Sylvia and Acheron rested in silence for a while.
Once Sylvia's expression had settled back to normal, Acheron spoke again: "Shall we continue?"
"Uh…"
Sylvia was caught off guard, but after a moment's thought, she nodded and agreed.
And then she got beaten up all over again.
Once more, she sank into the power of Nihility, unable to pull herself free.
This time, Acheron wasn't just watching Sylvia's condition.
She also removed the glove from her own left hand.
--+--
It wasn't long before Sylvia's ring shimmered with light once more, pulling her back from the grip of Nihility.
If it had only happened once, it could have been a coincidence—but considering her own situation, and now Sylvia breaking free from Nihility's influence twice in a row, each time accompanied by that gleam from the ring…
Acheron began to suspect that the ring Sylvia had given her might possess some kind of unusual power.
What's more, Acheron had tested it herself just now, and found that the ring on her own finger produced the same effect.
This power truly could oppose Nihility.
As she reached that conclusion, even Acheron's eyes—usually still and deep as an abyss—flickered with a faint tremor.
As for Sylvia, now conscious again…
She was starting to feel that something was off about her own state. Twice in a row, just as she was on the verge of being completely swallowed, she had abruptly broken free. This ability might not seem like much, but at a critical moment, it could save her life.
"Sylvia, how did it feel that time?"
"Same as before, really. It was like a few points of light flashed, and then—sudden clarity."
"Just before you broke free from Nihility's influence, your ring reacted."
"Probably a coincidence…"
"Is that so?"
As she answered, Sylvia naturally noticed Acheron's gaze fixed on the ring.
Could Acheron really believe the ring had done something?
No way. Absolutely no way.
After all, when the System gave it to her, it clearly stated that this pair of rings were just ordinary trinkets.
Even if there was some connection, Sylvia preferred to believe the ring was simply showing special effects—and that the real work was being done by something else.
Like a Herrscher core.
I mean, we already have a glowing greatsword toy, what's one more little ring trinket?
At the very least, Sylvia completely refused to believe the ring had any other use.
Beyond automatically resizing to fit one's finger, expecting anything more from it was pointless. She'd have better luck hoping Acheron would go a little easier on her during these training sessions.
But judging by Acheron's attitude, she seemed to be thinking that the ritual they'd performed, and the ring Sylvia gave her at the end, carried some kind of power.
And she deliberately brought up 'Nihility'…
Does she also think her sense of taste came back because of me?
That thought gave Sylvia a serious headache.
She already felt bad enough about tricking Acheron into that wedding ceremony—sometimes she'd wake up in the middle of the night and scold herself over it.
If Acheron started believing the changes in her were all because of that slapdash marriage ceremony and this pair of rings…
That would be just despicable.
Accepting goodwill built on that? She'd probably wake up in the middle of the night and slap herself twice over.
Considering Acheron was scheduled to appear in the story soon, maybe some twist of fate was originally set to happen around this time anyway.
"That's really all there is to it. If the rings had any special power, I would've told you. This kind of ritual only works for me. And even in the ceremony, the rings are just symbolic."
Feeling a pang of guilt, Sylvia glanced at Acheron, who sat quietly stroking her ring finger, and couldn't help adding one more explanation.
But Acheron only lifted her gaze and smiled gently.
Her violet eyes, like thawing ice, held an unusual charm as she looked into Sylvia's own.
"Mm, I know."
"…"
What do you know?! What exactly do you think you know?!
Sylvia pressed her lips together, speechless.
She really wanted to explain clearly to Acheron—the ring she'd given her was just an ordinary ring! Her System said so, so how could it be wrong?
Heck, her newbie quest rewards had even been downgraded—it wasn't like the System would hold back on giving her good stuff.
But now, looking into Acheron's eyes…
She could hardly believe the woman in front of her was the same cold, detached Acheron. She almost thought it was Mei sitting across from her.
Oh, this is bad.
Sylvia started to feel that in this situation, the more she explained, the more it sounded like an excuse.
Why was Acheron so fixated on this pair of rings, anyway? Just because they flashed a couple of times?
It made no sense. The real problem was, she couldn't verify it—she couldn't see the ring glow, didn't feel any special power; it was all just Acheron's word. Based on that alone, it was hard for Sylvia to calmly accept such a huge credit.
So Sylvia maintained her stance, firmly denying it.
Acheron, however, chose to yield and didn't argue further.
In her eyes, perhaps this was just Sylvia's awkward way of being kind.
Was she being indirect? Or was she worried Acheron might not accept the ring if she knew its true significance?
What could the meaning behind this ring and the ritual really be?
Acheron couldn't help but wonder—after dealing with the Stellaron, should she part ways with Sylvia?
She grew more and more tangled.
The ring had something special about it.
Of that, Acheron was now certain.
But its limits, whether it could be depleted, if it needed recharging… all that was still unknown.
Even if its power was temporary, though, Acheron already felt deeply grateful.
She'd never imagined that a chance encounter during her endless journey would bring such a surprise.
It had been a long time since she'd felt emotions surge like this.
Acheron collected herself, feeling somewhat flustered, and turned her thoughts back to Sylvia.
Their method of using Path energy to train Sylvia was basically useless now.
After all, every time Sylvia was about to be lost, she was pulled back in an instant. Without the tempering of that negative state, the effect was greatly reduced.
But on the other hand… if it could even resist the power of Nihility, then perhaps it could also resist a Stellaron's corruption?
She wasn't sure, but it was something to hope for.
And before that…
Acheron pulled out her phone.
It had been so, so long since she'd last wanted to hold onto a memory, to not forget someone.
Having long grown accustomed to ignoring any form of recording device, Acheron once again felt the desire to capture moments through videos and photos.
--+--
While Acheron was lost in thought, Sylvia was equally caught in her own dilemma.
She had no idea why Acheron had fallen into this strange assumption, and she didn't like this kind of goodwill that felt built on a deception.
Maybe it'd be better to seek out the Stellaron soon and then go her separate way.
She couldn't keep up with this deception.
Once they spent some time apart, maybe Acheron would realize none of this had anything to do with Sylvia.
After all, by all accounts, Acheron was… how many years old, exactly? Maybe because of Nihility, she was just unusually emotional about this right now.
Once her feelings settled, she'd probably understand.
Acheron was the type whose outside was cold, but inside, she was warm. She seemed icy, spoke little, but in truth, she was gentle, beautiful, and incredibly strong.
Who wouldn't like someone like that?
Plus, Acheron had helped her so much along the way.
Sylvia really didn't want their relationship to be built on this kind of false favorability.
That wedding she'd tricked her into had just been a ploy to scam the System.
Sylvia didn't plan to reveal what it meant—as long as Acheron didn't know, it was just a joke.
Now, Sylvia genuinely wanted to be Acheron's friend.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.