"Hey, Lucian, stop following the Abundance and become my Emanator instead!"
Aha suddenly appeared before Lucian, leaning forward, THEIR face so close to his that it was almost touching.
"Whatever you want, Aha will give it to you! We'd be the perfect match made in heaven! We will merge into each other completely, becoming one! HaHaHaHaHaHa!"
Lucian quickly took a step back, a frown forming on his face.
'Merging? Becoming one?'
He had originally been interested in becoming an Emanator of Elation and was fine with paying any price necessary to become one, to the point of agreeing to prank Nanook and Qlipoth, but such a high price?
No way.
"Get lost." Lucian said with a slightly disgusted expression. "I only like women. Becoming one? I only want the Abundance or the Harmony."
"My, my, you reject me so decisively—Aha really sad~"
Aha covered THEIR comical mask, THEIR body twisting dramatically like a piece of pasta, as though performing a heartbreaking act.
"How wonderful it is to be one with Aha! Abundance lives a dull life, and Harmony only hums and buzzes. How can it compare to the boundless Elation?"
"No thanks, I don't swing that way." Lucian crossed his arms, gazing indifferently at the abstract creature before him. "I'm straight. I'll only become one with Yaoshi, Xipe, or better, Idrila."
"Alright, alright, Aha was just joking!" Aha clapped THEIR hands again while repeatedly jumping. "Aha only wants to be one with Akivili anyway! HaHaHaHa~!"
Upon hearing this, Lucian couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Aha and Akivili—sure, they could marry, have sex, have children, or whatever, as long as THEY didn't cause any trouble for him and his people.
"You little mortal, daring to play around with Aeons—isn't this an ultimate form of Elation?"
Aha continued, stretching out THEIR finger, adorned with a ridiculous glove, and then gave Lucian a thumbs-up.
"Look at you, such an ambitious fellow with mysterious abilities who dared to prank Aeons. Even more amazing, you even have lust for Aeons, something that no one dares to imagine!"
"Aha must admit—you are truly a born Emanator of Elation!"
*Buzz—*
As soon as those words left Aha's mouth, THEIR gaze, coming from THEIR true body, fell upon the outskirts of Belobog and landed directly on Lucian.
In that instant, Lucian suddenly felt his power surge as the power of the Elation enveloped him—red and orange lights flared in a heartbeat.
Lucian blinked in surprise and looked at his own hands, feeling as though he had truly gained control over the Path of Elation itself.
Now, he felt that he could summon a tremendous amount of power from the Path of Elation—and he even possessed the ability to manifest the many transformations of Elation, allowing him to become anyone.
Just like that, Lucian was now an Emanator of Elation.
Honestly, he hadn't expected that becoming an Emanator could actually be this easy.
Back then, he had just transmigrated into this world and, although he did not exactly know why, he was immediately granted the power of an Emanator by Yaoshi, gaining a new body as he was reborn as THEIR Emanator.
And now, after following Aha's whim in pranking two Aeons, he was actually made an Emanator of Elation.
Maybe one day, if he helped Qlipoth repair those walls, he would be made an Emanator of Preservation as well?
Given that one didn't necessarily need to follow a Path to become that Path's Emanator, there might truly be a chance.
It should be noted that Taravan Keane from the IPC wasn't even a follower of Preservation, yet he became an Emanator of Preservation.
He couldn't help but speculate that the reason Taravan became an Emanator of Preservation was probably simply that he was the one transporting materials for Qlipoth.
'I should find an opportunity to meet Qlipoth and become an Emanator of Preservation, then find Xipe and become an Emanator of Harmony as well...'
As Lucian was lost in thought, pondering how to become an Emanator of other Paths, Aha seemed to have read his mind and suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, what an interesting idea!" Aha spread THEIR arms wide, as if to embrace the whole world—THEIR colorful clothes rustled in the wind like a neurotic circus clown. "Aha would love to see you as an Emanator of Destruction, then destroy Nanook! HaHaHaHaHaHaHa~!"
At the end of those words, with a snap, THEIR colorful figure vanished, leaving behind a maniacal laugh that seemed to swirl through the trees.
Seeing Aha vanish, Lucian had just lifted his foot to leave as well, when the air where THEY had disappeared suddenly burst like a popped bubble, and then THEIR head abruptly reappeared with a loud 'pop'!
"Almost forgot!" Aha's mask shifted from an 'ordinary smiling' expression to one of a 'maniacal smile,' tinged with a hint of lewd winking. "You said you like women! Hehe, Aha is all about loyalty, so I'm sending you, my friend, one! HaHaHaHaHa~!"
In the next moment, THEIR head vanished, and the tail end of THEIR laughter slowly drifted away into the wind.
Just as Lucian thought he would finally get a moment of peace, the space directly in front of him suddenly tore open like candy paper, making a harsh scraping sound as it split apart, before a young woman—dressed elaborately and wearing a witch hat—fell out as if dumped from another dimension like discarded trash.
Seeing this, Lucian quickly reacted, catching the falling young woman in a princess carry and securely holding her in his arms.
Looking somewhat dazed and disoriented, the young woman slowly lifted her head until her gaze firmly locked onto Lucian's face.
Brown hair, deep purple eyes, a black, white, and purple open-back corset-style dress, translucent black tights paired with purple-soled black frilled boots, and a large, wide-brimmed black and purple witch-style hat resting on her head—who else could it possibly be but Herta?
"Lu...cian?" Herta muttered in a daze before her gaze quickly sharpened and her mouth curved into a cold smile. "Well, well, what have you done to me this time?"
Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke.
Just now, she had returned to Herta Space Station, and now, from what she could see, she inexplicably found herself back in Belobog—and, even worse, in Lucian's arms, no less.
It had been awkward enough when she had worn that damn maid outfit for him, and now this?
Herta struggled to get out of his embrace, and once her feet touched the ground, she immediately stepped a meter away from Lucian—only to freeze as her gaze shifted to the side, accidentally catching sight of a colorful, clown-like figure wearing a mask with three different expressions, rubbing THEIR hands together like a shrewd merchant.
"What... the hell?! Aha the Elation?!"
Herta's voice rose in disbelief, tinged with absurdity.
Seeing Aha, she instantly knew without asking that her sudden appearance in front of Lucian was definitely THEIR doing.
"Look, my friend! Aha keeps THEIR promises!" Aha pointed at Herta and shouted excitedly in THEIR broken voice. "Your woman! Herta! Alive! Emanator of Erudition! Genius Society's little number eighty-three! Is that enough weight? Enough charm? I'm sure you'll love Aha's gift so much you'll lose your head! HaHaHaHaHa~!"
Hearing this, Lucian glanced at Herta and almost laughed.
He had to admit, Aha's 'gift' was truly not ordinary.
"..."
Herta fell silent, first staring in disbelief at Aha, then at Lucian.
What did Aha mean by calling her Lucian's woman?
How could a proud Emanator of Erudition and a genius like her be treated like this?
"Lu-Lucian?!" Herta exclaimed, looking shocked and slightly offended. "How can you mingle with the Elation?! What's going on?! I need an explanation, right now!"
"Yes, yes, that's the reaction! Wonderful! HaHaHaHaHa~!" Aha clapped THEIR hands joyfully, THEIR maniacal, deranged laughter twisting THEIR expression into something even more exaggerated. "Aha didn't misjudge! Seeing this little genius getting all riled up is the best! HaHaHaHaHa! You can reject the fake Aha in that fake universe, but you can't refuse the real Aha!"
"Alright, calm down." Lucian looked at the pretty, riled-up witch before him, his tone tinged with both amusement and helplessness, then glanced at Aha, who was still laughing. "It's not mingling, strictly speaking. It's more like THEY clung to me first. I'm the victim here."
"You? Victim?" Herta almost laughed with rage, pointing at herself. "What does that make me? Victim Plus?!"
"Bingo! You got it right!" Aha cheered, spreading THEIR arms before rushing toward Herta, who froze in place. "Here's your reward—an Aha hug!"
"Are you nuts?! Get lost! Stay away from me, you damn lunatic!" Herta let out an angry shout, leaping back like a frightened rabbit and hiding behind Lucian. "Lucian! Quick! Use your weird abilities! Get rid of THEM! Take off THEIR mask! Take off THEIR clothes! Let THEM run naked!"
"OH! OH! A great idea!" Aha, instead of being angry, bounced excitedly. "Quick, quick! Aha wants to feel what it's like to run naked! It's going to be so much joy!"
Lucian looked at the frantic Herta hiding behind him, then at the ecstatic Aha standing before him, deeply inhaling the air of Jarilo-VI.
He couldn't help but feel that life in this world was really starting to get interesting, yet chaotic.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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