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Baiming was still immersed in the fact that her lifespan had increased—and that her main body's strength had been further reinforced.
On the other side, the Giants of Light, who had been guarding the three of them, were the first to sense the changes within themselves. Among them, Zero-I, the first to be born, spoke to 'Ruan Mei' in confusion:
"Mother, I feel a brand-new Path. It is brilliant and vast, yet somewhat ethereal. It is different from any previous Path, yet it feels as if it contains all of them."
"Furthermore, I feel a connection... a connection coming from Him."
Zero-I raised a hand and pointed at the amber crystal sphere, which was several meters in diameter. The other Giants of Light nodded in agreement; they all felt it, and they had all heard fragments of words from this slumbering deity.
Just as they finished speaking, a brilliant white light erupted from within the amber sphere, shining through the crystal. The sphere transformed into a miniature sun, radiating light. The glow was bright yet not blinding—a warm, comfortable sensation that reached the hearts of everyone present the moment they were bathed in it.
Herta and the original Ruan Mei exchanged glances. Herta adjusted her witch hat and asked curiously: "Does this count as a success? Or a failure?"
The original Ruan Mei reached out to stroke the radiant crystal sphere, her eyes full of yearning for His true essence: "Neither success nor failure, I suppose. While I don't know why the Aeons allowed His existence, there is no doubt they have forbidden Him from being born right now."
An Aeon—even if only an Aeon-fetus. There was no doubt He had truly stepped onto the path of metamorphosis, only to have the "pause" button pressed by an unknown cause midway through the transformation.
In Ruan Mei's eyes, such a sample was even more precious! It meant she could observe this exact moment of an individual's metamorphosis into an Aeon for an indefinite amount of time.
"Sigh~"
Herta let out a sigh with a strange inflection. "I really don't know if we made a profit or took a loss on this one."
In this wave of events, Madam Herta had suffered the greatest financial loss. The terrifying tide of Imaginary Energy brought by the descent of multiple Aeons had destroyed almost all the mechanical creations within the castle. Even the puppets were severely damaged; few remained connected to the puppet network.
"But why do it this way? I thought He would be erased directly," Herta said, pressing her hand against the sturdy crystal wall.
'Ruan Mei' thought for a moment, and a bold idea surfaced in her mind. "Herta, Ruan Mei—do you know the prophecy of Terminus?"
Herta and Ruan Mei looked at each other and nodded slightly. They had certainly heard of the prophecies spread by the Pathstriders of Finality that had suddenly appeared. The predictive abilities of the Omen Vanguards were real, and they usually prophesied across an entire Amber Era. This had led many factions in the universe to believe in the existence of Terminus.
"Then, at the moment when the entire universe enters its end—a Finality where even the Aeons grow dim—wouldn't that be the most desperate moment for this world?" 'Ruan Mei' attempted to describe the scene of the end.
Herta and the original Ruan Mei immediately grasped her meaning. Did the Aeons leave a seed of a miracle for the moment Finality arrives?
'Ruan Mei's' hypothesis was, to some extent, quite logical. Or at least, it sounded pleasant. The Aeon of Hope is not allowed to be born now because the other Aeons are still alive; they naturally won't tear their concepts away to give to Him.
But if it were the moment when Finality is about to arrive, when the Aeons grow dim and the world falls into its most desperate hour... perhaps He, representing the Light of Hope, could become the ray of brilliance that pierces through that despair.
By then, He would have descended with the power of multiple Paths, representing the purest hope and miracles. Could He carve out a new path for a destiny doomed to end? Perhaps only Terminus and Fuli could witness that.
Herta thought about it and couldn't help but say: "It sounds reasonable, but is communication between Aeons really that simple?"
'Ruan Mei' shrugged unconcernedly and said: "I just want to choose a reason I like because it sounds better. As for what consensus the Aeons reached at that moment, only they know."
"Heh, you certainly are optimistic," Herta laughed, glancing at 'Ruan Mei'. "In that case, come help me rebuild Herta City!"
'Ruan Mei' thought for a bit and replied: "Why don't you bring the Fire-source over to fix things? It doesn't have that specific function, but wouldn't adding a new module solve that?"
To 'Ruan Mei,' it seemed like a perfect solution. But Herta turned around and hissed at her:
"Hiss? I don't want a house full of weird transforming robots! Having the Space Station full of robots is already the limit of my tolerance!"
One look at the style of Herta City told you what Herta liked. You actually want to bring that grotesque robot style to Herta City? You've got some nerve!
'Ruan Mei' pouted. What's wrong with robots? Transforming robots are super cool!
Retorts aside, Herta did not bring the Fire-source back to fix the machinery. Instead, she summoned all the Herta puppets stationed elsewhere and assigned the repair work to them. Herta had more than just that one Space Station; she had puppets in many locations.
With hundreds of puppets working together, they couldn't restore Herta City immediately, but the necessary equipment and devices were soon repaired. Herta had actually been joking earlier; she didn't really care about the state of the city right now. All she wanted was to quickly study this Aeon-fetus and the brand-new Path.
Once the laboratory equipment was restored, Herta impatiently threw herself into verification and testing.
First were the six Giants of Light, led by Zero-I. After sensing the power of the new Path and the Aeon representing Hope, their strength received a significant boost.
Furthermore, the idea of changing the nature of light—something 'Ruan Mei' had considered but hadn't done—seemed to have actually occurred. Because of the birth of the new Path, ordinary light now displayed some very subtle changes, as if common rays had been touched by the aura of the Path.
Even the batch of Light Lifeforms originally intended for fabricating lies had undergone an evolution. They became smarter and more powerful. Fortunately, no troublemakers emerged; it seemed 'Ruan Mei's' early education curriculum for the Light Lifeforms was very reliable.
The entire species of Light Lifeforms welcomed a substantial evolution following the emergence of the Path. It was good news.
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