The Silver Touch and a Demon God’s Secrets

The very name, Silver Touch, hinted at an extraordinary divine artifact. Its remarkable properties, once revealed, allowed X to surmise that it functioned as a barrier, capable of shielding against most material and spiritual influences, akin to a powerful ward. Its specific effect bore a striking resemblance to the dramatic concept of the fourth wall, yet it differed profoundly. Rather than a character breaking the fourth wall to interact with an audience, the Silver Touch allowed an unseen observer, or perhaps a higher entity, to seamlessly integrate into the world without detection.

Moreover, its lack of any demanding level requirement meant that anyone could don it, thereby acquiring a veneer of mortality and becoming utterly unremarkable, all while possessing impressive spiritual resistance. However, this spiritual resistance, an attribute most effective against otherworldly invaders, would go entirely unnoticed by ordinary individuals.

From this perspective, the Silver Touch truly appeared to be nothing more than a useless trinket for the common person, unless, of course, they were a scheming veteran intent on feigning weakness to ambush stronger prey. Indeed, only certain Outer Gods might require such an item, enabling them to infiltrate other realms, disguised as powerless mortals, to commit illicit deeds.

Then, X noticed something amiss.

Could it be that the ordinary humans around her were, in fact, imposters wearing the Silver Touch?

A shiver of dread ran through X.

If such a possibility held true, then might the peculiar individuals from Project Guiding Light also be extraterrestrials, lurking on Earth, disguised by some form of perception-altering equipment?

X had long suspected that their behavior was far from human. They exhibited extreme cruelty towards humanity, yet approached their plans with an unnerving rationality, almost never making a mistake. Furthermore, even when confronted with a stunningly beautiful girl like X, they displayed no tenderness or appreciation for her charm, treating her merely as a convenient tool to be carelessly exploited.

In her estimation, no human, male or female, could possibly remain indifferent to her beauty. They had to be aliens cloaked in human skin. No, they were minions of the Outer Gods!

Gloria, however, paid no heed to X’s thoughts, which had already spiraled into the furthest reaches of the cosmos; the girl’s mind was always excessively nimble in the most peculiar ways. Once her blade was drawn, there was no turning back.

“Gloria-chan, you’re squandering a divine treasure!” X exclaimed, snapping out of her reverie, watching in horror as Gloria mercilessly sheared off a corner of the delicate gauze, as if it were not her clothing but a discarded plastic bag. Yet, in X’s eyes, this was a genuine divine artifact! It was something countless mortals, even over a lifetime, could never touch, let alone glimpse. But Gloria, with utter nonchalance, wielded her blade, treating the artifact as if it were nothing.

Swish—

The falling silver threads, like strands of soft, flowing hair, danced in the wind before gradually vanishing into the spiritual mist.

Concurrently, Gloria’s appearance underwent a subtle transformation. Several segments of the gauze wrapped around her calves were gone, revealing more of her smooth, jade-like skin. The gauze skirt, which had covered her knees, was now several inches shorter, and beneath its petal-shaped hem, an alluring expanse radiated a dazzling luster and a subtle, intoxicating fragrance.

The skirt’s original form had been a series of gray-tinged white gauze layers, overlapping to create a mysterious, hazy effect. Now, however, it seemed as though a fraction of a millimeter had been peeled away, like skin from a fruit, rendering it not only lighter and more translucent but also imbued with a provocative, intimate allure.

X could hardly imagine how she might resist the temptation of a delicate confection wrapped in such exquisite, transparent ribbons.

As the severed threads completely dissolved into the spiritual space, Gloria’s transformation was complete.

A small, jellyfish-shaped sky lantern floated serenely in the otherwise empty, pristine white sky, emitting a faint, dizzying white glow.

“Wow, what is that? Let me take a closer look.”

The girl’s gaze lingered on the pristine white upper thighs and the pale garden above. She yearned to uncover the demon god’s secrets, to discern whether her bodily composition, like that of humans, comprised mountains and seas, plains and ravines.

From this upward-facing perspective, she could perceive everything across a vast, flat plain.

However, each time her gaze drifted towards the forbidden zone, a flash of white light would ripple through her mind.

Following this, a pure spiritual force would cleanse her soul, thwarting her attempts to glimpse the truth. It was akin to a fish desperately swimming towards the deep sea, only to be overwhelmed by the tide’s power and swept back to the shore. X felt that the resistance she encountered was not merely a tide, but a formidable, unyielding waterfall—a primal force emanating from the Origin of all things, utterly impossible to defy.

As her memories reset, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

Yet, having undergone the baptism of infusion and received the mark of the Seed of Origin, X’s spiritual recovery was far beyond what it once was. Reaching the fifteenth tier, it was sufficient to rival many native and guardian deities of cosmic and lesser worlds. After merely a few seconds, she groggily sat up, gazing at the dazzling little jellyfish in the sky.

“Hmm? What’s this? A mysterious ice rink? Let me take a peek…”

Thump—

“Whoa? What’s that? A natural ski slope! How wonderful! Eh? Why are there big, red apples on the ski slope? Let me get closer and smell them…”

Boom—

“How did I faint just now? Wow, there’s a big bird in the sky! Such a cute big bird, come let big sister hug you…”

Swish—

“Hmph hmph hmph, that’ll teach you to look where you shouldn’t, you big pervert.” Gloria proudly tilted her head, having successfully retaliated against X’s transgression. “The true purpose of the Silver Touch lies in sealing the aura of my soul and locking away the power derived from it, preventing it from disrupting the functioning of the real world. Even a tiny wisp of my soul’s aura, a mere remnant of truth, would be enough to overturn this world tens of millions of times over. So, the clothes on that initial body were just a diversion. This garment, wrapped around my actual soul, is the original and genuine article!”

She truly wished to applaud her own foresight, for not putting all her eggs in one basket. Even relying solely on the Silver Touch and End By, she was confident she could conquer the Sistia World as her initial stronghold, thus commencing her grand scheme of revenge.

At present, tearing off a small piece of the gauze wrapped around her soul and allowing her aura to leak out was, in a way, a declaration to this body—

This girl is mine. You heartless, contemptible Outer Gods, dare to lay a hand on her, and do not blame me for showing you no quarter!

“Alright, enough playing around; it’s time to get down to business.” Gloria, her face expressionless, rubbed her hands together as she slowly descended before X, who was still doing sit-ups, and covered her eyes.

“Hey, wake up. Stop dreaming.” She bent her index finger and gently tapped the girl’s forehead. “No matter how much you fuss, this is merely your mental space; it won’t affect reality. So, little one, wake up!”

“Ugh—” Hearing the deafening summons, the girl’s hazy eyes fluttered open. She frantically looked left and right but found no trace of the adorable little figure she had been longing for, only the biting seawater and charred wreckage. “Gloria-chan, where are you!”

Her tone held a hint of panic, even a touch of a sob.