Crouching down, Lin Luo gathered the doll’s body, now severed in two, into his arms. His throat choked, and for a moment, he couldn't utter a word... He already understood why it had failed; he had been too hasty.

From the moment he arrived in this world, apart from the first few days of wandering, his life had stabilized quickly and proceeded with remarkable smoothness. First, he encountered the Puppeteer and obtained the doll-making manual, finding his purpose in this world. Then, leveraging the influence of the noblewomen, he turned a risk-free venture into a massive fortune, gaining power and influence instantly. Following that, Qiqi awakened, providing immense aid, and he soon located the ruins of the Divine Artisan, instantly ascending to become a supreme powerhouse. He could even traverse the most perilous Forbidden Zones of Life with ease, securing the supreme treasure of this era—the Fifth Element.

Everything had been too easy, too smooth, instilling in Lin Luo a subconscious illusion that things would continue effortlessly. He had simply forgotten that human fortune is subject to swift changes, and that even the Child of Destiny has a finite amount of luck. How could his good fortune possibly last forever?

Thus, at this most critical juncture, due to his slight relaxation and carelessness, he failed to account for one element that should never have been overlooked, leading to an irreparable consequence.

Lin Luo had not considered the compatibility between the power of the Fifth Element and the doll's capacity to contain it.

To give a simple example: placing a bowl of water into a bucket is more than sufficient. But attempting to force a bucket of water into a bottle will only result in the bottle shattering.

The Fifth Element, as the ultimate treasure of this world, coexisting with the very origin of existence, possessed a power that surpassed even Lin Luo in his current state. Yet, it had remained quiescent, like an ordinary, large pearl, causing Lin Luo to overlook the terror it held within. When Lin Luo finally placed it inside the doll, it erupted.

Tell me, how could an object as supreme as the Fifth Element tolerate being utilized by a mere doll? Naturally, it would resist. While the materials used to craft the Mercury Lamp had been specially refined by Lin Luo to accommodate nearly all mysteries, even they might not equal Lin Luo himself, let alone the Fifth Element. How could the doll he fashioned possibly suppress such a force?

Consequently, under the Fifth Element's explosion, the Mercury Lamp was torn apart. In truth, being merely broken in two was a fortunate outcome. Had the Mercury Lamp not been crafted by Lin Luo, a being who had activated the Ninth Sense in the Divine Realm, even a doll on the level of Peacock would have been reduced to ash by the Fifth Element's burst.

But the matter did not end there.

If it were just the shattering of the body, Lin Luo could swiftly repair it, restoring the Mercury Lamp to its former perfection. However... a doll that had been rejected by the Fifth Element was forever negated by it. The supreme entity would absolutely refuse to allow the Mercury Lamp to contain it again—such was the dignity of that ultimate artifact.

In other words, the doll known as the Mercury Lamp, having just attained life, was extinguished forever before she could learn to walk or speak a complete sentence.

This was the true reason that choked Lin Luo.

Puppeteers viewed the dolls they created as their own children, and Lin Luo was no different. The death of the Mercury Lamp was no different to him than witnessing the deaths of Ming Meng or Yuan Zao right before his eyes.

He was crestfallen, unable to speak.

Did Lin Luo possess the ability to bring the Mercury Lamp back to life? Yes, certainly. If he could reach the realm beyond Heaven... No, he wouldn't even need the realm beyond Heaven; merely reaching the Celestial Tier would suffice. With his Laws of Creation, he could accomplish it. However, after forcefully activating the Ninth Sense, neither he nor Qiqi could advance to the Celestial Tier through their own efforts. Their only hope lay in rediscovering what he had forgotten, using that as a catalyst to break free from the shackles imposed by Luo Tianyi and restore their strength.

But now, with the Mercury Lamp dead, did he still possess that hope?

Lin Luo did not know.

Xiao Xiao watched the scene unfold beside him, unsure what to say. Such a beautiful and adorable doll dying in an instant—it was too cruel. But who could be blamed? Lin Luo? He was indeed at fault, too careless and too eager, but this was not his intention, and no one grieved the Mercury Lamp’s death more than he did. Should the Fifth Element be blamed? Without the Fifth Element, the Mercury Lamp would never have had the possibility of gaining life and soul. Moreover, the Fifth Element’s resistance was merely instinct, like the inherent human desire to live—an instinct devoid of right or wrong.

"We start again!" After a moment of deep sorrow, Lin Luo suddenly stood up and spoke in a low voice. The death of the Mercury Lamp was irreversible, but the materials and the Fifth Element remained. He could still make more dolls; he would not give up so easily. If he were so easily struck down, he would have perished countless eons ago.

"Then... what about the Mercury Lamp?" Xiao Xiao asked, looking at the doll in his arms. The Mercury Lamp was dead, with no hope of resurrection, merely scrap metal. To most people, such scrap would be thrown into a rubbish heap. Lin Luo regarded his dolls as children and certainly would not discard her, but when a child dies, are burial and cremation the only options?

Lin Luo did not answer, merely closing his eyes as if deep in thought. After a long pause, he placed the two halves of the Mercury Lamp onto a cabinet in the corner. "Though she is dead, she remains my doll, my daughter, the first Rose Maiden—Mercury Lamp."

"Rose Maiden?" Xiao Xiao started.

"Yes." Lin Luo turned around, his expression serious. "The Mercury Lamp died because she alone could not contain the power of the Fifth Element. The solution to this problem is simple: divide the Fifth Element into several parts. My calculations show that if divided into seven portions, the dolls I create can contain the Fifth Element. Therefore, I have only two tasks ahead: First, divide the Fifth Element into seven parts, allowing them to exist as the source of life, named the Rose Mid-Mother. Second, create six more dolls, naming them the Rose Maidens."

Although the first attempt failed, Lin Luo was not struck down by the harsh reality; instead, he quickly rallied and formulated a plan, proceeding immediately. With the combined efforts of him and Qiqi, it took half a year to finally segment the Fifth Element into seven dreamlike crystals—the Rose Mid-Mother.

Meanwhile, under Lin Luo's instruction, Xiao Xiao used the same materials intended for the Rose Maidens to craft seven chests. Each chest was inlaid with the symbol of a rose and imbued with special abilities through secret arts, such as flight. Furthermore, these chests would serve as resting places for the Rose Maidens to replenish their strength.

However, as the Rose Maidens had yet to be created, they were currently used to house the Rose Mid-Mothers.

Simply storing them as vessels, not containing them, would not provoke resistance from the Rose Mid-Mothers.

Once all preparations were complete, Lin Luo plunged back into the work of crafting dolls. The second Rose he created was a girl with a naturally sunny disposition, named Canary. He then made a pair of twins with heterochromia: the arrogant, manipulative doll named Suiseiseki, and the upright, profound doll named Souseiseki, ranked as the third and fourth Rose Maidens, respectively. Following them, he fashioned the noble and beautiful fifth doll, Shinku, and finally, the petite and adorable sixth doll, Hinaichigo.

If there were planned to be seven Rose Maidens, why was the sixth doll the last?

It wasn't that Lin Luo didn't want to create the seventh, nor was he lacking materials; it was because he ran out of opportunity.

The consequences of obtaining the Fifth Element manifested without warning just as Lin Luo was preparing to craft the seventh doll... a monster known as Laplace's Demon appeared!

Lin Luo was powerful, and Qiqi was powerful too. Together, as long as their opponents weren't beyond the Half-Celestial Tier, they feared neither a few Quasi-Celestial experts nor many others. However, to successfully decompose the Fifth Element, they had expended too much strength, leaving their current combat power at less than half of its usual level.

Furthermore, the creature they faced, Laplace's Demon, was not an easily defeated foe. While it hadn't reached the Half-Celestial Tier, it was far stronger than a Quasi-Celestial expert, and crucially, it was unkillable. Even after Lin Luo and Qiqi paid a tremendous price to shatter its body and soul, it reformed instantly.

In this world, they simply could not slay Laplace's Demon.

Conversely, Laplace's Demon also could not kill Lin Luo and Qiqi, as both of them were immortal.

Neither side could perish, but in terms of sheer combat strength, Laplace's Demon held the advantage. Since the Demon had come for the Fifth Element, Lin Luo was compelled to fight it off. Finally, with no other recourse, he and Qiqi poured all their remaining power into unleashing the Seal of Time, trapping Laplace's Demon within the fissures of time.

Then, with equal lack of warning, reverse causality struck. Lin Luo and Qiqi were instantly pulled away, sent hurtling toward infinite void space... In the very last moment before leaving this world, Lin Luo used his remaining strength to create the conceptual body of the seventh doll—Kirakishou.

Though Laplace's Demon was sealed, the anomalies it triggered persisted. Influenced by its presence, demons and monsters vying for the Fifth Element began to appear. At this time, the only ones capable of protecting the Rose Maidens and the Fifth Element were Xiao Xiao.

Thus, to repay Lin Luo's kindness, Xiao Xiao took five Rose Maidens and the seven chests, resolutely setting off on a path of being hunted and hunting back. But due to the rush of time, she failed to retrieve the Mercury Lamp, which had been left nearly forgotten on the cabinet in the corner.

By the time she finally remembered to return for her, the Mercury Lamp had vanished.

Countless years passed. This entire miraculous era faded into history due to the proliferation of monsters. As for Xiao Xiao and the Rose Maidens, their whereabouts became unknown.

But in the next era, at gatherings within Europe's upper echelons, people frequently reported seeing a mysterious individual dressed in a black or white suit, perpetually carrying seven boxes.

No one knew if this mysterious person was male or female, where they came from, or what their purpose was.

People only knew the mysterious person's name—Rozen!