Observation Record: Preliminary Assessment and Intervention Plan for the Golden Descendants' Current State
Recorder: Anaxagoras
Time: Unknown Era
Purpose: To assess the mental state of companions and establish a foundation for the "Awakening" work.
The conclusions are disheartening, but must be recorded.
Cyrene is busy with her own affairs, and rational analysis can slightly alleviate the helplessness of witnessing all this.
I have divided the observed subjects into two categories: unresponsive and responsive.
The former, such as Phainon, Mydei, and Haiseyin, are trapped in a deeper stillness or cycle, like an epic with a predetermined ending suddenly closed, leaving only a blank back cover.
It is too early to speak of saving them before finding the correct "key."
Therefore, this record focuses on the latter — companions who can still respond to external stimuli.
1. Aglaea
Status Overview: Severe.
Cognitive functions have significantly deteriorated, retaining only basic stress response patterns.
I assess her state as a "functional shell."
Specific manifestations: Located by a gloomy seaside.
She shows no reaction to any mention of Amphoreus, her mission, or the past, as if those years never existed.
The only "active" sign is that when my figure enters her perception range, it triggers a fixed program of disdain.
The words are concise, the emotions "stable."
Analysis and conjecture: This is not communication, but fragments remaining after the collapse of some mental defense mechanism.
Cyrene believes she might still retain a deep consciousness, but I am more inclined to think that her core has been completely "formatted" by an impact beyond our understanding.
The current her is more like an echo with a single trigger condition.
Preliminary plan: High-risk contact.
Perhaps a positive emotional shock needs to be simulated to try and bypass her superficial defenses.
However, the success rate is questionable, and there is a risk of triggering unknown dangers.
2. Hyacine
Status Overview: Deep integrative trauma. The fusion with the "Titan" power has eroded her very essence.
Specific manifestations: As for Hyacine... the situation is subtly similar, yet completely different.
Kneeling on a high platform, praying under a dim yellow sky.
Her posture is silent, as if she has merged with that abnormal sky.
Only when approached, attempting to touch the faint rainbow light surrounding her, will she slowly open her eyes.
The first time I saw them, my breath caught in my throat.
Those were not human eyes.
Innumerable layers of colored concentric rings slowly rotated within, forming a dazzling, unsettling, and bizarre vortex.
This is certainly not their proper form, but rather... a brand left after fusion.
Is it the "Sky" Titan Aigle?
Or the price she paid to hold up the firmament through countless cycles?
Analysis and conjecture: Her condition is more dangerous than Aglaea's.
The latter at least has an external outlet for her emotions, while Hyacine's pain is implosive.
Preliminary plan: Extremely dangerous, currently unable to intervene.
Any external stimulus could become the final straw.
(At this point in the record, a soft stuffed doll was thrown in front of me. I ignored the mumbled "How boring" from beside me and swept it aside. The interference persists, but I must complete this assessment.)
3. Cipher
Status Overview: Advanced cognitive distortion, accompanied by powerful reality-bending abilities.
Specific manifestations: Among all responsive companions, Cipher is the only one who can engage in superficially normal conversation, which briefly gave me hope.
However, I soon discovered the pathetic truth: she has constructed an absolutely harmonious "fantasy land" for herself.
Any attempt to discuss the true situation, the crisis of Amphoreus, or even why we are here, will be naturally diverted by her with exquisite rhetoric when it touches an invisible boundary, or, even more bizarrely — she seems to genuinely "forget" my previous question.
Most unsettling is that her abilities have been unimaginably strengthened.
She doesn't simply believe in a certain illusion; rather, the localized facts she "believes" can become the surrounding reality.
Even more terrifying, this distortion seems to passively affect those who come into contact with her... Analysis and conjecture: This former "Swift Thief Star" has stopped.
She isn't mad; she has chosen madness as a refuge with too much clarity.
Her ability is the ultimate self-defense mechanism.
Preliminary plan: Extremely complex.
Conventional "persuasion" or debate is completely ineffective; her logical consistency is perfect.
The breakthrough might lie in utilizing the characteristics of her ability itself.
Currently, there is no safe plan.
4. Tiripis... The record was interrupted by an exaggerated sound.
Anaxa raised her sole right eye to the source of the sound.
Tiripis stood amidst her mountain of dolls, striking a pose:
One hand extended forward, pointing at Anaxa, the other covering half her face, revealing only eyes feigning profundity.
"Witness!"
Her clear voice was filled with dramatic fervor, "Magic Skill!"
Anaxa put down her pen, feeling a throbbing at her temples.
"Madam Tiripis,"
Anaxa's voice was low, trying to maintain her last vestiges of scholarly demeanor, "if possible, I hope you can remain quiet. I am conducting an important..."
"No!"
She immediately refused, changing her pose to hands on hips, "You write all day, you never play with me! Mommy says good children need company!"
The "Mommy" she referred to was naturally Black Herta; this cognitive delusion has never been corrected.
Anaxa tried to explain the importance of the observation record in the simplest language, but she immediately covered her ears and began to spin in place, her skirt flying: "I'm not listening, not listening! A magician's ears only hear applause and interesting things!"
Finally, when Tribbie shouted "Magic Skill!" for the seventeenth time,
and tried to stuff a squeaking doll into his hand, a long-suppressed impulse broke through his defenses.
He abruptly stood up from his chair, a movement that startled Tribbie, making her take half a step back, yet her eyes widened even more, full of curiosity.
Then, Anaxa did something he would later regret immensely — he also spread his arms and, in a tone unfamiliar even to himself, shouted:
"Magic Skill↓!"
—Green light erupted around him.
For a moment, both Anaxa and Tribbie were stunned.
Tribbie then burst into a huge cheer: "Wow—!! Real magic! Teacher is amazing! Do it again, do it again!"
She excitedly bounced in place, mimicking his earlier posture, waving her hands and feet, "Magic Skill! Magic Skill!"
As for Anaxa, after shouting that phrase and releasing the green light, he froze in place as if a pause button had been pressed.
All expression rapidly drained from his face, leaving only a nearly blank stiffness.
He very slowly raised his hand and pressed it to his forehead.
It was as if a cold gate had fallen in his heart, locking away that brief moment of "liveliness."
Cipher's ability... had already begun to take effect.
Due to frequent tentative contact, Anaxa had been subtly corrupted by her wish of "Why are you so boring? Why can't you be more interesting?"
That uncontrolled behavior just now was the evidence.
Although he could still control it with willpower for now, no one knew what the long-term effects would be.
Looking at the overjoyed Tribbie in front of him, who had started imitating his posture... a strong sense of exhaustion welled up in his heart.
Anaxa sat back in his chair, his pen tip hovering over the paper for a long time, unable to write another word.
Cyrene... where are you right now?
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