Chapter 990

"I'm not good at formalities, but I will certainly do my best."

"Aglaea nodded, looking meaningfully at the people behind them: 'Butterfly… next time, I hope you can speak openly.'"

Xiaodie: "I will."

"The Genesis Vortex Core has welcomed new visitors. Since you trust these two outsiders so much, please tell them the secrets hidden within the vortex core."

Having said that, Aglaea left this place.

"Sorry, I should have arrived earlier. Please let me say a few more words." Bai E came to a vessel shaped like a leak, filled with water, placed his hand on his chest, and solemnly swore: "... Standing here, I swear by the dignity of the golden heirs, your lives are not under threat. Before the interrogation begins, Miss Xiaodie has already conveyed the news to me, hoping to stop Aglaea."

"Very few people can shake Lady Aglaea, and Your Excellency Bai E is one of them." Xiaodie added.

"Does Bai E have that much influence?"

Bai E gave a bitter smile and shook his head: "Don't tease me. Aglaea… for the sake of Aohema, her heart has already turned to ice." He muttered to himself, "Perhaps this is what a 【Demigod】 is? Standing among mortals, yet far from them."

"A demigod?"

"Ah… there's another thing that needs explaining. Don't worry, the deepest secrets of Opherus are all hidden here."

Bai E looked up at the twelve fire-seed totems floating in the vortex core; some were lit, others remained extinguished and dim.

"In short, look up: that is the twelve celestial palaces of the Genesis Vortex Core, recording the golden heirs' Fire Pursuit Journey. The twelve vacant totems correspond to the twelve titans of Opherus. And each lit constellation represents a fire-seed returned to its original place by humanity."

Dan Heng looked at the few lit totems: "The returned fire-seeds… there are six of them; have you already covered half of your journey?"

——

Honkai 3

"Oh oh…! So only six fire-seeds remain!" Patro turned to the silent man not far away: "Captain Kevin, did you hear that? The progress of Opherus' Fire Pursuit Journey is faster than we expected!"

At first they thought they had only collected two or three fire-seeds; looking at it now, the progress is still not bad!

Kevin didn't turn back, merely silently gazing at the white-haired youth on the skyline who resembled me, expressionless: "No, this progress is not fast. Opherus is already on the brink of doom, and people are all rushing toward Aohema—in other words, as long as this human island is swallowed by the Heichi, Opherus' civilization is already over."

"But even now, the Fire Pursuit Journey has only just reached the halfway point……"

"But at least there's one good news: the two from the train crew will join us, and with the Dragon Sovereign's help, the progress should speed up considerably." Eden stood beside him, gently swirling the drink in his hand: "Among them, the one most skilled in combat should probably be the Titan of Conflict, which is likely the toughest to deal with, right?"

"That's completely wrong? The toughest should be the Sky Titan." Meibiwusi emerged from the shadows at some point, his vertical pupils slightly narrowed, the corner of his mouth curling in a smile-not-smile: "The Sky Titan's divine punishment can easily obliterate a human nation; you guess, if they later attack the Sky Titan, will Aohema be erased from the map like an eraser?"

"Oh? You seem to be looking forward to that scene?"

"Scientists are monsters born of curiosity." Meibiwusi didn't answer directly, but tilted his head, smiling even more meaningfully: "I'm curious just how far this world's 'science' has advanced—given how rare and powerful the golden heirs are, hasn't anyone tried to study this special group to seek some kind of evolution?"

"Or perhaps… study the Heichi, reshape human bodies to adapt to the Heichi? If the Fire Pursuit fails, this path would be more correct, right?"

——

"This was achieved through the immense sacrifice of those before us. The steps of the golden heirs once encountered a huge obstacle, making no progress for a long time……" Bai E paused, "It was Aglaea and Teacher Tiabo who again summoned the golden heirs worldwide, restarting the journey foretold in the divine proclamation."

"These two are also the only two demigods in the Holy City today." Xiaodie said.

"Shouldn't there be four?"

"Although Teachers Tiabo, Tian, and Ning are three people, but in terms of divinity——they're still just one!" Bai E continued explaining, "In the past, the titans were the pillars of the world. And the golden heirs received enlightenment from the divine proclamation: to shatter these twelve foundations and reconstruct the world's order."

"The difficulty lies here. When the old gods fall, someone must temporarily uphold the broken pillars, fill the vacancy of divine office, until the genesis miracle descends. Otherwise, the world will completely collapse into ruins before the divine proclamation is fulfilled."

"Aglaea and Teacher Tiabo have already buried their own divinities. Now they are both human and divine, and moreover the bearers of Opherus' fate."

Dan Heng pondered: "So that's what 'your fire-seed' means."

"Slay the titans, reclaim the fire-seeds, fill the divine offices——that is the mission of us golden heirs. I am walking the path they have walked."

Xiaodie lowered her head and murmured: "Mission…?"

"As for the twelve titans… no description can match hearing their whispers in the constellations firsthand. You two, why not step forward a few paces and try it yourselves?"

——

Qin's Moon: Tian Xing Jiu Ge

"A demigod…… no wonder Aglaea's personality is so cold."

Inside the Zilan Pavilion, Han Fei leaned against the window-side couch, holding a jade wine cup; after witnessing the Fire Pursuit Journey in the sky, he couldn't help but wonder: "Since she has become a demigod, wouldn't it be twice as effective if this demigod personally led the battle against the Titan of Conflict? Looking across all of Opherus, the only one who could match a god in combat would be another god."

"Han Brother, your words are mistaken." Zhang Liang laughed and shook his head: "Although Aglaea is a demigod, she is still a mortal flesh. If a golden heir like Bai E dies on the front lines, the Fire Pursuit Journey could still continue, but if a demigod dies…… the whole of Aohema would likely fall into chaos at once."

"That makes sense, but what about the other four demigods? Could it be that they also cannot join the battle?"

Based on the totem markings on the floating sky curtain, the returned fire-seeds are deceit, pathway, earth, ocean, romance, and law. Han Fei wonders, since the "Pathway" and "Romance" demigods are both present, what about the remaining four demigods?