Chapter 125: Death of Cifera
You held the spark of the sky and stepped into the gates of Okhema.
However, the sight before you stunned you.
Darkness. Boundless darkness enveloped this once holy city of dawn. There was no eternal daylight, only perpetual night and sparse lamplight.
Few pedestrians walked the streets; occasionally, someone hurried past, their face filled with panic.
"What happened...?"
Was it because of the fall of the Sky Titan? Or for some other reason?
But none of that mattered anymore. Your goal was clear—to find Tribbie and Trinnon and end this absurd Journey of Chasing the Flame.
Just then—
"Hey! You, you finally came back!" a sharp voice rang in your ear.
You turned and saw a creature anxiously flying towards you.
Zagreus?
"Zagreus?" You recognized him—that annoying guy who was always with Cifera.
"Quick! No time to explain!" Zagreus spun around anxiously. "Cifera... she might already be..."
His voice choked for a moment.
"To protect the spark from being stolen by the Thief of Fire, she... she entrusted the most important thing to me!"
"She said it was for you or that kid Phainon..."
"Since you're here, I'll give it to you first!"
You frowned. "What thing?"
Zagreus took a deep breath, and then— his body suddenly swelled, and he spat out a ball of light from his mouth.
The kephale's spark. The last, and most important, spark.
"Take it!" Zagreus panted. "Cifera protected this with her life!"
But you didn't look at the spark; your attention was entirely on something else.
"What did you just say?" Your voice trembled slightly. "Cifera... she's already...?"
"Ah? This..." Zagreus froze for a moment, then showed a sad expression. "Cifera... she's dead."
Boom—
These words struck you like lightning, leaving your mind blank.
"Impossible," you instinctively retorted. "She has the divine authority of trickery, how could she...?"
"Speaking of which..." Zagreus sighed. "Do you know why Okhema became like this?"
"Because what maintained eternal daylight for 1,000 years wasn't some miracle of kephale at all!"
"But a lie woven by Cifera using the divine authority of trickery!"
Your pupils constricted. "What?"
"That's right! That girl tricked everyone!" Zagreus's eyes held both pride and sadness. "She made everyone in Amphoreus believe that the kephale's dawn machine would illuminate Okhema forever."
"But in reality, the kephale's dawn could only last for 300 years!"
"It was she who, with the power of trickery, maintained this lie, extending Okhema's light for another 700 years!"
Your hands were trembling. In your mind, countless fragments began to piece together.
Why did she suddenly leave? Why did she hide and avoid you and Aglaea? Why would she rather you hate her than explain?
So it was...
"She was afraid... afraid that Aglaea and I would expose her lie?"
"Exactly!" Zagreus nodded. "That woman Aglaea is too smart, and the Golden Thread can see through everything. And you are the person closest to her, who understands her best."
"If Cifera continued to stay by your side, she would be discovered sooner or later."
"And once the lie was exposed, the divine power of trickery would fail, and Okhema would..." He looked at the surrounding darkness. "It would become like this now."
Cifera...
So you bore such a heavy secret. It was to protect everyone that you chose solitude.
"You fool... why did you bear all of this alone?"
All that hatred, all those thoughts of revenge, vanished into thin air. Only heartbreaking regret and sorrow remained.
You suddenly felt incredibly ridiculous. Was that false Journey of Chasing the Flame worth bearing such a burden? Why go to such lengths? For a false divine revelation? For a non-existent new world?
Rage burned fiercely in your chest.
Indeed... the Journey of Chasing the Flame should never have existed. If none of this had happened... neither you nor Cifera were Chrysos Heirs...
Perhaps you would still be stealing together on the streets of Dolos, sharing your spoils on the rooftops. Perhaps she would still call you "little cat" with a smile every day, marry you, have children, and live happily until old age... instead of bearing a secret alone and dying in solitude.
"Fei'er, do you really want to be a great hero that much?" You gave a bitter laugh. "What's so good about being this kind of hero alone...?"
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Zagreus was startled by your reaction.
You suddenly looked up, staring intently at him. "Where is she?"
"What?"
"Where is Cifera!" you practically roared.
Zagreus was intimidated by your aura and instinctively replied, "In... in Styxia..."
"But why are you asking? She's already..."
You didn't let him finish. A pitch-black portal opened before you. This was also the ability of the Thief of Fire.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Zagreus cried out in alarm. "The spark is still..."
You grabbed the kephale's spark and roughly stuffed it into your embrace.
"Hey! You—" Zagreus tried to step forward but found his body beginning to disintegrate.
"Ah... the spark has been taken..." He gave a bitter smile. "Never mind, the mission's complete anyway..."
You stepped into the portal without looking back.
"Cifera, your little cat... he should understand your feelings, right...?"
With his final whisper, Zagreus completely dissipated.
...
Styxia.
You stumbled out of the portal, immediately awestruck by the sight before you.
Golden blood everywhere. That precious blood belonging to the Chrysos Heir was now spilled across the ground like cheap paint.
And in the center of the bloodbath— it was Cifera.
You saw her. Her short gray hair was stained a strange color by the Golden Blood, and her clothes were tattered. She leaned against a stone door, with a shocking wound on her chest. Golden blood was still gushing out.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she were talking to herself.
"You shall walk with greed, and you shall die penniless..."
She gave a weak laugh. "So that's what it meant, literally..."
"To die here in the end... how truly ironic..."
She squinted, her voice growing softer and softer.
"Aglaea... I'm sorry..."
"I stole so many things, but I couldn't steal your ability to see into people's hearts..."
"In the end, I could only choose to run away... like a defeated dog..."
Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
"And little cat..."
"I'm sorry... for leaving you alone..."
"You must hate me so much, right...?"
"Hate me for leaving without a word, hate me for breaking my promise..."
Her voice was choked with sobs.
"But I... I really miss you so much..."
"I really want to secretly see you one more time..."
"I really want to hear you call me again..."
"I really want to..."
Just then, you finally couldn't hold back.
"...Fei'er."
You walked towards her, trembling all over.
Cifera's body jolted. She opened her eyes wide and saw you standing before her.
"Little... little cat?!"
She blinked, seemingly unable to believe it. "Am I hallucinating...?" she murmured. "To still see you before I die..."
"It's not a hallucination." You knelt before her, holding her cold hand. "It's me..."
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