In the wilderness outside of Belobog, Lucian had taken Aha out here, far away from the city.
Why?
Simply because a ticking time bomb like an Aeon was too unstable to be left chatting inside the city, especially a capricious Aeon like Aha.
"So... why do you care about the Aeon of Erudition, Aeon of Elation?"
Lucian, standing beneath a tree and leaning against it with his arms folded, asked Aha calmly, his expression unreadable.
Aha, on the other hand, climbed up the tree, panting with effort, then stood on top, gazing into the distance before responding.
"Erudition's projection coming in person means something big's happening! Aha likes to join in the fun!"
*BOOM!*
As THEIR words fell, Aha suddenly jumped down from the tree, landing flat on the ground right in front of Lucian, which caused a crater to form.
"Your name's Lucian, right?" Aha straightened up and asked casually. "Now it's your turn to answer me. Why can you make that scrap iron show up in person? Not even those little brats from the Genius Society get this chance, y'know~"
At the question, Lucian smiled faintly and then raised his hand.
"Because of this."
*Snap!*
Lucian snapped his fingers and used Disarm on Aha's avatar before him.
*Rip!*
In the next second, the mask on Aha's face popped open before THEIR clothes exploded like fireworks.
It was then that Lucian saw Aha's true form.
Aha's head and body were pitch black and featureless—void of gender or any distinguishing traits, neither male nor female.
'So, the many transformations of Elation are considered equipment, huh...'
Lucian noted inwardly as he observed the effect of Disarm on Aha, realizing a crucial point.
It was well-known that the transformations of Elation were incredibly hard to see through—even an Aeon like Akivili had never been able to uncover such a disguise.
Take Sparkle, a fervent follower of Elation, for example.
Not only did she have countless transformations, but even her personality shifted along with those transformations, fooling countless people.
Now, he discovered that Disarm could actually strip away the transformations of Elation.
===
At the same time, deep in the cosmos, loud laughter suddenly rang out.
"HaHaHaHaHa—!!!"
A pitch-black figure sat atop a tiny star, gazing at the scattered masks and toys around THEM, unable to contain THEIR laughter.
THEY were none other than the true Aha.
Just moments ago, THEIR avatar had been conversing with Lucian, only to be affected by his mysterious ability.
As a result, not only had all the items in THEIR hands flown uncontrollably in all directions, but the disguise of THEIR avatar had also been torn apart on the spot.
Ever since becoming an Aeon, this was the first time—completely unprecedented!
"Even Akivili couldn't tear my face off~ No wonder that scrap iron went after him. Looks like THEIR metal shell fell off, and that angered THEM~ HaHaHaHaHa—!"
===
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
Back at Lucian's side, Aha's avatar suddenly clapped THEIR hands while jumping around in excitement.
"HaHaHa, this is so funny! Aha really wants to laugh, but my face fell off!"
As these words fell, the energy of the Path of Elation began to surge around Aha, forming a storm that swept up THEIR removed mask and the torn fragments of THEIR clothes.
Before long, Aha's black figure was enveloped by the storm of energy, and then—
"One, two, three! Ta-da!"
As the storm faded, Aha had transformed into a different form—a regular person with an ordinary face, looking like an employee of the IPC.
Seeing this, Lucian wasn't surprised at all.
Let alone a regular person—it wouldn't be strange even if Aha had turned into Nanook.
"Hey, hey, my friend, why aren't you laughing?" Aha asked with a wide, comical grin. "You actually managed to trick Aha! You should be laughing!"
Lucian hadn't intended to laugh, but seeing that ridiculous grin, he couldn't help curling his lips slightly.
"Ah, I know! How about we pull a little prank?" Aha, suddenly having a brilliant idea, raised a finger as a golden light bulb popped up above THEIR head, looking just as silly as THEIR grin. "Use your ability to mess with that madman Nanook and tease that fool Qlipoth! It'll definitely be funny and make you laugh!"
"No way." Lucian refused decisively, shaking his head. "I don't dare to cause trouble to the Aeons, unless..."
"Unless~~~?" Aha repeated, dragging the word teasingly.
"Unless you cover for me and take the blame." Lucian continued casually, shrugging his shoulders. "More importantly, you've gotta make sure everyone on this planet stays safe if anything goes wrong."
"HaHaHaHa~!" Aha suddenly burst out laughing, clapping THEIR hands in excitement. "Of course, no problem! Aha loves protecting THEIR friends~"
*Clap!*
Aha clapped THEIR hands, and in that instant, THEY transformed into Nanook.
THEY had white hair, and THEIR upper body, with brown skin and golden blood flowing on it, was exposed. THEIR lower body wore a long, torn black robe, but instead of legs, golden flames swirled faintly beneath.
"Mortal, what is Destruction to you?"
'Nanook' stared coldly at Lucian and spoke without emotion.
One could only admit that Aha's impersonation of Nanook was so perfect that, unless THEY exposed THEMSELF, it was truly hard to tell THEM apart from the real one.
Needless to say, Aha clearly wanted to use THEMSELF as a medium for Disarm, serving in the same way as Nous's hologram that Lucian used when summoning Nous.
[DING! Script cooldown complete. You can now activate the script again.]
[Script: 1]
[Activate the script?]
'No.'
Lucian immediately declined the System's offer in his mind.
Given that the script was his trump card for escaping after provoking an Aeon, now was not the time to use it.
'Disarm.'
Lucian, secretly curious about the effect of Disarm when it was used on other Aeons aside from Nous, immediately used it on the fake Nanook before him.
*Rip!*
In an instant, 'Nanook's' black robe exploded, but unfortunately, nothing was there—only a swirling golden flame.
Lucian, wanting to capture the embarrassing moment, quietly put his phone away, feeling a little disappointed.
"Next~"
*Clap!*
Aha clapped and transformed again, and this time, THEY became the Aeon of Preservation—Qlipoth.
Qlipoth was a colossal, stone-like figure.
THEIR arms and upper body were massive, while THEIR head and lower body were small, making THEM look like a stone golem straight out of a fantasy story.
"Building walls... Building walls..."
'Qlipoth' stood in place, repeatedly hammering the air with THEIR hands while chanting the same sentence.
'Aha can even impersonate Qlipoth so well...' Lucian thought while rolling his eyes. 'But not gonna lie, Qlipoth looks kinda foolish...'
Thanks to Aha, he had now seen the true appearance of two Aeons with his own eyes.
'Disarm!'
Done observing Qlipoth's form, Lucian immediately used Disarm on THEM, and then—
*BOOM!*
THEIR stone body instantly exploded, sending stone debris flying in all directions.
'Well, it seems that all the stones on Qlipoth's body count as equipment, huh...' Lucian thought in amazement. 'Disarm is really something else...'
He already had a rough idea of Disarm's uses by now.
Among the four Aeons affected by it so far, it clearly had the greatest impact on Qlipoth.
As Lucian was lost in thought, 'Qlipoth' soon reassembled THEMSELF, but as soon as THEIR stone body reformed, THEY vanished, and Aha's avatar returned to THEIR original state—a clown wearing a mask with three different expressions.
"You're so cruel, you even shattered Aha..." Aha complained in a sad tone.
"So? How did Nanook and Qlipoth react?" Lucian asked calmly, ignoring THEIR complaint.
"Oh, right! Let's check the recording!" Aha replied excitedly, as if THEIR earlier sadness had never existed, then slapped THEIR mask.
*Pa!*
As the slapping sound resounded, THEIR masked head comically shifted into a blank electronic black screen.
A moment later, the black screen flickered to life, displaying a scene of a distant galaxy where a colossal figure floated silently among the stars.
It was none other than the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.
Inside the screen, THEIR eyes were closed, motionless, as if meditating—until, out of nowhere, THEIR black robe suddenly exploded under some unknown force.
Nanook's eyes instantly snapped open, golden blood surging violently through THEIR body as the surrounding temperature spiked, melting several nearby stars and planets in an instant.
"Elation..."
Muttering softly, Nanook, with an expressionless face, shifted THEIR eyes sideways as THEY noticed the presence of Aha from afar.
Even though Nanook appeared emotionless, Lucian couldn't help but feel like THEY were actually angry.
"HaHaHaHa!"
As Aha's laugh resounded, the screen on THEIR head went black for a moment before the scene switched, revealing another galaxy where endless, massive walls stood—magnificent beyond measure.
Before the walls, a colossal stone figure with a giant hammer monotonously struck the surface, each strike echoing with a steady, rhythmic pulse that never ceased.
Needless to say, THEY were the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth.
*Click—BOOM!*
On the screen, just as Qlipoth was about to hammer down again, THEIR hammer was suddenly and inexplicably knocked away, followed by the sudden explosion of THEIR massive stone body into countless fragments.
*Rumble—*
However, in the very next instant, THEIR exploded body reassembled itself, returning to its original state as if nothing had happened.
Qlipoth then raised a hand, scanning the surroundings until THEY seemed to locate THEIR target.
In the next second, the hammer that had been flung away earlier flew straight back into THEIR grasp before THEY continued hammering the walls—completely unfazed by what had happened, and showing no reaction at all.
Even though THEY had clearly noticed Aha's arrival, THEY completely ignored THEM.
"Meh, this fool isn't fun..."
Aha complained before the screen went black again, followed by THEIR screen head vanishing, replaced by the original masked one.
"Hey, Lucian, stop following the Abundance and become my Emanator instead!"
Aha suddenly appeared before Lucian, leaning forward, THEIR face so close to his that it was almost touching.
"Whatever you want, Aha will give it to you! We'd be the perfect match made in heaven! We will merge into each other completely, becoming one! HaHaHaHaHaHa!"
Lucian quickly took a step back, a frown forming on his face.
'Merging? Becoming one?'
He had originally been interested in becoming an Emanator of Elation and was fine with paying any price necessary to become one, to the point of agreeing to prank Nanook and Qlipoth, but such a high price?
No way.
"Get lost." Lucian said with a slightly disgusted expression. "I only like women. Becoming one? I only want the Abundance or the Harmony."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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