Unlike Phainon, Cyrene wasn't as stunned.
"Will I… stay here?"
"That is right."
Hearing this, Phainon finally reacted. He wanted to object out of instinct. Being forced out of "destiny" and willingly accepting it are two different things, at least in his dictionary.
"Must she need—"
"Do not fret. This city is the safest throughout all of Amphoreus. Fear more about yourself. You are destined to lead the fight against the Black Tide."
Cerydra's sound words shut him up.
"No, it's fine, Phainon. I am willing to stay."
"But… alright."
Seeing the two come out of an agreement, Cerydra sent Phainon out. Her deep blue pupils stared intently at Cyrene.
"Tell me. Have you seen him?"
"A-ah?"
The image of an impossibly handsome man flashed involuntarily inside her mind, especially the gaze sent out by his golden pupils.
"So you did." Cerydra easily saw through her. "What did he say?"
"H-hm."
She cleared out her throat before badly mimicking Shi Tian's words:
"The forgotten cycle will make its last stand… at the end of time."
Cerydra fell silent. Her eyes flickered with thoughts.
The guide book he left behind revealed everything about Amphoreus. Cerydra knew that this world is but a 'simulation' formed by a massive supercomputer made from a God's body. She is also aware of the Flame Reaver's fifteen million regressions—as well as the fifteen million defeats suffered by Amphoreus.
Back then, she could hardly calm herself down. Knowing they were defeated without Cerydra being aware is the worst humiliation, one that commands powerlessness to her very soul.
A millennium of experience took care of it.
Now, she wanted nothing but to lead Amphoreus to the starry skies.
The guide book itself ends on leading this cycle to the Era Nova—the return of all twelve Coreflames to the Vortex of Genesis. There is nothing written on what will happen next.
Cerydra overlooked this small detail until she came to a realization.
It is missing… because it lacks a character.
As to who it could be, she did not dare confirm it in her heart until now. She is self-aware. She might not be able to continue playing her 'role' had she kept the thought that 'Merlin is alive!'
Even…
She might just mimic the path of a certain False God.
That is how the world felt without his presence.
Cerydra felt incomplete.
She could only bury that thought to prevent herself from having other thoughts.
Hearing the confirmation from Cyrene, she began to laugh uncontrollably. The former shot her strange looks, but decided not to interfere.
Cyrene saw it was a genuine laughter out of joy.
'Who is he..? The Imperator must have been close to him…'
She resolved herself to find out about this mysteriously handsome young man. The [Author] card she received helped them get out of countless troubles, not to mention a strange feeling of familiarity coming off from him.
It took a while for Cerydra's laughter to die down.
"You want to know about him, right? Then this Imperator shall tell you everything."
Thus the story of a wandering jester-slash-court mage was retold.
*****
Phainon's departure from Styxia sparked no troubles. He went through some negligible fights before arriving on Okhema.
Cerydra did not ask him to do anything. He was free to do as he liked. This decision proved to be the correct one.
Not even a month later, Aglaea noticed him and brought Phainon to her side. She thought about the Chrysos Heir who will bear the Worldbearing Titan's Coreflame a long time ago. Nobody fit her criteria… not until she saw Phainon.
It was an intuitive feeling. Seeing him is seeing a Deliverer. It is his fate to become the Worldbearing Demigod. He has the character, strength, and disposition for it.
'Saved by the Black Knights… Was it one of the Imperator's schemes?'
Aglaea overlooked most of Okhema at the tallest height of the Marmoreal Palace. Her dull emerald eyes did not hinder her senses. The golden web spread all throughout the Holy City became her eyes and ears.
Most importantly, a hint of humanity remained in her eyes.
Shi Tian's gift was a modern sewing machine. Its effect was simple: to maintain her original heart. So long as she weaved clothes through that machine, her soul will never wane; her humanity standing until the end of time.
From this, Aglaea understood what Cerydra wanted to pull off. She wanted Aglaea to work in the light while she works in the dark. That way, the Imperator can pull off her schemes without any restraints.
That was how she defeated the Strife Titan and helped Castorice undertake her divine trial.
'Only if they can reconcile…'
Aglaea shook her head. The past thousand years taught her and the others a profound lesson:
Losses are a constant in the Flame-chase Journey.
Merlin's death is but a part of it. The Imperator and her Dux Gladiorum were destined to never reconcile due to their differences… and the huge rift created after his death.
Expecting to attain a fairy-tale-like ending in this world is akin to drawing promises on water.
It is impossible.
'To lead Amphoreus to the Era Nova, the end of Flame-Chase Journey…'
*****
Flicker-!
Drop.
Sounds of water drops echoed out. Hysilens opened her eyes to the unfamiliar environment. The foreign and strange sensation invaded her entire body, demanding purposelessness and meaninglessness.
'Where am I?'
She recalled her last memories.
After helping Phainon and Cyrene escape from the Flame Reaver's grasp, she remained at the depths of the ocean. She fought countless abyss sea sirens, liberating her kind who got corrupted by the Black Tide.
'This place feels familiar.'
For some reason, Hysilens found herself familiar with this place. The depths of her being, the place where her 'Protocol' as ApoRia432, resonated with this place. Her simulated Primum Mobile is a perfect match to this place made of Nihility's influence!
The water surface continued rippling. Hysilens feet did not sink as she stepped on it. Light seems to have lost its meaning—its purpose—leaving behind nothing but endless "darkness".
Even, she has a feeling it is not darkness, but that nothing exists in this place. There is no space, time, light, darkness, and life…
'A person..!'
…until she saw the back of a man.
A familiar feeling assaulted her senses for the second time.
His short black tuffs of hair should have been unfamiliar to her. Hysilens never remembered a man who looked like him.
Yet, her memories tell otherwise.
She knows him.
Her steps grew closer to him. The man remained unmoved when she arrived. Hysilens saw his features. His dark black eyes stared blankly on the ground. He does not blink, nor does he breathe. He is a husk of a human, barely living inside this wretched place.
Hysilens was about to speak when the man met her gaze.
At that living instant, she knew who he truly was.
There was only one person in her memories who possessed it. A man said to have overcome it. The man she resonated with—a special connection between two kindred souls who experienced similar things.
Most importantly…
"Merlin… no… Tian."
…he is the man whose name could never be let go in her heart.