Equilibrium seemed to have words to convey, but after much deliberation, THEY ultimately dissolved into a heavy sigh.
With a final word of caution, THEY vanished from sight.
"..."
Bai Ming's expression stiffened upon hearing Equilibrium's parting advice.
Just a moment ago, Equilibrium had told her with earnest gravity that she was "special" to this world.
Therefore, THEY hoped she could be more composed, more serious, and stop fooling around with Aha to learn all sorts of nonsense.
THEY suggested she spend more time learning from the likes of Qlipoth and Noa...
Bai Ming felt like she was being discriminated against.
When had she ever "fooled around" with Aha?! She was clearly a decent person!
Wasn't it just because she didn't count as a "proper" Aeon, so there were things that should have been common knowledge to an Aeon that she simply didn't understand?
How could that be framed as being corrupted by Aha!
Actually, wait—she had never followed Aha's lead in the first place, alright?!
As for Aha.
Upon hearing Equilibrium's words, THEY had already collapsed into fits of laughter. Especially seeing Bai Ming's aggrieved, puppy-dog expression, THEY were so amused THEY nearly doubled over, gasping for air.
If one were to ask what breed of Fool was the most entertaining...
In Aha's view, a contestant like Bai Ming—who was clearly a Fool through and through yet remained completely oblivious to it—was the peak of comedy.
Moreover, because Bai Ming generally had good intentions and her "fun-seeking" usually involved harmless little trifles, some of the more... extreme Masked Fools didn't even consider her one of their own.
That sense of displacement was truly fascinating.
But Bai Ming didn't find it funny at all; she only found Aha incredibly noisy.
"Shoo, shoo! You're way too loud!"
"Are you really not going to consider that last 1%? I wouldn't even mind letting you swallow me whole, haha~"
Aha never gave up, but Bai Ming never had any interest in becoming Aha.
"Not interested. Also, what did you do with that guy I threw at you earlier?"
Bai Ming, who had been seconds away from grabbing the mask and tossing Aha out, suddenly remembered she had previously evicted the Simulated Aha from the Simulated Universe.
She wondered how the real Aha had handled that fellow.
"Haha~ Not telling~ That's Aha's little secret... unless you become Aha."
"..."
Bai Ming couldn't help but roll her eyes at the guy.
Fine, keep your secrets; she didn't want to know anyway.
Since the individual was directly related to Aha and clearly under THEIR special arrangement, Bai Ming truly couldn't track them down.
As for whether THEY were already dead... Bai Ming felt it was unlikely. THEY were probably wearing a new face and had been dumped into some god-forsaken world.
Whatever, she wouldn't worry about it. No matter how much of a headache that guy was, could THEY possibly be more troublesome than Aha?
So, this time, Bai Ming didn't say another word.
She reached out, gripped the mask Aha was inhabiting, and with a wave of her hand, opened a wormhole to who-knows-where. Then, she unceremoniously stuffed the mask inside.
Watching the wormhole seal smoothly, Bai Ming brushed off her hands. Only then did she turn to look at Acheron, who had appeared nearby a while ago but had refrained from approaching.
Seeing Acheron's small frame, Bai Ming realized she was still in the form of a sixty-meter-tall giant.
Soon after, the dazzling light rapidly retracted. Her massive size began to shrink, eventually transforming into a standard human shape, her long, silver-white hair spilling over her shoulders.
Even without intentionally adjusting her appearance, she maintained her previous look. It was as if she were naturally meant to look this way.
Or rather, in this world, this was the form that suited her best.
Thus, even though she now had the power to reshape herself at will, she chose not to.
Now that she was an Aeon, honestly, once your perspective reaches that level, as long as it looks good, she didn't care much about being male or female anymore.
Landing in front of Acheron, Bai Ming reached out to give her a hug and greeted her with a smile:
"Long time no see. How have you been lately?"
Bai Ming looked directly into Acheron's eyes with a smile. Although the light within her was restrained and quiet, it still radiated a very special aura.
Acheron felt this clearly.
While the Bai Ming of the past had always been approachable—well, at least to Acheron—this time was markedly different. Beyond the friendliness, there was a feeling like a little sun that could warm her soul.
Furthermore, what puzzled Acheron was that standing face-to-face with Bai Ming this time... she couldn't quite put it into words, but Bai Ming felt a bit more... real?
It was a subtle sensation, so much so that Acheron didn't know how to describe it herself.
"I'm doing well. But you—you seem to have changed."
"It is a bit different. I suppose I finally have a body that truly belongs to me now."
"The previous one didn't count?"
"I wouldn't say it didn't count, since it was a body after all, but... well, it's like the difference between owning your own home and renting."
"..."
Acheron blinked, her expression a bit conflicted.
While she understood the sentiment, the analogy was certainly... unique.
Setting the strange metaphor aside, Acheron asked, "So, what brings you here this time?"
"Just came to see you."
"You visit so often, I'm starting to feel like this isn't the Horizon of IX, but just some ordinary planet."
Acheron looked at Bai Ming with a faint smile. This person would drop by every so often and occasionally stay for a while.
Plus, Bai Ming didn't have to worry about being eroded by Nihility. Her presence brought a few sparks of vitality to this otherwise deathly silent place.
"Though, if you had come a day later, I probably wouldn't have been here."
"Oh? How so?"
"A Sin Thirster appeared recently. I just finished guiding it. I was planning to head out and return a relic."
Bai Ming blinked at the news. "Does that mean I'm late? If I'd come a day earlier, would I have seen you guide a Sin Thirster?"
Acheron gave a helpless smile. If she had her way, she would prefer a world where Sin Thirsters never existed in the first place. Besides, what kind of sane person would be curious about such a thing?
"Their appearance is random, and I am only one person. I can't look after every one of them. If you want to see it, you really have to rely on luck."
"Speaking of which, is the frequency of Sin Thirsters high around here?"
"It's alright. Most of them don't linger for long due to a single obsession. Generally, the process is quite fast."
"I see..."
Hearing Acheron's words, Bai Ming thought of that massive group of Galaxy Rangers who became Sin Thirsters in the game—the countless Rangers who died at the hands of Zulo, and Tiernan, who wandered for centuries.
Currently, the Rangers were still active in the universe, so Acheron hadn't crossed paths with them yet, nor had she had the chance to "play" the role of a Galaxy Ranger.
"Want to head out together later? Where are you going?"
"The person came from a world struck by a Stellaron disaster. The location is very remote; I'm not even sure if that world still exists. And you?"
"I'm going to the Xianzhou for a bit. After that, I might stay here for a longer stretch."
Based on Bai Ming's current understanding of the Permanence Equation, she figured she could fully decipher it quite soon.
Her tentative plan was to have some fun on the Xianzhou first, then set a course for a Hysilens character card. After that, she'd return to Acheron's side to delve into the Nihility Equation.
As for her goal...
She wanted to try establishing a system at the Horizon of IX that could autonomously process and guide Sin Thirsters to their rest.
Once finished, Acheron wouldn't have to wander this place alone for countless eons.
--+--
Meanwhile, at the Stellaron Hunters' base.
Thump!
A black cat-paw punch slammed onto the screen of a laptop. It instantly turned the record documents—and the entire device—into scrap metal.
"Meow—!!!"
A hissing sound, completely uncharacteristic of Elio, startled Jingliu, who had just returned from a mission.
Exuding a murderous aura, Jingliu pushed open the door only to see Kafka calmly sipping coffee, while Elio was arched like a bow, hissing at the shattered machine.
"...?"
Jingliu shot a questioning look at Kafka, wondering what had happened while she was out following the script.
Kafka shook her head helplessly. "I don't know either. I assume the script needs another massive rewrite?"
"Haven't you gotten used to it yet?"
Jingliu replied instinctively, which only made Elio more frantic.
"Used to it?!How am I supposed to get used to this!! I just felt even Finality becoming unstable!"
"What?"
"The Path is unstable?"
Jingliu and Kafka exchanged a look. Although they had joined the Stellaron Hunters and thus embarked on the path of Finality, they hadn't been on it for long.
Their understanding of this Path was nowhere near as deep as the ones they had previously walked.
As for the "instability of the Path" Elio mentioned, they couldn't sense it at all. But if Elio said so, it had to be true.
Except...
"Isn't that a good thing? If Finality disappears."
Jingliu looked at Elio. Though Elio might vanish entirely if Finality ceased to exist, from a macro perspective, the instability of Finality meant the universe's ending was no longer set in stone.
Wasn't that good news?
Elio bared his teeth at the broken screen for a good while before finally calming down to answer Jingliu's question.
"Theoretically, yes. A future better than the previous ones has appeared. But the problem is, this future is extremely unstable, and it is heavily tied to that woman, Bai Ming!"
Elio's tone was on the verge of a breakdown.
A glimmer of a good ending had appeared, which made Elio happy, but the fact that this good ending was bound to Bai Ming made Elio furious.
If it were just a path that intersected with Bai Ming, the interference she caused would still be somewhat manageable. But now, that path was essentially welded to her.
Considering the chaotic variables Bai Ming brought every few days...
Elio was truly about to lose it.
It meant he couldn't select a so-called "correct answer" from that chaotic trajectory.
No matter what he chose, a change—big or small—would occur once a cycle passed.
Then he'd look back and—whoops!
All that previous work might have been for nothing, or worse, he might have accidentally made things harder.
It was pure, unadulterated torture.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL