[""I increasingly understand that I yearn for research into something [essential].""]
[""And recently, I've had some rather different thoughts.""]
["Stepping across the small path of bluestone slabs, the courtyard walls transform into alloy bulkheads, the moss turns into data flowing across screens. Unbeknownst to her, she has already walked from her hometown to the space station, and new voices have appeared beside her: the dispute between Herta and Screwllum also weaves into her ears, like two colliding streams of stardust, sparking dazzling fireworks."]
[""At first, I felt fear toward its appearance—it was born from a spectacle, neither resisting nor mourning. It most closely resembled the emotion that spontaneously arose in me during my childhood.""]
["Ruan Mei lightly immerses herself into a curtain of overflowing radiant water. As her衣袂 flutters and falls, the ground beneath her tiptoes begins to perform the dance of life—they continuously rise and fall, climb upward, shatter into stardust-like particles at the highest point, and in the next moment are reborn through Nirvana in entirely new arrangements and combinations, like countless experimental variables across universes, weaving new poetry between eternal collapse and reconstruction."]
[""It asked me, where is the endpoint of research? The world is filled with dazzling colors and splendor, always bewildering the eyes, but it has nothing to do with me.""]
[""I probe the mysteries of the universe, I trace answers deeper than human nature itself. I have nothing left to lose, and nothing I need to gain. If I can nurture life, reorganize it, re-present it…""]
[""Then I can dissect [Memories], regulate [Equilibrium], deconstruct [Beauty], and reproduce [Permanence]…""]
["Countless shimmering blue data points converge like stardust, intertwining and spiraling above Ruan Mei's slender white palm. Those leaping light particles collide and entwine with each other, gradually weaving into a spiraling band of light—that is the sequence of life, each segment flashing with its own unique color."]
[""I will understand [Life], touch [Concepts]. Perhaps I too can…""]
[""Become [▅ ▅].""]
—
Zenless Zone Zero.
"She—she wants to become… an Aeon?!"
Ruan Mei's words struck like a thunderbolt. Asaba Harumasa was so shocked that he failed to hold onto the red bean bun in his hand for a moment—fortunately, Soukaku caught it with her mouth.
"So from the very beginning, her goal was completely different from Herta and the others—Herta and Screwllum only want to study Aeons, while Ruan Mei wants to become an Aeon."
Asaba Harumasa stared at the DNA sequence floating above Ruan Mei's hand. He truly couldn't imagine that this woman who looked so gentle, elegant, and fond of pastries could harbor such an insane idea.
"Not necessarily, Harumasa." Tsukishiro Yanagi gently pushed up her glasses. "As a scholar and scientist… tell me, what exactly do Herta and the others research Aeons for? Herta has already become an Emanator of [Nous]. I don't believe she has no thoughts of going even further."
"Genius of their caliber can hardly be found anywhere in the entire universe… I can still understand having such thoughts."
"Stop! Hold it!" Asaba Harumasa quickly made an X sign in front of his chest. "Yanagi, you're not seriously thinking they can succeed, are you? Those are Aeons! You've also witnessed the entire Swarm Disaster, right? That kind of power that can turn products on a factory assembly line into bugs!"
"But before ascending, Tayzzyronth was merely an ordinary coleopteran insect."
Tsukishiro Yanagi gave a faint smile. "So, Harumasa, the key is to figure out exactly what happened in the process—that's also the reason these geniuses have been busy until now. And ever since we learned from the Celestial Screen that the concept of [Aeons] exists in even more distant parts of the universe, I've been thinking… could the 'Hollows' also be related to Aeons?"
"Yanagi, are you saying that the reason our world has Hollow disasters might be because of Stellarons?"
"…This is just my simple speculation." Yanagi said while holding her teacup. "If one day Ruan Mei can truly unravel the mysteries of the Aeons, her achievements would undoubtedly benefit the entire universe, and might even provide some help in cracking the Hollow disasters for us."
—
Teyvat.
In a certain palace in Snezhnaya, staring up at the spiraling band of light in Ruan Mei's hand within the Celestial Screen, Dottore's fingertips dug tightly into the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. His breathing beneath the mask was heavy and rapid.
"Indeed… indeed…" His voice seemed squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying irrepressible excitement and trembling. "A mortal body can touch the domain of the Aeons. My idea was correct, ha… hahaha!"
Arlecchino leaned casually against the doorframe, her crimson eyes shifting back and forth between the Celestial Screen and her colleague. She toyed with a Fatui emblem in her hand; the metal made a cold, crisp sound as it flipped between her fingers.
"Save it." She suddenly spoke, her voice colder than Snezhnaya's snow. "What use are your conjectures? A guy who can't even leave Teyvat—is he qualified to talk about researching Aeons? Don't you know that with your level, in front of real geniuses like Herta, you're nothing more than a clown jumping around?"
Dottore withdrew his gaze from the Celestial Screen. After taking a deep breath, his tone gradually calmed. "Ever since you came back from Fontaine, Arlecchino… your words have become sharper."
"It has nothing to do with Fontaine. It has to do with the Celestial Screen." Arlecchino sneered. "Ever since the Celestial Screen appeared, I finally realized that beyond Teyvat, there are scholars whose achievements far surpass yours. They don't need to belittle ordinary lives, yet they can still gain the approval of [Nous]. In contrast, someone was expelled by the Akademiya, has secretly killed countless people, done so much… and still can't attract even a single glance from an Aeon… truly pitiful."
"And yet it's precisely this kind of person—who is so weak he can't even obtain experimental samples from the universe—who still shamelessly talks about researching [Aeons]. Don't you think that's laughable… Dottore?"
Though his expression remained unchanged on the surface, Arlecchino could feel Dottore's entire aura suddenly shift.
…Killing intent.
"Angry?" Arlecchino's blackened fingers brushed across the wall, leaving sharp scratches behind. "Ever since you returned from Sumeru, it's been a long time since I've seen your 'slices.' I suppose they're doing well? Hm?"
"No need for you to worry about that, Arlecchino."
The killing intent instantly dissipated. Dottore let out a muffled grunt, seemingly carrying strong displeasure, then turned and disappeared down the palace corridor.
—
["Ruan Mei's fingertip gently touches the holographic screen, cold blue light rippling outward across her fingertip."]
["In the scene, Stelle swings a bat in the Simulated Universe, metal crashing against the carapace of the bug swarm, sending sparks of data flying. But when facing even more and stronger swarms, even Stelle cannot help showing signs of fatigue."]
[""Don't worry, my dear assistant. I will give you… [a reward].""]