Chapter 338 - The World Forged New

The search for knowledge began the morning after Dante's oath, and it consumed them both with an intensity that bordered on obsession. Selena sent messengers to every corner of the known world, seeking out scholars, mages, mystics, and keepers of forgotten lore. She offered gold and sanctuary to anyone who could provide information about phoenixes, about bonds that transcended mortality, about the intersection of mortal will and divine transformation. Meanwhile, Dante buried himself in the palace archives, reading every ancient text, every crumbling manuscript, every half-forgotten legend that might contain even a fragment of useful information.