An exasperated sigh came from Seele's mouth. She wanted to hit Veliona's head, but thinking of the other pair of twins watching them, she refrained from doing so.
"You must have heard of Sh…Merlin." Seele swiftly corrected herself. "We are his…"
"Wives."
The sister duo inadvertently looked at the silver circlet on their wrists before freezing.
'I remember the Imperator holding him in high regard… and their common friend, the Dux Gladiorum, too…'
Castorice shook these thoughts off. Her sister, however, wasn't as mature. She was startled the moment she heard the mention of 'wives', thinking of the noble men who married a dozen wives during their lifetime.
"He has… two wives?"
"Two? There are already six. There are still a lot of women vying to be the same."
Veliona's rather helpless smirk stunned the Death Demigod sisters speechless.
"Mhm. We are not here to talk about it…" Seele boldly intervened. "Nihility's influence, leave it to us. The world outside of this realm is far too chaotic. We believe your friends need your assistance more. To reassure you…"
A soft golden glow was emitted from Seele's hands. It was partly the power of Equilibrium mimicking the Death Titan's authority, but a part of it is unknown to them—the Dao of Samsara brought by immortal cultivation.
Just like Shi Tian, the others also majored in their 'Daos'. Seele and Veliona first took the Dao of Netherworld. A sudden change came at some point. Their similar souls and the astoundingly deep connection pushed the Dao of Netherworld into the Dao of Samsara.
In immortal cultivation, there are no inherently superior Daos. As it evolved, however, the 'Daos' with wider scope were treated stronger compared to the 'Dao' with lesser scope.
In their case, the Dao of Netherworld governed the world's reincarnation—it is merely a part of it. The Dao of Samsara, however, holds everything needed for reincarnation.
The power exhibited by Seele far outclassed what Castorice and Polyxia can do.
Hum-!
The River of Souls shook. This time, it is not out of pain and suffering, but of exhilaration.
"...Thank you."
Castorice bowed towards the two. She had just met them, yet they were willing to help them. No matter what, she felt it was right to show her sincerity.
Seeing Castorice's actions, Polyxia did and hurriedly copied her.
"Go. A world ending in Destruction… It is something we would rather not see."
The more outspoken Veliona leaked her thoughts. It is the final reassurance the twins needed, leading to them exiting the special dimension through a permanent Century Gate.
Only the two Samsara goddesses were left.
"The others should be working already. It is time to do our part…"
*****
After returning the Coreflame, Anaxa escorted Hyacine to the Twilight Courtyard's headquarters. It is an institution inside Okhema that specializes in treating diseases, injuries, and ailments.
Only after they received a normal check up did Anaxa feel reassured. Hyacine was still silent, her somewhat eerie eyes dazing off at the distance. Her usual liveliness was replaced with gloom—trauma, even.
Aglaea also arrived alongside Tribbie. They heard about Hyacine's situation from Trianne. Anaxa placed aside his usual rivalry with Aglaea, preparing to discuss how to deal with Okhema's current disaster, when four women popped up.
Everyone tensed up, save for Tribios' avatars.
"Long, silver hair styled in meticulous drills…"
"So this is what he meant by recognizing at first glance!"
Trianne's comment sparked curiosity across the newcomers. Aglaea realized something as her gaze scanned the silver-haired woman.
"The 'Silver Wolf of Ural'..?"
Bronya sent her a strange look.
'He told my story?'
Her silver irises stared at Aglaea. Her intuition worked wonders. Bronya 'saw' a somewhat familiar sensation from her, one corresponding to her time as a child mercenary.
That time, her humanity was at its lowest. It wasn't until she was taken in by Cocolia, followed by Shi Tian's and Kiana's arrival, did she turn for the better.
The story he mentioned to Aglaea and Trianne did not contain much personal information, just that there was once a mercenary girl who gradually learned what humanity truly is. It was self-explanatory to the former. To the latter, she was the person whom Shi Tian told stories the most.
"This makes everything easier. We are Merlin's companions."
"From another world?"
Bronya affirmed Tribbie's question.
"For some reason, he was pulled into this world… your world. His actions are designed to lead everyone here to the starry sky outside." She added another statement, "To become real humans."
Everyone fell silent.
Out of the three, no, four people, only Tribbie has a 'hint' of Amphoreus' true nature. She interacted with Cerydra the longest. Coupled with Shi Tian's stories and vague morals, it pointed to Amphoreus being 'different' compared to 'other worlds'.
Seeing their puzzled and shocked looks, Bronya took it upon herself to unveil Amphoreus' true nature. She learned everything about this world from Kiana's mouth. The huge supercomputer, the Scepter, simulates Amphoreus over and over again until they reach the answer leading to Destruction.
The people residing in this world are not much different from Mars' supercomputer, Vita's samsara, and Earth's Project STIGMA.
Everyone held complex reactions to this world, though their consensus to save it remained the same. Shi Tian already did most of the part; best they could do is follow on to the very end.
"No wonder… No wonder..!"
Anaxa was so fixated to the discovery he no longer minded his reaction. Hyacine's gloom worsened, while Aglaea, Tribbie, and Trianne took it calmly.
"We experienced something similar to yours. A foreign god's descent spelled the end of our peaceful times. Merlin… Tian is one of the people who stood up and fought against it."
The other three, Theresa, Rita, and Bianka held varying reactions.
"That... He sacrificed too much to pull our world towards a better end."
Theresa looked strangely wistful, her arms placed underneath her chest.
"I… no, we are lucky to have met someone like him. His unbreakable will is something to aspire to."
Bianka spat out her thoughts. Her fixation over Shi Tian stemmed from his unique 'characteristic'.
"The Sect Master is very reliable. Now that he made a choice to save your world, I will follow."
Rita briefly stated her stance, acting as a perfect maid in the shadows.
"Then, on behalf of Amphoreus, I will accept your assistance." Aglaea paused for a moment. "What can we do?"
"Miss Theresa will be left behind. Lead her to areas you cannot handle."
Bronya pointed to the elegant-looking vampire.
"We still have one other companion who will be left in Okhema's ground. Contact the Earth Demigod and you will reach her. As for the rest of us…"
Her bright silver irises stared at the Black Sun hanging above.
"We will deal with the anomalous sun above."