What sins does the scapegoat bear? And what does it deliver?
Conclusion:
To fight against fate is the sin.
To deliver the Chrysos Heirs—those who can fight against fate, Phainons killed themselves everytime.
I. "Fire and light are the embodiment of that sin."
In the narrative framework of the Flame-Chase Journey, Fire = Coreflame. (No further elaboration needed.)
In elemental correspondence, Fire = Mydei.
In the scapegoat’s delirium, light = strife.
The birth of strife was meant to rebel against the unjust—that is, to fight against fate.
This echoes the 3.0 PV "Mythology Opening Trailer: Song of Divine Silence":
II. "The Golden Scapegoats suddenly appeared in the late Era Bellica, causing a massive stir across the world."
The translation of the CN version:
If you're reading this message on the communing stone tablet, congratulations: you've passed the initial trial of what I call the "Golden Scapegoat" esoteric ritual. You may have grown accustomed to the various occult phenomena in Amphoreus; much like this trial you just completed, which suddenly appeared in the late Era Bellica and was once regarded as an ill omen, stirring widespread upheaval across the world—yet over time, people learned to turn a blind eye to it.
The EN version losts some info, please see the CN version as the original version.
Since Amphoreus had no internet, for something to cause such a widespread sensation, it must have physically appeared in multiple places at once. Thus, we can conclude that a large number of Golden Scapegoats emerged abruptly in the late Era Bellica.
What happened in the late Era Bellica?
According to the CN Amphoreus Wiki's compiled chronicles—though the exact length of each era is unknown (we only know the Golden Age was short, while the Era Bellica lasted at least 2,000 years)—two events may belong to this period:
In Light Calendar Year 3760, Tribios became a demigod, and by Light Calendar Year 3870, the Flame-Chase Journey officially began.
However, since the Era Bellica continued for over a thousand years after this, and its total duration is unclear, we can't definitively say whether being 1,000 years from the end counts as "late Era Bellica."
Around Light Calendar Year 4800-4900, Mydei was born and thrown into the Sea of Souls.
This undeniably qualifies as the late era, because from his birth to his patricide was no more than a century (likely just 20-30 years)—a mere fraction of an age spanning 2,000+ years.
Synthesis:
At the start of the Flame-Chase Journey, Chrysos Heirs capable of fight against fate had already begun to appear as anomalies. But Mydei's birth (and his survival for nine years in the Sea of Souls) was too extreme an anomaly, leading to an explosive surge of Scapegoats.
III. Dan Heng's Reflection in Version 3.2 Main Story: The Flame-Chase Journey as a Selection Process
Combined with the Golden Scapegoat, the Flame-Chase Journey can be understood as a Khaslana-protected training mechanism for aberrant Chrysos Heirs.
From its very birth, Phainon/Khaslana has been shackled by the chains of fate with no possibility of escape(CN version lyrics of Nameless Faces). His punishment for merely bringing strife (inciting people to rebel against fate) was to be peeled apart layer by layer like an onion until shattered.
Thus, he pins his hopes on the Chrysos Heirs—those who can bite through the chains of fate(CN version lyrics of Nameless Faces).
To achieve this, he takes the form of a Scapegoat to protect the aberrant Chrysos Heirs. These anomalies are like bugged code, running in ways the Scepter (Administrator) never anticipated—resisting fate itself.
To prevent them from being "fixed" into compliant code that the Scepter can control, Khaslana uses the Scapegoat mechanism to conceal the bugs.
IV. The Most Direct Evidence of Using Scapegoats to Preserve Anomalies:
In version 3.3's Okhema of Night map, the three Scapegoat devices appear at the exact same locations as Mydei's remnant crystals in Okhema of Day.
Mydei is not only the literal God of Strife and the official representative of the fire element, but his anomalies - or "bugs" - are as numerous as the biggest spaghetti code in Amphoreus (see the Mydei Foreshadowing Compendium for details, which we won't elaborate here).
His epitaph is uniquely imperative compared to others:
"Mydeimos, become king."
The one who writes everyone's epitaphs is Khaslana:
V. Reference to Honkai Impact 3's Plot:
To counter the Honkai, the Previous Civilization devised three plans: the worst but most feasible fallback option - the [Project Stigma]; the [Project Ember] that pinned hopes on the new generation with completely unknown success rates; and finally the silent [Project Shambhala], which we won't discuss here.
At the climax of Honkai Impact 3's first part, as the Herrscher of Finality's power was about to annihilate humanity, Kevin formally implemented the Project Stigma. After forcibly seizing the Finality's power, he dragged all of humanity into a dream world at the cost of maintaining his own consciousness with eternal difficulty. This allowed humanity to evade destruction by the Honkai, but at the same time severed humanity's future, trapping them in endless cycles.
Kevin wasn't a Herrscher and couldn't truly wield the Finality's power - his body was being destroyed by this power every moment, only to regenerate repeatedly due to his Chimera traits. The Project Stigma was merely a last-resort contingency plan. If Project Ember failed, Kevin would continue enduring this agony without complaint, maintaining this Honkai-evading dream for humanity. But this wasn't a permanent solution - should Kevin falter, the dream would collapse and humanity would still face the Finality.
What Kevin actually did was preparing this safety net while paving the way for Project Ember, hoping someone could surpass him.
It was Project Ember, executed by protagonists like Kiana, that ultimately shattered his plan and gave humanity a real future. After Kiana defeated Kevin, the Herrscher of Finality formally acknowledged Kiana.
Kevin, who supported the world for humanity by becoming a torch = Phainon
[Project Stigma] = Present-day Amphoreus:
[Project Ember] = Flame-Chase Journey. (No further elaboration needed)
In conclusion, those above can be summarized as:
Prometheus (Khaslana) brought the fire to humanity (guiding the Chrysos Heirs to rebel against fate). To prevent the flame from extinguishing (the fate-defying Chrysos Heirs being erased), Prometheus (Khaslana) took the punishment upon itself (splitting into one sacrificial Scapegoat after another).
However, unlike Prometheus stealing fire, the rebellious spirit of the Chrysos Heirs wasn't "stolen" from elsewhere by Khaslana to give them - rather, it was their own will that had been awakened. Thus, this is the Unstolen Flame.
