Phainon and Phaethon stood at the starting point of the eternal recurrence. Bearing all the memories and love of a world, their gazes were resolute as they looked upon the long and lonely path ahead.
When future generations speak of that existence, they use four lines to describe His life—
To establish the heart of Heaven and Earth,
To determine the destiny of living beings.
To carry forward the lost wisdom of past sages,
To open the way for peace for all ages.
…——…——…——…——
After who knows how many cycles, a hand opened a dusty book.
Its contents read:
『The legend begins with the world as a mass of chaos.
Then, flames ignited from the void, illuminating the primeval gloom.
Thirteen majestic Titans were born from that Genesis Flame, their wills sketching the contours of the world.
Three wove fate, charting its course;
Three cleaved heaven and earth, separating the clear from the turbid;
Three molded life, bestowing form;
Three guided calamity, sowing trials.
Finally, one remained. His gaze gentle yet firm, He chose to silently nurture the nascent people.
Thus, an ancient prophecy was sung:
*A child of man named the Golden Descendant shall rise from obscurity, pluck the Coreflame of the Gods, and once more prop up the tottering heavens and earth.*
And I, named Asterion, an accidental wayfarer, descended upon this world named Amphoreus.
I am not the prophesied, fated Golden Descendant, yet I was forcibly chosen by the cold hand of destiny and told I must shoulder the heavy burden of saving the entire world.
At first, I scoffed.
What did the world's survival or demise have to do with me? Grand narratives bored me.
I didn't care what the world was like. I only wanted to protect that tiny, reachable warmth close to me, to care only that I and those I loved could be safe and happy.
Until, the people around me grew in number. From the initial three who depended on each other, it expanded to four, five… More and more faces, bearing hopes, trust, and reliance, walked into my life, encircling me tightly.
Finally, my brother, Phainon, looked at me with eyes that saw through everything and told me a fact I had long been reluctant to admit:
As long as I still loved these people around me, I could never escape the fate of this world.
The greatest conviction for "saving the world" often does not stem from an abstract love for the world, but from an inextricable care and desire to protect the specific people by one's side.
This is the first lesson for a Deliverer: Learn to bear the heavy responsibility that grows from loving one person to loving an entire world.
When I finally faced this responsibility and prepared to step forward, what accompanied the immense duty was not overwhelming power, but boundless anxiety and fear.
The weight of an entire world felt like an invisible mountain, crashing down upon my slender shoulders.
I wandered lost, startled awake by the pressure on countless deep nights, helplessly examining my own meager strength.
Until a youthful yet clear voice rang in my ear, like sunlight piercing dark clouds—
Fate is not a cruel outcome decided by a single hammer blow; it is a long process that must be walked step by step.
The problems of tomorrow can only be solved by the self of tomorrow, the one who has grown stronger.
So, why try to shoulder all the burdens of the future today?
Entrust those unanswerable, temporarily unsolvable doubts frankly to tomorrow!
I had an epiphany. I didn't need to play the omniscient, omnipotent savior today. I only needed to take each current step well.
This is the second lesson for a Deliverer: Learn to manage the immense pressure that stems from responsibility, pressure enough to crush anyone.
When I learned to coexist with the pressure and continued forward, I ultimately encountered the cruelty unavoidable in all heroes' journeys: sacrifice and pain.
A battle-hardened warrior told me: Do not hate your fate, and do not waste energy despising death.
Great journeys and epic tales are grand and magnificent precisely because all things must eventually pass.
All people abhor suffering, yet it is suffering that most tempers the unyielding spine, allowing one to stand firm.
A wise weaver also said to me: The flame chase journey is itself a path of constant loss.
On this road, nothing is unsacrificable. Even life can sometimes be as light as dust.
I painfully realized that saving the world is never a perfect fairy tale. Pain and sacrifice are the inevitable price paid on this path.
This is the third lesson for a Deliverer: Learn to accept the unavoidable, heart-rending loss.
After realizing that no matter how hard I tried, I could not achieve a perfect ending where no one was sacrificed, profound doubt and self-negation nearly consumed me.
I hesitated to move forward, even wanting to stop right there.
It was the maiden who alone bore the authority of "Death" who walked before me, extending a cold yet firm hand, inviting me on a journey to seek my own meaning.
This journey did not grant me a perfect answer, but within endless confusion, it led me to ultimately choose, bearing all doubts, to set forth once more.
Because… someone once told me: Take control of what you can control.
Then, when that inescapable fate finally descends, use the strong will you have tempered to defy its manipulation head-on!
This is the fourth lesson for a Deliverer: Learn to hold fast to one's true heart and resolutely advance amidst endless doubt and fog.
Then, even though I chose to continue, deep within my heart, I still pitifully retained a sliver of longing for a perfect ending. This longing became my new shackles.
It was the most gentle, resilient, and attentive physician in our group who keenly perceived and gently healed this final knot in my heart.
She told me—Legends are not born naturally. True greatness never stems from the nobility of blood or the perfection of one's starting point!
It stems from the present moment—from our persistence in rising after every fall, from every resolute choice and decision made from the heart!
I finally broke free completely from the shackles of so-called divine mandate and perfectionism, gaining true freedom.
When the mastermind behind the scenes finally appeared, coldly pointing out the void of my own existence and the blankness of my data, It was precisely this complete acceptance and embrace of the "imperfect" that allowed me to find the most real and unshakable meaning belonging to the existence of "Asterion" itself.
This is the fifth lesson for a Deliverer: Learn to discard the obsession with perfection and embrace the true self and the present moment.
Thus, the old story has drawn to a close, and a new epic will be written beneath my feet.
I write this not to be remembered, but to remind myself:
*How heavy is the head that wears the crown.*
Only one who takes the world as his teacher can bear the fate of the world.
I am not a born hero.
I am just an ordinary person who learned how to love.
— Asterion (Phaethon), at the place where eternal recurrence begin』