Chapter 229: March 7th: How Did This Rainbow Light Cone End Up in My Arms?
"What? I can't look?" Leon's lips curled into a thoroughly mischievous smirk, his eyes dancing with amusement.
Suspended within the crystalline illusion of her past, March 7th's initial frozen state was vastly different from how she had been found drifting near the Astral Express. Here, at her absolute beginning, she was curled up tightly like a newborn baby, her arms wrapped protectively around her chest, entirely unclothed. It was a raw, vulnerable sight. By the time the Express crew had fished her out of the cosmic ice, she had already been fully dressed.
"I said no looking, so no looking..." Fuli's voice echoed through the space, carrying a distinctly grumpy, almost protective edge.
"This is your 'starting point,'" the Memokeeper's ethereal voice chimed in at the perfect moment, gently pulling March 7th's scattered attention back to the present. "From this moment on, you began your one and only life, starting to experience those unique adventures."
"Things from even earlier have no meaning for you anymore."
"The value of your life doesn't lie in what happened in the past, but in this moment—in the future. An eagle taking flight never longs for the cliff it once fell from. A ship setting sail never misses the strait where it was once stranded."
As the Messenger spoke, her voice gradually underwent a subtle change. Of course, the current March 7th didn't notice the shift.
"And you... my child... You should also know: the past is as illusory as mist, but everything you experience now will surely be carved in stone by others."
"It's time to say goodbye. I'll give you this parting gift, looking forward... to our next meeting."
Those last few sentences were spoken by Fuli through the Memokeeper's mouth, and the voice had already shifted to sound absolutely identical to March 7th's own.
March 7th finally registered the uncanny shift in tone, her eyes widening. "No, wait—"
Before she could voice her questions, a violent wave of vertigo crashed into her. The crystalline world shattered into a million glittering fragments, and her consciousness snapped violently back into her physical body.
"Ugh... I feel so sick..." March groaned in a tiny, pitiful voice. She clutched her head, swaying slightly on her feet. "Why did Lady Fu Xuan suddenly interrupt the divination?"
"Are you okay?!" Stelle and Caelus abandoned their posts, sprinting over to catch her by the shoulders.
"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy..." March muttered, rubbing her throbbing temples as the physical world swam back into focus.
A few paces away, Fu Xuan stood with her arms crossed, her delicate features pulled into a mask of absolute solemnity. "At that exact moment just now, the Matrix of Prescience ground to a complete halt." The Master Diviner's gaze bore into the pink-haired girl. "March, from the second you touched that ice in your vision, I could no longer observe you. What exactly happened in there?"
"Um... it's a bit hard to explain." March shifted awkwardly. As she moved, she felt a strange, heavy bulge in her pocket. It dragged against the fabric of her skirt, a distinct weight that definitely hadn't been there a minute ago.
Curious, she reached inside and pulled out a flat, rectangular object.
FWOOSH!
Instantly, a blinding, brilliant rainbow light erupted from her hands. The prismatic rays pierced through the ambient glow of the Divination Commission, casting a kaleidoscopic aurora that practically illuminated the entire Xianzhou sky.
Fu Xuan took a half-step back, her jaw dropping slightly. What in the world is this? The entrance effect is absolutely exaggerated. It looks like some peerless, world-shattering artifact has just descended upon the Luofu... It's showy. Way too showy. Unbelievably high-profile.
"Holy crap?!" Caelus yelled, shielding his eyes from the glare. "You just got a legendary loot drop!"
"What kind of treasure are you hiding? Let's see!" Stelle practically shoved her face into the blinding light, her inner trash-panda instincts flaring with unbridled excitement.
"I wasn't hiding anything!" March protested, blinking away the spots in her vision. "Oh, wait, right... the person in the memory said they'd give me a parting gift when they left..." She looked down at her hands. "Maybe it's this thing?"
As the overwhelming rainbow radiance finally dimmed to a manageable glow, the object revealed its true form.
It was a Light Cone.
And stamped right across the holographic cover, written in massive, bold, incredibly mocking letters, was the title: "March 7th: You're Doing Way Too Poorly!"
March 7th's bright expression instantly crumbled into a mask of pure horror.
She stared at the dynamic image playing on the Light Cone's surface. In the center of the frame, the Aeon of Elation, Aha, was being unceremoniously "escorted" by Stelle, Caelus, and Welt Yang. The grim, oppressive architecture of the Shackling Prison loomed unmistakably in the background. Off to the side of the frame stood March herself, hands planted firmly on her hips, her face twisted into an exasperated scowl as she complained to the literal god of joy.
The mortifying memories of that day instantly flooded her mind. After all, it hadn't even been that long since the absurd incident took place.
"Oh, I remember!" Caelus slapped his hands together, a massive grin splitting his face. "It was that time we escorted Aha to the Shackling Prison!"
"Right!" Stelle nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling with chaotic glee. "At the time, Aha kept bragging that He 'used to be a Trailblazer'!"
"And then Mr. Yang adjusted his glasses and calmly explained that many Nameless ended up changing their cosmic affiliations later in life..." Caelus added, doing a surprisingly accurate impression of Welt's stoic tone.
"And then!" Stelle pointed a dramatic finger at her pink-haired friend. "Little March, you actually complained right to His face: 'Aha, you're doing so poorly, you're not even as good as that Trailblazer executive in the IPC!'"
The two Trailblazers chimed in together, flawlessly reenacting the utterly unhinged scene from back then.
"Don't—don't say it! Stop talking!" March 7th shuddered violently, a furious blush spreading from her neck to the tips of her ears. She frantically shoved the glowing Light Cone back into her jacket, trying to hide the evidence. "I don't want to remember this at all!"
This was a disaster. This thing absolutely could never be shown to the public! How could she have ever imagined that a supposedly solemn Memokeeper would actually record her most embarrassing moment and forge it into a high-tier Light Cone? Were the followers of Remembrance really not afraid of Aha's retaliation?
This Memokeeper was way too brave!
(Fuli: Of course, I'm super brave. Me, avoid His edge? Please.)
(Aha: Aha is losing face! Aha is losing face! Ahahaha!)
Nearby, Fu Xuan watched the chaotic trio with a twitching brow. General Jing Yuan had indeed mentioned in passing that Aha had been captured by the Cloud Knights after infiltrating the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, but she hadn't known the absurd details. So there was such a ridiculous interlude... and the Astral Express Crew had actually been the ones to handle it?
You people are truly insane, Fu Xuan thought, her respect and bewilderment warring with each other. To actually 'escort' the Aeon of Elation like a common criminal?
And this rainbow-flowing Light Cone... could it have been personally forged by the Aeon of Remembrance?
"I don't know, I didn't do it, don't talk nonsense..." March 7th fired off a rapid triple denial, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Besides, the Aeon of Joy hadn't even looked exactly like that in the moment! Why did the Memokeeper who recorded the Light Cone have to slip in their own exaggerated personal bias?!
I hate you, March mentally screamed at the sky.
"Ahem. Alright, enough fooling around. Tell me what happened inside the Matrix," Fu Xuan coughed twice into her fist, deciding not to pry further into the Express Crew's unhinged daily lives.
If this Light Cone truly was forged by Fuli... then regardless of its mortifying content, the Aeon of Remembrance clearly harbored a deep, obvious favoritism toward this girl.
Fu Xuan suddenly recalled a bizarre comment Leon had made recently. He had jokingly claimed that the Aeon of Remembrance had a soft spot for pink-haired girls.
Ahem. Pink hair... is that actually true?
Fu Xuan stared at March 7th's vibrant pink locks. For some inexplicable reason, Leon's ridiculous words echoed in her mind, and she found herself nodding slowly. It actually seemed to make a terrifying amount of sense.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, March 7th forced her burning cheeks to cool down and steered the conversation back on track, detailing everything she had seen and heard within the Matrix's illusion.
"Based on your description, that mysterious entity was undoubtedly a Messenger of the Aeon of Remembrance," Fu Xuan summarized, her tone returning to its usual professional cadence.
"So it really is Fuli? The Aeon tied to my forgotten past is Fuli of Remembrance?" March 7th's voice dropped to a nervous whisper. After all, considering recent events, Fuli might literally be wandering around the Xianzhou Luofu right now.
"No, we cannot jump to that conclusion just yet," Fu Xuan quickly corrected, waving a hand. "We can only deduce that it is highly probable an Aeon sealed your memories, but it might not be the Aeon of Remembrance Himself."
The Master Diviner paused, choosing her words carefully. "Perhaps the 'protection' the Messenger mentioned is a crucial hint. The Aeon of Remembrance is likely not the culprit who stole your past. Rather, He only stepped in after the fact, encasing you in Six-Phased Ice to protect you from being destroyed by those very memories."
Fu Xuan knew she had to subtly run interference for Fuli. Since the Aeon had just gifted the girl such an extravagant Light Cone, she couldn't let March 7th harbor a grudge or misunderstand His intentions.
"Oh! That makes sense, that makes a lot of sense~ Hehe." March 7th scratched the back of her head, a bright smile returning to her face. "Still, that Memokeeper was surprisingly generous, actually giving me such a pretty Light Cone... It's my first time ever seeing one that glows with actual rainbow light!"
"Actually..." Stelle rubbed her chin, her golden eyes narrowing as she processed the clues. "Is there a possibility that the one who gave you this Light Cone wasn't just a simple Memokeeper...?"
"...but Fuli Himself?"
Caelus nodded vigorously, crossing his arms like a seasoned detective who had just cracked the case. "Think about it! What mere Memokeeper would ever have the guts to record Aha getting arrested and turn it into a meme?"
"Huh?"
March 7th froze. Her jaw went slack, and her bright blue and pink eyes shrank into tiny, utterly bewildered dots. "For real?!"
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