PS: In the original plot, Cerces confessed that she was a Titan sometime later, but after I finished writing it, I realized that from the audience's perspective the "wow factor" wasn't strong enough, so I delayed that reveal to a later point.
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The news of the black-robed swordsman made everyone extremely tense.
Calypso had disappeared once again. With no other choice, the group sprinted toward the Luminary Throne.
Only after they stepped onto the road leading to the Luminary Throne did they realize, in shock, it wasn't that the lower levels were quiet.
All the true horror was concentrated right here.
Large numbers of corpses from Black Tide constructs lay tangled together with the bodies of scholars.
They nearly blocked the entire road. The twisted stench of the Black Tide constructs, mixed with the smell of human blood, formed a thick aura of death that rushed straight at them.
Stelle and Castorice's pupils both trembled.
Even the usually lively Trianne stood there in stunned silence.
The devastation here was no less severe than what they had seen previously a Castrum Kremnos.
Most of the scholars' bodies were no longer intact. Beside every Black Tide construct corpse lay at least two or three people.
It was clear that they had fought with everything they had to stop the Black Tide's advance.
And what could have caused both sides to clash in a bloody battle here was obvious without much thought.
It had to be the Titan's Coreflame.
"Mem…" Mem stared at the scene ahead, her big eyes filled with sorrow.
Yet within the dense aura of death, she also caught a trace of something unique.
Under Oronyx's divine power, several white figures appeared before the group.
It was Anaxa! Because of his technique, Anaxa had left behind countless traces here as well.
"Ha... My eyes can no longer see..."
"No matter... All I have to do is to place this body at the core of the array..."
"For the sake of Amphoreus... Die with me, Titan."
Anaxa's murmurs echoed in everyone's ears.
That crystalline figure was staggering as he walked upward.
The audience held their breath.
As the atmosphere continued to build, they had already realized, this once childlike, make-believe game was steadily escalating.
When they first stepped into the Grove of Epiphany, the Black Tide constructs were terrifying, but before Stelle, they were hardly worth mentioning.
And they hadn't seen anything particularly horrific. Deep down, the audience had actually felt quite relaxed.
Even after learning that Anaxa might already be dead, many still spoke in a teasing tone.
Because, from the bottom of their hearts, they had never felt much pressure from this arc of the Grove of Epiphany.
Along the way, aside from occasional battles, most of the time was spent showcasing the Grove of Epiphany's scenery in different ways, along with some of its secrets.
It was worlds apart from the sense of urgency in the first episode, when facing Nikador.
However, as they approached the Luminary Throne,
And witnessed with their own eyes the scene of scholars fighting to the death here, along with their shattered bodies, only then did the audience truly realize, this place too was a battlefield of life and death.
....
: …My god.
: It looks like… there isn't a single living person left.
: Damn, that relaxed feeling is gone instantly.
: I was just telling my wife how beautiful the Grove of Epiphany scenery was…
: Following Stelle's perspective was too easy, we forgot that for the scholars, this place really would be fatal.
: So the earlier calm was simply because everyone who stayed behind gathered here, using their lives to hold the Black Tide outside the Luminary Throne.
: Was it for the Coreflame? Or for Anaxa's plan?
: That Calypso, who knows where she ran off to again. Is she one of the survivors? She looks more like a ghost who died already.
: I've got a really bad feeling. This story probably won't stay easygoing much longer.
....
Quite a few audience were already swallowing nervously.
On screen, there was no background music anymore.
Only deathly silence remained. Stelle, Castorice, Trianne, and Mem stepped onto the blood-soaked road, their expressions heavy, one step at a time.
The sticky sensation underfoot made Stelle frown slightly.
Fortunately, the road wasn't long. As the Luminary Throne gradually came into view, the first thing they saw was a tall figure clad in a black robe.
He stood there in silence.
And beneath him, a green-haired man sat upright on the Luminary Throne.
The green-haired man rested both hands on his knees, his head lowered, looking as if he were asleep.
Yet the blood flowing from his fingertips had long since pooled beneath him.
There was no rise or fall to his chest.
"Anaxa… teacher…" Castorice's breathing nearly stopped.
The green-haired man was Anaxa.
But now, on screen, there was no trace of life left in him.
First came the news of Anaxa's death, and then Calypso brought hope. Along the way, the remnants of Anaxa they had seen never felt like lies.
He was still struggling. Still resisting.
And yet… Did he ultimately fail?
Compared to hearing the cold news from someone else's mouth, seeing the death of this Chrysos Heir with their own eyes made the audience's hearts feel entirely different.
Stelle's gaze lingered on Anaxa for a moment. Then it shifted to the black-robed man.
She felt a wave of pressure. At that moment, Mem reacted as well.
"Mem!"
"Ever since we entered the Grove of Epiphany, I've been sensing the presence of countless memories."
"They're shattered everywhere, and I could never find their source."
Mem's big eyes were wide open as she spoke urgently. Her voice pulled Castorice back from her heavy thoughts.
Castorice looked at Mem, recalling what Mem had said before.
And then Mem grew even more tense, speaking rapidly, "This person is the source of the smell and the memory... No, he's basically the memory itself!"
"The burning paradise, the shattered sun, and..."
"...Carnage. Death and destruction."
As Mem spoke, an oil painting suddenly appeared on the screen.
Though it lasted only an instant, it was enough to send the audience into an uproar.
....
: Wasn't that from the end of episode one...? That pink-haired girl?
: Is this hinting at something?
: Is it related to that black-robed man?
: Damn, the plot just went completely off the rails!
: And those memories, what are they even talking about?
....
A flickering oil painting appeared on the screen.
It was the same portrait of the pink-haired girl whose face could not be seen, shown at the end of the first episode.
It too had been split open by a slash down the middle, golden blood flowing from the wound.
But.... The audience couldn't make sense of it at all.
What Mem said sounded like riddles to them. And riddles were everywhere in Amphoreus, one more from Mem hardly made a difference.
Besides, the audience remembered clearly. When Mem had mentioned it earlier to Stelle and Castorice, neither of them had taken it seriously.
There was no helping it. Who could possibly know what a "burning paradise" was supposed to be, or what the "shattered sun" really meant?
Relying on words alone.... How could anyone grasp the full picture?
The only thing that could be confirmed was something related to memories.
From Mem's description, the black-robed man seemed almost as if they had been cut into pieces.
But in Amphoreus, that was a paradox. No one could remain alive when their memories were completely shattered.
Yet compared to those unimportant questions...
Anaxa and the Coreflame, those were the most urgent matters facing everyone right now!
At that moment, sound came from the black-robed man's mouth, one that barely resembled a human voice.
It sounded like speech, yet also like the low growl of some massive beast.
"The black sword and cloak..." Castorice pressed her lips together, her right hand already half-clenched in the air.
"The owner of the piece of cloth... The north wind that sent over the deathly fog of Thanatos."
Stelle quietly stepped forward as well.
" .... "The black-robed man moved.
He slightly turned his head, glancing back at the people behind him.
He didn't attack. He didn't make any extra movements.
He simply spoke, his hoarse voice seeming to be squeezed out of his throat.
"You're not... demigods."
"Stand down. Or die."
Though his voice was rough, his tone was extraordinarily calm.
It didn't even sound like a threat, more like he was stating a fact.
Stelle frowned.
She was about to step forward and test this black-robed swordsman herself.
Castorice felt the same.
Anaxa and the Coreflame were right there, any delay might cost them their lives.
Trianne, watching the two of them, prepared herself quietly. As long as Little Gray and Little Cas moved, she would obediently support them from the side.
The tension was razor-sharp. And the audience's hearts clenched along with it.
....
: This black-robed swordsman… he feels insanely cool.
: Yeah, the way he talks, cold, absolute.
: He feels ridiculously strong… somehow this calm is even more oppressive than shouting.
: The Black Tide creations and the scholars are fighting like crazy, and this guy's just standing there, something feels very off.
: And I can't tell what side he's on. Black Tide? Doesn't quite feel like it. A third party?
: But there's no way Stelle's backing down. When has a Nameless ever been afraid of trouble…
: With those three together, I'd believe they could take on another Titan easily.
: True. He feels strong, but he clearly doesn't know how powerful those three girls are. Kind of arrogant.
: The music is so quiet… it's suffocating.
: The real fight is about to start.
....
The audience waited, breath held.
Because in this situation, everything pointed to an imminent, explosive battle.
This fight would decide who claimed the Coreflame.
On screen, just as the three were about to move, Mem's expression suddenly changed. Panic filled her face as she shouted urgently: "Quick... run! It's just us... We won't be able to defeat them..."
This was the first time Mem had ever spoken words of retreat. Yet her abnormal behavior failed to draw the trio's attention.
"Don't worry, I'll protect everyone." Stelle said seriously as she looked at Mem.
"No, that's not what I mean…." Mem's speech was already unsteady, and in her panic, she stumbled even more over her words.
Before she could finish, Castorice nodded as well.
"He has already discovered us..." She wanted to fight too.
"T—Trianne will also protect everyone! Trianne is brave!"
Seeing both Little Gray and Little Cas speak up, Trianne hurried to follow.
"Mem, Mem, Mem!" Mem grew even more frantic, stamping in midair as her words completely fell apart.
But Stelle and Castorice exchanged a glance. In each other's eyes, they saw resolve.
"May death itself stand as our shield, just this once." The Death Priestess's prayer sounded more like a pre-battle invocation.
At that moment, the background music, silent until now, was suddenly torn open by frantic violins.
Without waiting for any buildup, the black-robed swordsman, sensing their intent to attack, fully turned around.
The black cloak on his back rippled with the motion.
"Hmph!" Stelle pulled out her bat and stepped to the front without hesitation.
Castorice raised her left hand high, her eyes filled with killing intent never seen before, as black-violet liquid poured endlessly from her palm.
Trianne flew up into the air.
Just as they finished preparing, the black-robed swordsman moved.
He raised his right hand and pointed at Castorice.
"One slash." Space shattered in an instant. A phantom burst forth, so fast its trajectory was nearly invisible.
Castorice didn't even have time to react. The sword light was already upon her!
"What?!"
Too fast! Far too fast!
By the time her eyes caught it, by the time her brain reacted, golden blood had already sprayed into the air.
If instinct hadn't forced her to retreat at the last second, that single strike would have split her in two!
Everything happened in a flash.
Whether it was Stelle, or the audience, all they could see on screen was Castorice's shocked, panicked expression.
Then she was sent flying. Stelle and Trianne both cried out. Stelle rushed forward without a second thought, catching Castorice as she fell.
But before the image could fully show Stelle holding her, another blade of light bloomed at the edge of the frame.
"Two slashes." Trianne turned in shock.
Another phantom had already swung at her, appearing out of nowhere.
Because Trianne was in midair, she barely avoided the strike by beating her wings.
Even so, her small body was violently blown away by the sword wind, crashing to the ground and skidding several meters.
These few short seconds.... Left everyone utterly speechless.
The feeling gripping Stelle and the others now surged through countless audience' hearts as well.
How was this even possible?!
Just as the three barely regained their footing, heavy footsteps pierced their ears.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The black-robed man began walking toward them. His steps were slow and heavy.
Yet each one felt like it was stomping directly on the audience's hearts.
The rapid drumbeats in the background music echoed like their pounding heartbeats.
An electric guitar joined in. Each note was as sharp as a blade.
Raging black energy erupted from the black-robed man's body, synchronized with the frenzied music.
From his left hand, he drew a massive great sword, twisted in shape, as if it had been forcibly forged in molten metal.
The entire frame froze on the mask of the black-robed man.
He raised the sword high, then slowly lowered it, the blade pointing straight at Stelle and the others.
From beneath that mask, marked with claw-like scars, his voice rang out once more.
Calm. Absolute.
"Three slashes... are enough."