The moment the golden water lily touched Amber, firelight began to stream from its petals.
The entire Golden Branch Vow burst into flames.
Following the woman's directions, the group returned to the tree hollow from before and offered the burning water lily to the Divine Butterfly.
Golden light filled the space, and a new path slowly emerged.
"Success! A new path has grown!" Trianne cheered excitedly.
"Heh... You truly passed the trial." The woman floated beside them, deeply moved.
"Thank you all for your help—now it is time for me to fulfill my promise."
At this point, Castorice seemed to realize something. Parting her delicate lips, she said:
"You... are actually Cthulhu herself, aren't you?"
"Oh my, children of man... You finally figured it out."
Cthulhu smiled faintly.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to expose me. How did you discover it?"
Castorice explained:
"The leader of the Lotus Eater School was Medea's true name, not Calypso."
Cthulhu looked at Castorice in surprise. "Since you knew from the moment we met that I was not that person, why did you wait until now to expose me?"
"Because I couldn't believe Cthulhu would walk the earth in human form. I was also worried that the Titan had already been corrupted by the Black Tide and might kill us..."
"Besides, every claim must be supported by evidence. That was a valuable lesson I learned while studying at the Tree Court."
Cthulhu nodded approvingly.
"Mm~ Very good."
"To think I could find such a chance for survival in a hopeless situation. Fate is truly profound and unfathomable."
"In that case..." Castorice said seriously, "you should also tell us why you went to such lengths to set up this puzzle, shouldn't you?"
Cthulhu smiled. "The reason is very simple."
"I need