But it seemed there was no way to solve this problem...
Ron thought carefully for a moment, rubbing his temples with a headache.
The card game with Aha, the Elation, was already a deduction of the future. He had, in fact, already deployed all the forces he could utilize in their most suitable places during that deduction. When it came to the final confrontation with [The Finality] Final King, he was completely out of power to oppose it.
At that point, the only force he could still leverage was himself... King against king, general against general. He would have to enter the field himself and personally face [The Finality] Final King.
However, based on the nature of [The Finality] Final King, it controlled the fate of this starry sea. As a being that moved counter-chronologically, it was difficult to tell how long it had been an Aeon, but its power was absolutely in a league of its own among the other Aeons...
After all, a being that could control fate would never be simple.
Even if it was born in the future, making all future events mere history to it—easily deduced and controlled—and giving it an advantage over others in mastering fate, its power would still be transcendent among the Aeons. It was by no means some trivial foe that could be easily dealt with...
Ron pondered for a moment before finally sighing and tapping the light screen in front of him, allowing the simulation to continue.
Regardless, he would continue the simulation for now and see what happened next. First, he had to face [The Finality] Final King...
Although there was little chance of winning, as long as he could glean enough intelligence from it, that would be sufficient.
There was still a long way to go. Ron didn't mind making trouble for [The Finality] Final King in every simulation. One day, this entity would be crushed by a Ron who had been fully upgraded with buffs. Thinking about it, that future didn't seem too far away...
Ron thought to himself as he watched the text on the light screen fade, replaced by new lines:
[The shackles of fate from [The Finality] Final King have become a significant hindrance to you. You are bound more tightly by the primal impulse of your Path, causing the backlash from the Path of [Destruction] to manifest sooner.]
[Within three days, if you cannot once again act in accordance with the primal impulse of the Path of [Destruction], the essence of the Path of [Salvation] will be drastically altered, completely consumed and annexed by the Path of [Destruction], transforming into a brutal Path dominated by [Destruction].]
Reading the text on the screen, Ron scratched his cheek and couldn't help but sigh.
[The Finality] Final King was truly a troublesome entity... He hadn't even truly encountered it yet, and it had already created such a significant problem for him.
However, Ron wasn't so helpless that he couldn't solve this kind of issue. Both of his divine authorities, "Galaxy Guardian" and "Vow of Vengeance," were powers that manifested to combat the disasters and evils within this starry sea.
Ron already planned to organize them to strike at the calamities still ravaging the cosmos... After all, the underlying color of this starry sea was ultimately bleak, and there were always villains bringing the brilliance of despair.
His recent action against the Denizens of Abundance was the simplest way to satisfy the primal impulse of the Path of [Destruction]. Next, he just needed to replace the Denizens with the still-rampant Swarm or the Living Planets that devoured stars. Any of these actions could vent the fury brought by [Destruction] and increase his mastery over its Path...
Then let's first try to completely master the Path of [Destruction]...
Ron thought pensively, tapping the light screen before him and beginning to operate according to his plan.
---o---
[You have successfully completed your plan.]
[This starry sea is home to all kinds of fanatics. There were the madmen of the Annihilation Gang who dared to assassinate an Aeon, and there are mortals willing to follow in an Aeon's footsteps, pioneering myriad worlds and spreading glory... There are always those who make contact with Aeons, but they are ultimately mere vassals, chess pieces in the hands of the player, part of the vast multitude of beings beneath the gods.]
[Like them, you are but one of the ordinary living beings at the feet of the Aeons.]
[But you live up to your reputation as a genius—as a mortal, you forcibly stood outside the chessboard in this plan. The interwoven web of interests became the right hand with which you played. You used Aeons as your pieces, placing them with precision, consuming Nanook, the Destruction, and reviving [Salvation] Ron...]
[It is hard to imagine that this was accomplished by someone beneath the station of an Aeon... Although you merely pushed the tide, and everything unfolded naturally, no one can deny your merit. Without you, this matter would certainly not have developed in such a way.]
The summary on the light screen faded, and new text appeared:
[After the revival of [Salvation] Ron, the complete Path of [Destruction] and the Path of [Salvation] came into conflict. If you fail to satisfy the primal impulse of the Path of [Destruction] without violating the philosophy of [Salvation], the Path of [Destruction] will usurp control and completely erase the existence of the Path of [Salvation].]
[The primal impulses of the Paths of [Destruction] and [Salvation] are worlds apart, almost completely contradictory. The philosophies of the two Paths share only a few similarities. To completely control both while keeping the philosophy of [Salvation] unchanged is a task of monumental difficulty.]
[But Ron easily found a simple solution—He embodied the extreme ideology of the "Sword of Salvation," unleashing the fury of the Path of [Destruction] upon the calamities ravaging the starry sea.]
[The Denizens of Abundance became the first stepping stone to test his blade... Once held back by the Xianzhou Alliance you brought in, the Denizens of Abundance died under the raging flames of [Salvation], reduced to cold, lifeless ash.]
[Ron has stabilized the balance between the Path of [Destruction] and the Path of [Salvation]... for now.]
"Ha, just as I'd expect from someone I acknowledge. Cooking up a plan like this from scratch is quite troublesome. He certainly didn't disappoint my efforts..."
Looking at the text on the screen, Herta lay lazily on the recliner in her office. She tapped the armrest with her fingertips in satisfaction, watching the light screen with considerable interest.
The Life Simulation Game. A wondrous existence that had suddenly appeared before her some time ago.
As an Emanator of The Erudition, Herta had witnessed many methods of influencing the cognition of others. The Fictional Historians she often dealt with were masters of this art, capable of altering the perception of an entire world with a splash of ink.
But after the Life Simulation Game appeared, Herta tried various methods to probe its essence, only to find that it was as if the thing didn't exist in the world at all. It was completely different from other methods that relied on Imaginary Energy or the power of a Path to influence cognition.
After a period of cautious exploration yielded no clues, Herta gave up completely, losing interest in investigating its nature.
As a member of the Genius Society, Herta was a true genius.
The research she had conducted in her lifetime, counting only her written works, was innumerable, let alone all the problems she had attempted to study, which were as countless as the sands of the Ganges.
Although Herta's thirst for knowledge was not weak, over such a long time, the number of unanswerable questions she had encountered was equally uncountable. For example, problems related to the Aeons remained elusive even after creating the Simulated Universe to study them. Thus, her mindset had long since calmed.
If she couldn't figure out the nature of the Life Simulation Game now, she would simply stop trying. When she was able to research it, she would pick the problem back up and solve it then... Herta didn't mind waiting for a while.
Even if that time was very, very long, Herta didn't care—this was the composure of a long-life species.
Although Herta was once human, having successfully reversed her aging and become an Emanator of The Erudition, she had thoroughly transformed herself into a true long-life species. As long as Nous, the Erudition did not fall and retract the Emanator's blessing from her, she would continue to exist without much pressure...
So for now, she just needed to enjoy this Life Simulation Game.
Herta had played many interesting games, but she had never played a future simulator based on a real future, let alone a game segment where Aeons were used as chess pieces...
This real-life game, which resembled something the hackers of Punklorde might create with Aether Editing, was very interesting to Herta. It had been a long time since she had played something with such enjoyment.
Reality had far too many considerations, making it impossible to be as unrestrained and reckless in trying various maneuvers as one could be in a simulation.
The Simulated Universe was her attempt to transgress upon the domain of the Aeons, but she never expected a higher power to exist... The Life Simulation Game completely met all her requirements for the Simulated Universe. It was far more useful...
However, beyond her interest in the game itself, what Herta cared about more was the other player in this game.
For example, Ron, who had managed to impress her in this simulation. Ron was simply too brilliant. Herta had only been in contact with him for a short time before she realized how special he was. Factoring in the player numbering system, she knew she wasn't the only player and immediately guessed that Ron was a player just like her.
And Ron's performance further solidified her guess, motivating her to switch from her lazy leisure mode to her work mode, seriously contemplating how to pull Ron back from death.
"After his resurrection... what does he plan to do?"
Herta looked at the light screen with great interest. A major reason she wanted to revive Ron was that she didn't know where this simulation was supposed to go next...
Ron had entrusted New Belobog and the Path of [Salvation] to her, but she lacked the intelligence he possessed and didn't know where New Belobog's true enemies came from.
Both New Belobog and she needed a Ron to advance the simulation. If she were on her own, it would be difficult to gain complete control of New Belobog and step onto the grand chessboard of the galaxy...
So... what was Ron planning to do?
Herta looked at the screen. The text faded, and new lines appeared:
[The Aeon of [Salvation], Ron, has returned from death. Nanook, the Destruction, has been utterly consumed in flames. New Belobog's Great Expedition has concluded, and the Knights of Salvation have returned in a great, triumphant victory.]
[Ron's return has given the Knights of Salvation an immense morale boost. Now, everyone in New Belobog has begun to celebrate his return with abandon. The entire Ideal City of New Belobog now shines with an inextinguishable light.]
[The city's neon lights and the people's cheers continued for days without cease. The masses rejoiced for Ron's return and eagerly awaited their god's decree to show them the path forward...]
[And Ron did not remain silent. The moment he returned, he drew the Sword of Salvation that had been suppressing New Belobog and pointed it toward the depths of the starry sea—]
[Under Ron's will, the elite of the Knights of Salvation were immediately reorganized. They received a new blessing from the Path of [Salvation] and formed a new faction: the "Galaxy Guardians."]
[Then, under Ron's decree, following the direction his sword pointed, the grand army of New Belobog mobilized once more...]
[Now, it is time to clean the starry seas.]