"Tsk. You really want to negotiate with me?"
Zane looked slightly surprised at Xin's reaction. He had assumed she had other motives and was just trying to get ahead of them.
Didn't expect to strike a nerve so directly.
"Ah... how could I? I only have your best interests at heart, Fire Picker! I'm completely devoted to you—why would I ever do something like that?"
Xin's expression quickly softened, and a charming smile appeared. Her bright eyes gleamed with a hint of obedience, though a shadow of cunning flickered in their depths.
They had only just made contact—better to play along for now.
Once she got the Fire Picker on her side, then...
"In that case, start your report."
"Tell me everything you know."
Hearing this, Zane naturally didn't believe those were Xin's true intentions. With a casual wave, the Ether Crystal Throne formed again beneath him. He sat down, tilted his head, and spoke indifferently.
"You… we're partners, not a superior and subordinate."
Xin's face stiffened again. Looking at Zane's "condescending" posture in front of her, she felt awkward.
This wasn't the kind of communication she was hoping for!
"Who said we were partners?"
"Right now… we don't even know if we're enemies or allies."
Zane's tone carried a faint trace of amusement, his blue eyes shimmering as if what he said was of little consequence.
Xin's gaze darkened as she let out a slow breath.
He was doing this on purpose—this was a threat. A blatant one…
Hold it in…
She couldn't mess this up—not with everything she had at stake.
With that in mind, a smile slowly formed on her face, though her beautiful features remained slightly stiff.
Her eyes flickered. While she currently stood in a subordinate position to the Fire Picker, it was undeniable that she still held the leverage…
She could see it—he had a strong desire to understand his own nature. Even if she couldn't act overtly, there was room to maneuver.
"Fire Picker, what exactly are you curious about?"
"You need to start the conversation. Otherwise, I don't even know where to begin."
Xin smiled slightly, the two pairs of white wings at her waist folding slowly. The silver-glinting patterns on her black uniform shimmered subtly.
"I want to know about my origin."
"Where did I come from?"
Zane didn't mince words or take detours—he directly asked the question that mattered most to him.
Why had he come to this world?
"That's not hard to answer. You're a child of the world—a 'god' created by the world to restore itself."
"The world was tainted by the power of the Hollow, and it used that very power to create you. So in a sense, you and the Ethereals share the same origin."
In the distance, several officers had already withdrawn. Following Xin's arrangements, they had ensured others were safely relocated. There was no reason for them to linger.
Especially with the Fire Picker still present—even if their tasks weren't complete, they had to leave.
The vast area was now empty, with only one person and one Ethereal left speaking.
In the crater, Xin continued in a soft voice.
"Originally, you wouldn't have had a human consciousness like you do now. But someone great intervened in your creation process."
"He used his own abilities to erase much of your inherent divinity, doing everything he could to instill humanity in you—to give you the capacity to be affected by others."
Recalling everything recorded in that notebook, Xin shook her head slightly and spoke with a hint of helplessness.
"The professor had planned to bring you back—bring you into human society, let you grow among people. But due to some special circumstance I'm not aware of, he failed. All traces of you disappeared entirely."
"It wasn't until the events in the Cretan Hollow that you resurfaced in our field of vision. After verification, your identity was confirmed."
Xin's gaze landed on Zane, curiosity and confusion mixed in her voice.
"Fire Picker, did you grow up on your own in the Hollows of the New and Old Capitals? Those are really the only places where you could hide and develop into what you are now—someone whose consciousness is indistinguishable from a human's."
Although her conversations with the Fire Picker had mostly ended with her being stonewalled, they also revealed something important: his intellect was on par with highly intelligent humans.
After all, there are many kinds of intelligence.
"You're saying I could have survived outside the Hollows?"
Zane didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he asked back, surprised.
"Hollows outside New Eridu and Old Eridu might have been viable. But outside the Hollows… I don't know. You're special, yes, but ultimately, you're still an Ethereal."
Xin shook her head. Even though the Fire Picker hadn't answered directly, his question confirmed her theory—he had indeed developed in the areas she mentioned.
"It really is strange. Based on your creation time, your growth period was incredibly long… yet humanity never got even a hint of your existence."
There was a trace of helplessness in Xin's tone. If the Fire Picker had been discovered earlier, maybe things wouldn't have escalated like this.
Zane listened, eyes flickering.
A long, long time?
He was just now realizing something strange about Xin's earlier words.
Intelligence grows.
But his didn't.
He hadn't been in this world for long.
Zane was already starting to suspect who that professor Xin mentioned really was. If his guess was right, then the "growth period" spanned from the founding of the Old Capital all the way to now, when the New Capital had already been established for some time.
And if what Xin said was true, with such a long growth period, there's no way a being as unique as this Ethereal would have left no trace at all.
Humans weren't fools—among them were countless brilliant minds.
This could mean that the original consciousness never developed… or never even existed. And he had appeared suddenly.
That left two possibilities: one, the professor's attempt was only half-successful.
He failed to grant humanity, and the world's first creation remained divine—but he somehow caused Zane's consciousness to arrive here much later.
Of course, the truth could be even more complicated.
The second possibility? He wasn't the "child of the world" Xin claimed he was at all.
...
Seeing the Fire Picker fall silent, Xin looked puzzled.
What was going on?
"By the way, how did you confirm I was the one you were talking about? What if you were wrong…"
"Haha, Fire Picker, you're one of a kind. Your traits are too distinct—there's no way I could be wrong. And even if I were, do you think everyone else is that clueless?"