"Tch."
Setsuna looked at Aha, feeling a headache coming on.
As expected, the first to find him was this one.
Aha had an extraordinary relationship with Akivili. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to consider Them the strongest Emanator of Trailblaze.
"Woof!"
While muttering to Themselves, Aha circled around Setsuna like a dog welcoming its owner home.
"I was very sad. I used to be very sad."
"I truly thought you were dead. Why did you die? Where did you go?!"
All the clown masks on Their head turned into crying faces. The sorrow spread outward, infecting even the people nearby.
Ruan Mei frowned. She normally possessed almost no human emotions, yet under Aha's influence, she felt an inexplicable sadness, as if she wanted to cry.
Even though she didn't know why she wanted to cry, it was simply the passive influence of an Aeon affecting her.
"Uh..."
After a few seconds of sorrow, Aha's clown masks switched back into smiling faces, moving close to Setsuna.
"But! But!"
"You actually came back to life!! Hahahahaha!!!"
"How did you do it? Aha saw that your ownerless Trailblaze had been reclaimed—Aha knew you had returned!!"
"Aha was waiting for you to come find me, but you didn't! So Aha came to find you instead!"
Their voice became incomparably cheerful again.
Ruan Mei, Herta, and everyone in the space station once again felt a surge of joy for no reason at all, even though they had no idea why they were feeling happy.
"First of all, I'm not Akivili. Second, I don't think we're that close."
Setsuna crossed his arms and said.
Given Aha's nature, after noticing that the Path of Trailblaze had been reclaimed, They would naturally assume Akivili had been resurrected.
This new Aeon of Trailblaze had become Their greatest source of amusement, and They were determined to figure out what had happened.
"Huh?"
Aha paused for a moment, then circled Setsuna again. The clown masks also glanced at the others.
"No, no. You are Trailblaze. That means you are Akivili—but also not."
"You've changed a lot. You have many powers Aha doesn't recognize. You're even stronger than Aha. Did you gain them in other worlds?"
"???"
Setsuna was speechless.
He realized Aha had interpreted him as an upgraded version of Akivili.
Their logic seemed to be that Trailblaze equals Akivili, and whoever controls the Path of Trailblaze is Akivili.
Considering that Aeons themselves were conceptual existences, this reasoning oddly made sense.
"I'm the commander of the Starsea Empire. If you've been observing this universe recently, you should know who I am."
Setsuna replied.
"Oh!"
Aha scratched Their nonexistent head.
"I know!"
"You turned the Interastral Peace Corporation into a painting and hung it in the sky!! Aha looked at every single one of them! It's the most interesting and unique artwork in the universe!"
"Aha wanted to find you and ask how you did it, but there were some troublesome people with you!"
"Hm?"
Setsuna thought for a moment. The "troublesome people" Aha mentioned were probably Nyarlathotep and the others.
"You are Akivili. Trailblaze is you. You are the new Akivili—stronger than the old one."
Aha declared decisively.
"You're called Setsuna now? Is that Akivili's new name? I still prefer your old name."
"..."
Setsuna gave up trying to argue with Them.
"Look at this place, my dear friend!"
Aha suddenly spun around.
"Why are you with these people who have no sense of humor? What's so interesting about that scrap metal's followers?"
"?"
Herta and Ruan Mei were somewhat displeased by Aha's personal attack, but neither of them spoke.
"We should go somewhere farther! Where is your Astral Express?!"
"Oh, if you're still angry that I blew up your Astral Express, then I apologize!"
As They spoke, Aha actually bowed to Setsuna. However, due to Their bizarre appearance, it looked rather grotesque.
"..."
Setsuna seriously considered whether he should beat Aha up.
This one would probably come looking for fun every so often, and Their "fun" might very well bring trouble.
After thinking about it, he came up with a more interesting way to deal with the Aeon of Elation.
—Use Them to create an even bigger joke.
"Once I'm done with things here, I'll come find you."
Setsuna cleared his throat.
"Then we'll go find something fun together."
"Really?"
Aha instantly became delighted and burst into laughter.
The laughter echoed throughout the entire space station. Even the computers and holographic interfaces displayed countless smiling faces.
"What? What? What?! Akivili, do you have a good idea?!"
"Tell Aha quickly! Aha wants to know!!"
All the clown masks on Their body turned into wide grins.
"You'll know when the time comes."
Setsuna snorted.
"But if you dare come cause me trouble, then forget it."
Crack!
Space froze for a brief moment as his hand pressed against one of the clown masks.
Boom!!—
The Suniaster, Honkai energy, and Imaginary energy fused together, releasing an overwhelming burst of power.
Aha swayed slightly.
"Oh! You've grown stronger! You've become stronger than Aha!"
"Aha understands! Aha will wait for your good news!!!"
Shua—
The Aeon of Elation vanished in an instant.
Leaving behind a trail of hearty laughter across the universe.
"Hahahahaha—"
"Akivili, Akivili! Oh, you're called Setsuna now? Whatever, any name works! Ah! What a wonderful day today!!"
Aha was in an extremely good mood. They even considered going to find Nous, Qlipoth, or some other Aeon to stir up some fun in celebration.
They passed through the celestial comet wall and subspace crystalline barriers forged by Qlipoth. Those barriers spanning light-years couldn't stop Them.
And then left behind joyful laughter.
"Our old friend Akivili has returned! Akivili is back! They're stronger than before! They can explore even farther and wider!"
"Qlipoth, don't you miss Them? Hahahahaha—"
Qlipoth: "???"
...
After sending Aha away.
"Phew—"
Herta and Ruan Mei let out a long breath.
Being qualified to face an Aeon directly was normally an unparalleled honor—something countless people would take pride in.
However, being sought out by Aha was an entirely different matter.
They were clearly followers of Erudition—completely different from someone who wandered the universe seeking amusement.
Members of the Genius Society encountering Aha in person!
This was practically a form of dark humor.
Fortunately, Aha had absolutely no interest in them. From beginning to end, They only circled around Setsuna, not even sparing the others a glance.
"Ugh, I knew it would be Them."
The Herta puppet rubbed her head.
"Even in the Simulated Universe, Aha is the most troublesome one. Every single time, They realize that They're just a construct made of code."
"And this time They actually came in person. What a pity—the station's observation equipment was mostly destroyed when the Simulated Universe exploded."
She felt regretful that she couldn't gather more data on Aha.
A glance from an Aeon lasted only an instant. But Aha had stayed in front of them for quite a while, conversing with Setsuna.
"Commander, I request permission to conduct close-range observation at your side."
Herta raised her hand.
"You are now an extremely unique existence. You've taken control of the Path of Trailblaze and also fused powers from multiple worlds."
"More importantly, you now have frequent opportunities to directly interact with Aeons. Not just Elation—other Aeons may also come to find you and investigate why the Path of Trailblaze has been reclaimed."
"...This might be the most important research opportunity in history."
Her goal had always been to explore the mysteries of Aeons. Setsuna's current position spoke for itself.
Not only did he control the power of a Path, but Aeons would occasionally show up to find him. Staying by his side meant an endless stream of research data.
"I would also like to observe you at close range."
Ruan Mei nodded.
"Your research value is unparalleled within the Genius Society."
"...I'll allow you to stay by my side, but don't interfere with me. And don't expect me to deliberately cooperate with your experiments."
Setsuna didn't mind bringing along two more companions. His gaze landed on the Herta puppet.
"Also, can you show a bit of sincerity? You're only sending a puppet? Hmm?"
"I'm currently warping to the space station, Commander."
Herta replied.
Right now, nothing was more important than researching and observing Setsuna. The real Herta had decided to come personally.
"There's one more thing."
"Commander, what are you planning to do about Aha?"
Grey shook her head and asked.
"Even if They agreed to you, I doubt Aha will stop looking for entertainment. Tch... Their behavior is completely impossible to predict."
If the actions of other Aeons could at least be estimated based on their concepts, then Aha was absolutely the most unpredictable one.
"I know. I'll keep an eye on Them. Since Aha likes fun, I'll use Them to create some fun."
Setsuna smiled.
"..."
"That idea itself is very 'Elation,' Commander. Are you planning to make Aha laugh to death and then inherit Their Path?"
Grey narrowed her eyes.
"No. I think the Starsea Empire doesn't lack people suited for Elation. I can already think of at least three candidates."
...