Phaethon stopped and looked at Anaxa, who had hurriedly intercepted him, his tone carrying a note of inquiry. "Teacher Anaxa, you're looking for me in such a hurry. Is there something urgent?"
Anaxa frowned, correcting him. "Phaethon, how many times have I told you not to call me 'Anaxa'! Call me 'Anaxagoras'!" Then, without waiting for a response, he immediately got to the point. "And I'm looking for you because of a matter of paramount importance! I am preparing to assume the divine authority of 'Reason' and become the new 'Reason' Demigod. But that long-overdue Reason Titan actually gave me an ancient, ultimate puzzle as a trial: to answer, 'What exactly is a Titan?'"
Anaxa's eyes sparkled with extreme excitement and challenge, his voice unconsciously rising. "The question is indeed profoundly deep! But don't forget I am Anaxagoras! Founder of the Nousporism school!" He excitedly grabbed Phaethon's arm. "Remember the question you once raised in my class? Were the Chrysos Heirs also referred to as Titans in the past? Based on this, I conducted months of research and logical deduction, and finally arrived at a shocking, history-shattering inference..."
Seeing his teacher nearly dancing with excitement, Phaethon sighed inwardly, offering a silent apology to Anaxa. "Wait, wait, wait, Teacher Anaxa... This shocking inference of yours, it wouldn't happen to be... that Titans are the Chrysos Heirs of the past, and the current Chrysos Heirs are actually the Titans of the future? That the entirety of Amphoreus might be one enormous cycle?"
"Phaethon, you—!" Anaxa was stunned for a second, but then the hand gripping Phaethon's arm tightened sharply, his face instantly transforming into one of extreme shock and excitement. "Phaethon, you knew all along?! Since when did you...?"
Seeing him like this, Phaethon let out a deep, helpless sigh. "Teacher, it seems you truly didn't know. Castorice, the current Death Demigod, has a sister, Polyxia—she is the Death Titan of *this* cycle and was also the Death Demigod of the *previous* cycle. By sharing Polyxia's sealed memories, we... have already learned part of the truth about the world's cycles. The conclusion you deduced is likely a piece of that truth."
"..." Anaxa was speechless, his mouth slightly agape, completely at a loss for words. He had spent all this time, neglecting food and sleep, consulting ancient texts, building models, conducting various dangerous energy experiments, even preparing himself for gossip and slander... and now someone tells him the answer has just been sitting there?
"..." It wasn't just Anaxa. At this moment, even Cerces (a wisp of the Reason Titan's remnant consciousness) residing deep within Anaxa's mind, who had remained silent until now, was utterly baffled.
*Huh? What does he mean, 'through the Death Titan's memories'? We're all Titans, why does she, the Death Titan, know about this cycle business? And she set this question as the final trial for the Reason authority, making it sound so profound and mysterious! Looking at it now, doesn't that make my actions completely like those of a pretentious clown?*
Seeing the rapidly shifting, spectacularly vivid expressions on Anaxa's face, Phaethon sighed again, understanding his current state of collapse.
"Seeing you like this now, even if I explained, I doubt you could fully believe it or easily accept that the answer you've been desperately seeking was presented in this way."
He changed tack. "Alright then, Teacher Anaxa. Your main purpose in coming to me today was to obtain the Council of Elders' special permission to study the divine body of the World-Bearing Titan—Kephale—up close, wasn't it?" Phaethon's gaze turned serious. "I, in my capacity as an Okhema Elder, grant it. If you don't trust the 'answer' we learned through memory, then follow your own ideas. Use the rational, logical, and empirical methods you trust most to research personally and verify your own hypothesis. Truth never fears examination."
Hearing that Phaethon had finally approved his research request, Anaxa's eyes instantly lit up again, as if reinvigorated.
But Phaethon immediately added, his tone carrying a note of undeniable gravity. "However... Teacher Anaxa, there is one thing you must promise me."
"The moment you are ready to formally receive the 'Reason' Coreflame, return it to the Vortex of Genesis, and complete the ritual... I need to be present."
...
"Hey, Deliverer Chef, what do you want now? And you specifically arranged to meet here..." Cipher lazily leaned against a stone pillar at the edge of the Vortex of Genesis, the tip of her tail lightly sweeping the ground intermittently. Her cat eyes shimmered with curiosity and wariness in the dim light. "This isn't a good place for secretly eating grilled fish."
"To invite you, of course," Phaethon turned around, his gaze burning as he looked at her, "to pull off one big job."
"One big job?" Cipher immediately straightened up, her amber pupils contracting slightly in surprise before adopting a skeptical expression. "You're a holy city Elder, one of Okhema's Deliverers... This 'big job' of yours wouldn't be asking me to empty out Seamstress Lady's... treasury filled with precious fabrics and shiny gemstones, would it? Though that does sound like fun..."
"Of course not," Phaethon chuckled softly, shaking his head. "What I want to steal isn't Lady Aglaea's treasures piled high in several rooms, but something a thousand, ten thousand times more precious than all of them combined."
"Oh?" Cipher's interest was thoroughly piqued. Her cat-like pupils narrowed to slits as she took a few steps closer, like a cat catching the scent of fish. "More valuable than Seamstress Lady's ancient silks with lost weaving techniques, gemstones as big as eggs, and her collection of first-edition balance coins? Deliverer Chef, don't you dare fool me!"
"I never exaggerate," Phaethon's tone held absolute confidence. "If Talanton (the Titan of Law, who minted the balance coins) were still alive, the proceeds from our... 'transaction' would be enough to bankrupt His treasury."
"Deliverer Chef?! You're serious?!" Cipher was so excited she almost jumped, her tail puffing up, her eyes gleaming with the light of discovering a peerless treasure. "There's a treasure of that level on Amphoreus?! Where? Tell me! This cat can't wait any longer!"
"There certainly is. However," Phaethon changed direction, his gaze turning towards the energy-churning entrance of the Vortex of Genesis, "to successfully 'steal' such a priceless treasure, just the two of us won't be enough. We'll need the wholehearted assistance of one key figure."