Big trouble.
Furina trembled. The disaster hadn't arrived yet, but panic already had.
For all her ditzy moments, she could think when it counted.
She didn't fully grasp how terrifying "Heaven" was, but the diary had said Su Xuan wasn't afraid because Heaven wouldn't awaken for a few years. By then, thanks to his constant "limit breaks," who knew how strong he'd be?
Meaning: right now, Su Xuan might not have absolute certainty against the Sustainer. (Her deduction from past entries.)
So—how scary is Su Xuan now? With one swing he erased Osial.
Even a "current Su Xuan vs. future Sustainer" thought experiment suggested the gods plotting rebellion would be flattened. A single Nail of Cold Sky per nation—blink and you're gone.
Worst: Su Xuan doesn't care to conquer anything. As long as you don't poke him, he ignores your drama.
So when Heaven wakes and sees a continent of rebels—if it doesn't poke Su Xuan—it can blitz the rebels fast. Nails, nations, done.
"We're doomed either way?" Furina sat on her bed, blank. "Even if the prophecy changes, when Heaven wakes for the audit… we're toast."
Then she calmed down. Waking was years away.
In a few years, wouldn't Su Xuan wander to Fontaine? The moment he did, she'd clamp onto that thigh and never let go. Survival plan secured.
"Ugh, but what is Focalors actually doing? Why did Su Xuan mark her as 'disrespectful to Heaven'?" She had no answer. And she couldn't fix everything; she wasn't even the real Hydro Archon. Beg Heaven to spare Fontaine? As if.
Back in the ruin.
Ganyu was struck dumb.
The Geo Archon… secretly passed a Gnosis to the Tsaritsa to aid rebellion?
She stared from diary to Su Xuan, lost. Lumine, after learning Kong's whole truth, felt her skull split.
So you are my brother… a fellow off-worlder talked into waging war on Heaven?
No wonder Su Xuan warned her in Mondstadt—meeting Kong wouldn't talk him down; he'd already accepted the "Crown Prince" guilt trap.
"...Sigh." Lumine exhaled, left Kong's calls unanswered, and walked to Su Xuan. "About Heaven's strength…"
Su Xuan thought, then said levelly, "I truly don't know her exact limits. But I'd say—if you can one-shot the world, you're definitely stronger than her."
Lumine blanched; Ganyu's eyes flew wide.
Paimon yelped. "You have to be able to blow up the world in one hit to beat her?!"
"I said if you can, you're stronger—not that you must reach that first," Su Xuan added. "Her exact power's unknown."
Across the hall, Riptide whispered, "Your Highness, the princess and that man keep saying shocking things."
Kong scowled. Lumine's vibe was all wrong—flustered, startled. This restraint was bizarrely heavy, like a mountain on his back. Who was that man? Was Lumine safe?
Lumine's eyes lit with a sudden scheme. "Boss, look at this world: Kong's been duped into drowning Heaven in Abyss. Some of the Seven want to rebel. The Abyss is an existential risk. Heaven wakes in a few years. With your strength—why not step in, flatten everyone, and put the world in your pocket?"
Ganyu and Paimon both stared.
Su Xuan: "…"
He saw right through her: she was terrified Heaven would wake and smite them all, and wanted him on the board.
He wrote in the diary:
My extremely, colossally unlucky Lumine heard how scary Heaven is and wet her pants on the spot.
A chorus of ladies: "!?"
But… Lumine is a Descender like the Sustainer—of course she'd be a prime target when Heaven wakes.
Lumine's cheeks puffed; she touched the back of her skirt and pouted. "Don't make stuff up. I did not wet my pants."
Lumine asked if I want to seize Teyvat now that it's chaos. Honestly? Zero interest.
If I did want control, I wouldn't wave flags and start wars. I'd build deep bonds with each nation's decider.
Mondstadt: Acting Grand Master Jean—future top dog.
Liyue: Ningguang.
Inazuma… well, I already have a deep bond with the Shogun, Ei.
Sumeru: Nahida's a featherball and not up to it. That's fine. I can pull Greater Lord Rukkhadevata back and bond with her.
Fontaine: obviously the Hydro Archon—Focalors / Furina de Fontaine.
Furina: "!?"
He didn't call me fake… He must know. He knows everything.
So—he's choosing to bond with me?
Her heart soared—then dipped. He'd said if he wanted control; he didn't want it. "False alarm…"
Sumeru, Sanctuary of Surasthana.
A small white-haired head tilted. "Why am I 'not up to it'…? But—would he really help bring back the Greater Lord?"
Natlan: just bond deeply with Mavuika.
Snezhnaya's Tsaritsa is tricky… she inherited the last Tsaritsa's will, dreaming of breaking through the firmament to travel the cosmos with her people.
Rosalyne: "?"
The Tsaritsa: "…"
"Travel the cosmos?" Ganyu whispered. "That's why she rebels?"
Su Xuan nodded. "The first generation of Archons came from the Golden City—a base built by another 'outsider' and the Seelie progenitor to rebel against Heaven. Nails ruined everything, but the seed to go beyond had sprouted. That line is… rebellious."
Lumine: "…"
I get the Tsaritsa. If I bonded with her, she'd spend every day scheming to smash the fake sky. We wouldn't mesh.
And anyway—ice power? I have that covered.
Worst case, appoint a more obedient proxy—Arlecchino, Columbina… even Rosalyne would do in a pinch.
Rosalyne, just arriving in Liyue, clenched her jaw. "What do you mean 'in a pinch'? We'll talk, boy."
Harbingers are stronger than most Vision users. Arlecchino's #4 and heir of the Crimson Moon dynasty—Ice/Fire dual element plus limit break. She's no worse than the Tsaritsa.
If none of those three play along? Fine. Lock them up. Grow Eula's hair, crown her the Third Tsaritsa, and move on.
Arlecchino exhaled in relief—dodged that crown.
Columbina hummed, amused at the Ice/Fire pairings he'd hand them.
Seven bonds, seven levers—Teyvat would be in hand.
As for Heaven—by the time she wakes, the yolk's cold. I'll be long past anything she can look up to.
Dragonspine.
Eula's cheeks steamed like a hot spring. "He still remembers me… wants me to grow my hair and wear the crown." She knew he was half-joking—but her heart danced anyway.
Back in the ruin.
Lumine paced. "Boss, aren't you forgetting something?"
Su Xuan: "?"
She huffed. "Me. If needed, we lock up Kong and I take over the Abyss Order. Another pillar of your rule. Done! From today—you're the new Lord of the World!"
Su Xuan blinked, then flicked her forehead. "Nutcase. I was spitballing a method, not a desire. I'm not interested.
And you finally met your brother—don't leave him on the floor."
He added a line:
The above was a whim. I don't actually want the world.
Grand Narukami Shrine.
Yae squinted. "That mouth should never be trusted. Ei proves it. From the start he's treated this world as his back garden."
Lumine sighed and looked at Kong, still lost.
Su Xuan softened. "I'm holding the Ruin Guard's eye. His 'mechanical god' idea is basically dead. Next he'll bury himself in the Loom of Fate for years. He won't be acting topside much. So—future problems are future problems. Go talk to him. If you want, visit the Abyss with him, look around, then come back whenever."
Lumine's face warmed. He understood—off-worlders clung to blood ties in a lonely land.
But she shook her head, hand on hip, proudly. "I'm your #1 employee. I can't just leave you. As for Kong… knowing he's alive is enough. And as long as he doesn't provoke you, no one can really hurt him. That's enough for me. I'll say a few words, then I'm heading back to Liyue with you."
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