Chapter Text
The sky was clear blue with only a couple of clouds. The trees made little ruffling sounds as the winds caressed them, inviting many of their leaves to form a natural curtain in mid-air. Before their eyes was a beautiful and peaceful scenery, yet Akivili couldn’t say they felt at ease in their self-made, organic heart.
Their eyes, empty and without a sense of direction, looked into the distance. It was rare that the Aeon of Trailblaze sat still and didn’t attempt to make any discovery on a new planet, but at the moment, they really needed some time to untangle their messy thoughts. They exhaled and extended their legs, feeling each of their muscles stretching. Maybe the soft grass would work as a pillow, they thought and leaned backward, about to take a short nap when a loud scream was heard.
“Help! Anyone there? Please help me!”
Akivili jolted, standing up in an instant. As an omniscient being, it took them less than a blink of the eye to detect the source of the voice. Their legs hurried up a grassy hill, silver locks of hair blowing in the wind. It was only when they reached the large tree on the top of the hill did it dawn on them where the person who needed help might be.
They stared down at the grass as their doubt grew. Well, it wasn’t like they had never come across strange situations on their journey among the stars, but a call for help from under the ground? How had the voice traveled through the soil and was still in the human hearing range? Confused, yet curious, Akivili bent their knees in order to examine the layer of fresh grass and dirt on the ground.
The Aeon cleared their throat. “Was it you who called for help?”
“Yes, yes!” came the same voice as earlier. There was a pause, as if the person speaking was letting out a sigh of relief. “Thank Aeons. Someone finally heard me!”
No need to thank me, a thought crossed the Trailblaze’s head. Their eyes darted in the four main directions before asking again, or rather, confirming, “Are you…stuck underground? I can’t see you anywhere.”
“Unfortunately, you’re correct.” The other person’s voice was hoarse and filled with tiredness, but they seemed eager to talk. “You must be curious as to why I got myself in this situation, aren’t you?”
“It’d be a lie if I say I’m not,” said Akivili.
“Okay. It’s a long story, so allow me to summarize. I’m a researcher who came to this planet to observe and analyze the activities of Noblesse Worms in close proximity. I was just playing with one—digging the earth together with them when they got too excited and buried me under the soil! If it wasn’t for the emergency kit I brought with me, I’d have run out of oxygen ages ago and couldn’t have amplified my voice to seek help. So please get me out of here, I beg of you!”
After hearing the full explanation, Akivili still found the stranger fishy somehow. Although all the details kind of made sense and could’ve truly happened to an interstellar researcher, they had a hunch that told them to take this story with a pinch of salt. And to be honest, they could use their power as an Aeon to see what had been going on, from this person’s true identity to what had occurred in their past. No one was able to lie to a deity who presided over the universe.
However, they were the Trailblaze. It wouldn’t be called trailblazing if they reached their destination without the act of discovering. Using their power felt like a cheat code, despite it being their nature, and they’d prefer to use it only when their Nameless was in utmost danger. With that and their current appearance in mind, they decided to solve this issue the way a mortal would.
“Let me find a shovel,” Akivili said.
“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” the trapped person immediately responded with a grateful voice.
Meanwhile, Akivili raised their body as they wondered about how they could retrieve a shovel. There was a village nearby with tools they could borrow, according to their memory. No, time was limited, so they probably had to make a shovel using the tree branches in front of them. That should work, they gave themself a nod. Hang in there, stranger, this Nameless would dig you up soon—
Their train of thought came to an abrupt end when their golden eyes were met with bright red ones.
“Boom!”
A moment of silence.
Followed by a high-pitched screech.
“Ahahaha! What a wonderful sound you’ve made!”
Akivili, after letting out a loud noise and jumping five large steps backward, tried to steady their heartbeat and glanced at the one who caused them to behave in an undignified manner. There was a young human hanging upside down on a tree branch, laughing so hard there was water in their crimson eyes. At the same time, those eyes were staring at the Aeon with a hint of mischief. The person jumped down from the tree when they no longer had enough breath to laugh, spinning and landing on the ground with a very soft thump.
This gave Akivili a better view of the perpetrator of their heart attack. The one standing across from them and waving their hand looked nothing like a researcher, wearing black and red clothes with yellow frills like some sort of stage performer. The Aeon had a guess as to who this person might be, and that guess turned into an absolute confirmation the moment they caught sight of the mask with a wide grin hanging on the person’s short, unruly blonde hair.
“A Masked Fool.” They crossed their arms, holding back a sigh of disappointment. Their kindness had been put in the wrong place. “I should’ve known.”
“But you didn’t know. At all.” The fool chuckled aloud. Their voice was similar to a cheerful song. “Akivili the Trailblaze, getting freaked out by the simplest and oldest prank in the universe. This would be the greatest joke of this Amber Era! Don’t you think so, A-ki-vi-li~?”
The Trailblaze wasn’t surprised that the fool knew who they were. The Astral Express had made their presence known on this planet over the past month, after all. What they did feel was their hair standing on end due to the lack of appellation for an Aeon and the eerie pronunciation of their name. Nonetheless, in the end, the other person was just a mere mortal. There was no reason for them to be uncomfortable.
“So you know who I am. Is there a particular purpose behind this prank, I wonder? Or you Masked Fools were chasing your own elation as usual?” they asked calmly.
“Hmm, let me think.” The fool tilted their head, a hand on their chin, then their thin lips curled into a smile. “At first, I simply wanted to have a laugh because of how boring this place was. But you, o chosen target of mine. As I looked at you more and more, closer and closer, I realized there was something wrong with you, Akivili!”
A finger pointed straight at the Trailblaze.
“What, what is it?” Akivili was puzzled.
“You are not having fun! Fun!” Weird words after weird words came out of the fool’s mouth. They wailed, madness oozing through their fake tears, “There isn’t a single trace of joy in you. How sad! How boring! How pitiful!”
The Aeon freezed on the spot. Years of trailblazing for sure hadn’t prepared them for this situation. They could only blurt out, “Excuse me?”
The crazy fool continued in a low tone, akin to a whisper, “That’s why I invited you here.”
After that, they started to move again, stepping forward to shorten the distance between one human and one Aeon. Akivili felt a foreign state of threat for some reason, but they stood still because there wasn’t anything or anyone they needed to protect right now. On the other hand, the silence amidst the sound of footsteps gave them the time to muse over the other person’s previous words.
They were correct, in a way. Before rushing to help the sham researcher, the Aeon hadn’t been feeling great. Earlier this week, there had been a huge argument between them and their Nameless which had ended in a disastrous outcome. Worse, they had run away from the problem, and even now, they couldn’t bring themself to face the crew again. They didn’t know how the fool could’ve recognized their inner emotion, but truth be told, they had been able to forget about their worry for a short moment when they had been tricked and scared out of their mind.
What did this Masked Fool want then? The question popped up in Akivili’s mind. Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out, and that was to let the fool act however they wished next. The footsteps got closer to the Aeon. They gulped. When the two of them were less than two meters away from each other, the Aeon noticed that their eyes were at the other person’s nose-level, and they had to raise their head to see the other face. A twisted face with a grin full of amusement.
With their right hand on their chest, the fool bowed to the Trailblaze.
“I’d like to become your Nameless. My final destination is to make you laugh harder than the Elation ever could, my Akivili!”
Here it was, one more problem on their list. Akivili’s head ached.