"W-Wait... an Aeon?!"
"What's someone like that doing here?!" March was totally confused.
She couldn't fathom why an Aeon would care about the train, let alone go out of their way to visit.
But even knowing they were dealing with an Aeon, March felt no fear or tension. After all, she knew her own deadbeat dad was also an Aeon. And a pretty strong one at that. So she had nothing to be scared of.
"The Jester God. Aha, the Aeon of Elation."
"Following that Path, their reason for coming is simple: they're here for some fun," Himeko replied calmly, resting a hand on her chin.
"Heehee haha!"
"Exactly! This Navigator lady sure knows Aeons!"
"The Astral Express setting sail again? How could Aha resist such an interesting spectacle? Aha had to come join the fun!"
"Heehee haha—!!!"
Aha's laughter echoed from all directions.
But the two women only heard the voice, there was no sign of the Aeon anywhere. The whole situation felt bizarre.
"Hey, Jester God, where are you?"
"Why can't we see you? Are you too ugly to show your face?" March looked around, seeing no one, and asked curiously.
"Heehee haha!"
"This little girl's got guts! Aha likes that!"
"It's not that Aha won't show up Aha's right outside the train."
"But something about this train... some rule or power... Aha can't get in! Makes Aha so sad!"
"Aha has lost face."
The voice carried a tinge of sorrow.
Hearing this, the two women realized why the Aeon of Elation was nowhere to be seen, they simply couldn't enter the Express.
And they immediately knew who was responsible. They both turned to look at Yuki.
"You did this?" March asked.
Yuki nodded slightly, admitting he was the one blocking the Aeon.
March's expression said, Called it.
Knowing his power level, blocking some little Aeon was nothing.
But Himeko? She was shocked.
Shocked that Yuki could block an Aeon and leave them completely helpless. Did that mean his power rivaled or even surpassed the Aeons?
No wonder he'd been so dismissive of them yesterday. He actually had the strength to back it up.
"So, Himeko? Should we let our first visitor in?" Yuki looked at her.
As the Navigator, Himeko was essentially the train's administrator. By protocol, the decision was hers. (Pom-Pom was technically the conductor, but let's be real—they were mostly a mascot.)
"Hmm..."
"Rare guests don't come often. As representatives of the Astral Express, we should uphold proper hospitality."
After a moment's thought, Himeko decided to let Aha in.
Granted, the Aeon of Elation was notoriously unpredictable—arguably the hardest Aeon to read. Interacting with them came with risks.
But with Yuki around, someone who could clearly keep them in check, Himeko felt a lot more at ease.
"Alright then."
With Himeko's approval, Yuki let Aha in.
A mere shift in his intention, and a figure emerged from a swirling void.
What appeared before them was a pitch-black, headless humanoid form, clutching various objects in their hands: clown masks, gift boxes, streamers, playing cards all the trappings of surprise party favors.
This was Aha, the Aeon of Elation, master of the Path of Elation in the Star Rail universe.
March 7th couldn't help but react.
"So this is the Aeon of Elation? Clown masks? Gift boxes?"
"If I didn't know better, I'd think I walked into a surprise party." She couldn't resist complaining.
Himeko, meanwhile, studied the Aeon's form carefully. Opportunities to witness an Aeon's true form weren't exactly common. So she made sure to take in every detail of this entity whose primary goal seemed to be seeking entertainment.
"Heehee haha!"
"Pretty lady, if you like, Aha can give you one!"
"Look here!"
One of the clown masks floating before Aha twisted into an eerie grin. A hand extended, offering up what looked like a small statue.
It had the body of a pig but stitched onto it was the head of an owl. A bizarre, nonsensical fusion.
March stared at it, dumbfounded.
"A pig... with an owl head?"
"Who comes up with stuff like this?" she couldn't help but ask.
Aha just laughed.
"Heehee haha—!"
"Don't you think it's fun? Why must a pig's body have a pig's head? Could be a dog's head! Or an owl's head!"
"As long as it's fun, that's all that matters!"
"Heehee haha!"
The clown mask radiated gleeful laughter.
In Aha's eyes, anything that sparked amusement was worth pursuing. They'd even resort to unseen manipulation, subtly steering the fates of beings and pulling strings behind reality itself, all for the sake of entertainment.
Many of the universe's major events had Aha's fingerprints all over them.
Take the era when Emperor Rubert conquered the seas of stars, for example. Aha's followers, after the Scholars Alliance fell to inorganic life, stirred up rebellion there. They infected the conquerors' central processing units with a humorous paradox virus called the "Philosopher's Poison," overthrowing the tyranny of the local mechanical legions.
Stories like this were everywhere.
And the Aeon's reason for all of it? Pure entertainment.
This Aeon of Elation was either seeking amusement or on their way to seek amusement. For the sake of fun, they'd ignore any rule in the universe.
That's why so many found this Aeon so troublesome including Himeko.
March 7th shrugged, declining the gift.
"No thanks. That thing's not cute at all!"
"Oh! Aha failed to give a gift! Aha has lost face!"
Seeing March refuse, the clown mask drooped into a dejected expression.
"Come on, Aha. Everyone knows you're not sincere about anything."
"That thing you tried to give? It's a jack-in-the-box. You were trying to scare her." Yuki smirked, seeing right through the "gift."
"What?!"
March's eyes widened. She'd almost been tricked.
"You jerk! You were trying to trick me! Good thing I didn't take it!"
She clenched her fists, itching to punch this shameless Aeon.
"Heehee haha!"
"Exposed! Aha's such a failure!"
Aha didn't seem upset at all. If anything, they found it funny.
After all, amusement was amusement, even if they were the punchline.