Cyrene stood alone at the highest point of the Eye of Twilight. She gazed at the firmament enveloping the world before her. The memories of that initial, warm agreement receded like a tide, leaving behind only the cold, hard reality.
"What you asked of me, I have done." A low voice sounded from behind, breaking the silence of the place. Khaslana's figure emerged quietly, like condensed shadow.
His tone was utterly flat. "Then, regarding what I intend to do, I hope you will no longer stand in my way."
Cyrene did not turn around. A faint, bitter curve touched her lips.
"Are you... really not going to hold on just a little longer?" Her voice was very soft, almost to be scattered by the wind. "The endless recurrence ... might end soon. A new hope has already appeared..."
"The companions I truly loved," Khaslana interrupted, a trace of sorrow in his voice, "perished completely in the last cycle. How could I... live on alone into some so-called new world?"
Then, his words settled into a calm that held only the resolve formed through repeated forging.
He had decided to pour all that remained of himself into the fate known as Khaslana, to fuel the flames of Destruction that would burn everything away.
This was not his choice alone.
In countless reset pasts, those other existences also named Khaslana had all ultimately walked the same path—the path of Destruction, fueled by their own lives as kindling, not paved with the bones of their companions.
...
Okhema, within a quiet hospital room.
"Ancestor... Lady Aglaea, and the other demigods—Lady Cerydra, Lady Hysilens—"
"Have all made their decision. They are going to the Eye of Twilight to confront the Titan of Sky—Aquila. The mission our people have carried in their hearts since leaving the Eye of Twilight... will be fulfilled today."
Hyacine sat by the hospital bed, looking at Seliose, whose breath was already as thin as a silk thread. Her tone was respectful yet trembled with excitement difficult to suppress.
"Is... that so?" Seliose's voice was so weak it was almost inaudible, as if it might cease at any moment.
Yet Hyacine clearly saw that her eyes, once clouded with age, had abnormally at this moment grown increasingly deep and bright, as if starlight swirled within them, piercing the mists of time.
"Ancestor, you were once one of the few warriors who faced Aquila's divine form and survived," Hyacine asked cautiously. "Regarding this expedition, are there any key points we must pay special attention to, any warnings you can give us?"
Seliose's lips moved. Her voice grew even fainter, like the buzz of a mosquito.
"Child... the group..."
"What?" Hyacine didn't catch it clearly and instinctively leaned closer.
Summoning her last strength, Seliose repeated. Her voice was light, yet carried a certain weight, like a proverb:
"The group, child... when an individual... cannot bear the full burden alone... only as a group... can share it for them..."
Hyacine frowned. She felt that whenever Seliose said the word "group," there was a musical cadence to it, a kind of rhythm.
Just as Hyacine wanted to ask Seliose something more, the crisp sound of metal armor colliding came from outside the hospital room door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The holy city guard stationed at the door knocked gently, their voice filtering through:
"Miss Hyacine, Lady Aglaea and the others are about to depart. Please proceed to the assembly point as soon as possible."
"Okay! I... I'm coming right away!" Hyacine hurriedly responded. She rose quickly, cast one last look at Seliose, who seemed to have fallen asleep on the bed, and carrying those not fully understood parting words, quickly left the hospital room.
...
At Kephale Square before the gates of the holy city, the assembled team was already ready to depart.
"Why won't you let us come along?" Stelle demanded, hands on her hips, her face full of unwillingness to accept, questioning Aglaea, who was making final arrangements.
"Even Phainon, who isn't a demigod, can go! And Mydei and Terravox, who were originally supposed to be stationed at Castrum Kremnos! We could definitely help too!"
Aglaea wearily rubbed her temples. Ever since Okhema was forcibly invaded by that Flame Reaver and the Coreflame was directly seized, she had exhausted herself trying to stabilize the panicked populace and deal with the various fears and rumors sprouting among the people. She'd even only had time for a hurried visit to the injured Cipher.
Aglaea patiently explained:
"Stelle, the most important reason we're not letting you go is that the Coreflame of Time resides with you and Mem."
Her gaze swept over Stelle and the small pink creature on her shoulder. "Regardless of what that figure in black's ultimate goal is, preventing him from gathering all twelve Coreflames is our safest course of action right now."
She paused, her tone growing heavier: "Furthermore, as you know, even when the three of us—Hysilens, Cerydra, and I—joined forces, we couldn't harm him in the slightest, nor could we even stop him from leaving so easily. Facing an enemy like that, we must gather all available high-end combat power, holding nothing back."
"What about Mr Yang and Dan Heng, then?" Stelle pressed on, unwilling to give up. "Why do they have to stay in the holy city too? They're incredibly strong!"
"That's precisely what I need to tell you next," Aglaea said, looking towards Welt and Dan Heng nearby. Her tone carried the solemnity of entrusting an important task.
"Originally, no matter the situation on the Castrum Kremnos front, at least one demigod had to remain stationed there. But... recently, the Black Tide has bizarrely completely ceased its attacks. This is an anomaly that has never happened before."
"Given this unclear situation, it would obviously be unwise to continue dispersing important combat power outside. Yet we cannot truly leave the citizens of the holy city unprotected."
Her gaze swept over the three members of the Astral Express crew: "We witnessed your strength during our previous battles together. So, at this critical moment, I would like to earnestly request you, for now, to act as a hidden line of defense. In our stead, please keep an eye on the situation here in Okhema."
"Please rest assured, we will only take a few of the Chrysos Heirs with us to assist in combat. Most of them will remain behind to maintain the basic functioning of the holy city. We won't leave you to handle all the complicated matters alone."
"Oh... alright." Hearing this explanation and entrustment, although Stelle still felt a bit eager to go, she understood the gravity of the situation. She nodded and accepted this stay-behind mission.