...What was happening?
Looking at the scene on the light screen, Bronya couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
Why had several Aeons suddenly arrived? And why was one of them Qlipoth the [Preservation], the very being she and all of Belobog once believed in, the one who had truly sheltered them through the Great Freeze on Jarilo-VI?
Why... was this golden colossus, who was supposed to care only for building his wall, now swinging his giant hammer, smashing it down toward the lantern of hope in Ron's hand?
And why... had the lantern in Ron's hand, which held all of their hopes, suddenly opened? Why were the points of light representing that hope scattering, His power continuously weakening, yet His aura growing ever stronger?
Most importantly... why were these points of light returning, bit by bit, along the path they came, returning to everyone?
Bronya stared at the screen in a daze, completely unaware that on the other side, Ron was still savoring the choice he had just made...
---o---
[The heavy weight of Fate has enveloped you. At this moment, you are influenced by "Fate," completely bound by the driving force of your Path, "Salvation".]
[You are no longer able to act as freely as before... All your actions must strictly conform to the philosophy of "Salvation." You no longer possess your former freedom.]
[At the same time, you feel several profound gazes. The Aeons are watching you, and they have traveled from the four corners of the cosmos to reach you.]
[They have come, they have descended, and the entirety of New Belobog has been thrown into chaos under their influence... Though this may not be their intention, the mere presence of an Aeon is enough to plunge them into dire straits.]
[You feel the scrutiny of the Aeons... Four beings who ascended to the pinnacle of their Paths at some unknown time now watch you with different thoughts. But regardless, their attitude towards you can in no way be described as friendly.]
[The moment you ascended to godhood, you forcibly sundered their Paths to form the crown of your own Aeonhood...]
[And now that you have lost the concealment of the blessing from Aha the [Elation], you must naturally pay the price for your actions.]
[Qlipoth the [Preservation] was the first to attack, his giant hammer crashing down upon the flame of hope gathered in your hand.]
[This flame is the holy fire you ignited by gathering the last stubborn and unyielding wishes of all those in desperate crisis across the sea of stars. It not only represents the grand wish of [Salvation] and the Path you carved out, but also the very manifestation of the people's hopes...]
[You know what Qlipoth the [Preservation] wants to do—He wants to shatter the manifestation of your Path and take back the fragment that rightfully belongs to Him.]
[But as an Aeon, you understand one thing with absolute clarity—the Paths that Aeons command represent not only power, but also certain concepts related to that Path.]
[The flame in your hand represents the final "hope" in the hearts of those saviors who still hold on... If this hope is shattered by a single blow, the flame of hope in this sea of stars will also flicker and be extinguished under that giant hammer.]
[Then... when the Path of [Salvation] is completely sundered and the flame of hope is extinguished, what will this sea of stars become?]
[Will this cosmos... truly become a better place just because you, the Aeon of [Salvation], existed for a brief moment?]
[You cannot predict any of this—you only know that the hammer of Qlipoth the [Preservation] is about to crash down on the lantern in your hand, and beside you, [Abundance], [Remembrance], and [Harmony] are watching like predators.]
[You must make a choice now... Whether to let the Amber Lord's hammer shatter the lantern of hope, or to fight to the bitter end in a life-and-death struggle against four Aeons, the decision is yours.]
The text on the light screen faded, and a new, blank text box appeared.
[Please enter your choice in the text box.]
Below the text box was a striking red warning:
[Please Note! Because you are currently bound by the driving force of the Path of [Salvation], no matter what choice you make, it must be deeply aligned with the philosophy of "Salvation." You cannot bypass the limits of your Path's driving force. Otherwise, you will be unable to make that choice and will suffer a certain degree of backlash from your Path.]
Looking at the prompt, Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment and couldn't help but let out a small sigh.
"The restraints of a Path's driving force are really... troublesome."
The reason Ron was certain he would be in a desperate situation in this simulation after losing Aha's blessing wasn't just because he would have to face four Aeons. It was, more importantly, because he would be bound by the driving force of his Path, losing the ability to act freely.
It was just like the end of the last simulation. After becoming an Emanator of [Abundance], even though Ron possessed formidable power, he had lost his reason and couldn't control it at all, leading inevitably to the worst possible outcome.
Although the simulated Ron this time was only bound by the Path's driving force and not completely deprived of his reason, it was still a major debuff. It meant Ron couldn't just do whatever he wanted.
If his actions were completely restricted to the scope of "Salvation," Ron had lost almost all room for maneuver against these four Aeons.
After all, in the simulation, he was the Aeon of [Salvation], not the Aeon of [Cunning]. He couldn't deceive or persuade these four senior Aeons who had existed for who knows how long.
If he wanted to try and resist, the most he could do was embody the extreme tendency of his Path, the "Sword of Salvation," and fight a battle against them...
But Ron knew his own current strength very well. Each of these four Aeons was more mysterious and had a more glorious battle record than the last. He was just a newbie who had just ascended to Aeonhood. He couldn't even guarantee his own survival against one of them, let alone four.
One had to remember, the last one to be besieged by multiple Aeons was Tayzzyronth the [Propagation]. As the insect emperor who split the Path of Long the [Permanence], the last member of the Coleoptera that ruled the land, His ability to infinitely replicate made Him virtually immortal.
But even so, under the combined assault of the Aeons, He was forced to abandon his Path and ultimately fell into silence, completely perishing as an Aeon, with only mindless copies of himself remaining in the cosmos.
Ron was far weaker than Tayzzyronth the [Propagation], not to mention Tayzzyronth was of the Path of [Propagation], with incredibly vigorous life force and infinite breeding that made Him extremely difficult to exterminate. Compared to him, Ron was so, so much easier to kill...
Therefore... he couldn't resist.
And there was no need to resist.
Ron looked at the text on the screen. Even though his simulated self was in a desperate situation, it was still within his expectations and preparations.
Although the situation wasn't great—with Qlipoth the [Preservation] coming at him with a hammer right away—Ron had already anticipated this. He had a small plan in mind that would allow him to make full use of the last vestiges of his power as an Aeon.
He knew that resistance was meaningless. The final outcome would be death regardless. It was better to use his power for something more useful.
Bestowing the authority of an Emanator upon Herta, clearing the path for New Belobog's future—that was him using his remaining power.
And now, even as he, the Aeon of [Salvation], was trapped and about to fall into an abyss from which there was no return, Ron still felt he could do a little more, bring a faint glimmer of light to this dark sea of stars.
After all, he held in his hands the hopes of all saviors and the power of the Path of [Salvation].
Ron could accept returning the Path fragments he had taken from other Aeons, but he absolutely could not stand by and watch this lantern, representing the hopes of the people, be mercilessly shattered.
So, since it had already come to this, and his death was certain... why not return these hopes to their owners?
These hopes had gathered together to form the grand wish of salvation, opening the door between the Imaginary Void and the real world for Ron.
Now, that grand wish would be divided once more into countless small hopes, taking root in everyone's hearts, bringing them each their own dawn of [Salvation]...
He decided to briefly illuminate this sea of stars.
After a long moment of contemplation, Ron solemnly tapped the blank text box on the screen and carefully entered his choice...
---o---
The text box on the light screen faded, and a new message appeared:
[Faced with the hammer swung by Qlipoth the [Preservation], you immediately made your choice.]
[You know that if this lantern were to shatter, this sea of stars might lose hope for a very long time, because you took everyone's hope and then lost it. You cannot sit by and watch the Amber Lord destroy this flame of gathered hope.]
[Therefore, you raised the Sword of Salvation horizontally. The holy sword representing the extreme tendency of your Path blocked the Amber Lord's hammer with all its might.]
[You were considerably injured by this. Your hand split open, and reddish-gold divine blood flowed out, demonstrating the vast difference in power between you and Qlipoth the [Preservation].]
[After this blow, it raises its hand again, lifting its giant hammer, seemingly about to strike once more.]
[If Qlipoth the [Preservation] were to strike again, you would have no way of blocking it... You would surely be knocked down, and the lantern in your hand would be smashed to pieces.]
[But before He could truly swing the hammer, you stopped Him.]
[You told the Aeons to wait just a moment, and you would return everything to Them.]
[The Aeons do not trust your words, but in the next moment, you prove that you were telling the truth.]
[You execute your Path's philosophy in the most extreme way possible. You begin to sunder the grand wish of salvation that opened the Path for you, turning the flame of hope back into the points of light they once were, and in doing so, you completely sunder your own Path...]
[You combine all of your power with these hopes and return them to their original owners.]
The text on the light screen faded, replaced by a new scene.
Surrounded by the four watchful Aeons, Ron opened the lantern in his hand. The brilliant golden flame within drifted out, scattering like dazzling starlight, instantly dispersing throughout the entire sea of stars.
Bronya watched as a speck of golden light fell from the sky. It seemed to recognize her as its owner, drifting down and landing upon her, merging into her body...
Bronya felt a warm current spread through her from the point of contact. The will of "Salvation" was once again fortified in her heart. Under the influence of [Salvation]'s power, the light took root within her, planting itself as a seed of hope in the depths of her soul.
One day, this seed of hope would grow under Bronya's own will, until it finally became what she hoped it would be.
Bronya looked up at the endless golden points of light in the sky. Every single point was filled with Ron's power. Even the infinite power of his Path was running dry from being drawn upon so limitlessly.
But it was precisely this act—ignoring his own life, drawing limitlessly upon the power of his Path to respond to every single person in the cosmos who held onto hope—that had created such a splendid spectacle.
Every corner of the cosmos had been trapped in eternal darkness. Darkness was the keynote of this sea of stars, but for the first time, it was different.
Endless light flowed into the cosmos. These were the seeds of hope, and also the all-out response of an Aeon.
The light of hope shone in every corner of the sea of stars. Though faint, it burned with a steadfast glow...
Ron, at this moment, had truly illuminated this sea of stars.