Aglaea took the sachet and instinctively looked up at Phainon.
"This is Cifera's handiwork!"
Phainon's expression was calm as water; he simply nodded slightly. "Open it."
Aglaea complied, carefully untying the sachet's drawstring and taking out a faintly glowing metal object—a miniature projection device.
"Just press the switch," Phainon explained. "The contents are all prerecorded, so you won't be able to converse with the figures inside."
He paused, his gaze gentle as he looked at her.
"Aglaea, after you've watched it alone, I'll be waiting for you in the Garden of Life."
With that, Phainon's figure slowly retreated, turned, and walked towards the passage leading out of the Vortex of Creation.
The empty hall was once again left with only Aglaea.
She held the cold metal device, her palms breaking out in a fine sweat.
She took a deep breath and pressed the switch.
Buzz—
A soft beam of light projected out, forming a clear, life-sized illusory figure before her.
The moment the figure appeared, Aglaea's breath hitched.
Cipher!
The background in the projection was a desolate wasteland, strewn with jagged rocks.
Phainon's figure appeared first in the projection.
Then, a female voice, familiar to Aglaea down to her bones, spoke with a hint of surprise.
"Are you serious? Those old geezers in The Senatewould actually kill..."
"Shh!"
The Phainon in the projection raised a finger, making a shushing gesture.
"It's already recording."
He pointed to the miniature device in his hand, the same one Aglaea held.
"This is a projection device. I know you can't enter Okhema, but through this, the video projection won't have any issues."
Cipher curiously leaned closer, examining the device carefully, her tone full of a carefree, Jianghu spirit(Jianghu-esque) swagger.
"Deliverer kid, you didn't steal this contraption from Divine Enlightenment Tree Court, did you?"
"But, I've been wandering the Jianghu for so many years, how come I've never seen this thing?"
"There's a lot you haven't seen," Phainon responded blandly, then added, "Actually, another you asked me to bring this over."
"Another me?" Cipher looked around curiously. "Where is she, meow?"
"Alright, let's start now." Phainon's figure moved out of the camera's range.
In the frame, only Cipher remained.
She sat cross-legged on a clean stone step, her fluffy tail wagging uneasily behind her.
She remained silent for a long time.
"Cipher..."
Aglaea looked at the incredibly real scene before her, recalling Phainon's instructions.
Everything... was a false recording.
A fragment of time long past.
At this moment, Cipher in the projection suddenly spoke, her voice a little unnatural.
"Talking to a camera alone, it's so awkward!"
She cleared her throat twice, seemingly gathering her emotions, then looked up, staring directly ahead as if she could see Aglaea.
She waved her hand, feigning nonchalance.
"Hi, Seamstress Girl, long time no see."
"I guess... it must have been at least a thousand years."
Her tone was casual, even carrying a hint of teasing, but deep in her eyes, some emotion was surging intensely.
Cipher's gaze fell forward, stubbornly fixed on the center of the lens.
She paused for a long time.
After that "Seamstress Girl," it seemed to have exhausted all her pretense.
"Sister Aya."
A soft call instantly shattered Aglaea's emotional defenses.
Cipher's voice lowered.
"Actually... I never hated you... and you never did anything to hurt me..."
"Instead, it was me..."
Her voice began to choke; the forced nonchalance was fragile and vulnerable before the torrent of longing.
She raised her hand, haphazardly wiping away the tears that uncontrollably welled up in her eyes.
"Actually, I... I..."
That "I" rolled in her throat countless times, but she couldn't utter it.
Finally, all her strength, all her pretense, all her feigned fierceness, completely broke at this moment.
"I really miss you!"
Tears, like pearls on a broken string, streamed down her young face.
"I still... I still had to pretend to be fierce... I'm sorry... Aya!"
Seeing this, Aglaea's whole body trembled violently.
She couldn't tell if all of this was real or illusory.
Perhaps this was the cruelest yet gentlest dream woven by a Titan's authority.
Yet, everything felt so real.
So real that she could feel the pain and longing in every nuance of Cipher's voice.
Her beloved Cipher had finally said the words she had waited a thousand years for.
"Me too..." Aglaea's voice was hoarse. "Me too, Cipher."
"Every day and night since you left, I have never stopped missing you."
Even though she knew that what was before her was just an unresponsive illusion.
Aglaea still reached out and pressed the pause button on the projection device.
The image froze at the moment Cipher was in tears.
Aglaea slowly squatted down, reached out, and tried to wipe away the tears on Cipher's face.
"You've worked so hard, my Cipher!"
Her fingertips passed through the illusory light and shadow, touching no physical entity.
The edge of the projection emitted a faint "sizzle" due to energy interference.
Aglaea withdrew her hand, no longer able to suppress herself. She opened her arms and tightly, tightly embraced the frozen, weeping light figure.
There was no warmth.
No touch.
Only a cold void.
But Aglaea refused to let go, as if wanting to pour all the longing of a thousand years into this embrace.
Suddenly.
The projection device in her arms, without warning, resumed their playback.
Cipher, whom she held in her arms, her weeping figure, moved.
At this very moment.
Even though she was just a projection, Cipher seemed to truly feel this embrace that transcended time and space.
She froze.
Then, she also opened her arms, making an embracing gesture on that desolate wasteland.
She hugged the mother-like figure—Aglaea—tightly.
Separated by cold machinery and untouchable light and shadow.
Two souls, at this moment, embraced tightly.
In the shadows, Phainon, who had long departed, subtly reappeared for a moment. He looked at the two embracing figures, a relieved smile curving his lips.
He had lied to Aglaea.
This was not a projection device, but a real-time communication device provided by Ms. Herta.
Therefore, Cipher, standing before Aglaea, was truly seeing her, feeling her.
Seeing that the thousand-year-old knot between the two had finally untied, Phainon's figure completely vanished, leaving the space entirely to them.
After a long while, Cipher finally wiped away her tears, her voice still heavily nasal, but with an unprecedented firmness.
"Aya, please, you must trust Phainon."
"No matter which Phainon, they all come for Amphoreus."
Her gaze pierced through the light and shadow, becoming sharp and resolute.
"The Senate must be eradicated!"