Mydei left the Cloudstone Celestial Palace and walked along the main road.
He had been thinking about one question the whole time.
Should he go say goodbye to that guy?
Maybe he should. Maybe he shouldn't.
But…
He didn't want to leave with any regrets.
On the way to bid farewell to Phainon, he saw Kremnos children…
At that moment, one child spotted Mydei and quickly lowered his voice. "The prince is here—run!"
Another child quickly corrected him,
"Wrong! Lord Mydeimos is no longer a prince… He is Amphoreus's Guardian!"
Mydei looked puzzled. "What's going on?"
Following the children's footsteps, he slowly walked forward.
A large crowd of Okhema citizens had already gathered here.
"My respects to you."
"May you be victorious in every battle."
"May glory always accompany you."
"We swear to follow you to the death."
"We will follow your guidance."
"Goodbye, savior of Kremnos."
"Return home on our behalf, Guardian."
"..."
These were the people's most heartfelt blessings.
Mydei's gaze slowly swept across the crowd.
In an instant, he spotted the white-haired figure whose eyes had already curved into crescents.
"Long time no see, Guardian." Phainon waved at Mydei.
"Hmph. I should've known it was you."
"Don't go accusing me so casually. This really has nothing to do with me. See those kids over there? They're the ones who gathered everyone."
Mydei turned to look. "That's… unexpected."
"Don't tell me you were really planning to just leave without even telling me?"
"I was on my way to say goodbye to you. I just happened to run into this scene on the way."
"Oh… Then I'm truly honored. You'd better not keep them waiting too long, don't you think?"
"The road from here to Castrum Kremnos is long. Spending a little more time to see their faces clearly one last time… isn't so bad."
With that, Phainon and Mydei slowly walked together toward the road leading out of Okhema.
Along the way, it wasn't only Okhema's citizens.
People from different city-states had come just to offer their final blessings to the former crown prince of Castrum Kremnos.
Phainon looked at the lively scene and couldn't help but sigh.
"I think… the god of 'Strife' might need to change its name. How about the god of 'Unity'? Or… 'Preservation'? Dan Heng told me that name."
Mydei looked at him with disdain. "I advise you to stay far away from anything that involves naming."
"Ha… Looks like 'Strife' suits you better after all."
[These two rivals bantering is still the most entertaining.]
[Too bad there won't be any more after this.]
[Shut up. If you don't speak, people might think you're mute.]
[So Strife is Preservation?]
[Strife is Destruction, right?]
[Not necessarily. Feels more like the Hunt—hunting down Black Tide creatures.]
——
As the two walked onward, the crowd around them gradually thinned, and the buildings slowly gave way to vegetation.
Phainon looked at the wide-open city gates ahead. "Alright… This is as far as I'll go. Any last words you want to say? This might be your final chance."
Mydei snorted but said nothing.
"…Why are you suddenly quiet? I thought divinity would dull a person's sentimentality." Phainon's lips curved slightly upward.
Mydei spoke gently. "Are you really feeling that relaxed? Or… is this just another mask you're wearing?"
At those words, Phainon's smile instantly vanished. "You sound exactly like Aglaea right now, you know? But… you're not wrong. I just think that in situations like this, pretending to be relaxed might make things a little more dignified."
"I don't need mind-reading powers to see through your act."
"Is my expression management really that bad? But since we've already come this far… Thank you for helping me slay my enemy, Mydeimos."
"There's no need to thank me. This victory doesn't feel real, and it's far from over—you know that better than I do."
"Yeah. In the end, I still couldn't figure out the black-robed swordsman's origins, and I can't even be sure whether it's truly dead." Phainon lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
"Maybe I never actually severed my own fate."
Mydei comforted him.
"But that doesn't matter. Pain can heal, but scars cannot—and they shouldn't be erased. Even with the power of Oronyx, the Titan of Time, the past will always leave traces in the blind spots of our vision.
Even if you killed that black-robed figure, could you erase the emptiness in your heart with a single stroke? Impossible. Revenge is just a task that must be completed, but no one can find true fulfillment through it."
"Who's to say you're wrong."
Mydei and Phainon both turned their gazes toward the exit.
"Look forward. Chew up your past and swallow it down. Don't let emptiness and bitterness become the only flavors you know. Don't forget—there's an entire world behind you waiting to be saved."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"One final request—take care of the Kremnos warriors for me. They're bound to face resistance while integrating into Okhema… My only regret is that I won't be able to share this time with them."
Phainon patted his own chest. "Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll even ask them directly and see if the Kremnos people's dictionary is really missing that many words."
[Hahaha, they're still roasting each other even at a time like this?]
[Snowy really can't forget about that dictionary.]
[The previous line made me cry, but this one makes me want to laugh. The emotional whiplash is huge, isn't it?]
[Don't say something so hard to handle at a moment like this, Snowy!]
Mydei gave a helpless smile. "Hmph. Kremnos philosophy has never relied on dictionaries to prove itself. But… if there's a chance in the next life, come visit my library and take a look."
[So there really isn't a dictionary?]
[Sigh… One sentence says more than a thousand words. Is this what brotherhood feels like?]
——
Mydei glanced sideways at Krateros in the crowd and gave a slight nod.
"I'm leaving, Deliverer—remember to stay alive until the end."
"Yeah." Phainon paused. "You too. Don't die—may you be victorious in every battle, Mydeimos."
"Oh, one last question."
"Ask. Don't leave any regrets."
"Was it you who told Chartonus about the existence of that signet ring?" Mydei had already turned and was walking steadily toward Castrum Kremnos.
"Well…" Phainon turned his head and shrugged. "Who knows?"
——
The screen went black. In the next moment, they had already arrived in Castrum Kremnos.
Mydei clutched his head as sealed memories of his mother surfaced in his mind.
"…Dreams always end here. The journey back to Castrum Kremnos took longer than I expected.
Krateros said that not long after I fell into the sea, my mother challenged the previous king to a duel—she died from my father's poison. I never met her in person.
But she would appear every night, waiting in the hazy firelight. I kept waiting for the continuation of the dream, thinking she would surely leave more instructions… or guidance…
But now… I think I finally understand. This was everything she wanted to tell me.
Now, I only have one identity left…"
Mydei raised his head and looked at the path ahead—the only road leading to the throne.
"Then… the journey should finally reach its end."