---o---
[You have burned a wisp of "Phantylia"—this fragment from the Heliobus individual contained a sliver of her memory. You have successfully glimpsed within this memory the sudden despair that befell [Lord Ravager Phantylia], as well as the enemy standing behind her, the one who carries the scales.]
[HooH of [The Equilibrium], who has always manipulated the course of events from the shadows to maintain the balance of all things, has personally entered the stage. Surrounded by several Arbiters, They issued a task of equilibrium to [Lord Ravager Phantylia]—burn the Xianzhou [Luofu] and bring destruction upon it.]
[But the current whereabouts of [Lord Ravager Phantylia] remain an unsolved mystery... The final puppet she possessed has been utterly destroyed under the influence of HooH of [The Equilibrium], leaving only her Heliobus body, which exists as an intangible flame—]
[Phantylia's memory left no information regarding her current location... You have no way of using this memory fragment to find her present hiding place.]
[The threat of an Aeon hangs over you like a blade against your back. You can't help but feel an immense sense of urgency—an Aeon is about to make a move, yet the Xianzhou [Luofu] possesses no power to resist one...]
[Time is no longer on your side. In less than half a month at most, the Xianzhou [Luofu] will be completely destroyed in the conflagration set by [Lord Ravager Phantylia]. And even if she fails, HooH of [The Equilibrium] and Their Arbiters will be watching from behind the scenes, ready to extend their hands at any moment and steer events in the direction they desire.]
[You must make a choice... There is no time to waste. What should you do now?]
The text on the light screen faded, and a new simulation option box appeared:
[Please Choose—]
[1. "Time is too pressing... While there's still time, sharpen the blade and point the sword at the firmament!"]
[You are well aware that with your current strength, you are completely incapable of dealing with an Aeon, let alone the fact that HooH of [The Equilibrium] has always been mysterious and is likely ranked among the upper echelons of Aeons in terms of power—]
[But you don't necessarily have to face this existence... As long as you and Herta can complete the "Sharpening the Blade" phase of the project before They make a move, Their existence becomes irrelevant.]
[Your goal is already set, so why should you care about an Aeon that appears afterward?]
[Many times, disaster is unavoidable... But likewise, if you can run fast enough and reach your desired destination before the disaster arrives, then even an unstoppable catastrophe cannot bring about a crisis of terrifying proportions.]
[And the existence of HooH of [The Equilibrium] is this terrifying catastrophe—before They make their move, before They truly arrive, you must complete the research and creation of the "Blade".]
[The Lantern of [Salvation] has been mended by you with the concept of the Path of [The Abundance] carried by the Ambrosial Arbor's main root, becoming a basic model of what a Path should be. It has successfully ascended to the "Aeon" level... With the most crucial material in hand, you can begin your research.]
[You decide to immediately begin the research on the "Blade," completing a miracle design with Herta's help to finish the "Sharpening the Blade" phase of the project.]
[2. "An Aeon-level enemy may not be without a solution... It's time to return to Belobog. I should still be able to make it."]
[There is an Emanator of [The Elation] in Belobog... Although he most certainly has no desire to get involved in these matters, he possesses the means to contact Aha of [The Elation].]
[Thanks to Aha of [The Elation], there is a trait on you that is intimately related to Aha... The red trait "The Existence of 'You'" is enough to grant you special treatment from Aha, treatment sufficient to make Them act against HooH of [The Equilibrium] for your sake.]
[Recalling the same operation from the previous simulation, you will find the Emanator of [The Elation], and with his help, you will meet Aha... Perhaps the existence of Aha of [The Elation] can help you resist HooH of [The Equilibrium]. This is your only method of resisting an Aeon, short of becoming one yourself.]
[You decide to immediately leave the Xianzhou [Luofu] and return to Belobog, to drag Sampo, that fellow who is still stealing antiques in the Underworld, out and find a way to contact Aha of [The Elation] through him.]
[3. "[The Equilibrium], that old coot is an Aeon, but I'm not? F*ck, I'll blow Them up!"]
[HooH of [The Equilibrium] is pushing things too far, obstructing your actions for no reason at all. This is intolerable... You must teach Them a lesson!]
[This foe, defeated by your hand in the previous simulation, is strong, but that's all. In the end, they were still defeated by you—]
[Even though you no longer have the powerful backer from the last simulation, that doesn't mean you are without options...]
[You decide to immediately begin planning your ascension to Aeonhood. You will attempt to fully activate the "Way of Salvation" trait, become the Aeon of [Salvation], and fight this enemy who dares to threaten you!]
[4. (Blank Option).]
Looking at the options on the screen, Ron hesitated for a rare moment.
Although it was unclear why HooH of [The Equilibrium] chose this moment to secretly order [Lord Ravager Phantylia] to burn the Xianzhou [Luofu], since HooH already intended to destroy the entire ship, he had to consider the possibility of Them making a move personally.
And since HooH might make a move personally, finding a solution to this problem would obviously require immense effort...
Although Ron had thought about rolling with the punches, and at worst, just choosing option three—activating the "Way of Salvation" trait, becoming the Aeon of [Salvation], and fighting HooH—it was clearly not a very good choice.
Because even if he did fight HooH, Ron was obviously no match for Them.
You couldn't expect a temporary Aeon to possess some unimaginable combat strength. Compared to an old Aeon like HooH, who had existed for who knows how long, he was naturally no match.
Although Ron would definitely be able to delay for a period of time, that period might not be long enough... Who knew how much time it would take to complete the miracle design based on a true Aeon-grade material?
If the time required was too long, even longer than the window of safety Ron could create by sacrificing his life to become an Aeon and hold back HooH, then option three would be utterly meaningless.
In contrast, calculating the prospects of option one, while it would free up Ron to conduct research alongside Herta without having to walk the path of Aeonhood alone, it still wouldn't allow them to complete the "Sharpening the Blade" phase quickly.
After all, this was a miracle design based on a true Aeon-grade material. The difficulty of its design and creation was absolutely beyond worldly imagination. And Ron, the guy who was now freed up, didn't even have a skill level in "Mechanical Design." To participate in the design, he would first have to learn from Herta and grind enough experience.
After all, the reason he could complete one miracle design after another in the previous simulations was because he had already maxed out his "Mechanical Design" skill level. But that was a thing of the past. After a simulation ended, Ron didn't inherit skill proficiencies, making it difficult for him to provide much help now.
Therefore, options one and three could be temporarily eliminated after careful consideration... So, should he choose option two?
Looking at the screen before him, Ron hesitated for a long time, still unable to make a decision.
Although this choice seemed very sound—return to Belobog, find Sampo, rely on Sampo's help to contact Aha of [The Elation], and then rely on that reliable big brother Aha to solve the trouble of HooH of [The Equilibrium]—it seemed feasible no matter how he thought about it, but there were some very important problems.
First of all, was Sampo really still in Belobog? The sudden arrival of the Xianzhou [Luofu] was definitely a dangerous signal for Sampo. It had completely broken his script. Whether he would choose to stay in Belobog was an unknown.
Perhaps he had already returned to the tavern when no one was paying attention... But let's not consider that for now.
Just considering the situation where he was still in Belobog, although Ron was confident based on the previous simulation that Aha had left a mark on him and would be willing to help him upon seeing him—
There was now a very important problem that made him temporarily reluctant to get too deeply involved with Aha of [The Elation].
Although he had contacted Aha of [The Elation] many times before, and Their performance had been that of a firm ally, completely hostile to Terminus, the Finality... after the end of the last simulation, a trace of doubt had inevitably sprouted in the bottom of Ron's heart.
Although at the time he felt that Aha had probably only confirmed their hostility towards Terminus after seeing everything on the Imaginary Tree, that this was their reason for opposing Terminus... as time passed, he had a new question.
Since the veil of fate already enveloped the Imaginary Tree, how did Aha of [The Elation] manage to climb to the top of the Imaginary Tree, observe the infant's cry from that position, and thus become the Aeon of [The Elation]?
You have to know, They weren't an Aeon back then... The protective mechanism of Terminus was already sufficiently strict. Although there wasn't the puppet Nanook of [The Destruction] back then, it didn't mean Terminus had no other means to influence reality.
Whether it was a direct descent or controlling an Aeon like HooH of [The Equilibrium], who seemed like Their puppet, They could have easily crushed the not-yet-Aeon Aha...
Although what Aha did before led Ron to basically believe They were a true ally, the problem he now faced was like a thorn stuck in the bottom of his heart.
Before completing the "Piercing the Veil" plan, seeing the scene at the top of the Imaginary Tree, and figuring out what was really up there, Ron felt he had to maintain a certain level of vigilance towards Aha of [The Elation].
At the very least, he couldn't think of relying on Aha for everything.
---o---
Of course, Ron's vigilance towards Aha of [The Elation] was far less than towards other Aeons. If not for this matter, he would have undoubtedly chosen option two without a second thought, hugging Aha's thigh and directly resolving this rather troublesome situation.
Although he didn't want to rely on Aha's power for the time being, it didn't mean he would really give up this shortcut—
The situation was far from the point of utter desperation. Ron could still wait and see, observe the completion speed of the "Sharpening the Blade" project and the situation with capturing [Lord Ravager Phantylia]...
After considering all developments and choosing the best course of action, when he found that all methods were insufficient to solve the current troubles of the Xianzhou [Luofu], he would naturally choose to seek Aha's help without hesitation... It would only take half a day to summon Aha with Sampo's help. There was no need to rush for now.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Ron finally made up his mind and chose the fourth blank option...
He still intended to try, to grasp this situation that was about to spiral out of control in his own hands and suppress the impending collapse.
Herta, at his side, watched Ron hesitate for a long time, and a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes as she looked at him.
"You've been thinking for a long time. Do you not know what to do next?"
As she spoke, she immediately answered her own question:
"That's understandable... HooH of [The Equilibrium] is one of the most mysterious Aeons in this sea of stars. If They appear as an enemy, being indecisive is only logical."
"...It's not quite indecisiveness..."
Ron typed a dense plan of text onto the light screen, filling the blank option box to the brim.
He looked at the screen before him and replied seriously:
"Send a message to Fu Xuan. Tell her we're heading to the Artisanship Commission next."
"The Artisanship Commission?" Herta frowned, picking up the Jade Abacus terminal on the table to send the message. "Are you thinking of going to complete your miracle design right now?"
She put down the Jade Abacus in her hand and said seriously:
"But it should be too late... Even I can't promise to transform a complete Aeon relic and a Path into a specialized artifact in less than half a month's time—to want to accomplish this is a miracle in itself, let alone the fact that its design must also become a miracle."
"Why don't we first consider how to deal with the threat of [Lord Ravager Phantylia] and HooH of [The Equilibrium]... If we don't solve their problem, it's impossible for us to succeed."
But Ron just smiled. "Who told you I want to go and complete that miracle design right now?"
He spoke, then corrected himself:
"No, you're right, I do want to complete that miracle design right now... but that's not the only reason for going to the Artisanship Commission."
"At the same time, we have many more things to do..."
"[Lord Ravager Phantylia] is hiding in a corner of the Xianzhou, and even you and Jing Yuan, as Emanators, would find it difficult to detect her trail—but someone always knows exactly where she is."
Herta was slightly taken aback. "What is it?"
"The Furnace of Creation, and the Heliobus 'Prairie Fire'."
"Heliobi are this kind of formless specter. Nothing knows their hiding places better than their own kind."