Qlipoth's gaze, like an ancient monolith, slowly shifted to Stelle, who was swooning over Yaoshi.
This Aeon of Preservation made no superfluous movements, merely raising the giant hammer that seemed capable of forging stars and "tapping" it against the void in the direction of Stelle, seemingly casual and understated.
There was no deafening sound, only a "hum" that felt as if the rules of the entire world had been gently shaken.
The next second, a layer of warm, solid amber light suddenly lit up on Stelle!
She looked at her hands in a daze, then at Qlipoth—she had just become a Pathstrider of Preservation like this? The kind "stamped and certified" by an Aeon personally? This onboarding process was way too casual!
"Are they... not done fighting yet?"
The Aeon of Remembrance, Fuli, whose form shifted like a kaleidoscope, fluctuated slightly, issuing a calm inquiry. Its gaze seemed to pierce through the "spectator circle" formed by the Aeons and cast toward a place further away.
"Not yet."
The mechanical synthesized voice of the Aeon of Erudition, Nous, rang out, carrying a trace of imperceptible computational static akin to "helplessness."
"Calculation results indicate that the brawl's entropy value is still climbing. The variable 'Aha' has intervened, self-proclaimed as 'Chief Joy Referee,' and is adding more... unpredictability to the melee. The estimated end time cannot be precisely calculated."
Hearing this, Stelle and Stella, who had just managed to regain a shred of sanity from the "shock of being watched by Aeons," subconsciously followed the "gaze" of Fuli and Nous, tiptoeing in an attempt to look behind through the gaps in the majestic bodies of the various Aeons.
In the even more spacious space behind the Aeons, which seemed to be composed of pure concepts, an all-star brawl—extremely chaotic and full of power, impossible to describe simply in words—was unfolding!
The focus of the contention was, shockingly, a "Stellaron" that had shrunk several times over but was still sparkling and spinning around!
"Caught it! It's mine!"
Cyrene was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, lunging out from a pile of energy splashes, narrowly clutching the Stellaron in her arms, a look of surprise and joy just appearing on her face—
"Out of here!"
With a delicate shout, Feixiao flashed in from nowhere, a crisp and clean roundhouse kick landing precisely on Cyrene's back, sending her and the Stellaron tumbling like a rolling gourd.
"Hmph! It's mine now!"
Feixiao reached out to grab it triumphantly.
However, a figure as elegant and swift as pink lightning streaked past at an even faster speed, nimbly snatching the Stellaron away 0.01 seconds before Feixiao's fingertips could touch it.
"Ah, my deepest apologies, beautiful ladies."
The Knight of Beauty, Argenti, held the Stellaron, bowing slightly toward Cyrene and Feixiao, his tone sincere and apologetic.
"But I, too, yearn to witness this unique 'contest of glory' concerning the definition of 'Beauty' alongside my own true self. I shall keep this item in my custody for a moment."
He even adjusted his posture while holding the Stellaron, making it look more like a piece of art.
"Swish—!"
A flash of a blade! A purple figure brushed past Argenti, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained.
The Stellaron had already changed hands.
Acheron held her blade in one hand and the Stellaron in the other, bowing her head slightly to perfectly dodge the fierce flying kick of the mecha warrior, Firefly, descending from the sky.
Without looking back, she blocked a flaming greatsword slashed from the side with a backhanded strike!
"The chance to fight side-by-side with my partner! I will never yield it to you!"
Phainon roared, a more intense light erupting from his body, his wings of light spreading behind him as he entered a stronger "Divine Calamity" form, flying into mid-air to engage in a dazzling exchange of attacks with Acheron on the ground!
Blades, shadows, and energy blasts erupted everywhere.
Not far away, Mydei crossed his arms, his expression foul, a low-pressure aura permeating around him: "Tsk... so annoying..."
Everyone here is a summoned character, so why are those few having so much fun fighting?
Beside him, Seele nodded silently, the handle of her scythe nearly crushed; she clearly wanted to join in, but after looking at the intensity of the "gods fighting" over there and weighing her own strength, she could only hold back, feeling stifled.
Boothill was in the same situation; he touched his weapon and cursed something, but his feet honestly didn't move—the gap in strength was too great, and he feared he would be reduced to cannon fodder in an instant if he entered.
"They... what are they doing?"
Stelle blinked, pointing at the chaotic battlefield, and asked the Aeons beside her curiously.
The response she got was Qlipoth raising the giant hammer once again.
This time, the hammer head did not strike the void; instead, it used its side to "gently" nudge Stelle's backside, neither too hard nor too soft, just like swatting away a pebble.
"Oof—!"
Stelle felt an irresistible force, carrying the power of an earthquake, push her. Her entire body spun like a top, and with a short, sharp cry, she turned into an amber streak of light, "whooshing" out of this strange space maintained by the Aeons, sent off to cool her heels in some unknown corner by "Preservation."
"Now, there are no outsiders."
Qlipoth retracted the giant hammer, its voice calm and waveless, as if it had just flicked away a speck of dust.
Stella: "..."
She watched helplessly as Stelle was "sent away," then met Qlipoth's "gaze" as it turned toward her, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. She immediately shuddered in fear, shrinking her neck; the laurel crown on her head trembled three times, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless.JPG.
"They are fighting for the handling rights of that Stellaron, or rather, the 'right of first contact'."
The Aeon of Destruction, Nanook, glanced at the battlefield with his golden eyes burning with pitch-black flames, his deep voice resounding directly in Stella's consciousness, answering the question she and Stelle had just asked.
"Your 'system panel,' after successfully capturing and initially suppressing a complete Stellaron for the first time, will trigger a special mechanism: it allows you to designate any unlocked character to descend in their complete 'LV.40' state to assist with the handling."
Nanook's explanation was concise, but the amount of information was immense.
Stella nodded stiffly, her mind in a mess: So they were fighting tooth and nail over there, actually competing for this "LV.40 Trial Card" slot?
Or were they fighting over the "right to use" the Stellaron? Why are the hidden functions of this system panel getting more and more absurd?
"Bang—!!"
"In the beginning—there was action!!!"
"Yikes!"
Before Stella could digest this information, an incredibly violent shockwave mixed with golden energy exploded from the direction of the brawl, its perimeter aftershocks crashing over like a tsunami!
Caught off guard, Stella was shaken like a rubber ball, rolling a long way away, and slammed headfirst into the invisible balance force field of the Aeon of Equilibrium, seeing stars.
"Damn it! Fight all you want over there! Don't you dare splash energy over here! Disturbing the Aeons' meeting... uh, spectator session, requires paying a price!"
The Aeon of The Hunt, Lan, seemed angered by this sudden interruption. He frowned, not even looking, and backhanded an arrow from the starlight radiance behind him, nocking, aiming, and firing in one fluid motion, fast as lightning!
"Whoosh—thwack!"
A cyan streak of light crossed space, piercing through [Sunday] at the edge of the brawl, who had accidentally released a big move, was glowing with golden light, and looked like a large lightbulb!
[Sunday] let out a miserable shriek, the golden light on his body instantly extinguished, and he spiraled down toward the "bottom" of the conceptual space, not knowing where he had fallen.
Lan snorted coldly and retracted his longbow, as if he had merely swatted away a noisy insect.
The other Aeons were unfazed; Fuli even "clicked" to record this scene, the Light Cone title perhaps being [The Hunt's Casual Cleanup of Energy Leaks].
Stella climbed up, dizzy, watching this absurd and oppressive scene before her:
On one side, the supreme Aeons of the universe were watching and maintaining Order, either calmly, helplessly, or irritably;
On the other side, a group of "god-tier" characters, at least four-star quality, were fighting so hard over a mini Stellaron that the Great Dao itself was being eroded;
And she, the one who was theoretically the "master," was like a little hamster that had stumbled into a mythical battlefield, shivering at the feet of the Aeons, having to be careful not to be taken out by stray fire.
What kind of situation is this!
Stella complained wildly in her heart, but on her face, she only dared to maintain a "well-behaved" expression, fearing that some Aeon might find her displeasing and hit her with a hammer or an arrow.
She only hoped that the "all-star brawl" over there would produce a result soon, or... that Aha, this "Joy Referee," could pull off something even more outrageous to divert everyone's attention.