As the text on the light screen gradually faded, everything Ron had just come to understand continued to echo in his mind.
"Terminus, the [Finality]... the symbol of the ending, is it..."
Ron murmured to himself, a smile inevitably gracing the corners of his lips.
He'd found it... He'd finally found it.
A possibility... to overthrow Terminus, the [Finality].
Before, Ron had worked so hard through so many simulations, only to obtain a single Guiding Spirit Lantern, to pierce the Veil of Fate and see the truth upon the Tree of Existence. He was still incredibly far from the goal of dealing with Terminus, the [Finality]; so far that he didn't even have a starting point for a plan.
But now, he had grasped the loose thread of this intractable mystery. He had tugged open the strings of fate, and the path forward now lay clearly before him—if he wanted to escape this preordained destiny, he simply had to become the end of destiny himself.
As long as he became the new [Finality], this problem would solve itself...
Although this goal was still extremely distant for Ron, it was an unimaginably huge step forward.
After all... he already had a direction to move in. All he needed to do was make a plan, step by step, and try to accomplish it.
With the Life Simulation Game in hand, Ron, who could try and fail an infinite number of times, had never feared the hardships of the road ahead...
With countless simulations at his disposal, what did it matter how difficult it was?
---o---
He would succeed eventually... But before fantasizing about success, he needed to make a proper plan.
With these thoughts in mind, Ron turned his head to look at Herta, who had just emerged from the simulation and whose consciousness had returned to her body. His tone held a hint of excitement as he said:
"Herta... I've found a lead on how to deal with Terminus, the [Finality]..."
But what responded to Ron's excited words was Herta's slightly dim gaze.
In her calm eyes, an emotion... difficult to discern, was faintly burning.
Herta was in a very bad mood.
A very, very bad mood.
When did it start? This anger that ignited from the bottom of her heart?
Was it when Ron ignored her objections and jumped into the Furnace of Creation?
Yes, that was the moment.
The color in Herta's pupils dimmed, looking bleak and inscrutable. An emotion that should never have appeared was stirring in the depths of her heart.
She looked at the new text that popped up on the light screen—
[You helped guide Ron's consciousness, forging him in the Furnace of Creation amidst miserable wails, successfully creating the miracle of the Guiding Spirit Lantern...]
Seeing the text on the screen, Herta subconsciously clenched her fists. The exquisite puppet body, at this moment, acted as if it were made of real flesh and blood. The segmented, bionic fingers turned white from the pressure, as if real blood flow had been forcefully cut off.
She didn't want to see this. Annoyed, she tapped the simulation screen before her, quickly skipping past these irritating simulation summaries. She watched as one simulation entry after another popped up, only to see them dissipate bit by bit...
[The Guiding Spirit Lantern pierced the Veil of Fate. You saw Terminus, the [Finality] controlling the Tree of Existence, completely connected to it, and the scene of IX of [Nihility] circling around It...]
[IX of [Nihility] swallowed the Guiding Spirit Lantern...]
[Nanook of [Destruction] was once again controlled by Terminus, the [Finality]...]
[Nanook of [Destruction] incinerated the Xianzhou [Luofu]...]
[Everything proceeded towards the fixed ending. Game Over.]
[The rating for your Life Simulation this time is— -100 points.]
[As an Emanator of [Erudition], you are constantly exercising your superhuman wisdom—]
[You successfully discovered Ron's secret, found Ron in reality, and successfully joined a miracle plan that will be sufficient to influence the future of the sea of stars.]
[You all successfully completed this plan, and in this plan, you were absolutely indispensable.]
[Whether it was capturing [Lord Ravager Phantylia] or guiding Ron's consciousness to forge him...]
Looking at the settlement entries popping up on the screen, Herta's expression grew even more grim.
She gritted her teeth and tapped the screen before her, skipping, skipping, continuing to skip, completely skipping past this frustrating simulation settlement...
[You have successfully completed one simulation. Please choose—]
[1. Obtain "[Salvation] Ron's Remnant Divinity" x1]
[2. Obtain "Guiding Spirit Lantern Remnant Shard" x1]
[3. Obtain "Furnace of Creation Lantern-forging Ash" x1]
Herta fell silent for a long time.
She looked at the reward options on the screen, and ripples appeared in her perpetually still pupils. It was unknown what kind of tempestuous waves were surging in her heart right now.
After a moment, she gritted her teeth and tapped option one on the light screen, choosing what was, in theory, the most beneficial option.
The moment she made the choice, Herta felt a warm current flow up from beneath her. It was as if the ground she stood on was gushing with heat. A warm sensation began to rise from the tips of her toes, and like an empty vessel being filled with hot water, she was instantly filled with warmth.
The warm power filled Herta's entire body. She knew this wasn't a physical sensation, but rather a so-called "spiritual" one—
The fragmented remnant of [Salvation], left behind after being erased by IX of [Nihility], was now being poured into Herta's body. This power was almost comparable to what she had in the simulation. If the Path of [Salvation] hadn't been unpioneered in the current reality, Herta was afraid she would have already become an Emanator of [Salvation]...
But even with such a gift and benefit, Herta's mood didn't improve in the slightest.
The moment she thought of this being the remnant left after Ron had burned himself to cinders and was then erased by IX of [Nihility], her pupils would dim, and the indescribable emotion within would intensify...
She remained silent until Ron's elated voice reached her ears—
"Herta... I've found a lead on how to deal with Terminus, the [Finality]..."
Herta raised her head, her gaze falling gloomily upon the somewhat excited Ron before her.
To be honest, Herta had never seen Ron "smile" before.
She had seen him laugh, but most of the time it was a helpless, bitter laugh, or a polite smile born of social etiquette... She had never seen that kind of genuine, from-the-heart joy on his face.
The expressions she could see on Ron's face were most often a frown of deep thought, or the hesitation of calculating the cost of what was to be paid...
And the melancholy that almost never vanished from his brow.
Yes, wasn't it melancholy?
No matter the time, there was always a pressure on Ron that he couldn't relax from... This appearance of his was to be expected.
But Ron was smiling now... What good news had he figured out to make him smile?
Herta silently looked at Ron, yet she felt that this might not necessarily be good news.
She merely suppressed the emotions in her heart, maintained the composure she had held for who knows how many years, and asked calmly:
"What way?"
"It's simple," the smile on Ron's face didn't seem the least bit fake, "I just have to try to step onto the Path of [The End] and become Terminus, the [Finality] myself..."
"The last simulation gave me a lot of useful information... Although some things touched upon the 'sensitive words' of Terminus, the [Finality], and I can't explain them clearly, I can tell you my current conclusion..."
"Terminus, the [Finality] is a being that moves backwards in time. It also controls the Tree of Existence and is the incarnation of this sea of stars. The ending of this sea of stars is naturally under Its control..."
"But then again, since It is a being that moves backwards in time, before it reaches that fixed ending, It is an existence that has not yet been born—since It has not yet been born, I have the possibility of usurping Its position and becoming the new [Finality]."
Ron spoke, looking at Herta earnestly as he said:
"Although I'm still not sure exactly how to become [The End], the power of the Life Simulation Game is similar to that of [The End]. Besides, the vast majority of Aeons, besides Terminus, want to see a new [The End] born. With these advantages, as long as I try a few more times, perhaps I can find a way to become [The End]."
"I think we can consider it now. Should we first take the most conservative approach and try to conform to the philosophy of the Path of [The End], to step onto the Path, or should I directly try to find IX of [Nihility]? This existence has strong opinions about the current [The End], and is at least on the same tier as Terminus. Even if It doesn't let me become [The End], It can definitely provide considerable help..."
As she watched Ron in front of her begin to analyze with extreme seriousness what he should do next, laying out his subsequent plans with great logic and reason, Herta's expression grew even more grim.
She watched the Ron before her, suddenly bit her lip, and interrupted him with a hint of anger in her voice:
"Ron, do you think I'm an idiot?"
Interrupted, Ron was somewhat taken aback, momentarily unsure how to respond:
"...What do you mean by that?"
Herta just stared at Ron coldly, unhesitatingly poking at the one key point Ron had been forcing himself not to think about—
"That's right, Ron, you're so amazing. There are so many Aeons in this sea of stars, who knows how many there are who have reached the apex of the Tree of Existence. And IX of [Nihility] is even capable of standing on par with Terminus, the [Finality]. Yet, only you can become the new [The End]. You truly are one of a kind."
Hearing Herta's words, the smile on Ron's face was completely popped like a bubble, gradually dissipating.
Seeing Ron's reaction, Herta let out another cold "hmph":
"At least one Aeon, Aha of [The Elation], has ascended to the apex of the Tree of Existence. He obviously knows what you know, maybe even more clearly than you... But why didn't he go and become the new [The End]? What about IX of [Nihility]? Is He incapable of doing it?"
"They don't want to be that [The End]... Everyone is guiding you to become the new [The End]. Are you really the one chosen by all, the son of destiny, Ron?"
"Terminus, the [Finality] is like a string of cold code, always existing between born and unborn, just looking out at this sea of stars from the end of the world's finale... Do you really think that before becoming [The End], It wanted to be a cosmic reboot machine with empty power?"
Herta spoke coldly, unhesitatingly voicing the problem Ron had actually been aware of for a long time:
"It certainly didn't want to, but [The End] is probably just like that... This might not be something It can choose to change. Perhaps the moment It becomes [The End], It is thoroughly transformed into this state."
"The primal driving force of the Aeons' Paths restrains their actions. This is something you, a [Salvation], should know better than I do... But for ordinary Aeons, their Path is but a branch of the Tree of Existence. [The End], however, controls the Tree of Existence itself..."
"If the primal driving force of a mere branch is enough to hinder an Aeon's actions, what about the Path that is the Tree of Existence itself, [The End]?"
"I think the Aeons want to push you to become [The End] perhaps just to have you take the fall, not because all the Aeons truly want to flock around you and push you onto the divine throne to become the absolute master of this sea of stars."
"And even this 'Life Simulation Game' uses the same power as Terminus, the [Finality]. It looks so much like a backup plan from Terminus..."
"There's so much scheming among the Aeons. Can you be sure that Terminus, the [Finality] really doesn't have a shred of reason? That It isn't really looking for an unlucky fool who can take over Its tedious duties?"
"Stop pretending, Ron... You know better than anyone. You probably figured out these problems long ago, but you still act like you haven't noticed, trying to trick me, trying to trick everyone into supporting your plan, just so you can try to walk the path of becoming [The End]..."
"I believe you will succeed, but it is precisely because of this that I will absolutely not let you do it."
Herta spoke, and the complexity within the dim emotions in her pupils was finally revealed, showing a sliver of... sorrow beneath the anger.
"Tell me, Ron."
She looked at Ron, speaking with a seriousness she had never shown before:
"Do you really think it doesn't matter if you become that eternally unborn [Finality], looking on from the other side of the story, moving backwards in time, lonely and desolate, losing your own consciousness to become the so-called [Finality]?"
"...Is there really nothing and no one left in this world that you care about, Ron?"