The second one to notice an abnormality was Su.
"Her theory… was it the right one all along?"
Inside the Second Divine Key—within the Seed of Sumeru—he saw the shooting stars streak across the sky. To his eyes, they held a different meaning.
"Finality… No. It's different from the Cocoon of that day." He let down his shoulders in acceptance. "To think he could achieve something like this… It's not in you to let anyone down."
Fire MOTH's greatest prodigies worked together to solve Aleph's inexplicable disappearance. No matter what the Tree does, it could not directly erase Aleph's existence. His weight is something it could not bear.
In turn, this became this world's biggest flaw.
MEI, Vill-V, and Mobius worked together to resolve this case.
Their first focus was the Sea of Quanta. It was the only ability possessed by the sixth Herrscher that could pose a threat to Aleph. Later on, it was proven wrong. Their expeditions to the Sea of Quanta cemented the fact it was dangerous, but that was all.
There's no reason why Aleph could not return. Add to that Kurumi's sudden disappearance along with Aleph's biggest legacy at that time—the Evolution Cube—it pointed out to somewhere else.
Their second focus was the so-called imaginary space. It did not bear any fruit, aside from their discovery of a Herrscher's detailed process of drawing power from it.
Finally, their focus ended up on a high-dimensional will.
Up to this point, there wasn't anything that confirmed it. Su acted as the observer of various worlds for 4,500 years. He wasn't able to find traces of Aleph nor a world without honkai.
"A high-dimensional will… No wonder they focused on it."
Su did not mind the change in his surroundings. He was fascinated with the impact that shooting star brought just now.
He…
He could no longer see other worlds.
These possibilities that paralleled Earth became blurry. The events they depicted weren't as concrete as before—that anything could happen now. Only a single world was left untouched. It was as clear as the world's cleanest ocean.
What was reflected in Su's eyes is another version of him—a Su who is currently experiencing a romantic dilemma.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps came from his back. When he looked back, he saw a familiar acquaintance.
"Everyone is pulling off something big these days."
"..."
Su silently nodded to Aleph. The latter was focused on the 'level' reached by Su.
In terms of mind alone, he is already a complex information being. His physical body is the only thing preventing him from taking off. He is similar to Mobius who achieved complex information life in some way.
"Do you have any questions? I can entertain them." Aleph stated. "I am sure you aren't in the mood to catch up."
"The truth…"
"They guessed it right. This is a parallel Earth. A version where I do not exist." He answered truthfully. "Well, it's from the point during the sixth eruption. They created this parallel world hastily. They did not factor some unexpected variables."
Aleph saw the questioning look in Su's eyes.
"They. Gods. Aeons. Higher-dimension beings."
"...I see."
Aleph is different from his former self who knew limited knowledge. He is aware that the place he currently resides is a parallel universe created by the Tree. It was done to isolate the "influence" Aleph could bring. Even if he influences this entire parallel universe, it would not affect the real universe.
It is basically sacrificing a branch to save the entire trunk.
What he needs to do now is to return to the real universe. The answer to that lies not on Nous or other gods, but to this parallel Earth.
This place was Aleph's entry point to this world—the place where he first landed. His influence is something that could not be erased. It is proven in this parallel universe. Not even the Tree could prevent "errors" and "loopholes" from rising.
In hindsight, the parallel Earth was struck the hardest. It is the biggest collateral damage between Aleph and the Tree.
"You can leave the rest to me. Humanity will win against the honkai."
"...Then there is nothing left to do. As usual, you always come in clutch…"
Su talked about that one basketball match they had against Kevin's team. Su joined the opposing team to fill in the numbers. In the end, it was Aleph who subbed in to him and won the match.
"Aren't you going to ask about your girlfriend? Or your twin?"
"..?"
Hearing the first sentence, Su was already embarrassed. When he heard the second one, he was confused.
"Since when did I have…"
"Try looking beyond Earth."
"..?"
Su did as he was told. It wasn't his first time attempting to view things outside Earth. However, he saw nothing of much use.
Only in his attempt now did he manage to glimpse the "twin" Aleph said.
"..."
"See? Doesn't she look very similar to you? You might be someone from Venus."
"I am not."
Su looked at him flatly. He was surprised to see the "twin" Aleph mentioned—a high-dimensional being. He first found her traces on the border of the solar system. Upon backtracking, he found her true form sitting inside the Sea of Quanta.
"The abyss… It's her."
Unsurprisingly, that high-dimensional being acted as if she did not cross glances with Su.
After all, there is a dinosaur beside him.
"I'll leave for now." Aleph spoke. "You want to talk with your other self, no? Maybe you can bring some love advice for him."
If the parallel Su knew of Aleph's own love life, he would have retorted to this statement. Unfortunately, he did not.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Settle everything on Earth. I've put it off for a long time."
Aleph remained passive even after he gained access on Earth. Part of it was due to the strength restrictions he faced. If he reveals his Aeon-level power in the physical universe, the rejection he faces from this world, especially the Tree's, will become unbearable.
At that time, his true body will lose access to this universe; he would lose an advantage over every other Aeons. Now that a "major loophole" appeared when Mobius called out his name, he chose to go all-out.
Then there's also a particular reward he was surprised with…
[Achievement Obtained: Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth]
[Reward: Sequence Zero True God Authority — Fool]
He hit the jackpot.