Amphoreus' fate remains unchanged even after 33,550,337 cycles. Everything is destined to be swallowed by the Black Tide. Phainon is named as the Deliverer, going back in time over and over until the Deliverer from Beyond the Sky arrives.
Shi Tian's presence threw everything into chaos, one that worked to their favor.
Having witnessed countless deaths and partings, the Flame Reaver Phainon lost all emotions but his anger. It was this emotion that kept burning inside his chest. The anger of the weak being trampled upon could coalesce into one strike that wounds an Aeon.
Never had he used his full power prior to everything. Doing so would place him at an irreversible position. They HAD to find an answer to Amphoreus' plight once it happens.
In the original trajectory, he used it to hold back the Black Tide of the 33,550,337th cycle. The entity known as "Phainon" ceased to exist in this cycle, and so did the Black Tide. Ultimately, it led to the confrontation against Irontomb.
At this moment, fate's trajectory spiraled out of control.
'Have I done the right thing?'
He recounted his meetings with Shi Tian. The first proper meeting they had was when he bore the identity of the Wrought Iron Hero. Shi Tian forcibly brought him down and told the story of Kevin Kaslana.
The way he struggled until the very end, to wound up defeated and have his 'wrong choices' rectified planted a seed of doubt in his mind.
The arrival of those 'strange' but powerful women helped him make up his mind.
'If this was the destined cycle…'
He no longer hesitated and unleashed those blazing flames. His figure soared to the skies, disappearing amongst the sea of crimson-black darkness torn above the sky.
'Neikos496…'
At the Exomyth, Zandar experienced yet another undercurrent. This time, it was Destruction's turn to gaze at Amphoreus. He does not know what happened between Neikos496 (Phainon) and Nanook, only that it caused THEM to shift THEIR gaze towards Amphoreus for the second time.
Hum-!
Beep-!
Beep-!
…
Countless alerts appeared on the Exomyth's dilapidated LED screens. The entirety of Amphoreus shook.
A flash of light passed in Zandar's eyes. The prior events satisfied his curiosity greatly. The waves stirred up by the foreign Aeon were so huge it seemed unimaginable to him. Not even his act of creating an Aeon could match it.
"It has come to this."
He looked at the Eternal Loop that signified Amphoreus. As its creator, his main intention in building it is to create Irontomb, the Anti-Creator and Hatred Incarnate. Zandar believes that the Erudition greatly hindered the universe's capability to progress on its own just by existing.
Now that he witnessed its gradual destruction—and Irontomb's eventual actualization—he felt complex.
Phainon's usage of power and last-ditch struggle against Destruction spelled the beginning of the end.
Unknown to him, beyond Amphoreus, his eight other avatars watched everything. Each produced their own ideas, though one stood out amongst them all.
Zandar One Kuwubara, Genius Society #1, the creator of the Droidhead, Nous.
When he died, he split himself into nine avatars, each bearing a part of himself. These nine worked on their own projects. Amphoreus is one of them.
Nine avatars, nine selves, nine different thoughts.
"...Creation. The possible reversal of space-time… and the universe's other hope in fulfilling its wish."
The most special avatar was made of Zandar's complete memories. Unlike the other avatars, it is wrong to call him Zandar's avatar. He was created based on the notion of a 'blank slate'. It would be more apt to say that he is an amnesiac man who possessed all of Zandar's memories.
He is the judge to his actions, the spectator to all of the universe's secrets.
Naturally, he knew about the secret behind the universe's loop. Trailblaze is the most special Path of them all. The universe's named Deliverer treading that Path confirms it all.
"Amphoreus… has served another purpose."
Amphoreus' creation involved him. He modeled it after the universe's loop, mirroring the circumstances between Phainon and the Trailblazer—both being the Deliverers of their respective worlds. He wanted to use it to arrive at a different answer. To see another outcome of the universe's Finality. It is a simulation of the universe's plight.
Originally, it was supposed to come true after a long time. Amphoreus' lifeforms such as dromas would eventually appear in the real world. The simulation is bound to affect reality, giving it the slightest chance to overturn everything.
With Creation's arrival, the universe did find another hope.
Shi Tian, the future Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert, the possessor of the Dao of All Creation.
Most importantly…
He is destined to be the final puzzle piece to the universe's endless sorrows (tribulations).
Even if Zandar cannot see the full picture, he could still 'grasp' the general flow of events.
The first emotion that surged was not surprise nor skepticism.
It is curiosity.
Every genius lives and dies out of curiosity. Zandar is no different. Despite claiming to hateNous' existence, he still holds curiosity towards THEM.
Just then, Zandar looked at the distant stars. An intangible 'streak' went to the solar system's vicinity. He is more than familiar with who she was—and why she is doing this.
For a while, he held the attitude of watching a good show from afar.
*****
Circle of Knowledge.
It is a well-founded concept within the Genius Society. It is likened to a circle drawn amidst the darkness—or the maps of unexplored regions in video games.
Every time someone discovers a piece of knowledge that subverts the entire universe, the circle expands. The fog present in the map disappears.
The act of expanding the circle gives birth to a phenomenon known as "Knowledge Singularity".
Many would think that it is a beneficial act to further explore the universe's secrets.
They are wrong.
The Genius Society #4, Polka Kakamond, known as the Lord of Darkness, discovered it was otherwise.
The existence of Knowledge Singularities accelerates Finality's descent. It prematurely brings the universe's death day forward.
To prevent such things from happening, she took it upon herself to stop any beings who are about to do such a thing. Once she cannot convince them with "words", she resorts to violence.
That was how Rupert II, the Second Mechanical Emperor who inherited the Anti-Organic Equation, died.
Most importantly, Zandar One Kuwubara died under her scalpel. Lygus… Zandar's measures to hide Amphoreus from the outside world did not stem from Aeons, but from her threat!
Now that the Aeons gazed at Amphoreus consecutively, she had already discovered traces of it.
Only, a larger issue took her current attention.
'The variable to the universe's equation…'