Phaethon's subconscious space... no, it should now be called the Path Space of Elation.
Cyrene was still holding Phaethon tightly, as if trying to thoroughly warm him, to pull him out of the cold solitude of over thirty million lifetimes.
"Sister Cyrene..." Phaethon's voice carried a trace of fatigue, yet also held an unprecedented sense of relief and lightness. "Our answer regarding the 'Prime Mover of Life'... has been personally anchored by Erudition... by Nous."
Although deep down they knew that the value of this answer, forged by countless lives in Amphoreus with blood, tears, and resistance, needed no recognition from any supreme being. Nevertheless, Nous's "acknowledgment" still brought tangible significance.
It not only symbolized that the struggles and sacrifices of Amphoreus across thirty million cycles were not in vain, but also meant that the Aeon governing Erudition, who could glimpse future possibilities with His vast computational power, would not, at this moment, become an obstacle blocking Amphoreus's path forward.
In the current chaos of Amphoreus, being able to stand on the non-opposing side of one less Aeon-level existence was, in any case, a cause for relief.
"Little Phaethon," Cyrene gently lifted her head, her gaze seeming to pierce through the illusory dome of this Path Space Realm, reaching toward the deeper space beyond the stars.
She seemed to sense the expectant gaze that had been hidden behind the curtain all along, silently watching them, and also watching the recurrences memories vast as a sea of stars.
"Aha hinted at it obscurely before," she withdrew her gaze and looked at Phaethon in her arms, her eyes serious.
"To completely deal with the burden of memories in your mind, so complex they surpass the individual, besides the Path of Remembrance which I walk, there is another Aeon who has been watching the chess game of Amphoreus."
Her voice was soft yet firm: "You need to find that Aeon, obtain His gaze, even... His blessing. Only by relying on the laws He represents can you truly resolve the heavy pressure of these memories, not merely seal them away or bear them..."
She paused, held Phaethon tighter, her tone carrying an unquestionable gentleness and resolve:
"And before you successfully obtain that power, let me temporarily stay in the depths of your memory, here... to help you bear this weight."
Phaethon was silent for a moment, seemingly searching his mind for an existence that matched the description. After hesitating for a while, he spoke uncertainly: "Sister Cyrene, are you talking about... the one symbolizing unity and resonance... Harmony?"
"Yes." Cyrene nodded affirmatively, a gleam of understanding shining in her eyes. "The burden of an individual can only be shared by integrating into the collective."
"Those memories and emotions 'of others' that could crush your soul, when they are placed within a complex 'us,' perhaps... their impact and burden will no longer have an unbearable effect on you as an individual..."
Suddenly, Cyrene keenly caught a fleeting expression on Phaethon's face, something like... distress and embarrassment?
"Little Phaethon, do you have another problem? Is there still some discomfort in your body?" She immediately asked with concern, her heart lifting slightly.
"Sister Cyrene... I, I want to know..." Phaethon was unusually hesitant, his eyes wandering, the tips of his ears seeming to flush with a barely perceptible redness.
"Hmm? What is it? Tell me." Cyrene held her breath, afraid he might say something bad about his physical condition.
Phaethon seemed to have finally made up his mind, speaking softly with a probing and joking tone:
"You... haven't... um... gotten taller, and a bit plumper?" As if to verify this "discovery," he deliberately lifted Cyrene slightly in his arms, then held her tighter, feeling the real and warm touch.
Cyrene: "...???"
After a brief blank.
"Little——Phaethon——!!!"
A scream mixed with disbelief, embarrassment, and a trace of amusement instantly shattered all the warmth and seriousness just created in the Path Space.
...
Amphoreus.
As early as when Nous, with His computational power, formally anchored the answer to the "Prime Mover of Life" within the Path Space, anomalies in the real world had already occurred simultaneously.
The amber covering all of Amphoreus began to shatter inch by inch. It turned into crystal light points dancing in the air, rising and dissipating toward the sky.
And at the location where Asterion's body had originally been, the amber in that area did not disintegrate like the surrounding amber.
Instead, it condensed into a giant amber cocoon about the height of a person, emitting a soft luster.
Suddenly——
Whether it was an illusion caused by changing light, the silent "cocoon," under the gaze of the Astral Express crew and others, gently trembled.
"Careful!"
The moment the amber cocoon trembled, Welt Yang's voice sounded calmly and rapidly.
He almost instinctively stepped forward half a pace, steadily shielding Stelle and Dan Heng behind him.
Welt pushed up his glasses, his sharp gaze behind the lenses fixed on that strange cocoon, full of scrutiny and vigilance.
The existence before him, whose appearance closely resembled the "Kevin" in his memory, was currently in a completely unknown state—had he calmed down, or fallen into deeper instability? The possibilities were evenly split; he had to prepare for the worst.
"Perhaps there's no need to worry too much, Mr. Welt."
An elegant and rational voice broke the tense silence. Screwllum, meeting Welt's somewhat puzzled gaze, explained:
"Not long ago, the Genius Society issued an interstellar announcement to the entire universe, officially declaring that the philosophical and scientific problem that has troubled many intellectuals for so long—the 'Prime Mover of Life'—has been completely solved."
He paused. "Moreover, this time the Society seemed to have used the name of Nous Himself."
This meant that this answer had not only received the Society's recognition, but also the endorsement of the Aeon governing Erudition Himself. This was almost the most authoritative certification of a "truth" in the universe.
"Hmph..." The Herta, standing nearby with her arms crossed, let out a slight snort, carrying some unwillingness to admit yet having to acknowledge it.
Her delicate little face showed complex emotions. "There actually is an answer that can directly gain recognition from that 'Machine Head'? That guy named Asterion... perhaps he could be considered a 'genius' in an unconventional sense?"
The Herta tilted her head, then seemed to think of something, her tone turning with a hint of curiosity and confusion:
"But, come to think of it, since Machine Head personally stepped in to endorse him, why didn't He directly recruit him into the Genius Society? That doesn't match that guy's usual style, does it? Is Asterion's qualification still controversial? Or is there some deeper reason behind this?"