---3:37 PM---
Fu Xuan: What is your situation? What did you see in the end?
---4:15 PM---
Fu Xuan: Lady Herta, could you perhaps lend me a hand now? Shall we go capture [Lord Ravager Phantylia] in the Gourd of Punishing Lightning together?
The text on the jade abacus screen stopped at these two messages, and after that, there was no reply.
Fu Xuan stared at the jade abacus in her hand, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow.
Why... haven't Ron and Herta replied to her yet?
She knew that the results of this simulation were of the utmost importance. Logically speaking, unless they had run into something as serious as an Aeon, no matter what happened, Ron and Herta should have sent her a message to update her on the situation.
After all... they still had a [Lord Ravager Phantylia] to deal with.
In about seven days, [Lord Ravager Phantylia] would set the Xianzhou [Luofu] ablaze, and who knows when after that, she would notify Nanook of [The Destruction]...
To prevent all of that from happening, they had to deal with this woman first... Fu Xuan couldn't imagine anything being more important than this.
So... was it the result at the end of the simulation that caused both Herta and Ron to be too preoccupied to notice the jade abacus, hence their silence?
Fu Xuan pondered this, recalling what she had just seen on the flashing simulation screen before her...
[The Guiding Spirit Lantern has been successfully forged. Its brilliant light shines forth, instantly tearing the boundary between reality and the void, revealing the essence of this sea of stars—the endless Sea of Nihility and the lush Tree of Existence.]
[A brilliant golden pillar of light strikes the Veil of Fate at the top of the Tree of Existence. The King of [The End] is tracing its way back from the end of the river of time, about to reach into the present to seize the Guiding Spirit Lantern that dares to scorch the Veil of Fate...]
[You see that the Veil of Fate is only a hair's breadth away from being completely broken. Therefore, without hesitation, you take out Lan's Light-Arrow of [The Hunt], aiming at the hole in the Veil of Fate that is about to be completely torn open—]
[The Reignbow's Edict lets out the weakest tremor of its existence... but even a tremor such as this is enough to decide the outcome, becoming the last straw that breaks the camel's back.]
[You drive the Imaginary energy between the Paths, pouring it into Lan's Light-Arrow. The arrow shoots forth in an instant, its sharp aura scattering chaotically and directly shredding your arms. The instantaneous pain nearly causes you to pass out...]
[As your face turns pale and you are about to completely close your eyes, you force yourself to remain conscious. Just before you faint, you see the light arrow explode upon the Veil of Fate in the sky, breaking through a single point along with the brilliant golden pillar of light, completely piercing the Veil of Fate...]
[Hereafter, you fall into a deep faint.]
[In a daze, you feel an extremely scorching sensation, a burning pain spreading through your body. You awaken in agony, but what greets your eyes is an endless crimson conflagration...]
[You turn into cold embers within the conflagration of [Destruction].]
[This sea of stars has once again welcomed its destined ending.]
[Simulation End.]
[Your score for this Life Simulation Game is—80.]
[As the Master Diviner of the Xianzhou [Luofu], you are worthy of your title.]
[In cooperation with Ron and Herta, you relied on the Reignbow's Edict to command the Xianzhou [Luofu]. The Luofu's Cloud Knights swept across the entire ship under your command, and all the Dens of the Luofu were thoroughly cleansed of enemies.]
[Countless fiends from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were easily captured during the Cloud Knights' encirclement after you pinpointed their exact locations before they even knew what was happening. They were completely unable to cause any harm to the Xianzhou [Luofu], not even managing a final, desperate struggle.]
[The enemies aboard the Xianzhou [Luofu] were almost entirely swept away, but the ringleader was not yet apprehended. Because of this, you conducted a massive search of all the Dens on the Luofu, but ultimately found nothing, failing to locate the whereabouts of [Lord Ravager Phantylia].]
[But thankfully, before the opportunity was completely lost, Ron found the Heliobi sealed within the Furnace of Creation. With their help, you found the hiding place of [Lord Ravager Phantylia].]
[You led the Cloud Knights to surround the location. Herta, an Emissary of [Erudition], came to assist. Together with you and Jing Yuan, you ventured deep into Cloudford and easily captured [Lord Ravager Phantylia], who was sealed within the Gourd of Punishing Lightning you had prepared.]
[Afterward, although you did not perform any other major meritorious deeds or contribute to the continuation of the Xianzhou [Luofu], at the crucial moment when the Guiding Spirit Lantern broke through the Veil of Fate, you fired the Reignbow's Edict. As the last straw that broke the camel's back, you aided Ron in breaking the veil that covered everything, completing a plan that could be called a miracle...]
[Though your power was insufficient, and your knowledge may not have compared to Herta and Ron, your decisiveness at the critical moment never wavered. You reliably accomplished everything you could, contributing your own power to the miracle plan...]
[Although your strength is not that great... you are in no way unworthy of your title as the [Luofu Master Diviner].]
[To ensure player experience, the simulation memory has been loaded.]
At the end of the last simulation, she had only seen the sacred pillar of light from the Guiding Spirit Lantern break through the Veil of Fate with the help of the Reignbow Arbiter's Light-Arrow. But after that, she had completely fainted, only to feel her body being incinerated by a scorching fire an unknown amount of time later, dying in the conflagration of [Destruction].
Therefore, she could be certain that in the last simulation, their plan had indeed been a complete success...
But... why did the conflagration of [Destruction] sweep over them once more?
Hadn't Nanook's normal consciousness been awakened by Bronya, who staked her life while carrying the lantern of [Salvation]? Hadn't he already, for all intents and purposes, become an Aeon on their side?
Why would he act to burn down the Xianzhou [Luofu]... Could it be that he was once again manipulated by the King of [The End]?
Fu Xuan pondered this. She had always lacked any real, concrete understanding of the King of [The End]; everything she knew about its terror came from Ron...
But if Nanook of [Destruction], after returning to a normal state, could be so easily clasped in the palm of the King of [The End]—who had merely reached out a hand from the far end of the river of time—and turned into a puppet on a string, then she would have a tangible sense of the King of [The End]'s power.
This was a pure and unreasonable power.
So... was it because the King of [The End] was so powerful that Ron and Herta were affected by something at the end of the simulation?
Thinking of this, Fu Xuan's heart couldn't help but pound.
At the end of the last simulation, she had been torn apart by the backlash of the Reignbow Arbiter's Light-Arrow, the excruciating pain nearly crushing her thoughts, leaving her powerless to see the scene that unfolded after the Guiding Spirit Lantern's pillar of light broke through the Veil of Fate...
But that didn't mean Ron and Herta couldn't see it.
So, since the King of [The End] was so powerful, what exactly was its true form... Would seeing it all affect Ron and Herta in some way?
One had to know, this sea of stars was not as peaceful as it appeared on the surface... In its unremarkable corners, there could be blasphemous, terrifying, chaotic knowledge hidden away.
Whether they were fragments left behind by an Aeon's creation or a creation of an Aeon itself, there were many special things that could throw an ordinary person's mind into chaos and drive them into complete madness with just a single glance.
Having been fortunate enough to have an audience with Nous and receive the blessings of the Lord of the All-Knowing Heavens, Fu Xuan was clearer on this than anyone.
In the Matrix of Prescience, she had, on more than one occasion, divined things she should not have seen. If not for the dharma eye bestowed by the Aeon that shielded her from the storm, helped her comprehend knowledge, and filtered information, she was afraid she would have long ago succumbed to Mara and would not have lived for so long.
Even the things divined during the daily operations of the Matrix of Prescience could be so dangerous, to say nothing of the strongest Aeon in this sea of stars, the King of [The End].
Could it be that Herta and Ron were affected by seeing forbidden knowledge, and are now unable to come to their senses, perhaps even in grave danger?
This thought sprang up in her mind, and Fu Xuan found it impossible to suppress.
She looked at the Cloud Knights stationed around her. Her original plan was to lead them directly to Cloudford after the simulation ended to capture [Lord Ravager Phantylia]. But now, it seemed that wasn't going to work...
With only Jing Yuan, it was impossible to defeat [Lord Ravager Phantylia]. Without Herta's help, she would absolutely not allow Jing Yuan to take such a risk alone.
But should she return to the Divination Commission to find Ron and Herta?
Right now, she held the Reignbow's Edict and was the commander-in-chief of this massive search. If she were to leave her post without a reason, neither Jing Yuan nor the Cloud Knights would possibly allow it.
So, should she push the matter onto the Reignbow's Edict...?
Fu Xuan touched the light arrow in her robes, a bitter smile gracing her lips.
The Reignbow's Edict represented the will of Lan, but it wasn't omnipotent... Jing Yuan had probably seen through her already, and perhaps even the other members of the Six Charioteers of the Luofu had noticed something was amiss.
Although they wouldn't dare challenge her out of respect for the Reignbow's Edict, she still needed to come up with a reasonable excuse to act...
How should she explain her actions...
Just as Fu Xuan was feeling helpless, still pondering the mundane affairs of the Xianzhou [Luofu], the jade abacus in her hand suddenly vibrated.
She was slightly startled. Her eyes shifted to the jade abacus, only to see new text appearing on its screen...
---4:20 PM---
Ron: My apologies... I was just chatting with an Aeon friend, and the jade abacus's signal was blocked. I only just realized the message I was about to send you didn't go through.
Ron: The simulation is over. The gains are sufficient. I already have a plan to resolve everything, and it needs to be put into motion now. Time is of the essence, so it's not convenient for me to linger on the Xianzhou [Luofu].
Ron: I will depart with Herta for the Herta Space Station immediately. However, Master Diviner, you need not worry for now. [Lord Ravager Phantylia] is no longer a threat. You may dismiss the Cloud Knights and let the Xianzhou [Luofu] return to its former order.
Ron: It won't be long before we return. At that time, be it [Lord Ravager Phantylia], Nanook of [The Destruction], or the one who is high above, all will meet their final end.
Ron: Because I don't know to what extent my Aeon friend will block the signal, there are many things I cannot explain to you for the time being...
Ron: You need only know this: do not indulge in the game any longer, and do not probe the future... Live peacefully, and wait for my return.
Looking at the text on the jade abacus, Fu Xuan couldn't help but feel a little baffled.
"What does he mean... an Aeon friend?"
She muttered to herself, momentarily unable to understand how Ron had managed that.
Wasn't Ron the Aeon of [Salvation] he became in the simulation? Things from the simulation couldn't be brought into reality. Even if he really did have a few Aeons he was on close terms with in the simulation, what did that have to do with reality?
Even if he chose to become the Aeon of [Salvation] the moment he returned to reality—putting aside the fact that the cosmic phenomenon of ascension from the simulation was completely absent—even if he truly became an Aeon, how could he have become so familiar with other Aeons in such a short time?
Fu Xuan felt completely lost, but after a moment of thought, she said nothing more. Instead, she deleted the chat history with Ron and Herta, tucked the jade abacus into her pocket, and walked out of the temporary command tent without hesitation.
Although the information she received wasn't much, Ron's words alone were enough to infer some thought-provoking things...
Don't indulge in the game, don't probe the future?
Ron is hinting that I shouldn't use the Life Simulation Game anymore? Could it be that there's a problem with the game?
Fu Xuan thoughtfully glanced at the Life Simulation Game's light screen displayed at her side—
The simulation rewards from the end of the last run were far too strange. For her, aside from two meaningless miscellaneous items, the game had actually rewarded her with a Gourd of Punishing Lightning...
If it were just an ordinary Gourd of Punishing Lightning, that would be one thing. But this gourd actually contained [Lord Ravager Phantylia]. The Life Simulation Game had directly rewarded her with something so unreasonable...
Could two of the same Emissary truly appear in this world? If she accepted this reward, what would be the consequences?
Fu Xuan didn't know, but even the best-case scenario was probably this [Lord Ravager Phantylia] breaking the seal and being released...
After all, a Gourd of Punishing Lightning couldn't hold a Lord Ravager for too long... If she took it out of the simulation, it would probably explode in the next moment, releasing the Lord Ravager directly.
But Fu Xuan was unwilling to waste this simulation reward option... The other two miscellaneous items were completely useless. If she had the power to completely crush [Lord Ravager Phantylia], perhaps choosing this gourd containing the Lord Ravager wouldn't be such a bad choice.
Therefore, she hadn't made a choice the moment the reward options appeared. Instead, she wanted to wait for Ron and Herta to arrive and discuss it with them before deciding. She had temporarily paused the simulation screen at the rewards interface.
But now Ron was telling her to be wary of the simulation game... Although she didn't know the reason, it was more than likely related to the King of [The End] they had seen.
After all, the only information Ron and Herta had that she didn't was the scene on the Veil of Fate. The conclusion drawn from that could only be related to the King of [The End]...
The King of [The End] controlled the fate of the sea of stars, and the Life Simulation Game could simulate the future. Could it be that there was truly some shady connection between the two?
Fu Xuan didn't know if this was true; she could only make such a guess. But now that the game's light screen was stuck on the rewards interface, it was a good thing for her.
No matter what the situation was with the game, as long as it was stuck here, it couldn't proceed any further. She just had to wait for Ron and Herta's return.
With this thought in mind, having already drafted a plan in her head, the now-departed Fu Xuan found Jing Yuan, who was waiting outside the tent, supervising the Cloud Knights, looking somewhat drowsy. She spoke softly:
"General, you may recall the troops..."
"I have cast another divination. [Lord Ravager Phantylia] has either already fled the Xianzhou [Luofu], or has been frightened by the Cloud Knights' formation and has gone into deep hiding..."
"Now is no longer a suitable time for the Cloud Knights to be deployed in such force... We can sound the retreat and return to our daily lives."
"There is no need to do much in the coming days. If [Lord Ravager Phantylia] is still here, she will reveal herself if she tries to act. If she is no longer here, then the Luofu will be spared this senseless disaster... What do you think, General?"
Looking at the serious expression on Fu Xuan's face, Jing Yuan's drowsy demeanor vanished. He squinted slightly, carefully observing her eyes.
But seeing her frank and open expression, Jing Yuan couldn't see through her. He could only believe her words with some suspicion. Half-believing, he passed down the order to sound the retreat and recall the troops...
And just as Fu Xuan was carrying out Ron and Herta's instructions, on the other side—
A starship, temporarily created by Herta using the power of [Erudition], was flying toward the Herta Space Station at an unimaginable speed. Its tail spewed brilliant golden flames, leaving a gorgeous trail among the stars.
To return to the Herta Space Station as quickly as possible, Ron had directly used the gift he had left for himself from before the reset. The flames within the Guiding Spirit Lantern shone brilliantly; the power of [Salvation] became the starship's power source, the burning reactor within it...
An existence comparable to an Aeon was personally providing power, while an Emissary of [Erudition] was piloting the vessel. What kind of speed could this temporarily created starship achieve?
On the cosmic scale, it might not be worth mentioning... but at the very least, through their joint efforts, this hastily-made starship managed to achieve a speed that the vast majority of starships could hardly compare to. Within half a day, it had brought the two of them back to the docking bay of the Herta Space Station...
"So this is the Herta Space Station... I have to say, this is my first time being here in reality."
Leaping nimbly onto the station's docking bay, Ron tapped the floor with the tip of his foot with great interest. A crisp sound echoed from the alloy floor, and one could tell it was made of a material far sturdier than most.
Herta really only pretended to be dismissive of her space station... In reality, she had put a lot of thought into its construction. At the very least, besides the funding from that little rich girl Asta, Herta herself had made certain modifications to the materials used to build it.
Ron could feel a faint resonance with Imaginary energy from the materials used to construct the station. This was clearly Herta's handiwork.
It was a pity... Though Herta's modifications made the station's materials unimaginably sturdy, it was still difficult to withstand the invasion of the Antimatter Legion.
After all, it was the Path of [Destruction], the one most skilled at destruction. The vibrating blades of the Antimatter Legion's positions, when used with all their might, could indeed cut through the station's walls. It was no wonder that in the original plot, this place was still breached by the Antimatter Legion...
As Ron was thinking to himself, Herta, who was beside him, also stepped onto the station's floor. Behind them, the temporarily created starship, having lost her protection, suddenly burned up completely, turning to ash under the brilliant golden flames, fulfilling its final mission.
She shrugged nonchalantly and said:
"You'll have plenty of chances in the future... After we've solved the problem of [The End], you can live here all the time if you want."
As she spoke, a barely perceptible smile touched her lips, and she nudged Ron with her elbow.
"How about it? When the time comes, should I arrange a separate office for you, or do you want to test the Simulated Universe with me every day and be locked in my office with me?"
"...Don't you know you shouldn't say things like that? It sounds like you're raising some kind of death flag."
Ron retorted. Just as he was about to chat a bit more with Herta, he suddenly frowned slightly. He gazed for a moment at the space outside the station and saw a faint, subtle conflagration drifting there.
"How can it be so soon... According to the simulation's forecast, shouldn't there be another day or so?"
Ron muttered to himself. He watched as countless soldiers of the Antimatter Legion suddenly appeared in the sky, one after another, rushing into the defenseless Herta Space Station. Hearing the piercing alarm sound in his ears, he couldn't help but sigh.
"It seems I won't be able to meet up with Bronya first... But it's good that we've arrived. In terms of the plan, it's not too late."
He snapped his fingers casually. Beside him, several Voidrangers, whose minds were filled with nothing but savagery, were instantly incinerated into ethereal embers by a brilliant golden holy fire...
And as these Voidrangers died, as if by contagion, new Voidrangers near them began to burn with a golden holy fire. The deep crimson conflagration that surged within their hollow shells turned into a brilliant golden holy fire, which was then thoroughly extinguished, bit by bit.
At the same time, on the other side...
Herta Space Station, space elevator.
A woman dressed in a spiderweb-patterned deep purple coat, with a gentle and serene expression, looking like a high-society lady one would only see at a ball, was gracefully playing...
The air.
She cocked her ear to listen. Although she could only hear the station's staff screaming in panic due to the Antimatter Legion's invasion, the hoarse screeches of the Voidrangers, and the piercing sound of the alarms...
But these chaotic sounds did not disturb her mood in the slightest. She stood in the space elevator, continuously ascending, her hand movements like someone playing a violin made of air...
However, the elevator's flashing red warning light and the piercing sound finally brought her consciousness back to reality.
She sighed softly and said to the air, "It seems I've arrived at an inconvenient time."
A screen of light suddenly appeared before her, reality being edited by someone, and on it, a pixelated, chaotic icon popped up.
"No, I think you've arrived at just the right time."
A slightly lazy female voice came through. "System time 23:47:15. You're very punctual, Kafka."
Kafka calmly waited for the locked space elevator to be unlocked by Silver Wolf and asked softly.
"Elio's vision of the future cannot be wrong... What was that explosion just now? Is that also in his [script]?"
Silver Wolf's voice replied clearly, "At [System Time 23:44:59, the pulse from the explosion caused a large-scale paralysis of the master control system]."
Kafka was a little curious. "Did you do that?"
"No," Silver Wolf denied casually. "The [Antimatter Legion] did it. They launched a full-scale invasion of the space station three minutes ago."
Kafka nodded thoughtfully. "Do we need to fight the Legion?"
"I don't know. Elio didn't say, so that means it's not important."
The pattern on the light screen flashed, and the space elevator's red warning light suddenly turned green. Before Kafka, several Voidrangers had just landed. They were searching for any visible life, preparing to completely destroy everything in their sight.
Seeing these Voidrangers, Kafka gracefully took out two micro submachine guns from under the cover of her coat and chuckled softly.
"Understood~ Then from now on, I'll take over the operation."
Silver Wolf: "Roger. Can you make this one a little more fun for me? The last few operations were so boring."
Kafka shook her head, indicating she couldn't help. "Sorry, today's mission is very boring: it's just to 'put' the target inside."
"—But if you're looking for some fun, I won't stop you. After all..."
Her eyes opened slightly, and a faint, marvelous excitement shone in her deep purple pupils.
"After all—"
"This wasn't written in Elio's script..."
She aimed at the Voidrangers before her. They had also seen her emerge from the space elevator and were now raising their blades, preparing to charge at her.
"It's all irrelevant..."
But before she could finish her words, the Voidrangers before her suddenly changed their form...
The deep purple conflagration was abruptly swallowed, and within the hollow shells that served as the Voidrangers' weapons, a brilliant golden holy fire suddenly ignited...
In an instant, these Voidrangers were burned into complete ash... Kafka's eyes narrowed slightly. Before she could react, she saw two real figures slowly walking out from the scattered ashes before her.
One of them was Herta, an Emissary of [Erudition], the true master of this space station... Right now, she was looking at Kafka with her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
And the other... was an existence she had never seen before.
He looked very gentle, and his gentle, refined face could win a person's favor at first glance.
But in his eyes... flowed a translucent, brilliant gold, like flawless topaz, faintly exuding a lofty divinity.
Kafka saw him looking at her with a gentle smile. He didn't open his mouth, but a warm voice echoed in her ear—
"I think, I've arrived at just the right time, Kafka."
"You said... anything not in the script doesn't matter..."
"...So, in Elio's script, do I exist?"