Amid this silence, they suddenly came to a realization once again.
All the questions that had remained unanswered until this moment were finally resolved.
For example, why were the gaps between city-states within Amphoreus so severe?
It was clearly a civilization governed by a city-state system, yet it possessed "stone tablets," formidable architectural capabilities, and even people like the Skyfolk who had mastered advanced technology.
Because this world was a virtual world!! Here, all of those things were merely parameters.
The highly technological-looking data cubes that emerged from the bodies of Black Tide monsters after they died were also because of this.
No wonder it was a sealed world. No wonder no one else could find this place.
It was all because of the Emperor's Scepter.
Because this world was fake. The moment this thought arose, an overwhelming sense of absurdity also emerged in the audience's minds.
Then what exactly had they been watching? What about those living, breathing people? Were they merely... strings of data and code?
Taking it one step further, what about the tears they had shed for the Flame-Chase journey and this story, and the emotions that had surged within them?
Almost instinctively, thoughts of resistance and an unwillingness to accept this truth surfaced in their minds.
One Chrysos Heir after another appeared before their eyes.
Their ideals, and everything they had sacrificed for them, none of it was false. It had all been real and powerful.
And the audience, who had accompanied the Chrysos Heirs all the way to this point, absolutely could not accept that these people were merely strings of data.
In their daze, an inexplicable rage began to surge within them, a rage they had nowhere to vent.
Because it was unfair. Just because Amphoreus was the Emperor's Scepter, the Chrysos Heirs were merely strings of data. Everything they had done was merely part of those calculations, and therefore somehow became less important and less meaningful?
This truth turned the meaning of everything they had watched until now into nothingness.
Starting with Tribbie, Amphoreus had produced countless iconic moments and profound philosophical discussions.
Tribios' "See you tomorrow," Mydei's patricide, and Castorice reconciling with death. Every single one of these things had been telling them the same thing:
Each of them was fighting against the omnipresent ruin. Even if they knew that the road ahead might not end in success, they still had to make the journey itself meaningful.
And through the story, this idea had been deeply instilled into the audience's minds.
They believed it without question, and they felt inspired by it. Even after being emotionally stabbed by the story until they had gone numb, the longing in their hearts to hear the words "see you tomorrow" had never disappeared.
And now they're telling us. All of this... was merely being calculated by an Emperor's Scepter.
The meaningful journey, or the destruction that might eventually arrive, none of it mattered.
It was all merely a calculation.
Why the fuck should that be?! The emotions they had invested were genuine.
The struggles of the characters within the story had also been genuine! Why should this single truth be enough to cast the shadow of nihilism over everything?
They refused to accept it!
....
: You're saying that these Chrysos Heirs and these stories were all just code?! Just calculations?!
: How could something like this possibly be fake?!
: I'm so angry that my hands are trembling! But I don't even know why I'm angry...
: Living, breathing characters suddenly turned into cold data. Who the hell could accept that?!
: How could our love for these characters and the emotions we invested in them suddenly become cold, lifeless data?!
: MiHoYo has truly stopped being human!!!
: This is the cruelest possible way to treat this journey!! MiHoYo, how could you be so cruel?!
....
The comments flooded the screen! But the audience failed to realize something.
At this moment, they had actually become exactly like Tribbie and the others.
Not because of their anger, but because of their instinctive resistance against nihilism.
Previously, because of the setting and Acheron's portrayal, Nihility had been regarded by the audience as something fundamentally neutral.
Of course, Nihility itself was indeed neutral in nature. But strangely enough, as living beings whose very existence served as proof of being, the audience's fundamental position should have stood entirely opposite to Nihility.
They could understand Nihility's neutrality and its eternal existence, but they should never have yearned for it.
Acheron's slash, combined with people's admiration for cool powers and their longing for incomprehensible concepts had made many viewers secretly believe that Nihility was something incredibly cool.
They had never truly understood what Nihility meant.
"Self-Annihilator," what a cool title. By being tainted by Nihility, could they become as powerful as Acheron?
There were quite a few viewers who held thoughts like this.
And then Amphoreus appeared. It spent a long period of time making the audience invest enormous amounts of emotion and effort.
Then, through the Emperor's Scepter, it seemingly turned the entire journey into something false.
At that moment, those obscure, difficult-to-understand, and ambiguous philosophical ideas suddenly became clear.
The stories that had made them grieve, rejoice, and feel moved, along with the time and emotions they had invested, this journey itself had been the meaning.
Nihility was the thing that told you that your time, and everything you experienced during that journey, had no meaning at all.
It was just like the truth behind the Emperor's Scepter. It had not actually done anything, and it was merely an objective fact. Yet its mere existence was already enough to deny everything.
This was Nihility. It was neutral, and it existed eternally.
As long as it continued to stand at the end of time, then whether something was good or evil, noble or despicable, powerful or weak, everything would remain shrouded beneath its shadow, subjected to its denial at every moment.
Nothing could have allowed the audience to understand the terror of Nihility more deeply than this short segment of the story.
If everything had merely been a calculation, what meaning was there in Aglaea protecting this world for a thousand years?
What meaning was there in Anaxa sacrificing his life for his beliefs? And what meaning was there in Phainon ultimately walking alone into the Vortex of Genesis?
But the reason life was life was also revealed precisely in moments like this.
While watching the story, the audience believed that Tribbie and the others were true heroes.
They possessed unyielding determination and optimism toward the future. No matter what disaster or apocalypse they faced, they could still inspire everyone, guide everyone, and keep them from falling into despair.
But in reality, were the audience who had watched until this point really any different from them? When the appearance of the Emperor Scepter denied the meaning of this journey, their first reaction was anger and unwillingness, an instinctive desire to resist.
They finally understood how Trianne had felt when she said, "See you tomorrow."
Of course, Trianne could not be certain that tomorrow would ever come. But if she did not say it, she would not even have been able to make it through today.
The same was true at this moment. If the viewers accepted this truth, accepted the reason this entire journey that had unfolded, was just simple data, then, for them, the story of Amphoreus would end here.
No matter what Phainon did next, it would have nothing to do with them. Because they would have already accepted Nihility's denial of meaning.
Thus, the viewers had now found themselves under the same circumstances and pressure that Trianne had faced back then.
...
: I refuse to accept this!
: I have to see where Amphoreus will ultimately go!
: I accept that this world is a computation performed by the Emperor Scepter, but I refuse to accept that the people inside it are fake! Every single one of them truly exists!
: Exactly! Because our feelings are unquestionably real! The joy and sorrow Amphoreus brought me also continue to exist!
: So the prophecy refers to the Emperor Scepter? Whatever! I can't figure it out! And I don't want to anymore! In any case, I'm going to accompany Phainon until the end of this Flame-Chase Journey! I want to see for myself what fate still has waiting for them!
: I'm genuinely furious! I know this might be MiHoYo's deliberate design, and I know this is an objective fact, but I'm still angry! I'm angry that this journey has been branded as something false!
: I've completely lost all reason, brothers!
: Honestly, this viewing experience is truly one of a kind, but it's also unbelievably fucking infuriating! Amphoreus has completely stirred up my emotions! But none of them are happy emotions, only the purest kind of rage, the kind that makes me want to curse someone out!
: Fuck! I don't care what the Emperor Scepter is, but Amphoreus must, must, must reach a bright future! I want to see every Chrysos Heir step into tomorrow!!!
: "See you tomorrow, see you tomorrow" Who would have thought that someone like me, who understands absolutely nothing about philosophy, would now genuinely understand those three words?
: Looking back at everything that happened along the way, not one of the Chrysos Heirs gave up. Naturally, I won't give up either! I'm going to reach the end together with Phainon!
...
The audiences' choice... was, without question, to raise their middle fingers at this so-called truth.
To shout, "I refuse to accept it! I reject your denial!"
Hmm... was this not another form of "See you tomorrow"?
After being cut down by so much tragedy, they had broken through the fourth wall and come to resonate completely with Phainon.
And now, because of this truth, an even greater resonance had formed between them.
The viewers were no longer merely people watching a story. They had become part of the story itself.
Their position was now identical to that of every living being in Amphoreus. They all stood upon the same battlefield.
On the surface, they were fighting against the apocalypse and destruction. But beneath it all, they were resisting Nihility.
Nihility was much like a vicious argument on the internet. Someone attacks your life, your family, and everything about you.
In truth, they are denying your very existence. It feels the same as the denial brought by Nihility.
And that is why you become angry. Anger is life's most instinctive resistance against Nihility.
When your existence is denied, an uncontrollable impulse rises from your bones, the desire to say "no."
And that "no" is meaning itself.
You say no to the Emperor Scepter. You say no to Nihility. You say no to anything that would render this journey meaningless.
This anger comes earlier than reason and runs deeper than logic.
It does not guarantee victory. It does not guarantee tomorrow. It does not even guarantee that your resistance will amount to anything.
But it guarantees one thing, you will not reach the end on your knees.
Phainon will not. And neither will the viewers.
...
On screen.
After this revelation had passed, the scene returned to the Vortex of Genesis.
By now, the Vortex had already changed completely. After the Dawn Machine had gone dark, countless ruins covered in blue light had appeared within it.
They resembled unfinished assets in a video game, models that had yet to be fully rendered.
Phainon stepped inside. He saw the scene before him.
"This is... what the world looked like originally?"
He murmured before turning his gaze forward.
"And what are you doing here?"
"...Answer my question, Lygus."
The camera panned sideways, bringing Lygus into view as well.
Lygus, who had been missing until now, had somehow appeared inside the Vortex.
There were no injuries on his body suggesting that he had fought against the two geniuses.
He merely stood there and spoke in his usual theatrical cadence:
"Ah... Another hero has arrived at the Vortex. I can no longer remember how many times this has happened."
"The author of each epic, as the prophecy has foretold, stays their pen at this point."
"Just like each cycle of the extrapolation, in accordance to THEIR primordial design, ends here."
Those cryptic words no longer sounded mysterious to the viewers.
Cycles. Extrapolation.
There were already enough clues for them to infer most of the truth.
After saying this, Lygus turned around, looked at Phainon, and said: "No need to panic, Lord Phainon. I stepped into this space purely for one purpose: To witness the prophecy's Miracle of Genesis."
Phainon did not readily believe Lygus' words. He stared fixedly at him and enunciated every word:
"...You've never expressed interest in the Flame-Chase Journey. When my companions and I ran, bled, and sacrificed for the Coreflames, you never so much as lifted a finger."
"An indifferent observer, an Antikytheran who is neutral till the end... Why would you suddenly express concern for the Chrysos Heirs' mission?"
Lygus suddenly laughed. There was a deeper meaning hidden within that laughter.
Spreading his arms, he replied with apparent sincerity,
"When that lone swordmaster left everything behind, plunging into a sea of madness, I was on the shore, listening. When that mighty lord shed his armor, filling the crevices of the earth with his iron bones, I was on the mountain top, gazing down."
"Across a thousand years of the Flame-Chase Journey, I have witnessed the ardor, resolve, division, and unity of the Chrysos Heirs with mine own eyes..."
"Just as you were all born to shoulder the guidance of the prophecy, I too, having bathed in the gaze of distant stars, have seen the deepest, darkest of destinies..."