Generally speaking.... Greece's love for Honkai: Star Rail is clearly greater others due to Amphoreus right now.
Because they had never experienced this kind of feeling through a series before.
And this bold act of looking back at the past was obviously something Greece itself found difficult to achieve.
It's not that they don't value history, but rather that in the postmodern cultural, they had long since been utterly defeated.
You could already see hints of that from the difficult situation Aglaea and the others faced while operating the Okhema Theater in Greece.
On one hand, they were proud of their past. On the other, the younger generation had been completely overwhelmed by Western culture.
Their young people grew up watching dramas and absorbing modern-style storytelling.
But the ancient buildings everywhere, the historical records, the words in school textbooks, and the teachings of their teachers were all still telling these young people that they once possessed magnificent glory.
So....The younger generation grew proud of their past culture.
Yet at the same time, they were completely unable to accept the weakness of Greek cultural narrative power on the international stage in the modern era.
Some young people were unwilling to accept it. They buried that pride deep in their hearts, silently waiting for the day of resurgence. The sense of pride within them was still strong.
But for others, faced with the enormous gap between reality and history, their understanding of the world collapsed.
During the day in class, teachers told them Greece had once been the center of civilization, the origin of philosophy, art, and democracy.
The Acropolis of Athens, the Homeric epics, the names of Aristotle and Plato.... All of these clearly and undeniably told them: we were once great, glorious, the source of Western civilization.
But when they returned home.... They couldn't see any of that anymore.
Superheroes, hit dramas, popular music, and those polished, glamorous peers around them while interacting with them with subtle arrogance.... These things were also undeniably real, constantly displayed right in front of them.
Greece was merely a museum now. No one listened to its language anymore, and no one cared about its stories either.
Sometimes.... Polls would appear online in Greece.
For example: Were we really the center of the world once? The answer was yes.
But at the same time, they were also just a washed-up cultural country.
Caught between prolonged modern-style narrative influence and their own historical heritage, most Greeks carried a deeply divided mindset inside.
And this was also reflected in their attitude toward Honkai: Star Rail.
At first, there was excitement and scrutiny.
The excitement came from thinking: MiHoYo at least has taste, they understand the value of Greek culture and philosophy.
The scrutiny came from: can these people really pull it off? Then they were completely overwhelmed.
Amphoreus was simply too powerful.
Those visuals, stories, and music, every single one struck directly at the emotional core.
Those words claiming to understand weren't fake at all, but undeniably genuine.
The initial doubt turned into shock.
Each episode....Brought them incomparable satisfaction.
They gradually fell deeper and deeper, developing a kind of curiosity for Amphoreus.
....
Inside a small town.
A family was watching Honkai: Star Rail together.
A child was playing around, holding two dolls in his hands.
Judging by their appearance, the dolls were Phainon and Mydei.
"Hah!"
"Pow pow!"
The two dolls continuously slammed into each other in the child's hands.
"You lost, Mydei!"
"Hmph, I'm the Titan of Strife! I'll never die!"
The dolls crashed together once again.
"Eat something, sweetheart." The gentle mother handed over a snack from the side.
But the playful boy had no mind for food right now.
After making the dolls collide again, he raised his head and asked with sparkling eyes:
"Mom, Mom, when is Phainon going to become a Titan?" The mother froze for a moment, then smiled.
"Probably after a little while longer, sweetheart."
"But I want to see it!"
The boy puffed up his cheeks.
"I think Phainon is the coolest. Even cooler than other super heroes."
As a side note.... Although Phainon hadn't displayed especially overwhelming combat power so far, within Greece itself, his popularity was actually the highest.
Because of that temperament. Extraordinary, yet also ordinary.
Just like how protagonists in urban fantasy stories are often high school students.
That kind of character aura and story portrayal always fulfills the fantasies of many children.
Someone very similar to themselves, but slightly more amazing, slowly surpassing his limits.
After the boy finished speaking.... The father, who had been silent until now, suddenly laughed and deliberately teased him: "Didn't you used to like Spider-Man?"
The boy raised the two dolls high and said seriously: "I like Phainon more now!"
The two adults exchanged glances and both smiled.
In the past, this household was always filled with teen hero dramas.
Even when teachers asked children what they wanted to become when they grew up, some would answer that they wanted to become those teen heroes.
Now things were different. The child would actually take the initiative to watch Amphoreus, hoping to find the real-life inspirations behind the characters of Amphoreus.
Both the father and mother were very happy about the changes in their child.
The two quietly enjoyed the peace.
Silently watching Stelle on the screen. But their eyes weren't really focused on Stelle herself, rather on the scenery around her.
Aeons, Paths... They honestly didn't understand those things very well.
But those magnificent structures and designs filled with Greek architectural style made them feel genuinely comfortable.
As long as they knew these heroes of Amphoreus came from Greece, they were already satisfied.
And what made them feel even more respected was that company , that Mihoyo , had never hidden this fact, but openly stated that this was a story created using Greek culture as its blueprint.
After a while, the little boy got tired from playing.
He flopped onto the sofa, lay in his mother's arms, and mumbled, "Mom, haven't they caught the last Titan yet?"
Kids were just like that. They couldn't understand the dialogue-heavy scenes; they only cared about the exciting battles.
The mother stroked the child's head and smiled. "It'll still take a while. You know, Stelle is a very busy person. In Okhema, she still has a lot of things to deal with."
"Oh, right, Big Sister Stelle is amazing!" The child nodded hard, then slowly fell asleep in his mother's embrace.
Anyway, once it got to the part he wanted to watch, he'd wake up on his own.
After the child fell asleep. The couple looked at each other, and the woman smiled first.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I noticed you were really absorbed today."
The man shook his head. "Nothing... it's just... after seeing Castorice's story, I felt a bit emotional."
"Castorice?"
The woman looked surprised. "I thought you'd like Anaxagoras's story more, especially that part..."
"No, no. That stuff is too profound. You know I'm not some scholar."
The man waved his hand, then continued, "It was the part about death."
"Sorry..." The woman spoke softly.
The man's father had passed away not long ago. She thought that was why it touched him.
Maybe it reminded him of his father?
"No need to apologize. Dad passed away peacefully."
After a moment of silence, the man replied.
After his father left, he really had felt somewhat lost.
But after seeing Castorice's reflections on death, even someone as slow-witted as him felt his eyes sting a little.
Not only because it reminded him of someone gone. But because he could feel that close connection between death and rebirth.
The dead watch over the living, and the living watch over the dead.
If death is a kind of peace, then he hoped the people he loved could rest quietly after passing away.
And as the one inheriting everything, he, too, was watching over their rebirth.
Thinking this, the man looked toward his son sleeping soundly in his mother's arms, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.
....
While the people on the western side of Earth were immersed in the story, on the other side, the same thing was happening.
After the comments had spent a long time causing chaos during the transition scenes, and analyzing things endlessly, on screen, Stelle finally finished dealing with the aftermath of Phainon and Castorice returning their Coreflames.
Once everything was done, Stelle suddenly realized that the Flame-Chase Journey was nearing its end.
According to Aglaea, the Sky Titan, Aquila, was the final Coreflame that needed to be reclaimed.
Standing within the Vortex of Genesis, Stelle looked at the starry sky above the cliffs.
Ten constellations were shining there.
But no one questioned it , there were twelve Coreflames, yet only ten constellations had lit up, so why was the Sky Titan's Coreflame the last one?
"We still can't contact the outside world."
"Dan Heng is still tinkering away at it."
"It suddenly feels like there's nothing left to do."
Stelle glanced at the Coreflames, then left the Vortex of Genesis.
The moment she stepped outside, her message tablet suddenly vibrated.
When she opened it, it was Cipher!
"Yo, Grayie, last time we went to Styxia, we didn't even have time to hunt for treasure. Huge loss!"
"How about we team up and go treasure hunting today?"
"All that stuff is underwater. Although the River Styx has receded, I still can't dive down there myself."
"Grayie with the power of Time! I need you!!"
Even through the text, Stelle could already feel Cipher's sly tone.
Treasure, huh? Stelle pondered for a moment, and suddenly felt her whole body stir.
Some kind of instinct had awakened.
"You take three, I take seven?" she replied immediately.
"Exactly, three-seven split." Cipher responded at light speed.
"?" Stelle sent a question mark.
But no matter what, she was already tempted.
As for the split, well, once she got there, if Cipher didn't satisfy her, then her baseball bat would have something to say about it.
"Anyway, that's it for now."
"On a long journey, you've gotta find some fun." Stelle ended the communication.
She didn't tell Aglaea about this.
No matter how you looked at it, Cipher was still on the side of the Chrysos Heirs. Her personality might be awful, but Aglaea trusted her.
And if Cipher didn't come pick her up, then she'd just head to Styxia herself.
And honestly, with the way Stelle had gotten this far, relying entirely on wild methods, she actually did have a way.
Ever since personally walking through the River Styx and returning from death, Stelle had formed a connection with Castorice.
Although the River Styx in Styxia had receded, the gates to the Underworld that had been rooted there for so long weren't something that could disappear easily.
So, Stelle could exploit a bug now.
First, she found a secluded place with no one around, then smashed herself hard on the head.
While lying there unconscious, her sensitive soul instantly established a connection with the gates of the Underworld thousands of miles away.
At the same time, the blessing Castorice had left behind when attacking the Dragon was still in effect.
Now that life and death were balanced and the Titans had returned to their places, you think Stelle could just die?
No way! A swarm of butterflies flew out from illusion, wrapped around Stelle, and pulled her into the boundary between life and death, that indescribable realm.
Then they sent her out through the gate.
When Stelle woke up, she had already traveled from Okhema to the gates of Styxia.
"..."
"Y-you can still use that move?!"
Mem, who had been hiding inside Stelle the whole time, popped out and stared dumbfounded at Stelle as she climbed to her feet clutching her head.
"Hiss... when you're close with the Titan of Death, this is the kind of privilege you get." Stelle grit her teeth and got up.
That hit just now seemed a little too hard.