'Cipher' had produced a set of equations from thin air—equations that practically laid bare the very essence of the Path of Elation.
To be honest, even Aha was stunned.
The Aeon had never imagined that with a flick of her wrist, she could pull out something like that.
Even in Aha's eyes, those equations were fundamentally unsolvable for any mortal. Theoretically speaking, it should have been impossible even for 'Cipher' to decipher them.
But who was she?
She was the existence who had single-handedly created an Aeon, altered the end of the universe, and forced HooH the Equilibrium to keep a personal watch on her.
Perhaps the current her couldn't achieve it in Aha's eyes, but that didn't mean her future self couldn't.
Originally, Aha wanted to see exactly how she would solve the equations and ascend the divine staircase.
Unfortunately, Equilibrium didn't seem particularly pleased with that future—or at least, didn't want to see it unfold so soon.
And so, Equilibrium intervened.
That was when a spark of inspiration hit Aha, leading to the most madness-driven gamble of all. THEY shared the power of Elation with her, forcibly deepening the connection between them.
With that, Equilibrium's interference became meaningless.
Even if those equations were solved, the result wouldn't differ much from the present: it would still result in the bizarre state of a single Path shared by dual Aeons.
Beyond blocking Equilibrium, this move used the Path to further tether them together, bringing Aha one step closer to the possibility of peering into her secrets.
"Haha~ What's the harm? At least I helped you hold back Equilibrium. Let Aha have a little peek; it's not like others haven't peeked before."
Aha's masks circled 'Cipher', swirling around her with the posturing of a "good guy."
"..."
Aha's words were crude, but the logic held up.
The more straightforward ones like Aha and Nanook wore their curiosity toward 'Cipher' on their sleeves.
The more restrained ones, like Equilibrium and Nous, were certainly among the watchers too; 'Cipher' just wasn't sure exactly how many there were.
She could only say that in the past, these Aeons hadn't spotted anything wrong.
Thus, she had to believe the "Great Hand" of the System would remain undetected by these hyper-curious Aeons in the future as well.
'Cipher' had confidence in her Status Window's capabilities.
She just didn't have much confidence in herself—and especially not in Aha. The mere thought of that fellow staring at her from now on gave her a massive headache.
Seeing this, Aha had no intention of lingering for small talk. With a giggle, the Aeon vanished in an instant, heading off to who-knows-where.
Shortly after Aha departed, Ruan Mei and General Xuanquan found 'Cipher', who had returned to the Fanghu.
Ruan Mei was more or less composed; her eyes held only a thirst for knowledge toward Aeons, with very little of the usual reverence.
General Xuanquan, however, was a different story.
She was one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance, a true believer in The Hunt. Seeing someone who was essentially a newly ascended Aeon just standing there beside her felt surreal.
Wait...
Wasn't it supposed to be that she had simply granted 'Cipher's' request to allow her and Ruan Mei onto the Fanghu to study the power of Permanence?
How did things turn into this the moment she looked away?
How was she supposed to interact with 'Cipher' now?
Actually... did she even count as an Aeon? Though Aha had acknowledged her, could one Path really have two Aeons? How would the Alliance treat her?
General Xuanquan's mind was a complete jumble.
Ruan Mei, however, was far more direct. She stepped forward, eyeing 'Cipher' closely, and asked point-blank:
"Are you truly considered an Aeon now? What exactly is your relationship with Aha? Do you feel any changes yourself?"
"..."
'Cipher' couldn't quite say for sure if her current state counted.
Aha had indeed given her authority and even hand-crafted a divine body for her. Theoretically, if she fully merged with that body and worked out the equations, she could wield the full power of the Path at will.
But therein lay the problem.
She hadn't gone through the actual process of ascension; her will and consciousness weren't yet capable of such control. She had simply been gifted power and authority by Aha.
"Do you remember the Noblesse Worm that Aha once imbued with full power?"
Ruan Mei's heart skipped a beat at those words. Her brow furrowed as she looked at Bai Ming with concern. "Don't tell me you're like that worm—that you'll die if the power is taken back?"
"It's not like that. That worm's death wasn't directly Aha's doing. It's like this..."
'Cipher' didn't mind Xuanquan's presence and gave a brief explanation of what Aha had done to her and why that insect had perished.
Naturally, she selectively omitted things like the System that weren't meant for public consumption.
Ruan Mei nodded thoughtfully after listening.
In other words, Aha wanted to dump power directly into Bai Ming just like with the worm. But Bai Ming had managed to "catch" this power that was supposed to be uncontrollable.
However, based on her words, she probably wasn't quite an Aeon yet.
At that thought, Ruan Mei sighed inwardly. She had hoped for a chance to study the structural differences between an Aeon and a mortal. For now, that idea seemed a bit too whimsical.
Perhaps encouraged by Ruan Mei's lead, General Xuanquan watched 'Cipher' chatting normally and felt her heart miraculously steady. She waited patiently for the two to finish before finally speaking up.
"Madam Bai Ming... are the things you said in the sky true? Do those crystals really hold the secrets of the Aeons? Or was it just a joke?"
'Cipher' caught Ruan Mei's eye, and both shared a subtle smile. She was certain Ruan Mei had already guessed what those things she threw out actually were.
"Of course it's true. Every single one of those Originium rocks contains a complete secret. Anyone who can solve them can become an Aeon."
"...!!"
General Xuanquan's breath hitched.
This "joke" was far too big.
She didn't dare imagine the madness that would ensue once people became convinced those stones really held the secrets of divinity.
'Cipher', however, felt the General was being a bit dramatic.
On one hand, with Aha's meddling, there were plenty of Originium to go around.
On the other, once most people realized the sheer difficulty—that researching these things was a bottomless pit with no visible return—they wouldn't keep throwing resources at them.
Likely, only massive entities with endless wealth and manpower, like the Interastral Peace Corporation or The Family, could sustain a long-term budget for it.
There might be a crazy craze in the short term, but once the fever broke, ordinary people wouldn't even bother picking them up off the ground.
Neither 'Cipher' nor Aha cared if anyone actually discovered anything. Aha only cared about 'Cipher', and 'Cipher' only cared about diverting the universe's eyes away from her as much as possible.
That said, even though Aha's stunt had exposed her, there were perks. The "Mood Value" progress bar on the System panel had exploded.
After all, this was the focused emotion of nearly the entire universe directed at her. Even if she had to split the proceeds with Aha, it was still a staggering amount.
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Cipher)]
[Lifespan: ∞ + 10 Days (Roleplay)]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin (Charge: 83.9%), Artoria (Charge: 81.7%), Cyrene - Fuli (Charge: 11.7%), Cipher (Active)]
[Available Pulls: 4 (63.1%)]
--+--
The progress bars on the panel had surged forward, instantly topping off the charge for several character cards.
The others were rising rapidly too, though the Fuli card was still a long way off. Still, crossing the 10% mark felt like a promising start.
The number of pulls had also skyrocketed, filling four slots at once with the fifth already past the halfway mark. To call this a "bumper harvest" was an understatement.
Aha might have scrambled her plans, but the rewards were excellent.
Given the current situation, she expected a steady, significant growth rate for a long time, only slowing down once the Originium craze died out.
As for the Lifespan column...
While it seemed Aha wouldn't be reclaiming the authority of Elation anytime soon, that Aeon was unpredictable. Who knew what they would do tomorrow?
So, even though it now read "Infinite," she reminded herself it was borrowed from the Path of Elation and kept her cool. She had to stay grounded.
For now, her priority was to fully merge the Light of Nexus with herself. With ten days of roleplay time remaining, 'Cipher' wasn't in a hurry to use her pulls.
She was thinking.
The 'Cipher' card had granted her the Equation of Elation.
What if she pulled more character cards from the Chrysos Heirs? Did that mean she had a chance to obtain equations for other Paths?
Twelve Titans represented twelve Paths.
Among them were even Paths whose Aeons had fallen, like Beauty and Permanence.
She could ignore the Paths that already had masters—not everyone was as eccentric as Aha, dragging her into "Shared Aeonship" just because they saw an equation.
After today's spectacle, other Aeons would likely be on guard against her.
But those masterless Paths...
If she could get her hands on the equations for Beauty or Permanence and solve them, could she use those equations to claim the throne of that Path?
Could she even hold two Paths simultaneously?
It wasn't that she had suddenly become ambitious.
It was just that Aha's sudden move had truly spooked her.
Aha was giving her a serious case of "insufficient firepower" anxiety.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL