The moment Sora and Hoolay vanished, no one knew where they had gone.
But the sudden planetary movement and magnetic field disturbances were things every Xianzhou ship could observe.
After running the calculations, most people were able to infer the battlefield's location.
And yet when they pulled up the satellite feed, what they saw made every one of them widen their eyes.
"What is that?"
That was right—after seeing the image before them, they all thought their calculations had to be wrong.
Because what appeared there was not Sora's figure at all, but a sphere shining with white light.
"A star? But there shouldn't be a star at that coordinate in this region..."
From a distance, it looked almost exactly like a sun blazing in the depths of space.
Someone cross-checked the stellar coordinates for the region, only to discover that there absolutely should not have been any such celestial body there.
Had the star map survey been wrong?
Or had they mistaken a star's magnetic field for the residual fluctuations from that man's battle?
But very quickly, the people watching the image of that star began to sense that something was off.
"Did that star just get a little bigger?"
The observer wasn't entirely sure. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
How could a star suddenly grow larger for no reason?
Judging from the exterior of that white celestial body, it looked perfectly healthy, nowhere near the final weakening stage of its life cycle.
There was no way it should expand without cause...
And yet, just as the Xianzhou people were convincing themselves it was impossible, that white celestial body expanded again.
Now it wasn't just one observer who had seen it.
They had all seen it.
"That planet really is getting bigger!"
Could it be a star already approaching the final stage of its life cycle, on the verge of going supernova?
But very quickly, they realized they were wrong again.
Because that celestial body showed all kinds of terrain and environments on its surface.
The "small increase" they had just observed actually represented an expansion of more than a hundred thousand square kilometers in real space.
And there was still no sign of the newly born planet stopping its growth.
Before long, people could already see the white world shining in the universe with the naked eye.
The observers watching this could feel their worldviews collapsing.
"Th-This... is this a miracle?!"
Other than an AEON, they could not imagine what kind of existence in the universe could possibly do such a thing.
A planet born from nothing, growing right before their eyes.
There was probably nothing else like it in the entire cosmos.
Most importantly, the energy radiating from that planet was impossible to ignore.
And after some simple analysis, they identified the source of part of that Path power.
"Though there's a great deal of energy in it that we simply can't identify, we can barely make out that part of it belongs to IDRILA, the AEON of BEAUTY."
The generals, upon realizing that, naturally could not help but frown.
The news of the AEON of BEAUTY, IDRILA, having fallen was common knowledge throughout the universe.
Outside the Knights of Beauty, every other force's records listed that AEON as inactive.
And now, without a word, that force had stirred up such an enormous commotion here. What exactly was it trying to do?
The same question was also echoing through the minds of the Knights of Beauty themselves.
This had begun as just another ordinary day, one in which they admired IDRILA's beauty in their hearts as always.
And yet, to their complete surprise, every one of them dreamed of a planet that day.
It was a world shining brilliantly in the boundless universe.
It was no star, and yet it radiated an even brighter light than one.
Most important of all was the feeling that world and its surroundings gave them.
"Out of endless sin and ugliness, such a beauty of forgiveness has been born..."
"Ahh—beautiful IDRILA! Let me pause for a moment in reverence before the beauty You reveal when You show compassion upon all living beings!"
"Where the light of BEAUTY shines, there our hearts are drawn!"
One after another, the Knights of Beauty began racing toward that planet shining with its singular spectrum in the cosmos.
They could feel that the BEAUTY there was not pure.
And yet the forgiveness within it, and the beauty of divine regard it conveyed, was exactly what they were seeking now.
To the Knights of Beauty, this was undoubtedly guidance bestowed upon them by beautiful IDRILA.
Sora likely never imagined that his actions would cause the Knights of Beauty to swarm toward this place.
The reason he had chosen the code of the Knights of Beauty at the time had been very simple.
Because, at that moment, it was the thing best suited to what he needed to accomplish.
The Knights of Beauty traveled from world to world, using faith as strict law and demanding much of themselves.
More importantly, their duty as knights was to protect the seeds that held BEAUTY within them.
That was also why they were so often toyed with by the Masked Fools, and yet even then they never voiced a word of complaint.
So long as those "seeds of BEAUTY" bloomed into flowers pure and crystalline, their devotion had already been conveyed.
'Those who win the approval of this creed after passing through the Ninefold Trials may then leave this planet.'
The Ninefold Trials were meant to make those who came to this world realize the wrongs they had once committed, and realize the preciousness of life.
And once they left this place, that creed would in turn bind those who departed.
If they failed to keep following it, the fallen shadow of BEAUTY would pursue them.
From then on, they would have to wander the universe doing good deeds.
Some might say that punishment was too severe.
But...
"They're people who have started countless wars across the universe. Under normal circumstances, they'd be tortured nonstop and then executed. I'm already giving them a way to live..."
Titania said, "If you put it that way, they really ought to thank you."
"I did give them a way out. They just might have to thank me."
Sora grinned.
As for where so many knightly figures who rigorously followed all these rules of BEAUTY would come from later in the universe—that had nothing to do with Sora.
In any case, no one knew he was the one who had done this. Other than Titania and the people around him, no one knew the truth.
In the end, it might even all get chalked up to something some prank-loving AEON had casually made on a whim.
After all, the Masked Fools had always been deeply attached to the Knights of Beauty.
And if the object of the Fools' obsession did something strange, that would seem perfectly normal too.
Sora believed that, in the end, very few people would guess he was the one behind this.
...
Only, what he did not expect was...
"Ahh, it has been so long, my dear friend. Your beauty, the radiance about you—it has not changed in the slightest since before."
"From you, I see the same compassionate beauty as that planet. Surely, then, you must be the one who created it."
Sora's old friend Argenti was now standing before him, speaking with heartfelt admiration.
And the moment those words left his mouth, Sora froze on the spot.
No, seriously—how did you figure it out when I layered that many disguises over myself?!
A herd of alpacas was stampeding through Sora's mind.
He had thought he had hidden his identity well enough that everyone would definitely be led off in some other direction.
Naturally, he already knew the Knights of Beauty were arriving wave after wave.
What he had not expected was for Argenti to walk up and immediately hand him a shock like this.
"No, seriously—how did you figure it out?"
Sora was ten parts baffled—no, nine parts.
His disguise had been perfect. So why had Argenti still managed to identify him?
"That would naturally be because the beauty of the beautiful IDRILA guided my path."
Argenti placed a hand over his chest and bowed to Sora.
"Though I cannot see any Blessing of IDRILA upon you, you remain the Knights of Beauty's finest friend."
That made the corner of Sora's mouth twitch.
Would this "finest friend" later end up surrounded by them in a righteous group beatdown? Sora honestly couldn't say.
After all, the Knights of Beauty placed IDRILA above all things in their faith.
And now Sora had, in a sense, borrowed their god's name to create this planet meant to reform sinners and make them atone.
With how rigid the Knights of Beauty could be, it wasn't impossible that Argenti would call him a friend now—and then by afternoon those same "friends" would come banging on his door with weapons in hand.
Got the guts to impersonate our faith? Then open the door!
Given the Knights of Beauty's devotion to IDRILA, that outcome really did seem possible.
"However, my dear friend, there is still one question in my heart for which I need your answer!"
Just as Sora was considering whether or not to run, Argenti suddenly voiced his concern.
"The trials of a knight are exceedingly arduous. Is this not perhaps too difficult?"
As a Knight of Beauty himself, Argenti naturally knew how grueling the trials of BEAUTY truly were.
And the prerequisite for being recognized by that planet was receiving approval from the creed.
Wasn't that perhaps too harsh?
So Argenti worried that some people might simply fail to pass the trials and choose to give up altogether.
And if in the end no one ever came to understand the truth of atonement there, wouldn't that go against the very reason the planet had been created?
"Uh, that part you don't need to worry about. Someone has already cleared this planet."
"Oh?"
Argenti's interest was immediately piqued.
"Might I be permitted to meet the one who has already won the recognition of the knightly creed?"
To have completed those trials in such a short time—it truly made Argenti curious what kind of extraordinary being could have done it.
"Uh... you might want to lower your expectations a little."
Seeing how eager Argenti was, Sora remembered the ones who had cleared the place out of sheer boredom.
He honestly didn't know whether Argenti's worldview would collapse after seeing them.
"Rest assured, my dear friend! So long as one has earned the recognition of the knightly creed, then no matter their origin, I shall honor their will!"
Since Argenti put it that way, Sora chose to take him to see the beings who had already cleared the place.
And those very first clearers were currently gathered together, living leisurely little lives of their own.
Then they spotted Sora, and their eyes lit up all at once.
"Lord Longzhang came to see us!"
The moment those words rang out, countless gazes immediately swung their way.
Then, amidst a wave of cheers, a patchwork tide swarmed over Sora and completely buried him beneath itself.
Lifting the Bai Ze in his arms, Sora said to Argenti, "There. Them."
That was right.
The first beings to pass the creed of the Knights of Beauty were these little Bai Ze, who could practically be classified as adorable creatures.
That was why Sora had told Argenti to brace himself in advance.
"These... these..."
And just as expected, Argenti's voice dropped low.
Sora could only sigh. He had already known this was very likely to happen.
Honestly, he should have brought Robin along. With her ability, calming Argenti down probably wouldn't have been hard.
But just as Sora was about to secretly contact Robin...
Argenti finally spoke!
"These beautiful beings who radiate the aura of BEAUTY—what are they called?!"
Argenti looked at Sora, and the light in his eyes was so bright that Sora felt like two floodlights had switched on in front of him.
"This perfect physique!"
Argenti lifted one of the Bai Ze's chubby paws.
"These steadfast eyes!"
The Bai Ze looked up at him innocently, having no idea what this man was doing.
Still, it understood that Argenti was praising it, and that was all that mattered.
So while being held by Argenti, the Bai Ze kept nodding as if to say, More, more, keep praising me.
"And most important of all—this pure heart!"
Argenti held the Bai Ze up high.
The fervor in his eyes was so intense that even Sora couldn't quite make sense of it.
But from the look of things now, there was no need to worry about the Bai Ze being blamed by the Knights of Beauty for passing their trials. That counted as a good thing, at least.
After that, many more Knights of Beauty arrived.
Some wore black armor. Some knights came with only one arm.
But the one thing that never changed was the rose blooming upon them, the symbol of BEAUTY's radiance.
Sora met many of them too, though what surprised him was that none of those who arrived later seemed to recognize him as the creator of the planet.
Even so, every one of them held Sora in high regard.
At least, judging by what they all said, Sora too radiated the light of BEAUTY.
It was a radiance that could inspire people to believe in him and follow him.
Only, the one they truly worshipped remained beautiful IDRILA alone.
But once Argenti guided them to the Bai Ze, their attitudes all changed.
In the end, the result was that the Bai Ze would instinctively try to walk the other way every time they saw members of the Knights of Beauty.
The knights' fervor was simply too much. Even the Bai Ze felt embarrassed by it, and some of them even ran to Sora to complain.
"It's more comfortable staying with Lord Longzhang."
More comfortable, sure—but that's not a reason to wrap yourselves all over me.
That was what Sora had to say while being buried by a ring of Bai Ze, with only his face left sticking out.
After arriving here, the Knights of Beauty tempered their wills in the Ninefold Trials and honed their bodies there as well.
And because the planet had been built from the Blessings of Abundance, many of the hidden injuries lingering in their bodies were healed in the process.
That naturally made them think very highly of the place.
And after learning the purpose for which this place had been created, they were even more astonished.
Then they went to the Xianzhou and made a request:
"Please allow us to take over guard duty for this place!"
How had they never thought of doing something like this before—spreading the radiance of BEAUTY?
If more people could reform themselves and walk the path of BEAUTY afterward, then even IDRILA reborn would surely smile upon them.
After receiving the request, the Xianzhou side naturally could not make the decision on their own.
After all, this was Sora's creation, and they had to obtain his approval first.
Only, there was one voice raised in opposition that stood out so much that no one had expected it from her of all people.
"I object!"
Jin Xing declared with righteous indignation.
That was right.
What no one had expected was that the one to step forward in objection was not General Chenming, who hated evil with a passion, nor General Huaiyan, who had long since formed his own views on human nature after seeing so much of it—but Jin Xing, the Fangyuan High Elder.
Xi and Feng Liqi were equally curious why their old friend Jin Xing was opposing the Knights of Beauty taking charge of this place.
And Jin Xing's reason was very simple.
"I'm not even in that picture..."
Biting down on a handkerchief, tears shining in her eyes, Jin Xing stared at the image currently being praised by countless people.
In the picture, Feixiao stood on the left, Ahri on the right, and GeatsIX Sora stood at the center.
Among the Foxians, it had already been hailed as the single most perfect composition seen in two thousand Amber Eras.
Other races might not have gone quite that far, but even they had to admit it looked incredibly cool.
And because Jin Xing had gone to the Fanghu at the time to protect the Vidyadhara, she had missed the whole thing.
That was her regret.
By the Cangyan's internal ranking, the spot Feixiao occupied should have been hers instead.
And yet now Feixiao had stolen it.
"I want a picture with Sora that'll get passed down for ages too~~~"
But the facts were the facts. Jin Xing had simply missed the right moment.
And then, only a few days later, she heard that even the guard duty for the planet Sora had created might be taken away by someone else.
How could she endure that?
How could she possibly endure that?!
"But..."
Feng Liqi spoke weakly, "If you're here guarding this place... couldn't you just go look for Sora instead?"
You wouldn't go to the actual person, and instead insisted on standing guard over this place... Was Jin Xing's brain not working today?
"Huh?!"
Jin Xing blinked, then thought about it carefully.
And... yes, that was true.
Sora was not some vanishing tourist attraction anymore. There was no reason for her to stubbornly guard a scenic spot he had created the way she once had on the Cangyan.
Xi pressed a hand to her face in weary resignation. She was pretending not to know Jin Xing at all.
"Ahahaha, so that's how it is, so that's how it is. Did I say anything just now?"
Once Jin Xing realized which option was actually better, she naturally began playing dumb.
And so the matter was passed into the hands of the Knights of Beauty without issue.
To them, this place—capable of tempering the body, honing the spirit, and strengthening the members of the order—was something they treated with utmost seriousness.
Now that the Knights of Beauty's numbers were already few, they went all out and stationed nine knights there on rotating shifts, with one guarding each level.
They intended to strictly judge whether the sinners within had truly repented.
They intended to determine whether those sinners had reached a state where they could truly understand the meaning of life.
Sora had given those sinners a chance to nurture flowers of BEAUTY within themselves again.
Whether they could seize that opportunity was up to them.
And once word of this spread, the scattered irregulars still wandering this star region began voluntarily turning themselves in as well.
The name of the Knights of Beauty carried weight across the cosmos. A place of atonement personally overseen by them was guaranteed to be the fairest place in the entire universe.
It was even said that afterward, this place became the one place large-scale criminals in the universe absolutely had to pass through if they wanted to become new people.
"You say you've washed your hands of the old life? Fine. Go walk through the Ninefold Trials overseen by the Knights of Beauty, and then I'll believe you."
Occurrences like that gradually became more and more common across the universe.
And thus, the unrest against the Xianzhou that Phantylia had ignited finally came to a complete end.
The various Xianzhou ships gradually lifted their state of high alert and returned to normal, once more resuming trade and cooperation with the universe.
Life slowly returned.
The streets gradually recovered their old bustle and noise.
Children played. Parents chased after them.
And mixed in among them were a few wandering Bai Ze curiously exploring in all directions.
Such a peaceful and flourishing age.
To be able to see it at the very end was enough for her.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
She didn't even need to turn around. From the rhythm of those steps alone, she already knew who it was.
"Sora-gege, what brings you here too?"
Sora stood beside Ahri, looking down at the lively streets below.
"Obviously, I came to see you."
"What is there to see? I'm not that interesting."
Sora did not answer. He simply sat down beside her.
Back when he had left, this little girl had not even reached his waist.
But now, if one counted the ears, she was taller than he was. Foxian ears really were cheating.
For Sora, it had only been the span of a blink.
For Ahri, it had been centuries.
"You call me your gege, and I'm not allowed to come take a look at you?"
Gege.
Every time Ahri heard that word, she remembered that day, and that sword lying at the bottom of that pit.
She had dreamed countless times about what the future might have looked like if she had never picked it up that day.
But every time, she arrived at the same answer.
No matter what happened, she would still have gone to that sword.
Because that was exactly the kind of thing a child would do.
And when children grew up, they came to understand some things.
And they also came to understand that some things could no longer be done.
But perhaps now, with the very end so near, she could afford to be a little selfish...
And so Sora felt a weight gradually settle against his shoulder, along with the ticklish brush of fox ears against his neck.
Ahri leaned her head against Sora's shoulder.
"Let me lean on you for a bit."
It was something she had wanted to do for a very long time.
When she was little, she had thought that once everything was over, she would be able to do something like this.
And that wish had only finally come true centuries later.
Many others might have let go of something like that long ago.
But Ahri never would.
She would never forget this brother of hers, nor forget what he had done.
"I heard about your situation from the others."
Ahri's body stiffened.
She had not expected this to be something they failed to keep hidden after all.
Hadn't she told them already?
So who was the one who leaked it to him?
A long string of names flashed through Ahri's mind at once, because every one of them was capable of doing something like that.
Her mood instantly turned uneasy, and a guilty feeling rose in her heart, like she had done something wrong.
"I-I didn't mean to hide—"
"I know. You're already this old and still too embarrassed to say you want me to do a magic trick for you, but who do you think I am?!"
What Ahri had not expected, however, was that this was the answer she got out of Sora's mouth.
A magic trick?!
Who on earth had said she wanted Sora-gege to perform a magic trick for her?
Though to be fair... that wasn't exactly wrong either. She did want that too.
As long as he wasn't talking about her real physical condition, then everything was fine.
And naturally, that conversation was heard loud and clear by the small group hiding in a corner nearby.
"Can't Sora use some other line? Why does it always have to be 'magic trick' with him?"
Titania sounded supremely unamused.
Her comment drew strange looks from the others beside her.
That was rich coming from someone who never stopped repeating that she wanted to be a god.
Among the little group gathered there, only one person was reacting differently from the others.
Because Jin Xing alone was standing there biting her handkerchief, eyes watery as she stared at the pair in front of her.
"I want someone to do a magic trick for me too..."
Preferably one-on-one. Face to face.
The others could only sigh when they saw her like that.
Hopeless.
Only Unkyō quietly edged closer to her, pushing up his glasses with a gleam in his eyes.
Hehe, more material.
And while they were whispering among themselves, the magic trick up ahead had already properly begun.
Sora told Ahri to close her eyes.
"This one might be the magic trick of the century. It's pretty difficult. Do you believe I can pull it off?"
Ahri smiled with her eyes closed.
"Of course I do."
Ever since she was little, she had always believed in the Sora before her.
That was also why, when the two of them had finally recognized each other, she had not felt the slightest surprise.
Because there was simply no way anything could happen to Sora.
Even while everyone else had already resigned themselves to pessimism, she had always been the outlier.
Her trust in Sora had never needed any outside support.
And the reason she herself had become who she was today was because she had followed in his footsteps.
Sora had once saved everyone on the Cangyan, so Ahri too had learned from him and devoted her own power to healing.
That was how she had spent all these years, chasing after his back until now.
"Then let the magic begin."
Sora's hand came to rest lightly on Ahri.
Ahri did not feel anything change.
All she felt was the faint, gentle sensation of him stroking the top of her head.
No Path power coursed through her body, and there was no extraordinary sensation either.
It was as though it were nothing more than an older brother gently patting his little sister's head.
And under that feeling, she found herself voicing the wish she had buried deepest in her heart.
"I really wish this could just go on forever."
Ahri had spoken her wish aloud.
"If that is your wish, then I allow it."
?!
Ahri was startled, and in the very next moment, a soft female voice reached her ears.
Still holding onto the chain of memories for eternity~
The silent soul cries is a guidepost in my heart that leads to the light~
...
In the distance, Robin sang softly under her breath.
Endlessly wondering, endlessly wandering~
As I journeyed with only loneliness in my heart~
Continue to search for the reason I exist~
And where my destiny is heading~
She looked toward the far-off mountain peak, where a magic trick was unfolding.
After this, she was absolutely going to make Sora compensate her properly.
Especially after hiding this many songs—he was absolutely going to write them all down afterward!
Robin gave a quiet little hum in her heart and continued singing.
...
The gentle melody was like a balm smoothing away the turmoil of the unrest that had raged before.
Hearing the distant song, Ahri found it strange.
Though the source was so far away, the voice sounded as though it were singing right beside her ear.
At the same time, a strange power seemed to be born inside her, wandering ceaselessly through her body.
The lungs and organs that had once been covered over by branches were rapidly restoring themselves, and her breathing grew steady and powerful again.
Her heart beat strongly and life coursed through her once more.
Ahri wanted to open her eyes, but Sora seemed to have anticipated her intention and cut her off before she could move.
"The magic isn't finished yet, Ahri~ Please don't move around."
What Ahri didn't know was that behind her, there were no longer just eight tails.
Nine tails now swayed behind her in time with the music.
And yet Ahri herself felt no burden at all from the increase in their number.
Cursed with a younger sister who never let him stop worrying.
Did she really think she was like him—that she could handle everything on her own?
"Idiot."
Sora's words made Ahri stir restlessly.
But Sora only raised a finger to his lips.
"Shh~"
For a moment, it was as though the whole world had gone silent.
Everyone's attention was drawn to what was happening here.
The nine white tails spread behind her stood out clearly against the night sky.
They did not hold stars within them as Sora's did, nor did they carry that same untouchable nobility.
Instead, they looked like a white fox that had appeared only after peace had descended upon heaven and earth, quietly watching over the flourishing human world.
And in people's hearts, a single word naturally rose—
AUSPICIOUS OMEN.
And in the myths of the Xianzhou, when an auspicious omen descended into the world, a blessing was sure to follow.
Sora clenched his fist.
In the next moment, the tails behind Ahri plunged into the earth all at once.
"All right. The magic's done~"
After hearing Sora say that, Ahri slowly opened her eyes.
And before them, a truly astonishing change was unfolding.
In the distance, the glaciers were melting at incredible speed. Blue waves arced through the sky and poured into Fangyuan below.
The Fangyuan Sea, which had been on the verge of drying out, was filling with life again.
And the leaves that had once been covered in frost were turning green once more.
The ice and snow melted.
Flowers bloomed.
Such a scene should never have appeared in a Foxian settlement.
And yet spring had now returned.
"So, how was your gege's magic trick?"
Sora copied Argenti's habit and placed a hand over his chest, as if preparing to bow—but Ahri threw herself straight into his arms and hugged him.
"I've never seen such a beautiful magic trick."
"Thank you, Sora-gege."
The flowers that had bloomed all around were drawn by some unseen force and drifted in circles around the two of them.
"So long as you liked it."
Seeing that Ahri was already on the verge of tears, Sora immediately cupped her face in both hands and then... stretched it into all sorts of shapes.
"You actually called me your big brother, and then you still dared keep something like this buried inside? What, do you think I'm useless, huh?"
That peerlessly beautiful face of Ahri's was pulled into all kinds of distortions in his hands.
"N-No, I didn't—"
So she hadn't believed in him?
Didn't she know that trust didn't need a reason?!
"If I say you did, then you did!"
He fully intended to punish her until she never dared do this again.
Everyone who saw that warm and cheerful scene smiled knowingly.
Everyone, that is, except one certain person singing in the distance, whose brow suddenly twitched.
At the exact same moment, a chill ran down Sora's spine and he abruptly stopped messing around.
Who?
Who was plotting against him from behind his back?!
---
T/N: heh OMG THIS IS SO CUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe hehehe robin is jealoussssssss
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