---o---
On the central platform of the Grove of Epiphany, a spatial rift opened, and Fu Zhu walked out, a troubled look on his face.
"I forgot the time dilation between Amphoreus and the outside world is huge. I have no idea how long I was gone this time."
Fortunately, he had already gotten Cifera and the others settled before he went looking for Lygus, so he didn't have to worry about the little cat girl wandering the streets again, constantly anxious about her next meal.
I got her enrolled in school. She should have graduated with honors by now, a real talent, right?
Fu Zhu followed his memory into the interior of the Grove of Epiphany. Before he could even find the meeting room where he had spoken with Empedocles, he heard the sound of a conversation coming from around the corner ahead.
"Cipher, you ran off again!"
"Sister Tixi, I just feel like studying is a waste of time. If I have time to read a few books, I might as well go out and look for him."
"Sigh…"
Is that Cifera and Tixi's voices?
Fu Zhu quickened his pace, and as he reached the corner, he nearly collided with the two people coming from the other direction. Luckily, Fu Zhu took a preemptive step back.
Before he could even get a clear look at them, a figure had already rushed forward and thrown herself into his arms, followed by a question thick with grievance.
"Where did you go?!"
Fu Zhu looked down. Those familiar cat ears were trembling nonstop. Cifera, who had originally only been as tall as his waist, could now press her face against his chest.
For him, it had been a separation of only a few short minutes, but he never expected Cifera to have grown so much.
Fu Zhu reached out and ruffled Cifera's hair, momentarily at a loss for words.
"You've… gotten taller."
Cifera looked up, her eyes a little red as she glared at him with a look that was almost "fierce."
Seeing her like this, Fu Zhu felt a bit helpless.
"Sorry, I had to leave for some reason. How long was I gone?"
Cifera wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. She was too emotional to speak clearly for a moment, so it was Tixi who stepped forward to answer Fu Zhu's question.
"Three years. And Cipher… that's Cifera's new name, Sai Cipher. Cipher has been looking for you for three years, you know!"
Hearing that it had only been three years, Fu Zhu breathed a sigh of relief. While three years wasn't a short time, compared to his previous time jumps of tens or even hundreds of years, it was very brief.
Fu Zhu reached out and ruffled Cipher's hair again, his voice full of apology. "Sorry for making you worry for so long. Due to certain things, I might often find myself in situations like this in the future. If you encounter this again, you don't need to worry about me."
Hearing this, Cipher frowned, looked up, and stared at Fu Zhu intently. "Next time you leave, can you take me with you?"
"Well…"
He really couldn't promise that. It wasn't that he didn't want to take Cipher with him—although she wasn't a completely real lifeform at the moment, that was a problem he could solve with a simple flick of his wrist.
The main reason he couldn't agree was that sometimes he didn't choose to travel through time; he could be passively thrown across it for various reasons.
"If I can, I'll take you with me."
Only then did Cipher nod in satisfaction, though her small hand still gripped the corner of Fu Zhu's shirt tightly, afraid he would vanish again for several years in the next second.
After comforting Cipher, Fu Zhu turned his head to look at Tixi.
"Tell me what's happened over the past three years. And where are the others?"
"Come with me, we can talk in Cipher's room."
Tixi led the two of them back to Cipher's room in the academy. Once they were all seated, Tixi began to recount the events of the past three years.
"A few days after you disappeared, Cerydra, Tribbie, and Hysilens came to the Grove of Epiphany looking for you."
"Cerydra? Hysilens?"
Fu Zhu looked perplexed. He knew who Tribbie was, but he had no impression of the other two.
Seeing his confusion, Tixi kindly explained, "Cerydra is the new king of the Holy City, and Hysilens is an old acquaintance of yours. Helektra. Hysilens is her new name. Tiyana told us that not long after you left, the Siren Queen had her go aid the Journey of Chasing Fire. Tiyana went with her to the Holy City, and Hysilens later joined Cerydra's command."
Fu Zhu nodded, indicating he understood, and motioned for Tixi to continue.
"Tribbie and the others came to the Grove of Epiphany because Cerydra wanted to recruit you, and Hysilens wanted to see you. But unfortunately, you had vanished for some reason. When they couldn't find you, and since the Holy City had many other matters to attend to, they left. But every so often, Hysilens would come by to ask for news of you. And just like that, three years have passed…"
After hearing the story, Fu Zhu nodded. When he had time, he could go and meet Hysilens and Cerydra, but first, he had to take care of something else.
Fu Zhu stood up and said to the two of them, "You two rest. I'm going to find Cerces."
He hadn't touched Cerces's Coreflame yet. Since he was already here, he couldn't let the opportunity go to waste.
He was extremely curious about what he would get once the Amphoreus mod was completed.
The moment Cipher heard Fu Zhu was leaving, she immediately stood up and stuck close by his side. Seeing this, Fu Zhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm just going to see Cerces, I'm not really leaving."
Cipher, however, looked completely unconvinced.
"You said you were just going out for a stroll before, and that stroll took three years."
Fu Zhu was instantly rendered speechless.
"Hehe, there's no need for such trouble."
Suddenly, Cerces's figure appeared before the three of them. She looked at Fu Zhu with a beaming smile.
"Isn't it better that I deliver myself directly to you?"
Fu Zhu was pleasantly surprised to see her. This saved him the trouble of looking.
"How did you know to come?"
Cerces smiled as she looked at Fu Zhu. "I've been keeping an eye on you ever since that day. But I never expected you and that divine emissary to suddenly open a spatial rift and then vanish. That disappearance lasted three years. This little cat has been terribly worried during that time."
Hearing this, Fu Zhu felt another pang of guilt and ruffled Cipher's hair. He had clearly been the one to rescue her, yet he had irresponsibly vanished for three years.
Cerces smiled at the two of them, then returned to the main topic.
"Speaking of business, you came back in such a hurry to find me. What for?"
"Can you lend me your Coreflame for a look?"
"Since you've put it that way, what more is there to say? Here."
Cerces raised her hand, and her Coreflame materialized in her palm before she handed it to Fu Zhu.
This action left both Fu Zhu and Tixi stunned.
That casually? This is a Coreflame of the Twelve Titans, you know. She just gave it away like that?