"You will transcend purity then return to corruption and hardship."
"Hmph, is this the so-called divine decree? Simply put, isn't it just a recitation of all my past, present, and future achievements?"
Under the silent gaze of the crowd, the conversation between Anaxa and Cerces, the Titan of [Reason], was also drawing to a close.
At the same time, this also meant that Anaxa was about to complete his mission...
Everyone understood this, so they left the entire area of the Vortex of Genesis to Anaxa and Cerces, not making a single sound.
"Oh dear, after all, thou hast [transcended the ultimate of absolute purity], hast thou left even the slightest bit of strength for me?"
These two always liked to say things that were hard for others to understand. Anaxa was still better; one could understand him after a little thought.
But Cerces's words seemed not meant for human ears.
However, it seemed she wasn't exactly human anymore.
It was quite normal to say things that humans couldn't understand.
"..."
After a period of atmosphere like the cheerful laughter between friends, Cerces suddenly raised an extremely crucial question.
"We, along with the World itself, are all born from the Remembrance of others."
"Then, in whose memory did the first Nousporist take root and sprout?"
Cerces posed this question with a sigh.
"The first Nousporist? Memory?" Hearing Cerces's words, Lumina suddenly glanced at Mem.
Others might not know, but Lumina could clearly sense the extremely dense aura of [Remembrance] on Mem.
This aura was incredibly dense, yet hidden so deeply that even Mem herself probably hadn't noticed it at all.
Lumina had never met an Emanator of [Remembrance], so she wasn't entirely sure how dense an Emanator's [Remembrance] aura was.
So she used Black Swan as a comparison here.
The [Remembrance] Path power within Mem's body was roughly equivalent to... well, equivalent to countless Black Swans.
It couldn't be helped; the gap between the two was too vast, and Lumina really didn't know what number to use for comparison.
Of course, Lumina didn't mean to offend Black Swan.
"Forget it, forget it, I won't let my mind wander."
After thinking for a while, Lumina was too lazy to dwell on it any further.
After all, who Mem really was didn't matter. As long as she was a beautiful girl, she would be my Lumina's... good friend, bestie.
Since she is Lumina's good friend and bestie, her identity doesn't matter.
Well... except for those who are vicious and heavily burdened with sin.
Even if such a person were the most beautiful girl, Lumina would resolutely refuse to become her good friend or bestie.
Lumina still possesses the basic morality a normal person should have.
However, so far, Lumina has never encountered such a person.
She has met beautiful female villains before, but a beautiful female villain so incredibly stunning that Lumina herself would be captivated? Lumina has never seen one.
Hmm...
Alright, actually, Lumina has seen one.
It's when she looks in the mirror...
At that moment, a "despicable" "Phantom Heart-Thief" who specializes in stealing the hearts of beautiful girls appears in the mirror.
This Phantom Heart-Thief has stolen the hearts of countless beautiful girls.
If there were an Aeon of [Sin] in this world, the one in the mirror would surely ascend to godhood on the spot!
So, who exactly is this "Phantom Heart-Thief" in the mirror?
Of course, it's Lumina herself~
And how can you call this stealing? This is clearly called "mutual affection."
Does "mutual affection" have anything to do with the word "stealing"?
Not a bit!
-
"Rejoice, Cerces..."
"I will sow the seeds of "Suspicion" in the new world with your soul!"
"...And now, the objective is complete. That is all."
A minute later, under the gaze of everyone present, Anaxa plunged his hand deep into his own chest and tore out the Coreflame of [Reason].
"Hahahahaha..."
Then, amidst bursts of laughter, Anaxa's figure dissolved into specks of starlight. As the laughter ceased, he completely vanished from sight...
Leaving only a single Coreflame of [Reason], slowly floating high in the air.
"Professor Anaxa..." Witnessing the scene, even though she knew Lumina would take action, Castorice couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness well up in her eyes.
After all, anyone would feel a deep sense of anguish watching a teacher who had been so kind to them vanish and die right before their eyes.
Yes... vanish.
Although she had watched Professor Anaxa vanish before her eyes, Castorice still had not a shred of doubt about the promise Sister Lumina had just made.
If Sister Lumina said she would save him, then she would definitely save him.
Sister Lumina would never lie to me!
Even if she did lie, it must be because Sister Lumina has some difficulty or has encountered a problem. If that were really the case, Castorice wouldn't mind at all.
At most, she might just say something like:
Professor Anaxa has some bad luck, I guess...
After all, Sister Lumina is so omnipotent, so powerful, yet Professor Anaxa just happened to encounter a problem that even Sister Lumina couldn't solve. Isn't that just a case of bad luck?
No matter what, this is all out of Sister Lumina's good intentions. Castorice will always side with Sister Lumina!
"Don't worry, there's no problem with Anaxa."
As if seeing through Castorice's thoughts, Lumina explained with a faint smile, soothing Castorice's troubled heart.
"Mm-hmm." Hearing this, Castorice's cute little face returned to normal as she nodded extremely obediently, just like a little kitten, making one unable to resist the urge to pull her into their arms and give her a good scruffing.
"Whew..."
Taking a deep breath, Lumina forced herself to restrain her itching hands. She lifted her small hand and gently opened it.
A gold-green seed appeared in the center of her palm.
"Here, Castorice, your Professor Anaxa is right here."
"Huh?" Castorice, who had been staring curiously at the seed in Sister Lumina's palm, froze instantly at those words.
She then snapped back to her senses and carefully examined the gold-green seed in Sister Lumina's hand.
"Um... this is... Professor Anaxa?"
Perhaps Castorice was just a bit slow, but she couldn't associate this gold-green seed with the highly learned Professor Anaxa.
"Yes..."
This time, Lumina didn't hide her voice when she spoke to Castorice. Everyone present heard her and paid attention.
Aglaea was confused by the seed in Lumina's palm, but she said nothing.
If she said so, she must have her reasons. Questioning her would only cause displeasure.
So, no matter how absurd it seemed, Aglaea chose to believe.
Tribbie and the others also said nothing, thinking the same as Aglaea.
Sister Lumina must have her reasons for doing this!
In contrast to Aglaea and Tribbie, Phainon chose to "practice as the only criterion for testing truth." He approached Lumina, looked at the gold-green seed in her palm, and directly asked a question.
"Um... Professor Anaxa, are you in there?"
Everyone: "..."
Although the others were somewhat speechless at Phainon's behavior, one had to admit that this was indeed the best way to test the truth.
Just ask directly.
If the seed replied, it would prove it was indeed Anaxa.
If the seed did not reply, they would simply wait for Lumina's explanation.
"..."
In response to Phainon's question, the seed in Lumina's palm did nothing but glow with a gold-green light, without giving any other response.
"Haha, is Sir Phainon questioning a seed that has not yet sprouted?" Lumina smiled at Phainon, using the form of address she had learned from Castorice.
Castorice did not find this way of addressing him problematic, and her expression did not change at all after Lumina's words.
After all, this was a perfectly normal way of addressing someone, and there was nothing unusual about it.
"Hahaha..." Hearing Lumina's words, Phainon also understood that his behavior was purely foolish.
He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Phainon's awkward smile at this moment was exactly like Stelle's.
All one could say was, is this truly worthy of being "partners"? Even their behavior was almost identical.
Without thinking much, under everyone's gaze, Lumina slowly spoke and explained about the gold-green seed in her palm: "Because Anaxa's soul has shattered and his body has completely dissipated, conventional methods can no longer revive him."
"If we were to directly fabricate a body to help him revive, I'm afraid he would die again in a very short time."
"So we can only use this method of nurturing a seed, allowing him to take root and sprout over time, and eventually grow into the normal Anaxa."
Lumina's voice was soft and her words were gentle. Under her explanation, all the worries everyone had about Anaxa's passing completely dissipated.
Anaxa's soul had shattered and his body had dissipated; ordinary methods would definitely be unable to solve this.
Aglaea and the others were fully aware of this.
Therefore, they showed no doubt on their faces at Lumina's words.
In fact, they still held the same thought: there must be a reason why Sister Lumina did this.
But was that really the truth?
Of course not.
The entire Amphoreus was just a mass of data, so where would Anaxa's soul come from?
Lumina's words were obviously meant to deceive them.
However, deception aside, there was nothing wrong with how Lumina was treating Anaxa.
Anaxa would be completely revived after the seed sprouted.
It would be a complete revival, not a data reconstruction.
After his complete revival, Anaxa would be a whole and complete life form, not just a line of data in a "computer."
This could be considered a small experiment by Lumina, using her "divine power" to help the entire Amphoreus "ascend" into life.
Though it was called an experiment, the outcome was already predetermined.
This was an experiment that absolutely could not fail.
Anaxa would definitely be revived; the only thing Lumina needed to consider, observe, and ponder was what state he would be in after his revival.
Whether he would experience any physical discomfort or if there would be any issues with his mental state, these were all things Lumina needed to resolve.
If no such problems appeared in Anaxa, Lumina would be completely at ease.
Of course, even if they did appear, if she could solve them, Lumina would be completely at ease.
As for the subsequent plan to integrate Amphoreus into the Galaxy, it was already a foregone conclusion.
As for whether the energy required to revive Anaxa and the energy for Amphoreus's "Ascension" were completely different, and whether that would affect the outcome...
Lumina could only say that the energy required for the two was indeed different.
But what did that have to do with her?
In Lumina's eyes, it was merely a matter of increasing the value from 1 point to 100 points.
Well... Lumina had 100 million points.
So, there was absolutely no need to worry about such things. To Lumina, it was simply a difference in the magnitude of the numerical value.
Amphoreus must "ascend" into life and become a part of the vast Galaxy.
For the sake of my beautiful boy... ahem, no, that's wrong.
For the sake of everyone in Amphoreus who has ever struggled to make a living!
Lumina thought firmly in her heart.
"Anyway, this seed needs to be nurtured for a while first." She shook her head, thinking no more of it.
Lumina inspected the golden-green seed in her palm and then handed it to Phainon.
"As Anaxa's student, the task of nurturing the seed is entrusted to you, Lord Phainon."
Lumina smiled gently at Phainon and entrusted the task to him.
The process of the Seed taking root and sprouting was not subject to any accidents, so it was impossible for Phainon to make a mistake in nurturing it and cause Anaxa's death.
"Um, Sister Lumina, I can also..."
"No, you can't."
As soon as Lumina finished speaking, Castorice understood what she meant.
Thus, she spoke up, wanting to take this task upon herself.
But before she could even finish her sentence, Lumina directly interrupted her.
"The best person to nurture the Seed is Phainon. If you were to do it, Sister Castorice, a series of problems might arise." To dispel the thought in Castorice's mind, Lumina began to spout a bunch of nonsense with a completely serious expression.
"So—Sister Castorice, you wouldn't want your Teacher Anaxa to die completely under your care, would you?"
Lumina's words sounded a bit off, but no one present paid any attention to it.
"Hmm... Alright." Hearing this, Castorice didn't dwell on it any further and nodded with great earnestness. "Sister Lumina, I understand."
"Mm-hmm." Seeing this, Lumina nodded in great satisfaction.
The specific reason had absolutely nothing to do with what Lumina had just said.
It was simply a matter of keeping men and women separate.
Although Anaxa was Castorice's teacher, he was ultimately still a man.
And as a woman, Castorice was naturally unfit to perform such a task.
Though it was no big deal, why entrust it to Castorice when Phainon was available?
Lumina understood perfectly well the principle of simply avoiding any suspicion.
Hmm...
Of course, the most important reason was...
Lumina was afraid that this matter would affect Castorice's time...