All at once.
Kiana smiled, a sight as radiant as a field of blossoms greeting the spring breeze.
She spoke.
"Alright, no need to be nervous."
"Not only have I completely excised the Abyss, but the False Sky has also been restored. What's more, the entire world of Teyvat has been thoroughly stabilized."
"It won't fracture on its own anymore."
The Archons looked up, unable to hide their astonishment. Just moments before, they had been on the brink of despair.
For there is nothing more crushing in this world than realizing that what you believed was salvation is, bit by bit, dragging everyone down into hell.
Even the former Heavenly Principle had been powerless to resolve this issue.
By now, the Teyvat continent was practically beyond saving.
Yet here she was, smoothing over all those calamities as if it were nothing.
Could it... really be true?
Morax and the others suddenly recalled the domain Kiana had cast over the entire continent—a power so absolute, so overwhelming, it defied reason.
This was something even the former Heavenly Principle had never possessed.
Perhaps...
She truly had accomplished it.
However, the more they realized this, the more complicated their feelings became.
They had once believed the Heavenly Principle to be a cancer upon this world, a tyrannical despot. But now? It seemed it was all just their own presumptuousness.
"But!"
Kiana's tone shifted as she continued.
"Solving the world's survival issues doesn't mean your sins are just wiped clean. Understand?"
Barbatos was the first to prostrate himself.
"Barbatos understands. I await your judgment, Heavenly Principle!"
The other Archons, their previous thoughts gone, knelt upon the ground, awaiting sentencing.
Kiana looked at the gods before her and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
She really wasn't Phanes. She just couldn't bring herself to be harsh toward these characters she'd been so fond of in a past life.
If it were Phanes, a Celestial Nail would have been the opening move. Yet here she was, lecturing them like a schoolmarm.
But in the end, it was also because they hadn't crossed her bottom line.
The only one who truly disgusted her was the Dendro Archon side of things. Kiana was afraid she might accidentally smack the Lesser Lord Kusanali into paste.
So she'd said less to her.
After all, this was little Rukkhadevata's body.
Couldn't go damaging it.
And so!
Kiana quickly formed a plan.
"Barbatos."
"I'm here!" Barbatos sounded nervous.
"Is freedom without any restraint truly freedom?"
Kiana said meaningfully.
"Is the freedom to infringe upon others' freedom still freedom?"
She paused.
"I don't care for your people."
"Since you've taken the position of Archon, you will do your duty properly."
"Yes! Lady Heavenly Principle..." Barbatos understood every word Kiana said.
He might love slacking off, but he wasn't incompetent.
And precisely because he understood, his face soured.
"Morax."
"Your words, Lady Heavenly Principle."
"You wish to retire? Fine. But the position of Archon must be passed on."
"I... understand."
After learning from Kiana about the significance of the divine seat, the Gnosis, and the role of the Archon, Morax knew he had been wrong.
Rule by humanity? It wasn't impossible.
But it couldn't be godless.
The people gather faith, the god ascends the divine throne, wields the Gnosis—only then can the region be blessed with lasting peace and stability.
To put it bluntly, even if the nation perished, it wouldn't matter.
The foundation of governance isn't the people, but the god.
If the god is gone, the nation need not exist either.
The stability of the whole world would lose a cornerstone.
Even though Kiana said she had fixed all the problems, who's to say some new trouble wouldn't arise later?
Morax sighed deeply.
A second Geo Archon... who could he even find?
Furina might seem foolish, but she was actually plenty sharp.
Otherwise, she couldn't have kept up her act as the Hydro Archon for centuries. Because of that, she was now genuinely terrified, on the verge of suffocation.
With no Gnosis, and no Hydro Archon, was there any hope left for their Fontaine?
According to Neuvillette, Focalors had planned to appease the Heavenly Principle's wrath with her own death.
But if things proceeded as previously suggested, wouldn't that mean all of Fontaine would be buried alongside the Hydro Archon?
Nooooooooooo!
"As for Inazuma..." Kiana looked at the country girl.
"..." The country girl looked back at her with an innocent expression.
First of all, Raiden Ei was not a traitor.
She was just lacking in skill, not stupid. She knew who could be fought, and who couldn't.
Even though she knew full well that the Heavenly Principle summoning the Seven to besiege Khaenri'ah led directly to her sister's death on the battlefield.
She hadn't dared to hold any resentment toward the Heavenly Principle.
"I'll let your sister deal with you later."Kiana finally said, after a long pause.
"Ah?" Beelzebul was stunned for a moment.
Suddenly!
It wasn't just her. The other Archons all seemed to remember something at the same time. A mix of shock and anticipation appeared on their faces.
"You mean...!" Beelzebul forgot all about propriety, her voice loud with excitement.
"You're not suited to rule. Let Baal handle it."
Kiana all but confirmed it. Beelzebul kowtowed heavily several times, overjoyed.
Kiana turned her gaze to Nahida.
"I will revert all the altered content within the Irminsul and permanently lock its permissions."
She said. "As for your punishment, and the sins of Sumeru... let Buer herself come to face it."
Kiana's tone was gentle.
Yet it made Nahida feel as if she'd been plunged into the depths of winter.
A bone-chilling cold.
If, at the very beginning, someone mentioned Buer, she could have confidently declared, 'That's me!'
But now, the words wouldn't come.
She knew.
This 'Buer' wasn't referring to her.
And if it wasn't her, then who was it?
Who... was she, then?
Similarly.
Kiana couldn't be bothered to bully Furina.
She said to her as well.
"The sins of Fontaine, the destruction of the Hydro Archon's throne, the matter of the Hydro Dragon Sovereign..."
"Let Focalors come to repay those debts herself."
Furina opened her mouth, then closed it.
While she was happy that Focalors might be revived, the thought of Focalors—already dead—being dragged out for judgment filled her with anxiety.
As terrified as she was, she couldn't help but think that if she spoke up, perhaps Focalors could be spared.
But she found she couldn't speak at all.
Kiana had directly stripped her of the right to negotiate.
Then.
She turned her gaze to Mavuika.
"Well, Mavuika, you are perhaps the only Archon who brings me some joy."
"Not a god, yet you willingly left behind family and friends, entered a long slumber, and awoke after five hundred years—all to fight the Abyss and save Natlan."
"I... am pleased."
The other Archons looked over. They knew Natlan had suffered, but they only now learned the specifics of what the Pyro Archon had done.
For a human to possess such resolve.
It was truly remarkable!
In contrast, some of the actual gods had made a complete mess of things.
Wasn't that itself a form of irony?
"Lady Heavenly Principle, I only did what was necessary." Mavuika did not boast, speaking with humility instead.
Kiana gave a slight shake of her head, speaking as if to herself.
"As a reward, I grant you a Shard of Primordial Essence. From this day forward, you are a god. Your Goetic Name shall be Phenex."
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