"If you want to find your mother and save her, stick close to me."

As Renji spoke, Eileen looked at the approaching Crimson Star, feeling a subconscious shiver deep within her soul. The Tainted Miasma's red mist, now dancing wildly in the air around the furnace, was clearly visible to anyone who wasn't blind.

It felt as if they were approaching an abyssal pit of fire, and what she was doing now was following the young man straight into it.

Eileen responded to Renji through her actions.

The girl clenched her teeth, overcoming the deep-seated fear in her soul, propelled only by sheer determination. Step by step, she followed the shadow of the young man ahead, never straying even an inch from him.

It wasn't just her obsession with saving her mother; there was something more, something deeper that she couldn't articulate—perhaps a streak of stubbornness. She didn't want to "fall behind" and lose sight of Renji.

Twenty meters. Ten meters. Five meters.. .

As the distance between Renji and the Crimson Star shortened with each step, the frequency of its tremors increased, and the bursts of Tainted Miasma became more and more violent. It seemed as if every vibration it made caused the hearts of everyone in the factory to throb painfully.

One meter.

Finally, the trembling of the Crimson Star reached its peak. In an instant, everyone at the scene, including Eileen who was trailing behind Renji, was enveloped in severe dizziness.

Eileen felt as if her heart might explode at any second. Blood rushed to her head; a buzzing noise filled her ears; her throat seemed to constrict, suffocating her almost to the point of fainting.

This was Tainted Miasma.

Grade B item.

And all of this lasted until—

Thud!*

Crash!*

First came a sound like a heavy object being hit, followed by the sound of shattering. After these two sounds, all the discomfort disappeared, along with the spreading red mist that seemed to vanish as if it were an illusion.

So when everyone finally caught their breath, as if emerging from drowning, nobody could believe what they were seeing.

Ajax, the leader of Callewa, stood still as if turned to stone. Dr. Roca beside him was even more dramatic, rubbing his eyes and even slapping himself hard on the face.

Slap!*

But the pain on his cheek told him that this was not an illusion.

What was happening was real!

What they saw was—

At the core of the furnace, the protective barrier shielding the "Crimson Star" had shattered, creating a large opening. And the culprit behind this breach was none other than the young man whom they had placed so much hope in just a half-minute ago.

Of course, that wasn't the real point.

The point was—

The young man extended a hand and grasped the Crimson Star within the protective shield.

He grasped it.

He held this terrifying Grade B tainted item in the palm of his hand, a relic of the "Great Emperor" that the people of Callewa had been carefully researching for decades. They had even built an entire secret factory just to preserve and house it.

And from the young man's expression, it appeared as if what he had just done was as normal as eating or drinking—just an ordinary, trivial action.

Thud*

Dr. Roca's reaction was the most pronounced. He collapsed, falling to his knees, staring transfixed at Renji. His eyes locked onto the object in Renji's hands—the Crimson Star transformed from the volatile object about to explode moments ago into something as docile as a kitten.

At that moment, Roca felt as if something shattered inside his mind.

His worldview, honed over decades, was falling apart.

'Simply... Just like that? '

The so-called "Crimson Star"—oh, pardon me, its proper designation should be used now—

-[Eclipse Source Essence (Damaged)]

- [Quality: ★★★★☆ (Disaster Rank)]lightsnovel

- [Rarity: Epic]

- [Effect: Increases one star in rank for an Eclipse with four stars or below]

- [Tainted Deviation: A 60% chance of failure when applied to a four-star Eclipse, reducing their rank by one star; a 40% chance of awakening a 'unique' skill when applied to a three-star or lower Eclipse]

-[(Those insects who imprisoned it. Those filthy rats who stripped power from it. It yearns to make them pay a terrible price)]

-[(Dismember them! Tear their souls apart! Carve up those vile bodies and crush them! It wants to unleash its pent-up rage that has been silenced for 500 years!)]

In Fallen Chronicles, the [Eclipse Source Essence] is a rare and precious item, as evidenced by its effects. It is a valuable "Star-raising" item.

No Eclipser is born a six-star. Even Renji, who had perfectly completed the first playthrough, only had a wife with a talent as high as five and a half stars, the succubus demon "Lena"

Suthia, the one with the lowest talent and Renji's earliest companion, started at just four stars.

But the reason they could all eventually become top-tier six-star "Calamity Rank" Eclipses was due to Renji continually feeding them Eclipse Source Essence to unlock their potential and gradually increase their star ratings.

Of course, not all Eclipse Source Essences are created equal. The higher the stars you wish to ascend to, the higher the quality and quantity of Essence required.

This particular Source Essence was excavated from the Relic Cave. In the timeline of the first playthrough, this area was part of Renji's early exploration phase, and naturally, the items stored wouldn't be too powerful.

The Source Essence in Renji's hand now belonged to the lowest tier, capable of elevating only four-star or lower Eclipses.

Moreover, it looked like..

Renji read through the additional content of "Tainted Deviation" once more, and the reason for the current situation became clear at a glance.

A word "damaged" was added next to the Essence, and holding it in his hand, Renji could feel the dwindling force within. Perhaps less than forty percent remained? That explained the increased instability factor.

Also, Renji glanced at the bottom of the panel, at the words within the parentheses. Normally, these are part of video games to provide background stories and history of the equipment or items to players. And now.. well.

It wasn't just the text; he could also vaguely sense the anger and resentment the Essence was emanating.

All this seemed to outline for Renji what this Essence had gone through in the five hundred years he was gone.

And now, it had finally returned to its true master's hands.

Someone could finally unleash its true power.

All it wanted to do now was one thing.

Revenge!

However, the Essence was not a weapon or similar equipment; it was merely an ascension item. So its method of revenge could only be through one channel.

historical

Eclipse.

This Essence had already sensed the presence of someone nearby who bore the master's "Contract"

Only those with the Emperor's "Contract" were qualified, worthy, and permitted to use it.

Renji sighed.

Perhaps this was the difference between games and reality. In the game, he could remain calm, analyzing benefits from a Player's-eye view, making every step maximize gains without wasting any resources.

But at this moment, holding the "Crimson Star," Renji turned around under everyone's gaze.

And when he saw the stubborn girl still following him, who didn't retreat due to the recent outburst of Tainted Miasma, Renji shook his head.

lightsΝοvel He now seemed to understand why Eileen's "Luck" attribute was initially ranked as E.

'So, should she be considered lucky or unlucky?'

But no matter what, since Eileen had persisted to this point and followed him, he owed her this chance. It was something the young girl deserved, something she had fought for.

So, Renji stared into the girl's eyes and quietly asked:

"Eileen."

"Do you desire power?"