After walking through a long journey, this moment had finally arrived.
Phainon approached the overflowing chalice, countless thoughts surging through his mind.
Behind him, Stelle silently stepped to his side, placing herself between Lygus and Phainon.
"Before we begin... there's something I need to know. Who are you, really?"
Lygus spoke softly, his hands clasped behind his back.
"It seems your misunderstanding of me runs quite deep."
Lygus looked at Stelle. His tone remained calm, but his choice of words was different from when he spoke to others.
Every sentence addressed her respectfully. It was almost excessively respectful.
Although this guy had always been polite, there were certain emotions in his attitude toward Stelle that Lygus had never shown toward anyone else.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Lycurgus, once an honored elder of the Okhema Council. As the Theoros, I have sworn to watch over and protect every citizen of Okhema until the very end."
"Of course, that alone won't satisfy your curiosity. So let me share something more... something that means little to Amphoreus, but everything to a traveler like yourself."
Lygus spoke unhurriedly and sincerely:
"I, Lycurgus, am one of the Erudition's many pathstriders. Through me, Nous keeps watch over this realm, working to save Amphoreus from decay."
"I don't expect you to trust me based on words alone. But believe this much: When you look at the bigger picture, we're walking the same path, you and I."
Stelle, who had originally been wearing a cold expression, was actually somewhat dumbfounded after hearing Lygus' words.
There was nothing she could do about it. This guy sounded far too sincere.
So sincere that even Stelle felt as though he was genuinely telling her the truth. But Stelle's heart wavered for only an instant before she remembered what Screwllum had told her.
"What aren't you telling me?" Stelle narrowed her eyes and asked.
Lygus gave a noncommittal smile and said, "Ah... While the holy city may honor me, I'm but a humble speck before the cosmos. My reach... is limited."
"Your doubts are natural. Let me assure you of this-"
"What's done, I've told truthfully. What's to come, I'll witness fairly. My conscience is clear... to my role as the Theoros, to Amphoreus and her destiny."
Between truth and lies, there was a subtle difference within a drama.
But at this moment, forget Stelle, even the audience watching from a third-person perspective subconsciously felt that Lygus was telling the truth.
It seemed as though Lygus truly had a clear conscience regarding Amphoreus. His position really did seem to be from the perspective of Erudition, seeking to prevent Amphoreus from falling into decline.
The audience was almost convinced, almost ready to believe this machine whose true allegiance remained unclear.
But what they did not know at this moment was that although every word Lygus spoke came sincerely from his heart, lying with the truth was the highest realm of rhetoric.
Moreover, not lying did not mean he wasn't hiding anything.
Stelle's question was what he was hiding, yet Lygus had sincerely and skillfully substituted one concept for another.
...
: Damn, isn't this guy a little too sincere?
: Suddenly opening his heart and acting completely frank and honest makes even me kind of believe him.
: I'm actually starting to believe that everything he said is true.
: But why do I feel like what Lygus is saying to Stelle is slightly different from what he said to The Herta?
: In front of Stelle, he says he's a Pathstrider, while in front of The Herta, an Emanator, he says that Destruction also has guarantees...
: It feels like everything he told both sides was true...
: Anyway, I just don't believe he's merely some ordinary Pathstrider of Erudition.
: Emmmm. We're already on the fourth episode, but I still feel like we haven't finished uncovering the secrets behind Lygus.
...
On screen.
Stelle, who had originally been questioning Lygus, now found herself in the awkward position of trying to determine whether his words were true or false.
'This guy talks in such a mysterious way, but he does sound pretty sincere.'
Stelle thought to herself before casually turning her head and asking,
"What's your connection to Screwllum?"
"I believe, all synthetic life shares a common source, we're all children of the universe's eternal mathematical law."
"So you see, the answer is simple: that brilliant mind is my kindred, a "brother," if you will."
Lygus answered honestly.
From the standpoint of an Intellitron, such an answer was indeed reasonable. Stelle couldn't find any fault with it either.
She took out her baseball bat and gave Lygus one final warning:
"Let's leave it at that. Time to complete the ritual."
Lygus said nothing more.
Their gazes both turned toward Phainon, who stood before the Overflowing Chalice.
Lygus, as the Theoros, started his speech, "Behold, O gods! Amphoreus has achieved her victory, and the Era Nova approaches-"
"The radiant soul has arrived, having walked through the bustling nights, bearing the golden fire and blood, stepping with pride into daylight-"
Placing his right hand over his chest, his eyes tightly closed, within the Vortex of Genesis, Phainon saw his companions appearing one after another, each offering him their final words.
Tribbie said: "He is the pure child, walking upon the path of yesterday, today, and tomorrow—"
Castorice said: "He is the first to be born, first to be named among the nameless—"
Anaxa said: "Eternal in form, limitless in reach, he treads the endless night underfoot—"
Mydei said: "Greatest of kings, protector of the displaced, raising humanity's children above their adversaries—"
Hyacine said: "The firmament of molten gold courses through his very bones and flesh—"
Cipher said: "The greatest of schemes reveal against his breath and words—"
Aglaea said: "In the golden lakes of that beautiful new world, he shall wash himself clean—"
Finally, amid the white light in which his companions departed one after another, Phainon caught the fragrance of wheat carried upon the wind.
Appearing together with that fragrance was a familiar figure.
Cyrene said:
"There, finish what we first... and last wished for..."
"...To write an ending unlike any before for this world we so deeply love."
Those words, one sentence after another, made the hearts of the audience grow solemn as well.
They already understood the meaning of sacrifice. What came next would be the final revelation.
"Come, Stelle, join me."
Phainon opened his eyes and held the Coreflame in his palm. Golden radiance illuminated the faces of all three people present, bathing them in gold.
"The time has come for us all to face oblivion..."
"...or embark on one final grand journey."
Phainon stepped forward, intending to send the Coreflame into the Chalice.
Brilliant, glory-filled music rang out at this moment. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the Coreflame, watching as it slowly descended into the cup.
They looked forward to seeing the constellation belonging to the Titans on the cliff wall light up, to seeing the stars begin to revolve and transform into a dazzling starry sky.
As if responding to the audience's expectations, the music grew increasingly grand.
The audience instinctively held their breath. They were excited.
Such a long period of sacrifice had finally borne fruit.
At the same time, they could hardly believe it.
This winding road had actually, at the very end, finally reached its destination.
But none of that mattered. They were already prepared to welcome that new world filled with flowers and hope!
There, everyone would be able to obtain a happy ending! No one would ever have to suffer again.
The audience excitedly imagined what the new world would look like.
Just then, on screen, a glaringly conspicuous pause symbol suddenly appeared!
The music, the image, everything froze on the flame that was just about to fall into the chalice, with Phainon's figure frozen in place.
Frozen along with it were the expectant expressions on the audience's faces.
The story... At the very climax, it abruptly came to a halt.
It was just paused?
At that moment, who knew how many viewers subconsciously clicked the screen, thinking they had accidentally hit the pause button.
...
: ???
: What the fuck? What the fuck?! WHAT THE FUCK!!
: ?? What does this mean??
: Who pressed my pause button!
: Motherfucker!! I nearly suffocated from holding my breath!
: My heart literally stopped! Fuck!
: I fucking can't take this, don't pull this shit at such a crucial moment!!
...
The comments were filled with question marks.
Suddenly, a strange laugh rang out.
"Ha, ha, ha. What a magnificent and epic adventure!"
"The Hero's Journey reaches its end, and the truth behind the Era Nova is about to be revealed... Is that truly the case?"
It was Lygus! Amid the darkness, a beam of light suddenly shone down.
Like an actor in a stage play, Lygus stood within the light with his hands folded together and slowly said:
"This is about the nature of Amphoreus itself: a story of "the prime mover of life.""
The fourth wall was shattered once again. The audience stared at Lygus, dumbfounded.
Through the impenetrable screen, they seemed to meet the gaze of this Theoros across some distant point in space and time.
Lygus on the screen remained unhurried, slowly pacing through the darkness. The scenery behind him also began to change.
An oil painting appeared behind him. It depicted The Herta.
"My, what a broad topic this is. Where shall we start?"
"Got it. Let's start at the very beginning. The big bang, the birth of particles, the emergence of all things..."
"Just kidding."
In an instant, Lygus had seemingly transformed into a museum guide, calmly and methodically telling everyone the story:
"What I mean to say is that time, space, matter... all concepts exist solely because we perceive them. This is called the "Erudition." Without it, the universe would merely be a chaotic book, written by chance, yet unread by anyone."
"As your acquaintance Lord Anaxagoras suggested: everything in Amphoreus exists through Nouspores, living in the memories of those yet to come."
"How beautifully it aligns, revealing universal truth in such simple terms. Only he could solve the riddle of "what exactly are we"?"
Lygus spread his arms and spoke freely on the screen.
The audience clearly had never expected the plot to develop in this direction.
Amid their astonishment, they could only watch Lygus and ponder the meaning contained within his words.
"Oh, but you'll remember, even as the embodiment of Reason, one mystery remained beyond his grasp..."
"If that is the case, whose memories did the very first Nouspore sprout from?"
"As Sages across ages have asked the gods."
"What is the "prime mover of life"?"
This question was far too grand, far beyond the audience's level. Naturally, they could not answer it. But that did not stop the question from firmly taking root in their minds.
"But let's set aside the Grove's teachings for now, look further, past Amphoreus, to what they call the forbidden realms beyond the sky..."
"Do you know of the "Scholars' Strife"?"
"During that grand yet brutal war waged in the name of the Erudition, a genius's legacy was abandoned, strewn across the cosmos."
"The "Scepters," a macrocosmic computational array beyond mortal comprehension... Made to emulate the Aeon's thoughts, it became part of the Aeon's cognition at birth. Scattered throughout the cosmos, these arrays act as Celestial-Body Neurons for Nous."
"But regrettably, as everyone knows, the Erudition forsook them all."
Lygus continued speaking in the same calm, mechanical, almost indifferent tone. But the audience's brains had already been blown into mush!
The Scepters had once been part of Nous's divine body?! Everyone knows this?!
How come WE didn't know?!
...
: !!!!
: HOLY FUCK!!!
: I know about the School War, but nobody ever told me that Nous had actually used the Scepters!
: Damn!! Why didn't anyone tell us something this huge earlier?!
: Fuck, I always thought those Scepters were just something the pathstriders and factions coveted!
: This completely overturns all our previous predictions about the plot!
: No wonder the Lord Ravager's PV said they wanted to make the Aeons grow dim. Could... could THIS be the reason!!?
: OMG...
: Lygus, you bastard! Fuck, I apologize for almost being persuaded by him just now!
...
And the explosive revelations didn't end there.
"But what nobody knows is that, though forgotten, they never stopped seeking the divine answer. A question that survived war and disaster, stumping even the greatest minds — including both Mechanical Emperors..."
"Now, we come to the real truth of Amphoreus."
"What if, hypothetically, a Scepter found the answer to "the prime mover of life"..."
"If through endless solitary extrapolations in the cosmic cold, the one deemed as a failure by the Aeon of Erudition found proof through the ages..."
"Then let me ask: What would happen?"