Phaethon looked at his brother, so close now.
A breeze stirred, tousling Phainon's disheveled hair, obscuring the expression in his eyes, leaving only the sharp line of his jaw and his tightly pressed, bloodless lips.
"Phainon..." Phaethon's voice was low, but carried an unshakable firmness. "I will never allow... a world we ultimately save... to have no place for you in it."
His words fell, one by one, upon the silent battlefield: "The world I want to save is one where everyone can live freely. You are an irreplaceable part of my world, and that world naturally includes you!"
"No matter how difficult the road ahead, I believe Amphoreus itself holds the power for its own salvation!"
"I will never let you become someone who cannot face our former comrades because you harmed a companion! I will stop every single one of your killings! I will—"
Yet, before his words could finish.
A figure—a broken vessel Phainon had constructed and hidden earlier—erupted from the shadows behind Phaethon!
It held "Dawnmaker," which should have been far away. It seized the instant of laxity, the moment Phaethon, believing victory was his, had just closed the immensely taxing "Pseudo-Omniscient Domain," and launched a silent, fatal ambush!
The tip of "Dawnmaker" was aimed at the tenth thoracic vertebra—a strike to shatter the spine and extinguish all vitality!
Danger! An icy chill shot through Phaethon. Combat instinct screamed at him to open an Infinity Gate and divert the point-blank attack!
However—
A terrifying purplish-black glow ignited upon "Dawnmaker's" blade!
It was the power of the Black Tide, which could erode all things, corrupt and dismantle even the rules of space!
"Thud—!"
"Dawnmaker," sheathed in the Black Tide's power, pierced through the hastily erected spatial barrier of the Infinity Gate like a red-hot brand through solid fat... and emerged unhindered from the front of Phaethon's chest, having completely impaled him from behind.
Time seemed to freeze solid in that moment.
Phaethon's body stiffened violently, all motion ceasing.
He looked down, almost unconsciously, and saw a section of sword blade wreathed in amethyst-black flame protruding from his chest, adorned with a few drops of his own scalding, crimson blood.
Behind him, the broken vessel that had fulfilled its purpose dissolved into motes of light, vanishing.
Before him, Phainon, who had been on one knee, rose slowly to his feet. The golden blood from the wound on his chest still flowed, dripping to the ground, pooling into a small, glaringly brilliant puddle.
And the crimson blood dripping slowly from the blade of "Dawnmaker"—Phaethon's blood—inevitably mingled with the golden blood on the ground, soaking into the scorched, shattered earth. Red and gold intertwined, becoming... inseparable.
...
Phainon left.
He simply walked away, leaving Phaethon alone on the ruins.
Phaethon hung his head, his blurry gaze fixed on the pool of blood beneath him—a mixture of his own crimson and Phainon's searing gold.
His consciousness seemed to drift back to the classes in The Grove, before he ever stepped into the cycles.
"Phaethon of Aedes Elysia, what is your ideal?" Anaxa's voice, piercing the barrier of time, echoed clearly in his ear.
My ideal... what is it, really?
It was so simple, after all—
To wake safely in the morning sun, having slept soundly through the night;
To be in the kitchen, preparing a steaming breakfast for the people he loved most;
To watch the people he cared about gathered together, bickering playfully over trivial matters, their faces lit with ordinary, genuine happiness;
To let every person on Amphoreus live their own life under the sun, unhaunted by the shadow of the end!!!
"My ideal... truly is... utterly lacking in ambition. But what... is so wrong about it?!" Phaethon's voice began as a weak murmur but finally transformed into a roar that shook the surrounding silence.
Enduring the tearing agony of the impalement wound, he summoned all his strength. Struggling, bit by bit, he straightened his back and stood up once more!
Blood continued to seep from the wound, staining his clothes, but he stood firm.
"I will not... embark on this path bearing pain and hatred. Phainon, you are Amphoreus's Deliverer."
"But... He who gathers firewood for the masses should not be left to freeze in the storm!"
"He who clears the path for the many should not be left entangled in the thorns!!!"
He pulled "Judgment of Shamash" from the earth, the pool of blood at his feet rippling.
"The one who saves the world... also needs to be saved!"
"A healthy world should not be founded on the sacrifice of its heroes. It should be able to embrace and nurture them!!!"
Phaethon stood tall. Though his face was pale as paper, his eyes shone with startling brilliance, like the brightest stars before dawn.
He lifted his foot and took the first step toward the faint, yet unmistakable light of dawn on the horizon.
...
"Lord Phaethon!"
Castorice's voice was choked with urgency and tears. She had finally followed the horrifying trails of battle and devastation scarring the land, finding Phaethon, who seemed almost part of the ruins. Seeing him drenched in blood, her heart clenched violently.
"Castorice..." Seeing her, Phaethon's first reaction was worry. "The Coreflame of『Death』..." He feared his "failure" had placed her in danger.
"I gave it to him," Castorice answered quickly, her voice firm. "But not because I fear the arrival of death. It is because I understand now, more than ever, how precious the continuation of life and the persistence of hope truly are."
"Isn't that... precisely what you have always wanted to prove to Lord Phainon, to everyone?"
She wanted to step forward and support the teetering Phaethon, but feared the aura of death clinging to her would erode his now-fragile flame of life. Her hands reached out, then hesitated and withdrew.
"Do not worry for me," Phaethon said, seeing her hesitation. He gave a slight wave. "Phainon... he did not truly wish to kill me. Just as I... have never wished to take his life."
This brutal battle was not about killing. It was a collision of paths to Deliverance, a struggle within both their souls.
In the final moment, Phainon's "Dawnmaker," just like Phaethon's "Judgment of Shamash," had also veered from a fatal strike.
Castorice 8128 gazed at Phaethon, seeing the undimmed light still burning in his eyes despite his grievous wounds.
She took a deep breath and made a solemn request:
"Lord Phaethon, I beg of you... please, you must save Lord Phainon."
"He has walked too far, too astray on the path he believes is right. Even his soul is being eroded by the heavy power and obsession he carries."
"Only you... only you, who have always been by his side, who understand him, who even crossed blades with him... could possibly reach the truth buried deep within him, and shelter his soul."