"AAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Pie-non roared in agony as countless Coreflames erupted from within his body, bursting forth like fireworks.
By now, the entire ground was already crammed with Coreflames, forcing the Chrysos Heirs, the demigods, and the Titans to stand frozen in shock as the Coreflames piled up at their feet, having no idea what to do.
"What on earth is happening?" Tribios, who prided herself on being the first demigod with extensive experience and knowledge, had never witnessed such a sight. "Why are there so many Coreflames?"
'Have I fallen into an illusion?' Cerces thought silently, picking up a Coreflame of Reason and examining it. 'Unbelievable... Just the Coreflames of Reason alone are in the millions...'
Even though she instinctively doubted what she saw, the more she studied the Coreflame of Reason, the more convinced she became that it was truly identical to the one within her body—completely indistinguishable.
Aside from an illusion, she could think of only a few other possibilities.
"Damn it!" Mydei shouted, his face twisted in irritation. "Why is Pie-non spitting out so many Coreflames?!"
"Why did you say?!" Phainon snapped angrily. "He's not me! Don't name him after me!"
"Well, Pie-non can also mean Black or Dark Phainon." Anaxa chimed in calmly. "Considering he has your face, calling him Pie-non isn't wrong. It's more convenient this way."
"Even Disarm didn't strip away that face, so he really is Snowy..." Tribios muttered quietly from the side. "Black Snowy, so... Blacky?"
"Sister, all those Coreflames are real, right?" Polyxia asked gravely. "He must be hiding a big secret. Should we save him?"
At this question, Castorice nodded, but then shook her head.
"Better let Lady Aglaea decide..." Castorice said with a frown, then glanced at Tribios. "Lady Tribios, she must know about this matter."
Tribios also felt that it should be so, so she nodded, then opened a Century Gate and went to fetch Aglaea.
"Teacher? What happened? Has something serious happened that requires me?"
Inside a study, Aglaea, who had been immersing herself in reading some documents, looked puzzled upon seeing her teacher emerge from a Century Gate, wondering why her expression was so urgent.
"I'm sorry, Agy, but we have no time." Tribios said with a serious expression, then stretched out her hand. "Come with me and you will know."
Upon hearing this, Aglaea's expression turned serious as well.
What matter could there be that a lineup of two demigods and two Titans could not handle?
Aglaea immediately stood up, took Tribios's hand, and stepped into the Century Gate.
*Clatter—*
Only when a heap of Coreflames rolled to her feet did Aglaea realize the severity of the situation.
As soon as she stepped out of the Century Gate, she was met with an absurd sight—millions of Coreflames piled up together, a crisis that not even ten thousand demigods could resolve.
More importantly, before her stood someone with a face resembling Phainon—his body broken, spewing Coreflames from his chest, their number easily reaching into the hundreds of millions.
If not for the vast space of the Luminary Throne, everyone would have been buried under Coreflames already.
"Teacher... what... happened here...?" Aglaea suppressed the horror in her heart and asked for an explanation.
Soon, after listening to the entire account from Tribios, Aglaea immediately reached a conclusion.
"If possible, we must save him." Aglaea said thoughtfully, glancing at Pie-non, who was still spewing Coreflames. "Coreflames in this absurd amount—there is definitely a world-shaking secret behind this."
Indeed, someone with Phainon's face, whose body stored over a hundred million Coreflames and still craved more, had to have a purpose—and that purpose definitely would not be small, most likely tied to Amphoreus.
"I think so as well." Cerces, the Reason Titan, cast her vote of agreement. "There are already more than four hundred million Coreflames here, enough to destroy the world, yet he still wants to seize more Coreflames, even urging us to surrender ours. I guess the reason behind this cannot be simple. We must ask him."
Castorice, Polyxia, and Tribios also nodded in agreement.
"Deliverer, what do you say?" Mydei, with his arms folded, glanced at Phainon and asked indifferently.
Phainon clenched his fists, feeling torn inside.
He desperately wanted to kill the executioner who had destroyed his homeland with his own hands, yet he also felt he should put the greater cause first.
"I... agree to save him..." Phainon finally forced the words through gritted teeth, then frowned. "But... can he actually be saved?"
"..."
No one could answer.
From Pie-non's appearance, he was clearly already spent, barely hanging on with the power of millions of Coreflames.
Among everyone present, when it came to saving lives, Castorice instantly thought of Lucian's bandage.
'If only we had Lucian's bandage, we could surely save him.'
Just as Castorice thought this, the final Coreflame finally fell to the ground, signaling that Pie-non was finished spewing everything out.
Without the power of the Coreflames sustaining his life, Pie-non was now completely drained—his body dull and lifeless, like charcoal about to turn into ashes. Even without clothes, there was nothing to see, only pitch-black hollows revealing the punishments he had endured.
"Don't... Era Nova..." Pie-non raised his empty gaze, looking at Phainon and then at Aglaea. "Our world... is false… Era Nova will destroy everything…"
Even though the lingering power of the Coreflames was the only thing keeping him alive, devouring so many of them had already burned him out inside and out, leaving him barely sane.
And now, without their support, his life force was vanishing rapidly.
"Phainon... Use it..." Pie-non raised his hand and pointed to his crescent-shaped ceremonial blade lying nearby. "Stab me with it, then you will understand... everything... quick..."
He had thought he could still secure the Coreflames and exploit the cycle's loophole as always, but he never expected to suddenly fail here.
Now that it had come to this, he had to let Phainon inherit his memories as soon as possible, or all his efforts would be lost and become nothing.
Just then, Castorice suddenly rushed over.
"Let me do it! I can save him!"
Everyone watched as Castorice pulled out a long stretch of white bandage from the void and, ignoring Pie-non's resistance, wrapped him tightly with it.
Lucian had just answered her prayer, granting her a special power called conceptual ability, Godly Bandage.
"No... Let Phainon kill me... You'll ruin everything..." Pie-non's voice grew weaker, but the panic in it was evident. "Castorice, please... I beg you..."
Everyone could see that his desire for death at Phainon's hands was unwavering—he even pleaded for it, which was utterly different from himself just a moment ago. They still remembered that arrogant coldness, that crushing dominance—compared to now, it was like night and day.
Castorice, however, ignored Pie-non's pleas, as though she heard nothing, and bound him completely with the bandage, making him a mummy.
"It's alright—with his power, there should be no problem."
Castorice stood up and let out a breath of relief, then turned to Phainon and Mydei.
"You two keep an eye on him. He should be fine after a while. Also, give him some clothes."
Right after saying this, she turned to the women.
"Let's not look anymore. He'll be completely naked later—best not to see."
"Oh, Professor, you can do as you please."
At Castorice's words, the women turned away on their own, refusing to watch, while Anaxa curled his lip, completely uninterested in looking.
"Castorice, what's the point of this bandage of yours?" Anaxa asked seriously, fixing his eyes on the white bandage wrapping around Pie-non.
"It can restore anything." Castorice replied with confidence. "I remember—even death can be undone. As long as there are body remains, resurrection is possible."
At these words, Anaxa froze, since that was even more outrageous than the alchemy he studied.
However, when he thought of his sister's body, already completely gone, despair instantly swallowed him. Even though the chance to resurrect his sister was right before his eyes, he could only watch helplessly.
Anaxa bit his lower lip, on the verge of exploding with frustration, but then he drew in a deep breath, forcing his raging heart to calm.
"More importantly, what about these Coreflames?" Polyxia asked with a frown. "What should be done with them?"
Aglaea was honestly troubled as well.
What an irony—the Coreflames she had long desired were right before her, yet now they had become a burden.
"First, let's ask him about it, then we'll decide..."
At Aglaea's decision, everyone nodded in agreement, since they also had no other alternatives.
===
"He's ready."
A few moments later, Mydei called out.
All the women turned at once, seeing that Pie-non was now dressed in a black robe, his body fully restored.
And sure enough, his face was exactly Phainon's face.
Seeing two Phainons standing face to face truly made for an uncanny sight.
Phainon stood silently, frowning, while Pie-non stood dazed, his mind in turmoil.
What power had brought him back?
What power had stripped away all his Coreflames?
What was that green light flowing from Castorice's body?
As all these questions filled Pie-non's mind, he took a deep breath to steady himself before finally speaking up.
"Castorice, Lady Tribbie... did you receive help from someone beyond this world?"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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