The third step of the Well of the Abyss of Oaths is the Steps of Weird Thoughts. It is an infinitely extended staircase, each step is made of black stone slabs, and the reflection of a blurred figure appears on it, as if each step is not a staircase, but someone's past, a memory that has not been revealed.
Su Yue was the first to take a step, and the core of life fire trembled in her palm. Ethan followed closely, and Lasse kept an eye on the surroundings, not missing any unusual movements.
"Do you feel it..." Ethan whispered, "There is a familiar smell in the air... like the incense ashes when praying, but mixed with corpse oil and... baby crying."
"This is the characteristic of the third step." Lasse explained in a deep voice, "'The Steps of Weird Thoughts' is the oldest memory resonance road in the oath world. All the oaths of birth, betrayal, and backlash are deposited here. It will screen the spirit of the entrants... If one of us is not determined enough, it will-"
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden shock behind him!
Click!
The stairs seemed to be awakened by something. A section of black stone suddenly twisted, and an eyeless shadow emerged from it. It had no mouth, but it cried like a baby, and rushed towards Lasse.
"Stay away from him!" The life fire core in Su Yue's hand flashed with blood, and a blood flame chain instantly locked the neck of the eyeless shadow and forcibly pulled it back to the level.
Lasse's face was pale, and he nodded to express his gratitude, but his voice was trembling: "That thing... is not a physical entity. It was a vow I broke in order to survive when I was on a mission in Shencheng... I exchanged my life for the cost of 'sacrificing everything', but at the last moment... I broke the oath."
"This staircase... is settling the past of each of us."
"And, more than once."
The three continued to move forward, and each step seemed to be getting deeper and deeper, and more and more difficult.
In front of the fifty-first step, Ethan suddenly stopped. Cold sweat oozed from his forehead, and his eyes were fixed on a stone wall in front of him.
"Did you see it?"
Su Yue and Lasse looked in the direction of his finger, and saw a scene on the stone wall:
A blond boy stood in front of the church, wearing a gray robe and kneeling in front of the statue. Black blood flowed from the eyes of the statue and poured into the boy's forehead.
"... That was the oath-taking ceremony when I was six years old."
Ethan's tone wavered for the first time.
"They told me that I was the only descendant of the 'Redemption Fire Bloodline' and that I was the vessel that must be 'guided by the Lord's Oath Hall'. That day, I was forcibly poured into the 'Blood Oath Fire', and from then on, I could no longer pray."
"Because every prayer in my mind... will be tampered with by that voice."
"Have you been controlled by the Lord's Oath Hall?" Su Yue looked at him with a complicated tone.
Ethan nodded: "Until I met you... I knew that prayer should not be fear."
"And the debt I owe to the Lord's Oath Hall... must be repaid."
After saying that, he suddenly pulled out the Oath Fire Dagger and stabbed it into the statue in the center of the picture.
Boom!
The picture collapsed, and the stairs continued to extend downward.
"Everyone has to pay their debts." Su Yue whispered, "I am no exception."
On the 73rd step, Su Yue stopped.
This time, it was not her memory that emerged on the stone wall, but Su Yu's.
She sat in the ritual cell of the Lord's Oath Hall, her hands locked by blood chains, and there was a red scar on her forehead that had not yet scabbed, and blood was constantly oozing out of it. In front of her, a hooded seal holder was forcibly implanting the "Oath Heart Seed" into her.
"Sister... will you come to save me?" Su Yu closed her eyes and whispered softly.
At this moment, Su Yue felt her heart pierced by a sharp blade.
"She... is still alive." Lasse said solemnly.
"No." Su Yue shook her head, "This is not her now, this is the impression left by her 'stripped spiritual consciousness' in the Weird Thoughts Stage."
"But this also shows that she once, truly waited for me."
Su Yue slowly stretched out her hand and touched the picture.
At that moment, a very subtle echo came from the stone wall - like Su Yu's voice, passing through many years and arriving at this moment:
"Sister... don't come... this is a trap."
The picture shattered, and the entire Weird Thoughts Stage suddenly shook.
Lasse reacted very quickly: "Not good, the third stage is not a simple trial, it is setting a trap!"
"It uses the memories of our loved ones as bait to lead us step by step to the 'blood oath well'."
Ethan looked at Su Yue: "What should we do? Continue?"
Su Yue was silent for a long time, then nodded.
"Go on."
"She said 'don't come', which means she knows I'm here - and she's still resisting."
"Then I have to finish this journey."
The three of them walked side by side to the end of the stairs.
The black fog surged, and a door that seemed to be made of blood and mirrors appeared in front of them.
An ancient inscription was engraved on it:
"To get to the source of the oath, ask your heart first. Do you still believe in the oath you bear?"
"It's time." Su Yue whispered.
The door opened in response, and blood light surged into her eyes.
At this moment, the core of her life fire began to undergo a qualitative change.
The blood-colored fire rose into soul flames, and a new mark slowly emerged in her palm:
"Sixth Main Seal·Blood Oath Soul Ring"