Chapter 92: Cipher Becomes a God
"Vortex of Genesis, this place seems not to belong to the present world."
Aglaea looked at Cipher: "Are you ready? The Journey of Chasing the Flame return ceremony can begin."
Cipher mustered her courage and stepped forward.
"Remember," Aglaea finally instructed before the trial, "no matter what you see, don't forget who you are."
"Okay…" Cipher nodded, then turned to look at you: "Little Cat, wait for me to come back."
"Hmm, I'm right here."
She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in your ear: "If I can't get out…"
"You will definitely get out smoothly."
"What if?"
"Then I'll go in and drag you out."
Cipher smiled: "I knew Little Cat was the best."
At this moment, Tribbie chanted: "…Trickery and lies intertwine in myriad ways, truth and falsehood are hard to distinguish clearly." "Cifera of Dolos—please step forward."
Cipher walked to the center of the Vortex and chanted with Tribbie: "Solemn Twelve Titans, pillars supporting the world…" She raised the Journey of Chasing the Flame: "The Journey of Chasing the Flame of Zagreus, God of Trickery, I return it!"
The Journey of Chasing the Flame left her hand and floated in mid-air. Suddenly, a blurry figure appeared in mid-air. That was… Zagreus's afterimage. He let out a low murmur, and Tribbie translated for him: "If you wish to control the power of trickery, you must first discern truth from falsehood…" "Come, prove that you will not be lost in lies."
Cipher bit her lip: "I'm ready. No matter what the trial is, I will pass it!"
"Then, come."
A white light flashed, and Cipher's figure disappeared into the Vortex.
An hour passed. Three hours. Six hours. You stood still, unmoving. Your Golden Thread stared fixedly at the spot where Cipher disappeared, as if if you moved your gaze, she would never come back.
"Orion," Aglaea gently advised, "do you want to rest first? The duration of the trial is hard to say, sometimes it takes—"
You shook your head: "I said I would wait for her."
Until the eighth hour—
"Let me in!"
"No!" Aglaea immediately blocked your way, her Golden Thread also unfolding at the same time. "You cannot interfere unless absolutely necessary, it will affect her trial!"
"But she's been in there for—" You released your Golden Thread, wanting to break in.
"Eight hours is not long for a divine authority trial." Aglaea suddenly grasped your hand. "I know you're worried about her, but what you can do now is trust Cifera."
"If anything happens to her…"
"She won't. She's stronger than you think."
"Alright, just for a moment…"
Finally—
A white light flashed. A familiar figure staggered out. It was Cipher.
Her face was ashen, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, and her messy gray short hair clung to her cheeks. "Little Cat…" The moment she saw you, a smile bloomed on her face. "I succeeded."
As soon as she finished speaking, her body softly fell forward. You instantly rushed forward and steadily caught her. The touch in your hands tightened your heart—she was burning hot, as if she had a high fever, and her body was still trembling slightly.
"Cipher? What's wrong with you?!"
"Nothing…" She leaned in your arms. "Just… a little tired…"
"This is normal." Aglaea walked over. "The divine authority is transforming her body, converting a mortal body into a demigod."
You could almost feel a strange power flowing within Cipher. The authority belonging to the Trickery Titan was merging with her.
"Little Cat…" Cipher's hand weakly clutched your clothes. "I saw so many things in there…"
"Don't talk, rest first."
"No, I want to tell you…" Her voice was intermittent. "In the trial… I almost… almost couldn't tell what was real…" She suddenly stopped, her eyes flickering.
"Also what?" You asked worriedly.
"Also… also remembered you." She smiled weakly, reaching out to touch your face. "The you now, is real, right?"
You held her burning hand: "Of course it's real."
"That's good…" She finally closed her eyes with relief. "With you here… I'm not afraid anymore…"
Cipher fell into a deep sleep in your arms. And you held her, feeling her breathing gradually steady. From then on, Cifera became the new 'Trickery' Demigod. And you remained her most trusted partner.
At 21 years old, a year had passed since Cipher became a demigod. In the streets and alleys of Ohema, a legend began to spread.
"Have you heard? That lightning-fast, shadowless demigod!" "Cipher, right? I saw her with my own eyes! She tossed a coin into the sky, and then her whole body disappeared!"
The Demigod of Swift Shadow, the patron saint of the poor, the bane of the powerful—that's what people called her. You told Cipher about those titles in the rumors, but she scoffed at them.
"What demigod or not, I'm just a Rogue." She lay on Aglaea's roof, playing with a coin in her hand. It was a special coin, with a smiling cat on one side and a crying Zagreus on the other.
"Flipping Coin…" You looked at the coin. "This thing looks like a liheng coin."
"Yes, left by Zagreus, it used to be a counterfeit coin used to impersonate liheng coins." As she spoke, she tossed the coin high into the air. The coin spun in the air, her figure instantly blurred, and the next second she appeared on the other side of the city. Another instant, she returned to your side, proudly shaking the apple in her hand.
"Want to eat together?"
At 22 years old, since joining the Journey of Chasing the Flame, you often operated in Ohema. Nominally to cooperate with Aglaea's actions, but in reality…
"Tailor Woman, what's for dinner tonight?" Cipher sat swaggering at the dining table.
Aglaea looked at her helplessly: "Do you two really treat this place like a hotel?"
"Oh, don't say that." Cipher said with a grin. "We're contributing to the Journey of Chasing the Flame!"
Contributing—if ransacking the mansions of the powerful every night counted as contributing. Since becoming a demigod, Cipher's abilities had undergone a qualitative leap. What bothered Aglaea the most was that her Golden Thread was ineffective against Cipher. As a result, the powerful in Ohema suffered. Either the jeweler in the East City lost treasures today, or an elder of the Council in the West City lost collectibles tomorrow. The city guard was busy running around, but couldn't even catch a glimpse of the thief.
"It must be that Trickery Demigod!"
"But there's no evidence, and no one has ever caught her…"
"Nonsense, if she could be caught, would she still be called a demigod?"