When the man agreed, the girl turned and led everyone toward another edge. After walking for five minutes, they were left speechless.
Before them were piles of seeds, each as large as a small hill. Their shells were smooth, reflecting a faint sheen even in the dim light.
"Th... these are all for us?"
At the sight of so many seeds, the man's eyes nearly turned into coins. The girl nodded calmly.
"These are proof that Higgs still [exists]. I'll give you these seeds, and you can sell them for money, while others will learn that Higgs still [exists]. It serves both purposes."
The girl's voice was calm, and there was not a ripple in her agate-like eyes, as though the seeds meant nothing to her.
That was indeed the case for her. Outsiders did not know it, but all the seeds of Higgs's plants were produced by the oldest plant among this seed population.
The Higgs Purifying Tree's seeds came from the tall Higgs Purifying Tree they had seen when they first arrived.
Watching them excitedly load the seeds onto the transport ship, the girl felt a flicker of happiness. She had worked tirelessly to keep the name of Higgs from disappearing from the universe, to bring Higgs back to life, and to prove to the outside world that Higgs still [existed]! The signal sent out to the outside world had stopped ten years ago.
The insects had also devoured all the plants on Higgs, but fortunately, she had found an undigested seed in a dead insect's stomach.
All the plants on Higgs now had grown from that seed: the Higgs Purifying Tree, the foundation of all plants on Higgs.
Higgs's soil still had the potential to nurture new life, but with the land cracked, the riverbeds dried up, and the Purifying Tree, the foundational plant, gone, its recovery should have been hopeless.
But fortunately, Higgs had not been abandoned. There was still hope for Higgs.
As the seeds were loaded onto the transport ship, the man hurried over, his face full of excitement. "Thank you so much. May I ask your name, miss?"
"My name..."
The girl froze. It had been a long time since she had heard those words.
"My... name."
A name that had not been spoken for a long time surfaced in the girl's mind. It was everything she had, proof of her [existence].
"Ayinai. That's my name."
The spaceship left Higgs's atmosphere, and the man stood before the window, looking at the planet. This was his first visit to it, and he figured it would probably be his last.
He had to admit that Higgs was beautiful. Although he had not seen all of it, the forest had given him a glimpse of what Higgs had once looked like.
The man sighed over the state of the once-beautiful planet. Then his eyes widened as though he had seen something unbelievable.
The surface of the barren planet was densely covered in green. Though it did not cover the whole planet, it occupied two-thirds of it!
"What a monster."
Amber Era 1382
The Swarm Disaster that swept across the entire galaxy now formally took the galactic stage. In the past few hundred years, the Swarm had harassed planets, but it had remained under control-until now, when Tayzzyronth, the Aeon of [Propagation], descended.
Under Tayzzyronth's leadership, the Swarm blotted out the sky and ravaged the entire galaxy. Several planets were permanently extinguished in the struggle against the Swarm Disaster.
Amber Era 1387
With Tayzzyronth's fall, the Path of Propagation had no master to inherit it. The Swarm traded the Path of Propagation to the Aeons in exchange for a chance for its kind to survive.
Far from where they made their bargain, shattered planets and dim satellites seemed to send their voices through countless barriers.
"I don't want to perish. I want to [exist] in this universe, to [exist] in my home."
The planets wept, and life wept.
Then an emerald light shone throughout the universe. It was not glaring, but gentle and sacred.
The universe seemed to fall silent because of the light. The next moment, a breathtaking figure appeared in the galaxy. Her long green hair shone with an even greater luster, and her agate-like green eyes seemed able to see through to the truth of the world. Her long white dress made her look like a goddess descended from the heavens.
What did one [exist] for, and what caused one to [exist]? To leave a trace was to [exist], and to be perceived was to [exist].
At that moment, everyone heard a sentence: "What causes you to [exist], and what do you [exist] for?"
Within that light was the jubilation of living things and the silence of the inorganic, but all the same, they all [existed].
At that moment, Ayinai, the Aeon of [Existence], descended upon the universe. The Path of [Existence] formally opened in the universe, and the Aeon of [Existence] watched everyone equally.
All life in the universe felt joy in their hearts.
All inorganic life swayed slightly, expressing its own [existence].
"Ahahaha! Interesting, very interesting! [Existence]? What's your relationship with Nihility? Will you fight? If you do, can you beat her? What's your authority? Do you have an Emanator in mind? What do you think of me?"
A shadow bearing a mask suddenly drew close. Ayinai took a step to the side without betraying any emotion, glanced at the Aeons present, and nodded before turning and vanishing.
"Huh? Where did she go? She was just here!"
Aha found himself grasping at nothing. When he turned to continue, he discovered that Ayinai was already gone. Aha was now extremely interested in Ayinai, an Aeon whose Path's power was so strong despite her recent birth.
His intuition told him that if he stayed by her side, there would be no end of fun to watch!
Aha looked left and right, then shook himself and vanished as well. The Aeons exchanged glances, then all departed under the lead of the civil engineering big brother.
After the Aeons left, Ayinai's figure appeared in the same spot again. She had never left at all, merely using the power of her Path to hide herself.
Ayinai looked at the planets ravaged by the Swarm Disaster. They had no life or resources left, and in the eyes of the other major powers, they no longer had any value.
Ayinai raised her hand, and the divine power of [Existence] surged within it. A moment later, the planets actually returned to their former state, though the life on them was gone.
Even so, it was shocking enough. Yet after the Interastral Peace Corporation mined them, it discovered an astonishing fact.
The [existence] of these planets had been anchored in time and space. Even if they were destroyed beyond recognition, they could still reassemble moments later, because each planet had been made to [exist] in this universe. Of course, that came later.
Not long after Ayinai left, the Interastral Peace Corporation announced the birth of a new Aeon and Path.
[Existence]
Meanwhile, at Higgs, where Ayinai, the Aeon of [Existence], had ascended-
A little furry beast slowly emerged from behind a tall Higgs Purifying Tree. It surveyed the world with curious eyes, then followed the guidance in its soul toward the center of the Higgs Purifying Tree forest, where the enormous Higgs Purifying Tree stood.
That place later became renowned throughout the universe as the Higgs Holy Land, the Higgs Sanctuary!