A long while later, Eros bid farewell to the Kenfield couple, feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Even after boarding his return carriage, he still felt a bit lightheaded. He couldn't help but marvel:

  "Who on earth is this Miss Mary? How does she know so much?"

  This question, naturally, remained unanswered. Irina, sitting beside him, glanced at him before looking away. She asked, "Are we going to the Kenfield family’s secret cellar tonight?"

  Eros gave a light chuckle. "Better sooner than later. Clearing this up early will put my mind at ease."

  His visit today wasn't just to meet Syphreya’s parents; his true objective was the secret underground room she had mentioned. Syphreya’s personality shift had begun after she entered that cellar. Perhaps he would find a clue there.

  Night fell. Eros entered the Kenfield residence with the ease of a regular. He moved directly toward his destination: the hidden cellar. After a few turns, he stopped before a locked iron door. It was a standard mechanical lock, devoid of mystical protection, and Eros opened it in seconds.

  He stepped inside. At first glance, the cellar was filled with mundane junk—just an ordinary storage room. But Eros smiled, walked toward the left wall, and precisely pried out a specific brick, turning a hidden handle behind it. He repeated this sequence on the other three walls and the floor.

  Once the mechanism was complete, he exited the room and entered an adjacent one. In this previously normal room, a dark, downward passage had opened in the floor. Eros sighed at the unnecessary complexity; these tricks were useless against Barbara’s "Visions."

  He descended dozens of meters through the dark tunnel until a square, secret chamber appeared. It wasn't large—about the size of a bedroom. There weren't many items inside; aside from some crates in the corner, the most striking objects were two artifacts resting on stone pedestals in the center, surrounded by eerie patterns.

  "Found anything?" Eros asked.

  As soon as he spoke, Barbara’s petite figure manifested beside him. She looked at the pitch-black crown on the left pedestal, her expression turning to one of surprise.

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  "An imitation of the Crown of Silence?"

  Eros frowned. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

  Barbara gave him a flat look. "The Crown of Silence was the Holy Relic of the Silent Angel—the brother of your clan’s Ancestor."

  Realization dawned on him. "No wonder. But wasn't that relic shattered by the God of Sea and Storms? Our family records mention it."

  "That’s why I said it’s an imitation," Barbara said calmly, though her tone turned puzzled. "Why is a replica here? To forge one, the maker must have seen the original, but the real crown was destroyed tens of thousands of years ago."

  "Could it have survived from that era?" Eros guessed.

  "Perhaps." Barbara’s eyes grew deep as she stared at the crown.

  "But why is it in Syphreya’s basement? Is her change caused by this?" Eros fired off a string of questions.

  Barbara remained silent for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "I don't know. I can't see anything." Seeing Eros’s stunned expression, she added, "This is just an ordinary Grade 2 Sealed Artifact. There’s nothing special about it. The room is normal, the artifacts are normal. Its presence here might just be a coincidence."

  "Then we came here for nothing? But Syphreya’s change did start here. Are we missing something?" Eros’s confusion deepened.

  "Perhaps... an 'Existence' has scrubbed the anomalies from this place," Barbara suggested slowly.

  Eros fell into a heavy silence. Barbara was an artifact with maximum attributes in "Vision." If there was a power she couldn't detect, there was only one possible answer.

  "The handiwork of a God?" Eros’s lips were dry.

  Why arrange for Syphreya to get close to me? What about me caught a God’s attention? He was supposed to be shrouded by the authority of "Concealment"—even a God shouldn't be able to see through him. So what was it? The reappearance of the Elven bloodline? But he had only claimed to have "ordinary" Elven blood.

  Only the Church high-ranking officials know my identity as a God-Son... and perhaps the Gods they worship. Is it one of them? But they wouldn't need such indirect methods.

  Eros’s pupils suddenly contracted as he focused on a detail: the Imitation of the Crown of Silence.

  Did the God choose Syphreya because her family happened to possess a replica of the Silent Angel's relic? The Silent Angel was the brother of the Night Goddess—the Ancestor of his clan. A God would certainly know this connection.

  Does 'He' know my true identity? A cold wave of terror washed over Eros.

  It made sense. "He" arranged for Syphreya to approach him and allowed her to show just enough abnormality to pique his suspicion. Driven by caution, Eros would naturally investigate, leading him here. And here, even Barbara found nothing.

  The 'discovery' of having 'no discovery' was the God's message. By creating an anomaly that even a high-tier artifact couldn't pierce, "He" was declaring His status as a God. By leading Eros to a replica of his own family’s ancient relic, "He" was saying: "I know who you are, and I am watching you."

  Thinking this through, Eros felt a surge of panic. He couldn't understand—when exactly had his cover been blown?