Angel's question had not come out of nowhere.
Ever since they had entered the underground labyrinth, they had encountered a great many emblems related to the Source-Worshippers along the way—serpent-entwined staffs, serpent-entwined cones, and the like. Moreover, the vast majority had been found amid the ruins of laboratories.
From these small details, one could glimpse that Abyss City from ten thousand years ago seemed to have had some connection to the Source-Worshippers.
However, Angel had not yet linked Xixia's Box to the Source-Worshippers.
Not until Xixia tried to drag Angel into the "Pitch-Black Space," only to be blocked by some force within his left earlobe. Combined with Xixia's curiosity toward his left earlobe and her earlier mention of a "familiar fluctuation," Angel began to suspect that Xixia had sensed... the Origin Fire?
And Xixia's dissatisfaction with Angel's answer just now confirmed his guess. The "familiar fluctuation" Xixia had mentioned earlier had indeed referred to the Origin Fire.
Ever since Odecras had given him the Flame Mark, there had been very few who could directly sense the Origin Fire through it. Even Rhein could only sense the Flame Mark itself, not the Origin Fire sealed within it. Dodolo, on the other hand, could vaguely perceive something amiss because he was a Source-Worshipper himself.
The fact that Xixia could sense the Origin Fire alone was enough for Angel to voice his speculation: "Are you a Source-Worshipper?"
What was more, Xixia's name was quite in line with the Source-Worshippers' naming conventions.
Bobota, Sparrow Sparrow, Dodolo, Xixia... Source-Worshippers seemed particularly fond of using cute reduplicated names.
So, when Angel asked that question, he was already seventy or eighty percent certain in his heart.
On the other side, upon hearing Angel's question, Xixia fell into a long silence.
The air of "I'm tired, finish asking