["Sounds like an all-you-can-eat buffet?"]
["You can interpret it that way." Herta continues her explanation, "It's said that between the birth of the universe and the emergence of Aeons, there was a vast blank period; in that blank roamed wondrous beings called ancient beasts. But after Aeons were born, the ancient beasts disappeared. Legend says 'Voracity' was the last surviving ancient beast, but this claim is currently unverified—true or false, no one knows."]
[As Herta speaks, Stelle notices the scenery around her shifting again—perhaps meaning Voracity opened THEIR maw once more, swallowing the world she was in. This time, Simulated Universe brings her to an ocean... a scarlet, blood-warm ocean.]
[A melodious song drifts from the distance.]
[Stelle instinctively stays alert. But the sound burrows into her eardrums, turning into tiny hands that gently tug at her nerves. Something waits for her at the end of the red sea—this realization melts sweetly like sugar frosting in her mind.]
[Stelle tries to resist the song with reason, but her legs won't listen... seawater rises past her knees. At the far end of the red sea, a crack opens, and the song comes from within that gap.]
[Can't hold back... really can't hold back... want to be eaten by THEM.]
[Suddenly, Stelle feels a gentle tap on her shoulder. The song at the end of the red sea vanishes instantly. The sensation in her brain disappears, replaced by relieved relaxation.]
[It must be Herta. Stelle gets a bit angry: "Next time something like this happens, can you do it sooner?"]
["Hehe, Stelle, I know you're anxious, but hold on... I also need to observe how humans react when attracted by Voracity."]
——
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.
The sun sets, the campfire crackles. Fern hugs her staff tighter, scooting closer to the fire.
"Frieren-sama, I suddenly feel... we're pretty lucky."
"Oh? Why do you think that, Fern?" Frieren's lips curve into a slight smile, her silver hair glowing faint orange in the firelight. "Because of the Aeons?"
"Yeah, I think living in the same universe as these Aeons, and still being able to talk like this... is incredibly, incredibly fortunate."
Fern gazes up at the starry sky twinkling with stars: "Just the clash between Propagation and Voracity already wiped out two-thirds of the galaxies and civilizations in the universe. That we survived until now means we're in that one-third. And being in that one-third, we've avoided who knows how many disasters caused by Aeons, continuing our civilization to this day."
"Our civilization, our magic... they're so tiny before the might of Aeons. The thought that our world could be erased with a snap of an Aeon's fingers makes me really uneasy." Fern sighs softly, the campfire embers dancing in her eyes but failing to dispel the chill seeping from deep in her bones.
"Fern." Frieren tosses a branch into the fire, sparks popping. "To wipe us out... those Aeons wouldn't even need to 'snap their fingers,' right?"
"...Even at a time like this, you still have the mood to joke." Fern puffs out her cheeks in annoyance.
Frieren chuckles softly, slowly closing the grimoire on her lap: "Fern, I understand your unease, because what Simulated Universe shows right now is all chaos and annihilation."
"But think about it—like how Destruction has Preservation as its opposite, Abundance has Hunt. Our civilization lasting to today must mean some Aeon is gently protecting us. Maybe Preservation, maybe Harmony... who knows?"
Stark nods half-understandingly, making "oh oh" sounds: "I get it, Frieren—you mean even if some Aeon wants to bully us, there'll definitely be another Aeon backing us up. Is that it?"
"Yeah... something like that?"
——
[Suddenly, Stelle feels a sharp pain in her brain. Her legs give out, and she slips like a sheet of paper, collapsing onto the beach.]
[Countless memories pierce her consciousness like dense steel needles, as if a torrent is about to sweep her away—a planet's sunset where a mother lifts her child overhead; a space station corridor where researchers laugh and pass data pads; neon-lit ring city where lovers exchange unfinished vows.]
[These scenes are suddenly stretched and distorted, like light thrown into a black hole. She sees every face freeze before Voracity's maw, billions of "no"s converging into deafening silence.]
["Ugh—!"]
[Stelle lets out a pained sound.]
["And Memory... strange, we clearly haven't seen Fuli, yet countless memories flood into your mind." Herta sounds somewhat surprised but quickly regains her usual calm. The memories and pain in Stelle's brain last only a few seconds before being removed like some program.]
["What just happened?" Stelle, barely recovering from the pain, rubs her temples.]
["It's Memory's Fuli. Some say the Path of Memory emerged precisely during this catastrophe—to preserve the moment of the stars' demise. Makes sense—but it's too sensible, almost like something a fictional historian cooked up. Anyway, I'm getting a bit interested now."]
——
DC Universe.
"Lady Herta's view... the birth of Aeons is too reasonable, which makes it seem false." Bruce Wayne frowns, his low voice carrying a trace of confusion. "So she means the birth of Aeons is all unreasonable?"
Alfred stands to the side holding a tea tray, the silver reflecting orange light.
"Young Master, if I may be frank, from the known Intellect and Propagation, the birth of Aeons does carry a certain theatricality—often clashing with common sense, more coincidental than human fiction."
"It's hard to imagine a god who solves the mysteries of the universe was once just a computer; the Aeon presiding over the concept of universal reproduction was no different from the beetles in our garden before ascension... Compared to that, the birth of the Memory Path is far too conventional."
"Previously, the Daily Planet published a special feature on some Aeon intelligence. The writer believed the emergence of Aeons is a gradual process—like a long journey on a specific Path; one becomes an Aeon by walking far enough and long enough on that road."
"But just from Propagation... it's not that complicated at all. Becoming an Aeon happens in an instant—one second it's just an ordinary bug, the next... THEY are the Insect King presiding over the Propagation of the entire universe."