Not long after, Herta and Screwllum arrived on Penacony.
Since it wasn't an emergency, Herta had the time to make the trip—and she brought Asta along as well.
"It's been a long time since I came here. Still as ostentatious and decadent as ever."
Herta looked around the White Daydream Hotel's lobby and pursed her lips.
A dream world wasn't something she had any interest in indulging in, nor did she have the time.
The dreams on Penacony were far too sweet and far too fake—nothing like what dreams were truly supposed to be.
Nightmares and sweet dreams were both dreams. But here, the sweet dreams were so perfect that people didn't want to leave—until they sank into them and rotted away.
"Agreed. The Planet of Festivities generates enormous profits every moment. A life of indulgence and luxury has destroyed countless families."
Screwllum had the numbers. Plenty of people abandoned their families and their real lives just to enter Penacony and experience dreams that were too beautiful to be true.
Inside, you didn't only see the ultra-rich throwing money around. Scum existed here too.
"I've only been to Penacony once. Honestly, it's not that big a deal." Asta didn't show much curiosity.
"Asta… just how rich are you?" Paimon stared at her calm expression, suddenly desperate to know exactly how wealthy she was.
"I don't know."
Asta shook her head. The pocket money her family gave her was literally impossible to spend clean. And even though she only worked as the station master on Herta Space Station, she had other income streams too—she had plenty of companies under her name, and credits flowed in without end.
"A Self-Annihilator of Nihility?"
"Or an Emanator that shouldn't exist."
Herta looked at Acheron, interest mixed with a heavy caution.
If it were someone from another Path, she could invite them to test the Simulated Universe. But someone reeking this strongly of Nihility? Forget it.
Among all the Paths, the power of Nihility was the most outrageous in how it eroded, assimilated, and influenced everything. And the Aeon of Nihility, IX, was publicly acknowledged as the strongest Aeon—even if IX was a world-class slacker that almost never lifted a finger.
Self-Annihilators were people who had carelessly stepped into the shadow of IX—losing any meaning to their existence was only a matter of time.
This Acheron looked ordinary on the surface, but as an Emanator of Erudition, Herta could sense her "scale." She was absolutely at Emanator level. And due to the nature of Nihility, she wasn't a normal Emanator.
Strange. She hadn't expected Nihility to have Emanators these days. Acheron carried an overwhelming "nothingness," yet she could still retain her own color—proof enough that she was exceptional. Even the Doctors of Chaos would probably have to admit that Acheron had walked farther down the road of Nihility than they had.
That was also why Herta had no desire to invite her for testing—she was worried the Simulated Universe wouldn't withstand that degree of Nihility's corrosion.
Nihility didn't just corrode living beings. What it encompassed was existence itself.
"You're Lady Herta, right? I'd like to ask about something—do you know the approximate location of the so-called IX Agency?"
Acheron's voice was soft.
She had been searching for the IX Agency for a long time, but it was too mysterious. She'd made no progress.
"The IX Agency?"
Herta paused, then looked at Acheron with renewed interest. "I don't know what you want that organization for, but unfortunately, I don't know. Across the cosmos, the people who know where the IX Agency is are vanishingly few."
A mysterious organization tied to the Aeon of Nihility—there were only rumors, and nothing had ever been confirmed. Supposedly it operated through a dark network across the galaxy. Many people tried to investigate and found nothing at all.
Most likely, Nihility's influence concealed the organization's very existence.
Herta was curious, but she had no intention of provoking it—and no desire to waste time.
"I see."
Acheron wasn't disappointed.
This wasn't the first time she'd asked around. The result was always the same.
She had met the Doctors of Chaos. Their advice was that the IX Agency might be somewhere deep within the Aeon of Nihility—or at least somewhere close to that depth.
That was too difficult.
IX's whereabouts were unpredictable, and most people didn't want any connection to the Aeon of Nihility, even if they were Emanators.
"So why are you seeking the IX Agency?" Herta asked with interest.
As someone who was also Emanator-level, she had no reason to look down on Acheron.
"At the horizon of existence—at the far end beyond the shore—I want to cut Nihility apart."
Acheron's tone was flat.
That was her ultimate goal, even if she knew it was almost impossible.
"Heh. A Self-Annihilator who wants to kill the Aeon of Nihility… that's truly, utterly Nihility." Herta laughed.
Unless the Aeon of Nihility collapsed on its own, killing Nihility was impossible. The idea itself was Nihility.
Now Herta understood why Acheron could possess Nihility on a scale comparable to an Emanator. She had walked frighteningly far on that road—farther than anyone Herta had ever seen.
Acheron dared to raise a blade against Nihility…
"The resilience of organic life far exceeds my projections," Screwllum said, watching Acheron. Even for an intelligent machine like him, resisting Nihility's erosion and assimilation was impossible.
"It's a bold idea. I think you should look for Elio—the Slave of Destiny. It might know something," Herta said.
As for divination… forget it. Unless Nous, Aeon of Erudition, acted in person, anyone who tried to divine the face of Nihility would have Nihility's power crawl back along the connection and come knocking.
Elio was suspected to be a Pathstrider of Finality. It might truly know something.
…
"Understood." Acheron nodded, then went to the front desk to check in.
From here on, it was best not to entangle herself with Koji and the others—she didn't want to affect them.
"Screwllum, this trip wasn't wasted at all. I didn't expect to run into an Emanator-level Self-Annihilator." Herta laughed.
This was the first time she'd seen a Self-Annihilator who wanted to cut off Nihility. Honestly—ridiculous. But that kind of ridiculous impossibility would only let Acheron gain even more "nothingness."
"A Nihility Emanator is powerful, but the restrictions are equally severe," Screwllum said. "Using too much Nihility power will accelerate her self-annihilation."
Acheron's combat power was unquestionable, but she couldn't act recklessly. Her endurance was likely worse than other Emanators—there was a heavy price.
Still, no one would think an Emanator like that was easy to bully. And no Emanator would want to provoke Acheron.
You'd really die.
"Koji, where did you meet this Acheron?" Herta asked.
"On a planet. She was lost—couldn't find the direction to Penacony—so we brought her here," Koji said.
Just like Zoro from the pirates, Acheron had a hard time finding the right road.
Before meeting them, she'd probably taken who-knew-how-many detours. A top-tier navigational disaster.
"Huh?" Herta paused, then thought of the Self-Annihilator's nature and nodded. "That's understandable. The influence of Nihility."
Acheron, walking as living Nihility, being able to maintain even a certain degree of self… was already shocking enough.
(End of Chapter)
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