"Hahaha! Meow-ty later, little guy!" She stood up triumphantly, habitually tossing that all-important kitty-coin high into the air! Ready to make her escape with "Godspeed."
However—
The moment the coin left her hand...
*Bzzt!*
A tiny, impossibly precise Infinity Gate opened soundlessly right above the coin!
The coin dropped right through it! The spatial gate snapped shut instantly.
"Meow—?!" Cipher's throwing motion froze mid-air, the triumphant grin on her face instantly solidifying into a mask of disbelief and pure, unadulterpanic. "My coin?!"
"Heh..." A low, soft chuckle came from Phaethon, still lying immobilized on the ground, laced with the satisfaction of finally turning the tables. "If I'm not mistaken, Lady Cipher, that 'Godspeed' you're so proud of... as its core is also part of your Trickery authority, isn't it?"
Cipher's head snapped towards him, her eyes wide with shock and suspicion.
Phaethon continued, his voice clear and deliberate in the silent outskirts: "This 'Godspeed' isn't you actually moving faster than light. It's based on a 'rule'—you can reach any location within Amphoreus before that special coin of yours hits the ground."
He paused, watching the subtle shift in Cipher's expression, and emphasized his next words: "A coin typically takes 2 to 3 seconds to fall. That's more than enough time for you to cross mountains and seas. But..."
A sly smirk tugged at Phaethon's lips. "What if... I make it so your coin *never* lands?
"What if it remains in a perpetual state of 'falling'? Then, the denominator approaches infinity, and your 'speed'... approaches zero!
"Congratulations, Lady Cipher. You are trapped by your own stratagem."
(Phaethon: *I'm always the one making others suffer through my tricks. Since when did it become my turn to suffer from others instead?*)
The color drained from Cipher's face. She tried to sense the coin, only to find it... falling and rising, rising and falling, tens of thousands of meters in the air! Her prized "Godspeed" was already active! But she couldn't move!
"Good one, kid! I underestimated you!" Cipher was both shocked and furious, her cat ears standing straight up, her tail puffing out like a feather duster. "Let it go! Give me back my coin!"
"You let me go first," Phaethon retorted from the ground, his tone remarkably brazen despite his predicament.
"How can I let you go if you don't let my coin go?!" Cipher stamped her foot in frustration—or tried to, but couldn't even lift it—pointing angrily at the golden threads binding Phaethon.
"Then it can't be helped," Phaethon said, relaxing his body completely, adopting an air of resigned nonchalance. He even shifted to a more comfortable lying position.
"By dawn, the patrols are bound to find me anyway.
"As for you... a Demi-god of Trickery, permanently 'fixed' here at the gates of Okhema, becoming a living statue? Sounds rather interesting. You might even become a new tourist attraction."
"Meow—!!!" Cipher let out a cry of pure, unadulterated feline rage and frustration. Staring at the rogue lying shamelessly on the ground, then at her own trapped situation, she was experiencing firsthand the meaning of "hoist with one's own petard"!
Her delicate features scrunched up into a pout, blue-purple eyes blazing with a mix of fury and humiliation. For a moment, she truly could only stand there, utterly stuck.
In the faint light of the Dawn Device, the two of them—one trussed up on the ground, the other fuming and rooted to the spot—formed a bizarre and deeply theatrical picture against the shadow of Okhema's majestic walls.
A childish standoff over "who lets go first" had awkwardly commenced between two decidedly un-childish participants.
...
Just as the Dawn Device's light was about to pierce the last vestiges of Okhema's "night," Cipher finally deflated.
Her pretty face was all scrunched up, her blue-purple eyes filled with unwillingness and grievance, her tail drooping listlessly.
"Meow... urgh..." she let out a thick, nasal whimper. "Fine! You win, you cunning human brat!" She wanted to stamp her foot in a huff but couldn't even manage that. Instead, she flicked a slender finger in Phaethon's direction.
*Swish—*
The incredibly tough, shimmering golden threads retreated from Phaethon's body as if alive, vanishing without a trace.
Freed from his bonds, Phaethon flexed his stiff wrists and neck, producing soft cracking sounds. His face showed no particular emotion as he calmly looked at Cipher, who had instantly switched into "pitiful and helpless" mode.
Cipher immediately clasped her hands together, resting them under her chin. She widened her cat-like eyes, trying her hardest to conjure the most innocent, heart-wrenching sheen of tears. The tip of her tail twitched delicately for added effect.
"Meow~? See? I let you go nicely! So... about that coin... could you possibly return it to this poor little kitty whose legs have gone completely numb? Kind Chef-sir?
"I promise I won't ever 'pay tribute' to your gold coins again! Really! Zagreus be my witness!" She poured every ounce of soft, sticky sweetness she could muster into her voice, trying to appeal to Phaethon's "last shred of conscience."
Phaethon merely raised an eyebrow, utterly unmoved by her "performance." Instead of producing the coin, he stepped forward, walking towards her at a leisurely pace.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?!" Cipher tried to back away warily, but her feet remained planted. Her cat ears shot up alertly.
Without a word, Phaethon reached out, his target clearly the pockets and seams of Cipher's strange, night-and-starlight woven attire.
"Eek?! You— Stop that! That is Indecent assault!" Cipher cried out, both embarrassed and angry, trying to wriggle away. But Phaethon's movements were faster and more assured.
Ignoring her exaggerated shrieks and protests, his fingers deftly probed the wide sleeves, hidden pockets at her waist, even the inside of her boot shafts.
*Clink... clink...*
One, two, three... uniquely shaped kitty-coins were steadily "confiscated" by Phaethon from what seemed like light clothing, landing in his other, open palm.
"My stash of treasures! My little darlings!" Watching her hoarded "life savings" being dug out one by one, Cipher felt her heart bleed. Her voice took on a sob.
"Bandit! This is blatant robbery! Worse than anything I've done! Waaah—!"
Phaethon turned a deaf ear. He hefted the small handful of warm kitty-coins in his hand, only stopping once he was sure he couldn't find another coin on her.
Then, and only then, did Phaethon finally step back. And the coin that had been falling all night finally, just barely, clinked against the ground.