Hearing that, Zero let out a sigh of relief.
The current "Hunt" Aeon, since he could still spare the effort to respond to a joke like that, must still retain some trace of humanity, right?
Before Zero could say anything more, the shadow went mute again.
Zero guessed that maybe Lan was busy blowing up a planet somewhere, so he didn't reply in time.
So he turned and told the Chief Strategist to take the Abominations out from the Phantom Prison and get them ready for Lan.
But before the Chief Strategist could step out the door, the skies over Yaoqing suddenly darkened. Looking closely, an enormous figure covered the entire sky above.
It was "Reignbow Arbiter."
The people of Yaoqing sensed the descent of a god and erupted in cheers, shouting praises of the god's generosity and recounting His glorious deeds.
Zero, "…"
He walked out of his room and into the courtyard, looking up at the combination of horse and wheel that blotted out the heavens, and couldn't help but sigh.
He first stopped the Chief Strategist, pulled a few delicacies from his backpack, those handmade by Lan's mother, and handed them over for preparation. Then, summoning his familiar, he said irritably, "Couldn't you do what Aha does and make a clone or something?"
The shadow, "…"
Zero was helpless.
So much for his plans, they were all ruined now.
He had wanted to fulfill the promise he'd made to Lan's mother right away, but with "Reignbow Arbiter" personally descending, the entire Yaoqing was in turmoil. It would be a while before he could visit Lan's mother.
Thankfully, Zero was now Marshal, not a General; otherwise, he'd have to issue orders personally.
It seemed his subordinates and the Department of Equilibrium in charge of such matters were going to be quite busy maintaining order…
UR was great in every way, except for being too efficient. Even as a god, his action speed was absurdly high, just like when he was human.
Zero was speechless. With him around, did "Reignbow Arbiter" even need to personally show up?
If a planet needed to be blown up, he could've done it himself, no need for the Aeon to intervene.
The shadow said nothing, but Zero knew Lan heard him, because the divine figure above vanished from sight, leaving behind only the still-ecstatic people cheering below.
Then, a blue-haired, black-eyed young man suddenly appeared in the courtyard.
Zero met that calm, unruffled gaze and smiled lightly.
"Sit down first."
Lan said nothing, following Zero in silence to the stone table and taking a seat.
Zero propped his chin with one hand, staring unblinkingly at Lan as he began chatting, "For you, faith, oh, I guess incense, offerings, do those do anything for you?"
Lan slowly shook his head.
Zero frowned, mentally striking off the "make the whole universe worship the Reignbow Arbiter" plan.
He thought of the tenth of divine power Aha had given him upon their first meeting.
Would something with enough energy to destroy a galaxy, like that mask, be of any use to Lan?
He asked, "Can you absorb the divine power of other Aeons? Make it your own?"
Lan looked straight at him again and shook his head.
Zero looked genuinely troubled. So he couldn't use Aeons as crafting materials after all.
No matter how strong they were, they couldn't be used for Lan's "level up."
So what then, just draw arrow? But Aeons weren't idiots. Why would they willingly become enemies of another Aeon like "The Hunt"?
If they did, they'd just be making their enemy stronger for free. No one with a brain would fall for that.
Zero sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Chief Strategist leading five or six attendants, each carrying dishes of various colors.
Those were the meals Lan's mother had prepared for him.
Fortunately, they'd been stored in the system backpack all this time, and even after hundreds of years, they were still perfectly fresh.
Zero picked up a jug and cup, pouring himself a drink.
"I called you here to fulfill the promise I made to your mother."
He rested his chin on one hand, cup in the other, eyes fixed on Lan.
"She made these dishes herself and asked me and the Chief Strategist to bring them to you."
Aside from fulfilling that promise, there were things Zero wanted to confirm.
As a human, Lan might be touched by the taste of his mother's cooking after centuries.
But as an Aeon, would he feel anything at all? How much of his humanity was left, and how far would he go for the Xianzhou, for his home?
Maybe it was because he'd become an Aeon, or maybe Zero was just bad at reading faces, but no matter how long he looked, he couldn't detect any emotion from that deadpan expression.
Lan picked up the chopsticks, ate a few bites, then set them down and said to Zero, "You… don't need to go to such trouble. As long as the Xianzhou needs it, I will act."
Zero's eyes widened. He didn't bother hiding his shock, it was written all over his face.
He wasn't shocked by the meaning of the words, but by how long the sentence was.
He was having that surreal feeling you get when a lifelong mute suddenly speaks.
He couldn't help but mutter, "How many words was that, huh?"
Lan, "…"
The blue-haired, black-eyed young man said nothing, just looked calmly at him.
Gods and mortals, there's always a difference.
After making his deal with the Pyre Emperor, all emotions except hatred had been devoured by the remnants of the "Solar Remnant."
But he still remembered being human, remembered Yaoqing, his family, and Zero's way of doing things.
He remembered that Zero was utterly biased toward his subordinates, yet when it came to opposing sides, instantly became cautious.
What he didn't expect was that Zero's focus was still as strange as ever.
Zero, used to Lan's silence, pulled another item from his backpack, a golden, chess-piece-like object known as the "Heart of God."
It was used to forge contracts. The description read [Can be used to form a contract three times.]
[A gift to the player.]
[Even if the heavens fall, the contract must be fulfilled.]
He'd never used this item before, never found anyone or anything worthy of it.
He placed the chess piece in the center of the table, pressed his fingers together, and gestured to Lan.
"Let this object bear witness between us."
He believed "Reignbow Arbiter" could see what it was meant for.
Lan glanced at the chess piece and nodded slightly.
"As an exchange, you must not kill indiscriminately."
Zero agreed without hesitation.
That one was easy, he was never the type to kill for no reason.
Lan continued, "You also may not turn other species into canned food. Nor use them to generate electricity."
Zero's expression almost cracked.
His mind started racing.
'Wait, how the hell did Lan even hear about that?'
Lan lowered his eyes, picked up a piece of braised meat, and repeated softly, "As long as the Xianzhou needs it, I will act."
Zero quickly made his choice, agreeing without a second thought.
Now that Lan was an ally, making a few compromises for a teammate was no big deal.
Just like in a game, he, the reckless player who always rushed high ground, had to give his main carry some space to scale.
No problem. He'd drawn the aggro of every Aeon before; he could do it again, this time for Lan.
If it made Lan stronger, then everything else was fine.
Once they reached an agreement, the chess piece shone with golden light.
Zero put the item away and asked, "Do you feel anything?"
Lan shook his head.
Zero frowned. 'What, even the Heart of God didn't work? That doesn't make sense.'
He checked his backpack again, the inscription had changed. From three times to two, and an extra line appeared, [He who breaks his word shall suffer the punishment of devouring stone.]
He thought about it, it probably didn't react because neither he nor Lan had broken the contract yet.
Then he looked at another item, the Mirror Flower, Water Moon, a blade once unlocked by Fuli.
This time, he examined the fine print carefully. Just like the side effects of his "madness" debuff, the most important info was hidden in the far corner.
[No one will notice when used.]
[Can unleash full power when paired with the Release Word.]
Zero, who had forgotten how many times he'd lost his memory, "…"
'Who the hell knows what a "Release Word" even is?!'
The blade's original power was to completely hypnotize the enemy, take control of their five senses, and keep them in eternal hypnosis, turning them into captives every time it was used.
But thanks to Fuli, he'd never tried it, and good thing too. Who knew what kind of chaos it would cause in his hands now?
And right in front of him sat a perfect test subject, a real Aeon.
He took out the blade and asked Lan, "Can you tell what this sword does?"
Lan, still expressionless, eating as he shook his head.
Zero unsheathed it. "See anything now?"
Lan quietly kept eating and shook his head again.
Zero fell into thought.
Even if it couldn't show its full power, a fraction should still work. What was it now, temporary hypnosis? Suggestion?
He tried saying, "As long as I need it, you will act."
Lan's hand froze midair, eyes flicking to the blade in Zero's hand. He said simply, "Suggestion."
Then, for once, he elaborated, "If you hadn't mentioned the blade first, I might not have noticed."
Zero gave an "oh" and sheathed the sword.
As long as it worked on Aeons, that was all that mattered.
What was the trigger condition? Did it have to be someone who trusted him?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Chief Strategist and immediately waved him over.
The Chief Strategist instinctively took a step back, wary. "What now?"
Zero drew the sword again. "Chief Strategist, deep down you like working overtime, don't you?"
Chief Strategist, "…"
His subordinate unleashed a string of Xianzhou curses.
Zero ignored the swearing, comparing Lan's reaction to the Strategist's. Lan quietly prompted, "He's wary of you."
Zero turned toward the Strategist, indignant. "I give you one day on, one day off, even raised your salary, and you still don't trust me?!"
Chief Strategist, "…Please, have some self-awareness."
'Anyone would be cautious around you, all right?!'
'…Well, except the overly fanatical subordinates.'
"What a shame…"
Zero ignored the strategist's annoyed, "Shame about what? I'm not working overtime!"
The only people who didn't distrust him were those who'd never met him, and all the Aeons except Fuli.
As for those who hadn't met him, well, there was no reason to waste hypnosis on them anyway.
You couldn't influence people you'd never see. Not worth the effort.
Aeons, though, that was different. That blade was definitely for Aha.
Zero happily decided when he'd use Mirror Flower, Water Moon next, then glanced at the stone table. Only two dishes were left unfinished. He urged Lan to hurry up and eat.
Lan set down his chopsticks and invited, "She was best at making braised meat. You and the Chief Strategist should try it."
Zero had planned to leave the dishes all to Lan, but hearing that, he hesitated. Since it was his own UR inviting him, he couldn't exactly refuse.
He looked around for the Chief Strategist, no sign. Probably off delivering his orders to the Yaoqing generals.
So, he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of braised meat.
As Lan said, it was excellent, tender, rich but not greasy, melting in the mouth.
Then Lan pointed to another dish, signaling for him to try it.
Without thinking, Zero picked some up and ate it.
Instant regret. It was salty, sweet, and spicy all at once, the flavor shock rivaled that of his bitter herbal medicine.
Zero, "…"
Out of respect for Lan's mother, he forced himself to swallow it, one painful bite at a time.
He downed five or six cups of wine to wash away the strange taste.
Then he looked up and saw Lan's face, still blank. And suddenly, he understood everything.
'So this is your revenge? Your way of paying me back for "raising your mother," huh, Reignbow Arbiter?!'
Spotting the Chief Strategist in the distance, Zero called warmly, "The braised meat's amazing, come try some!"
The Strategist hesitated, he didn't trust his boss, but he did trust Lan. Seeing Lan nod, he finally picked up a spare pair of chopsticks.
Zero and Lan both watched him closely. He took a bite of the braised meat, visibly relaxed, and then picked up the other dish.
Watching him choke it down, his face twisting, Zero clapped him on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "A good orange is never shared."
Chief Strategist, "…"
He swore silently with his face.
Lan finally said, "She could only ever make braised meat. As for the other dishes..."
As "Reignbow Arbiter," his tone had always been perfectly calm, but when mentioning his mother, it changed.
He sounded like he was sighing, his voice softening. "...They really are terrible."
Zero, "…"
No wonder Lan had agreed to help the Xianzhou so quickly after one bite.
Turns out part of the reason was that the food was too awful.
'Hmm. Just one thing left.'
One punch to Lan, and his promise to her would be complete.
Zero stood up, adjusted the leather bracers on his sleeves, tightened the straps, and said quietly, "Let's go. Time to see her."
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