The others did not dwell too much on Solabis' words, nor were they really in a position to.
After all, when someone was speaking about family history, it would be rather inappropriate for an outsider to interrupt.
The most important objective right now was still to find the whereabouts of the Sky Titan and, while they were at it, help Hyacine recover the missing portion of her people's history.
"..." After hearing Hyacine's words, Solabis did not respond immediately. Instead, it turned toward the situation at hand.
The two of them had been trapped in the sky for a thousand years. They had no idea what the outside world had become.
"We've laid all the other Titans to rest, one by one. Now, the final target for the Flame-Chase is the master of this sky fortress."
Phainon stepped forward and spoke earnestly:
"Please guide us to an audience with Aquila, heroic souls. Seliose initiated the era of slaying gods and attaining their flames. Even if she could not witness the end of this era, you will all at least bear witness on her behalf."
Solabis carefully examined the white-haired young man before it. In his eyes, it seemed to see traces of a familiar figure.
"Confidence and fierceness, Yes, I do indeed see a shadow of her in you."
Solabis said slowly. Phainon froze for a moment. For the first time, he did not know how to respond.
At that moment, behind the group, the mark hidden within the clouds silently flew away.
It carried Aquila's aura, so naturally no one intended to let it leave.
"Is that a reaction... from the Titan?" Looking toward where the mark had vanished, Stelle asked, "Should we pursue it?"
"Yes." Phainon's answer was concise.
The two-winged beasts immediately split up.
Lunabis flew ahead along the route that would inevitably lead to the Sky Titan, making preparations in advance. Meanwhile, the newly awakened Solabis guided the group forward.
Along the way, Hyacine finally asked a question that had troubled her for a long time.
Did the Sky Titan really take the side of the Sunfolk? Weren't they all Skyfolk? Why favor one side so heavily?
Solabis pondered for a moment before revealing the ugly truth:
"Everyone thought so until Seliose's spear pierced through Aquila's wrath."
"Only then did we understand that Aquila wasn't hiding from the clouds and rain, but from the horror that lurked within the unlit shadows."
The horror lurking within the shadows?
The Chrysos Heirs beside Solabis, as well as Stelle and Dan Heng, almost instantly thought of the threat hanging over every person in Amphoreus, that is, the Black Tide.
"A thousand years ago? The Black Tide had already spread to the skies?"
Phainon was shocked by the timeline.
The records on the surface, along with historians, had all agreed that the Titan of Strife, Nikador, was the first Titan to come into contact with the Black Tide.
But then he reconsidered.
The sky being contaminated first actually made sense. Yet after that realization, he found himself speechless.
Beside him, Hyacine seemed equally hesitant to speak. The truth was that the Sky Titan had avoided dark regions because it feared the Black Tide.
Compared to the old belief that Aquila favored the People of Dawn, this explanation sounded even more absurd.
The audience could not help but start roasting Aquila.
...
: Hahahaha, Aquila is literally a deserter.
: So because it feared the Black Tide, it instinctively rejected all shadows, abandoned the rainfolk, and ended up causing the civil war of the Eye of Twilight... damn, that's ridiculous.
: The whole Skyfolk storyline is bizarre.
: So Aquila really turned into a clown.
: Was it really that scared?
: Compared to that, Nikador is a Titan among Titans.
: Seriously. It resisted the Black Tide for so long. What a legend.
: Aquila spent its entire existence running away and hiding. How is that Titan-like at all?
: Every Titan we've seen so far had their own defining traits. Then we get to Aquila and everything falls apart.
: The truth is even funnier than the theories.
...
After finishing their complaints, the audience continued watching.
On screen, the Chrysos Heirs all had different thoughts, yet none voiced them.
Instead, Phainon was the first to show understanding.
"The black tide's threat has forced the Chrysos Heirs to complete our Flame-Chase Journey, heading toward the prophecy's Miracle of Genesis."
It was meant as consolation. But Solabis clearly did not care what everyone thought of Aquila.
Instead, it curiously asked:
""Chrysos Heirs"... In our time, that title used to stir up waves of outrage. But you all seem to be revered as heroes."
"It's all thanks to those who came before us, Tribios and Aglaea. You must've heard of these two names."
When Phainon mentioned those two names, his tone grew noticeably heavier.
Solabis, meanwhile, seemed momentarily dazed.
Having been consumed by the Black Tide, it had never truly experienced the passing of a thousand years.
Hearing the names of two people from its own era spoken aloud by Phainon left it somewhat absent-minded.
"Mmm... So it was those two who made it to the end."
At first glance, the statement sounded ordinary. But after thinking about it, everyone felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy.
There must have been countless famous Chrysos Heirs in that era.
Many of them surely had heroic deeds and grand, stirring stories of their own. Yet after a thousand years had passed, only Aglaea and Tribios remained for the audience to remember.
Time flows on. Seas become fields and fields become seas. And in Amphoreus, that feeling was always hidden within a single casual sentence.
At this moment, as they continued talking, the group crossed the Rainbow Bridge and arrived at the other side of the Sky Fortress.
At the end of the path, they saw an astrolabe-like device, as well as the golden clouds outside the fortress.
Aquila's eye was concealed within those clouds.
During the journey, Solabis had already explained to the Chrysos Heirs how to force Aquila out of hiding.
This Titan is most fond of hiding within golden clouds. However, by using the Celestial globe to alter the weather, they could gradually shrink Aquila's area of activity.
"Let's not elaborate on unrelated topics. You now know how to activate the celestial globe. So go, and force out the Titan in the mural."
After Solabis finished speaking, Hyacine stepped forward.
Just like before, once the Celestial globe was activated, the area fell into shadow.
The eye representing Aquila immediately began to tremble and swiftly flew toward another direction.
Everyone was rather helpless at how ridiculously good Aquila was at running away.
Fortunately, the plan had already been laid out. With the Fortress of the Eye of Twilight as the center, Celestial globes were positioned in all four directions.
As long as the weather in those directions was changed into rainy and overcast conditions, Aquila would have nowhere left to flee.
The final direction where the weather would be altered was the one where Aquila currently resided, east.
Following the plan step by step, everyone steadily reduced Aquila's available space.
The Titan was not merely fleeing blindly. Perhaps it had also realized Hyacine and the others' intentions, and began using its authority over the sky to influence the fortress.
Although this floating fortress was supported by advanced technology, much of its "black tech", including its levitation and flight capabilities, was built upon Aquila's authority.
The Titan could easily create numerous obstacles within the fortress to hinder everyone's progress.
But such methods could only stop ordinary people. Faced with Stelle and the others, they were practically meaningless.
Under the blessing of Time's divine power, all roadblocks and obstacles became a joke. The group moved through the Sky Fortress as though walking on level ground, quickly completing the weather changes in three directions.
Aquila had nowhere left to run. The plan was proceeding smoothly.
Yet everyone's mood was far from carefree. Especially Hyacine.
With the aid of the Time Barrier cast by Stelle and Mem, she saw many pieces of history that perhaps should never have been seen.
There were the life-and-death battles between the two peoples of Sunfolk and Rainfolk. There were also fragments of historical truths hidden within the words of ordinary citizens.
All these fragments pointed to a single conclusion. The history of her people had been embellished. The internal conflict was likely only an excuse, a superficial reason.
The true cause behind the Skyfolk falling to the earth lay elsewhere. Yet whether it was the records preserved by her people or everything they had seen within the Sky Fortress, one period remained completely blank.
The history following Seliose's campaign against Aquila.
In truth, it wasn't only Hyacine. Phainon also kept silent, having realized the crucial issue. Even someone as sharp and playful as Stelle no longer made jokes.
As for Solabis, it clearly knew something, but since Hyacine did not ask, it remained silent.
As the legendary winged beast that had once followed Seliose, it too was observing Hyacine, waiting for a certain moment, waiting to see her reaction after learning the truth.
The audience, however, had no such reservations. The chat exploded with discussion.
...
: The atmosphere suddenly got really weird...
: It's basically confirmed now. There has to be some huge secret behind this history.
: Damn... I'm actually scared of what we're about to see next.
: Hyacine can't even smile anymore... she realizes it too, doesn't she?
: Compared to the other descendants, the Skyfolk never lost their heritage. Their image has always been a positive one.
: The identity of being descendants of the Day-Thunder Knight gave them immense support and honor during the apocalypse.
: And Hyacine has always been proud of her bloodline.
: Well, it's the bloodline of heroes...
: I just wonder what the secret is.
: Could it be that the sunfolk was actually the side that betrayed?
: If that's true, that would be absolutely explosive.
: Or maybe... the Day-Thunder Knight was Aquila in disguise?
: Oh wow, that's even crazier.
: Holy crap, can you stop treating this like entertainment? This is serious!
: Honestly, nobody knows. There are too many possibilities.
: Hopefully it's something good!
: I only have one request, don't hurt Hyacine!
: The only sweet girl in Amphoreus. Please don't give her another tragic backstory!
...
As the chat scrolled by, Phainon, Stelle, Hyacine and the others had arrived before the final Celestial globe.
But before setting out to hunt down Aquila, Hyacine ultimately took a deep breath and made a request to Stelle and the others.
"Memmie, Grayie, could I please ask you for this favor? I want to show the truth to my ancestors waiting on the other side."
"If there are falsehoods in the legends... then there must be a reason for its embellishment."
"The scene here and the previous memories gave me a bad feeling... What else did the Skyfolk encounter after Seliose challenged the god?"
"I must figure out the truth behind the legend, even if it's for my ancestors' sake."
Hyacine spoke with a heavy tone. There were even some thoughts she could not bring herself to say aloud.
For example, after the Skyfolk fell to the earth, before Aglaea guided the Flame-Chasing Journey back onto the proper path, why had no one within the tribe ever spoken of returning to the skies?
The Kremnoans dreamed day and night of reclaiming Castrum Kremnos.
Yet the Skyfolk possessed the same glory and heritage. And still, they never spoke of going back.
It was far too strange. Mem placed her hands on her hips and nodded cutely.
"Hyacine... You're such a good child. Don't worry. I'm here!"
"The memories surging here are even more intense than at the entrance... I'll gather them up now, and mold them, and mold them..."
Beneath her tiny paws, the invisible memory fragments rapidly merged together, gradually forming a sphere far larger than before.
This was not solely due to the power of Time. It was also because the place where they stood was the only route leading to Aquila.
The east... A thousand years ago, when the Day-Thunder Knight marched to subjugate Aquila, they had traveled along this very same path.
The scenes of that time were surely far more intense than those of today.
And indeed... Under the cover of the Time Barrier, one figure after another emerged…
Dense crowds began appearing all around them.
"So many people?!" Hyacine looked down in astonishment.
At that moment, she was standing beside the Celestial globe. Most likely, a thousand years earlier, the Day-Thunder Knight had stood in this exact same place.
And the crowd memories stretching before her eyes were the very sights that the Day-Thunder Knight had once witnessed.