Pei Guang's actions stunned Aha. Aha could already see the makings of a Great Emperor in Pei Guang—but didn't expect him to have such ambition.
As the Aeon of Elation, Aha instantly saw through what this so-called Tribunal of Life was all about: it wouldn't interfere with the sovereignty of any star system, nor would it intervene in disputes between civilizations.
But within planets under Pei Guang's jurisdiction, all civilizations would be forbidden from using force to bully the weak. Anyone who did so would get to experience real bullying.
What's more, the Tribunal of Life also protected natural wonders on various planets and safeguarded the future development of worlds that might birth intelligent life. The rules were many, with punishments varying by offense—from mere warnings, to filling entire star systems with Swarm, to outright replacing leadership and enforcing intervention via Swarm forces.
Sounds dull?
Not to Aha. To him, this just meant more fun down the road. What did Aha love doing the most? Stirring chaos in civilizations, sowing discord, and causing trouble.
Pei Guang's Tribunal of Life turned the difficulty of "causing trouble" into a dynamic variable.
Want it easy? Easy. Want it hard? Even better.
If things got spicy enough, maybe he could even reverse sweep Pei Guang one day.
Besides… the Tribunal of Life only restricted lifeforms.
And Aha? He wasn't a lifeform!
And once this thing actually came into being, there would be so much more fun to be had. Not only could Aha drill a hole through Qlipoth's wall, or blow up the Astral Express, but once the Tribunal was officially established, he could even exploit legal loopholes: dancing on them, mocking the whole thing.
Aha's taste in fun was on another level. Sure, he wanted the whole universe to burn, but he also preferred a more peaceful setting when chasing his joy.
Like with Tayzzyronth's side: he had found so many planets just brimming with potential mischief, moments away from peak elation, only for the Swarm to devour them? Aha dared say—with Pei Guang around, he could have happily enjoyed the show, maybe even leveled up the fun.
No more waiting around just to get bitten.
Especially when it came to Pei Guang's motives for founding the Tribunal of Life. Aha thought, how could he not get involved? It'd be a disgrace to his title as the Aeon of Elation.
"You wanna create a court where no one can judge you?" Great! Then I, Aha of Elation, hereby bind myself to you and guarantee we'll make a court that can judge even the Aeons.
He was really looking forward to seeing what crimes he and Pei Guang would be sentenced with when that time came.
Too over-the-top? Please. It's just a fake world—if you're not playing it big, your real self outside might just scoff at you.
So even though Pei Guang hadn't said anything yet—it was only in the planning stages, implementing things within his own controlled systems—Aha made his move.
[Pei Guang created a foundational rule set for the Tribunal of Life. On the surface, it looked like the Tribunal protected the shared interests of all living worlds. But in truth, Pei Guang just wanted any court capable of judging his crimes to be filled with his own people.]
[Aha thought Pei Guang's move was too small. The Aeon of Elation approached the Aeon of Order, inviting them to serve as Chief Judge.]
[The Aeon of Order declared this was not a representation of order, and refused Aha's proposal. As a result, Order's power was weakened. The Aeon of Elation accused Order of obstructing His pursuit of fun—and then, somehow, brought in the Aeon of Harmony.]
[The Aeon of Order was absorbed by the Aeon of Harmony. Upon hearing Aha's proposal, the Aeon of Harmony declared that the Tribunal of Life could oppose the cold, indifferent laws of the universe—allowing more life to unite as one. She chose to join the Tribunal, sending one of Her Emanators to serve as a Tribunal Judge, maintaining cosmic harmony.]
[The Aeon of Equilibrium revealed Himself before Aha. He too joined the Tribunal of Life, believing it would help preserve the equilibrium of the universe. He also dispatched an Emanator to uphold balance.]
[Aha invited the Aeon of Nihility to join. The Aeon of Nihility knew nothing, wanted nothing, and behind His calm expression, seemed to be awaiting the world's end.]
Originally, Pei Guang had only meant to sketch out a prototype, maybe test it in this memory world—but when he saw the system logs showing Aha's flurry of activity, his eyebrows twisted together.
"…The hell? What's Aha doing? I just thought about this, and he's already moving? Pulling in Aeons?"
And while Pei Guang was still baffled, he witnessed something even more ridiculous.
[The Aeon of Elation approached the Aeon of Preservation. The Aeon of Preservation believed joining the Tribunal of Life would make this memory world more stable, extending its duration. He joined as an honorary member.]
[Aha became the acting Chief of the Tribunal of Life. Aha declared that He Himself was guilty. The Harmony Emanator and the Balance Emanator both judged that Aha did not qualify as "life," and therefore the Tribunal could not judge Him.]
[Aha submitted evidence of Pei Guang's crimes, requesting that the Tribunal judge its own Chief. The Harmony Emanator called Aha insane and the Clan ignored Aha's claims. Qlipoth came over and bonked Aha on the head—hoping He'd calm down.]
[Aha submitted evidence of the Path of Propagation's Tayzzyronth, accusing them of disrupting cosmic equilibrium. Upon judgment, the Arbiter ruled that Tayzzyronth had indeed violated universal laws.]
[Aha announced in court: Tayzzyronth is guilty! Tribunal Chief Pei Guang will now eliminate the Aeon of Propagation to bring joy to the universe~]
The more Pei Guang read, the more wrong it all felt. How the hell did Aha pull this off? Recruiting all these Aeons into the Tribunal? But seriously, this guy was entertaining! Judging himself? Trying to judge Pei Guang?
Pei Guang stroked his chin, staring at the system logs. It was interesting, he had to admit. But when he saw Aha declare in court that Tayzzyronth was guilty and then assign him, the technically-do-nothing Chief, to go wipe them out… Pei Guang could only laugh helplessly.
He still didn't know how Aha had managed to drag all the Aeons through the whole process, but whether it was via the Tribunal or his own goals, Pei Guang had already intended to take out the Aeon of Propagation.
After all, he'd already snatched so many authorities from Tayzzyronth. Wouldn't killing them be the natural next step? Otherwise, it'd just be wasteful.