"Sorry."

After the other two Earth Clan Leaders, bringing all the Earth Offsprings forcibly captured by the mirrored crown, broke free from the nightmare created by Leon, the tall, slender elder spoke with slight apology:

"They just ran away, and I couldn't keep them."

"It's okay."

After listening to the situation described by the tall, slender elder, a black-haired woman who looked identical to Fu smiled and then gently consoled:

"After all, they are the sculptors of the Aquarius Branch. Cleaners of the Zodiac Bureau Director level usually have more than one life-saving abnormal object. They are not easy to kill.

As for the other one who doesn't look much like a person, though I've never seen him before, it's clear he's also a strong figure of the Zodiac Bureau Director level. It's normal that when they focus on escaping, you can't hold them back one-on-two."

After comforting the tall, slender elder named "Bone," the black-haired woman proactively walked towards Fu, who was sitting on the ground with a bewildered expression, extended her hand to lift her from the ground, then gently stroked her forehead, and called out lovingly:

"Fu, my daughter, it's time for you to come home."

With the black-haired woman's motherly call and a touch as gentle as a breeze over the lake, Fu's figure involuntarily trembled slightly. Then a hint of clarity broke through the confusion and panic, swiftly reoccupying her pupils.

"Meat... no, Mother... Mother! I'm back!"

"Mm!"

After gently stroking Fu's face, which was exactly like her own, the black-haired woman smiled lovingly:

"You've had a hard time these years."

"It's not hard!"

Shaking her head slightly, Fu looked up at the black-haired woman, who was much taller than herself, and spoke with a face full of admiration:

"I'm the child you nurtured and a part of you. Doing these things for you is as it should be... huh?"

At this point, as if noticing something amiss, Fu couldn't help but touch her cheek with her hand.

When Mother was stroking her just now, she already returned the Earthborn Gift that had been taken before, so the Grateful Scales should have reappeared on her face and palms. Yet now it still feels soft to the touch, with no Grateful Scales appearing, and it even seems...

A bit damp?

When the world in front of her inexplicably blurred, Fu involuntarily blinked, hoping to use the dual membranes typical of the Earth Offsprings to squeeze out foreign objects in her eyes, thus restoring a clear view.

But the resilient nictitating membrane that should belong to the Earth Offsprings did not appear in her eyes, replaced instead by a large amount of warm, slightly salty liquid.

Those strangely flavored warm waters were flowing incessantly down the corners of her eyes, which were extremely fragile, unable even to withstand a graze from sand or stone, drenching her scaleless cheeks.

"Fu, you've had a hard time..."

Looking at her daughter, who stood rooted in place, constantly wiping her eyes but whose tears only increased with each wipe, the black-haired woman repeated her earlier words and then took the somewhat at a loss Fu into her arms, saying with evident heartache:

"I don't know what your other life was like, but it seems they were not bad to you... Fu, forcing you to regain your original memories and utterly betray everything in your past, it must have been really hard to bear, right?"

"No... not hard."

Fu raised a face almost identical to the black-haired woman's, her facial muscles stretching with effort, and smiled towards her with difficulty:

"I am your daughter, specially nurtured with [flesh] and [heart] to live for all the Earth Offsprings..."

"Don't say such things anymore."

The black-haired woman comforted, patting Fu's constantly trembling back, with an apologetic look in her eyes:

"You are first my daughter, then anything else... Fu, Mother can feel the pain in your heart. If you want to cry, then cry. There's nothing wrong with it; it's what we all owe you."

"I... I... sob..."

Hearing the black-haired woman's gentle persuasion, Fu's lips trembled slightly twice. Then, lying on the black-haired woman's chest, she started to cry loudly and heart-wrenchingly, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, and it was clear at a glance that she was overwhelmingly sad.

However, except for the black-haired woman who expressed a hint of distress, gently patting her back, the other Earth Offsprings' expressions appeared rather indifferent, and even vaguely distant.

The tall, slender elder named "Bone" followed with a few comforting words, but his aged eyes did not hold any intention of closeness, while the other physically short and stout male Earth Clan Leader did not say a word, and his eyes even vaguely showed a trace of loathing.

This creation, bred with [heart] and [flesh], clearly part of the Earth Offspring's bloodline, carried an overwhelming "human flavor" all over, unpleasant to the smell.

Moreover, even though she was once again granted the Earthborn Gift with [flesh], her face still did not grow Grateful Scales, and other physical features remained just like those parasitic on Earth, entirely lacking the physique a true Earth Offspring should have.

So during these years that she was separated by [flesh], she must have completely identified with the human identity, perhaps even more so than her own bloodline, and developed unconscious resistance to the Earthborn Gift.

The only reason she can still stand on the side of Earth now is probably because her past memories have resurfaced. Once she recovers from the impact of the memory surge, whether she still regards herself as kin is uncertain.

...

"It's about enough, isn't it?"

After waiting patiently for a while and seeing that Fu was still crying ceaselessly, the stout man couldn't help but urge:

"Meat! Stop letting her cry for now, and quickly attend to what's next! Clean-up Bureau's reinforcements could arrive at any time, and we don't have much time left!"

"Hmm..."

Although slightly displeased with the stout man's attitude, acknowledging that his words did have reason, the black-haired woman nodded gently. Then, stroking the incessantly trembling back in her arms, she spoke softly:

"Fu, your first prophecy at birth was for us to block your memory, take advantage of chaos to place you in the snowy mountain, and in our war failure with the Clean-up Bureau, you would lead us out of the cage.

Because of your dedication, we have seized this opportunity, and now it's time for you to make the second prophecy... Fu, my daughter, I need you to use your heart to probe the pulse of this world and point out the path for the Earth!"

"Okay, Mother."

Without noticing the indifferent gazes from the clan members, after hearing the black-haired woman's request, Fu nodded slightly. Then, she crossed her hands and pressed them firmly against her heart.

Thump.

Thump thump!

Thump thump thump thump thump...

The dense and drum-like heartbeat suddenly echoed with Fu's own heartbeat as the lead. The heartbeat of all Earth Offsprings present slowly synchronized and gradually converged into one. Eventually, even the heartbeats of the three Earth Clan Leaders joined in.

Amid everyone's pained expressions, the previously silent Earth followed suit, "beating" in tandem with the sound.

With rock as bone, soil as flesh, mines as blood... under the blessing of three Zodiac Bureau Director-level figures, the existence called Earth successfully possessed a body and heartbeat, exerting effort to lift its head, opening hollow dark eye sockets, and casting a shallow glance toward the future.

In that mysterious, deep gaze, a young man with black hair and black eyes was holding a petite blue-haired girl from behind, murmuring in embarrassment:

"Good sister, I don't want to try anymore."