"What...?!"
Ron's eyes widened slightly, staring in shock at the text on the light screen. For a moment, he wondered if he had misread something.
He rubbed his eyes, shook his head to clear it, and looked intently at the screen once more...
The text had not changed at all.
He had lost... in an instant.
He had seized the initiative, made preparations in advance, and even unleashed an annihilating Holy Light using the Path of [Salvation] after it had completely devoured the Path of [The Destruction]. He had used the very essence of his Path's power to engulf the hand of [The Finality] Terminus as it reached out from the River of Time. It had seemed as though he held the complete advantage.
Theoretically, as a fellow Aeon, even if there was a power gap between him and Terminus, Ron was confident he could at least fight to a draw...
After all, the intelligence from [The Elation] Aha had prepared him for this confrontation. Although this Aeon was far too mysterious, and he had been unable to find any detailed information about it during the simulation—only superficial scraps—he had still had a long time to prepare...
With such thorough preparations, Ron was certain that if he faced any other Aeon in this sea of stars, he could guarantee at least a stalemate, if not victory.
After absorbing the Path of [The Destruction], although he was in the truest sense the youngest Aeon, his Path was already far broader than many others. His power was no less than the average among the Aeons...
With his careful preparations, a draw or even a narrow victory against Terminus should have been a matter of course. At the absolute worst, it should have been a minor loss, not a complete and utter defeat. He might have even been able to hold out until Aha had crushed [The Equilibrium] HooH and returned to reinforce him, driving Terminus back to its own timeline...
But... Ron's calculations were wrong.
No matter how much one schemes, no matter how exquisite the preparations, no matter how cautious the approach, in the face of an absolute disparity in power, everything is but a fleeting cloud.
Meaningless... utterly meaningless.
It was like a pre-space civilization confined to its planet. Even if its people underwent the most rigorous training, were equipped with the most advanced weapons of their civilization, were supported by powerful logistics, and possessed an indomitable will and cautious attitude—when they faced a true spacefaring civilization, all of it would become completely meaningless.
The most powerful weapons pale in comparison to a starship. When the muzzle of a star-destroying cannon is aimed at a planet, can the elite soldiers trapped on the surface use their firearms to shoot down the steel behemoth in the sky as it spews forth destruction?
That was Ron's situation now.
Even though his power had reached the average level among Aeons and he was fully prepared for battle, he was powerless to gain any advantage against [The Finality] Terminus...
Engulfing one of its arms with that vast Holy Light was the only thing he had managed to accomplish.
"Why... is it so strong?"
After staring blankly at the text for a moment, Ron fully came to his senses. He furrowed his brow, thinking hard on this question.
He knew just how many preparations he had made in this simulation. He also knew what a troublesome existence the title of "Aeon" represented...
Other Aeons were difficult to kill. Ron was also an Aeon. It should have been impossible to defeat him so easily...
As the master of the Path of [Salvation], Ron was the very embodiment of "Salvation." He was certain that the 'him' in this simulation was the one who most adhered to the will of his Path. Both he and the New Belobog he protected had shed their blood and sweat for the grand ambition of [Salvation], completely devoting themselves to this great cause.
Under these circumstances, Ron could never betray the Path of [Salvation], and the Path of [Salvation] would never abandon him. It would not let him fall into the same tragic plight as Tayzzyronth, The Propagation...
Therefore, Ron should not have been defeated so easily. There were only a few ways an Aeon could die, and even in a divine war, the outcome ultimately came down to the Paths themselves...
But Ron had not been abandoned by his Path. He still held firm control over [Salvation], and his Path had clearly not been devoured by another Aeon. No one had laid a finger on it.
Yet he had still been defeated... In an instant, he had become a stringed puppet in the hands of Terminus, a mere puppet.
It made no sense at all...
Ron ran a hand through his hair and, with a sense of helplessness, clicked the screen to continue the simulation.
It was impossible to discern what had happened from the current situation alone... Although Ron didn't care about winning or losing this particular simulation—the success or failure of one run meant nothing—the fact that Terminus had turned him into a puppet in an instant was deeply frustrating.
He didn't care about the outcome, but he did care about such an incomprehensible defeat. This failure had yielded no benefits whatsoever, not even a shred of intelligence on Terminus. It was completely beyond his understanding.
He needed information... Terminus could be suffocatingly powerful, but he at least needed to know where that strength came from.
With that knowledge, Ron could rely on countless simulations to close the gap between them... but if he didn't even know the source of its power, this long road would have no starting point.
After all, if you head in the wrong direction, you can never catch up to an enemy on a different path... In reality, the threat of Terminus was still distant. Ron had plenty of time to use the simulations to bridge the gap in their power.
He had to see how the rest of this simulation played out to make a judgment...
Ron thought to himself as he watched the text on the screen fade, and new lines appeared...
---o---
[The surprise attack by [The Voracity] Ouroboros left the New Belobog fleet heavily damaged. You exhausted all your strength to lead the fleet out of the danger zone, escaping back to New Belobog with the help of [The Preservation] Qlipoth.]
[But New Belobog is not safe now either... Threats from the Aeons arrive one after another. No sooner had Ron and [The Elation] Aha dealt with the threat of [The Equilibrium] HooH than the Harbingers of Doom sent a message from the unknown depths of the Star Ocean, warning that a world-ending disaster was about to befall New Belobog.]
[The letter they sent was vague, but it clearly stated that this crisis was brought by the extremely mysterious [The Finality] Terminus. They had analyzed its whispers and discovered that New Belobog was about to face an apocalyptic calamity.]
[You know that these Harbingers of Doom, obsessed with analyzing the prophecies of Terminus, never speak without cause. Before the Swarm Disaster of [The Propagation] Tayzzyronth, they appeared on the planet Duxing to deliver a prophecy of the coming catastrophe... What they say is never false.]
[But you do not feel much fear of an apocalypse—the Path Ron commands is [Salvation]. Before he had even ascended to godhood, New Belobog had faced a fated world-ending disaster. Lord Ravager Phantylia and the Antimatter Legion could have easily burned Jarilo-VI to ashes, but in the end, Ron still turned the tide, overcoming the crisis with the power of [Salvation].]
[Now, the Path of [Salvation] has grown stronger than ever, thanks to your leadership of the fleet against cosmic calamities and Ron's gradual mastery over the Path of [The Destruction]. The fact that you, as an Emanator, can draw ever-increasing power from the Path is proof of this.]
[A [Salvation] stronger than ever before has no reason it cannot save New Belobog, cannot save the home of its mortal life...]
[Even if it is a crisis on the level of an Aeon, you still have Ron above you to handle it. It will likely be all thunder and no rain.]
[With this trust in Ron, you began to reorganize the New Belobog expeditionary fleet, whose morale had plummeted and whose formations were in disarray after the attack by Ouroboros.]
[You cannot interfere in the struggles between Aeons. You can only diligently prepare the fleet, so that the moment Ron resolves the crisis, you can immediately lead them back out to sea, ensuring they maintain sufficient combat strength to continue the fight against the calamities of the Star Ocean...]
[Ron did not betray your trust. Three days later, He returned to the skies above New Belobog.]
[An incandescent white radiance flickered around His body, as majestic and holy as ever.]
[You went to seek an audience with Ron, as a friend, to ask when the expeditionary fleet should set sail, and to ask what the disaster prophesied by the Harbingers of Doom actually was...]
[But you did not succeed in meeting Ron.]
[After this return, He was like any other Aeon, exuding a cold divinity... He did not grant you an audience, nor did He accompany the people of New Belobog as He once had. Instead, He strode into the depths of the universe, ascending to another plane above this sea of stars, and settled within a dwelling of light.]
[This filled you with immense confusion. You suspected something might have happened to Ron, that he might be seriously injured and needed to maintain the stability of his Path to ensure his own safety...]
[You had many theories, but before you could verify any of them, Ron's will permeated the entire Path of [Salvation], urging all followers to cleanse the calamities of this Star Ocean, to eradicate all evil and darkness, and to bring ultimate light to the galaxy.]
[The previous defeat did not dampen the fleet's morale. Following Ron's will, you conscripted troops on a massive scale and set out into the depths of the Star Ocean with a fleet far larger than before.]
[Under the will of an Aeon, the New Belobog expeditionary fleet judged the stars, wiping out one cosmic calamity after another. Soon, there were almost no enemies left in the observable universe that could be called a 'calamity.' Looking back, the Star Ocean had been thoroughly cleansed. Everything was in ruins, waiting to be rebuilt, but there were no longer any external threats. It seemed as though everything was heading toward a new, bright future...]
[You breathed a sigh of relief, feeling proud that you had led the fleet to resolve so many disasters.]
[According to the Galaxy Guardians' Sin Level classification, on a scale of one to ten, these calamities were at least Level 7 or higher. Now, they had all been completely purged under your command.]
[With no more Level 7 or higher threats in the Star Ocean, you decided to lead the expeditionary fleet back to New Belobog, to let these soldiers—many of whom were generations removed and had only heard of the city through stories—return to the homeland they had never seen...]
[But Ron's divine will stopped your actions.]
[His will still permeated the Path, driving the soldiers to continue cleansing the Star Ocean...]
[Beyond these major calamities, there were also interstellar pirates who harmed civilizations. Though these enemies were weak, they still threatened the peace and order of the galaxy. Ron wanted them eliminated.]
[The average Sin Level of interstellar pirates was only around four, and their strength was negligible. Theoretically, they were not a threat that required the intervention of the expeditionary fleet. But since they did endanger the Star Ocean, you understood Ron's decision and once again led the fleet to sweep the galaxy, easily dispatching these petty thieves.]
[But it was still not over.]
[His will still permeated the Path... There were still enemies left to be cleansed. The fleet could not return.]
[Now, the targets were ordinary civilizations of Level 2 and 3... Their only 'sin' was having minor frictions with other civilizations. But Ron believed their sin would eventually escalate to the level of a cosmic calamity, and it was necessary to eliminate them completely.]
[You believed this was not just, nor did it align with the philosophy of the Path of [Salvation]. You refused to do it.]
[Your position as Emanator was easily revoked. Under the command of a new Emanator, the New Belobog expeditionary fleet set sail once more...]
[Their cannons were finally aimed at the innocent.]