Half a step into the perfected peak of "If I think it works, it works."
A power constrained only by scale—
and now, it was in my hands.
The ascension state had been fleeting. It hadn't yet elevated the newly condensed core within my body to its ultimate form.
But the power itself?
I had grasped it.
I looked down at the Founders' Flaming Lance I'd just reconstructed—
then shifted it into Seele's scythe—
then shrank it down by a factor of ten thousand until a miniature Hyperion rested in my palm.
Only then did I truly begin to understand the essence of Truth.
This thing really was "If I think it works, it works."
Just with three shackles attached.
The most critical shackle was scale.
Anything exceeding the bounds of that Tree could not be deconstructed or recreated.
So yeah…
forging Aeons themselves? Let's not.
But Aeon figurines?
Now that was doable.
Sell them on other planets—especially the Xianzhou, where the Hunt is worshipped—and I'd make a killing.
Before I could catch up to Seele and the others, my mind suddenly began spinning again.
"…Not again?"
"Wait—which Aeon this time?!"
Space stretched infinitely upward.
Countless galaxies spiraled around me, forming a colossal nebula.
Crackling sounds echoed within it—
accompanied by strange whispers flooding into my sea of consciousness.
This sensation was far too familiar.
An Aeon's blessing.
After experiencing Nous granting me a Path and Preservation giving me a glance, I was honestly numb to it by now.
But—
This time was different.
I stiffened and looked up.
The moment I did, my eyes widened.
Before me stood an immensely familiar figure.
A colossal mechanical brain, a circular crimson eye scanning and evaluating me.
That vast mechanical head—
if I failed to recognize that, I'd have no excuse.
The Aeon of Erudition.
Nous.
The instant my gaze met that enormous red eye, my body was forcibly frozen in time.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't even blink.
[Query: Why is it you again?]
The massive mechanical brain expressed confusion the very moment it saw me.
Nous had descended.
No—more accurately—
Nous had descended again.
For the Aeon of Erudition to descend twice upon the same individual—
This was unprecedented.
While calculating all possibilities of the past, present, and future across the cosmos, Nous had sensed a familiar energy surge along the Path of Erudition.
Curious, Its consciousness followed the Path here.
And the instant Its gaze fell—
Even the Aeon of Knowledge stalled for a few microseconds.
…Wait.
Why is it this kid again?!
And on top of that—
this human carried traces of another Path.
The same origin as the force shrouding this planet.
An ancient Aeon.
Preservation—Qlipoth.
Though the Preservation energy was faint—only at the level of an ordinary Pathstrider—it was unmistakable.
"…I don't know either," I said, looking up helplessly.
"Why do you keep showing up, sir?"
Erudition was one of the hardest Paths to tread in the universe.
Don't be fooled by the game's limited portrayal—
Paths weren't exclusive.
Jing Yuan, an Emanator of the Hunt, also walked Erudition.
The Diviner granted relics by Nous followed Preservation.
That vast mechanical intellect studied me once more.
This time, it paused.
Then—
A far more familiar energy poured into my mind.
With the Authority of Reason already within me, I instantly felt my previous cognitive limits begin to dissolve.
Understanding expanded.
Thoughts branched endlessly.
In that moment, it felt as though ages passed—
Yet in reality, only an instant had gone by.
I came back to myself.
[Your potential has been acknowledged by the Path of Erudition.]
[Nous recognizes your wisdom and creativity, and invites you to explore the secrets and answers of the cosmos together.]
[…]
Wait—
I felt it.
That overwhelming surge of Path energy inside my body.
Compared to my previous "small power bank"—
This was a ten-thousand-milliamp super battery.
Emanator-level energy.
Which meant—
In that fleeting instant, I had become an Emanator of Erudition.
From now on, whenever I activated my authority, I could freely deconstruct and create using Emanator-grade energy.
And if I hadn't misheard—
That last line from Nous…
Was It inviting me to join Its only organization?
The Genius Society.
My expression turned… complicated.
At the same time—
Nous's gaze lingered on me.
Curious.
Evaluative.
And distinctly… unsatisfied.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito