Dawncloud Cliff.
The towering cliff face seemed to reach straight for the firmament. The Dawn Device spilled its first golden light onto the platform, gilding everything with a sacred outline.
Upon the platform, a diverse crowd from Okhema had already gathered spontaneously.
Among them were steadfast warriors, weary scholars, and civilians with their families in tow. All eyes were fixed on the figure at the center of the platform—Hyacinthia.
Today, Hyacinthia wore the traditional ceremonial attire of the Skyfolk Clan, primarily red and white, with patterns resembling flowing cloud motifs and the feathers of soaring birds.
She stood there, her posture erect, as if merging with the boundless sky behind her.
Hyacinthia's voice was clear and powerful, amplified by the cliff's echo, reaching every ear distinctly. "People of Okhema—I have received the response and blessing from the spirit of my Skyfolk Clan ancestors!"
A faint ripple of unrest moved through the crowd, quickly settling into an even more focused silence.
"A millennium ago," her voice carried remembrance and reverence, "my direct ancestor—the great flame chase pioneer, Seliose!"
"In the midst of a raging thunderstorm, with a mortal body, she wielded the first God-Slayer Lance and pierced the thousand eyes of the Sky Titan—Aquila! Thus, she turned the first page of humanity's long flame chase journey!"
Her tone grew impassioned, her eyes gleaming with the light of pride and destiny:
"Though she ultimately failed to return the 'Sky' Coreflame, her courage, her sacrifice, her story—like a brand seared into our very bloodline—has never faded over these thousand years!"
"It has always inspired me, inspired every child flowing with Skyfolk-Blood, to never abandon the dream of returning to the sky's zenith!"
She took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over every face present—faces filled with expectation, tension, or hope—as she solemnly declared:
"And now... across a thousand years of time, the heroic spirits of the Skyfolk Clan are willing to entrust this unfinished mission to me! For me to complete the work our ancestor left undone, to retrieve Aquila's Coreflame!"
She pressed her hand heavily over her heart, her voice resolute and unwavering:
"I, Hyacinthia of the Skyfolk Clan, am ready—to lead the children of humanity, back to the skies!"
*"ROAR——!"*
Thunderous, enduring applause erupted from the crowd! This applause was not only for Hyacinthia but for that thousand-year-old obsession and hope!
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Hyacinthia stepped up onto the Worldbearing Altar located at the highest point of Dawncloud Cliff.
Phaethon, Phainon, and Cyrene were already waiting there. They all cast looks of trust and encouragement towards Hyacinthia.
"Hyacinthia, the next part is up to you," Phainon said gravely, his voice carrying the weight of entrusting everything.
"Mm, Lord Phainon." Hyacinthia nodded solemnly. In that exchanged look, everything was understood without words. "Leave it to me."
Then, she turned, facing the distant divine form of Kephale, which seemed to have existed since time immemorial amidst the sea of clouds.
She spoke again, her voice becoming ethereal and distant, as if chanting a long-lost epic:
"Legend says, the children of the sky of old were divided into many tribes, based on the celestial phenomena they worshipped—"
"There were the 'Sunfolk,' who revered the blazing sun, forged golden feathers, with fiery temperaments; the 'Rainfolk,' who worshipped thunder and rain, skilled at riding storms, with resonant songs; the 'Winterfolk,' who took snow as their omen, tenacious and unyielding, keeping watch in the bitter cold..."
Her voice held a trace of faint sorrow: "Our ancestors, though living under Aquila's boundless radiance, once had their eyes clouded, seeing only the color worshipped by their own tribe, even quarreling and causing strife over it..."
"Yet they forgot—the gentle light that bathes the world is woven from the harmonious blending of countless different hues."
She looked towards the sky. Sunlight passing through fine droplets of water in the air sketched a hazy yet gorgeous rainbow at the horizon.
A heartfelt, warm smile appeared on her face. "That's why the rainbow has been my most beloved weather phenomenon since I was little—"
"It not only refracts and embraces many of the world's colors but also holds the meaning of 'connection' and 'bridge.'"
"It connects storm and clear sky, connects heaven and earth, and will also connect... humanity's divided past with the unified future that must come!"
Slowly, she raised her hands, lifting the Skyfolk Clan's sacred relic—the Rainbow Casket—and recited devoutly:
"Ancestors—" "Hear the call of your bloodline, let this rainbow spanning the heavens be our guide!"
"Take me, take us—back to the homeland the children of the sky left behind a thousand years ago!"
As her words fell, the light of the rainbow in the sky suddenly became dazzlingly brilliant and solid!
Swirling, converging halos of seven colors descended from the sky, transforming before the altar into a majestic, resplendent bridge!
One end of the bridge connected to the altar, the other plunged directly into the endless sea of clouds, leading to the unknown heights above!
Hyacinthia turned. Her long hair and robes fluttered in the gentle breeze emitted by the Rainbow Bridge. She stretched out her hand towards Phaethon, Phainon, and Cyrene, her face blooming with an exceptionally bright smile:
"Everyone—"
"Please, fly with me, upon this Rainbow Bridge!"
...
Riding the ascent on that magnificent Rainbow Bridge, Phaethon felt a peculiar sensation of both weightlessness and extreme speed.
After the group set foot on solid ground again.
Phainon steadied himself, his gaze sweeping over the gradually clearing surroundings. A trace of barely perceptible awe tinged his voice. "So this is the legendary Eye of Twilight? The abode of the Sky Titan?"
At the end of the Rainbow Bridge stood a colossal fortress, majestically suspended atop the clouds.
Constructed from massive stone blocks, it formed a single, integral whole, exuding an ancient and formidable aura.
"Truly beyond imagination," Phaethon also spoke up, his eyes skimming over the impossibly huge architectural structures and the distant, faintly visible aerial causeways winding like mountain ranges.
"Aquila's Sky Fortress from legend—to think one day we would set foot on this forbidden land ourselves."
Hyacinthia stood at the forefront of the group. In her eyes was both the excitement of returning to her ancestral land and a trace of heavy sorrow.
She explained softly, "This was once the pinnacle of our ancestors' wisdom. Under Aquila's protection, they built an immensely grand cloud-borne civilization in the skies."
"The Eye of twilight beneath our feet is the core region of this cloud city-state, and also Aquila's final resting place."
Hyacinthia's gaze turned towards the depths of the fortress. "A thousand years ago, my ancestor Seliose stood here, launching her earth-shattering deicide against the deity she once worshipped, also raising the curtain on humanity's flame chase journey."
She took a deep breath, tightening her grip on her staff. "And we are here today to draw the final period on this long, tragic journey that she herself began."