Looking at the pretty pink-haired girl before her, youthful and radiant yet with eyes already tinged by the depth of Years, Herta calmly laid out the path The Erudition had revealed:
"The Erudition... revealed several paths to me."
"One of them is to follow the path of [Remembrance] you have forged, truly break free of Amphoreus, and head toward the stars."
Her voice remained utterly calm.
"This also means that Amphoreus's karma has nothing to do with you—at least, nothing to do with who you are now."
"You are Amphoreus's seed. Everyone in that entire world was born around you, the answer."
She paused, then raised another point of doubt.
"Why can you appear on the Express in physical form without Soul Steel? Haven't you ever considered that? You're exceptionally special..."
"It could be said that if you continue down this path through the galaxy, you will eventually become [Fuli]."
At those words, a melancholy expression appeared on Cyrene's face.
It was not a longing born of ambition to become a god, but the distress brought about by a weighty responsibility and difficult choice.
"You mean that only if I don't return to Amphoreus can I become an Aeon?"
"That's right." Herta nodded, confirming that cruel possibility.
"But if you do that, Amphoreus's entire [past] may vanish, existing only within your memories."
"You will set out on a journey, continue engraving the galaxy into [Remembrance], and ultimately ascend to godhood at the end of time."
"But if you choose to return home, your hope of becoming a god will be very slim."
Cyrene listened quietly. The melancholy on her face gradually faded, replaced by a clear and unwavering resolve.
She smiled softly, her smile warm and bright, as if it could disperse every shadow.
"Wouldn't that be wonderful?" she said