"You just said that the Decree of Delusion took action against two Aeons. Which two exactly?"
Stelle quickly changed the subject, but the question that slipped out subconsciously was still centered around the secret history.
Leon: "I can't be one hundred percent certain. I can only speculate based on the results of my tracing—"
"Ming simultaneously attacked Ena and Oroboros, indirectly causing Ena to be devoured by Xipe, and thus falling."
"As for the latter, THEIR whereabouts are unknown."
Stelle felt deeply shocked, and her next question blurted out.
"What was Ming's reason for taking action?"
"Only Ming THEMSELVES knows the truth. Mortals, no matter who, can only guess."
Leon pondered the past.
"The essence of the Path of Order and Ena's actions themselves stepped on the red line of the Decree of Delusion's Path."
"From the concept of the Decree of Delusion, Ena should not have turned countless worlds and civilizations into puppets on strings in THEIR hands."
"This kind of behavior is undoubtedly considered transgression in Ming's eyes."
"Even Ena had to face Ming's judgment, let alone Oroboros the Voracity, who possesses endless appetite and devours countless worlds without distinction."
Stelle: "One against two, that strength is terrifying?"
Leon: "If Order, Preservation, and Voracity are all considered the most ancient Aeons…"
"Then Ming is like Nihility's IX, with no records at all about when THEY were born."
"It is believed that THEIR existence far predates the previous three."
"Even the practice philosophy of the Path of Order is considered transgression… It feels like THEY meddle quite broadly." Stelle fell into thought.
Leon: "My clan's understanding of the concept of transgression in the Decree of Delusion's Path is: actions that destroy the causality of all things."
"The simplest example: those who plunder others' lives are guilty of transgression, and those who save lives are also guilty of transgression."
"Huh?" Stelle was dumbfounded.
Wait, doing good deeds also counts?
Then Ming being killed by the Aeon that Leon followed really wasn't unjust at all. It could even be said that THEY deserved it.
Wasn't the Path Leon walked in the past centered on granting salvation to the tragic beings of the myriad worlds?
"No need to be surprised. Every Path possesses extreme properties."
"Mortals still cannot fully understand Aeons and Paths, nor can they understand what Paths mean to Aeons."
"Whether it is the original driving force of evolution or the shackles upon THEMSELVES, these are not things ordinary people should concern themselves with."
"Discussions of right and wrong are private and subjective. When elevated from the private to the galactic scale, only positions remain."
"Therefore, do not criticize the right or wrong of Aeons and those who walk their Paths."
Stelle nodded thoughtfully, feeling that her perspective on higher-dimensional beings had risen by one level.
No wonder geniuses like Herta wanted to create the Simulated Universe and study Aeons at all costs.
The attraction of exploring the unknown to geniuses was no less than that of a bottle of water to someone dying of thirst in the desert.
"So, in the past, did you often fight with factions under the Decree of Delusion's Path?"
"No."
"Huh?" Stelle was stunned again.
Seeming to know why she was confused, Leon smiled lightly and explained.
"People from Path factions are, after all, just ordinary Pathstriders who can control the desires in their hearts."
"The Abundance Emanator attacking the Xianzhou is a living example."
Stelle suddenly understood. "I forgot about that part."
Yaoshi answers all prayers, granting all things new life and endless lifespan.
However, the Abundance Emanators and the countless evil beings conquered by the Xianzhou Alliance did 'good deeds' that ran completely counter to Yaoshi's actions.
Instead, they plundered life and plundered the blessings that Yaoshi had impartially bestowed.
Leon: "Generally speaking, only the most obsessive individuals will fervently practice everything the Aeons do."
"In unusual cases, the Aeons descend divine revelations commanding Pathstriders, or decree Emanators to become the spokespersons of THEIR will."
"Take the Xianzhou Alliance for example. The Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Reignbow are all Hunt Emanators, walking the same path as Lan."
"There are also the Seven Lords of Extinction, the Destruction Emanators who faithfully carry out Nanook's will."
"The reason I'm telling you this is to let you know that most walkers of the Decree of Delusion's Path will not practice everything Ming does."
"On the contrary, most Decree of Delusion walkers are those who eliminate evil and promote good, judging all actions that invert cause and effect."
"You should know that I was once an Emanator of a certain Aeon, but unfortunately, I cannot currently reveal everything to you."
"The Aeon I follow has a faction under THEIR command called [Salvation Emissary]."
"The Decree of Delusion also has a corresponding faction: [Arbiter of Delusion]."
"Salvation Emissaries and Arbiters of Delusion do not have many ideological conflicts. When they meet, not only will they not fight, they might even greet each other friendly and possibly cooperate."
"Isn't that very unexpected?"
Stelle nodded repeatedly, her face showing an expression of not having expected this.
"It's really too unexpected…"
The factions under THEIR command are not hostile, yet the Aeons THEMSELVES are locked in a life-and-death struggle. Sigh…
She recalled a certain sentence Welt had once said—
Aeons can only act according to the core of their original driving force.
She remembered Welt's tone at the time; he had even claimed it was an indisputable law.
Because of this, there was never any need to worry about the Harmony Aeon stirring up a storm that would subvert the galaxy.
But in reality?
Xipe had devoured Order.
Had the galaxy losing Order not counted as a massive storm?
Stelle couldn't help but doubt the authority of this law. According to Leon, mortals could not understand Aeons and Paths.
So who would dare to assert with such certainty that this law had no problems?
It couldn't have been said by some Aeon THEMSELVES… right? Well, it wasn't impossible…
Not only could Mythus do something like this, even Aha could.
Toying with the mortals of the entire galaxy in the palm of THEIR hand should be extremely, extremely fun for Aha.
It was just too wicked.
But if Aha didn't do wicked things, THEY wouldn't be Aha.
Leon continued recounting some past events.
"Actually, the Decree of Delusion walkers are the faction with the most severe internal strife."
"…You mean?"
"As you thought, Decree of Delusion walkers are not lacking in obsessive individuals who will unconditionally follow the Aeon's footsteps."
"Those who deviate from the ethics and morals of intelligent life and basic concepts of good and evil, recklessly handing down judgments, will basically be approached by the Arbiters of Delusion at the first opportunity."
"Because of this, Salvation Emissaries rarely had conflicts with Decree of Delusion walkers in the past."
"Before the obsessive ones could cause large-scale negative effects, they were already purged internally."
"People with clear consciences see Arbiters of Delusion as kindly as they see Salvation Emissaries. Those with ghosts in their hearts… are even more terrified than seeing actual ghosts."
"After all—the methods Arbiters of Delusion use to deal with evil are much harsher than those of Salvation Emissaries."
Stelle asked curiously: "How much harsher?"
Leon: "Repaying them tenfold with their own methods. Salvation Emissaries simply give a quick end, dying without feeling pain."
"So that's how it is…" Stelle suddenly understood.
After listening to so many past secrets, she now had an intuition.
Leon had been set up by someone—or rather, by a god.
Otherwise, it was impossible for him not to know that the Decree of Delusion had fallen.
If she told him about the past she saw midway through testing the Simulated Universe, who knew what consequences it would trigger.
After careful consideration, Stelle decided to bury the secret deep in her heart.
She would only tell him the truth when the time was right one day and she confirmed it was fact rather than an illusion.
She also had to consider the possibility that her ability to see that scene meant she herself had been set up by some unknown existence.
Right?