Grand Sage Azar suddenly froze mid-breath.
"The Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
No matter how brilliant his mind was, he simply could not comprehend how Aerin, as shown on the light screen, had casually seized Nahida as if plucking her from the world itself.
Panicked, Azar rushed to the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Only to discover—
Nahida was still there.
Still sealed within the energy barrier.
Safe. Intact.
Nahida herself blinked in confusion.
"He… took me away with a flick of his hand?"
"What just happened?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"How did the Fifth Descender even do that?"
"Hmph. So you still don't understand."
Azar's cold laughter snapped her attention back to reality.
He was standing right before her.
"You do understand?" Nahida asked calmly.
Azar's eyes burned.
"That was power from beyond this world—supreme authority untouched by Teyvat itself."
"No one can truly comprehend it."
His expression twisted, growing feverish.
Excitement. Reverence. Obsession.
He spread his arms wide.
"The Fifth Descender is omnipotent! He surpasses everything!"
"He is the true god!"
"Compared to him, every god of Teyvat is dim and insignificant!"
Then his gaze dimmed.
"Even the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata would have marveled at such divinity."
Nahida frowned deeply.
Something was wrong with Azar today.
"What's happened to you?" she asked softly.
Azar shook his head.
"You're not enough."
"As a god, you lack both wisdom and divinity."
"Your kindness only makes you weaker."
"To Sumeru, your existence is no different from Liyue without Rex Lapis."
"We don't only need wisdom."
"We need power."
"The Fatui Harbinger Il Dottore came to me. He found a suitable test subject."
"For years, we pursued the God Creation Project."
"Extracting the dreams of Sumeru's people… turning consciousness itself into divine fuel."
"I wanted to create a god who possessed both wisdom and strength."
Azar laughed bitterly.
"But the Fifth Descender's arrival frightened Dottore away."
"The experiment was terminated."
"I know what we did—tampering with dreams, with will itself."
"That crosses his bottom line."
He finally looked at Nahida.
Before leaving, he said quietly:
"Since the Fifth Descender has chosen to educate you…"
"You should cherish this opportunity."
Shock Across Teyvat
The scene on the light screen left everyone stunned.
They knew Aerin had no intention of sparing those he deemed unworthy.
But no one expected him to turn and seize a white-haired child-god mid-judgment.
[Furina]: "Who is that? She looks… kind of blank?"
[Hu Tao]: "No idea! I was already ready to be buried with Liyue and suddenly—bam—a white-haired kid appears!"
[Xiangling]: "The sword did fall, but only sealed the guilty."
[Beidou]: "We're fine. Hu Tao just sealed herself into a coffin again."
[Hu Tao]: "Focus! Who is she?! And when did he even protect the World Tree?!"
[Venti]: "Hehe… don't ask me. I don't get it either."
[Amber]: "Does anyone recognize her?"
[Collei]: "If she's here… could she speak?"
[Nahida]: "That's me. I'm… I'm…"
[Hu Tao]: "Your profile says… Dendro Archon?!"
[Paimon]: "She's a god?!"
[Lumine]: "Master casually grabbed Sumeru's Archon?!"
[Lisa]: "And you Valkyries still doubt your master's power?"
[Eula]: "I just know my strength keeps increasing…"
[Nilou]: "That girl is… our god?"
[Collei]: "The Fifth Descender took our Archon to Liyue?!"
Reactions Across the NationsMondstadt
Venti wiped sweat from his brow.
"She's wearing shackles…"
"So the rumors carried by a thousand-year wind were true."
"The new Dendro Archon really is in trouble."
But one thing puzzled him.
Why was Aerin personally intervening in Sumeru?
Mt. Aocang, Liyue
Xianyun's excitement overwhelmed her anxiety.
Those who fought for Liyue had clearly passed.
But watching Aerin casually abduct an Archon…
It shattered all sense of scale.
"A god… lifted like a chick."
"And he protected the World Tree without anyone noticing."
"When did he do all of this?"
Shenhe replied flatly:
"When dealing with him, the unfathomable is the norm."
Inazuma — Kamisato Estate
Ayaka's hand trembled.
The piece she placed rattled against the board.
She stared at the man across from her.
She knew he was terrifying.
But grabbing gods like toys?
That was… overwhelming.
"I didn't scare you," Aerin said calmly.
"Your Go skills are simply mediocre."
He placed the final stone.
Checkmate.
This wasn't scaring me?!
Ayaka thought weakly.
"Bring some tea," Aerin said.
"Yes—right away!"
She fled.
Aerin reviewed his newly acquired rewards.
New Acquisitions
[Thousand Worlds, One Vehicle]
Allows observation of other worlds and the opening of interworld connections.
Designated targets may travel freely between connected worlds.
Note: Once activated, weaving screens may be projected into other worlds and pulled into the group channel.
[Imperial Armor]
Ultimate armor of light, wielding the Five Phases.
Combined with light and darkness, it encompasses all attributes.
Aerin fell silent.
The Future Weaving System's reward pool really was obscene.
Strong when it mattered.
Stylish when it mattered.
And sometimes—both.
Elsewhere — Irminsul
Bella approached the vast, pink-hued World Tree.
Bluish-violet roots sprawled endlessly.
She placed her claw against the trunk—
Bang.
Golden light flared.
She was blasted backward.
Stabilizing herself, Bella narrowed her eyes.
"Taixu Sword Intent?"
"When did Aerin embed it into Irminsul?"
Then realization struck.
"When repairing Inazuma's ley lines…"
"The roots connect to the World Tree."
"He spread it across Irminsul itself."
She observed closely.
"He's occupied it… not rewritten it."
"No wonder Dottore and Scaramouche could still act."
"He underestimated them."
Bella chuckled.
Dottore — Somewhere in Teyvat
Dottore rubbed his nose awkwardly.
"So controlling Irminsul is trivial to him…"
"No matter how many segments I have…"
"There's no escaping him."
He laughed bleakly.
"So this is how it feels."
"Waiting for death."
"Is this what my test subjects felt?"
Sumeru — Hidden Chamber
Bella stepped out of shattered space.
"The Dendro Archon is gone," Dottore said quietly.
"The Akademiya is panicking."
Bella scoffed.
"That Archon? What can she do?"
"Can she fight?"
Dottore shrugged.
"Does she have overwhelming authority?"
Another shrug.
"Then why worry?"
"She's probably been taken by Aerin."
"As long as Archons obey, he usually doesn't mind."
Bella laughed.
"Obey?"
"She couldn't even escape a human prison."
"What does he want her for?"
"To warm his feet?"
The words cut like knives.
Nahida felt numb.
Warm… his feet…
Her imprisonment was exposed.
Her weakness laid bare before all of Teyvat.
And worst of all—
Bella wasn't wrong.
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