Throne, End Those Long Years Forlorn

Patch: 3.1 · Chapter: Light Slips the Gate, Shadow Greets the Throne · Mission 08 of 9Previous: Nemesis, Scorched by Golden Blood · Next: Passage, Reveal the Past Once More Wiki: https://honkai-star-rail.fandom.com/wiki/Throne,_End_Those_Long_Years_Forlorn

Official summary

The group returned triumphantly, and Trianne's whereabouts were finally revealed. It turned out that Krateros had retrieved Trianne from the Flame Reaver's hands, though he had been gravely injured in the process. Mydei found Krateros and shared his decision: he declared the end of the Kremnoan Dynasty, stating that he would return home alone to fight the black tide, while also granting the Kremnoans new glory and faith. After a brief farewell, the Kremnoan heir and new God of Strife set off alone on his journey back.

Synopsis

This mission is an epilogue told almost entirely from Mydei's perspective through the Fate's Ensemble system; the game hands the player Mydei as the point-of-view character (subtitle: "Mydei: Remnants of Regal Sounds"). The hunt for the Flame Reaver — the black-robed swordmaster who is Phainon's archenemy — has ended in victory for the Chrysos Heirs (the events of mission 07). Mydei has passed the trial of divinity and assumed the divinity of Strife, becoming the new God of Strife and the most powerful demigod alive. The mission follows his last day in Okhema as he sets his affairs in order and departs, alone, to take up Nikador's abandoned war against the black tide. (Note: this reverses Mydei's 3.0 refusal of Nikador's Coreflame; the intervening 3.1 missions establish how the divinity came to him. [?] — those events are not in this transcript.)

Speak with Krateros — the abdication

Mydei visits his gravely wounded teacher Krateros, who is recovering under the care of the Twilight Courtyard. Krateros lived only because "that priest girl's medical talents are truly exceptional" — the physician Hyacine, whom he warns "might be far from the ordinary girl we envisioned." The summary confirms Krateros was injured retrieving Trianne from the Flame Reaver's hands.

Krateros can see that Mydei has "finally decided to embrace [his] own fate." Mydei describes the transformation of assuming Strife: "My bones have turned into steel, and my blood is seething and ablaze... I've made history, and henceforth, divinity and kingship shall coexist as one." Krateros rejoices — Mydei has realized the aspiration of every former king of Kremnos, and can now bring the Kremnoans home and reforge their glory.

Mydei refuses. Through his newfound divine clarity, he now sees Kremnos's history — begun over two millennia ago when devotees of Nikador raised a city and served as "the blades wielded by the god of war" — as:

Mydei: This history is sheer absurdity and inferiority. People surged onto the battlefield like ants, plundering and slaying for their own greed, only to be trampled upon... like ants.

He declares his next step will be to renounce the title of "King." Over Krateros's anguished protests, Mydei makes his proclamation:

Mydei: Our history commenced in Year 2506 of the Light Calendar and concluded in Year 4931. I, Mydeimos, last King of Castrum Kremnos, son of Gorgo, do hereby proclaim... The Kremnoan dynasty comes to an official close today.

Krateros cries that Mydei has "killed us all." Mydei answers: "No, I am granting you a new beginning." He hands Krateros his mother's signet ring — Strife, Dispel the Accompanying Fears — the symbol of kingship, now reforged with new meaning. Krateros is to rally the Kremnoans who have lost their identity and lead them to assimilate into Okhema. The message Mydei sends is that Kremnoans no longer need chase fleeting honors or seek death on the battlefield; a cruel fate awaits Amphoreus, and no dynasty survives it, but they may tread "the only path out, one that leads to a brand-new world at its end."

Asked why he does not deliver this himself, Mydei explains:

Mydei: Because only humans can guide the path to be trodden by humans. It's not the lot of "humans" who crave the power of gods and spiral into madness for it... But "humans" who stand ready to raise their shields high to protect the lives behind them.

Krateros grieves that he "failed to save that child" (Trianne). Mydei replies that as a demigod she was long prepared for it, and what matters is that Krateros showed up and shielded her. It is then revealed that Mydei was the one who persuaded Aglaea to release Krateros the night of the rescue — he "staked my mother's name to guarantee the integrity of your soul" and promised Aglaea he "would dedicate all I have to the Flame-Chase Journey." He is now bound for the place where he belongs — Castrum Kremnos — to fight the madness that consumed Nikador and the darkness devouring Amphoreus.

Bid farewell to Aglaea

Mydei goes to Aglaea, who observes he is prepared and ready to give everything "regardless of the promise you made to me." Mydei says that during his time in the holy city he learned strategy, leadership, and adaptability from her — but her truly remarkable quality is her magnetic allure: people gather around her willingly and align with her ideals "not due to fear of repercussions, but out of sincere alignment." That, he says, is "precisely what every ruler of Castrum Kremnos has been missing."

He states his purpose: to see Nikador's aborted mission through and become "the strongest bulwark for Amphoreus to defend against the black tide," buying time for the Flame-Chase Journey until Aglaea leads everyone to the miracle of Genesis. Aglaea offers a cryptic note that "the one who guides the people to the destination need not be you and I."

They exchange the prophecies each glimpsed on assuming their Titan's divinity — Aglaea from Mnestia (Romance), Mydei from Strife:

Aglaea: "You shall have your final bath in warm and radiant gold."

Mydei: "One day, you shall die with a wound in your back."

Mydei laughs that an ordinary person hearing Aglaea's words would avoid baths forever; Aglaea replies she cannot forgo the pleasure of a bath. Of his own straightforward doom, Mydei is unbothered: "If I were to be terrified by drivel with no basis, I would not have attracted your gaze and joined the Flame-Chase Journey in the first place." Aglaea bids him: "May you be destined for a powerful fate, and may we reunite in the promised new world... Farewell, Mydei."

Optional farewells around Okhema

Chartonus (Grand Craftsman): He notes that Mydei, without the signet ring, looks "more like a king now," and that his achievements have surpassed all former kings. Mydei asks him to keep watching over Phainon: "I have a feeling that his fate... will weigh heavier than all of ours combined." Chartonus agrees and says the people of Okhema will wait to hear the thunder from Castrum Kremnos.

Hyacine (in the Garden of Life): Seeking Lady Tribios, Mydei instead meets Hyacine, the physician who saved Krateros. He offers condolences for her loss at the Grove of Epiphany; Hyacine, quoting Tribbie, insists on focusing on tomorrow. Mydei tells her to prepare herself: "Humanity has already taken hold of 'Strife,' and one day, they will also reach the 'Sky.'" Hyacine doubts she could ever claim Aquila's (Sky's) Coreflame — even her ancestor, the legendary hero Seliose, could not. Mydei counters that "the path to assuming divinity is never limited to swords and spears," foreshadowing Hyacine as a future demigod of the Sky. Learning he is leaving Okhema forever, Hyacine offers to carry a message to Tribbie and Trinnon; Mydei's message: there is no longer any need to send scouts behind enemy lines — "With a single message, the Lance of Fury will target anyone who dares oppose Okhema." (Mydei now commands Nikador's weapon.)

Castorice: Mydei tells her he will embrace his destiny before she does. She asks whether he can feel Thanatos now; he cannot. He offers a grim proposal — since "Death refused to ferry me," perhaps Castorice could send him to the nether realm so he might find clues to Thanatos on the way back. Castorice flatly refuses: "Death is not a game." Mydei concedes she is right, and muses that his people may have struggled for millennia precisely because "they underestimated the significance of death." Castorice sees him off: "May we reunite on the other side, where the warm west wind blows."

Bid farewell to the Trailblazer and Dan Heng

Mydei finds the Trailblazer and Dan Heng, addressing them not as "outlanders" but "Trailblazers," and thanks them for all they have done for Amphoreus. Dan Heng calls him "also an ally of the Trailblaze." Mydei invites the Trailblazer to let him guess their thoughts; the branching player lines are lightly comedic regardless of choice — offering "inspiring" advice ("Eat more greens, work out more often, avoid mindless reads, and get more sleep."), "sentimental" advice ("Stay safe out there. A lone boy can get into a lot of trouble."), or "nonsensical" grief ("sob ...What are we going to do without you?"). Mydei, at a loss, follows Dan Heng's advice to "just smile."

He then shares a lore-relevant intuition granted by his divinity:

Mydei: Now that I bear the divine within me, I can get the vague feeling that... that you have a great significance for the future of Amphoreus.

He entrusts them to watch his back and keep supporting the Flame-Chase Journey in his absence. The Trailblazer stops him to propose a commemorative photo.

Take a commemorative photo

The three pose for a picture (taken with the Trailblazer's camera). Mydei admits he rarely takes photos and it "feels peculiar," but concedes: "But this one... It's pretty good." Dan Heng tells him to leave no regrets behind.

Bid farewell to Phainon — and to Okhema

As Mydei prepares to slip away, Kremnoan warriors Andriskos and Marsyas are scrambling to organize a send-off; Marsyas corrects that Lord Mydeimos "isn't the prince anymore... He's now the Guardian of Amphoreus!" Demetri and crowds of both Kremnoans and Okheman citizens line the streets, saluting the Guardian ("You will forever be our king," "Savior of Kremnos," "son of Gorgo"). Phainon greets him: "It's been a while, 'Guardian.'" Mydei assumes Phainon staged the whole thing, but Phainon insists it was the children who rallied everyone. Moved despite himself, Mydei decides to "etch their faces in my memory one last time."

Walk with Phainon for the last part of the journey

Phainon accompanies Mydei out of the city. He muses about renaming the god of "Strife" — perhaps "Solidarity," or "Preservation" (a name Dan Heng mentioned). Mydei advises Phainon to "steer clear of any situation that calls for naming things"; Phainon concedes "Strife" still fits him better.

At the parting point, Mydei sees through Phainon's carefree act. Phainon admits it is a facade to "preserve some dignity" and notes Mydei "sound[s] just like Aglaea." He thanks Mydei for helping defeat his archenemy, but admits the victory is hollow: he never unraveled the mystery of the black-robed swordmaster (the Flame Reaver) and cannot even confirm their death — "Maybe I've never managed to cut off my destiny." Mydei offers hard-won counsel on vengeance:

Mydei: Pain may be cured, but scars remain, and they should not be effaced. Even with the divine might of Oronyx, you cannot stop the past from leaving its marks in our blind spots... Revenge is merely an obligation that must be carried out, and no one can find mental fulfillment through it. Look forward... Remember that there is a whole world behind you waiting to be saved.

Mydei asks Phainon to look after the Kremnoan warriors as they assimilate into Okhema — his sole regret is that he cannot stand beside them himself. Phainon jokes that he will find out whether the Kremnoan language really is missing so many words; Mydei retorts that "the Kremnoan philosophy can never be encapsulated in a mere dictionary," then softens: "if there's a chance in the next life, you should come visit my library." He calls Phainon "Deliverer" and tells him to "stay alive till the final act." Phainon returns the blessing: "May triumph always be yours, Mydeimos." Mydei's final question — whether Phainon was the one who told Chartonus about the signet ring — gets only a smiling non-answer: "Who knows?"

Homebound Path — the recurring dream

On the long road to Castrum Kremnos (the Homebound Path exploratory excursion), Mydei relives a recurring dream of his childhood: training with his mother, Gorgo. Young Mydei asks why Kremnoans must learn to fight; Gorgo gives the rote answer — "for glory and honor... the battlefield is our destined end" — but Mydei senses her doubt. She confesses she believed those words without question until his father, Eurypon, "cast you into the Sea of Souls":

Gorgo: It was at that moment I realized how everything I believed in was utterly hollow... I no longer put my faith in any oath or doctrine. Now, I have just one role... That of your mother, Mydeimos. Your guardian.

The dream always ends there. Waking, Mydei recalls that Krateros told him Gorgo challenged Eurypon to a duel shortly after his fall and died by his treachery — Mydei never saw her face. Yet each night she waits by the firelight of the dream, and he had always hoped for a "sequel" with more guidance. Now he understands: that was all she ever wished to tell him. And now, he too is "left with but one role" — the same role of guardian she chose.

Return home

The final mission description is in Mydei's voice: "I, the undying Mydeimos, the Last Prince, the new God of Strife... now tread the blood-soaked road home." In memory/dream, he walks through Castrum Kremnos, greeted warmly by soldiers and by childhood companions Perdikkas, Hephaestion, Ptolemy, Leonnius, and Peucesta. Gorgo welcomes him: "Welcome home... Mydeimos. Have you found something deserving of your protection as well?" In the closing cutscene the crowd chants, "The son of Gorgo will be crowned in blood!" and Mydei answers: "Mother... I'm home."

Closing text cards record the history:

Year 4931 of the Light Calendar, Month of Balance — Nikador, the Strife Titan, Lance of Fury, fell. Mydeimos, king of Kremnos, triumphed over the trial, and the new god was born.

On the following day, the Kremnoan dynasty, which had lasted for a thousand years, came to an end.

Control returns to the Trailblazer's point of view with a parting thought: "When you have a chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won't regret."

Key characters

• Mydei (Mydeimos) — POV of the mission. Now the new God of Strife and most powerful demigod, having passed the trial of divinity. Renounces the throne, formally ends the thousand-year Kremnoan dynasty, entrusts its people to Krateros and Phainon, and departs alone for Castrum Kremnos to take up Nikador's war against the black tide. Learns to accept his mother's legacy of being a "guardian." His demigod prophecy: he will "die with a wound in your back."
• Krateros — Mydei's teacher/mentor, a Kremnoan elder, gravely wounded rescuing Trianne from the Flame Reaver and healed by Hyacine. Receives the signet ring and the charge to lead the Kremnoans into a new life in Okhema. Reveals Gorgo challenged Eurypon and died by his treachery.
• Aglaea — Bids Mydei farewell. Shares her own prophecy ("your final bath in warm and radiant gold") and the sense that neither she nor Mydei need be the one who guides the people to their destination. Was persuaded by Mydei (via his mother's name and a pledge to the Flame-Chase Journey) to free Krateros.
• Hyacine — A physician of the Twilight Courtyard whose medical gift saved Krateros; descendant of the legendary hero Seliose. Mydei foreshadows her as a future demigod who may claim the Sky (Aquila). Suffered a loss at the Grove of Epiphany.
• Castorice — Still searching for Thanatos; cannot sense the Death Titan. Refuses Mydei's grim offer to be ferried into death for clues ("Death is not a game").
• Phainon — Walks Mydei out of the city. Admits his victory over the Flame Reaver is hollow (the swordmaster's fate remains unknown) and that he may never sever his own destiny. Accepts stewardship of the Kremnoan warriors. Called "Deliverer" and told to "stay alive till the final act."
• Chartonus — Asked by Mydei to keep watching over Phainon, whose fate "will weigh heavier than all of ours combined."
• Trailblazer & Dan Heng — Receive Mydei's thanks and are entrusted to support the Flame-Chase Journey; Mydei senses the Trailblazer has "great significance for the future of Amphoreus." Take a commemorative photo with him.
• Gorgo — Mydei's late mother (in dream/memory). Once believed in Kremnoan glory until Eurypon cast the infant Mydei into the Sea of Souls; thereafter abandoned all doctrine to be only his "guardian." Died dueling Eurypon.
• Trianne — Whereabouts finally resolved: she was seized by the Flame Reaver, and Krateros's rescue failed to save her (Mydei notes demigods are "long prepared" for such an end). Absent from the demigods Mydei seeks; the loss is felt at the Grove of Epiphany.

Lore notes

• Guardian of Amphoreus — Mydei's new title, replacing "prince" and "King." Frames the new God of Strife as a protector-bulwark rather than a conqueror, deliberately inverting Nikador's warlike identity.
• Light Calendar — Amphoreus's dating system. The Kremnoan dynasty ran Year 2506 – Year 4931; Nikador fell and Mydei's godhood was born in Year 4931, Month of Balance, with the dynasty formally ending the next day. (New terminology this mission.)
• Signet ring "Strife, Dispel the Accompanying Fears" — Gorgo's signet ring, formerly the symbol of Kremnoan kingship; Mydei re-consecrates it as a symbol for the Kremnoan people's new beginning and gives it to Krateros. Phainon is hinted to have quietly arranged its handoff ("Who knows?").
• Two demigod prophecies revealed — Glimpsed upon assuming a Titan's divinity: Aglaea (Mnestia/Romance) — "You shall have your final bath in warm and radiant gold"; Mydei (Nikador/Strife) — "One day, you shall die with a wound in your back." Both function as foreshadowed deaths.
• Sea of Souls — Where Eurypon cast the infant Mydei; the origin point of his death-defying nature and his mother's disillusionment. (Distinct from Castorice's River of Souls, though thematically linked to death/Thanatos.)
• Twilight Courtyard / Seliose — Hyacine's healing tradition; her ancestor Seliose is named as a legendary hero who nonetheless failed to conquer the Coreflame of Aquila (Sky). Establishes Hyacine as a candidate to one day claim the Sky's divinity — "the path to assuming divinity is never limited to swords and spears."
• "Preservation" — Dan Heng floats this (via Phainon) as a possible new name for the god of Strife — a wink at the Aeon/Path of Preservation and at Mydei's shift from Strife to protection.
• Fate's Ensemble — The system used to play this mission from Mydei's perspective (subtitle "Mydei: Remnants of Regal Sounds"), a retrospective/memory framing consistent with an epilogue.
• Connections:
  • Advances / partially resolves open thread #15 (outcome of the trial of divinity, seeded 3.0 m08/m10): Mydei is confirmed to have "triumphed over the trial" and become the new God of Strife — notably it is Mydei, not Phainon, who now bears Nikador's divinity, reshaping the 3.0 cliffhanger where Phainon absorbed the 7th Coreflame. [?] how the divinity passed to Mydei is set in the intervening 3.1 missions (01–07), not this transcript.
  • Resolves an open thread about Mydei's backstory (digest cast entry, 3.0): confirms Eurypon cast infant Mydei into the Sea of Souls, and that Gorgo died dueling Eurypon by treachery afterward.
  • Advances open thread #12 (Castorice's search for Thanatos/Death): she still cannot locate the Death Titan and refuses to weaponize death for clues.
  • Advances open thread #8 (Aglaea/Tribbie foreseeing "stepping off the stage"): Aglaea again states that "the one who guides the people to the destination need not be you and I."
  • Advances open thread #13 (Phainon's destiny/vengeance): the Flame Reaver's fate remains unresolved, Phainon "hasn't managed to cut off [his] destiny," and Mydei/Chartonus both flag that Phainon's fate will "weigh heavier than all of ours combined."
  • Advances open thread #20 (the Century Gates / Trianne): resolves Trianne's disappearance — she was taken by the Flame Reaver and, despite Krateros's rescue, was lost, with the grief centered on the Grove of Epiphany. [?] the precise nature of her death and its effect on the three-in-one Tribbie/Trinnon is not spelled out here.
  • Advances the Trailblazer-significance thread (#3/#5): Mydei's divine intuition names the Trailblazer as having "great significance for the future of Amphoreus."
• [?] Open questions raised or left open:
  • The Flame Reaver — identity, whether it truly died, and its link to Phainon's destiny — remains unsolved.
  • Whether Hyacine will indeed inherit Aquila's (Sky's) divinity.
  • The exact meaning of both new prophecies (Aglaea's "final bath in gold"; Mydei's "wound in your back").

Sources

• Throne, End Those Long Years Forlorn — HSR Wiki

Hindsight (full arc)

• Foreshadowing: The two death-prophecies traded here both pay off — Aglaea's "your final bath in warm and radiant gold" in 3.3 (she engineers her own assassination, falling from the Chrysos Heir Bath), and Mydei's "you shall die with a wound in your back" in the second Flame-Chase (3.5).
• Foreshadowing: Mydei telling Hyacine humanity "will also reach the 'Sky'" and that divinity "is never limited to swords and spears" pays off in 3.3, where Hyacine ascends as the Sky demigod (Aquila).
• Reread with the reveal: The joke about renaming Strife "Preservation" (Dan Heng's word) is a wink — in the new world's pantheon (3.7) Mydeimos consecrates the Hunt, while Dan Heng becomes the pillar of Permanence / Stone.
• Reread with the reveal: Mydei's counsel that "even with the divine might of Oronyx, you cannot stop the past from leaving its marks" reads pointedly once 3.4 reveals the past is a recorded simulation and the Trailblazer will end up carrying ~30M cycles of it.