Chapter 87: If Aha Gets Beaten Up, No Beating Is Ever in Vain!
Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, might not claim the absolute pinnacle of raw power among the star-spanning Aeons. Yet, the monstrous vanguard under His command—the Antimatter Legion—harbored enough terrifying tricks to make the cosmos tremble.
Every Lord Ravager within the Legion possessed a hyper-specific target, a singular Path they sought to obliterate. Zephyro aimed to annihilate Nihility. Celenova set her sights on tearing down Harmony. Iron Tomb sought the utter ruin of Erudition, while Phantylia schemed endlessly to dismantle The Hunt. The Casting King focused his destructive forge on Preservation, and Ennui... Ennui existed solely to crush Elation.
In one shattered, unrealized timeline, Leon had once peered into a terrifyingly beautiful future where Jingliu ascended to the rank of Lord Ravager.
In that grim vision, she had absorbed a grotesque amalgamation of fourfold powers: the stolen majesty of Jing Yuan's Lightning-Lord, the biological horror of The Propagation's swarm body, the boiling golden blood of Nanook, and the twisted, undying blessing of the Abundance. She became a Lord Ravager dedicated entirely to hunting down and destroying the Abundance. In the bitter end of that timeline, Jingliu would have forcibly transformed the entire Xianzhou Alliance into a ravenous swarm army, launching an apocalyptic war of vengeance against Yaoshi.
Of course, under Leon's careful meddling, this particular 'IF' timeline had already been cleanly severed.
Or rather, Jingliu still retained the latent potential to ascend as a Lord Ravager, but she no longer needed to violently seize Jing Yuan's Lightning-Lord, nor was it even remotely possible for her to mutate the Xianzhou Alliance into a swarm. Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He felt he could design a much more aesthetically pleasing and powerful new form for Jingliu if she ever took that dark ascension.
His cosmic observations had also caught another highly amusing possibility: Phainon possessing Iron Tomb, ascending to become a Lord Ravager, with the ultimate goal of destroying the Path of Destruction itself.
"Absolutely wild," Leon muttered, a dry chuckle escaping his lips.
He felt this specific 'IF' timeline was far too entertaining to erase just yet. A Lord Ravager of Destruction actively plotting to annihilate the very concept of Destruction? The sheer irony was delicious.
also, Leon definitely intended to intervene in Amphoreus. An ending where everyone died was simply unacceptable. He refused to let a tragedy play out when he had the power to flip the board.
[Aha: (Grinning Masked Fool sticker) Aha didn't do anything~ I just repeated what you said in the group about Nanook to everyone at the Tavern.]
[Aha: And then... well, you know how it is! They just happily spread the word around~]
[Leon: Then the Tavern getting a formal declaration of war from Ennui is completely justified.]
Leon shook his head, a wide smirk spreading across his face. He wasn't the least bit surprised by this chaotic fallout. He had long anticipated that Aha—an entity who practically broke out in hives if the universe was too peaceful—would never miss such a golden opportunity to light a fuse among the Masked Fools.
And that unruly mob of fun-seekers at the Tavern? How could they possibly resist seizing upon such a spectacular piece of divine gossip and broadcasting it to the far corners of the galaxy? Once the news hit the cosmic grapevine, it would be a miracle if Ennui, the Lord Ravager whose sole purpose was targeting Elation, didn't react with extreme prejudice.
If Aha caught a beating for this, he absolutely earned every single punch!
[Nanook: Hmph... The group leader is wise.]
[Aha: Oh my~ I really didn't expect this! Nanook, you actually praised the group leader for being wise?]
[Aha: It seems our dear Aeon of Destruction has changed too! Your cold divinity has faded, and your humanity has grown so much stronger~]
Aha continued to relentlessly poke the bear, thoroughly enjoying the digital harassment. As for Ennui declaring war on his followers? Aha couldn't care less.
After all, every Lord Ravager was either actively walking the Path of Destruction or carefully planning for it. Ennui was no different. It was just that their specific grudge hadn't been dragged out into the open until now. Besides, Ennui was targeting the Tavern. What did a bunch of mortals getting blown up have to do with Aha?
[Nanook: Hmph.]
Nanook clearly knew He couldn't out-argue the literal embodiment of trolling, so He didn't bother bickering. He responded with the digital equivalent of a cold, heavy silence. Aha tossed out a few more teasing jabs, but seeing Nanook refuse to take the bait, the Aeon of Elation quickly lost interest.
[Aha: @Leon, group leader, group leader! We've been chatting for so long, shouldn't we meet up offline?]
[Aha: How about an IRL gathering? (Eyes gleaming with mischief sticker)]
Aha's metaphorical eyes rolled as a brand new, terrible idea formed in His mind.
[Leon: What exactly are you trying to pull now?]
Reading Aha's overly enthusiastic tone, Leon instantly knew this guy was brewing up another disaster for his own amusement.
[Aha: How can you think of Aha like that, group leader?! (Clutches chest in a heartbroken gesture sticker)]
[Aha: I just want to enhance the bonds between our group members! Making our big family more united, warmer, and full of love! Isn't that a wonderful thing?]
[Leon: Oh? With your cosmic abilities, can't you just manifest and meet whoever you want, whenever you want?]
For entities on the level of Aeons, physical distance was a meaningless concept.
[Aha: That's completely different! Before joining this chat group, they were all just boring puppets bound by their rigid Paths. Devoid of humanity, zero sense of humor, and absolutely no fun at all!]
[Aha: But now it's different~ After joining the group, everyone here is so talented, and they speak so nicely! I absolutely love it here!]
Leon stared at the holographic interface. What kind of ancient, pre-Epoch internet meme was this guy quoting?
[Leon: If you really want to get together, that's fine. Let's wait for the Astral Express's next stop.]
A wicked thought crossed Leon's mind, and a sharp, highly amused curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
If a group of Aeons descended upon Belobog right now, the sheer cosmic weight of the event would be entirely wasted. The frozen city had been completely isolated from the sea of stars for seven hundred years. The citizens wouldn't even comprehend the terrifying power and meaning such entities represented.
But the next stop? The Xianzhou Luofu? That would be completely different.
The Xianzhou civilization possessed a terrifyingly long heritage and a deep, intimate understanding of Aeons and their Paths. If a literal chat group of Aeons suddenly showed up on their flagship for a casual 'team-building' exercise...
Just imagining the sheer, unadulterated panic made Leon's smile widen. He could already picture the usually unflappable Jing Yuan losing his composure, desperately shouting, "Don't come over here!"
Hell, the running joke of Qingque secretly being a 'Shadow General' might actually be forced into reality just to deal with the stress.
[Qingque: Ahhhhh! Don't come over here!]
[Aha: Hahaha! Aha can't wait to watch the show... oh wait, no, I mean the gathering!]
Meanwhile, deep in the Underworld of Belobog.
Welt followed closely behind Sampo, his boots echoing against the metal grating until they arrived at the warm, dimly lit entrance of Natasha's clinic. He stepped inside, his eyes sweeping over the medical supplies before landing on the doctor organizing vials at the desk.
"Raven?!"
The name ripped from Welt's throat before he could stop it. His heart instantly sank like a stone. His muscles coiled tight, his posture shifting into a flawless combat stance in a fraction of a second.
Then, the cold logic of reality washed over him. He blinked, his tense shoulders slowly dropping as he remembered he was no longer in his previous universe.
In his deeply scarred memories, 'Raven'was a high-ranking cadre of World Serpent—a lethal, top-tier mercenary who had caused him no shortage of headaches. Yet, her actions had never been born of pure malice. Behind her ruthless efficiency lay a complex web of motives: saving the children she had adopted from the Honkai disaster, and fiercely guarding the sanctuary she called the'Roost'.
Her entire existence had been a messy mixture of desperate survival, crushing responsibility, and a quiet, hidden hope for a new world. She was entirely different from a pure, irredeemable villain.
As the former successor of the Herrscher of Reason core and the sovereign leader of Anti-Entropy, Welt Yang had spent his life fighting to resist the Honkai and protect human civilization. He understood the grim necessity of sacrifice better than anyone, but he had never been able to stomach World Serpent's cold calculus—their willingness to treat living individuals as mere statistical costs. Still, Welt had always maintained a quiet respect for Raven. He knew she wasn't a bad person at her core.
The woman at the desk turned around, blinking in genuine bewilderment.
"Raven? Who... are you referring to me?"
Natasha stared at the strange man with the glasses. She had absolutely no idea who this Welt person was, nor did she understand why he was looking at her as if she were a ghost holding a sniper rifle.
Far away, in a place completely detached from the frozen winds of Belobog, Elio suddenly paused.
The elegant cat subconsciously raised a paw, wanting to scratch behind his ear, but stopped halfway. He slowly lowered the paw back to the ground. He had been shedding quite a bit of fur recently; it was better to restrain himself to maintain his dignity.
His golden eyes narrowed as he felt the cosmic shift.
The trajectory of the future... had violently altered once again. The threads of fate, which were usually intertwined and frustratingly difficult to interpret on a good day, had suddenly scrambled into a chaotic mess of garbled static. It was nearly impossible to read.
Yet, amidst the blinding chaos of the shifting timelines, Elio perceived one singular, obvious truth ringing out like a clear bell.
The future was moving in a much better direction.
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