It took quite some time for Castorice to barely compose herself, though her voice still carried a sorrow she couldn't fully dispel. She walked up to Phaethon:
"Lord Phaethon, according to Polyxia's account, Amphoreus might be a cycle. You must bring this news to Lady Aglaea, Teacher Tribbie, and Teacher Anaxa.
So, can you open an Infinity Gate to the mortal world from here?" She inquired about the possibility of departure.
Phaethon, looking at the grief-stricken Castorice, felt secretly glad he had insisted on coming to the Nether Realm.
Gathering his focus, he answered seriously, "I can, but the spatial structure of the Nether Realm is far more complex and bizarre than the mortal world.
It's not a single stable plane, but countless layers of overlapping, interwoven, and constantly shifting spaces nested together, like an infinitely extending, self-folding maze.
So... creating a stable enough channel to safely connect the Nether Realm and the mortal world isn't a task for just one Infinity Gate.
It requires linking, stacking, and stabilizing multiple Infinity Gates with precision, like braiding a rope, to construct a 'bridge' capable of traversing these numerous spatial folds...
In other words, to achieve this, I must first personally exit the Nether Realm once, establishing the initial spatial anchor points along the way."
"I see... Then let me, as a death demigod..." Castorice said softly, seemingly resolved to take on the role of guide and protector, escorting Phaethon through these initial steps.
"Wait, Castorice." Phaethon suddenly interrupted. Looking at her immersed in sorrow, a bold idea took shape in his mind.
"Before leaving... I want to conduct an experiment in the Nether Realm."
He focused on the newly created folder named "Polyxia" in his mind's system. With a hint of uncertainty and anticipation, he willed it, trying to slowly "move" it out of the system.
A miracle occurred.
A faint light shimmered, like ripples on water. Polyxia, who had just bid farewell and whose form should have dissipated into the Nether Realm, rematerialized, intact and looking utterly bewildered, standing right before Castorice.
She blinked, looking down at her very tangible hands and feet, completely confused, as if waking from a long dream.
"Polyxia?" Castorice's exclamation was filled with disbelief, shock, and overwhelming joy, her voice trembling with unshed tears.
"Sister? Me? Didn't I already..." Polyxia reached up and touched her own cheek, the sensation undeniably real. She could even feel the lingering cool dampness from her sister's earlier tears.
*It works!* Phaethon felt a surge of excitement. After all, the logic was flawless—a deceased soul returning to the Nether Realm after dying again!
He rallied his spirits, countless thrilling possibilities flashing through his mind.
If Polyxia, a Death Titan, could do it, what about others?
Like the parents lost in the Aedes Elysia, those who perished in the Black Tide and other disasters... Could he, right here, bring them back one by one...
But this wild, hopeful thought was instantly cut short by Castorice's urgent warning.
"Don't be rash, Lord Phaethon!" Castorice understood immediately what that eager, discoverer's glint in Phaethon's eyes meant.
She quickly stopped him, her tone grave, "You may have a special method to preserve or even summon the souls of the deceased, but the souls of ordinary mortals fundamentally cannot linger long at the heart of the Nether Realm!
The essence here is not a warm haven for them, but another form of 'erosion' and 'assimilation'!"
She pointed at Polyxia, who was still confused but whose existence was clearly stable:
"The reason Polyxia could 'return' and remain might lie in the fact that she is the 'dead half' of the Death Titan. Her very nature is homologous with the Nether Realm; this is her domain and the source of her power.
But if you, Lord Phaethon, forcibly summoned the souls of ordinary people, they would be utterly unable to withstand the powerful assimilating force of the Nether Realm's laws and the corrosion of its deathly aura!
They would likely dissipate completely within days, perhaps even mere hours, possibly losing forever the chance to return to the River of Souls' cycle and await their next natural rebirth!"
Hearing this, the fervent light in Phaethon's eyes dimmed somewhat, but he soon rallied.
At least... he had proven one path wasn't a dead end. Given the right conditions and location, perhaps the entire Amphoreus could be restored in the future!
Moreover, deep down, Phaethon held immense confidence in his system. An almost bug-exploiting thought even flashed through his mind:
Even if those souls dissipated in the Nether Realm, could he not simply "summon" them again from his system folders? — An endless cycle, wouldn't that be another form of immortality?
But... as soon as this thought arose, he suppressed it himself.
Would that truly be good for those departed souls? Making them experience "existence" and "dissipation" over and over — wouldn't that be another form of cruel torment?
His ideal was to bring true salvation and peace, not an endless, unnatural cycle of suffering.
...
"Now... Lord Phaethon, the time has come." Castorice stood side by side with Polyxia at the edge of the violet-blue flower sea, the eternally tranquil blossoms and the perpetual crescent moon behind them.
Their figures seemed both sacred and fragile in the Nether light. "Let me breach the gates of the Nether Realm and send you back to the world of the living."
Her voice was calm and ethereal.
Phaethon placed a hand lightly over his heart, feeling the weight of responsibility and promise, yet a relaxed smile graced his face:
"Don't worry, I will safely bring the Coreflame of 「Death」 back to the Vortex of Genesis for you. No..."
He paused, his smile growing more sincere, "If I succeed, I'd rather you, Castorice, tell them yourself — tell Aglaea, tell Teacher Tribbie, tell everyone who cares about you — about the growth and choices you've made on your journey."
"Lord Phaethon," Castorice offered a gentle smile, but her expression quickly turned solemn again as she cautioned,
"Guiding a lost soul back to the world of the living is no simple feat. The whispers of death are sweet and serene, filled with eternal temptation and solace. Should your will falter even slightly, you will be seized by the intangible, clinging arms of the Netherworld and dragged back into eternal slumber."
She glanced at Polyxia, who stood quietly smiling beside her, and her voice softened slightly:
"But... please consider this a most exceptional exception. I will wield all the authority I possess as a death demigod to guide your way."