"That's right."
A woman's voice came from the other side of the hall.
Her golden hair was tied up, and she had a slender figure. She spoke slowly:
"That wasn't Nikadori itself, only one of its many divine bodies."
"The Core Flame isn't here."
As Nikadori's divine body crumbled, the remaining Heavenly Punishment Soldiers in the Holy City began to retreat.
Inside the Cloud Stone Celestial Palace, the woman named Aglaea greeted Dan Heng and Yan Huan:
"Welcome to Amphoreus, our two new allies of Okhema."
"This welcome banquet was hardly elegant, but it did put our doubts to rest."
"From now on, you are honored guests of the Holy City and of the Chrysos Heirs."
"So you're... the City Lord named Aglaea?"
The moment Yan Huan sensed her bearing, he took her for the person in charge of the Holy City.
Her unfocused eyes only reinforced that impression.
Aglaea's gaze seemed unable to settle on anything, as though she were blind.
Noticing Yan Huan looking at her, Aglaea smiled faintly.
"Those with Golden Blood flowing through their veins are always different from ordinary people. In my case, it is my senses."
"I no longer need light to measure the world. The wind carries messages to me along Golden Threads, bringing countless strands of information to my fingertips."
"Even now, your virtues have become a warm current that delights my skin."
At that, Yan Huan slowly turned to Dan Heng. "She has such a way with words. You can tell she's educated..."
"She does," Dan Heng said with a slight nod. "She's on par with Sunday."
Phainon, standing nearby, looked rather disappointed.
"Just an avatar... Has my trial still not arrived?"
Aglaea turned toward him. "You followed a single thread of fate and wrote the first stroke of this story.