The image on the light screen faded, and new lines of text appeared:
[You have successfully forged the Path of [Salvation], established its Source Driving Force, ascended to the throne of an Aeon, and become the [Salvation] Aeon, Ron.]
[The moment you ascended, the constraints of the Path became heavy chains, locking down your free will. You can think freely and act according to your own will, but that free will has been drastically weakened.]
[This restraint, originating from the Path's Source Driving Force, has bitten down hard on your free will. No matter what you wish to do, you will find it incredibly difficult under its binding power...]
[Except for actions that completely embody the sole philosophy of "Salvation," all other actions are restricted.]
[But likewise, commensurate with this severe restriction is an extremely formidable power. Endless Imaginary energy surges within your body, and you have obtained a powerful authority unique to the Path of [Salvation]—"Hope Made Manifest (Divine Authority)."]
[Hope Made Manifest: No matter how small the hope, once ignited, it can surely illuminate the entire sea of stars... Under the shroud of hope's light, all darkness shall be annihilated!
Using this authority, you will be able to fix a future you hope for when making a choice.
This hope will break through the shackles of fate, completely uninhibited by its constraints. No matter how minuscule the hope, it will possess the possibility of being realized.
Under the influence of this authority, the fixed future of hope gains a 30% increase in Miracle trigger probability.]
[Divine Authority: Every Divine Authority comes from an Aeon who has reached the apex of a Path. Aeons command their Paths, discovering unique powers within the concept of that Path that they can control. As a manifestation of an Aeon's status, every Divine Authority possesses an unimaginably special power.
Divine Authorities are a special class of trait that surpasses all others. They have no rank classification. Besides Aeons, the only ones who possess a Divine Authority are Emanators who have been generously blessed by an Aeon and granted a portion of their authority.
Please make good use of the power brought by this Divine Authority. Use it to break through the shackles of fate in this sea of stars.
With your own will, reach the future you desire.]
---o---
"This is the authority of an Aeon..."
Ron stared at the text on the screen, feeling as though he had obtained something incredible.
Setting aside the fact that a Divine Authority was a special trait that completely surpassed all others, the effect of this one was abstract to a whole new level.
What did it mean that even the smallest hope had a chance of being realized? What did it mean to increase the Miracle trigger probability by 30%?
Due to his various traits, Ron already had an 11% chance of triggering a miracle in events related to scientific research and the pursuit of cosmic truth. Adding this Divine Authority, the trigger rate would directly exceed 40%, nearly a coin flip's chance of success...
Was this the power of an Aeon? As long as one tried, a so-called miracle was something that had a significant chance of occurring with a casual effort...
Ron thought pensively, noticing that the text on the screen had not stopped and was continuing to scroll:
[You have become an Aeon, ascending to the highest throne in this sea of stars.]
[Looking down upon the world from the highest level, truths that only Aeons can comprehend flood into your mind—]
[You see the boundary of the universe. Beyond the top of the Tree of Existence is an unknowable void. That void is calm and without ripples, yet you can feel an extremely empty chill from within it...]
[There, the concepts of "existence" and "non-existence" are no longer relevant. It is an empty void where even the concept of "non-existence" has been completely erased.]
[You look down upon the sea of stars, and everything within the Simulated Universe is revealed to you in perfect detail. You see a boundless, pitch-black web enveloping all existence, forming the most fundamental background of this sea of stars, controlling everything with extreme order, forcing it to proceed along a predetermined path.]
[You look up and see through this universe. You see that outside the cosmos, the calamity of [Destruction] is steadily approaching, bound by fate. You hear the shrieking of stars, see the dark tide surging, and smell the choking smoke of burning calamity, knowing that this fire will inevitably burn you to ashes.]
[You look at yourself, and the endless deep-black web has become heavy chains that bind you. All Aeons are severely restricted by this universe's most fundamental fate, preventing them from breaking through this false world to a higher, freer plane...]
[You have learned much... very, very much.]
[But all of this is not something a false Aeon can bear. The Simulated Universe is, after all, a cosmos constructed by mortal wisdom. The geniuses have imitated this sea of stars, and everything within is lifelike, a perfect replica of all things in the universe. But it cannot replicate the power that Aeons are supposed to possess.]
[You now face the fate that awaits any powerless Aeon who appears outside the grand design of destiny.]
---o---
The text on the light screen faded, and a new scene appeared upon it:
"It's really... an Aeon..."
Herta stared at the monitoring screen of the simulation terminal. She saw the figure with dozens of cracks glowing with radiant gold, holding a holy sword and bearing two wings. His mere presence sheltered an entire galaxy. His brilliant white eyes revealed a magnificent pressure and a high, compassionate pity. The divinity in Ron had completely washed away his humanity. Even for someone like her, who had seen it all, she couldn't help but grow excited.
As an Emanator of [Erudition], Herta had received generous gifts from Nous, The Erudition. A very important part of this was the authority of analysis and comprehension.
To allow the geniuses to help It perceive all things, Nous had bestowed this authority to enhance their research capabilities. This power was a near-perfect reflection of Nous's own ability to understand, an inherent authority of the Path of [Erudition].
And now, Herta was using this authority to analyze Ron, who had ascended to godhood in the Simulated Universe, yet she found herself unable to completely analyze the sacred power surging from his body. She could only make a simple judgment.
This Path had hints of [Preservation] and [Abundance], as well as a bit of the sharp edge of [The Hunt]. But while it had similarities, this power was completely different from those Paths, let alone [Erudition], which had no connection to it whatsoever.
She was certain this was a Path that had never appeared in the real world. The power Ron now wielded was something she had never seen before; it was absolutely a brand-new Path he had forged himself.
Ron had successfully achieved their goal. He had replaced the destiny of Zandar One Kuwabara, but instead of being bound by fate to create another [Erudition], he had methodically created a Path that had never existed before, ascending it himself to become an Aeon...
Although Herta had hoped Ron would be able to forge a new Path so they might have a chance to replicate the feat in reality, she had already prepared herself for other outcomes.
Even if Ron had failed to create a new Path and simply followed Zandar's destiny to create Nous, Herta would have been very satisfied.
After all, she knew perfectly well how difficult it was to create a brand-new Path from nothing.
To forge a new Path meant to immediately command it and ascend to Aeonhood. This was something that could also happen in reality. All the Simulated Universe provided was the "setting" of Zandar's successful destiny. It was hard to say how much of a help that truly was...
But right now, none of those miscellaneous thoughts mattered.
The joy and excitement in Herta's heart overflowed from her violet eyes. She stared intently at Ron on the screen and, without hesitation, prepared to temporarily deploy one of her puppets into the Simulated Universe to question the newly ascended Ron.
This was the closest she had ever been to the secrets of the Aeons. The entire reason she had gone to such lengths to build the Simulated Universe was to obtain these very secrets.
Previously, she had needed Stelle to act as a tester, to ask questions of simulated Aeons in the guise of [Trailblaze] Akivili. But who needed such a troublesome method now?
Ron had ascended. She could ask him directly and achieve her long-standing goal. Afterward, they might even be able to forge the Path he created in reality. She was so close to her objective—
But she couldn't do it.
Before she could even deploy her puppet into that cosmic block, before she could make contact with the simulated Ron, she once again saw a brilliant holy light erupt.
On the monitoring screen, the wings on the back of the newly ascended Ron suddenly began to flicker. After a moment, they abruptly disintegrated. Holy white feathers fell one by one, turning into fragile, scattered points of light that shattered and vanished.
On Ron's body, the radiant golden light within the cracks began to exude a dangerous aura. The light burst forth, tearing his body apart and instantly filling the entire simulated space.
The holy sword thrust out violently in the explosion, directly piercing the white wall of the cosmic block, breaking through the data limitations and disappearing.
The monitoring screen before Herta suddenly went black. With a flick of her fingers, it rebooted, loading the main interface of the Simulated Universe.
The burst of holy light had utterly destroyed the partitioned cosmic block. All the data within had vanished in an instant. Only a strange string of bytes, which had broken through the data barrier and fallen into another cosmic block, had survived—clearly the Aeon's blade from the explosion.
But she had no time to worry about that now. She casually closed the simulation and turned to look at Ron, who had just opened his eyes from the entry terminal, still looking slightly dazed...
---o---
The scene on the light screen faded, and new text appeared:
[The simulated Aeons possess the status but lack the power they should have to resist the deepest calamities of the universe.]
[The chains bind your body ever tighter. You feel a terrifying malice from this entire world. The self-purging protocol of this sea of stars is activating. Under the calculations of the fate equation, you are powerless to resist the bindings and calamities of destiny. Everything collapses.]
[In an instant, your consciousness in the Simulated Universe returns to reality. You open your eyes to see Herta looking at you with a worried expression.]
["What... just happened?"]
[Herta's face was filled with confusion and concern. You opened your mouth, trying to explain everything you saw to her, but the moment you did, you felt a palpitation in your heart.]
[Cold chains coiled around your body. You felt the malice of fate steadily bearing down on you.]
[This knowledge is meant only for Aeons. Having learned it, you are now being watched by fate. The Fated Calamity will manifest before you in the near future...]
[Learning these truths concerning the fundamental nature of the universe is perhaps not a good thing—]
[You are already fated to bear this calamity. Do you really want to bring the same disaster upon Herta?]
Of course not...
Ron rubbed his temples, a bitter smile gracing his lips as he read the text on the screen.
He hadn't forgotten the words from just a moment ago—the calamity of [Destruction] was steadily approaching under the manipulation of fate. This was clearly the Fated Calamity he was destined to face.
The current Ron was not the Aeon from the simulation. Outside of it, he couldn't easily become the [Salvation] Aeon. Therefore, to resist this fated disaster, his only chance was to borrow Herta's power...
But if Herta also became entangled in the Fated Calamity and couldn't even fend for herself, then Ron would have no chance at all.
Carefully mulling over the text and images that had just appeared, Ron processed the vast amount of information, feeling an immense pressure settle upon him.
"A fated [Destruction], huh..."
He shook his head, bearing the heavy weight.
Even though he had learned the hollow and false nature of this sea of stars in the simulation, even though he had felt the cold malice of this predetermined destiny, there was not a single shred of retreat in Ron's heart.
So what if everything in this sea of stars had an inherent fate? So what if everything was bound by destiny, and a fated disaster was just around the corner?
Face that fated [Destruction] head-on, and then use every ounce of strength to completely shatter it...
This was Ron's way of doing things!