WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 Welcome to the debate. There is a very specific 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:06.120 terror, I think, in watching someone build a 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.000 house out of glass right in the middle of a war 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:10.740 zone. Oh, yeah, completely. You know, you stand 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:12.619 there watching them polish the panes, pretending 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:15.300 the world outside is just completely peaceful, 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:17.019 and you're just waiting for the inevitable rock 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:19.300 to shatter the whole thing. Which is exactly 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:22.219 what we saw happen. Today, we are looking at 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:25.620 the shattering of the Novus family. This is our 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:28.859 seventh discussion focusing on the expansive 00:00:28.859 --> 00:00:33.039 universe created by the author Neogentrix. Right. 00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:34.840 And we really have to look back at the fierce 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:37.020 clash from our third discussion, I think. Oh, 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:39.219 we definitely do. Because back then we debated 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:41.399 the family's strict, self -imposed isolation. 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:44.460 We argued over whether their rigid pacifism was, 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:46.759 you know, this beautifully realized ideal or 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:49.359 just a dangerously naive fantasy. And we were 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:52.380 operating with... Completely incomplete information, 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:55.619 which fundamentally changes the landscape of 00:00:55.619 --> 00:00:58.320 that earlier conversation. We absolutely were, 00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:01.799 because Act 2 delivered just a shocking revelation. 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:05.379 The mother's dying words entirely upended our 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:09.280 previous assumptions. Yeah, it was wild. As she 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.200 passed away in Zeonix's arms, she literally told 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:14.980 him, Do not worry, son. We knew about your training. 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:17.879 Finish your training and avenge us. Head north. 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:20.260 There you shall learn the secret of your grandfather. 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:23.980 It forces a total structural reread of the early 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.840 chapters, honestly. Exactly. So here is our central 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.480 debate for today. Now that it's confirmed the 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:32.900 parents were fully aware of the multiversal secrets, 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:36.040 and the martial arts training all along, was 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:38.359 hiding the truth from Zeonix an act of supreme 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:41.500 love or a catastrophic parenting failure? That 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:44.239 is the big question. And as a secondary point, 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:47.439 how exactly does the sudden appearance of a mysterious 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:51.000 stranger fit into their violent downfall? I think 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.079 we are going to find ourselves at opposite ends 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.920 of this once again, perhaps even more firmly 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.000 entrenched than before, if I'm being honest. 00:01:58.459 --> 00:02:00.840 Oh, I guarantee it, because I am stating right 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:03.840 now that keeping Zeonix in the dark was a massive 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:06.799 betrayal that left him totally blindsided. Wow, 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:10.080 okay. And furthermore, I believe their doom was 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:13.340 not a random tragedy, but an inside job orchestrated 00:02:13.340 --> 00:02:16.479 by a spy. And I maintain that the parents acted 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.099 out of profound love. They made a conscious choice 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:21.879 to break the cycle of the Congo War. And, well, 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:24.960 I believe your conspiracy theory completely misreads 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:26.840 the foundational world building of this universe. 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:29.000 All right, well, let me lay out my stance clearly. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.780 First of all, I have to admit that I was completely 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:34.599 wrong in the past. We both were. Yeah, the parents 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:37.900 were not oblivious at all. I am genuinely shocked 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:40.280 at ourselves for missing the signs in Act 1. 00:02:40.810 --> 00:02:43.509 We assumed they were just clueless suburbanites 00:02:43.509 --> 00:02:45.590 hoping the violence of Pekadesh would pass them 00:02:45.590 --> 00:02:48.610 by, but they knew exactly what was happening. 00:02:48.949 --> 00:02:52.590 They absolutely did. However, knowing that, I 00:02:52.590 --> 00:02:55.069 am doubling down fiercely on my anger toward 00:02:55.069 --> 00:02:57.770 them. I argue that knowing the truth and still 00:02:57.770 --> 00:03:00.490 keeping Xehanix in the dark was infinitely worse 00:03:00.490 --> 00:03:03.310 than being ignorant. Infinitely worse? Really? 00:03:03.550 --> 00:03:06.500 Yes! They left a target on his back without giving 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:08.879 him the knowledge, the context, or the defensive 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:11.919 capability to survive it. And frankly, this brings 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:14.500 up the massive Mrs. Kazuki plot hole for me. 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:18.240 Oh boy, here we go. Hear me out. If the parents 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:21.360 were so fiercely protective and hiding massive 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:24.819 multiversal secrets from Eon Pax, why did the 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:28.439 mother suddenly let this random old friend stay 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:31.500 the night right before the attack? I am arguing 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:34.219 aggressively that Mrs. Kazuki is a spy directly 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:37.740 connected to the attacker, Crater Steve. Right. 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:40.500 Well, I come at this from a completely different 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:43.860 perspective. And I actually feel entirely vindicated 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:47.819 today. Vindicated? How? Because the parents weren't 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:50.259 ignorant fools. They made a highly calculated 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:53.620 choice out of pure love to give their son 19 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:56.460 years of peace. But it killed them. They were 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:58.680 intentionally breaking the generational violence 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:01.099 of the Congo War. A conflict that had already 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:04.120 consumed their ancestors. Even if hiding the 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:06.580 secret ultimately got them killed, it was a noble, 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.699 successful sacrifice. I just can't see it that 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:12.960 way. And I want to immediately push back on this 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:16.680 Mrs. Kazuki spy theory. While I understand the 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.100 temptation to connect those dots, projecting 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:22.360 a conspiracy onto her ignores the standard narrative 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:25.680 mechanics of how Neo expands this universe. It's 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:28.199 not a projection. It's right there in the text. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:31.420 She was a normal family friend used to establish 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:34.639 the broader geography, nothing more. I see why 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:36.500 you think that, but let me give you a different 00:04:36.500 --> 00:04:38.540 perspective on the implications of the mother's 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.579 final breath. Sheer disbelief does not even begin 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:44.000 to cover how I felt reading that scene. Oh, same. 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:47.279 It was a massive shock. The realization that 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.620 they watched him sneak out every single night. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.379 They watched him train with Kenjin Sensei in 00:04:52.379 --> 00:04:54.839 the woods. They knew the martial legacy of the 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.160 Whistling Swordsman was waking up inside their 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:00.079 son. and they said absolutely nothing to guide 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.839 him? It is a stunning revelation. It completely 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:06.860 recontextualizes every single interaction they 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:09.379 had with him in those early chapters. Exactly. 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:12.480 Think about the scene in the workshop. Every 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:14.699 time the father told him to focus on whittling 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:17.730 wood and fixing metal instead of fighting, It 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:20.029 wasn't out of ignorance of his potential. No, 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:22.889 it wasn't. It was a desperate plea for him to 00:05:22.889 --> 00:05:26.050 choose a different path. It was an active, daily 00:05:26.050 --> 00:05:29.069 choice to reject the machinery of war. But I'm 00:05:29.069 --> 00:05:31.050 not convinced by that line of reasoning, because 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:33.670 by letting Zeonix think he was sneaking around 00:05:33.670 --> 00:05:36.230 a train with Kenshin, the parents denied him 00:05:36.230 --> 00:05:38.850 crucial context. They were letting him be a kid. 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:41.509 They knew Eon Pax was a threat. They knew the 00:05:41.509 --> 00:05:44.350 forces of the Congo War, a conflict that literally 00:05:44.350 --> 00:05:46.629 reshaped the geopolitical borders of Pekadesh, 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:48.829 were still actively hunting the remnants of his 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:51.689 grandfather's lineage. Right, but... Eon Pox 00:05:51.689 --> 00:05:54.970 doesn't just conquer territories. He eradicates 00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:58.250 bloodlines to prevent uprisings. The parents 00:05:58.250 --> 00:06:01.389 understood that operational reality, yet they 00:06:01.389 --> 00:06:03.670 let their son wield a sword with a blindfold 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:07.629 on. A blindfold is a bit strong. The mother literally 00:06:07.629 --> 00:06:10.310 told him to avenge us with her dying breath. 00:06:10.810 --> 00:06:13.550 That is absolute proof she knew violence was 00:06:13.550 --> 00:06:17.110 inevitable. If she knew the forces of Eon Pox 00:06:17.110 --> 00:06:19.790 would eventually find them, why on earth would 00:06:19.790 --> 00:06:22.269 she not prepare him for that reality? Because 00:06:22.269 --> 00:06:25.569 preparing him for war guarantees that he becomes 00:06:25.569 --> 00:06:28.410 a soldier. I defend the parents' right to try 00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:31.370 for peace. Even a doomed peace? Look at what 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:33.410 they actually accomplished. They successfully 00:06:33.410 --> 00:06:36.089 kept the monsters of the Congo War away for nearly 00:06:36.089 --> 00:06:39.889 two decades. 19 years of safety is an entire 00:06:39.889 --> 00:06:42.889 lifetime on the continent of Pekadesh. Okay, 00:06:42.949 --> 00:06:45.269 but it was built on a lie. The father fixing 00:06:45.269 --> 00:06:47.850 metal instead of breaking bodies wasn't a lie. 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:50.670 It was a chosen way of life. They didn't want 00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:53.689 him burdened by the crushing weight of Eon Pax's 00:06:53.689 --> 00:06:56.889 regime or the bloody legacy of Xeon clerics. 00:06:57.230 --> 00:07:00.250 Until it was absolutely unavoidable. But it was 00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:03.350 unavoidable. If they train him from birth, they 00:07:03.350 --> 00:07:06.310 are the ones conscripting him into a war he never 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:08.810 chose. It is like building a dam to hold back 00:07:08.810 --> 00:07:11.209 a massive river, but never teaching the people 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:14.449 in the valley how to swim. That's not quite the 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:16.949 same thing. The dam didn't eliminate the water. 00:07:17.110 --> 00:07:19.750 It just guaranteed a catastrophic flood when 00:07:19.750 --> 00:07:22.300 it eventually broke. Because they didn't prepare 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:25.120 him, the fire reached their doorstep and completely 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.639 destroyed them. Well, they shielded him from 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:30.600 the fire for as long as humanly possible. And 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:33.680 how did that fire reach them? We have to ask 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.779 how Eon Pax's forces found them so suddenly. 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:40.420 If they were perfectly hidden for 19 years, cloaking 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:43.040 their multiversal signatures, what broke their 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.560 cover? Oh. I see where this is going. The timeline 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:50.740 with Mrs. Kazuki is highly, highly suspicious. 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:53.740 I think we are risking missing the emotional 00:07:53.740 --> 00:07:57.439 forest for the trees here, but go ahead. Look 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.480 at the details directly from the text. The mother 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.240 introduces this woman out of nowhere. Zeonix 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:05.819 notes explicitly that he has never seen her before 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:09.420 in his 19 years of life. Sure. Kids don't know 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:12.220 all their parents' old friends. She sits at their 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:15.240 dinner table and conveniently mentions that her 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.480 son's name is Steve and that his work permits 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.879 him to travel across the continent. It's just 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.480 a conversation. The very next day, the family 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:26.079 is brutally attacked by a traveling gunman who 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:30.000 reveals his name is Crater Steve. Which is a 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.100 complete coincidence. Connect the dots here. 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:37.240 Mrs. Kazuki was a scout. She was a spy who infiltrated 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.360 the house, confirmed the grandfather's lineage, 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:42.320 and marked the location for Crater Steve. That 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:45.259 is, that is a massive leap. Why else would the 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:47.779 mother, who we just established is fiercely guarding 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:51.210 a multiversal secret? invite a total stranger 00:08:51.210 --> 00:08:53.570 into a home that is supposedly a fortress of 00:08:53.570 --> 00:08:55.870 secrecy. I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that. 00:08:55.929 --> 00:08:59.110 Let me tell you why. You are taking standard 00:08:59.110 --> 00:09:01.929 narrative world building and twisting it into 00:09:01.929 --> 00:09:04.950 a sinister plot. It fits perfectly, though. Neil 00:09:04.950 --> 00:09:08.169 uses side characters to flesh out the setting 00:09:08.169 --> 00:09:11.970 constantly. Mrs. Kazuki exists in that scene 00:09:11.970 --> 00:09:14.950 to introduce us, the readers, to the broader 00:09:14.950 --> 00:09:17.470 geography of the planet before Xeonyx has to 00:09:17.470 --> 00:09:20.289 traverse it. By talking about her son, Steve? 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:23.190 She talks about traveling north to Victory City 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:25.649 and Vargas Prime. She mentions the trade routes 00:09:25.649 --> 00:09:28.289 along the Sea of Monmiota. And she just happens 00:09:28.289 --> 00:09:31.009 to have a traveling son named Steve who just 00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:33.990 happens to be in the area right before a guy 00:09:33.990 --> 00:09:36.230 named Crater Steve burns their lives to the ground? 00:09:36.370 --> 00:09:39.409 You really think that is a coincidence? Yes, 00:09:39.409 --> 00:09:43.289 I do. Steve is a common name, and Crater Steve 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:45.950 is a moniker earned in the fighting pits of the 00:09:45.950 --> 00:09:49.549 Congo War, as we learn later. I mean, come on. 00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:53.129 You are grasping at straws to blame someone other 00:09:53.129 --> 00:09:55.049 than the actual invading force for the attack. 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:58.669 Neo is expanding the universe, laying the groundwork 00:09:58.669 --> 00:10:01.169 for locations Zeonix will eventually visit in 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:04.970 Act 3. It is structural worldbuilding. I think 00:10:04.970 --> 00:10:07.149 it's foreshadowing. I respect your attention 00:10:07.149 --> 00:10:09.269 to detail, but I really think you need to put 00:10:09.269 --> 00:10:11.590 on a tinfoil hat and we need to table this conspiracy 00:10:11.590 --> 00:10:14.600 theory. It acts as a distraction from the actual 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.220 thematic core of the scene, which is the parents' 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:19.299 choices and the consequences of their silence. 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:21.860 I strongly disagree that it's a distraction, 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.480 because if she is a spy, it means their policy 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.820 of radical trust and pacifism is exactly what 00:10:26.820 --> 00:10:29.539 got them killed. Let's focus on what we actually 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:33.179 know for sure. Fine, fine. We will table Mrs. 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:36.120 Kazuki for now. I am keeping my eye on her, though. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:38.559 Let's return to the main issue, the parenting 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:40.960 deadlock. You claim their silence was a noble 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:44.570 sacrifice. It was. I insist that the secret directly 00:10:44.570 --> 00:10:47.029 resulted in the mother dying in front of Xeonyx, 00:10:47.129 --> 00:10:49.470 leaving him with a blood -soaked legacy he barely 00:10:49.470 --> 00:10:52.230 understands. She died protecting the 19 years 00:10:52.230 --> 00:10:54.830 of innocence she gave him. That innocence has 00:10:54.830 --> 00:10:58.409 value. At what cost, though? In a universe governed 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:01.409 by multiversal warlords, giving a child a mundane, 00:11:01.649 --> 00:11:05.379 boring Tuesday is a massive triumph. But again, 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:07.740 at what cost? He had no idea about the political 00:11:07.740 --> 00:11:10.120 realities of Pekadesh. He didn't know his grandfather 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:12.639 was a high -value target for Aeon Pax. He was 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.440 safe for 19 years. When creator Steve arrived 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:19.360 with plasma weaponry, Zeonix was fighting with 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:22.320 a practice blade in sheer panic. They set him 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:24.720 up to fail! They didn't set him up to fail. They 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.470 were ambushed. If they knew he was training with 00:11:27.470 --> 00:11:29.830 Kenshin, they knew he was flaring his Aether 00:11:29.830 --> 00:11:31.789 signature. They knew he was becoming visible 00:11:31.789 --> 00:11:34.149 to the enemy. To let him do that without explaining 00:11:34.149 --> 00:11:36.889 the stakes is negligence. That's a compelling 00:11:36.889 --> 00:11:39.450 argument, but have you considered the actual 00:11:39.450 --> 00:11:43.409 text of her final moments? Focus on the mother's 00:11:43.409 --> 00:11:48.110 peaceful passing. Peaceful? She was shot! Cite 00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:51.129 the text, though. She smiled as she passed away 00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:54.460 in his arms. That is not the reaction of a woman 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:57.159 who realizes she made a catastrophic parenting 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:00.580 failing. She was dying. People in shock don't 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:03.519 always react rationally. It wasn't shock. She 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:06.580 smiled because she died knowing her son had found 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:09.980 his true path naturally. He sought out Kenshin 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:13.919 Sensei on his own. Well, yeah, but... He picked 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.480 up the sword on his own. The heavy burden of 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:18.740 the whistling swordsman wasn't forced onto him 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:21.480 by his parents' expectations. or their unresolved 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.559 trauma from the Congo War. He chose it. I don't 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:26.500 know if I'd call it a free choice when he lacked 00:12:26.500 --> 00:12:29.399 all the facts. She smiled because she knew his 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:31.779 spirit was strong enough to handle what was coming, 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:34.519 precisely because his spirit wasn't crushed by 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:36.779 the weight of war during his childhood. That's 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:38.299 an interesting point, though I would frame it 00:12:38.299 --> 00:12:41.299 differently. I look at her saying, this was the 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:44.159 work of Eon Pax. You must defeat him to save 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:47.450 your grandfather. Right. She drops a massive, 00:12:47.610 --> 00:12:50.389 world -altering piece of context on him while 00:12:50.389 --> 00:12:53.710 she is actively bleeding out. That is information 00:12:53.710 --> 00:12:56.429 he desperately needed weeks, months, or even 00:12:56.429 --> 00:12:59.889 years ago. I completely disagree. To withhold 00:12:59.889 --> 00:13:02.710 the identity of your family's greatest enemy 00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:06.110 until your literal last breath is baffling to 00:13:06.110 --> 00:13:09.269 me. How is he supposed to process the grief of 00:13:09.269 --> 00:13:12.110 losing his parents while simultaneously processing 00:13:12.110 --> 00:13:14.909 that the supreme ruler of the multiverse is hunting 00:13:14.909 --> 00:13:17.870 him? Because if she tells him at 15, he goes 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:21.029 looking for Eon packs at 15 and he dies at 15. 00:13:21.330 --> 00:13:24.429 Not necessarily. You are assuming that giving 00:13:24.429 --> 00:13:26.470 him the information early would have empowered 00:13:26.470 --> 00:13:29.289 him. I argue it would have destroyed him. If 00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:32.169 she tells him at 15, he starts training properly 00:13:32.169 --> 00:13:34.690 instead of whittling wood in the shed. Maybe 00:13:34.690 --> 00:13:36.970 he learns the advanced techniques of his bloodline. 00:13:37.210 --> 00:13:39.710 He was just a kid. Maybe he is strong enough 00:13:39.710 --> 00:13:41.830 to stop Crater Steve from burning their house 00:13:41.830 --> 00:13:44.629 down when he inevitably arrives. Knowledge is 00:13:44.629 --> 00:13:47.690 preparation. By hiding the truth, they ensured 00:13:47.690 --> 00:13:49.909 his first real battle was one he was completely 00:13:49.909 --> 00:13:52.929 unequipped to fight. You cannot out -train a 00:13:52.929 --> 00:13:56.549 multiversal regime like Eon Pax's by practicing 00:13:56.549 --> 00:13:59.990 in your backyard no matter how much context you 00:13:59.990 --> 00:14:02.769 have. It's better than nothing. Eon Pax controls 00:14:02.769 --> 00:14:06.370 entire planetary systems. The parents played 00:14:06.370 --> 00:14:09.440 the only hand they realistically had. They traded 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.080 their lives for his time. They just delayed the 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:14.980 inevitable. They bought him time to grow up unburdened, 00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:17.379 to develop a moral compass outside the context 00:14:17.379 --> 00:14:19.779 of a battlefield. And when the time ran out, 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:22.279 when the rock finally shattered the glass house, 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.460 they gave him their blessing to fight. I guess 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:27.240 we'll just have to disagree on whether that was 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:30.139 worth it. That is a tragedy, yes, but it is a 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:32.500 successful parenting strategy in an impossible 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:35.179 situation. We are just never going to see eye 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:37.879 to eye on this. I maintain firmly that the parents' 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:40.679 forced ignorance was a blinding, fatal mistake. 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:44.179 And I firmly reject that. They let him walk into 00:14:44.179 --> 00:14:47.740 a war zone wearing a blindfold. They knew his 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:50.500 grandfather's lineage would eventually draw fire. 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:53.019 And instead of giving him a shield, they gave 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:55.259 him a carving knife and hoped for the best. That's 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:58.159 a very harsh reading. The cost of that hope was 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.700 their own lives and the psychological scarring 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:03.519 of their son. And I stand by the belief that 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:05.840 it was a tragic but profoundly beautiful sacrifice. 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:09.480 They bought a child a normal life in a universe 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:12.019 that actively destroys normality. Normal for 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:14.639 Pekadesh, maybe? They shielded him from the Congo 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:17.980 War's legacy for 19 years. And because of that, 00:15:18.019 --> 00:15:20.820 when Zeonix finally picked up the sword, he did 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:24.080 so as a complete, grounded human being, not as 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.279 a child soldier broken by his parents' wars. 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:28.960 It seems we are ending in a deadlock. We're going 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.100 to have to agree to disagree on whether hiding 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:33.320 the truth from Xeonyx was the right parenting 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.559 move or a strategic disaster. Yeah, I think we 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.039 will. We will just have to leave it to the listener 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:42.740 to weigh the evidence for themselves. Which is 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.879 exactly why this specific conflict is so engaging. 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:49.340 It forces us to constantly re -evaluate the text 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:52.759 based on new evidence to question the very nature 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:56.419 of protection and preparation. Absolutely. And 00:15:56.419 --> 00:15:58.860 speaking of re -evaluating, If the parents were 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:01.340 a shield that ultimately shattered, it forces 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:03.820 us to look at the sword they left him with. Ooh, 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:06.980 nice transition. Thank you. We're going to wrap 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:09.139 up for today, but be sure to join us for our 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:11.120 next discussion, because we are going to take 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.519 these massive new revelations and completely 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.779 re -evaluate the motives of Kenshin Sensei. That's 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:19.519 going to be a huge one. Is he really just a helpful 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:21.960 mentor who happened to find a promising student 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.399 in the woods, or is he playing a much darker 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.120 game with the Whistling Swordsman's legacy? I'm 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:29.179 sure you already have a sprawling conspiracy 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:32.240 theory ready for that one, too. You know I do. 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:34.179 Until next time.