The cold alloy passage stretched beneath his feet, emitting heavy thudding sounds.
Under Sakura's introduction, Shi Hui and Raiden Mei embarked on their way to the meeting room to see the leader of the Thorn of Fire Moth.
The passage here was unusually wide, enough to accommodate several heavy mechs side-by-side.
On both sides were dark metal walls, smooth as mirrors and of unknown material, with intricate, glowing blue energy patterns flowing across them.
Above was a towering arch, where countless mechanical arms were performing routine maintenance.
The air was filled with a faint, slightly pungent scent of metallic coolant, causing Shi Hui to frown repeatedly.
A giant holographic screen hovered at the intersection of the passages, displaying real-time energy fluctuations from various parts of Izumo, as well as a map marked with large red "High-Risk" areas.
Staff members in uniform silver-grey combat suits hurried about.
Inside the entire base, there was no superfluous decoration, only a chilling coldness.
Raiden Mei subconsciously hugged the purple chao sword in her arms a little tighter, and the core on the hilt trembled slightly.
The asymmetrical red horns on her forehead appeared even more prominent under the dim blue light, attracting many wary or curious glances from the staff.
This made her feel like she had daggers in her back; Mei subconsciously shrank her neck, trying to cover them with her scattered purple hair.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman?"
Although he was on someone else's territory, Shi Hui was still this "arrogant."
He didn't know what Mei had experienced in the ten years since she left Wangchuan River and came to Izumo, but that didn't stop him from protecting this delicate young girl.
Of course, Shi Hui guaranteed with Glanholm's personality that he definitely wasn't acting on lust!
"Th-thank you," Mei whispered.
Led by Sakura, they passed through several heavy alloy gates and arrived at a relatively open area.
The walls here were no longer cold metal, but a kind of warm jade, etched with complex runes, subtly glowing.
The room was hemispherical with a very high dome, and soft, bright light uniformly illuminated a simple round table in the center of the room.
At the other end of the round table, with his back to them, stood a figure.
The person was tall and straight, wearing a well-tailored, strangely textured dark-gold robe, the hem of which flowed like molten gold on the ground, yet remained utterly free of dust.
He slowly turned around, revealing his front.
A clown mask covered his face, the corners of the mask's mouth carved into an exaggerated, eerie smile.
Golden long hair cascaded down from both sides of the mask, reaching his waist, complementing the dark-gold robe.
And from the eye sockets of the mask, a deep gaze fixed on Shi Hui and Raiden Mei opposite him.
"Welcome, Sakura."
A gentle, magnetic voice, even carrying a hint of lazy amusement, came from beneath the mask.
"And our distinguished Heavenly Outsider, and..."
The deep gaze shifted to Raiden Mei, lingering for a moment on the horns on her forehead and the purple chao sword in her arms, then he said: "The new wielder of the 'Narukami' chao sword, Miss Raiden Mei."
Raiden Mei, shedding her previous timid demeanor, spoke with an unusually cold voice.
"Clown Alpha, just say what you need to say, no need to beat around the bush."
Beside them, Shi Hui remained silent. Clearly, Raiden Mei and Alpha knew each other, and it seemed Mei's attitude towards Alpha was not friendly.
He wondered what grievances existed between them.
"Of course." Alpha nodded, spreading his arms wide in a flamboyant gesture.
His gaze turned to Shi Hui, and he said,
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the leader of the Thorn of Fire Moth. You may call me Alpha."
"Nameless of the Astral Express, Shi Hui."
After a moment of silence, Alpha spoke again.
"I have a question, Mr. Nameless from the Astral Express, how much do you know about the starry sky above us?"
He slightly raised his hand, pointing to the dome of the reception hallâwhich was not a ceiling, but a holographic star dome that simulated the external universe in real-time.
Against the dark background, billions of stars twinkled, and the most striking among them was the pitch-black great sun.
And, the giant planet that orbited the pitch-black sun, emitting an eerie purple lightâTakama-ga-hara.
Shi Hui glanced at the silent Sakura beside him and Mei, who cast a curious gaze at him, then turned his attention to the deep starry sky, organizing his words.
"In our understanding, the universe is not just cold stars and matter."
"In the vast Milky Way, there exist powerful beings we call 'Aeons.'"
"Aeons?" Alpha's voice from beneath the mask showed a clear hint of interest for the first time.
"Yes, Aeons." Shi Hui nodded gently.
"They are the most mysterious and powerful life forms in the galaxy, supreme beings beyond the comprehension of mortals."
"We only know that they are not born gods, but rather evolved and transformed from intelligent beings through some unknown means or methods."
"So, humans can also become Aeons? Interesting." Alpha's gentle voice sounded beside him.
"Your appearance always reminds me of a certain Bishop, a Rakshasa. But I must warn you..."
Shi Hui stared at Alpha with an unusual gaze, warning him: "If you also want to become an Aeon, I advise you to dispel that notion early."
"Since the birth of the universe, only eighteen Aeons have appeared in this starry sky, one after another."
"What are the conditions for intelligent life to ascend to Aeonhood? What is the principle? We know nothing; it is the ultimate Mystery that transcends all current scientific theories."
He paused, then continued to explain.
"When a creature successfully ascends to Aeonhood, he will possess absolute dominion over the corresponding 'Path.'"
"Path?" Alpha was a little confused.
"You can simply understand it as a fundamental law of the universe's operation, or the ultimate manifestation of a pure concept," Shi Hui explained.
"Becoming an Aeon means he can arbitrarily mobilize, transport, and bestow nearly infinite imaginary energy corresponding to that Path."
"They follow their respective philosophies: the Aeon of Destruction only has the thought of annihilating the universe; the Aeon of erudition is solely dedicated to finding the answers to all things; the Aeon of Preservation endlessly forges star walls."
"The Aeon of Trailblaze is committed to breaking boundaries, connecting every corner of the universe, so that the sea of stars is no longer isolated."
"As for the Aeon of Nihility..."
At this point, Shi Hui's voice paused slightly.
He looked up at the pitch-black great sun in the holographic star map, then turned his gaze to Raiden Mei.
"He believes that all existence in the universe is meaningless. Just as life will eventually die, all existence will return to eternal Nihility."
"His shadow coldly envelops all things, quietly awaiting the coming of the universe's extinction. He does not actively destroy, but he makes all efforts seem futile."
Shi Hui did not hide his action of looking towards the pitch-black great sun that enveloped Izumo, and everyone present was intelligent enough to naturally understand Shi Hui's meaning.
The reception hall was dead silent, and Raiden Mei's brows furrowed slightly, seemingly digesting this perception-shattering information.
Moreover, she also noticed that Shi Hui had specifically glanced at her when mentioning the Aeon of Nihility.
For a moment, various conjectures flashed through her mind. But at this moment, she chose to bury these doubts deep within her heart.
Shi Hui took a deep breath, looking through the window at this war-torn planet, his tone heavy.
"Just as you think, your planet, this star system where you are located... has long been shrouded in the shadow of Nihility."
"After the birth of the Aeon of Destruction, a substance known as the Cancer of All Worldsâthe Stellaronâappeared, spreading like cancer cells throughout the universe."
Shi Hui's gaze fell on Takama-ga-hara in the holographic projection.
"Even more unfortunately, a Stellaron descended there. It followed some obsessive will, covering all of Takama-ga-hara with the aura of Nihility."
"The Stellaron's anomaly triggered a riot of imaginary energy leaking from Nihility... Perhaps that planet was no longer suitable for survival, or perhaps influenced by the Stellaron, the beasts you speak of descended from Takama-ga-hara and arrived in Izumo."