Shrouded Seascape

"Um... can we catch them and dress them up in nice clothes?" Nene asked eagerly, her gaze was transfixed on the tiny people down below.

"Do whatever you want, as long as it's going to make you happy," Sparkle said, putting Nene inside the circular tank. She reached out into the air, and a small pile of doll clothes appeared in her grasp.

Sparkle's eyes flashed in a doting light as she stared at Nene, who immediately got busy changing the tiny people's clothes. She felt like Nene wasn't just her friend but a younger sister as well. Perhaps soon, Nene would be like her daughter and then like her granddaughter.

Regardless, Sparkle's mood would always improve around Nene.

Time spent for leisure was always fleeting, and two hours went by in a flash. Just as Sparkle was about to send Nene home, she sensed something, and her figure disappeared into thin air.

When she reappeared, she found herself at the entrance of the deepest level of Hope Island's Relic Research Institute. This was Anna's secret base. Except for the people under her control and Sparkle, no one else knew of its existence.

Pushing open the door, Sparkle saw a huge tentacled monster covered in black scales. The tentacled monster was thrashed wildly while standing in a magic circle made out of what looked like a confused mixture of machinery and runes.

The colossal tentacled monster was none other than Anna in her true form.

A huge chunk of her black scales was peeled off while towering mechanical arms carrying steel wires rapidly shuttled through her figure in an effort to stitch a massive blood-red eye in her.

The forceful stitching looked extremely painful, and Anna screamed wildly to vent some of the pain. Her screams were so loud that the mice and the people operating the machinery fainted from the shockwaves.

The mice rushed to operate the remaining mechanical arms to try and restrain Anna, but their efforts weren't that effective. Anna's strength could no longer be controlled by mere steel.

Sparkle staring wordlessly at the scene noticed the anomaly and quickly reverted to her true form. She then extended her tentacles and wrapped them around her mother, restraining the latter.

Thanks to Sparkle's help, the grafting process went swimmingly, and the massive blood-red eye was finally grafted onto Anna.

Anna's appearance had become even more hideous and terrifying.

She looked like a deformed starfish covered in black scales, with tentacles sprouting all over her, and the grafted blood-red eye that was almost the size of a house and covered in blood vessels didn't make her adorable at all.

Anna stretched her figure, and her tentacles pervaded the magic circle around her.

The black-robed mages from the Western Sea were already prepared, and they immediately started chanting an incantation. The pitch of the incantation was extremely high, making the air tremble.

The mages began crying tears of blood as their voices grew louder, but the bloody tears didn't fall to the ground. Instead, the tears defied gravity and flew up to form an eye that fused into their foreheads.

Then, clusters of indescribable writhing lumps covered in hair, distorted noses, eyes, and lips seeped out of the mages. When the mages' chanting reached a crescendo, a deafening silence instantly blanketed the place.

The frequency of their chanting had exceeded the human hearing range, but they were still chanting. Their mouths fluttered open, and they seemed agitated as they continued to chant their incantation.

The critical juncture was here.

Anna's figure trembled violently, and the blood vessels around the massive blood-red eye spread all over Anna like vines.

Pop!

The indescribable writhing lumps of flesh and hair burst open without warning, and Anna's trembling abruptly came to a halt as well.

The grafted blood-red eye that had been dead for ages began showing signs of life. Soon, a huge cross-shaped pupil appeared in the middle of the eye.

The massive blood-red eye opened slightly, and everyone on Hope Island felt like something had gripped their hearts tight! Many people grabbed their heads and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

They could hear a frantic scream in their head, and the screaming plunged them into the depths of despair. Fortunately, the inexplicable sensation vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Anna closed the grafted blood-red eye, and the inexplicable sensation disappeared.

Anna stood up slowly, and her yellow cross-shaped pupils reflected delight. She had failed a few times, but she had finally succeeded. She had successfully grafted a Divinity's body part onto herself!

She could feel her power rising and exceeding the limits of mankind. She could feel her power approaching the territory of a Divinity.

"Mommy, I don't think this is good. It's not that easy to control the power of the Divinities. And you barely avoided rejection even with the help of the All-Seeing Eye. I'm worried about your sanity," Sparkle said, expressing her concerns to her mother.

Anna's colossal form contracted. She managed to shrink herself by half when she suddenly got stuck. A hodgepodge of human flesh and tentacles covered in black scales had fused together to create a horrifying monster.

Anna repeated the process several times before barely managing to return to her gorgeous human form.

"Yes, I know," Anna said, grinning exaggeratedly, "Actually, my mind is under torture around the clock. It's like there's a large group of lunatics inside me, and they are constantly expressing their crazed thoughts and words to me.

"However, your mother is an expert at manipulating minds, and I can definitely handle this trivial matter."

Sparkle's expression was complex as she stared at her mother. "Tell me honestly, something bad happened to Daddy, right?"

Otherwise, Anna wouldn't have taken such a massive risk.

If Anna wanted to absorb the power of Divinity, she could definitely take it slow like what she had been doing all this while.

Anna had reassured her, but Sparkle was convinced that the method Anna had employed to forcefully increase her strength came with great risks.

The smiling Anna walked up to her daughter and patted the latter's head. "My people have made contact with the Haikors, but when it comes to Charles, the Haikors seemed hesitant and only said that they'd give us a response as soon as possible."

"So Daddy is okay?" Sparkle asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"No, their response tells me that Charles is in a bad spot right now. The Haikors' hesitation means that they are wary about making any decisions, especially in matters involving Charles.

"I think the false gods of the Haikors are planning on doing something to Charles. I think the Foundation is involved as well," Anna replied. Then, she waved her hand, and everyone nearby except for Sparkle retreated like a tide.

"My dear daughter, your father really is in high demand. Everyone wants to take him away for themselves."

Unlike Anna, Sparkle's mood plummeted upon hearing that Charles could be in danger. "Then, what can I do? Can I just infiltrate their place and bring Daddy back here?"

"Don't worry; I don't think they're going to kill your father. In the meantime, we should consolidate our power. Once we've determined that it's possible, we should take them down in one fell swoop.

"They have a Divinity's corpse as well. Even throughout the Subterranean Sea, a Divinity's corpse is extremely rare," Anna remarked, her eyes showing deep interest.

"But... they look so strong. I can't say that I have a hundred percent confidence in dealing with them," Sparkle said. For the first time ever, a look of grievance painted Sparkle's face.

Just then, Sparkle came up with an idea and walked a few steps closer to her mother. "How about we gather the governors of the Subterranean Sea and work with them to save Daddy?"

However, Anna shook her head in disapproval at Sparkle's suggestion.

"No, there's no need to contact them."