...
: Wuwuwu, Cipher!
: Aaaaaah! I seriously can't take this anymore. Why is it that whenever miHoYo writes someone's death, it's like they suddenly become enlightened or something?!
: Damn it! I really suspect there's someone on the writing team who specializes in deaths!!
: Exactly, I'm breaking down. It's not that the other parts are bad, but whenever it gets to moments like this, it hurts me especially badly!
: Such delicate emotions, without even describing them in detail, yet you can still feel them.
: Wuwuwuwu, I really can't handle this.
: My Aglaea, my kitty!! How did things become this miserable!! miHoYo, you damn bastard!!
: Every time I think about how sad Aglaea was the last time she saw Cipher, and then think about kitty's unspeakable difficulties, two people who were so close yet never managed to be honest with each other, it's just too regretful!!
: Kitty never actually hated Aglaea at all, but Aglaea never knew that, even until her death...
: But Cipher had no choice either. Who could have imagined that the entire world of Amphoreus was resting on her shoulders!
: This is too shocking. Without Cipher, how could Amphoreus possibly have the present it has now...
: Who could have thought that the greatest lie told by the demigod of trickery was actually for the sake of saving this world!
: This contrast, I really can't take it.
: Because Aglaea could see through lies, Cipher had no choice but to stay away from her.
: Sigh!!
: When we first saw Cipher, who could have imagined that the story behind her would be this shocking!!
....
The comments swept crazily across the screen. The audience's hearts were filled with sadness and regret.
Sustaining the world through lies. Just this one setting alone was enough to carve Cipher deep into the audience's hearts.
The more carefree, mischievous, and cunning Cipher had appeared before the audience before, the more shocking the aftertaste brought by the truth was now.
And for the audience, the even greater regret was that when they finally came to know the real Cipher, when they finally came to know this Chrysos Heir who could truly be called a hero, it was already the moment of her exit.
When Cipher had first appeared, when she kept avoiding the Chrysos Heirs, avoiding the responsibility and feelings Aglaea had given her, some viewers had always had quite a few complaints about it.
But generally speaking, because Cipher had still helped the protagonist group quite a lot, they had only thought of her as a clever and quick-witted Chrysos Heir, one with some flaws, but nothing too serious.
At this very moment, many viewers thought back to the attitude they had when they first met Cipher.
They wished they could slap themselves. Who knew how many people wanted to return to the moment they first met Cipher and change the way they had treated her back then.
But spilled water cannot be gathered again, and time will not come a second time.
From the feeling of their first encounter, to the gradual deepening of their understanding of Cipher as the plot developed, to the truth now being revealed, deep regret once again ran through the entire process of the audience's meeting with Cipher.
.....
In the scene, the words Cipher had just used to evaluate herself, the words about having overestimated herself, were precisely because she had realized that she had actually been practicing that prophecy all along.
Greed was not only greed for treasure.
She had set out from Okhema, trying to use her own movements to draw out the Council of Elders' assassins, and using a fake Coreflame to draw out the Flame Reaver.
She wanted to see whether she could resolve all these troubles in one fell swoop.
And after discovering that something was wrong with the Flame Reaver, Cipher still chose to cross blades with them, wanting to see whether she could get rid of them, instead of choosing the safest option: continuing to stall and escape.
Although she had been born a thief, she always wanted to solve problems once and for all.
How was that not also a form of greed? It was precisely because of this cause that the consequence came: the Coin of Whimsy was taken, and she herself was defeated and killed in Styxia.
However Cipher was still, in the end, somewhat relieved.
On the verge of death, she stared motionlessly at Aglaea's back, weakly thinking in her heart:
"But... at least there's one thing... I did accomplish..."
"Kephale's Coreflame is not here... It's safe... It's safe now..."
"Even if I'm nothing more than a thief... I..."
"...At least I did something for the Flame Chase..."
"..."
"..."
"Agy... can you hear me?"
"Say something... anything..."
"Please..."
The camera froze on Cipher's face.
In those eyes, there was no longer any excess emotion, no fear of death, only regret and longing rising from the deepest place within her, and the reflection of Aglaea's figure in her pupils.
But how could Aglaea, who was only a hallucination, respond to her?
The emotion in Cipher's eyes was finally drowned by regret. The vision in her eyes was also gradually stained by darkness.
She could no longer tell where she was at this moment, nor did she have the strength to face anything anymore.
All her thoughts were being stripped away, bit by bit.
It was at this moment that she heard the sound of high heels stepping on the ground.
Clear and pleasant. In Cipher's final vision, she saw a pair of feet wearing high-heels.
She struggled to raise her head and looked ahead in a daze.
Aglaea was smiling at her, speaking in the same gentle tone as when they first met in Okhema:
"You are the unsung hero of Amphoreus, Cifera. You saved us all."
"You betrayed the world..."
"...and in exchange, you earned humanity a thousand more years of life."
After Aglaea finished speaking, she reached out her hand toward her. And Cipher also stared foolishly at Aglaea.
There was no longer any pain or regret on her face, only an innocent smile that came from the bottom of her heart.
Everything returned to silence. The camera lifted upward, focusing on the broken moon of Styxia, then slowly moved downward along the moonlight.
Under the cold light of the broken moon, where was there any shadow of Aglaea?
Cipher's body had been cut open by a hideous wound from the Flame Reaver.
Golden blood had spilled all around her, and she had long since lost all signs of life.
At this moment, she lay motionless beneath the corner of the wall.
Like a stray cat frozen to death in winter.
In front of her, the Flame Reaver withdrew their greatsword and turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.
To them, killing Cipher was just like killing someone of no importance at all.
...
: Cipher!!! No!!!!
: Fuck!!! I'm really breaking down!!
: Why did they have to show us this?!
: Wuwuwuwuwu! I'm going to explode at miHoYo!!
: At the final moment of her life, the one she still wanted to see was Aglaea, and what she still wanted to receive was Aglaea's recognition!
: Wuwuwu, she must have wanted to properly explain things to Aglaea too, and apologize to Aglaea.
: That final smile from Cipher shattered my heart! Wuwuwuwu!
: Seriously, the moment they start writing a death, it's like they suddenly achieve enlightenment. Why do they have to write it in such a heart-piercing way!!
: Why did they still have to show us the way kitty died!! Wuwuwu, she's so pitiful! My heart aches so much!!
: She was clearly a great hero who saved the world! Yet no one knew of her achievements, and in the end she just died so miserably in a place like that...
: Flame Reaver! Damn you!!!
: I don't believe this Flame Reaver is Phainon!! Fuck! What the hell is this bullshit!! He killed Cipher without even looking at her! How could someone so heartless possibly be Phainon!
: Exactly! This is just an executioner!
: Even if little Phainon turned dark, he absolutely could not turn into something like this!
...
The comments completely exploded! The audience exploded too!
Speaking of misery, Cipher's death was truly, genuinely tragic. No one knew the things she had done, and even her death was so hasty and careless.
And the Flame Reaver's clean and decisive attitude felt just like he was stepping on some kind of bug. It completely enraged everyone.
What kind of person was Phainon? He was a man who valued emotion and loyalty deeply, a man who could give up his own life for everyone's ideals.
For someone like that, what reason could there be for him to so casually kill his own friends and family, and remain unmoved?
Either the Flame Reaver was not Phainon!
Or MiHoYo was forcing Phainon to turn evil, completely changing all his values!
Otherwise, Phainon would never have fallen to such a state!
For the audience, upon seeing this, there were only these two possibilities regarding Phainon and the Flame Reaver!
The comments almost overflowed across the screen.
The audience's grief, anger, sadness.
However, the world of Amphoreus continued to rush toward collapse.
Just after Cipher died, in Okhema, the people who were bathing in the light of the Dawn Machine were busy as usual going about their work.
But suddenly, the earth began to tremble, and the sky seemed to be covered in shadow.
The sudden change stunned everyone. They all looked up at the sky, and then saw the most terrifying sight of their lives.
With the Dawn Machine carried by Kephale as the core, a wave was rapidly spreading across the sky.
The clear blue sky was covered by a dim, fiery-red scene of the apocalypse.
From the sky, meteorites trailing thick black smoke began to fall.
"If there were a lie so brilliant that it could fool everyone..."
"Wouldn't it simply become the truth?"
Cipher's sly voice rang out in the background.
"Lies will always be lies, Cifera..."
"But sometimes... they can be more noble than the truth."
Aglaea's gentle voice followed.
That's right. A lie is still a lie in the end. No matter how noble that lie may be, or whether it was for some greater purpose, there will eventually come a day when it is exposed.
And for everyone in Amphoreus, that day was today, the day Cipher died.
The light of the Dawn Machine was no longer there. Falling fire descended from the sky.
Everything, all of it, signaled that Amphoreus, which had lasted for a thousand years, had finally welcomed its destined end.
...
On the other side, the group who had just defeated Seliose were also stunned by this scene.
From the sky where they stood, everything was far clearer than what could be seen from the ground.
The sky was collapsing. Lightning and thunderstorms were brewing.
What was going on? Phainon and the others looked around in shock, thinking that Aquila was about to make a comeback.
They did not understand. But the audience knew why.
And the audience finally understood why Cipher's story had to be inserted after Seliose was defeated.
Because when they defeated Seliose, on the other side, Cipher, who had held back the Flame Reaver for them and saved Amphoreus for hundreds of years, also died at that very moment.
If this segment had not been inserted, the audience's feeling at this moment would probably have been about the same as Phainon and the others'.
"Hyacine...? What happened?" Dan Heng was the first to speak, asking the question.
Hyacine said in surprise, "The Coreflame in my hand... it's trembling. It's sending me a warning..."
"Lord Phainon, in Amphoreus's mythology, isn't the Dawn Device said to be a gift from Aquila to Kephale?"
Phainon was a little dumbfounded, not knowing why Hyacine was suddenly asking him a historical question. He hurriedly reminded her, "Why bring this up now? Let's focus on getting back down there..."
But before he could finish speaking, Hyacine was already staring at him solemnly. "...Lord Phainon!"
"...!?"
Looking at Hyacine's expression, Phainon suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem as well. He nodded and replied,
"Yes. Nearly every mythologist agrees that "Aquila gifted the Dawn Device to Kephale.""
Hyacine immediately understood. It seems something had gone wrong with the Dawn Machine!
Although this shocking news was hard to digest, Hyacine still forced herself to calm down quickly, outlining a plan in her mind before speaking solemnly:
"Everyone, calm down... listen to me."
"The Coreflame in my hand trembles violently, its warmth slipping away like sand through my fingers."
"It burned through immense energy just to leave me with one message: The Dawn Device... is extinguished."
Upon hearing this news, Phainon's pupils shrank.
'The Dawn Machine? That thing can go out? Who did it?'
That was the thought that instinctively burst out in Stelle's mind.
But compared to the question of how the Dawn Machine had gone out, there was an even more troublesome problem for everyone.
Phainon took only one or two seconds to accept this fact.
"If the Coreflame's message is true, Okhema has lost the Dawn Device's protection..."
"Darkness will consume the holy city in an instant... and the aftermath will be devastating."
"We must hurry back as soon as possible. Otherwise, before the end of Amphoreus arrives, Okhema's end will come first!"
Hyacine also nodded and said: "Right, there's no time to dwell on the cause! Without the light of the Dawn Device, the holy city will be consumed by darkness, and countless lives will be cast adrift..."
"Everyone, you must return and fulfill the mission of Chrysos Heirs. As for me..."
"Dannie, you're still carrying Phagousa's spirit water, aren't you?"
"Open the path to the Vortex for me. There's still one last thing I can do for the people down there..."
"Return the Coreflame of Aquila and inherit their divine authority..."
"I'll remain in the sky and cast my protection over the people."