Polyxia flew quickly towards Okhema below, soon arriving above the city. Looking towards Aglaea and the others, Derick's group quickly landed.

"Lady Aglaea, Sister Tribbie, we're back," Derick said to them happily.

Cipher impatiently rushed to Aglaea's side, wrapped an arm around her waist, and said with a grin: "Aya, Sister Tribbie, did you miss me?"

Aglaea was silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I missed you all very much."

With Derick's group's arrival, she no longer needed to force herself to maintain an extremely rational state. Seeing their expressions, Aglaea guessed they had found a way to resolve the Amphoreus crisis. At this, she felt she could relax a great deal.

Derick then walked over to Phainon and Mydei, lightly punching both their shoulders to show that everything went well.

Mydei looked at Derick, a smile in his eyes, and said: "Looks like you gained quite a lot from leaving Amphoreus this time!"

"Of course," Derick replied confidently to Mydei.

What's that saying? Returning home rich and famous without showing it off is like wearing brocade in the dead of night. Now that his power had surged, he naturally wanted to show off a little in front of his old friends.

Seeing Derick's confidence, Mydei felt the urge to team up with Phainon to test him. Before Derick left Amphoreus, he had already surpassed them both. Now, if they didn't team up, Mydei felt they'd just be handing Derick an easy victory.

Cipher, beside Aglaea, also overheard the conversation between Derick and Mydei. Seeing Mydei's expression, she knew what he was planning and said proudly, puffing out her chest: "Mydei, even if you and Phainon team up this time, Derry can still beat you easily."

Phainon and Mydei looked at Derick. Phainon smiled and asked: "Derick, just how much has your power progressed?"

"I've reached the level of an Emanator," Derick answered Phainon's question.

"Emanator? What level is that, approximately?" Aglaea asked, confused.

This was a new term that had never appeared in Amphoreus; they were truly unfamiliar with this measure of power.

"That guy, Lygus, is an Emanator. Also, the entire operation of the world of Amphoreus, every 're-creation' by the Golden Scions, is all for the sake of creating another Emanator," Cipher continued from the side.

Hearing Cipher's explanation, Aglaea couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Lygus's mysteriousness was something even she couldn't fathom. Aglaea estimated that if he were to cause trouble, the most she could do was delay him; a direct confrontation would be impossible. Not to mention Cipher's second point, that the world's constant re-creation was just to birth a single Emanator.

Just how powerful was such an Emanator? Even Aglaea couldn't calculate it.

And now Derick was saying he had that same level of power.

Aglaea closed her eyes, feeling that everything here had exceeded her expectations.

But Derick's arrival also brought her sufficient support. Otherwise, if Lygus truly intended to do something, Aglaea felt she...

Tribbie saw that Aglaea's mind was in turmoil and didn't want to spoil the joy of Derick's return, so she quickly said: "Alright, let's not think about this for now. Let's go back to the Hero's Bath, have a nice soak, and let Derry and the others get a good rest."

Aglaea agreed with the suggestion and also said to Derick: "Right, about your accommodations, we'll need to arrange them again."

After Okhema was occupied by the new Ceynes, out of revenge, Ceynes had massively destroyed the residences of Derick and the other Golden Scions. Even the Hero's Bath was hastily repaired by Aglaea. No one knew when Derick's group would return, so Aglaea hadn't thought about preparing their quarters.

Now that they were back, arrangements had to be made urgently.

Hearing about the accommodations, Cipher patted Derick's shoulder and said to Aglaea: "Aya, Aya, remember to prepare one less room. I'm moving in with Derry."

After hearing Cipher, Aglaea didn't nod immediately but looked at Castorice beside her.

Cipher was known to talk nonsense; it was better to check the others' reactions.

She found that Castorice just glared at Cipher but showed an attitude of tacit approval.

Could it be...

Aglaea looked at Cipher and instantly felt that she was somehow different from when she had left Amphoreus.

Drawing on her millennia of experience observing the people of Okhema, she quickly deduced Cipher's state.

She was no longer a maiden.

But on second thought, it was only natural.

After all, after leaving Amphoreus, huddling together for warmth in unknown territory would easily cause feelings to heat up. At the same time, Castorice would also likely approve of those relationships.

Although Aglaea didn't quite understand this situation of several people living together, she thought it was a good thing that her dear friend Cipher's feelings had finally borne fruit.

"It seems I can lighten my workload a bit, then." Since she'd figured out that 'that kind of relationship' had developed between Cipher and Derick, Aglaea was naturally willing to help them live together.

Hearing Aglaea's words, Cipher knew she had understood her meaning and gave her an affirming smile.

Just as Aglaea finished speaking, Hyacine lowered her head, turning her feet inward pigeon-toed, and said shyly to Aglaea: "Um, Lady Aglaea, you don't need to prepare a room for me either."

Aglaea: "..."

What is going on!?

Aglaea felt like her brain was about to short-circuit.

It's not just Cipher?

She then observed Hyacine closely and found that she, too, was indeed no longer a maiden, just like Cipher and the others.

Aglaea's gaze subconsciously shifted to Polyxia.

If Cipher and the others are... then what about Polyxia?

Alright, just as I thought.

Looking at their condition, Aglaea started to suspect that there was nothing outside of Amphoreus except for a single bed.

Otherwise, how long have they been gone? How did they all get together so quickly?

"Aya, what's wrong?" Seeing Aglaea stunned, Tribbie bit her finger and asked curiously.

Although she had lived for a long time, because she was split into a thousand parts, Tribbie's mind had remained mostly childlike and would until she merged back into Tribios. She had no idea what had happened with Cipher, Hyacine, and the others.

As for Phainon and Mydei beside them, they knew even less.

"It's nothing. You all go and rest first." Aglaea waved her hand, not planning to explain to Tribbie.

"Okay."

Then Aglaea led Derick, Castorice, and the others to rest.

The next day, at the Hero's Bath.

Aglaea, Castorice, Cipher, and the others were not soaking in the hot spring, but were holding a meeting beside it to plan the next battle.

After resting hastily yesterday, she still hadn't heard Derick's group report on the situation outside.

"How did you all rest last night?" Aglaea asked Castorice and the others.

Hearing Aglaea's question, Castorice, Hyacine, and Polyxia all looked away.

Last night, out of excitement for returning to Amphoreus, even Castorice had reluctantly joined the others.

Cipher nodded happily at this moment: "That's right, that's right, we rested very well."

Aglaea was a bit confused by their reactions.

Her golden threads were useless against someone of Derick's power, so Aglaea was unaware of how they had rested last night.

Just then, Derick, Mydei, and Phainon walked in. Mydei's expression was a bit unnatural, while Phainon had a look of relief.

"Derry, Phainon, Mydei, how did your sparring match go?" Tribbie asked curiously.

Phainon shrugged and said to Tribbie: "Teacher Tribbie, Mydei and I teamed up against Derick and still suffered a crushing defeat. We couldn't even fight back."

After such a battle, Mydei and Phainon had now seen just how powerful an Emanator is.

"He's that strong?" Tribbie said in surprise.

Then she realized something and asked Derick: "If that's the case, isn't that Lygus guy just as strong?"

"Yes, he's very strong. It's even possible he's hiding something; even I can't guarantee I can beat him. Plus, this is Lygus's home turf, so he'll be tough to deal with," Derick nodded in agreement.

"Then..."

Phainon looked worried.

Hearing this, Derick and Cipher exchanged a glance and smiled.

"Don't worry. Although Lygus is a powerful Emanator, we don't need to worry about what he can do. Or rather, there's nothing he can do right now," Derick replied to Aglaea.

"Nothing he can do?" Everyone looked at Derick, confused.

"Because we didn't come back alone. Besides me, there are four other Emanators watching Lygus. If that guy makes a single move, he'll be killed on the spot," Derick told Aglaea and the others.

"Four Emanators..."

Aglaea looked at Derick again.

Counting Derick and Lygus, that made six Emanators.

And the Emanator that Amphoreus is preparing to birth... that's seven Emanators all at once.

This level of power, far surpassing their Golden Scions and the Titans of Amphoreus, and seven of them appear at once!

Aglaea couldn't help but ask Derick: "Derick, just how big is the outside world? And how many powerhouses at the Emanator level are there? Are we... incredibly weak in the grand scheme of the universe?"

She was worried that Amphoreus was pathetically weak compared to the outside world.

Like a frog in a well looking at the sky, thinking the world is only as big as the well's opening. But in reality, any random animal outside is far more powerful than the frog.

Aglaea was afraid of being that frog.

Derick saw Aglaea's worry and quickly said: "Aglaea, you don't need to worry like that. Although the outside world is countless times bigger than Amphoreus, people at the Emanator level are extremely rare. They're the strongest beings beneath the Aeons. Your power level is actually very high in the universe; you're definitely major players."

After saying this, he began to explain the structure of the universe to Aglaea, including concepts like Aeons and Emanators.

Once everything was explained, Aglaea finally relaxed.

If the Emanator level was so rare in the universe, then Amphoreus was much safer. After all, Derick was now an Emanator. With his protection, once Amphoreus escapes its world-ending crisis and makes contact with the universe, they won't have to worry about being targeted by other cosmic factions, which could bring dangers even worse than the Black Tide.

"Then why have so many Emanators come here?" Tribbie asked from the side.

"Well, that's a long story. First, let's start from when we left Amphoreus..."

Derick began to recount their experiences during this time, and along the way, he also explained the situation of Amphoreus to Aglaea and the others.

After Derick finished, Aglaea, Tribbie, and the others were lost in thought.

The things Derick spoke of really required some time to digest.

Derick's magnificent adventures, and the fact that the world of Amphoreus was essentially a virtual simulation, were all far beyond Aglaea's comprehension.

After a long time, Aglaea finally processed it all.

"To save this world, Derick, what do you plan to do?"

"First, I need to wait for my friends from other worlds to arrive, then we'll act together," Derick told Aglaea.

"Once they're here, I'm going to gather all the Coreflames."

"Gather them? According to what you said, doesn't that mean you're going to let the Lord Ravager Irontomb be born?" Aglaea asked with confusion.

"Yes, my goal is to let Irontomb be born. And then, make his power our own."

Derick nodded affirmatively.

The Imperial Scepter of Amphoreus is the computational core. Simply obstructing it will cause the world of Amphoreus to collapse. To save everyone, Derick needs to bring forth Irontomb's power to interfere with the Imperial Scepter and preserve this world.

Then Derick will absorb Irontomb's power.

Anyway, his body has already absorbed the Coreflames of many Titans and the power of the Flame Reaver, so absorbing Irontomb's power directly shouldn't be a problem.

"Okay."

Aglaea and the others had no objections.

Things had come to this point; Derick was the only savior of Amphoreus. No matter how outrageous his proposed method was, they had to do it.

Besides, with so many people Derick had brought over this time, even if something went wrong, they had a safety net.

____

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