Less than 24 hours after Evan's genocide grind in Waregough, he and Arthur were in a totally different region of the Orithyia Galaxy.
Using Arthur's Cosmic Teleporter, the two of them jumped straight into Jamie's penthouse, where the Demon King was currently updating his star map—a holographic display showing the planets, stars, and celestial bodies under Gozon's Interstellar Empire.
"Sup, Hybrid. What's up?" Arthur greeted casually with a lazy wave.
"…what are you doing here?"
Jamie asked, his tone curious. He knew about Arthur's Cosmic Teleporter, so their sudden arrival didn't shock him. But they didn't have anything planned for the day so he didn't know why the two boys had come over.
"We had some stuff we wanted to ask you."
While Arthur answered, Evan headed straight for the arcade consoles set up in the corner, intent on beating his previous Puc-Man high score.
He pretty much tuned out the conversation between the other two, focusing instead on guiding the little yellow guy through the maze on the screen.
Suddenly, he sensed a subtle distortion in space, and the ambient spatial laws stirred violently. Turning his gaze toward the source, he saw the holographic icons representing three planets vanish from the star map.
But rather than focusing on the fact that three planets had been destroyed in the time since Jamie's last map update (7 days), Evan's thoughts drifted to a memory from his previous incarnation.
It was a conversation he'd had with Kayla the day before the 'Rebellion,' about the Nexus Event that apparently involved him, Artemisia, and Beatrix.
'Cruotis Prime's Apocalypse, was it?'
As he pressed the buttons on the arcade machine, he considered getting a star map of his own, so he could locate that planet and gather as much information about it as possible.
Around this time, Arthur pulled the Defective Cosmic Lens Replica they had obtained the day before out of his subspace.
Jamie's eyes immediately lit up with recognition at the sight of it.
"Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you to bring this to me yesterday," he said, as the visor floated from Arthur's hand into his own.
"It's been millions of years since I lost this thing."
"Millions?!"
Evan couldn't stop the shocked exclamation that escaped his lips. In contrast to his reaction, Jamie calmly examined the visor as he replied.
"When I first came to this Universe—in my real body, that is—I was attempting to replicate a certain artifact and this is one of the many failures I got."
Arthur and Evan exchanged a glance, silently recalling the artifact's description they'd seen the day before.
It confirmed their suspicion that Jamie was the one who created the Defective Cosmic Lens, a possibility they'd already considered after noticing the title 'Witch of Chaos' mentioned in its description.
"So, you know this 'Witch of Chaos' person…" Arthur began.
"Yes. Angela's the reason I'm immortal," Jamie cut in, revealing not only the Witch's name—Angela—but also that she was responsible for turning him into the Immortal Hybrid he was today.
But more than that, what Arthur really cared about was whether the artifact's description was actually true.
"And the part about her stealing the Eternal of Knowledge's Authority… that's true?"
"Yeah, it's true. Angela really did steal the Authority of the Eternal of Wisdom and Knowledge. How she managed that? I have no idea. I wasn't born yet."
Evan didn't know Jamie's exact age, but given how casually he had mentioned 'a million years' earlier, he figured the man's age was in the hundreds of millions.
Before they could ask any more questions, Jamie's expression shifted. He pointed at the visor and asked,
"Arthur…you didn't put this on, did you?"
"Huh? No. That thing has 'Defective' in its description. What's more, there's a hidden drawback I'm not ready to find out.
No matter how broken an ability it has I'm not gonna risk it."
Arthur's response earned a satisfied nod from Jamie.
"That's good. If you did, then even my real body wouldn't have the power to help you."
The statement was delivered so casually, yet it made both Arthur and Evan freeze in place.
"…what would have happened if he put it on?" Evan asked with a hint of apprehension, and Jamie raised his palm and conjured a small orb of void energy.
"When I was making this thing, some of my void power seeped in through. That's why the 'hidden drawback' exists.
My Void power erased the system's ability to recognize it, so no matter how many times you appraise the visor, you'd never see the real problem.
But since I made it, I know exactly what drawback it has."
Raising his gaze from the visor, he continued his explanation.
"Void power can erase things. Wearing the visor isn't the issue. Using it, however, is where the danger lies.
With every use, a small part of the concept of sight is erased from your existence."
The man's explanation left Evan blinking in confusion. Pressing his fingers to his forehead, he asked, "Uh, can you translate that into something more understandable?"
"Simply put, you'd lose your vision permanently.
Not just physical vision either—your very ability to see, both physically and spiritually, would be erased.
The concept of sight itself would be deleted from the source code of your existence. No matter how many bodies you inhabit, no matter what race you become or how many times you reincarnate, you will never be able to see again."
"That's scary as fuck!"
Evan exclaimed with wide eyes, and Jamie nodded in affirmation.
"That's why I asked if you've used it. Even a single use erases a fragment of the concept of sight from your existence.
I should've destroyed this thing, but... for some reason, I didn't. It's been so long, I don't even remember why."
Without saying another word, the orb of void energy in Jamie's hand expanded and swallowed the visor whole, erasing it completely from existence.
"Good," he muttered, like a long-forgotten debt had finally been settled.
With that matter settled, Jamie switched topics to something far more important—helping the two boys before him stronger. Especially Evan.
"So, there's two places I have in mind for you guys to go.
For Arthur, I think you might be able to get the push you need for your Extreme Nothingness, and for Evan, you'd be able to raise your stats and level."
"Raise my stats, you say?"
Evan echoed, narrowing his eyes slightly as a particular place came to mind.
"Yeah.
The first place is a special realm called the Regal Void Expanse."
The moment the name left Jamie's lips, Arthur turned to Evan and asked.
"Isn't that the place you and Artemisia were talking about before?"
Evan silently nodded in response.
The RVE alone was special, but even more special was the 'Garden of Stars' that existed within it—the place Evan acquired, or rather, reawakened his Mesarthim Skill.
Though the Garden's existence bordered on myth due to how impossibly difficult it was to locate, its reality had been confirmed by those who'd managed to find it over the years. Some had even brought companions, just like Evan did with Eliza and his contracted spirits, and the powers gained there were no illusion.
Arthur, now hearing about how elusive this place was, couldn't help but wonder if Jamie had a way to bypass that difficulty.
When he voiced the question, Jamie responded with a nod.
"In fact, I know a way to get directly into the Garden of Stars. It's through a Dimensional Rift in a world you're very familiar with…"
He trailed off, turning toward Evan, who nodded and finished the statement.
"Aidos. I know the Dimensional Rift you're talking about."
'I've used it multiple times, after all.'
"There's just one hiccup," Jamie added, turning to Arthur now.
"The rift is sealed and the ones with the keys to the seal are two existences I'm not sure you want to meet."
For a moment, Arthur said nothing. His mind ran through the list of people he'd rather avoid in Valmone, and given the connection to Aidos, it didn't take long for him to figure out who Jamie was referring to.
"…gods. No, god Kings."
"Yep.
Artemisia's father and Beatrix's mother. They're the only ones with the Authority to open the Garden of Stars through Aidos' rift.
I could enter without their permission, but that would mean breaking in and that'd cause a lot of problems that'd be a hassle to deal with."
"…"
Arthur went quiet, clearly reluctant to face any god Kings in Aidos, given his identity as the 'Progenitor godslayer'. Jamie tried to ease his concern, assuring him that Uvton and Rilene wouldn't harm him unless provoked, but Arthur pointed out they weren't the only god Kings on the planet.
It wasn't like being on Aramis or Gozon. Going to Aidos meant entering the literal backyard of the Universe's two strongest god Kings.
Watching the two, Evan, who could already see an obvious solution to this problem, quietly wondered how long they needed to realise it.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Arthur's energy signature abruptly disappeared, and his innate 'Divine Suppression' faded. Then, his divinity surfaced, making him appear more like a regular Divine Human rather than a godslayer.
"Well, I guess that works as well," Jamie muttered at the sight.
Evan, pulling out a strawberry juice pack from his inventory and sipping it, chimed in after.
"I was wondering when you two would arrive at this rather obvious solution. If he doesn't want to meet any god Kings, then they just shouldn't know he's on Aidos at all.
Rather than Arthur, I'm the one who should be worried about going to Aidos."
At Evan's words, the other two couldn't help but agree.
He was a Hero of Aidos from the future. If he entered the current Aidos, its Consciousness would detect him instantly. Not to mention, the present-day Heroes of Aidos might also sense his presence.
And that wasn't even the biggest issue.
Having two Heroes from different time periods, both wielding the same Unique Skills and Hero Authorities, could trigger a severe backlash from the laws of time.
Evan had been fine until now because the spell that sent him to the past—Eon Sunder Regressio—shrouded him in an aura that masked the temporal anomaly from the laws of time.
But that cloaking wasn't permanent. Once it wore off, he'd be forcefully returned to the future.
"I'm not so sure if the cloaking would still obscure your existence from the laws of time if you go to Aidos though…"
Jamie muttered while activating his Temporal Authority, searching for a solution this this problem.
A few moments later, he spoke.
"Well, I think I can stop the Temporal Laws of the Universe, but the localized time laws on Aidos would still detect you, though they shouldn't be able to cause any harm as far as you don't get too close to anything that conflicts."
Evan silently blinked, processing Jamie's words before responding, "Basically, I shouldn't get close to any of the current Heroes of Aidos.
Because, as far as I know, my eyes are the only things that'd conflict. Maybe my sword and shield, as well."
A quick reminder, Evan's current sword was a fusion of two weapons. The 'Unforged Vanquisher' and the 'Vale Blade'.
Leaving aside the Unforged which wouldn't be created for the next few thousand years, Evan didn't know when the Vale Blade was created so he was uncertain if it existed on current Aidos. The same applied to his shield, the Gazebind Aegis.
As for his Mystic Eyes, those were a given. Whoever the current 'Second' of Aidos' Heroes was, they possessed the same Mystic Eyes and Hero Authority.
Getting close to any current Heroes would allow them to sense Evan, as Heroes can detect each other, even from a distance.
Evan stood up, tossing his empty juice pack in the trash as he spoke, "If so, then let's go. I want to see the current Aidos anyway."
He had a LOT of questions he needed answered. Turning to Jamie who was their ride there, he asked.
"Shall we?"
"Let's bring Artemisia and Beatrix along. Maybe you two would stay with Beatrix while I go get the keys to the rift from Uvton and Rilene," Jamie suggested, conjuring a Cosmic Gate that led directly to Artemisia and Beatrix's suite in Tolgue City.