And Castorice also felt Mydei's support at this moment.
"Thank you…"
She thanked him softly.
Mydei only nodded, then left without any hesitation.
Watching his departing figure, Castorice's already tangled thoughts unexpectedly quieted down.
It wasn't just because of Mydei's support. But because, after hearing Mydei's story of resisting death and seeing what he had done, a thought inevitably arose in Castorice's heart.
If Mydei were placed in her position, those thoughts that troubled her so much might be resolved in a simple, rough manner.
For example, her view on death… At first, she treated it as an enemy, but after learning the truth, her understanding was overturned.
"Stelle, tell me… if Mydei were me, what would he do?"
Castorice asked absentmindedly.
"Mydei?"
Stelle scratched his head. Without thinking much, he said directly, "He'd probably be like you, carrying all the responsibility on his shoulders. As long as he could face himself, and not let down those who love him and those he loves, he'd feel he had already done his best."
"Mem!" Mem suddenly interrupted at that moment. She flew to Castorice's side and stamped her foot. "But Mem thinks it's because Castorice loves everyone in the world that she feels so troubled."
"Is that so?"
"I don't quite think so. I just… because when I was young, I was always forced to take others' lives, so I always felt that I had tainted other people's fates."
Castorice murmured softly.
Hearing this, both Stelle and Mem were stunned. And so were the viewers.
Because Castorice's words struck the core, perfectly, precisely.
You could say they directly pointed to the root of everything about her, the source of all her problems.
And the one who said it wasn't anyone else, it was Castorice herself.
....
: Castorice's tragedy, in truth, all began the moment she was brought into that land…
: A child who starts "killing" from such a young age, even if Amunet told her it was mercy, how could a child that young possibly distinguish such things?
: Exactly. To young Castorice, she was taking lives, making people disappear. And the concepts of good and evil are innate and Castorice, especially, possesses a great capacity for love.
: Most people would gradually become numb during this process, but Castorice didn't.
: Her love and empathy began to warp at that point. She always felt it was her fault and carried guilt over taking others' lives.
: That's why subconsciously, because of that guilt, she began to take responsibility for the deaths of others.
....
Just as the comments said, over the long years of "mercifully" ending others' lives, she bore immense psychological pressure, which, shaped by her personality, eventually turned into an obsession.
More and more people died at her hands, and combined with witnessing even more deaths, natural, accidental, brought by war, seeing those fragile lives and their suffering, Castorice began, instinctively, to wonder: what if death didn't exist?
On the surface, this thought was her compassion.
But at its core, it was her fear.
Fear of her own hands, fear of bringing about death.
And as if that weren't enough, Elder Amunet also did something that, though well-intentioned, turned out badly.
She insisted on telling Castorice that these deaths were mercy.
Fine. But in that case, Castorice had to force herself to believe it.
Since it was "for mercy," she had to believe that those who were granted death truly needed her, that those deaths were made merciful because of her.
And so, this led to Castorice being compelled to bind herself to every single person who died because of her.
She had to ensure that every life lost through her hands had meaning, to take responsibility for each one.
This kind of emotion, as she grew older, gradually turned into a kind of universal love.
And that very emotion, in turn, forced Castorice to become cold.
When they first arrived at Amphoreus, the audience saw that gentle yet distant, contradictory Castorice, that was the result of this.
Looking back over all of Castorice's story so far, it has all been about sending off the dead, guiding the living, and granting rest to souls.
The only time she ever wanted to do something for "herself" was when she crouched down in that field and reached out to touch a small flower.
But the flower withered.
Tears welled up in her eyes, yet she forcibly held them back.
From then on, she learned to hide. Hiding in her room, holding a "ball" for herself with two wooden sticks.
Hiding behind withered trees, watching other children laugh and play from afar.
Hiding within the identity of the War Maiden, using it to separate herself from the world.
It's not that she didn't long for these things. She just didn't dare to touch them.
Afraid of hurting others, and thus taking on even more fate and responsibility.
That's why she became outwardly cold but inwardly warm. And the reason Amphoreus' fate is seen by viewers as so cruel lies precisely in this.
No matter how much she tried to hide, in the end, she still became the one who took everything, whether it belonged to her or not, onto her own shoulders.
This world never gave her a choice.
Polyxia, Amunet, they truly loved Castorice. But that love, in the end, led to this tragedy.
By the final stage, what once supported Castorice in continuing forward became the drive to eliminate death itself.
Because she believed she was doing something meaningful, atoning for every life that had passed through her hands.
Only she, she believed, could break those immense chains of fate and responsibility.
And then, in Styxia, she found that what she hated didn't even exist.
The suffering she wanted to eliminate was itself the result of death's absence.
And so, Castorice's beliefs collapsed.
Does it hurt? It does.
At this moment, the audience, whose hearts were pierced through by Castorice's single sentence, felt unbearable pain.
It wasn't until Mydei left that Castorice managed to steady herself a little.
And the reason that sentence stunned both Stelle and the viewers was because it came from Castorice herself.
It's easy to see others clearly.
But to truly see oneself, is something many people can never achieve in their entire lives.
...
: I really hate that I understood this.
: The inner core of this character is written way too delicately… Castorice, Castorice… sigh! I feel so suffocated!
: It's a kind of sadness completely different from everyone before.
: Amphoreus… damn it, they've come up with all kinds of ways to stab us, and it all feels so real.
: Fate is just too helpless. After Mydei and Trianne… is it finally Castorice's turn?
: If there's a next life! Castorice must become an ordinary girl!! Damn it, don't be a Chrysos Heir again!
: This is too much to bear! The core of the whole story is slow and steady, eroding bit by bit, and the aftereffect hits insanely hard…
: I'm begging you, someone save Castorice's mental state… this child has held on for over a thousand years and still hasn't broken down! Don't keep dragging out her suffering, please!!
: Clearly Polyxia and Amunet were both good people Castorice met… so why did it turn out like this?
....
The comments was filled with wails.
On screen, after saying those words, Castorice looked much more relaxed.
She gave Stelle a gentle smile.
Under the moonlight, the girl's face made Stelle pause for a moment.
"Stelle, let's go…" Castorice waved her hand and took the lead in pushing open the door.
Stelle snapped back to her senses, and followed with Mem.
When they pushed the door open, a small figure appeared before their eyes.
It was… It was Trianne!!!
Just like Mydei, Trianne had turned into a soul.
With her hands on her hips, she looked at everyone proudly, just like before.
"Wow, there are so many of you!"
"It's Little Cas, and Little Gray! There's also... the pink puppy!"
Seeing Trianne appear, even Mem was stunned. She didn't even notice the nickname little pink dog.
"Souls of the dead cannot truly perish… to meet Trianne here is truly…" Stelle fell silent.
But in her heart, there was a trace of joy. After all, who wouldn't want to see departed friends again?
"Lady Trianne, Aren't you..."
Castorice asked, both surprised and confused.
"Yup! You're right. Trianne already knows that she'll not be able to return to everyone's side."
"But Trianne believed that Little Cas would eventually return to the nether realm..."
"So Trianne has been standing here, at this spot closest to the world of the living, and waiting for Little Cas!"
Just like Mydei, Trianne was also resisting that temptation.
Standing here, waiting, all this time. And just thinking about that made Castorice's body tremble slightly…
"Trianne promised Tribbie and Trinnon that when Little Cas got here, Trianne would get the gift ready and be the first person to run over and welcome you."
"So, Little Cas, don't cry! Please accept this..."
Even as a soul, Trianne's lively, childlike voice seemed to disperse the gloomy aura of the underworld.
She skipped over to them, took out a drawing, and held it up high with both hands, showing it to everyone.
On the screen, the full image of the drawing was revealed.
It was a painting with no technique at all, like something a seven-or eight-year-old child drew with crayons.
Simple lines, simple colors, full of innocence.
But the moment the audience saw it, their noses stung.
The drawing was filled with little figures. Stick arms, round hands, only the hairstyles and clothes were different.
Yet it was still easy to recognize everyone.
Trianne, Tribbie, Trinnon, Hyacine, Anaxa, Phainon, Cipher, Mydei, Aglaea, Dan Heng, Stelle… And of course, Castorice at the center.
Everyone had a simple curved smile on their faces, arms open, holding hands, shoulders touching.
Oh, except Anaxa, he had his lips pursed, standing in the top right corner holding a gun.
Yet despite such a childish drawing, it felt as if life itself was overflowing from it.
There were also little details, the Chrysos Heirs took up most of the drawing, while Dan Heng was in the lower left, and Stelle in the lower right.
Clearly, they had been added later.
....
: Ahhhhhh… wuwuwu!!
: I hate you, MiHoYo!! I was already crushed by Castorice's story…
: And now you hit me with this?!
: I'm gonna go all out against you!!!
: You monsters!!!
: Wuwuwu… I didn't even cry before, just felt suffocated, but when I saw this drawing, I completely lost it.
: Trianne… wuwu… someone so afraid of loneliness, yet she waited here for so long…
: Stop tormenting children already!!
: Crying and laughing at the same time… wuwuwu, you all must be Chrysos Heirs together in the next life!
: Trianne… such a lively Trianne… how could she be gone…
....
This devastating final blow sent the comments into complete chaos.
People crying, cursing the developers, and condemning them for tormenting children.
Castorice's expression returned to the same look she had when watching flowers wither as a child.
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, yet she held them back from falling.
"...We finally finished it!"
Because she was holding the drawing up so high, it blocked her view, so Trianne couldn't see Castorice's expression. Still full of anticipation, she asked,
"Trianne spent a lot of time drawing this! Trianne hopes that Little Cas likes it."
"Mmm... Seriously..."
Castorice praised her in a suppressed, trembling voice tinged with tears:
"It's seriously... A wonderful drawing, Lady Trianne..." This… was everyone's journey of Flame-Chase Journey.
Hearing the praise, Trianne was overjoyed.
"Little Cas, we don't know what your journey was like before. Tribbie has always said that it must have been a very harsh and frightening journey."
"But Little Cas no longer has anything to fear now, because everyone is here with you in this Flame-Chase Journey!"
Trianne's straightforward comfort, without any embellishment or technique, directly pierced through Castorice.
After going through confusion and the collapse of her beliefs, Castorice instinctively tried to force out a smile in response to this love-filled reassurance.
But the sorrow from before hadn't faded yet.
So the smile she managed to squeeze out still carried lingering sadness… along with tears that refused to fall.