I snapped out of my immersed state. My eyes, which were filled with nothing but the future Shi Tian's deeds, returned to normal. The flow of faint white light emitted by Leylah seemingly found a source as they converged in my fingertips.
Their true form is a status—a very high one at that. It did not affect the flow of my spiritual qi and the immeasurable physical strength my true body possessed. It existed independently within the Imaginary Space anchored by my Tao Heart.
Inside it is a cluster of ice. It covered the entire space. Every crystal fragment carried the memories of the universe. It isn't limited by the concept of 'size', appearing to be endless in my eyes.
This is the authority of an Aeon.
Crack-!
I reached out my fingertips to her cheek. The nigh-infinite distance that existed between us is slowly broken. The three Dao Lotuses floating above my head shone magnificently. The purple scales wrapping around my body intertwined with its brilliance. The medicinal power contained inside my body restored my injuries the moment I received them.
Hum-!
A soft sensation emerged from my fingertips. The faint gray clouds surrounding Leylah retreated. The suppression over her power was momentarily lifted. The first to recover is her pair of eyes. They turned sharp in an instant; her senses no longer obstructed by the tribulation. Her irises shook as she met my gaze. Leylah's intense emotions caused the surrounding gray clouds to retreat. The world turned still.
The memories she carried gushed forth like a raging tide. They went straight to the Imaginary Space anchoring Remembrance's authority. It wasn't long before they turned into ice crystals of different colors.
Her left hand held mine, pressing it further against her cheek. Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction, like a cat who had been petted. The waves of satisfaction could not be hidden from my eyes. The heavy burden carried by her disappeared at this exact moment.
"Just a bit more… I want to spend more time like this."
"Alright."
Leylah did not speak further. She passed everything that needed to be said in the form of memories. The best I could do now is to satisfy her wishes.
Unfortunately, the threat of the tribulation energy did not disappear completely. It is temporarily suppressed by our joint power. Subtracting the time I spent to cross these fifteen steps, there is only fifteen seconds of time remaining.
Fifteen seconds is a short span of time. Mortals will not notice its passing. To them, their lives had always moved fast. It is rare for them to stop momentarily and think about it.
It is different from Leylah's eyes.
Her soft hums, her relieved face, and her eyes dripping with affection gave meaning to this brief moment. I engraved this memory deeply into my mind, going as far as to use Remembrance's authority to store them. I pushed aside my heavy heart and gave way for her affection that remained unreciprocated for tens of thousands of years.
By the fourteenth second, she heaved a regretful sigh. She lowered her hands before giving me a smile.
"The world has been harsh to her… to myself." She stated. "It made me greedy for your kindness. I hope that you… can forgive me."
"Mn. I am forgiving you."
Leylah's eyes held a sense of relief upon hearing it.
"It is time for me to go back to my rightful end…"
The tribulation energy within this special space turned weak. Leylah turned into translucent motes of white light. The weakening of the future's intervention caused the space to turn unstable.
Before she completely disappeared, she left her final words:
"I hope you won't see me like this… again."
*****
Rumble-!
Hum-!
Sensing the strong waves emanating from Mars, Welt Yang's face turned serious. He was one of the few stationed outside Mars. The event within the Zixiao Palace disabled half of the high-level cultivators within the solar system. The other half went to explore Mars and its anomaly.
"This is a different kind of energy… Path Energy?"
Before he could finish his words, a virtual projection appeared beside him. The faint coldness emitted by her caught his attention.
"Miss Mobius, what's the matter?" He asked as he turned around.
A short and petite woman greeted his sight. Her snake-like irises remained glued towards Mars, as if she was seeing something she shouldn't have seen. Welt Yang had an inkling as to what it was. He was the one who made the devices that allowed them to interact with the intangible spiritual qi and spiritual consciousness. Through it, she perceived the unusual Path Energy emitted by Mars.
That wasn't the biggest thing. What concerned Mobius was its irregularity—its scale. Despite not seeing one, she knew what it meant.
The symbol of infinite, the Aeons, had descended.
Three hundred years of experimentation and studies did not wear her morbid obsession down.
It fed onto it.
The madness of this 'Mobius' could never be matched by the real Mobius who died at the end of the Previous Era!
Mobius' curiosity and reverence towards the infinitely evolving lifeform caused her heart to almost burst out of her chest. It was barely concealed by her cold temperament.
'Becoming a god…'
Unbeknownst to her, she shared the sentiment of another Genius Society member. Mobius remained engrossed with her thoughts, her eyes capturing this extremely rare phenomenon.
Seeing the disturbance become stronger, Welt Yang set off to activate their pre-emptive plans. The three Dao Integration level projects must be activated at this exact moment.
Vill-V looked towards the three massive sources of spiritual qi before her gaze turned back to Mobius. The latter noticed her gaze. Her wavy green hair swayed as she turned around. She felt the strangeness within Vill-V's eyes, sending chills down her heart. Even her madness had to take a step back for Vill-V's own.
It was no longer a desire to 'prove' something was right, but the will to make something the right answer no matter what.
Fortunately, she was limited by her means and capabilities. No matter how much she planned, it would fall through once a Void Refinement Realm cultivator intervenes. This restricted her from pulling off some crazy things.
Despite the absence of half of them now, Vill-V—her evil persona—did not dare make any moves. The three sources of spiritual qi disturbance rivaled the intensity of this Path Energy in terms of status. All three of them possessed full capabilities of the Dao Integration Realm. They are unlike the Dao Artifacts they could barely activate. They bypassed this restriction using the technology of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta.
The only downside are their activation times and limited usage chances. Using them once would cause them to enter a 'recharging' phase where they become unusable. That was completely unacceptable for the current solar system whose security solely depended on the imaginary barrier built by Kiana.
Shi Tian saw 'extreme danger' within Mars, not 'certain death'. Otherwise, they would have been activated from the get-go.
Vill-V silently watched the changes occur along with Mobius. It wasn't long before a towering figure made of crystalline eyes presented themselves in their eyes. Her eyes scanned the projection of this "Aeon's" true body, hiding deep fanaticism within.
'I will prove her wrong…'