"Give her to me."
Viego's eyes were filled with longing, but Caleb still did not extend his hand.
"Before that, there are a few things I want to ask you."
The "ancient ornament" appeared in Caleb's hand, but he was also ready to put it back into his system inventory at any moment.
Earlier, at the Dredge, Caleb had taken this thing out with the mentality of giving it a try.
He had not expected the other party to actually react to it.
How could Viego possibly fail to remember this object? This was the first gift he had ever given Isolde.
And yet it was in this boy's hands. Why?
Viego was no longer willing to think about that. The other party seemed to possess the ability to hide this object instantly.
The Ruined King's power was extremely strong, but Caleb's ability to make an entire object impossible to detect in a single instant also made Viego extremely wary.
Because of that, both sides maintained their unspoken understanding.
Caleb did not stop Viego from searching for the keepsakes, and Viego also reduced the pressure of his attacks on the Twin Cities to the lowest possible level.
It was precisely this silent cooperation between the two sides that made the Twin Cities' losses during this Black Mist almost nonexistent.
With that shift in balance, the Twin Cities would likely have even more of an advantage in future trade.
However, all of that would have to wait until the incident with the Ruination was over.
Strands of soul flowed out of Senna's body, and the same process was happening to Gwen.
Before long, the lives of those two would probably be completely severed.
On the other side of the portal, thousands upon thousands of undead were fighting alongside Lucian, trying to pass through Karma and Pantheon to reach the other side of the gate.
However, no matter how hard they tried, those two shields were as indestructible as ever.
"Now Akshan won't be able to get through either…"
No matter how many Sentinels of Light came, in the end, they were only enhanced humans above T3.
Even if their numbers had improved, with Senna and Gwen, the two strongest among them, absent, the pressure on their offense was practically infinite.
Even Caleb had already placed the Darkin possessing him on the ground. No one knew what he was doing.
"What?"
Thresh's expression looked extremely ugly, even though his head was only a skull and did not actually have expressions to speak of.
However, judging by the aura around him, Thresh's current mood was clearly in extreme disorder.
"Damn it… Where did he get that thing?"
Thresh remembered very clearly that he had destroyed the soul inside the jewelry, then placed a portion of the soul he had created into his lantern.
When Senna emerged from it, she had naturally brought with her the soul fragment Thresh wanted her to carry.
But who could have known where Caleb had obtained that ancient jewelry? Had he somehow fished it out of the sea?
And even if he had fished it out, how could he have pieced together those soul fragments from somewhere else?
Caleb could feel the soul fragment in his hand growing restless as well.
After wandering the mortal world for so long, Isolde was finally about to appear in her most complete spiritual form.
Viego's eyes were filled with longing. At this moment, whatever request Caleb made, he would likely agree to it without hesitation.
"Hurry! Give her to me!"
Viego's eyes were filled with longing. He had labored for so long, his consciousness still refusing to scatter, and he could still maintain such immense power.
After a search that had lasted a thousand years, his beloved was finally about to return to his embrace.
Yet the battle on the other side of the gate continued, and had even entered its most intense stage.
This originally calm stretch of the hall had instead fallen into a deadlock.
Caleb had no intention of handing over the ornament in his hand. Instead, he was thinking about what he could do.
For the moment, Caleb did not plan to hand over the soul fragment inside it.
"Just answer a few questions for me."
"Quickly."
After waiting a thousand years, Viego was not so impatient that he could not wait this little while.
"Why did you only awaken after a thousand years?"
"Learning Ochnun, searching for Isolde's soul fragments… There were many things I had to do."
"By the time the opportunity on this side arrived, a thousand years had already passed in the world."
"What exactly is the principle behind the Ruination?"
"It is the realm of the dead corroding the material realm."
Caleb had not expected that the Ruined King had actually studied for so long for the sake of his beloved.
This truly was a case of true love moving everything.
From the look of it, Viego had not simply slept while waiting to awaken. Instead, he had constantly prepared in the realm of the dead, searching for Isolde in preparation for his reincarnation.
Was this prince not supposed to have been a spoiled wastrel before?
It seemed love really could change a person in many ways.
Caleb had also not expected this guy, who completely clashed with his character setting, to have an unknown side to him.
Thresh wanted to help the Sentinels of Light outside the gate, so even if he explained himself, he definitely had his own scheme.
After thinking for a moment, Caleb still threw the ring over.
He could not delay any longer. Viego's side had almost complete combat superiority, and the two guarding the gate would not let them through easily.
However, as time passed, the triangular wound on Pantheon grew more and more illusory, until only a faint phantom remained.
"Go! Now!"
Pantheon roared unwillingly, then transformed into a soul and flew into the sky.
Atreus's consciousness finally returned to the world, and all of the Aspect of War's power now belonged to him.
The glowing spear pierced through the shield Karma had given herself, and Draven, who held his spinning axes, and Sarah, who held her twin pistols, were both sent flying by one strike of his shield.
"No time to explain! Hurry!"
Caleb glanced behind him, then looked at the Ruined King, who was focused on piecing together the soul fragments.
The spear flew toward Caleb at high speed, while a thread formed from blood connected Yaanogel and Caleb together.
When Viego saw Isolde, that would be the moment when his guard was at its weakest.
When that time came, Caleb would unleash his most violent attack and shatter Viego completely, together with Isolde's soul fragments.
However, at that very moment, the hook and the monsters in the Black Mist changed targets again and launched a fierce assault on the Sentinels of Light.
Thresh, who had inexplicably helped the Sentinels of Light, was now rushing toward Viego on the other side at full speed.
If he could not… if he could not shatter Viego's obsession!
Then all of his plans were destined to fall apart!
That was also the reason Thresh had helped the Sentinels of Light break through the portal, even if it meant turning against Viego.
The soul fragment he had imitated could only serve as a replacement when the original fragment was absent.
But even that replacement effect would have been enough to destroy Viego's obsession with finding Isolde.
Once Viego was sealed away by the Sentinels of Light, the vast majority of the Shadow Isles' power would belong to Thresh, and he would be able to break free from this layer of restraints on his body.
He could show his true face to the world and rule the Shadow Isles!
But because of that person, because of that mere human!
All of it was about to become impossible!
Looking at the figure ahead who was gathering power and waiting to strike, Thresh grew even more furious.
It was all because of Caleb. The thing most important to Thresh had not entered Isolde's spiritual body.
What had replaced it was Isolde's "love" for Viego.
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