TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
===BREAK===
HooH stated THEIR bottom line:
"However, the one who travels through time must not reveal his identity as a time traveler. In other words, he must not prove to anyone that the past can be changed."
THEY knew all too well how irresistible time travel was to humanity.
If that human's lips were not sealed—even a single careless remark would be magnified infinitely by other humans.
At that point, the scale of historical change would no longer be counted in tens or hundreds, but in billions.
As for whether people in the present knew about it, that was actually irrelevant.
In the end, whether the past could be changed was not the key issue. What truly mattered was that if this fact were announced in the past, it would trigger massive, widespread shifts in human history. That was the real headache.
"Deal! As expected of the Aeon of Equilibrium—willing to go all out for the stability of the starry sea!"
Sylvester applauded enthusiastically, clearly "deeply moved" by HooH's "great sense of righteousness."
Naturally, he agreed to this condition.
Aeons might be powerful, but even they could not withstand sheer human numbers.
If this got out, plenty of people would turn to searching for or researching time machines.
Not to mention the scholars of the Intelligentsia Guild and the mad scientists of the Genius Society.
Even if they failed, creating some byproduct that affected time would still have enormous historical consequences.
By then, no matter how much toilet paper HooH had, THEY wouldn't be able to wipe all those messes clean.
Mm… better not share that metaphor with THEM. Might hurt THEIR feelings.
Ah, what a kind-hearted man he was.
Then, the kind-hearted man put his smile back on—one that made HooH feel increasingly uneasy.
"All right," Sylvester said. "Now we should talk about compensation for emotional distress."
"?"
HooH sent a wave of confusion. "Then what was everything we just discussed?"
"That was about malicious competition," Sylvester replied matter-of-factly. "One thing at a time. Next is the issue of you spying on me in the middle of the night."
In the span of a single sentence, his beaming smile vanished, replaced by a look of deep sorrow.
He gazed up at the heavens and said plaintively, "I'm a young man of appropriate age. Being spied on—at night, no less. If word of that got out, all sorts of weird rumors would start flying."
"Over at the IPC they've got things like 'machine–human romance,' and all kinds of LGBT discussions and other strange labels. If I ended up with one of those slapped on my head, it'd be seriously uncomfortable."
Having finished his performance with minimal effort, he concluded, "So, charging a bit of emotional distress compensation isn't unreasonable, right?"
"Not unreasonable."
Utterly unreasonable!
Who could even detect an Aeon's gaze in the first place? If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who else would spread rumors?
Who would exaggerate things and damage your reputation?!
HooH was practically fuming at Sylvester's logic.
For the sake of Equilibrium, THEY had long observed every shade of human emotion—joy, sorrow, warmth, coldness.
But only today did THEY truly understand what those feelings were like.
Yet what choice did THEY have? With THEIR weakness in someone else's grasp, THEY could only comply.
"Human," HooH transmitted, "I know that the planet you live on uses a currency called credits. I can invoke the authority of Equilibrium to increase the number in your account. Say how much you want—it is merely a number."
However, despite HooH's generous, almost reckless attitude—one that could even empty the IPC's vaults—Sylvester was not satisfied.
He frowned. "Oh? So, it's not even your money. That makes things tricky. This might compensate my loss, but it doesn't mean you paid a price. It just means the company did. That defeats the purpose of punishment."
He turned his head and asked, "Don't Aeons have their own currency?"
"No," HooH answered curtly.
Sylvester frowned, then nodded in understanding. "Figures. Being broke is one of the core traits of gods—you can't just abandon that."
After thinking for a moment, he clapped his hands. "All right, then let's do this. Give me a way to contact you. Up to three times, you must respond whenever I call and help me do three things. That'll be your payment."
"Of course, after three times, if you still want to help, I won't stop you."
You wouldn't stop me, but I'd definitely stop myself!
Though HooH was not Qlipoth, THEY still felt that this short conversation—barely over ten minutes—had been as exhausting as an entire Amber Era.
First a nanny, then a bodyguard, and perhaps later running errands for a human.
The lofty pride of an Aeon had been dug down at least three levels.
Since the Big Bang, all the pride of Aeons had been completely cast away.
If this ever got out, THEY would be the true laughingstock of eternity.
"…Agreed," HooH finally said, answering decisively.
A yin–yang fish the size of a walnut flew out and landed in Sylvester's palm, accompanied by HooH's mental voice.
"Press it and call my name. Even at the farthest reaches of the starry sea, I will appear immediately."
"Mm, not bad," Sylvester said.
After all, fleece shorn from an Aeon was rare indeed.
He played with the yin–yang fish curiously for a bit, then tucked it into his pocket.
"I say, HooH—hey?"
When he looked up again, the good little Aeon was already gone.
The black-and-white vortex that had once enveloped the entire star system had vanished without a sound.
In the blink of an eye, THEY had fled?
Sylvester scratched his head and clicked his tongue. "Why leave in such a hurry? I'm not some devil. I wasn't going to kill you."
Most of his demands had been about saving face anyway. Watching over Aventurine's family was no effort at all for an Aeon.
As for those three tasks—he hadn't even figured out how he wanted to punish HooH yet. It was just something he came up with on the spot.
If there was any real damage done to HooH, it was probably psychological—just a tiny bit.
Sylvester shook his head, lamenting, "Foreign gods really lack the spirit of serving the people. Our local gods are already harnessed up and grinding grain."
With that, he stretched lazily and sliced open a shimmering blue portal.
As he walked, he connected to [Zafkiel's Twelfth Bullet - Yud Bet].
The universe finally returned to silence.
And within a nearby sun, a mask slowly emerged.
"Phew~"
Blowing out the flames clinging to it, a wild laugh shattered the hard-won quiet.
"Aha! Hahahahaha! Interesting—far too interesting! HooH still lacks experience. Getting caught spying red-handed—what an embarrassment to the Aeons!"
The mask spun three times in the void before stopping. Aha's avatar muttered to THEMSELVES:
"What fun thing should THEY do next? Hmm… it's been a long time since THEY pretended to be an ordinary person."
...
"Ugh—"
Aventurine pressed the thickest part of his thumb into his temple, massaging hard.
That bullet hadn't hurt him at all, but the delayed strike had landed precisely when his guard was down. The pain was very real.
After a while, he finally opened his eyes.
The moment he saw the golden wasteland, his eyes reddened, tears nearly spilling over.
This was where he was born.
The cactus beside him was painfully familiar. The shadow it cast under the sun was where, as a child, he would crouch and pretend to be innocent and cute, coaxing a candy or biscuit from passing travelers.
He would never touch such crude food now—but back then, it was a delicacy he dreamed of eating his fill of.
And a few kilometers away stood a tent, maintained with hardship by two women—a tiny home.
Aventurine wiped away his tears and set off toward it, following the path etched deep into his memory.
Just then, a voice that should not have existed rang out beside him, making him jump.
["Hey, hey, hey! Mr. Aventurine, can you hear me? I've got one piece of good news and one piece of bad news for you. Which do you want to hear first?"]
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa