Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"A life that is about to become a sage, and will certainly take that step a step faster than yours. And if you wish... you may call me your elder sister."

Sure enough.

Luo Ye breathed a soft sigh of relief, her emotions a mixture of realization and complex thoughts—she should have guessed it sooner, she should have guessed the true identity of that so-called emperor. After all, the clues that had been exposed contained an enormous amount of information, and these numerous causes had now borne fruit in this moment.

Everything became clear.

Many years ago, Gaia, in her death, made preparations—she gave birth to many offspring and cast them into the seas, letting them struggle and fight. She let them grow stronger time and time again, and then she would choose the one with the best attributes and let it complete its own destiny.

Bina Nagai was one of them.

Her performance was outstanding; her strength, potential, and mental fortitude were all exceptional. Clearly, she had earned Gaia's high expectations.

She might be willing to fulfill the creator's wishes, but she chose the wrong direction—she was obsessed with moving forward, with leaps and bounds, wanting to gain more power and growth. However, she never realized that more than becoming stronger, she needed to connect with her twin.

She didn't go looking, so she failed. She possessed power, she was strong in vain, yet she knew nothing about what she truly faced—she failed to make contact with the other 'Alice's'. And this situation continued until she successfully escaped the battlefield of the cycle of reincarnation.

She's too strong.

Because the Four Highs are already independent entities within a single universe, they are not bound by any shackles. A connection that cannot be established when weak is obviously even less likely to succeed when strong. And this ultimately leads to that predetermined outcome.

By the time of the emperor, he won the final battle in the cycle of reincarnation.

Bina, the king of the gods, received a warning look from Gaia.

She gained much, and she lost much. She breathed a sigh of relief after learning the secret. However, she never expected that the final battle would end with her being ambushed and severely injured. And when she opened her eyes, the previous Alice appeared in her field of vision.

She fell in love—the love Gaia had longed for. Under Gaia's will, even the will of a high-ranking official, even a quasi-saint, was not unbreakable—she easily fell in love with the puppeteer who also bore the name Alice. However—

however--

—It's too late.

Twin souls can only grow properly when they merge when both are weak. Compared to the puppeteer who is still a sapling, Hinanagi Tenshi, who is restoring himself, is undoubtedly an unshakable towering tree.

—She was too late.

—She was too late.

☆, Preparations Before the End of the War - Empire

"You have failed." Knowing everything, Luo Ye looked at the Emperor of the Ninagami before him and said.

And she received a clear and accurate response—"Yes, I failed."

"But even in your failure, you still have a role to play for Gaia."

“That’s right. Even in my failure, I’m still useful,” she saw the Emperor nod. “That’s why I’ve been able to live until now, instead of being recycled, emptied, and reused by Mother after my mission failed—because I’m a very suitable lure. Those who might get in the way will notice me after I leave the God’s Space and see me as Mother’s backup plan.”

Luo Ye stopped speaking.

She knew the Emperor was telling the truth—it was, of course, the truth. She herself knew that there were countless descendants of Gaia and countless Alices in this multiverse. And before her success, Luo Ye, every chosen one in this multiverse was on various paths of ascension. Most were still mortal, a few were extraordinary, and a very few had touched upon the path of transcendence.

They could all be the main characters.

Ultimately, one group among the descendants of Gaia and the descendants of Shinki Morality will be able to merge into one before they can gather the complete light of their souls and become 'True Men'. Thus, they will become the embodiment of the will of these two supreme beings.

This is inevitable, something that was bound to happen, something that Gaia was concerned about, and something that belongs to the 49th chapter of the Heavenly Evolution.

Which group ultimately became the finished product is the one that has vanished, a chance element that went unnoticed by Gaia and could barely exist as a non-definite number—though once Gaia began to pay attention to this matter, it would also collapse into inevitability. But at least, before the finished product, Luo Ye, appeared, it never bothered to look at it.

[I am a coincidence, a coincidence among the ones that vanish... But am I truly a coincidence? Before coming here, Gaia emphasized to me twice that everything is inevitable... So, the reason I became a finished product is indeed because Gaia spoke to me just now? Reversing cause and effect, the future determining the past?]

[So why am I not... why am I not a True Saint yet?]

Her mind was in chaos—yet she soon realized that the answer to that chaos had already been found.

The answer lies right before you.

So she suppressed the turmoil in her heart, raised her head, and looked at the chosen one of heaven before her in a brief silence.

“One question,” she asked. “Binana Tenshi, from the very beginning… from the moment Alice came into contact with you in the world of Final Destination, were you already a true saint?”

“No, that’s not it.” — And the emperor answered her lightly.

“A true saint is indeed a proof that lasts forever. Theoretically speaking, if I can become a true saint in the future, then I will not have experienced any confusion or bewilderment in the past. However, my situation is different from that of a true saint in the conventional sense—before you have seen your mother and received that relic from her, I have no possibility of becoming a true saint in the future. I will inevitably be bound in the quasi-saint stage, from the beginning of time to the end.”

“Until I got it.” — Luo Ye raised her hand, and the ball of light that had been formed into a spiritual body floated at her fingertips.

“Yes, until you get it.” The Emperor nodded, still looking relaxed, showing no surprise or tension at all because of Luo Ye’s actions. “Because the Mother’s will transcends the entire multiverse, only what it decides is truly inevitable. And only what it has not observed will be affected by everything outside of the Mother.”

It turned out to be the case.

Luo Ye's doubts were answered.

She knew perfectly well what the orb of light in her hand was—it was a soul, the soul of Alice. Or more accurately, the soul of Alice, the puppeteer whom the Emperor was so infatuated with. While the Emperor had certainly rambled on quite a bit in the Final Destination universe due to her inability to communicate with someone as simple as a summer insect, there were two things she hadn't lied about: firstly, she had truly reached the pinnacle of Quasi-Sainthood, and truly only needed to eliminate her obsessions to instantly become a True Saint.

That's one reason. The second is that her obsession is indeed the continuation of the puppeteer herself—and as long as the girl with the name Alice returns to the mortal world through her hands, she will also achieve sainthood in one step.

She sacrificed a great deal and worked incredibly hard for this. Because she knew that the puppeteer, seemingly native to this world, actually only existed within this era. And when the puppeteer died, and she discovered that even rewinding the timeline couldn't bring back her true spirit, she knew that she was now under Gaia's will.

Gaia did not want her to become a saint, nor did she want this failed creation to become a saint at this time, so she took her obsession away from her. However, Gaia needed this failed creation to make the most of her resources, so she received a divine revelation, a prison, a contact with the goddess, and a path filled with hope.

Trapped within this universe, she was forced to substitute herself for the Heavenly Dao, forcibly extending the universe's originally brief epoch within the script meme to a length of 600 million years. Her act of substituting herself for Heaven, once she left the Main God Space, would inevitably attract the attention of the Primordial Heavenly Realm. And under the observation of the Heavenly Sages, her identity would naturally be partially exposed.

Sages will notice her—that's inevitable.

The situation is now reversed again, this time because she will be watched by the sages of the celestial realm in the future. Therefore, after leaving the main god's space and losing the protection of the main god, she was attacked by the sages of the celestial realm. Even with her quasi-saint status, she exhausted all the reserves she had acquired from the main god, falling into this universe severely injured. And it is precisely because she was so badly injured that she was captivated by the puppeteer here through a mere three lifetimes of karmic connection. And she is ultimately trapped here, becoming bait to lure the sages of the primordial celestial realm, unable to escape.

This creates a vicious cycle.

The future effect guides the past cause. And the past cause yields the future effect. And whether it is effect or cause, everything must submit to the will of Gaia.

【I see.】

[So, Gaia... Mother really did give us enough freedom. Both I and Alice were bound by our own obsessions. My obsession was Alice; only when Alice became a saint could I become one. Alice's obsession was her love for Patchouli. Only when this love turned to something unpredictable could she succeed.]

She can't become a saint... she can't become one, and neither can I. Yet we are destined to become saints in the future. And our future after becoming saints will reflect back into the past... So that's how it is.

So that's how it is.

Luo Ye let out a soft breath. Once she understood the underlying meaning of this event, her heart was finally free of any burden. She no longer needed to worry that Alice would make a decision against her conscience at the end of the battle. She no longer needed to worry that she and her companions would turn against their friends in the Central Continent Team.

She finally relaxed completely, and in doing so, she also saw the outcome of the final battle.

"Have you figured it out?" the emperor asked—she offered a perfectly timed greeting.

“Yes, I understand.” Luo Ye nodded. “Everything is inevitable. Mother has already decided everything she thinks needs to be decided. And while the remaining things are still inevitable, there is a chance for change… I know what to do next.”

"Very good." The Emperor nodded with a smile. "Now that you know everything is inevitable, you will inevitably have a task to entrust to me. And there will inevitably be something as the reward for that task."

“Hmm.” Luo Ye nodded, looking at the light orb in her hand—she would inevitably hand over the soul of the puppeteer Alice to the Emperor, and the Emperor would inevitably be freed from his obsession and become a true saint. And there must be a reason for this inevitability; Gaia entrusting this light orb to her must have been to anchor some achievement for her.

This is a transaction, an inevitable one—the transaction itself is unchangeable. What is open to discussion is the equivalent on the other side of the luminous pearl in the transaction.

So—what should we use to exchange for it?

What thing or object could be used to measure the single thing that enabled a true saint to take that crucial step?

Luo Ye lowered her eyes, lost in thought.

And her contemplation didn't need to last long—

"There is something I want to ask of you." She opened her eyes and looked at the emperor.

"Please feel free to speak."

“My teammate Zhan Lan is currently heading to the Primordial Heaven Realm to settle her past life's karmic ties—she is doomed to die, and even the Supreme God can only ensure that she can be resurrected in the cycle of reincarnation after death. I hope you can help her and, after she has completed her past life's karmic ties, bring her safely back to the Supreme God's realm from the Primordial Heaven Realm.”

"Very well." The emperor's reply was crisp and decisive, without any hesitation.

The next moment, Luo Ye pushed the light orb in his hand toward the Chosen One before him.

Then she saw the light.

Its light blotted out the sky and covered the stars.

She saw the Emperor ascend in radiance, and the entire universe around her assimilated by this boundless light. She saw all matter and energy structures transform into light. And at the very center of the light, a sleeping girl bore a resemblance to Alice before she left Gensokyo.

The path to Quasi-Sainthood was clearly presented before Luo Ye. At that moment, she understood how to advance from the Four Highs to Quasi-Sainthood—it was a clumsy method: simply replace the will of Heaven with one's own, and use one's own Dao Erosion phenomenon to assimilate and dissolve the past and future of a universe. And this action involved selecting one from countless source worldlines to construct an alternative entity of a 'source universe'—

—And this entity formed from the 'source universe' will, like a transcendent species, spread its Dao erosion across the multiverse seas, while also providing the Quasi-Saint with a volume equivalent to a single universe. This allows the Quasi-Saint to move freely through the seas and to confront the relentlessly powerful Sages within them!

This wasn't part of the deal, but it could be considered an extra bonus. Luo Ye couldn't observe how the Emperor attacked the Primordial Heavenly Realm, or how he channeled this newly born True Saint power towards Zhan Lan's location. She couldn't observe it, but her avatar within the Main God Space already knew that the Emperor's promise had been fulfilled.

And so the glory faded.

The Emperor's whereabouts are unknown. Perhaps she is fighting in the primordial heavens, or perhaps she is settling scores with those great beings with whom she once had grudges. Perhaps she has taken her puppeteers away from the battlefield to a peaceful place to retire. Perhaps she has done all of the above, or perhaps she has done none of the above.

But this is not important.

At least for Luo Ye, and the Central Continent Team that Luo Ye represents, it is no longer important.

Because the karmic ties between the two parties had been severed. There were no debts, no alliances. She and the Central Continent Team no longer had any connection in any sense. In fact, the moment the thought crossed Luo Ye's mind, she found herself holding another ball of light in her hand, a light that was both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar.

That was a world line, a world line that existed in relation to light.

She had carved out a timeline before the 'Final Destination' universe became part of the Emperor's realm. This timeline bore traces of the Central Continent Team's reincarnation activities. Luo Ye even saw the first reincarnated member of the Central Continent Team in this timeline, Miss Zhu Wen, who tragically died at the end of the Final Destination scenario.

You certainly cut ties completely...

Luo Ye shook her head, stood up, and quickly found a newly born blank single universe in the endlessly vast Abyss of the Seas of Death, which she saw as an infinitely tall tower—such universes were everywhere in the seas, and she then cast this ray of light into this newborn universe.

Thus, one of the original world lines belonging to the Central Continent Team shifted in this direction. During this shift, Luo Ye unfortunately discovered that the Emperor had no intention of appearing in this new world line—she had to step in herself, taking the place of the Emperor and the members of the Central Continent Team in the original world line to go through the Death Apocalypse process. And at the end of the process, she even received a mocking remark and a smirk from Alice.

It was a little awkward, but it didn't matter.

After Luo Ye completed these details, she discovered that the protective radiance of the Supreme God had also spread into this newborn universe.

The Supreme God acknowledged the change in this storyline world. Furthermore, this world was relegated to a peripheral position in the final battleground, inaccessible to the overall situation. Finally, Luo Ye confirmed that the reincarnated members of her team—she had also reincarnated some of the less obedient newcomers—were enjoying their blissful lives outside the original worldline's coverage. This also meant that there was nothing left in this universe worthy of further attention.

This matter is settled.

Now, it's time to head to the final destination.

Luo Ye turned her head and looked at the primitive Earth of the Gensokyo universe—in her view, the mortal kingdom was reaching its golden age of prosperity in the twentieth millennium after it had acquired civilization.

☆, Preparations before the end of the war: A distant pausing of war

The golden age, the peak period.

When Luo Ye arrived, what greeted her eyes was a vibrant and prosperous nation. She saw mortal pioneering fleets spread across the entire galaxy and beginning to explore the outer reaches of space. She saw vibrant currents of thought surging within the galaxy. She saw a newly emerging nation that could peacefully continue for at least tens of thousands of years, and this nation had no powerful adversaries in the universe it inhabited.

However, this is only the surface.

The appearance of the universe, the appearance of peace.

Her gaze could clearly penetrate the outer membrane of the universe, gazing upon the endless starry sky within the Sea of ​​Death—she clearly observed at least three digits, perhaps even close to four digits, of the universe moving in a certain direction. And the universe she inhabited would also be merged into it.