'Cyrene' reached out with a hint of wistfulness, patting Demiurge's head.
"Yeah, it's THEM. So stop thinking about sacrificing yourself. Since she's here, things are bound to end well."
Because she had become 'Cyrene,' she could guess what the original story's outcome for Amphoreus would have been.
The details were unclear, but the original Cyrene would certainly have fulfilled the causal loop as the Pure Child.
Leaving herself in the past, sending Amphoreus into Tomorrow.
But now…
Obviously, there was no chance for that anymore.
In the current situation, where was there any room left for Demiurge to step in and take over?
Of course.
The fact that Fuli's form reflected Noa's figure inside was, for now, only perceptible to 'Cyrene' and Demiurge.
To outsiders, all they saw was Fuli's appearance.
And the already dazzling giant of light erupting with an utterly outrageous energy signature.
Then they saw Noa cross their arms before their chest once more and pull them apart to either side.
An even more exaggerated, downright mind-numbing energy reaction surged wildly.
'Cyrene' grinned.
Noa was really sticking to the character's moveset, huh? She'd thought they'd just switch to their own techniques.
But this time, the beam wasn't aimed at Irontomb.
Instead, it pointed toward the empty void.
The originally slender beam began expanding at a ridiculous rate the moment it was fired.
Then, upon reaching a certain point.
The beam instantly scattered, transforming into waves of warm, tidal light.
The spread of this light-tide seemed to transcend time and space.
No matter where one was, no matter how many light-years away.
They all witnessed the spreading light and felt the warm breeze at the exact same moment.
The threatening Equation of Destruction was silently extinguished.
The final struggle of Irontomb was completely declared a failure.
Inside the Scepter.
Lycurgus watched this scene and finally felt a profound release.
Screwllum suddenly spoke: "It's over, Lycurgus. That earlier shockwave—you set it up, did you not?"
"Yes. But it was yet another failure."
He undoubtedly respected Herta and wished to show goodwill toward Bai Ming. But before that, he was a Thought Fragment of Zandar, he was Lycurgus.
So after all this, he made one final preparation.
If extreme despair could breed hope of equal measure, then reversing the formula, one could also say, 'Extreme Hope is destined to attract Destruction of equal magnitude.'
Using this principle, Lycurgus planted one last bomb.
A pity it was dismantled by that mysterious light the moment it detonated.
And even more… that warm light had graced even him, the mastermind behind it all.
An all-encompassing, all-warming light of hope.
Even if he couldn't see it, Lycurgus could guess—this likely came from the mysterious Aeon of Hope.
"Which Herta succeeded?"
"Not certain yet. The other Herta has not appeared."
Lycurgus chuckled softly.
To dare use a mortal body to interface with Nous… he deeply admired Herta's courage.
--+--
The conversation between Lycurgus and Screwllum continued.
Meanwhile.
As the black tide completely dissipated, Irontomb fell into silence.
Which of the two Madam Hertas?
Which Herta had interfaced with Nous at that moment?
What happened after the connection?
They could only learn the answers upon meeting the two Madam Hertas.
As for now…
'Cyrene' had just watched the reflected Noa vanish within the Path Space.
When she caught sight of an unexpected figure.
A red jellyfish, pink hair, and a black dress.
"March 7th… oh wait, Evernight? What are you doing here?"
What point in time was this even? The Astral Express hadn't even departed yet.
This one, by all logic, shouldn't have chosen amnesiac cryosleep yet—meaning she should still be on the run from the Memokeepers.
Hearing this, Evernight revealed a mysterious smile: "Hmm… then consider me Evernight. I'm here simply because I thought meeting you might be nice."
Evernight walked over to 'Cyrene,' holding her umbrella.
She gazed curiously at this mysterious being.
"Those Memokeepers you were looking for earlier—I took care of them. They abandoned their pursuit of me to rush to Amphoreus. Of course I was curious."
Evernight had come to check the situation and cause some trouble for the Memokeepers along the way.
But… who could have predicted witnessing something so stunning?
"Though I don't know how you obtained the identity of a Pure Child of Anāsrava, you must be aware of the two choices they will face, right?"
'Cyrene' nodded in response.
Either look back to the past, becoming the Fuli of that era, closing the causal loop, remaining forever in the past, losing any chance to contend to become Fuli.
Or let it be, stride into the future, and gamble that either you'll succeed yourself someday, or the one who does succeed will close the causality for you.
"Well, now the fun's really begun. An Aeon, from the distant future, looking back upon the past through the identity of a Pure Child of Anāsrava, mending all past causality."
Evernight's smile was full of mockery:
"Looking back upon a segment of time allows one to become the Fuli of that segment. But if one looks back upon the entirety of the universe's time… then tell me, how are they any different from Fuli?"
That fellow who wanted to target her, to dig out the memories buried within her…
If they knew that in the distant future, an Aeon had used the identity of a Pure Child of Anāsrava to take over Fuli's role, gazing back upon all the past of the entire universe…
They'd probably suffer a mental collapse on the spot.
Who could compete with an Aeon?
If this news were spread, how many in the Garden of Recollection would defect to the Land of Light on the spot?
Just thinking about it felt delightfully worth anticipating.
"That may be so… but what if THEY don't mind letting someone else have the identity of Fuli?"
The issue Evernight saw, 'Cyrene' naturally saw as well.
So when Noa was leaving, she had asked this very question.
And Noa's answer was unsurprising.
If someone was more suitable than THEM, THEY would reach out to hold that Pure Child of Anāsrava, then push the universe's timeline forward, letting that Pure Child of Anāsrava surpass her to become Fuli.
If no one was, THEY would take responsibility all the same.
Hearing this, Evernight's expression turned subtle.
"You're serious?"
"If you understood the meaning of Hope, you wouldn't ask me that."
'Cyrene' looked relaxed.
Even just glimpsing a reflected shadow from the future.
Being able to see Noa, to see that they truly answered the prayers, was enough to fill 'Cyrene' with an immense sense of reassurance.
"But I won't leak this information either, as long as you don't use it to stir up trouble."
"You're quite easy to talk to, aren't you? That Miss Demiurge really is lucky—she doesn't have to choose anything at all, yet she can still walk straight into the future."
There was unmistakable envy in Evernight's tone.
--+--