Oti Mall, inside a milk tea shop
Acheron watched Adrian arguing with the Masked Fool over the storefront, then turned and walked away without a hint of hesitation.
"Huh? Your [Emanator] just ditched you. Not gonna stop her?" Sparkle craned her neck to look.
Adrian said with perfect seriousness, "She's actually a hidden [Galaxy Ranger]."
"Hehe~ You think I'd buy that?"
"In simple terms, she's a self-annihilator cursed by [Nihility]—and could be considered half an [Eternity] Emanator."
Self-annihilators are those who accidentally stepped into the shadow of [Nihility] IX and lost all meaning of existence.
The shadow of [Nihility] blankets the stars equally; self-annihilators can appear on any world. They share one tragic trait: every aspect of their being—body, perception, memories—gradually fades on their journey toward annihilation.
Acheron's homeworld was destroyed long ago, swallowed entirely by IX's shadow.
To fight that inevitable end, she set out in search of a way to sever [Nihility].
It is only by clinging to a sliver of [Eternity] that she can walk the path of [Nihility] unscathed—her memory loss and the fading of color kept in check.
Beneath the shadow, only [Eternity] remains.
At the tavern at the end of the worlds, whenever someone mentions [Eternity], the Masked Fools transform into philosophical sages and launch into heated debates on the topic.
Some claim: existence itself is eternity. Others insist: [Nihility] gave birth to [Eternity].
Sparkle was dying to know what the actual [Eternity] Aeon thought of it, only to receive a withering eye-roll in response.
"Leave those questions for people to explore themselves. Now… about this 'three deaths' idea—you actually came up with that?"
"What choice did I have~? The [script] that Hunter friend gave me was nothing but garbled code! Do you know how hard it is for a [director] to work with that?!" Sparkle plopped into a chair and held out her hand toward Adrian.
Adrian's face darkened instantly. Who opens a shop without stock?!
"Payment first, delivery second. As for the goods… forget the details. You're already here—if I don't fleece you a bit, how am I supposed to report back to the god of fun?"
Seeing no response, Sparkle instantly slipped into character, tears streaming down her face. "Waaah~ We're all just galactic wage slaves—won't you even spare me one cup of milk tea?"
Sparkle sighed helplessly. All her wild ideas were scrapped because that person had warned her a thousand times: she had to make these [three deaths] happen in the safest way possible.
What counted as the safest way…
Sparkle turned and stared straight at Adrian.
"They say [Eternity] answers every prayer. How about…"
"One hundred billion credits."
Adrian placed his phone on the table and helpfully opened the payment QR code.
"How much?! Are you kidding me—you're an Aeon! How could you possibly need credits!"
Sparkle shot to her feet in outrage. Even emptying her pockets wouldn't cover that! And here she'd gone to Sampo for intel, learning that Adrian used to rob the IPC with THEIR own god of fun.
Well, believing that guy was her mistake.
One hundred billion credits… hmm, Giovanni could probably afford it. He's loaded.
"Ten billion credits."
Out of the "kindness" of HIS heart, Adrian offered a discount.
"Knock off another zero, pretty please? Ten credits?"
Negotiations failed. Sparkle wasn't the controlling type of director anyway, so she decided to let the actor choose the script's direction.
Even though the [script] was corrupted gibberish, that friend had given her a rough summary of upcoming events—like the chicken-wing boy family's drama of love and hate.
...
The Golden Hour, on the way to the Dreamscape Vendor
Stelle jumped at the moving billboards all around her.
"Whoa, the ads move?!"
"Welcome to the [Dreamscape Vendor], Trailblazer of the Astral Express!"
The moment she arrived, Stelle was drawn to a pair of eyes almost as big as Fu Xuan's.
"Wow~ Are you Fu Xuan's long-lost cousin?"
"You may call me Doctor Edward, at your service! Here you can experience all manner of novel and fascinating dreamscapes—from major productions by Clock Studios to private donations, we have it all!"
"If I'm not mistaken, this is your first time in Penacony, correct?"
Doctor Edward rolled his massive eyes.
"No worries—Doctor Edward will provide meticulous assistance in selecting your very first dreamscape, so you may fully enjoy the audiovisual feast only possible in dreams!"
"Analysis complete! I believe you'll love these two dream bubbles."
"They come from anonymous private donations. Rumor has it the memories inside… once belonged to the fallen Aeon Akivili and the Aeon Ite. I can personally guarantee these two bubbles are perfect for you!"
Hearing the names of two old acquaintances, Stelle perked up. "How many credits?"
"Oh~ No payment required. Doctor Edward promises every new guest one free dream bubble trial. Doctor Edward makes no alterations to the authenticity of the bubble's contents—dreams are dreams. Enjoy."
"Very well—which bubble will you choose?"
Stelle thought for a few minutes. "Ite's first."
When you think about it… what if this [Eternity] bubble contained Adrian's embarrassing past? She'd be the first in the universe to peek into an Aeon's history.
Her vision blurred. Stelle successfully entered the bubble in first-person perspective.
"Whoa! I'm now Adri—cough cough, I mean I'm the [Eternity] Aeon now?!"
Doctor Edward's voice automatically echoed in her mind.
"(I offer no explanations or suggestive commentary on this bubble's contents. Within it, you will share the owner's memories and personally experience everything he saw and heard.)"
"(For any blurred sections, your subconscious will automatically fill in similar concepts.)"
Inside the bubble, Adrian was looking at a silver-haired elf girl in pure white training garb and tossing her a bar of soap.
"■■■, ■■■■■?"
"Ready!" The silver-haired elf brimmed with fighting spirit.
Stelle fell silent. First-person with no sound… did she have to voice it herself?
"(Apologies. When this bubble was recorded, portions of the audio track were already lost—perhaps even memoria cannot bear that unspeakable voice.)"
"(But to enhance immersion, I can adjust the bubble. This means you may choose anyone's voice to dub it—as long as you're familiar enough, I can perfectly recreate it from your subconscious!)"
Stelle asked, "Anyone's voice?"
"(No, only people you know well—unless you don't care about accuracy.)"
"(Now, please make your selection! I'll do my best to accommodate.)"
"Ha! No contest—use March 7th's voice. Maximum comedy."