Sparkle looked at the very root of the Path of Elation that had appeared before her, somewhat astonished.
As a Pathstrider, she naturally knew this power well.
Yet she had never imagined that the Aeon of Joy would willingly hand her the power of an Aeon, instead of forcing her to seize it.
Though as a jester herself she could imagine the Aeon of Joy being delighted to see her take his place, she had still thought there would be at least some kind of resistance or struggle.
"Pfft—hahahahaha! Too funny, too funny… What I wanted most was to see that surprised, unbelieving expression on your face!"
Seeing Sparkle's reaction, Aha's mask laughed all the more gleefully.
Sparkle regained her composure. "Hehehehe… To suddenly become the joke, how fitting for me, Lady Sparkle. But I must admit, Lord Joy, I am truly surprised."
"For you to willingly abandon the power of an Aeon—this is without a doubt the greatest jest in the entire universe. Far greater even than the birth of an Aeon. This is the first time in history."
The birth of an Aeon was not unprecedented. During the Swarm Disaster, multiple Aeons had arisen.
But for an Aeon to willingly surrender their power—this was the first time since the dawn of the cosmos.
"Exactly, exactly! The first time since the universe began. Such a grand jest must belong to me, Aha, hahahaha! Even if you become the new Aeon, you cannot surpass me. After all, there can only ever be one 'first time.' The joy between the first and the second is worlds apart~"
Aha was thoroughly smug, as though flaunting a trophy.
Then, his tone shifted slightly, becoming a touch more serious.
"Of course… the most important reason is that this universe has already fallen from the Tree of Existence. It has been degraded. The birth of a new Aeon should have been impossible."
"For such joy to remain unfinished would be a desecration of Elation itself."
"So I chose to abdicate instead. After all, one must give opportunities to the young, hehe…"
"Besides… even if I am no longer an Aeon, Lady Sparkle, that does not mean you will truly surpass me, hahahaha."
At that, the mask cracked with a sharp snap.
"Well then~ I, Aha, congratulate the birth of the new Aeon of Elation."
With the mask shattered, a gray figure appeared, like a gentleman bowing slightly before Sparkle.
Having done this, it suddenly dispersed.
But in the universe, a laugh resounded for all to hear, ringing pure and unrestrained.
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha—"
The laughter slowly faded, until at last it vanished, as though it had been nothing but an illusion.
"Gone just like that. Well then—rejoice for me, Lady Sparkle!"
Sparkle laughed, and reached out to grasp the root of the Path of Elation. The old Path of Elation shattered, and fragments of philosophy fused into her body.
"Hahahahahaha! Rejoice, rejoice—the new Aeon of Elation is born—!"
Her manic, joyous voice echoed through the entire universe.
The power of an Aeon fully pierced causality and the laws of the cosmos.
The Path of Elation that belonged to Aha vanished entirely, and in its place was reborn the Path of Elation belonging to Sparkle.
At the instant the new Path of Elation was born, Sparkle's dimensional existence rapidly rose.
Four dimensions, five, six… ten… until she surpassed the very limits of the universe.
In that moment, her ordinary body was remade into a Holy Body by the power of philosophy.
Robin, the Aeon of Order, watched Sparkle's transformation in shock.
She had witnessed Aha hand over his Path entirely to Sparkle.
Could a Path truly be transferred? She herself was now the Aeon of Order, but she could not transfer her Path.
What she did not know was that for a Path to be transferred, there must exist another of the same Path—not identical, but rooted in philosophy strong enough to challenge the Aeon. Only then could such a transfer occur.
In other words, it was surrender. Though in the case of Elation, it was a special exception.
For Aha, this was no surrender at all—but a form of growth.
Though abandoning the Path weakened him somewhat, the act of transferring it allowed him to advance to another layer of existence.
Though the progress was slight.
Even now, Aha still remained at standard single-universe level. After all, even before becoming an Aeon, he had already broken past the universe's limits by his own strength.
"Rejoice! Human life, human existence need not be defined. The so-called self is simply—I do as I please~ hahahahaha~"
The light of an Aeon's birth could be seen from every corner of the cosmos.
Within that radiance, a Holy Body vast as a star slowly took shape. From its fingertips extended threads, and connected to those threads were galaxy projections, Aeon dolls, and all manner of puppets.
She now seemed like a puppeteer in a cosmic circus, manipulating dolls with strings. Upon her face was a mask at once divine and beautiful, yet also clownishly absurd.
"Miss Sparkle… you…"
"Yo~ Miss Robin, who has already become the Aeon of Order~"
Two Holy Bodies of Aeons shone across the universe, and the Penacony Galaxy was now enshrouded by the powers of two Paths.
Under such divine, philosophical, absolute brilliance surged the black beast tide, and the frozen masses who could only look up at them, their eyes filled with terror, confusion, despair, and hatred…
Unable to move, they were like freshly baked confections, devoured ravenously by the abyssal beasts.
But some were spared from the binding of Order's power—for they had lived in obedience and submission to Order, and thus would not be attacked by the abyssal beasts.
Dreamscape Hotel.
"What an unimaginable sight we have witnessed." Black Swan crossed her legs, sipping coffee as she looked out the glass window at the roaring tide of beasts.
"Wouldn't you agree, Miss Acheron?"
Acheron gazed down at the coffee cup in her hand, her face reflected in the dark liquid.
"I don't understand what you mean, Memokeeper." With that, she lifted her eyes toward the vast figure outside that obscured the sky.
Black Swan pressed her lips together, resting her chin in her hand. "Hehe, the universe, Penacony… even the last remnants of a bygone era shall soon vanish."
"But memories will not vanish. The universe will one day record it all."
...
Under Teyvat's full-force pull, the Star Rail Universe fell at a speed far beyond what should have been possible, as though the cosmos itself had been forcibly shifted.
On the scale of universes, the Star Rail Universe had already entered the Dimensional Realm, and was soon to enter the range where Teyvat's Truth radiated.
In Noah's golden eyes was reflected the shadow of the Star Rail Universe. His lips curved upward slightly, as behind him all the power of Teyvat unfurled.
This time, he was drawing in a great universe without relying on the system.
[Super-Primeval Power: Power of Beginning Without End]
[Whether in existence or non-existence]
[Whether visible or invisible]
[All things are born of my power]
Rumble— The Star Rail Universe ignored all the established order of the Tree and Sea and plunged straight into the Dimensional Realm.
The fall of a great universe into the Dimensional Realm should have caused unimaginable upheaval. Yet the Star Rail Universe descended like a phantom, stirring no disturbance at all.
Only when the pulling force ceased did its own repulsion emerge, pushing away the surrounding energies of the Dimensional Realm and leaving behind a vast hollow void.
At this moment, the Star Rail Universe had fully entered the range of the Teyvat Universe.
It now appeared as though it were a satellite universe orbiting Teyvat.
Compared to the vastness of Teyvat, the Star Rail Universe seemed far smaller—only slightly larger than a primordial universe.
Once within Teyvat's range, the Cosmic Nexus and the Truth of Teyvat immediately acted upon the Star Rail Universe.
There was no dismantling or devouring as with previous weaker worlds. A standard universe required no such thing.
It only needed to have all its roots assimilated by Teyvat.
Bathed under the dominion of the Cosmic Nexus and the Truth, the Star Rail Universe offered no resistance. On the contrary, it embraced it eagerly.
A primal joy emanated from its instinct.
For any universe, the first principle was survival.
So long as survival was assured, the instinct of a universe would not resist, even a great universe possessing its own will.
But the Star Rail Universe possessed no will—only instinct. The will of the Imaginary Tree was itself the collective of countless great universes' wills.
Cutting away a great universe was nothing to it—merely carving out a piece of rotting flesh, even if that flesh had nerves.
Now, the Star Rail Universe drifted close to Teyvat's main universe, becoming one of its orbiting subsidiary universes.
The scene resembled the layout of the Dragon Ball universes, though here the universes were more numerous, their mass far greater.
Once assimilation began, the Ether Anchor Points of the Star Rail Universe, formed from more than a dozen Laws, disassembled instantly.
The Laws were broken down and reforged into radiant halos encircling the Teyvat main universe. Rays of Law spread outward, illuminating all subsidiary universes.
Yet these Laws remained relatively weak—their quality still insufficient to form a chain linking all realms together with Truth.
Meanwhile—
At the very center of Teyvat's main universe, within the Temple of Truth in Eden—the root of all order and truth.
The power of the Paths flowed here, now subject to the temple's authority.
One branch of Pan-Human History intertwined with the Star Rail Universe, linking it into a shared cycle.
"A high-quality, though positionally defective, great universe has been taken into Teyvat. I did not expect it to be so swift. Though I still dislike the Abyss, the Abyss has indeed worked diligently."
Upon the Throne of Human Principle, Phanes slowly opened her eyes. Before her lay a projection of the entire Teyvat Universe.
As the embodiment of Human Principle, all within its radiance fell under her gaze.
Seeing a great universe steeped in Pan-Human History now placed under her dominion filled her with joy.
This was the happiest she had felt since attaining single-universe level.
For this was second only to the main universe in all Pan-Human History. Her strength rose by more than sixty percent in an instant.
The stronger Pan-Human History grew, the stronger she became.
Now at strong single-universe level, she could already sense that once the primordial universes began birthing civilizations, her strength would approach super single-universe.
She was, after all, the strongest beneath the Heavenly Principle, and could feel well what Lord Heavenly Principle had done.
That endless flood of Laws could certainly raise Teyvat to super single-universe.
And when that came to pass, she too would rise, lifted by Human Principle's ascension, and become super single-universe.
Yet within super single-universe, too, there were differences—just as disparities existed among strong single-universes, perhaps even more extreme.
"You've grown stronger again, Phanes."
A girl in maid-like black and white garments hovered above, not far from the Throne of Human Principle, watching Phanes calmly.
This girl was none other than Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, who had taken the Temple of Truth as her resting place. Now, even among strong single-universe beings, she stood among the upper ranks.
It could be said that the embodiments of Truth within the Teyvat Universe, if placed in the Tree and Sea, would walk unchallenged as the strongest existences.
For the Tree and Sea was far too distorted, its universes and civilizations overdeveloped, yet lacking in the balanced growth of true mighty beings.
Phanes spoke calmly: "Ophis, you've been asleep for nearly two thousand years since the last time you woke."
"You should take the time to harmonize some of the newly born primordial universes. The development of Teyvat cannot be delayed."
"For instance, ensure that the growth of universes and civilizations remain in balance. Otherwise, it will only slow the overall progress."
The only ones she regarded as equals were her fellow administrators of the Teyvat Universe.
Still, she harbored some dissatisfaction toward them.
Aside from the True Red Dragon God Emperor, Dream, who had ceaselessly guarded the cosmic barrier and created the Endless Planes, Kaballah Mio and Infinite Ophis had been lax—one constantly playing within the universe, the other endlessly sleeping.
Though their mere existence was beneficial to the cosmos, they were far too indolent. If they were even a little more diligent, the pace of the universe's development would increase two- or threefold.
Ophis lowered herself to meet Phanes at the same height, her gaze steady and her lips curved with a faint smile.
"Are you impatient because the natural development of the primordial universes is too slow?"
"Don't worry. This time, I awoke for precisely this purpose."
"Besides, I have not been idle. My sleep was only to raise the quality of the Ouroboros."
"I can already sense it. The Ouroboros is about to reach super single-universe level."
"This time, perhaps we shall surpass you first, Phanes."
At this, Phanes did not reply. Her gaze turned toward the seat of the Heavenly Principle.
"Yes, I know. But it will only be a brief surpassing. With the growth of civilization, I will remain the strongest administrator."
As she spoke, she slowly rose from the Throne of Human Principle.
"For Teyvat to ascend to super single-universe, we too must give our utmost."
"That's right, Sister Phanes." A melodious voice echoed in reply.
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