[The Express suddenly accelerated amid violent tremors. Accompanied by a piercing screech, the entire train burst out from the gaping maw of the Giant True Sting into open space!]
["Waaahhh—!" March 7th clung desperately to the handrail in the carriage, her whole body nearly flung away, but her eyes were wide open in shock. "Wait! What is that?!"]
[Outside the window—in the pitch-black cosmos—dazzling fireworks suddenly exploded!]
[Crimson, azure, and golden fireworks bloomed around the Express like unfolding nebulae, illuminating this dead silent sector of space as if it were a grand celebration.]
["What the heck is this? Did the Express just cause... a cosmic explosion?!" March 7th pressed herself against the window, staring in astonishment at the breathtaking sight.]
["No, this is an illusion created by the Giant True Sting." Welt adjusted his glasses. "With such a commotion, we've definitely all inhaled its wing dust collectively."]
["Huh? That bug is so—so—huge! Is that also an illusion?"]
["...Unfortunately, I'm afraid this one is real."]
[Thinking about how Argenti wouldn't get to see such magnificent fireworks made March 7th feel deeply dejected.]
["The Knights of Beauty are a group accustomed to wandering alone among the stars, people who are hard to understand. Their destined home is the starry sky. This display of fireworks might also symbolize a kind of knighthood bestowed upon him." Himeko comforted her. "He has his own thoughts and hardships. After all, the Aeon of Beauty... has very likely already fallen."]
["Huh? The Idrila that Argenti keeps mentioning? Didn't he always say he was going to find Idrila and fulfill his knightly duty to protect Idrila?"]
["Idrila's fall is something some Knights of Beauty tacitly accept. Of course, there are also those who refuse to believe it. Like the one we just met... He probably thinks Idrila has merely gone missing and is hiding in some corner unreachable by ordinary mortals."]
——
Record of Ragnarok.
Venus lounged lazily on her divine throne, her fingertips gently caressing her flawless cheek, her eyes swirling with intoxicated light.
"Mmm~ If that Pure Beauty Aeon really no longer exists..." Her red lips curved upward, her voice sweet as honey. "Maybe I'm her reincarnation~ After all, in this universe, who else is more worthy of the words 'Pure Beauty' than me?"
Buddha sat cross-legged nearby munching on senbei. Upon hearing this, he burst into hearty laughter.
"Heh heh, Venus, you silly woman really dares to say it..." Buddha wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes. "If those Knights of Beauty heard you, even if they're all as good-tempered as Argenti, they'd probably still pick up their lances and come 'reason' with you."
Venus huffed lightly, twirling a golden lock of hair around her fingertip dismissively. "What? Am I not beautiful enough? My appearance, my figure, my aura—which part doesn't deserve the title of 'Pure Beauty'?"
Buddha spread his hands and shook his head with a grin. "Whether you're beautiful or not aside, the 'Pure Beauty' that the Knights of Beauty believe in isn't something propped up by narcissism like yours."
"Oh?" Venus narrowed her eyes, sounding quite unconvinced. "They've never seen the Pure Beauty Aeon. How can you be so sure they wouldn't acknowledge my beauty?"
"No proof is needed." Buddha shrugged. "If you truly had even the slightest connection to Pure Beauty—one in a thousandth... we gods would have long since knelt at your pomegranate skirt."
"Besides—"
Buddha slowly walked behind Venus, lowering his voice to say word by word: "The way you act so narcissistic is really ugly."
——
[After helping with a thorough cleanup of the Express, the bored Stelle suddenly received a message from Herta asking her to test the latest Simulated Universe.]
[Upon hearing there were rewards, Stelle rushed without stopping to Herta's office.]
[This time, the Simulated Universe had a new expansion called "Universal Locust Calamity." They locked the timeline to the period from the birth to the fall of the Insect Emperor Tayzzyronth. In short, through this simulation, Stelle could not only witness the birth of the Aeon of Propagation but also Its fall.]
["Propagation..."]
[Thinking back to how she had only recently been swallowed whole by a True Sting, Stelle instinctively wanted to refuse—but Herta's rewards were simply too generous.]
["Perfect timing—Screwllum and Ruan Mei are both coming to the space station soon. All the collaborators for the Simulated Universe will be here. If there's any issue, just give them feedback directly after you finish testing."]
["If there's nothing else, then go ahead and enter the Simulated Universe. I'll connect to your consciousness to a certain degree inside."]
——
Jujutsu Kaisen.
In the dimly lit Japanese-style room, candle flames flickered, casting Sukuna's ferocious smile in increasingly distorted shadows. His pupils reflected Stelle about to step into the Simulated Universe, his mouth nearly splitting to his ears.
"Yes... just like that. I'm also very interested in the birth of an Aeon."
Kenjaku sat calmly to the side, his fingertips gently rubbing the rim of his teacup, a faint smile on his lips. "By the way, you're not seriously having ideas about an Aeon, are you? Just so you know, for existences beyond our dimension, I don't have any suggestions for you."
"Of course I wouldn't have such thoughts." Sukuna chuckled lowly, his sharp fingertip scraping across the tatami, producing an uncomfortable "hiss hiss" sound.
Kenjaku turned his face and rolled his eyes.
Over a thousand years... and this guy still hasn't learned to lie.
But thinking about it, the King of Curses never needed to lie anyway. Acting on whim was his style.
Sukuna's eyes shifted back to him: "Kenjaku, are you really not interested in Propagation at all?"
His tone carried certainty, as if he had been convinced from the start that Kenjaku could never remain indifferent to Propagation.
...He guessed right.
Kenjaku's lips curved in a faint smile as he slowly sipped his tea.
"I'm just thinking..." His voice was as soft as a whisper. "If I can glean even a little truth about Propagation from this Simulated Universe segment, then the 'proliferation' of cursed spirits... might no longer remain merely theoretical."
Sukuna stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly let out a low, muffled laugh.
"Heh heh... You really are even greedier than I imagined."