T/N: This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and storylines in this novel are entirely fictional. Any public agencies, institutions, locations, or historical figures mentioned are used solely as fictional backdrops and do not represent their real-world counterparts.
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Every major platform was flooded with videos about Amphoreus in an instant.
"This narrative, which has continued for several months, has finally reached its conclusion today."
"Next, I will guide everyone through a step-by-step analysis so that we can understand the hidden threads buried throughout Amphoreus."
"As well as the countless pieces of foreshadowing miHoYo planted throughout this series, all of which were ultimately brought together and resolved."
They were old acquaintances, namely, Ms. Mei and Jiang Yun. They uploaded this video immediately after the video ended.
The video's popularity exploded. In just over ten minutes, it surpassed one million views.
In the video, the two of them used their professional screenwriting knowledge to analyse Amphoreus' narrative structure.
They also introduced a novel idea:
"Only now has miHoYo finally begun to reveal its fangs."
In its previous storylines, miHoYo had been skilled at completing an entire story within only a few episodes.
Amphoreus, however, used every resource available to build toward a single objective. The people, objects, and events all ultimately led toward the Flame-Chase Journey.
From the audience's perspective, the individual characters of Amphoreus were the main reason they found the story appealing.
Within the story itself, however, those characters existed to serve that objective and were subordinate to its central concept.
It was just like how a symphony required a central motif. The more deeply that motif entered the hearts of its audience, the more powerful and moving the symphony would sound.
This made the story feel more real and gave it a much stronger lingering impact. The characters acting beneath this central objective would also naturally begin to feel alive.
This method required an enormous amount of supporting resources. Looking back throughout history, every entertainment work that had attempted something similar possessed tremendous ambition.
And what was Amphoreus's central motif? It was the Flame-Chase Journey.
What exactly was the Flame-Chase Journey? From what could now be seen, the Flame-Chase Journey was not merely about saving the world.
It was exploring a question that humanity had discussed since ancient times: If destruction was inevitable, and the void had always been waiting there, what should we do?
"This concept is extremely difficult to write about, at least within entertainment media."
"Because the people who previously touched upon this concept all became philosophers."
"I truly look forward to seeing what method miHoYo will use to allow ordinary viewers to experience this philosophical contemplation as well."
At the end of the video, Ms. Mei spoke with both concern and excitement:
"I am afraid, because the grander a subject is, the more difficult it becomes to describe it completely. But I am also filled with anticipation, because miHoYo has not attempted to preach these ideas to you dogmatically. Instead, it has spent a tremendous amount of time and resources laying the groundwork."
"Just like the unique experience we received in Episode 3, I have confidence that this Flame-Chase Journey will reach heights beyond what I can imagine."
That was the analysis concerning the thematic core of the story, narrative deception, Phainon, the Chrysos Heirs, and the Flame Reaver were the subjects that attracted viewers the most.
They occupied seven out of the top ten trending searches.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Amphoreus had similarly slaughtered the Witter rankings.
The tragic nature that Amphoreus was gradually revealing was practically designed to strike Japanese audiences directly in the heart.
Even though the market was dominated majorly by anime, Honkai: Star Rail was clearly a live-action series, yet it gave them an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
For some mysterious reason, whenever they watched Honkai: Star Rail, they would constantly imagine that they were watching an anime.
In the end, after thinking about it repeatedly without finding an answer, they could only attribute it to miHoYo's protection of its actors.
These actors had absolutely no public information or appearances outside the series.
Instead, this gave Japanese audiences the impression that the actors existed only within the world of the story.
Was this not another form of being "two-dimensional"?
As a result, a peculiar phenomenon was born.
Whenever an episode of Honkai: Star Rail finished airing, Japanese artists would begin treating it exactly like an anime and produce fan content.
On anime websites, the number of submissions under the Amphoreus tag exploded within only two hours.
Remember, these were submissions. The people submitting them all possessed the ability to create artwork. They were not ordinary viewers.
In Japan, receiving one hundred thousand submissions within two hours was a figure that crushed almost every other work in existence.
And this was still a live-action series. Most of these submissions focused on the most popular characters, along with the other Chrysos Heirs.
Of course, there were also some individuals with particularly unusual tastes who chose to submit fan works about Caenis.
They were then reported.
Aside from that, another interesting event occurred.
Because of Honkai: Star Rail's explosive popularity, a few within Japan's entertainment industry mistakenly believed they were witnessing the arrival of a new golden age for live-action productions.
They believed that their entertainment industry, which had been both blessed and cursed by anime, was finally about to welcome a prosperous era of live-action television of its own.
As a result, enormous amounts of investment began pouring in.
All kinds of live-action productions were launched one after another, each hoping to claim a share of the success while Honkai: Star Rail remained overwhelmingly popular in Japan.
From directors at the top to actors at the bottom, the entire Japanese entertainment industry fell into a strange state of excitement.
It was as though the next Honkai: Star Rail was certain to emerge live-action work only. Sometimes, one truly had no choice but to marvel at the peculiar thought processes of media giants.
When Xia Wen learned about these events, all he could say was that he wished them good luck.
In any case, throughout Asia, Honkai: Star Rail swept across the entire entertainment market with an overwhelmingly dominant force, including every major streaming platform.
Asia was livelier than ever.
Naturally, other places were unwilling to remain silent either.
In France, Furina's homeland, attitudes and public opinion regarding Honkai: Star Rail had always been rather complicated.
Now, however, they could essentially be described with a single word: Conflicted.
They celebrated while simultaneously feeling anxious.
On the one hand, Honkai: Star Rail's viewership ratings and level of discussion in France were no weaker than those of any other country.
On the night Episode 3 aired, data from various French platforms showed that Amphoreus' viewership had once again broken records.
Throughout the Paris Metro and on the streets, young people from the old white-flag nation could be seen everywhere, scrolling through their phones.
Naturally, the content on their screens was related to Amphoreus.
On the other hand, no matter how popular it became, Honkai: Star Rail still could not obtain recognition from France's artistic industry.
This place appeared to be the most romantic and freest nation in the world.
In reality, much like in the fashion world, certain authorities still control the entire ecosystem from behind the scenes.
For everyone in fashion around the world, the ultimate goal is to go to Paris, to receive the judgment of famous figures within the circle, or to win a particular award.
Decades of deep narrative have made them the "peak" of modern human history, or at least the peak recognized by most people.
This power gives them the authority to decide that only what they acknowledge can be considered world-class.
The entertainment industry is naturally no different.
In France, recognition from these invisible hands matters more than popularity.
As Honkai: Star Rail became increasingly popular, and then Amphoreus appeared, a series capable of breaking through cultural barriers, film critics, cultural commentators, and academic scholars analyzed its narrative structure, discussed its philosophical depth, and praised the sophistication of its performances.
Yet they never acknowledged that this was a work capable of overturning the landscape of the entertainment market.
The root of this inner conflict was clear even to them: they were afraid. They were afraid that giving this work the evaluation it deserved would mean bowing their heads to a live-action work.
To these self-important people who believed in artistic works, what mattered was not the evaluation itself, but bowing their heads, and, even more importantly, bowing to a live-action work.
Arrogance and prejudice had long existed in the hearts of people who prided their artworks.
They also believed that what they were doing was right.
Because from beginning to end, the truly invisible hands of France's entertainment media, those prestigious, powerful newspapers and media outlets associated with official institutions, had never openly discussed the matter.
Reporting itself was a kind of stance.
Until the end of the 3rd episode, a famous news outlet published a long article.
Its wording was restrained, but it could not conceal its central point: Honkai: Star Rail had provided every country with a vast cultural heritage with a new path forward.
It was a direct and unmistakable affirmation.
The same night, the phone of Mr. Delon, editor-in-chief of the famous news outlet, was flooded with calls.
Mr. Delon had no choice but to personally post on social media, stating that this was the objective and fair assessment of the entire staff.
Then he began playing dead. No matter how much those people caused a fuss, it was of little consequence.
Because after the article was published, the opposing voices only grew more intense. As for whether the article was truly an objective and fair evaluation, only Mr. Delon himself knew.
Let us turn the clock back to shortly before the third episode ended.
Inside the local office of the famous media outlet.
Mr. Delon was smoking one cigarette after another, considering whether he should continue pretending not to see what was happening.
Honkai: Star Rail was too popular. Its popularity had risen from the people themselves. This wave was not something they could suppress.
But Delon also had to consider how those "artists" would react after he decided, on his own authority, to publish an article affirming Honkai: Star Rail and Amphoreus.
Besides, would endorsing Honkai: Star Rail fit the newspaper's positioning? Would it lower their prestige too much?
After all, it was about a live-action work.
Just as Editor-in-Chief Delon was smoking one cigarette after another, a young secretary arrived, bringing the opinion of a certain person and a report.
"Amphoreus has reached world-class standards everywhere: narrative structure, audiovisual language, and cultural philosophy."
"I must particularly point out that miHoYo's reinterpretation of classical Greek culture provides a valuable reference for how France can excavate its own cultural heritage."
"I have no right to interfere with your judgment. I merely hope, as a reader, to see your publication's insights as well."
"Signed: Neuvillette."
Delon looked at the report in his hand, then at the signature.
He immediately sat up straight. He held the report as though he were holding an imperial decree.
Fortunately, Neuvillette was not there. Otherwise, Delon would surely have said, "I have no insights. Your insights are my insights."
Their media outlet was the foundation of every critic, or rather, the foundation of France's discursive power in entertainment. It was an invisible hand.
And this man was the invisible hand behind that invisible hand.
Still, before making an official statement, Editor-in-Chief Delon carefully asked the young secretary before him:
"Sir, forgive my bluntness, but since when has Mr. Neuvillette, no, since when has the Ministry of Culture begun caring about the influence of some random series?"
The young secretary thought for a moment before answering:
"In Mr. Neuvillette's words: its quality and popularity are obvious. It is also the first miracle of the streaming era. That alone makes it worthy of our attention."
"Second, this is merely my personal thought."
At this point, the young man looked seriously at the editor-in-chief and said:
"Mr. Neuvillette has a younger sister who works as an associate director at miHoYo."
"I understand, I understand!" Delon nodded repeatedly.
In an instant, all the conflict in his heart vanished.
Given Mr. Neuvillette's character, he would never use public office for private gain.
Obviously, just as the young secretary had said, this was only the secretary's own thought.
Neuvillette could not possibly endorse Honkai: Star Rail for that reason. It had to be because of Honkai: Star Rail's own excellence, and the foresight of that great person behind it.
But… Could people like them really ignore this issue? Could they really ignore this factor?
Who would not want to move forward? For a moment, an unspoken understanding appeared in the exchanged glances between Delon and the young secretary.
And so, the noble, untouchably arrogant La Chronique Universelle, which was considered the muse and holy grail of the Paris entertainment world, under the influence of a certain invisible hand, made a sharp ninety-degree turn and changed its stance.
Its flexibility was so astonishing that, if those critics had learned of it, their worldview might have collapsed on the spot.
As for Neuvillette, this was simply what he ought to do.
France's cultural world was destined to undergo a thorough cleansing under this invisible hand.