Night Veil, Shroud the Silent Past

Patch: 3.0 · Chapter: Heroic Saga of Flame-Chase · Mission 05 of 10Previous: Wasteland, Hark Back Glory of Old · Next: Kremnos, Cleanse Thy Rusted Blood (I)

Official summary

The mystery behind Nikador's undying body has long been buried by the passage of time. To uncover the truth, you head toward the Abyss, seeking to borrow Oronyx's power to uncover the facts. But Oronyx reacts to your visitation with extreme resistance, creating countless impediments to deny your coming. Strangely, after meeting you, Oronyx grows calmer, and invites you to enter a "Non-Existent Memory." In these memories, you meet the Stellaron Hunters and also receive a glimpse from Fuli, Aeon of Remembrance. As you return to your senses, you find a strange pink creature by your side called Mem.

Synopsis

Regrouping at Okhema

Picking up from the climax of the previous mission, the Strife Titan Nikador has invoked the Body of a Hundred Deaths to temper blades, intending to swing the Blade of Fury and pierce the distant Okhema. Mydei has stayed behind to hold Nikador off single-handedly, buying the rest of the party time to retreat to the holy city and devise a counterplan. Trianne uses the Century Gate to carry the Trailblazer and Phainon back, then withdraws to rest.

Phainon explains that Mydei's indestructible body is something he was born with — "A blessing and a curse — the true mark of a Chrysos Heir" — and that he trusts Mydei will hold out until they return.

At Okhema, they find Aglaea, with Dan Heng already present. Phainon is agitated that the city's citizens carry on as if nothing is wrong; Aglaea replies that silently eliminating threats without spreading fear is the very duty of the Chrysos Heirs. She notes Phainon's forced calm as "commendable progress." The problem: Castrum Kremnos has been shrouded in fog for so long that they cannot discover the secret behind Nikador's undying body.

Castorice steps in with the plan. She will accompany the party to seek an audience with Oronyx, the Time Titan, hoping the Titan can restore visions of the past and reveal how Nikador defied death. Castorice offers crucial context on the falling-out between two Titans:

Castorice: Strife and Death used to be inseparable. Nikador valued honor in their glory days, so they would never have betrayed their allies back then. But their pact was broken when Nikador descended into madness. From what we know so far... in the pursuit of an immortal body, Nikador betrayed Death.

Phainon mentions the slate they found in Kremnos referencing an "infiltration," but Aglaea sets it aside — she and Tribbie will protect Okhema. She sends the party to meet Tribbie outside the city, who will open the path to the Abyss.

Journey to the Abyss of Fate

Because Trianne is drained from her two round trips to Kremnos, Tribbie opens the Century Gate this time. Tribbie — who consistently speaks in the plural first person ("we," "us") — warns Castorice that Oronyx "has never been a Titan to chat or interact with humans," so they'll have to rely on themselves. Phainon notes that using a Titan's power is different from having them fight on your side; if Oronyx refuses to ally, they may have to resort to force. Tribbie insists Oronyx "isn't an evil Titan at heart."

At the Abyss of Fate, Tribbie can bring them only as far as the outer ruins. She hands over the Janus Priest's Talisman — "This token is proof of a Janus priest" — instructing them to hold it up to the Gate of Infinity to pass unimpeded. She warns that the abandoned Temple of the Three Fates is still surrounded by lingering magical barriers woven by its priests, making the reckless use of Janus's power dangerous. Then she returns to Okhema to help Aglaea, leaving the party — Trailblazer, Dan Heng, Castorice, and Phainon — on their own.

Inside the broken temple

The ruins are the same path the party first took on arrival, but the landscape now shifts and warps unnaturally. A garbled, incomprehensible voice sounds — a Titan's speech that only Castorice can understand. She translates Oronyx's hostility:

Castorice (translating Oronyx): "Devious and repulsive humans... Are you here to disturb my peace again, just as disaster approaches?" ... "Cease your efforts... and let yourself be swallowed by the confusion of time and space..."

Phainon confirms that Castorice's ability to understand the Titans' words is exactly why she was needed on this trip. Oronyx has distorted the ruins into a barrier. To progress, the party must recreate the space-time "miracles" Tribbie demonstrated on their first passage, using the Tome of Miracles to switch between time dimensions, activate Miracle Orbs (which reflect an inverse time dimension), and open gates that only respond in the correct temporal state.

Throughout, Oronyx voices pain and resentment each time a miracle is performed — "Curse you mortals... curse your pride and your merciless ways," and "...Who are you to command me? Does your inhumanity know no end?" Phainon uneasily wonders aloud whether they are "actually forcing the Titans to do our bidding with these miracles," but decides they can't afford to dwell on it. Castorice observes that the distorted time and space is "likely a reflection of Oronyx's own twisted struggles."

An optional detour reveals the crash site where the Trailblazer and Dan Heng nearly died when their landing car was assaulted on arrival — which Phainon now suspects was also Nikador's doing.

The Temple of the Three Fates

Reaching the temple proper, Castorice explains its cosmology. The Gate of Infinity represents the divine power of Janus, the Passage Titan — the eldest of the Three Titans of Fate, who created the "space" of Amphoreus. Janus has long fallen and surrendered their Coreflame, and Tribbie is the demigod who inherited Janus's divinity. Phainon clarifies that "Brute force isn't the only option. Some Titans can also be vanquished... other ways" — proving not all Titans must be defeated in combat.

Using Tribbie's talisman, Phainon raises it before the gate and challenges Oronyx directly. Oronyx warns them off — "Venture no closer... Keep out," "You won't find anything you desire here... Save for despair and demise" — but when Phainon shows the Janus talisman, heavy mechanisms grind inside the temple, and Oronyx relents just enough to issue a challenge:

Castorice (translating Oronyx): "You are not welcome here... You have no right." ... "You'll never pass my challenge."

Phainon takes the challenge as progress: at least the Titan is now willing to engage.

The Scales of Justice puzzle

Inside, the party finds the Scales of Justice, symbol of Talanton, the Law Titan — the second of the Three Titans of Fate, said to have created the laws governing the world. Castorice reveals that Talanton, too, surrendered their Coreflame, but that the Chrysos Heir who took over Talanton's legacy is "nowhere to be found today." Phainon reasons that since the world's laws still hold, that demigod must still be performing their duty somewhere. (A removed line further noted the Three Titans of Fate are sometimes described as "siblings.")

The path forward is blocked, so the party repairs the broken scales with the Tome of Miracles. Doing so causes Oronyx visible agony — "Hurts... it hurts... so much" — and Castorice, feeling the Titan's misery directly, is briefly overwhelmed. Phainon reflects that understanding the Titans "is as much an affliction as it is a gift." Oronyx explains the scales are "as much an entrance... as they are a challenge," expecting the party to balance them, using an abandoned Hand of Zagreus control platform to move blessed weights.

Dan Heng questions why Oronyx bothers with puzzles instead of simply crushing intruders with divine power; Castorice notes Oronyx "isn't the kind that resorts to brutality." When they balance the scales, Oronyx refuses to honor the deal and escalates with a fresh, riddle-like demand:

Castorice (translating Oronyx): "Weights in the left weighing pan... represent the fate of Amphoreus." ... "Find something that has more weight... than the fate of the world."

Castorice notes Oronyx seems "fickle, much like a child." The party solves a Prophecy Tablet to retrieve an identical weight from behind a fence and re-balances the scales, but still must satisfy the riddle: find something that weighs more than the fate of the world.

"Something heavier than the fate of the world"

The party experiments fruitlessly — the Trailblazer places their flaming lance and baseball bat on the tray (no movement), stands on it themselves (Dan Heng dryly suggests "gaining some weight"), and even attacks the pan with the bat (the recoil leaves their arm numb). Oronyx mocks each attempt. Castorice explains the Titan is frustrated because the party is treating the challenge like a game.

Dan Heng arrives at the answer. For the people of Amphoreus, the fate of their world is an unbearably heavy weight — they have no option to flee "beyond the sky." But the Trailblazer and Dan Heng are outsiders, not yet fully bound to this world's fate:

Dan Heng: From our perspective, there is something even more important than this world — or perhaps even the entire cosmos... And that's the companions that we have traveled with.

He takes March 7th's camera and places it on the tray. The scale finally tilts — the memory of their companions outweighs the fate of the world — and the challenge is passed. Even Oronyx seems surprised the party cleared it, but the Titan keeps its promise and opens the path for an audience. As they proceed, Dan Heng feels "a cold wave... seeping into the mind, and a hand with countless fingers... churning through my memories."

Audience with Oronyx, Veil of Evernight

The party reaches Oronyx's residence and meets the Titan — one that, unusually, still possesses reason. Dan Heng calls it "both mysterious and awe-inspiring." Phainon recites a ritual plea ("I have crossed the myriad passages and been judged by the scales. It has deemed me innocent and granted me fruits.") and begs Oronyx to reveal the fog-shrouded past and a way to quell Nikador's madness.

Oronyx responds with fury and grief, condemning the Chrysos Heirs as god-slayers:

Castorice (translating Oronyx): "Chrysos Heirs... Heroes that uphold rage, cruelty, and darkness..." "Pursuing the cursed prophecy... You've treated my kind as prey..." "In the name of deliverance, you would seize my Coreflame... and leave me to suffer in endless isolation..." "Leave... Just leave. Even if the world will be destroyed as a result... I will not help a group of ruthless butchers."

Phainon concedes the hypocrisy — "God-slayers asking their prey for assistance is a hypocritical act indeed" — but, out of time and desperate to save Mydei, he prepares to take Oronyx's Coreflame by force and search the past locked within it. Castorice pleads with him; Phainon insists that hesitation is cruelty to Mydei, who may have died countless times already.

As Phainon draws his sword, Oronyx's demeanor abruptly shifts upon noticing the Trailblazer. The Titan begins muttering something even Castorice struggles to parse, then repeats one word over and over:

Castorice (translating Oronyx): "Mother... Mother?" ... "Is that you... Is that you? Mother... encountered you. She misses you..." "Follow me... Please follow me. I see you... She also misses you. We want to see everything about you."

Oronyx calls the Trailblazer forward and extends an invitation to "look far into your past." Castorice urges the Trailblazer to consider carefully, but sees this sudden willingness to connect as a chance worth taking. The Trailblazer accepts.

The Non-Existent Memories aboard the Express

The Trailblazer awakens inside what appears to be the Astral Express — but subtly wrong. A small pink voice (the future Mem) speaks in fragmented phrases, guiding them to follow the sounds from their recurring dreams. The Trailblazer realizes this is a memory — but not one they have.

They witness a scene between "Himeko" and "Dan Heng" discussing a "harvest" and deviating from a "script." The tone is off — colder, more mercenary. As the dream-voice clarifies the confusion, the Trailblazer suddenly recognizes the truth: "Himeko" and "Dan Heng" are actually Kafka and Blade. These are the Stellaron Hunters — a version of the Trailblazer's past that "should not exist," yet feels vivid and undeniable.

??? (Mem): Memories, discrepancies? Correct. Truth. Depths, hidden. Forgotten. Forgotten...

A second memory reveals Sam, Kafka, and Blade discussing retreat signals after a dangerous "script." Kafka, chided by Sam for failing to plan for failure, decides the Stellaron Hunters need a retreat passphrase. Blade supplies one drawn from his Xianzhou past:

Blade: "Three of a kind... Two pair... Ace."

Kafka teases that it "reeks of Xianzhou," but Blade dismisses it: "There won't be a need for us to use it."

The Parlor Car and the frozen memory

Exploring toward the Parlor Car, the Trailblazer can speak with four Stellaron Hunters, each subtly different from the versions they know:

• Firefly — more melancholic and profound; speaks of the "dust settling" and going through the "script" again.
• Silver Wolf — met here face-to-face for the first time (rather than as a hologram); impatient, mid-raid, having "only just joined recently."
• Kafka — her familiar "half cold, half warm" smile; calls the Trailblazer "partners" and says she won't let doubt come between them.
• Blade — uncharacteristically calm and logical; warns the Trailblazer not to let Kafka down, adding: "She sacrificed a lot to keep you here."

Each conversation ends with the memory freezing over — "Nonexistent memories begin to cool, frost... then freeze" — and the Hunter turning away.

Then Oronyx's voice returns, and this time the Trailblazer understands it directly, no longer needing translation. The Titan speaks of "Happiness... sealed away," and again calls out "Mother... Are you still there? Are you watching?" It instructs the Trailblazer to look out the window. The scene freezes into a motionless image, the windows reflecting endlessly like mirrors, and the Trailblazer senses the gaze of Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, upon them. In a cutscene, Oronyx asks: "Sky father... are you watching?"

The birth of Mem

A pink fairy-like creature materializes beside the Trailblazer — the source of the dreams and voices. Oronyx reveals it has finally caught "THEIR gaze" (Fuli's) and entrusts the creature to the Trailblazer:

Oronyx: I've finally found it... Precious memory. At long last... I've caught THEIR gaze. Accompany him/her, Mem... He/She will make the memories of this world complete once again... He/She will find... Mother...

The creature does not remember its name (accepting "Mem" as a temporary address) or who "Mother" is. Mem explains that by collecting memories, it can help the Trailblazer see events from the past — including, potentially, the fog-shrouded truth of Nikador. Mem asks to travel together as friends.

The Trailblazer then fights alongside the Stellaron Hunters (Kafka, Blade, Silver Wolf, Sam) against Voidrangers, with Mem enhancing allies. Before the battle, Kafka delivers a defining vow of the Stellaron Hunters' creed:

Kafka: This path is anything but smooth... it's marked by flames, scars, malice, and bloodshed. But I guarantee, as long as you stand with the Stellaron Hunters, you will never know the pain of betrayal... Together, we will dance against the current, until the universe meets the Finality.

A goodbye that never was

After the battle, the Stellaron Hunters begin to fade. Mem explains there is a limit to how long one can peer into the past, but "the memory of these moments will stay forever." In these final moments, the Trailblazer may bid farewell to one Hunter — either Kafka or Firefly (only one branch can be chosen).

If Kafka is chosen: She notices the Trailblazer looks vulnerable and, learning they have lost their "past," reflects that she cannot fill the gaps or foresee the future. But she takes comfort in the logic of reunion — "in the end, we will meet again, which also means... I'll always get you back." She promises that no matter what family-like companions the Trailblazer finds elsewhere, "you will always be able to find a safe haven by my side," and that toward the Trailblazer her patience will never run out. Her parting words: "When fate places you at a crossroads... make your choice boldly, and don't fear regret."

If Firefly is chosen: She reasons that since the Trailblazer is alive and she will keep living, "The parting that has yet to happen will not be an eternal one." Her wish is quietly profound:

Firefly: When the day we cross paths again arrives, I think... I'll pretend we've never met, and get to know you anew, as if starting all over... Two people — no longer accomplices, just two drifting souls in the cosmos — meeting and getting to know each other in the most ordinary way... That is the greatest luxury that I can ever imagine.

She promises to engrave the promise of their reunion on the Trailblazer's behalf, hoping it will be "a beautiful night with shooting stars."

This memory journey grants the Trailblazer the Remembrance Path (unlocking Trailblazer (Remembrance)).

Return to the Abyss

The Trailblazer snaps back to the temple. To their shock, Dan Heng reports that they had stood motionless for less than a full minute — the seemingly long memory passed in an instant — before Mem appeared. Phainon and Castorice marvel at the "cute little creature," which Castorice guesses is a gift from Oronyx.

When the Trailblazer says Fuli gazed at them, Dan Heng explains to the Amphoreus locals that Fuli is one of the Aeons — gods from beyond the sky — who presides over the Path of Remembrance. Phainon is awed that the Trailblazer earned an Aeon's gaze. Mem conveys the way forward: the truth of the Titan's past is foggy, but if they collect memories, the past can reappear. The plan is to travel to Castrum Kremnos and gather memories there so Mem can recreate the past. Dan Heng, believing Mem may wield power greater than Oronyx's Miracle, agrees to follow it.

Oronyx has fallen silent, seemingly slipping into slumber. Castorice offers a gentle farewell:

Castorice: I don't know who the "Mother" that you're referring to is, but... Thank you for all your hard work. If Titans can dream... May your dream be a sweet one.

The mission ends as Tribbie answers the party's summons and brings them back to Okhema.

Key characters

• Castorice — The party's translator for the Titans; she alone understands Oronyx's speech and physically feels the Titan's pain. Reveals the cosmology of the Three Titans of Fate (Janus, Talanton, Oronyx) and the Strife/Death pact that Nikador broke.
• Phainon — Leads the negotiation with Oronyx; grows increasingly willing to force the issue, drawing his sword to take the Titan's Coreflame before Oronyx's shift toward the Trailblazer stops him. Struggles with the morality of "commanding" Titans via miracles.
• Dan Heng — Solves the "heavier than the fate of the world" riddle with March 7th's camera, articulating that companions outweigh a world for outsiders. Explains Fuli and the Aeons to the Amphoreus locals.
• Oronyx, the Time Titan (Veil of Evernight) — A Titan who retains reason. Bitterly condemns the Chrysos Heirs as god-slayers and refuses aid, until it recognizes something in the Trailblazer, calling them "Mother." Creates/entrusts Mem and shows the Trailblazer the Non-Existent Memories before falling silent.
• Mem — A pink creature born from this encounter, tied to Fuli and the Path of Remembrance. Amnesiac (no memory of its name or "Mother"), it can recreate the past by collecting memories, and joins the party.
• Tribbie — Demigod inheritor of Janus's divinity; opens the Century Gate to the Abyss and provides the Janus Priest's Talisman. Speaks in plural first person.
• The Stellaron Hunters (Kafka, Blade, Firefly, Silver Wolf, Sam) — Appear within the Non-Existent Memory as the Trailblazer's "should-not-exist" past. Kafka and Firefly offer the poignant farewell branches.

Lore notes

• Three Titans of Fate: Janus (Passage Titan, eldest, created the "space" of Amphoreus), Talanton (Law Titan, second, created the world's laws), and Oronyx (Time Titan). Sometimes described as "siblings." Both Janus and Talanton have fallen and surrendered their Coreflames.
• Demigod succession: A Titan who surrenders its Coreflame passes its divinity to a Chrysos Heir demigod. Tribbie inherited Janus. Talanton's Coreflame was also returned, but its Heir is missing while the world's laws remain intact — an open thread. [?] Who inherited Talanton, and why are they absent? (The wiki links this to Cerydra.)
• Non-combat Titan victories: Confirmed that some Titans can be "vanquished" without combat — foreshadowing alternatives to the Chrysos Heirs' god-slaying method.
• Nikador's immortality: Framed as a betrayal of Death (Thanatos) in pursuit of an undying body — the "Body of a Hundred Deaths" / indestructible body. The mission's whole purpose is to uncover how this was done; the fog over Castrum Kremnos hides the answer.
• Coreflames and the "cursed prophecy": Oronyx frames the Chrysos Heirs as hunting Titans for their Coreflames "in the name of deliverance," pursuing a "cursed prophecy." This casts the heroic god-slaying project in a morally grey light.
• The "Mother" mystery: Oronyx repeatedly calls the Trailblazer "Mother" and asks if the "sky father" (Kephale) is "watching." Mem is charged with finding "Mother." [?] Why does Oronyx identify the Trailblazer as "Mother," and who/what is "Mother" — likely connected to Fuli, Aeon of Remembrance, or to Remembrance itself.
• Fuli, Aeon of Remembrance: The Trailblazer earns Fuli's gaze inside the memory, and Mem appears to be a creation or agent of Fuli. This is the in-story unlock of the Trailblazer (Remembrance) Path.
• Mem's power: Collecting memories lets Mem "recreate the past" — the mechanism the party will use in Castrum Kremnos (next mission) to reconstruct Nikador's history.
• Time dilation: The Trailblazer's lengthy subjective memory journey occupied under a minute of real time — consistent with Oronyx's dominion over time.
• Stellaron Hunters' creed / "the script": Kafka's speech ("as long as you stand with the Stellaron Hunters, you will never know the pain of betrayal... until the universe meets the Finality") and the recurring "script" motif reprise the Trailblazer's alternate past. Blade's Xianzhou passphrase — "Three of a kind, two pair, ace" — is preserved as a retreat signal. These "Non-Existent Memories" tie the Amphoreus arc back to the Trailblazer's broader Astral Express / Stellaron Hunter history.
• Continuity: The car crash on arrival at the Abyss is retroactively attributed to Nikador. The "infiltration" slate from Kremnos is deferred by Aglaea — an unresolved thread. [?]

Sources

• Night Veil, Shroud the Silent Past — HSR Wiki

Hindsight (full arc)

• Reread with the reveal: The "Non-Existent Memory" Stellaron-Hunter past that "should not exist" reads differently after 3.2 — the Trailblazer is already dead (the 3.0 crash) and exists as walking memory, so this should-not-exist past is of a piece with their fractured, memoria-held existence.
• Reread with the reveal: Fuli's gaze granting the Remembrance Path is recast in 3.7: the Aeon of Remembrance is unborn, so the gaze that ever fell on Amphoreus was in truth Cyrene's — Remembrance's memory reaching backward.
• Foreshadowing: Oronyx entrusting Mem to make the world's memories "complete" and find "Mother" pays off in 3.4/3.7 — Mem grows into Cyrene, the memory that completes and anchors Amphoreus's causality.
• [?] resolved: Who inherited Talanton's divinity — the absent Law-bearer whose laws still hold — is Imperator Cerydra (3.5).
• [?] unresolved: Why Oronyx names the Trailblazer "Mother" is never stated outright; it ties loosely to the Trailblazer as Remembrance's/Cyrene's gaze-bearer and to Nous later naming them "Akivili" (3.7), but no doc gives the equation.