The audience was practically losing their minds!
This massive setup that had continued for three episodes had finally, today, lifted a corner of the veil.
All the strange aspects of Amphoreus, along with the theories viewers had speculated about but never dared fully believe, were finally answered through this brief conversation.
Memory, Erudition, Destruction.
All three Paths had now completely surfaced.
And the words spoken by Black Swan, that of multiple Emanators, had basically been confirmed as well.
Many viewers guessed that Lygus was definitely one of them.
As for the cycle of Amphoreus... Its original starting point still remained unknown, but its purpose had become extremely clear.
It was most likely related to the Lord Ravager imprisoned within Amphoreus.
The cycle was probably a kind of reinforcement measure. The so-called recreation of the world looked more like using repeated rebirths to maintain the strength of the seal on this unknown Lord Ravager.
And Amphoreus' time itself existed independently from the universe. The reason for this abnormal flow of time was most likely connected to the Path of Memory.
The cyclical nature was built upon the power of the Memory Path, not Finality as most viewers had previously guessed.
That also explained why the absurd ability to leap through time in the series only appeared on the tiny world of Amphoreus.
Because the source of this phenomenon had always been the cyclical nature of Amphoreus.
As for Erudition... It was likely related to calculations.
A closed world...
Computation...
A sandbox...
These clues were already enough for viewers to come up with countless theories.
But compared to Memory, Erudition's role within Amphoreus was still shrouded in fog.
...
: My god! This is so freaking good!
: My curiosity has been immensely satisfied!
: Who would've thought there was a Lord Ravager hidden inside Amphoreus?!
: I'm getting hyped! I'm literally trembling with excitement right now!
: Are we really about to face a Lord Ravager directly?!
: Nanook really has been the ultimate final boss from beginning to end!
: No matter how you look at it, recreating the world really was a necessary choice!
: It's just that the origin of the prophecy is still unknown.
.....
After analyzing the situation with Amphoreus... Viewers also began debating the remaining mysteries surrounding the Chrysos Heirs.
At the center of it all was Phainon.
This young man, who first appeared as a pure-hearted guy and instantly won over countless viewers... had unknowingly become one of the most crucial characters in the story.
And now that most of the background mysteries had been unraveled... Some viewers suddenly discovered something terrifying...
Phainon... The Flame Reaver... These two actually shared striking similarities.
Back in Xia Wen's world, the similarities between Phainon had already been revealed and speculated upon when the Flame Reaver first appeared. Part of the reason was because viewers had guessed it already, while another part was because the Flame Reaver's clothing design was extremely similar to Phainon's.
But in the series... The audience had no spoilers, no leakers.
They could only speculate based on the information shown in the episodes.
Some viewers guessed that the Flame Reaver was connected to Phainon, but only because after most of the mysteries had been solved, the Flame Reaver became an existence that simply couldn't be explained otherwise.
Trianne and the others possessed Janus' blessing. They could cross vast distances in an instant.
The Flame Reaver could do that too.
Stelle possessed Oronyx's blessing, allowing her to travel between past and future and move freely through worlds constructed from memory.
And guess what? The Flame Reaver could do that too.
And there was an even more important point!
Back in Castrum Kremnos, when Mydei fought the Flame Reaver... Mydei clearly revealed a crucial piece of information about his weakness, "I only ever told Phainon."
And wasn't that just a little too convenient?
At the time, the Flame Reaver immediately stabbed toward Mydei's weak point with his blade. That scene unmistakably existed to show viewers one thing, the Flame Reaver knew Mydei's weakness.
And finally... The Chrysos Heirs needed the Coreflames for the recreation of the world... But now it seemed that the black tide representing Destruction only wanted to destroy everything.
The Flame Reaver, however, was different.
He was specifically after the Coreflames. Wherever there was a Coreflame, there he would appear!
Otherwise, why would he be called the Flame Reaver?
At this point... What else could the viewers possibly think?
Even if Phainon and the Flame Reaver only shared a few "coincidental" similarities in appearance... An overwhelming amount of evidence was pointing toward a shocking twist that left everyone stunned.
Phainon was the Flame Reaver!
....
: Phainon is the Flame Reaver, right?!
: Back when Mydei got stabbed, that scene already felt incredibly suspicious!
: Exactly! But at the time it was only suspicion, there wasn't solid proof yet!
: But now that the truth about the cyclical nature of Amphoreus has been revealed, it actually makes sense. That scene basically became definitive evidence!
: Holy crap... everything really lines up!
: And the clothes! That collar! I've wanted to say it for so long but didn't dare, aren't the decorative patterns on it practically identical?!
: OMG...
: So this is what they mean by foreshadowing laid out over thousands of miles!!!
: This is the value of writing a story with an actual outline!!
....
After a few viewers shared this theory through the comments, everyone's curiosity grew even stronger.
A person like Phainon... How could he possibly become the Flame Reaver?
Or was it... Because of the cyclical nature of Amphoreus?
Did two different versions of Phainon come into existence? One being the current Phainon, while the other was someone whose identity still couldn't be determined...
.....
: Assuming the theory that the Flame Reaver is Phainon is true, then based on the previous plot, we can confirm one thing: Phainon and the Flame Reaver can appear at the same point in time.
: So they're the same person? But not from the same point in time?
: At the very least, we can rule out the theory that Phainon spends the daytime acting normal in Okhema, then secretly becomes the Flame Reaver at night.
: True.
: So is the Flame Reaver Phainon's past, or his future?
: We'll have to keep watching to find out.
: Based on the current direction of the story, if they're the same person...
: Huh? Please no...
: Holy shit, don't scare me. I can't even imagine what Phainon would have to go through to become like the Flame Reaver.
: The Flame Reaver looks terrifying... Even though all the clues point toward Phainon being the Flame Reaver, honestly, I really don't want to see something like that happen!
: I can't take this anymore. The future plot both terrifies and excites me...
: Damn it, three intertwined Paths, a Lord Ravager, and now this entanglement between Phainon and the Flame Reaver, I can't handle this anymore AAAAAAH!
...
The audience outside the screen had completely gone crazy at this point.
They stared at the screen. Based on previous experience... That damn MiHoYo would definitely cut the episode off at the worst possible moment.
But today was different. The progress bar had only just passed halfway.
Everyone finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Very good. Today, they wouldn't have to scream "GAIA" again.
They could binge it in one go. But just like the barrage comments had said earlier... How could MiHoYo suddenly change its nature and stop cliffhanging episodes?
Which meant the upcoming content was probably explosive enough that they'd rather cut it off at an even more devastating moment.
But the audience no longer cared.
Wasn't watching MiHoYo's stories always like this? Everyone knew there was a dead end ahead, yet they still couldn't stop themselves from walking forward just to see what would happen.
Expectation, curiosity, characters, worldbuilding, visuals, music, depth, emotion... All of those perfectly fused elements together.
Like spiritual nourishment, they made people unable to resist following MiHoYo all the way through.
And right then... The guy who had gone to look up the lyrics for "Nameless Faces" finally came rushing back.
...
: Hey hey hey, I'm back. I re-read the lyrics for "Nameless Faces." Guess what I found?
: Spit it out already! Don't interrupt me watching the episode!
: Hahahahaha, we're finished! The cyclical nature, hope and despair alternating, rise and fall, memories leaving only echoes of the apocalypse behind. Just watch, the Three Paths are absolutely doomed!
: ????
: Wait, that doesn't seem right...
: Why do I suddenly feel like I understand it now?
: Oh no! That's the smell of knives!
: And this line too, "Born already shackled, unable to break free, a pale tragedy, "
: Fuck, stop!
: Hiss...
: "No madness, no survival, buried in a forgotten corner, leaving behind only judgment,"
: Stop reading, master! Holy shit, stop reading!
: Is it really this tragic?!
: Fuck me... so the happiest time watching a MiHoYo series was when we couldn't understand the lyrics?! Damn it, I actually thought the song sounded hype back then!
: It was hype, but looking at these damn lyrics now, it feels terrifying!!
...
While the audience was frantically discussing things through the comments...
The scene in the story shifted away from the confrontation between Herta and Lygus, cutting back to Okhema and the others.
Only then did the viewers finally get a chance to breathe while the transitional scenes played, opening up the lyrics to "Nameless Faces."
And once they looked... Damn, the sky practically darkened.
Those lyrics that once felt impossible to understand... had suddenly become incredibly vivid.
No matter how they looked at them, there was this overwhelming sense of madness, rage, defiance, and resistance against fate hidden inside.
A kind of... "I'm gonna blow everything up with you" type of beautiful mental state.
Who wanted to blow up with whom? The viewers couldn't say.
Nor did they dare to guess. All they could do was scold MiHoYo in the comments.
.....
: Ah, this...
: I actually naïvely thought this was a classic heroic philosophical story.
: Three episodes in and now you're telling us this is what the story really is?!
: Good, very good. So you baited us into the trap on purpose.
: MiHoYo's knife-sharpening skills are getting more and more refined.
: Terrifying!
: Wuwuwuwu... but we've already watched this far, how can we stop now?
: Damn you, MiHoYo! Your schemes are endless!!
....
This feeling was different from previous emotional damage.
Most of Amphoreus' cast had already been fleshed out, and every single character had left a deep impression on the viewers.
The audience's emotional investment had already reached a new peak.
What the earlier story arcs gave viewers were emotional, cool, heroic knives. Characters like Tribios and Anaxa, for example.
The philosophy behind each character and the endings they walked toward felt like Greek epics, moving, thought-provoking, unforgettable.
But the emotional core was still ultimately positive. Aside from the Flame Reaver, there hadn't really been pressure hanging over the audience's heads.
Previously, that pressure came from Sunday or Phantylia.
They represented a possibility, if they weren't defeated, the situation would spiral into something worse.
And because those stories were shorter, viewers could mentally prepare themselves ahead of time.
Only shocking twists could truly affect them.
But things were different now. The Destruction Emanator, the lyrics of "Nameless Faces," the ominous hints surrounding Phainon and the Flame Reaver...
All of it was telling the audience, "The worst ending you can imagine? That's still not the worst one. We've prepared something even worse."
"And the endings you think these characters are heading toward? Those aren't the real endings either. We've prepared even crueler endings~"
Goddammit! At this point, it was already too late for the audience to mentally prepare themselves.
After three full episodes of buildup, their hearts were completely tied to these characters already.
Even if someone told them right now that everyone would die in the end, they would still keep watching while feeling their hearts ache all the same.
Because everyone's expectation until now had been, that Amphoreus's re-creation of the world would succeed, creating a new future.
Not,
"Damn... no way?!"
But were the viewers excited? Of course they were.
They were anxious and uneasy. The entanglement of the three Paths, the increasingly ominous signs surrounding fate itself, filled them with dread.
Their love for the Amphoreus cast made them terrified of what kind of ending awaited the story.
Afraid someone might truly die. Even more afraid that such deaths wouldn't bring about the result they hoped for.
At this moment, the difference between Amphoreus and the worlds beyond the heavens felt painfully obvious to them.
And naturally... Many viewers suddenly remembered the things they had confidently said when Amphoreus first aired.
"No matter how crazy MiHoYo gets, there's no way they'd kill everyone, right?"
Back then, they had spoken those words with complete confidence.
But now...
...
: No, we were wrong. Seriously wrong, MiHoYo.
: Bro, there were too many people outside earlier. Come here, I'll kneel and apologize properly.
: Wuwuwuwu, Damn, MiHoYo, you actually dare to do this?!