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Castorice was so frightened by the sight of Fu Zhu's two streams of bloody tears that she fell backward onto the ground. She quickly tried to scramble back up to check on him, and if she wasn't keenly aware that her touch would bring death, she would have already reached out her hands.
The surrounding priests, seeing Fu Zhu deliberately touch Castorice, had all been terrified. Afterward, they began to silently mourn for this clueless fellow.
To touch the Holy Maiden, knowing full well it would mean death… I hope you're not so reckless in your next life.
However, to everyone's surprise, several moments passed, and Fu Zhu was still alive and kicking. He was just being a bit of a glutton; in that short span, they had already seen him drink two buckets of milk and eat who knows how many loaves of bread.
The priestess looked at him with surprise. "You… are you alright?"
Fu Zhu shook his head. "Not yet."
Downing the two buckets of milk had allowed him to test the mechanics. The deathly touch Castorice inflicted was not unlike a repeating command block.
For that ten-second duration of Wither V, no matter how many buckets of milk he drank, the debuff would be reapplied the very next second after being cleared. He had to wait for the entire ten seconds to end before it would dissipate on its own.
If it were a case of direct, continuous contact with Castorice, it likely wouldn't be just ten seconds. Even he would probably be in trouble.
Over by Castorice, when she heard Fu Zhu say he was alright, she finally let out a long sigh of relief. She climbed to her feet, patted the snow from her clothes, and then looked at Fu Zhu with timid caution.
"Does it hurt?"
Fu Zhu gave a silent curve of his lips and shook his head.
"Not at all."
Steve doesn't really have a pain sensation, or rather, the pain is only about the level of a mosquito bite.
Hearing Fu Zhu say this, a great weight was lifted from Castorice's heart. She felt a wave of relief, and a faint smile even appeared on her usually melancholic face.
The priestess looked from Castorice to Fu Zhu. Only after the two had finished speaking did she step in at an appropriate moment. "Let us return. As for you, sir… please accompany us back to Aidonia. The High Priest would very much like to meet you."
"Alright."
Fu Zhu nodded and agreed. He hadn't forgotten that the reason he'd given for his visit was to speak with the lord of Aidonia on behalf of Cerydra.
With Fu Zhu no longer being a sudden variable, the journey down the mountain was much smoother. Before long, the group had returned to Aidonia.
The moment he entered Aidonia, Fu Zhu couldn't help but frown.
This place was less a city-state and more like a monastic county. It couldn't even compare in population to a modern county; looking at the minimap, he estimated there were only a few tens of thousands of people at most.
Furthermore, the streets were mostly filled with the old, the weak, women, and children. Healthy young and middle-aged men were a rare sight. The entire city was shrouded in a deathly, stagnant air.
If not for the occasional sight of a few children playing on the streets, he would have thought he'd walked into a ghost town.
He had no idea how a city like this had managed to survive the advent of the Black Tide. Was it simply because the Black Tide had never attacked this place?
Soon, Fu Zhu was led by the priestess to the largest building in Aidonia. Castorice, meanwhile, was escorted back to her room by the other priestesses.
"Go on in. The High Priest is waiting for you inside."
The priestess led Fu Zhu to a door, pushed it open a crack for him, and then left.
Fu Zhu had no choice but to push the door open and walk in. Inside the room, a white-haired old man was reading a book by candlelight. Hearing footsteps, he raised his head to look at Fu Zhu. He squinted his murky eyes and adjusted his glasses before he could finally make out Fu Zhu's face.
"You are the emissary from the Holy City? Have a seat."
Fu Zhu nodded and walked over to an empty chair to the High Priest's right.
"Let me first introduce myself. My name is Eleusis. You could consider me the leader, lord, and High Priest of Aidonia. As for what to call me, you can pick one yourself."
"High Priest."
Eleusis nodded, taking that as his chosen title. He closed the book in his hands, placed it on the desk, and then slowly turned to face Fu Zhu.
"So, for what reason has Her Majesty Imperator sent you to this land?"
"Two matters." Fu Zhu held up two fingers in a V-sign. "First, Her Majesty Imperator is about to begin the first Flame Chase Journey. That is, the prophecy from the Saintess of Janusopolis concerning the Re-Creation. We must collect the twelve [Coreflames], and I have come to Aidonia to search for the [Death] Coreflame."
Eleusis stroked his white beard and gave a slight nod, gesturing for Fu Zhu to continue.
"Second…" Fu Zhu paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on Eleusis's murky eyes as he spoke, word by word. "This world is facing its end. If all living beings do not unite, we will be destroyed one by one."
Fu Zhu had phrased it diplomatically, but he was confident this wise old man would understand his meaning.
Just as he thought, Eleusis immediately understood the implication of his words.
"You mean… Aidonia should submit to the rule of Her Majesty Imperator, is that right?"
"Yes."
Eleusis did not answer right away. He simply sat there, stroking his beard and staring at Fu Zhu in silence. Fu Zhu returned his gaze without the slightest pressure.
After a long while, Eleusis supported himself on the arm of his chair. His elbow trembled as he tried to push his decrepit body to a standing position.
Fu Zhu reached out to help, but Eleusis raised a hand to decline the offer. Fu Zhu could only retract his hand and watch from his seat as the old man struggled to his feet and walked over to a nearby bookshelf.
His fingers traced along the spines of the books, finally stopping on one. He pulled it out, returned to his seat, and opened it.
"In a time long since passed, the souls of the dead would travel along the River Styx to the Underworld to finally enter the cycle of reincarnation…"
Eleusis suddenly began to tell a story, which Fu Zhu found a bit unexpected. But he sat there quietly and listened, certain that this wise man would not speak of meaningless things.
"But one day, for reasons unknown, the River Styx became blocked. All the souls of the dead gathered upon the river, unable to proceed to the Underworld. They could only wander aimlessly. Then, one day, the souls who could not find death inundated a city named Styxia. At that time, the queen of Styxia had her executioner, a woman named Amunet, take a cursed infant away from the city. She brought the child to Aidonia, claiming the cursed infant was a chance for redemption granted to her by the gods. After that, Styxia was utterly destroyed."
"Only that executioner and that cursed infant survived."
Hearing this, Fu Zhu understood. That cursed infant was none other than the current Holy Maiden of Aidonia, Castorice.
As for the story Eleusis told about the River Styx and the Underworld, it must be related to the Titan of [Death].
In other words, the clue to finding the [Death] Coreflame lay with Castorice.