Trianne's childlike words. At this moment, were like a rope, pulling Castorice out of her confusion.
The more innocent, the simpler, the more it stirs the heart.
Castorice didn't think about whether Trianne's words held any deeper meaning. She could only feel that Trianne truly cared about her, cared about everyone.
That alone was enough. The tears on her cheeks disappeared. When Trianne curiously poked her little head out from behind the canvas to look at her, Castorice smiled.
"Hehe, Little Cas, you smiled!"
"Trianne has fulfilled the promise to Tribbie and Trinnon."
"Little Cas, we don't know what your journey was like before. Tribbie has always said that it must have been a very harsh and frightening journey."
"But Little Cas no longer has anything to fear now, because everyone is here with you in this Flame-Chase Journey!"
Those innocent words fell. Castorice's gentle, graceful smile bloomed once more.
Yes. No matter how lost she was, no matter how far down the wrong path she had gone, at least when she turned back, there was still this bond, proving that her existence still held its original meaning.
She was not alone. She had companions.
At this moment, this encouragement mattered far more than her thoughts over life and death, forcing herself to bear the responsibility of others' deaths just to prove her own existence. It gave her a reason to keep moving forward.
This was the power of spiritual support.
"I… understand." Castorice gathered all her sorrow into her heart, unwilling to make Trianne worry.
Trianne had told her more than once that fate was not a flower growing at the end of the road, but a path carved out by one's own steps.
At this moment, she came to a realization. Perhaps before, she had focused too much on death and her own karmic ties, on the obsession with continuing forward, and had neglected the present.
"Thank you… for bringing the key to salvation…" Castorice said sincerely.
Trianne chuckled, completing her final thought.
"Then, I'll be going first." Trianne waved her hand, showing everyone a perfect, unchanged smile, and disappeared from where she stood.
Was it a regret? Not at all.
Just like in reality, Trianne's presence always brought an uplifting boost to all the Chrysos Heirs.
And not disappointing Trianne's wish, that was what Castorice had to do now.
The camera pulled back.
Under the waning moon, four figures were revealed.
That's right. Four people.
Castorice, Stelle, Mem, and standing in the corner, leaning against the wall, Cipher.
No one knew when this cat-girl had arrived, or perhaps she had been watching from the shadows all along.
When she noticed that Castorice had finally made up her mind, a faint smile curved on the cat-girl's lips as she turned and left.
Meanwhile, Castorice stepped forward, walking toward the center of the alchemical array.
The two moved in opposite directions, yet both embodied a sense of responsibility, making the scene feel fuller and more complete.
The audience held their breath.
After everything she had gone through, they waited to see what choice this battered girl would make.
On screen, Castorice arrived at the center of the array. Looking around, she immediately saw its core principles.
With her alchemical skill, it wasn't hard to tell, this array required to insert "Aquila's Sky," "Georios's Earth," "Kephale's Fire," "Phagousa's Ocean" and "Mnestia's Love".
These had already been placed by the alchemist. Now, the array lacked only one core.
The final material. That material… was Castorice herself.
The moment she realized this, a wind suddenly rose across the field.
In this place closest to the gates of the underworld, the wind was not gloomy.
Instead, it was filled with resistance, as if pushing something away.
Stelle and Mem raised their hands to shield their faces, puzzled by the sudden gust.
But Castorice's thoughts were clearer than ever. Everything she had seen in Kephale's mindscape, along with everything she had experienced along the way, formed a clear thread before her.
"The trial of the "Hand of Shadow" demanded "taking the life of your family." I died during that trial, falling before the gate to the new world... And my sister, whom I never met, became the Titan Thanatos of this cycle."
"She was consumed with regret over my death, so she used the Titan's authority to reforge my soul. Yet, it also means she has never revealed herself to anyone, hidden away from the entire world..."
"That's because the Titan she became already fell at the start of everything... They died for me and now lie in slumber in the River of Souls."
The scent within the wind, and the vague sensations she had felt along the journey, all told Castorice, this was Thanatos.
And this explained why the River of the Dead and the underworld had been cut off. The dead could not enter, could not pass on.
Because the remains of a Titan were blocking the river.
As Castorice reached this conclusion, the wailing within the wind became clearer.
She did not waver. She continued her reasoning.
After her sister's death, she realized how heavy the price was. That was why she exhausted all her remaining strength to send Castorice back to the moment before she faced death.
But she still wasn't at ease. She wanted to see how her beloved sister, the one she had desperately saved, would live on.
This thought became an obsession. Even after her body perished, her soul continued to linger in the world.
Castorice raised her head, extending her hand, feeling the flow of the wind through her fingers.
The bond between twins, intertwined with the power of the Titan of death, formed a complex fate.
It allowed Castorice to clearly feel, within the wind, strands of shattered longing.
Even for that sister, eternal wandering did not come without a price. These fragmented, thread-like remnants of longing mixed into the wind were that price.
Because Castorice had come so close to the domain of death, these broken remnants instinctively sensed the presence of kin. They gathered together and flowed toward her, forming a gentle breeze.
Stelle and Mem did not feel gloom. Because within this wind were countless emotions: regret, remorse ,love.
Castorice closed her eyes, hand extended, sensing the emotions carried in the wind.
Strands of deep blue light gradually gathered in her palm.
"That is…!"
Mem's eyes widened as she was about to speak, but Stelle covered her mouth, placing a finger before her lips, signaling her to stay quiet.
Because Stelle was also nearing death, she could faintly sense what was within the wind.
"It's enough."
Castorice opened her eyes, looking at the light in her hand. It had already condensed into something tangible.
"Now, the puzzle of Pollux's yearnings is nearly complete, with only one final piece remaining-"
Holding the cluster of light, Castorice gently placed it at the center of the array.
"I shall reveal what they have been yearning to know in the alchemical matrix, I will show them my whole life since I left Styxia..."
"...Lady Trianne has already drawn a picture of my entire life, and it is now in my hands."
Using the lingering thoughts of this thousand-year-wandering Titan as a catalyst, combined with Castorice's own life… an irresistible bait was formed.
"Whether it's Pollux… Thanatos… or even Polyxia…"
"My dear sister, I will pull you out of the river of souls and awaken you."
At that moment, the alchemical array burst into dazzling light. Stelle and Mem moved to side, on high alert.
Only Castorice stood calmly at the center.
The instant the array activated, the souls of the dead surged in like a tide. Within that chaotic mass of spirits, a familiar soul approached Castorice.
It was Amunet. She said nothing. As she was swept into the air along with the other spirits, she merely revealed a faint smile toward Castorice.
Through the mysteries of the array, Castorice, in an instant, grasped the final missing piece, and the story witnessed by Amunet.
In that endless age of life, no one understood the meaning of "cherishing." It was an era without sin, yet also without virtue. People lived merely to live.
Thus, the people of Styxia chose to embrace death, not out of fascination with its terror, but because the impulses and desires born from finite life allowed them to feel madness and exhilaration.
Knowing that they would die, everything they did felt all the more precious to them.
And when the Age of Strife arrived, even as true death descended upon Styxia, this remained unchanged.
On that night, the queen personally delivered Castorice into the world. As Styxia neared destruction, Amunet led her onto the destined path.
At this moment, Castorice let out a long breath, as if a weight had been lifted.
It was for herself. She had taken the wrong path, mistaken immortality for something beautiful, believed she had been born into this world because of some error.
But the Death Titan fell for her.
The Queen of Styxia delivered her into life.
Amunet brought her into Aidonia.
Aglaea invited her on the journey to chase the flames…
If there had been no death in this world, none of this would have happened.
And she herself would never have lived, how could there be happiness or pain?
Death, ever-present, like a shadow, gave her meaning.
And filled the world with more colors. It is the end of all, and the beginning of all.
Feared by all, yet guarding the final dignity of every person.
A thousand years of suffering, at this moment, all turned into an overflowing love within her heart.
Yes… she was born because of love.
So many people loved her deeply. Even death itself, always by her side, had become another form of love her sister left her.
"I will use all the "love" I've experienced in this long life to complete the final miracle."
Castorice opened her eyes, and the light of the array surged wildly.
The waters of the river of souls rose from every corner of Styxia, forming towering water tornadoes that rushed toward them.
In an instant, lightning split the skies over Styxia! Storm winds howled! Rain poured down!
The bait formed from memories and Castorice's life, triggered a sorrowful wail, as if erupting from a broken moon, or from illusion itself, exploding in everyone's ears.
Pollux!
It had come.
Even long dead, the moment it sensed its sister here, that obsession, filled with regret, longing, and the wish for her happiness, forced this dead dragon to claw its way out of the underworld.
A feeling that would never fade, even in death!
"I call upon thee..."
"The stripped Netherwing's corpse-"
"Rises from the earth, falls from the sky."
"As above, so below..."
"This is the greatest power of all powers, unstoppable in this world."
"The great work that commands all death,"
"I shall grant you embrace!"
From Castorice, the incantations rang out, carrying an irresistible might.
Amid the surging waters, a massive dragon egg slowly emerged.
And then, the twisted, horrifying corpse of the dead dragon followed, shaking all who beheld it.
With withered, skeletal human-like hands… tattered flesh-wings hanging from its back… its entire body a grotesque blend of gray and purplish flesh, it looked both awe-inspiring and profoundly aberrant.
But the most shocking part, was that the dragon's head was buried within the egg, as if hiding inside… or like a malformed fetus that had never been born.
[Pollux, Netherwing Husk, Ferry of Souls.]
As this scene appeared, those words exploded across the center of the screen, accompanied by heavy, pounding drums.
Grotesque, sacred, sorrowful, sublime, these contradictory emotions fused into one within the scene.
The audience understood, behind this terrifying dead dragon lay an unbearably tragic story.
This twisted form itself… was the price of defying what should not be defied.
Amidst the flood of thoughts, the comments exploded.
....
: This is magnificent.
: A monster from myth? No, this is something beyond even myth, something that could only exist in the most extreme fantasy.
: The design is absolutely insane!
: The entire story arc feels complete the moment the dead dragon appears.
: Even in death, it crawled out in that broken body just to see her… I'm shaken.
: Its head inside the egg… was it born wrong, or is it instinctively hiding its own ugliness?
: The contrast is insane!
: I've got goosebumps all over.
: As expected of a boss built on emotional impact!
: Castorice's entire fate will be concluded at this moment!
: This feels exactly like a Dark Souls boss.
: Incredible!!
...
For Castorice, nothing held more meaning than facing Pollux directly.
On screen, as the dead dragon appeared, the waters of the river of souls surged outward.
Castorice's gaze hardened. Summoning her scythe, she split the river apart with a single strike.
Though the dead dragon had manifested from longing, it had long since lost its mind and soul.
Calling it a monster would not be an exaggeration. But Castorice had already expected this.
What she had to do, was defeat this dead dragon. Just as Pollux once ferried her across the river to Styxia, now she would once again climb onto the dragon's back… and return to where she had come from.
Stelle, together with Mem, stepped forward to Castorice's side.
Though she still didn't fully grasp what was happening, that didn't stop Stelle from knowing one thing: this was a boss battle.