I can't find an obvious link between godaddy and epik (though one may exist).
Their current DNS service is provided by ... AWS :)
I'm not convinced that the quote from godaddy is technically informative here, though using the word "registrar" would seem to be more indicative of something other than hosting.
Source: a thread on the forum
Domain Name: AR15.COM
Registry Domain ID: 984217_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.epik.com
Registrar URL: http://www.epik.com
Updated Date: 2021-01-12T19:30:31Z
Creation Date: 1997-03-28T05:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2023-03-29T04:00:00Z
Registrar: Epik Inc.
Correct. Even more interestingly if you backorder a domain name owned by another person and that domain name expires, the creation date reflected in the WHOIS record once you obtain it will be the previous owner's creation date, not the date you obtained the domain. I think this behavior varies by registrar but that is how it seems to function on GoDaddy.