'Is the Dawn Device actually also part of the script, or is obtaining Cipher's body and mind the real completion condition?'
After being notified that the script had finally been completed, Lucian still did not quite understand the exact reason behind its completion this time.
He had already made love with Cipher for quite a while before, yet the script had shown no signs of being completed at all.
However, after fixing the Dawn Device and then spending the entire night making love with her once again, the completion notification had suddenly appeared without any warning.
In the end, after thinking about it for a while, Lucian assumed that the Dawn Device had probably also been part of the script's completion condition from the very beginning.
In the original story, maintaining the Dawn Device alone while wandering through endless years of loneliness had likely been Cipher's deepest regret.
Being single couldn't possibly have been her regret, right?
'Whatever, as long as it's completed...'
Lucian let out a tired sigh, then turned his head to glance at Cipher beside him, whose body was curled up tightly like a ball beneath the blanket.
He had to admit that the quiet and peaceful appearance Cipher showed while sleeping was completely different from her usual lively and teasing personality. Among his women, she was probably one of the most 'energetic,' since only after being exhausted for nearly the entire night had she finally fallen asleep.
In the end, after silently watching her for a while longer, Lucian finally got up from the bed and washed himself before planning to go find Cerydra afterward. To avoid leaving behind any regrets before departing from this script world, he intended to completely settle the diplomatic relations between the two city-states first.
A while later, after some discussion with Cerydra, he immediately helped her, Aglaea, and Hysilens ascend to demigodhood. Of course, at the same time, he also didn't forget to restore Tribios as usual.
Thanks to his deeds, his status was instantly elevated to that of a super VIP throughout all of Okhema.
By the time afternoon arrived, he finally returned home, and Cipher also happened to have woken up not long before.
As usual, Lucian immediately began preparing dinner while Cipher stayed beside him and helped with the cooking—the atmosphere between the two remaining unusually warm and peaceful throughout the entire process.
Afterward, the two sat together and quietly enjoyed dinner before spending the rest of the evening strolling side by side through the streets of Okhema. Only after wandering around until late into the night did they finally return home together, bathe together once more, and then set off fireworks together in the backyard beneath the night sky.
One had to admit that their days together felt like stolen honey at seventeen, so unbearably sweet that it left Cipher completely dizzy and intoxicated by it.
Every single day, the very moment she opened her eyes, the first thing she could see was Lucian's face.
At night, she could curl up comfortably within his arms, listening to him tell all kinds of ridiculous and nonsensical stories, experiencing some equally nonsensical 'accidents,' or perhaps doing even more intimate and pleasurable things that belonged solely between a man and a woman.
Originally, Cipher truly believed such peaceful and blissful days would continue forever.
However, everything would change five days later.
===
One night, after they had returned to Dolos, Lucian held Cipher quietly within his arms as the two of them sat upon the highest terrace of the city lord's manor, overlooking the bustling, brilliantly illuminated city below while the cool night breeze swept across the terrace, carrying with it the lively sounds of the city streets.
Cipher sat lazily within Lucian's embrace, her slender body leaning softly against his solid chest while her tail swayed absentmindedly from side to side, occasionally brushing lightly against his leg.
"Fera..."
Lucian suddenly spoke up in a low voice, but his tone carried a faint trace of something different from his usual calm and relaxed manner, making Cipher's sensitive cat ears twitch slightly the moment they caught onto it.
"Hmm?"
Cipher lifted her little face and looked up at him curiously.
"I… will be leaving for a while, to do something very important..." Lucian said calmly and softly. "I might not return for a few days, a few months, or perhaps... even years."
As soon as those words entered her ears, Cipher immediately sprang upright from his embrace.
"You're messing with me again, aren't you? Is this because I said before that I'd leave you, so now you're tryna have your revenge by leaving me?"
Cipher's voice sounded somewhat flustered, while her eyes stared straight at him with clear dissatisfaction and unease.
Lucian looked at her puffed-up and angry expression, then slowly reached out to gently caress her cheek as he explained softly.
"No, it's not revenge..." Lucian said softly, a somewhat helpless smile appearing on his face. "Would you believe me if I told you this world right now is just a dream... a super realistic dream? But since it's a dream, when it ends, I won't be with you for a while..."
As he spoke, his gaze quietly lingered on Cipher's face for a brief moment, as though he wanted to engrave every one of her expressions into his memory.
"But I promise I'll come back as soon as I can."
Lucian paused slightly, looking directly into Cipher's blue eyes, which were now filled with unease, confusion, and a faint sense of accusation, before finally continuing in a gentler voice.
"Just stay home and wait for me, be good, don't cause trouble, and keep our place clean, alright?"
At those words, Cipher abruptly turned around and tightly hugged Lucian without the slightest hesitation, as though afraid he would disappear in the very next second.
"NO! It's not a dream!" Cipher exclaimed with a deep frown, her voice carrying a rare trace of panic. "Even if it is, I'll use the lies of Trickery to turn this dream into reality!"
Feeling the burning warmth of his chest, the familiar scent surrounding her, and the unmistakably real touch of his body—how could this possibly be a dream?
Cipher evidently did not believe Lucian's words at all—or rather, she was too afraid to believe them. Such a warm and happy life—if it were truly nothing more than a dream, then that would be far too cruel and frightening.
"Hahh..." Lucian let out a helpless sigh before speaking again. "Five more days, and this dream's gonna end. If you still remember me by then, do what I told you and wait for me in Dolos or Okhema. Otherwise, when I come back, I won't be able to find you."
"No! I'm sticking with you!"
Cipher shouted as she frantically shook her head, tightening her arms around him even more tightly, unwilling to let go no matter what he said.
"Even if I don't sleep, I'm still gonna stick with you! Wherever you go, I'm going too!"
"If you leave me behind, I'll... I'll run away from home and become a stray cat! And then... And then I'll go around stealing stuff everywhere and become a bad cat, and I'll tell everyone Lucian's the one who told me to steal!"
"And I'll go on a hunger strike! I'll tear the whole house apart too, wreck our home completely so you won't even have a place to sleep!"
"Anyway, life without you is basically the same as wandering around, so what's even the point of having a house?!"
Seeing Cipher's tantrum-like behavior, Lucian, feeling both amused and exasperated, reached out and pinched her soft cheek, tugging it lightly as though trying to calm an upset child.
"You're the best cat in the world. I don't believe you'd ever do something bad."
"I'll say it again. In five days, I'm leaving, and I can't take you with me."
"But... I already left you a pretty awesome fortress by the wheat field south of this manor."
Lucian lowered his head slightly, letting his forehead rest gently against Cipher's while the tip of his nose brushed softly against hers, their faces only inches apart.
"Go collect all the dirty money from bad guys. Use it to fill that fortress..." Lucian said while cupping Cipher's face with both hands, his gaze carrying a rare kind of sincerity. "Once you fill that fortress with treasure... I'll come back."
Cipher stared at him silently for several long seconds, as though carefully judging whether there was any falsehood hidden within his words, and after a few more moments of staring, seemingly having reached a conclusion, she suddenly extended her delicate hand and raised her pinky finger toward him.
"Pinky promise!"
Seeing that, Lucian could only smile helplessly.
"Alright."
Lucian extended his own finger and hooked it around Cipher's slender finger as though the gesture itself were some sacred and unbreakable contract.
Almost instantly, as though she had been filled with boundless motivation, the sadness, grievance, and tantrums from before vanished without leaving behind even the slightest trace, while her bright eyes became completely filled with an overwhelming desire for treasure.
"I'm the Demigod of Trickery now! Won't take long for me to fill up the fortress, so you gotta come right back the moment you leave!"
Cipher proudly declared as she slipped free from Lucian's embrace, then planted her hands on her hips with an energetic and triumphant expression, looking completely confident in her future achievement.
"I'm going now!"
Right after saying that, Cipher rushed off the terrace like a gust of wind and immediately began enthusiastically planning her 'fortress-filling grand plan.'
Lucian quietly watched the empty spot where she had just been sitting, briefly recalling her figure, brimming with energy, excitement, and determination, before slowly letting out a light breath.
For now, Cipher had been appeased.
Using treasure to divert her attention meant that, at least when the time for parting arrived five days later, she would not become too sorrowful or too unwilling to let go.
===
During the next five days, Cipher stuck to Lucian like an adhesive plaster that simply could not be peeled away, clinging tightly to his side from morning until night with an almost obsessive level of attachment.
Wherever Lucian went, Cipher followed closely behind him, and when night fell, she even insisted on sleeping beneath the same blanket with him, as though afraid he might disappear the very instant she let go of him.
Perhaps because of their imminent separation, she tried harder than ever during those final days, willing to try practically anything and everything she could just to make him stay.
For example, with her catlike flexibility and natural agility, whenever they made love, Cipher suddenly insisted on attempting all kinds of difficult and extreme positions that would normally have been almost impossible to pull off.
As a result, she allowed Lucian to experience countless kinds of pleasure he had never experienced anywhere else before, gradually making him more and more reluctant to leave her side.
===
On the last day, late at night inside the bedroom, Cipher had learned a new 'play' and had even specially prepared everything so she could do it with Lucian tonight.
However...
"Lucian, if we tie my hands with this..."
Cipher had only turned around to grab a rope from the nearby cabinet, but by the time she turned back, Lucian was already gone.
Yes.
Gone.
It was as if he had never been there from the very beginning.
In an instant, the entire room fell deathly silent.
"..."
Cipher stood there quietly as she looked at the still-warm spot on the bed where Lucian had been lying just moments ago, the blanket still carrying traces of his warmth, while even the faint scent lingering in the air had yet to fade away completely.
Even though she didn't want to believe it, she still understood that he had truly left her, just as he had said he would.
After standing there in silence for a long while, Cipher lowered her head slightly before silently putting the rope back in its original place, then slowly getting dressed and quietly lying down on the bed by herself.
Breathing in the lingering scent that Lucian had left behind on the pillow and sheets, she slowly closed her eyes before quietly falling asleep.
Just like that, Cipher did not cry, nor did she make a fuss, remaining just as strong as she had been throughout those long years when she had wandered all alone by herself.
From that day onward, throughout Dolos and even across the entirety of Amphoreus, there wandered a cat-eared rogue whose target was every valuable treasure in the world. Not even a single Balance Coin could escape her grasp.
Of course, she only stole from the villainous rich and never from the poor, while every treasure she stole was continuously hidden away inside a mysterious fortress that nobody had ever managed to find.
Her happiest moment each day was watching her treasure pile grow little by little, bringing her closer each time to the goal of 'filling it up.'
===
One day, deep inside the hidden fortress, Cipher lazily lay atop mountains of glittering gold coins and precious gemstones, her tail lightly swaying behind her as she casually rummaged through the treasure piled beneath her body.
"Almost there..."
Honestly, she did not know how much time had passed since Lucian's departure, nor did she care, because what truly mattered to her at this moment was that with every additional piece of treasure, the day of his return drew one step closer.
Now, that goal had already become the most important thing in her life.
"Lucian, I'm gonna fill the fortress soon, so you gotta keep your promise and come back to me quick..."
Just as those words left Cipher's mouth, the script world finally came to an end.
[Script: Cipher—completed.]
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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