After greeting March 7th and Evernight, Cipher and Castorice turned their attention back to Fu Zhu. Their lips parted and closed, but no words came out, only tears that they couldn't stop from streaming down their faces.
Seeing them like this, Fu Zhu smiled, took two tissues from his inventory, and handed them over.
"Tears aren't a suitable decoration for a reunion."
Cipher and Castorice broke into smiles through their tears, each taking a tissue from Fu Zhu's hand to wipe their eyes.
With Fu Zhu's lighthearted interruption, they now knew what to say.
"Welcome back." x2
"Mhm."
Beside them, March 7th glanced sideways at the trio, who were basking in a heartwarming atmosphere. She balled her right fist, held it to her lips, and let out two soft coughs.
"Ahem! Honey, aren't you going to introduce me to these two?"
Honey?
Cipher and Castorice's attention was immediately captured by March 7th's affectionate term of address. They curiously sized up March 7th and Evernight, who were standing beside her.
Noticing their gazes, March 7th immediately puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips, determined not to be looked down upon.
Fu Zhu took this as his cue to make the introductions.
---o---
"These two are Cipher and Castorice, children I met during my travels through Amphoreus before."
Fu Zhu, fearing March 7th might misunderstand, made sure to emphasize that he had met them when they were children.
Cipher rolled her eyes at Fu Zhu good-naturedly. "I'm all grown up now, okay? If I stood on my tiptoes, I'd be taller than you!"
Compared to the outgoing Cipher, Castorice was a bit more reserved, giving March 7th a small, slightly nervous wave.
Fu Zhu rolled his eyes back at Cipher before introducing March 7th and Evernight.
"This is my girlfriend, March 7th. And also, Evernight."
"And also? Ohoho..."
Cipher's eyes darted back and forth between March 7th and Evernight with a strange look. You couldn't say the two looked identical, yet they were perfectly alike. They looked just like twins.
And what Fu Zhu had just said... "and also." Could that be understood, on some level, as Evernight being his girlfriend too?
Tsk, tsk!
While Castorice was a bit more composed after the introduction, her imagination was already running wild, concocting stories about Fu Zhu and this pair of "twins."
After Fu Zhu finished, March 7th extended her hand with a cheerful smile.
"Nice to meet you."
Cipher and Castorice shook her hand in turn.
Although they still had much they wanted to say to Fu Zhu, they hadn't forgotten their purpose. Just as Cipher looked toward Fu Zhu, ready to discuss business, Fu Zhu held up a hand to stop her.
"Now that that's settled, let's have breakfast first. We can talk about everything else slowly. There's no rush."
Right on cue, Cyrene, Mem, and the village chief came in carrying breakfast. The chief glanced at the newcomers; he was old acquaintances with Cipher and Castorice, so he wasn't surprised to see them and simply called out.
"Come and eat breakfast first, everyone."
Seeing how calm Fu Zhu was, Cipher nodded in agreement.
---o---
After the group had gathered around the table and finished their meal, the village chief proactively excused himself to give them space to talk.
Fu Zhu put down his bowl, turned to Cipher and Castorice, and asked, "In the time I was gone, how far has the Flame-Chase Journey progressed?"
Cipher organized her thoughts for a moment before explaining the situation to Fu Zhu and the others.
"For a long time, we were all looking for you. Nikador even went to Aidonia personally with an army of Iron Golems to find you, but she vanished. After that, the Flame-Chase Journey was put on hold for a while. However, a few days ago, we met your other two companions, Dan Heng and Stelle. The one now in charge, Aglaea, has decided to restart the journey and begin collecting the Coreflames from all over."
"As of now, besides the [Earth], [Sky], [Strife], and [Law] Coreflames, all the others have been obtained by the Chrysos Heirs."
Fu Zhu nodded after she finished. The progress was a bit slow, but considering how much time they had spent looking for him, it was understandable.
"There's one more thing!"
Cipher suddenly remembered another crucial matter. Her expression turned serious as she said to Fu Zhu, "Lygus is the real culprit! We also found another 'Phainon'... well, you wouldn't know him. The other 'Phainon' is named Khaslana. He's a survivor from the previous cycle, and he told us that the Re-Creation is a scam orchestrated by Lygus!"
Fu Zhu nodded calmly. "Mhm, I know."
"You know?!" x2
Cipher and Castorice stared at Fu Zhu in disbelief. Just how much information had he managed to obtain back then?
Fu Zhu took Lygus's head out of his inventory and placed it directly on the table, gesturing toward it with his chin.
"Here. I already killed him back then, though this was just his avatar."
The girls looked at the head Fu Zhu had suddenly produced. They let out a disgusted "Eww." Even if it was a mechanical head, it was still unsettling enough.
Fortunately, Fu Zhu only displayed it for a moment before putting it back in his inventory. He couldn't guarantee that Lygus, whose true identity was Zandar, the First of the Genius Society, couldn't manipulate this head. After all, controlling a broken head would be child's play for him.
With Fu Zhu here, Cipher and Castorice felt completely at ease. Now they had nothing to fear!
"What should we do next?"
Cipher casually picked up a pastry and popped it into her mouth. In these apocalyptic times, pastries were a rare treat!
Fu Zhu answered the question without any hesitation.
"First, we'll head back to Okhema to drop the village chief off in a safe place. Then, we'll meet up with Stelle and the others. After that, things will be very simple."
Collect all the Coreflames!
Based on the information he had, Fu Zhu could already make a good guess as to what ability he would unlock once all the Coreflames were gathered.
Creative Mode!
The thought of being able to use Creative Mode in the real world sent a thrill of excitement through him that even Fu Zhu found hard to contain.
"Time is of the essence. Let's get ready to leave."
Fu Zhu stood up immediately. Breakfast was over, so there was no reason to linger in the village any longer.
"Cyrene, could you please go get the village chief? Let's pack up and leave this place."
"Mhm."
Cyrene nodded. She and the chief had only stayed in the village to see Fu Zhu. Now that they had, there was no reason to remain.
Before leaving to find the village chief, Cyrene stopped in front of Fu Zhu. She clasped her hands together and chanted a prayer. Then, she spread her hands open, and a brightly glowing Coreflame, inscribed with the symbol of [Time], appeared in her palms.
She held it out to Fu Zhu with a smile.
"Here, take it. This is yours."