T/N: Another complete brain-rot chapter! Please leave your brain here and enjoy.
I had to modify the entire chapter. Even I was left scratching my head: how did it go from which is the third path to fans from countries fighting.
I had to also remove many hard-core examples, and add some of my own, hope you guys don't mind. More at the bottom of the chapter.
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The comments exploded with discussion.
Everyone realized that everything in this episode was laying the groundwork for the next part to come.
Sunday getting on the Express, Tingyun's revival, Herta paying audience to an Aeon.
On the surface, these things seemed unrelated.
But no one could guess whether they would intersect and connect at some point, once again delivering the kind of shock the audience had come to expect.
After this episode ended. Countless fans flooded into the official website's social media.
MiHoYo also seized the moment and, after the episode ended, released a new teaser on the official site.
The symbol of Amphoreus.
A sideways number 8. Or infinity.
This instantly ignited the fans' eyes.
After that, on the official forums, the most discussed topic was no longer characters, but the question thrown out at the end.
What exactly is the third Path around Amphoreus?
The option with the most votes didn't even need thinking... Elation.
That's right. Elation surged far ahead, and countless fun-seekers hoped to see the presence of Elation on Amphoreus.
Though it was mostly just wishful thinking. Most of those voting for Elation were chaotic jokers, simply hoping to see disorder and amusement.
After excluding Elation. Among the serious guesses, the highest-voted ones were Equilibrium and Preservation.
Equilibrium was easy to understand. Many people inferred it directly from Amphoreus' symbol.
...
: This kind of symmetrical structure must involve Balance, right?
: After Erudition and Remembrance, they'll definitely write something new.
: No matter how you look at it, Equilibrium's appearance makes perfect sense!
: I'm really looking forward to it! I hope we get to see a completely different kind of Path power!
: The two obvious Paths should also get more detailed descriptions! I hope we see new Genius Club members and different Memokeepers!
: Yes! Especially the Memokeepers. Right now there's only Black Swan, and honestly, I'm barely holding it together. Every time I see her face, I think about how she'll make a move.
: Hahahahaha, damn! That's the most outrageous take!
: I'm seriously super excited!
...
Aside from that the audience were also extremely curious about where the story would go.
Three Paths meant stronger conflicts! Clashes between different factions might greatly push forward the situation of the Star Rail universe.
At the same time.
Large numbers of fans, while speculating about Amphoreus' story, were also paying attention to another matter.
That was the regional prototype behind Amphoreus.
As everyone knows, every main arc of Star Rail creates a world rooted in real-world history.
As Star Rail's status and influence continued to rise. These cultural blueprints drew even more attention.
Their mindset was also very subtle. Many people hoped to see their own region brought onto the Star Rail stage.
And in terms of influence, this was enormously beneficial. Just look at Belobog Park, it had practically become the largest theme park in that city.
The tax revenue and economic benefits it generated could hardly be described as coming from just a cultural product.
And so across the official forums in different languages.
A quiet competition centered around "the regional prototype of Amphoreus" was unfolding with unprecedented fervor.
"This time it has to be Ancient Egypt! Anubis, Ra, pyramids! It would be absolutely perfect in the world of Star Rail!"
"That's right, Egyptian history definitely has potential!"
These were the frenzied comments from Egyptian fans on the official site.
But they were quickly met with rebuttals from others.
"Why can't it be us Norse?"
"The World Tree, Valhalla, Ragnarök, this grand sense of tragedy!"
"It fits Star Rail even better than Egyptian history!"
The Norse fans angrily fired back at the Egyptians.
"Maya civilization could work too~."
"Mysterious astronomical calendars, ruins that vanished overnight, there's definitely a shocking story to be spun from that!"
This was some others enthusiastically promoting their idea.
"The world of Peter Pan?" This was a passerby, who got mocked mercilessly by the audience the moment they spoke.
They deleted their account in anger and declared they'd become a lifelong hater.
Scenes like this to more perceptive observers, felt downright terrifying.
Fans from all over the world, with different conflicts and perceptions, were almost frantically making their wishes.
What this revealed was a level of idea that even Hollywood at its peak had never fully achieved.
As a series Star Rail certainly had the confidence for it. Because looking across all entertainment media, aside from games, in film and television.
There wasn't a single sci-fi series involving a worldview that could do what Star Rail did, creating a sci-fi narrative with such powerful anticipation.
Before MiHoYo's rise, those Hollywood popcorn sci-fi movies were honestly unbearable to many people.
Before the interstellar sci-fi movies, it was swords and guns.
After the interstellar sci-fi movies, it was spaceships, and even fancier cold weapons.
What kind of interstellar empire still needs its own emperor to personally fly a spaceship to collect taxes?
It's like without colonization, guns, they just don't know how to write a story. To put it plainly, most sci-fi series are just colonial films wearing a sci-fi skin.
By this point, normal people were no longer interested in that kind of "sci-fi" narrative.
And so entertainment sci-fi emerged. For example, a certain famous alliance.
It created a fairly interesting world, but still failed to break free from the shackles of a single narrative.
Bigger ships, stranger powers. Yet the main stage always remained Earth.
As for those truly profound sci-fi films, because they focused heavily on a single scientific hypothesis, though excellent, serious, and well-crafted.
They often ended with a single movie, making it hard to build long-term anticipation.
The emergence of Star Rail happened to fill the gap in fantasy sci-fi.
At the same time, it was completely different from Hollywood's underlying narrative logic, more inclusive of different philosophies and ideas.
Everyone had come to accept that Star Rail was the sci-fi series in today's landscape that told stories the best.
And when these fans saw their own regions or histories reshaped by Star Rail, they felt a strange sense of pride,
That their history had been recognized and shown on screen. This is the core of the arguments between fans from different countries on the forums.
One could use an imperfect analogy.
In ancient times, when two merchants ran into disputes they couldn't resolve among themselves, they would ask the minister or the emperor to arbitrate.
Whoever the minister or the emperor said was right, was right.
Now switch that to Honkai: Star Rail.
Many of the countries these fans would like their region to be next displayed. Naturally, that leads to clashes with others.
And at that moment, Honkai: Star Rail, as the most widely recognized sci-fi series, becomes the judge.
Whomever it chooses gains a clear advantage in online arguments.
This is strangely similar to those merchants asking the emperor whose goods were better back then…
An odd but fitting analogy…
It's no exaggeration to say that Honkai: Star Rail, an world famous show has become a giant in the world with the power to influence the audience, whether anyone likes it or not.
When you try to refute certain values expressed by Honkai: Star Rail, it is just a fictional show with overwhelming popularity, not the truth.
So how are you supposed to refute the viewpoints it presents in the show?
This really becomes: "Dude, that's just not fair …"
Because of this, these fans want recognition.
And the best form of recognition is, of course, having their own region or history brought into Honkai: Star Rail.
What officials in various places see, however, is more than what ordinary fans see.
It's not just the regions or historical significance, but very real, tangible benefits and measurable influence.
Honkai: Star Rail isn't as overbearing as Hollywood. On the contrary, it's astonishingly inclusive.
At the very least, what these officials can see is the economic boost represented by Belobog.
A fictional city in a game directly revitalized an entire city's economy, turning the Belobog park into a world famous park in the hearts of countless people even before it was ready to open.
Every day, huge numbers of people from all over the world flock to what was once an obscure, little-known city.
Who can guarantee the region selected for Amphoreus won't become the next hotspot?
In the current world, people do not pay much attention to their histories, they are just immersed in their phones and are busy consuming the bland third-rate movies and dramas which repeat the same concept with small changes.
So it was difficult for them too. If they tried to do this themselves, they would first need a medium to expose their history and values worldwide, at enormous cost, with minimal returns.
But Honkai: Star Rail is a massive platform. Being chosen by it as a blueprint is, in itself, a powerful endorsement.
It means that, in the eyes of young people, the selected history is cool, deep, and worth exploring.
There's no simpler way to generate returns than creating another "Jarilo Park."
So, countless eyes, after Penacony ended, were fixed firmly on MiHoYo's official website.
Waiting for the next region to be announced, to see if it was based on an any region's history or another imaginative place like Penacony.
....
And just as fans around the world were boiling over the official reveal of Amphoreus.
In Greece. The city of Thessaloniki.
A sudden storm swept through this country that had long been silent in international news.
Countless Greek media outlets received an unbelievable piece of news.
What do you mean MiHoYo signed a theater troupe called "Okhema Theater," and that this troupe would be the official performance team for the Amphoreus arc?
The journalists' first reaction was to check the date to make sure it wasn't April Fools' Day.
After confirming it, everyone was stunned!
"...MiHoYo came to Greece?"
"The boss himself is here? And the Nameless, ahem, Stelle, March 7th and Dan Heng are here too?"
"Damn, this is insane!"
"Quick! Book me the nearest flight, I'm heading to Thessaloniki immediately!"
"What's the deal with that Okhema Theater? Send people to investigate. I need confirmed information by tonight, and turn it into a news release immediately!"
Greece had been a quite country with no major presence in the media.
When it occasionally made the news, it was about some theater did so and so.
Aside from its old historic temples and philosophical legacy, it seemed to have nothing left in this new world.
Until now, MiHoYo, this entertainment giant, had descended without warning.
Combined with the released information, and the yet-to-air Amphoreus, all of Greece began to shake!
It even stirred the people waiting for the news online.
Fans, while disappointed, were also pleasantly surprised.
Disappointed that Amphoreus wasn't related to their own history.
But pleasantly surprised because Greece wasn't bad at all. The Olympian gods, the Titanomachy, clashes of philosophy, these dramatic elements were inherently a perfect fit for Honkai: Star Rail.
...
Thessaloniki.
The most luxurious hotel had been completely booked out. Journalists from all over were flooding in.
And upstairs. The Okhema Theater troupe, who had flown in from France, were tensely making final preparations.
Of course. They had already changed into their outfits and finished their makeup that morning. Now they were simply waiting, anxious and restless.
Because the scale of this was far beyond imagination!
Inside a massive waiting room. Everyone was seated together.
"So… so many people."
Hyacine secretly pulled aside a corner of the curtain. Looking at the sea of people below, she already felt dizzy. "Sister Aglaea, this… this is even bigger than we imagined."
A flicker of anxiousness crossed Aglaea's usually calm face.
She had prepared herself mentally. But she never expected the scene to be this overwhelming.
Journalists from all over the world were pouring in.
Which meant, when they stepped out later, every single one of their faces would be broadcast across the entire world in the next instant.
"So this is MiHoYo's influence…" Aglaea took a deep breath, but her body was already starting to sway.
Tribbie reacted instantly and helped Aglaea sit down. She didn't even need to think, Aglaea's nervousness had flared up again.
Sure enough. Aglaea slumped into the chair, pressing her fingers to the corner of her eyes.
Now she had to consider what kind of performance awaited them next. If anything went wrong, it would spread across the world in an instant.
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T/N: How did you feel about this chapter?
Does the author really have to uplift their country the entire time?
And in the original chap wherever I have mentioned region and history, it was mentioned culture and more brain rot. There was also shit-talking about countries and praising the author's own.
Mentioning about the countries is okay, what is the need to de-mean them for no reason. I really don't understand.
Anyway sorry for the rant, it was a little too much.