In the place where IX and Yevenko had vanished—
—or rather, where they hadn't truly vanished, but were instead transported to a realm of Nihility created by the surging power of IX itself.
Their coordinates remained here, yet were also not here.
Only very few existences could perceive their current predicament.
And right now, one such existence was quietly watching.
It appeared as a blurred human silhouette, as if pieced together from shards of mirrors, its visage fractured through endless prisms into a mysterious puzzle.
A jeweled crown rested upon its head, black robes cascaded around its shimmering crystalline body. If one looked carefully into those refracting crystals, innumerable scenes from across the cosmos could be glimpsed, each preserved vividly as if captured at the very moment they unfolded.
This being was none other than Fuli—the Aeon of Remembrance.
No other existence in the cosmos held memory as purely or inclusively as it did.
Fuli recorded everything without bias or preference, preserving each essential truth and splendid posture impartially. It was a river composed of endless lives, a treasury of ancient wisdom.
And precisely because of this, Fuli had arrived here.
In the main mirror shard that constituted its "face," a scene played out that seemed not to belong here.
Two upright cats holding flyswatters relentlessly smacking… the Aeon of Nihility.
Fuli quietly recorded this absurd yet factual occurrence.
Even stranger, after scouring its memory archives, it realized it had no prior records of these two cats, as if they had sprung into existence from nothing.
It wasn't impossible that beings capable of challenging IX could influence its memories—but there should have at least been some trace. This total absence was utterly baffling.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"
"Hahahahahahaha!!"
"Hahahahaha!!"
Suddenly, uncontrollable laughter erupted nearby, reverberating throughout the surrounding cosmos, spreading the irresistible contagion of joy.
On the left prism of Fuli's mirror-face appeared a reflection of the source: a figure in a red suit, wearing a fool's mask, rolling around on the ground, clutching its stomach, tears of laughter streaming freely from beneath its mask.
"I, Aha, hereby declare Tom as the absolute funniest!"
"This is too hilarious—I've never witnessed anything this fun before!"
The next instant, Aha's eyes shifted, looking directly toward Fuli.
Immediately, the image reflecting Aha on the left prism vanished, replaced swiftly by the scene of the two cats violently thrashing the Aeon of Nihility again.
Pretending like I wasn't secretly watching just now.
But Fuli felt a slight weight on its shoulder—Aha's right arm casually draped itself there. In the left prism, the fool's mask reappeared next to Fuli.
"Oh hey, isn't this Old Bro Fuli?"
"What a coincidence, seeing you here!"
Given that the Aeon of Remembrance was probably born with the cosmos itself, there was nothing wrong with Aha calling it "Old Bro."
Besides, among the Aeons, Aha rather liked Fuli—silent as it was, it recorded everything impartially, which surely included many hilarious memories.
Of course…most importantly, Aha had just thought of something extremely fun and had a small favor to ask. Hence the sudden friendliness.
If it wasn't about something fun, who'd bother paying attention to you? Aha certainly wouldn't.
Seeing Aha's suspiciously cheerful smile, Fuli had an ominous premonition. Its crystalline body flickered like an elusive dream bubble, instantly shifting to the right.
Yet Aha's arm remained firmly draped around Fuli's shoulder.
A glance revealed Aha's arm had simply stretched comically. In the next moment, Aha slid right back beside it, the stretched arm snapping neatly back into place. Aha playfully bumped into Fuli, creating ripples on its pristine crystalline form.
"Hahaha, how about that? It's a funny move I learned from Tom. Seeing this trick really brings a joyful smile, doesn't it~?"
Fuli: "..."
Fuli didn't feel joyful at all—only annoyed.
But this time, it didn't flicker away. It stood still, deciding to compromise.
It might as well hear out Aha's request first. If it refused outright, Aha would probably pester it relentlessly—after all, teasing an Aeon was surely an endless source of joy for the Aeon of Elation.
There was no helping it, considering Aha had discovered its presence this time.
Normally, whenever a significant event occurred, Fuli would be among the first to arrive and record it. Yet somehow, this time, Aha had managed to arrive first and quickly moved to stand beside it once sensing the disturbance.
Seeing Fuli had stopped attempting to leave, Aha realized negotiations were open and broke into an even wider grin.
"Hey, it's nothing too serious!"
"If I stir up even more funny stuff, you'd get to record something more entertaining, right? Otherwise, you'd just end up logging either a big moving rock endlessly bashing smaller motionless rocks, or some crazed lunatic randomly smashing stuff all over the cosmos. Where's the fun in that?"
"So—how about sharing with me the memory of Tom beating up IX?"
Aha rubbed its thumb and forefinger together lightly, giving a playful gesture.
Aeons face-to-face Quick Transfer.jpg.
Of course, Aha could create such a thing itself, but it would never match the vivid immersion of Fuli's authentic memory. Not to mention, anything made by Fuli inherently carried a different level of significance.
Fuli's prism-like visage flickered briefly. Then its crystalline hand extended from within its long sleeves, producing a small cluster of memory essence and handed it to Aha.
Confirming it was genuine, Aha immediately beamed with excitement.
But simply spreading this memory across the cosmos would be dull. It needed a more entertaining delivery method.
Aha quickly conceived a plan.
Elation's energy surged through its hand, reshaping the memory essence into several photos.
However, because these photos contained the Aeon of Nihility, they naturally leaked traces of Nihility's power, coating the originally vivid, gif-like images with a thin layer of dark obscurity.
For Aha, brushing aside this faint Nihility was child's play—this was merely unconscious leakage—but suddenly, inspiration flashed through its mind. The mouth beneath the fool's mask curled upward mischievously, its grin stretching nearly ear-to-ear.
"This might just be the finishing touch~!"
Aha carefully tucked the treasured photos away, then pulled one out again.
"Oh, right. Let's leave one behind for Yevenko and Tom as a souvenir."
Flicking the photo casually like a playing card, it soared across the cosmos, vanishing swiftly.
Then, Aha summoned a small stool with Elation's power and plopped down gracelessly. Donning a pair of 3D glasses over its fool's mask, it brought out an overflowing bucket of popcorn and eagerly munched away, watching the cosmic blockbuster unfold before its eyes.
Soon, joyous laughter resounded again—
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
Popcorn flew everywhere, one kernel accidentally bouncing onto Fuli's face.
Fuli: "..."
…
…
Inside the Nihility Space.
WHAP—!
WHAP—!
WHAP—!
Yevenko and Tom continued smacking the Aeon of Nihility tirelessly, who lay still, flattened repeatedly before reforming.
However, after smacking a bit longer, Yevenko noticed something amiss.
His [Exploration Value], which previously surged, wasn't increasing anymore!
Though he'd amassed plenty already, this certainly wasn't the limit—an Aeon definitely had more to give.
Maybe the system didn't consider this situation a fight anymore?
The Aeon lay passively, neither resisting nor spawning shadow beasts, utterly indifferent to the ongoing assault. Yevenko doubted they were causing it real damage.
Not getting Exploration Value was unacceptable!
They had to step up their game!
"Tom!"
Tom, currently wielding flyswatters in both hands and one tied to its tail, paused, eagerly approaching while its tail continued smacking the Aeon, preventing it from getting up.
Yevenko leaned closer, whispering rapidly into Tom's ear.
As Tom listened, its eyes gleamed brighter, eyebrows dancing excitedly, before flashing a mischievous grin.
…
…
"Watch my wicked topspin serve!"
Yevenko tossed the Nihility-tennis-ball skyward and slammed it fiercely—
Bang!
[Exploration Value] shot up once more.
A fierce, absurd tennis match erupted, joyously chaotic, between Aeon-smacking rounds—
—but as the shrinking milk's effects wore off, IX suddenly loomed towering above again, shadow stretching ominously toward them.
Yevenko gulped nervously, suddenly realizing they'd completely forgotten to redirect the Aeon's Path—
Uh…
Is it too late to talk things out now?