"The Aetherius Engine? What is that?"
Mythus of [The Enigmata] looked slightly bewildered, a puzzled expression on his face.
As the Aeon of [The Enigmata], he knew nearly every secret in this sea of stars; almost everything was recorded in this massive library.
Within the library, the endless collection of books chronicled the secrets of this cosmos, yet even with all this knowledge, Mythus of [The Enigmata] had never heard of anything called an "Aetherius Engine."
...Of course, there were certainly things in this sea of stars that shared the name, but they were either purely homonymous, arbitrarily created terms without any meaning, or special creations from works of fiction, with varied uses in different stories, clearly holding no significance.
However, in contrast to Mythus's confusion, a look of contemplation appeared on Herta's face.
Although she had been standing quietly to the side, listening to the conversation between Mythus and Ron, it didn't mean she wasn't thinking about what Mythus was saying.
Mythus had been saying that Ron was the one to break the stalemate in this sea of stars, and the King of [The End]'s machinations had ultimately fallen upon Ron. No matter how you looked at it, this highlighted Ron's special nature.
And Ron had always told her that Belobog wasn't his real home, and he was always telling stories she had never heard, stories from his homeland...
Then perhaps Ron shouldn't exist in this sea of stars at all.
He was an existence from beyond this world, a person who had descended from another universe...
Therefore, the thing Ron was talking about now was likely the same as that "Lord of Cinder" he had mentioned before—a creation from his homeland...
Thinking of this, the tips of Herta's ears twitched, and she felt a faint sense of unease.
Every time Ron told a story, he would follow it with a heap of strange, twisted logic. What was he going to say this time?
She looked at Ron's subtle smile and had a feeling she was about to hear something extraordinary...
But it wouldn't be... too abstract, would it?
Herta thought to herself, remaining silent, standing by respectfully and waiting for Ron to speak.
Meanwhile, Ron looked at the perplexed expression on Mythus's face and began to explain with a beaming smile.
"The Aetherius Engine is a creation of the Scourge Empire, used to shatter the boundary between Aetherius and reality... They invaded Aetherius, seized everything, and the great feat of their collective ascension allowed them to drain the entire realm, shattering everything above the sea of stars. But the result was subversively beautiful."
"They devoured all the power of Aetherius, allowing the entirety of their empire to ascend under the effect of its infinite power, moving to a higher plane of existence. There, every last wisp of reality could be altered according to their whims; all things were in their grasp—"
"Just like an Aeon."
"What is Aetherius? What is the Scourge Empire? These are all newly-coined terms I've never heard..."
Mythus of [The Enigmata] muttered to himself, repeating Ron's words, his face full of doubt. For a moment, he didn't know what significance any of this held.
But as he muttered, he suddenly noticed something was off.
"Just like an Aeon...?"
Mythus mumbled, his eyes widening as he looked at Ron, his glasses slipping down his nose.
"You... what you mean is..."
At the same time, Herta, who had been standing to the side, now wore a look of dawning realization. She watched Ron smile as she and Mythus spoke in unison, their voices overlapping:
"To break all barriers between the Imaginary Domain and reality!"
Seeing the stunned look on Mythus's face, Ron calmly snapped his fingers. A brilliant golden light flowed around his fingertips before leaping out, sketching a small, lush, golden tree in the air.
He looked at the tree pattern drawn from the golden light at his fingertip and said nonchalantly:
"Although the Aetherius Engine is merely a creation from a story, and Aetherius is just a fantastical delusion humanity has about the other side of the world, a plane formed from boundless psionic energy and colossal lifeforms made of pure psionic聚合 that are impossible for mortals to contact do not exist in this world—"
As he spoke, a faint golden light appeared next to the shimmering tree pattern at his fingertip, sketching out a calm "sea."
"But we truly do have a 'Sea of Nihility' that holds infinite Imaginary energy, and..."
Ron paused. A dozen more points of brilliant golden light appeared next to the tree pattern, resting on the ends of some of its branches, their tips dipping into the calm sea.
"...'Aeons' themselves, who were ascended by that boundless Imaginary energy and their Paths."
"Anyone who is friends with an Aeon knows that to become one, you must open a Path that resonates with the 'Tree of Existence,' allowing the Tree to extend its branches into the 'Sea of Nihility' and, through its spatio-temporal conduits, draw upon the infinite Imaginary energy within..."
"With infinite Imaginary energy bestowed upon you, every thread of this universe will fall completely under your control. You can rely on this omnipotent energy to influence everything, rewriting it according to your will..."
He spoke, but then his tone suddenly shifted.
"But, is a 'Path' truly necessary?"
"Friends of Aeons also know that a Path is the manifestation of a concept. When you choose to open a Path and allow it to be bestowed upon you, the concept and the driving force of that Path will bind you in turn, becoming a shackle you cannot escape."
"But the Path itself is just a special tool for dipping into the Sea of Nihility to seize Imaginary energy... What if we bypassed this mechanism, shattered the boundary between the Tree of Existence and the Sea of Nihility, and allowed the infinite Imaginary energy to flood into reality..."
As Ron spoke, he snapped his fingers again. The floating tree and sea at his fingertip underwent a subtle change—
A brilliant golden flame began to burn, instantly incinerating the golden tree pattern.
The golden ocean poured in, and in a flash, everything became a chaotic mixture. Countless points of golden light rose up, joining the dozen or so that were already there...
"Then there would appear countless 'Aeons' unbound by any Path, yet possessing bodies filled with infinite Imaginary energy."
Ron's lips curled into a confident, victorious smile.
"Everything in this sea of stars will receive infinite Imaginary energy. The so-called Aeons will no longer have any special status. All of existence will be placed on the same starting line. The world will no longer have a 'Tree of Existence' or a 'Sea of Nihility,' leaving only a true universe, where everything is combined and ascended..."
"...What do you think of this idea?"
After hearing Ron's words, Mythus of [The Enigmata] stood silent for a moment. He adjusted the glasses that had slipped down his nose from the shock and let out a soft sigh.
"The late Akivili of [The Trailblaze] only wanted to connect all the branches of the Tree of Existence, to allow countless star systems to have contact with one another..."
"...I never imagined you would want to directly burn away all barriers of the Tree of Existence, letting the Sea of Nihility pour into the observable universe, churning everything together to reforge a new cosmos."
He spoke, paused for a moment, then sighed again.
"I admit... this idea of yours to overturn everything certainly has a degree of feasibility. But when it comes to actually implementing it, the obstacles you'll face will be endless."
"Have you ever thought... how many people you'll offend by doing this?"
"Although I don't care much for this 'Aeon' identity, and in fact, most Aeons don't care for this special status, there will always be some who do care about these vanities."
"If breaking everything means that everyone will become an 'Aeon' controlling infinite Imaginary energy, and they will lose the status and position that should have been exclusively theirs... they might not allow you to achieve this goal."
"Of course," he said, his tone shifting again, "for the vast majority of Aeons, I can help you conceal this matter. They might oppose your methods, but by the time they find out what you're doing, it will all be nearing its end."
"The ones you actually need to worry about... are only two."
Mythus's voice grew stern.
"Although you want to burn down the Tree of Existence, and the one who will be hit hardest is, of course, the King of [The End], It has not yet been born. To travel back in time would be far too difficult. As long as you can seize the moment, starting from the very instant you truly act against the Tree of Existence, and burn it down within one standard year, It will be powerless to pose a threat."
"On the other hand, [Nihility] IX might cause you some trouble—by breaking the boundary between the Sea of Nihility and reality, letting all Imaginary energy fuse into the observable universe, you will have crossed IX's bottom line..."
"It is the first Aeon, and also the embodiment of the Sea of Nihility... This endless expanse of Imaginary energy has already fallen completely under Its control. Every being who becomes an Aeon is essentially snatching food from the tiger's mouth, tearing away at Its infinite power."
"But there haven't been that many new Aeons across the endless resets... For an impact of that scale, [Nihility] IX is willing to turn a blind eye and not care too much."
"However, completely subverting the existential form of the Sea of Nihility and the Tree of Existence would be too great an impact on It... No one knows for certain if [Nihility] IX would even continue to exist after all this is done. It itself does not know."
"Therefore... It will absolutely do everything in its power to stop you. On this, I am powerless to help."
He spoke, paused, and then added:
"Also, my power cannot stop the perception of [The Elation] Aha... This Lord of Elation gained a power different from ordinary Aeons after ascending to the top of the Tree of Existence. For now, while we are merely scheming, it won't cause any ripples in the sea of stars. But it will be a different story once we actually act."
"I can conceal the ripples at that time, but [The Elation] Aha will certainly know... What It will do, I do not know, but you must be careful."
Hearing Mythus's words, Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully.
It was more or less... as he had expected.
His method was aimed directly at [Nihility] IX and the King of [The End]. In essence, this idea was no different from using the Aetherius Engine to shatter the barrier between Aetherius and reality, causing them to merge completely.
Since the Scourge Empire in the story would face a suicidal counterattack from the beings of Aetherius, it was only natural that his actions would provoke the discontent of [Nihility] IX, the one and only being whose fate was intertwined with the Sea of Nihility...
Its counterattack was to be expected. But Ron knew that IX was still separated from reality by the "shell" of the "Tree of Existence." It couldn't act personally with such ease.
Only at the moment when the main trunk of the Tree of Existence was completely burned away could It perhaps act freely, trying to remedy the situation...
But by then, when the Tree of Existence was nearly burned to ash, what could a move from [Nihility] IX even accomplish?
A tree with only its leaves burnt might be easily saved from the fire, but when its very trunk is being incinerated, even if you extinguish the flames, it can never grow again. It is destined to wither completely.
And by that time, most of the Sea of Nihility would have likely poured into the observable universe. How much power would [Nihility] IX even have left?
Therefore, Its threat was really only the impact It could have by crossing the barrier of the Tree of Existence at the moment It learned of Ron's actions...
But that would no longer be a threat Ron couldn't handle... After being weakened by the Tree of Existence, what could [Nihility] IX do?
It was simply a matter of blocking soldiers with generals and damming water with earth.
Only the existence of [The Elation] Aha gave Ron a small amount of pressure... Even now, Ron still didn't know what Aha truly wanted. Though It had indeed guided Ron towards the path of [The End], upon careful reflection, Its actions weren't that direct.
What did It truly want to do? Even now, it was as if It were shrouded in fog, impossible to see clearly.
Would It be an enemy to Ron? This was a question that Ron, even now, couldn't answer with certainty.
[The Elation] Aha... what does it truly want?
Is it looking for a grand joke big enough to overturn the sea of stars?
Ron couldn't figure it out, but that didn't mean the mere threat of [The Elation] Aha was enough to make him back down.
If you do nothing, you'll never know if you can succeed... Threats may exist, but Ron was confident he could overcome them.
He just had to go for it.
After a moment of thought, Ron nodded lightly.
"I understand... These threats won't necessarily affect my plan."
"One year is enough time. I'll have to ask you, Lord Mythus, to conceal our plan and ensure its safety..."
"Concealing secrets is my duty. This is the 'driving force of my Path' that sets my goals... Rest assured."
Mythus waved his hand casually, then turned and walked toward the staircase that led to the heavens.
He walked briskly up the steps, ascending the spiral staircase that rose into the starry sea and pierced the darkness, his figure growing smaller and smaller as he moved away from Ron.
"History is not real; objectivity can be erased. Let the past not exist in the past; let it exist only in the present, within our minds, to be shaped as we please..."
His voice echoed faintly from the heavens.
"Avoid a determined past that erases a potential future... I wish our future a new, eternal chapter!"
As Mythus walked up the stairs into the darkness of the hazy sea of stars, Ron saw the entire cosmos surge with a hazy, dark current. A rose-colored mist precipitated from the dome of the library, gradually filling the entire space.
In the next moment, a metaphorical torrent pushed Ron and Herta out of the library. Amidst the shadowy illusions, the library's heavy doors slowly closed. As the rose mist faded away, everything vanished as if wiped by an eraser.
Ron and Herta returned to reality, finding themselves once again in the secret room of the Divination Commission.
They both subconsciously glanced at a nearby jade abacus. The time on it skipped forward by a single second.
Everything that had just happened was erased; not even a moment of time had passed.
Did it truly happen, or was it a mere illusion of the mind, a mirage brought on by the mist?
Only a faint, invisible rose-colored mist lingering around them could prove that everything that had just occurred was real...
But Herta suddenly spoke, asking a small question that had been budding in her mind from the very beginning—
"Ron... In the story you told, after the Aetherius Engine breached the void realm, everything in reality crumbled under the endless power..."
"So if we truly and completely erase the boundary between the Tree of Existence and the Sea of Nihility, letting the Sea of Nihility pour into the observable universe... will everything truly be ascended?"
Herta frowned slightly, pondering.
"I admit that Imaginary energy is gentle enough and omnipotent enough... but that doesn't mean just anyone can control it."
"There are so many intelligent beings in this sea of stars, but the number of Pathstriders who can use Imaginary energy is minuscule—there will always be those who cannot accept this infinite energy."
"When that time comes... what then?"
Hearing Herta's question, Ron fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
"Imaginary energy is sufficiently gentle. The most likely outcome is that the entire universe will be reformed and ascended together. Some may not be able to control this power at first, but after being immersed in it for a long time, they will sooner or later be assimilated by the Imaginary energy into beings like Aeons, filled to the brim with it, becoming no different from the others who were ascended in this sea of stars."
"And because the Imaginary energy will have also transformed the environment of this sea of stars, even the cosmos itself will be ascended. The most likely outcome is that when all of existence has been elevated to the standard of an Aeon-level power, the strength of the cosmic environment itself will also change to the level of an 'Aeon's' creation."
"Because their own power and their environment will change in proportion, perhaps the universe then won't be too different from how it is now. It will just lose a few Aeons who are far stronger than ordinary people, and there will no longer be these celestial beings who hold dominion over all life..."
Ron's voice grew heavier.
"But... it's also possible that the portion of existence that cannot control the Imaginary energy will be assimilated and infected by it, turning into mindless, unintelligent monsters like the creatures of the Fragmentum, spawned from Imaginary energy..."
"I will do everything in my power to try and protect their future, but this is ultimately a problem I cannot completely solve."
"Perhaps this is cold, perhaps it is ruthless, but it is ultimately a better way, a solution that treats the root cause, not just the symptoms, compared to me sitting on the throne of [The End] and rewriting an ending for this sea of stars..."
"To prevent this sea of stars from heading towards its predetermined end, to stop everything from being reset like a child's game over and over again, I will not give up on my method."
Ron took a deep breath. He spoke with a resolute gaze, his voice tinged with a steely finality.
"All greatness must be forged by sacrifice..."
"The other beings in this sea of stars may not understand, but they will obey!"