As the dragon fell, the boundary between life and death was also broken.
The illusory, dreamlike purple-pink that had blanketed the sky collapsed along with it.
Castorice and Stelle put away their weapons and, beneath the shattered dreamlike sky, approached Pollux.
The life force that had been stripped from them earlier also returned, steadily restoring their presence.
"…What is its condition now?" Stelle examined Pollux and asked.
"Not good, but for us, this is already the best possible outcome."
Castorice spoke softly, reaching out to stroke Pollux's skin.
Those hands that brought death to others had no effect on the dead dragon.
"I'm sorry I have to wake you up from ancient death..."
"And I know you're anxious... Shh, don't be afraid..."
"...I'm back, Pollux."
Whether the other could hear her or not, Castorice poured out all the feelings she had for this sister she had never met.
With gentle words, as if calling to her.
And the mournful cry coming from the dragon's throat gradually became clearer upon hearing Castorice's voice.
"I know this might not be what you wanted."
"But I have to do this."
"So please, carry me across the Sea of Souls again and return me to the nether realm, just like you did in the past..."
As she spoke, Castorice opened her arms and wrapped them around Pollux's neck.
Her warmth was but a drop in the ocean to Pollux, but it was enough.
Because the one embracing the dragon was her.
After her words fell, Pollux instinctively tried to spread its wings, but its strength was nearly gone, and its head was still encased within the dragon egg.
Fortunately, a warm life force flowed from Castorice.
It filled Pollux without obstruction. Transferring life to Pollux, Castorice pressed her cheek against the dragon's skin, gently holding it.
After a moment, Castorice turned her head to look at Stelle.
"Please take me to where the Coreflame of "Death" rests."
Hearing this, Stelle looked confused. "Uh... We won't have to go into an egg, right?"
"They may look scary, but as long... as... we..." Castorice said softly. Just as she was about to explain, Stelle suddenly swayed violently.
"I feel dizzy..." Stelle clutched her head and collapsed to the ground.
"Her time is almost up. If I don't go now, I'm afraid her soul will return to Thanatos' embrace before me."
Castorice said no more.
The massive dead dragon struggled to rise from the ground, but the dragon egg was heavily bound by the pull of the river, preventing it from being reborn.
At that moment, the screen suddenly went dark. But it wasn't the kind of darkness where nothing could be seen.
Even the surrounding sounds became muffled and indistinct.
Amid the blur, the audience quickly realized, this was the dragon's perspective.
Its head was buried within the dragon egg, tightly confined.
The camera shook violently as the dragon struggled.
But no matter how Pollux thrashed or tried to break free, the egg remained unyielding, without a single crack.
Until, in the darkness, a streak of purple blade-light flashed!
Like lightning! The eggshell split into two halves.
In the darkness, a thin line of light appeared. Light burst forth from the crack, growing wider and brighter, until it filled the entire screen.
Moments later, the sound and visuals gradually became clear again.
The blinding brightness softened into a gentle glow. Several figures emerged from the light and shadow.
But in Pollux's eyes, it remained fixed on the one figure standing at the center, a girl whose eyes seemed capable of expressing every emotion, staring straight at it.
Then, it saw the girl step forward, cupping it with both hands, and softly say: "I grant you new life, Pollux."
Hearing this, Pollux showed no reaction, merely instinctively rubbing its head against Castorice's hands, feeling the warmth she conveyed.
It still had no consciousness.
But the connection, from Polyxia to Castorice, was already enough for it to understand her will.
The camera gradually pulled back. From Pollux and Castorice at the center, to Mem and Stelle beside them.
Then it kept zooming out, further and further, revealing the full view of Styxia, the astonishing landscape shaped by the river of souls.
And then, it reached the waning moon.
Within the moonlight, a massive dragon spread its wings, carrying Castorice from the ground, and plunged headfirst into the conceptual remnant of the moon.
In a wide shot, the audience saw that the moment the dragon collided with the moon, the world seemed to flip upside down.
The world of the living became a reflection, and the world within the waning moon revealed itself.
The underworld… had been reached.
Ever since Pollux appeared, the audience had been holding their breath.
After finally winning the battle and seeing the tender interaction between Pollux and Castorice, they couldn't help but be captivated by those delicate, emotional details, and felt a quiet sadness.
Until now, everything had finally come to its conclusion.
Letting out a sigh of relief, everyone widened their eyes, wanting to see what the true underworld looked like.
Was it cold? Or terrifying?
However… what appeared on the screen was only a breathtaking sea of purple flowers, and a sky full of stars.
Each flower glowed faintly, forming a warm, radiant expanse.
The audience was stunned.
After the long journey, after so many stories of passion, pain, and sorrow, they had finally arrived at the endpoint of all the epics and heroes of Amphoreus.
Yet they never expected that this endpoint would be so gentle.
The anticipated twist, the sense of release after tension, in this moment of speechlessness, were all soothed away by that light.
....
: So beautiful...
: I'm completely stunned, this scene is unbelievably gorgeous.
: The moment I saw the sea of flowers, my mind went blank.
: Yeah, I always thought the underworld should at least be... cold enough, cruel, but I didn't expect it to feel this warm.
: Seeing this scenery, I suddenly feel like I've let go of everything...
: Absolute relaxation.
: It's really strange. This is clearly the underworld, the place of death, so why does it give me this feeling?
: I don't know. I don't even want to think too deeply about it. Let me just look a little longer.
: Too many emotions... I don't even know what to say for a moment.
: Another breathtaking journey through Amphoreus. The visuals alone are already top-tier.
: Screenshot! Screenshot!
...
Those comments scrolling across the screen... couldn't even capture one-tenth of what the audience in front of their screens were feeling.
Because there were too many reversals here. Not the kind of intense, dramatic twists from before.
But something on a conceptual level. Everyone thought the underworld would be cruel, or at the very least unsettling and alien.
But when the sea of flowers appeared, after the initial shock, they were reminded of Castorice's story.
And so, a strange feeling was born. This sea of flowers gave them the sense of Castorice. Like being held in her embrace.
Though it represented death itself, it felt as gentle as a young girl.
Some people even found themselves thinking, if death meant going to a place like this, then maybe it wouldn't be so frightening.
The scene, the imagery, the story, all merged into one at this moment.
So many profound ideas were buried beneath this picture.
And the meaning hidden behind the visuals, all blended together.
Just like death itself, when life ends, everything returns to this singular concept.
...
: This is insane, the visual impact is unreal.
: At first I was shocked by the scenery, but then I was shocked by my own emotions.
: This kind of ability to make people unconsciously associate and reflect is incredible.
: I feel like after this episode, a lot of experts are going to analyze this scene.
: When I imagined a warm kind of death myself, I actually felt a bit moved... I don't even know how to describe it.
: But no matter what, this is Castorice's stage now.
: In a place like this, the sisters are about to meet.
....
The comments continued to scroll past.
And within the sea of flowers, Castorice landed lightly.
Pollux had already disappeared.
After entering this place, it had merged with this world.
The dead dragon that appeared in Styxia couldn't really be considered Polyxia, it was merely the Titan's body stripped of divinity and reason.
Yet Pollux was indeed Polyxia. The two were, in a sense, the same being.
But without Polyxia's soul, the dragon was nothing more than an empty shell.
Only Pollux, carrying Polyxia's soul, could truly be considered Polyxia.
In short, the concept was just that strange. However, now that Castorice had repaired the shattered soul and restored it, the girl sitting in a wheelchair not far away was undoubtedly the real Polyxia.
"Is that you... Polyxia?"
Seeing that figure, Castorice held her breath. Only when she stepped behind her did she softly speak.
The camera shifted revealing Polyxia's face.
It was the same as what the audience had seen before, but now, the right side of her face was no longer intact.
A black handprint had completely covered it.
And her only remaining eye was closed.
The moment they saw that mark,
A thought flashed through the audience's minds,
The Ashen Hand.
In this state, Polyxia didn't open her eyes. Lowering her head, she said, "Do you remember me?"
"...I don't have the memories from that time, but I've seen you before during an experiment."
Castorice walked to Polyxia's front, crouching down to meet her eyes.
"I see. Call me Thanatos then. It'll be easier." For some reason, Polyxia made this request.
"…" Castorice didn't respond.
"However, since you recognize the name, you must already know everything about Thanatos, right?
Though Polyxia's eyes were closed, it felt as though she could still look directly at Castorice.
Sensing this, Castorice subconsciously turned her head away, gazing into the distance.
"Yes... I'm... here to reforge the order of life and death in Amphoreus."
Polyxia fell silent for a moment, but didn't comment on Castorice's goal.
Instead, she suddenly began speaking of the past.
"You know, my sister was a sympathetic but rather sensitive person. Whenever she didn't want to say what was on her mind, she would avoid eye contact and look off into the distance..."
Castorice froze. Seeing her sister like this, Polyxia smiled.
Then, she began recounting her past. It was almost exactly as Castorice had seen, and what the audience had guessed.
Reviving Castorice, reversing life and death, throwing Amphoreus into chaos.
"Aging is an unbreakable law of nature laid upon humankind, created at the same time as "Death." When the living die, their souls will meet Thanatos, who would determine where every soul goes..."
"If the Reaper raises their left hand, the soul is granted death and allowed to enter the nether realm to await reincarnation. If they raise their right hand, the soul is rejected by the nether realm and returned to the mortal realm to continue walking the earth."
With Polyxia's explanation, Castorice, and the audience clearly understood the full extent of the Death Titan's authority.
"So… the Ashen Hand doesn't just deliver judgment, it can also reverse it." Castorice murmured.
Yet it felt entirely reasonable. Death was originally one whole, like two hands, like twins.
But upon reaching the human world, it split into two.
"The half of Thanatos that represents life, the undying human who "grants death"... That was the curse I forced upon you."
"As the half of Thanatos representing death, I shoulder the fate of "defying death." I died the moment I entered the world of the living."
"From then on, my Titan also no longer existed in this world. The cycle of life and death stopped. Souls were denied their audience with death, and were left stranded within an ever-rising river of the dead...."
Polyxia 'looked' out over the endless sea of flowers and sighed.
"What irony. My selfish desire to save your life gave you and the world a fate far worse than death instead."
And thus, the complete truth regarding the Death Titan was finally revealed.