"Beyond this world..."
Tribios frowned upon hearing Pie-non's question, then asked back.
"You know about the world beyond?"
At her question, Pie-non simply nodded.
Now, without the support from a single Coreflame, he was nothing more than an ordinary Chrysos Heir—someone who could be pinned down and pummeled easily by the demigod Mydei.
At this point, he had no choice but to follow the method from the first recurrence, explaining everything to everyone.
"Amphoreus is a fabricated, fake world."
"Everything here, including ourselves, is just data. Amphoreus is nothing more than a simulated experiment run by Lycurgus, meant to develop a demon capable of destroying the world."
"Cyrene and I stalled the development progress by using the power of a Path called the Remembrance to lock the final simulation into eternal recurrence—until the true Deliverer comes to save Amphoreus."
Pie-non's explanation left everyone stunned, and as he went on to elaborate in greater detail, a heavy silence fell over the group, each person sinking into deep thought.
Among them, Tribios, Castorice, and Polyxia were better prepared since they had heard Lucian speak of Aeons and Emanators from beyond, though he had never mentioned that Amphoreus itself was a fake world.
"Your claim is bizarre, but these hundreds of millions of Coreflames are solid proof..."
Aglaea paused, her gaze lingering on the mountains of Coreflames before she flicked a golden thread that coiled around Pie-non's wrist.
"Besides, my thread tells me you're not lying."
Seeing a mountain formed by millions of Coreflames as evidence, and hearing Aglaea's testimony, everyone had no choice but to believe Pie-non's words.
"Interesting..." Anaxa sneered with disdain, as if he truly did not care whether his world was real or fake. "I wonder what kind of machine could simulate a world."
He had once said this world was filled with lies and that only he was real, so he was not as surprised as the others.
"You're as arrogant as always." Aglaea mocked flatly.
"And your stubborn Era Nova nearly destroyed this world." Anaxa calmly shot back as he glanced at her. "Don't you think it's time to reflect?"
Aglaea, however, ignored him.
Meanwhile, Castorice and Polyxia just stayed silent, calmly watching everyone's reactions.
In truth, just like Anaxa, they cared little about the revelation of Amphoreus being a fake world. Besides, since Lucian had never spoken of it but had always paid attention here, it meant he had his own plans—so all they needed to do was trust him.
"So, which recurrence is it now, Blacky?" Tribios asked with seriousness.
Pie-non, amused by the new nickname she had given him, couldn't help but chuckle—surprising even himself the next moment.
He couldn't help it.
Let alone chuckle—it had been so long since he had last smiled.
"Lady Tribbie, my real name is Khaslana, but sure, you can call me Blacky too."
Even Pie-non—or rather, Khaslana—was amazed at how relaxed he felt now.
Since inheriting the memories of the previous Khaslana and continuing the eternal recurrence, he had never felt so at ease.
It must have been because he learned that the Deliverer beyond this world truly existed, and so his hatred-and-anger-filled mind finally eased.
"If Phainon kills me and inherits my memories and Coreflames, this would make it the 33,550,336th."
Khaslana answered Tribios's question with honesty.
"...No wonder there are more than 400 million Coreflames..." Cerces said after a brief silence, then sighed. "You're truly unbelievable... and admirable to endure until this point..."
"Heh, it suits you to be the Deliverer." Mydei added with a grin. "To carry so much alone and still walk this far—you deserve my respect."
"But your actions? I can't approve." Anaxa chimed in, shaking his head. "You killed so many people, and your sanity is on the brink of collapse. If not for Castorice's bandage, how long could you have lasted? Tell me honestly—did you ever even see us as lives of our own?"
A single question from Anaxa left Khaslana speechless, unable to answer.
"Haha, every Professor Anaxa I've ever known has been this sharp..."
Khaslana dodged the question with a faint smile, then turned serious again, fixing his gaze on Castorice and Tribios.
"So... Castorice, Lady Tribbie... who stands behind you? I want to meet them."
At this, the two women glanced at each other, then shook their heads together.
"Lucian hasn't returned yet, but that power just now—he lent it to us." Castorice explained with a lightly melancholic expression.
No doubt, if not for Lucian's help, all of them would have been soloed by Khaslana.
Of course, Tribios, Castorice, and Polyxia, blessed by Lucian's powerful blessing of Abundance, could not die regardless.
"I see..." Khaslana lowered his gaze for a moment, then raised it again with solemn determination. "In that case, please hold on until he appears. If in the end he does not, I will continue with the next recurrence."
After more than 30 million recurrences, a new variable had appeared, along with a mysterious power from beyond.
Surely, this had to be the Deliverer he had been waiting for.
Now, he had a new goal—to endure and wait for Lucian's arrival.
Just then, Phainon suddenly stepped forward, seething with resentment.
"No matter what, I won't forget that you destroyed Aedes Elysiae. You're still an executioner. I'll be the one to keep these Coreflames."
Upon hearing this, Khaslana stared seriously at his other self for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"No, your conviction isn't enough. You still can't endure the burning of the Coreflames."
"In fact, that was why I made you watch everyone die with your own eyes—only then could you gain the obsession needed to inherit the memories of over 30 million recurrences and hundreds of millions of Coreflames."
"But now that I've recovered, this burden no longer needs to fall on you. I can still continue into the next recurrence, so just live quietly and enjoy your time here—that's the least I owe you."
Right after saying this, Khaslana began preparing to retrieve the Coreflames, but Tribios quickly stopped him with a smile.
"Actually, I think we're better suited."
Without further explanation, Tribios suddenly split into a thousand little Tri.
""Let's all carry it together!""
Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon led the charge in absorbing the Coreflames scattered across the ground.
Castorice and Polyxia exchanged glances before joining in.
Needless to say, with the blessing of Abundance, they fared far better than Khaslana—at least, their bodies wouldn't be reduced to ash.
Soon, 1,002 bearers of Lucian's blessing had divided more than 400 million Coreflames among themselves, their power skyrocketing beyond measure.
Only now did they truly understand that Khaslana had been holding back much when he fought them earlier.
"Blacky, take this Coreflame of Worldbearing and ascend as a demigod!" Tribbie urged, handing over a Coreflame of Worldbearing. "We'll need the strength of demigods to resist the black tide."
"Snowy, you too." Trianne added, also handing over a Coreflame of Worldbearing. "Become a demigod first."
At this very moment, Aglaea's worldview and common sense were shattered.
Seeing so many Coreflames being split up like loot was so absurd that she couldn't help but pinch her hand hard to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"If the other Titans saw this scene, what would they think?" Cerces couldn't help but joke to herself at the absurdity of the situation.
"Professor, do you want to become a demigod?" Castorice asked the silent Anaxa.
Even though she knew Anaxa's temperament was awful, he was a trustworthy person.
"No, forget it." Anaxa shook his head, refusing without hesitation. "I don't want to be a demigod or a god. I only need Lucian."
Ever since his sister's death, the ones he trusted least were gods like the Titans.
When his homeland was destroyed and his sister was dying, he had begged every Titan one by one, and not a single one appeared, so he stopped believing in gods from then on.
No matter how powerful they were, he had nothing but contempt for them.
Of course, Lucian, who could bring back his sister, was the only exception.
"Still the same as always..." Aglaea said coolly from the side. "Without strength, you may never even see him."
Anaxa gave no reply, only a cold snort.
"Child, I think she's right." Cerces urged. "With that frail body of yours, you could drop dead any moment."
Yet even as the Reason Titan spoke and encouraged him, Anaxa remained unmoved.
In the end, they let him do as he wished.
"Now that it has come to this, from this moment on, the Flame-Chase Journey is abandoned." Aglaea declared with an emotionless face. "Our main mission now, as Chrysos Heirs, is to resist the black tide and hold on until Lucian arrives."
Honestly, she had never imagined she would one day give up the Flame-Chase Journey she had pursued for a thousand years.
Now that they had come this far, she could only hope Lucian would really appear before the black tide swallowed everything.
===
Several minutes ago, inside an observation chamber of the Emperor's Scepter, δ-me13, Lygus caught sight of a sudden electric signal sequence.
[NeiKos496]
[Track: Worldbearing]
[Primum Mobile: Hatred]
[Note: Degraded mind function restored. Repair principle unknown. All Coreflames lost.]
"Hmm?"
Lygus sensed something was off as he read the Scepter System's logs.
"Did that little data body figure it out? Abandoning all the Coreflames... Does that mean he intends to end the eternal recurrence?"
Realizing this, Lygus suddenly felt elated.
"At last... Irontomb will be born!"
===
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