?
Ron looked at the image on the screen and almost choked to death on a piece of peculiar snack.
???
He stared at the screen in front of him, afraid that he was hallucinating. He stretched his head forward, pressed it against the screen, rubbed his eyes, and pried his eyelids open to see clearly—
Herta's "corpse" was still burning with dark golden flames. The tattered components of the old puppet burned within the fire, falling from [The Destruction] Nanook's hand. They turned into ash bit by bit in the air, completely burning out before even hitting the ground. The lingering ashes drifted down with the wind, mixing with the ashes on the planet, exuding a cold, dead scent.
And [The Destruction] Nanook was in the process of taking the shattered lantern he had seized from Herta's hand into his palm. The flame within the lantern was burning erratically; its color had already transformed from the brilliant platinum gold of Ron's era into a gloomier dark gold, extremely similar to the dark golden flames on [The Destruction]'s body. They looked extremely compatible.
After swallowing countless fragments of the [Destruction] Path, the lantern representing the current [Salvation] Path looked as if it originally belonged to [The Destruction] Nanook, landing quietly in his hand.
The fire in the lantern burned smoothly, and dark golden sparks jumped out, gently licking [The Destruction] Nanook's fingers.
Looking at such a harmonious scene on the screen, Ron couldn't help but look up in confusion at his own ceiling. He looked at the familiar spiderweb on the ceiling to confirm he was still in reality and not dreaming.
"...Since it's not a dream, why would Herta pull this kind of maneuver??"
Ron couldn't understand it. He completely failed to grasp what Herta was doing...
He originally thought Herta had the ability to kill [The Destruction] Nanook. Her performance was indeed so—killing all the Lord Ravagers, thoroughly splitting the [Destruction] Path, allowing the [Destruction] Path to merge into [Salvation], quickly and efficiently patching [Salvation] until it was only missing the final piece of the puzzle...
Her decisive actions made Ron unable to see where her confidence came from, but he was willing to believe that Herta could truly kill [The Destruction] Nanook and complete the God-Slaying Feat—
After all, under Herta's operations, [The Destruction] Nanook had entered his weakest moment since ascending to Godhood.
The [Destruction] Path had already split into a shape not unlike the [Salvation] Path when Ron died. And Herta, as the sole Emanator of [Salvation], stood at the intersection of Emanator and Aeon. It seemed she was just one point away from touching the boundary of an Aeon.
The power of the Salvation Knights had also received an unimaginable boost due to upholding the will of [Salvation]. That Holy Light, capable of thoroughly destroying the Antimatter Legion—Pathstriders of [Destruction]—was the manifestation of this power.
Everything proved that the [Salvation] Path was flourishing. Even if [The Destruction] Nanook crushed a mortal while in such a weak state, causing Herta to fail the God-Slaying Feat, it shouldn't have been such a miserable loss.
At the very most, it should have been a mutual injury with [The Destruction] Nanook. It was absolutely impossible to fall into a more pathetic state.
...But who could have imagined the current situation?
As the Emanator of [Salvation], Herta, who was almost about to be accepted by the [Salvation] Path as the next Aeon, actually brought the manifestation of the [Salvation] Path right in front of [The Destruction] Nanook. Without even causing half a point of damage to the heavily injured Nanook, she directly handed the lantern—the manifestation of [Salvation]—to him...
Did she think Nanook's condition wasn't comprehensive enough and wanted to give him a hearty, world-shaking battle?
Ron's face was blank for a moment; he didn't even know what to say.
Because the ensuing situation was too obvious.
He wasn't some idiot. Even if he was just a spectator after his death in the simulation and could only watch the developments within the simulation, unable to obtain a lot of information due to the viewing angle, that didn't mean he couldn't figure out what kind of grim situation this was...
The [Salvation] Path and the [Destruction] Path were clearly in a special situation where he, as an Aeon in the simulation, had devoured a part of the [Destruction] Path fragments. The current [Salvation] Path and [Destruction] Path could be compatible and swallow each other, just like the former [Harmony] and [Order].
Although back then [Harmony] Xipe swallowed [Order] Ena, Ron believed this wasn't an inevitable outcome.
While the conceptual scope of [Harmony] was indeed larger than [Order] Ena, the competition between Aeons was obviously not simply "the one with the larger conceptual scope can swallow the one with the smaller scope." Otherwise, with [The Finality] Terminus progressing so far in this star sea, how could there be space for [The Destruction] Nanook to emerge?
Back then, [Order] Ena was merely the loser in the competition between gods... Now, a loser would also appear between [Salvation] and [Destruction].
If Herta succeeded in God-Slaying, [Salvation] would naturally thoroughly swallow [Destruction], and Herta would take this opportunity to become an Aeon—
But what if the [Salvation] Path itself fell into [The Destruction] Nanook's hands?
The answer was obvious. All the [Destruction] Path fragments that [Salvation] had swallowed before would obediently return to [The Destruction] Nanook's grasp. It would thoroughly spit out everything it ate before, and even the [Salvation] Path itself would be lost along with it...
Lost.
It was a complete loss.
The struggle between [Salvation] and [Destruction] had obviously ended with the victory of [Destruction].
Ron simply couldn't figure out what Herta was thinking. He never imagined that the final hope of [Salvation] in this simulation would end in such a farcical situation.
He looked at Herta on the screen in front of him, gritting his teeth somewhat, and finally let out a heavy sigh.
Forget it.
It doesn't matter.
I'm used to it anyway... What's the difference between the previous simulations and this one?
As long as 'I' die in the simulation, everything starts sprinting wildly towards the cliff of collapse—
This time, it was just that the downhill slide didn't start immediately after I died. To say I blamed myself for being too young—watching Herta's operations from a bystander's perspective made me think this simulation was stable. In reality, it was just the momentary recovery of a terminally ill patient...
Let's just hurry up and end it. Let's see what rewards I can get after this simulation ends...
Ron sighed, watching Herta fade away on the screen in front of him. The perspective shifted slightly:
"Ouch... what a terrible feeling. It feels like my body has rusted."
Standing on the Azure Star funded by the IPC, Herta's real body sat on a swivel chair in the command center. She was slowly opening her eyes, patting her dress with a bit of disgust. Her exquisite nose wrinkled; she looked very uncomfortable.
On the main control screen to the side, two communication interfaces were flashing. A robot wearing a tuxedo and a top hat, with a monocle hanging over its left eye, dressed like a gentleman from the classical era, was looking at Herta. A cold voice unique to mechanical life sounded, but it carried warmth and concern:
"Herta, are you alright? Scan: Impact of consciousness uploading into a low-model shell on an organic soul. Conclusion: You need to undergo a psychological test to check if your soul has been affected by contacting an Aeon with that shell."
"You talk too much, Screwllum. Obviously, Herta's brain just needs a good check-up."
Another cold and clear female voice sounded. In the communication interface, Ruan Mei was using chopsticks to pick up a dumpling. The break in the dumpling revealed brownish-red bean paste, exuding a sweet and greasy taste.
She ate the dumpling slowly and methodically. Her beautiful eyes were calm and waveless. She spoke coldly while eating:
"Using an old consciousness-upload puppet to carry the manifestation of the [Salvation] Path and charge at [The Destruction] Nanook, just to be crushed to death. Is this the experiment you were talking about, Herta?"
"Why not?" Herta asked in return. "Do you think there's a problem with my idea?"
"Of course there is."
Ruan Mei gently put down her chopsticks, pushing the empty white porcelain plate aside. She looked at Herta with a cold face:
"What you told us was 'a realistic experiment on fate compatibility and conjecture derived from the Swarm Disaster,' not that we didn't need to help and should just stay on the line to watch, treating it as a celebration..."
She lightly adjusted her own dress. Now she was wearing a precious formal gown. The style was like Screwllum next to her... If one said Screwllum's look was just daily wear, Ruan Mei obviously wasn't like that usually.
This was a dress she deemed worthy of wearing only for a grand attendance.
"Is that so? Isn't it an experiment right now?"
Herta tilted her head, seeming somewhat puzzled by Ruan Mei's question.
"[The Destruction] Nanook has completely taken the lantern manifested by [Salvation] into his hand. His condition is very bad. Before long, he will attempt to swallow the [Salvation] Path... He won't be able to resist it."
"...Is that what we came to see?"
Ruan Mei's expression remained indifferent, unchanged, but one could hear that her tone had become heavier, and her emotions were fluctuating.
She lifted the hem of her exquisite gown: "I wore this dress to participate in your celebration. What I'm celebrating is not the resurrection of [The Destruction] Nanook..."
Her tone softened slightly: "...What I want to see is the victory of a friend."
"It is the [Salvation] Path swallowing [The Destruction]—or rather, you becoming an Aeon."
She looked through the ship's observation instruments at the desolate planet not far away. On it, the phantom of [The Destruction] Nanook was gradually becoming solid.
That giant hand had crushed the lantern formed by the [Salvation] Path the moment it fell into his palm. The dark golden flames flowed out from it, igniting [The Destruction] Nanook's body inch by inch, gently licking his entire form.
The places burned by this divine fire were thoroughly repaired. Even the wounds sliced open by [The Elation] Aha were gradually healing under the burning of the flames.
His aura became stronger and stronger, and his figure became more and more solidified. He seemed to be sinking from the imaginary domain high above reality, squeezing into the real world bit by bit...
"You're still not leaving? He's about to recover... If He really returns, the first thing He destroys will be your fleet."
Ruan Mei's tone was still cold, but anyone could hear the concern within.
But Herta just smiled. She took out a bottle of sparkling wine from the cold cabinet on the side and poured the rose-red liquid into a tall glass, watching the dense bubbles surge.
"Who told you I lost, Ruan Mei?"
She took out a few ice cubes and dropped them into the glass. The ice cubes collided in the transparent goblet, making a crisp sound.
"Before the Swarm Disaster, the relationship between [Harmony] Xipe and [Order] Ena always puzzled me. I couldn't understand why [Order] Ena, as the initiator of the siege against [The Propagation], eventually faded away at the tail end of the war, swallowed by [Harmony] Xipe who participated in the war alongside Him, and that was not long after [Harmony] Xipe appeared..."
"How exactly did a newly emerged Aeon swallow The Great One? Why did The Great One become the loser in a war He planned Himself along with [The Propagation]?"
"In the analysis of long records, I gradually discovered a clue..."
"Why do we always define The Great One as the 'Loser'? He may not have won, but He certainly doesn't fit the term 'Loser' either."
"In that intrigue where countless Aeons participated, He was obviously targeted by [The Elation] and [The Equilibrium], and even His good friend, the Amber Lord, seemed to have swung a hammer at Him in the final battle of gods..."
"We cannot observe the full picture of that battle of gods, but after He was targeted by countless Aeons, the final result is thought-provoking—[Harmony] Xipe swallowed [Order] Ena, but She grew Ena's head because of it."
"The consciousness of [Order] Ena still remains in [Harmony] Xipe's body... Although one is split and one is swallowed, similarly obtaining a Path from another, [The Propagation] Tayzzyronth didn't take on the appearance of [The Permanence] Long."
"And after Ron died, I came into contact with the [Salvation] Path again and again, forcing the perspective of the Aeon, and felt that firm will belonging to Ron... His brand has been deeply carved onto the Path. [Salvation] has completely turned into his shape."
Hearing Herta's words, Ruan Mei's indifferent face showed an expression for the first time.
She frowned tightly, questioning Herta's wild imagination:
"Everyone knows clearly that the face of [Order] Ena is on [Harmony] Xipe's head, but Xipe still acts as She pleases. [Order] has no restriction on Her."
"Even if there really is a restriction, so what? [Harmony] is still Xipe. She won't become Ena just because She swallowed [Order]!"
"[Salvation] Ron won't resurrect on Nanook just because [The Destruction] Nanook swallowed [Salvation], turning the situation into [Harmony] Xipe at most..."
As she spoke, she bit her lip slightly, a trace of worry revealing itself in her eyes looking at Herta:
"You just lost. Run quickly, Herta."
"Of course I haven't lost."
Herta wasn't anxious at all. She wiped the condensation off the glass with a silk handkerchief and sat back on her swivel chair:
"Just like I said before, Ena was targeted by many Aeons, and was finally swallowed by [Harmony] Xipe, becoming a part of Xipe, only able to leave a face of His own on Xipe."
"But... what if this situation were reversed?"
Herta lazily lay back on the swivel chair, her snow-white legs resting on the table. She looked from afar at [The Destruction] Nanook, who was burning in dark golden flames, and gently swirled the wine glass in her hand.
"If it was [Harmony] Xipe who was targeted by many Aeons and finally swallowed [Order] Ena... then what would the result be?"
"Coincidentally, [The Destruction] Nanook is a fellow without many friends. He blocked the path of many Aeons. One of them even participated in that battle of gods. The two wounds on Nanook's chest were left by Him. Now, this situation is exactly His old trade..."
She swirled the tall glass in her hand. Through the rose-red wine, one could see the corner of Herta's mouth curling up slightly, revealing a devilish smile:
"Who could have imagined [The Destruction] Nanook has so many enemies? Of course, it could also be that Ron's laziness from before has paid off... I don't even need to contact them. Those Aeons standing behind [The Destruction] Nanook have long been ready to enter the scene."
As soon as her voice fell, the sky was dyed with new colors.
The dark golden light paled before the new rainbow. The majesty belonging to the Aeons fell into everyone's line of sight at this moment.
The Compassionate Medicus stretched Her beautiful body, joints relaxing, hair like crane wings, blooming in the thousand-star universe. A thousand eyes opened on Her body, and green rain dripped down, washing away the dark golden light.
The sky was dyed amber, and a low humming sound came. Countless ores, amber, and opals fell from the sky above. This was a world-renowned mineral rain. Amidst the steaming vaporization, a colossal object stretched its spine from the magma at the edge of the sky. Its broad palm tightly gripped a giant hammer, smashing it ruthlessly toward the burning Aeon.
Just within this amber heat, a cold aura enveloped the entire planet. Hazy water mist covered the battlefield between the gods. The edge of the sky revealed a figure composed of mirror fragments. The facial features were repeatedly refracted by prisms into a puzzle. Dark golden light reflected in the endless cuts on His body, the rays scattering chaotically, yet forcefully outlining the image of Ron...
Then, it was a harmony resonating throughout the planet. The body composed of puzzle pieces landed on one side of the sky. Emerging from the shadows was one face, another face, and yet another face... A three-headed Aeon sang a song of assimilation. Everything became harmonious under the divine grace; everything became fitting.
Finally, it was the Fool dressed in full regalia. A figure wearing a black cloak walked out from who knows where, with rubber balls bouncing and playing cards flying around Him. He smiled meaningfully in the direction of the fleet. Through the shroud of His shadow, one couldn't see His face clearly, only the exaggerated arc of His mouth, smiling comically like a clown from nowhere.
But today there was only one clown... It obviously wouldn't be Him.
Herta watched this grand curtain rise and raised her own wine glass:
"Alright, the grandest moment of the celebration has arrived... Let's toast. It's rare to have the chance to see Aeons attending a banquet together from such a close distance. This is a good time for a clink."
The ice cubes in the wine glass collided, sounding just like the sound of clinking glasses.
"Let us toast to the Aeons, toast to [Salvation]... and toast to Ron again."
Through the screen, Ron saw Herta on the screen raising her glass to him, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile, as if she was looking at him through the simulation...
"Welcome back, Ron."
She said.
...........................