Memories of the past kept flashing in Hysilens' mind. The things that seemed rather trivial now held another meaning.
The first instance was Cerydra's small fit. It wasn't the first time she got angry with Okhema's Council of Elders. She managed to contain them through her military might and authority. Instead of following Julius Caesar's mistakes, she applied Augustus' methods. She used the legitimacy of the "Senate" for her benefit, making her Okhema's legal ruler.
This did not stop the Elders from doing small tricks.
Only…
"Should I have not spared them?"
Hysilens paid no heed to Cerydra's words at that time. Then came the second. The third.
Cerydra's composure declined as time went by. Hyperborea's wide-scale rescue was added to the mix. Despite Shi Tian's intervention two and a half years ago, only 40% of Hyperborea's original population remained. The areas beyond Mount Epos were abandoned to the Black Tide.
She did not have many good memories of that place. Still, it was her hometown.
As problems piled up, Cerydra's mood turned for the worse in private. Hysilens did not suspect her faking it—there was no need to.
A chilling realization made her heart sink.
'Such reckless arrangements… Could it be..?'
The battle ended. Phagousa was killed. Her Coreflame was obtained. The cost was thousands of lives. Such was the consequence of fighting Phagousa in her home court.
Hysilens mindlessly walked around the city. Tribbie wanted to stop her, but to no avail.
From the moment she learned of these prophecies, she knew she could not stop fate. It shows just from her perilous hundred-year journey that killed four hundred of her avatars.
'Will this truly end in the Flame-Chase Journey?'
She shook her head.
Recalling their time with Hysilens, they could not sit still.
Tribbie lent her a hand.
Even if it leads to the prophecy becoming true.
*****
Okhema's Marmoreal Palace held more than just a bath. Beneath it was the most sacred temple in all of Amphoreus. The place where the birth and destruction of the world is witnessed countless of times.
The Vortex of Genesis.
Beyond its wide space was a water basin. Its edges overflowed with water, falling straight to the small lake beneath it.
A vast starry background illuminated the entire area. The stars served as its supporting characters as twelve constellations hung up in the starry sky. Two of them shone brightly, with the rest remaining dim.
The twelve constellations corresponded to the twelve Titans. Completing a Titan's divine trial allows one to return the Coreflame, lighting up one of the constellations.
Once all twelve were lit up, the Miracle of Genesis takes place, plunging Amphoreus into the Era Nova.
Its tranquility was broken by a set of footsteps.
Cerydra, who was observing the twelve constellations, looked back.
"Arrived so fast? Let me guess. Was it Tribbie?"
She said as she fiddled with a pawn chess piece on her right hand.
Facing the Imperator, Hysilens offered none of her usual respects.
"Where is Merlin?"
Her flat tone shattered their relationship. Hysilens no longer trusted anyone—not even Merlin. The deaths of thousands wasn't the one that bore down on her soul.
It was betrayal.
The betrayal from the wise Imperator she followed.
The betrayal from the man she viewed the ocean with.
Hysilens is certain that the two are in cahoots. His inaction during the entire war said everything that needed to be told.
"He is not here." Cerydra replied. "The two of us are enough."
Truth to be told, Hysilens' distrustful gaze stung deeply on Cerydra. She herself did not like any betrayal, but for this play to go on, she must endure.
'The Hydro Archon… Her five hundred years of acting…'
Only now did she understand the pain Furina felt. She acted as a god for five hundred years, enduring countless doubts every night she fell asleep.
Cerydra's realization completed the final piece to her act. At this moment, her very being overlapped with Furina's.
"Why did you do it?"
Hysilens went straight to the point. Cerydra paused momentarily as the pawn in her hand dissipated into golden dust. Replacing it was a King piece.
"Merlin revealed something to me. A fact so shocking I lost my composure." She breathed in before sighing. "This world is born out of a god."
Hysilens' gaze froze. She could not understand Cerydra.
"It is not a Titan. Their powers pale in comparison to such a god. And this world, due to someone else's obstructions, is headed to destruction. It is the origin of the Black Tide."
Hysilens' mind buzzed.
She could not easily take it.
Gods…
Intervenors…
Black Tide…
One man's will signed Amphoreus' death warrant.
Hysilens understood the underlying logic of military might. The most powerful can have everyone in the entire world follow their whims. But for it to push Amphoreus to its destruction was something else.
This was a world. A world with twelve Titans. A world born out of a god far stronger than these Titans, to the point the Titans themselves are THEIR creations!
The familiar stench of despair and helplessness presented itself to Hysilens.
"Ever since I heard of it, I set off for something else. An alternative. This is what it led on… Talanton's divine trial."
From Cerydra's mouth, the matter of completing the trial through five hundred lives came. Hysilens was stunned into silence.
"For every loss is a gain. The laws of equal exchange dictate as such. Talanton's divine power… his Coreflame… is the most special amongst them all. It allows someone to face these gods on equal grounds… granted something precious can be sacrificed."
She paused for a moment. Her eyes met Hysilens' sharp gaze.
"To complete the divine trial, I sacrificed the lives of my most loyal troops. Returning Law's Coreflame succeeded."
The entire conversation steered away from the other cycles.
Hysilens was supposed to retort Cerydra. She questioned her actions, only to be rebutted by Cerydra with her achievements.
When it comes down to it, her achievements did singlehandedly change Amphoreus. Chrysos Heirs and the Elders can now face each other equally. The remnants of the previous Chrysos Heir was swept clean under Cerydra's rule.
Nonetheless, one thing remains true between this and the original:
The world may forget Cerydra, but it will never forget what Cerydra did.
"To rewrite Amphoreus' laws, a Demigod's life is a necessary sacrifice. "
"...Was it still not enough?"
A sense of loss, shock, and powerlessness swirled around Hysilens' deep blue eyes. Two possibilities flashed in her mind.
Both of them...
She is not willing to see happen.
Cerydra shook her head.
"For Amphoreus' victory, it is not enough. In the name of Deliverance, of the world's salvation, it is something that cannot be missing. And so I order you one last time, Helektra—"
Hysilens was still wallowing in confusion when Cerydra's words came crashing down.
"—Either sacrifice yourself for conquest, or pierce this tyrant's chest with your sword."