Star nodded. "I do. I will become the Dawn of Amphoreus, I will... stop the completion of the Iron Tomb."
"... That's wonderful. In this way, flowers can bloom from this long, futile, scorched earth."
"So... if Xing were to take over the responsibility of 'the whole world'..."
"Compared to a flame that only knows how to burn, she will surely go much further on the path of World-Saving."
Phainon turned around. "One person remains in the past. If I can slay a god with ' Dawn's Advance ', perhaps the knot of fate can be untied."
"If you can find a way to prevent the birth of the ' Iron Tomb,' then these more than 30 million lifetimes of reincarnation will not have been in vain."
"The moment to test our teamwork has arrived, partner."
The heroic image that Phainon had imagined in his mind once again became a star. "Go and fight against the future, Phainon."
"Let's become Savior together, Phainon."
Xing looked up. "Thank you for your hard work, buddy."
"The image of a hero, which I had kept hidden deep in my heart, has finally come into reality—at the end of this long Flame-Chase..."
Phainon looked into the distance, " Cyrene, that unprecedented page has been turned."
"Lend me the power of ' Years,' and send this hero back to the origin of time, back to your side—"
"And I will finish the unfinished road... just as I have countless times before, as always."
At the end of the??? th Eternal Recurrence, Khaslana looked at Phainon and spoke, trembling:
Tell me, are you willing to be the blazing sun... even if it means burning away... everything you have?
"I will not shirk my duty. I will Worldbearing until my body is consumed by flames," said Phainon.
"Very good... Let us remember this moment, remember all our friends who could not witness the end of the world, their long-cherished wish—"
"And rising from it is the purest rage within you... Use it to ignite yourself, to fuel the flames, until this false sky is burned to ashes."
"Okay. If I can overcome fate..."
Phainon walked up to Khaslana, "In the name of ' Worldbearing,' I assure you: Kephale will never forget."
Khaslana ceremonial sword to Phainon, "Take it... everything I bear."
He grasped Phainon's hand and pointed the ceremonial sword at his own shattered chest:
Khaslana raised his arms in relief. "Keep going, keep burning."
As he spoke, Khaslana's figure slowly merged with the Flame Reaver, and Xing also returned to the Vortex of Genesis.
The moment the ceremonial sword pierced his chest, time seemed to freeze at the Vortex of Genesis.
Thick, dark purple and fiery golden-red gushed out from the wound simultaneously, then intertwined in mid-air like two entangled snakes.
Tens of thousands of fragments of Memoria erupted, including the evening breeze of the Duskglow Courtyard, the deafening war drums of Castrum Kremnos, and the tender look in Agrea 'Aglaea eyes as she sank into the Golden Pool...
The fragments, like a grand yet sorrowful snowfall, fell softly on Xing's shoulders, on Phainon's sword-wielding hand, and into the flowing river of light in this land of Creation.
"As long as we don't go out..."
The Flame-Chase will never end...
Khaslana's voice grew softer and softer, like the wind passing through a dilapidated temple.
A sharp fragment of Memoria grazed his side of the neck, leaving a thin but deep wound. A drop of pure, almost transparent golden blood slowly seeped from under his skin, dripping down his jawline.
At the very moment that drop of golden blood fell—
Buzz--!!!
An absolute silence, without warning, shattered all sound from the Vortex of Genesis.
Every hair on Xing's body stood on end in an instant. It felt as if her heart was being gripped tightly by a giant, icy hand, and even her breath was being cut off.
As the person who had been glanced at by the Aeon the most, she was all too familiar with this feeling.
But this glimpse was not the ever-present, coldly measured " Eternity," but a completely different, more violent and cruel will.
That will descended with a thunderous roar from beyond the Vortex of Genesis, from the other side of the wall of the universe, from the end of all annihilation and devastation.
This gaze evokes only one feeling: everything is heading towards " Destruction ".
The river of light at the Vortex of Genesis suddenly stopped flowing the moment this gaze fell upon it, and then began to collapse at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The spinning stars, leaping runes, and newly formed phantoms, like sparks thrown into a black hole, dimmed one after another, turning into lifeless dust.
A cold, metallic, rusty smell filled the air—the scent of existence itself being corroded.
Xing's " Eternity Preservation Wings" instinctively unfolded behind her, and an amber-colored light shield instantly opened. However, the ∞ symbol, which represented protection, actually emitted a faint cracking sound under the pressure of this terrifying gaze.
She could feel time slowing down around her, the temperature in her fingertips rapidly dissipating, and even her thoughts feeling like they were stuck in asphalt, requiring immense effort to form even a single idea.
Xing struggled to turn her eyes toward Phainon's direction.
Phainon stood amidst the Khaslana, the ceremonial sword still stained with golden blood in his hand, its blade trembling slightly.
That gaze, powerful enough to silence the stars, fell precisely and without reservation upon him.
boom--!
The Creation stone platform beneath Phainon's feet, centered on him, was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks.
That was a conceptual collapse; the edges of the stone platform were rapidly turning to ash and peeling away, transforming into the most primordial Nihility and dust.
The luster on the surface of the Phainon Armor quickly dimmed, the metal groaned under the strain, and even streaks of golden divine blood seeped from the seams between the armor plates.
That will to " Destruction " was too heavy, so heavy that even the Creation ground beneath their feet could not bear it.
The weight was so heavy that every inch of Phainon's bones seemed to be groaning, so heavy that his blood was burning and tearing at his veins.
His vision began to turn red.
"Do not... bow down to Him." These were the last words of Khaslana, echoing in Phainon's ears.
The river of light at the Vortex of Genesis resumed its flow, even brighter than before.
The amber-colored light shield surrounding Xing slowly healed its cracks, and she looked up at Phainon.
Phainon stood in the center of the golden flames, gripping the lightsaber. His breathing was heavy, and his face was still smeared with undried golden blood, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
Just then, he suddenly moved.
He raised his hand and gently waved it towards the direction of the stars.
Buzz--!
A pure golden shield, forged from golden blood and divine fire, silently rose up around the star.
It was like a Bulwark, completely separating her from all the remaining aftershocks of " Destruction ".
Xing stood in the warm golden shield, watching Phainon's figure in the firelight.
Phainon did not turn around. He opened his palm, and all the remaining Black Tide in the Vortex of Genesis seemed to receive some kind of command, condensing into a viscous black sphere in his palm.
Phainon clenched his five fingers, and with a soft crack, he crushed the black Black Tide. The black ash drifted from between his fingers and fell to the ground without leaving a trace.
The Vortex of Genesis was bathed in unprecedented and complete light.
All the darkness, filth, and remnants of Destruction were burned away completely by this fire.
Phainon's voice echoed in the empty Vortex of Genesis: "Accept it, Trailblazer."
He turned his head slightly to the side, the firelight reflecting off his profile, making his features appear as resolute as if carved from stone.
May this blood be as precious as gold... and never lose its luster.