Time since the asteroid hit Earth: ~5.21 billion years (subjective to Aryan)
Aryan drifted beyond the star cluster Virex-9 — a cold, silent realm untouched by chaos or creation for eons.
And there, life bloomed.
Not by accident.
Not by divine spark.
But through **choice**.
The species called themselves the **Velari** — crystalline beings formed from hyper-compressed ionic gas and layered memory strata.
They did not suppress emotion.
They did not indulge it.
Instead, they… **chose**.
Each Velari was born with an internal mechanism — a **Neuro-Ecliptic Core** — that allowed them to toggle emotional states.
Joy. Sorrow. Rage. Empathy. Curiosity.
Like turning on stars in the mind.
> "They're literally mood dimmers," Light God said, blinking his face into a light switch.
> "Up for joy, down for brooding philosopher."
Aryan watched them navigate life like composers of inner symphonies.
They would feel deeply for art.
Then toggle calm for decision-making.
Turn off grief to heal.
Turn on love to raise young.
And yet, despite this mastery… one thing they could never do:
**Fake it.**
Each emotion was pure, untainted, and intentional.
Aryan decided to visit.
Not physically — but through encoded resonance, appearing to them as a **Question** rather than a form.
He asked:
> "If you can choose not to feel pain… why choose to suffer?"
The Velari Elder, named **Solarneth**, responded through resonance glass:
> "Because pain reminds us we are still connected."
> "But you could live without it," Aryan pressed.
> "So could a stone," Solarneth replied. "But it learns nothing."
> "And if grief breaks you?"
> "Then we choose to rebuild — not because we must… but because we *can*."
> "Wow," Light God whispered beside Aryan, stunned for once. "That's... actually kind of profound."
Over time, the Velari taught nearby species how to channel emotions responsibly.
They became **mentors of balance** — not gods, not saviors — just quiet guides in a noisy cosmos.
Aryan stood at the edge of their thought-halls, watching beings from 11 different systems meditate under Velari supervision.
He noticed a young being toggle on "Wonder" and stare into the sky with tears of starlight.
> "They've made emotion into a language," Aryan said. "A skill. A right."
> "And better than cable," Light God added. "If I had a core like that, I'd toggle 'dramatic irony' 24/7."
Aryan laughed softly.
For the first time in billions of years, he felt something he hadn't in ages — **hope**.
> "Maybe the universe doesn't need saving," he said. "Maybe it just needs to *remember* how to feel on purpose."
And so, he etched a new thought into reality:
`Let those who choose feeling… lead.`
— End of Chapter 22