I was using the earphones outside, while the case was in my pocket. At a certain point I realized my pocket was empty and the case was gone. I searched my backpack inside and out, and checked all of my pockets. I am absolutely sure that the case was not on me, but for some reason the earbuds kept playing audio. After I searched the area for the case and failed, I gave up and went home which is an hour away by train. For the entire duration of the journey the audio kept playing, and I was able to change what song was playing as well. After I came home and the battery died, it stopped playing and that is where I'm at.
In this case, is it possible that audio was playing without the case and just the earbuds? Or am I missing something here?
The earbuds themselves are connected to your device via bluetooth.
Depends on the ear bud brand / cost. But they either both connect to your device separately, or only one of them connects to the device, then relays the information to the other bud.
Are you implying that the case is the actual Bluetooth connection, proxying the audio to the buds...? If that's how it works, I had no idea!
I would find it useful if the case was a wifi receiver where you could select your streaming app similar to a radio and have it broadcast in Bluetooth to your earbuds.