The only exceptional genius was The Herta herself, so there was still meaning in him remaining a prisoner within this cage, researching and creating Irontomb, the ultimate weapon designed to target Nous.
This copsmos had no need for Nous. A genius' wisdom did not need a god to anchor it.
Geniuses needed the freedom to conduct research!!
With these thoughts in mind, Lygus once again immersed himself in the research required to create Irontomb.
As for the afterlife, Soul Society?
That was unimportant.
After all, Zandar had died long ago. His soul could not possibly have fallen into Soul Society.
Meanwhile, on Amphoreus, Fuli of Amphoreus, who had remained beside Cyrene all this time, completed the causal cycle and achieved ascension within a single moment, becoming Fuli. At that moment, she too sensed the changes occurring throughout the cosmos and could not help raising her head to look toward the stars.
More precisely, what Fuli of Amphoreus was gazing at was Soul Society. From the perspective of an Aeon, she could naturally see that Soul Society was a place capable of accommodating souls.
And this was likewise something she had never learned about through her conversations with her companion, Stelle, before she rewound time and became Fuli.
According to her companion's descriptions, Herta's research included the Simulated Universe, Solitary Waves Theory, and so on... As for technologies such as Soul Society and the Warp, Herta had never successfully researched them. They were technologies that should not have existed.
Yet the present reality was that Herta had already developed these technologies. That was sufficient proof that the changes to Herta's destiny were becoming increasingly drastic.
Thinking this, Fuli of Amphoreus turned her gaze back toward the world of Amphoreus and witnessed the continued cycle of reincarnation and the ongoing Recreation.
The ten owners of Soul Gems were all accumulating profound causality and memories.
Kaslana, Aglaea, Castorice, Cerydra, Tribbie, Hyacine, Hysilens, Cipher, Amphoreus' March, and even Cyrene had all acquired the ability to transform into magical girls.
Moreover, as the Recreation and reincarnation continued, saving the world had become a shared vision and obsession among them.
More importantly, magical girls were beings whose very existence was profoundly influenced by the mind... As their causality accumulated, their Soul Gems would answer their wishes, allowing them to grow stronger without end.
It could be said that, hidden from the eyes of Lygus, their audience, the combat strength of the savior Chrysos Heirs was skyrocketing.
They were merely waiting for the arrival of a crucial point in the future, when they would launch a magnificent judgment against the true mastermind and creator lurking behind the world of Amphoreus.
...
Elsewhere, although Aha, Aeon of Elation, was currently in poor condition and had become somewhat insane under the influence of Oroboros, Aeon of Voracity, They nevertheless sensed a heartfelt emotion of joy emanating from the universe.
The cosmos itself was rejoicing. More precisely, HooH, Aeon of Equilibrium, was rejoicing.
What exactly happened?
Aha could not help becoming curious. They extended Their thoughts to investigate and quickly discovered that a new region where the dead could continue living had appeared within the cosmos—Soul Society.
Aha immediately understood.
So Herta perfected the universe's mechanism of death, preventing the souls of living beings from falling into Nihility after death and turning into Sin Thirsters.
That was unquestionably a good thing and indeed worthy of celebration.
Immediately afterward, an idea arose in Aha's mind.
If Herta can perfect the universe's mechanism of death, then if I tell her about Oroboros' curse, could Herta cure an Aeon like Me?
Aha analyzed the possibility seriously and concluded that it might truly be possible.
After all, The Herta and Ruan Mei had once cured the terminal Entropy Loss Syndrome suffered by the stray bioweapons of the Propagation-affiliated Glamoth Empire.
One had to understand that Entropy Loss Syndrome was a negative effect of the Path of Propagation and was closely connected to the deceased Aeon of Propagation.
The more Aha thought about it, the more They felt that The Herta might truly be able to devise a way to resolve Their problem.
However, They were currently in poor condition and could not appear in person.
Perhaps They could dispatch a Masked Fool as an envoy to contact The Herta.
That's it. Phantasmoon from Planarcadia can...
An idea formed in Aha's mind.
...
Elsewhere, the Aeon of Harmony was also gazing upon Soul Society and The Herta at that very moment.
Xipe of Harmony desired The Herta more intensely than ever.
In Their eyes, both The Herta's wisdom and Soul Society itself were among the most precious treasures in the cosmos.
The reason was simple. Soul Society's birth meant that members of the Family would no longer be permanently separated by death.
They could even develop a method that allowed living members of the Family to enter Soul Society and speak and communicate with Family members who existed there as souls after death, while also establishing a branch of the Family within the afterlife.
Through this method, They could achieve Harmony between life and death.
Herta, oh Herta, hurry up and join the Family.
I truly need you!
Xipe gazed at The Herta with increasingly intense longing and obsession.
If the other Aeons had not been watching Them, They truly would have wanted to bind The Herta by force, carry her back to the Family, and make her part of Harmony.
Within the sea of stars, Nous, Aeon of Erudition, whose true body was an ascended astral computer, also opened Their eyes and gazed upon Warp·Soul Society. After performing countless calculations and still failing every single time, They finally sighed.
"Another creation beyond the circle of knowledge!"
The Herta had once again created a new miracle, one that even an Aeon of Erudition such as Them could not understand.
At the same time, a peculiar thought emerged within Nous' CPU.
If Zandar One Kuwabara, the First Seat of the Genius Society, had never created Me back then...
Then the person who created the Path of Erudition and became the Aeon of Erudition would most likely have been The Herta. After all, The Herta's research capabilities are simply too extraordinary.
After finishing Their reflections, Nous resumed Their calculations and derived a possible future... After The Herta successfully researched the Bankai of Zanpakuto and continuously absorbed Reishi, she reached her limit once more.
Then she developed an entirely new Reishi technology—the Hogyoku. Through the Hogyoku, she shattered her limits and entered a realm infinitely close to that of an Aeon.
At that point, she was even capable of forging an entirely new Path and crowning herself for a second time as the Aeon of Spirituality, creating the Path of Spirituality.
...
And Nous had seen the possibility of The Herta's ascension.
Meanwhile, within the spacetime of Finality in the future, Terminus, Aeon of Finality, who existed in a state of having both been born and not yet been born, genuinely saw the birth of another being like Them—one who simultaneously existed and did not exist.
An Aeon of Spirituality. This Aeon had created and ruled over the Path of Spirituality.
They were The Herta, the pinnacle of spirituality, the Aeon of Spirituality.
When Terminus saw the appearance of The Herta, Aeon of Spirituality, They froze.
What is going on?
The last time They had heard news concerning The Herta, she had developed the Plasma Spark Tower, adding a unique new possibility to the origin of Their own birth as the Aeon of Finality.
And now The Herta had directly ascended to godhood within the future spacetime of Finality!
What exactly did Herta do in the past?!
More precisely, what outrageous research project did she develop this time that caused her to complete her ascension???
At that moment, Terminus was truly overwhelmed by curiosity.
Thus, They raised Their head and looked toward The Herta's true self...
...
The future spacetime of Finality.
The Aeon of Finality, who had yet to be born and yet had already been born, existing in a contradictory state, turned Their gaze toward The Herta, Aeon of Spirituality, whose condition resembled Their own, and said, "Herta, how exactly did you manage to create the Path of Spirituality and accomplish the feat of ascending to godhood?"
Hearing the voice, Spirituality opened her eyes, looked toward Terminus, and said indifferently, "Aeon of Finality, since you've asked so sincerely, I'll tell you the truth of my ascension. In the past, I created a world for the dead, then used that special technology to create the Hogyoku, continuously allowing souls to break through their upper limits!"
"Eventually, after breaking through those limits an unknown number of times, the quality and weight of my soul surpassed the limits of the universe. Combined with my previous act of creating the afterlife known as Soul Society... I thereby opened the Path of Spirituality!"
"From that moment onward, I became the ruler of souls after death and of primordial spirituality."
"The god of souls!"
"My power of Spirituality has already begun extending into the past. Before long... even throughout the universe of the past, the name of the Aeon of Spirituality as its ruler will spread."
After saying this, The Herta, Aeon of Spirituality, silently added another thought within her heart.
In the end, I will even occupy the conceptual origin of the spirituality possessed by the first living beings, becoming the origin of all spirituality within the cycle of history.
Just as Finality is destined to arrive from the moment Terminus ascends as the Aeon of Finality, the Aeon of Spirituality will likewise inevitably occupy the origin of the universe's earliest spiritual life.
Terminus could not hear Spirituality's inner thoughts. However, after learning that The Herta had relied entirely upon herself to continuously push her own soul beyond its limits until she finally ascended into an Aeon, They could not help letting out repeated exclamations of admiration.
"Extraordinary. To propel your own ascension into an Aeon entirely through your own power."
"Isn't that quite simple?" Spirituality blinked. "Wasn't that how you did it?"
"..."
Terminus fell silent and merely turned Their gaze toward the past, staring at the fallen Akivili and Stelle.
Clearly, the origin of Their own ascension into an Aeon had not been so simple.
Seeing Terminus fall silent, Spirituality closed her eyes and called Herman's name.
Only then did she discover, to her astonishment, that Herman did not exist within her body.
This made her understand one fact even more clearly.
Herman was a unique existence. He existed only within the body of The Herta in the present, not within this current spacetime of Finality.
Herman truly is the most extraordinary existence in the world.
As Spirituality reflected on this, she carefully sensed herself again and discovered that her thinking speed had slowed considerably.
After only a moment's thought, she understood. This was the effect of losing the universe's "Genius Buff", causing the number of research points she could obtain to plummet.
Herman was gone, and so was the buff.
What can I even do now, here within the spacetime of Finality?!
Spirituality began observing the current state of the spacetime of Finality and discovered that four enormous holes had been torn open in the universe. Four terrifying apocalypses were about to encroach upon it.
The entire universe stood on the verge of being overturned and destroyed. She also noticed that HooH, Aeon of Equilibrium, had already disappeared from the spacetime of Finality. She did not know whether They had died or whether some other accident had occurred.
Even the Celestial Comet Wall forged by Qlipoth, Aeon of Preservation... had already shattered into pieces.
Under these circumstances, can I use the power of the Aeon of Spirituality and the Path of Spirituality to save and repair the universe?!
With that thought, The Herta began her attempt. She wielded the power of the Path of Spirituality in an effort to turn the tide and stop the Four Apocalypses from approaching and invading. Then she discovered that her efforts to save the universe had no effect whatsoever.
The hopeless and terrifying aura of Finality emanating from the Four Apocalypses merely trembled slightly, and the spiritual flames The Herta had conjured to mend the heavens were instantly dispersed.
Terminus, standing nearby, also noticed The Herta's actions and could not help saying, "It's useless... Within this spacetime of Finality, from the moment I was born, everything has already been falling irreversibly toward Finality."
"One of the reasons the Aeon of Nihility simply gave up... is that the universe's ending has already been predetermined. It is destined to lead toward Finality and cannot be changed."
"In the past, many Aeons tried to save this universe and change the possibility that it was destined to reach Finality, but every one of Them failed without exception."
"So the future of this universe is doomed beyond salvation?"
"Yes, and no."
Terminus said seriously, "As time passes, this universe will be drawn ever more strongly toward Finality—toward the possibility of the Final End, one of the Four Apocalypses."
"But you must understand that the universe's true present time is not the spacetime of Finality where you and I currently stand. It is still at its peak, with trillions of galaxies still flourishing."
"Within that great universe of true time, there are two extraordinary people who may possess the possibility of changing the final outcome that has condemned the universe to Finality."
"One is Stelle. The other is your past self, Herta."
As the Aeon of Finality spoke to this point, Their expression became exceptionally serious. "Both of you are saviors who may be capable of changing the future of the universe and restoring its vitality."
"The Astral Express crew led by Stelle of Trailblaze, if they make proper use of the special Stellaron within her body, may possess the possibility of forging an entirely new and brilliant future for the universe."
"And Herta of the past possesses world shaking wisdom. Her genius surpasses that of every other living being... Through her wisdom, perhaps she will eventually research a technology capable of saving the universe."
After hearing this, Spirituality slowly exhaled in relief. She once again raised her head toward the Four Apocalypses invading the universe, no longer worried, and silently thought.
As for Stelle, she's still with the Stellaron Hunters right now. She hasn't boarded the Express yet, much less had that special Stellaron implanted within her.
Her extraordinary nature hasn't revealed itself yet, but Terminus says she possesses the possibility of changing the universe. Perhaps she truly is special.
After all, Herman also regarded Stelle differently in the past and said that Stelle was an extraordinary existence within this universe.
As for my past self, The Herta, with Herman's assistance and the super buff World-Shaking Wisdom, she will undoubtedly be able to research a technology capable of saving this universe.
Spirituality deeply believed in her past self.
The reason was simple. Her past self truly had a system helping her cheat. In only a few short months, she had crowned herself an Emanator of Erudition.
She had even created the afterlife, Soul Society, then used the Hogyoku to continuously shatter the upper limits of the soul until, within the spacetime of Finality, she ultimately crowned herself as the Aeon of Spirituality.
"My past self will change the possibility that this universe is destined to reach Finality."
Spirituality spoke those words to Terminus with absolute seriousness and confidence.
"I look forward to it," Terminus said calmly.