Interastral Peace Entertainment dispatched all of its reporters to search for clues related to the new Aeon, the Aeon of Spirituality.
Even the celebrity host Owlbert was sent out to search for clues about the Aeon of Spirituality.
The faction of Enigmata, the History Fictionologists, were likewise discussing exactly who had completed their ascension.
After endless discussion, the History Fictionologists represented by Litost eventually reached a conclusion.
The one who ascended was most likely someone with an extraordinarily powerful soul. After all, the universe itself had already informed them that the ascender had created the Path of Spirituality, a Path related to souls.
And within this universe, whose soul was the strongest?
The heliobus race!
Wait. Could it be some ancient member of the heliobus race?!
By the end of their discussion, the History Fictionologists had locked their attention onto the heliobus race.
...
As one of the oldest beings among the heliobi, ancient enough to be mentioned in the same breath as the Flint Emperor, Lord Ravager Phantylia was still recuperating from her severe injuries. When she learned from the universe itself that a new Aeon, the Aeon of Spirituality, had been born, she was completely dumbfounded.
A new Aeon?!
The Path They created is the Path of Spirituality, related to the strength of the soul. Who exactly could have created such a Path?!
And there's another issue. Within this universe, the beings with the deepest understanding of souls are the heliobi, yet very few great heliobi still exist today.
In fact, you could say that I'm the only great heliobus still in a complete state. The others have either been sealed away or shattered.
Could it be that the ascender wasn't a heliobus at all, but someone else... Yet are there really any other beings in this universe who have conducted such deep research into souls?
Phantylia sank into thought, racking her brain over and over, yet no matter how hard she pondered, she could not figure out the ascender's identity.
Eventually, Phantylia noticed her phone vibrating. She opened it and discovered that the Lord Ravagers' group chat had become extraordinarily lively.
The unread messages had already maxed out at 999+.
Phantylia scrolled upward through the chat history and saw that Lord Ravager Asat Pramad had been the first to speak.
"The universe has welcomed yet another newborn god, and one who governs the concept of spirituality at that. This is highly unusual."
"After all, when I witnessed our Lord Nanook ascend on Adlivun, then challenged our Lord Nanook and failed before ultimately being recruited by Them, I once asked our Lord how many Aeons would ultimately be born within the universe."
"At the time, our Lord said that They would be the second-to-last Aeon born in the cosmos. They were the penultimate one, while the final Aeon to be born would be the Aeon of Finality."
"But now, something has changed... The universe has welcomed an Aeon of Spirituality!"
Zephyro: "So what if there's a new change? The birth of an Aeon of Spirituality cannot alter the final outcome. Everything will still be destroyed."
Zephyro: "By the way, Celenova, your Antimatter Legion spans billions of galaxies across the cosmos. Do you know who exactly the ascender is?"
Celenova: "The moment the universe informed me that the Aeon of Spirituality had completed Their ascension, I mobilized the entire Legion, countless Legion soldiers, and even the Annihilation Gang of Destruction... Yet we still couldn't uncover even the slightest clue about the ascender. It's almost as though the person who created the Path of Spirituality doesn't belong to this era at all."
Asat Pramad: "We can call upon our Lord and ask Them to tell us who the ascender is. I also believe our Lord will tell us. After all, only once we have information on the ascender can we make plans to bring destruction upon that ascender..."
After finishing the chat history, Phantylia immediately posted in the Lord Ravagers' group chat, "I agree with Asat Pramad."
Zephyro: "Agreed."
Celenova: "Agreed."
Luxbane/Archforger: "+1"
Thus, the Lord Ravagers began using a special method to call upon their Lord of Destruction, Nanook.
Nanook, however, did not respond immediately. At that very moment, Nanook Themself had also been stunned by the message from the universe.
How could an Aeon of Spirituality have been born?!
Was this caused by HooH of Equilibrium?
With that thought, Nanook turned Their gaze toward the universe itself—or, more precisely, toward HooH, who had merged with the universe—only to discover that HooH's consciousness was also radiating astonishment.
If HooH wasn't responsible for the birth of the Aeon of Spirituality, then what was?!
Nanook began spreading the perception of the Path of Destruction, the senses of the Aeon of Destruction, and quickly discovered an astonishing fact.
The Aeon of Spirituality did not exist in this era.
Nanook was able to determine this because the Path of Destruction itself could place a mark of destruction upon every living being in this era and even upon the universe itself.
Yet the Aeon of Spirituality could not be marked, which was enough to prove that They did not exist in this era.
If They don't exist in the present, then They must exist in the future. Thinking this, Nanook continued expanding Their perception toward the future, toward the spacetime of Finality.
Before long, Nanook sensed the true body of the Aeon of Spirituality. It was Herta?!
The Herta became an Aeon in the future and created the Path of Spirituality?!
And judging by the looks of it, she already tried to stop the arrival of the Four Apocalypses, but failed.
Nanook froze at the sight, though They quickly recovered.
Aeons possessed the concept of once proven, forever proven.
Since The Herta created the Path of Spirituality and became the Aeon of Spirituality within the future spacetime of Finality, then The Herta of the past naturally became an anchor for the Aeon of Spirituality as well, allowing the concept of the Aeon of Spirituality to spread into the present era.
Moreover, the existence of the Aeon of Spirituality, had also given The Herta herself a trump card.
Just as Terminus of Finality could wield Their mighty power to reverse spacetime, Spirituality·The Herta could likewise send down the power of an Aeon from the spacetime of Finality, causing The Herta's strength in the true present spacetime to skyrocket!
At present, The Herta had already become the strongest existence beneath the Aeons in this era. She could even clash with an Aeon, although... only clash with one.
After all, the Aeon of Spirituality did not exist in this era. Her true body still remained in the future.
Even so, if The Herta of the present era were killed, her spirituality would awaken again after some time, allowing her to revive rapidly. Her soul strength would then rise at an utterly unreasonable speed, charging straight toward the level of an Aeon.
After all, the Aeon of Spirituality had already been born. The Herta becoming an Aeon was already something destined to happen. This was what it meant to be once proven, forever proven.
After reaching this conclusion, Nanook initiated a conversation with the Aeon of Spirituality.
"Your creation of the Path of Spirituality and ascension into godhood surprised even a god such as Me. Yet after that surprise, I also saw you unleash your power, only to remain incapable of eliminating the influence of the Four Apocalypses."
"You cannot change the spacetime of Finality. You lack the power to do so, and you cannot alter the final outcome in which this universe is drawn toward Finality and Destruction."
Hearing this, the Aeon of Spirituality nodded toward Nanook, then shook her head. "It's true that I cannot alter the trajectory of the spacetime of Finality, but that doesn't mean the other me can't."
Nanook's gaze immediately grew solemn.
At that moment, the Aeon of Spirituality let out a soft laugh. "Nanook, you still don't know why I was born. My birth... even my ascension, happened because my past self successfully developed a research project."
Nanook seemed to realize something and immediately said, "The afterlife—Soul Society."
The Aeon of Spirituality nodded. "Exactly. That was the starting point and origin of my ascension."
"And more importantly, the research path of my past self is still continuing. It has not ended!"
"I believe that as long as she continues researching new projects, sooner or later she will truly bring positive change to the universe."
Nanook fell into thought for quite some time after hearing this, then concluded that the Aeon of Spirituality was correct.
The Herta was someone whose fate remained uncertain. In only a few months of research, she had already greatly altered the future of the cosmos, even allowing herself to accomplish the feat of ascending to godhood in the future.
If The Herta continued her research... perhaps she truly could develop a research project capable of changing the overall course of the universe.
"I look forward to that day."
After saying this, Nanook withdrew Their gaze from the future spacetime of Finality.
Then They turned Their attention toward The Herta, Lord of the Warp, Their eyes filled with anticipation. "Herta, the things you research are becoming increasingly unbelievable. Perhaps in the near future, I will see you use the golden blood of Ashen Annihilation to develop an even more inconceivable project."
Only after finishing those thoughts did Nanook finally respond to the summons of the Lord Ravagers. "The ascender, the one who created the Path of Spirituality, is Herta."
???
After hearing the information described by their Lord Nanook, every Lord Ravager was dumbfounded.
The ascender is Herta?
The Herta they knew?
The self-crowned Emanator of Erudition, the youngest member of the Genius Society? The woman who had once nearly killed Lord Ravager Phantylia?!
The Lord Ravagers hurriedly questioned their Lord further, and then received Nanook's reply.
"Yes."
In an instant, every Lord Ravager fell silent.
Not one of them—Asat Pramad, Zephyro, Phantylia, Luxbane, or Archforger—had imagined that The Herta, who had still been their enemy not long ago, would suddenly ascend and become a god.
After remaining silent for a while, Asat Pramad said, "This is far too unexpected. It was actually Herta. Before, she was the youngest member of the Genius Society. Now, she's the youngest Aeon!"
"Oh, right. I just remembered. Zephyro, didn't you previously say you were going to destroy The Herta? Do you think you can still do it now?"
Zephyro: "..."
Zephyro knew that Aeons could be destroyed, but only if the corresponding Lord Ravager specifically intended to destroy Them and took action with the aid of Destruction.
And the target that Zephyro, as a Lord Ravager, was meant to destroy was IX of Nihility... so he could not bring destruction upon The Herta. Or rather, among all the Lord Ravagers of the current faction of Destruction, not a single one could destroy The Herta.
After all, The Herta had only just ascended... The Lord Ravager specifically meant to counter The Herta had not yet been created by their Lord.
Meanwhile, when Phantylia learned that The Herta had ascended to godhood, she was completely dumbfounded...