Hearing such thoughts from Cipher, the audience, still immersed in a tangle of emotions, couldn't help but start pondering its meaning.
What did she mean? Could it be that Bartholos also had a problem?
But it was just an ordinary little Spirithief...
Back in Okhema, it had been kicked away by Aglaea like something lying on the roadside.
A guy like that, what kind of story could possibly be hiding behind it?
After thinking about it for a while, most people stopped dwelling on it.
Aglaea's death had left them distraught, as though the sky over Amphoreus had gone dark.
Revenge, grief, unwillingness, and countless other emotions intertwined in their hearts.
The oddity surrounding Bartholos wasn't enough to disperse those overwhelming feelings.
.....
As the two set off on their journey, Styxia was practically dug up from end to end.
Bartholos possessed an extraordinary nose for treasure. No matter how deeply hidden a treasure was, it would easily sniff it out.
Although the River of Souls had swept through Styxia and turned it into a city of the dead, in another sense it was also thanks to that river. Existing somewhere between reality and concept, it could even resist the erosion of time.
This had already been demonstrated during Stelle's battle against the dragon.
In a short span of time, the two of them amassed a considerable haul.
Gems, gold coins, leather goods, magnificent fabrics, and all sorts of rare treasures continuously fell into their hands.
As for Bartholos, its stomach was like a bottomless pit. No matter how many treasures were stuffed into it, it could swallow them all, as though it contained an entire warehouse.
After finding another treasure location, Cipher decided to reward Bartholos for its hard work.
"As expected for a realm of Phagousa's disciples. This entire chest is filled with ornaments made from Ocean's Tears... Here, take this, and see if it suits you."
With a casual flick of her hand, she tossed the gemstone, nearly half the size of a fist, toward Bartholos.
The Spirithief was overjoyed and immediately caught it, "Hehe, thanks for the gift, Boss! Much appreciated!"
Holding the gemstone up, it carefully admired it. The purple glow matched its skin perfectly.
Delighted, Bartholos prepared to hang it around its neck.
But the moment it moved, the gemstone vanished!
"Huh!? Where... where is... my treasure!?"
Looking at its empty hand, Bartholos frantically searched all around.
"Hahahaha! How long have we known each other? I can't believe you still fall for this!"
Cipher burst into laughter from the side, playing with the purple gemstone in her hand as she spoke.
Only then did Bartholos realize what had happened.
"Uh... this, this is.. Oh, how could I have forgotten about this?"
""All believe it as true, and a lie becomes reality." What a convenient ability!"
Quick-wittedly, it turned the topic into praise for Cipher.
Cipher clearly enjoyed hearing that. She snorted and tossed the gemstone back.
"Alright, enough fooling around. Here's the real thing. Lead the way."
Bartholos caught the gemstone and happily stuffed it into its stomach before resuming the lead.
"Cipher rules! I've already pinpointed the next trove of treasure. Starting navigation... hehehe..."
Having received a reward, Bartholos became even more enthusiastic about leading the way.
While searching for treasure, Cipher remained silent.
Trying to liven up the atmosphere, Bartholos asked, "Boss Lady, we're set to make a fortune this time. Got any plans on how to spend it?"
Cipher turned and shot Bartholos a look.
"Of course, spend nothing. Have you forgotten my silly prophecy?"
Bartholos froze again, but quickly recovered and nodded repeatedly.
"Ah... I remember, of course! Hehehe..."
Its repeated strange behavior finally made the audience realize that something was off.
Logically speaking, given the way Cipher treated Bartholos, the two should have been extremely familiar with one another.
Yet in the recent scenes, the questions Bartholos asked were things it should already have known.
And after being caught off guard just now, its anxious explanations felt a little too deliberate.
Every excuse boiled down to the same thing: It forgot.
Even the audience had begun to notice the problem.
Could it be that Bartholos was also a priest of Janus, capable of splitting it's soul like Tribios?
That would be ridiculous.
....
: There's definitely something wrong with Bartholos.
: It doesn't know anything. Feels like it has amnesia.
: What secret is it hiding?
: Cipher is testing Bartholos, isn't she?
: But honestly, I can't even get interested right now. Aglaea is dead. I don't care about any mysteries anymore.
: Yeah... Aglaea didn't even get her own personal story.
: She only appeared in other people's stories.
: Such a shame...
: Unless something huge happens later.
: No matter how huge it is, I can't get excited anymore. I just want to see Caenis get beaten to death!
: Sigh... Seriously, why did they have to kill Aglaea?
....
Even though the comments said that, their activity helped many viewers gradually emerge from their earlier grief and regain some energy.
Still, just as one comment had said, they didn't believe anything truly shocking was about to happen.
On screen, Bartholos stopped at the corner of a street.
After some digging, it unearthed an unusually designed box.
At first, both of them assumed there would be some kind of treasure inside.
But when they opened it, they found only an old diary.
The diary recorded the struggles of a resident of Styxia before the city-state's destruction.
Through its pages, Bartholos and Cipher witnessed fragments of the city's final days.
At first, the sea level began to rise steadily.
The diary's owner was forced to move his family to higher ground and wait for the waters to recede.
But after several days, not only did the water fail to retreat, it completely submerged the entire city of Styxia.
He continued to pray to the Titan, believing it was the wrath of the Ocean Titan.
Yet a few more days later, the waters that had swallowed Styxia began to change.
A mysterious purple radiance flowed beneath the surface.
And when he gazed at it from afar, he suddenly felt as though something terrifying was lurking beneath the sea...
The audience, of course, knew why this was happening, the Underworld was transitioning from illusion into reality, and the River Styx had naturally begun assimilating these seawaters.
But the owner of the diary did not know. After witnessing that Styxia was beyond saving...
The desperate remnants of the city-state could only choose the final path.
Crossing the ocean and leaving Styxia.
Heading toward the Holy City, Okhema where the blessings of the Worldbearing Titan still held.
This road was far from easy.
Or rather, once their homeland was swallowed by the sea, everything had already begun sliding toward something worse.
Food was scarce, supplies were dwindling.
The survivors, who had once indulged in pleasure and pursued death, watched the people around them die in agony.
Only then did they realize they had never truly understood the meaning of death.
"Oh my..."
Bartholos held the last page of the diary in his claws. Seeing yet another entry recording the death of another child, he clicked his tongue.
"Oh... this looks tragic. Do you think they made it to Okhema?"
Cipher shook her head and said regretfully,
"Probably not. I've never seen or heard of anyone from Styxia in Okhema."
"At least I'm still left for Dolos... Guess this city wasn't so lucky, huh?"
"Heh, it does seem unfair, doesn't it? Just because they were born in the wrong place, they had to face such... devastation. Meanwhile, those in Okhema, simply because they're supported by the Worldbearing Titan, continue to survive..."
Bartholos awkwardly put the papers back into the box and casually said,
"Speaking of the Worldbearing Titan, Cipher, didn't you tell me once... you used to be an apprentice at Kephale's Priestly Court?"
Cipher froze for a moment before asking,
"...Huh? Did I?"
Under Cipher's unblinking stare, Bartholos hurriedly explained, "Yes! You definitely told me, and I remember it clearly! Maybe it's been so long, your memory's gotten a little fuzzy, hehe..."
He forced out a laugh. But halfway through, he could no longer laugh.
Cipher kept staring at him. Her gaze grew stranger and stranger.
Then suddenly, she burst into laughter, looking as though she had just remembered something.
"...Ah, right, I did tell you. It wasn't a big deal. I just snuck in with a bunch of mumbling priests and watched them do their spooky rituals around some glowing rock."
"Honestly, I was only interested in the wallets of the old grandpas on the Council back then. Don't remember much else, it's been, what, nearly a thousand years?"
Bartholos let out an embarrassed chuckle.
Cipher withdrew her gaze. Just as she was about to move on, she suddenly remembered something and turned around.
"Little Bart, do you remember what the question before that was?"
"The... the one before that?"
Bartholos was completely baffled. He thought for a long while, unable to remember what he had asked before.
At that moment, Cipher confirmed something completely.
"...Stop, stay there, and don't turn around."
Her voice was sharp and decisive. Though confused, Bartholos obeyed after seeing the look in her eyes.
The moment he turned around,
"...Ouch!"
Cipher's hand had somehow already plunged deep into his body.
Ignoring his screams, she rummaged around inside for a moment. After grabbing hold of something, she yanked it out.
"Ow, my poor old back, what are you doing?"
Bartholos cried out, clutching his side and looking at Cipher with pitiful eyes.
"Shh..." Without explaining, Cipher opened her tightly clenched hand in front of him.
A golden larva lay quietly in her palm.
As soon as her hand opened, it spread its wings and flew up, landing nearby.
"T-That came out of my body?"
Bartholos stared at the larva in shock.
As a thief spirit, he wanted nothing more than to stay as far away from Aglaea as possible. There was no way he would willingly hide something like that inside himself.
And upon seeing the larva... The audience practically jolted upright in shock, staring at it without blinking.
How shameless, MiHoYo! They had already guessed everyone was feeling miserable right now.
So they deliberately dropped a larva here to bait everyone!
And yet everyone fell for it!
Could this be one of Aglaea's backup plans?
Or another emotional finishing blow?
The audience watched the screen nervously.
"That seamstress, she's listening."
"Wh—What!? Boss, do you mean..."
"Stay put and keep quiet... I'll handle her."
After signaling Bartholos to stay quiet, Cipher looked at the larva.
"Well, well, seamstress! Getting sneaky, aren't we? Did you think I wouldn't notice your little spies lurking around me?"
The larva spoke. It was Aglaea's voice.
Her tone was remarkably calm.
"...Heh."
"As time passes... I find myself leaning more and more on blind luck."
"With only the power of this little nymph, naturally I couldn't slip past your sharp eyes... Cifera."
Cipher crossed her arms and frowned.
"Hmph... Even if you could fully control Bartholos's mind, I would still be able to see through your disguise, Aglaea."
"You've gone to such lengths to spy on my every move, what exactly are you after? I've told you before, you don't need me to succeed. Why won't you just let this go?"
"I already made an exception and got involved with Castorice and Gray Mystery. Asking for more now... isn't that pushing your luck a bit too far?"
The larva fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.
"I... I'm sorry, Cifera."
"I've plotted and schemed my whole life, but I never could've predicted our relationship would end up like this."
Cipher paused. But she said nothing.
The larva continued.
"I've spent centuries trying to figure out where I went wrong, replaying every moment over and over. But you've never given me a chance to explain myself face-to-face."
Sadness.
Yes. There was unmistakable sadness in Aglaea's voice.
Outside the screen, the audience's hearts sank.
These words, that tone. It sounded like someone delivering their final farewell.
As though she were fulfilling her last wish before death.
Not to mention with only a few sentences, Aglaea had already laid bare the scars in both of their hearts, from their past.
Even from the earlier flashbacks, anyone could see that the relationship between the tsundere little cat and the vividly human Aglaea was anything but ordinary.
Yet over the countless years that followed, Cipher gradually drifted away from Aglaea.
Aglaea didn't even know what she had done wrong.
Like a mother watching her most beloved child slowly grow distant and come to dislike her.
And until the day she died, she never found the answer.
Watching this scene the audience erupted into anguished cries.
Damn it! MiHoYo is still going for the kill!