Return like the blazing sun - I

In Ansel's mind, the imperial maps of different eras were being sketched.

The "deaths" of the Empress and Evora were necessary because only the demise of the divine species, which stood above all, could bring about change.

But in the originally intended future, how did the near-mad Empress and the power-hungry Elder Princess meet their end?

It certainly wasn't due to external forces, for by that time, Hydral had long entered a state of seclusion. Flamelle spent all his remaining time with his wife and child, and that Ansel had temporarily set aside his blood feud, staying by his parents' side.

Ephesande's end also stemmed from her pathological pursuit of self-preservation—not because her sanity completely collapsed and she was consumed by the source flame. 

This most absurd empress at the end of all imperial reigns made a choice that no one had anticipated.

She plunged into the Lost Sea, hoping to find a glimmer of life from the Tidecallers.