There would still be other opportunities with Aha. Perhaps Lingchen could pick up some other abilities or items in the future.
Fuli: ...
This fellow really did belong on the [Elation] Path. He actually wanted to mooch off the Aeon of [Elation].
Still, knowing Aha, the Aeon might actually give him something.
"Oh, give me this space too. It's not like you have any use for it anymore."
This was a genuine alternate dimension, a space independent of reality. Lingchen could manifest part or all of it in reality to amplify his abilities as a domain, and he could store things in it too. After all, it really was enormous.
When [Domination]'s [Theater Curtain] appeared again in the future, he could simply merge this space into it as a special, independent stage.
Most importantly, if he could get it for free, why turn it down? Fuli had made this personally.
Who would refuse a free gift?
Lingchen looked expectantly at Fuli.
"Well?"
[Granted.]
Fuli returned to the Aeon's original form. A hand that seemed composed of countless crystal mirrors reflected a kaleidoscope of brilliance. As the light swayed, Fuli reached out, and countless crystals appeared from thin air before merging into a multicolored crystal lotus in the Aeon's hand.
Accompanied by the clear chime of colliding crystals, the crystal lotus continuously bloomed from within to without, from top to bottom. After blooming, the petals that passed beneath the lotus turned into hazy streams of iridescent light that circled its exterior.
One look at it told Lingchen it was extraordinary.
[Let the exchange begin. I bestow upon you what was promised.]
"This is such a steal!"
Lingchen marveled inwardly. He had merely explained his understanding of the [Tree] and the [Sea], then used the system to grant Fuli access to the memories he considered safe to share, such as information about a certain world that already existed in this universe but eluded the Aeons' scrutiny.
What Lingchen knew was information from a game, but Fuli would interpret it independently. Of course, Lingchen had withheld later information confirmed to concern this universe. Things like that were better discovered gradually on one's own.
With other Aeons, Lingchen might have given it more thought, but with Fuli, the Aeon who recorded all memories, it did not matter.
Fuli would absolutely keep those memories secret.
Besides, apart from the information about the [Tree] and the [Sea], the rest was not nearly as important by comparison.
After all...
"You didn't even give me a commemorative Light Cone. I was hoping to keep one as a souvenir."
Despite his words, the corners of Lingchen's mouth curled slightly upward.
To Fuli, theirs was a fair exchange. Even if the Aeon later learned that the fifty thousand years of memories offered as a "complimentary gift" already existed in this world, Fuli would not care. To Lingchen, though, he had made a killing.
Lingchen extended his hand, and a dazzling crystal lotus spun in his palm, streams of light emerging from it and fading away.
[Received the blessing of Fuli, Aeon of [Remembrance]. This blessing grants Emanator-level authority belonging wholly to the host. The authority and Imaginary Energy can grow alongside the host's strength and activities related to [Remembrance].] [Emanator authority: Immaculate]
These were the system notifications he had received when he obtained his Emanator authority in that space.
"Now that's generous."
Lingchen could not help marveling.
Fuli sat in meditation within the Pure Land, quietly observing the universe.
And one of the things that best represented the Aeon was the lotus behind Fuli's true form.
It represented purity, enlightenment, and a state transcending the mortal world.
It symbolized spiritual liberation.
That alone showed how powerful this philosophical concept was.
"Oh~ My dear Trotter Emanator, you're back."
Aha's voice interrupted Lingchen's thoughts.
He looked up and saw the owl-headed cat still waiting where it had been.
"Yep, that's right, little Diting. Fuli works fast, so we finished up quickly. This was the payment afterward."
Lingchen completely ignored the green straw hat Aha had silently placed on the Aeon's head and showed Aha the lotus he had formed in his hand using his authority.
"Hmm? Interesting. So very interesting. Fuli actually gave you this authority. Hahahaha..."
After staring at the lotus in Lingchen's hand for a while, Aha suddenly burst out laughing. The cat's paws merrily batted a little ball that had appeared out of nowhere. Aha's pet name for Lingchen seemed to be engraved on it, with Lingchen's name appended afterward.
"What is your understanding of [Remembrance]?"
Despite being the Aeon of [Elation], Aha had uncharacteristically asked about another Aeon.
Lingchen was not surprised. Seeing Aha suddenly turn serious, he offered a serious explanation too.
"My understanding... [Enigmata] shrouds all things, so I don't know what's true and what isn't."
"But I've heard people say Fuli remembers the universe's beginning and end. Others say Fuli is a thief who stole every memory belonging to everything in the universe, a hymn to courage, resistance between life and death, the recorder of every emotion-joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Still others say Fuli is the universe's final checkpoint, its chance at rebirth."
Lingchen chuckled softly. At some unknown point, Fuli, who had already disappeared, had appeared again above Lingchen's head in the form of mist.
He had obtained this information in his previous life and did not know whether it was true. But after combining it with the authority of [Remembrance] he had just received, he had gained some insights of his own.
"But to me, all of this is a manifestation of [The Permanence]. [The Permanence] questions the meaning of [Existence]. And so, amid the wailing and suffering of all beings, amid the prospect of losing everything upon withering away, [Remembrance] was born. The universe cycles endlessly through formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness, retracing the past and paving the future. And what Fuli points toward is [Existence]."
P.S. There's another chapter coming, depending on how things go. I didn't finish catching up on my report yesterday and couldn't keep going past one. I still have part of a PowerPoint to do today, but I'll try my best to write two more chapters.
Chapter 39: A Newborn's First Cry
"Of course, I don't know whether that's correct. After all, the existence of Aeons is still far beyond me."
Lingchen added a final caveat.
Somewhere in the universe, Nous, the Aeon of [Erudition], glanced in Lingchen's direction before returning to the contemplation of "truth."
Whether Lingchen was right or wrong, this was not a theory just anyone could propose.
Nous did not sense any exceptional wisdom in Lingchen, but felt that, should an opportunity arise in the future, granting him some power would not be out of the question.
After all, in every calculation, adding Lingchen as a variable rendered everything impossible to analyze.
Perhaps Lingchen could provide new data.
"You actually have a brain like that?"
Aha clicked the Aeon's tongue in wonder.
The misty image of Fuli in the air vanished once more, as though it had never appeared.
Aha paid it no attention.
What was interesting about an Aeon who acted like a surveillance camera? Aha wanted all sorts of amusing memories, but Fuli refused to share them.
Lingchen pretended not to notice.
He had already gotten what he wanted, anyway.
"No wonder Fuli gave you power like that. Looks like the Aeon really did learn something. Hey, hey, hey, can't you tell Aha? Aha really wants to know!"
Aha the cat turned into a dog-headed myna and barked wildly at Lingchen.
That was the meaning conveyed by the barking.
Aha extended a myna's claw, holding a beautiful eyeball with three layers of color.
"Aha can give you candy."
Lingchen's mouth twitched. He stepped back in disgust, swiping the candy along the way and putting it into the Pure Land Fuli had given him.
Yes, the Pure Land. The system had provided that notification just moments earlier, when he wondered whether that alternate dimension was special too.
A portion of the legendary place where Fuli resided had now become Lingchen's private property. The moment Fuli gave it away, the Aeon had severed it just as with the authority.
Clearly, this Pure Land was not as simple as Lingchen had imagined.
"No. Whether you know about this or not doesn't mean much to you. After all, you're 'enjoying fate.'"
"Oh, oh! What did Aha just hear? My Emanator is passing judgment on me, an Aeon! How marvelous~!"
Aha's dog head turned into a myna's head, chirping incessantly.
Lingchen placed Aha, now fully transformed into a myna, on his shoulder. He walked outside and gazed at the artificial night sky, his eyes calm and relaxed.
"I once heard a saying: existence precedes essence. When the id, ego, and superego take shape, life has already emerged. And so, a newborn's first cry pierces the silent night sky."
"The meaning of life isn't an objective rule. It's feeling. It's experience."
"Like a newborn infant, spending a lifetime experiencing the world and searching for meaning is itself meaningful."
"So I suspect that, Aha, whether you know or not, it's all [Elation]."
Lingchen casually constructed a chair and sat down.
Fu Xuan would not leave until tomorrow, but today, she was working overtime.
The courtyard was silent, with only simulated moonlight spilling down and a gentle breeze drifting past.
"The world is a stage, and high and low alike are actors."
"Once the masks come off, everyone is 'faceless.'"
"But honestly, I'm quite fond of my life."
Aha fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter. That piercing, joyful laughter swept across the Exalting Sanctum, without the slightest trace of [Elation] energy within it. It was nothing but pure laughter, yet the sound traveled through Starskiff Haven, through the Seat of Divine Foresight, through the entire Luofu, and across the universe's boundless space.
Across the universe, the Interastral Peace Corporation, the Xianzhou Alliance... countless factions began investigating the source of the Aeon of [Elation]'s laughter, hoping to uncover its meaning. After all, since the Amber calendar began, Aha's laughs could be counted on one hand, and there was almost no record of one reaching this far.
On the Blue Planet, a mature-looking female genius stopped tinkering with her equipment, looking thoroughly annoyed.
Aha's laughter greatly interested her. Before her mind had even reacted, her hands had already used the equipment to record it.
But the sudden laughter had interrupted her work and damaged the equipment, making her heart practically stop.
For dozens of Amber Eras, she herself had been the only one capable of making her feel this way.
She had spent ages fine-tuning that data, and now it was all gone. She would have to repair the damaged equipment and recalibrate its parameters too.
Forget it. I'll order a new piece of equipment. They even chased me for payment last time, so I'll just put this one on Asta's tab.
Status was one thing, but repaying debts was only right. She could hardly argue with that.
On a certain planet, a white-haired swordswoman gazed up at the stars. A black veil covered the starry sky, making everything hazy and impossible to see clearly... it turned out she had put on a black veil.
"It's time to set off again, Miss Jingliu. Don't forget our agreement."
"...Of course."
Aboard the Astral Express, Pom-Pom launched into a "furious tirade" upon hearing the laughter, even drinking two cups of coffee after getting a dry throat.
The pink-haired girl standing nearby stared, dumbstruck. Welt took two photos. Dan Heng was organizing information and missed the sight. Only Himeko was happily preparing a third cup of coffee.
In the Tavern, the Masked Fools were all visibly excited, laughing heartily. Even though the laughter contained no trace of a Path's power, only the god of amusement could laugh like that, and every Pathstrider walking the [Elation] Path felt the joy within it.
And so, some of the Masked Fools considered snatching a few more masks from the Mournful Actors to celebrate.
The performing Mournful Actors looked increasingly sorrowful. All elation brought them anguish that pierced their hearts.
Across the universe, factions large and small and Pathstriders of different Paths reacted differently to Aha's laughter.
After all, though it had reached far and wide, it had only been a very brief laugh. Besides, legends like the Aeons were much too distant from them.
On the Luofu, everyone who had stepped onto a Path woke with a start. Some pulled their blankets up over their heads while kicking the lower ends down to cover their exposed feet.
In the Seat of Divine Foresight and the Divination Commission, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan, both working overtime, abruptly changed expressions. They rose simultaneously and headed toward the sound.
Only, Jing Yuan looked grave, while Fu Xuan was full of worry.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard of Fu Xuan's residence...
P.S. Please boost the stats! I'm begging you, dear readers!
Chapter 40: Complete Authority over [Elation]
"Lingchen, my Emanator, you truly delight me."
Aha transformed into the human form of a mature woman and leaned toward Lingchen, only for him to dodge to the side.
Aha covered her mouth and instantly laughed aloud.
Her voice alone could make someone polish off three heaping bowls of rice. If they saw her figure and face too, they would probably forget all about eating and drinking.