A small tip box popped up in the blank space on the light screen as the text faded:
[A Rainbow Trait is a special tier of trait, often appearing as a Miracle Trait. It represents a feat that was once thought impossible to achieve.]
[When you accomplish an event that was deemed absolutely impossible, that distinct miracle will be sublimated into a Rainbow Trait.]
[Every Rainbow Trait represents a non-replicable grand undertaking, a miracle sufficient to shake the Star Ocean, and the absolute highest quality of trait...]
[Unlike miracle events, which can be big or small, a Miracle Trait is guaranteed to be stronger than a Legendary Trait (Red) and is a powerful trait that cannot be repeatedly farmed.]
[Properly utilizing a Rainbow Trait is enough to overcome the severe trials brought by multiple Disaster Traits (Black), and can elevate your status and power to a height unattainable by other traits...]
Looking at the reward and the small tips, Ron was clearly not pleased. Instead, he let out a frustrated sigh, flopped onto his bed, and emptied his mind, trying to recover the mental energy he had expended during the long simulation.
To be honest, the power of this trait was completely game-breaking, infinitely stronger than all the other traits he had ever received from the simulation combined.
A reward trait that allowed him to immediately ascend to the status of an Aeon upon loading it, starting the game as the [Salvation] Aeon in full god-tier gear—who could even believe such a reward was possible?
A trait of this magnitude was something he wouldn't even dare to imagine... but now it was in his hands, his to use as the reward for this simulation.
But at this point in time, the stronger the trait was, the more irritated it made him.
...After all, now that he knew [The Finality] Terminus controlled other Aeons through their very Paths to guide the Star Ocean toward its predetermined end, there was no way Ron would fall into the "Path" trap again. Naturally, he would not use "The Way of Salvation" to ascend to the throne of the [Salvation] Aeon, willingly walking into a net to become Terminus's stringed puppet.
What was the point? Even if the trait was incredibly powerful, even if Ron could immediately pioneer the Path of [Salvation] and begin his ascension after loading it, even if he could boost his power to the point of instantly wiping out every other Aeon in the Star Ocean, what would be the meaning of it all?
No matter what, he would just be a stringed puppet, forcefully controlled by Terminus through the limitations of the Path...
Playing the game by someone else's rules, even if you become the world's number one player, you're still just their puppet in the end—a minor nuisance that [The Finality] Terminus could effortlessly deal with through the concept of Paths...
Although Ron was slightly frustrated, as he lay on his bed and let his mind go blank for a moment, his chaotic thoughts gradually settled, and he began to feel a sense of release.
...While the "The Way of Salvation" trait had lost its greatest function now that he understood Terminus's abilities, it wasn't a complete loss for him.
After all, not using it to become the [Salvation] Aeon didn't mean he couldn't use the trait in other ways.
Pioneering the Path of [Salvation] to become an Aeon was extremely difficult in itself. The other Aeons with similar Paths were not easy to deal with. If Ron were to fight them, the result would be the same as in this simulation—nothing good would come of it.
Ron knew how many people's paths he would be blocking by becoming the [Salvation] Aeon... Even if he tried to fleece [The Destruction] Nanook in every simulation, it would ultimately be meaningless. The outcome wouldn't change; it would just be a waste of time.
Perhaps after a few more simulations, he could figure out a way to deal with those Aeons and truly become the [Salvation] Aeon with this trait, without needing to rely on the power of [The Destruction]. But even then, he would still be controlled by Terminus. It was better not to even think about becoming an Aeon from the start and instead explore the other uses of this trait...
In fact, long before he had ever considered the grand undertaking of becoming an Aeon, Ron had given a lot of thought to the nature of their existence.
He knew how severe the shackles on them were... The Primum Mobile of a Path constrained an Aeon's actions. All of them were essentially dancing in chains as they exercised their will across the Star Ocean.
They were indeed the noblest and most powerful gods in this galaxy. With a mere flick of their wrist, they could overturn the cosmos, and all living beings were but playthings in their palms. But that didn't mean they were the luckiest beings in the universe.
In fact, Ron always felt that they were secretly the most pitiful existences in this sea of stars.
They possessed power far beyond mortals, held the most revered status in the galaxy, had reached the absolute limit of their Path's concept, and were worshipped by many... but what could they actually do?
They had immense power but were shackled by their Path. They had grand visions but wore the manacles of fate... The power and nobility of the Aeons were like a meaningless castle in the air. They possessed it all, but they were bound by their Paths and could not use it as they pleased.
After having been an Aeon in this simulation, Ron had an even deeper understanding of the heavy fate they shouldered and the heavy chains that bound them...
The power of an Aeon was obtained by putting on shackles. To freely overturn the predetermined fate of this Star Ocean and defeat a super-cheat like Terminus who could control fate itself, Ron had to forge a new path—a path no one had ever walked before. A path to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Aeons as a mortal, but without being shackled by a Path...
And the "The Way of Salvation" trait itself might just be the beginning of this new path.
Although the in-game description was very clear—that this Miracle Trait was a one-time Path pioneer, which would instantly create the Path of [Salvation] upon use, a condensation of the miracle he had achieved in the last simulation...
However, the description also stated that Ron could use the concept of "The Way of Salvation" to intertwine with the concepts of other Paths, attempting to broaden the Path of [Salvation] and add more concepts to it when he finally chose to use the trait, granting him more power upon his ascension.
But... although the game suggested using it this way, Ron himself no longer needed to pioneer a Path... What he cared about was something else entirely.
It was the ability of "The Way of Salvation" to intertwine with the concepts of other Paths... As the concept of "Salvation" was broadened, the trait's description would surely provide new explanations for its interactions with the other Paths. Ron could then use this broadened concept to understand those other Paths in detail.
And that... was actually enough.
If you deconstruct a Path, spinning the silk from the cocoon, its essence is actually very simple—
A few similar and fixed philosophies, a fixed and powerful driving force, and an endless supply of Imaginary Energy mobilized according to that philosophy and driving force...
As long as he could deconstruct and understand the philosophy and Primum Mobile, to grasp its most fundamental nature, he could completely understand all of a Path's abilities and... its essence.
As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles. To defeat an enemy like Terminus, Ron first had to understand its abilities and the fundamental principles of Paths. Only then could he possibly escape the most basic power system of this Star Ocean—the "Path" system—and surpass it to strike at Terminus, taking down this cheat who could control other Aeons through their Paths.
Although this was clearly extremely difficult, it was a clear direction forward with a possibility of success...
The secondary ability of "The Way of Salvation" to encompass, analyze, and assimilate the philosophies of other Paths had now become the function Ron was most interested in. It had become the initial, tiny spark of hope in his quest to defeat [The Finality] Terminus.
"Hmm... I need to think about how to analyze the Path ability and essence of Terminus, and study the most fundamental operating mechanisms of all the Paths..."
Ron sat up, thoughtfully stroking his chin. A simple plan began to form in his mind as he considered how to begin this small first step in the grand undertaking of solving the Aeon problem as an unconstrained mortal.
"Maybe I should find a reliable partner first, and then plan in detail how to accomplish this goal of slaying an Aeon as a mortal?"
The idea sprouted in Ron's mind, and his thoughts instantly leaped thousands of light-years away to the Herta Space Station.
Herta was such a reliable genius. It was almost certain she was also a player of the Life Simulation Game and was aware of the danger of Terminus. It might not be impossible to bring her on board, to recreate the smooth cooperation from the last simulation...
And just as Ron was thinking this, thousands of light-years away on the Herta Space Station, Herta herself was silently propping up her chin as she spun round and round in her office rocking chair, staring at her own simulation screen—
[You led the New Belobog expeditionary fleet to conquer all corners of the universe. All calamities were swept away by you. Half the Star Ocean rose and fell at your feet. Aside from the high and mighty god, [Salvation] Ron, you were the undisputed, powerful empress of a galactic empire...]
[But this wonderful reality ended on that day—because you refused [Salvation] Ron's divine oracle to slaughter the Star Ocean, all your honors were forcibly stripped from you.]
[Your status as the Chosen Saint vanished, the empress's crown fell to the ground. You lost all the power of [Salvation] and, under His cold and merciless malice, you became a caged bird, imprisoned in the main cabin of the fleet's flagship. You were forced to watch as the expeditionary fleet, proclaiming justice and glory, spread scorching destruction upon the innocent of this Star Ocean...]
[You were powerless to resist a god. You could only watch as New Belobog completely fell from grace, as all the honor and glory of [Salvation] were stained with a dim color, turning into an extremist calamity.]
[When the war to conquer the stars reached its final moment, after all the other Aeons had been bound and neutralized, having lost the blessing of [Erudition], you finally lost all your strength, becoming a mortal human, watching the fanatical slaughter of the New Belobog fleet...]
[Under prolonged imprisonment, having become an ordinary person, you could not bear the mental pressure and physical aging. You died of despair within a few months.]
[This Star Ocean will eventually meet its inevitable [Finality].]
[Game Over.]
[To ensure the player's experience, the simulation memory has been loaded.]
The long memories washed over Herta's personality, the slaughter of the galaxy冲击着 her mind... If an ordinary person had received these memories, they would likely have had a mental breakdown and died of despair, just like the Herta in the simulation who had reverted to a normal human.
But unfortunately for the memories, she had not lost the blessing of [Erudition] Nous... She was still an Emanator of [Erudition], and her mind was far stronger than an ordinary person's.
An impact like this was not enough to break her spirit... but it was enough to make her expression turn grim and fall into deep thought.
Just... who was pulling the strings?
Herta's face was dark. Of course, she could tell that Ron had been sabotaged. The change in his character towards the end of the simulation was just too obvious.
Although this was something only an Emanator of [Salvation] like her—the true Chosen—could deeply understand, Herta suspected she would have noticed Ron's strangeness even without that status...
After all, the previous Ron was a man willing to give up his own Path and power just to bring a little light to the Star Ocean, a man who would give all his hope and strength to those in need without a care for the cost.
It was precisely because of this that Herta had been willing to orchestrate a banquet for a god, to pull Ron back from death and help him return to the grand chessboard of the Star Ocean...
But the Ron at the end of the simulation was cold and crazed, completely devoid of the heroic, self-sacrificing demeanor he once had. Instead, he had become a super war criminal far more extreme than even a cosmic calamity like [The Destruction] Nanook.
There had to be a reason for such a change. Ron must have been schemed against by some existence...
Herta thought, but the more she thought, the more her brow furrowed.
She was not an Aeon. Although there was a time during the last simulation, after Ron's death, when she was just a hair's breadth away from stepping into that dwelling of light and picking up the lantern of [Salvation], she had ultimately not crossed that line and seen the world as an Aeon...
Therefore, she knew nothing of what went on at the level of the Aeons. Even a clever housewife can't cook without rice. A genius like Herta couldn't deduce what had happened to Ron without data...
She could only be certain that his final actions were not what he truly wanted, that some problem had caused him to act that way, and that he must have encountered a trouble that even he, as an Aeon, was powerless to solve...
If destruction is the predetermined future of this Star Ocean... no, I need to find Ron and figure out the situation first.
Herta patted her cheeks. The sensation from the bionic limbs was transmitted to her integrated hub through sensory units. Her thoughts didn't change, but it allowed her to confirm there were no malfunctions in this body, a quick and simple system check.
She was not going to waste any time... If this was a problem that even the Aeons combined couldn't solve, then no amount of preparation could be considered too early.
With that thought, Herta skipped past the perfect 100-point score and the meaningless wealth reward from this simulation, casually closed the screen, and walked swiftly out of her office. Her other puppet bodies had already opened the hangar and prepared a high-speed ship for the trip to the Jarilo-VI system...
But at the same time, elsewhere—
Bronya was staring blankly at the screen before her, a giant question mark appearing above her head.
With a completely baffled expression, she looked at the dense text on the screen and opened her mouth in confusion.
"What in the world... happened in this simulation?"