Chapter 238: March's Choice
The trio passed through a series of gates constructed from pure, flowing light, which parted automatically before them. They sprinted down a corridor that seemed paved with starlight, a stunning river of constellations under their feet. The surrounding scenery was a gallery of temporal phenomena, but none of them were in the mood to appreciate the spectacle.
March 7th, who was being half-dragged, half-pulled by Stelle, felt the inexplicable unease in her heart intensify the deeper they ventured into the temple's core. The echoing call in her mind connected with a forgotten corner of her soul, a memory stirring from the depths.
She suddenly remembered.
Shortly after their arrival in Amphoreus, during that chaotic and exhausting first night, she'd had a vague dream. There were no clear images, only boundless, warm yet sorrowful pink halos of light. And within them, a constantly echoing, tearful whisper... It was that sound! That word...
"O...ga...sa..."
'That wasn't "come quickly,"'she thought, a cold dread dawning.'That was clearly... the word for "Mother"...'
March s eyes flew wide. She dug her heels in, abruptly stopping and trying to wrench her hand free from Stelle's grip.
"Wait! Stelle! You—You heartless monster! You lied to me!" March's voice was a squeak of outrage. "That wasn't 'come quickly'at all! That was... that was'Mother,' wasn't it?! You knew all along! You were just trying to trick me! You wanted to watch me make a fool of myself!"
She had finally, belatedly, grasped the full extent of Stelle's "sinister intentions." Her cheeks puffed out with indignation, and her pink hair practically bristled with fury. The mere thought of being pushed into the position of a Titan's "mother" made her scalp tingle and her toes curl. She wanted nothing more than to turn and flee.
However, just as she hesitated, her mind a whirlwind of struggle and retreat, they arrived before the final, massive gate—a shimmering barrier of pure blue energy.
The light within the portal undulated, obscuring the scene beyond. Yet the wave of longing that washed over them from Olonios was clearer than ever, a potent mix of endless anticipation and a faintly choked sob that struck the trio's hearts. The emotion in that psychic call was so pure, carrying the careful tremor of a soul that had waited in solitude for an eternity. It made March's retreating steps feel as though her boots were filled with lead.
She stared at the shimmering light-gate, a fierce battle raging in her heart.
Should she escape? That certainly aligned with her immediate, overwhelming instinct to avoid terminal social embarrassment.
But... the sorrow and yearning in that voice made her ache with an unbearable sympathy. As someone who had lost her past and was searching for her own origins, she understood, on some fundamental level, that desperate yearning for a source, for a connection.
Finally, after an agonizing eternity that lasted only a few seconds, March 7th took a deep, shuddering breath, as if steeling herself for a momentous decision. She raised a hand to smooth her pink hair, trying to straighten her back and puff out her chest.
"Hmph! Fine! If I have to go, I'll go!" She shot a glare at Stelle, who was watching the entire drama unfold with the undisguised glee of a spectator at a good show. "No matter what, things have to come to an end! Deliberately avoiding things isn't what a qualified Trailblazer does! This girl... This girl isn't scared at all!"
With that, she mustered every ounce of her courage, squared her shoulders, and took a decisive step forward, becoming the first to plunge into the blue light-gate.
Stelle and Dan Heng followed a half-step behind her.
Beyond the gate lay a wondrous space that defied description. It felt like being suspended in the womb of the star sea, or perhaps standing at the very origin of time. And there, floating in the center of it all, was a colossal life-form, emitting a soft, gentle blue light.
Its form was difficult to process, like an abstract jellyfish composed of countless tentacles, each one flowing with shimmering fragments of memory. It was a condensation of the nebula's splendor and the deep sea's mystery—vast, ancient, yet imbued with an indescribable... gentleness.
The moment March 7th stepped into the space, a resonant hum filled the air. "Om—"
A clear, unmistakable emotion of pure, unadulterated "joy" erupted from the being. It was like a frozen river suddenly thawing, like spring sunshine instantly illuminating the earth. The feeling swept through the entire space in a warm tide, overwhelming the senses of the three Trailblazers.
The crying call that had haunted them abruptly ceased, replaced by an almost breathless, careful silence.
The colossal Olonios slowly, almost with a reverent tremor, extended its longest, most slender tentacle. Its tip glowed with a dreamlike starlight as it reached toward March 7th. The tentacle's movement was excruciatingly gentle, filled with an ancient longing, yet it paused in mid-air just before touching her. It trembled slightly, as if fearing that the figure before it was merely a fragile bubble, a beautiful dream it had waited too long for, one that might pop at the slightest touch.
A tense, heavy atmosphere permeated the space, so thick the very air seemed to have solidified.
Ultimately, it was Stelle—the one who either never understood how to read a room or, perhaps, understood all too well how to shatter its atmosphere—who couldn't help but speak, breaking the suffocating silence.
She planted her hands on her hips, addressing the magnificent creature with a tone brimming with the pride of a commission well done and an immense, bubbling curiosity.
"Olonios! See? I, Stelle, always keep my word! I've brought you the 'Mother' you've been dreaming of, the one from your imagination!"
Having made her grand announcement, she immediately pivoted, her golden eyes sparkling with an undisguised light. She looked like someone watching the latest episode of a hit drama, her gaze darting back and forth between the colossal Titan and the tiny girl, practically vibrating with eagerness to see what would happen next.
Even the usually calm and composed Dan Heng couldn't help but betray an inquisitive expression. He wasn't just curious about the seemingly absurd "mother-daughter" relationship unfolding between March 7th and Olonios. On a deeper level, he was pursuing the mysterious, complex connection between March and the legendary Pink Haze Celestial Maiden of Amphoreus.
Unfortunately, Stelle's self-congratulatory remark failed to break the stagnant, peculiar atmosphere; instead, it only caused a vein to begin throbbing faintly on March 7th's forehead.
A more immediate problem, however, now presented itself: a communication barrier.
Olonios, suspended in the core of starlight, was clearly still immersed in the immense excitement and joy of reunion—or rather, what it unilaterally assumed was a reunion. The ethereal voice rang out again, but this time it wasn't a single, short word. It was a series of urgent, emotionally charged, yet utterly cryptic Titan words.
The voice surged like a tide, carrying filial devotion, longing, grievance, and an inexpressible dependence, babbling on and on.
March 7th and Dan Heng subconsciously, and simultaneously, turned their gazes toward the only one present who seemed to have had any "in-depth" communication with Olonios. Their eyes, fixed on Stelle, were filled with a single, unified demand: 'Translate. Now.'
Under the combined focus of their stares, Stelle simply spread her hands, an expression of pure, righteous innocence on her face. "Why are you all looking at me? You don't really expect me to be a professional translator, do you? Let me state this for the record!"
She held up her index finger, emphasizing her point. "The only word I can understand, and have ever understood, is the one it kept repeating! Its meaning..."
She deliberately drew out her words, her gaze fixed mischievously on March 7th, whose entire body was stiffening into a statue. Finally, Stelle revealed the answer.
"It actually means 'Mother.'Not'come quickly' at all. So, March—"
Stelle's voice was practically singing with the joy of watching a good show unfold. "Congratulations! You're a mom! How about that? Surprised? Unexpected?"
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