In Search of a Hidden Heart

In Search of a Hidden Heart is the second part of World Quest Series Chronicler of the Crumbling City.

Steps[]

Explore up ahead
Continue on your path to the Heart of the Sacred Mountain

Gameplay Notes[]

The sub-quests Where Once There Was a Calculation Array, Where Once Force Was Reversed, and Where Once There Were Arms Aplenty can technically be completed in any order.
- All three of them can be completed before formally unlocking them as part of this quest.
- Completing these three sub-quests awards the Wonders of the World achievement Questioning the Heart of Flames.
Completing the sub-quest The End of the Road will automatically complete this quest.

Dialogue[]

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Quest Description

The guide who has possessed the Secret Source Servant seems intent on guiding visitors to the "Heart of the Sacred Mountain"... However, getting there appears to require a permit, along with the activation of the Secret Source Dragon Idol guarding the entrance. Perhaps the Secret Source Servant can shed more light on the situation...

(Approach the Secret Source Servant): Paimon: Ah! A Secret Source Servant... Huh. Is it just Paimon, or is this one bigger than the others?; ("Little One""Little One"): Rawr!; Secret Source Servant: ?; Paimon: Hehe, fancy meeting you again so soon!; Secret Source Servant: ...Apologies, but there are no entries regarding you logged in my database.; Secret Source Servant: Humans this far down... This has not happened in at least 500 years.; Paimon: Wait, you're not Amaru... or Ehecatl, are you?; Secret Source Servant: ...There were indeed individuals referred to as such, but I am neither of them.; Secret Source Servant: I believe there must be some misunderstanding.; Secret Source Servant: I am a prototype created to assist Lord Xiuhcoatl with information recording, so I have no name.; ("Little One""Little One"): Roar...; Secret Source Servant: Wait... No... Not that I have no name, I...; Secret Source Servant: I am the only intelligent Secret Source Servant without a master. Even after Lord Xiuhcoatl fell, I was still in charge of the most basic...; Secret Source Servant: The most basic city maintenance and information recording functions.; Secret Source Servant: However, some records have been lost due to the invasion of our shadowy foe, so I do not have data regarding my name.; Paimon: Yeah, seems like we've got the wrong guy... Err, dragon-robot?; Secret Source Servant: It is fine.; Paimon: Hmm. This robot is huge, but it doesn't seem too bright.; Paimon: This probably isn't that guy who uses machines to talk to us, (TravelerTraveler)...; Paimon: But it did say that it is in charge of record-keeping and stuff, right?; Paimon: Why don't we ask it what it knows, then? Or... You know, about how we can reach the Heart of the Sacred Mountain!; Maybe that's what "that guy" intended...; Well, let's fire away, then...; ("Little One""Little One"): Rawr!

(Talk to the Secret Source Servant)

Secret Source Servant: Do you have any queries?

How do we enter the Heart of the Sacred Mountain?

Secret Source Servant: The entrance to the Heart of the Sacred Mountain is at the newly-excavated entrance... descend into the deepest fissure of the volcano, where it is defended by a Secret Source Dragon Idol.

Secret Source Servant: Moreover, any who wish to gain access to the Heart must also obtain a "permit"...

Secret Source Servant: Only then can you gain the acknowledgement of the Secret Source Dragon Idol that stands guard... Heart of the Sacred Mountain, also known as Huitzilopochtli...

Where can we get this permit...

Secret Source Servant: According to the agreement and the edict issued by Lord Xiuhcoatl, entry to... The Heart of the Sacred Mountain, also known as "Huitzilopochtli"... the descendants of...

Secret Source Servant: Proceed unto the Chamber of Deliberation to submit an application, and then wait for the permit to be issued.

What about the energy source required by Secret Source Dragon Idols?

Secret Source Servant: Now, searching... No corresponding data entry categories... Or perhaps the relevant data, like so much else, has become lost due to the Abyssal corruption of the city...

Secret Source Servant: If you can eliminate the Abyss's influence and retrieve the data, perhaps you might find the entries you seek.

Secret Source Servant: I have marked out a potential data storage location for you. Please eliminate the Abyssal corruption present there to restore the area.

Secret Source Servant: Do you have any queries?

I have no more questions...

Secret Source Servant: Understood.

(Obtain quests Once, the Sacred Seat of Judgment and Where Once There Was a Calculation Array)

(After the dialogue): Paimon: Hmm... Paimon doesn't quite understand why, but if we want to go to the Heart of the Sacred Mountain, then we need to get a permit and clear out the Abyss...; ("Little One""Little One"): Roawr...; Paimon: Alright! Let's get going!

Secret Source Servant[]

(Talk to the Secret Source Servant)

Secret Source Servant: Do you have any other inquiries? Or do you wish to mark out the next location where retrievable data might be stored?

Please mark the next Abyssal corrosion site... (If the player has another Abyssal corrosion site to be marked)

Secret Source Servant: Affirmative. It has been marked... Please clear the Abyss-corrupted zone as soon as possible to retrieve the data stored there.; Secret Source Servant: From there, the database may be restored, preserved, and maintained, such that the required content may be accessed.; Secret Source Servant: Do you have any other inquiries? Or do you wish to mark out the next location where retrievable data might be stored?
(Obtain next quest)‍^{[verification needed]}
(Return to option selection)

How do we enter the Heart of the Sacred Mountain? (If the player has fewer than three Phlogiston Units)

Secret Source Servant: The entrance to the Heart of the Sacred Mountain is at the newly-excavated entrance... descend into the deepest fissure of the volcano, where it is defended by a Secret Source Dragon Idol.; Secret Source Servant: Moreover, any who wish to gain access to the Heart must also obtain a "permit," and for safety reasons...; Secret Source Servant: Only then can you gain the acknowledgement of the Secret Source Dragon Idol that stands guard... Heart of the Sacred Mountain, also known as Huitzilopochtli...
(Return to option selection)

Where can we get this permit... (This option can only be selected once)

Secret Source Servant: According to the agreement and the edict issued by Lord Xiuhcoatl, entry to... The Heart of the Sacred Mountain, also known as "Huitzilopochtli"... the descendants of...; Secret Source Servant: Proceed unto the Chamber of Deliberation to submit an application, and then wait for the permit to be issued.; Secret Source Servant: If you wish to go there, I shall mark its location for you.
(Return to option selection)

Let's access the data we've recovered...

(If the player has no Phlogiston Units)

Secret Source Servant: Apologies, but I do not have any restored data at present...
(Return to option selection)

(If the player has at least one Phlogiston Unit)

Secret Source Servant: Reading corresponding content... What records do you need to access?

Read me the entries marked "Creating the Secret Source Servants..." (If the player has at least one Phlogiston Unit)

Secret Source Servant: Of course. Now reading, please wait.
(Opens Records Regarding "Creating the Secret Source Servants..."): Records Regarding "Creating the Secret Source Servants..."
...
To test the efficiency of complex structures and the Phlogiston power unit, such that a Secret Source Servant can be manufactured for the purposes of record-keeping...
Intended to perform precise adjustment and control of Phlogiston during the second stage of the plan, and to provide insurance in case of contingencies.
If the full-scale Phlogistonization experiment becomes unstable, a physical system will be required to maintain a quasi-Phlogiston state. In this scenario, we will need to rely on these small mechanisms to perform maintenance duties.
...
To think my memory had been corroded to such an extent by the time the prototype could be constructed...
I can no longer even recall... how long it has been since the days when my people would unfurl their wings and soar freely above this land.
I cannot even... Haha. I cannot even recall the figure who should have stood beside my empty throne.
Never mind... He shall one day return to this city. This I believe.

Comments on the Phlogiston Records: Part I
Time of Comment:
Unknown
Comment:
I can understand the need for Secret Source Automatons to maintain the mechanisms, and as a backup plan for the second stage...
But must they have been constructed in such a way? Other shapes would have made more efficient use of the energy source...
Moreover, my pitiable brother, lost to delusions... Know that your descendants merely copying your prototype blindly, having no comprehension of its significance.
Their ignorance is such that the Secret Source Servants they create are even smaller than your prototype — so as not to "usurp" the magnificence of your creation.
Laughable, isn't it, how this non-uniformity creates unnecessary wastage in their assembly...

Comments on the Phlogiston Records: Part II
Time of Comment:
Unknown
Comment:
...Who would have imagined that these Secret Source Servants, built merely to maintain mechanisms and unarmed to boot, would manage to survive the war?
It appears that — in imitation of your ways — they left their own marks at the cores of the Secret Source Servants they created.
By this can I tell these identical facsimiles apart and know who created each one.
...I have given them the names of their creators... For what purpose, one might ask? Remembrance, perhaps?
If you could see me now, brother, you would laugh at my foolishness.
It seems that in this withered city whose life has run its course... I, too...

Comments on the Phlogiston Records: Part III
Time of Comment:
Unknown
Comment:
How peculiar... I am unable to change the name of your prototype... It seems that even I lack the relevant authority. It is hard to believe... that you would leave something such as this for yourself.
Perhaps it is because the Abyssal corruption of the Sacred City is so severe. In this colossal metropolis constructed from Phlogiston... data and structure exist as one.
Yes... The city itself is built of data sectors made manifest... so if the sector containing the prototype's data has been corrupted, the name cannot be read, and therefore cannot be changed.
I wonder... What name did you give this machine?
Or have names themselves lost all meaning in this place? Perhaps you never gave it a name to begin with...; Secret Source Servant: Record playback complete.

Show me the entries for "Humans... and Exceptional Individuals Thereof" (If the player has at least two Phlogiston Units)

Secret Source Servant: Of course. Now reading, please wait.
(Opens Records Regarding "Humans... and Exceptional Individuals Thereof"): Records Regarding "Humans... and Exceptional Individuals Thereof"
...I know not how long I have slept under the influence of the shadow... Ah, my poor brother...

...When will he understand that if he keeps treating his own kin as nothing more than insects, then those of them who share the same burning fire of knowledge that he does will always view him as their foe...

...Even now, despite having failed once already, he persists in pursuing his ludicrous plans. The aberration he cultivated did not succeed in taking the throne of humankind, as he had so wished...

..."My beloved son will one day rule over both races. He possesses a lifespan far longer than that of ordinary humans. The only downside is that achieving this may take a little longer than anticipated."

..."Not to mention how this proves that humanity holds possibilities beyond what fate has ordained."

...But our enemies are not as simple as he imagines. When will he awaken from his delusions?

...Though, I must admit, if he were to achieve his aims and array his pieces on the board before me...

...That would make for an intriguing game indeed. Show me, my poor brother, your ambition. How far will your path take you...; Secret Source Servant: Record playback complete.

Show me the records concerning "Corrosion and Physical Conditions"... (If the player has three Phlogiston Units)

Secret Source Servant: Of course. Now reading, please wait.
(Opens Records Regarding "Corrosion and Physical Conditions"): Records Regarding "Corrosion and Physical Conditions"
...All that once granted me form is fading. I can feel the power being twisted, diluted... to nourish, to form, ah... Something from beyond, our shadowy bane...

...Time is running low. Before all things terminate, I must find a new path for my people... A path forever lit and free from the darkness of shadows...

...Even if no glorious end awaits... If I shall be swallowed by shadows, ravaged by flame... It matters not...

...But how can I forsake... the future of my kin...; Secret Source Servant: Record playback complete.

It's fine. There isn't anything I'd like to read right now.

Secret Source Servant: Understood.

How do we enter the Heart of the Sacred Mountain? (If the player has three Phlogiston Units)

Secret Source Servant: The entrance to the Heart of the Sacred Mountain is close by. When recreating Tollan's city center, Lord Xiuhcoatl excavated downward in order to create a stable experimental environment...; Secret Source Servant: And there, he built the ultimate weapon for use against the Abyss.; Secret Source Servant: However, the seal has caused this device to suffer from the deepest Abyss corrosion. Thus was the city taken over...; Secret Source Servant: The entrance to the Sacred Mountain's heart lies beneath the fissures in the Sacred City... That is also where our shadowy foe's corruption runs the deepest.; Secret Source Servant: Do you have any other inquiries? Or do you wish to mark out the next location where retrievable data might be stored?
(Return to option selection)

I don't have further questions...

Secret Source Servant: Understood.

Phlogiston Unit Obtained[]

(Talk to the Secret Source Servant after obtaining at least one Phlogiston Unit)

Secret Source Servant: Greetings. New data recovery category detected.

Secret Source Servant: ...Entries concerning Source Mechanism energy cores have been updated.

Secret Source Servant: Phlogiston is the main form of energy that powers Source Mechanisms, albeit in a condensed form that closely resembles light.

Secret Source Servant: Stable amounts of Phlogiston Units may be generated via the controlled reaction known as [DATA LOST] allowing for more precise control over energy release.

Secret Source Servant: The energy that a Source Mechanism requires is dependent on both size and the complexity of its operating logic. The quantity of Phlogiston Units a Secret Source Servant requires is [DATA LOST]...

Secret Source Servant: While the larger Secret Source Dragon Idols, in fact, require less — specifically, three in number.

Secret Source Servant: "Information is energy, and energy is information." The data carrier you retrieved counts as a single Phlogiston Unit...

So one "Phlogiston Unit" is one fireball...

Secret Source Servant: Yes, that is one way to look at it. You restored a Phlogiston Unit that had been corrupted by the Abyss. Only then could I extract anything from it...

Secret Source Servant: They can also be used as substitute energy sources for Abyss-corroded Source Mechanisms.

(Continues to Secret Source Servant dialogue)

(After the dialogue): Paimon: Ah, right, Amaru did say earlier that the guardian dragon statue needs power...; Paimon: "Specifically, three in number," they said. That means we need three "small fireballs" in total, right?

(After obtaining the third Phlogiston Unit, if Once, the Sacred Seat of Judgment has not been completed): Paimon: We've cleaned out all the Abyss-stuff here... Ah, don't we still need to get some sort of "permit"?; Paimon: Why don't we ask that big Secret Source Servant back there where we can get one?

(After obtaining three Phlogiston Units and the Permit to the Sacred Heart)

Chosen of Dragons... You have already been granted permission...

Clear the path shrouded in shade and the rift choked with filth!

And thereby open the path... to the Heart of the Sacred Mountain.

("Little One""Little One"): Rrrawr?

Paimon: Hey, you mean we can finally go to the "Heart of the Sacred Mountain"?

Paimon: Is that the final place where the Abyss still hasn't been cleared out?

Paimon: We've cleaned out almost all of the Abyss-stuff here, and we got the permit from the Chamber of Deliberation...

Paimon: Guess it's time to head to the sacred mountain's entrance, then!

(Obtain quest The End of the Road)

Video Guides[]

In Search of a Hidden Heart Guide

Other Languages[]

Language	Official Name	Literal Meaning
English	In Search of a Hidden Heart	—
Chinese (Simplified)	追寻深藏之心
Chinese (Traditional)	追尋深藏之心
Japanese	隠された心を追い求めて Kakusareta Kokoro wo Oimotomete	Pursuing a Hidden Heart
Korean	숨겨진 심장을 찾아서 Sumgyeojin Simjang'eul Chajaseo
Spanish	Buscando el corazón escondido	Searching for the Hidden Heart
French	À la recherche du cœur caché	In Search of the Hidden Heart
Russian	В поисках сокрытого сердца V poiskakh sokrytogo serdtsa
Thai	แสวงหาหัวใจที่ซ่อนอยู่
Vietnamese	Tìm Kiếm Trái Tim Bí Ẩn
German	Die Suche nach dem verborgenen Herzen	The Search for the Hidden Heart
Indonesian	Mencari Hati yang Tersembunyi
Portuguese	Em Busca de um Coração Oculto
Turkish	Saklı Kalbin Peşinde
Italian	Alla ricerca di un cuore nascosto

Change History[]

Released in Version 5.5

[Create New History]