Above the Golden Pool.
The bracelet was still giving off golden light. Everyone staggered up from the suspended platform in a sorry state, staring blankly at the golden threads all around them.
One person's name came to mind, Aglaea.
The viewers clearly had not expected miHoYo to pull something like this at the very end of the great battle.
....
: Has that gentle golden light once again enveloped the Chrysos Heirs?
: So Aglaea forged her remnant soul into the bracelet with this deeper meaning? Did she already foresee that this day would come?
: The music changed too QAQ, it feels like Aglaea.
: Wuwuwu, Aglaea, even at a time like this, she's still protecting everyone.
: Aglaea!!
: She's still exerting her strength!
: How can someone go this far?
: Aglaea has really burned herself out completely!
: Phainon and the others didn't let Aglaea's sacrifice go to waste either. That scene just now where the three of them killed Aquila together was too shocking.
: Where's Aquila? Where did it go?
....
Hyacine withdrew her gaze from the golden threads and came alone to the edge of the platform, looking down beneath her feet.
Aquila's massive body had fallen into the Golden Pool before them. It was slowly sinking into the bubbling gold.
As she looked at Aquila's miserable state, there was not much joy or excitement in her eyes.
Instead, she thought of long ago. Those skyfolk had likely been just like Aquila now, little by little swallowed by the pool, melting in gold.
The bubbles that kept appearing and bursting around Aquila made Hyacine feel as though she could see them wailing in the pool.
Seliose had condemned them, made them fall into the Golden Pool, and in the end, her own fate had become the same... Was this the manifestation of fate?
Or some kind of cycle? Hyacine's heart was filled with mixed feelings, and she could not tell the answer apart.
On the other side, Phainon climbed up from the ground and, together with Stelle and Dan Heng, came beneath the floating bracelet.
"Aglaea, are you still protecting us?"
Phainon stared dazedly at the bracelet in the sky and murmured to himself.
The golden threads did not only protect them from the fate of falling into the Golden Pool. They even... under the winding of the golden threads, a Coreflame was quietly floating beside the bracelet.
Aquila's Coreflame had also been stripped away by the golden threads amid the chaos.
Stelle also felt terrible. And the viewers' comments had long since flooded the screen.
Everyone was immersed in the emotion and sorrow brought by this unwavering protection that lasted until death.
And just as that emotion was rising higher. Phainon's calm, steady voice suddenly sounded:
"...Take that Coreflame with you, Hyacine. Our mission isn't over."
He did not even allow himself a moment of hesitation before decisively giving the next plan.
The camera focused on Phainon's face. His expression was resolute, carrying restraint and suppression.
The viewers were instantly stunned. Because Phainon was not cold-hearted. His emotions were still abundant.
But he had already learned how to suppress the feelings that would affect his mission to save the world.
....
: Whoa, Phainon is so calm and steady that it's kind of scary...
: He really grew up at extreme speed in the middle of a crisis. Has he already been tempered into this?
: As expected of the destined savior.
: Too ruthless, Phainon.
: It's hard to imagine that just one episode ago, Phainon was still a different person.
: But in an extreme environment like this, I actually believe even more that Phainon can do it!
: Aquila has already been cut down too. The Flame-Chasing Journey has finally reached this point.
.....
As the viewers, for the first time, deeply realized Phainon's transformation.
On screen, Hyacine had already stepped forward and absorbed Aquila's Coreflame into her body.
"It's a strange feeling. It's so warm and ... powerful."
"Holding it in my hand, it feels like the winds of this world might turn for me... Summoning thunder or snow is just a thought away."
Hyacine felt the power belonging to a demigod. It was somewhat wondrous.
Just then, the platform beneath their feet suddenly shook.
"I understand how you feel, but right now..."
"...this platform is on the brink of collapse. Who knows how much longer it can hold. We need to find a way to leave."
Phainon reminded them, "And also retrieve Aglaea's amulet."
"Leave it to us." Stelle and Mem stepped forward.
Aglaea's bracelet was not only supporting the platform; it had even wrapped the nearby collapsed buildings together with golden threads.
Because of that, beneath everyone's feet, there were finally places they could step on to reach the bracelet.
At this time, the divine power of Time came into play. Mem used the ripples of time to restore the intact buildings from the past in the original space, just enough for them to approach the bracelet's location.
Although there was still a bit of distance, as long as one stretched out slightly, they could grab the bracelet.
No more words were needed. Phainon took the initiative to step onto the restored building and came to the very end, reaching out toward the bracelet.
Suddenly, the golden threads on the bracelet began to tremble violently.
Binding the nearby buildings with golden threads for so long had already exhausted the power hidden within the bracelet.
Now, Aglaea's remnant soul could no longer hold on.
"Not good!" Stelle's expression changed, and she sprinted toward the bracelet.
Phainon's pupils also widened abruptly. His whole body instinctively stretched out his hand as he lunged forward!
Just as his hand was only three or four centimeters away from the bracelet, just as he was about to grasp it.
The bracelet's final light was finally exhausted. Before everyone's eyes, it fell downward.
Even Mem, who had reacted and chased after it at top speed, could not save the bracelet.
They could only watch helplessly as the bracelet grew smaller and smaller, falling into the Golden Pool.
A low, sorrowful violin sounded. The camera froze on the relic as it was gradually swallowed by the gold.
Aglaea's gentle and calm voice slowly rang out as narration.
"I shall have my final bath in warm and radiant gold."
"From here on, Phainon, you shall embark on a journey with no return."
"Light fades only to await the sun's rise."
"One day, you will step forward, not out of fear but to return the dawn to this world."
Along with the narration, the shock on the viewers' faces had yet to fade, and at last, their hearts finally realized it.
So, the pool water into which she had fallen in the Marmoreal palace was never the true fulfillment of the prophecy.
Falling into the Golden Pool was Aglaea's destined fate. The prophecy had truly, unmistakably come true.
And Lady Goldweaver had finally burned her true self to nothing. Truly burned until there was nothing left.
The audience was genuinely shaken. A person whose fate had already been written from the very first episode.
And throughout this process, the audience, just like Aglaea, had completely thrown themselves into it, wanting to see Aglaea walk a path opposite to her fate.
Yet they could only watch helplessly as the prophecy gradually came true in all kinds of ways. And the process of its fulfillment was not some dull, straightforward narration.
They had personally witnessed all of Aglaea's journey, and understood the entire core of this character.
It was precisely because they understood Aglaea so well that at this very moment, when Aglaea had completely burned herself out, the audience looked back on Aglaea's life and only then realized that what they hated was not just the curse of the prophecy, but fate itself.
Because these choices were indeed ones Aglaea would have made on her own. They had nothing to do with the guidance of the prophecy.
Even without the prophecy, Aglaea would still have chosen, when her humanity was lost, to yield her position to Phainon. She would still have chosen, for the sake of that little girl, to give up resisting the assassination.
This experience instead truly allowed the audience to understand what it meant to be trapped in the cage of fate.
It was suffocating. Because the span of it was so long, this feeling was even deeper than what Tribios and Mydei had brought them!
At the same time, an indescribable sorrow and pain spread through them at that very moment.
It was far more painful than the time Aglaea had been assassinated!
.....
: Aaaaah! Why are they chasing us with knives again?!
: Wait! So this is what the prophecy meant?
: How can this prophecy be this sinister?!
: Wuwuwu! miHoYo, don't bring back foreshadowing in places like this!
: Even the boomerang knife is here! I really have no way to deal with this!
: This is too cruel! Why make everyone witness all of this?! Why really make Aglaea burn until nothing is left?!
: Not once, not twice, but three damn times! Aglaea died three whole times!!
: The first time was her body, the second time was her soul, and the third time even her divinity was severed.
: I'm so shaken my scalp is tingling, but I also can't help crying from the pain!!
: miHoYo! Do you have no heart?!
: Damn it... the way this prophecy came true is really making me unable to hold it together.
: # ... This... is too painful!
.....
It was not just the audience.
On screen, whether it was the Chrysos Heirs, or Stelle and Dan Heng, all of them were struck as if by lightning, unable to recover for a long time.
"Damn it!!" No matter how much Phainon endured, he finally could no longer suppress his emotions. He fell to the ground and slammed his fist heavily onto the floor.
But it was only a moment of venting. Then he propped himself up on one knee, stood from the ground, and said in a low voice:
"Let's go... The platform has reset above us... We need to find a way up!"
He looked one last time in the direction of the bracelet, then swallowed down all his longing and pain, resolutely turning to leave.
That back. It looked more and more lonely, yet also more and more strong and determined!
At this moment, the audience, already teary-eyed, felt even worse watching him. Because Phainon had truly grown into a real leader!
Under his lead, whether it was Stelle or Hyacine, all of them had no choice but to pull back that pain as well and follow him away.
"This way, behind! That door leads outside-" Phainon, walking at the front of the group, murmured to himself.
He had to rely on this belief to suppress the feeling of being utterly lost.
Of course there was also a surge of unwillingness and anger. Aglaea had devoted everything to the Flame-Chase journey. He absolutely could not disappoint her!
"We are only one step away from completing the miracle. Mortals will grasp their own fate!"
A journey of a thousand years.
At last, they were about to reach its end.
The group moved through the labyrinth-like interior. And the structure here was violently shaking.
This place would not hold out for much longer. Fortunately, with Mem present, their way forward was unobstructed.
Soon, they climbed once again to the middle region of the Eye of Twilight. As long as they could find the path they had come from, they would be able to take the Rainbow Bridge and safely return to Okhema.
Only the collapse was becoming more and more severe. Huge stones were falling everywhere.
In the chaos, forget the road, even their sense of direction was almost lost.
"This path isn't as safe as it looks... Stay sharp and watch your step!"
"Hyacine, where are those winged beasts?"
While guiding them through the collapsing ruins, Phainon turned back and asked.
"I'm trying to locate them, but the storm clouds on the mural are blocking my senses!"
Hyacine said worriedly, "We could use their wings to escape if they were still here!"
"We'll have to rely on our feet for now. Keep moving..." Phainon shouted.
The group began sprinting through the ruins. The camera also followed this collapse, shaking violently along with it.
Amid the ruins, sharp-eyed Stelle spotted another elevator that was still perfectly intact.
Only after stepping onto the elevator and beginning to rise did everyone finally relax.
In their eyes, the courtyard they had come from also grew closer and closer as they ascended.
Creak...
Creak...
Suddenly, amid the sounds of collapse and the elevator rising, a strange sound rang out, like a bird cry and also like an insect's chirp.
The elevator, which had originally been rising steadily, suddenly began to tremble as well. Its smooth ascent abruptly accelerated.
A tremendous force of gravity pressed everyone firmly against the surface of the platform.
"What... is going on...?" Phainon said, supporting himself with his sword and barely maintaining his posture.
"Could this be... Seliose...?"
Hyacine braced both hands against the ground and gritted her teeth as she guessed.
At this moment, who else besides Aglaea could make the elevator operate abnormally?
Sure enough, at the end of the elevator's rapidly rising path, a massive body was already waiting there for them.
It really was Aquila!? The audience's eyes widened at this moment.
First, they had watched a shocking boss battle, then saw Aquila defeated. Then Aquila had fallen into the golden pool, and yet, even after that, she still wasn't dead.
Their emotions could be described as rising and falling, then falling and falling and falling again...
Just how many lives does this Titan have?!
How exactly did it survive in the golden pool? The Coreflame was also gone, isn't it?
It can still fight even without that?