Screwllum stood on Planet Screwllum, gazing at the silhouette in the sky before glancing back at the crystal sitting in front of him.
He suspected that whatever was happening likely stemmed from the Equation hidden within this particular stone.
He held a deep admiration for Bai Ming.
Yet, a faint shadow of worry for her lingered in his mind; after all, that was Aha—the most unpredictable entity in existence.
But alongside that concern, Screwllum felt a flicker of anticipation. Now that Bai Ming had ascended to Aeonhood, would she finally be able to decipher this equation?
A thirst for knowledge spread through his mechanical heart. He wanted nothing more than to fly to her side immediately and pelt her with a barrage of questions.
However, he knew that what he saw was merely a projection. Heaven only knew what corner of the universe her true body was currently drifting in.
If he truly wanted answers, he would have to wait until this grand ascension ceremony reached its conclusion.
--+--
Meanwhile, within the Land of Light.
Zero and the rest of the Giants of Light were frozen in utter bewilderment.
If they weren't mistaken, the figure appearing in the sky...
That was their Creator, wasn't it?
Their Mother often claimed she couldn't compare to the Giants of Light—that she couldn't walk the Path of Hope herself.
But in the eyes of the entire Land of Light, their Mother was, without a doubt, the defining figure of that very Path.
"Mother... how on earth did you end up running off to the Path of Elation to become an Aeon?"
Zero felt the grumbling ripples traveling through the Path, originating from the Aeon Noa.
A complicated expression crossed her face.
In the Land of Light, everyone was equal regardless of status. "The Three Mothers" was a title of deep respect, and even Noa didn't actually act superior or aloof.
So, as the Giants of Light sensed the Aeon's thoughts flowing down the Path...
They all wore very conflicted looks.
Our Aeon seems pretty upset. They wouldn't actually summon the 'Grand Noa' from the future, would they?
Many Giants felt it shouldn't go that far. Their Aeon was angry, sure, but there wasn't any real malice; at most, they'd probably just give someone a thrashing in the future.
There was no need to deliberately cross the long river of time just to beat up Aha right now.
Besides, there was no "Pure Child of Anasrava" currently exerting power to allow Noa to descend into this moment in the guise of Remembrance.
But other Giants felt differently—this was their Mother, and Noa's Mother, too.
To be essentially kidnapped by a guy like Aha for no reason? Coming over for a "chat" seemed perfectly reasonable.
As for Divine Herta, she had predicted that Bai Ming was destined for greatness, but even she hadn't expected her to reach this height.
And in such a bizarre fashion, no less.
Her only hope now was that she could still get a hold of Bai Ming after today.
She didn't want her to just ascend to some unknown realm and vanish like the other Aeons.
--+--
In an ordinary industrial sector belonging to the Interastral Peace Corporation.
A black-haired young man looked up at the sky, just like his colleagues.
"Madam... Bai Ming?"
Due to the machinations of the Preceptors, Dan Heng was constantly haunted by the ghosts of his past.
Though Dan Feng's sins had at least yielded one good result.
For instance, his friend had truly survived, taken up the mantle of High Elder, and filled his vacancy. He wouldn't be hunted down for centuries like in some original timeline.
Regardless, his other two friends were eternally barred from the Xianzhou because of Dan Feng.
And... even if his friend was safe, those Vidyadhara Preceptors had never given up on tracking him down.
The universe was vast, and the Preceptors had only ever managed to catch his trail once, but even so, Dan Heng knew they were always watching.
This had forced him to live under an assumed name, drifting aimlessly through life.
And this Madam Bai Ming...
Though her appearance didn't match at all, his intuition told him she was the same woman who had once saved Dan Feng's comrades and turned the tide on the Luofu.
And now... that benefactor had become an Aeon?
Even if she seemed a bit different from the usual ones, beneath Dan Heng's calm facade, his thoughts were racing uncontrollably.
The Vidyadhara were trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation; no matter how he tried to cut ties with his past, the shadow remained.
But what if an Aeon intervened?
The Path of Elation was known for its surreal and fickle powers; perhaps it could make those lingering phantoms of the past vanish for good.
Dan Heng knew he was being a bit shameless.
The woman had done him a great kindness in a previous life, and now that she had been reborn, he was thick-skinned enough to use that old debt to ask for another favor, but he truly, desperately wanted to sever his ties to his past life.
So, even if the odds were against him, Dan Heng wanted to take that gamble.
Before that, however, he had to find a way to meet her.
In the past, Madam Bai Ming's movements were a mystery. No one knew where she was, though it was rumored the Geniuses could reach her.
And Dan Heng was truly unwilling to contact his friends from his previous life.
After weighing his options, Dan Heng decided to head to Amphoreus.
There was a project there said to be a joint venture between several Geniuses and Madam Bai Ming. If he could get into that space station, he might find a way to contact a Genius and, by extension, dig up some information.
--+--
Himeko was equally stunned.
She had met Bai Ming before, though not in her true form.
Yet, she felt certain that the Bai Ming appearing in the sky was the same one she knew.
A person she actually knew had become an Aeon?
Himeko felt that leaving on the Express had been the best decision of her life.
To think an experience with such infinitesimal odds could actually happen to her.
Though she couldn't wrap her head around why someone of Bai Ming's temperament would end up on the Path of Elation.
Something felt off.
If they ever had the chance to chat again, Himeko fully intended to ask about the twists and turns that led to this.
--+--
Sparkle, who was quite familiar with both parties involved, found the whole thing incredibly novel.
She was a devotee of Elation and on good terms with Bai Ming, and then—poof—in the blink of an eye, Bai Ming had become the Aeon of Elation No. 2?
Since when did Aeons come with backups?
She'd have to ask later what the deal was with this "Second Aeon of Elation"—whether it was the real deal.
Or if it was just that old prankster God making more trouble for the hell of it.
Sparkle wasn't jealous.
If anything, the thought of her "bestie" being targeted by the God of Elation despite having no interest in chasing "the laugh" made her feel quite sorry for her.
"Tee-hee~ I wonder how my bestie is going to handle this. She can't possibly just roll over and take such a loss, right?"
Sparkle had just finished humoring the IPC Directors.
She was feeling quite bored.
Compared to the power or status that others obsessed over, the "Joy" was all that mattered to a Masked Fool. Finding the punchline, or being the punchline.
But Bai Ming wasn't a Masked Fool.
And even a Masked Fool, if turned into a joke by someone else, wouldn't just get angry like a normal person—they'd find a way to pay it back in kind.
If Sparkle were in Bai Ming's shoes, she'd definitely be plotting her "revenge."
Like transforming into the Hunt, putting on an Aha mask, and firing an arrow straight at Pier Point.
Sparkle would definitely stir the pot.
And while Bai Ming didn't care for chasing the laugh, knowing her personality...
Sparkle doubted she'd just sit there and let the entire universe stare at her without doing something about it.
--+--
Those who were on good terms with her could keep their cool.
But for those who weren't? Their mental state was currently hanging by a thread.
Phantylia, who had clashed with Bai Ming before, knew very well there was bad blood between them.
She had been struggling with her own combat limitations and was planning to strike the Abundance ruins suppressed by the Xianzhou, but before she could even start...
Suddenly she's told that Bai Ming has been hand-picked by Aha as some bizarre "Second Aeon"?
Setting aside how weird the title was...
The suffix was "Aeon"!
Just hearing that word nearly caused Phantylia to lose her disguise.
After today, how much power would that woman wield?
If she didn't figure this out, Phantylia wouldn't be able to sleep a wink.
Amidst her worry, Phantylia thought of her even more unfortunate colleague.
"I wonder how Celenova is holding up. We may strive to follow the Path of Destruction and pull the Aeons from their pedestals, but in a direct confrontation, we haven't a prayer of winning."
And as luck would have it, they had fought several battles of various scales not too long ago.
Though it hadn't cost them their lives, the losses had been significant.
And now? If they had to fight again, wouldn't they be dead meat?!
Who knew if Bai Ming would come for them directly after today?
--+--
On the other side, Celenova had naturally reached the same conclusion, but compared to Phantylia's anxiety, Celenova felt more anger and despair.
Previous failures hadn't discouraged her; she was always looking for ways to grow stronger, ways to counter Bai Ming.
But now...
Celenova hadn't even figured out how to deal with their last encounter, and now she turns around to find out the woman has ascended.
For the first time, Celenova felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
Before she could destroy the warped Harmony, did she truly have a chance of besting Bai Ming?
The work of destroying Harmony would take ages.
In that long span of time, was she destined to live forever in that woman's shadow?
And even if she endured until then...
How much further would Bai Ming have grown?
Considering the ridiculous things Bai Ming had pulled off over the years...
Celenova didn't even want to imagine what she would become after all that time.
The mere thought of that possibility made the future look pitch black.
The image of Bai Ming hanging high in the sky was like a mental demon, etched deep into Celenova's mind.
"Bai Ming... Bai Ming..."
Celenova whispered the name, her tone shifting from hatred to a lost, bewildered murmur.
--+--
The reactions across the factions varied from good to bad, but one thing was universal: confusion.
Aha's sudden stunt had left the entire universe scratching its head.
If the rumors were right, this Bai Ming was the one who had created a new Path centuries ago.
So here's the problem: that Creator is tight with the Land of Light.
Her relationship with that particular Aeon isn't like the fire-and-water rivalry between Zandar and Nous.
So why is the Aeon of Elation butting in for no reason?
And dragging her over to be some "Second Aeon of Elation"...
Did Noa even agree to you claiming her as one of yours?
Then again...
For centuries, Bai Ming had been a shadow, seen but never caught.
You'd hear of her exploits, but whenever you asked for a description, the answers were a mess of contradictions.
No one had ever known her true face.
Who would have thought that Aha's reckless behavior would finally allow every living soul to see the face of this mysterious person?
Even if half of it was hidden by a mask, her peerless beauty was still plain to see.
At the same time...
The various factions were on edge.
This was Elation, after all—the most nonsensical Path there was.
You could at least predict if other Paths were going to be "good" or "bad," but Elation was different.
It was all about whimsy and being impossible to read.
Sure, Bai Ming's reputation in the universe had been decent in the past, but that was then. Now she's flying through the sky side-by-side with Aha. Who knows what she'll turn into?
For all they knew, she might pull some massive prank right in front of Aha's face any second now.
--+--
Meanwhile.
Bai Ming didn't have the luxury of worrying about anything else yet.
Her limited understanding meant she could only grasp a portion of Elation, but the string of code in the 'Cipher' character card no longer looked like gibberish.
That code represented the essence of Elation, but it was in a "downgraded" state—otherwise, the previous Bai Ming never would have been able to observe it.
For an Aeon, time is a bit of a loose concept.
Bai Ming was only a "half-step" Aeon, but she had reached the threshold. While she was distracted trying to understand the equation...
To the outside world, she had only just been pushed to the front of the stage by Aha.
Bai Ming was annoyed that Aha had dragged her out from behind the scenes, and with such fanfare that the eyes of the entire universe were suddenly on her.
It was true she wanted attention—this stunt was making the progress bar on her panel skyrocket, but that was supposed to happen while she was wearing a disguise!
Even if the whole universe was watching, they weren't supposed to know who she was, let alone that she was the one pulling the strings.
Gaining the spotlight while staying hidden—that was the perfect way!
But!
That jerk Aha had just exposed her entire identity!
Was that bastard even "human"?
Didn't they know she wanted to keep her true face hidden?
Oh sure, they'd slapped a mask on her face as a token gesture, but the mask only covered half her face.
Was she masked? Technically. Was it effective? Hardly.
What was worse was that she couldn't even fight back.
When it came to understanding and manipulating the Path, Aha was simply a level above.
She could only watch helplessly as she was forced to stand beside Aha, enduring the gaze and scrutiny of the entire cosmos.
In Bai Ming's eyes, this level of 360-degree, no-dead-angle attention was a bit much.
She had to find a way to turn the tables—or at least find a way to redirect some of this spotlight!!
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL