The comments swept past.
But, Anaxagoras had already withdrawn his gaze.
Frowning, he looked at Cerces beside him and asked, "Hey, Cerces... Do you know a certain Gnaeus?"
Cerces thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Gnaeus? No, not that I remember. How did you even think up such a strange name?"
This was where the information gap appeared. Neither Anaxagoras nor Cerces knew anything about the conflict.
But the audience did.
The two exchanged puzzled looks before Anaxagoras spoke again. "I just saw him. Gnaeus... a warrior-like figure who was just chatting with you here..."
"No, I have no such memory. Could you be hallucinating?" Cerces frowned, her mind holding no such memory.
Anaxagoras fell silent for a moment and didn't press further, instead continuing forward.
Yet those two shadows lingered, following them like reflections.
Along this road to meet Kephale, their conversations grew more explosive each time.
At the foot of a certain staircase, Anaxagoras once again saw the two figures talking.
"Enough about me. Did Khaos ever reply to you?" Gnaeus asked.
Calypso shook her head. "Ahh, well, regrettably..."
Gnaeus sighed. "...Seems like the price of becoming a demigod is a lot heftier than we thought."
Calypso, however, comforted him. "Look on the bright side, Gnaeus. Since we've come all this way, I doubt he'd snub his old friends, would he?"
Gnaeus gave a noncommittal smile. "Hmph... Let's just hope we mean as much as the world to him."
'Khaos? Demigod?' Anaxagoras was stunned.
He had never heard of this person, nor did he know which Titan's authority the other had inherited.
"Hey? Are you seeing that same hallucination again?"
Seeing Anaxagoras fall into thought, Cerces asked from the side.
"Yes... It's still you and Gnaeus, but you're now talking about a certain Khaos. I'm guessing he's one of your companions?"
Anaxagoras came back to his senses, rubbing his chin as he spoke.
"Khaos? This name sounds just as strange to me..." Cerces still knew nothing.
But this time, Anaxagoras wasn't expecting an answer.
He already had some ideas forming in his mind.
The answer lay ahead. Even the thoughts in Anaxagoras's mind were sensed by Cerces.
She frowned and warned, "You actually think those illusions you're seeing are the souls of people? But if those are the souls of the dead, then what am I?"
Anaxagoras curled his lips slightly, saying nothing, but a trace of madness flickered in his eyes.
As long as he could see more… that would prove his theory. And the true truth, now that would be far too interesting.
While Anaxagoras was speculating, the comment section outside the screen was also in heated discussion.
...
: I think this is basically confirmed! Gnaeus is the Strife Titan, and Calypso, someone like Cerces, must also be another Titan.
: But from their conversation, it doesn't seem like this is when they had already become Titans.
: They came to find that demigod Khaos. Since he hasn't responded, and based on current info, could it be that Khaos inherited the Coreflame of the Worldbearing Titan?!
: Holy crap, I've got goosebumps.
: That also means Titans aren't born gods, they're created!
: Whoever inherits the Coreflames becomes the next Titan?! Is that what it means?
: Wait, who said Amphoreus only has six thousand years of history?
: Who the hell tampered with Amphoreus' history?!
: This is seriously messed up!
: I'm going insane, my brain is burning!
: But this is still just speculation, right? Even if it's close to the truth, we still need decisive evidence!
...
Because of the information outside the scene, the audience's perspective suddenly rose to a macro level.
They easily arrived at conclusions closest to the truth.
While everyone trembled, they were also waiting for the final, decisive proof.
Fortunately, after encountering Calypso and Gnaeus one after another, Anaxagoras became even more certain of his thoughts.
This was Strife and Reason before they became Titans, memories or souls left behind in the past.
And as he drew closer to the Kephale's Statue, that initial illusion appeared once again.
Without any warning, Anaxagoras's vision flickered.
The surrounding space once again turned into that fog-covered wasteland filled with shadows.
"So, I'm back here again..." Anaxagoras wasn't surprised, but leaned in to listen carefully.
The first time he came here, he vaguely heard a voice deep within the mist, as if it wanted to say something.
Back then he couldn't hear it clearly, but now, the voice in the depths of the mist had become extremely clear!
"Ah…" A sigh pierced through the fog.
The thick mist in the scene completely dissipated.
What appeared before them were two figures under blue skies and white clouds.
Calypso and Gnaeus. One sitting, one standing, leaning against a rock wall.
"Since we've come this far, let's just wait." Calypso comforted Gnaeus.
As her words fell, in a corner beside them, a short-haired girl had appeared at some point, already sitting there.
Her hair covered half her face, revealing only a delicate nose bridge and a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
Pointed, elf-like ears peeked out from her hair.
She was very beautiful. That was the audience's first impression.
But the more they looked, the more familiar she seemed.
Especially her hair and ears.
Why did she look more and more like Castorice?!
"Lord Gnaeus and Miss Calypso? Are you both here to visit Khaos too?" The girl spoke.
Her voice was pleasant, but she sounded even more like Castorice.
The only difference was that Castorice always spoke in a soft, fragile tone, while this girl carried a hint of liveliness.
Before the audience could think further, Calypso spoke.
"Yes, and we've been waiting for quite some time now..."
Gnaeus added, "Regrettably, he hasn't answered us."
"The worst-case scenario is that he's... already been overwhelmed and crushed by the Worldbearing burden."
The girl shook her head and said firmly, "You're overthinking, Lord Gnaeus. I can still sense Khaos' soul in the area."
"And besides, we both know Khaos' nature. A Deliverer like him wouldn't fall so readily, much less give up on all that he holds dear, isn't that so?"
The topic returned once more to Khaos. Only then did the audience fully come to their senses.
The scene being described… was likely the very place Calypso and Gnaeus had reached at the end of their journey.
They had come to find Khaos, waited here for a long time, and in the end, arrived at this very spot.
Though the conversation remained shrouded in mystery, it was already enough for the audience.
Especially Gnaeus's words, they made it unmistakably clear to everyone: Khaos is the Worldbearing Titan, and the Worldbearing Titan is Khaos!
...
: There's no other possibility, demigods are just Titans in the making!
: Khaos is the Worldbearing Titan, and the three standing here waiting are all Titans as well.
: That girl who looks like Castorice… what kind of Titan is she?
: So… this means the Chrysos Heirs who have obtained the Coreflames are already destined to become Titans in the future!
: Holy shit… so that's the setting??
: Wait, maybe Amphoreus's history wasn't tampered with, it was just lost between eras!
: Remember the "Genesis"? If everything went smoothly, the Chrysos Heirs would obtain all the Coreflames, become demigods, and then initiate Genesis.
: From the perspective of people in the next era, wouldn't these Chrysos Heirs be the Titans who existed since the dawn of creation?
: 66666.
: Khaos, Calypso, Gnaeus…, they will all become names etched into history.
: As expected, names like Mydeimos and Tribios will also become obscure secrets in the next era.
: I'm getting chills, it feels like we're witnessing the birth of an epic!!
...
As the audience trembled, the scene continued.
Even more explosive information arrived.
"That reminds me. Why are you making this trip alone, Polyxia?" Calypso asked with a smile.
Polyxia hurriedly replied, "Oh, my sister needs more time to make sure the flowers are fine..."
"Heh…"
Calypso shook her head, looking at Polyxia with a hint of pity. "Such a pity... Both of you have hearts kinder than anyone else, yet you are born only to take over Thanatos's divinity."
Information about the Death Titan has arrived!
This Polyxia, or rather, the one she represents, is the Death Titan that Castorice and Stelle have been searching for so desperately.
At least, in this era. Who could have expected that the clues they had searched for so long without success would suddenly appear at this moment?
But before the audience could get excited, the scene faded like a weathered sheet of paper, turning into three sketch-like panels, leaving only a dull yellow hue and simple lines.
Then, Anaxagoras's voice slowly rang out in the background.
"Everything that I see and hear this time has left me shaken to the core."
"What may seem like a mundane conversation is, in truth, a once-in-a-lifetime exchange that has revealed the ultimate answer to Cerces' question, What exactly are we?"
"The conjecture has taken shape and must now be solidified into a theorem. Next, I only need to seek verification from Kephale. By doing so, I can answer Cerces' question and reclaim my body...
At this point, just as all the viewers thought this was Anaxagoras's true goal, his tone suddenly shifted.
"...But no, I will not do that. That isn't important."
"Whether it is life or soul…"
"Because another one of my conjectures, one that I have always dreamed of proving, has been proven right this very instant."
"Fusing a mortal's soul with that of a Titan to replace said Titan... is not a ludicrous idea after all."
At this moment, the thoughts of this blasphemer could no longer be described in human language.
On this land of Amphoreus, shrouded in divine authority, the audience witnessed the birth of a mad yet rational scholar, one who had pushed the limits of what it meant to be human!
If gods were once human, then humans can become gods!
Why not? What is there to forbid it?!
At this moment, the audience's immersion and resonance with Anaxagoras reached its peak, all because of that single thought:
"They can be replaced!"
...
: insane, Insane, INSANE!!!!
: Thinking back to my first impression of Anaxagoras, I feel ridiculous now!
: This hits so perfectly!
: Anaxagoras's true goal had to be like this, this fits his identity completely!
: Unexpected, yet completely logical!
: This is so damn cool!
: A feigned betrayal, a path to an audience with the gods, the ultimate goal is his own grand theory and ambition! This is peak writing!!
: This is what it means to do something truly great, no regard for body or life, only for one's own path!
: Anaxagoras is perfect now!
: One arc, and his character feels completely fleshed out, holy shit, I'm blown away!
: And there are so many layers of symbolism too!
: I can't wait to see Anaxagoras unleash his power and shake everything apart!
: Not just the Council of Elders! Not just the Chrysos Heirs! What he's about to do will stand against the entire order of Amphoreus!
: Hahaha, this truth alone is enough to overturn the very foundation of Amphoreus!
: I can't wait to see everyone's reactions!
: Move aside! Anaxagoras is about to make his move!
: Hurry up and show it already!!!
...
The praise flooding the comments was nearly overflowing off the screen. The audience's excitement, far from fading, only surged even higher.
Because everyone knew, what came next, was Anaxagoras making his move.
Such a shocking truth, if not displayed to its fullest, would be meaningless.
Whether it was the Council of Elders, or Aglaea, all of them would become nothing more than a backdrop for this man.
And every single viewer was eagerly awaiting that moment.