Becoming an Emanator of Elation

Aha: What fun, this is far too much fun~

The timeline was set on the eve of boarding Amphoreus. Any discrepancies from the original work or retcons should be treated as the author's own settings. Enjoy!

"Trailblazer, you're actually just a string of code!"

"I'm your Immortal's Delight! I really want to love you to death with a baseball bat!"

Inside the Simulated Universe.

Stelle had just cleared this week's test mission and was about to leave the virtual world when a shrill laugh suddenly rang in her ears.

"Kehehehe, Trailblazer, it's me! The Aeon of Elation!"

What was with that opening laugh that sounded like some kind of final boss?!

Stelle stopped in her tracks and looked around hesitantly.

The scenery within the Simulated Universe was no different from usual. She had no idea where Aha's voice was coming from.

"Stelle, look down, look down. Hey, stop! Don't move, you almost stepped on me."

The Trailblazer lowered her head and noticed a tiny ant by her feet, its antennae twitching wildly.

She bent down and pinched the little ant between her fingers.

"I am the Aeon of Elation, Aha!"

The little ant introduced himself.

"What I'm about to tell you may sound a little absurd, but I'm an Aeon. You have to believe me."

Stelle frowned deeply and, half-believing, half-doubting, held the talking ant by her ear and listened intently.

At that moment, outside the Simulated Universe.

Herta, who had been checking the Trailblazer's exploration progress through the virtual display, was already used to this sort of thing.

The Trailblazer had always been on a different wavelength from everyone else. No matter what she did, Herta would not find it strange.

Even if Stelle was currently holding an ant and talking to herself like a lunatic, Herta did not think there was anything wrong with it.

The puppet girl casually shut off the display, turned around, and went to discuss the development project for the new version of Differential Universe with Screwllum.

What she missed was the moment Stelle was chosen by Aeon Aha of Elation to become an Emanator.

"How exactly do I have to put this for you to believe that you're actually just a virtual game character?"

Aha sounded exasperated. The ant he had transformed into twitched the antennae on his head, seemingly expressing his dissatisfaction in silence, as though saying, I'm an Aeon. Why would I lie to you?

"Heh."

A cold smile tugged at Stelle's lips.

"Yeah, right. I used to fall for the tricks of you people walking the Path of Elation every day. I got fooled every day, and every time was different. Do you think I'd let you fun-seekers toy with me as a Mourning Actor again and again?"

"First of all, you're far more important to me than the Mourning Actors. Second, everything Aha says is true!"

Aha twisted the feelers atop his head, earnestly trying to clear his name.

But Stelle was utterly stubborn and incapable of distinguishing good intentions from bad. No matter what he said, she refused to believe him.

Hehe.

Aha came up with a nasty idea.

In that case!

Trailblazer, it's decided—you're the one!

Come become my Emanator of Elation!

Just as every Aeon steadfastly walked their own Path, an Emanator had to follow in their Aeon's footsteps without condition.

If an Aeon said to walk east, an Emanator could not even look west.

In short, an Emanator had to be someone who believed in their Aeon with complete and devout sincerity.

Trailblazer, obediently become Aha-shaped!

Stelle suddenly felt a surging, overwhelming power flood through her entire body.

She suddenly realized that she had become an Emanator of Elation!

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Stelle: You bastard! Who wants to follow your Path?!

Though she was unwilling in every possible way, Stelle inexplicably felt an overwhelmingly powerful sense of trust in Aha well up within her heart.

Her palm began to itch. She took off her glove and looked down, only to see a tiny red clown face hidden among the lines of her palm.

This represented that Stelle had already been branded by Elation. On her journey of Trailblazing, she was destined to be swept farther and farther along the Path of Elation.

She had already... been marked by Aha...

Now, even if she wanted to disbelieve his nonsense, she could not.

"Aha...! Am I really that entertaining to you?"

The girl clenched her fists in anger, wishing she could crush the ant with its twitching antennae the very next second.

Yet in the span of a blink, she felt her bond with the Aeon weaken considerably.

Aha had already left amid laughter.

After all, he had already seen the Trailblazer's furious reaction after being forced into becoming an Emanator.

He had found the fun he was looking for, so there was no need to remain here.

Stelle looked around. The scenery inside the Simulated Universe remained unchanged, and everything was as normal as ever, as though Aha had never been there.

She rubbed her head, feeling as if she had just woken from a dream, her mind filled with disbelief.

Was it real? Was all of this really real?

Perhaps she had accidentally triggered some Curio within the Simulated Universe and fallen into an illusion. That was possible too, wasn't it?

How could she have just become an Emanator of Elation like that? Aha really was just messing with her, wasn't he? And all that talk about "virtual characters"...

Yet the burning sensation in her palm remained so distinct. No matter how many times she took off her glove, she could see the red clown face hidden within the texture of her skin.

Stelle sighed, put away the baseball bat she carried with her, and prepared to leave the Simulated Universe.

This week's test mission was complete. It was time to find Herta and collect her reward.

Having made up her mind, Stelle decided to leave the Simulated Universe.

Exit confirmation.

Execution initiated.

Such a strong sense of weightlessness...

Why had the white screen lasted so long while exiting the Simulated Universe this time?

A flash of white light passed before Stelle's eyes. The dizziness and weightlessness caused by moving through time when leaving the stage made her feel lightheaded.

In her dazed state, countless fragments of memories suddenly flashed through her mind—

It was a three-dimensional space-time, a world completely different from the two-dimensional paper people like them.

That world had no Paths, no Space Anchors, no cancer of all worlds. People had no jump buttons, yet they could still leap high into the air, and there were no consumables that could restore HP.

None of that was the important part.

What mattered was that Stelle saw them each holding a phone. They opened a game, and after it loaded, the streets and alleys she usually traveled through appeared right before their eyes.

Eh? Looking closer, wasn't the playable character they controlled herself?

How delightful.

Stelle was completely powerless to complain. Having witnessed and accepted the reality that she was a string of virtual code, she could not help thinking of the Aeon of Elation.

Back in the Simulated Universe, Aha had also realized that all of this was fake.

Was he really that powerful? Could he see through appearances and directly perceive the essence every time?

Her feet touched the ground, and she finally returned to Herta's office.

This week's Stellar Jade reward rested quietly on the desk.

Stelle rubbed her throbbing temples, hugged her reward, and turned to return to the Express.

She was so tired. Her head was spinning.

She did not want to think about anything right now. She only wanted to return to her room and get some proper rest.