Polyxia raised her palm, simultaneously signaling Derick to extend his as well. Derick did as she instructed, extending his palm. Their ten fingers touched. A faint purple flame appeared on Polyxia's body, flowing along her form towards Derick.
The energy of Thanatos had already entered Derick's body; what Polyxia was giving him now was the Titan of Death's Coreflame and duties. All these flames entered Derick's body and finally disappeared. And as Polyxia transferred the flames into Derick's body, her own form gradually faded, eventually dissolving into particles and completely vanishing before Derick.
"Goodbye, my brother-in-law. When my sister wakes up, say goodbye to her for me..." Polyxia said to Derick. She was very reluctant to leave this world, but now she had to disappear.
Then, all that remained before Derick was a solitary wheelchair.
A wave of intense sorrow washed over Derick's heart... Impossible!
Reverse the situation!
Derick felt the newly appeared Titan of Death's Coreflame and authority within his body, and his understanding of life and death in Amphoreus deepened further. Polyxia herself only possessed the 'death' aspect of Death, but within Derick's body, the Titan of Death's authority was still being further mended.
Once the mending was complete, Derick looked towards the distant, still-sleeping Castorice.
"Next, it's time for your curse to disappear."
He raised his hand with a flick, and the curse on Castorice vanished. Because this curse disappeared, Castorice's power weakened slightly. However, the shackles on her body were gone, opening up new possibilities for her.
After doing all this, Derick could be said to have completely obtained the abilities of the Titan of Death.
"My current state regarding death is strange. Not quite a Titan, not quite a demigod."
Energy-wise, Derick was undoubtedly still a demigod, but in terms of abilities, Derick was like the Titan of Death. Very strange, but it wouldn't affect his next actions.
"Polyxia, come back."
Derick chanted in his heart.
Polyxia's disappearance should have been absolute, but before she vanished, Derick had infused Pollux (her dragon form) with his blood, so Polyxia's disappearance wasn't entirely complete. This incomplete vanishing gave Derick the possibility of pulling her back.
Derick mobilized the authority of Death in his hand, refusing Polyxia's demise. Simultaneously, he deployed other energies to reconstruct Polyxia's body once more. Little by little, a human form appeared on the wheelchair.
Starting from the feet, the figure gradually became clearer. Delicate, boneless ankles rested on the wheelchair's footrests, the feet devoid of any blood color, the toenails tinged with a faint purple. Her calves were thin, appearing weak and frail. Then, the slender torso returned. A flat abdomen, a delicate chest, exquisite collarbones—an exquisitely crafted body was displayed before Derick. Finally, that beautiful face also returned.
Finally done. It's just that this revived Polyxia is a bit thin; she still needs some nourishment.
Wait, why should I know Polyxia is thin?
Derick looked at the reappeared Polyxia and finally realized something was wrong. During the revival, he had focused on reviving Polyxia's body.
He forgot the clothes!
Derick quickly deployed energy again, conjuring a set of clothes and draping them over Polyxia.
"Come back, Polyxia."
Derick called out to the sleeping Polyxia.
Hearing Derick's call, Polyxia's eyelids twitched slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, looking at Derick's face with some bewilderment.
Didn't I disappear? Isn't it nothingness after disappearing? Why am I still conscious?
And someone is calling? Who is it?
Polyxia opened her eyes, looking at Derick before her. "Is this my illusion world after death? But why is Derick in my illusion world, not my sister?" Polyxia murmured to herself.
Derick said to her, "Because you didn't die again. I revived you!"
"Revived?"
Polyxia's eyes widened in a daze, sinking into a state of confusion. Seeing her like this, Derick immediately recounted the process and method he had just used to revive Polyxia.
"So, I'm revived like this, and I'm also free from the Titan of Death's curse." After listening, Polyxia felt as if it were a fairy tale. But the real sensations from her body told Polyxia that all this was not false. She was truly revived; she could experience all the beauty of this world.
At this moment, she suddenly thought of something and murmured to herself, "The withered will fade, the deceased sprouts from remnants, the fire that died together is reborn."
This deceased, could it refer to me?
Polyxia leaned back in her wheelchair, looking at Derick with complex eyes.
How much of a price did he truly pay?
"I... how should I thank you?" she asked slowly.
"Accompany Butterfly well. I can only give her the love she lacked, but for the lost family affection, only you can provide that," Derick said with a smile. He wanted to bring Castorice the best possible ending; her lover (himself), Polyxia this sister, and in the future, her own children and descendants—Castorice deserved to have all beautiful feelings and experiences.
"Mm... I understand all of it." Polyxia nodded forcefully, her expression also feigning ease. But inwardly, she felt extremely pained. Derick, oh no, I should call him brother-in-law. He's saying this because he's staying in the Underworld and is afraid my sister will be lonely, right? For my sister, he's still thinking of her even after sacrificing everything. Such a beautiful relationship, why must they be separated by life and death now? This cycle is truly terrible.
Worried she might cry, Polyxia said to Derick, "Brother-in-law, I want to go see my sister now."
"Mm, go ahead." Derick readily urged Polyxia on. But before she moved, Polyxia whispered to Derick, "Brother-in-law, come closer for a moment."
"Hm?!" Derick was puzzled but still moved closer to her as Polyxia said. When Derick was close, Polyxia reached out her arms and gently hugged him.
"Thank you." This was the only way she could express her gratitude now.
Being hugged by someone almost identical to Castorice, Derick was somewhat at a loss. And before he could react, Polyxia released him and returned to her wheelchair.
But... the clothes Derick had given Polyxia were merely draped on her.
"Ah!" Polyxia shrieked, her face beet red. She quickly clutched her falling clothes and curled up. However, by curling up like that, her beautiful back was once again exposed to Derick.
Seeing this situation, Polyxia immediately turned the wheelchair around. "I... I'm going to see my sister..." She quickly wheeled herself towards Castorice. What on earth happened? Polyxia thought for a moment and understood the situation. Although she was very grateful to Derick, the thought of her body being seen completely by him still filled her heart with shyness. Better go see sister first.
Watching Polyxia leave, Derick let out a small sigh of relief. Hiding this from Butterfly, obtaining the Titan of Death's power before her—when she wakes up, Butterfly will definitely be angry and sad. Yet Derick knew he still couldn't tell Butterfly about his avatars. So Derick knew Butterfly might be upset and emotional for a few days. I'd better not go over for now; let her sister comfort her first.
"My dear little sister-in-law, consider this your brother-in-law's reward for reviving you," Derick thought. But after a moment, he felt doing this was still too unfair to Castorice, so he subsequently got up and walked towards her as well.
...
Polyxia slowly wheeled herself to Castorice's side. Castorice was just beginning to wake up at this moment. Opening her eyes slightly, she found no one lying beside her and her heart instantly seized with alarm.
"Derick!"
She quickly got up. Although her body was still very sore, she scanned her surroundings, wanting to find Derick. After turning around, she found the blood-stained flowers on herself, and Polyxia not far from her.
"Polyxia, do you know where Derick went?" Castorice asked her.
"Yes, I know where brother-in-law is," Polyxia replied softly to Castorice's words.
"Did something happen to him?" Castorice forced herself to calm down and questioned Polyxia.
"He... inherited the Coreflame of the Titan of Death," Polyxia replied softly to Castorice.
"How is that possible? Are you joking? Let's not even talk about whether Derick has this ability; even if you could take the Titan's authority, shouldn't you have..." She didn't say the word "vanished."
"Because I revived her," Derick walked over at this moment, immediately speaking up when he heard Castorice's question.
"Re-revived..." Castorice looked at Polyxia, then at Derick, as if trying to confirm if Derick was lying. However, seeing the sorrow contained in Polyxia's eyes, she immediately understood it was not a lie. Derick had truly taken on the Titan of Death's authority and duties in her stead.
Castorice lowered her head in silence. Derick and Polyxia both looked at her, not knowing how she would react.
"Um..." Derick hesitated, about to speak. Whatever Castorice's reaction, he was willing to accept it. However, he had only spoken half his words when Castorice's gaze shifted to the surrounding sea of flowers.
"Derick, what style do you think we should design the house we build here?"
"Hm?" Hearing Castorice's words, Derick was stunned.
Hearing Derick's surprised sound, Castorice's lips curled upwards as she said, "I'll stay here with you. We two will always live in a house; we can't just lie out in the open all the time, can we?"
_____
Greetings! ✨ Walnut here!
🔥 AN INCREDIBLE OFFER IS ON THE TABLE! 🔥
We're only 13 members away from our 65-member goal! 🎯
The second we hit it, 10 BONUS CHAPTERS for ALL STORIES will be released to everyone. No exceptions!
🪦 Your membership is the key. Let's make it happen!
100 powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 5 reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
Secure your early access before it's too late!
👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan