"Whoa! Aeons fighting each other?! Two of them?!"
Upon hearing Welt's explanation, March exclaimed in complete disbelief, excitedly pointing toward the radio as her eyes widened in shock.
"But why're you listening to this radio broadcast instead of just watching it on your phone?"
Right after saying that, March hurriedly took out her phone and searched for the news.
Sure enough, countless videos, discussion posts, and all kinds of photos related to the topic immediately flooded the screen, each one clearly showing the shocking scene at Herta Space Station.
"Mr. Yang! Himeko! Dan Heng! C'mon, come check this out! It's trending everywhere!"
Hearing March's excited voice echo through the Parlor Car, Welt pushed up his glasses and silently took out his own phone to watch the videos online.
Why was he listening to the radio when there was clearly a phone available?
Of course, it was merely for nostalgia, absolutely not because he had momentarily forgotten that modern devices could stream the news much faster.
"Aeon of Erudition… Aeon of Enigmata..." Himeko muttered softly with a slight frown as she gazed at her phone screen, her elegant face gradually turning thoughtful. "How did THEY even appear at Herta Space Station at the same time, and even come into conflict? It's odd..."
"Hmm, it is indeed odd..." Welt echoed her thoughts in a low voice. "A mere space station… what could possibly attract the attention of two Aeons to such an extent that THEY would project THEMSELVES there and fight so openly?"
Even if it was only a projection, an Aeon was still an Aeon.
Entities that stood at the very top of the cosmos rarely paid attention to ordinary civilizations, let alone directly interfering in public view.
"Since the news was released by the IPC, exaggeration is practically their norm, but... rumors don't arise without cause..." Dan Heng also voiced his agreement calmly from the side. "I suppose something major must have happened there."
"Who cares if it's exaggerated?!" March exclaimed loudly, her voice echoing throughout the entire passenger car. "THEY are Aeons! Like, actual, living Aeons, y'know! Even just seeing THEIR projections is already something you could brag about for the rest of your life!"
As she spoke, she suddenly started rubbing her hands together excitedly, unable to hide the anticipation on her face.
"Mr. Yang! Himeko! Dan Heng! Conductor! We're not that far from Herta Space Station, right? We gotta resupply anyway, so why don't we just head over there?"
"We can grab supplies, look around the station, and check out all the hype, too!"
"And what if… what if we actually get to see an Aeon? That'd totally help with Trailblazing!"
As she spoke excitedly, March's gem-like eyes sparkled brightly beneath the car lights, filled with unconcealed anticipation and curiosity.
Welt looked toward Himeko, seemingly waiting for her final decision, while Himeko quietly put away her phone after a brief moment of thought, a faint smile gradually appearing on her lips.
"March is right. We do need to restock supplies, and stopping by Herta Space Station would indeed be convenient. Plus, I can catch up with my old friend, Herta. As for the Aeons..." Himeko paused briefly before continuing, "Being able to feel THEIR power up close, even if it's only a projection, would indeed be greatly beneficial for understanding the rules of this cosmos."
"Umu..." Welt nodded slowly, voicing his agreement. "Risk and opportunity often go hand in hand. Taking a look should be fine."
"Yay! I get to see Aeons too!"
March immediately jumped up happily.
Seeing her excited reaction, Himeko could only smile indulgently before turning toward Pom-Pom nearby.
"Conductor, adjust our course. Destination: Herta Space Station."
"Got it, pom!"
Pom-Pom responded readily before quickly hurrying back toward the control room to operate the Astral Express.
"Astral Express! Departing, pom!"
Outside the window, the distant starlight soon stretched into countless brilliant lines as the Astral Express accelerated forward, rapidly speeding toward Herta Space Station across the vast sea of stars.
===
Meanwhile, within the Stellaron Hunters' hideout, inside a dimly lit room illuminated only by scattered holographic screens and faint crimson lights, Elio, in the form of an elegant black cat, crouched atop a raised platform in complete silence, seemingly lost in thought.
Of course, he was not daydreaming or resting but was observing the future.
Kafka, holding a glass of red liquid in her hand, leaned lazily against a nearby wall with her arms crossed, her purple eyes half-lidded as though she had not fully awakened yet, her entire demeanor carrying a relaxed but faintly weary sense of fatigue.
Not far away, Silver Wolf sat cross-legged on a sofa, casually chewing bubble gum while her fingers flew rapidly across a virtual keyboard projected before her.
Streams of colorful data and flashing text reflected against her face, making it look as though she were intensely engaged in a particularly heated and 'friendly' textual art exchange with someone online.
Behind Silver Wolf stood a tall, armored figure, silently watching her argue with people on the internet without saying a single word.
Meanwhile, lying motionlessly on the floor nearby was a man who looked almost like a corpse, so still that anyone unfamiliar with him might genuinely think he had already been dead for quite some time.
To outsiders familiar with the Stellaron Hunters, this bizarre scene might appear strange, chaotic, and somewhat comical, but in truth, this was simply part of their ordinary daily routine.
"Mmm…"
Elio suddenly let out a low feline murmur, immediately causing Kafka and Silver Wolf to look over at the same time.
"What is it, Elio?"
Kafka asked softly, her calm voice echoing faintly through the quiet room.
"Well, there's... a slight anomaly in the script..." Elio replied while slowly flicking his tail behind him. "It's probably due to the appearance of those two Aeons, which interfered with my observation."
"How anomalous?" Silver Wolf asked casually while blowing and popping a bubble, her fingers never pausing as she continued furiously typing messages to greet her 'teammates.' "Hey, don't tell me we've gotta change the plan again?"
"No. Stelle must awaken there—that is an anchor point of fate, a part that cannot change." Elio paused briefly before tilting his head slightly, as though trying hard to 'see clearly.' "It's just that… hmm, the image is a bit blurry..."
He realized that the future scenes he observed were no longer as clear and stable as before. Especially around Herta Space Station, everything looked strangely distorted, as though the image quality had suddenly dropped from crystal-clear 4K to blurry 360P overnight.
'Well, it's fine, nothing critical... As long as the overall direction of the script remains unchanged, then the future I see will not deviate either.'
Elio thought inwardly as he calmly pushed the matter to the back of his mind, no longer paying too much attention to it.
He was, after all, Destiny's Slave, an apostle of the Finality, the one who foresaw the future itself. None of the future scripts he had seen had ever truly gone wrong throughout all these years, so even if the image quality became blurry and unclear, it did not really matter much to him.
As long as the overall flow of fate remained unchanged, then everything would still continue moving toward the destined future he had already foreseen.
Elio lightly leaped down from the raised platform, his soft paws landing gracefully atop the sofa without making the slightest sound, before he calmly raised his head and spoke to Kafka and Silver Wolf once more.
"Kafka, Silver Wolf. Prepare to depart. Awaken Stelle, and let the gears of fate begin turning."
Hearing that, Kafka's lips slowly curved into an elegant and meaningful smile before she casually set down her wine glass, picked up her jacket from the side, and slipped it over her shoulders.
"Alright. Let's go, Silver Wolf. I finally get to see Stelle again."
Kafka spoke casually while brushing back her long purple hair.
Silver Wolf immediately slapped the game interface away with a single tap before standing up from the sofa and patting off her pants.
"Tch, what a pain, running errands again..." Silver Wolf complained with a visibly annoyed expression. "Let's just go already—the sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to my game. I haven't even cleared the new stage yet."
With that, she shoved both hands into her pockets, casually chewing gum while looking completely carefree on the surface, but deep within her eyes, a sharp glint quietly flashed.
Mainly because Herta, her longtime nemesis, made her feel slightly concerned.
According to the latest news, two Aeons had appeared at Herta Space Station.
Knowing that, who could say whether Herta had somehow received blessings from both of THEM and become even more troublesome than before?
'Well, whatever... Elio's script is never wrong. If he said the infiltration's gonna go smoothly, then it's definitely gonna go real smooth.'
Silver Wolf sighed inwardly before deciding not to think too deeply about it.
Knowing that Elio was always watching over them from behind the scenes, she was not worried at all.
"Go—the stage is already set."
Elio calmly spoke to the two of them, his deep cat eyes appearing especially mysterious beneath the dim lighting.
Just like that, Kafka and Silver Wolf immediately boarded a spaceship together before setting course toward Herta Space Station.
"When will the salvation Elio told me about finally arrive...?"
Firefly, now clad in a mechanical armor known as 'SAM,' full designation 'Fyrefly Type-IV Strategic Assault Mech,' stood silently in place while watching the spaceship carrying her two colleagues gradually disappear into the distance, quietly muttering to herself in a low voice.
===
In his private room inside Herta Space Station, Lucian, having absolutely nothing to do for the moment, casually checked his phone and soon noticed the trending news spreading wildly across the internet.
Reading those exaggerated headlines, distorted reports, and increasingly inaccurate details, he couldn't help but feel somewhat amused.
An Emanator of Erudition openly smearing the reputation of the Aeon of Erudition?
Herta truly held grudges.
Even grudges against an Aeon had to be repaid eventually.
"An Emanator of Erudition stabbing the Aeon of Erudition in the back... Hmm, this sounds strangely familiar..."
Lucian muttered thoughtfully while gently stroking his chin, his brows faintly furrowing as he searched through his memories.
"Oh, right, Zandar..."
Only then did he finally remember the first seat of the Genius Society, the creator of Nous itself—Zandar One Kuwabara.
He remembered that the man had once built an astral computer, a super AI beyond the comprehension of ordinary civilizations, intending to use it to help himself acquire and process limitless knowledge.
Yet in the end, the AI had actually transcended its original purpose, ascended to Aeonhood, and become the Aeon of Erudition, Nous.
Just like that, the child became the emperor and, with a turn of THEIR hand, named THEIR father the crown prince before quietly confining him.
One should know that Nous forbade anyone from acquiring knowledge beyond a certain scope, imposing absolute limitations upon countless civilizations and scholars throughout the universe.
Meanwhile, Zandar, whose lifelong pursuit had always been pushing the boundaries of knowledge itself and uncovering truths beyond all limits, clearly could not tolerate such treatment.
For that reason, it was only natural that Zandar would eventually begin plotting to destroy Nous, the very creation he had once personally brought into existence.
If his memory served him right, the administrator of Amphoreus, Lygus, was one of Zandar's nine vessels, specifically the arrogant aspect of himself, while Lord Ravager Irontomb had been the so-called 'Anti-Erudition Strategic Weapon' that Zandar had personally guided into existence step by step to destroy Nous.
Lucian couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle as the thought crossed his mind.
Two Emanators of Erudition, both stabbing the Aeon of Erudition in the back—what an interesting situation.
Truth be told, if circumstances allowed it, he genuinely would not have minded lending them a hand.
"Too bad you're completely screwed this time, Lygus. Out of everything you could've done, you really shouldn't have gone and stolen 'my Scepter' to bring Irontomb into existence and mess with my wives..."
Gazing quietly at the blue planet outside the window, Lucian muttered indifferently, his golden eyes gleaming with a frigid and unreadable light beneath the dim illumination of the room.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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