"This broadcast is brought to you by your frontline reporter, Aha! Dear viewers, whether or not your world even has a concept of day and night, allow me to wish you a good morning, afternoon, and evening!
"I am the most lovable, the most dependable, the one who will never give you up, never abandon you, the Aeon you can trust above all others, and naturally, the most popular Aeon of them all, Aha!"
Aha, acting as the host of the livestream, shouted with tremendous excitement. Somehow, the mask was capable of making expressions every bit as vivid as a real person's face.
"I'm sure everyone can see what's happening! Before us is a battle between Nanook the Destruction and the legendary Aeon of Permanence, who vanished from the universe long ago! Incredible! Why has the long-lost Aeon of Permanence suddenly reappeared? What brought THEM here? Could it have something to do with that mysterious human standing before us?"
"Permanence! Permanence!"
The surviving Vidyadhara had already descended into a frenzy.
The moment they saw Long, the progenitor who embodied the very concept of dragons, every Vidyadhara felt an unprecedented resonance stirring within their blood.
Caelus knew Long could not remain in the present for too long. If THEIR power continued to be consumed, THEY would eventually be forced back into the past once more.
So Caelus began summoning the next Aeon.
"The second, Preservation."
Caelus produced a stone from seemingly nowhere.
Most people in the universe did not recognize it, but many within the IPC immediately knew exactly what it was, especially those in the Strategic Investment Department.
"Aventurine!"
"That bastard pulled something like that on Penacony, and now he's handed his Cornerstone over to someone else?!"
"Well, if he gave it to this person, I wouldn't exactly call it a bad investment. That seems like a worthwhile bet."
"And even if any of us object, what can we do about it? If we punish Aventurine over this, how do we know the person in that broadcast won't come looking for us afterward? The Cornerstone is clearly helping him right now."
"That gambler... Back when he swore his oath, I already wondered whether someone who doesn't even value his own life would really treat a Cornerstone as something sacred."
Whatever they thought, events continued to unfold.
The Cornerstone erupted with brilliant light. Through the causal connection embedded within it, that light reached the existence forever building THEIR wall.
Qlipoth stopped.
Through that connection, THEY came to understand the concept known as Creation.
After comprehending both that concept and the greater structure of the Path of Creation, Qlipoth vanished from THEIR previous location.
When THEY appeared again, THEY were already outside Amphoreus.
Qlipoth raised THEIR enormous hammer and brought it down against Nanook's other outstretched hand.
At the same time, the figure of a young girl appeared in the cosmos.
Hyacine raised her head and looked toward the immense body seemingly carved from precious stone. The colossal existence above likewise lowered THEIR gaze toward the tiny figure below.
[What do you wish to preserve?]
"I want to preserve Amphoreus!"
Across more than thirty million cycles, Hyacine's desire to protect Amphoreus and save the lives of her patients had accumulated without end.
Now, that will was finally acknowledged.
Her illusory body became real.
Hyacine had become a true living being.
"The third, Nihility."
Caelus's existence began to rise to an entirely different level.
At the same time, his body started to distort. Color drained from him little by little until he seemed to exist somewhere between presence and absence.
Behind him, a slowly rotating vortex appeared, resembling a dark celestial body. Something terrifying seemed to lurk within its depths.
Hysilens appeared as well.
A storybook manifested in her hands, recording the tale of an adventurer named Omasidos who had found existence within Nihility.
At that moment, Hysilens also became real.
She existed within the world as a genuine living being.
Meanwhile, the concept of Destruction spreading outward from Nanook was swallowed and dissolved by Nihility, preventing it from inflicting fundamental destruction upon the surrounding universe.
"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!" Aha screamed from the livestream. "Nanook has tried to attack twice, only to be stopped by Permanence and Preservation! And THEIR third attack was blocked by a man using Creation to sustain the concept of Nihility! I can hardly believe it! This is amazing!"
"...We really tried to fight someone like that before?"
The members of the Astral Express watching the livestream could not stop themselves from asking the question.
"The fourth, Order."
The Command Block in Caelus's hand shone more brilliantly than ever before.
Nihility and Creation supplied the power, while Finality opened a route through time.
The past came to the present.
As a hymn praising Order resounded across the cosmos, Ena emerged from a point in history before THEIR death and arrived in the present age where THEY had long since vanished.
THEIR eyes remained closed, but THEIR face turned toward Caelus.
Once THEY understood the present situation, countless golden threads extended out from nothingness and suppressed the violent turbulence of the Path of Destruction.
Cerydra stood in the void and looked toward Caelus, a complicated emotion passing through her eyes.
Then she turned directly toward Ena.
She presented everything she had accomplished, all the achievements of her reign and the Order she had built.
Ena acknowledged her.
Cerydra stepped onto the Path of Order.
And became real.
"The fifth, Remembrance."
Cyrene appeared with a gentle smile.
The sound of freezing ice echoed outward as pink petals scattered through the cosmos.
Fuli the Remembrance descended.
THEY calmly observed everything taking place before THEM.
"The sixth, Harmony."
The power of the Stellaron hidden deep within Amphoreus was stirred.
At the same time, wishes accumulated across countless years began to sing, wishes seeking Harmony, mutual understanding, mutual aid, and unity.
Countless voices joined together.
A beautiful, perfectly unified harmony resounded across the stars.
The three-faced Aeon descended.
Tribios appeared in the void in her adult form.
Her illusory existence became real.
"The seventh, Destruction."
Nanook sensed an overwhelming hatred and fury.
It was aimed directly at THEM.
Across tens of millions of cycles, the pure desire to destroy Destruction itself had accumulated without end.
A deafening roar swept across the cosmos.
Then a white-haired young man raised a greatsword high above his head. Wings spread from his back as he charged toward Nanook like a falling star.
It was the desire to destroy [Destruction].
It was the power, resolve, and rage accumulated across tens of millions of cycles by Khaslana, the Savior who had always believed himself useless, powerless, and the greatest failure of them all.
"I'VE BROUGHT YOUR DESTRUCTION!!!"
The dazzling meteor blazed as though determined to illuminate the darkness of space itself.
All the suppressed emotions accumulated across those countless cycles became fuel, driving Khaslana forward.
He would pierce the body of a god with the greatsword in his hands.
Even if the wound he inflicted amounted to almost nothing, even if it was only the smallest possible injury, that would be enough.
Golden blood fell.
Khaslana became real.
"The eighth, Beauty."
Caelus had not stopped.
He continued.
The power of Finality once again opened a path into the past.
An illusory mirror appeared within the universe.
It reflected every form of beauty and displayed every form of beauty.
Every viewer looking into that mirror saw what they personally considered beautiful. It was intoxicating, captivating, impossible not to love.
And within the shadow concealed behind that enormous mirror, some unknown existence seemed to be laughing softly.
Aglaea saw the mirror as well.
What she saw was Amphoreus.
The garment she had spent tens of millions of cycles trying to weave.
Under the radiance of the Path of Beauty, Aglaea became real.
"The ninth, Erudition."
Irontomb's crimson eye lit up.
The answer to the final problem was transmitted outward.
However, that problem had already been proven long ago. Its conclusion had already become reality in the future.
As a result, Nous suffered nowhere near the disruption once expected.
THEY merely arrived calmly.
Unfortunately, before Nous could even take action, the Aeons who had arrived earlier suppressed THEM together, leaving THEM with no choice but to stand aside and watch.
Anaxa appeared.
He looked toward Nous, the colossal mechanical intelligence, and offered his assessment.
"Another existence created by people. Fundamentally, it doesn't seem that different from the Titans. It's merely far more powerful.
"Perhaps this universe itself is simply a larger Amphoreus."
He spoke calmly.
He barely even reacted to the fact that his own body had become real.
His attention remained fixed entirely on the Aeons gathered before him.
"The tenth, Equilibrium."
Something seemed to sound.
Or perhaps nothing had happened at all.
Some viewers even wondered whether there was something wrong with their hearing and began cleaning out their ears.
Then a rotating black-and-white diagram appeared in the cosmos.
A colossal stone figure manifested behind it.
HooH the Equilibrium.
It was as though THEY had been present all along and simply had not revealed THEMSELVES until now.
Even Castorice had somehow become real without anyone noticing, standing there as though she had always existed.
No one seemed to know exactly when she had appeared.
"The eleventh, Elation."
"Hahahaha! This is hilarious! This is way too much fun! How could Aha possibly miss something this spectacular? If I missed this, I'd regret it for the rest of eternity!
"Hello again, dear viewers! Your host Aha has officially arrived on location! Time for an interview!
"Sir, why exactly are you causing something this enormous? Are you doing it simply because it's fun? If that's the reason, Aha has decided to make you the Aeon of Elation!"
Caelus ignored Aha and tossed a cat at THEM.
Aha caught the little cat with a magician's gloved hand, then looked down at her and laughed.
"Oh! Aha can feel it. You want to steal something from Aha, don't you? Hahaha, now that is funny! Here, have a mask, little girl. Aha has high hopes for you. Make sure you succeed someday~"
Cipher stared blankly at the mask now sitting in her hands.
The instant it appeared, she became real.
"The twelfth, Hunt."
Mydei stepped into the galaxy.
He first looked toward Caelus and shook his head helplessly.
Then he turned toward the white-haired Khaslana, who was still swinging his sword at Nanook even after becoming a real living being.
"How could revenge possibly leave me out?!"
Mydei shouted and threw his fist toward Nanook.
It was revenge against a god.
At the same time, Mydei's previous act of hunting down the Abundance, combined with his overwhelming desire for vengeance and the assistance of the Armoring Ritual, finally succeeded in drawing the gaze of the Hunt.
Lan descended.
Twelve Aeons had gathered at Amphoreus.
The universe fell silent.
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)