"My friend, you seem to be burdened with so many troubles! Life is always so gloomy when you're frowning like that. Isn't it better to laugh together, eh!"
The next moment, Raiden Mei, who was beside Xin Yu, vanished. In her place stood a figure clad in a revealing kimono, her chest alluringly exposed, possessing a voluptuous figure that stirred a peculiar desire in onlookers. The only difference was the mask on her face.
"Care for a touch, my adorable boy?"
A seductive female voice whispered in his ear. Xin Yu calmly regarded the absurd scene before him, sighed, and then said, "You're so boring."
"What! You! How dare you call me boring!"
"Yes, O Aeon of Elation. Your current vulgar jokes really aren't funny at all. Very boring, indeed."
"Ah! How can you be so cold, so heartless? That gentle smile on your face, that attitude of always treating people with warmth? Why would you say such cruel words to Aha!?"
"Ha... Aha, your appearance, to me, signifies trouble. It means you will definitely disrupt and stir the calm waters. And Mr. Welt told me earlier, my own value is now renowned throughout the galaxy."
"Let me guess, your appearance before me isn't just to say hello. You, fellow, definitely have some kind of amusing scheme in mind. So, the matter in Penacony has probably already been spread by you, hasn't it?"
"Those who covet my abilities have already begun to swarm in. Those major powers, who were content to sit on the fishing platform, have also started to dispatch their subordinates. The entirety of Penacony is about to become a chaotic mess. No matter what conspiracies or meticulous plans were originally in place here, under such a chaotic situation, all calculations become meaningless."
"You must be very interested in this grand melee. You even want to see everyone fight tooth and nail for half a day, only to find out when they're about to touch the prize that the prize doesn't even exist – just a deceptive piece of false news. At that moment, you'll surely laugh the loudest."
"Driven by greed, people will stake everything on the gambling table. When the final lucky winner, having risked everything, emerges victorious from a horde of gamblers, believing they can embrace the prize, embrace that coveted wealth, they discover it's merely a piece of cardboard. The gold coins and riches they saw were just drawings on that cardboard."
"This, is it amusing?"
"This is also a part of Elation. The meaning an Aeon symbolizes has never been entirely positive. So... my dear friend, do not tread our Path in this cosmos. The moment you step onto it, you will be coerced by that Path into becoming another kind of existence. Even if you possess great power, you will ultimately only be shackled for your entire life."
Aha's tone lost its earlier frivolity, its earlier casualness. It no longer maintained that persona of a mask-wearing seductress designed to toy with people's minds. All that remained was a single mask, facing Xin Yu.
"You should have a far greater future, my dear friend."
"At the top of that tree, what do you see? Is it nothingness?"
"It is, and it isn't."
"I will leave. At least, before I forge my own path, I will not return to this universe."
"After all, there's a nosy, sarcastic pest watching. Oh, that fellow is truly dull. He doesn't even react when I tell him jokes. Even that dullard construction type who only knows how to pour concrete, I occasionally tease him, and he'll at least get angry and raise his hammer. But that stone block just stares blankly, not saying a word!"
"...Speaking of which, Aha, can you call out the other me?" Xin Yu asked after a long moment of silence.
"No way! This kind of problem, you have to solve it yourself. If I helped you, it wouldn't be interesting anymore! Heehee! This is a classic scene, self versus self. How could I miss it!"
"This isn't Type-Moon here."
"Who says?! It's going to be a collaboration soon, so how can it not count!"
"Collaboration?"
"Ahem! Just now, I smashed through some construction old bro's wall again, but that's not important. You should hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave. If you don't go now, that little peacock from the company is going to come looking for you!"
The scene around Xin Yu instantly dissolved. Only then did he notice Raiden Mei beside him, looking at him with a worried expression.
"It's nothing, Mei. Our journey might have to end here for now. Some trouble has come up. If we don't leave now, we might have to face a Penacony battlefield."
"Mm, it's okay. This time, I was only planning to enhance my strength anyway. My goal was achieved right at the start, and I'm already satisfied with the half-day date we had left."
Xin Yu took Raiden Mei's hand, and in an instant, their consciousnesses withdrew from the dream world.
Several light-years away from the Penacony star system, a black figure, surrounded by numerous masks, those masks rotating like gyroscopes, was crashing into a certain stone statue.
And that stone statue, which had been constantly gazing in Penacony's direction, suddenly retracted its projected sightline. Then, the entire stone statue vanished without a trace.
And Aha, who had launched the attack in a Hurricane Battle Soul form, chuckled a few times and then likewise disappeared.
Xin Yu, holding Raiden Mei, appeared in an instant on the bed in Xin Yu's room.
"Xin Yu, in the future, I will definitely be by your side, to do something for you."
"Mm, I believe you."
Raiden Mei smiled faintly, then left Xin Yu's embrace and went downstairs to see Kiana.
Kiana, who was flipping through a textbook on the sofa, looked at Raiden Mei coming downstairs and didn't notice anything amiss. After all, in her impression, the two had only been upstairs for a mere two or three minutes.
"Mei! How's Xin Yu?"
"No problem, he's asleep."
"That's good. But why do I feel like your expression just now was a bit strange, Mei? It feels like you're looking a little guilty?"
"It's your imagination. I have nothing to feel guilty about. Maybe you've been studying so hard you're a bit dazed?"
"Could be. Aiya, it's so annoying! The stuff I memorized before always gets mixed up with what I'm trying to remember now; it's so easy to get confused. Just how many things did Xin Yu change? Why are there so many variables in modern history?"
Kiana continued to flip through her textbook with a dejected look, completely oblivious to the fact that Raiden Mei was currently looking down and fiddling with the hem of her clothes, the very picture of guilt.
Xin Yu lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The final exams were just around the corner. After this exam, he would submit an answer sheet befitting a good student, and then it would be time to leave.
"After I meet Mobius, I will change the Third Honkai Eruption... At that time, because of the historical changes Bronya previously set in motion, coupled with the reasons of crucial karmic connections related to me during the Third Honkai Eruption... when I change the Third Honkai Eruption, I'm afraid I'll have to pay no small price."
"Sorry, everyone. There are some things I simply must do. I hope that our parting this time..."
"Won't be forever."