Meanwhile.
Things were not going well for the Stellaron Hunters.
Elio's script... had collapsed.
It hadn't just deviated; it had suffered a maddening, catastrophic collapse.
In this universe, the debate between fatalism and free will had always existed.
But in Noldrei's mind, such concepts required little consideration. Humanity itself was a part of the universe's motion, and the universe inherently possessed the power to create even greater contradictions.
The cosmic tension in Noldrei's home universe far exceeded the scope of fatalism and free will.
If one were to consider the mere possibility of life against the material contradictions of the universe, then what kind of existence was a universe that gave birth to life and allowed for its possibilities?
When one debates whether the universe has meaning, one must first realize this: the universe has already granted you the meaning to have that debate.
What Noldrei carried with him were not the rules of this universe, but the violent collapse of contradictions that his original universe permitted. His thoughts and will had thoroughly permeated the depths of this cosmos.
In the eyes of the Stellaron Hunters—in Elio's eyes—the Luofu Xianzhou was no longer an Aeon, nor was it some celestial body in the cosmos. It was a mass of chaos, twisted to an extreme where no choice or direction could be discerned.
A mere glance was enough to affect someone like him, who observed the universe through his own personal abilities.
It wasn't that the Aeons hadn't glimpsed this being.
It was that the gazes of the Aeons had absolutely no effect.
It couldn't be called an evil god, nor an Aeon. It had nothing to do with subspace life, nor could it be called a special lifeform. It didn't even qualify as an Imaginary being.
He appeared to be a living being from this universe, but there was always a feeling that something was deeply wrong with him.
Right now, the situation on the Luofu Xianzhou was just that baffling.
Noldrei wondered why the Aeons weren't watching him.
The Stellaron Hunters wondered why the Aeons still allowed such a being to remain in the universe.
That was the current state of affairs.
In the eyes of the Aeons, this thing had no connection to the fate of the universe. Instead, it was an unbelievably unique creation.
In the eyes of Elio, the Stellaron Hunter, it was like a fog enveloping the Luofu Xianzhou. If you stepped inside, you would meet a monster that would grant you a gruesome death.
"So the Stellaron still hasn't erupted on the Xianzhou?"
Silver Wolf suspected she was listening to some kind of horror story.
In a real universe with Aeons, a universe filled with fatalism, an outsider that defied all reason had suddenly appeared?
And the gazes of all the Aeons had no effect whatsoever?
What kind of cosmic horror story was this?
"Elio, do you have any idea what you're saying? What is a terrifying being like that doing on the Luofu Xianzhou? You might as well tell us a new Aeon was born there."
Silver Wolf thought Elio had to be joking. In a situation like this, whether the Luofu had a Stellaron or not was meaningless.
"No, you've all misunderstood..."
Elio didn't say the being wasn't an Aeon. It was because he had considered a possibility that should have been impossible.
A wild, absolutely impossible thought.
"Is there a special possibility?"
"He must be some kind of Aeon, but to become His kind of Aeon, one must first abandon the very form of an Aeon?"
Silver Wolf rolled her eyes. "That's even less likely than the Aeon of Destruction committing suicide. Whatever that thing is, do we still need to worry about the Stellaron on the Luofu or not?"
Elio no longer knew what to do.
He could indeed see the fate of that being, but the problem wasn't the flow of fate it instigated.
There truly were powerful beings in this world who could guide the gods of the universe.
He relied neither on so-called observation of fate nor on any kind of steadfast faith.
In the eyes of such a being, all of existence was merely a stepping stone for the next great change.
"Kafka, I need to tell you all something you must pay attention to."
"In this world, there are truly formidable beings who can guess what we're going to do from the slightest of clues."
Elio was the one who had 'personally witnessed' the conversation between Fu Xuan and Noldrei.
He didn't know. He didn't know how Noldrei could be so certain of the Stellaron Hunters' actions. He didn't even know how that man saw them.
But Elio knew one thing: even within the fate he perceived, Noldrei would not give the Stellaron Hunters any chance to turn the tables.
He was a being who could achieve ultimate victory even while being completely transparent to him—
A God.
"That is a God. I have no way to define such an existence beyond the concept of God that I can comprehend in my own heart."
"It's as if I've seen a man who has walked out from among the gods."
"Not an Aeon. The struggles between Aeons have winners and losers, like an incomprehensible game of chess. But a chess game can ultimately be understood by mortals."
"Only a God... I cannot imagine. I saw His every move, but no matter what I chose, no matter how I arranged our people, even bringing an Aeon into the game was useless."
"You don't understand the feeling..."
Elio tried to explain what he had experienced.
He explained gravely, "He didn't use force or intimidation like an Aeon. Every action was a choice a human could make, all within the realm of our mortal imagination. Even if his actions faced setbacks, the final result would inevitably slide into the new world he created."
"It's as if... he knows what the world that life ultimately chooses will look like."
Kafka opened her tightly closed purple eyes.
She understood the unspoken meaning in Elio's words.
It wasn't that life chose that being, but rather that the will of a future life had descended upon this era.
It was like someone who already knew the final destination of all paths, able to create a new future in the most incomprehensible way, beyond the limits of everyone's thinking.
"I understand."
"It just means the fate of us Stellaron Hunters has become even more perilous... hasn't it?"
Kafka's words almost made Silver Wolf consider quitting the Stellaron Hunters.
'You mean our situation isn't perilous enough already?'
Silver Wolf had enough confidence in her own skills and abilities, but if she had to add such a bizarre entity to her list of opponents, she would have to seriously consider whether she'd live long enough to play the next new game.