When Zhongli thought of this, the other gods naturally realized it too.
"Hiss—no way…" Venti sucked in a sharp breath.
Although all gods knew that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was fundamentally different from all others, since she could freely enter Eden—the root of Teyvat—
By that fact alone, she had always been a unique existence among all gods of the Divine Collective.
In addition, her strength was the most unfathomable of all, and in the rankings of the gods she had always been first, with the old man only second.
As for Barbatos, he usually hovered around fifth or sixth place.
Raiden Makoto turned back, her expression complicated. "From the very beginning, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was the most unique among us. It isn't so surprising."
As one of the few who could freely enter and leave Eden, she naturally understood Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's special status.
She had always held certain privileges—this had been so from the start, for she was the incarnation of the World Tree, later becoming the memory of Teyvat.
With such privileges, it was only natural that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata would walk ahead of those goddesses who lacked such uniqueness.
This was not to say that Heavenly Principle played favorites. Though Heavenly Principle did often show favoritism, it was never toward the goddesses themselves. The favoritism was only in comparison to Teyvat's other gods.
Moreover, even if Lord Heavenly Principle were biased, it would be only natural. The positions and powers that all gods and beings of Teyvat now enjoyed were entirely due to Lord Heavenly Principle.
"So… how exactly did Greater Lord Rukkhadevata come to sit upon that throne?"
Focalors looked with wide eyes at the throne standing on the side of the Truths.
They were no novices ignorant of the world. Any god who had ascended to single-universe level understood Teyvat's rules.
Although both sides stood at the right and left of Heavenly Principle's throne, there was a difference in weight.
On one side were the Truths; on the other, the Sustainers.
And Truth stood half a step higher than the Sustainers—it was the very foundation of Teyvat's existence.
The throne where Greater Lord Rukkhadevata sat was undoubtedly one of the Truths.
Truth—the highest rank beneath Heavenly Principle itself. It was irreplaceable, the final endpoint of Teyvat's existence, its root.
"Truth…"
As the Abyssal Sovereign, Aether instantly turned his gaze in a certain direction, spreading his perception toward the dome of the Main Universe, where the Ring of Truth resided.
Even he could only glance briefly at that place. A second longer, and he feared he would collapse.
The mystery and information radiating from Truth was far beyond what he could bear.
It was like an ordinary human staring directly into the noonday sun—just a few seconds, and one would be blinded.
With only a single glance, he saw a pale green Ring of Truth.
At the same time, the information radiating from the new Truth revealed its name.
Aether's eyes widened. "Akasha! The Akasha Records? A new Truth—the sixth Truth!"
His words caused the other gods to hear it as well.
As the highest gods of Teyvat, simply hearing the name of a Truth allowed them to sense its true existence.
At the same time, they received the information of this new Truth.
Athena said enviously: "So that's how it is… She was already a natural bearer of Truth, so she ascended directly to the highest peak."
It was just like those naturally suited for the Pseudo Star Map Creation—it was innate, something no one else could envy.
At that level, there was essentially no possibility of ascending through effort alone.
If you had it from the start, then you had it. If you did not, then you never would.
It was, in short, destiny.
Not even Ouroboros' infinite possibilities could affect the realm of Truth.
Guizhong smiled. Though envious, she did not feel it was unfair. "Truly, congratulations to Sister Buer. Now I have yet another powerful backer behind me."
The relationships among Teyvat's original gods were quite good.
Even if some had once held grudges, those were long since gone.
Venti's envious eyes brimmed with sourness as he muttered: "That saying, 'a step ahead, always ahead'—it really is the Truth."
"The one who was the most special from the very start will always remain the most special."
"I truly hate that I was not born with such a background."
Odin's envy nearly made him want to gouge out his remaining eye.
"Yes… no matter how much we envy it, it cannot be attained. It's like the Infinite Dragon God and the Great Red."
From the very beginning, the Infinite Dragon God and the Great Red were the strongest dragon gods. Even if all gods joined forces, they might not be able to oppose the two of them.
When those two arrived in Teyvat, they instantly became the mightiest dragon gods, standing directly at the highest rank of divinity.
Still, Odin himself was satisfied. Having obtained a Pseudo Star Map Creation, he was a true Almighty God, no different from the myths.
Buzz—
The radiance of Truth descended, and instantly the gods drew in their thoughts, turning to look at the thrones of Truth where the light appeared.
Among the thrones of Truth, only two shone with brilliance. The Sustainers, however, had all manifested.
Ouroboros, Dream, and the Kabbalah rarely interfered with the Divine Collective. Even its highest members seldom saw them. Even gods like Zhongli had only glimpsed them during the Divine Assembly.
As for the Red Dragon God Emperor of the Dimensional Gap—only a few had ever seen her. Even then, it was but a single fleeting glimpse.
Phanes' throne stood closest to the Heavenly Principle's seat. After appearing, she coldly looked down upon the gathered gods—some sitting upright, some trembling with fear, some sweating profusely, some wearing solemn expressions.
For the first time, Buer appeared upon the Throne of Truth. Her chest felt as though butterflies were about to burst forth.
Though she had long since grown used to such grand scenes within Sumeru, those who sat below her now were not merely Sumeru's gods, but the greatest gods of all Teyvat.
Her gentle and peerless face flushed faintly—this was excitement.
Her hands, placed before her, could not help but curl slightly into fists.
Such a scene was once unimaginable for her. With the corner of her eye, she stole a glance at Phanes beside her.
At last, she stood equal with Phanes.
On her other side was Asmoday, Ruler of Space.
Once, not to mention Phanes—even Asmoday could make her tremble.
Now, she stood half a rank above Asmoday.
Silently, Noah appeared upon the Heavenly Principle's throne, his gaze calm as he overlooked all the gods. His voice rang faintly.
"You have all worked hard in the expansion of civilization during this time."
The gods quickly responded:
"This is all our duty."
"It is entirely Lord Heavenly Principle's gift."
"This is nothing more than our responsibility."
Expanding civilization? For the gods, this was a supreme blessing. They had reached their current level entirely through the favor of Lord Heavenly Principle. Otherwise, they might still be squabbling in some remote corner.
Aside from the original Archons, every god present had grown step by step alongside Teyvat. They were among the few who truly understood Teyvat's original truth.
Those who came later knew nothing of it.
In their eyes, Teyvat had always been a great multiverse.
For some lower gods, even a single plane was considered a complete world—especially for those who originated from such planes.
In the hearts of the gods here, they were simply lucky—clinging tightly to Lord Heavenly Principle's thigh, carried to where they now stood.
Though building up Teyvat was exhausting, all of them delighted in it.
What a joke—such blessings could not be begged for, so what was a little hardship? If hardship meant this, then give them ten thousand times more.
Athena gazed reverently at the perfect deity seated upon the Heavenly Throne—the true unifier of all things in Teyvat.
If only he would look at her once more.
Her thoughts drifted back to the beginning.
At that time, she had been a minor goddess of a plane world, when she encountered Heavenly Principle.
Because she was suited to the Pseudo Star Map Creation, she was destined to be noticed.
But it was nothing more than notice.
She had longed to enter Eden, to be marked with the Heavenly Stigmata.
She had seen how even goddesses less capable than herself, once favored by Heavenly Principle, had quickly ascended to Almighty God, their futures destined to outshine others.
The Abyssal Sovereign, Aether, sat upright, solemn.
As leader of the Abyss, his throne naturally belonged to the foremost rank. The other gods of the Abyss sat behind him.
Now the only one who stood equal with him was his shameless little sister, Lumine.
At this moment, his unlucky sister was munching on a bag of popcorn, chewing noisily as though watching a play.
Aether's lips twitched—what an eyesore, what nonsense.
His own shameless sister could crush him with a single finger now.
He had clawed his way to barely reaching tenfold single-universe strength through the blessing of the Abyss. Yet his wretched sister had directly gained nearly a thousandfold single-universe.
Principles were unreasonable things—once you sat upon one, your strength directly reached the mass it required.
As the head of the Abyss, his heart was bitter. How much effort had it taken him to reach this point?
And yet his sister had simply been fed a Principle by Lord Heavenly Principle.
Hmm… No, wait. Back when she was weak, she had always leeched from him. Shouldn't she start paying some of that back now?
"Hm?" Lumine shivered. "Wha—what's going on? Such malice?" She instantly looked around warily.
Aether's face remained expressionless.
Thump, thump, thump—
Noah tapped his finger lightly against the throne. Absolute control silenced all sound and all thoughts.
"This meeting shall be the final one before Teyvat truly reaches the multiverse."
"The decrees of this assembly will serve as the last foundation for Teyvat's ascension to true multiversehood. It shall also mark the great festival in which all authorities of the Divine Collective and Pan-Human History are delegated—bringing everything to completion."
The gods, who had long known of this, still held their breath. The delegation of authority to gods, to the Divine Collective, and to Pan-Human History—this was perfection.
Even Zhongli's stony heart beat heavily within his chest.
Each Divine Collective was already so powerful that even one alone could dominate a vast region in the superdimension.
And yet they were still incomplete. What heights would they reach upon completion? Could they truly ascend to a level equal to the multiverse itself?
Phanes' golden eyes shone faintly.
Buzz—
Infinite might manifested, and the aura of Pan-Human History spread across the entire Hall of Gods.
To the gods, it was as if they were mere ants facing the vast, surging sea—ready to be drowned in an instant.
Within that sea, countless lights blossomed. Some shone brighter than the sun itself, and even the dimmest was far beyond what they could currently resist.
Touching those lights, the gods perceived endless information streaming forth.
Each and every light represented a stellar authority.
Even the weakest stellar authority possessed the strength of a standard single-universe.
And each could influence the historical development of entire universes.
The greatest light, which suppressed all others, was a power at the level of the Eternal Throne itself—capable of fully determining the rise and fall of Pan-Human History throughout Teyvat.
[Solar Sovereignty]
Thump, thump, thump…
All the gods stared fixedly at the Solar Sovereignty. The weaker-willed among them flushed red, their breaths burning with divine power.
As gods, they could clearly feel the Solar Sovereignty's effect upon them.
Pan-Human History was bound tightly to the Divine Collective, especially in regard to myths.
Even storytellers or bards with the Poet Archetype could twist or stain myths, blackening the name of a great god. How much more so could the Solar Sovereignty, at the level of the Eternal Throne?
If it were to exert influence over Pan-Human History, it could cause an entire Divine Collective to fall into decline—or even vanish without a trace.
Of course, such power came with a price. Just as storytellers or bards who slandered a noble god would be struck by direct backlash from Pan-Human History itself, so too would this apply.
If one recklessly wielded such an authority, one's own Divine Collective would likely be the first to perish.
Venti swallowed hard. "So this is… the Solar Sovereignty Gift Game?"
So many stellar sovereignties, each at least of standard single-universe rank. Even gaining a tenth of them—how much stronger would a Divine Collective become?
At the level of the Eternal Throne stood the Solar Sovereignty. At the level of Principle stood the Lunar Sovereignty. Beyond that, the high-tier strong single-universe powers of Jupiter, Venus, Polaris, the Morning Star, the Northern Dipper, the Southern Dipper, the eighty-eight constellations of the entire sky, the Four Symbols and the Twenty-Eight Mansions…
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