Based on the information currently obtained from the Memory Stealers, the entire sequence of events had basically become clear.
The cycle Xian Ling currently found herself in was the final Eternal Return, and also an Eternal Return without Phainon.
After this cycle ended, the process of Eternal Return would conclude, and the process of Re-Genesis would begin once more.
That also meant that the Iron Tomb would be born after this cycle ended.
The time left for Xian Ling had already become critically short—something completely beyond the girl’s expectations.
She had thought she would at least have some buffer time.
Even worse, although they had caught the culprits responsible for everything, those Memokeepers had no ability whatsoever to change the current situation.
Torturing those Memory Stealers could do nothing more than vent her anger.
“There’s still no news from Herta’s side.
I have no idea whether she can beat Lygus in an elbowing match.
No, rather, even if Herta manages to gain the upper hand, the key to breaking this deadlock was never the Scepter.
It’s always been inside Amphoreus itself.”
“Haa…
I need to calm down.
Up to this point, I’ve never done anything ‘wrong.’ The system’s mission can’t possibly have no solution at all.
In other words, I still have a chance to change all of this.
But where exactly is the breakthrough point…?”
Borrowing the abilities of the Memokeepers, Xian Ling rapidly reviewed every part of Amphoreus’s storyline within her mind.
Suddenly, she thought of something.
“Wait.
In this cycle—no, rather, in this timeline—the Astral Express never chose to come to Amphoreus.”
“Then…”
Xian Ling did not continue speaking aloud, but a name had already appeared in her mind.
Demiurge.
In the original 33,550,336th cycle, Cyrene had witnessed the arrival of the Astral Express.
As a result, Demiurge walked out of her prison and, attracted by the aura of the Stellaron within the Trailblazer, found the Trailblazer who had descended upon Amphoreus and became Mem.
However, because the Astral Express had never come in this timeline, although Demiurge had long possessed both the strength and the conditions necessary to leave the Tomb of the Nameless Titan…
She had absolutely no motivation to do so.
In other words, Demiurge was very likely still inside the Tomb of the Nameless Titan, waiting for the next Cyrene to arrive?
Xian Ling suddenly realized that she seemed to have found a way to break the deadlock.
Although it differed somewhat from the original story, having Demiurge take action seemed to be the only option left.
Xian Ling’s own power was weak.
Even adding Fourth Mirror wouldn’t change that.
Her task was very likely to awaken Demiurge by any means necessary and at any cost.
After all, compared to herself, there was no doubt that Demiurge could play a much greater role.
Furthermore, due to the Memokeepers’ accidental interference, Flame Reaver seemed to have completed a certain kind of “ascension” through an extremely painful process.
At the very least, in the original storyline, after Phainon merged with the Iron Tomb, she could only struggle against the Black Tide.
She certainly couldn’t directly control the Black Tide to hunt down Memory Stealers as was happening now.
Moreover, if that were the case, it would also align with something the system spirit had repeatedly emphasized before she began the mission…
Deep within her heart, Xian Ling quietly made a certain decision.
…
“Child, you…
seem very angry?”
Seeing Xian Ling sitting alone outside, her expression changing repeatedly, Dolimem slowly drifted over to her side.
“So it’s you, Grandma Village Chief…
Sorry for letting you see such an embarrassing side of me.”
Xian Ling forced out a smile.
Although she had found a way to break the deadlock, whenever she thought about those Memory Stealers, her blood pressure still rose.
She could now completely understand Evernight.
With the way those damned Memokeepers conducted themselves, there was no telling how they might have tormented March 7th in the past.
Evernight killing every Memokeeper she encountered suddenly seemed entirely reasonable.
If possible, Xian Ling really wanted to have a discussion with Evernight right now about the proper way to “prepare” Memokeepers.
“I can tell that you’re under quite a lot of pressure right now.” Dolimem gently patted Xian Ling’s little head.
“If there’s anything I can help with, feel free to ask…”
“There may actually be something I need your help with.”
After reviewing her plan, Xian Ling said, “Grandma Village Chief, could you give me some kind of token?
Something that can prove your identity.”
“I may not have much time left.
Next, I’ll probably have to use some rather extreme methods to bring Cyrene back.
Therefore, I need an item that can prove that I really am walking the path of saving the world…
preferably something Cyrene can recognize at a glance.”
“Extreme methods?”
“And I won’t do anything to Cyrene.
I just want to tell her a story…
Time is running out.
I no longer have the luxury of slowly building a relationship with her as I normally would.
I need her to understand the situation as quickly as possible.”
Xian Ling’s plan was actually very simple.
She intended to tell Cyrene everything first, then bring her to the Tomb of the Nameless Titan, where Cyrene would tell Demiurge the whole truth.
The approximate location of the Tomb of the Nameless Titan could be obtained through interrogating the Memory Stealers.
On one hand, Fourth Mirror could already search through portions of the Scepter’s information.
On the other hand, these Memory Stealers had entered by imitating Cyrene’s data, meaning they had effectively followed the same route March 7th used to enter Amphoreus.
And as everyone knew, when March 7th first arrived in Amphoreus during Version 3.0, she had immediately appeared right in front of the Tomb of the Nameless Titan, which wasn’t properly discovered until Version 3.6.
It was an exceptionally March 7th thing to do.
As for why Xian Ling wouldn’t contact Demiurge herself…
It wasn’t that she couldn’t.
If time allowed, she would even like to visit every Chrysos Heir and personally meet all the characters she loved.
But as she had just said, there was very little time left.
Given Demiurge’s innocent and naive personality, Xian Ling was confident she could completely earn the other’s trust after spending enough time together.
However, every day she wasted brought the Iron Tomb’s arrival one day closer.
One must not forget that the Tomb, Amphoreus, and the Scepter each flowed through time at different rates.
Every bit of time saved would allow Demiurge to become more familiar with her own powers, increasing their chances of success in the end.
Thus, Xian Ling chose to have Mama Cyrene (crossed out), who was already completely familiar with Demiurge, make contact with her, while Xian Ling herself would contact Cyrene, ensuring the greatest possible savings in time.
“Would this work?”
Dolimem handed a small golden spoon to Xian Ling.
“This is one of the cooking utensils we use while preparing food.
Little Cyrene has definitely seen it more than once.
It should be enough to prove your identity.”
“Huh, this is…
the Light Cone enhancement material from that restaurant event with the second custom name?
This actually exists in reality…
Never mind.
As long as it’s something you gave me, it’ll do.”
Xian Ling nodded and accepted the village chief’s token.