Black Swan's question, naturally, did not receive a reliable answer. Even Sparkle, upon being asked, started to doubt Su Mo's identity.
Is he really not just some Aeon who's descended to the mortal realm for a bit of fun?
Black Swan kept this doubt hidden in her heart, but Sparkle, already familiar with Su Mo's personality, voiced it without a second thought.
A dozen or so minutes later, Sparkle, like a jailer, proudly escorted her prize, Black Swan, into the room. Robin, still lost in her confusion, looked at the Memokeeper in the purple dress with a hint of surprise.
"Greetings, Arbiter of Myriad Transformations!"
Finally facing Su Mo in person, Black Swan dared not be disrespectful and immediately bowed. A mere memory of him had been enough to utterly defeat her; his true self was surely invincible.
"Isn't that what the Xianzhou people call him?" Sparkle looked at Black Swan curiously. "Are you from the Xianzhou?"
"No," Black Swan shook her head. "I simply believe that the title for Lord Su Mo should befit the etiquette reserved for an Aeon."
Before, she hadn't quite understood the mission given to her by the Aeon Fuli. Now, she truly understood.
"An Aeon?" Hearing this, Sparkle remembered Black Swan's earlier question and immediately asked with great interest, "That's right! Lord Su Mo, are you an Aeon or not?"
"No," Su Mo was momentarily taken aback, then immediately shook his head.
As he spoke, Black Swan and Sparkle noticed a strange look in his eyes. It was the kind of expression an emperor traveling incognito might make when mistaken for an imperial envoy.
An Aeon? I'm not something like that!
This air of someone who held the most revered beings in the universe in disregard left Sparkle momentarily mesmerized. Even Black Swan grew uncertain, unable to believe the guess that had sprung into her mind.
Su Mo paid no mind to their expressions. Looking at Black Swan, who had been brought to him so quickly, he said, "Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection, you said you had an important matter to report. What is it?"
"It is a mission from the Aeon I follow, Fuli," Black Swan said directly, watching Su Mo's expression.
She keenly noted that when she mentioned a mission from the Aeon Fuli, neither Su Mo, nor Sparkle, nor Robin showed the slightest hint of surprise.
On the contrary, they nodded slightly, as if they had already anticipated this possibility, successfully confirming their own suspicions.
How is that possible?
A mission from the Aeon Fuli, transmitted via meme with the Garden of Recollection's proprietary technology—it was top-secret information, impossible to have been leaked to the outside world.
"None of you seem surprised at all?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.
"What's there to be surprised about? The Xianzhou, the IPC, us... your Garden of Recollection is at the very back of the line!" Sparkle said, throwing her hands up. "And if I'm not mistaken, your Aeon Fuli is also here to give Lord Su Mo a gift and ask to join the Aeon Alliance, right?"
With the allure of the Aeon Alliance, Aeons delivering gifts to join had become a pattern. Sparkle naturally found it unsurprising. The only one who was surprised was Robin.
"But didn't Lord Su Mo just say that the Aeon Fuli didn't want to get involved in the War of the Gods?" she blinked, looking at Su Mo in confusion. She had thought Su Mo's analysis was spot-on, but Black Swan's arrival seemed to refute it.
"Could it be that the scale of the War of the Gods is so great that even the Aeon Fuli feels uneasy and has to pick a side?" Robin wondered aloud.
Hearing their words, Black Swan couldn't help but stare. "War of the Gods? Aeon Alliance?"
What, in the few days she'd been investigating Penacony, had so much happened?
"Huh? You don't know?" Sparkle asked, confused.
"The higher-ups in the Garden of Recollection might know, but I'm just a mere messenger," Black Swan shook her head. "In the Garden of Recollection, acquiring redundant information is considered unnecessary. Even when carrying out a mission, we only need to know our specific part."
"But if you wanted to join the Aeon Alliance, it's impossible that they wouldn't tell you about this, right?" Sparkle asked, not understanding. Even if they hadn't told her everything, surely this wouldn't be the first time Black Swan had heard these two terms?
"No," Black Swan shook her head, looking at Sparkle. "According to the mission I received, Miss Sparkle was only half-right. I am indeed here as a messenger to deliver a gift from the Aeon of Remembrance."
As she spoke, she summoned a lively, jumping fish from the palm of her purple-gloved hand. The fish swam nimbly through the air, circling around Su Mo.
Just like the Amber Lord's divine body and Aha's doll before it, Su Mo could feel an extremely powerful Path energy from this fish. It was a sacred artifact of the Path of Remembrance, enough to light up Fuli's phantom in the Pantheon.
After handing the gift to Su Mo, Black Swan breathed a small sigh of relief and then added, "But the other half of Miss Sparkle's guess was wrong. Miss Robin's, or rather, Lord Su Mo's judgment was correct. The mission the Aeon Fuli entrusted to me never mentioned any Aeon Alliance. It was only described as a personal gift for Lord Su Mo."
Hearing this, Sparkle's eyes widened. Not because Su Mo's prediction had been so accurate, but because—
"A free personal gift? Without even asking to join the Aeon Alliance?"
"Yes," Black Swan nodded. "That is the mission I received."
"Whoa! So cunning! That's way more sincere than Lord Aha!" Sparkle couldn't help but exclaim.
There was no need to guess the Aeon Fuli's objective; Su Mo had already explained it clearly. An Aeon quietly awaiting the apocalypse had no need to join the Aeon Alliance.
This personal gesture of goodwill towards Su Mo was most likely to ensure They could truly maintain neutrality during the War of the Gods.
If They didn't establish a friendly connection beforehand and got caught in the crossfire, They might die before the world even ended.
Giving a gift without making any demands—the Aeon Fuli's approach was quite endearing. In comparison, while Aha's actions had led to the same result, the process felt lacking in sincerity.
After all, it wasn't that They sought nothing in return, but that They had been spurned by Su Mo.
"Even the Aeon Fuli..."
Witnessing Su Mo's analysis prove correct yet again, Robin lowered her head, a deeper unease settling in her heart.
It wasn't just the Aeons on the side of order. Even the chaotic Aeon of Elation and the permanently neutral Aeon of Remembrance had now come to greet Su Mo.
But why, oh why, had the Aeon of Harmony, the host of this whole event, still not shown up?
Star... what are you thinking?
Glancing at the pensive Robin, Su Mo said nothing and turned his gaze to Black Swan.
He beckoned, and the incorporeal spirit-fish leaped into the divine statue in the Pantheon, lighting up the phantom of the Aeon of Remembrance.
"I have received Fuli's goodwill. We will maintain communication for the time being," he replied to Black Swan.
This was his acknowledgment of their neutral position and his agreement to keep channels open to avoid any accidental conflicts.
Black Swan immediately bowed in thanks. The anxiety that had gripped her upon hearing "War of the Gods" and "Aeon Alliance" finally subsided. Before, she hadn't understood the importance of this mission.
Now, she realized she had just secured a lifeline for the entire Garden of Recollection.
"That's all regarding the War of the Gods. The Aeon Alliance will only draw its sword against those who would destroy civilization. It will not involve onlookers," Su Mo gave his assurance, then continued. "And I'll also inform you now that the current situation in Penacony does not require the intervention of Memokeepers for the time being."
Hearing this, Black Swan glanced at Robin and nodded in understanding. "If Lord Su Mo is willing to resolve this matter, that would be for the best. I was a bit anxious before, worried about insufficient strength. Now I can finally rest easy."
Perhaps Sparkle and Robin hadn't seen it, but she had. Although they were in a dreamscape, Su Mo's body was not a mental projection.
That meant Su Mo had already seen through Penacony's anomaly and could travel freely between reality and the memory-scape. He would not be deceived by the dream.
With Su Mo taking action, a humble Memokeeper like her could be at ease.
With the matter of Black Swan and the Garden of Recollection settled, Sparkle looked up at Su Mo. "My dear, are there any other tasks? Any other factions that need an errand run? Just leave it to me!"
Hearing this, Su Mo pondered for two seconds. "The Knights of Beauty don't need your intervention; I'll have the Trailblazers handle it. Apart from them, there is one last person who needs to be notified. We can't have her erasing Penacony before the conspiracy even takes shape."
At these words, both Robin and Sparkle were quite surprised.
"One person... erasing all of Penacony?"
"That's way more powerful than the mastermind, isn't it? That guy has been plotting to take over Penacony for so long, and he can't even compare to a single person?" the two asked in unison, finding it hard to believe such a powerful being existed.
Penacony wasn't an ordinary planet. To destroy this place, which was covered by a memory-scape, would require a force capable of destroying a star system at the very least.
"Isn't that, at minimum, Emanator-level power?" Sparkle tilted her head and asked doubtfully.
"It is indeed an Emanator," Su Mo nodded. "And an Emanator that, in the eyes of most, shouldn't even exist."
Hearing this, Black Swan's pupils contracted. She seemed to have remembered something. "Lord Su Mo, if you're talking about a girl with long, purple hair, I might be able to help."