[Aha, the Aeon of Elation. The worst of the Nameless.]
Many years ago, the Astral Express had come into close contact with many Aeons: Klipoth, Fuli, Taiyi, Xipe...
During the peak of the Astral Express, in an era when the Nameless were spread throughout the cosmos, each of these Aeons had established a connection with the Express.
Then, as expected, Aha also got involved, but in a way that far exceeded anyone's imagination—this guy, in order to play a prank on Akivili and his Nameless, went so far as to disguise himself as a mortal, lurking on Akivili's train for over a year. Finally, he found his chance and blew up half the train and an entire planet into dust.
Thinking of Aha, Pom-Pom couldn't help but grind his teeth in hatred. That guy had blown up the train for such an absurd reason!
He would never be forgiven, Pom! He would definitely make that guy witness the dignity of the Astral Express's conductor, Pom!
Pom-Pom thought to himself, while Welt sank into contemplation.
Aha, the Aeon of Elation. It was actually him...
The far-famed God of Fun. Among the many Aeons, he was the most joyous and also the most unrestrained.
If it was Aha, then this [Trailblaze] event was not so simple.
Who knew what Aha was thinking? Among all the Aeons, he was the most difficult to understand.
"Aha, the Aeon of Elation... doesn't sound like a good person."
After hearing Pom-Pom's description, the Ultra Brothers and Zero had no favorable impression of this Aeon they had never met.
To blow up a train and a planet for his own amusement—even though the train's owner, Akivili, didn't mind—an Aeon who could commit such an act clearly did not stand on the side of justice and reason.
But this was also normal. As the Aeon of Elation, his position could not be simply defined by good or evil. If one had to assign him an alignment, Chaotic Neutral would undoubtedly be the most fitting for Aha.
---o---
Light Curtain Bullet Chat
The audience outside the video also gained a deeper understanding of the Aeon of Elation through Pom-Pom's words.
Just how bored must he have been to disguise himself as a mortal and lurk on the Astral Express for a whole year, just to prank Akivili?
Clearly, for the vast majority of people, Aha's actions were truly incomprehensible. Was he trying to make more enemies for himself? Any normal person in Akivili's shoes would never forgive Aha's actions.
Though, Akivili was hardly normal himself. His own train was blown up, and he didn't even react.
So, when comparing powerhouses, Aeons were far more difficult to understand than Ultra Warriors.
After all, Ultra Warriors, even powerful ones like Noa and Ultraman King, were still paragons of morality. They were infinitely better than complex beings like the Aeons.
King of Heroes: "Heh, hahaha! An Aeon who exists for the sake of elation! How very much to my liking."
Kirei Kotomine: "Elation... Joy... Blowing up a train... would one truly feel elation?"
Grand Caster Arash: "If he had only blown up the Astral Express, that would be one thing. But Aha also destroyed a planet at the same time. Splendid! It truly makes one curious what methods he used to achieve it!"
Art is Patrick Star: "Hahaha, even an Aeon recognizes my aesthetic? That's right, that's right! Art is an explosion! Whether it's the Astral Express or a planet, just blow it all up!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Sigh... it's no wonder Aha calls himself a Nameless. So that's the reason. But judging from the things he's done, he's definitely the most nefarious of the Nameless."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "The most nefarious of the Nameless, yet he enabled the Astral Express to make a cross-era advancement in the history of Trailblazing. Although Stelle and the Amber King might have been factors, I think... perhaps it's precisely because of this 'Nameless' identity that Aha allowed the Astral Express to come to the Ultra Universe."
Sparkle the Imp: "So that's how it can be explained? How fun! O Lord of Fun, seeing your words, I bet He is grinning from ear to ear... Hahahahaha..."
Serious people's words often bring more joy to the fun-seekers. Although the actions of an Aeon cannot be understood through the logic of mortals... Aha couldn't have had any serious reason for sending the Astral Express over. He would only do so under the guise of a righteous reason.
---o---
[On the light curtain, several hours had passed.]
In the Land of Light, there was no division between day and night. The entire twenty-four hours of a day were all daytime.
So for the people on the Astral Express, the novelty of their first visit to the Land of Light had not yet worn off.
"Hey... Stelle, Dan Heng, look! What's that over there? It's so big!"
Pointing at the training grounds for the Ultra Warriors of the Land of Light, March 7th exclaimed excitedly.
Dan Heng merely crossed his arms and said calmly, "Given their size, isn't it normal for it to be built this large?"
In a way, they were the first batch of "humans" to visit the Land of Light, and a type that didn't require any sort of protection.
After all, the light of the Land of Light, if shone on an ordinary person, would result in either mutation or death, with the latter being far more likely.
"Hmph~ How come I never noticed before? Dan Heng can be such a wet blanket. I was so excited to come to this planet for the first time."
Hearing Dan Heng's calm words, March 7th put her hands on her hips and complained.
Because many different aspects were involved—the exchange of information between the two universes, the alliance between the Astral Express and the Land of Light, and many other complex issues—Welt and Himeko had gone to the center of the Space Garrison to discuss matters with the true leader of the Ultra race, Father of Ultra.
Although Pom-Pom was also very curious about the outside, he decided to stay and guard the Astral Express.
Because of Aha, he planned to inspect the Astral Express from top to bottom... no, it should be several times over, to prevent Aha from doing anything to his beloved train.
It seemed that incident had truly left a deep shadow on Pom-Pom.
March 7th thought to herself, feeling a pang of sympathy for Pom-Pom's experience. To encounter such an idle God of Fun, he was, in a sense, quite pitiful.
"By the way, where's Stelle? Wasn't she following behind us the whole time? How come I don't see her?"
March 7th looked behind Dan Heng. Besides the emerald-green buildings, there was no longer any trace of Stelle.
"She..." Recalling what Stelle looked like, Dan Heng couldn't help but palm his forehead in exasperation.
This, however, made March 7th even more anxious. "Oh, come on, just tell me! What happened to Stelle? Nothing bad happened, right? You're scaring me to death!"
"..." Looking at March 7th's face, Dan Heng sighed and said, "She said she was going to look for the Land of Light's trash cans, so she headed towards the residential district."
March 7th: "..."
Silence. Right now, there was nothing else to say but silence.
Can you really be Stelle? I thought that after you became so strong, a generation gap would form between us. But now it seems I was completely overthinking it. You're still you, not a single thing has changed.
The once-sensational trash can maniac, who had even made Asta and Herta tremble in fear, was back?
"Before the Ultras of the Land of Light discover Stelle's actions, let's just leave. Around this time, Uncle Welt and the others should be coming back soon," March 7th skillfully changed the subject, a move so practiced it was heartbreaking.
Really, she was clearly an ultimate, invincible, and adorable beautiful girl just like her, so why did she have such a fixation on trash cans? Don't tell me she's going to marry a trash can in the future?
Thinking of that image, March 7th felt even more upset. If she had known this would happen, she never would have let her open that first trash can.
But alas, it was too late to say anything now. Pandora's Box had been opened, and it couldn't be closed...
---o---
What happened?
Stelle, trash cans... is this some new kind of secret code? Why couldn't they understand?
Outside the light curtain, countless viewers who saw this scene had a giant "?" appear above their heads.
To be fair, after watching so many fight scenes, a slice-of-life scene like this was actually quite interesting. The innocent and adorable March 7th, the cool and aloof Dan Heng—they had certainly captured the hearts of many viewers outside the video. Some of the more dramatic ones had already started calling them their waifus and husbandos in the bullet chat.
But the first part was fine. Why couldn't they understand the part about Stelle?
As everyone knew, as the woman with the most screen time on the Astral Express, she should have been the character most familiar to the viewers outside the video.
But now, it seemed the situation was the exact opposite.
The impression of Stelle for many viewers was that of a quiet girl who occasionally spouted some astonishing words. She was kind, yet also a bit of a troll, but overall, her image was quite good.
Mainly, Stelle hit all their sweet spots. As long as a beautiful girl wasn't too over the top, she would win the affection of most people, not to mention Stelle was a hero who had saved the universe.
Silver Wolf: "Trash cans? That shouldn't be some strange code word, right? What exactly did Stelle learn during her time on the Express?"
Galaxy Baseballer: "Auntie, ah no, Silver Wolf... what does this have to do with you? You're not my mom."
Kafka: "My dear child, can you tell me what this trash can business is all about? Don't tell me the Astral Express can't feed you, so you have to rummage through trash cans for food?"
March 7th: "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! What are you talking about, you bad woman! Our Astral Express is nothing like you cold-blooded Stellaron Hunters! Stelle loves digging through trash cans, and it's all your fault no matter how you look at it!"
Galaxy Baseballer: "Ahem, you guys don't understand. That sense of surprise when you lift the lid... it's just like getting a lucky pull in a gacha game! You people wouldn't get it!"
Sampo: "...I never knew you had such a hobby..."
Himouto Umaru-chan: "A gacha pull... I don't know why, but I suddenly kind of get it."
Fallen Angel Gabriel: "Oh... are there some kind of treasures in the trash cans? In that case, I'll give it a try next time."
---o---
[On the light curtain, the scene shifted to Stelle.]
The originally gray-haired girl's hair color had darkened a shade, as if something within her had shattered.
She stared at the bracelet on her hand in disbelief. "You're saying... the Land of Light has no trash cans?"
An incredulous voice came from Stelle's mouth. Many viewers could hear that her tone carried a hint of shock, as well as... a bottomless sense of pain and regret.
"Ah, that's right. With the Land of Light's energy efficiency, we almost never produce any trash. Even if there is some, it's purified by the light of the Plasma Spark Tower the moment it's created," Zero explained helplessly to his human host from his little dark room, rubbing his nose.
It seemed to be the same back on Earth. Stelle was always very keen on walking through alleys, her eyes staring hungrily at the trash cans on the roadside, like a man staring at a naked woman.
Her gaze was a bit perverted. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but he never expected that upon arriving at the Land of Light, she would show her true colors, not even bothering to hide it.
"Damn it! Why is it like this?! I've been waiting for so long for this moment!" Stelle clenched her fists, speaking unwillingly.
Zero could only say helplessly to his human host, "Why are you so obsessed with trash cans? To be honest, if Master Leo hadn't told me about his time on Earth, I wouldn't even know what a trash can is."
Hearing Zero's words, Stelle took a deep breath and said slowly, "You don't understand. Because you don't play gacha games, you wouldn't understand."
Zero: "..."
What the hell? Why are games and trash cans being linked together? What necessary connection is there between the two?
Just as Zero was about to continue asking, Stelle's phone suddenly vibrated.
"Oh, it's Uncle Welt and the others. They're done with their talks. Looks like the results are pretty good."
Stelle opened her phone's chat interface and spoke to Zero inside her bracelet.
"Let's go back. Although I didn't find any trash cans, I at least got to experience the scenery of the Land of Light."
Stelle stretched lazily and started walking back the way she came. If nothing unexpected happened, it was time to go back.
She didn't know how things were with Ultraman Noa and Ultraman King.
Never mind. With their power, there was almost nothing they couldn't do. Instead of worrying about them, she might as well worry about what to eat when it was time for dinner.
Though, she didn't need to eat anymore...
"..." Stelle walked towards the location of the Express, while Zero wanted to say something, but didn't open his mouth.
If the Land of Light had trash cans, would Stelle stay?
Although he was reluctant to admit it, Stelle was Zero's first human host, and also the strongest and most compatible one.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Zero still felt a bit reluctant.
Although the two universes had a common channel of communication, it wasn't a channel that could be opened casually.
The cosmos is so vast, and what's more, these are two different universes. Under this premise, their next meeting would probably be who knows how many years in the future...
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