[Do you cash out now, or pursue the miracle?]
[You must make a choice for this...]
[Please choose—]
[1. Everything will end at this moment.]
[You have already seen everything that exists above the firmament, behind the Veil of Fate... Terminus, the [Finality], truly controls everything. All destinies are transformed into threads intertwined in Its hands, and even the Tree of Existence itself seems like Its marionette...]
[There is simply no way to deal with such an enemy. Right now, the best choice might be to force yourself to forget all of this.]
[Forget all of this, wait for the arrival of the Astral Express as if you know nothing, step onto the train as a traveler, and begin your joyous, interstellar comedy-like life...]
[If you don't care about the threat that will appear thousands of years in the future, if you don't care about the pressure brought by Terminus, the [Finality], if you can attain long life, perhaps you can live a wonderful life for thousands of years... and finally, live fully to your heart's content.]
[Give up all this that you shouldn't know, let everything end completely at this moment. Over thousands of years, you might even find a new path to escape these shackles and break free from fate...]
[By choosing this option, you will terminate the "Plan Entry: Piercing the Veil." The plan entry will begin to tally, and completing the plan will bring a miracle.]
[You will give up continuing this plan, temporarily abandoning the pursuit of exploring deeper.]
[2. No one can stop you from continuing.]
[You have seen everything that exists above the firmament, behind the Veil of Fate... Terminus, the [Finality], controls all those destinies. Under Its control, the threads of fate have penetrated every branch and every corner of the Tree of Existence; even the Tree of Existence itself has become Its marionette.]
[You absolutely cannot allow all of this to be controlled in Its hands, letting the world's ending, under Its manipulation, sprint rapidly toward the final end...]
[Everything is proceeding according to your plan—you have already seen the true form of Terminus, the [Finality]. This is far, far better than before, when you didn't even know what the enemy looked like.]
[Moreover, you discovered that Terminus, the [Finality], is not necessarily invincible in this world... Everything upon the Veil of Fate proves that there is at least one other existence of the same tier as It, proving that the might of Terminus, the [Finality], is not impossible to catch up to.]
[There is absolutely no way you would give up on this choice... Resolve has long filled your chest. Even if the enemy is Terminus, the [Finality], who can control this entire sea of stars and the future destiny, you have never thought of shrinking back like a coward.]
[You decide to continue exploring the truth, extending the plan of "Plan Entry: Piercing the Veil" and unlocking the hidden phase of this plan entry.]
[By choosing this option, the "Plan Entry: Piercing the Veil" will not be tallied at the end of this simulation. You will receive other rewards, and this plan entry will be retained after unlocking the hidden phase.]
Looking at the two options on the light screen, Ron rubbed his throbbing temples, a very clear choice already forming in his heart.
Even though he had completely burned and forged himself into a lantern during the simulation, the pain that exceeded the limits of rational endurance still faintly echoed in his mind, tearing at his current sanity, making him somewhat unable to make a fully rational judgment. But Ron still knew clearly what choice he should make.
In order to resist the threat of Terminus, the [Finality], he had already gone through so many simulations... The Terminus, the [Finality] in the previous simulations had already demonstrated Its nearly irresistible, tyrannical power. Even now, seeing Terminus, the [Finality] treating the Tree of Existence itself as a marionette to control after piercing the Veil of Fate, it merely increased the pressure just a tiny bit.
In fact, Ron's estimation of Terminus, the [Finality] wasn't much different from this situation... He had already estimated the power of Terminus, the [Finality] to the absolute limits of his imagination. Now, it was only a mere fraction beyond his expectations, and didn't bring any massive new pressure upon Ron.
Such pressure was far from enough to make Ron give up targeting Terminus, the [Finality], and give up finding a way to lead everything in this sea of stars towards a brand new ending...
What's more, the information gained from piercing the veil this time wasn't all bad news—
IX of [Nihility] exists on the same level as Terminus, the [Finality]. This existence, who appeared to be in a muddled state and maintaining a chaotic slumber, had spoken to Ron.
He was not, as Ron had previously guessed, a being with empty power but no consciousness, whose thoughts had been washed clean by the primal driving force of His Path, completely transforming into the conceptual embodiment of "meaninglessness" itself.
But in reality, He was not like that at all...
Ron had actually thought about borrowing this Aeon's power before. After all, IX of [Nihility] was the only Aeon that Terminus, the [Finality] had not eliminated, and It had never truly exerted its influence in previous simulations. Perhaps It possessed enough power to contend with Terminus, the [Finality].
However, the very conceptual existence of this Aeon was nihilistic meaninglessness. That was why Ron had always cast this idea to the back of his mind, not paying it much heed. But now, IX of [Nihility] had personally spoken to Ron, proving that He possessed sufficient consciousness. In that case, there was a certain possibility that Ron could borrow a portion of His power.
Furthermore, perhaps there was no need to specifically figure out how to borrow a portion of power from Him to fight against Terminus, the [Finality]...
Because there was a possibility that at the end of this simulation, He had already provided Ron with all the help He could offer—
After all, for this Aeon, who seemingly had never spoken before, to open His mouth and say such incredibly thought-provoking words might in itself be a form of help to Ron.
In fact, after exiting the simulation and returning to reality, Ron's mind, which felt as if it were being torn apart by pain, devoted almost its only shred of clarity to those few brief sentences from IX of [Nihility], constantly pondering what exactly He was trying to convey.
Although there were only three short sentences, they contained extremely rich information.
The first sentence: He said Ron failed and did not become the new ending.
The second sentence: He said since he failed, he shouldn't break the fourth wall.
The third sentence: He said Ron still lacked a bit of heat...
Taken together, these words at least proved that IX of [Nihility] was not in the same camp as Terminus, the [Finality]...
Because what He meant by the "ending" should be clear enough. Ron felt He was talking about the fixed ending of this sea of stars.
The current fixed ending was the cold finality wrought by Terminus, the [Finality], and Ron indeed had always wanted to tamper with this ending, steering the future of this sea of stars in a new direction.
It was just that in the eyes of IX of [Nihility], Ron still lacked the heat, and Ron's abilities were indeed insufficient right now, powerless to change the cold ending Terminus, the [Finality] had fixed for this world.
IX of [Nihility] not only used these few short sentences to tell Ron about his situation, but also gave him a warning: when his capabilities are insufficient and he can only head towards failure, do not take the risk of breaking the fourth wall...
Although Ron still hadn't figured out what exactly the fourth wall represented—theoretically, this should be a specific term symbolizing a character in a fictional work breaking the boundary to converse with a person in reality, but Ron's situation of breaking the veil at the end of the simulation was clearly not like that.
There was no higher-level observer present, nor did he converse with anyone from reality, and he was definitely not some fictional character... Therefore, this "fourth wall" perhaps did not carry the meaning of that specific term.
So, perhaps this was just a metaphor—a metaphor for the danger of the Veil of Fate, describing Ron's act of breaking the veil as being too risky. If he couldn't succeed, it would inevitably lead to failure, with no chance of a do-over?
Ron frowned, suppressing the tearing pain in his mind as he pondered these three short sentences from IX of [Nihility].
Even though the information was insufficient, making it impossible for him to fully understand what IX of [Nihility] was talking about, he could at least confirm one thing: IX of [Nihility] was definitely not his enemy. IX of [Nihility] was an existence of the same caliber as Terminus, the [Finality], and absolutely knew some special intelligence.
He also seemed to be looking forward to a new ending... If so, perhaps He would bestow a certain amount of help when the time was right—wait.
Ron suddenly blanked, recalling the "Nihility" options that had appeared countless times in previous simulations, as well as his experiences of effortlessly becoming a Pathstrider of [Nihility].
If IX of [Nihility] truly did bestow help when the time was right, then this was no longer a conjecture, but a fact...
Even though Ron previously believed that IX of [Nihility] was just an illusory chaos without self-awareness, looking at it now, since He actually possessed self-awareness, why couldn't all those things related to IX of [Nihility] in the past be the help He brought in secret?
Thinking of it this way, everything connected...
Ron thought thoughtfully, and without hesitation, clicked on option two on the light screen.
This was excellent news... but regardless, he had to choose option two first.
This was guaranteed intelligence to be obtained... Ron wanted to see what kind of special plan entry the Life Simulation Game would provide to append to the end of the "Piercing the Veil" plan.
The continuation of the plan might bring Ron a little corroborating proof, letting him know clearly whether his internal speculations were actually correct...
With this thought in mind, Ron watched the option box on the light screen in front of him fade away, and a new text slip emerged on the light screen—
[You decide to keep fighting... No one can stop you from continuing.]
[A bold plan has appeared in your heart. "Plan Entry: Piercing the Veil" will not end here; you will tie an even more brilliant conclusion to it—]
[Since Terminus, the [Finality] has already extended Its tentacles to every corner of the Tree of Existence, coldly manipulating all the inherent destinies of this sea of stars, then why is IX of [Nihility] able to stand at the same tier as It, without being completely controlled by It?]
[Clearly, Terminus, the [Finality] cannot truly manipulate everything within this sea of stars... It might be able to manipulate much, but there are always some existences that are not within the scope of Its control.]
[IX of [Nihility] has already explicitly shown you the solution. Although you currently don't know exactly how to do it, you will eventually find a way to accomplish it—]
[Since Terminus, the [Finality] represents a fixed ending within this sea of stars, then why can't you replace Its existence and become the brand new ending of this sea of stars?]
[Since there are Aeons who can reach the same tier as It, with the help of IX of [Nihility], you might also have the possibility of success...]
[The second phase of "Plan Entry: Piercing the Veil" is complete. Because of your choice, you have successfully unlocked its special phase.]
[You have unlocked the special phase of "Piercing the Veil": "Plan Entry: Tampering with the Ending".]
[Plan Entry - Tampering with the Ending: Why must this sea of stars only have that finality that is bound to end? Within this sea of stars, there must be a good prescription, sufficient to cure the chronic illness that leads this sea of stars to its end...]
[You might not be unable to become this panacea... You will find every possible way to tamper with the ultimate ending, and after putting a brand new period on the future of this sea of stars, reopen a new chapter that never ends.]
[You will... forge a new [Finality].]