---o---
Upon hearing Aglaea's question, Dan Heng and Stelle couldn't help but frown. Although they didn't understand why she was asking this, both of them nodded affirmatively.
"We are."
Aglaea sensed the golden threads in her hands; they didn't tremble in the slightest. This indicated that the two weren't lying. They were truly like Fu Zhu—Nameless Guests from beyond the sky.
Aglaea immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She retracted the golden threads from their wrists, stood up, and offered them a deeply apologetic bow.
"I am very sorry for questioning you two in such an offensive manner. Please understand. During the period we completely lost contact with Fu Zhu, quite a few people attempted to impersonate Nameless Guests to approach Okhema. As the proxy, I had to adopt this foolproof method to ensure Okhema's safety."
Dan Heng and Stelle didn't blame Aglaea. They could understand her reasoning; if they were in her position, they would have made the same choice.
However...
"You said my brother lost contact with you all?"
Stelle furrowed her brows. Losing contact was not good news.
Aglaea seemed to have anticipated Stelle's question. She immediately pulled out a neatly packaged document from the side, placed it on the table, and slid it toward Dan Heng and Stelle.
"Open it and take a look. Inside is the record we kept after losing contact with Fu Zhu."
Stelle immediately took the document, hurriedly opening it to read the records within. Dan Heng leaned in closely to read as well.
[Light Calendar Year 3811: Upon receiving news regarding the [Death] Coreflame from His Majesty Imperator, Lord Nameless Fu Zhu departed for Aidonia in search of the cursed Saintess Castorice. Days later, for unknown reasons, all the undead entrenched in the ruins of Styxia departed the area and marched toward Aidonia.]
[Countless undead occupied Aidonia. According to one of the two survivors, the priestess, there should have been more survivors. But for unknown reasons, only she and Saintess Castorice survived. The church in Aidonia was also enveloped by a strange mist. The undead, the remaining survivors, and Fu Zhu all went missing.]
[Light Calendar Year 3813: His Majesty Imperator dispatched countless personnel to search for Fu Zhu across the entirety of Amphoreus. Many also ventured into the mist of Aidonia to search, but not a single person returned. Everyone who entered the mist disappeared.]
[That same year: The eternal night enshrouding Amphoreus, which had previously turned into eternal day for unknown reasons, descended once more after losing contact with Fu Zhu. According to Saintess Castorice later on, the eternal day of Amphoreus was intrinsically linked to Fu Zhu.]
Reading up to this point, Dan Heng subconsciously looked outside. It was still daylight outside; it hadn't plunged back into eternal night as the record stated.
Could it be... Fu Zhu returned?
Dan Heng wanted to ask Aglaea, but before he could speak, she pointed at the document. "Keep reading."
Dan Heng had no choice but to continue reading down the page.
[Light Calendar Year 3814: Seeing that the mass search yielded no results, the Chrysos Heirs decided to take matters into their own hands. The Saintess of Janusopolis, Tribios, split off 200 of her fragments to restart her journey across Amphoreus, searching for the other Chrysos Heirs as well as Fu Zhu's whereabouts.]
[That same year: Cipher successfully passed the trial of the Titan of [Trickery], becoming the Demigod of [Trickery]. Following this, she left a message stating she was going out to find Fu Zhu. Soon after, the Ocean Demigod Hysilens also left Okhema, embarking on a journey to find Fu Zhu.]
[Light Calendar Year 3815: The eternal night that had reappeared due to Fu Zhu's disappearance suddenly ended. Eternal day blanketed Amphoreus once again.]
[That same year: Sightings of a man resembling Fu Zhu were reported from various parts of Amphoreus. However, everyone who followed the rumors to find this man only managed to see him; they could not make him stay. Yet, all eyewitnesses claimed that the person was indeed the missing Fu Zhu.]
[Light Calendar Year 3819: His Majesty Imperator dispatched all Chrysos Heirs with the intent of bringing Fu Zhu back, but without exception, everyone failed. Only Cipher managed to successfully meet him; the rest didn't even catch a glimpse of his face.]
[Light Calendar Year 3820: His Majesty Imperator temporarily halted the Flame-Chase Journey and initiated another massive campaign to find Fu Zhu. As of 3825, this ended in failure.]
[Light Calendar Year 3826: During an exchange with Castrum Kremnos, His Majesty Imperator learned from Crown Prince Mydei that he had seen Fu Zhu and the Titan of [Death] in a realm known as the [Nether]. Afterward, appointing Aglaea as proxy and leaving the message, 'A King shall never abandon any subject,' Imperator took two hundred Iron Golems and headed to Aidonia, subsequently disappearing.]
[That same year: The Demigod of [Death] Castorice returned to Aidonia, but her efforts failed due to the mist. She found no clues regarding the [Nether].]
[Light Calendar Year 3827: The Ocean Demigod Hysilens departed Okhema and returned to the Kingdom of Phagousa, utilizing the power of the Sea Sirens to begin searching for the missing Imperator and Fu Zhu.]
At this point, the records in the document ceased.
Stelle couldn't help but frown upon seeing this. She looked up at Aglaea and asked, "What about after that?"
Aglaea shook her head regretfully. "After that, although we were still searching for Fu Zhu, there was absolutely no progress. Therefore, there was no longer a need to keep recording. Furthermore, because monsters of the Black Tide that aren't afraid of sunlight started appearing consecutively, we had to focus on stopping the Black Tide to protect the masses."
Stelle sighed, turning her head to look at her external brain.
"Dan Heng, what do you think?"
Dan Heng stroked his chin in thought before asking Aglaea, "Currently, what stage is the Flame-Chase Journey at?"
"There are still a few [Coreflames] left unretrieved. However, because we made a prior agreement with Fu Zhu, before the Re-Creation ritual takes place, all [Coreflames] must be presented for him to inspect. Only his approval will allow us to proceed."
Dan Heng's eyes lit up. Since Fu Zhu specifically made such a request of the Chrysos Heirs, it meant there was definitely a problem with either the [Coreflames] or the Re-Creation itself—or perhaps both!
Since the Re-Creation process was suspended, their primary goal remained finding Fu Zhu!
"There is definitely a problem with that patch of mist in Aidonia. His Majesty Imperator must have discovered something to personally lead the Iron Golems there."
Dan Heng voiced his perspective to the others, then turned to Aglaea again. "What message did His Majesty Imperator leave before departing?"
Aglaea nodded, then recalled the words Imperator had spoken when summoning the assembly of Chrysos Heirs.
"'Since Mydei said that Fu Zhu had already sent him out of the [Nether] at that time, then Fu Zhu definitely planned to leave the [Nether] afterward as well. But he lost contact for a period of time, which means someone ambushed him! And this person's strength is not weak, otherwise it would be impossible for Fu Zhu to lose contact!'"
"'To be safe, I will go this time. The remaining Chrysos Heirs will continue the Flame-Chase Journey and protect the Holy City!'"