Returning to the present, although the holy city has regained its glory, the chaos remains unsettling.
With only one step left to return the Core Flame, under this crisis, completing the " Re-Creation " is probably the only option for Phainon and his group.
After retrieving the Core Flame from Kephale, they will immediately head to the Vortex of Genesis to reunite with the stars.
but...
No one would have expected that they would be stopped by an ice coffin.
Phainon stared intently at the ice coffin standing before him, radiating a chilling aura.
Inside the ice coffin was none other than Canis, the long-lost leader of the " Purgers ".
"Father Kephale, forgive those ignorant and lowly Sons of Man..."
"How naive they are, to mistake these heretics with golden blood for Savior..."
"This crimson sky, and the flames and demons that blanket the land, will wash away their folly..."
Inside the ice coffin, Canis spoke incoherently, and seeing her pitiful state, March 7th couldn't help but take a few steps back.
"Huh... what's wrong with her? It's scary."
Phainon gritted his teeth, " Canis..."
"Ah..." Your Excellency the Savior? Won't you join me in praying to the merciful Kephale...?
Canis, inside the ice coffin, stretched out her hands toward Phainon, a gesture that looked so eerie and sent chills down one's spine.
"Look at this ravaged land... All of this is the sin of you heretics who disrespect the gods..."
"She... is no longer mentally stable." Dan Heng shook his head.
March 7th suggested, "Let's avenge Aglaea! That guy is truly a traitor to the Heavenly Order!"
"... We have more important things to do... we shouldn't waste time on a pathetic madman."
" Dan Heng is right. I really want to end your despicable life with one sword..." Phainon looked at Canis, "But for you, who are at your wit's end, the best punishment is to watch the Chrysos Heirs complete their mission."
"Now you realize how pointless and foolish your past misdeeds were."
"Ha... completion of the mission?" Canis sneered. " The Core Flame of Kephale has vanished without a trace. How... do you intend to carry out the Prophecy?"
"Disappeared without a trace...?"
"She's gone mad... to the point of talking nonsense."
"For a long time, the Core Flame of Kephale has been enshrined here... Only the core members of the Senate know how to open the Core Flame box."
March 7th asked, "Where are we going to find core members now? Given the current situation... it seems we can only force Canis to help us..."
Mimi suggested, "That Lygus, let's go find him?"
"No... there's no need to go through that trouble. Teacher Anaxa Church me that time was more than just the knowledge in the textbook."
Phainon raised his head, looking at the magic lock suspended in the air, completely ignoring Canis's mutterings:
"The sins of the Chrysos Heirs... have finally become divine punishment..."
"None of us can escape..."
March 7th waved his hand, "It would be great if there was a mute button."
"During her stay at Dawncloud Cliff, Teacher Anaxa conducted a thorough investigation of various locations."
Phainon stepped forward and slowly recited, "O all-knowing father Worldbearing, please grant me a single glance of your compassionate gaze."
"Descend the Titan's heartfire, which hangs atop the entire world, for your devout creations to gaze upon."
As expected, the magic lock above reacted.
"One more step... to unlock its secret lock... March 7th and Mimi, I'm afraid we'll still need your help."
"Leave it to us! The ' Remembrance Traveler' isn't just sitting around doing nothing!"
March 7th patted her chest confidently; she only needed a little trick to unlock the secret lock and open the Core Flame box.
"Take the Core Flame and hurry down the mountain!"
"Heh... hehe..."
Canis laughed again, her gaze fixed on the " Worldbearing " Core Flame bearing the " Worldbearing " emblem.
" Dan Heng, can you use the Spiritwater Technique again?" Phainon asked.
"I've run out of the Spiritwater I carry with me. And..." Dan Heng hesitated, "Just now, after we left the Eye of Dawn and Dusk... I felt the waters of Amphoreus sever their connection with me."
"Is this also an effect of the Black Tide...? It seems we have no choice but to run down the mountain."
Just as Phainon was about to pick up the " Worldbearing " Core Flame, he discovered that the Core Flame had somehow turned into a clay pot.
"Ah...!"
Canis, lying in the coffin, covered her face and laughed wildly, "Ha... you thought... I've completely gone mad?"
"If the Core Flame hadn't been tampered with and had remained here untouched..."
"You think... I'm incapable of taking it away?"
"Ha... hahahahahaha!!!"
Canis could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
"Oh no, this is hopeless... Where are we supposed to find Core Flame now?"
Phainon suppressed the urge to kill Canis with a single sword strike, forcing himself to calm down:
"Calm down... think about it carefully."
As soon as he finished speaking, Cipher's voice rang in his mind again:
"I will do what I'm supposed to do, so--"
"Don't die before we pay you an equivalent reward."
Phainon suddenly realized what was happening and turned to the group, saying, "... Don't worry about the whereabouts of the Core Flame, let's continue down the mountain."
"No need to worry? But..."
"Before setting off to subdue Aegle, I asked Miss Cipher to protect the Core Flame of Kephale when we leave... by any means necessary."
Phainon firmly believed, "Since the Core Flame isn't here... then she must have tampered with it. In other words... she fulfilled her duty in her own way."
"Let's just keep heading towards the Vortex of Genesis; Cipher will definitely keep her promise."
March 7th was still a little worried, "You really trust her that much? What if something happens to her...?"
But halfway through her sentence, she seemed to remember something, "Pah! I almost forgot Xingye flew down too!"
"That's right, we have no other choice but to trust now."
"Assuming the nearest sacrificial water basin is ten thousand steps away... then all we have to do is run and hope she'll meet us when we have nine thousand steps left."
"If she doesn't appear, then we'll keep moving forward... hoping she'll appear at the eight thousand paces mark."
"Seven thousand, six thousand, five thousand... I will continue to hope with the same expectation--"
Be cautious about things that are controllable, and optimistic about things that are uncontrollable—this is the belief that Phainon now holds.
"--Until she appeared before us, with her usual nonchalant expression."
Dan Heng was silent for a moment, then said, "... I understand."
"At least, to this day... I don't recall any Chrysos Heirs participated in the Journey of Flame-Chase failing in their mission."
"... She certainly won't be an exception."
"But the prerequisite is... we have to survive and break through the encirclement!"