Orders.
One last time.
Helektra.
Each word than the last felt heavier, especially when Hysilens heard her own name. It has been years since Cerydra called her Helektra—during the time Cerydra recruited her under her banner.
Cerydra's words could mean two things. Either she truly wanted to kill Hysilens... or that she is willing to die for it.
The gravity of Cerydra's words woke her up. Her knuckles had turned white from gripping the handle of her sword too much. Cerydra's eyes told everything she needed to know.
She wanted Hysilens to kill her.
Everything was made clear. Cerydra cleared the divine trial, returned the Coreflame, and became the bonafide Demigod of Law. At that moment, Talanton had truly died.
The Titan's authority rests on Cerydra.
Everything Cerydra said, she can actualize.
Hence, Hysilens was left with one choice.
It left her utterly silent for the second time.
Tap.
Tap.
"It is the first time I will see you two argue. This is a rare sight."
Merlin's presence broke the deadlock between the two. Hysilens glanced at him with an exhausted look. Cerydra, on the other hand, was extremely surprised.
This wasn't in the script!
Shi Tian ignored Cerydra's perplexed gaze.
"Thank you for saving me the time to explain, my Imp—erator."
The blatant pause between the syllables emphasized a certain word Cerydra did not like.
"So that is why you always speak like that! You have been doing it for years!"
"I thought you would find out about it sooner. Guess I'd overestimated your capabilities."
Gone was the trace of respect he once had. The "small thing" he always committed to was a blatant disrespect of Cerydra's status as Okhema's ruler.
Though she was still confused, her anger was real.
"It was all me. I egged Cerydra on to continue her divine trial. It was me that drew that crude plan. It was me who caused thousands to die."
"..?"
"..!"
Cerydra was utterly confused. Her mind was in a mess, just like Hysilens'.
The latter had just finished processing Cerydra's words. To have Shi Tian's "off-script act" thrown on top of it is unbearable.
Her mind shattered like a fine glass.
Everything she believed in…
The fire she had set her sights in…
She lost it all today.
"Have you forgotten something, my Imperator? The Hydro Archon's performance ends in a dance of death… but I don't like that ending."
"..?!"
Shi Tian made no reservations and told Cerydra everything there was to Amphoreus. That included the importance of the core protocol to Amphoreus. Precisely because of that, Cerydra was ready to die in Hysilens' hands. She is willing to hand over the core protocol to Merlin—to Shi Tian.
In a lot of ways, she accepted the ending given by her prophecy, just as Artoria accepted the fate that came with drawing the sword on the stone.
"There is one thing I did not tell you."
His calm gaze hovered around Cerydra.
"I am taking the role of the sacrifice."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Kill me. Take the Core Protocol."
She fell silent.
Hysilens, who watched everything transpire, now held confusion amidst her depression.
'Sacrifice? Kill? Core Protocol?'
It made her feel like the two kept a lot of things from her.
Seeing Cerydra remain silent, Shi Tian pulled out his trump card.
"The thousands of souls inside Rhongomyniad… They won't come back to life as long as you do not kill me. I instructed the Lion King in that regard."
The Lion King's pure silver lance appeared in his grasp.
"You heard it right, Hysilens. Everything is an act. The Imperator and I fooled the Titan Talanton into finishing her divine trial. The souls of the deceased lay dormant in this spear. As much as I can grant them a new body, a new life, I can deprive them of it."
Shi Tian did not mind Hysilens' chaotic mess of a mind. His golden eyes went back to the short Imperator.
"It is my turn to ask you, my dearest Imperator. Kill me or kill them. Choose."
*****
I am not a self-sacrificial idiot.
I repeat.
I am not a self-sacrificial idiot.
My time with IX showed that. I can't just shoulder everything without telling others. Everyone got very angry whenever they remembered that stupid action of mine. That was why I vowed not to pull it off again…
Until today.
I traveled to Amphoreus with nothing but my Divine Mind. It is a third of my entire being. I am treading the battlefield of three Aeons with nothing but a Divine Mind. My Divine Transformation Realm is not enough to fill in the gaps to the Aeons' teeth, not to mention a third of it.
It is the highest form of courting death.
Even my Tao Heart is inaccessible now. It exists within my fused body and soul. I can sense it but cannot use it.
I am very lucky to have attained the Formlessness realm in Blade Mantra prior to my arrival. My Tao Heart remains inaccessible, yes, but Formlessness remains. Its ability to siphon authority is with me, and so does its function as an anchor. I can utilize Remembrance's authority precisely because of it.
Using it, I can go back to Earth—to home.
It is also through it that the system came to be. It is a diagnostic tool built to analyze and utilize Remembrance's power.
Since my arrival, I debugged it relentlessly. First was the update to shield the memories of the Honkai to Remembrance, and then its combination with the Dao of Creation to turn intangible memories, tangible.
Finally, there are extended [Memoria Charge], increasing the [Duration] of every memory, and some other minor fixes.
The sole downside is its instability. Once I use my Divine Mind's power, the Dao of Creation I desperately placed inside will disappear. The system crashes… and I don't want it to happen.
I developed a complete system from scratch, one that would swiftly increase my "access percentage" to Remembrance once I come back to Earth. It won't be surprising to have my authority over Remembrance to reach 30% at minimum. That is on the level of the "Pure Child of Anasvara", or in other terms, an Emanator.
I have no aversion to borrowing Aeons' powers until I attain Dao Integration. It is the same as using Herrscher Cores before reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. The same old trick, I must say.
However, this opportunity isn't enough.
It does not suffice to push Amphoreus into another story, nor it is enough to serve as my Dao Integration Realm opportunity.
And so…
I went further.
*****
A/N: Welp, Cerydra is still a rookie when it comes to a self-sacrificial expert like Tian.
Anyways, the main reason why I disliked Cerydra's death was... it reminded me of Captainverse. Rita's death was one thing. Kongming's hit the hardest... That small detail of her eyes turning dull is one of the most painful and heart-wrenching story device ever created in visual storytelling. My PTSD returned at that chapter. There's also that powerlessness in Cerydra's voice as she died. Props to her voice actor for that.
And so, the quote "This will be a romantic story none has ever seen before" will have its meaning changed. A big no no for tragedies this time...