"Hahahaha! Surprised to see me, my boy? That's right! It is I, the one you all adore, the most captivating being in the entire universe! AHA!!!!"
As Aha introduced themself, the dreamscape of Belobog was suddenly filled with the disembodied cheers and applause of a massive crowd.
"Are you in awe, young man? Do you yearn to worship me, this humble Aeon? Don't worry, I know how you feel. It's only natural to be overwhelmed when a down-to-earth Aeon like myself appears in your dreams. Pay no mind to the onlookers! Let your praise for me ring out!"
"Oh."
But in the face of Aha's grand performance, Mo Wang maintained a deadpan expression, completely unmoved. He conjured a plastic lawn chair, sat down, and gestured for Aha to continue.
"Hey, come on! Can't you give me a little more of a reaction? I'm Aha! The Aeon of Elation! Aren't you even a little bit surprised?"
Aha felt a pang of disappointment. Usually, people either worshipped them, feared them, or were at least wary of them. This bored look was a first.
"Oh? Oh! To think the great Aeon of Elation would grace me with their presence! I am truly humbled!"
Mo Wang's words were respectful, but his tone was completely flat.
"Dude, seriously, can't you be a little more dramatic? You're making this really awkward for me," Aha said, scratching their head.
"What kind of reaction do you want? You sneak into my dreams in the middle of the night disguised as a trash can, and you expect me to be nice? Even if you're an Aeon, I'd still tell you to get lost! And don't think I didn't see through your crappy disguise. It was so bad, I knew it was you from the start."
Honestly, the moment Mo Wang realized he was dreaming, he knew something was off. He was weird, but not "dreaming about philosophical trash cans in Belobog" weird. And a dozen golden trash cans? He hadn't encountered a single one since he'd arrived in this world.
It was obvious someone was messing with him. And the only beings who could interfere with his dreams without his permission were the Aeons. Most of them wouldn't bother with such a pointless prank, which left only one suspect: Aha.
"Hey, a little respect, please? I am an Aeon, you know," Aha grumbled.
"Heh, if Nanook, Lan, or Qlipoth showed up, or even IX or Yaoshi, I'd be kissing their feet and begging to be their subordinate. But you? Nah. I'd just be embarrassing you if I tried."
Mo Wang was completely unafraid. He knew that while any other Aeon could probably erase him from existence, Aha, the cosmic jester, wouldn't.
Why? Because they were a troll.
Unlike the chaotic evil of a clown or Nyarlathotep, Aha was pure chaos. Their entire existence was about having fun. But if the ultimate truth of the universe was that "all is vanity," then what was the difference between their philosophy and that of IX, the Aeon of Nihility?
One was apathetic, the other was a rave party. Two sides of the same coin.
They claimed to want to "fill the universe with laughter," but their actions included sending exploding cakes to the Genius Society and putting a bounty on their own head for the Galaxy Rangers to find.
It was... Elation, Mo Wang supposed.
The most ironic part was that when their followers tried to seriously study their teachings, Aha found it "too serious and not funny," effectively trolling their own divine persona.
They might be powerful enough to crush galaxies, but their style was completely different from the other Aeons.
Preservation built walls, Abundance created life, Destruction... destroyed things. Aha's skill tree was maxed out in "Bizarre Human Behaviors."
As the ultimate troll of the Honkai universe, they were incapable of getting truly angry over something like this. You could shoot them in the face with an RPG, and they'd probably just complain that the explosion wasn't big enough.
"Tsk! You're just as boring as that Akivili," Aha huffed, though their interest in Mo Wang only seemed to grow.
"You have the gall to mention Akivili?" Mo Wang retorted. The reason Himeko found the Astral Express in such a dilapidated state was because of Aha's "prank." They had disguised themself as a mortal, rode the train for a year, and then blew up half of it just for laughs.
"Hehehe, that was just an accident, really."
"Heh."
Mo Wang didn't believe a word. This ultimate agent of chaos was less trustworthy than a clown.
"But seriously, was my script that bad? I thought it was pretty good," Aha persisted.
"It was terrible," Mo Wang said flatly. "Trash cans coming to life and attacking people? That's a trope from old horror movies. It's so bland. You didn't even bother to give them Freddy Krueger faces. You should have made them look like the other Aeons. I would've gotten a kick out of that. I'd have taken a picture to show them later."
"Make the trash cans look like the other Aeons and show them the pictures? Holy crap, you're a genius! My boy, I see it now! You were born for Elation!" Aha was practically vibrating with excitement, ready to put the plan into action.
"Can't you do that later? Why are you here, anyway?" Mo Wang asked, annoyed at having his sleep disturbed by such a lame prank.
"Well, Sampo told me a once-in-a-century genius of Elation had appeared. I had to come and see for myself. And it's true! You're perfect for this Path. Have you ever considered becoming my Emanator?" Aha grinned, looking like a shady salesperson trying to recruit someone into a pyramid scheme.
"Huh? Your Emanator? No thanks," Mo Wang refused without a second thought. He would've accepted an offer from any other Aeon, even Nanook. But Aha... the risk factor was just too high.
Their only recorded Emanator was a bug that they'd pumped full of the power of Elation just to see if it could get into the Genius Society.
The bug exploded. So, they didn't know if the bug was a genius, but Aha certainly was. They were the only one to have scientifically proven that bugs cannot handle the power of an Aeon.
"You're not even going to consider it? It's the full power of Elation! All you have to do is nod, and it's yours! As my Emanator, you'd be the strongest being under the Aeons. You could even take on some of the weaker ones."
"I'm afraid you'd blow me up in the middle of a boss fight just for laughs," Mo Wang said. He couldn't trust a chaotic troll not to do something completely unpredictable.
"Oh, you wound me! Haven't you heard? 'Even the Masked Fools sing praises to their Aeon, for They are never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.' I, Aha, have never betrayed anyone."
"Is that so? I'm sure Akivili would have a lot to say about that."
"Damn it, can you stop bringing up Akivili?! They've been [fall] for years!" Even Aha was starting to get annoyed.
"Even so, I'm not one of your followers. I'm with the Trailblaze, remember?"
"You're about as 'Trailblaze' as a pile of rocks! How many Paths are you even on right now?"
"Uh, not that many. Just a dozen or so. And I'm an honorary member of the Intelligentsia Guild, the Garden of Recollection, and the Arbitrators of Equilibrium."
"Good grief, you've even gotten your hooks into Fuli and HooH. So what are you worried about?" Aha slung an arm around Mo Wang's shoulders. "Look, kid, you just happened to meet me first. What other Aeon would be willing to give their full power to a subordinate? Besides, I don't mind if you become my Emanator and then go and become someone else's too."
"What? You can be an Emanator for multiple Aeons?"
"Why should the Paths be so inconvenient? You can walk multiple Paths, and Aeons can devour or merge with each other. What's the big deal about one person serving multiple Aeons?"
"I just want to know... won't you explode?" Even an Emanator was still mortal, right? How could a single body handle so much power?
"Uh, I don't know. No one's ever tried it before. But I think you should! A weirdo like you has already caught the attention of a lot of Aeons. There are plenty who are interested in you."
"Uh, I think I'll pass for now." Mo Wang was still hesitant. He was sure Aha had some ulterior motive. The deity of trolls was definitely up to something.
"Oh, what's there to hesitate about? Since you're so indecisive, I'll just help you out!" Aha laughed, and with a wave of their hand, a massive amount of energy surged into Mo Wang's body.
"Hey! Wait! I didn't agree to this!" Mo Wang felt a torrent of power rush through him, like a thousand volts of electricity. He felt like he was about to explode.
"Hahaha! Don't fight it! This is the power of Elation! Accept it! You're a once-in-a-century genius, you can't waste this opportunity!" Aha laughed maniacally, already imagining the chaos Mo Wang would cause with their power.
"You bastard! This is a forced sale!"
Mo Wang's vision went black. The power inside him raged, and a thousand voices whispered in his ear—laughter, cheers, and screams blending into an incoherent roar. His body began to glow, and the dreamscape around him twisted and warped.
"Aha! You son of a...!"
He gritted his teeth, trying to resist, but Aha's power was too overwhelming. His consciousness began to fade, sucked into an endless vortex.
"Hahaha! Don't resist! Accept it! Become my Emanator! You will be the most interesting being in the universe!" Aha's voice echoed in his ears, full of temptation and madness.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Mo Wang's body erupted in a brilliant flash of light. The dreamscape shattered, replaced by an endless void.
And in that moment, the Path of Elation lay before him, completely and utterly revealed.