---o---
"What?"
Hearing Herta's words, Ron couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Just what kind of treasure could an Emanator of [Erudition] possess that would be effective against Terminus, the Finality?
After all, the gap between a mortal and an Aeon was insurmountable, and the chasm between an Aeon and [The Finality] was even more unimaginably vast.
Ron's first thought was that Herta hadn't quite grasped how terrifying an enemy Terminus truly was. He was about to re-emphasize the danger of the Finality King, but before he could speak, he saw Herta casually toss a faint golden light toward him.
The flickering golden light looked so familiar. Ron paused for a second, then subconsciously reached out, expertly catching the dilapidated, dimly lit lantern, its flame sputtering from the toss.
As the familiar, warm lantern settled into Ron's hands in reality, he felt the warmth in his grasp. His expression froze, a hint of shock on his face.
"This is… the Lantern of [Salvation]? Where did you get this?"
Herta half-lay, slumping back into the soft leather chair, and lazily gave him a thumbs-up.
"A reward from the Life Simulation Game. It's the broken lantern from the last simulation, but it should still be somewhat useful."
Fu Xuan, who was standing to the side, stared at the lantern in Ron's hand. Her mind instantly flashed back to the previous simulation, to the image of [Salvation] Ron holding a brilliant golden lantern, capable of sweeping across the entire Xianzhou [Luofu] with holy light. Her body, which had just relaxed, tensed up once more.
Originally, Fu Xuan's fear of Ron had lessened considerably after his confession. After all, knowing that Ron was just a good person forced to do those things, how could she still be paranoid and afraid that he would do something terrible to the Xianzhou [Luofu] again?
But now, Ron was suddenly holding that very lantern again. In that instant, a fresh wave of PTSD washed over Fu Xuan, and a highlight reel of the previous simulation flashed before her eyes.
However, the Master Diviner was no coward who would be trapped by her past memories. She was merely shocked, letting out a small gasp.
"The Life Simulation Game can actually reward you with this lantern? Doesn't that mean… Ron can now attempt to ascend to the Aeonhood of [Salvation]?"
The broken Lantern of [Salvation] was still the very framework of a Path. With the "The Way of Salvation" entry already empowering him, if Ron also had this lantern in his possession, he would receive an unimaginable boost in the process of pioneering the Path of [Salvation].
Although Fu Xuan was not even an Emanator, her speculation about Aeons at this moment was correct.
If Ron wanted to, he could now use "The Way of Salvation" as kindling to ignite the flame within the lantern. He might have a chance to forcibly pioneer the Path of [Salvation] without needing to usurp the concepts of other Aeons, relying solely on this broken lantern he received out of thin air to become the Aeon of [Salvation].
But… of course, Ron would not do that.
Becoming an Aeon meant being completely shackled by a Path. Ron already knew what future awaited him after being shackled. Now that he had this lantern in reality, it didn't mean he would choose to walk into a dead end for a moment of glory and ascend to the godhood of [Salvation].
So Ron shook his head, his gaze thoughtfully fixed on the lantern in his hands, its flame extremely dim.
"No… I will not rely on this lantern to ascend to Aeonhood."
As he spoke, he looked at the hope-flame within the Lantern of [Salvation]. After a moment's hesitation, he gently opened the lantern's lid.
He peeked inside and saw the nearly depleted oil and the dim flame of hope. He tilted the lantern gently, and the oil, carrying faint wisps of the flame, trickled out, almost dripping, before Ron righted the lantern, and the wisps of fire and oil fell back inside.
Herta, watching Ron's actions, was a bit confused.
"What are you doing? There's not much oil left in that lantern. If you're not careful and pour it all out, the lantern will really go out."
"We don't have any way to repair it. We don't have the luxury of hunting down the Antimatter Legion to repair this lantern with Nanook's [Destruction]."
"Besides… if you don't use it to ascend to the Path of [Salvation], what are you planning to do with it?"
Herta frowned slightly and thought for a moment, her voice laced with doubt.
"At most, this lantern is a blessing that can make someone an Emanator… If you really keep it, it doesn't seem to have much meaning."
But Ron just shook his head slightly. He stared at the flame inside the lantern, lost in thought. A moment later, a faint, wondrous smile touched his lips.
He suddenly recalled everything he had experienced in the last simulation. On the branch of the Tree of Existence, Ron at that time also had a Lantern of [Salvation].
Although that lantern was even weaker than this one—after all, it was merely the manifestation of a Path of [Salvation] that had not yet been fully pioneered, making it far weaker than this lantern which represented a shattered Path—it was the difference between a yet-to-be Aeon and a deceased one.
But even then, when Ron had paid it no mind, the Lantern of [Salvation] had shattered because he was killed by [The Destruction] Nanook. The brilliant golden fire had fallen onto a branch of the Tree of Existence and burned for a good dozen seconds before gradually extinguishing.
Although the branch of the Tree of Existence could recover in an instant after being burned for those dozen seconds, it had still suffered a tiny bit of damage. The bark of the Tree had also withered slightly from the hopeful flame.
The flame in the lantern… was perhaps potent enough.
Thinking of this, Ron replied softly:
"No… I don't need to rely on it to become an Aeon."
Ron closed the lid of the lantern and placed it gently on the table. His fingertip tapped the side of the lantern, and the slightly damaged wall gave off a clear, crisp sound.
"Perhaps… it has a use far greater than becoming an Aeon."
"A use greater than becoming an Aeon?"
Fu Xuan was at a complete loss, unable to understand what Ron was talking about. This lantern, no matter how precious, was still just a broken Path of [Salvation]. What other use could it have?
But Ron immediately gave her the answer.
"A Path is the most fundamental rule by which this sea of stars operates. Therefore, it is subject to the fate controlled by Terminus. Becoming an Aeon means falling into a trap where one is inevitably powerless against the King of the End. That is why I will absolutely not use it to become an Aeon."
"Besides… it can do something that even an Aeon cannot."
Ron gently tapped his fingers on the tabletop, saying thoughtfully:
"In the last simulation, I attempted to climb to the apex of the Tree of Existence to make contact with the true Terminus, to try and obtain information about It…"
"But I failed. I climbed a branch of the Path of [Destruction] and was eventually found by [The Destruction] Nanook not far from the main trunk of the Tree. Although he had regained some of his senses because I had expanded a branch of his Path, he still killed me the moment I saw the top of the Tree."
"At the moment of my death, the not-yet-fully-matured Lantern of [Salvation] in my hand fell onto a branch of the Tree of Existence. It shattered completely, and a brilliant golden flame surged out, burning the branch for over ten seconds…"
"...So, you want to use this lantern to burn the Tree of Existence?"
Herta raised an eyebrow, her gaze on Ron gradually becoming more bewildered.
"Let's not even talk about what this broken lantern can do. Even if it really could burn the Tree of Existence, what then? You want to light up the Tree and completely destroy this world?"
"No, of course not."
Ron shook his head and continued where Herta had cut him off.
"Before I was killed by [The Destruction] Nanook, I successfully reached the main trunk of the Tree of Existence and looked up to see its apex…"
"Right now, the apex of the Tree of Existence is completely shrouded by a veil of fate woven from black and white silk threads. Only by breaking through that veil of fate will we have a chance to see the true Terminus and obtain information about It."
"And at the end of the last simulation, I received a reward entry from the Life Simulation Game… It issued me a plan, a plan to pierce the veil."
"To pierce the veil of fate, I need to complete a miracle, a blade that can sever fate."
"And now… I think, perhaps a fire that can burn away the veil is also a good choice."
As he spoke, Ron pointed at the lantern on the table. The slightly dim golden flame inside flickered. A confident smile appeared on his lips.
"Since the flame of [Salvation] can burn the branches of the Tree of Existence, then it can surely burn the web woven by Terminus, the Finality."
"After all, no matter how much It has surpassed the other Aeons, It ultimately belongs to this sea of stars… doesn't It?"
"The Tree of Existence represents the essence of all existence and the cosmos. Terminus is naturally included within that…"
As Ron spoke, a hint of anticipation grew in his voice.
"This is an opportunity. This lantern will become the first bullet we fire to break this stalemate… It's time to make our move."
But contrary to Ron's confidence, Herta beside him was a bit hesitant.
She stared at the old, broken lantern on the table, lost in thought. She was not at all willing to believe that such a dilapidated Lantern of [Salvation] could burn through the threat to the entire sea of stars that Ron spoke of, breaking the veil of fate laid by Terminus.
She was silent for a moment, then said with some resistance:
"Your words are not enough to support us taking such a risk."
"At the very least…" She thought for a moment, swiping at the air. In her vision, a shimmering screen appeared. "We need to run a few more simulations to confirm the plan won't lead to a cataclysmic disaster before we can attempt it in reality."
"This is my bottom line… Overly reckless actions are nothing more than a pure suicide mission. I hate meaningless sacrifice."
As a meticulous great scientist, Herta, though usually arrogant and overbearing, always approached any problem with the most serious attitude.
It was because of this that she had come this far, becoming a member of the Genius Society and one of the most renowned scholars in this universe.
But Ron was clearly not a reckless person either. Even with the help of Herta and Fu Xuan now, he would never be bold enough to make contact with Terminus in reality and attempt any plan against the King of the End.
Before achieving a 100% success rate in solving all these troubles in a simulation, Ron would absolutely not consider taking any risks in reality.
After all, what was the point of having a perfect trial-and-error tool like the Life Simulation Game if he didn't use it, and instead risked his own life to gamble on an unknown possibility?
So he immediately nodded, unhesitatingly agreeing to Herta's request.
But just as he felt that everything was settled and they could immediately start the simulation and attempt a "golden trio" run to the top of the Tree of Existence, Fu Xuan weakly interjected from the side:
"Although I don't object to prioritizing the plan against Terminus, there's actually a small problem that perhaps we should deal with first…"
She took out a thick stack of interrogation records and adjusted the giant light screen on the wall, opening some divination records.
"Perhaps, we should first solve the trouble with [The Destruction]…"
As she spoke, her tone was rather helpless.
"Otherwise… I'm afraid it won't be long before the Xianzhou [Luofu] turns into a pile of ashes…"
---o---
And just as the trio of Ron, Herta, and Fu Xuan were discussing their battle plan for the next simulation and considering how to solve their problems, on the other side—
Bronya, full of anticipation, connected to the Herta Space Station's moon platform. Under the suspicious questioning of a member of the Herta Space Station's Defense Section, she stated her purpose.
And then, she received news that struck her like a bolt from the blue.
"You mean Lady Herta?" The young man with healthy, wheat-colored skin in front of her scratched his head. "But Lady Herta left the space station temporarily the day before yesterday. All the spare puppets in the station are shut down and not activated. We've completely lost contact with her…"
"?"
A giant question mark appeared above Bronya's head. For a moment, her face was a mask of bewilderment.
N-No, what's going on?
Temporarily left the space station, all spare puppets shut down, completely unreachable… What does that mean?
My… my big-shot backer?
Where did my big-shot backer run off to?!