Okhema, the Holy City, Garden of Life
At that Anaxa looked up at the " Worldbearing " Titan Kephale and sighed deeply:
"Oh..."
"Rationality," Titan Thersius floated behind him, "Son of man, are you waiting for the night to come?"
"Night cannot fall on Okhema," Anaxa said.
Therefore, your standing here foolishly is in vain.
Anaxa snorted coldly, "... To be honest, I really didn't expect the famous ' Reason ' Titan to have such a face."
"Oh dear... this is all thanks to you. If your soul weren't like a prickly hedgehog, how could I have ended up like this?"
"If you could be more tactful, I wouldn't have to constantly be met with your sharp retorts, and I could more freely offer you guidance."
"It's all because you insisted on implanting the Core Flame into my body..." Anaxa turned around, hesitating to speak, "... Never mind, just say what you want to say, stop being sarcastic."
"Alright, alright. I merely wanted to remind you... your soul is almost gone. If you do nothing more, I will have no choice but to take control of this body."
"I'm not in a hurry, why are you? Don't think I don't know, you just want me to help you answer that question—"
"--What exactly are 'we'? Right?"
Cerces nodded. "Good that you remember. It's all about 'equivalent exchange,' after all."
"Okay, don't worry. The answer is obvious; you'll have to give my body back to me soon."
"Heh... really?"
"It's true. I thought that my current state of constantly dying and coming back to life would prevent me from regaining my body... but I never expected that the answer was actually in there."
"Hmph, this saves me a lot of effort; I don't even need that black-robed swordsman's ceremonial sword anymore."
That's truly a joyous occasion!
"It's just a pity... that I can't be the one to conduct this next experiment."
Cerces asked with great interest, "Is that girl, who seems to be constantly facing death, fully prepared?"
"Don't be impatient, Titan..." Anaxa looked at Kephale in the distance again, "If we are always on high alert... how dare death easily come knocking on our door?"
At that moment, a cold voice suddenly came from behind the man and the Titan:
"Unfortunately, on behalf of Okhema, I must ask you to slow down."
Aglaea arrived at the Garden of Life and looked Anaxa up and down.
"Oh... I forgot about you, sorry."
"Children speak without thinking; I'll just take it as a mischievous child's unintentional remark."
"Come on, you arrogant ' Grand Performer,' it's time to talk about your serendipitous encounter with that Titan."
What if I say "no"?
"Provocation will only increase your chances of dying on Talanton's scales; things don't have to come to that." Aglaea's tone was icy.
"A monster that is neither human nor god, don't forget, you dare not kill me. If you extinguish the Core Flame of ' Reason' —what will you use to contend with the Senate?"
Cerces tried to interject, "Um... gentlemen, would you mind if I interrupted for a moment?"
"I told you, don't interrupt me--"
"Oh dear, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now: does death really mean anything to you?"
"... What's the meaning?"
"What I mean is, before I instill the Core Flame into your heart..." Cerces dropped a bombshell, "... you were already a corpse, weren't you?"
Meanwhile, in the Cloud Stone Heavenly Palace, the great Galactic Baseballer has returned to her private bathhouse!
Dan Heng and March 7th arrived as well. "You're all back. Finally, we have time to rest... Shall we chat, you two?"
Upon arriving at the open-air viewing platform, Dan Heng noticed something unusual:
"Strange, Mimi isn't with you?"
"Don't worry, it's inside the Poké Ball." Xing shook her hourglass-shaped necklace, and March 7th leaned over as well, "Teacher Dan Heng, what do you want to ask us?"
"Since it's not here, I'll ask first. In March 7th, are you really planning to take the trial of the Oronyx Core Flame in place of the Chrysos Heirs?"
Unlike the " Strife " Core Flame of Star Inheritance, there are not two " Years " Core Flame existing simultaneously this time.
Moreover, now that Amphoreus already has the orthodox " Strife " Mydei, Xing's actions have indeed greatly enhanced his own strength.
"Sigh~ In the end, it was Mimi's idea. The two of you made this decision without my knowledge..."
March 7th sighed helplessly, then began to convince himself. "However, it's only right that we level up, and thinking about it that way, it makes sense!"
"... In the end, it still came to this. Perhaps it's the inescapable fate of ' Trailblaze '?" Dan Heng spread his hands.
"You'd better be careful and prioritize your own safety. Judging from the experience of those who came before you, the trials of Years are no joke."
"But what I fear more is that in March 7th you will tie yourself too tightly to Amphoreus... If you really take over the Titan's divine office, will you still have a chance to let it go?"
On March 7th, hands on hips signify that there are absolutely no problems!
"Alas~ I have such a deep love for this land of Amphoreus, I probably won't be able to let it go..."
"Indeed. A phenomenal milk tea shop opening in Cloud Stone Market would be quite a shock to Ye Yan."
Upon hearing Xing's words, March 7th suddenly realized a problem. "Becoming a demigod of ' Years '... would that mean I wouldn't have time to take care of the milk tea shop?!"
"No, I need to make sure everything is settled before I die..."
Seeing this, Dan Heng's lips twitched slightly. "Forget it, let's take it one step at a time. No matter what happens, Xing and I will be there."
"Ugh~ This sudden emotional turn feels so strange."
"Speaking of which, have you been bothered by people dressed as guards these past few days?"
Xing and March 7th shook their heads in unison.
March 7th asked Curiosity, "Teacher Dan Heng, have you been treated as a suspicious person again?"
"They claimed to be envoys from the Senate and wanted to verify my identity."
"But I suspect we've been under surveillance for a while now... they just waited until we separated before taking action."
Dan Heng analyzed, "Their questions were incredibly detailed: from how we got to Okhema, to our personal relationships with every member of the Chrysos Heirs, to even our experiences at the market."
"Luckily, those two henchmen aren't very bright, and I managed to evade most of their questions. They shouldn't be causing trouble anytime soon."
"Hiss..." March 7th gasped, "There's something fishy going on in Okhema City."
"Their methods... are indeed unpleasant." Dan Heng frowned slightly. "But before we figure out their true intentions, it's best not to offend either side."
"The only thing we can be sure of right now is that some people in the Senate are quite dissatisfied with the Chrysos Heirs. In the worst-case scenario... we might be drawn into the internal strife within the Holy City."
"Awesome, I love these!"
Xing has already devised a detailed plan. She will secretly join forces with the priestess to stage a spy war in the Senate and wipe them all out in one fell swoop!
"If only we had some breathing room, we could still piece together the clues about the Black Tide. But now..."
"The weather is alright, let's take a few more looks."
"Don't say such dangerous things after a major war, Professor Dan Heng!!!"