"Did you hear that? Lumina is determined to practice her Path of Abundance."
"She's resolved to save everyone inside, even if I abandon my plans to leave Amphoreus. Lumina will still enter Amphoreus."
"Come on, tell me—what reason could you possibly give to dissuade Lumina from entering Amphoreus and rescuing the beautiful girls inside... no, from dissuading Lumina from entering Amphoreus on her world-saving mission?"
"If you can convince her to give up on this idea, I'll frankly retract every negative opinion I've ever had of you and elevate your prowess to an unshakeable first place, forever unchallenged."
Herta crossed one arm over her chest and extended the other towards Lygus, speaking calmly.
If that fool Lygus could actually convince Lumina to abandon her plans to enter Amphoreus and meet the beautiful girls inside, Herta would change her name to Herta Lygus in a heartbeat.
She wasn't joking. She meant it.
Of course, the odds of Lygus convincing Lumina were precisely 0%.
"Hmm..." Through their earlier conversation, Lygus analyzed the situation and realized his initial assumptions were incorrect. Miss Lumina remained the leader of the group.
So...
"Miss Lumina, there is no disaster within Amphoreus."
"Nor are there any lives within Amphoreus that require your salvation."
For a powerhouse of Lumina's caliber, discovering this truth upon entering Amphoreus would have been inevitable—a matter of when, not if.
Therefore, after weighing his options, Lygus chose to reveal the entirety of Amphoreus's secret to Lumina.
"Amphoreus is an operating program, isn't it?"
Before Lygus could speak these words, Lumina preempted him, uttering the exact words he intended to say.
"Hmm..." Hearing this, Lygus visibly startled, utterly surprised.
He clearly hadn't anticipated that Lumina could discern the essence of Amphoreus even before entering it.
It seems Miss Lumina's strength far surpasses what I had imagined.
With Lumina's presence, Amphoreus' mission might become exceptionally difficult.
But...
Knowing that Amphoreus is merely a [program], would Lumina abandon her plan to enter it?
"The moment I arrived at Amphoreus' outer perimeter, I understood its true state," Lumina said.
"Yet I still chose to enter. Care to guess why?"
As if reading Lygus' thoughts, Lumina chuckled softly and countered with a question.
"... " Lygus remained silent.
Ignoring Lygus, who was currently pinned to the ground by the Phantylia Kitten, Lumina gently raised her small hand, beckoning the Little Kitten closer.
At her signal, the Phantylia Kitten leaped into Lumina's arms.
Witnessing a Lord Ravager so obediently following Lumina's commands, Lygus, already silent, grew even more withdrawn.
He slowly rose to his feet, offering neither words nor actions.
"Amphoreus is merely a running [program], that much is certain."
"But aren't the various [programs] within Amphoreus also life?"
Clutching the Phantylia Kitten in her arms, Lumina began walking slowly toward the Water Altar.
"Within Amphoreus, they can leave behind a [footprint] of their passage, a [Remembrance] of their existence."
"Even if they are merely calculated [data], even if they are just deduced [programs]..."
As Lumina walked, her gentle voice echoed in the ears of Herta and Lygus.
"They still have the right to become [life]."
"..." Lygus remained silent.
It didn't understand.
It didn't understand why Lumina thought this way.
But it knew it couldn't stop her.
Therefore,
In this situation, Lygus fully understood that it had no choice but to let Lumina enter Amphoreus.
And then realize,
That everyone within Amphoreus was merely a cluster of [data], not life.
By confronting her with the truth and the facts, Lygus hoped to dissuade Lumina from her mission to save these "lives" and convince her to leave Amphoreus.
Lygus approached the Water Altar, preparing to open a passage to the Amphoreus's interior for Lumina, Herta, and the Phantylia Kitten.
"Good words, but once you're inside, try not to focus all your attention on the pretty girls," Herta said, nudging Lumina lightly with her elbow.
"What are you talking about, Little Herta?" Lumina replied with a genuinely puzzled expression, as if she had no idea what Herta meant. "My only goal in entering the Amphoreus has always been to save the lives within. What do pretty girls have to do with it?"
"Even if there were no pretty girls involved, I would still bring salvation to this Amphoreus, which is trapped in an endless cycle of calamity," Lumina declared earnestly.
"Cycle?" Herta cut through Lumina's blather, zeroing in on the key word. "Have you discovered something?"
"Oh, I see now."
The moment Herta asked the question, before Lumina could even begin her arrogant, condescending dismissal of Madam Herta's intellect, Herta understood why.
"No, you don't." Hearing Herta's words, Lumina immediately swallowed back the cutting remark she had been about to deliver.
Lumina had finally stumbled upon a question she understood while Herta didn't. But before she could even revel in her momentary superiority, Herta had already grasped the answer.
This left Lumina feeling somewhat disappointed.
"Hmph, programs run continuously, endlessly repeating—isn't that just an endless cycle?" As one of the creators of the Simulated Universe, Herta needed only a moment's reflection to grasp the true nature of Amphoreus.
"Hmph hmph."
Frustrated at not getting to do what she wanted, Lumina turned her displeasure on the Intellitron leading them.
"Hurry up! You're walking like a snail!"
Lygus immediately quickened his pace, reaching the Water Altar.
With a sweep of his hand across the altar, a towering portal large enough for several people materialized before Lumina, Herta, and the Phantylia Kitten.
"Welcome, Miss Lumina, Madam Herta, and Lord Ravager, to Amphoreus."
"May your journey through Amphoreus be filled with enjoyment, with..."
Before Lygus could finish his greeting, the group had already stepped through the portal into Amphoreus.
Seeing them depart, Lygus ceased his respectful formalities.
He stared calmly in the direction they had vanished, his mechanical eyes unreadable, his thoughts unknowable...