[The banquet of the Aeons determined the endgame for [The Destruction] Nanook. Nanook fell helplessly upon the wine table of the gods' interaction, carved up meticulously as the spoils of war...]
[And the greatest result successfully fell into your hands.]
[You are unclear why this operation against [The Destruction] Nanook resulted in a share for you, nor are you clear why, after being dead for so long, you still had a chance to reap the benefits, but you indeed obtained all of this, successfully becoming the biggest winner of this war.]
[You obtained practically everything of [The Destruction] Nanook. Cooperation between Aeons is uncommon, and their joining hands at this moment successfully tampered with the engravings of history, bringing you the possibility of returning from death with [The Destruction] Nanook as the foundation...]
[Because the [Salvation] Path was thoroughly completed, and your brand was deeply carved onto [The Destruction] Nanook, you successfully relied on the power of the [Salvation] Path to revive from the cold imprint of memory.]
[Not a moment was spent mourning the death of [The Destruction] Nanook; immediately rushing back from hell was...]
[It is him, [Salvation] Ron!]
Looking at the images and text on the screen, Ron was completely dumbfounded.
Subconsciously, he stuffed weirdly-flavored snacks into his mouth one after another, but he had already forgotten to chew. He just mechanically stuffed them in until his mouth was completely full before he snapped out of it. Puh, puh—he spat two mouthfuls of snacks into the trash can on the side, turned his head to rub his eyes, pasted his eyes almost right up against the screen in front of him, and read the text on the screen word by word...
Yes, that's right. He didn't see it wrong.
The Aeons calculated [The Destruction] Nanook, carving up everything of [The Destruction] Nanook, and gave the largest portion of the harvest to him...
Regardless of what deep hatred existed between [The Destruction] Nanook and Ron, and regardless of whether they had opposed each other or not, the most important legacy of [The Destruction] Nanook was now all left to Ron. Everything of His became the material for Ron to patch himself up...
The [Salvation] Path was thoroughly complete. His memory was also imprinted onto [The Destruction] Nanook—he came alive.
He... resurrected.
Silence reigned for a long time. Ron digested this shocking and abstract situation bit by bit...
To be honest, before this, when he faced the various Aeons and decided to split his own Path and return all the fragments to the other Aeons, he already knew that this simulation had completely walked towards its end.
Everything that followed was merely the final lingering echoes of the simulation. It was the small efforts others could make after his death, and the final link to verify the results of his efforts...
He had actually thought a lot. He thought that because of Herta, this simulation might have an ending countless times better than previous ones. He also thought that this simulation might fail again, that even with his full effort, he couldn't stop the fall of Belobog—
He was sufficiently mentally prepared for everything. Whether it was victory or defeat, it was actually within Ron's expectations and would absolutely not exceed his psychological forecast.
At most, the difference in results would slightly affect Ron's mood, perhaps making him firm up his determination to save Belobog before stepping down next time, or to consider other paths to develop his own Dao.
But he never imagined that he could actually return from death and re-enter this grand chessboard of the Star Sea...
Holy shit... is there a master at work?
Looking at the screen, this was the only thought left in Ron's brain.
Don't look at how dazzling and colorful the images of the gods on the screen were, shocking Ron's body and mind; regarding the war between gods, he actually wasn't that shocked.
After all, he had directly fought so many Aeons before. Although the Aeons at that time didn't use their full power, the feeling obtained from standing in the center of the battlefield facing the Aeons was distinctly different from watching the battlefield as a bystander from the side. The pressure Ron received back then was much greater than now.
What truly and thoroughly shocked him, making him feel somewhat dazed for a moment, was actually the moment Herta lazily half-reclined on the swivel chair, smiling lightly and raising her glass to invite a drink.
...Too shocking.
He never expected that Herta could actually achieve such a level.
Although the essence of all this was simply because [The Destruction] Nanook ran rampant without scruples, just like the former [The Propagation] Tayzzyronth, blocking the Paths of too many Aeons, leading to another joyous occasion similar to the siege on the Swarm Emperor...
But this did not mean Herta, as a mortal, didn't achieve anything within the Aeons' planning.
...What she achieved was truly too much.
This siege against [The Destruction] Nanook would have appeared regardless, because [The Destruction] Nanook hindered the progress of countless Aeons—
But that didn't mean this event would appear so quickly, nor did it mean [The Destruction] Nanook's demise would be so rapid, withering away as swiftly as a Epiphyllum flower.
In fact, for these Aeons to reach a consensus, it would likely take an unknown amount of time. At least within a few Amber Eras, it would be absolutely impossible to truly decide to encircle and kill [The Destruction] Nanook and start a war against [The Destruction].
Because now there is no longer [Order] Ena... The war against [The Propagation] Tayzzyronth was only possible because [Order] Ena led the setup, connecting so many Aeons to join the encirclement of the Swarm disaster.
But now [Order] Ena has been thoroughly swallowed by [Harmony] Xipe. Although Xipe isn't exactly an Evil God, Her Path does not dictate that She must maintain the order of the universe, so She certainly wouldn't appear as the organizer.
Since the Aeons didn't reach a consensus and weren't connected together, deciding to kill [The Destruction] Nanook together, then naturally no single Aeon would inexplicably jump out to personally target an Aeon whose strength wasn't weak, and fight Him to the death...
After all... Aeons also want to protect their own Paths. Most of the time, obeying the content prescribed by Fate is what they do daily. Although breaking Fate relying on self-will isn't considered too difficult, it ultimately cannot be sustained, and a certain price must be paid.
Although [The Destruction] Nanook's threat was severe, the impact on the Star Sea hadn't yet reached the point where they were willing to pay such a price.
They also definitely couldn't believe that they alone could defeat [The Destruction] Nanook, causing Him to fall, or even directly thoroughly swallow His Path, wiping [The Destruction] out of this world completely.
But... this doesn't mean that once there is a certain opportunity, they wouldn't strike immediately, kicking the drowning dog to complete their own small goals.
What Herta did was play the role of [Order] Ena in this banquet of the gods...
It's just that her methods naturally lacked the power to touch those Aeons. She also wasn't qualified to bargain with the Aeons, asking them to participate in this divine war against [The Destruction] Nanook.
She merely forced [The Destruction] Nanook into an extremely wretched state, letting all the Aeons see the weakness of [The Destruction] Nanook, that's all.
She split the [Destruction] Path, defeated a Lord Ravager, and made the behavior of [The Destruction] Nanook increasingly weak. The Aeons would naturally act because of this, gradually becoming restless...
And when she caused the [Salvation] Lantern to fall into [The Destruction] Nanook's hands due to a "defeat," this calculation of a human against a god thoroughly climbed to the peak—
The moment the [Destruction] Path split significantly, the Aeons saw the possibility of ending the game.
They wouldn't hesitate; they would immediately seize this rare opportunity to beat the drowning dog, letting [The Destruction] Nanook fall thoroughly into a state of eternal damnation.
At the same time, [The Destruction] Nanook, who obtained the [Salvation] Path, would also use his own means to survive, even if it meant utilizing the power of [Salvation] to try and bridge the gap...
In that way... it was falling completely into a deadlock.
Since He thoroughly accepted the [Salvation] Path, naturally, the situation of [The Destruction] Nanook would mirror that of [Harmony] Xipe and [Order] Ena...
Perhaps most of the time Ron wouldn't be able to stir up any waves, but who said [The Destruction] Nanook had many enemies...?
No one needs a [The Destruction] Nanook... and the good karma Ron established previously brought him sufficient returns.
Wanting to thoroughly destroy an Aeon is extremely difficult. Only the annexation of Paths is the fastest and most reliable method...
This Star Sea cannot tolerate a [The Destruction] Nanook... but it can tolerate a [Salvation] Ron.
So, following the natural course, everything happened naturally.
Perhaps behind all this, Herta might still have connections with other Aeons, or perhaps there were other means secretly pushing for this banquet to happen. It's possible Ron couldn't see all these subtle decisions influencing the Aeons, but the most primary reason would not be amended. It all came down to the means against [The Destruction] Nanook...
But it was under Herta's intentional manipulation that the Aeons became the knife in her hand... Regardless of whether they acted out of their own will, at this moment, they fought for Herta, completing the goal Herta wanted to complete.
...She really is a genius, an undoubted genius.
Looking at the images and text on the screen, a trace of respect involuntarily rose in Ron's heart towards Herta, giving birth to a trace of mutual appreciation between heroes...
Before, he only regarded Herta as a useful helper. She was the first reliable helper he saw in the simulation, able to help him complete various operations many times. But looking at it now, Herta had far surpassed the ranks of a "useful helper."
Perhaps the current Herta was already completely not inferior to Ron. Many times, just like Ron, she had the ability to create "miracles" one after another...
This time, Herta's scheme was the best proof of her personal ability.
However, after being slightly shocked by Herta's operation, Ron quickly came back to his senses, looking at the screen in front of him with a furrowed brow.
Although the result of Herta's calculation greatly attracted his attention, this did not mean Ron lost his keen observation... He was very concerned about one thing.
Why... when Herta made that final toast, were those precise violet eyes staring straight at the center of the screen? Those eyes contained a confident smile, and looking at his gaze, it was as if she truly saw him?
Why... did she welcome his return like that?
This didn't feel right at all. Herta's actions were completely off.
If one said the performance of Bronya and the others before made it hard for Ron to distinguish, simply attributing it to suspicion and feeling that they were just like him, possessing a simulator... then now, analyzing Herta's performance was not that difficult.
...After all, she really raised her glass towards the outside of the simulation to invite him, welcoming him to return to this simulation.
Herta's performance was too abrupt, way too abrupt...
There is definitely a secret on her, and this secret has at least a ninety percent probability of being the Life Simulation Game...
Ron thought silently in his heart, but he didn't plan to show his hand to Herta immediately.
Since this simulation already had the possibility of continuing, then naturally he had to tightly grasp this precious ticket to return to the grand chessboard of the Star Sea. He couldn't let this sole opportunity slip away from his hands.
He decided to continue attempting the simulation just like a normal run, and carefully observe Herta's actions. After he could thoroughly confirm Herta was a player of the Life Simulation Game, Ron wouldn't hesitate to show his hand to her...
Working alone is truly too tiring. In simulation after simulation, Ron thoroughly understood the importance of a helper... A helper as reliable as Herta is very likely to be the existence of a Life Simulation Game player, so Ron naturally couldn't let her go.
Ron thought silently in his heart. Watching the text on the screen fade, a new selection box floated up on the screen:
[You revived... Under the concerted efforts of the Aeons, you successfully returned from death. Using [The Destruction] Nanook's shell and Path as a foundation, the body of [Salvation] Ron was reshaped once again.]
[But this resurrection was not your plan... You are unclear what exactly this resurrection will bring. It seems like a gift of fate, but you don't know what heavy price has been marked on it. You are now like a swimming fish in water, hesitating before the bait of resurrection.]
[Is the choice to thoroughly resurrect, to re-descend upon this Star Sea with your own will, continuing your unfinished journey? Or to give up this chance for resurrection, handing your revived shell over to "AI" manipulation, and watching the end of this simulation as a bystander?]
[Everything is left to your own choice—]
[1. Continue your unfinished journey.
Death is not the end of everything. Since the Aeons have resurrected you, you naturally must awaken from that eternal sleep, shoulder your duties again, and return to this grand chessboard of the Star Sea. You fear not what threats you will face, nor do you fear the darkness that is about to pour down upon the Star Sea.]
[2. The dead should remain silent spectators.
Death is a thorough ending... Although you revived relying on the power of the Aeons, you are clear that waking from this eternal sleep is not without a price. Perhaps, continuing to sleep is your best destination.]
Looking at the options on the screen, Ron didn't hesitate at all.
"My teammates carried me so hard to get me back; what kind of move would it be to run away now?"
He clicked on Option 1, the corners of his mouth curling into a confident smile:
"The darkness about to pour down on the Star Sea?"
"The lantern in my hand is not necessarily without light!"
...........................