This is what makes it so interesting.
What kind of place is Amphoreus? It's a world filled with heroes.
It's not that Amphoreus itself is particularly strange, but in an environment like this, the "hero" view of history is the norm. A people-centered view of history simply doesn't have the conditions to emerge.
Titans, demigods, these extraordinary powers genuinely exist.
If the people of Amphoreus could interact with the universe and come into contact with other civilizations across the universe, then the emergence of such values would make sense.
The problem is that this is an isolated world.
In an instant, the audience became far more curious about Hyacine than ever before. Curious about how such a way of thinking had come into being.
....
On screen, after Hyacine finished speaking, the smile on Anaxa's face grew even warmer as he encouraged her.
Hyacine continued in her earnest manner,
"Her brilliance had become as blinding as Aquila's, lording over everything on the ground."
"That's why... I'm glad that my era does not lack heroes."
"All my ancestors had was a sad past, but I have a future I want to protect. Instead of becoming a hero and ushering in a golden deluge to baptize the world anew, I want to stay in the back line and save all the ordinary humans from drowning in the rising waves."
"I wish not to return to the sky, but to walk among the masses on earth. I believe it's the only way for the saga of creation to include a footnote for the everyday people in its blank page."
This was Hyacine's dream.
Even at such a young age, she saw things that others could not.
The memory faded.
Little Ica nudged Hyacine, "Doot-Doot... Doot?"
Hyacine returned to the present and smiled awkwardly at Dan Heng.
"Ah... I'm getting embarrassed from remembering how I said all that."
"But my beliefs have never changed. Now I really have a chance to stay behind the heroes' frontline and realize my dream."
Dan Heng was silent for a moment before commenting, "This path will probably be very difficult."
"It's not that hard, is it? Once you start doing it, it feels manageable."
Hyacine chuckled before changing the subject.
"Alright, the collection is complete. Then lets head back now"
"Mhm." Dan Heng nodded.
He began silently reciting an incantation.
Invisible streams of water gathered before him, and before long, they took the shape of the Chalice of Plenty.
Of course, it was only a replica.
With the Chalice of Plenty serving as a bridge, Hyacine easily crossed countless miles in a single step and entered the Vortex of Genesis.
At this moment, besides herself, Tribbie and Cipher were also there.
Hyacine happened to see Cipher handing something to Tribbie.
"Anyway, I'm about to head out. Oh, big sis Tribbie, before I go — Got a little gift for you."
In Cipher's hand was a deep violet envelope. Tribbie accepted it curiously and said happily, "Wow, didn't expect you to be so thoughtful... What's in it?"
Cipher giggled.
"Heh... That's a part of the game too. If you want to see the full picture of what's inside, you'll have to wait until nightfall."
After nightfall? Does Okhema even get dark?
That question had just surfaced in some viewers' minds when, Tribbie paid no attention to the implication behind Cipher's words and instead teasingly complained,
"A gift with a mysterious twist? Seriously?"
Maybe there wasn't any problem after all. The audience stopped dwelling on it.
And while the two were talking, Hyacine had already walked over and greeted them.
"Lady Tribbie, and... this graceful lady must be Miss Cipher.
"I'm Hyacinthia from the Twilight Courtyard. Everyone calls me Hyacine, pleased to meet you!"
"Tsk, bright and cheery as a lamp..." Cipher glanced at Hyacine and smiled.
After joking around for a moment, Cipher finally introduced herself properly.
"...Ahem. Well, hello there, pink child. I'm Cifera from the long-fallen city-state of Dolos. As for the rest... it's all in the history books, so I don't need to repeat it here."
"So you're from the Twilight Courtyard? Does that mean..."
Then, Cipher stared straight at Hyacine.
"Yes, I'm a descendant of the Sky people, the Chrysos Heir about to take over the authority of Sky." Hyacine shrank back uneasily under the gaze, but still replied.
"Well, that's... unexpected. I figured Seliose's descendant would be... I don't know. Taller? Stronger?" Cipher said with a grin.
Hyacine laughed awkwardly, unsure where that stereotype had come from.
But Cipher was merely curious. She waved her hand and turned away.
"...Anyway, I've got a mission to handle, so I'll get going."
"Good luck, Miss Hyacine. And if things get tough, just let that Deliverer take the lead!"
With that, a coin was tossed into the air. Hyacine's eyes were instinctively drawn toward it.
But in that very instant, both the coin and Cipher vanished.
"Miss Cipher is in such a hurry." Hyacine froze for a moment before commenting with mixed emotions.
Although she had always lived in Okhema, she had never actually met Cipher before.
Today was her first encounter with the infamous master thief.
"Don't worry. She's always been like that... It's good to have her back in Okhema lending a hand."
At that, Tribbie turned to Hyacine and asked gently,
"Well, enough about her for now. You're here because of your mission, aren't you, Cinny?"
"Mhm!" Hyacine nodded.
"It's the perfect opportunity for me to go and tuck Ciphy's gift away somewhere safe. The Vortex of Genesis is all yours."
After saying goodbye to Hyacine, Tribbie also left the Vortex.
Inside the now-empty vortex, Hyacine wasted no time. She placed the box she had been carrying in front of her.
Without any external force, the box naturally floated into the air and began radiating light.
One figure after another emerged from the glow.
They were the ancestral spirits of the skyfolk, men and women alike, all with appearances frozen from before their deaths.
Next, through Hyacine's perspective, the audience was finally able to become acquainted with these souls.
The first was a female general named Ektra.
She had once led her people into an alliance with Okhema, resisting the advance of the Kremnoan army.
It was after that alliance, and the great victory over Castrum Kremnos, that the Skyfolk secured their place within Okhema.
After the general appeared, her explanation allowed Hyacine to understand the situation before her.
Even she could not help but feel a little dazed with emotion.
After all, the era in which she had been active was a thousand years ago.
And now, the Coreflames of Earth and Ocean, which belonged to the same category as Sky, had already been reclaimed. Even Aglaea had passed away.
After a brief moment of reflection, she turned around and looked at Hyacine, asking gently, "Answer me, Hyacinthia. Since you recognize me, you must have also read my writings, no?"
Hyacine replied seriously, "Every record regarding my lineage is etched in my memory, including your words."
Ektra said solemnly, "In that case, you're probably aware of the prophecy I sought from a certain Tribios."
After the general finished speaking, Hyacine immediately continued.
"Yes. "At the end of the rainbow bridge, the Skyfolk will mend dusk and dawn.""
After reciting the prophecy, Hyacine added, "But unfortunately, no ancestor has ever been able to truly decipher its meaning."
Hearing this, General Ektra nodded. There was little regret in her expression.
Instead, she smiled and said, "Perhaps you'll be the one to witness its fulfillment, child. May the prophecy lead you to a gentle fate."
Hyacine revealed a sweet smile and replied energetically,
"Thank you, Lady Ektra. Whatever fate the prophecy holds, I'll face it head-on. It's only by giving everything we have that we can truly accept any outcome with a smile... won't you agree?"
The smile on the general's face deepened.
A ray of light bearing the mark of Sky flew from her soul and landed upon Hyacine's head.
"Hah... I like you, child. I wish this conversation could go on a little longer."
"Take my blessing, Hyacinthia. When I first saw you, I indeed had my doubts..."
"But your resolve has touched me. If Sky's divinity is fated to pass on... I hope it incorporates your optimism and kindness."
As the light faded, General Ektra's spirit vanished and Hyacine took a deep breath and continued onward.
And taking advantage of this moment, the livestream chat began to explode.
Because the prophecy they had just seen was difficult for the viewers to believe.
...
: That's way too gentle, damn it.
: The previous prophecies all described the deaths of the Chrysos Heirs. But Hyacine's prophecy is just about repairing the sky?
: Holy crap, I can't believe something this normal.
: Did MiHoYo really grow a conscience? Was Hyacine actually arranged to heal our mental health after everything we've watched?
: Is MiHoYo really that merciful? (muttering quietly)
: Damn, we've developed PTSD from this. We keep begging MiHoYo to be kind, and when they finally are, we don't believe it.
: Even General Ektra's words didn't contain any death flags.
: Then... maybe... we can trust them this once?
: Hyacine is such a sweet, adorable girl. It'd be hard to stab her with tragedy, right?
...
By now, nobody trusted MiHoYo's "kindness" anymore.
While the chat continued discussing, Hyacine received blessings from several more ancestors in succession.
Among them was her grandmother.
Upon awakening and seeing Hyacine, the elderly woman could hardly believe her eyes.
No excessive explanation was needed. The location itself, along with the many glowing Coreflames nearby, proved that her granddaughter had already embarked upon the Flame-Chasing journey.
She felt both pride and worry.
Hyacine did not understand warfare. She had once believed her precious little granddaughter to be a timid child. Her greatest wish had always been for Hyacine to spend her life in peace and happiness.
As for seizing Aquila's Coreflame, that was not something she ever thought Hyacine was capable of.
Yet in the end, her grandmother still responded with her blessing, hoping that her faint light could help Hyacine overcome the hardships along the road ahead.
Amid this warmth, as her grandmother's figure began to fade away, she once again told Hyacine one of the stories she had heard as a child.
As the words were spoken, a vividly colored mural spread across the screen.
At the center of the mural stood a female knight, rendered only in lines and clad in armor.
To her left a blue horse like beast with wings, and to the right was a similar golden beast.
The knight and the two beasts all gazed upward toward the very top of the mural, a crimson eye.
[For millennia, the Titans waged relentless wars, leaving the world scarred and ravaged.]
[A century of the Chrysos War plunged the nations into chaos and decay.]
[Until a spear, fueled by mortal rage... Pierced through the smoke and flames that buried the prophecy of deliverance.]
The old woman's voice carried a powerful resonance.
As she narrated, the tale of the Sun-Thunder Knight slowly unfolded.
[Aquila, the celestial shaper, the hundred-eyed divine bird crowned with the blazing sun and wielding thunder...]
[Though struck blind in ninety-nine eyes by Nikador, they kept one eye, glaring at the children of twilight who received divine blessing yet turned their weapons against the gods.]
[The Chrysos Heir of the Sky, Seliose the Daythunder Knight, ascended the forbidden lands of the Eye of Twilight at dusk, clad in wings.]
[To her left was the lion-headed Solabis, the Sunlit Wings, whose roars breathed divine flames and scorched the world.]
[To her right was the horse-bodied Lunabis, the Moonlit Plume, whose graceful steps trampled the stars in the heavens.]
[The one warrior and her two beasts challenged the ruler of the sky, determined to seize the divine Coreflame through plunder.]
[Their battle against the Titan shook heaven and earth, until at last the Sky Titan's colossal eye was shattered.]
[The Titan's every roar summoned lightning bolts, and their every movement stirred cyclones.]
[The wounded Titan's blood... poured down like boiling rain upon the world and converged into scalding torrents.]
[In the final moments of the battle, the Sunlit Wings set the Titan's wings aflame, while the Moonlit Plume sealed the divine body...]
[The battered hero of the sky, with her wings broken and her body covered in wounds, struggled to lift her spear... and pierced the last monstrous eye.]
[The Titan's divine body crashed to the ground, and with it, the sky tore apart like fabric, about to fall with its god.]
[The fear and pleas of mortals urged the hero of the sky to rise again.]
[Seliose the Daythunder Knight, the first of the Chrysos Heirs to slay a god in this world, charged into the crumbling body of Aquila with her two fearless winged companions.]
[She merged with the Titan, holding up the sky once more, only to leave behind a powerful message for the world-]
["My descendants will be blessed and cross the rainbow bridge back to the sky... At the end of the Prophecy of Genesis, they will reclaim the Coreflame from my hands."]
Using her vast and aged voice, Hyacine's grandmother imitated a sonorous, heroic tone and brought the myth to a close.
Though the information was brief, the audience was utterly captivated.
They had never imagined that the Sun-Thunder Knight would be such a legendary figure.
The first Chrysos Heir to slay a Titan. And she had left behind such a prophecy for her descendants.
No wonder the Skyfolks had prospered so well. A heroic bloodline truly was extraordinary.
Could this also be the reason Hyacine's prophecy was so gentle? The audience could only speculate...