Euthymia, Lord of Souls

On the surface this book is telling the story of reincarnation, but in fact it is wrong, it should be a cycle. We look at it from 4 characters and 3 groups of images. 4 characters: Euthymia, Sebastian, Soul Eater and Klein 3 groups of images: choice and cycle, plunder and contract, misunderstanding and understanding Rory wrote a lot about Euthymia's behavior in the article, but in fact she only did two things, understanding and choosing. Let's not talk about why we say this. Let's look at another character - Klein. Klein's design logic is to "contrast" with Euthymia. What is the contrast? Compare Sebastian and Soul Eater. The Soul Eater proposed a contract, but Sebastian misunderstood the contract, causing a painful cycle. Correspondingly, Klein firmly chose to trust and devote himself to Euthymia. This choice was affirmed and accepted, and the outcome was very different. Klein has the most obvious character arc. When he first met Euthymia, he was confused about his identity and position, and was torn between emotion and identity. After the conversation, he firmly chose to help Euthymia. As the author said, what he chose at that time was actually himself. Klein's dispute with Euthymia over saving Albert, stating that he would only act on his own behalf at the end of the day. When maintaining the time field of the third experimental site, life is exchanged for the time of the protagonist group. Just like the Soul Eater resolutely chose Sebastian, Klein resolutely chose Euthymia. The Soul Eater said, "You think you are plundering me, but in fact, I chose you." This sentence contains two key images: "plunder" and "selection" To understand "selection", first, you must understand "circulation". The starting point of the cycle begins with "misunderstanding". Sebastian misunderstood the choice of the Soul Eater, which led to the reincarnation of the protagonist. The essence of the cycle is a maze of pain. Unlike the meaninglessness symbolized by reincarnation, the cycle focuses on the repetition of pain. It's like you and your best friend had a quarrel. In fact, both of you knew that there was something wrong with you, but they didn't take the initiative to communicate due to face reasons, and the cycle of pain began. The sword that cuts off the cycle is choice. It is very clear in the plot that the protagonist chooses a contract, faces past misunderstandings, assumes future responsibilities, actively makes choices, and breaks the cycle of pain. The empire chose to give up the eternal day and reconcile with the earth. Klein chose Euthymia and accepted his mission. The author shows the inevitability of choice in the plot. Klein is the resonator designated by the contract, and the resonance with Euthymia's soul makes his fate inevitably choose this girl. Sebastian's lifelong tips and calculations guided Euthymia to this path of facing her choice. Everyone must make a choice in their own destiny, no matter how hard they tried to avoid it before. Similarly, "plunder" and "contract" must also be understood together. The author repeatedly emphasizes, "It is not plunder, but a contract." The act of plunder begins with misunderstanding, and misunderstanding creates a cycle. Sebastian plundered the Soul-Eating Beast, the Empire plundered the earth, and tragedy resulted from plundering. At the end of the story, Euthymia changes the plunder into a contract, and the two major contradictions in the story are resolved at this time. I made a little personal interpretation, replacing "contract" with "understanding" and "plunder" with "misunderstanding". Euthymia was extremely painful when returning negative energy to the earth. Misunderstandings inevitably occur when people come into contact with each other. People cannot fully understand others. The existence of estrangement means that misunderstandings must exist. While we continue to define others, we are also constantly misunderstanding others. Sebastian's misunderstanding of the contract is not an accidental misunderstanding, but inevitable, that is, misunderstanding is inevitable. To resolve misunderstandings, it is necessary to take the initiative to contact others. But people are like hedgehogs. The closer they are to each other, the more they will hurt each other. The process of understanding and contacting the reality of others is painful, just like the pain of Euthymia's soul when she returns her energy. "Misunderstanding is not the worst outcome. The worst outcome is that there is never a chance to correct it." The empire plundered the earth, and the earth returned the damage, twisting it into a Soul Eater, which led to Sebastian's misunderstanding and attack. The Temple of Light chose to exile the Soul Eater. If the exile really happened, there may never have been a chance to correct it. All this happens due to mutual incomprehension and misunderstanding. Everyone instinctively protects themselves by hurting each other. Euthymia makes a self-sacrifice, faces this pain, bears all the consequences of her choices, and ends the cycle. This is why the story is not about reincarnation, but about cycles. The way to cut off the cycle is clear from the beginning, choice and contract. Even if the process of understanding is painful, you should actively undertake and choose.

When I first read this book, I thought it was another cliche of "a noble lady awakens her past life memories and cheats all the way." However, when I saw the underground stone door, I suddenly realized that the taste was actually different. . Especially the sentence "You thought you were robbing me, but in fact, I chose you" directly changed the tone of the entire story. In many novels, the power is obtained, controlled, and used by the protagonist, but here it feels more like the protagonist has been chosen by something older and larger. When she gains power, she gradually becomes a part of the power itself... This feeling is quite hairy I quite like the way the author handles the character of Euthymia. She is not a refreshing heroine in the traditional sense. She does not have the excitement of killing everyone immediately after rebirth. Instead, she always carries a very depressing sense of alienation. I have heard whispers from countless people since I was a child, treating everyone as normal and only myself as an alien. That feeling of loneliness is very real. In particular, the coming-of-age ceremony banquet was as lively as a grand stage play, but the real protagonist was standing alone on the observation deck upstairs. All the applause and blessings below seemed to have nothing to do with her. The scene was pretty good. After entering the sealing room later, the story obviously began to move towards the "big world view" and "paradox of fate". The central observatory, timeline bifurcation, and causal records are not new, but the author's ability to create an atmosphere is quite strong. The black stone walls, breathing runes, and sealed chambers that beat like a heart all remind me of the feeling I had when I read some old-school dark fantasy. Hahaha Of course, this book currently has some problems, such as a large amount of information in the setting, sometimes even a lot of nouns, and relatively little emotional interaction between characters. But if you like the reading experience of "Lord of Mysteries" where "the further you go, the more you discover that the truth of the world is far scarier than you imagined", this book should be to your liking. At least for me, the most attractive thing about it is not how strong the heroine will become, but that I want to know more and more - whether Eutemia controlled the Soul Eater in the end, or the Soul Eater returned to the world through Eutemia.