"I'm disappointed."
Kiana's voice was calm.
Instantly, all the Archons bowed their heads even lower.
They weren't familiar with the Heavenly Principle, having only met her a few times.
Yet the terror she inspired seemed etched into their very bones.
Asmoday could recognize that Kiana wasn't Phanes.
They couldn't.
"Do you know what kind of world Teyvat truly is?"
While the Seven Archons had been dawdling, Kiana had already observed the state of Teyvat.
After all, she'd been curious from the start.
To put it simply.
The situation wasn't much different from what she had once suspected.
Pretty much the same, really.
It was a world bubble already teetering on the brink.
Deep within the Sea of Quanta.
The False Sky isolated it from the outside, sealing Teyvat away. While it indeed prevented any further contact with the starry void beyond…
That starry sky… even without the False Sky, would be just like the view beyond our solar system from the main world—seemingly there, but ultimately an illusion.
The reality Teyvat faced was even harsher.
Without this shell, the countless horrors of the Sea of Quanta would have descended long ago.
And what would be eroding and devouring Teyvat wouldn't be the degraded Abyssal power, but the raw, utterly terrifying Quantum energy itself.
Kiana didn't blame these Archons for their scheming.
With their limited perspective, it was normal for them to understand nothing.
Besides, Kiana had once walked the storyline in her past life as the Traveler.
Emotionally, she did feel a resonance with them.
It's a pity…
Now, she was the Heavenly Principle.
One must act according to their station.
What needed to be said, still had to be said.
"I established the Archons, bestowed the Gnoses. Do you know their true purpose?"
Kiana spoke leisurely.
The Seven Archons didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
She continued.
"You thought the Gnosis was merely a symbol. For the first-generation Archons among you, it was like a tasteless piece of meat—a pity to discard, yet hardly satisfying. Isn't that right?"
"Even the Divine Thrones, in your eyes, were shackles, something you grumbled about, perhaps even found unbearable…"
"Right?"
Kiana's words were utterly tranquil.
But the more she was like this, the more the Seven Archons felt a creeping horror, a chill running down their spines.
Kiana told them bluntly.
Teyvat was a rootless duckweed.
Only taking in, never giving out.
The years following the Great Cataclysm, and even further back, the successive Archon Wars had continuously weakened Teyvat.
Not to mention the distant past.
Once, gods and demons were everywhere.
But now, they were scarcely seen.
On the surface, it seemed the result of the Archon War's brutal survival-of-the-fittest contest.
But in truth, it was because Teyvat simply could no longer sustain them. If a company can no longer support so many employees, pay the salaries of so many executives, then layoffs are simply the natural order of things.
No matter who you are.
One might say, precisely because you occupy a larger share, have a greater impact, cutting you down is far more effective than wiping out large swathes of humanity.
If you don't die, then who should?
Not to mention the Heavenly Principle loved humanity. Unless humans themselves touched the forbidden, she would not move against them.
By repeatedly 'laying off' workers, openly and covertly erasing the powerful individuals from Teyvat, Teyvat managed to persist until now.
If you can't increase revenue, then you have to cut costs.
To be honest, the Archons could understand this logic; they couldn't find fault with it. But this simplest of truths was terrifying.
The more they thought about it, the more horrified they became.
They didn't even dare to think further.
"If we say Teyvat could once barely manage a cycle,"
Kiana rose from her throne and walked step by step towards them.
"Then!"
"Nibelung, bringing the Abyssal power, caused a massive drain."
"The appearance of the Third Descender, who broke his pact with me, loved someone he shouldn't have, created another chaos."
"Although he offered his own bones, allowing me to forge the Gnoses, without the corresponding Archon taking their rightful place, the leylines could not be properly managed."
Kiana stopped before the Seven Archons.
Barbatos, Morax, and Baelzebub knelt in the front row.
The rest were behind them.
"There are only seven Divine Thrones. Whether the Seven Archons were decided through bloody warfare or not, the other gods and demons would inevitably remain defiant."
"Therefore, to reduce Teyvat's burden, and for the future stability of each region, they had to die."
Kiana didn't seem to be directly answering why she had summoned them.
But this step-by-step progression seemed to have said everything.
"Nibelung brought the Abyss, punching a hole in Teyvat."
"From then on, Teyvat was like a leaky funnel, not only taking nothing in, but actively draining."
"Khaenri'ah drew the Abyss, once shielded outside, into Teyvat on a massive scale. It latched onto Teyvat completely. From that moment, Teyvat entered its final countdown."
Barbatos felt ice-cold all over.
Morax was utterly solemn.
To describe it as a countdown—just how dire was the situation?
How much time did they have left?
"Barnabas."
Finally.
The time of torment was over.
Hearing Kiana call her name calmly, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"Your Excellency, Heavenly Principle, I am here." She kowtowed again.
Loudly.
"Do you know? You, collecting all the Gnoses, scheming to obtain the power of the Third Descender, arrogantly attempting to defy the Heavenly Principle and tear open the False Sky…"
"What would be the result?"
With every word Kiana spoke, the atmosphere grew heavier. The Archons were, for the most part, not stupid.
Originally, they thought they were in the right.
Like pioneers rebelling against tyranny.
It was self-satisfying.
But now, anyone could hear it.
They were wrong. Terribly wrong.
Like children throwing a tantrum, convinced they were right, when in reality, they were being incredibly foolish.
What a shattering realization.
"Please… Please, Your Excellency, enlighten me." Barnabas's lips trembled as she whispered, her voice quivering.
Kiana continued, unhurried.
"The moment you tear open the False Sky, forces from outside far more terrifying than the Abyss will descend instantly. Like an annihilating tidal wave, they will drown all things."
"Humans will die. All living beings will die."
"The entire world will crumble. And finally! Not even reincarnation will be possible. The entire world bubble will completely disintegrate!"
Kiana paced slowly.
"Even the Third Descender could only barely protect himself out there. The Heavenly Principle could only use this eggshell method to let the Teyvat continent turtle up, clinging to a feeble existence."
"Do you think you could protect Teyvat then?"
"Are you sure you wouldn't just be leading everyone to their deaths?"
Barnabas had nothing left to say.
She lifted her head, looking at Kiana.
She felt as if the sky were spinning, all strength drained from her body.
Her pupils shook.
Like a broken doll.
The other Archons wore expressions of utter disbelief.
If they had known the Gnoses existed to suppress the leylines and stabilize the world bubble, they would never have handed them over.
And to think they'd handed them over, letting Barnabas lead them all to their doom…
That was just too much to bear. Just thinking about it sent a wave of fearful hindsight through them.
Thank goodness the Heavenly Principle woke up early, or they really would have all ascended to heaven together.
Who would want that?!
--+--
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