Hearing Ayinai's words, Xiaohe stared at her in disbelief, her eyes filled with delight.
"R-really? My lady, she agreed!"
Ayinai nodded gently. "Yes, but I must warn you in advance. Although my main body said she wouldn't interfere, if things truly go beyond expectations, she'll personally take back your true form."
Xiaohe nodded repeatedly in delight. "All right, all right, I understand. Please rest assured, my lady. I know what I'm doing."
Ayinai looked at her expressionlessly, then held out a small hand and motioned for her to lean down. Though Xiaohe didn't understand, she still crouched in front of Ayinai.
Then, under Xiaohe's puzzled gaze, Ayinai reached out and flicked her forehead.
"Ow, my lady, that hurt~"
Ayinai withdrew her hand and said expressionlessly, "That's your punishment for acting on your own."
She then turned to look at Amo, who lay unconscious on the ground. "Good taste. He has potential and looks."
A grin spread across Xiaohe's face. Of course she had good taste. Her eye was sharp, and anyone mediocre wouldn't catch it.
"But..."
Ayinai changed tack, and the smile froze on Xiaohe's face.
Ayinai gazed into Xiaohe's eyes and said slowly, "If this boy fails to meet your expectations, I'll personally erase his existence."
With that, Ayinai vanished. Watching her disappear, Xiaohe looked at Amo, who was still unconscious. She lay down on her side beside him and reached out to stroke his cheek.
"You heard my lady. If you fail to meet my expectations and do something to wrong me, she'll personally deal with you."
Looking at Amo's face, Xiaohe became a little entranced. After gazing at him for a while, she rested her head on his chest and gradually fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
Day gradually broke.
The sunlight made Amo open his eyes. He looked at the sun hanging high in the sky. Hmm... what a big sun...
Huh? The sun? Crap!
Amo came to his senses and remembered he was still outside. Just as he was about to get up, he noticed a little head resting on his shoulder, with an arm around his neck.
Seeing Xiaohe like that, Amo smiled and slowly got up. He bent down and picked her up, moving as gently as if he were holding a precious, peerless treasure.
The pebble, the Heart of Nihility, now hung around his neck like a piece of jewelry.
The Garden of Existence
The head of the Garden sat upright in his chair, watching as a specially made protective suit was handled before him. The suit combined the power of the Paths from all the previous test subjects.
The tubes on the back of the suit contained Path energy. He had tested it before; at the limit of his strength, he could make it to within a few dozen kilometers of the core area.
What he needed was more Path energy, or Imaginary Energy, and it had to be Imaginary Energy from a Path of Existence Strider. An Emanator's would be even better, of course, but that was not something he could covet.
"Head of the Garden, this protective suit is what you need. It can help you reach the core area."
The head of the Garden rose excitedly from his chair and stroked the suit before him, his hand trembling slightly.
"This is it, this is it! This is my hope of obtaining the core of Nihility!"
Fierce desire appeared in his eyes: desire for the Heart of Nihility, desire for power.
He seemed to see himself holding the Heart of Nihility and controlling the Land of Trials. That was what he pursued, the scene he longed for most.
"Once I obtain the Heart of Nihility, I'll lead the Garden of Existence to the pinnacle of the universe! That damn Xianzhou Daiyu and Higgs will all submit at my feet!"
This was a plan he had painstakingly worked on for nearly ten years. Countless people had "disappeared" during that time, but so what?
Time would wash everything away. Once those who had "disappeared" were forgotten, they would truly have disappeared, with no evidence anywhere in the universe that they had ever existed.
The head of the Garden eagerly picked up the protective suit and vanished. When he reappeared, he was already inside the Land of Trials.
Looking at the familiar place he had visited countless times, he raised the corners of his mouth and burst into a brazen laugh.
Although he already had what he needed to reach the Land of Trials, he continued forward under his own power.
"Heh, I've made it farther than I did last year."
The head of the Garden looked at where he stood. He had gone a few kilometers farther than last year, and those few kilometers were a huge improvement in the Land of Trials.
He stopped. This was about as far as he could go. If he continued without protection, he would age some more.
He put on the protective suit where he stood, and the faint fragrance inside it lifted his spirits.
The protective suit had two layers. The inner layer clung to his body like skin, while the outer layer was an ordinary protective shell.
The head of the Garden strode forward excitedly and soon spotted the altar where the Heart of Nihility was kept. But when he saw it, his excitement vanished, leaving only anger and terror.
"No, no, no! Where's my Heart of Nihility? Where did my Heart of Nihility go? Who? Who dares steal from me, the head of the Garden? If I catch you, I'll tear you to pieces!"
The head of the Garden kicked the altar over. At that moment, he no longer felt any respect or reverence for Ayinai, only fury at the Heart of Nihility's disappearance and resentment toward her.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Ayinai! You tricked me!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a bolt of golden lightning fell from the atmosphere and struck him hard.
The violent lightning surged through his body, and the head of the Garden felt as though every part of him was being pounded and scraped.
A few seconds later, the head of the Garden collapsed weakly to the ground.
Clearly, this was punishment from an Aeon. Aeons could not be insulted, especially not one on the level of the Aeon of Existence.
The outer layer of the fallen head's protective suit had been reduced to ash by the lightning, but the inner layer remained. Ayinai had deliberately left it intact; she was curious what method the head of the Garden had devised.
Only the inner layer of the protective suit remained on him now: a thin, pale, cool-white, elastic "film."
"What is this..."
Ayinai knew what it was the moment she saw it, but she hadn't expected this to be the method the head of the Garden had devised.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Looking at the unconscious head of the Garden, Ayinai raised her hand to erase him, but then she suddenly stopped.
"I'll spare your life for now."
Ayinai wanted to see whether it was this head of the Garden who had fallen, or the entire Garden of Existence.
That would also help her judge whether this faction, which had once followed her diligently and loyally, still needed to exist.
Although she could use her own power to do this directly, she had seen a variable in the boy named Amo, a variable that would let her observe from the sidelines.