"Heehee haha!"
"Alright, alright! Come on over to the front of the train! The conductor's not here, and Aha's bored out of their mind! Keep me company!"
Aha's voice echoed through the docking bay, dripping with sheer amusement.
The Denizens of Abundance shifted their course and marched toward the Express's front. The name 'Aha' tickled the back of their minds—it sounded familiar, yet they couldn't quite place it in the moment.
High Priest Marki and his followers arrived at the nose of the locomotive. What greeted them was an orange-red clown mask, utterly out of place, seemingly embedded right into the train's exterior grill.
And that was it. No other figures in sight.
"Where are you? You're not messing with us, are you?!" the High Priest bellowed, scanning the empty platform.
The other followers immediately raised their weapons, going on high alert.
"Oh! My heart goes out to your poor, pathetic little brains!"
"Aha's right in front of you, and you still can't see! Aha has lost face!"
"You're even dumber than that little bug back then! This makes Aha lose all interest in granting you any power!"
Aha's tone shifted to exaggerated disappointment, the physical mask morphing seamlessly into a dejected, weeping expression.
The followers noticed the impossible change and pointed tremblingly.
"It... it's the mask! The mask is talking!"
The High Priest, hearing their panicked cries, finally focused his gaze on the bizarre decoration.
"Who are you?" He frowned deeply, staring at the talking mask.
"Oh no! How did the Abundance ever bless you brainless lot? You should be seeking Erudition instead!" Aha sighed heavily, sounding as if talking to these people was a genuinely exhausting chore.
Then, a thought seemed to strike the Aeon, and their tone perked right back up.
"Hey! You're actually making Aha feel that specific tiredness that comes from talking to total idiots! This is fun!"
"Heehee haha! Say more! Aha loves you exactly like this!"
The mask's expression flipped violently from absolute sorrow to manic glee in an instant.
The Denizens of Abundance stared, completely bewildered by the rapid, unnatural shifts.
"Who are you? Why are you stuck on the front of the Astral Express? And you dare question the Abundance?!" The High Priest had no patience for cryptic nonsense. He demanded answers, his tone laced with threat.
"Heehee haha! Guess! Guess right, and Aha might give you a reward!"
"Heehee, maybe half the Path power Aha gave that little bug back then!"
Aha's gleeful laughter echoed across the metallic platform, brimming with chaotic excitement and anticipation.
And then, for a few of the followers, it finally clicked.
"You... you're Aha?! The Aeon of Elation?!"
"What?! The Trickster God?!"
"There's an Aeon on the Astral Express?! How is that possible?!"
"It could be fake! Maybe it's one of those Masked Fools pretending to be Them! Don't be fooled!"
Chaos rippled through the ranks. Some were terrified, believing they were standing before a living Aeon. Others severely doubted it, dismissing the talking mask as a sick prank by a Masked Fool. After all, those Fools loved finding dangerous entertainment just as much as their patron deity did.
"Heehee haha! Right, right! Maybe I'm not Aha—maybe I'm a Masked Fool!"
"So guess! Who am I?" Aha was having a total blast, egging the cultists on.
"Come on, tell me! What's your final answer?"
"Two boxes in front of you. One says 'Aha.' One says 'Fool.' Pick one. Open it. Confirm my identity."
With a soft pop, two brightly colored gift boxes materialized out of thin air before the crowd, neatly labeled 'Aha' and 'Fool.'
The followers immediately started debating.
"I think it's the Fool! This guy screams 'Masked Fool'!"
"No, no! I think it's really the Aeon! They promised Path power!"
"Path power isn't something you just hand out like candy! This loudmouth is definitely a Fool!"
"I'm voting Aha!"
"I'm voting Fool!"
Voices clashed heavily, each fanatic aggressively arguing for their chosen box. In a matter of seconds, they had completely forgotten their original objective of seizing the Express.
Aha watched the squabbling with immense amusement. But not quite satisfied yet, the Aeon subtly planted mental suggestions into random minds within the crowd.
Those affected suddenly felt their emotions amplified a hundredfold. Hearing a comrade voice opposition, they erupted in blinding, irrational rage and threw punches at the nearest dissenter.
"Dude, are you crazy?!"
"I'm not crazy! I'm right!"
"No, I'm right! Listen to me!"
What started as aggressive verbal sparring instantly escalated into a bloody brawl. Chaos erupted as the followers tumbled over each other, throwing fists and kicking.
Before long, fists weren't enough. Weapons were drawn.
The High Priest, who was relatively level-headed and untouched by the suggestion, saw his followers drawing steel and firearms.
"Stop! What are you doing?! Is this a mutiny?!" his voice boomed authoritatively across the platform.
A few, who had avoided Aha's mental manipulation, snapped out of the mob mentality and froze in horror. But the vast majority were too far gone. They completely ignored their revered leader and kept violently fighting.
Lasers and energy blasts started flying—aimed directly at their own brethren.
"Heehee haha!"
Aha loved every single second of it. The mask laughed uproariously, openly mocking these fanatical fools as they danced helplessly on the Aeon's invisible strings.
Seeing the situation spiral totally out of control, the High Priest glared murderously at the mask on the train. If he could, he'd tear this instigator into a thousand pieces.
Instead, he channeled all his power. A faint, profound green vitality seeped from his body, drifting outward like a mist to blanket the brawling believers.
The moment that pure Abundance energy touched them, their violent, amplified emotions were forcefully soothed. They blinked, deeply confused, looking down at the weapons in their hands or the bruised comrades pinned beneath them. Realization dawned—they'd been played for absolute fools.
"High Priest... we're so sorry..." They bowed their heads in deep shame and apology.
Without his divine intervention, the bloody infighting could have lasted until they wiped each other out entirely.
"Wow!"
"Heehee haha! Didn't expect you to wield the Abundance's Path power to that degree! You're not an Emanator, but you're far beyond ordinary!"
Aha eyed the High Priest, seeing through the depths of his strength in an instant