Zero said nothing and gave Bacchus a slight smile.
There wasn't the slightest bit of aggression in his facial features. At this moment, with a faint smile at the corner of his lips, anyone who saw him would instinctively feel close to him.
Bacchus immediately became alert.
He had seen this kind of expression from his best friend many times before.
Too many people had been played in circles by the false image he put on.
Only after spending a long time with him could someone glimpse a bit of what was real.
Just like now, he absolutely couldn't be fooled by appearances.
Even though his friend was smiling, his eyes were calm and cold, like someone who had long since seen through another person's lies, yet still hadn't exposed them and was simply standing aside watching the performance.
Bacchus returned the smile. He crouched down, picked up the white cat that had failed multiple times to attack him, and slowly walked toward Zero.
He stopped three steps away, smiling as he placed the cat on the counter, trying to use the pet to distract his friend's attention.
In this kind of situation… he absolutely couldn't approach on his own initiative! His friend was still holding a knife.
If he casually gave Bacchus a stab… there'd be nowhere to cry about it.
Bacchus copied Zero's posture and also leaned against the counter. He lowered his head, adjusted his facial muscles, and when he looked up again, he was already wearing a grief-stricken expression.
"Sorry, my friend, I never thought…" Bacchus paused, then shook his head as he sighed, "I never thought of harming your life…"
Zero turned his head to meet Bacchus's eyes and let out a soft laugh.
"Little liar."
The moment Bacchus heard that nickname, his scalp tingled and his hairs stood on end.
My friend, just to disgust me, you're really going all out!
After Bacchus forged an identity and joined the Astral Express, he had always used a youthful avatar, often taking advantage of his apparent age to freeload meals from the Nameless.
During that time, he had also called his friend "uncle" many times, and the other had returned the favor with plenty of equally irritating nicknames like "good boy" and "obedient child"…
Bacchus subconsciously rubbed his arm and sincerely suggested, "My friend, can you change what you call me?"
Zero ignored him and continued copying how they used to interact when traveling with Akivili, smiling as he said, "If you talk to your uncle like that, your uncle will get angry."
Bacchus, "..."
Something was wrong.
His friend's mental state… was very wrong.
Whether human or god, once they saw his friend's vulnerable side… they weren't far from death.
He knew very well how grudges were never forgotten, so he searched his memories, recalling their conversation when they met again after the memory loss.
Bacchus imitated what Zero had once said and sincerely said, "My friend, can you stop talking like that? I'm really scared."
After hearing this, Zero didn't say anything more. He first switched the knife to his other hand, rubbed the back of the cat's neck, then pushed the pet off the counter.
Finally, in a calm tone like chatting with family, he said to Bacchus, "I didn't expect you would stay by my side."
Bacchus discreetly glanced at the knife in Zero's hand and gave a dry laugh.
He forced himself to ignore the deliberately uncomfortable affectionate words and answered stiffly, "Yeah. After all, I was your most spoiled subordinate before."
Zero thought, 'I'd have to be crazy to spoil you.'
He didn't show it on his face. He raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "Oh? Really? Then what was the name of our empire? Did we get along like this back then too?"
Bacchus said seriously, "It was called the Bacchus Empire..."
Zero's smile disappeared.
"Liar."
Without blushing or skipping a beat, Bacchus renamed the empire that his friend, Lan, and Nanook had conquered together, and even gave himself Nanook's treatment.
"Really, I'm not lying to you. You spoiled me a lot. Even if I killed an Aeon on my own initiative, you wouldn't blame me."
Zero held the knife in one hand and stepped closer to Bacchus.
"How could I possibly blame a subordinate who killed a god for me?"
Without waiting for an answer, he wrapped his right arm around Bacchus's shoulders.
"It's just that I don't trust you."
Bacchus tried his best to ignore the knife and looked like he was about to cry.
"My friend, what do I need to do for you to believe me?"
Zero placed the hand holding the knife on the left shoulder of the person beside him.
His tone was light.
"Bacchus forged an identity, deceived the Nameless, and finally even blew up Akivili's train."
"He's a little liar."
"I don't trust him."
"But if it were an Aeon…"
Zero paused, then added with a smile, "I might believe what They say."
After he finished speaking, Bacchus fell silent.
Zero had already expected this.
The meaning was obvious. He wanted Bacchus to switch to his Aeon true body and descend upon the Luofu.
The answer was obvious.
Even Lan wouldn't approach him with their true body.
Zero didn't care. He raised the dagger in his left hand, pointing the tip at Bacchus's neck, while his right arm held his shoulders tightly.
His movement paused for a moment as he studied the other's face with interest.
Unfortunately, Bacchus didn't show any interesting expression.
As the dagger approached Bacchus's throat, just before it reached the carotid artery, Bacchus said, "You said it yourself, my friend."
Zero froze.
He opened the system map and checked the status panel of the person beside him.
[Aeon of "Elation"]
[They believe that joy is a right unique to intelligent life]
Aha acted as if he didn't see the blade right in front of him and said cheerfully, "I still remember our agreement."
"You said you only wanted to live an ordinary life."
"So, other than you, no one else will know of my existence.", Zero said nothing, as if judging whether the Aeon's words were trustworthy.
Aha cautiously raised a hand. Seeing no reaction, he slowly grasped the blade.
The Aeon didn't resist. He simply held tightly onto the dagger that could take his life at any moment.
Aha frowned deeply, his face full of sorrow.
"Honestly, I really regret it. If it were you, I'd be willing to die by your hand..."
Just as the Aeon expected, those words seemed to carry special meaning for his friend.
Even without memories, he was still affected.
Zero froze for a moment, then his face turned cold.
Aha continued, "That way, one life for one life, we'd be even."
"Before I die, I want to ask one question."
The Aeon applied slight force, holding the blade as he moved it toward his own neck.
Keeping his cheerful smile, he made an invitation to Zero.
"Next time, how about trying to believe in me? My friend?"
God and man looked at each other. Zero examined Aha expressionlessly, then looked away and withdrew the dagger.
Seeing this, Aha let out a long breath of relief inside.
He had won the gamble.
This time, his friend was really too human! He was actually willing to trust him!
Aha had never thought he could truly gain Zero's trust.
The Aeon had seen his former high-spirited, iron-handed rule over the stars, so he had never held unrealistic expectations.
Luckily, he had won the bet.
At least for the next dozen minutes, Zero wouldn't attack him.
His friend would try to believe what he said.
As Aha was thinking this, Zero suddenly asked, "Why you?"
The Aeon scratched his head.
His friend was asking why, after regaining his memories, he had come looking for him first.
Aha gave an awkward smile.
"Uh… who else? I'm the most suitable one, right? If it were Lan, that guy with no emotions and no sense of humor…"
He only got halfway through the sentence before suddenly stopping.
Zero also fell silent.
'Yeah. If it were Lan…'
With his memories fully restored and his mental state extremely unstable, what comforting words could Lan possibly say?
He would probably have gone even crazier.
Zero thought, 'How did I end up asking something so obvious?'
He lowered his eyes, took several deep breaths, and focused on controlling his emotions, forcing himself to recall the conclusions he had reached before.
"Fuli and 'Erudition' tried everything to interfere with me so that Lan could become a god."
"Let me guess. What did 'Erudition' show Lan? They probably hid part of the truth and only let Lan see… the ending where I opposed the Aeons and died?"
"That way, Lan would do everything to stop me. Am I right?"
"And with his Path being revenge… even if the other Aeons didn't know the truth, they still wouldn't easily stand against me. Am I right?"
Aha slowly shook his head.
"Yes, and no."
"Lan has complete memories."
"That time, you ran into him, me, and Nanook."
Zero, "..."
'Why was someone as extreme as Nanook also on his side?!'
'Wait. If it were Nanook…'
He could have interfered with his ascension and used him for his own purposes.
Zero thought, what a pity. He missed out on a UR who was even more obedient than Lan.
Aha carefully selected his words, emphasizing Nanook's extreme behavior to his unusually human friend.
Zero nodded absentmindedly.
To him, across all those past cycles, aside from Zandar, nothing else was worth caring about.
Zero let out a cold laugh.
"What a calculation. 'Erudition' even talked about zero point zero one percent..."
Aha spoke weakly, "It really wasn't as exaggerated as 0.01%… but it was somewhere between 0.1% and 0.01%…"
Zero roughly calculated how many times 0.1% would be. After reaching a result, he showed rare mercy and didn't pursue it further.
Aha immediately united with his friend and started cursing Fuli and Erudition together. After a while, Zero asked, "Then what about Akivili?"
The Aeon immediately fell silent.
He carefully watched Zero's unreadable expression and after weighing his words, replied, "My friend, it wasn't just you. I also tried to persuade him many times…"
Zero fell into thought.
He didn't have time to think about the real reason for his resurrection.
Logically, he shouldn't have been alive.
If Tenseiga could revive someone like him, a "high-dimensional intruder," then reviving an Aeon shouldn't be difficult either.
But what about Akivili?
Was it that once Tenseiga fell into his hands, it could no longer revive an Aeon? Or did it simply require time?
Aha picked up the cat from the ground and his tone became animated.
"You know how Nameless are. They can tolerate the unknown, but they absolutely can't submit to the unknowable!"
The Aeon's eyes rolled as he gave an example that could lighten Zero's mood.
"That's exactly how Akivili was. Even if there was a trash can in front of him, he'd still go dig through it with the belief that he must never submit to the unknowable!"
Aha hugged Zero's pet tightly and turned back as if seeking agreement, raising his voice, "My friend, think about it. How many times did we go through trash cans with him?"
Zero, "..."
He finally couldn't take it anymore.
"You were the one going through them with him, not me. I couldn't stop him, so I could only stand there and watch."
Zero closed his eyes and said calmly, "I understand."
"Then do you know someone named Marty?"
Aha immediately felt things were going badly.
His friend was clearly blaming himself for Akivili's fall.
Aha opened his mouth, about to say something to comfort him, but then he brought up Marty.
That was the subordinate personally endorsed by Lan, the one his friend had spoiled the most.
Aha nodded and held his breath, waiting for Zero to continue.
Zero took a deep breath, trying hard to control his tone.
"After Akivili and I were in trouble… Marty died because of me…"
He couldn't bring himself to say the word dead and had to stop midway.
Aha immediately shook his head.
"No, my friend, listen to me..."
Zero's voice was barely audible, "There's no need to say more."
Whether he really was, as Hua said, their last straw…
It didn't matter anymore.
He raised his hand and picked up the dagger again.
Aha didn't dare act rashly and could only keep holding the cat.
He said with difficulty, "My friend, listen to me… actually..."
The jade abacus ringtone interrupted the Aeon.
Taking the chance, Aha released the struggling cat and followed the sound.
After searching around, the Aeon found the communicator and let out a relieved sigh, then hurried back and stuffed it into Zero's hand.
"It's sister-in-law calling..."
Zero's body suddenly stiffened.
Seeing this, Aha immediately pressed his advantage and tried to snatch the knife from Zero's hand.
Zero stepped back, avoiding Aha's hand.
He lowered his head and stared blankly at the name on the screen.
Zero took several deep breaths. Just as he got his emotions under control and was about to answer, the call automatically ended from lack of response.
Aha's heart sank halfway.
Maybe… he should take his friend to kill an Aeon for fun? Let him vent some negative emotions?
Aha thought Nanook would be a good choice.
The next moment, the call came again.
Aha's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together, wishing he could answer it for Zero.
Zero maintained his posture, knife in one hand and communicator in the other.
He looked around, then quickly walked toward the inner room.
Aha shouted from behind, "Hey, what's with you and me, why are you running? Don't be so distant. Let me say hello too..."
Zero entered the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
He answered the call. On the other end, Jingliu's voice was very soft as she called his name.
Zero lightened his footsteps, sat at the edge of the bed, and answered with a soft "Mm."
Jingliu paused for a moment, then asked, "From your tone, you don't sound very happy?"
Zero wondered, 'How did Jingliu hear that?'
'Was this… the so-called sixth sense women talked about?'
Zero placed the dagger on the soft bedding without making a sound.
His gaze shifted to the pair of gloves and the ring Jingliu had given him beside the bed, then finally landed on the ring box he had prepared for the proposal.
Zero paused, then deliberately used a lighter tone as he said to Jingliu, "No. I just… had a very long dream."
"After waking up…"
"I really missed you."
[🎉 Shoutout to "Regis" for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
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