"Take that Coreflame, Hyacine." Phainon's voice remained steady, reminding them of the ultimate mission. "Our journey is not over yet. One final Coreflame awaits its rightful place."
"Mmm..." Hyacine took a deep breath, stepped forward, and devoutly extended her hands towards the Coreflame representing the sky's authority. "Coreflame of the 'Sky'... come with me. To the Vortex of Genesis, to complete this final piece of the puzzle."
As the Coreflame gently settled into Hyacine's palm, a vast yet gentle power surged through her limbs and bones! A fleeting image of flowing clouds and lightning seemed to flash through her eyes.
"This is... a truly marvelous sensation," she murmured, feeling the pulse of the crystal in her hand. "So warm, so... powerful, yet not as unruly as I imagined it would be."
"Holding it in my hand is like... the very winds of this world would turn at my whim. Summoning storm clouds or bringing down rain and snow would be but a thought away."
She gently clenched the Coreflame.
At that moment, the stabilized platform beneath their feet trembled slightly. Then, it automatically began a smooth ascent towards the shattered Fortress above.
Their mission here was complete. Now, they would ride this platform back to the summit and retrace their path to return to the holy city of Okhema.
...
"Whew—"
Just as a feeling of relief began to rise in everyone's hearts—
Phaethon's icy and urgent voice abruptly cut through: "Everyone, be careful! This fight... I'm afraid it's still not over!"
Why would Phaethon make such a claim? Because in the depths of his mind, within his system interface, the newly generated archive folder contained only one solitary entry—"Aquila"!
"Dammit..." Phaethon's brow furrowed tightly. "Did that combined strike from the Blade of Fury and the Dawnmaker only obliterate the consciousness of the 'Sky Titan Aquila'? It actually failed to kill... 'Seliose', who was deeply fused with it?"
Upon hearing this, the relaxation that had just appeared on Cyrene's face vanished instantly. She did not question Phaethon's judgment, only instinctively tightening her grip on her ritual sword. "Little Phaethon? You mean the Sky Titan is still alive? But the 'Sky' Coreflame is clearly in our hands now."
"Regardless, Phaethon wouldn't raise an alarm without reason." Phainon's voice was deadly serious. He once again firmly grasped the Dawnmaker. "Moreover, the Eye of Twilight is still collapsing continuously and it will be far from stable. So... everyone, stay alert!"
The platform continued its steady ascent, but the atmosphere aboard it had now completely changed.
Everyone was tense from Phaethon's warning, vigilantly scanning their surroundings, especially the churning golden pool below that had swallowed Aquila's remains!
"Hyacine, Phainon, Cyrene!" Phaethon, with his keen senses, was the first to detect it—an even more ancient, more frenzied life force, mixed with the ominous aura of the Black Tide, rapidly awakening within the golden pool beneath them!
He immediately proposed, "The situation is wrong! You three should use the Infinity Gate now, take the Coreflame, and return immediately to the Vortex of Genesis! You still need to return the remaining Coreflames..."
"No, Sir Phaethon!" Hyacine was the first to interrupt him, even using an honorific to emphasize her resolve. "We will absolutely not abandon our companion and flee for safety at a time like this! Moreover..."
She looked down at the golden pool surface now rippling with strange undulations, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. "If what awakens down there is truly Lady Seliose... then I have even more reason not to shrink back and flee in her presence! I must... face her!"
The moment her words fell—
The anomaly erupted!
The platform beneath their feet jolted violently! It was no longer a smooth ascent, but rather as if pushed fiercely upward by an invisible giant hand from below.
It shot upward at a nearly insane speed! An intense feeling of hypergravity instantly assaulted them, almost crushing them flat!
"Cyrene! Grab my hand! Be careful not to be thrown off!" Phaethon reacted with lightning speed. With his right hand, he drove the greatsword Judgment of Shamash like a spike deep into the platform floor to anchor himself. His left hand shot out, firmly catching Cyrene who was tilting backward from the inertia!
On the other side, Phainon reacted similarly. The Dawnmaker greatsword pierced the ground, and his other hand firmly seized Hyacine's arm, stabilizing her beside him.
The wind, turned into a blade-like gale by the rapid ascent, whipped at their clothes, making them flutter and snap violently, almost forcing their eyes shut.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, a monstrous wave erupted from the center of the golden pool below!
A creature, more twisted, grotesque, and sanity-shattering in design than Aquila, violently burst forth from the boiling golden magma!
It still vaguely retained some of its former silhouette, but most of its body presented a horrifying texture twisted by the Black Tide!
It almost instantly caught up to the rapidly ascending platform and then...
*THUD!!!!*
A dull, massive impact sound exploded!
The monster had slammed its grotesquely deformed limb violently against the platform where everyone stood!
*BOOM!*
The entire platform shuddered like a ping-pong ball struck by a sledgehammer! The violent tremor sent numbing shocks through the arms of Phaethon and Phainon who were anchored to it. Everyone was almost thrown into the air by the terrifying recoil!
"Lady Seliose...! Is that you?!" Hyacine, fighting nausea and dizziness, shouted towards the twisted monster that was now peering at them with frenzied eyes, attempting one last communication.
However, the response was not any rational language, but five instantaneously condensed, dark-purple fireballs brimming with warped and destructive energy!
"Hyacine! Look out!" Phaethon roared. With a surge of strength from his wrist, he pulled the Judgment of Shamash free. A dark-red arc of sword light cut through the air, its blazing flames instantly engulfing and annihilating the five incoming warped fireballs!
"This twisted form... it's almost completely unrecognizable from the original!" Phainon's tone was grave. He stared fixedly at the Black Tide matter continuously squirming, attempting to repair yet constantly sloughing off the monster's body. "Is it the power of the Black Tide? Did it take over and repair her body after Aquila's death? How is that possible?"
"But look... wasn't her upper torso completely split in two? Could it be... that even such a wound... the Black Tide can forcibly sustain her vital signs and even enable combat? This... this is simply..."
Cyrene's voice carried a tremor, clearly shaken and feeling extreme discomfort from witnessing this scene.
The enemy before them was no longer a hero or Titan of myth, but a terrifying monster of pure destruction, twisted by the Black Tide and obsession!