Aria thought back, suddenly remembering a conversation she had once overheard between Father Noah and Delasion.
She hadn't paid much attention to it at the time and thus hadn't heard it very clearly, but she seemed to recall hearing the word "twins."
With this thought, she looked up again at Zero, recalling his features that so closely resembled her own.
*Hiss—*
No way, right?
Could she actually have a sibling?
Wasn't she her father's only child?
Could it be that her brother or sister was accidentally lost by them? Or was she picked up off the street by her dad?
Surely not? She had never heard them mention anything like that to her!
However, the space in this current universe was sealed, meaning she couldn't transmit messages outside at all, nor could she go ask Father Noah to verify it.
Aria sighed and patted Zero's shoulder, signaling him to let go of her.
Indeed, this universe had it in for her; ever since arriving here, puzzles came in piles, while answers were entirely nonexistent.
She picked up her gun and put it away, finally shifting her attention to the woman standing before them.
Zero shielded Nao and Aria behind him. "Just what on earth are you?!"
"That weird voice kept calling you Her Highness, Princess," Nao said, tightly gripping the hem of Zero's jacket.
"Impertinent!" That voice sounded extremely indignant. "I am Jean-bot, loyal generation after generation to the Esmeralda royal family! I am this spaceship's..."
"Esmeralda?" Nao suddenly piped up, interrupting Jean-bot. With a look of surprise and excitement, he took a few steps toward the princess, only to be pulled back by Aria. "Then you're the princess of Planet Esmeralda?"
"Do not interrupt when others are speaking!" Jean-bot was clearly exasperated, but he still explained, "The one before you is the Second Princess of the Esmeralda royal family, Her Highness Emerana Lulte Esmeralda!"
Hearing their words, Emerana lowered her gaze with a trace of sadness, her voice dropping as she offered an explanation while glancing sideways out the window at the vast universe. "My planet was also attacked by the Emperor Belial. I was the only one sent away to this royal spaceship, and I've been hiding here ever since."
"Only you?" Nao looked at Emerana, somewhat perplexed.
"My royal father, my royal mother, my sister, and all our subjects... they are no longer with us..." Emerana's voice carried a tragic desolation. "They were taken by the Belial Empire Army..."
Hearing this, Zero and Aria lowered their eyes as well.
Aria sighed inwardly. Invasion, war, death... these were things no intelligent life form that loved peace ever wanted to see, yet they were things that would never cease.
At every single moment in this universe, countless lives perished. Stars were merely instantaneous sparks of fireworks, and war was omnipresent; refugees drifted everywhere, with death ever by their side. This was a reality about which even Father Noah could do nothing.
After all, wherever there were intelligent life forms, there were disputes; wherever there were disputes, there was war. Even beings like them couldn't stop it, simply because there were too many and it was far too troublesome.
At that moment, Nao suddenly spoke up, breaking the heavy silence. "Then let's be your friends!"
He was as lively as a little sun, easily making people forget their grief and sorrow.
Aria and Zero both withdrew their thoughts and looked up at the two of them.
"Friends..." Emerana turned back to look at Nao.
"Don't worry! We'll help you get your revenge!" Nao reached out his hand toward Emerana.
Aria and Zero stepped forward a few paces to stand side by side with Nao, showing their stance.
"Really?" Emerana asked, repeatedly confirming as if she found it hard to believe. "You're really willing to be my friends?"
"Definitely!" Nao said with a smiling affirmation.
A smile broke across Emerana's face. She reached out and grasped Nao's hand, and Nao turned back to look at the two beside him.
"Show your stance, you two."
Aria and Zero exchanged a smile. "Alright!"
They reached out and placed their hands over the ones joined together by Nao and Emerana. At that very instant, the necklace hanging around Nao's neck once again emitted a brilliant radiance.
Nao looked down at the glowing Baradhi Shard, then raised his head to look at Zero and Aria. "It's glowing again."
"Because it has sensed your convictions," Aria said, watching the glowing Baradhi Shard as the familiar presence of Noah once more washed over her. "When your convictions are strong enough, the gods will cast their gaze."
The Light of Origin of the Cosmos and the gods who governed space and time would look favorably upon those who were firm in their convictions, kind and courageous, and who never gave up.
"You know what's going on?" Zero looked at Aria in surprise.
Aria nodded at him. "I've seen it before."
She had seen how, when believers prayed for peace and light with convictions that grew strong to a certain degree, Noah would cast His gaze.
Back then, the deity had protected His wandering believers.
Zero nodded upon hearing Aria's explanation and did not press the matter further.
The spaceship traveled through the cosmos. Inside the vessel's cockpit, the main screen was playing footage of Belial invading Planet Esmeralda.
Zero looked at the recording with a stern expression. "There's no mistake. This guy is Belial."
"Belial?" Aria felt that she had been hearing this name a bit too frequently lately. "Who is that?"
"An evil invader," Zero explained to her.
Put simply, just a big bad guy, then.
"Is that burning place Esmeralda?!" Nao suddenly stood up as he watched the scenes on the recording.
Emerana nodded, her expression sorrowful. "Planet Esmeralda is composed of high-purity Emerallad Ore. In order to seize this energy, the Emperor Belial formed a massive army."
"The Belial Empire Army is constantly pillaging and slaughtering throughout the entire universe," Jean-bot added.
"Where is Emperor Belial? I'm going to go beat him right now!" Hearing this, Zero was clearly furious and turned to stride toward the cabin door. "Open the door! What's wrong with this thing?!"
"Zero!" Aria intercepted him as he hammered against the door. "Calm down. Let's figure something out together; don't be reckless."
Jean-bot spoke up at that moment as well. "We have no way of knowing his current location."
"Zero, what on earth are you..." Emerana looked concerned.
As if drained of his strength, Zero lowered his arm, resting his forehead against the cabin door, his expression rather despondent. "Belial and I both come from another universe; we are of the exact same race."
Zero straightened his posture and turned back to look at the group. "To put it simply, this body belongs to Nao's older brother, but I am an Ultra Warrior from the Land of Light."
"An Ultra Warrior?" Emerana looked slightly puzzled.
"The Land of Light?" Why did that sound so familiar? Could it be that planet Uncle Pig was always mentioning? Aria thought to herself uncertainly.
"Big brother, aren't we supposed to go search for the Shield of Baradhi together?" Nao looked at Zero with a serious expression. "Stop talking about going to fight alone! Your opponent isn't just Belial! He has so many terrifying guys under his command—didn't you see them on the screen?! Please, I'm begging you not to play the lone hero!"
Aria nodded in agreement. "And like I said before, I'll protect you guys. You have to trust me; I can fight right alongside you. No matter who they are, they're going to end up defeated by me!"
After all, I am Aria, Delasion's proudest student! If the numbers are mismatched and brute strength doesn't work, we'll use technology. There's always *some* way to win!
"We have to find the Shield of Baradhi first!" Nao looked at Zero and Aria, his gaze resolute.
"Seiya... Nao..." Zero looked at them, at a loss for how to respond.
"The Shield of Baradhi? Is that the legend you were just talking about?" Emerana asked with a puzzled expression.
Jean-bot voiced his doubts at this point. "Can such an illusory thing really protect the entire universe? Can it truly defeat Belial?!"
"It can! It definitely can, that's what my dad said!"
"Yet there is no evidence."
At that moment, Aria slowly spoke up. "Illusory? Not necessarily. Evidence... does exist."
She glanced at the Baradhi Shard hanging around Nao's neck, her tone somewhat ethereal. "The Shield of Baradhi is a divine artifact created by the Great God Noah using His own power in ancient times. When people's convictions are strong enough, the gods will cast their gaze; in times of utter desperation, the most brilliant light will appear. When everyone's convictions unite, that is the moment the Shield of Baradhi awakens."
Her gaze grew distant, as if she were beholding the future not far off, and then she looked back at Zero.
"So, do your best!"
That being said, she hadn't seen the exact future.
Although she was the Light of Destiny, Father Noah had told her that her light was still incomplete, and her Light of Origin had only just begun to awaken. Only when her light was complete and her Light of Origin fully awakened would she be able to see the entirety of destiny.
Even so, she had caught fragments of the future. She had seen the fires of war blanketing the universe, endless darkness, and the most dazzling light shining within that darkness—a light clad in the Shield of Baradhi, becoming the hero who protected the entire universe.
That was... Zero.