The scene shifts.
Before Guinaifen could continue following what happened next with Phainon and Stelle...
...she learned from Hyacine and Tribbie that Okhema had suddenly suffered multiple attacks.
It was suspected that Aglaea's golden threads had loosened, allowing those with malicious intent to seize the opportunity to plot and provoke conflict.
Guinaifen looked completely bewildered. "Why is the camera jumping around like this? It's not even showing what's happening on Phainon's side!"
Just then...
Someone rushed into the Twilight Courtyard in a panic, bringing dire news.
"Clementine?" Hyacine's expression shifted slightly.
"My—My lords! Something... something terrible has happened at the Celestial Palace of Cloudstone!"
The woman stammered in a panic:
"Lady Aglaea! It's Lady Aglaea who's in trouble!"
Guinaifen: "???"
As the words fell...
...the screen went black again.
Then, in reverse chronological order, the scene flashed back to an earlier moment.
The Celestial Palace of Cloudstone.
At the Okhema Grand Bath, Aglaea stood at the highest point with her arms crossed.
She murmured to herself about the construction and history of the bathhouse, while behind her, a familiar group of masked figures in black closed in.
It was those Purifiers again!
And what surprised the players...
...was that the one leading them was actually Caenis?!
Clearly, after Senate's plan failed in the previous version, Caenis had completely lost her patience for pretense.
"Aglaea, Aglaea... you thousand-year-old undying witch, deceiving the masses in the guise of a god... We have always been far too kind to you."
Caenis said with loathing:
"Demigod, why not use the pool as a mirror? Take a good look at your current malicious face."
She stood with her hands on her hips, accusing Aglaea with a sense of desperate frustration.
But in the comments section—
[She's very beautiful then.]
[She's gorgeous then.]
[Wait, what? Caenis from Senate is the leader of the Purifiers?]
[Holy crap, she lost the Citizens Assembly and just stopped acting? Is she going straight for revenge?]
[Then wouldn't Phainon and Dan Heng also be...]
[LMAO! Isn't she just seeking death by going after Aglaea with so few people? Aglaea even dared to tie up Stelle.]
Indeed.
Caenis was the leader of the Purifiers; when Rules could no longer restrain the Chrysos Heirs, the Purifiers became her sharpest daggers.
But the players found it laughable when they saw this.
Fighting a demigod with just these few people?
Don't make Big Sis Aglaea laugh.
"If you are truly so desperate, you are welcome to try," Aglaea replied with equal coldness.
However...
Caenis laughed, a smirk of smug satisfaction on her face. "Hmph! Confronting a demigod head-on? We aren't that stupid yet."
"The dagger isn't held against your throat, but rather..."
With that...
...her gaze suddenly drifted toward the citizens wandering below.
In an instant...
...the players seemed to realize something.
"Huh? Guys, am I getting this right? Caenis wants to target the common people?" Guinaifen's mouth hung open.
[My god! You can do that? How shameless!]
[I thought Senate followed the will of the citizens? What's with threatening the citizens just to get at the Chrysos Heirs and Aglaea!]
[I've disliked this Caenis from the start. She's always opposing Fire Chasing and being sarcastic toward Tribbie!]
Meanwhile, the late-arriving Sushang happened to reach Guinaifen's stream at this moment.
"Sorry, sorry! Guinaifen, I'm late."
"Where are you in the game now? I..."
But with just one glance, Sushang froze in place.
"Your most severe accusation against me is that my humanity is nearly exhausted, and you claim my concern for the joys and sorrows of the world is all a pretense."
"If those accusations were true, why do you think the lives of these civilians could make me compromise?"
Aglaea projected an unquestionable stance, attempting to intimidate the other party.
Unfortunately...
...Caenis had a backup plan.
She had discovered that Aglaea's control over Okhema was weakening—the unnoticed thefts, the workshop meetings, the brewing conspiracies.
Even...
Under Caenis's provocation, Aglaea personally reached out to sense it.
But the moment she closed her eyes, a terrifying scene appeared!
It was that girl.
The little girl who had given Aglaea an amulet much earlier?
When she opened her eyes, Aglaea's tone was tinged with a hint of indignation:
"In this situation, I only regret that I am not cold enough, for your evil is beyond cure."
Without a doubt...
...from that time on, Caenis had been sending people to tail her and had even seized leverage over that little girl.
Caenis threatened disdainfully, "That girl who cannot speak or hear... what would happen if she 'accidentally' lost her eyes as well?"
"You know better than anyone what it's like to lose your sight. If the blind you from a thousand years ago had also been deprived of your vocal cords and hearing... tsk tsk..."
Aglaea furrowed her brows, and her gaze changed completely at that moment.
Amidst the previous indignation, there was now a touch of peculiar resignation.
"Look at that broken, pleading gaze... how disappointing. We overestimated your capabilities."
Caenis continued to taunt her with smug confidence.
To this end, she specifically listed various methods, pressuring Aglaea step by step.
Before Guinaifen could speak, the chat room couldn't hold back.
[?]
[?]
[?]
[...]
A flood of question marks filled the screen.
[Are you kidding me? Isn't this the little girl who gave Aglaea the necklace last time?]
[She's a deaf-mute girl, right? Is Caenis a piece of trash? How could she use that to blackmail Aglaea!]
[She's not even human. Blinding a deaf-mute girl? Does she even deserve the title of Senator? She's worse than scum!]
[God, I'm so angry! Don't stop me, I'm going to jump into the screen and punch her twice!]
"What should we do?" Guinaifen panicked too. "Are Tribbie and Hyacine here yet?"
"Wait, no..."
In her haste, she forgot that this happened before Tribbie and Hyacine were notified.
So they hadn't received the news yet!
Then...
...in the scene, Aglaea sighed and suddenly looked toward the sky with serenity:
"I once thought I could buy more time."
"In a thousand years, I have witnessed the fall of ten Titans. From my initial willful ignorance to gradually finding my way to lead the people."
She spoke calmly, as if it were a trivial matter, while she actually began walking toward the edge of the Bath Palace's observation deck?
One more step, and ahead lay a bottomless abyss!
"Now... it is time to let go. I should be glad, glad that I finally waited for this moment—the moment where my departure can become a long staircase for the people."
Aglaea gently pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes:
"Have I done enough? If I embrace that prophecy now and fall asleep in the warm pool..."
Gradually, Caenis grew a bit impatient.
The surrounding Purifiers slowly closed in.
Guinaifen: "???"
Sushang: "???"
The next second...
From Aglaea's perspective, the sky of Amphoreus gradually came into view.
The floating clouds were as peaceful as ever, and the gentle gurgling of the golden spring water could be heard nearby.
"Will the traveling winds stop for me... Sepharia?"
She asked.
But there was no answer.
The scene ended there.
No follow-up.
By the time Guinaifen snapped out of it, the only thing reflected in the black screen was her own horrified face!