Chapter 126: Nanook's Glimpse
"It really is you…"
Cifera struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated her wound, and the golden blood gushed out even more fiercely.
"Don't move!" You pressed down on her shoulder.
"Little cat…" She smiled weakly. "The Fire Seed… what about the Fire Seed? Did Zagreus give it to you…?"
"Fei'er, at a time like this…"
"It's very important…" she said with difficulty. "That's the last hope… The Journey of Chasing the Flame cannot fail…"
You stood there, watching her blood-stained lips still struggling to utter those words. She was practically dying, yet all she could think about was this…
"If the Fire Seed is lost… Amphoreus will be finished…" Cifera's voice grew weaker and weaker. "Little cat, you must… you must help Phainon complete it…"
"Enough."
You looked at her pale face, and the anger in your heart finally burst forth. All these years, from the day she left until now, lying in a pool of blood, her heart was always filled with that damned Chrysos Heir's mission, that damned Journey of Chasing the Flame!
"Promise me…" She was still insisting, golden blood constantly overflowing from the corner of her mouth. "For Okhema… For Amphoreus…"
"I said enough! Enough already!!!"
"To hell with the Journey of Chasing the Flame!!!"
"Aglaea is dead! Trianne is dead! Hyacine, Phainon, and Dan Heng were also killed by me!"
"Castorice and Stelle are trapped by me in the Underworld!"
"I did it all! Do you know? It was me! The Journey of Chasing the Flame has been buried by my own hands!!"
Cifera's eyes widened, looking at you in disbelief.
"Little cat… you…"
"Yes, I betrayed everyone," you grinned, a broken, manic expression on your face. "Because I don't believe in any divine revelation, or any recreation."
"I just want… I just want you to come back…"
"I just want to prove to you that those so-called Chasers of the Flame are all liars!"
Tears finally streamed down. "But why… why would you die for such a false thing?"
Cifera was silent for a long time. Then, she stretched out her blood-stained hand and gently stroked your face.
"So… that's how it is…" Her voice was very soft, full of infinite tenderness. "I'm sorry, little cat."
"It's all my fault."
"If I hadn't left you back then, perhaps… perhaps everything would have been different."
"Do you know?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I left back then because… the daylight bestowed by kephale, it's not eternal, but a miracle with a time limit…"
"300 years… only 300 years." She coughed, and golden blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
"But I didn't want to see Okhema fall into darkness, didn't want to see those people despair."
"So I used the power of Dolos…"
"I know," you interrupted her, your voice hoarse. "Zagreus told me everything."
"Is that so…" Cifera showed a relieved smile. "That's good then…"
"I didn't expect… I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
"I'm sorry, little cat. For making you endure so much pain alone."
Her breathing grew weaker.
"Now… Amphoreus has no protection from the Titan, and no hope of recreation…"
"Little cat, listen…" She used her last ounce of strength to tightly grip your hand. "Find a safe place and live well."
"This is my… last wish…"
"Don't live for hatred, live for yourself…"
"…"
Your tears had long since dried, and you felt an unprecedented rage. Not anger towards Cifera, but anger towards this world.
"No, it's all the Chrysos Heir's fault…"
"It's all that damned divine revelation's fault…"
Your eyes began to turn red. The stolen fire, the strife, the romance—all the copied powers roared within your body.
"If there was no Journey of Chasing the Flame, you wouldn't have left me."
"If there were no Titans, no divine revelation, no Chrysos Heir… you wouldn't have carried this mission."
"If this world was wrong from the very beginning—" you raised your head, eyes burning with the fire of madness.
"Then it might as well be destroyed!!"
Cifera looked at your twisted expression, a flicker of sadness in her eyes. "Little cat… don't…" She wanted to say something, but her life had reached its end.
"Promise me, live… live well…"
"Little cat… actually, I always… always…"
Her pupils began to dilate, but she was still desperately trying to focus on your face.
"I… love you…"
The last three words drifted away like a wisp of smoke, so light they were almost inaudible.
Then, her hand fell limply. Those once lively and cunning eyes closed forever.
"Fei'er?!"
You stared blankly at her in your arms.
"Fei'er!!!"
No response. There would never be a response again.
You held her gradually cooling body, feeling as if the entire world was collapsing. From meeting at 8 years old, surviving by stealing on the streets of Dolos. Hiding from pursuit together, watching the stars, promising to be partners for life.
Nearly 1,000 years of companionship, ending just like this.
"Ah—!"
You roared to the heavens, your chest filled with pain and fury. The earth trembled, the sky wept. The power within you spiraled completely out of control, black flames rising from your body.
Just then—
An indescribable sensation swept over you. As if some presence, from the distant void, cast its gaze upon you.
It was a pure, absolute will.
You felt your existence being scrutinized by that gaze. That feeling… like an ant being watched by a human, like a speck of dust being gazed upon by a star.
You instinctively knew that it was something far beyond this world's comprehension. Not a Titan, but something more… unnamable.
Under that gaze, you felt everything about yourself laid bare. Your anger, your despair, your destruction… all were nakedly exposed before that presence.
Then, that gaze seemed to… acknowledge something. A powerful force suddenly surged into your body.
You did not resist but actively accepted this "gift." Because you understood that this was precisely what you craved—the power to destroy everything.
You felt yourself elevating. From a mortal, transforming into something far more terrifying.
That unnamable presence had long since withdrawn its gaze, but you knew that you had been forever changed.
You lowered your head, looking at Cifera's peaceful face, and gently kissed her forehead. You stood up, your eyes filled with nothing but endless destruction.
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