"Mother!"
A sigh escaped, filled with melancholy and an irrepressible sense of nostalgia.
Pure Beauty Hermes's eyes, vast as the Dao, watched the figure etched deep within His soul, soft ripples surfacing in His gaze.
In this world, He had forged countless bonds. Cyrene and Himeko had left deep imprints on His life, but... only His mother was the one person in His heart who could never be erased.
"Mother, are you truly unwilling to undergo the Longevity Surgery and walk this Path with me forever?"
After returning to their hometown, the young Hermes gripped his mother's hand, his expression agitated as he pleaded bitterly.
Standing on the banks of the long river of time, Pure Beauty Hermes sighed once more.
This scene was the beginning of His deepest regret in this life, one that had influenced His entire existence.
The mother of this world was not some Aeon of Beauty Idrila, nor was she an Envoy who set the sea of stars ablaze; she was truly just an ordinary Destiny Walker walking the Path of Pure Beauty.
However.
Mother might have been ordinary, but she gave Him—an outsider who had crossed worlds—meticulous maternal love, allowing Him to reshape His worldview for this life.
"The greatest pride of my life is having you as my son."
Looking at her son's face and his bitter pleading, how could she, as a mother, have the heart to refuse?
But though her heart trembled slightly, in the end, she only pulled her child into her arms. Her expression was gentle, yet she refused the child's request with absolute determination.
"Hermes, Mother is just a mortal. From beginning to end, I have only been an ordinary Destiny Walker of Pure Beauty in the vast sea of stars."
"Mother, if you don't like the Longevity Surgery, I have other life-extension technologies!"
The young Hermes still refused to give up, explaining anxiously, "Don't worry, these technologies have absolutely no side effects. There won't be any of those mental distortions that plague the Abundance Residents..."
"For example, the Reincarnation Techniques of the Dragonborn. Just give your son some time, and I will surely be able to research a Longevity Technique from them!"
"Hermes, there is no need to say more!"
Maria stopped her son's words with a pained expression. She knew very well how cruel her decision was for her son, but she still said resolutely, "I am a Destiny Walker of Pure Beauty."
"I have walked the Path of Pure Beauty my whole life; it is deeply engraved in the depths of my soul."
"I am just a mortal. I don't have the potential that you, Hermes, or those of great wisdom possess. If I live for too long, I have no confidence that I can keep the mind unchanged."
"I have seen too many short-lived species extend their lifespans, only for the mind to distort under the erosion of time, turning them into almost entirely different people..."
Maria closed her eyes and said softly, "As a Destiny Walker of Pure Beauty, I cannot accept becoming like that—that incredibly ugly appearance. It is the thing I have loathed most my entire life!"
"I would rather walk to the end of my life as an ordinary person than accept becoming like that!!"
"Hermes, my son, promise me. Let your mother have her persistence as a Destiny Walker of Pure Beauty in her final moments, alright?"
"..."
In the end, looking at his mother's resolute face, the young Hermes remained silent for a long, long time before finally forcing out a single word: "Alright!"
At this time, he had also reached a very deep point on the Path of Erudition.
Therefore, he understood very well that the further one traveled in Erudition, the more they were like Destiny Walkers of Pure Beauty like his mother—they would rather pass away than allow their own the mind to become distorted.
Thus, Mental Anchoring Technology was also a mandatory course for every top Destiny Walker of Erudition.
At the same time, Pure Beauty Hermes whispered, "Alright!"
Then, in the final moments before Maria's death, Pure Beauty Hermes pulled Maria up into the Space Between Paths and gazed at her quietly.
When Maria returned to the real world, at the point of death, a look of relief and joy appeared in her eyes. She grasped Hermes's hand and blessed him: "My child, Hermes, you will surely step onto the Path of Pure Beauty in the future, letting your name be sung throughout the The Universe..."
"Mother, I will naturally step onto the Path of Pure Beauty..."
Following his mother's last words and the stopping of her heart, the young Hermes unexpectedly did not show a look of grief. Instead, synchronized with the Pure Beauty Hermes standing outside the river of time, he said with a gentle face, "Mother, have a good sleep..."
"When you wake up again, I will show you that world of Pure Beauty that only exists in dreams!"
Since you, Mother, are unwilling to extend your lifespan and transcend the limits of a short-lived species... then I shall make you a natural long-lived species, even a natural divinity. At that time, you naturally won't have to worry about your the mind becoming distorted over time after extending your life!
The river of time flowed backward once more.
The timeline was woven and rewritten again by the First Cause of Life, who transcended the multiverse.
In this timeline, Hermes ascended the divine throne in the name of Pure Beauty. He then promoted the existence named [Idrila] to an Agent of Beauty and ordered her to create the Knights of Beauty... As the one who originally created the Path of [Pure Beauty], Hermes still held respect for Idrila in His heart.
Now that He had the power, He didn't mind giving Her a hand.
Being an Envoy of Him, the First Cause of Life, was not a disgrace to Idrila.
Since He had started weaving the timeline, He might as well resolve everything at once.
The next one was—
Phanes.
"Hmm, perhaps I can directly weave Phanes's origin? Directly weave her life experiences?"
Pure Beauty Hermes was about to act, but suddenly His hand froze. The blazing divinity in His eyes abruptly calmed, and the brilliance of humanity surfaced once more. He showed a trace of relief and said, "Fortunately, I made multiple backup plans in this life. Only because of that did I not follow in the footsteps of Infinite Möbius and repeat the same mistake..."
If He truly viewed everything as a fleeting dream, weaving others' lives at will and indifferently manipulating their fates... He would inevitably fall to the same level as Infinite Möbius, becoming a heartless heavenly will that disregarded everything from on high!
In the end, He did not do anything to Phanes. He simply fished her out of the long river of time, intending to resurrect her directly after returning to... Penacony.
One by one, the geniuses fell into a state of questioning their lives as they sorted through the chaotic memories in their minds.
"Agent of Beauty, Idrila?!!"
Polkakakamu murmured softly, "Isn't this a complete reversal of the natural order?"
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