The god-creation plan was, in Teyvat, a truly unforgivable heresy.
If it were made public, it would invite condemnation from the entire world.
This was never something that could be handled openly.
Especially when other Archons had to be avoided.
Yet just now, Dehya had blurted everything out herself. Even though everyone present already knew, bringing it up again like this…
If the Archons lost their temper, armies could very well march in.
Normally, the internal affairs of the Seven Nations had nothing to do with one another.
But Sumeru was attempting to create a god.
This was something neither the Seven Archons nor the Heavenly Principles would ever allow.
An invasion would be entirely justified.
If things truly spiraled out of control, even the Heavenly Principles might once again reenact the tragedy of Khaenri'ah and wipe Sumeru off the map.
Dehya felt increasingly anxious.
"Sorry, about this matter… actually, "
"No need to say more."
Zhongli took a calm sip of tea.
"We have long been aware of Sumeru's god-creation attempt. However, as Ryen has said, the god has not yet been successfully created."
"As long as that remains the case, it is still an internal matter of Sumeru."
"We will not interfere."
"But if the god-creation succeeds, Sumeru will be condemned and attacked by all seven nations."
Dehya nodded, her expression heavy.
"We understand… That's why I came this time, to ask for Miss Lumine's help."
"Alhaitham said that only Lumine can help us resolve Sumeru's crisis."
"We plan to settle everything before the Sabzeruz Festival…"
As she spoke, Dehya glanced at Nahida and said softly,
"This year's Sabzeruz Festival, we want to celebrate it properly. And on that day, we plan to bring back Lesser Lord Kusanali."
Nahida's eyes lit up, but then she turned to look at Ryen, her expression tangled with hesitation.
She wanted to return to Sumeru.
After all, Sumeru was about to confront Azar and his faction.
After five hundred years of confinement, Nahida could finally demonstrate her abilities and protect her people.
But…
Returning to Sumeru meant she wouldn't be able to stay with Ryen every day like she did now.
The dilemma left Nahida troubled.
Ryen, however, didn't think that deeply. He gently rubbed Nahida's head and said calmly,
"Since you already have a plan, we can offer some help."
"But before that, tell us more about Sumeru's current situation."
Dehya and Nilou exchanged glances, then replied after some thought,
"We don't know the full details. Alhaitham and the others are the ones making the plans."
"But before I left, Alhaitham told us this, "
"The Akademiya has already begun producing Divine Knowledge Capsules. Alhaitham has gone to search for them."
"Azar also plans to use the Akasha Terminal during the Sabzeruz Festival to mobilize the minds of all citizens to compute divine knowledge."
"That's why we urgently want to resolve everything before the festival."
"And besides that… I also heard that Azar has turned into a monster. He's eating people now."
Ryen raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
"Looks like tossing those two zombies in that day actually paid off. Consider it the first interest payment I collected for Nahida."
Dehya froze, staring at him in disbelief.
"Azar eating people… that was your doing?"
Ryen shrugged.
"Didn't he love doing experiments? I just ran one of my own, tested whether he could withstand the zombie virus."
"The experiment was a success. He survived, but not completely."
Dehya pressed her lips together, ultimately saying nothing.
Nahida looked at Dehya with concern and spoke softly,
"About Azar eating people…"
Dehya shook her head.
"For now, he's only consuming death-row prisoners. It hasn't affected ordinary citizens."
"But I'm afraid that if this continues…"
"Cyno is watching him closely inside the Akademiya, to prevent any accidents, or him targeting civilians."
Only then did Nahida relax slightly.
Still, she shot Ryen a reproachful look.
"Ryen! How could you casually release something so dangerous!"
Ryen shrugged again.
"He imprisoned you for five hundred years, took your Gnosis, and tried to create a god."
"What's wrong with me giving him a little gift? Fair's fair."
Nahida knew Ryen was standing up for her, and she felt touched.
But still,
Releasing zombies was far too outrageous!
"This incident also serves as a warning for us,"
Ningguang said as she massaged her temples.
"So zombie infection is truly dangerous to the people of Teyvat. The containment of the Trial Grounds must be reinforced further."
Lumine scratched her head, thought for a moment, and muttered,
"But… listening to all this, it sounds like everything's already been arranged."
"Does it really seem like there's anything that actually needs me?"
To be honest, Lumine didn't want to go this time.
Looking back on her journey in Teyvat,
She was sealed by the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, woke up, went to Mondstadt, and Mondstadt immediately had a dragon crisis.
Then she went to Liyue, Rex Lapis "died," a god attacked, and even though she didn't fight directly, she still ended up organizing the Rite of Parting.
After that came Inazuma, Vision Hunt Decree, Sakoku Decree, a fight with Ei, and she even ran errands to revive Makoto.
And now… Sumeru.
When she summed it all up, it felt like she was either running errands or on her way to run errands.
Every place she went, something went wrong.
Lumine honestly started wondering whether she was a savior, or a walking calamity.
This time, she had made up her mind.
She would not set off on another journey until Sumeru's situation was completely resolved.
No more errands.
But looking at the situation now…
It seemed that the errand-running job had found its way back to her yet again.
Lumine propped her cheek with one hand and let out a troubled sigh.
Could it be that her so-called Traveler's "charisma" was just too overwhelming?
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why Alhaitham insisted that you had to be the one to act,"
Dehya said as she spread her hands helplessly.
"But if I had to guess, it's probably because of strength."
"After all, the enemies we'll be facing aren't just Azar and the Akademiya faction."
"There might also be a so-called 'new god' that's already been partially constructed."
"And besides that… there's also that Fatui Harbinger, Doctor."
"I've heard his strength is at the level of a god. We can't defeat him."
Dehya spoke casually, but the moment she finished,
Her instincts as the Lioness flared violently.
Something was wrong with the atmosphere.
Diluc, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them instantly. A flash of crimson passed through his gaze as he stared straight at Dehya.
Even Venti, who had been smiling carefree just moments ago, suddenly turned cold.
Dehya was momentarily confused.
She wasn't worried that these people would suddenly attack her.
With their strength, even if they wanted to, she wouldn't be able to resist anyway.
After a brief silence, Diluc spoke in a low, heavy voice:
"You said… Doctor is in Sumeru?"
Dehya suddenly understood.
Judging by their reactions, these people clearly had deep grudges against Doctor.
And honestly, she didn't mind drawing in more powerful allies, after all, the Fatui's reach was vast.
She nodded slightly and replied softly,
"That's what Alhaitham said. Cyno and Tighnari are secretly monitoring the Fatui's movements."
"But they didn't tell me Doctor's exact location."
"Alhaitham also told me that Doctor's strength is at the Archon level."
"We simply can't deal with him on our own, so we had no choice but to seek help."
Just moments ago, Lumine had been full of reluctance about going to Sumeru.
Now, she shot her hand up instantly.
"I'll go!"
"Huh?!"
Nilou looked at Lumine in confusion.
"That was fast… you've already decided?"
"What's there to hesitate about?!"
Lumine planted her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks in anger.
"Anyone who wants to beat up Doctor, I'm in!"
Beside her, Diluc took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulence in his emotions, and said coldly,
"I'll go as well. A blood feud like this, it's time he paid some interest."
Jean opened her mouth, intending to say that she wanted to go too.
After all, Mondstadt as a whole had an irreconcilable grudge against Doctor.
But before she could speak, Lisa cast her a meaningful glance and subtly shook her head.
Jean didn't fully understand Lisa's look, but she wisely chose to remain silent.
Nilou looked at Lumine and Diluc, her face lighting up.
"Thank you so much! With your help, we'll definitely be able to resolve Sumeru's crisis!"
However, the Cryo Archon was far less optimistic.
She spoke softly,
"Doctor's strength is undoubtedly at the level of the Seven."
"But what makes him truly dangerous isn't his power, it's how abnormal he is."
Only then did Dehya and Nilou fully realize,
This small courtyard also housed the Fatui's supreme leader.
They had just openly declared their intent to fight Doctor… right in front of the Cryo Archon.
Their tension spiked immediately as they looked toward her.
She simply smiled gently.
"Don't worry. I won't tell Doctor."
"In fact… I very much hope you succeed in killing him."
"The Fatui may nominally belong to me, to Snezhnaya."
"But now…"
She let out a long, weary sigh.
At her side, Rosalyne and Tartaglia both shook their heads helplessly.
"In short, if you intend to fight Doctor," the Cryo Archon continued,
"I will do everything I can to help you gather information on him."
She clearly had no intention of airing the Fatui's internal mess, merely offering a strained smile as she finished.
Dehya scratched her cheek and muttered,
"So… even within the Fatui, Doctor isn't exactly well-liked?"
"Well, either way, thank you, Your Majesty."
The Cryo Archon gestured for Rosalyne to step forward.
After a brief pause, Rosalyne spoke slowly and clearly:
"Doctor is a madman, twisted and grotesque."
"He segmented himself, creating versions of himself from every stage of his life."
"In other words, Doctor is not a single individual."
"Doctor is the collective name for all of those 'segments'."
"There are many segments, and we don't know their exact locations."
"All we know is that each segment oversees extremely important experiments."
"But based on my speculation…"
"For a blasphemous project like god-creation, Doctor would undoubtedly dispatch his strongest segment."
"That means the Doctor you will face could be a true, full Archon-level existence."
The room grew heavy.
Yet Diluc still said coldly,
"Even if he were on the level of the Heavenly Principles, I would still kill him."
Rosalyne glanced at Diluc, then continued,
"We don't have any foolproof methods to deal with Doctor."
"He is selfish, arrogant, and utterly egocentric."
"Despite all his segments being versions of himself, each one harbors disdain for the others."
"Of course, I'm not suggesting you try to divide them with petty schemes."
"That would be far too childish for someone like him."
"But I believe this information may still prove useful."
"Doctor's selfishness… may very well become the key to your victory."
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