"So you do know about me, Mr. Evan~"
"I am a believer of Memory, a messenger of flowing light, traveling the universe in search of all precious memories."
"If I were to put it in terms you might prefer… you could simply think of me as a photographer."
"A photographer?"
Evan smiled faintly as he looked at the Memokeeper before him.
"A photographer doesn't casually enter someone else's mind."
"Well, that's true," she replied lightly. "But your world of memories is very fascinating."
"I had to put in quite a bit of effort to enter."
Effort?
Right.
He had just finished reinforcing the structure of his Sea of Consciousness.
The mental world he had painstakingly constructed—
And she still managed to slip inside.
That alone said enough about the Path she followed.
"So, Mr. Evan…"
"Would you be willing to share your memories with me?"
"Don't worry. This isn't theft or coercion."
"For both of us, it would be more like a mutually beneficial exchange."
Exchange memories?
Evan's memories were not something he intended to sell.
"I refuse."
"You may leave now."
"And next time—"
"If you enter my mind without permission…"
"You might not find it so easy to leave."
Boom—
The entire consciousness world trembled.
Before the Memokeeper could say another word—
She was forcefully expelled.
Standing in the observation car again, the Memokeeper sighed softly.
What a pity.
That mind had been a fascinating archive.
She was about to return to the Garden of Recollection—
When suddenly—
Her gaze snapped back toward Evan's cabin.
A presence.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Unmistakable.
"That…!"
At the same time—
Within Evan's consciousness.
A divine presence appeared across the cosmos.
A body of crystal.
Radiant light flowing across its surface.
Fragments of mirrors drifted through the surrounding void like shattered constellations.
Each fragment reflected countless moments.
Countless memories.
Evan felt a vast power descend—
Beyond the three phases of time itself.
Past.
Present.
Future.
His consciousness connected to an entirely new starfield.
Then he looked up.
Before him stood a colossal being of crystal light.
Streams of radiant memory spiraled around it endlessly.
He recognized it instantly.
Fuli.
The Aeon of Remembrance.
The Flowing Light Sovereign.
To Fuli—
The universe itself was a memory system.
Everything repeated endlessly.
Everything recorded.
When the universe eventually collapsed—
Fuli would use its memory as a blueprint.
To recreate all existence.
If Nanook believed civilization was a cancer—
And Yaoshi spread life without consequence—
And Qlipoth endlessly built walls—
Then Memory was something different.
It rejected nothing.
Loved nothing.
It recorded everything.
Heroes.
Villains.
Even the brief memory of a fish in the sea.
All preserved.
All equally valuable.
Such was the Path of Remembrance.
And so—
When Fuli appeared—
Evan was not surprised.
Consciousness and memory were fundamentally intertwined.
Then—
The Aeon spoke.
[Your memories… are interesting.]
The voice was strange.
A single sentence—
Yet it sounded like countless worlds whispering at once.
[Authority of consciousness…]
[Power of memory…]
Evan steadied himself before looking up again.
Fuli's form returned clearly to view.
Radiant light surrounded the towering figure like a divine halo.
Yet its face remained unseen—
Just like the Memokeepers.
Majestic.
Silent.
Watching.
Fuli felt completely different from Nous, the Aeon of Erudition.
And unlike Qlipoth—
Fuli felt as though it could see everything.
Past.
Present.
Future.
[Your mystery… was not something I intended to observe personally.]
[But you carry the marks of two Aeons.]
[Your memories interest me.]
[Outsider…]
[Will you accept my power?]
[Become a messenger of Memory?]
[Preserve the memories of this beautiful universe?]
Its voice carried infinite echoes.
Fuli itself was composed of countless memories.
Thus every voice was merely another memory speaking.
Evan stared silently at the towering Aeon.
The memory's light was gentle.
But it was also the closest thing to eternity.
Even the Memokeepers could not enter his mind freely.
Yet Fuli walked in effortlessly.
Such was the difference between Aeon and follower.
Then the voice echoed again.
[Will you walk the Path of Remembrance?]
Evan blinked.
Then nodded immediately.
"Sure."
The next moment—
Outside the Astral Express, beyond the Jade Gate of the Luofu—
A massive crystalline projection appeared briefly in the sky.
Energy descended.
Flowing directly into Evan's body.
The blessing of Memory.
He had just obtained the Authority of Sentience—
And now—
The Path of Remembrance itself.
Today's treasure chest truly paid off.
As his consciousness returned—
Evan raised his hand slowly.
Fuli's final words echoed in his mind.
[I grant you the Path of Memory.]
[You shall become its messenger.]
[Record the worlds.]
[The gates of 'Vision Heaven' shall open for you.]
[The messenger aboard the train will guide you there.]
Vision Heaven.
A place Evan recognized.
During the era of Akivili, the Astral Express once traveled there.
It was where Fuli stored memories.
According to legend—
All memories gathered by Memokeepers were woven into that realm.
If the universe ended—
Those memories would rebuild reality itself.
Even rumors among Trailblazers once claimed—
That the Path of Mythus, the Aeon of Enigmata, had originated there.
Soon—
The light faded.
Reality returned.
Inside the observation car—
The Memokeeper stared toward Evan's cabin in shock.
"…Fuli?"
"That Emanator of Erudition…"
"Just received an Aeon's blessing?"
"He's become a messenger of Memory?"
Elsewhere—
Near Starskiff Haven—
Jing Yuan suddenly looked up.
A flash of strange light had appeared above the Luofu.
Only for an instant.
But the color…
Made his brows furrow.
Moments later everything returned to normal.
Jing Yuan slowly sipped his bean juice.
"…Flowing Light Sovereign?"
"Why would the Aeon of Remembrance appear here?"
He glanced toward the direction of the Astral Express.
"…Could it be them?"
The Nameless had only just departed.
The train likely hadn't even jumped yet.
But why—
Would an Aeon personally descend?
On the Luofu, Aeons were categorized simply.
Benevolent Aeons were called Si Ming.
Neutral ones were called Heavenly Lords.
Malicious ones were called Disaster Ancestors.
For example—
Lan, the Reignbow Arbiter.
Qlipoth, the Amber Lord.
Those were Si Ming.
Meanwhile—
Nous, Akivili, Aha, and Idrila were called Heavenly Lords.
But an Aeon rarely intervened personally.
Yet today—
The Aeon of Memory had done exactly that.
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