---o---
What is this?
Looking at the sudden scene on the light screen, Ron couldn't help but be slightly startled. For a moment, an incredulous feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart.
He had actually seen this kind of reality-shattering situation before—at the end of the last simulation, when he had personally entered the simulation and was climbing the Path of [Destruction], he had witnessed such a scene...
This meant that the boundary of reality was being shattered. The inner world of the Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Tree was about to manifest before his eyes—
[Lord Ravager Phantylia] was absolutely incapable of shattering this boundary. Ron was utterly convinced of this fact.
As an Emanator... forget just one Phantylia, even if all the Emanators of [The Destruction] were present, they would still be powerless to shatter this boundary, to truly set foot on the branches of the Imaginary Tree, and begin the ascent up the branches that represented all of reality...
After all, the only reason Ron was able to go against the current and climb the Path of [Destruction] was because the gradually forming Path of [Salvation] was constantly providing him with power...
Climbing the Imaginary Tree is unequivocally a feat of Aeon-level power. Without the support of an Aeon's might, no one could ascend that world tree.
And Phantylia didn't look like she was trying to shatter the boundary of reality to reach the Imaginary Tree... It was as if something from the inner world was reaching out its hand toward reality.
Ron frowned slightly, watching the light screen before him thoughtfully.
The scene on the screen continued to play. The reality before Phantylia shattered, piece by piece, like a broken mirror. The illusory fragments of reality fell, "burning" into motes of nothingness in mid-air, dissolving completely into the void.
And after reality shattered, a long, abstract, and illusory road gradually appeared... A branch of the Imaginary Tree manifested before Phantylia. To step onto this slender branch of a Path, there was no telling where one might climb, what part of the Imaginary Tree one might reach.
The turquoise flames surrounding Phantylia flickered erratically. Her eyes were filled with suspicion and uncertainty as she looked at the shattered reality before her, at this branch of a Path that gradually extended into the endless void. For a moment, her heart was filled with doubt.
What... is going on?
With this thought, Phantylia carefully observed the shattered reality before her and cautiously lifted her foot—
And then turned to run.
As the one and only Lord Ravager who lived in constant fear of [The Destruction], who, while attempting to bring [Destruction] to other civilizations, also had to consider how to survive the indiscriminate annihilation of her own boss, Phantylia could definitely be called one of the most cautious Lord Ravagers...
Or perhaps it wasn't caution, but simply a fear of death—but regardless, Phantylia would absolutely not act like an idiot and step onto this road to damnation when faced with a situation that seemed completely incomprehensible...
You know, curiosity killed the cat.
Phantylia hadn't lived long enough... If you had to ask how long she wanted to live, it would be at least until the end of the universe, plus another hundred million years, right?
At a time like this, who cared about some Ambrosial Arbor... Running first was the only way!
With this thought, Phantylia immediately turned and took a step, preparing to make a run for it in that very instant.
But...
"Thud."
A subtle, deep sound came from within that shattered reality, echoing throughout the entire grotto-heaven of the Scalegorge Waterscape.
The moment this dull sound echoed in Phantylia's ears, she felt an immense pain. The flickering turquoise flames all over her body began to tremble violently. Countless turquoise flames were shaken loose from her body by this sound, turning into thin wisps of fire... but this was only the beginning.
"Thud."
The sound continued, like the beating of a drum, or like weights being placed on a wooden scale... The stars quietly shifted into place, and thousands of points of starlight were woven into a peculiar pattern. The light between the stars intertwined, weaving into countless fine lines of starlight, forming a vast, intricate net.
"Thud!"
It was like a judge in a courtroom slamming down their gavel, settling the final verdict, pronouncing judgment upon Phantylia's future...
Gilded Imaginary Energy manifested as a flying arrow and pierced through Phantylia's vessel in an instant. This vessel, taken from an innocent Pearl-Guardian, was incinerated by the gilded Imaginary Energy in that moment. All that remained was a ball of turquoise flame, trembling and floating out. Under this merciless pressure, it couldn't even maintain its own form. Occasional sparks of fire flew off, only to be ground into complete and utter nothingness in the nearly stagnant air.
In the inner world revealed after reality had shattered, a hazy figure emerged from the origin of the Imaginary Tree's branches and walked toward the edge. In Their hand, They held a set of scales, and They were placing a golden weight upon it, intending to level the sinking scale pan.
The air suddenly seemed to grow hot. A viscous wind wrapped around Phantylia's illusory, fiery form, kneading it at will under the pressure, molding it into different shapes.
"Equilibrium..." a low, emotionless voice whispered. "The universe... should be... in equilibrium..." One echo after another joined the whisper, like a symphony.
But the Aeon holding the scales did not speak. The voices merely manifested around Them, speaking in accordance with Their will.
Phantylia thrashed her body in terror. As an intangible Heliobus, she should have been the one most able to escape restraints and pass through obstacles, but at this moment, she was utterly powerless to do anything she wanted.
The turquoise light on her body flickered violently. She could no longer suppress the thoughts surging from the bottom of her heart and couldn't help but speak:
"Equi... librium..."
"Yes..." More voices echoed in this place. "Equilibrium..."
"[The Equilibrium] will give you a trial... For the balance of all worlds... contribute your power..."
The layered voices echoed ceaselessly, like ten thousand people chanting in a vast, empty valley:
"Ignite the Xianzhou [Luofu]... bring destruction upon it..."
"Prevent these changes that should not be..."
The turquoise flame that was Phantylia trembled under the pressure of these layered voices. She couldn't even utter a single word. Manipulated by Them, she opened her mouth and agreed to this errand.
"...Yes... Equilibrium..."
The moment her words fell, the being from the origin of the Path, beyond the shattered reality, turned and left without the slightest hesitation. The viscous, hot wind also vanished at that moment. Phantylia was free once more, and she watched as the shattered reality was mended bit by bit by a flow of gilded heat, returning to its original state once again.
As for Phantylia's illusory body—the ball of turquoise flame—it crashed to the ground as if under immense pressure. The ball of turquoise flame slammed into the ground, exploding into scattered turquoise embers.
And Phantylia's entire being... the entire ball of turquoise flame was flickering erratically. Faintly, one could hear the rapid panting coming from within the flame...
This voice was filled with boundless terror. Phantylia's body disintegrated bit by bit under this fear. A few slightly larger embers, much bigger than the fine sparks from before, landed on the silent main root of the Ambrosial Arbor, burning with a momentary dark purple flame before finally sinking into the Arbor's root and becoming a dark point of light.
And Phantylia herself gradually calmed down from her state of extreme terror. The flickering ball of turquoise flame slowly became tranquil, no longer being forcibly split apart by intense emotions. It returned to its original, solid form...
She was silent for a long time. Then, she floated up from the ground, took several reluctant glances at the Ambrosial Arbor's main root, but ultimately flew up with grim determination, leaving the Scalegorge Waterscape.
---o---
At this point, the image on the light screen froze and slowly faded away.
Seeing the scene on the screen, Ron couldn't help but frown.
Herta, at his side, also had a grim expression. Her tone was stern as she said:
"Who was that... HooH of [The Equilibrium]?"
Ron was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Indeed, it was Them... An Aeon who is always holding a set of scales, constantly paying attention to the markers on the weights, could only be HooH of [The Equilibrium]..."
As he spoke, Ron sighed softly.
"How did They get involved..."
In truth, Ron had long known that it was absolutely impossible for Phantylia to be willing to sacrifice her own life just to ignite the Xianzhou [Luofu], to burn this giant ecological ship to a pile of fine white ash.
There had to be another existence behind this... Ron initially thought it was Nanook of [The Destruction]. After all, Phantylia was Nanook's Emanator. It would be perfectly logical for her to carry out Nanook's will.
But Ron never expected his guess to be wrong... Whether Nanook of [The Destruction] was related to this matter was still hard to say, but the existence that caused Phantylia to be willing to sacrifice her own life to completely burn down the entire Xianzhou [Luofu] was clearly not Nanook.
Why would HooH of [The Equilibrium] get involved in this... or rather, what room was there for Them to participate at all?
Isn't that fellow always hiding in the dark corners of the cosmos, secretly manipulating the orbits of the stars to maintain the fragile balance of this universe?
Ron was completely baffled... He could guess at various possibilities, for example, the Xianzhou [Luofu] coming to Jarilo-VI had caused some special developments in certain matters, which might have affected the balance that HooH pursued. But even so, They shouldn't have to personally intervene...
This old coot was the most insidious of schemers. In a previous simulation, Ron had already fought a round with [The Equilibrium], and he knew just how treacherous this fellow was—
You have to remember, in that simulation, HooH of [The Equilibrium] was practically the final BOSS... Although after Them there was still Terminus, the Finality, who was impossible to beat, HooH of [The Equilibrium] could still be considered an incredibly tough opponent.
In that simulation, Ron had relied on the help of Aha of [The Elation] to utterly defeat that insidious old bastard who was willing to emerge from the shadows. But this time, Ron wasn't an Aeon...
What a pain...
Ron rubbed his temples, a headache brewing. The strongest enemy he had anticipated for this simulation was just Phantylia, a Lord Ravager, at the Emanator level at most. He never thought he would have to face an Aeon, to face the existence of HooH of [The Equilibrium]...
Oh well, he could only roll with the punches.
Ron sighed softly in his heart—HooH of [The Equilibrium] it is. In the end, They are just an Aeon.
The goal for this simulation is simple: just complete the first phase of the plan and explore how to save the Xianzhou [Luofu].
If it's truly impossible to complete in one go, Ron would always have the chance to activate the "Way of Salvation" trait, become an Aeon, and fight a round with HooH of [The Equilibrium] to buy time for Herta's research and the Xianzhou [Luofu].
Although Ron would surely be easily defeated by HooH of [The Equilibrium] after a short while, he should at least be able to hold out for some time... That amount of time could be very important, enough for Herta to complete the first stage of the plan and research the "Blade" capable of piercing the "veil of fate."
After all, there was still a full half a month left. It wasn't yet time to be helpless and at his wits' end...
With this thought, Ron clicked on the light screen before him. He watched the image on the screen fade, and a new line of text appeared...