A Fleeting Warmth, A Longer Farewell

The bonfire was lit, and everything seemed as though it had never changed.

Doris looked at Oceannus's scar-covered body and said with some heartache, "You've suffered quite a few injuries out there over the years."

Oceannus merely smiled. "These wounds and pain can drive me to become stronger, instead of leaving me standing still."

Pressing her lips together, Doris chose to avoid the subject. She looked toward Ruslan and Liliana gathered around another bonfire in the distance, along with Jemia, Aga, and Elma. "You've made some very good friends out there too."

"Of course! Not only are they strong, but I can completely entrust my back to them. They're truly reliable brothers!" Oceannus chuckled, straightening his back as he spoke with great pride.

"You had something you didn't want your aunt to know during the day, didn't you?" Doris looked at Oceannus with concern. "And what exactly is this disaster you mentioned?"

Oceannus fell silent.

His hand involuntarily pressed against his chest.

"Mom, let me show you something."

As he spoke, Oceannus's chest began to glow.

It was a pale blue fluorescence, warm and all-embracing like a tropical ocean. Just one glance at it made one feel soothed.

A blue pearl emerged from Oceannus's chest.

"This is..." Doris covered her mouth.

"The source of divine authority—the Divine Core." Oceannus's gaze was solemn and cold as he looked at the Divine Core floating before his chest.

The gray shackles were already battered and broken, but that sturdy deep-blue shackle remained exactly as it had been before.

"Divine authority? So that guy's blood could lead to something like this?" Doris was somewhat astonished. "Then what are these two shackles? Why did something like this appear on your Divine Core?"

Blowing the gray shackles away from the Divine Core, Oceannus looked at it