.
The Saintess Eve in prayer.
She did not recite any grand, sweeping prayers.
She merely parted her lips and, in an extremely soft yet exceptionally clear voice, began to softly chant the opening passage of the most basic, yet most ancient 《Hymn of Light》.
Her voice was not loud, yet it seemed to carry a peculiar rhythm.
Every syllable was like a drop of fresh dew falling into a silent pond, rippling outward in subtle, tangible waves.
What was even more striking was—
As she chanted, faint wisps of pure, warm light quietly emerged from the gaps between her clasped fingers and the tips of her lowered eyelashes.
The glow was not blinding; it flickered softly, pulsing like breath.
Yet it carried an unquestionable sense of holiness and purity.
The cool moonlight happened to spill through the cracks in the ruins, enveloping her.
It silvered the edges of the faint glow around her body.
The dust in the air seemed to freeze around her.
At this moment, stripped of all external adornments, she revealed a more essential holiness that stemmed from her inner faith.
Peaceful, beautiful, and undeniable.
Even Troy, who was floating nearby, watched in a daze.
Her translucent little mouth fell slightly open, and she forgot to close it.
So...
Luxurious robes and scepters were not needed.
The Saintess herself was the light.
Eve's voice rang out.
It was not a simple recitation, but a long, elegant chant.
Halfway between singing and reciting, every syllable carried a wonderful rhythm and sense of breath.
She used the ancient Language of Light, and the lyrics were not unfamiliar to Lin Gui:
“Light is born of chaos, healing the scars of creation.”
“Guiding the lost to their path, lighting the long night with stars.”
“Comforting the suffering of the mortal world, cleansing the dust from souls.”
“This is where my faith leads, this is where my heart resides...”
This was precisely the opening passage of the 《Basic Hymn of Light》.
As the prayer of the continent's largest church, it was widely spread, and Lin Gui had heard it countless times.
The collective chanting of cathedral nuns was solemn and grand, and the silent prayers of believers were devout and humble.
But compared to Eve's current chanting, they all seemed... dull.
Her voice itself seemed to carry a certain power.
Clear, warm, and penetrating straight to the heart.
Lin Gui unconsciously held his breath.
A gray light flickered in his eyes as he quietly activated the 【Eyes of the Netherworld】.
In his special vision—
The melodies lingering in the air actually transformed into extremely fine, warm golden dust.
They drifted with the song, falling onto Troy nearby.
The little girl's light blue soul outline, which had been slightly fluctuating with fear and showing uneasy edges...
Unexpectedly grew stable and serene at a visible rate.
It was as if she were being gently caressed by an invisible, tender hand.
Even Lin Gui felt a tight string deep within his own heart...
Be quietly touched by the song, relaxing slightly.
This was not just a psychological effect.
Her song...
Was truly soothing the soul.
Eve's song seemed to be carried by an invisible force.
It pierced the deathly silence of the ruins, crossed the broken walls, and slowly drifted through the empty streets and alleys of Blackwater City.
The voice was warm and holy.
Like a trickling warm current, it poured into this land that had been frozen for over a decade.
At first, there was a subtle commotion.
The “residents” hiding in the cracks of the walls, beneath the floorboards, and deep in the shadows peeked out one after another.
They “listened.”
A long-lost, peaceful thrumming echoed from the depths of their souls.
It was the Hymn of Light.
It was their faith from when they were alive, a familiar melody engraved in their memories.
Surprise, curiosity, nostalgia...
Various subtle emotional fluctuations rippled through the invisible network of souls.
The song grew deeper and more elegant.
Like a mother's lullaby soothing her infant.
A few “beings” with relatively solid soul outlines, dressed in old priest robes or nun habits, were the first to be moved.
They “looked” in the direction of the song.
Shock and sudden realization seemed to appear on their blurry faces.
Among them, a ghost resembling an old monk tremblingly “raised” his hand.
He manipulated the glass bead that housed his existence, causing it to float slowly toward the source of the song—the ruined house glowing with a faint light.
He drifted forward slowly and respectfully.
Like the most devout pilgrim.
With the first came a second, a third...
The spirits who had once been believers began to manipulate their “vessel” glass beads, following behind.
Drawn by this silent pull, the other hesitant, watchful ghosts finally left their hiding places as well.
One point, two points...
More and more pale blue points of light emerged from every corner of Blackwater City.
Like a swarm of fireflies startled by a gentle breeze on a summer night.
Slowly but persistently, they converged in the same direction.
Illuminated by the cool moonlight.
Hundreds of faint blue “starlight” drifted across the ruined streets.
Gliding past the withered treetops.
Quietly, they surged toward the small house whose windows leaked a warm, faint glow.
Gathering into a silent and breathtaking river of souls.
The song was as elegant as flowing moonlight.
Inside this abandoned house, every single crack was undergoing a change.
In the cracks of the walls, under the holes in the floor, behind the collapsed beams...
Point after point of pale blue light quietly emerged, condensing like night dew.
These were translucent soul figures.
They shrank back at the edges of the shadows, instinctively fearing Lin Gui's gray-glowing eyes.
Many of the souls clearly trembled and drifted backward upon “seeing” Lin Gui.
But in the next second, their “gaze” was firmly captured by the scene in the center of the room.
Eve remained kneeling on both knees in the cool moonlight.
Her eyes were gently closed, and her hands were clasped before her chest.
A holy glow enveloped her like a veil, rippling gently with her soft chanting.
The light was not blinding, but it carried a warm and pure power.
As if it could dispel the accumulated coldness and anxiety from the depths of their souls.
The ghosts quieted down.
Their fear slowly dissolved, replaced by a long-lost, almost greedy longing.
A longing to draw closer to the light.
A longing to be comforted by the song.
One by one, they drifted out of their hiding spots with extreme caution.
Like moths drawn to a flame.
Silently, devoutly.
They surrounded the kneeling, praying Saintess.
Floating, listening.
Forming a silent, breathtaking ripple composed of souls.
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