Chapter 162: Remember Every Secret.

『"The whole will save you."』

"I am in everyone, yet I belong to no one. Remove my head, and I become an amplifier."

The final word had barely left its mouth before it launched into another attack.

"Are we really doing this again?!" Sophia shouted, diving behind a massive branch as hundreds of golden feathers tore through the air, slamming into the branch.

"Yeah." Ethan glanced at her from behind the same branch.

The onslaught finally ceased, and Sophia turned to Ethan. "You think he ran out of feathers?"

If only. Ethan’s gaze shifted upward. "Above us."

He quickly erected a dome of blue force around them.

A heartbeat later, the Sphinx crashed into it from above, forming spiderweb cracks across its surface.

Sophia’s irises turned gold as she fell on both knees. Flashes of the Sphinx’s next few actions flooded her mind. The Sphinx planned to crush them.

"This chicken-lion fucker plans to crush us here." Sophia rose to her feet and stretched out her hands, reinforcing Ethan’s dome with her telekinesis.

The Guardian twisted in midair, planting all four paws against the barrier, then it pushed down with its weight.

The dome folded inward. Then it shattered. Luckily, the shockwave blasted both Awakeners backward across the enormous branch.

Close. They might not be so lucky next time.

Sophia rolled twice before catching herself with telekinesis, while Ethan slid several meters, his boots carving deep grooves into the bark.

The Sphinx landed gracefully.

"...I am in everyone..."

It pounced, only to be caught inside a blue sphere.

Blue panels folded around the Sphinx from every direction until it was imprisoned inside a glowing orb suspended above the branch.

Sophia cracked her neck in an audible pop. "That won’t hold," she said, using the few seconds Ethan had bought them to catch her breath.

Inside the orb, a low growl echoed as tiny cracks began spreading through Ethan’s construct.

"I know."

The cracks multiplied, spreading across the orb until it exploded.

The instant it broke free, another construct crashed into it from the side.

It was an automobile resembling Caroline. Every detail had been recreated, from the cylinder blocks and pistons to the crankshaft beneath the hood. It was all faithfully replicated.

BOOOM!

The impact launched the Sphinx through one branch... then another... and another. Each collision shook the colossal tree.

Sophia whistled. "...Okay." She looked at Ethan. "I think I’m beginning to see what Amara sees in you."

He ignored her, focusing on the Sphinx, who was already on its feet.

"...Remove my head..."

The Sphinx emerged from the shattered branches almost completely unharmed. Then golden energy gathered inside its mouth.

The sound of the gathering energy was like a siren, but played in reverse, rising, always rising.

As it ascended, the blast grew larger and larger. It wasn’t aiming at them anymore. It was aiming at everything.

Sophia pointed both hands toward one of its wings. Instead of trying to restrain its entire body, she focused every ounce of telekinetic pressure onto a single wing.

The wing glowed gold.

"Come on..."

The Sphinx tried ascending higher, but its left wing folded inward against its own will.

"...Come on!"

With only one wing functioning, it spun violently in the air.

CRASH!!

The Guardian slammed into the branch so hard that it split it open.

Not that it mattered for long. The Sphinx stood back up, staring at its own damaged wing as though surprised by it. A moment later, it asked another question.

"I can bring the dead back to life. Feed me and I grow, starve me and I vanish." It took one step toward them. "I am the only way yesterday touches today. I can’t be stolen but you can lose me."

They hadn’t even solved the second one, and there it was with another.

Sophia groaned. "How much longer do we have to do this?"

Ethan grinned at her. "How much time do you think you can buy us with those illusions of yours?"

Sophia returned the grin as a golden wave of light swept through their surroundings. Then six identical copies of herself and Ethan suddenly appeared around the battlefield.

"Good enough?" she asked as each one sprinted in a different direction.

Ethan nodded. "Very persuasive."

The Guardian watched them for a brief moment before refocusing its attention on the real ones.

"...Illusions?" Its tone carried disappointment.

One sweep of its paw released a crescent of golden energy that erased every illusion instantly.

Sophia scratched the back of her head. "Not persuasive enou—wait!" She turned fully toward Ethan. "Say what you said before."

The Sphinx tilted its head, halting its attack for the time being. It seemed interested to see whether they’d made a breakthrough with one of the riddles.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "How much time do you think you can—"

"No!" Sophia cut him off. "After that. What you said about my illusions."

Ethan looked at the Sphinx that wasn’t attacking, then back at Sophia. "Very persuasive?"

"Yes!" She laughed. "That’s the one."

"Where are you going with this?" Ethan’s gaze drifted to the Sphinx again as it took a step forward. "Because it looks like he’s losing patience." He pointed at the Sphinx.

"I’m in everyone? Yet I belong to no one?" Sophia said.

Another flurry of golden feathers fired at them. This time they came from only one wing, making the barrage noticeably smaller than before.

Ethan managed to block it. As the attack battered the shield, cracks spreading with every impact, he looked at Sophia. "Talk to me."

"Remove my head and I become an amplifier?" Sophia said. "The answer’s got to be Every."

The shield shattered, forcing both of them to jump back.

"I also think I’ve figured out the third question," Ethan said.

The Sphinx repeated, "I can bring the dead back to life. Feed me and I grow, starve me and I vanish..." Then it launched at them, firing rapid spheres of golden energy from its mouth.

It wasn’t as destructive as the charged-up one, but they made up for that by being quicker and seemingly endless.

Ethan and Sophia kept running, avoiding the blasts.

They skidded to a stop after enough distance had been put between themselves and the Guardian.

A six-foot-long blue pin formed in the air. It was then surrounded by a psychic aura, reinforcing its structure.

"Go for it," Ethan said.

Sophia grabbed the pin like a staff, grinned, and flew toward the Sphinx so fast that her movement broke apart the surface of the branches beneath her.

The displacement of air ripped leaves larger than houses from nearby branches, scattering flowers into the sky.

Ahead of her, Ethan conjured shield after shield, intercepting the Sphinx’s relentless barrage and keeping Sophia’s momentum intact.

"The answer to your second fucking question..." Halohelm glowed brighter as she accelerated. "...is Every!" She thrust the pin into its ivory skin.

A barrier of its own instantly formed around its skin, preventing the spear from piercing any deeper.

"Son-ova-bitch..." Sophia exhaled just before getting slammed with a swing of its tail.

She managed to put both hands up in a guard position, telekinetically reinforcing her defense as well. However, she was still sent flying back to where Ethan was.

In that moment, another symbol glowed on the Sphinx’s wing, indicating the second riddle was solved.

"You did it," Ethan said as he helped her to her feet.

"I would high-five you..." Sophia winced in pain, one hand cradling the other. "Except, I think my hand is broken."

Ethan formed a construct resembling a medical arm brace around her injured arm, supporting it.

Sophia looked at it and her eyes widened a bit. "Seriously, man, you’re getting really good at this."

Before Ethan could respond, the Sphinx was already racing toward them.

"Here it comes." Ethan straightened.

"...I am the only way yesterday touches today. I can’t be stolen but you can lose me." It charged at them.

The Sphinx stood two meters away from them, pulling back its paw to strike. Ethan took a deep breath. Then he answered, "A memory."

The paw of the Sphinx hung in the air, mere inches away from them as a gust of air blew back their hair.

"Correct." A third symbol lit up on its wings. "However..." It brought down its paw and Ethan’s automatic defense kicked in, shielding them from it.

"The hell?" Sophia said as another strike bashed into the shield.

Three more layers of shield quickly formed above them. Ethan was on one knee now. He was approaching his limit, he could feel it.

Secret... Every... Memory. His mind raced through all the answers they’d given as he tried to figure out why the Sphinx was still attacking.

Another impact. Another construct shattered.

"¡¿Qué coño te pasa?!(What the hell is your problem?!)" Sophia screamed. "We answered all three of your fucking riddles." She tried to hold the Sphinx back, but her telekinesis did absolutely nothing to slow it down.

It dawned on them now. Whatever blessing the goddess had imparted on them before their encounter with the Sphinx, they’d run out of it.

"We’re missing something..." He closed his eyes, maintaining the shields. "...What would you do in this situation," he whispered to himself.

A beam fired from its mouth, shattering another shield.

Ethan thought back to the first thing the Sphinx said to them.

I speak in pieces, yet the whole will save you.

Then he abruptly opened his eyes and looked directly into the Guardian’s golden eyes.

"Remember every secret."

It all went quiet as the Sphinx stopped attacking. Even the wind stopped.

Golden energy faded from the Sphinx’s body and it lowered its head.

"...Correct."

The enormous peach tree began glowing. Three peaches detached themselves from the highest branches.

As they floated downward, they gradually shrank until each was only slightly larger than a human head, coming to rest gently before Ethan and Sophia.

The Sphinx stepped aside. "The trial is complete."

Sophia blinked. "We did it?"

"Indeed," the Sphinx replied.

She picked up one peach. "...Can we have... maybe three more?"

The Guardian stared at her.

Without answering, it flicked its tail, folding space. The branch disappeared beneath their feet, and they found themselves standing back in the Orchard beside Kumi.

Sophia spun toward the distant tree. "That’s why nobody likes you!"

Far away, the Sphinx simply closed its eyes.