Chapter 167

Ceres couldn't stop the nervous flutter building in her chest.

The time had finally come, to meet the Demon Lord. And, if fate was merciful… to see Zeus again.

"Ready, Your Highness?" Tuf asked, flashing her a confident smile.

After giving her final instructions to Aurelian, Celion, the Knight Commanders, and Captain Hugo, the moment of departure had arrived.

Ceres gave a firm nod.

"Are we taking the vessel Prince Azul said he saw you arrive in when you emerged from the Blinding Mist?"

"No," Tuf replied. "We'll use a portal that opens directly to the Black Tower."

"You can open portals?" she blinked, surprised. "Then why didn't you just do that the first time you came to Aquilonis? Why all the drama with your little sportscar?"

Tuf exhaled like he had been preparing for that question.

"Because, Your Highness, like teleportation, portal conjuring can only be done to places the caster has physically visited. Imagine if I opened one and the other end led into a volcano… or the middle of the ocean." He gave her a mock-serious look. "We'd be dead."

Ceres raised a brow, unimpressed. "You could've told me. If I knew the journey would be this quick, I would've agreed to meet your father weeks ago."

Tuf opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again. No matter what excuse he gave, he had a feeling he'd still come out being the one in the wrong.

"I apologize. But let's move on. I know most people still don't trust me, " he cast a meaningful glance toward the watching knights and nobles, "... ungrateful pests. So just to ensure everyone's peace of mind, we'll send the Saintess and three of her knights through first. If she's in danger, the remaining Saintess Knight will feel it immediately, even from this distance, right?"

Ceres nodded slowly. 

"Then you and I will follow with the rest," Tuf concluded.

Once everyone agreed, Tuf conjured the portal in the middle of the Empress Garden, its edges swirling with black and violet light. Delphine stepped through first, followed by Sir Cecilion, Sir Renee, and Sir Robin.

"The Saintess is safe, Your Highness," Arwen confirmed after a moment, her voice steady. "I don't sense anything wrong."

Ceres exhaled deeply, scanning the faces gathered around her. She met Aurelian's gaze last, and smiled gently.

"I'll come back," she assured them all.

Then she reached out, took Tuf's hand, and stepped into the portal.

The sensation was unlike teleportation. No disorientation, no sickness. It was as simple as opening a door. 

But when Ceres opened her eyes, she felt a cold shiver slide down her spine.

The portal had closed behind her, but Delphine wasn't there. Neither were the knights. Not even Tuf.

She was alone.

And the silence was too thick, too intentional.

"Am I already in the Dark Tower?" she whispered to herself, scanning the area in front of her. Before her stood a single door, iron-grilled, sunlight spilling through its gaps onto stone tiles. Outside, she saw trees and wildflowers swaying in the breeze.

"Tofu?" she called.

No answer.

Something in her chest tightened.

She turned around, hoping to find the portal or some sign of life, but what met her gaze made her blood freeze.

A tomb. Pure white marble. 

And then she saw it.

Etched in ornate calligraphy across the polished stone,

Ceres Evadne Monteverde

Beloved daughter, sister, friend… and fiancée.

'The silent light in someone's dark world.

Gone from sight, but never from the glow you left behind.'

Her knees nearly buckled. 

She was inside a mausoleum.

Not just any mausoleum, her mausoleum.

Her hands began to tremble. Her breath caught.

This wasn't the Black Tower.

This was a memorial. 

A grave.

Her grave.

Ceres approached the tomb slowly. On top of the polished marble tiles was a fresh basket of lilies, white, pure, and softly fragrant. Next to it sat a small, ornate treasure box. 

Her fingers trembled as she opened it.

Inside were cards, handwritten, heartfelt. Messages from people who loved her.

She picked one.

Inside it was a sonogram. Her throat tightened as she unfolded the note.

"Sweetheart, Mommy is pregnant. Thank you for sending us an angel in your place. We miss you every day. Love, Mommy and Daddy."

Her breath caught. Her vision blurred. She picked another.

Another sonogram. This time with familiar sarcasm scrawled in the handwriting she knew too well.

"Cee. I miss you. Look, my asshole of a fiancé got me pregnant. Told him I wouldn't marry him unless I was sure he wasn't shooting blanks. Guess he passed the test. I wish you were here to share my joy. Love, Dee."

Ceres laughed, just a little. A breathy, broken sound between tears. Her vision blurred with every word she read. And still, she couldn't stop.

She read through each card, one by one. Notes from old classmates, old friends. From the staff of the shelter she once helped build. From people she didn't even know remembered her name. Messages filled with warmth, gratitude, grief… and so much love. 

Stories. Updates. Little pieces of a life that had kept moving after she'd gone.

There were pictures too.

One of her parents.

One of a toddler girl, her baby sister, who they named after her, Evadne Persephone.

And then Diana again, smiling with Caspian and their baby boy, Casadin.

Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. It was warm, somehow, the way her memory was held close by people who had loved her. Who still loved her.

And yet… something was missing.

In all the cards, all the pictures, 

None came from him.

None mentioned Zeus.

Not even once.

Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest.

Maybe he had moved on. Found someone else. Fallen in love again.

That would've been fine.

It would hurt, but it would be fine.

"I wish you're happy, love…" she whispered.

Wiping her tears away with trembling hands, Ceres drew a deep breath. She offered a faint, wistful smile and turned to look at the rest of the mausoleum.

That was when she realized this space was too large for one person.

And then she saw it.

Another tomb. Just beside hers.

Her body went rigid.

A cold rush of dread crept up her spine.

Above the center between the two tombs was a framed photo, one she knew far too well. It was from their mock engagement photoshoot. She remembered the laughter they shared that day. The teasing. The way he kissed her temple between takes.

"No…"

She shook her head, stepping back. But her feet betrayed her.

"No. No."

Every step forward screamed don't look.

Her soul begged her not to read what's etched into the marble.

But her eyes moved anyway.

And the moment they landed on the inscription, the air left her lungs.

Zeus Falcon

Beloved son, brother, and friend.

'May your soul and heart rest easy,

now that you're with the one you loved most.' 

"Zeus… no…"

Her voice broke as her legs gave out, her hands trembling against the cold stone floor.

"Why… how…?" she whispered, her words fractured, scattered like glass across the silence. "Why?"

There was no one to answer.

She wasn't even sure who she was asking, God, the Fates, the stars above? Herself?

"Please let this not be true… please…"

Her voice cracked. Her pleas faded into the air.

But deep inside, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, Ceres knew.

This wasn't a dream.

This wasn't illusion.

This was real.

Somehow… she could feel it.

One year.

One year after she died, Zeus followed.

Not because he was weak.

But because loving her… and losing her had torn him apart.

Ceres could not bear the weight of her grief. It wrapped around her chest like barbed wire, digging deeper with every breath. And somehow, in the deepest part of her, she knew…

It was her fault.

Her heart, her mind, her soul refused to accept it. But the truth was already a blade buried in her chest.

Something inside her cracked.

And then shattered.

She collapsed beside the tombstone of the man who once loved her with all of his being, unconscious. 

She failed to notice the etched inscription at the side of Zeus's tomb.

Together in life, together in rest.

Loyal hearts now peacefully still, side by side forever. 

Alpha

Bear

Tofu

Luna

Nugget

Peanut

Neko

Milo

Vivi

Pixie

At the same time, chaos had erupted inside the Empress Palace.

"What the hell did you do?!" Aurelian roared, his voice echoing through the corridors.

"I told you, I didn't do anything!" Tuf bellowed back, equally furious.

Because, in truth, he didn't know what happened either.

The moment he and Ceres stepped into the portal, she collapsed, her body going limp in his arms. And then, without his command, the portal closed… on its own.

The bedchamber doors slammed open as Seiryu emerged, grave-faced.

"How is she?" Legion asked, brows furrowed with concern.

Only Seiryu could enter the Empress's chamber. And now, with her unconscious, no one else could pass through. Not without her permission.

"It's a Dream Spell," Seiryu answered coldly, his gaze sharp, landing like a blade on Tuf.

"Why are you looking at me like that, you damn lizard?" Tuf growled. "You think I cast it?"

"It's a very strong Dream Spell," Seiryu replied, voice calm but cutting. "Among the people in this kingdom, only you and I are capable of casting something at that level. And I didn't cast it."

"Well, neither did I!" Tuf snapped. "Why would I cast a Dream Spell now, when she's supposed to meet my father?!"

"Was this your plan all along?" Aurelian snarled, stepping forward. "You and your father, was this your way of weakening her? Of destroying the Master of the Holy Beast?"

"Have you lost your mind, you insufferable pest?!" Tuf shouted. "You think I'd spend weeks rebuilding this fucking kingdom, gaining her trust, just to backstab her like this?! If I wanted her dead, I would've done it long ago!"

"Exactly," Legion hissed, his eyes burning. "That's your game, isn't it? Toy with your prey before you kill them. Gain her trust. Act sweet. Just so you can twist the knife deeper."

"I WOULD NEVER HARM HER!" Tuf exploded, voice shaking the very walls. "I COULD NEVER HARM HER, BECAUSE SHE IS MY MOTHER!!!"

The hall fell silent.

The air went still.

Even Seiryu froze.

"…What?" Aurelian finally managed to say.

"She… is my mother?" Tuf echoed, the words tasting unreal even as they passed his lips. It was the first time he had said it out loud, and the first time he realized no force had stopped him.

"What kind of sick lie is that?!" Aurelian barked, rage in his voice. "The Empress has never been pregnant, she can't get pregnant! And even if she could… you're over a thousand years older than her!"

"You can hear lies, can't you, Duke?" Tuf snarled, stepping forward. "So tell me, do you hear any lies when I tell you, the Empress Ceres is my mother?"

Aurelian's breath caught.

There were none.

No deceit. No falsehood.

As impossible as it seemed… Tuf was telling the truth.

"You want proof?" Tuf sneered. "Here, look."

He flicked his dimension ring. Two images projected into the air before them.

"These are my sisters. Luna. And Pixie."

The entire room went still.

Because what they saw left them speechless.

Luna, despite her midnight-black hair and heterochromatic eyes, had the same bone structure as the Empress. That same cutting grace. Her lips, her brow, the tilt of her chin… all mirrored Ceres.

But Pixie, Pixie was unmistakable.

She was younger, yes. Smaller. But she looked like a child version of the Empress herself. From the shape of her eyes, to the curve of her smile. Her laughter frozen in the image sent a chill down everyone's spine.

It was as if someone had taken Ceres as a little girl and preserved her in a portrait.

"She looks just like…" Seiryu whispered, eyes wide.

Tuf looked away, his voice bitter now.

"And you all thought I would ever lay a hand on my own mother?" His chest rose and fell with shallow, ragged breaths. "You thought I would ever hurt her?"

No one had an answer.

Because now…

None of them knew what to believe anymore.