~"Now this is a joke so bad I almost thought it was something I had done."
~"Shut it, Aha. Terminus, could this be prevented?"
~"Impossible. The only possibility would be to found a new Aeon of Propagation, but no one ever could achieve that."
~"Why couldn't we just defend that planet? Or maybe hide the Tayzzyronth somewhere else?"
~"It would only lead to the prolonging of their first invasion, and as people were unprepared, massive casualties. In the end, Propagation would fall into Tyranids hands, no matter what."
~"Could you have informed us before that happened? I know that you are aware of most events that will take place."
~"You knowing this would not change anything and might even put you in danger if you had tried to prevent it."
~"We could have used this to our advantage, dealing a major blow to the enemy."
~"Too risky."
~"You... Sigh. You can leave the Tyranids to me, but I still don't agree with keeping me away from fighting with Chaos Gods. You yourself have said that I'm the only one capable of destroying them."
~"That is correct, but your world is too weak for now. You won't die or be corrupted, but Warp can invite your world. This would endanger people inside more than simply fighting with Chaos on the battlefield."
~"If I were to strengthen my world, then it wouldn't be a problem to fight the Chaos gods, right?"
~"Only if your world is as stable as this."
~"Good."
~"Ehem, can you stop with the flirting? We still have some things to talk about."
~"Read the room, Aha."
~"I was just making sure your man is not stolen, Ena."
~"I can take care of it myself. Now, looking at those four gods, Aha and Mythus are the best match against Tzeentch."
~"You can leave that one to us. Aha and I will stop any shenanigans he might try."
~"Leave Slaanesh to me and Nous. We won't be affected by emotions easily."
~"Affirmative. Fuli is correct."
~"That leaves Khorne and Nurgle. Nanook, do you want to hunt one of them with me?"
~"Sure, it will be a good pass time."
~"That would mean that two of us would deal with Nurgle. You don't mind that, Xipe?"
~"I'm good with that arrangement."
~"Hooh and I will focus on defense, upholding the barrier between the worlds."
~"I'll follow your lead Qlipoth."
~"I'll be assisting wherever it's needed. I won't let anyone near you die, Yue."
~"Thank you, Terminus, but I will ensure it myself."
~"Then how about we do something fun together?"
~"Aha, most of us don't enjoy your pranks."
~"This time, I have an idea all of you might actually agree to."
~"Just tell us what it is. No need for this forced suspense."
~"I suggest we take a look around Yue's world! How about it? Isn't this a great idea?"
~"This is actually not a bad proposal."
~"I concur."
Both Mythus and Nous backed up Aha's idea, and the rest also indicated their interest in visiting my world.
~"I don't mind, but that would have to wait for the meeting of my people to end."
~"We don't mind. Haha, this will be fun!"
~"Just behave, please."
In the hall below, the discussion about Tyranids didn't last long, and soon, most forces started discussing the allocation of tasks. IPC was to coordinate all forces while also acting as the last line of defense. The Hold was to lead the main force against Chaos, and Stellaron Hunters, along with some other forces, were to be under our command.
The main meeting had reached its conclusion, but all members of the 'Anti-Chaos' force gathered in one of the side rooms. They had already started talking about how to cooperate effectively with each other.
The main issue was about transport and communication, as there was a need to build terminals for Hold's Express to connect with those forces, and as none of them were under our influence, it was harder to let them freely enter my world.
Appearing near the meeting room door in my human form, I entered inside, moving to where Astraea was sitting at the head of the table. As I walked, the heads of some unnamed forces were making trouble.
-"You are too much! We are here to fight against a mutual enemy. How can you be so selfish that you won't open your doors to us."
-"Indeed! We won't stand being treated like that. Miss Jade, do IPC condone such tyranny of some nameless force?"
-"Well, I think that the requirements presented by Astraea are not over the top. They only prevent you from doing some shady things."
-"That's why it's tyranny, Sanke."
-"Hmm? Yue, have your meeting ended?"
~"It did. Sigh, this whole situation is a mess."
-"Is it so bad?"
~"It's nothing that can't be dealt with. I'm just a little irritated right now. What's going on here?"
-"We can't agree o..."
-"Who are you?! Who allowed you to enter here? Guards!"
-"I suggest you quiet down. He is Yue, but you probably know him as a Nine-Tailed Fox."
-"Lord Emanator?!"
~"Kafka, my name and such are not important. What is important is my status as leader of the force they were insulting just now."
-"Oh my! I forgot about that, my bad."
-"We meet again, Lord Yue."
~"Indeed, Miss Jade. I heard that you will be responsible for the IPC side of matters here."
-"Yes, I'm happy to be working with you."
~"Astraea, don't accommodate them that much. They won't stop trying to take advantage of you."
-"I know. I just wanted to give them a chance to give a face to the host of this whole meeting."
~"THEY won't mind. No Aeon likes politics, and even Aha looks down on those as the lowest of performances."
-"I see. Well, then, we have already established who will be part of our force. Those who didn't agree to the laws of Hold, please leave the room."
-"No, we..."
~"Leave. There is no place for your kind in my world."
Most of the people here left after my expulsion order, leaving only us, Stellaron Hunters, Jade, Masked Fools, and one more force that I was not familiar with. A woman who looked similar to Broyna was leading them, along with another woman looking like Seele.
-"Will we have enough strength if we refuse all of them?"
-"You don't have to worry, Miss Bronya. Hold's power is comparable to IPC when it comes to the military."
-"Is that true? How come I never heard of your force?"
-"This is something you will learn shortly. Would you mind taking us to Hold, Yue?"
~"I don't mind. Just be mindful that they won't be my only guests."
-"OK. Do you need some time, or we can change the venue to talk a little more?"
-"I don't have anything planned."
-"Me neither."
-"Please, Miss Astraea, lead the way."
Astraea looked at me, and I opened the entrance to the Hold. After everybody partaking in the meeting entered inside, Aeons appeared next to me and also started entering. When everyone was inside, I closed the portal and teleported toward a certain planet.
In the Hold, Astraea took the visitors around while Aeons gathered next to the Tree.
~"So this is you?"
~"Yes, this is [Yggdrasil]."
~"Intriguing. The difference between the [Yggdrasil] and Imaginary Tree is fascinating."
~"Well, Imaginary Tree is not fully sentient and only acts on instinct with fundamental intent, while I'm Spirit. Despite being World Trees, the core of them is different."
~"Overall, this place is interesting. I can see that you had taken a different approach from Imaginary Tree, and rather than cultivate beings in your own world, you gather powers from multiple worlds and integrate them to strengthen Yggdrasil."
~"Origin of this world lies in [Roundtable Hold], which power focuses on expansion. While we have some plans based on the developing powers original to this world, but that is time-consuming, and we can't allow ourselves to wait that long right now."
~"True. Millions of years are needed for Aeon to be born. Even with the most optimistic estimations, we have at most three years before the all-out war with the other world."
~"Right, would you mind giving me some of your power, equal to Emanator?"
~"Query. For what purpose?"
~"Read this."~I gave them a memory stone containing information on the project that was proposed by Elysia some time ago.
~"Haha! Nice one! That pink girl has some interesting ideas. I'm in!"
~"Provision. You will provide data in exchange."
~"Of course, Nous."
~"It's not harmful, so why not? But how will you find hosts for our power?"
~"I'll use some Divination techniques to find hosts that can use most out of these powers."
~"Hmm... Why not. I'll give you some Preservation, but when you train them, send them to help some of the Architects in need."
~"Good idea."
~"Will you send someone to guide and help them?"
~"Elysia wanted to be part of that group, but I will also ask someone to help with training and saving them when needed."
In the end, all Aeons agreed to help me. They gave me their ten Paths while I provided Permanence, Abundance, and Ordination to prepare fourteen first invitations. Terminus helped me set mechanisms behind the whole project, bringing the [Chat Group] to life, waiting only to send the invitations.
When we completed this side job, Mythus asked me a question.
~"Yue, do you plan to resurrect the Abundance and Permanence?"
~"No, I will absorb them fully and assume their Aeonhoods."
~"I see. That may be better than bringing Yaoshi and Long back."
~"I will get to this, but I need some time not to get used to my current power."
~"Sure."
While Aeons were looking around, Astraea showed our guests some of the Hold's City and took them to the Blue Villa to continue talking about cooperation. Nobu and Ningguang joined them in the meeting room, helping to reach an agreement that would fit all parties.
Seeing that I was not needed there yet, I went to where Jingliu was waiting for me together with Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, and Blade, who was brought here by Kafka.
~"Sorry for making you wait."
-"Don't worry, Master."
-"Why did you call all of us here, Yue? Especially the four of us."
~"Well, I'm finally able to do something I wanted to do a long time ago, and this has something to do with you. Come with me."
I took them to my avatar outside, which was standing on wasteland left after an ancient battle.
-"This place..."
-"Yue? You..."
~"Before we start, Dan Heng, do you want to recover your past incarnation memories?"
-"No. Dan Feng is no more."
~"Good, but I have another question for you. Do you want to become an Emanator of Permanence and regain the powers of the Vidyadhara High Elder?"
-"..."
~"Think about. Next, Blade. Your revenge can't be achieved. Mistakes of the past were remedied. Do you want to die? Or maybe you want to be healed by me?"
-"Can you restore my memories?"
~"Yes."
-"Do it, and I will follow your lead even to hell."
I nodded and used a combination of Abundance, Remberence, and Ordination to restore Blade to who he was before, but I didn't take away his immortality.
~"How do you feel, Blade?"
-"Better than ever, but please call me Yingxing, Lord."
~"I will do so. Now, Jingliu, do you mind giving me that keepsake."
-"Master, can you really do it?"
~"Yes. Believe in me."
-"Always."
Jinglu gave me a small pouch with some hair in it. Aside from her swordsmanship, this was her most valued possession.
~"Stand back."
Assuming my Aeon form, I started to use my full power to trace every last part of the Soul that was connected to this pouch. Finding endless connections, I began to recreate Karma, which was possessed by a person in whose memory this keepsake was kept.
From the first breath taken, first step, first memory... One by one, I gathered all those connections and joined them together. Strengthening the recreated Soul with my power, soon it could be considered whole again.
I then used Divination to gather all the memories of the person I was resurrecting. Thanks to my ascension, I could do so much more easily than when I resurrected Makoto, and the spirit created by me was now indistinguishable from the naturally created one.
The last step was the easiest, as I simply created the body using the Path of Abundance, but I created it the image of my previous race, not pure Foxian. Soon, I joined all three together, returning the last member of the High-Cloud Quintet from the Nihility.
The woman quickly opened her eyes and looked around. Seeing Jingliu approaching, she smiled and started speaking.
-"Jingliu, you seem a little different. How long have I been out?"
Jingliu sat on her knees next to the woman and stroked her head.
-"Seven hundred years."
-"What..?"
-"Glad you are back, Baiheng."
The rest of them also approached, surrounding Baiheng and giving her a quick rundown of the situation.
-"I was dead... Wait! How can I be brought back?"
-"My Master resurrected you."
-"By your Master, you mean Yue?"
-"Yes."
Jingliu looked at me, floating a little further in the distance. Following her gaze, Baiheng also noticed me.
~"Long time no see, my cute Junior."
-"Hey! How come you look like this, Senor?"
~"Some things had changed. Well, I have to leave for a short while. Jingliu, you can explain everything to Baiheng and take her to follow you. Last thing, Junior, try to get used to your power."
-"Where are you going, Master?"
~"To deal with punishment for breaking the Taboo."
-"What!"
~"Don't worry, not the first and certainly not last time I've done this. I'll teleport you back to Hold."
Living those words, I took them back to my world while I escaped into Chaos to resist the punishment that was approaching me.
As I needed to focus on what was going on outside, my avatar in Hold appeared next to Jingliu only after I dealt with the punishment.
-"Master."
-"Senor! Did you really become an Aeon?"
~"Yes."
-"Wow. To think that Senior who taught me some tricks as Nameless would become an Aeon."
~"Just treat me like you did before."
-"Sure."
~"Jingliu, can you gather all Guards tomorrow in Moon Palace?"
-"I will bring everyone there."
-"Senior, would you mind if I follow Jingliu there?"
~"I don't, but be aware that there are some restricted places where you will need to follow Jingliu in."
-"I'll listen to her."
~"I'll be going to Astraea now. Junior, if anything seems wrong with your health, be sure to inform me."
-"OK."
~"Jingliu, look after her for now."
-"Yes, Master."
After leaving the quartet reminiscing about their past, I teleported to Blue Villa. Entering the meeting room, I approached my three wives, who just finished signing the documents.