The cracks were widening, and tiny fragments began to peel away from the edges of the mirror frame.
If she ran now, the mirror might be completely destroyed here, and whether she would be affected was unknown.
Primogem count: 7200…
8000…
9000…!
The mirror’s surface had already begun to distort, and the reflected scene was bizarre and grotesque, as if it would shatter completely at any moment, releasing the violent power accumulated within.
The Bishop seemed completely oblivious to the mirror’s abnormality, instead bowing even more fanatically, shouting hoarsely: “It responded!
The grace of the mother of blood has descended!
More!
Please grant more!!”
Just as Columbina felt the mirror was about to reach its breaking point—perhaps in the very next second—
The Primogem count jumped to 9800!
“Enough!
Quit while I’m ahead!”
Columbina no longer hesitated; the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything else.
She concentrated all her will and fiercely “pressed” the [Return] option!
In the secret room, on the altar.
Under the Bishop’s ecstatic gaze, the mirror, heavily enveloped in blood-red mist, vanished instantly like a pencil mark erased by an eraser.
There was no explosion, no residue, as if it had never existed.
The violently surging blood-red mist lost its target, spinning in a circle at the center of the altar; part of it backlashed into the statue, while another part dissipated out of control.
“Pfft—!”
The fanatical expression froze on his face.
The Bishop suddenly spat out a large mouthful of turbid blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
His aura instantly withered as he stared at the empty altar in disbelief.
And the surface luster of the statue of the mother of blood had also significantly dimmed, as if it had suffered some kind of backlash and depletion.
“No…
impossible!
My mirror!
The gift of the mother of blood!!” He let out a shrill and bewildered wail.
Meanwhile, in Sandrone’s narrow and shabby rental room.
Sandrone, who had just returned from the public toilet and was about to continue thinking about her “money laundering” plan, pushed open the door and habitually scanned the room.
Everything was as usual.
The broken table, the hard wooden bed, the shelves piled with books…
Hmm?
Her deep blue eyes narrowed slightly as she walked to the bedside.
Beside the pillow, there seemed to be a reflection that shouldn’t exist.
She lifted the pillow in confusion. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Lying quietly underneath was a mirror—with a silver frame, inlaid with crystals and tiny diamonds, its surface warm, and the vine and gear carvings were complex and exquisite.
It was the exact same one she had just sold to Old White a few hours ago.
Sandrone froze completely, her pupils shrinking sharply.
A chill rushed from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
She took a sudden step back, her back hitting the cold wall, her fingers instinctively clutching the hem of her clothes.
The mirror…
it came back on its own?
How did it come back?
Countless horrified questions instantly filled her brain, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
The fears about “ghosts” and “nightmares” she had forced down during the day came roaring back with even more ferocity along with this lost-and-found, bizarrely appearing mirror.
On the lunar surface.
The silver mirror floated quietly beside Columbina’s body.
Those tiny cracks on the frame were self-repairing at a slow but surely visible speed, and the disordered luster on the surface gradually calmed, returning to that warm silver-white.
Columbina sat on the lunar soil, rarely failing to maintain her elegant and indifferent posture, instead panting slightly as if she had just experienced an extreme sport.
She looked at the bright number on the system interface:
[Primogems: 9800]
Silence.
Sustained silence.
Beneath her eye mask, those purple eyes that were usually closed now opened slightly into a slit, staring blankly into the Akasha, rarely revealing a hint of emotion approaching sluggishness.
After a full few minutes, she slowly exhaled a non-existent breath of turbid air.
“mother of blood…”
She murmured softly, her ethereal voice carrying a complex emotion of having survived a disaster, “…thank you for the gift.”
(mother of blood: 6)
Columbina shook her head, temporarily casting aside those dangerous images and the memory of almost collapsing.
She refocused her attention on those mesmerizing 9800 Primogems.
“So…”
She used her will to click on the [Wish] interface that had long made her heart itch with anticipation.
On the gorgeous card pool illustration, Arlecchino’s figure remained elegant and dangerous.
“Now, I can…
pull for cards?”
“Thirty pulls,” she said softly, initiating the Wish with her will.
Ripples rose on the mirror surface, starlight-like special effects flowed, and rewards were presented in a form she could perceive.
The results were soon out: [2 Glimmer], and…
a character silhouette.
?
Columbina tilted her head, her face beneath the diamond-shaped white eye mask revealing genuine confusion.
Barbara?
That idol deaconess from Mondstadt?
She clicked on the details.
[Barbara Gunnhildr]
Identity: Novice Nun of the Church of the Earth / Choir Member (Surface).
Status: Limited control/command issuance possible, autonomous action possible (follows core doctrine and command priority).
Description: A kind-hearted and helpful young nun.
During an accidental moonlight prayer, her spirituality unexpectedly connected to the new moon, becoming your anchor in this world.
Her faith in you is pure and fervent, and under system conversion, her cognition has been rationally corrected to view you as the hidden ‘Moon Goddess’.
“Church of the Earth?
New Moon Church?”
Barbara’s appearance confirmed that the world this mirror connected to indeed contained Teyvat elements, but the background was clearly a total mess of modifications.
She temporarily put the matter of Barbara aside and checked the [2 Glimmer].
The information showed that this was a universal basic material used for “Advancement,” which could be converted into specific spiritual components required by different Pathways as needed.
However, for the current Columbina, who had neither a clear Advancement Pathway nor even certainty if she needed to “Advance,” it was temporarily just a grey item occupying her inventory.
“Let’s just leave it for now.”
She turned her attention back to another system function: [Faith Worship].
This was a channel to convert Primogems into her own rank, divided from a vague Rank Nine to Rank One.
She currently didn’t even count as the lowest Rank Nine.
After a moment of hesitation, she decided to invest.
A one-time investment of 1600 Primogems.
The Glimmer from the mirror surface poured into her body.
A feeling as if some invisible restraint had been slightly loosened came over her.
The cold aura of the lunar surface seemed a bit clearer, and her control over herself became a little more solid.
The system displayed: [Status Advancement: None → Rank Eight (Faint Existence)].
“It works.”
She felt the change; although the improvement was infinitesimal, the direction was right.
Looking at the remaining 8200 Primogems, she invested another 1000.
A stronger warm current flowed through.
This time, she could clearly feel her body seemed more substantial, and her interaction with the lunar environment was a bit smoother.
[Status Advancement: Rank Eight → Rank Seven (Low-level Existence)].
“That’s about enough, save some for backup.”
She stopped, looking at the remaining 7200 Primogems, feeling much more at ease.
At least she was no longer in an ethereal state.
She switched her perspective back to the mirror’s basic observation function, and the screen automatically locked onto the Contractor, Sandrone.