Aleph ended up not leaving the courtyard. His god-level processing speed made him capable of solving problems that plagued him since he became a god.
For example, the uses of his seven authorities.
Infinity, World, Spirit King, True Dragon, Null, Finality, Door.
In addition to the five that he originally had, there are two new authorities he gained. Ten years of slumber was enough for Metatron to examine their initial uses. She also determined the basic classification between Aeons through Great Sage's Database and the complex information extracted from Wandering.
True God (New Aeons).
Great Old Ones (Old Aeons).
Above The Old Ones (Terminus).
Aleph had an encounter with two Aeons on the lowest and highest levels—Cocoon of Finality and Terminus. Although the definition between levels was vague, it was enough to form a rough outline.
'Terminus does not have many believers. It's in sharp contrast with Qlipoth. It should represent different ways of gaining power as an Aeon…'
He felt his limits when he met Terminus. Four of his authorities became unusable when Their influence came. Only Infinity worked, but even that was restricted. It took him ten whole years just to erase Terminus' influence.
It was then did he start working on finding ways to become stronger. He came across the method of Anchors, but that was to extricate the Gods from their authorities' adverse effects.
It was a dead end, or so he thought.
'Aeons do grow in power with more believers… or rather, Pathstriders.'
With that discovery, Aleph wanted to spread his Path while looking for a way back.
That was when he thought of meeting with Xianzhou's Marshal.
If things go well…
'They are just right for spreading the news…'
He spent ten entire hours with his eyes closed. By the time he 'woke' up, he found Xuanquan knocking at his courtyard's gate.
Psshk-!
When the gate was opened, she was startled by Aleph's presence. She did not feel any kind of life beyond the gate—as if he was a ghost.
He saw through her thoughts and offered:
"It's a kind of martial art to embody an entire world within oneself. The ones outside won't be able to sense your existence at all. Then there's also this…"
The scenery between the two of them changed. It was a field full of sakura trees. The wind gushing towards her cheek and the smell of wilderness made it seem completely real to her.
"There's still this much time. Do you want to learn?"
His slightly immature voice resounded everywhere.
Bianca's expy felt conflicted. She wanted to accomplish her duties swiftly, but there was a temptation of learning an extraordinary martial art on the other side. The said person who asked her did not seem hostile to Xianzhou either. Finally, the higher-ups told her not to be wary towards him.
Accepting his offer does not feel like doing something wrong.
"...Hum."
"Alright. These are the manuals."
Aleph threw three hard-cover manuals to her.
"One of them was the technique I used to remain unnoticed. The other one is a technique to allocate one's full power in a single point. The last one is my understanding of several sword techniques…"
It took two hours to complete their first class.
'Bianca but hundreds of years old. That's why she could accept my teachings quickly…"
The joy of teaching did not fade in Aleph's mind. These were the little pleasures he used to have.
'A formal student… I might as well find one here.'
The people around Aleph were either his close friends or brief acquaintances. He could not maintain his status as a teacher, as doing so would make things awkward. He thought of teaching several people he knew, but he had to shelf it due to his busy schedule.
Without the worry of the Cocoon doing anything extra, his mind felt more at ease.
"That ends our class. You can already understand the rest on your own, that I believe."
"...Thank you."
Xuanquan did a full bow towards him.
"Accepted. Now, there's no need to maintain that bow. It does not fit your status, doesn't it?"
After this event, her actions did not feel as stiff as before. The basis of trust was established. Treating Aleph as a proper ally of Xianzhou no longer felt very forced.
"And… we are here."
Just when she was waiting for their departure, she found that her surroundings changed for the nth time.
"This is… Xianyuan."
She could not mistake it for something else. The familiar sky, the bustling residential area…
Everything was the same as she remembered it to be.
It was the Celestial Ship, Xianyuan.
"You are familiar with the way, right?"
"Ah, yes."
While they were heading towards the Xianyuan equivalent of "Seat of Divine Foresight", Xuanquan answered Aleph's questions regarding Xianzhou. It was mainly the former conversing and the latter listening. The novelty of discovering a new culture—civilization— made him realize something.
'No wonder Akivili used to tread this Path. Meeting new people feels novel…'
The solitude he felt over the past few days was slightly compensated. Something returned to himself. It was a numbing sensation that made him stop walking.
"...?"
"...It's nothing. I recalled something."
Aleph followed her footsteps once more. This time, his mind was filled with numerous concerns.
'It's my thinking… or was it my authority? Since when did I feel this… detached?'
His mind returned to the time he mercilessly killed the high-level MANTIS under the councilors-turned-traitors. They, along with several Herrschers, were killed by him due to his True Form. He did not hesitate to thoroughly kill them, leaving so far as not a single trace of them.
Nothing but drops of their blood.
Their deaths via self-implosion was extremely brutal. Although they deserved it, it wasn't in Aleph's character to brutally kill.
Fortunately, he did show an act of mercy towards Ling.
Perhaps, that was also the reason why he did not notice his growing alienation to others. Had he been right beside Kurumi and others, this would have been stopped way earlier.
'Anchors… I understand it now.'
Aleph's realizations continued until they were only a step away from the office.