On March 17th, in the Elysian Realm.
“This world is so much bigger than we ever imagined. It’s just that, because we lack the means to sail to the ends of deep space, people trapped at the bottom of a well mistakenly believe that the sky they look up to is the entire sky.”
“Around the star we call the sun, various celestial bodies have developed all kinds of civilizations. Some have taken to the stars, others have plunged into the deep sea, but none have been able to break past the boundaries of the solar system.”
“Beyond the tide of Honkai energy that ordinary methods can never cross, the names of those conceptual embodiments have long since resounded throughout the universe… Sirin, thank you for holding on until now.”
Just as Enoxia expected, she had barely started when Sirin began to doze off.
In contrast to her, Vill-V and Mobius showed great interest.
The existence of a Honkai energy tide at the edge of the solar system was something Vill-V and Mobius already knew about fifty thousand years ago. But precisely because of that tide, even geniuses like them couldn’t know what truly existed in the universe beyond the solar system.
“Anyway, this discovery further proves that even after fifty thousand years, the real Griseo must still be inside the solar system. Once we’ve dealt with matters on Earth, finding her shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Elysia glanced at little Griseo beside her and wore a playful expression:
“Unless they’re memory entities like us, even MANTIS soldiers still grow physically, you know. After fifty thousand years, little Griseo should have grown into big Griseo by now. When that happens, I’ll really be little sister Elysia, won’t I?”
Enoxia also looked at little Griseo, the corners of her mouth slightly curling up:
“Don’t worry. When Earth finds her location, even if she can’t return to Earth for a while, I’ll be able to open a direct path to the Elysian Realm. Even if everyone doesn’t want to leave here, I promise we can make direct communication happen. Let’s continue.”
“So, beyond the solar system, there exists a group of beings. They can walk through space filled with imaginary energy, cast their gazes across time and space, and decide the life or death of a planet or even an entire galaxy with a simple gesture. In the eyes of mortals, each of them is the embodiment of some philosophy. In the galaxy beyond the solar system, they are called Aeons.”
“Each Aeon represents a Path. Followers of an Aeon, or followers of the ideals that an Aeon represents, who receive the blessings of an Aeon, are called Pathwalkers.”
“And a very small number of Pathwalkers who gain their power directly from an Aeon possess strength far beyond that of ordinary mortals. They are typically the agents of an Aeon’s will, and they are called Emanators. These are the basic concepts.”
Elysia showed a very interested expression:
“This is truly new knowledge I’ve never heard before. Being able to roam the wider galaxy… Mmm, just thinking about it is so romantic. I wonder, if I lived in a world like that, which Path would I end up on?”
“If I’m just joking around, I’d guess you, sister, would walk the Path of Beauty. But if we’re being serious… I feel like none of them really fit. You’re one of a kind, sister.”
“After all, no matter which Path it is, in essence, it’s a double-edged sword. Take Beauty for example—not only does it emphasize ‘beauty,’ but it also emphasizes ‘purity.’ Clearly, those who walk the Path of Beauty know how to appreciate the beauty in the world, but they’d probably devote themselves to turning what they see as ‘beautiful’ into something pure and absolute.”
“But in your eyes, sister, almost everyone is worthy of love. Clearly, the ‘beauty’ in your eyes is definitely diverse and inclusive. From that perspective, compared to Beauty, I actually think Harmony would suit you better.”
“However, while Harmony embraces everything, helps the weak with strength, and protects life with death, it also erases individual personalities and desires. There’s an element of force when it comes to merging the individual into the collective. There’s no doubt that you, sister, would never do that either.”
“Of course, the same goes for other Paths. Trailblaze can connect all worlds across the universe, allowing even non-Aeons and non-Pathwalkers to engage in interstellar travel, but that also means disasters can spread faster and reach farther. Trailblaze represents exploration into the unknown. That exploration could be civilized and friendly communication, or it could be barbaric and shameless plundering.”
“To put it bluntly, Aeons are fundamentally obsessive. When it comes to the ideals represented by their Paths, I think taking the essence and discarding the dross, absorbing everything eclectic, is the right way to go. No matter which Path a Pathwalker follows, if they go all the way down that road, they’ll eventually turn into a fanatic.”
Apart from Sirin, who had already fallen asleep on Elysia’s lap, Cecilia and the Flame-Chasers listened very attentively.
“Getting back to the main topic, the content recorded on the stone tablet is indeed about events that happened in a civilization at least a hundred thousand years ago. Back then, while Earth was influenced by the ‘Cocoon,’ it was also within the sphere of influence of Order.”
“In regions influenced by Order, the development of civilization had an upper limit. Once it reached a certain stage, it would automatically self-destruct. That’s why the civilization before the Previous Era had no Herrschers.”
“As everyone knows, productive forces determine relations of production, and the stronger the technology, the stronger the Honkai. If a civilization destroys itself before entering the age of high technology, the Honkai wouldn’t develop enough, and naturally, Herrschers wouldn’t appear.”
Vill-V said thoughtfully:
“According to you, the civilization before us had already self-destructed and restarted from scratch because of Order before the arrival of the Final Herrscher? So the civilization before us left basically nothing for the next era.”
“That’s right. The power of Order protected Earth from the disasters caused by Herrschers, but it also took away the possibility of defeating the Honkai. After all, without high technology, creating artificial Stigmata, extracting Honkai beast factors, or creating MANTIS soldiers would all be impossible. You can’t expect humans to take down the Final Herrscher with cold weapons, can you?”
Mobius showed a somewhat disappointed expression:
“Is that all?”
Enoxia shrugged:
“There was quite a bit of text on the stone tablet, but over ninety percent of it were poems praising the Aeon of Order, En. Finding any clues within all that lengthy flattery took me a lot of effort. I doubt you and Vill-V spend much time studying the social customs of humanity hundreds of thousands of years ago. But if you want to know, ‘Magisterium of the Nether World’…”
The two exchanged a glance, signaling Enoxia not to continue on that topic. Clearly, compared to history and culture, the two geniuses preferred studying practical science that could directly solve problems.
“One day, the Aeon of Order, En, was assimilated by the Aeon of Harmony, Xipe, and the shackles on Earth naturally disappeared…”
In reality, the valuable parts of the ruins’ secrets were very few, so much so that over half of Enoxia’s explanation was her own additions. From the concepts of Paths, Aeons, and Emanators, to the fall of En—none of these were actually recorded on the stone tablet.
“Otto probably still treats that broken stone as some kind of treasure, doesn’t he? Not knowing what Aeons are, even if the information left behind could be translated into the language we use now, it would still be an unreadable scripture.”
