Though a thousand words clamored to be spoken, they were presently in the presence of Lady Heavenly Principle.
All the Archons had no choice but to temporarily suppress their restless hearts.
They listened patiently as Kiana lectured them.
Then, after all the Archons had been unceremoniously ushered out, they arrived at the edge of the Celestia.
Raiden Ei could hold back no longer. She turned, covered the distance in a few quick strides, and threw herself toward her sister.
However!
Raiden Makoto, stillness overcoming motion, was even faster.
Her hand shot out, precisely pinching Raiden Ei's cheek.
Then, she began pulling it sideways.
"Sis… sister…" Ei was confused, but didn't dare resist. Her words were becoming slurred, her face a picture of grievance.
Grievance?
You have the nerve to feel wronged?
Makoto had initially wanted to save her sister some face, feeling it improper to scold her outdoors. But seeing her charge over like that, she simply couldn't take it anymore.
So infuriating!
You foolish little sister!
"I left Inazuma in your care, and this is how you manage it? Hmm?"
"I specifically left you the Tri-Commission and a whole host of talented people, and this is how you use them? Hmm?"
I left you an Inazuma administration manual, and you didn't even glance at it, did you?
"You're going to be the death of me, you idiot!"
Morax and the others were all watching this scene.
Morax and Barbatos looked on with a mix of fondness and envy.
Mavuika was introducing people to her parents and younger sister.
Buer and Nahida stood, one in front, the other behind.
There was little communication between them, the atmosphere strangely stiff. They resembled a mother accompanying a daughter who had misbehaved.
Meanwhile, Furina and Focalors were like an older sister with her younger sibling.
The difference was, they had both erred, and yet not. This wasn't the place to talk, so they could only hold it in.
It was torture for Furina.
"Sister… I'm sorry…"
The sheer dominance from her older sister was terrifying.
Not to mention, she'd already been thoroughly thrashed by the Traveler, armed with the ambitions and wishes of Inazuma's Vision holders—a beating so profound it had cleared her mind.
She had already recognized her mistakes. There was no way she could be stubborn now.
Seeing her little sister like this, Makoto couldn't help but let out a long, deep sigh.
"Let's go. We'll talk more when we get back."
She glanced at the other Archons.
"Everyone, we take our leave here. My sister and I will be going first."
Seeing Baal and Beelzebul depart, Morax also bid farewell to the others.
"Everyone, Liyue has suffered significant impacts this time. Reconstruction will require effort, so I shall take my leave as well."
Finally, he paused briefly.
"Lady Heavenly Principle has been different this time, exceedingly merciful. I hope none of you try to be clever. No one knows if the next transgression will bring divine punishment directly."
The second-generation Archons present might not fully grasp it, but every single first-generation Archon understood just how fortunate they were to have gotten off so lightly this time.
Barbatos glanced at Nahida and Buer, sighed, then vanished in a gust of wind.
To be fair, all the Archons could sense, to varying degrees, that Buer's sins were far less severe than Focalors's and Barnabas's.
The reason it seemed like Buer received the heaviest punishment now was simply because the affairs of Fontaine and Sumeru were far from over.
Conversely, Buer could now truly rest easy.
She only needed to follow the decrees laid down by the Heavenly Principle.
"Come, let's return to Sumeru first." Buer led Nahida away.
Furina, this time, didn't need to rely on the Hydro Dragon's power; Focalors could take her directly.
Come to think of it, Focalors, who should have been just a divine consciousness without a body, had somehow gained one after this resurrection.
When she first saw Furina here, she had nearly panicked.
It wasn't that Furina couldn't come to Celestia, but why in the world did she come radiating the Hydro Dragon's power and aura? What was she trying to do? Pick a fight? Start trouble?
It must be understood, even if the Heavenly Principle no longer concerned itself with dragons, for a god to show up reeking of dragon power, shining like a thousand-watt bulb… if she wasn't there to be an eyesore, what was she there for?
Even Morax and the others had struggled to keep straight faces at the time.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Principle didn't pursue it.
In any case!
After The Seven Archons gradually dispersed, the central hall became quiet once more.
Kiana, not caring that Asmoday was still present, began communicating with her system.
She hadn't forgotten the videos she'd planned to broadcast in the Teyvat world.
Now that she was here, she definitely needed to reaffirm her 'claim' on her dear wives.
Most importantly, when Phanes eventually awoke, they would hopefully, out of regard for Kiana, refrain from truly settling scores and acting against those wives.
After all, those who needed punishing had been punished.
What needed mending had been mended.
Teyvat was now more stable than ever.
This was all thanks to the benefits Kiana had brought to the Heavenly Principle!
She didn't mind doing a little extra, since she was the one using her sister's account.
Heck, she was even rather taken with Phanes herself.
Just thinking about getting to indulge in her favorite pastime—the grand art of sweet talking—soon, made her quite happy.
However, the videos she made before were based on her old mindset.
Now, with some new ideas, she definitely needed to make some changes.
Coincidentally, the reorganization of the seven nations would also take time.
Might as well let them handle their affairs first.
No big deal.
Kiana hummed lightly. With hardly anyone around, she could shed her idol persona.
Feeling relaxed and cheerful~
Asmoday watched this scene silently. She couldn't help but feel that the new Heavenly Principle… was somewhat… cute?
--+--
Sumeru.
Buer looked out over what was once the rainforest kingdom, now a withered and desolate landscape.
She felt her blood pressure was about to skyrocket.
Nahida hung her head, following Buer as they surveyed Sumeru at an incredible speed.
It was as if they were personally measuring the land stride by stride.
Since Kiana had transmitted the correct history to them, Buer now knew everything.
Even the 'Canon King' Nahida had been restored to being the 'Lesser Lord'.
But precisely because she was the Lesser Lord, she wouldn't offer excuses for herself.
Arguments like, 'Because Buer's achievements were all attributed to me, I became arrogant and lawless'—were pointless.
Wrong was wrong.
She even felt like she wanted to die.
She had wanted to follow in the sun's footsteps, but in the end, she had lost the sun, and the moon was gone too.
What was left behind?
Nahida herself couldn't help but feel terrified.
"I told you, Nahida, this isn't your fault. It's my mistake…"
Buer said gently, turning and bending down to hug Nahida.
"It was my fault for hastily leaving everything to you."
"I was too irresponsible, forcing you in the end to be the one to erase all traces of me…"
"…"
Nahida's lips quivered slightly.
She was on the verge of breaking down, like a child who had been badly bullied.
But her words were understanding.
"It's my own fault! I was… not mature enough, not wise enough…"
"If I had been capable, it wouldn't have come to this…"
"I should have realized that after losing my memories and having the truth distorted, I might no longer be myself… I should have left something for the new me…"
"It's… my fault…"
Nahida cried.
She wept bitterly.
She was no longer the 'Sage King'; her understanding had been corrected, and she now realized just how ridiculous she had been.
She was in agony.
Lost.
How she wished she hadn't recovered.
Wished she could have just been punished by the Heavenly Principle in her previous, clownish state.
But… that would be running away, wouldn't it?
She was the Dendro Archon of Sumeru. She could not run away.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.