After that arrogant guy spoke, the rest of the noise surged in one after another.
"Where's Lady Goldweaver? Why is she sending this guy to give the last speech? Is this really the end of the Flame-Chase Journey?"
"A mere brute? Can this kid really keep Caenis in check?"
"Is the balance of Okhema finally about to be broken?"
"Can this dude really face down Caenis...?"
All kinds of voices rang out.
Among them were citizens who followed Aglaea, those who had always remained neutral, and those who stood with the Council of Elders.
Hearing all this, the audience couldn't help but frown. The pressure and challenges Phainon faced were already plain to see.
But when the camera shifted to Phainon's face, the audience was somewhat surprised.
It was as if Phainon hadn't heard any of the gossip at all. The hesitation he had before stepping onto the stage had completely vanished, replaced by firm resolve.
This was no small occasion. Phainon himself knew clearly, if he failed to gain the citizens' recognition, the Flame Chasing Journey would be over.
Yet the bigger the stage, the more this kid seemed able to hold his ground.
The audience also began to understand why Aglaea's successor had to be Phainon.
"Everyone! Please be quiet."
At that moment, Phainon focused himself, and the instant he spoke, a powerful voice rang throughout the venue.
The chaotic noise was suppressed in a single stroke. The venue gradually quieted down, and countless eyes fixed on Phainon.
He swept his gaze across the crowd and slowly began:
"By Kephale above, dear citizens of Okhema..."
"As you look upon me, so too do I see you."
"I see your fear and misgivings, your apprehension about the discord between the Chrysos Heirs and the Council of Elders... and your uneasiness about the future of the holy city."
"Yet, before you contemplate something as grand as the fate of the world, I ask that you look closer... Look, beyond the horizon illuminated by Kephale, at the crisis threatening to overwhelm us!"
His voice was clear and resounding.
Especially his tone during the speech, it gave people the feeling of a student speaking in class.
But it was precisely this youthful voice and unpolished delivery that carried a raw sincerity.
At least for now, no matter who they were, everyone was willing to quiet down and listen to what he had to say.
Phainon didn't pause. He spoke earnestly:
"Aedes Elysiae, my beloved hometown, is a village forgotten by time. It is a place with the most invigorating breeze and wheat fields that spread all the way to the sea... I once thought that there, I would enjoy a lifetime of peace and quiet with my friends and family."
"How I wish I could invite all of you to that paradise far away from the noise and chatter of the world! Alas, I can't..."
"...Because she... and all that she nurtured... all that I loved... they have long been devoured by the black tide. My beloved home... is no more."
At this point, Phainon's voice grew heavier. The camera swept across the surroundings, showing the faces of the citizens listening to the speech.
None of them reacted. Some stood with arms crossed, some merely observed, but none felt that what they saw as a sob story could move them.
Then, Phainon continued. This time, he raised his head so everyone could clearly see his face.
"I will never forget the day the black tide struck. My father, Hieronymus, fought with a broken sword to his last breath to protect his child. My mother, Audata... She was ripped apart by monsters, all so I might live to stand before you here and now."
"Galba... He was a hunter. But in the end, those arms that once drew a bow instead embraced Piso, his beloved son, as they both breathed their last."
"Pythias, the teacher, risked her life to save her students, but a burning beam fell on her, crushing her..."
"And what of Livia, her daughter? Did she make it out alive? ...No, she didn't. Livia, Piso, and so many other children... My childhood friends... They were all swallowed by the black tide and turned into monsters."
"They kept saying the same thing over and over... even up until the final moment I finally steeled my heart and granted them eternal peace with my sword:"
"Why, Phainon? Aren't we the best of friends?"
Silence filled the hall.
Outside the screen, it was the same.
The shot froze on Phainon's expressionless face. Only in those deep blue eyes could one glimpse the overwhelming pain buried within.
The truth was far more tragic than anyone had imagined. Aedes Elysiae hadn't simply vanished in a single blaze.
Today, as the details of this tragedy were revealed through Phainon's words, the audience could hardly imagine how he had walked step by step to reach this point, or what kind of raging fire burned within his heart.
....
: Damn… I can't keep listening.
: Phainon is tearing open his own wounds in public…
: The destruction of Aedes Elysiae was a hundred times crueler than I imagined…
: Not only were all his loved ones killed, they were devoured and assimilated by the Black Tide… and then he had to kill them himself…
: Ahhh, stop saying this, my heart hurts for Phainon.
: But as a speech… this really is an incredibly strong opening…
: It was right for Aglaea not to come. She couldn't say something like this herself anymore, it wouldn't have the same impact. If a speaker can't move themselves, they can't move the audience.
: Phainon's simplicity actually became a buff here.
: If even we can't handle it, I don't believe the citizens of Okhema can either.
....
The comments scrolled by.
And just as the audience had guessed, the citizens present at the council, after hearing Phainon's personal tragedy, all showed drastic changes in expression.
Some couldn't bear it, some looked ashamed, others were shaken.
Among them were many who had gone through similar experiences as Phainon.
Their fathers, grandfathers, even more distant ancestors, had passed down stories of the Black Tide generation after generation.
For those now living in long-standing peace in Okhema, it had become difficult to truly grasp the weight of those events.
But Phainon's words successfully awakened a deeper understanding of those stories within them.
But it wasn't over yet. After baring his own scars, for everyone to see, Phainon looked around. He met the eyes of different people with complete honesty and said:
"That is the black tide, a looming threat that can bring Okhema to its knees anytime."
"If you've forgotten it, look at me, then think carefully."
"Do you plan to become one of the Black Tide, or become someone like me, someone who personally killed their own loved ones, only to struggle in endless pain afterward?"
"Is it you?"
"Or you?"
Phainon wasn't emotional.
But everyone he locked eyes with, everyone he asked "is it you?", lowered their heads or looked away, no longer daring to meet his gaze.
He didn't talk about benefits. He didn't make empty promises. He didn't play politics.
He simply asked a very plain question. Leaving aside the so-called Era Chrysea Caenis claimed was coming, even before that arrives, the Black Tide is already upon them.
Are you going to face the Black Tide, or not? Do you want to see your daughter, your husband, your wife die to it,
Or become part of it yourself?
Phainon didn't exaggerate the threat of the Black Tide. He simply used his own experiences and statements to place that well-known yet deliberately obscured danger, hidden by Caenis' rhetoric, back into everyone's minds.
But it still wasn't enough. People are short-sighted and self-serving.
Even as fear set in, many couldn't help but think, what if, before the Black Tide arrives, we return to the Era Chrysea?
Phainon had already anticipated this. He continued:
"Caenis may have promised that, with the Three Titans of Calamity gone, Okhema will return to an Era Chrysea once more, but..."
"Much as it pains me, I must disappoint you: While the demigod of Strife has done everything in his power to hold them back, "they" are still coming."
"By now, the name of that black-robed swordmaster... the Flame Reaver, has likely echoed throughout the city already. The roaring thunder is a message from the Strife demigod: The Flame Reaver has risen from death, and they hunger for the Coreflames of the gods."
Thanks to Caenis and the Council of Elders' maneuvering, the Chrysos Heirs had tried to keep the matter of the Flame Reaver under wraps, not wanting to cause widespread panic.
But ever since his appearance, Caenis had been eager to turn the Chrysos Heir's helplessness against him into a weapon, proof that Aglaea was unfit to lead Okhema.
So she spared no effort in exaggerating and spreading fear of the Flame Reaver. In today's Okhema, his name alone could silence a crying child.
And now, when Phainon revealed that the Flame Reaver had risen again, the effect was a hundred times stronger than expected.
Panic spread through the crowd. And within it, Caenis' face darkened instantly.
She signaled to a guard beside her. The guard nodded and disappeared into the crowd.
Soon, a voice filled with doubt rang out:
"Lies! If such a powerful enemy is indeed approaching, why is Okhema still a picture of peace?"
As soon as that voice appeared, many others echoed in agreement.
Phainon remained calm and said loudly, "Exactly! The city of Okhema shows no signs of pandemonium or chaos. And why is that? I beg you, spare a moment to think about this. Are we able to stand here and hold this assembly in peace today because the danger has passed?"
"No! This peace we enjoy is no gift of fate. We are able to stand here today only because the Chrysos Heirs have stepped up and shielded Okhema from calamity! With her golden threads, Aglaea has preserved, and continues to preserve, these idyllic days that all of you hold dear!"
"The Council of Elders claims that Aglaea will one day forsake the people because her divinity is eroding her body and soul. But ask yourselves this: Rather than offering her aid and support, why do they choose to watch and push Okhema away from the Flame-Chase Journey?"
No matter how the Council of Elders smeared the Chrysos Heir, no matter what promises they painted, one fact could not be changed:
Okhema's safety was built on the sacrifices of the Chrysos Heir.
No matter how Caenis ranted about how tyrannical and cruel they would be if they gained full control, that hasn't even happened yet.
But the Black Tide, and the Chrysos Heir standing against it, are real, right now. And Aglaea has been holding the line alone.
Have you even thought about why? And yet some still use this to attack her!
Through his words, Phainon made the citizens realize this once again.
And the sharper ones among them understood, whether it was the Black Tide or the Chrysos Heir's, the situation in this citizens' assembly was, at its core, a struggle for power initiated by the Council of Elders.
With a great enemy at their doorstep, it was the Council of Elders that refused unity and instead started internal conflict.
But they didn't dare say it. Phainon, however, had no intention of staying silent.
"The answer that no one can bring themselves to speak of... A truth stained in blood and buried in greed, fear, and vanity... Allow me to lay it bare before you."
His gaze cut through the crowd, locking onto Caenis' shadowed stare.
"It is because the Council of Elders, which bears Okhema's history and honor, along with this citizens' assembly we once took so much pride in, are now infested with vermin!"
"Caenis and her kind, let them fight the Black Tide? They don't have the guts!"
"But when it comes to fighting for power and profit? Not only do they have the guts, they're overflowing with it!"
"It is true that Aglaea has reached her limit. Why? Because she has been working tirelessly to weave the defenses of our holy city against the encroaching evil, all while these vermin are making up baseless accusations about her and scheming in the shadows!"
"Not once has she ever failed Okhema, yet these vermin attempt to tear her apart, tarnishing her name with unfounded allegations! She may have been blessed by divinity, but hasn't her heart always stayed true to humanity?"
"They attempt to mislead you and reduce this assembly to a crude standoff between gods and humans, but citizens of Okhema! Once more, I implore you to open your eyes and look at those around you!"
"So, citizens! Examine them closely! Beneath all that finery, do you see the good heart of a human... or the poisonous glands of a pest?"
Phainon's words grew sharper and sharper. This young man stood among tens of thousands, yet spoke without restraint, cutting straight to the heart of the issue.
Those already perceptive citizens were utterly shaken. Youth truly knows no fear, he dares to say even this!
He dares to speak, but they don't even dare to listen. And yet, the more this was the case, the more satisfying it was for the audience watching from outside.
....
: Damn!! Phainon! Just give the order!
: Okhema is all-in, deploy!!