Fang Hong was suddenly taken aback.
Miya watched this scene, her silver eyes exuding an ethereal calmness, yet she still slightly furrowed her brows. Rarely, she remained silent.
But Fang Hong shook his head firmly, he responded: "No, you must hold on, Eve—" He reached into his bosom, pulled out a necklace, and holding it, dragged the pendant out from beneath his collar. A streak of golden light, like the dawn breaking through darkness.
It bloomed in the pitch-black surroundings.
He held onto that radiant golden glow, a bit of golden flame, seemingly reflected deep into his eyes.
He spoke to Eve, word by word: "Mr. Mazak gave me this thing, Eve— do you recognize it? Do you still remember Mr. Yoshude, do you still remember the answer you've been waiting for a hundred years?"
The bright flame illuminated the girl's pale face.
Her expression seemed frozen, she involuntarily reached out, cradling that bright glow.
Tears burst forth, like a string of precious gemstones, falling into the dust. Her lips trembled slightly, and she couldn't help but cry: "This is the ring Yoshude promised me, he said he would bring this ring back to marry me, but he lied to me, he didn't come back—"
"Yoshude," she sobbed deeply, her voice mournful and heartbreaking: "...do you still remember me?"
Fang Hong retreated a step, the answer in his heart gradually becoming clear.
The silhouette seen by Dolifen instantly became significant in his memory. Every phantom he saw in the sea of fire seemed to have gained clear meaning now. At that moment, he finally understood that he had at last pushed open the door leading to that answer.
The girl sobbed deeply for a while.
She tightly held the ring in her hand, after a good while, she replied in a low voice: "Mr. Ade."
The tone of that voice seemed to have subtly changed.
She looked up, her expression calming down: "I remember now."
"Remember?"
The girl gently nodded: "It turns out so much time has passed... I wronged Yoshude, if only I had been calmer back then, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way. But now it's too late to say anything, although everything Nikopolas did was not my intention."
She let out a deep sigh: "But it was also my weakness that led everything to an uncontrollable state. Now that I can see this ring again, my heart is content enough, you know, it's still here..."
"Yoshude he..."
She didn't finish the sentence, and Fang Hong couldn't comprehend what she meant.
But the girl had already lifted the ring, gently placed it back in Fang Hong's palm—strangely enough, after she completed this action, the ring in Fang Hong's hand once again gathered its glow.
Once, it did not revert to that ordinary, unremarkable appearance, but carried a layer of dark golden flame; the golden-red light seemed to only flow on the ring's surface, but no longer shone brightly, bearing a commanding aura.
"Thank you, Mr. Ade," she still very weak, but smiled amidst her tears: "There must be someone who sent you to my side, so that I could see it at the last moment, I think, it must be Yoshude."
"Because even if he left me, he still couldn't let go of me, after all the girl he married, must have not been satisfactory."
She said this and also laughed.
But Fang Hong couldn't laugh, because he felt the hand the girl placed in his palm was gradually turning cold and as light as a feather, turning into an illusory mist, passing through his hand.
The girl watched this scene but wasn't afraid, only smiled and said: "That which is sealed inside, is the Dragon's Heart, the heart of Nikopolas. Yoshude and Kalatu returned here after that battle, joined forces to seal it in this place."
"He didn't need to bother so much..."
She gently shook her head: "But I understand his intention, this is the place where I was born, where the Dragon's Initial Scale is located, he hoped one day my soul could also return to this place, and rest beneath this homeland."
She let out a gentle sigh: "...More than thirty years ago, someone broke in here and stole the Dragon's Heart. But I carefully hid half of it, I don't know what he did with that Dragon's Heart, but it must not be anything good."
"Having lost half of the Dragon's Heart's strength, I guess that person certainly didn't achieve their goal, so those people outside, now have returned again for the remaining half. I carefully extracted the Dragon's Heart's strength to maintain my physical presence, foolishly waiting for Yoshude to someday return to this place and answer my question..."
"But I actually understand, all this is just my wishful thinking. Yoshude ah, has long since departed from this world," tears shimmered in the girl's eyes: "Mr. Ade, I don't know why you're involved in this matter, but I understand that you are a person who still has a sense of justice in your heart, just like Yoshude."
"If you really want to know what happened a hundred years ago, in Idus, then find the Dragon's Heart," she lowered her head, her voice getting softer: "Bring the Dragon's Heart, to the place where it all began, the City Hall, underground..."
"I will be there, to tell you everything..."
Fang Hong was utterly stunned by what he heard.
Although he had always speculated what secrets were hidden beneath that seal, he didn't expect such a massive secret to be buried beneath this ruin.