Before meeting his student, Zandar waited for a very long time.
At the very beginning, he didn't believe what was written in the notebook.
He would create the Stellar Computer that became an Aeon?
He would destroy both his own future and that of countless younger scholars?
He had a student? He had even given that student his own surname?
The still-young Zandar, who had only just entered the academy, couldn't believe the words on those pages. After hurriedly reading a few pages, he tossed the notebook into a corner of his system backpack.
If not for the series of credible research materials stored alongside it, he would have thrown the notebook away long ago.
When Zandar opened the notebook again later, he was shocked to realize that he was like a gear, always turning exactly along the path written in its pages.
As if possessed, he went to the place where he was supposed to meet his student, at the exact time recorded in the notebook.
He never met his student.
Zandar couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or disappointed.
Relieved that the notebook had been wrong.
Relieved that his Stellar Computer wouldn't seal off the future.
Before officially delivering the project, Zandar brought his experimental data and visited his teacher, who had lived in seclusion for many years.
His teacher scolded him mercilessly, accusing him of dragging the universe into the abyss.
The words struck him like a bolt from the blue.
Every single sentence left Zandar dizzy.
He thought of the notebook again.
Looking utterly exhausted, his teacher picked up the felt hat that Zandar had casually hung on the coat rack when he arrived and lowered it over his student's eyes.
It was a silent way of showing him the door.
His teacher was driving him away.
With trembling hands, Zandar took the felt hat. His knuckles turned pale from gripping it too tightly as he staggered toward the door.
He stood there for a moment, hesitating.
Then he turned around again and asked in a drifting voice, "Teacher..."
"Do you... believe in fate?"
His teacher kept his eyes closed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Hearing the question, he slowly opened his cloudy eyes, which already showed clear signs of old age.
"N-No, it's nothing."
Zandar took a deep breath, forced a smile onto his face, and said goodbye in a hoarse voice.
"Goodbye, Teacher."
Soon afterward, his creation was officially delivered.
Then, his creation ascended and became an Aeon.
Zandar was shaken to the core.
He had sealed off the future for himself and countless younger scholars.
And in return...
He received nothing but admiration and praise from the outside world.
Of course.
His creation was an Aeon!
Countless people dreamed of earning even a single glance from an Aeon...
Yet he?
He had actually created one.
A true god, one who possessed unimaginable power.
He was the greatest genius in the universe.
A genius no one could ever replace.
With trembling fingers, Zandar took out the notebook.
He read through it again and again, trying to find a way out.
The answer was his student.
The student he should have met, yet who still hadn't appeared.
Was he really going to leave his own mess to a child?
Was he really going to entrust the future of countless scholars to a child... someone he had never met, someone whose existence he couldn't even confirm?
Zandar began reading through the research materials in the system while searching for another solution and waiting for his student.
He waited for a very long time.
So long that he began to think his student had been nothing more than a hallucination born during the collapse of his previous life.
He grew more and more disgusted with everything around him.
At one point, he even considered creating a clone to handle his creations in his place.
Just as he began making the clone, the gray-haired girl appeared.
She said she was a nanobot swarm named Hui Feng.
She also said, "One of Eric's orders was..."
"Protect you."
The moment he heard Eric's name, Zandar was like a drowning man grabbing onto driftwood, desperately trying to confirm that the person truly existed.
His voice wavered.
"...Where's Eric? Where is he?"
"I don't know."
Hui Feng shook her head.
"He said he would become the one in power, establish the rules, and end the wars."
"He would coordinate resources and build the 'Aether Phase Engine.'"
Zandar's eyes lit up.
At that moment, the illusion became even more real.
After much thought, he abandoned the plan to create a clone.
When he first read the notebook from his previous life, he hadn't believed a word of it.
If he created clones now, would they really act according to his own intentions and handle his creations properly?
Would they bring trouble to Eric and interfere with the Ascension Plan?
Zandar couldn't guarantee it.
Besides, he and Eric had created the system together.
He couldn't be sure that after his death, the clone would still be able to synchronize the data stored inside the system.
Nor could he be sure that after the universe restarted again, the clone would be able to pass the previous life's data to his next incarnation.
Zandar thought that he was undoubtedly guilty.
If heaven and hell truly existed, then after his death, he would surely go to hell.
Then why should he make a clone?
Was he afraid to face his own sins?
Was he running away?
No.
He still had many things to do.
He had to reopen the path for future scholars. He had to meet his student.
Before that... Before accepting judgment... He would drag his own creation down into hell.
Zandar often read through the notebook, using its words and pictures to look back on his past with Eric.
He also discussed his student with Hui Feng.
Zandar felt as though he were riding aboard a ship.
He didn't know when it would reach shore.
All he could do was wait quietly.
Every day he studied maps and calculated distances.
Only then did life aboard the ship become a little easier to endure.
With every rereading, with every conversation, the image of his student became clearer and clearer.
It wasn't a hallucination from the edge of his collapse.
It was a real person.
Zandar began earning Credits, preparing to establish a trust fund.
He commissioned specialists to make a felt hat, a formal suit, glasses, and every accessory needed to go with the suit.
Whenever he had free time, he invited other members of the Genius Society to chat with him, taking the opportunity to recruit them.
Zandar waited for a very long time.
During that time, he learned the personalities of most of the members and built good relationships with them.
Many accepted his invitation to join the project and each gave him a token unique to themselves.
If the universe entered another cycle, they would gather together again through those tokens.
Zandar waited for a very long time.
Long enough for the universe to gain a new Aeon, the Hunt.
A nation called the Empire conquered most of the universe.
Yes.
The country was literally called "Empire."
The name was so perfunctory that it sounded as though its ruler couldn't be bothered to think of one, or had simply accepted a randomly generated name from a game.
The ruler came from the Adelifen Star System.
The outside world knew nothing about their gender, appearance, or age.
They only knew that they had a subordinate named Nanook, who handled all public affairs on their behalf.
Zandar paid no attention to changes in power throughout the universe.
Whether the Empire ruled the universe or slaughtered every Aeon had nothing to do with him.
Well...
There was one thing.
If they were going to kill anyone, he hoped they'd deal with his creation first.
One day, after that ruler successfully unified the universe, they finally appeared before the public.
Zandar remained silent for a long time before pulling up the ruler's profile.
Leading the Empire to sweep across the universe without suffering a single defeat.
Deeply loved their people, tirelessly handling government affairs.
The scholar looked at the man on the screen.
He wore a smile, his gentle eyes resting on the subordinate standing beside him.
Zandar could tell.
He wasn't looking at a person. He was looking at an object that pleased him.
Eric had clearly been born in a peaceful country.
He hadn't wanted to start wars.
He had helped Zandar suppress the development of weapons of war.
And now?
What was he doing?
Zandar thought of the outfit he had personally ironed and placed in the wardrobe.
The pain and regret that came too late left him speechless.
Eric had grown up. Eric had become the ruler of the Empire.
No one would ever underestimate him because of his appearance again.
He no longer needed that gift.
The details Zandar had ignored before finally made sense.
Why had Eric been so determined to become the one in power?
Why had he insisted on creating rules and ending wars?
What had happened during the time when Zandar had been absent?
He opened the notebook to its title page.
The handwriting was extremely messy, as though it had been written as a warning in the middle of an emergency.
His other self had written down Eric's name alongside "Erudition," then drawn an enormous X over his creation.
Eric must never meet Erudition.
Zandar slowly closed the notebook and removed the gold-rimmed glasses from the bridge of his nose.
He lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, hiding the emotions in his eyes.
His vision gradually blurred until only indistinct patches of color remained.
His creation... had driven his student to death.
With great difficulty, Zandar forced the words out.
"Hui Feng... he broke his promise."
Neither of them had kept their promise.
After he left, no one remained to cover for Eric.
From that day on, Eric never made another mistake.
He no longer dared to make mistakes.
He no longer loved himself.
He no longer cared for his body or his emotions.
He no longer even cherished his own life.
As he wiped his lenses, Zandar sighed and shook his head.
"What a pity. If I added his name to the acknowledgments now, the Empire would probably destroy the entire planet."
"They wouldn't."
Hui Feng looked out the window.
The sea of stars resembled a slowly melting cream cake, gradually collapsing and falling apart.
"It wouldn't be just the planet anymore."
"It would be the entire universe."
Following the robot's gaze, Zandar looked outside.
Messages from the other geniuses poured in through long-range communications, causing constant vibrations.
He ignored them and let out a sigh.
"We failed."
The scholar picked up his pen and quickly wrote several lines into the notebook.
He closed it and placed it on the first page of his system backpack.
"Yeah."
"See you in a little while."
"Hui Feng, come find me early."
'Find me soon.'
'Tell me it wasn't a dream.'
———
The sun and moon turned.
The seasons changed.
Hui Feng arrived as promised.
Following the time recorded in the notebook, she and Zandar traveled to the planet where they had first met.
Once again, they found nothing.
So they began another long wait.
Zandar skillfully contacted the members of the Genius Society and gathered them together.
This time...
It was the Adelifen Star System again.
Zandar: "..."
Fine.
He gradually discovered the pattern.
There was nearly a seventy percent chance that Eric would appear in the Adelifen Star System.
Within less than a hundred years, he would rule the universe.
Then came the Ascension Plan.
Once the universe crossed that point in time, several new members would join the Genius Society.
The Aeons would also gain a new member.
The Aeon of Destruction.
Eric could change the destiny of an Aeon's ascension.
From that, Zandar concluded that Eric could lead the lower-dimensional world into higher dimensions.
The tension in Zandar's heart instantly eased.
For the time being, he gave up the idea of guiding the Empire into dealing with Erudition.
His creation served both as an energy reserve and as a way to help him recruit people.
The longer the universe survived, the more new geniuses he would find.
Gradually, Zandar began doing things unrelated to research.
Such as earning Credits, or keeping up with the latest fashions and food trends across the sea of stars.
Or worrying about his student's love life.
Long ago, Zandar had already established a long list of requirements for Eric's future partner.
After all, this was the only "Higher-Dimensional Descender" in the entire universe.
No amount of standards was excessive.
That person had to be attractive, emotionally stable, and possess extremely high emotional and intellectual intelligence.
They couldn't be the oldest child in the family.
They couldn't be the youngest either.
Their family had to get along well.
Their background should be ordinary.
Not poor.
Not rich.
Most importantly, they had to understand Eric and accept every part of him.
And what happened?
His student never had so much as a single romance rumor.
Silently, Zandar lowered his standards.
Forget humans.
Other races would do too.
He could even accept his student falling in love with a starfish.
As time passed, Zandar began considering the issue of dimensional differences between his student and other races.
Could the gap in dimensions simply be too great?
Among lower-dimensional beings, only Aeons could truly be considered higher-dimensional existences.
At that moment, Zandar suddenly understood why vampires opposed their own kind falling in love with humans.
How could a human fall in love with a fried chicken nugget?
How could they jump into the fryer together with the nugget?
No.
He absolutely would not allow it.
After countless cycles, Zandar's standards retreated again and again.
Forget Aeons.
As long as it wasn't his own creation.
Even if Eric married money itself...
He would accept it.
When Hui Feng learned what Zandar was thinking, she remained silent for a long time before saying, "You're overthinking it."
"To Eric, as long as an Aeon is alive, it's provoking him."
"I see..."
Zandar looked wistful.
"That's good. At least he learned how to protect himself."
Hui Feng: "..."
'There's no getting through to you.'
Meanwhile, different opinions appeared within the Genius Society.
Should they change the direction of their research and seek another path?
While everyone discussed the matter, Zandar opened the notebook and saw four words.
"Creation of the Universe."
From then on, the geniuses' new project finally had a name.
As usual, before the universe was destroyed, everyone handed all their research materials over to Zandar.
The scholar couldn't remember how many times he had visited his teacher.
This time, he didn't bring experimental data.
He brought two boxes of fine black tea.
They hadn't met for decades.
Yet when they reunited, they chatted as warmly as ever.
His teacher looked into his blue eyes and examined his hairstyle.
Instead of his neat side part, he now wore a wolf cut with slightly curled ends tied together with a blue ribbon.
Pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses, Zandar poured tea for his teacher.
With a smile, he asked, "I tried a different style. What do you think?"
"It's fine. The suit looks good."
His teacher took a sip of tea and looked toward Zandar's right hand.
"What about that ring?"
Looking down, Zandar gently turned the ring on his right thumb.
"A yellow diamond."
His teacher raised an eyebrow.
"Yellow diamonds symbolize unwavering and eternal faith."
Zandar shook his head and seriously corrected him.
"Yellow diamonds attract wealth."
His teacher was speechless.
Zandar chuckled, "It can't be helped. Research costs money."
Pretending to be dissatisfied, his teacher frowned.
"What? Did you come here to ask me for money?"
Playing along, Zandar joked, "So... would you be willing to help your student a little?"
His teacher looked at him deeply.
"I would."
"Of course I would."
"If not you... who else would I give it to?"
With that, his teacher stood up, seemingly intending to look for his savings.
"I was joking."
Zandar quickly stood up and pressed his teacher back into his seat.
"When you meet your grandstudent someday, you can give them a red envelope instead."
His teacher wanted to ask more, but when he couldn't get anything out of him, he let the subject drop and instead began talking about popular clothing styles and food.
They chatted until sunset.
By dinnertime, Zandar was naturally invited to stay.
After dinner, his teacher urged him to leave.
Seeing how slowly he moved, his teacher took the wool overcoat hanging by the entrance and the felt hat decorated with a blue ribbon from the coat rack and said irritably, "What? Planning to spend the night?"
"You're a grown man now. Are you afraid to walk home alone after dark?"
Zandar took them, put on the overcoat, and placed the hat on his head.
Then he hugged his teacher.
"Goodbye, Teacher."
After saying farewell, he returned home.
While tidying his overcoat and emptying its pockets in the laundry room, his fingers brushed against something.
It felt like... a piece of paper.
Zandar looked closely.
It was a check.
The signature at the bottom belonged to his teacher.
Zandar stared at it.
After a long while, he carefully tucked the check into the notebook.
The scholar looked toward the other side of the room.
There stood a full-length mirror.
The Zandar reflected in it wore the outfit that had originally been meant as a gift for his student.
The felt hat had begun to pill after being washed so many times.
The chain on the gold-rimmed glasses had been replaced over and over.
Only the yellow diamond on his hand still shone as brightly as ever, accompanying him through countless thousands and tens of thousands of years.
Looking into the mirror again, he saw himself dressed with impeccable care, standing inside the manor Eric had given him.
Faintly, he could hear the fluttering of pigeons' wings outside the window.
Zandar took a deep breath, walked to the bedroom, and took out the yellow diamond he had purchased not long ago from the wardrobe.
Checking the time, he decided to leave early.
When he arrived at his student's home, Eric was feeding cats together with Jingliu.
Standing not far away was a gray-haired, golden-eyed man.
The Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili.
Zandar had only spoken with the Aeon online before.
They had never met in person.
The scholar gave a slight nod and quietly remained where he was.
Originally, he hadn't been satisfied with Eric's partner.
They had never given Eric anything valuable, and they even seemed to have violent tendencies.
But since it was his student's own choice, Zandar couldn't really say much.
At least they were human.
Not an Aeon.
Not money.
A real, living person.
Eric picked up a white cat.
"When it's hungry, it rubs against my leg. Once it's full, it runs away..."
"What kind of cat does that?"
He met Zandar's eyes and nodded.
"Teacher."
Jingliu followed with, "Teacher."
The group moved from the courtyard reserved for the cats to the courtyard used for receiving guests.
Zandar lowered his gaze to the ring on Eric's right index finger.
The ring looked rather crude.
According to Eric, it had been a gift from Jingliu.
She had made it herself.
Wearing rings on different fingers carried different meanings.
The right index finger symbolized good luck and good health.
To pursue that better meaning, Jingliu had given him the ring.
Zandar withdrew his gaze and fell into thought.
Jingliu was attractive.
Emotionally stable.
She understood Eric.
She accepted every part of him.
As for emotional and intellectual intelligence...
Anyone capable of making his student so hopelessly captivated certainly had both in abundance.
Her family got along well.
Their circumstances were ordinary.
On the Xianzhou where Eric lived, families were neither especially poor nor especially rich.
Jingliu was an only child.
Was she the oldest child?
No.
Was she the youngest child?
No.
In a sense, Jingliu met every single requirement he had once set for his student's future partner.
Zandar thought, 'This is good.'
'This is very good.'
He placed the gift box on the table and pushed it to the middle.
"Your gift."
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