[Amber Era... oh no, there is no Amber Era anymore.]
[Since the year 2199 of the Old Amber Era, [Salvation] Ron, having returned from death, guided the Pathstriders of [Salvation] across the Star Ocean with his grand, vast, and irresistible will, cleansing all calamities from the galaxy.]
[The Holy City of [Salvation], New Belobog, became the lifelong goal of all followers of the Path. They strove with all their might to advance along the Path of [Salvation], exhausting their fortunes to make the pilgrimage. Within New Belobog's Round Table Hall, they swore the Vow of Vengeance, becoming Salvation Knights destined to smite evil, purge the wicked, and wield the Holy Light.]
[Then, under the guidance of the Holy Light, a continuous stream of pilgrims from all corners of the galaxy poured into the New Belobog expeditionary fleet. The vast fleet set sail time and again, purging the cosmos. Countless calamities and demons perished under the Holy Light, reduced to cold ash by its scorching radiance.]
[Originally, this was a glorious and magnificent epic saga of salvation. The Salvation Knights and Galaxy Guardians wrote their own leading roles in this epic, chronicling their glory and nobility as honorable Saviors—]
[In those days, they were the noblest beings in this sea of stars. They were humble, honest, compassionate, brave, and just. From head to toe, they exuded the unique purity of a Savior. When faced with those in need of rescue, they would rather sacrifice themselves to spread the light of [Salvation] to planets ravaged by disaster, illuminating the long-standing darkness...]
[But... everything changed.]
[In September of the year 2210 of the Old Amber Era, the New Belobog expeditionary fleet lost the honor it should have possessed.]
[For the first time, the once merciful and humble Salvation Knights and Galaxy Guardians showed all the civilizations of the Star Ocean their other side—]
[How did they win war after war against the calamities? How did they cleanse this sea of stars and bring countless civilizations under the rule of New Belobog?]
[These old questions were answered at this moment... The cannons of the New Belobog fleet were aimed at innocent civilizations. Their home worlds were exposed to the scorching Holy Light, and they saw the cold, merciless face these noble knights wore in times of war.]
[They were shocked, they were confused, they were enraged... They tried to raise the banner of resistance, to rally their people against a fate of annihilation, but the power of [Salvation] descended upon them, unleashing its own scorching light.]
[The Holy Light of [Salvation]... had judged them as sinners as well.]
[Incandescent white Holy Light flickered across the Star Ocean, and countless planets were 'cleansed' beneath its glow... The creations of their civilizations remained, becoming new assets for New Belobog, but the people themselves vanished completely from this sea of stars. Under the philosophy of "Pest Control," they were thoroughly eliminated, becoming new sacrifices for the great work of [Salvation].]
[That Divine Authority, originally meant to monitor cosmic calamities and protect the brilliant galaxy, had been twisted to a new extreme...]
[The Sword of Damocles of [Salvation] hangs forever over everyone's head. It will absolutely not allow any sprout of evil to appear, nor will it allow any evil the possibility of harming the Star Ocean...]
[The enemies who once drew the blade of [Salvation] were the notorious calamities of the stars. Then, it was the interstellar pirates who harassed civilizations. Later still, it became factions with minor disagreements with others, factions with arrogant attitudes, factions strong enough to potentially threaten others, factions that might turn toward evil...]
[The bar for what constituted an enemy of [Salvation] was lowered again and again, heading in an incomprehensible direction.]
[In their perception, everything in this sea of stars was tainted with the gloss of evil. Everything needed to be cleansed in the Holy Light of [Salvation]...]
[Only those who had truly undergone the baptism of Holy Light and remained completely unharmed could survive the New Belobog expeditionary fleet and no longer invite their attacks...]
[Unfortunately... there was no such civilization in this sea of stars.]
[After that day, the Holy Light of [Salvation] became impossibly strict... The mere existence of a single negative thought was enough to be reduced to ash.]
[Every minor mistake could be escalated to a betrayal of the faith and of [Salvation]. Every unnoticed error was deemed a threat to the Star Ocean. Even a simple verbal disagreement would bring down the thunderous wrath of the gods in the form of brilliant Holy Light, which would utterly 'cleanse' these so-called 'sins'...]
[The extremism of [Salvation] had devolved into terrifying destruction. The civilizations of the galaxy, upon realizing that New Belobog had become the new cosmic calamity threatening the entire Star Ocean, immediately mounted the fiercest resistance...]
[All civilizations, connected by the trade network of the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Star Rail network forged by the Astral Express over dozens of Amber Eras, united against a common enemy. Under the call and leadership of the IPC, they formed the Interastral Peace Alliance, intending to purge the influence of New Belobog and end this terrifying disaster that cleansed dissent with Holy Light.]
[But... they were powerless to do so.]
[Brilliant Holy Light swept across their battle lines. Beyond the dome of the sky, a lantern shattered, and a dark golden, scorching flame engulfed the eight directions, burning these defiant civilizations to nothing.]
[Although they too had the protection of Aeons, whether it was the IPC's [The Preservation], the Family's [The Harmony], the Xianzhou's [The Hunt], the Garden of Recollection's [The Remembrance], the Tavern's [The Elation], or the Genius Society's [Erudition]... all the Aeons fell silent at this moment, unable to make a sound.]
[Not a single one... was able to send down even a sliver of divine grace. Not a trace of an Aeon's power came to their aid. They could only be burned to ash in the dark golden flames, becoming new sacrifices under the iron heel of [Salvation].]
[Several days later, a voice was finally heard from the Aeons—one after another, they reappeared in the sea of stars, but their bodies were now stained with a new color.]
[The black and white of fate was bound around them, tying them up tightly, completely stripping them of their ability to act independently.]
[The threads of fate shackled their movements, only allowing them to open their eyes and watch helplessly as this sea of stars fell to a newly written ending—]
[With the Interastral Peace Alliance no longer obstructing them, the New Belobog expeditionary fleet swept through the entire Star Ocean with ease.]
[No civilization in this galaxy could resist their power... New Belobog purged the stars, bringing the entire observable universe into the palm of [Salvation].]
[All civilizations fell under the strict surveillance of [Salvation]. To make their own civilizations seem non-threatening and avoid being purged, they abandoned their former culture and wisdom, cowering on their home planets to eke out a meager existence. Their civilizations continuously regressed, completely losing the ability to gaze upon the stars.]
[The Holy Light of [Salvation] swept across the entire Star Ocean. The Cleanup Protocol bound all civilizations... All things were under control.]
[After [Salvation] Ron's authority descended upon the galaxy, the mainstream galactic calendar was replaced by the "Holy Calendar." The Holy Calendar had no eras, only a countdown starting from the year 3200...]
[3200 years later, on the first day of the first month of Holy Calendar Year 1—]
[Everything ended.]
[Game Over.]
Looking at the text on the screen, Ron's brow furrowed tightly.
The simulation was over, which he had expected. But the way it ended was rather peculiar—
After the 'him' in the simulation became the stringed puppet of [The Finality] Terminus, everything took a bizarre turn...
Terminus manipulated his body, using his identity to command the New Belobog fleet to sweep the galaxy and seize control of everything. Then, it used fate to bind the other Aeons, preventing them from interfering.
The final description given by the game was highly ambiguous... "Everything ended." This was a clear indication that this was the moment of Terminus's birth, the end of this universe.
So its goal was very clear: to control all possibilities, to steer the world toward its predetermined end, to ensure its own birth...
Ron could understand Terminus's goal... but he couldn't comprehend its power at all.
What a joke... It had single-handedly taken on almost the entire universe of Aeons. Perhaps only [The Nihility] IX hadn't acted against it due to its lack of a driving force. The other Aeons would have absolutely waged a divine war against it...
But they all lost... tied up like dumplings with the threads of fate, completely unable to resist.
Just like how the 'him' in the simulation had been instantly controlled and turned into a puppet upon encountering Terminus, it had effortlessly defeated all the other Aeons, not even allowing them to make a sound...
This was fundamentally unreasonable! Even if Terminus was overwhelmingly powerful, it shouldn't have been able to defeat all the other Aeons by itself...
There must be something wrong, something that allowed it to defeat so many Aeons with such ease... It must have exploited some kind of loophole.
What was something that all Aeons shared, a loophole that Terminus could exploit...
Ron fell into deep thought. The differences between the Aeons were vast. Their Path philosophies were different, their fighting styles were different, and many were in direct opposition to each other. Theoretically, there shouldn't be a universal weakness for Terminus to target...
The only thing they all had in common was that they were Aeons... Could their weakness be the status of "Aeon" itself?
Impossible... wait.
Just as Ron was about to dismiss this abstract idea, he froze, a sudden realization hitting him.
No, wait... why is it impossible?
When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth...
Since the only thing the Aeons had in common was their status as "Aeons," then Terminus must possess some ability that specifically targets "Aeons"...
Ron's train of thought suddenly broke wide open. He immediately recalled everything he had seen in the Simulated Universe...
The underlying Fate of this sea of stars, and the "Paths" that shackled the Aeons...
Everything clicked into place in an instant. Ron was stunned, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Could it be... the reason Terminus can do all this is by using the very Paths that make the Aeons who they are?"
"To use the source of their power to bind them... even the strongest Aeon would be unable to resist..."
"The Aeons control their Paths, but they are also bound by them..."
Thinking this, Ron's path forward became clear.
Although he still didn't know how Terminus could do this, he now understood which direction he needed to work in.
To defeat [The Finality] Terminus, he absolutely could not become an Aeon shackled by a Path...
Only by escaping the shackles of fate would it be possible to forge a miracle and save the Star Ocean!