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sweetcinnamonmaplesyrup · 2 months ago

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I wasn't planning to say much of anything about the Phaidei situation in 3.4 because I feel it honestly speaks for itself (like, do I need to say anything here? Look at the feast...), but the way that people are reacting to the scene where Mydei duels Khaslana is kinda rubbing me the wrong way, so I thought I might at least say something about that.

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A lot of people seem to have taken this scene as 1) Mydei being weirdly into the idea of being killed by Phainon (the sus English lines from the wiki floating around aren't helping lol); 2) Mydei being weirdly into the idea of dueling period, as if his only wish in life was to die in combat; or 3) Mydei being so down bad for Phainon that he doesn't care about Khaslana being "evil" from the cycles' Chrysos Heirs' perspectives.

But (while I don't debate Mydei is, in fact, down bad for Phainon), I think there's a lot of context possibly being missed here, at least in how people are talking about this scene.

The first key takeaway is that, even 108,642 cycles in, Khaslana was still telling the heirs--or at least was telling Mydei--that Amphoreus was trapped in an unending cycle of the Flame Chase Journey... and the Mydei of cycle 108,642 believes him.

It's clear that Khaslana has even shared the issue occurring with the Destruction and his need to continuously collect the coreflames:

This means that Mydei engaged in this battle with Khaslana knowing the full truth of Amphoreus (or very close to it), knowing at the very least that the safety of the universe relies on Khaslana amassing an extreme amount of power through seizing the coreflames in order to prevent the worst from coming to pass.

It should be clear from that alone exactly why Mydei is willing to support Khaslana's victory: Mydei trusts that Khaslana is telling the truth and actually does need to collect the coreflames of Strife to protect the universe from Destruction.

Mydei is not wishing the Phainon of his cycle eternal victory; he's wishing Khaslana--the one who bears the burden of all Amphoreus--"eternal" victory on Khaslana's quest to prevent Irontomb from manifesting. Every time Khaslana triumphs over Mydeimos, "the Deliverer" is one step closer to his goal of amassing enough power to fight back against Destruction, and thus Mydeimos wishes for Khaslana to continue to win their duels in every life, in every cycle, with the belief that doing so is the righteous choice.

Losing to Khaslana is equal to helping save the world.

In reality, this scene is essentially us the players watching Mydei willingly martyr himself to ensure that Khaslana can continue his endless iterations. RIP to the Phainons of the cycles; Mydei picked Khaslana in every life. Noooo I'm kidding, promiseeee. 😂

Anyway, if it's clear that Mydei both understands Khaslana's need for the coreflames and actually believes his story about the Destruction and Amphoreus's cycles, then why doesn't he just hand the coreflame of Strife over peacefully?

Because that's not who Mydei is. (In any cycle, apparently.)

Despite personal desires to live peacefully and initially not even wanting to take on the coreflame of Strife, Mydei is and has always been a character driven by the concept of duty.

It was out of a sense of duty that he killed his father to avenge his mother:

It was out of duty that he took on the role of the crown prince to lead his people into a better future, even as they fought him every step of the way:

It was out of a sense of duty that he chose to join Aglaea's Flame Chase:

It was out of duty that he ultimately took on the coreflame of Strife despite reviling what it stood for:

It was out of duty he returned to Kremnos knowing that it would be futile mission, and faced Flame Reaver in battle knowing that he would die by the blade:

For Mydeimos, whose entire life was prophesied from the moment of his birth, whose existence has always been dedicated to serving others (even all the way back in the Sea of Souls, saving others while not saving himself), the concept of duty is synonymous with integrity. To fully commit to ones' actions, to faithfully do what one has sworn to do, to stand by one's convictions to the end, and to do what is right for others without flinching, no matter the cost to yourself--this is the core of Mydei's character. (If it sounds similar to the core of Phainon's character, that's obviously no accident.)

Fulfilling your duty, even if it costs your life, is the only form of honorable existence--to a person cursed with immortality, finding meaning in life through unwaveringly upholding one's promises and serving others may be the only reason to keep going.

Mydeimos didn't want the coreflame of Strife (at least ours didn't), but having accepted it and the role of "demigod of Strife," there is no world in which someone who comes with a blade in hand could peacefully take that coreflame from Mydei. Having accepted the title of "the Guardian of Amphoreus," the one who bears the name of Strife to fight back the black tide, the one who carries the pride and history of Kremnos's faith on his shoulders--in no way could Mydei ever hand over his coreflame (his sworn duty to his people, to his fellow Chrysos Heirs, to the world as he knows it).

Honor would simply never allow it.

The duel to the death is simply inevitable, compelled by pride and virtue.

Tiny aside, but since I can hear people thinking it: What about the cycles where the coreflames were acquired peacefully without Khaslana killing the Chrysos Heirs? I am willing to bet my money that Khaslana may have acquired the coreflames of Strife from Nikador in those cycles, not from Mydei (who likely never wanted the coreflame and therefore probably delayed taking it on much longer than other heirs, even in relatively peaceful cycles). We know that even in "peaceful" cycles, Khaslana's method for acquiring the coreflames was often just to kill the titans possessing them before the heirs even came into the picture:

Anyway, even more than the question of honor, integrity, and duty, there is the story's continuing theme of conviction.

We are meant to understand the final duel between Khaslana and Mydei as a mirrored reflection of the original Cycle 0 meeting between Phainon and Mydei.

Facing each other in their first "duel" on the scales, both Mydei and Phainon explicitly stake their convictions:

Mydei places his mother's ring, which is emblematic of the deepest hopes and most central beliefs of his people, their firmly held faith in Strife. Phainon ultimately wins the duel, however, because what he wagers is not the convictions of one person or even one group of people, but the most central conviction of all humanity (including the Kremnoans)--the belief that heroes exist, and the hope in all of us that heroes will save us in our hours of need.

Phainon wins at their first meeting because his conviction contains Mydei's conviction.

Therefore, we must understand Khaslana and Mydei's final clash as simply another duel of whose conviction weighs heavier on the scales.

It doesn't feel like an accident that the architecture of Kremnos's arena even somewhat resembles the body of Talaton's scales:

In the first duel what was at stake was Mydei's role as the Chrysos Heir of Strife, and in the second duel, the stakes are effectively the same: the "prize" being the power of Strife itself.

In both cases, the challenge is not truly about who is stronger or has more combat prowess, but about whose convictions burn brighter, whose goal is more "worthy," and whose duty is more righteous.

Mydei cannot allow Khaslana to take the coreflame of Strife without this "weighing of the heart," without this test to confirm the truth of Khaslana's dedication. He cannot surrender the coreflame without proof of Khaslana being a "worthy" inheritor of Strife, and having the spirit necessary to not only bear the burden but to achieve the ultimate victory Khaslana swears he is fighting for.

The answer to the moral quandary of who is right--the Chrysos Heirs or Khaslana--is simple for Mydei to solve: Khaslana will either prove himself to be just or he will be dead. (Ha ha, speaking of Guilty Gear themes that remind me of Khaslana and Mydei's final struggle, the quote: "In battle, you must observe what lies behind your opponent. If there is a path of retreat, then they may be wise. If there is none, then they have naught to lose. Should you, however, see something they wish to protect, then you best concede that victory." Mydei challenges Khaslana to these duels in every life, every cycle to "see what lies behind" his opponent--whether it is darkness or the light of eventual deliverance.)

This is why it is so key that Khaslana challenge Mydeimos directly to his face, to the point that Mydei says "That's all I ever wanted."

Mydeimos already knows he's going to die. By the time we see him at the end of the 108,642 cycle, he's already the demigod of Strife and aware that he will "die with a wound in his back." The fact that he even took on the Strife coreflame at all in this cycle tells us that his situation with the Kremnoans, whatever it may be in this life, is settled. If he knows that his guaranteed fate is to die by the blade, then to ensure that he dies at the hands of a person's whose convictions burn brighter than the sun, whose convictions literally weigh more than the fate of the world itself, would be the most honorable death possible. To die knowing that he not only upheld his duty to his people and the Chrysos Heirs until his last breath but also managed to aid Khaslana in the even greater quest to protect the universe itself--what could be a more fitting end for a person who spent his whole life in service to others than to serve even in death?

This is why Mydei is able to not only embrace his death at Khaslana's hands but find joy and satisfaction through it. It's not meaningless, empty violence--Strife for Strife's sake, which he has always abhorred--but the clash of pure wills, both standing honorably by what they believe in, the burdens they have sworn to carry. This is why Mydei not only willingly concedes defeat at the end of the battle but invites Khaslana to "crown yourself in my blood"--carry not just the coreflame of Strife with you into the future, but use my very existence to mark your ascendance, as you become the flames that will light the way to dawn.

As has always been the case for Mydeimos: When a cause proves worthy, he will commit himself to it unflinchingly, no matter the cost to himself.

This, of course, is why Flame Reaver deviating from the pattern is such an issue.

At some point in the cycles, Khaslana stopped challenging Mydei to honorable duels and instead started using sneak attacks, targeting his weak point with underhanded tactics and refusing (or just unable) to explain his reasons.

This, more than anything else in patch 3.4, is the true sign of the extent of Flame Reaver's descent and degradation. Khaslana, by the point he becomes Flame Reaver, can no longer display honor, can no longer bear his duty with dignity and purity of conscience--his blade no longer communicates the convictions he carries. Now he conveys only the scent of endless death.

Mydei in the Cycle 0 memory isn't just mad he was cheated out of a fair fight--he's mad that he died not knowing whether his ultimate death had any meaning, whether it truly aided the Flame Chase Journey, or whether there was any sense behind the losses they all suffered along the way. To die by the hand of a dishonorable person whose convictions seemingly lacked integrity--a miserable end to a miserable life, one that haunts Mydei even in lingering memories after the end of the world as he knew it.

So yeah, do I think Mydei enjoys dueling Khaslana at the absolute pinnacle of their abilities? Definitely. Do I think he's criminally biased toward finding Khaslana's convictions worthy because he's in love with Phainon, no matter what life or form? Yup, sure do. Do I think that, at his deepest, Mydei still can't escape the core tenets of Kremnoan belief, finding virtue in being willing to go to war for the purposes of securing peace? Check and check.

But I wish more people would look past the "Ha ha Mydei kinda freaky, isn't he?" coming from this scene in order to understand what that moment was really doing in terms of both Mydei and Khaslana's characterization: demonstrating that Mydei's sacrificial nature has and will always extend to what he believes is the greatest good, and that even 108,642 cycles in, at the very least, Khaslana maintained his convictions unshakably, convincing even the ferocious demigod of Strife to entrust the future to him hundreds of thousands of times, something Khaslana seemed to have already given up on with the other heirs thousands of cycles earlier.

This scene perfectly encapsulates 3.4's theme of having the strength to bear impossible burdens for the sake of what you truly believe in, and ends by putting Khaslana and Mydei firmly on the same side of the scales.

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