Location: Project Stuzha Launch Site, Northern Snezhnaya
Current Form: Human (Combat Mode)
Status: Calibrating trajectory, threatening the laws of physics
The wind howled across the frozen tundra, but it couldn't drown out the hum of the machine.
Rising from the ice sheets was a colossal spire of black metal and Cryo-crystal. It looked less like a tower and more like a giant railgun pointed directly at the floating island in the sky.
The Tower of Babel. (Pierro had a sense of irony).
Raiden stood at the base, looking up.
"So," Raiden shouted over the wind to Dottore. "We're going to shoot a beam of pure Archon energy at God's house, and I'm supposed to ride it like a surfer?"
"Essentially," Dottore adjusted a monitor. "The barrier around Celestia is absolute. Physical matter cannot breach it. However, a high-density elemental stream fueled by five Gnoses and your... unique Void energy... should theoretically punch a hole."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then you will impact the barrier at Mach 20 and become a permanent stain on the firmament."
"Comforting," Raiden cracked his knuckles.
Aether and Paimon stood by the elevator. They were geared up.
"This is it," Aether said, looking at the sky. "Lumine is out there somewhere. Maybe watching."
"She's watching," Raiden assured him. "The Abyss Order wouldn't miss the fireworks show. But listen, Traveler. Once we get up there, the rules change. Gravity, time, oxygen - Celestia ignores all of that. Stick close to me."
"Paimon will stick to you like glue!" Paimon grabbed Raiden's cape.
The Tsaritsa approached. She floated slightly off the ground, the five Gnoses orbiting her like satellites.
"The time has come," the Cryo Archon announced. "The Old World ends today."
She looked at Raiden.
"Gluttonous Sovereign. You serve as the spearhead. Do not falter."
"I never falter when dinner is served," Raiden grinned. "Just make sure you don't miss the shot."
Raiden, Aether, and Capitano (who insisted on joining the vanguard) stepped onto the launch platform.
Pierro raised his hand.
"Activate the Gnosis Reactor. Initiate Project Stuzha."
HUMMMMM.
The five Gnoses glowed blindingly bright. Anemo, Geo, Electro, Dendro, Hydro.
The Tsaritsa channeled her own Cryo power.
And Raiden unleashed his [Starfire Breath] (Pyro/Void) into the core to complete the seven-element circuit.
"FIRE!"
BOOM.
A beam of rainbow-colored light, wrapped in black lightning, shot out of the spire. It pierced the clouds, the atmosphere, and the false sky.
Raiden, Aether, and Capitano were enveloped in the energy stream. They didn't burn; the energy propelled them upward at impossible speeds.
"WOAHHHH!" Paimon screamed as her face rippled from the G-force.
Raiden laughed maniacally. "FASTER!"
They breached the cloud layer. The floating island of Celestia loomed ahead—a massive complex of white marble and gold, silent and terrifying.
But it wasn't asleep anymore.
Red cubes - Sustainer Cubes - materialized in the thousands. They formed a massive wall, blocking the beam.
"The Sustainer is awake!" Aether shouted.
"She's trying to block the door!" Raiden roared.
He moved to the front of the beam.
[Partial Transformation: Dragon Maw].
"OPEN WIDE!"
Raiden bit the beam of light and the cubes simultaneously.
He acted as a living drill. He consumed the red cubes as fast as they appeared.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"Tastes like geometry and law!" Raiden shouted, spitting out red sparks.
The beam slammed into the main barrier of Celestia.
CRACK.
The sky shattered like glass.
Arrival: The Heavenly Plaza
They crashed onto the pristine white marble of Celestia's entrance plaza.
Raiden rolled and stood up, dusting off his suit. Capitano landed in a superhero crouch. Aether stumbled but held his ground.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Columns of gold lined the path. The air was thin and smelled of sterility.
"So this is the place," Capitano surveyed the area. "It feels... empty."
"It's not empty," Raiden's eyes narrowed. [Magic Sense: MAX]. "It's sanitized."
CLICK.
Space distorted.
A woman stepped out of a portal made of dark red squares. She had white hair, golden eyes, and a look of utter contempt.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. (The Unknown God).
"Arrogant," her voice echoed from everywhere at once. "Insolent. Filth."
She looked at Aether. "The Outlander again."
She looked at Capitano. " The Human who refuses to die."
She looked at Raiden. "And the Mistake."
Raiden grinned. "Hi, Cube Lady. Remember me? I'm the guy who's going to eat your lunch."
Boss Fight: The Sustainer
The Sustainer didn't waste words. She raised her hand.
[Heavenly Order: Cubeification].
Thousands of red cubes descended like a landslide, threatening to seal them instantly.
"Scatter!" Capitano ordered.
Capitano charged straight ahead. He punched a massive cube, shattering it into pixels. His raw physical strength was interacting with the metaphysical laws of the Sustainer.
Aether used [Geo] to create shields, deflecting the smaller cubes.
Raiden stood his ground.
"You like cubes?" Raiden asked. "I like Tetris."
He opened his mouth. [Gluttony: Void Vacuum].
He sucked the cubes in.
The Sustainer frowned. "You consume Order? Illogical."
She snapped her fingers.
Space folded. A massive Heavenly Nail - the kind that destroyed Dragonspine and The Chasm - materialized directly above Raiden's head.
"Drop," she commanded.
"Raiden!" Aether screamed.
The Nail fell.
Raiden looked up.
"Great Sage. Weight of the Skyfrost Nail?"
"Analysis. 500,000 Tons. Kinetic Energy: Catastrophic."
"Can we catch it?"
"Probability: 50%."
"Good enough."
Raiden didn't dodge. He caught the Nail.
BOOOOM.
The impact cratered the divine plaza. Dust rose.
When it cleared, Raiden was on one knee, holding the massive blue crystal pillar on his shoulder. His clothes were torn, revealing the black dragon scales beneath. His arms were trembling, veins glowing with purple power.
"Is that all you got?" Raiden gritted his teeth, blood trickling from his nose. "I lift heavier things in the gym!"
The Sustainer's eyes widened slightly. "Impossible."
"Hey, Sustainer!" Raiden shouted.
He gripped the Nail. [Gravity Manipulation: Invert].
"RETURN TO SENDER!"
Raiden threw the Heavenly Nail back at the God.
The Sustainer teleported away instantly, but the Nail smashed into the Golden Palace behind her, destroying a massive tower.
"You destroy the Divine Sanctum," The Sustainer's voice grew distorted, angry. "You must be purged."
She began to gather energy. The red cubes turned black. Corruption.
"Wait," Aether paused. "That energy... it's Abyssal."
"She's corrupted," Capitano realized. "The Heavenly Principles are eroding. That is why they have been silent."
Suddenly, a golden portal opened behind the Sustainer.
A spear made of pure starlight shot out, piercing the Sustainer's shoulder.
"Ack!" The Sustainer stumbled.
From the golden portal walked a blonde figure. Identical to Aether. But her eyes were cold, and she wore the armor of the Abyss.
Lumine. The Princess of the Abyss.
"You took too long, brother," Lumine said, pulling her sword from the void.
"Lumine!" Aether gasped.
Lumine looked at Raiden.
"And you," Lumine nodded. "The Glutton. You made quite a mess down there."
"I try," Raiden wiped the blood from his nose.
Lumine pointed her sword at the Sustainer.
"The Throne is empty, Asmoday. The Primordial One is gone. You are just a caretaker guarding a grave."
The Sustainer roared, her form glitching. "I AM THE ORDER!"
The battlefield became chaos.
1. The Sustainer vs. Lumine & Aether.
2. Capitano smashing the automated defenses of Celestia.
3. Raiden... eating the architecture.
Raiden ran to the side. He found the Pillars of Celestia.
"System. Are these pillars important?"
"Analysis. They maintain the ley line flow of the world."
"Nom."
Raiden bit a chunk out of a pillar.
The entire island tilted.
"STOP EATING THE FOUNDATION!" The Sustainer shrieked, distracted from fighting the twins.
"Make me!" Raiden laughed, tearing off a golden railing.
The Sustainer realized she was losing. The Abyss, the Humans, and the Dragon were too much.
She floated to the center of the plaza.
"If I cannot maintain Order," she whispered. "Then I shall reset it."
She began to merge with the reality of Celestia itself. She grew massive. Her form became abstract - a giant geometric angel of destruction.
The God of Heavenly Principles (Avatar State).
"REBOOT."
A wave of white light - erasure energy - swept across the plaza.
"She's going to wipe the save file!" Raiden realized.
Capitano braced himself. "This power... I cannot punch it."
Lumine and Aether summoned a combined shield, but it was cracking.
Raiden looked at the wave of white light.
"Great Sage. Can we eat a server wipe?"
"Analysis. The energy volume exceeds current stomach capacity by 200%. Attempting to consume will result in Entity Burst."
"What if we evolve?"
"...Explanation?"
"Evolve into the True Void. Become the concept of Nothingness."
"Probability of survival: 1%. Probability of becoming a mindless black hole: 99%."
Raiden grinned. "I like those odds."
He stepped in front of the group.
"Hey, everyone! Get behind me!"
Raiden transformed.
[Ultimate Skill: Beelzebuth — Final Form: World-Eater Dragon].
He didn't grow in size. He shrank. He condensed.
He became a human-shaped silhouette of pure Vantablack. No features. Just a void in the shape of a man.
The white light hit him.
It didn't bounce off. It fell in.
Raiden walked forward into the erasure beam. He was eating the reset button.
"Delicious," a voice echoed from the void-man.
He reached the giant geometric Sustainer.
He placed a hand on her face.
"Game Over."
[Gluttony: System Crash].
CRACK.
The sky broke. The Sustainer screamed as her code was unraveled by the Gluttony skill.
Raiden absorbed the Heavenly Principles.
The light faded.
Raiden stood in the center of the ruined plaza. He reverted to his normal human form, but his eyes were different. They contained galaxies.
He burped. A small star floated out.
"I'm... really full," Raiden groaned, clutching his stomach. "I think I ate the concept of Tuesday."
Before them stood the massive doors to the Throne Room of the Primordial One.
Lumine walked up to Aether. She sheathed her sword.
"The caretaker is gone," Lumine said. "But the Throne remains. One of us must take it. Or destroy it."
She looked at Raiden.
"Or... maybe the Dragon wants it?"
Raiden looked at the Throne. It radiated ultimate power. Authority over Teyvat. The ability to rewrite fate.
Raiden walked up to the Throne. He sniffed it.
"It smells like gold and responsibility," Raiden wrinkled his nose.
He turned around and sat on the steps in front of the Throne.
"Nah," Raiden picked his teeth. "I'm not a ruler. I'm a consultant. You guys fight over the chair. I just want to know if there's a dessert cart."