After Mavuika left, another girl came running over.
"Rios, why did you suddenly leave the banquet?" Mualani ran over and said.
"I just finished dancing and saw that you were gone. Are you feeling unwell?"
Hearing the girl's words, Rios realized what was happening and immediately covered his mouth to start coughing.
"Cough cough!"
"Rios, what's wrong?" Mualani's voice carried a hint of anxiety.
"It's nothing." Rios waved his hand, his throat somewhat hoarse. "I just got a little injured during the battle with the Abyss."
Mualani quickly said with concern, "Then why don't you go see a doctor?"
"If you're injured, you have to see a doctor!"
Rios shook his head. "It's no use. This is an injury from the Abyss—no doctor in the entire Teyvat can cure it."
After all, he wasn't sick at all, so how could it be cured?
"Th-then what should we do?" Mualani became at a loss, standing in place and fretting anxiously.
"We can only rest and recuperate." Rios's tone was helpless. "With my current body, I can no longer bear the power brought by the Gnosis."
"Soon, I'll hold the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame and let everyone select the new Pyro Archon."
Mualani's face paled in shock. "Doesn't that mean you won't be the Pyro Archon anymore?"
Rios nodded slightly. "Although it's a pity, my body truly can't handle it anymore."
Thanks to Mualani, Rios had finally come up with a reasonable excuse to resign.
His health was poor and he needed to rest.
Even though he was still the strongest in Natlan right now, his body just wasn't good.
Anyone who disagreed could fight him.
He'd accompany them anytime.
"Rios, will you still be working at the assembly hall for the time being?" Mualani asked with concern.
"Probably not." Rios shook his head. "Although procedurally, I haven't handed over the position of Pyro Archon to Mavuika yet, I've already given the Gnosis to her, so all the work at the assembly hall should be left to Mavuika to handle."
Although it was all supposed to be handled by Mavuika anyway.
After hearing Rios's words, Mualani's eyes lit up. "Does that mean you'll continue living with the People of the Springs from now on?"
"This..." Rios paused, then said, "Before the new Pyro Archon is selected, I'll stay with the People of the Springs."
But once Mavuika became the new Pyro Archon, he'd go tour other nations.
"Then when are you going back? Tonight or tomorrow night?" Mualani spoke quickly. "Oh right, you just finished a big battle and need to rest well. Why don't you stay at the Stadium of the Sacred Flame for the night first, and head back to the tribe tomorrow?"
Rios couldn't help but chuckle. "If I want to go back, I can actually go now."
"But you're injured." Mualani said.
"Then can't the Saurian partners just send me back?" Rios whistled, and soon a red Qucusaurus flapped its wings and flew over.
"Little Red, I'll be counting on you to fly me back next." Rios said with a smile.
"I forgot you have a Qucusaurus as a partner too." Mualani then remembered.
Although Rios was from the People of the Springs, he raised many different kinds of Saurian partners.
For ordinary people, these Saurians were reliable partners, but for the powerful Rios, these Saurians were truly like pets—they rarely fought and were all raised by Rios to be plump and fat.
"Come on up, Mualani." Rios nimbly sat on the wyvern's back and extended a hand toward the girl.
Mualani blinked, not sitting up right away.
Seeing this, Rios asked curiously, "What's wrong? Do you think you've exceeded the weight limit and Little Red can't carry you?"
"Of course not." Mualani laughed and scolded, then said, "I just haven't said goodbye to my friends yet. Wait for me a bit."
With that, the girl turned and ran back toward the banquet.
Not long after, she came running back hurriedly and hopped onto the dragon's back with a "Woo-hoo."
In the instant she jumped on, Rios could clearly feel the wyvern's back sink a little lower than before.
"You really have gained weight." Rios said.
"I told you I haven't gained weight." Mualani punched Rios's back with her fist, stubbornly saying, "I just ate a lot at the banquet, so I'm only a tiny bit heavier than usual."
Rios said, "I hope this 'tiny bit' of yours doesn't give my Little Red a herniated disc."
With that, the Qucusaurus took the two into the sky, flying toward the direction of the Springs.
During the flight, Mualani, sitting behind him, asked, "Rios, after we get back to the tribe, do you want to go straight to sleep or soak in the hot springs first?"
Rios was silent for a moment. "Better to sleep first."
"Why? You haven't soaked in the hot springs for a long time, and you just went through such a tough battle—you should soak in the hot springs to relax."
"I'm injured."
"Oh..."
Mualani didn't argue anymore.
======
After some time, Natlan held the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame once again.
This time, the event was no longer for battling the Abyss, but to select the new Pyro Archon.
Although everyone knew Mavuika's strength was second only to Rios, they all felt she wasn't invincible.
Mavuika was very strong, but not as monstrous as Rios—if one performed well, got lucky, and was in top form, it was still possible to win the competition and claim the Gnosis.
Then, they suffered a merciless beatdown from Mavuika.
Although Mavuika's strength wasn't as monstrous as Rios's, as the only one who could last twenty seconds against Rios before he ascended to godhood, her strength was actually far superior to the warriors of Natlan.
For Mavuika, although she had to go through the formal competition to obtain the position of Pyro Archon, it overall felt just like going through the motions.
Rios arrived at the spectator stands and found the blonde Traveler girl watching the matches, along with the white unidentified floating object Paimon by her side.
"Huh, Your Excellency, the Pyro Archon, why are you here?" Seeing Rios approach, Paimon widened her eyes in surprise.
Then, Paimon looked toward the special seat reserved for the Pyro Archon in the audience—there was also a red-haired, golden-eyed youth sitting there. "If you're here, then who's that sitting in that seat?"
"Of course, it's also me." Rios said with a smile. "Just that one's a clone I made with Pyro elements."
"A clone?" Paimon found it unbelievable. "Can Pyro elements even do that?"
"Elemental power is pretty amazing, right?" Rios said with a smile.
"Pyro Archon, is there something you need?" the Traveler asked. She didn't think the Pyro Archon had come over just for casual chit-chat.
"Rather than calling it something, it's more like a reminder." Rios said. "Traveler, have you resonated with the Statues of The Seven lately?"
"Now that the threat of the Abyss is lifted, you should be able to resonate with Pyro elemental power through the Statues of The Seven."
Hearing Rios's words, the two girls finally realized—they indeed hadn't resonated with the Statues of The Seven during this time and didn't even know about it.
"Thanks for the reminder." The Traveler thanked him. "I'll go try resonating with the Statues of The Seven right after."
Seeing the Traveler's eager expression, Rios said, "One more thing."
He took out a replica of a Vision from his pocket and handed it to Paimon. "This is a Vision for Paimon."