Fu Zhu and his group chatted and joked as they arrived at the designated meeting hall. Pushing open the door, they saw that the Chrysos Heirs were already there waiting, every single one of them looking radiant and energized. It was clear they had all been anticipating this day.
Retrieving the final Coreflame meant that this agonizingly long Flame-Chase Journey, which had spanned countless cycles and thousands of years, was finally coming to an end today.
However, amidst the crowd, Khaslana, whose figure was obscured by a black cloak, did not share their high spirits. He had witnessed too many cycles, and every single one, without exception, had ended in failure.
But this time...
Khaslana lifted his head and looked at Fu Zhu and his group walking in. The Nameless of the Astral Express, the greatest variable in this cycle!
Could they truly bring a brand-new dawn to Amphoreus?
Inside the meeting room, Cerydra, sitting in the head seat, saw the five of them arrive and greeted them with a smile.
"Since you're all here, find a seat. But... Stelle, did you put on makeup? Your blush is a little heavy."
"Huh?"
For a moment, Stelle didn't understand what Cerydra meant. It wasn't until she saw Cerydra point at her cheeks that she subconsciously reached up to touch them. A sharp pain shot through her face, making her gasp.
Stelle clutched her cheeks, shooting a resentful glare at Evernight and March 7th, before complaining to Cerydra. "Your Majesty, there are actually treacherous subjects plotting my murder! I suggest Your Majesty sentence these two despicable villains to death!"
March 7th and Evernight rolled their eyes so hard they almost fell out. This girl had shamelessly eavesdropped on them half the night, and now she was spouting this nonsense without a filter. How could she say such embarrassing things out loud in public? They really should have stuffed a sock in her mouth!
Aglaea and the others couldn't help but chuckle at Stelle's complaint. They weren't idiots; seeing that the "injuries" were localized to both of her cheeks, couldn't they guess the reason?
What treacherous villains plotting her murder? She just got her cheeks pinched!
Cerydra also knew Stelle was just joking around, so she played along to smooth things over.
"There's no rush for that. If our next operation fails, the world will pretty much be destroyed anyway, and there will be no need for executions."
"Back to business." Cerydra placed a white box on the table where everyone could see it.
"Next, we need to retrieve the Coreflame of the [Sky] Titan. The [Sky] Titan, Aquila, has always resided in the "Fortress of Dome" Eye of Twilight. This box can help guide the rainbow bridge to take you there."
Cerydra briefly explained the objective and route for this operation, then let her gaze fall upon Fu Zhu.
"Lord Nameless, I hope you will lead this time. Additionally, all the other Coreflames will be entrusted to your care."
Cerydra had never forgotten her initial promise to Fu Zhu. Right now, the only Coreflame he hadn't touched was the final Sky Coreflame. Furthermore, just to be safe, the Coreflames needed to be protected by the strongest person among them.
Naturally, that person could only be Fu Zhu.
"Also... Sir Khaslana, I hope you will accompany them."
Cerydra shifted her gaze to Khaslana. She had already heard about his situation from Aglaea. This man carried the Coreflames of hundreds of millions of cycles; he absolutely had to stay by Fu Zhu's side at all times.
If Lygus decided to give up on the twelve Coreflames of this cycle and targeted Khaslana instead, that would be a disaster.
Although Khaslana's mind was a bit muddled at times, he understood Cerydra's intent. He had no objections to this arrangement and nodded in agreement.
Seeing Khaslana agree, Cerydra let out a sigh of relief and began to assign the rest of the personnel for the mission.
"Then for this trip, the members of the Astral Express, Phainon, Hyacine, Khaslana, and Cyrene, we will leave this to you."
No one had any objections to this arrangement. Although the true mastermind behind the scenes had been revealed, Okhema still needed people to stay behind and guard against any potential sneak attacks from Lygus.
"As for how to reach the Eye of Twilight, Hyacine will help you sort that out. We're counting on you all for this one!"
"Leave it to us."
Hyacine stood up, hugged the white box in front of Cerydra to her chest, and walked over to Fu Zhu and the others, giving a nod.
"Fu-bao, Qi-bao, everyone follow me."
Fu Zhu and the others followed Hyacine out of the meeting room, walking all the way to the Dawn Cloudseat. From here, one could see the Worldbearing Titan gazing down at the Dawn Cloudseat, making this a dedicated place of prayer for the citizens of Okhema to the Worldbearing Titan.
When Fu Zhu and the group arrived, the citizens who had come here to pray parted ways in unison, their eyes filled with expectation as they looked at the group.
From among the crowd, a trembling old woman stepped forward. She walked up to Hyacine, looked at the white box in her hands, and began to shake with overwhelming joy.
"Hyacine, are you planning to return to the Sky? Will we descendants of the Sky finally be able to see the rainbow bridge again...?"
Tears streamed down the old woman's face as she spoke. Hyacine quickly supported her. Seeing the old woman weeping like this, she couldn't help but feel moved, her voice softening.
"Grandma Enya, rest assured, the children of the Sky will definitely return to the Sky. This time, we are doing it for the [Sky]. Please, put your mind at ease."
"Good, good..."
Enya said "good" three times in her excitement, grasping Hyacine's hands with both of hers and patting the back of her hand gently.
"Child, be strong..."
After saying this, Enya retreated back into the crowd, waiting for what was to come.
Hyacine took a deep breath, looked back at Fu Zhu and the others, and gave them a nod. She carried the box to the edge of the Dawn Cloudseat, raised it high, and began to pray.
"Ancestors... guide us with the rainbow bridge, and bring the children of the Sky back to the home we parted from a thousand years ago!"
The white box in Hyacine's hands suddenly trembled and emitted a white glow, and then... nothing happened.
Hyacine kept her eyes tightly shut, waiting for a while. Seeing no response, she strangely opened her eyes, only to find that the rainbow bridge from the plan hadn't descended. This left her more than a little bewildered.
Behind her, Fu Zhu and the others were also staring at Hyacine's back with questioning looks on their faces.
What just happened? The box was glowing a second ago, and then it just fizzled out?
Stelle scratched her head in confusion and turned to ask Fu Zhu.
"Bro, what's going on? I thought we were getting a cutscene, but nothing happened? I feel like Hyacine must be feeling pretty... awkward right now."
After all, she had struck a grand pose in front of a crowd and made a promise to that old woman, only for nothing to happen. If it were Stelle, she would have already cringed hard enough to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her toes!
Cyrene frowned at the scene, speaking up with a displeased tone.
"Looks like someone doesn't want this story to proceed smoothly."