Seeing the admiration on his childhood friend's face, Amo smiled and rubbed her head.
An Emanator of Existence-what an unattainable status. Unfortunately, he had not even set foot on the Path of Existence.
"Oh, right, Amo, look at this."
Xiaohe pulled a pebble from her pocket. It was blue and smooth, without a single pit on its surface.
"What's this?"
Amo looked at the pebble in Xiaohe's hand. It... looked pretty, but it didn't seem to come from this planet.
"Xiaohe, where did you get this? It doesn't look like something from our planet."
Xiaohe scratched her head and stammered, "I... I found it in the woods just west of our home. I saw it yesterday when I went out looking for inspiration. What do you think? Do you like it?"
Amo took the pebble. Somehow, he had the feeling it was more than just a pebble.
"I like it. I like anything you give me, Xiaohe."
He didn't know what it was, but it was a gift from Xiaohe. How could he refuse it?
A happy smile appeared on Xiaohe's face when she saw Amo accept the pebble.
"All right, now that you've accepted it, as a favor in return... come watch the stars with me on the mountaintop."
"Watch the stars?"
Ever since the two of them had begun fulfilling their duties as adults and started working, they had hardly watched the stars together. Neither of them had gone to work today, so it really was a good opportunity.
"Sure."
But where neither of them could see, a girl with short, shoulder-length green hair was watching them from a branch outside their room.
"That little thing... how did it get here?"
Ayinai's voice was full of puzzlement. If she remembered correctly, hadn't she put that little thing in the core area of the trial grounds? How had it ended up here?
Had someone slipped into the core area while she was away, taken the little pebble out, and then this girl had picked it up?
But that shouldn't have been possible. Whoever it was, they couldn't have entered the core area without her noticing. Ayinai became even more interested in the girl.
Moreover, she could sense that this girl... seemed very out of place. Not psychologically, but in the truest sense, in every respect.
It was as though she didn't belong in this universe, yet she looked just like an ordinary human.
An existence that was so out of place yet made sense nonetheless was, she had to admit, very eye-catching.
Hiding herself with her power, Ayinai plopped down on the branch in front of the window and watched the two people interact inside.
This body was only an avatar anyway. Her main body was still enjoying herself on Xianzhou Daiyu.
"Ah~ dumping all the dirty, tiring work on your avatar while you enjoy yourself at the base. Ayinai, oh, Ayinai, you really don't carry yourself like an Aeon at all."
Ayinai grumbled that her main body was nothing like an Aeon. All day long, she disguised herself like a mortal and went out to buy snacks, listen to storytellers, read novels, and browse clothing stores.
Although she still searched the universe for planets that were about to perish but wished to keep existing and transformed them into miracles of existence, she was far less diligent than before. That was also why the Garden of Existence was discovering fewer and fewer miracles of existence.
Time passed quickly.
Before they knew it, the sky had gradually darkened, and Amo and Xiaohe set out.
As she watched them leave for the mountaintop, Ayinai's expression grew serious. She had more or less figured out why the pebble was here.
If things really were as she suspected, then if this girl's identity were exposed, she would become the most "popular" person in the entire universe.
It might even throw her once-peaceful life into chaos.
On the mountaintop, Amo lay on the grass, his eyes shining as he gazed at the star-filled sky. How long had it been since he had watched the stars with Xiaohe? A long time, right? Had it... been a long time?
The image of Xiaohe in Amo's mind suddenly wavered, and just because of that, his memories of her actually grew a little blurry.
!!!!
Amo turned pale with shock and abruptly sat up, looking at Xiaohe, who was lying beside him. Startled by his sudden movement, Xiaohe sat up as well. Seeing his pale face, she asked with concern, "Amo, what's wrong? You look awful. Are you feeling sick?"
Amo looked at Xiaohe's concerned face and pulled her into his arms.
"Huh? Amo, what's wrong?"
"Xiaohe, I'm fine. I just wanted to see if you were still by my side."
Xiaohe's bright eyes dimmed for a moment, then shone again. "You've checked now. I'm right here, aren't I? So don't worry, Amo."
Just then, Xiaohe's hand, which had been patting Amo's back, suddenly stopped. She swiftly struck his neck with the edge of her hand, and he passed out before he could react.
Xiaohe gently laid the unconscious Amo on the grass. Looking at his sleeping face, she sighed, her eyes filled with helplessness and reluctance.
"My lady, you've returned."
As soon as Xiaohe spoke, Ayinai appeared in front of her. Although she was an Aeon, the sight of someone so tiny putting on such a serious face was truly adorable. She didn't feel intimidating at all, especially to someone like Xiaohe, who knew her so well.
"Mm. My main body originally sent me back to see how many of the capable people in the Garden of Existence we could recruit, but I didn't expect to find something else as well."
Xiaohe lowered her head and said nothing. She knew the goddess before her was somewhat angry.
"My lady... I..."
"Do you know how sought after you would become in the universe if your identity got out? You wouldn't be the only one who got hurt. He would too."
Ayinai pointed at Amo, who was lying on the ground. Xiaohe wanted to say something, but though she opened her mouth, she couldn't get the words out. She desperately wanted to tell Ayinai that she could protect the people she cherished, but she lost her nerve, especially before this being who stood at the pinnacle of the universe.
"When I brought you out of the land of Nihility, you weren't like you are now. Back then, you were nothing more than a wisp of soul that existed by attaching itself to the Heart of Nihility. And now you actually have a physical body."
Ayinai's words reminded her of the past. She had originally been a soul born from a pearl within Nihility that contained a vast amount of Nihility's power. Because the power of Nihility within her was so strong, a unique gravitational field had formed around her.
Her soul had attached itself to the pearl, and it was precisely because of her existence that Ayinai, after becoming a god, had noticed her.
So Ayinai had dug a hole into Nihility, gone inside, and brought her out. Then she had placed her on that trial planet to recuperate.
Because of the pearl's unique nature, it needed a host it could attach itself to for a long time to suppress the power of Nihility within it. That was why Ayinai had set up the trial.
"I'm very grateful to you, my lady, for bringing me out of that land of Nihility. It might not be appropriate for something born from Nihility to say it wants to escape Nihility, but... I still want to say it. I don't like Nihility. That feeling of emptiness and having no purpose is too unbearable. I wanted to try making my own decisions. I wanted to choose my own host, so I ran away without telling you.
"Amo... is the host I chose, and he's also the person I chose."
Ayinai looked at the girl's determined expression. After a long while, she sighed and said, "My main body said that your existence itself is what gives existence its meaning. Your choices naturally have the right to exist as well, so... go ahead and do as you wish, child."