Aeons.
THEY are the transcended beings hanging high above the Imaginary Tree. THEY possess the world's authority—a concept that will last for all of eternity.
Amphoreus is but an experimental ground. A sandbox world heavily controlled by one of Zandar One Kuwubara's nine avatars. He found the 'discarded' part of Nous' body and induced a Stellaron to explode inside it. Erudition thus met Destruction.
Later on, the zeroth-cycle Phainon and Cyrene found the truth. They confronted Zandar, who was under the guise of Lygus at the time. This resulted in Cyrene sacrificing her life, in turn attracting Fuli's gaze. Zandar implicitly allowed Remembrance'sgaze to fall.
Just like that, Amphoreus housed the influence of threeAeons.
"Hm..?"
Zandar's "heart" skipped. His mechanical body does not support biological organs. He does not have a heart… yet he felt the sensation of having one.
He glanced at the 'world' beneath him. Everything returned to pitch-black darkness. It is the process of Amphoreus' refresh once Era Nova is reached.
Time passed instantly in his perception. It is now the 15,015,022nd cycle. The concept of the "15,015,021st cycle" was overlooked in his mind. He has completely forgotten about it.
The next second—
Dum.
—the world stopped working.
This "pause" did not just occur inside the veiled Amphoreus. Every single world present underneath the Imaginary Tree sensed it.
A gaze.
Time started working once more.
The ordinary people placed this matter at the back of their minds, attributing this somewhat ominous feeling to other things.
Those who are in the "know", however, knew what it meant.
Zandar halted Amphoreus' reconstruction.
"THEIR gaze… the impossible occurred."
He stood at the Scepter, an abandoned part of an Aeon. Its computational abilities are amongst the universe's ceiling.
Zandar completed the extrapolation instantly. He saw whichAeon had gazed at the universe:
Nihility.
"Everything is normal. It is somewhere else."
IX's trait is known throughout the universe. THEY are the only Aeon that never gazes. THEIR entire existence is anchored on meaninglessness. IX is heavily centered on inaction. THEY never do something on their initiative.
On the other hand, it is the people that walk towards THEM, whether intentional or not. Accidents often unfold due to IX's shadow appearing on a certain world, giving birth to Nihility's Pathstriders and Emanators.
In short, THEY are the only Aeon that will never act on their own.
Yet, just now…
THEY did.
IX proactively gazed somewhere. This sliver of impossibility took place in the universe. It wasn't just Zandar that was startled; everyone is. They frantically searched for the place where the gaze landed as well as its effects.
Zandar saw his precious 'work' fully functioning, easing his turbulent heart.
Little did he know, IX's gaze landed straight to his masterpiece…
*****
Everyone who is fighting the enhanced Aquila/Seliose can all agree on one thing: One wrong move will spell their doom.
Shi Tian's divine artifacts are a huge help. They wouldn't have lasted five minutes against this atrocious monster without them. Hysilens' lyre, Cerydra's walking staff, Phainon's Judgement of Shamash, Trianne's six hundred copies of silver circlets, and finally, Hyacine's Fenghuang Down.
The blue-gold sheath was something that came with nurse and student uniforms.
With trembling hands, she flicked the flaming feather towards Aquila. It shot in a straight red line, merging onto its bony body in an instant.
'Please work, please work..!'
Hyacine saw everyone fighting for their lives. Trianne ran across the battlefield, opening Century Gates for short-distance teleportation. She helped them avoid otherwise fatal attacks.
Even her memosprite, Little Ica, reared for a fight. Her accumulating frustration over her powerlessness grew. That was when she remembered the 'artifact' left behind to her by a 'sage'.
Fenghuang Down, the Eighth Divine Key from a distant world.
It enables one to manipulate memories—to seize control of one's mental world and use it against the enemies.
What Hyacine wanted to do was exactly that.
She wanted to drag Aquila into her mental realm!
The burden… consequences of holding a Titan's mind inside one's own is immeasurable. Hyacine knows she will most likely die… yet she accepted it.
She could not stand her helplessness when others were dying. She wanted to do something!
Click.
Everyone noticed the apparent pause of Aquila's physical body. Simultaneously, Hyacine also fell unconscious.
Trianne deftly caught her right as her face was about to fall to the ground. Her small stature could not hold her wholly, forcing her to place Hyacine on the ground.
"Deliverer!"
"..!"
Phainon briefly glanced at the unconscious Hyacine.
Bam-!
Aquila's bony body fell to the platform. A strong shockwave came from it along with the ground's shaking.
"Hyacine…"
His hands shook, not out of fright, but of determination.
Phainon lifted Shamash up high. The familiar crimson flames set everything ablaze. The pillar pierced the pitch-black dome, revealing Amphoreus' night sky. The intensity of Shamash's output could not be compared from Phainon's previous attacks!
"Lady Trianne! Prepare to summon your Century Gates!"
"Y-yes!"
Cerydra had a premonition.
This fortress will fall.
Hum-!
Blaze-!
The flames of judgement came crashing down on Aquila's body. Its black fluids melted first. Its bones followed forth, swiftly turning into dust.
Crack-!
Shatter-!
Bam-!
Phainon's unprecedented output of Shamash broke down the platform in its entirety. It shattered into a dozen fragments. Everyone felt the lack of gravity before swiftly descending.
Hysilens did not lose her composure. She nimbly stepped on the falling fragments before reaching Aquila's position. A dark-blue Coreflame rests amongst the bright-red rocks.
She summoned forth a smaller version of her whale and used it to take the Coreflame. Its inherent coldness conflicted with the extremely high temperature it came in contact with.
'The final piece, Era Nova…'
Hysilens did not have the time to think. A Century Gate appeared and took her in. The next moment, everyone found themselves back on Okhema's highest point, the floating platform located near Kephale's huge statue.
"Fu… Huff…"
"Lady Trianne!"
Hysilens was faster than Phainon. She caught the fainted Trianne. She checked her breathing and found it to be normal.
"She fainted out of exhaustion." Seeing Phainon's concern, she added, "It used to be so much worse. Lady Tribios' avatar needed to use their life to open the Century Gate. The divine artifact in her hands exchanged it for something else."
Hearing her explanation eased his expression. Even the snarky Anaxa flashed a content look when he heard Trianne would be fine.
Just then, the unconscious Hyacine woke up. Her eyes appeared to be different than before. She carried a terrified look, as if what she had seen turned her mad.
The familiar rainbow-like spiral instantly alerted Cerydra.
"E-eek..!"
Her high-pitched scream contained her desperation.