....
: Damn, who understands the sense of security from Acheron at this moment!?
: So this is the true weight of being the strongest in combat power so far!!
: She carries so hard, holy shit!
: Stelle probably couldn't resist the temptation just now and wanted to look back. That would've basically meant walking toward her own death.
: So when she started having thoughts of self-destruction, she saw Acheron?!
: I instantly understood what the so-called guardian of the River of Forgetfulness means!
: Amazing. Is this the payoff to foreshadowing from so long ago?
: Do not look back, just keep walking forward!!
: Acheron is seriously too powerful. Strong, beautiful, and overflowing with a sense of safety!
: The true weight of an Emanator that shouldn't even exist!
...
The comments flooded the screen. And after seeing Acheron's figure, Stelle's eyes instantly regained clarity.
"Fear not, as a touch of red will be awaiting you at the end of the path."
"It'll guide you and illuminate the way out. By doing so... you'll eventually reunite in the warmth of the sunlight."
Acheron's voice echoed from every direction around Stelle. Acheron herself did not appear in person.
But it was enough. Those words from memory successfully awakened Stelle's reason.
Recalling those flickering memories and Acheron's appearance, Stelle frowned, unable to understand what was happening, clutching her head as she murmured:
"What's this...!?"
"What in the world are these shadows and voices...?"
A woman's voice softly rang out.
"All of this is proof that you once lived."
"Your soul, your memories, the years you've journeyed through, and the path they revealed, leading you back home."
"So, continue onward. Do not stop moving forward, and do not let her sacrifice and the support of all who have stood by you be in vain..."
It sounded somewhat like Mem's voice. But somehow... more mature?
Before the audience could savor the voice any further, the pink Mem suddenly burst out from a beam of light.
"Thank goodness! I finally found you!"
"Ever since you entered this place, I've been searching for you the whole time!"
Mem flew to Star's side, extending a fluffy little hand as she happily smiled.
"Over here, friend...!"
"Take my hand. Let's go home...!"
Seeing Mem appear, Stelle finally smiled as well.
Acheron, that mysterious voice, and all those fragmented memories... whatever.
"Let's go, Mem!"
"Goodbye, nether realm."
"Hello again, mortal realm."
Stelle grabbed Mem's hand, and the scenery around them rapidly began to change and flicker away.
When everything appeared once more, she had returned to the very first place.
The location where they fought the dead dragon, the very center of Styxia.
Meanwhile, Castorice remained in the Underworld, continuing to fulfill her unfinished duty and watch over the spirits of the dead.
However, before Stelle left, Castorice, through the authority of a demigod, also delivered a message to Stelle.
"Your soul is still perfectly whole, as if some kind of force is trying its best to keep it together."
"Is it Oronyx's final blessing? Or... is it a miracle of your own? I do not know"
"It's truly... incredible. Such a strange surge of familiarity... so hard to describe."
Even Stelle herself could not understand it.
But... having her soul remain perfectly intact was ultimately a good thing, so she did not think too deeply about it.
The audience, however, had their own guesses.
....
: Either it was the memory Acheron left behind, or that mysterious female voice.
: Probably not Oronyx? Oronyx's voice isn't that cute.
: It sounded more like a grown-up Mem.
: But one thing's certain, it definitely has some connection to Mem.
: Another mysterious person. And with Lygus' unclear background too, why does it feel like the truth is still so far away?
: Seriously! It feels like we've already uncovered most of Amphoreus' truth and the Titans' story, yet the fog only keeps increasing.
: Yeah... the deeper we dig, the more it feels like we still haven't reached the real truth.
:Fewer mysteries means even more mysteries?
....
The comments swept across the screen.
But no matter what, the stories of Castorice and Anaxagoras had finally come to an end.
After Stelle and Mem returned to Okhema, they barely had time to rest before joining Dan Heng, who had also rushed back, and entering the Vortex of Genesis together.
The aftermath of the Citizens' Assembly had yet to settle.
Yet Anaxagoras, whom Aglaea had promised to execute, had already appeared in the depths of the vortex, speaking with Aglaea herself.
Two Chrysos Heirs with completely opposing ideals, yet both fully understood what the other intended to do.
"That grand and absurd performance was what you've been seeking your whole life?"
"But what you said at the end... Did you already know what I had planned for Phainon?"
Aglaea asked calmly.
"I may have lost an eye, but my vision is clearer than anyone else. You've nearly exhausted your humanity. You're no different from my current state as a walking corpse."
Anaxagoras replied mercilessly.
"That's true. I've long since burned to ash over the past one thousand years. Only he is capable of unleashing a raging fire that rivals our final great enemy, Aquila."
Aglaea admitted openly. This directly confirmed the audience's earlier suspicions.
She had already reached her limit, though not because of an enemy, but because of herself.
Phainon was the next leader that she had chosen.
"So, this is our last chance. How about we let go of the bad blood between us?"
"I do have a suggestion."
There was not the slightest trace of pity in Anaxagoras's eyes toward Aglaea's condition. Instead, he proposed something at that very moment.
"What is it?" Aglaea asked.
"May I resonate with your Coreflame, Aglaea?" Anaxagoras spread his hands as he spoke.
No special reason. He simply wanted to know Aglaea's true condition.
Just from appearances alone, he could only tell that Aglaea's humanity had grown extremely thin.
"Please do." Aglaea replied indifferently.
Though surprised by Aglaea's straightforwardness, Anaxagoras wasted no time. Through the resonance between the Coreflames, he immediately probed Aglaea's true state.
"..."
"!!?" After a brief silence, Anaxagoras's eyes suddenly widened.
"That's... impossible. To persist with your soul thinned to such an extent... You're insane."
The soul he sensed was practically close to nonexistent.
No wonder. No wonder Aglaea insisted on forcing herself onward, while her methods became increasingly forceful and her humanity dwindled further and further.
She was outright force-burning her own soul to serve as fuel for the Coreflame!
Seeing Anaxa, someone who always looked down on everyone with disdain, reveal such a shocked expression.
There was barely any reaction on Aglaea's face. She only said calmly, "Just as you fight to lug your corpse onward to complete your unfinished goals, I have my own reasons for doing this."
"Until Phainon grows into his position as the prophesied leader, I must continue to lead everyone on the Flame-Chase Journey. I must keep inching forward, even if only as an empty shell."
Burning herself to carve out a path ahead. That resolve moved the audience once again.
.....
: Aglaea... a true born leader!
: For the sake of the Flame-Chase Journey, she really burned away everything.
: This level of madness isn't any less than Anaxa's.
: She's literally burning her own soul.
: Aglaea knows she still can't die. Once she dies, the Flame-Chase Journey can't continue anymore.
: Wuwuwu, what hurts me most is Aglaea's attitude toward death. It's not that she can't die, it's that she still cannot die yet.
: Thinking back to when we first met Aglaea and misunderstood her so badly, I feel so guilty...
: Aglaea isn't going to die too, right!?
: Don't let that happen!
....
The audience was already feeling distressed.
Up to this point, Aglaea's storyline seemed to lack any major shining moments on the surface.
But in reality, they were everywhere. Interwoven throughout every Golden Heir's story.
It was she who upheld the entire Flame-Chase Journey, and she who withstood the pressure from everywhere, allowing everyone else to keep moving forward without worry.
Even after burning away all of her humanity, she had never wavered even slightly.
Recreate the world.
Continue the Flame-Chase Journey.
Save this dying world.
Those were the things Aglaea wanted most.
"..." Even Anaxa fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he shook his head and said, "Casting aside our ideological differences, there is one thing you and I agree on."
"He was born to be a hero. He understands the hearts of the people, and I can confidently say he is a far better leader than you. Only he is capable of fulfilling your mission."
"...Sadly, he is a man cursed by Mnestia. But by my estimates, his horribly elaborate sense of style should not impede Era Nova."
As he spoke, Anaxa suddenly curled his lips into a grin and began ruthlessly criticizing Phainon's fashion sense.
And at that moment, Aglaea also revealed the faintest trace of her remaining humanity.
"Congratulations are in order. We've found common ground at the very end of our destined paths."
This understanding naturally referred to their opinion of Phainon. Whether in terms of ability or fashion sense.
Just like that, two people who had once walked completely separate paths.
Had, at this moment, reached a rare reconciliation. No longer clashing so sharply against one another.
And just then, the others also entered the Vortex of Genesis and walked over.
Phainon, Stelle and the others.
"...Aglaea, we're back."
Phainon looked excited. "Stelle life has fully returned to this world. There's no longer anything to worry about, and she also brought back the Coreflame of Death!"
"Where's Castorice?" Aglaea looked toward Stelle.
Stelle did not hide anything and told Aglaea what had happened in Styxia.
Castorice's true body had remained there. But Stelle had brought back the Coreflame of Death, along with the echo of Castorice contained within it.
That echo was enough to ensure the trial could be passed and the Coreflame restored to its rightful place.
"Then let us begin. Return the Coreflames to their original positions."
After Aglaea finished speaking. Everyone stepped aside.
The first to return the Coreflame was Castorice.
After the flame entered the Overflowing Chalice, the echo of divinity appeared before the Coreflame.
But at this moment, the words spoken by Castorice's phantom were no longer human language, but the language of the Titans.
Passing the trial posed no difficulty whatsoever. Poluxia had already responded to Castorice back in the Underworld, and the necessary prerequisites had already been fulfilled.
For Castorice, who had lived through two lives and was herself half a Titan. It took only the blink of an eye for the Coreflame of Death to return to its rightful place.
Next was Anaxa's turn.
But just as he was about to exchange the Coreflame.
Phainon stopped him.
"Professor, I don't understand. If your theory is correct, you'll lose all memories of your past life once you become a Titan, so what's the point of becoming a god?"
" I still don't really understand what you said during the assembly. Even if it were true, things reforged from memory could never be the same as the original anyway."
Phainon questioned urgently. Just like when he used to ask questions in class as a child.
Anaxa paused, turned back, and smiled.
"Of course there's a point. Even if I forget who I am, I'll still have my brilliant mind."
" It goes without saying I'll find a way to retrieve memories of my past life. Besides, I still have you, don't I?"
"And on what exactly are we? My answer is that the Chrysos Heirs are the future Titans, and vice versa. Of course, this answer only applies to us."
"So, what are "we" when it comes to regular mortals?"
"But to mortals, what exactly are 'we'? The essence is actually the opposite."
"The very essence of the world, our souls, are tiny invisible seeds that hold records of each person's memories of the world, and "we" are the buds that sprout from these seeds to grow into great trees."
"Is that what Nousporism means?" Phainon was stunned.
So... that was what it meant.
"Correct. Once our physical bodies are born, we become new extensions of the world. From there, we plant our seeds into someone's memories and then scatter them into the hearts of countless people in the future."
"Just as seeds are affected by their environment, so too will our appearances differ across memories. But the partial memories we carry will always be the same, because that is just how the world is."
"To destroy our very existence, one must destroy the world itself. But we have someone who will still live on with his perfect memory..."
"That person is you, child of Kephale. This is what it means to be the Worldbearing Titan."
At the end of his life, Anaxa imparted the core philosophy of the Nousporism to Phainon.
Finally, he withdrew his gaze and left behind one last sentence.
"So, carry everything of this world and live on. Don't disappoint those most precious to you. Don't disappoint Lady Goldweaver."
"And especially don't bring dishonor to my theory."