Mydei's anger did not change the stubborn Krateros. He lowered his head and stopped arguing with Mydei.
And this posture only made Mydei even more furious.
Knowing his teacher's temperament well, he understood that this refusal to defend himself was the greatest humiliation, and was also telling Mydei, that he couldn't persuade his teacher
If he wanted to persuade him, he had to take up the mantle of strife.
"Old stubborn fool…" Mydei clenched his fist tightly, turning his head aside with effort.
"Mydei, Krateros will be detained." Aglaea delivered the judgment.
"I will handle this matter properly, Aglaea. For this farce, I apologize to you."
As Krateros was escorted away, Mydei's tone softened a little.
Aglaea also calmed down at this moment.
Looking at Mydei's complicated expression, she even felt a strange sensation in her heart.
This matter might not be a bad thing. All along, she had been trying to help Mydei step out of his mental knot and accept the Strife Coreflame.
After all, from her perspective, the Coreflame should belong to Mydei.
But her efforts had achieved little. Now Krateros' actions had directly left Mydei with no way out. He now had to choose whether to accept the Coreflame. No one said anything more.
Aglaea asked Tribbie to take Trinnon to rest, and she herself left the Vortex of Genesis.
Only Mydei remained, standing alone in the empty cave, staring absentmindedly at the shining Coreflame.
Phainon, who stayed by his side, simply sat quietly, letting Mydei remain lost in thought.
Seeing this, the audience finally relaxed. This internal conflict had not led to a worse outcome after all.
...
: Thankfully, it didn't spiral out of control.
: A blessing in misfortune.
: But for Mydei, he has no way back now.
: He can only choose whether to step forward or not, the contradictions have reached an irreconcilable point.
: But if he chooses conflict, is he walking down Eurypon's path?
: Handling such complex matters is too harsh for a young man like Mydei.
: MiHoYo is really crafty now, no longer using obvious crises to pressure characters, but this kind of method instead.
...
At this point in the story's progression, the audience could already sense that the most obvious conflict now was not battle or apocalypse, but the struggle between human will and divine authority.
On the surface, the Titan's Coreflame concerns power and becoming a demigod, a symbol of legitimacy.
But this legitimacy does not represent happiness for many people.
Including Mydei, he wants to use his own will to shape the future path of his people, not let them remain bound by the Coreflame.
Because the authority of Strife is far too domineering.
A single prophecy can make parents kill each other, fathers and sons turn against each other, and countless families fall apart.
And what is terrifying is that the divinity here is real power, authority, dominion, and strength.
It has them all. Which makes it even harder for those below to resist.
However, Mydei's good intentions are not recognized by the Kremnoans. They even see him as rebellious and cowardly, unwilling to take up the coreflame and continue "oppressing" them as before.
Yes. They do not believe that the existence of a prophecy is oppression.
The Strife Coreflame is the embodiment of Strife Titan.
Castrum Kremnos has been nurtured by the symbol of strife for a thousand years.
It has long completely taken this shape. It is the meaning of all Kremnoans, symbolizing glory, power, and destiny, the unquestionable correct path.
For the prince to become the Strife Demigod is, to them, a return to the proper track. What Mydei must confront is this consciousness shaped by the Strife Titan.
And the audience, having grasped this layer of meaning, are now most eager to see how Mydei, intends to handle it.
He wants the people of Castrum Kremnos to gain a peaceful life, not the madness of Castrum Kremnos.
He wants strength to be defined without conquest and destruction. He wants a future that can exist without parasitizing the Titan's authority.
How difficult that is!
...
: Mydei is really suffering.
: I can't think of any solution.
: This place is truly a theocratic world, the Titan's power is unquestionable.
: Too hard! Too hard!
: Is it really that exaggerated? If it were me, I'd just become the Strife Demigod and use force to pressure them into changing their way of life.
: …Brother, do you think these Kremnoans fear death? You're trying to threaten them with violence?
: That trick won't work. What the Kremnoans need is precisely that violence.
: If Mydei really becomes like that, using violence to restrain his own people, he'll lose himself.
: What the Kremnoans need is a Titan, a sufficiently powerful Strife Titan. If Mydei becomes that, he'll just be reduced to a symbol.
: The Titan of a thousand years ago and the Titan now are both Titans, do you understand?
: But Mydei, after everything he's been through, is Mydei, there's only one.
: This complicated situation is truly too harsh for a young man like Mydei.
: MiHoYo really knows how to raise the stakes for characters.
: Mydei has no one behind him to tell him what to do.
: They're not only raising the stakes for Mydei, but also for themselves.
: With such profound drama, if there isn't an ending most people can accept, it might backfire.
...
Many viewers were racking their brains at this moment, standing in Mydei's position and thinking of ways to break the deadlock.
Just as the comments said, the beginning of this dramatic arc is extremely complex and captivating.
But it is equally difficult to conclude. In a world where divinity truly exists, how do you liberate the thinking of the Kremnoans?
And so, amid the audience's anticipation, the silent Mydei simply let out a gentle sigh.
Then he patted Phainon on the back and left the Vortex of Genesis together with him.
He seemed to have figured something out.
"Go find Krateros and the others as well. I'll talk to them."
Mydei crossed his arms over his chest. The anger in his eyes had already disappeared, leaving only determination.
It seemed he had already decided what to do next.
Phainon, standing nearby, nodded and said, "Go ahead and do it. No matter what happens, you know everyone is behind you."
"Mm, thanks." After thanking him, Mydei fell silent.
The story did not focus on this place for long.
Instead, the screen suddenly went dark.
A childish voice, filled with affection, softly rang out.
"Momma, Momma! I had a dream last night."
As the voice sounded, the scene lit up.
In the warm candlelight, a beautiful red-haired lady was holding Tribbie, resting on the bed.
The moment she appeared, the audience was stunned by her beauty.
Her skin was white, glowing enticingly under the candlelight. She wore ceremonial robes, carrying an air of otherworldliness.
At the same time, her face was exquisitely delicate and breathtakingly beautiful.
Her brows, eyes, nose bridge, and lips, perfect from every angle.
The ceremonial robes gave her an undeniable sense of holiness, yet the doting, maternal gaze she directed at Tribbie, combined with her stunning face, was simply intoxicating.
Motherhood and grace were displayed in the same body, and blended together perfectly.
The gentle woman spoke softly, her voice as smooth as silk. "Oh? Now, what did you dream about, my darling Tribios?"
Tribbie hugged the woman's waist tightly and said in a spoiled tone, "I had a dream that I turned into many mes! Then we made the moon into a ship and made the stars into our sails! Then we floated on the ocean and let the wind blow us in any direction it wanted!"
The red haired woman chuckled softly and stroked Tribios's cheek. "Well that sounds like a lovely dream."
Tribbie showed a happy smile and nodded vigorously. "Yeah! The ocean and the sky were really, really dark, but there were so many of me that I wasn't scared at all. Because we'd all sing together!"
"The ocean wind blew us onto an island where the wind tasted like flowers. There were bleating sheep and chirping birds inviting us to be their guests. There were so many animals on the island, but none of them ever fought!"
The red haired woman's gaze grew even softer as she held Tribbie lovingly. "Janus' Holy Maidens can receive guidance from the god of passages. Perhaps what you saw in your dream is a divine land somewhere in Amphoreus."
The red haired woman, and Tribbie. Without needing to say more, the audience already understood their identities.
At first, hearing this conversation and watching the scene, the audience thought it was simply a warm memory of Tribbie spending gentle moments with her mother.
But gradually, as Tribbie described things in her childlike words, they began to feel uneasy.
In the scene, Tribbie continued describing her dream.
She saw an isolated island in the sea, and beside it stood a massive black mountain.
The mountain seemed alive, constantly moving toward the island.
Later, Tribbie realized it wasn't a mountain at all, but an enormous wave, so tall and vast. The wave crashed against the island as if trying to swallow it whole.
The small animals on the island tried to drive it away, but they couldn't stop it at all.
As she spoke, Tribbie's cute voice grew softer, sounding a bit aggrieved. "Then there was a "bang!" and I woke up."
The woman's eyes flickered, as if thinking about how to soothe her child's fear.
But outside the screen, hearing this innocent description, the audience immediately thought of a word,
Black Tide. And the destroyed island, was it Okhema?
Or Janusopolis? What shocked the audience even more was, was this scene a memory of Tribbie?
If it was true, wouldn't that mean that a thousand years ago, Amphoreus had already encountered that terrifying disaster?!
They had just experienced Mydei's complex struggle.
Now, the story once again revealed a despairing prophecy. Amphoreus once more displayed the will of the "gods," striking the audience heavily.
Just then, seeing her mother remain silent, Tribbie asked again, "Momma, does something that scary exist in real life?"
Tribbie's mother, the gentle woman, smiled faintly and said in a soft voice, "Yes... Unfortunately, it does exist in Amphoreus, but it's very far away from our temple."
"We call it the "black tide," though it has nothing to do with water. It has no shape or form, but it can swallow up animals, humans, and even Titans... turning them all into monsters."
No, this wasn't just Tribbie's dream from a thousand years ago. Even Tribbie's mother clearly knew about the Black Tide.
And after saying this, she comforted Tribbie with a hopeful tone, easing her fear.
"Of course, my dear. You only need to behave well and listen to what the adults tell you, study all the knowledge and etiquette you need, then grow up and become a proper Holy Maiden..."
"The divine Janus will then give you guidance and help you light the way for the people."
"But, Momma, you said the black tide can swallow up Titans too. What do we do if even Janus is eaten?" Tribbie asked another question.
"If that happens... then the Holy Maiden will have to be the one to guide people on the right path. After all, we are the human avatars of the god of passages, yeah?"
"Hehe. But one person alone is not enough. Once you're older, you'll make a lot of friends. You must do your best to unite them because that's also our duty as priests."
Tribbie, "Friends? Are they also like me and Momma, with pretty red hair?"
"They might not, but they'll certainly be just as smart and kind as you."
After hearing these words, Tribbie finally felt reassured.
She was no longer afraid of the dream.
Just as her mother said, if the Titans were eaten, then she would guide everyone and bring people together.
She couldn't imagine the scenes of the future, but she was full of hope for it.
However… amid this warm exchange, the audience had already begun to feel fear.
The scenario described by Tribbie's mother seemed to align perfectly with present-day Amphoreus.
What appeared to be a simple conversation felt even more like a prophecy than an actual prophecy.
It was even more outrageous than the prophecy Mydei's parents had received.
It clearly showed Amphoreus' eventual fate. And reality was unfolding exactly according to this prediction.
If prophecy can reveal everything, then what is the role of people?
A deep question arose in the audience's minds.
What was Amphoreus and what kind of path was it walking on?