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“I have heard many stories about The Trailblaze. All of them filled with praise and victories to no end. Then why was Adlivun so far removed from THEIR gaze?”
Visiting Aha was never an easy task, mainly because no Aeon ever knew where THEY were majority of the time. But The Destruction had questions, and The Erudition was not as collaborative a lot of the time. Not that Aha was better in many capacities, but listening to the explanations of a machine could sometimes be worse than the explanations of a madman; a madman who, beknownst to all, was closer to Akivili than anyone else. The Elation could only be found when THEY wanted to be, Nanook was merely in luck that THEIR own need aligned to the other's whim.
“Fancy seeing you around here, Destruction.”
Aha was leisurely playing with one of THEIR balls in the air, floating with the help of a cloud of colorful cosmic dust. THEIR complete carelessness and seeming lack of guard was one of Nanook's least favorite traits, but it's not as if THEY liked anything of Aha that much; being the target of THEIR pranking more than once may have helped to that fact. But The Destruction was there with a mission, THEY needed to ‘destroy’ those doubts that were laying inside of THEM since way before the ascension.
“I want to talk…”
“With me? Now that is even fancier. What could Destruction want to ask from the mind of a clown?”
Aha goes from juggling with THEIR own balls to doing it then with the masks that formed THEIR faces, but the nonchalance was visible and almost palpable even from where Nanook was. THEY were clearly paying way more attention now, but the general position did not change in the slightest.
“I want to know about The Trailblaze.”
The juggling stopped, and the quiet laughs that were all over the place ceased to give way to a heavy silence, almost as heavy as the hammer of The Preservation. The Elation seemed to stand still for the moment, not even wanting to turn THEIR masks towards The Destruction. For the first time in THEIR life, Nanook felt a disturbing aura coming from Aha, and that was not good, it was never good when someone as loud as THEM went silent.
“The Trailblaze, you say?”
And suddenly, the atmosphere changed back drastically, being exactly how it was before the mention of the fallen Aeon, all as if nothing had happened just mere seconds before. There was a certain uneasiness still persisting in Nanook, but if the other was finally up to answer the question then THEY could suppress it for the time being.
“The Trailblaze was the greatest Aeon of all, the most fun one, that is for certain. Many times Aha lent Akivili some of THEIR toys, only to retrieve them and find out Akivili had messed with their mechanisms. Akivili wanted to know everything, everywhere, the inner workings of the world in order to comprehend it better. Aha also remembers how in love with mortality Akivili was, more mortal than Aeon at times.”
Nanook listens, saying nothing the entire time as if in an unwavering trance, staring directly at the Aeon who knew Akivili better than anyone else. Surprisingly, Aha had a way with words, THEIR tone being an interesting one, as good of a storyteller as a wandering merchant. Once The Elation finishes with THEIR dissertation about the most beloved Aeon by the entire galaxy, Nanook asks the next question, the one THEY really wanted to ask since THEY decided to part in search for the masked god.
“If THEY loved mortals so much, why were some planets forsaken? Did those in them not deserve THEIR gaze like the rest did?!”
The burning fire inside of The Destruction had laid dormant for far too long, despite it being only mere minutes, which were nothing but a blink for a being with such a long life. But Nanook still kept a lot of THEIR humanity, the one who gets lost in the deities as time slowly passes and the path becomes stronger.
But not minding the tone at all Aha starts laughing to THEMSELVES, it was nothing short of bone-chilling, not a joyous laugh but a threatening one. Well, one could consider it was joyous to Aha, but certainly not to anyone else. The Destruction felt the urge to crush The Elation, the mocking tone only fueling THEIR anger even more. It was an honest question, one that has been nesting in THEIR chest for what feels like hundreds of Amber Eras. No more than a moment passed, and Nanook seemed ready to charge towards Aha, but a slight cut under THEIR eye stopped THEM on THEIR tracks, eyes opening wide as the card slowly spun its way back into the black hand of the jokester.
“Even Aeons get tired, we are lasting, not eternal. Many of us have fallen while others have ascended.”
Another laugh comes right from Aha's body, showing the card that THEY had thrown Nanook's way: three of wands, covered in drops of the golden blood that always poured out from The Destruction THEMSELVES.
“That clarifies nothing.”
“Your mind is pre-conditioned. The planet you so much loved but destroyed in your rage for change is too dear to you to look beyond the damage caused.”
Aha was a clown, but also the furthest one away from an idiot. Running in circles and playing around a topic was The Elation’s expertise, but sometimes a dagger straight to the heart was more entertaining. But Aha still wasn't finished talking
“We, even in our position, can't do everything. Like how Akivili couldn't save Adlivun from the threat of Propagation, and how Aha, despite being an old and powerful Aeon, can't bring back Akivili.”
The heavy silence came back to set its nest into the conversation, but this time, the soft giggle that always came with Aha broke it faster, both Aeons remained without telling a word. The questions, minimal before, expanded and became many more, especially questions about if the trip was worth it for such a simple answer: THEY just couldn't.
“I thought the Aeons were supposed to be omnipotent.”
“All mortals think so too, but that is a lie we keep to maintain peace among the mortals. In our paths we are unbeatable, outside of that we are at the mercy of the other rulers. The broader the path the stronger we are, but not one of us can encompass everything.”
Impotence, that is what Nanook felt in that moment. The thought that as an Aeon there were limits to THEIR power was not a thought THEY were going to accept just like that. But maybe Aha was right. The masks looked amused now, all of them, definitively enjoying the distress in the young Aeon's face. For a moment, Aha basks in the glorious effect THEIR words got to have on Nanook, but when the sight was getting boring the masked Aeon leans back on the cosmic dust.
“Focus on your path, Destruction. That is where all of us thrive, nowhere else. Lest you want your Primum Mobile to rid you of your status, and then, who will avenge the pain of your people?”
The golden eyes of The Destruction turned sharper than before, it was certainly something unpleasant to think about, but The Elation's advice was to be considered at least. There had to be a way towards THEIR goal, THEIR will of destruction couldn't be the only path to take.
Only… it indeed was.
“Speaking with a clown was not a total loss, right?”
A rather annoying laugh followed those words, Nanook wanting to crush The Elation once again, but something told THEM that whatever THEY saw previously from Aha was nothing other than a small warning, angering a madman was always unadvised for a reason. Nanook’s final decision was to just turn around and begin to take THEIR leave, just listening to the neverending laugh coming from the other Aeon; annoying, degrading and elated.
Aha was a strange one, and THEIR Primum Mobile was as lenient as it could be with anyone, but the exchange taught Nanook one very crucial thing: If through laughter and mockery The Elation could still mourn The Trailblaze, through destruction, THEY THEMSELVES could mourn the faith Adlivun could have had if the circumstances were different.
If only the Aeons were as powerful as mortals believe they are.
But the lingering laughter reminded THEM they weren't. And yet, that became a better reason to focus on the solution and not the questions, even the new ones that were born thanks to the conversation have already been answered, one way or another.