"Blackie, stop chasing me already. I'm pretty sure I never did anything to you, so why are you glued to me like this?"
Cipher stared helplessly at the Spirithief dogging her steps like a stubborn bandage that just wouldn't peel off, sounding completely exasperated.
Since he was dressed head-to-toe in black, she'd simply decided to call him "Blackie."
"Hand… over… the Coreflames…"
The broken, halting voice came from Khaslana's mouth. It was obvious that if Cipher handed over the Coreflames, he had no intention of taking her life.
Over more than thirty million cycles of reincarnation, every single time Cipher had fooled him with fake Coreflames, and yet he had never gone straight for the kill. If—just if—this time she truly handed them over of her own free will, maybe the cat could live.
"Your objective is the Coreflames?" Cipher arched a brow.
So that was it. No wonder he refused to stop chasing her. Not that she had any intention of giving them up.
Okhema still needed a web of lies to keep things from collapsing. If she turned the Coreflames over, the Dawn Device really would go dark.
Khaslana was not surprised. If Cipher actually handed over the Coreflames, that would be the part he found unbelievable.
Forget it. He would just collect Coreflames as usual. No different from any of the previous loops.
"Stop!"
Aglaea and the others arrived. Khaslana turned to look at them. He would deal with them, then move to the next scene. He absolutely was not here to bully a little cat.
"...!"
The moment Khaslana turned around and saw so many unfamiliar faces—faces he had never seen before, more than eight hundred of them—the aura around him froze for an instant.
Was this… a guaranteed pull?
And not just that—he'd hit multiple golds in a row. Khaslana's long-numb heart actually started to beat again.
Cyrene?
Elysia's face made him blank out for a heartbeat. She looked far too similar—she was practically a grown-up version of Cyrene.
But he quickly came back to himself. This wasn't Cyrene, just someone who happened to look like her.
Even so, someone who resembled Cyrene that much… how could she possibly be just an ordinary person?
"Very strong."
Kevin could feel the terrifying power raging inside Khaslana.
Tenka Seisai (Heavenly Fire: Holy Judgement) shifted into its Calamity form as he activated his man-made Herrscher state. A freezing aura burst out; ice began to spread over the ground. But the closer that frost got to Khaslana, the faster it melted, as if some absurdly high temperature was burning it away.
He can transform?
Khaslana stared at Kevin, who looked very similar to Phainon, and paused for a moment. If Phainon weren't literally standing over there, he would have thought this was Phainon's second life after some miraculous encounter.
Kevin's power far outstripped that of any Chrysos Heir.
Interesting. Even if the gray-white dawn hadn't arrived, the variables these people brought would definitely be even greater.
"Tenka Seisai (Heavenly Fire: Holy Judgement), unsheathed!"
Kevin said nothing. He raised his battle frame into a ready stance as a show of respect.
When Heavenly Fire was drawn, all things bowed.
Energy like a dying star detonated outward. The surging sea of fire forced Khaslana to take him seriously. That one move alone could casually obliterate a Titan.
This wasn't just pulling a gold card—this was an SSR. The cracked Dawnblade in Khaslana's hand met Heavenly Fire head-on.
What a terrifying force. What power.
He had gone through over thirty million cycles, and this was the first time he'd encountered an opponent this strong.
Boom!
Calamity hacked down onto the Dawnblade. The shockwave instantly leveled all the buildings around them.
Blow after blow carried them from ground to sky. With every clash, turbulence rippled through the surrounding data.
"A space made of data… how interesting."
Vil-V took out an instrument, probing with keen interest.
"What do you mean?" Aglaea frowned, a bad feeling creeping up on her.
"You really haven't noticed?" Vil-V asked.
"This world—and all of you—are made of data. You aren't living beings in the strict sense. You're a type of virtual lifeform."
"In other words… we're fake?"
Phainon's mouth went dry. His entire worldview took a heavy hit.
"That depends on how you define it," Vil-V said. "To the people outside Amphoreus, you're data-based life. You can't even step beyond Amphoreus."
"Then what are the Flame-Chasing Journey and 'Re-Creation' really supposed to be?" Aglaea's mind was suddenly crammed with questions.
Could "Re-Creation" really mean turning a virtual world into a real one?
"Let's wait until they finish fighting," Koji said, watching the duel in the sky, where neither side held an obvious advantage.
Even with over four hundred million Coreflames raging inside him, Khaslana was barely keeping himself from flying apart at the seams; his body was dancing wildly along the edge of collapse.
Khaslana didn't care. He was thrilled. This was exactly the kind of power he needed—the variable required to shatter the situation inside Amphoreus.
There was no need to keep fighting. What he needed now was a solid plan—and to go back and check some guides.
Using the gate-opening ability of a Titan whose Aspect was pathways, Khaslana opened a portal and stepped through, leaving this place.
"Century Gate?"
Tribbie's voice shot up. That was impossible—why would Khaslana have that kind of power?
She still had the Coreflames; she was sure of it. And this wasn't the same spatial tearing that Koji used. It was the exact same Century Gate she could wield.
"He's a Spirithief. There are a lot of Coreflames inside him," Koji said with a smile.
Every type of Coreflame existed in over thirty million copies within him. Being able to use the Century Gate was perfectly normal.
Right now Khaslana had probably gone off to check his guides. Just kidding—he was very likely thinking about how best to cooperate next.
After waiting through over thirty million loops, he finally had an opportunity like this. There was no way he was going to let it slip away.
Cyrene, my partner… we won't fail.
"Reincarnation, so that's how it is," Mobius murmured.
In her eyes, that Spirithief was basically a bug in this gigantic virtual world, preventing the so-called final ending from ever arriving.
The Coreflames were equivalent to a start-up key. As long as he took all the Coreflames away every time the loop reset, the progress bar could never reach one hundred percent.
"You're saying that before our current point in time, there have already been countless cycles?" Aglaea asked in a low voice.
"Is that so strange?" Mobius shrugged. "For a virtual world, implementing cycles is hardly difficult."
"Earth is experiencing cycles of its own. It's perfectly normal for other places to have similar systems."
"There really is an enormous number of Coreflames inside him," Kevin added as he released his Herrscher state and returned to normal.
Battle was the best form of communication. He already understood some of Khaslana's intent. The other man was not a true enemy—just… a bit too extreme.
Just like when he pushed forward with the Stigmata Plan. There had been no other options. If there had been a better path, who would willingly choose something that cruel?
Phainon and the others fell silent. The amount of information they'd just heard was overwhelming; their minds were in knots.
"Little savior, you're shaken already?" Elysia teased with a smile.
"No. Whatever the ending is, I'll see it through to the very end," Phainon said, shaking his head.
Though seriously—could she please stop talking to him in that weirdly familiar tone? He was about to completely lose it.
(End of Chapter)
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