[As the commander of the Pioneer Groups, you led your troops under Natasha's orders to hold the front line, effortlessly repelling the Antimatter Legion's offensive.]
[The war machines reforged in the crucible of war were nothing more than buzzing insects before you. Their sturdy carapaces and the positional blades created by their antimatter generators were all shattered in your hands.]
[The flames of ruin began to ignite. The Vanguard of Catastrophe drew its longsword and led the legion in a new charge.]
...
[The Vanguard of Catastrophe's assault was difficult to withstand. You led the Pioneer Groups in a bitter defense, but you could only watch as the flames of ruin burned beyond your lines, gradually leveling the verdant forest at the edge of your defenses.]
[But Natasha left Belobog and came to your side, stepping into those raging flames.]
[The flames were extinguished, the forest was reborn... Natasha defeated the Vanguard of Catastrophe with a single punch. All threats from the Antimatter Legion vanished in that moment. The shadow of [The Destruction] dissipated from Jarilo-VI, and the planet welcomed a complete rebirth...]
...
[You saw a deep purple arrow of light, trailing a tail flame of death, pierce Ron's throat in an instant.]
[The azure dragon coiled around Jarilo-VI fell silent. The terrifying power of an Aeon had stolen its life. Before an Aeon, no matter how powerful one was, they were but an ant whose life could be erased in a moment. Not even the current Ron was an exception.]
[You saw the azure dragon's corpse continue to glow, but it was "swallowed" by a giant ecological warship whose full form you could faintly discern. Ron's lifeless body gradually disappeared, and with it, the light on Jarilo-VI began to fade, extinguishing bit by bit as his body was consumed by the ship.]
[All of Jarilo-VI was gradually falling into an eternal night. With Ron's departure, the cold universe revealed its full visage to you. Ron's fading light illuminated a shattered starscape, devoid of the familiar stars and moon. Only scattered stardust remained, circling Jarilo-VI, forming a fine, brilliant ring...]
...
[A bright beam of light shot out from the starship beyond the sky, like a searchlight illuminating the plains not far away, which had just been flattened by the Antimatter Legion's march. The sky was filled with black dots that were constantly growing larger. It seemed the army from the starship was looking for a place to land on Jarilo-VI.]
[Natasha ordered the Pioneer Groups to hold their ground, regroup on the front lines, and await the arrival of the starship's army.]
[She was silent. She sighed. Before everyone, she recounted Ron's past deeds, recalling one miracle after another that had appeared on Jarilo-VI because of him...]
["The empire's future was created through Ron's sacrifice... Therefore, whoever killed Ron is our enemy—this is a feud to the death." ]
[With her words, she guided the anger in everyone's hearts, causing a trace of resentment towards the starship's army to sprout within them.]
[As the commander of the Pioneer Groups, you saw through Natasha's intentions. You had a chance to stop her.]
[But because of Ron's death, rage was also burning in the bottom of your heart...]
[You abandoned the words on the tip of your tongue, silently swallowing them back down.]
...
[The Cloud Knights of the Xianzhou Luofu landed on the plain that had just been illuminated by the searchlight. You saw a lazy-looking man who called himself "Jing Yuan" step to the front, extending a friendly hand to everyone.]
[He promised that the Xianzhou Luofu would provide all possible assistance to any civilization ravaged by the Progeny of Abundance. You didn't know what a Progeny of Abundance was, but you understood just how much help he could provide—everyone understood the offer.]
[He wanted to take the entire empire away, to let the empire join the Xianzhou Luofu, to leave this barbaric planet that was about to fall into eternal night, and to let the citizens of the empire live an unimaginably wonderful life that only the people of the Luofu could enjoy...]
[The Pioneers, who had just been stirred up by Natasha's words, began to waver. Ron's life or death had no tangible connection to them. Whether he lived or died, their only real concern was whether the price of Belobog Red Sausage in the market would go up or down because of it...]
[And now, a new life was within reach. Jing Yuan's lazy yet charismatic words also plucked at the heartstrings of these Pioneers. It wouldn't be long, perhaps just a few more words from Jing Yuan, and the flickering flames of anger in everyone's hearts would be completely extinguished.]
[In its place would be the beautiful hope of living on the Xianzhou Luofu, a longing and anticipation for a new life—]
[But Natasha did not allow this to happen.]
...
[Tiny vines shot out from underground, precisely selecting a portion of the Pioneers who were whispering among themselves, looking forward to reconciling with the Xianzhou and moving to the Luofu.]
[Their voices stopped in an instant. The vines pierced their throats and slipped through the gaps in their armor, bracing their joints so that their corpses would remain standing even after death, preventing the soldiers around them from noticing anything amiss.]
[An ordinary Pioneer couldn't see the trick, but as their commander, you easily noticed something was wrong. However, you had no intention of stopping Natasha. Instead, you watched it all happen with cold eyes.]
[You knew what Natasha wanted to do. After Ron's death, everyone in the empire should atone for him. Be it the Pioneer Groups or the common folk, be it you or Natasha, no one had a reason to continue living.]
[You looked at the Xianzhou Cloud Knights not far away, feeling the sharp, blade-like aura they constantly emitted, and tightened your grip on your weapon.]
...
[Under Natasha's guidance, the empire ultimately went to war with the Xianzhou Luofu. The ignorant soldiers were swept up, charging towards the Cloud Knights, only to bleed out under their sharp blades.]
[You wanted to charge into the enemy ranks and spill the last of your life's blood, but you saw the Xianzhou's general indifferently raise the guandao in his hand. Brilliant golden divine thunder condensed in an instant. The majestic heavenly might flashed in the eyes of the Lightning-Lord on the horizon and then descended upon Jarilo-VI.]
[A searing light exploded beside you. You felt an unparalleled heat, and then you completely lost consciousness, annihilated under the divine punishment.]
[Jarilo-VI was turned to scorched earth under the divine punishment, and the outcome was merely a few brief strokes in the hands of the Xianzhou's Divination Commission, a cold record of the hunt in the "Records of the Divine Bow's Manifestations"...]
The text on the screen faded, and new words appeared:
[The empire made an unimaginable effort to revive this planet. The blood and sweat shed to return it to its lush, verdant state were innumerable.]
[But a single hunt by the Xianzhou turned the entire planet to scorched earth, and all fell into quietude.]
[You failed to protect your home... In this sea of stars, only absolute power can guarantee one's safety.]
[The might of [The Hunt] has descended upon this dead world of scorched earth.]
Seele looked at the text on the screen and nonchalantly shifted her gaze away.
She had already handed control over to the AI long ago. The outcome of this simulation was meaningless to her.
She had seen the shadow of Lan, The Hunt, in her dreams before. It was because she had once seen the trail of [The Hunt] that she was able to walk its Path and become a Pathstrider.
Therefore, Seele knew just how cold and merciless Lan was as an Aeon... To continuously walk this Path meant to gradually understand the Aeon's philosophy. The deeper one went, the more paranoid one became, the more one resembled the Aeon.
In a previous simulation, Seele had walked very far down the Path of [The Hunt]. She naturally understood its inherent coldness and its insistence on vengeance.
It was entirely within expectations for the Aeon of [The Hunt] and its faction to do such things. To Seele, it was no surprise at all.
She had too little information in this simulation, and she had no intention of finding the cause of this outcome. The truth about Ron was what mattered most.
She wanted to know if Ron was really a player in the Life Simulation Game, just as she thought...
Seele casually tapped the screen. The text faded, and new entries appeared:
[The score for this Life Simulation is: 60 points.]
[You have obtained 600 World Experience.]
[Your World Level has increased—LV.23]
[As the commander of the Pioneer Groups, you perfectly completed your mission and thoroughly fulfilled your duties.]
[In the Underworld, you led the Pioneer Groups to open up the Fragmentum. No matter the crisis, you and your troops overcame it, completely reclaiming all the cities in the Underworld that had been eroded by the Fragmentum.]
[After the empire was established, you not only expanded its territory but also suppressed the disaster when the Seed of Calamity erupted, guarded the Quarantine Zone, and held out against the infected's rebellion until Ron's arrival...]
[Although you were unable to bring the empire's two successive emperors back to their senses when they fell into extremism, considering you were just the commander of the Pioneer Groups, constantly expanding the frontier abroad, you had no time to be by the emperor's side. It is normal that you were powerless to resolve this...]
[You have done the best you could do.]
[Well done, Seele.]
[To ensure the player's gaming experience, simulation memories have been loaded.]
Cold memories flowed into Seele's mind, filled with marches and slaughter, and the endless Fragmentum and blizzards.
Because of the weighty memories from the previous simulations, the monotonous slaughter of this run was nothing to Seele. Only the final, explosive divine thunder left a lingering fear, but that was all...
Watching the text on the screen fade, Seele took a deep breath.
This simulation... was finally over.
Which meant that if Ron was a player, his simulation would have just ended as well...
This was the perfect time.
With that thought, Seele knocked on the door in front of her.
She had set out for the Goethe Grand Hotel without hesitation the moment she chose to let the AI take over. She had no doubt that both Bronya and Natasha would seek out Ron after this simulation ended.
But Ron was first come, first served.
She didn't want to let go, to give Ron to anyone else.
She waited quietly for a response, but after knocking, she was met only with silence. She pressed her ear to the door but couldn't hear a thing from inside.
A bad feeling rose in Seele's heart. She snapped her fingers, and a bit of Imaginary energy, at her command, shot into the lock, easily breaking it.
She pushed open the door without hesitation and burst in—
But all she saw was an open window with its curtains fluttering in the slight breeze, and on the desk, a single, thin letter held down by a weight...
---o---
"So you really just got here? Where's Ron? Where did you hide him?"
Bronya looked at Seele suspiciously, her eyes full of distrust.
Seele looked back at the wary Bronya and made an unimpressed face.
"I have no reason to lie to you about this... If I knew where Ron was, would I still be standing here talking to you?"
Seele sighed and held up the letter, waving it in front of Bronya.
"Ron's gone. This is the only thing he left in the room. It says, 'For Bronya'..."
"Give it to me! Ron left that for me!"
Bronya immediately stepped forward and grabbed the letter from Seele's hand. Seele had no intention of fighting for it and let go at once.
"In fact, even if you didn't want it, I was going to give it to you... Overworld's little miss, I think we need to cooperate."
Seele looked at Bronya and said in a serious tone:
"We work together. Let's find Ron first..."
Hearing this, Bronya froze, immediately realizing something was wrong. She quickly tore open the letter, which had clearly been opened by Seele once before, and saw the few hastily scribbled sentences on the white paper inside:
[My apologies, Lady Bronya, for having to leave you a message in this way.]
[My recent life as a guard has made me feel very ill at ease. Perhaps I am not suited to be your guard and am unable to fulfill the duties of this post...]
[I have decided to resign my position to go in search of the meaning of my life.]
Reading the words on the paper, Bronya was utterly baffled.
Go in search of the meaning of his life...?
What kind of strange reason was that?
Where in the world was Ron now?!
At the same time, elsewhere—
Ron stood under the night sky of the Overworld and stretched languidly.