Chapter 1086: Chapter 422: There is No Regret Medicine in the World

Gray couldn’t help but lean closer, cautiously asking, “Can I… touch you?”

To her, the scene was simply too overwhelming.

This was a posture remarkably close to that of the Candle Master and the Candle Celestial Marshal–

“Feel free.”

Aiwass said gently, lowering his head slightly.

His upper body, apart from the pope’s ceremonial robe, was encased only in a thin white shirt.

At the moment, it was stretched almost to the limit by Aiwass’ expanded frame. The buttons on the front of the shirt were left undone, revealing the black markings on his abdomen.

“Forgive my intrusion.”

Gray apologized as she extended her hand without hesitation to lightly touch Aiwass’ antlers.

The antlers felt smooth and warm, like polished jade, and exuded a comforting heat. Simply touching them produced an emotion akin to sipping a perfectly brewed cup of hot tea in the wintertime.

“… Is this the Illumination Art? And the Fire Rite Skill?”

As the Eternal Saintess, Gray was naturally well-versed in the techniques of illumination and fire rites.

The moment her fingers made contact with those antlers, she keenly sensed the fusion of energies belonging to these two arts.

Their divine traits were activated naturally, without the need to channel mana.

Even if the antlers were detached and severed, they would likely retain their divine traits–mere contact with them could swiftly heal any injuries or diseases. Simply wearing them would be sufficient to maintain eternal youth, perpetual vigor, and boundless vitality.

Without undergoing any further refinement, they were already materials of “Divine Artifact” grade. Even within mythological tales, such treasures could serve as cherished possessions for heroes.

Next, Gray touched the black markings on Aiwass’ body.

Unlike the soft, glowing, warm-textured white fur, the markings were entirely sunken in. Gray carefully pressed one with her fingers, only to feel a slightly familiar yet astonishing texture.

She raised her head, uncertain, and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“… It does?”

Aiwass seemed unsure himself.

This was, after all, his first time transforming into the mythical creature known as the “Sin Beast,” and he possessed no prior understanding of it.

It appeared to resemble some kind of half-deer, half-human monstrosity… or perhaps could also be considered a “Pure Deer Man.”

When Gray touched the black markings, Aiwass distinctly felt pain.

The sensation was akin to the raw sting of an open wound, fresh and still bleeding, being pressed and manipulated.

Soon, blood began seeping from the black marking that Gray had touched.

“So these are actually wounds…”

Aiwass realized abruptly.

His thoughts shifted, and accompanied by an intense rippling pain of flesh tearing, thorns began to sprout from the black markings one by one.

Dripping with fresh blood, the thorns grew and fell to the ground, instantly transforming into fine sparks of fire and burning.

The thorny vines wound around Aiwass’ body, eerily resembling the form of the Candle Master!

With Aiwass’ intent, the thorns intertwined to form two wings; then they unraveled and turned into a semi-armor of vines; subsequently, they shifted again into quill-like spikes that pointed outward like the protective shell of a hedgehog.

… So this was the ability to “freely manipulate the Sin Thorns.”

With a thought from Aiwass, the thorns bloomed into pure white flowers one after another.

They were exactly like the flowers that had grown in his eyes when he ascended to the Fourth Level, except that this time the flowers did not wilt and transform into dates, remaining in a perpetually blooming state.

Soon, a peculiar fragrance emanated from Aiwass’ body–Gray suddenly felt her mind becoming tranquil, and all her worries, anxieties, and distractions faded away in an instant.

“This is… Carefree Lily!”

Gray finally recognized the source of the aroma: “So they grow on the Sin Thorns…”

Upon hearing the name again after so long, Aiwass immediately understood.

They were rare flowers that only bloomed in areas where the Dream Realm intersected with the Material Realm.

When processed into essential oils, they could be used to create the mythical potion “Forget-Love Elixir” favored by witches.

Unlike the “Love Elixir,” this potion could cause one to forget their love for others. However, compared to the targeted nature of the Love Elixir, the Forget-Love Elixir was far more ruthless–it couldn’t precisely erase affection for one specific individual but would instead indiscriminately eliminate all emotional attachments.

While one would retain the memories of the past, drinking this potion would render them incapable of “connecting” their memories to themselves–that is, they could no longer “identify” with their memories. Witches, with their relentless pursuit of desires, were far crueler than fairies. If someone they fell in love with already had another partner, and attempts to sever the bond proved futile, they would resort to erasing the rival’s “love” entirely with this rare potion.

But Aiwass knew of this substance for another reason.

–Carefree Lily was also the main ingredient in Washing Water!

Aiwass had assumed that this world didn’t possess Washing Water.

After all, the production of Carefree Lily was entirely controlled–it only appeared during special events, such as the “Dream Realm Corrosion Phenomenon” activity that opened early in new versions, or was sporadically accessible during mid-patch cycles. However, he had never heard of such events here.

Those events were limited-time instances that lasted for a week, granting players one chance per day to enter a rift and fight elite monsters, earning a set quantity of Carefree Lily each day. Collecting thirty-three lilies allowed for the creation of one bottle of Washing Water. Typically, players could acquire roughly three and a half bottles during the event, enough to reset unwanted traits from one Path specialization–adequate to remove a full profession path given each profession advanced every three levels.

Drinking three bottles at Fourth Level would regress one back to the First Level, even allowing them to reset a basic profession entirely, as the First Level profession change required no Washing Water. At Fifth Level, drinking two bottles could regress to the Third Level, enabling the re-selection of a profession.

If the ideal Path traits failed to manifest across all three resets, purchasing Washing Water from the in-game store became the only option.

But the in-game prices were exorbitant–the No-Face God Studio charged a dollar per lily. Still, with the generous yield from free methods, necessary items had a value of at least several hundred dollars per version without spending a penny, leading many players to defend the developer…

If anyone in this world had possibly heard of Washing Water, it would likely be Gray.

“–Have you heard of the ‘Regret Medicine’?”

Aiwass asked Gray, “A divine potion crafted from Carefree Lily.”

“That’s the medicine invented by Akpolis, isn’t it? The one capable of reversing time, allowing a partial return to the past. It was fairly common before humanity’s creation, but suddenly disappeared later for unknown reasons.”

As expected, Gray did know a bit: “So the medicine also requires Carefree Lily? That wouldn’t be surprising… After all, ever since the rise of the Third Sun, the Dream Realm and the Material Realm have been completely severed. There are no Carefree Lilies in the Material Realm anymore, so the Regret Medicine’s legacy couldn’t possibly survive…”

This also confirmed the existence of Washing Water in this world.

“…Do you know where Akpolis’ formula might be found?”

“Parthia, perhaps. If Akpolis’ formula exists anywhere, Parthia must surely have it.”

Gray replied, then turned to Aiwass: “Your Holiness, are you looking for the Regret Medicine? If so, the Holy Nation can immediately devote its full efforts to help you search for it… It’s likely that some untouched Regret Medicine from two or three millennia ago still remains in existence.”

“That won’t be necessary for now.”

Aiwass shook his head: “There’s no rush for it…”

For him, neither the chosen traits from past Paths nor the golden trait of Illusory Blood held any substantial value anymore.

He could still use Illusory Blood to shift into the Son of the Moon form, but would have to wait half a month until the mirror image shattered to reset the Path trait’s cooldown.

… However, doing so inevitably reminded him of Aleister.

He could no longer embody Aleister with the carefree abandon he had before.

When “Aleister” ceased being a mere joke and became a person who truly existed… the nature of the matter changed.

Nevertheless, Aiwass remained confident that even if he discarded this Path trait, the Gemini Mirror wouldn’t harbor resentment.

After all, the Gemini Mirror had already witnessed everything it had desired–the false reflection had stepped out of the mirror into reality.

Parthia…

Something stirred in Aiwass’ mind as he recalled the story Cardinal Dominic had told him about Cardinal Belisarius.

Once he had completed Aleister’s creation and resolved the issue of the Fallen Celestial Marshal… it seemed he truly needed to visit.

Fortunately, the Abyssal Celestial Envoy was just suitable to serve as nourishment for the water-aligned Great Beasts.