Time rewound slightly.
Lynn split off a portion of his origin and fed it to Teyvat's planetary will.
The entire planet was the planetary will's body, and the atmosphere was also part of the planet. In theory, even scattering that origin directly into the air would have worked.
But to be safe, he still drove that origin into the ground.
Then the effect was immediate. The planetary will, already in such a miserable state that one had to wonder how it was still alive, instantly regained some vigor. From the perspective of the world, several vitally important parts began rapidly recovering.
The amount of origin was not large. After all, his world-incarnation had only just been born, with no real reserves to speak of, and he still had to ensure his own health. Even if he wanted to give more, he simply could not.
But for Teyvat, it was already enough to drag its condition back from the brink of death to a relatively safe level.
Most importantly, because of the immense gap in status, the effect of Teyvat absorbing this bit of Lynn's origin was not a one-time thing. It was equivalent to gaining an extra self-healing buff. The effect was not obvious, but it would shine over the long term.
[Tha...nk you, newborn... great being.]
After reviving, it immediately expressed its gratitude to Lynn.
Like a person bedridden for a long time, its current state could hardly be called good. It had only just awakened, so even a simple expression of thanks came out haltingly.
But it had to do so, because after absorbing that portion of origin, it immediately understood what had happened to itself, as well as Lynn's status.
[What can I... do for you?]
After expressing its thanks, it sent Lynn an inquiry. The meaning was obvious: it wanted to repay him.
Faced with Teyvat's initiative, Lynn was first a little surprised. Then he gained a clearer understanding of himself, and at the same time, a clearer understanding of how world wills interacted with one another.
Was Teyvat being so proactive because it was kindhearted?
The answer was actually no.
It was simply trying to latch onto a stronger backer.
Although Lynn preferred to describe beings like this as straightforward, from the perspective of an ordinary human, calling them savage might be more fitting.
Whether it was a planetary will like Teyvat or a higher-level cosmic will, as macro-level consciousnesses, they did not possess moral concepts. The law of the jungle was the norm.
The reason Lynn dared expose himself and seek investment without fearing he would be devoured cleanly was because, when facing the universe, his own scale was too small.
Like a person dying of thirst might fight desperately over a drop of water, but would not bother with a single newborn water molecule. There would be no point.
As for facing Teyvat, what he relied on was the fact that his status was high enough.
Between worlds, only beings of equal status needed to compare scale. The reason Teyvat could absorb Lynn's origin was not because it had that ability, but because Lynn allowed it to absorb it.
And the current situation was this: Teyvat had realized that this newborn higher-order being, Lynn, had not only made no attempt to plunder it—never mind whether the newly born Lynn even had that capability—but had also shown it goodwill.
To put it bluntly, it wanted to get in on the ground floor.
After all, the underlying logic of a world will had only two priorities: first survival, second development. By following a newborn higher-order being like Lynn, both survival and development were covered.
[Hmm...]
Lynn reorganized his thoughts before deciding how to continue.
The other side was being too proactive. He had originally prepared a whole string of Inazuman-style lines, things like, "Lady Teyvat, you don't want to completely perish in the universe, do you?" But now there was no need for any of them.
The scale of his demands also seemed like it could be raised. What he had originally meant to say was something along the lines of, "Help me grow. Invest in me, and I'll bring you generous returns. Want to take the gamble?"
But now it seemed...
[Become my subordinate. Hide my existence so the universe's operational instincts won't notice me. Provide resources for my growth, and once I'm past my newborn stage, I'll carry you to the top!]
[I am willing to serve you.]
Teyvat responded without the slightest hesitation. Judging by how smooth that reply was, its ability to communicate was recovering rapidly.
Then Lynn sensed that the pure white radiance pressing down on him from all sides was beginning to fade—
It was Teyvat. Using the instincts of a planetary will, it was helping conceal Lynn's world-incarnation.
It was like a disciple of a sacred land using his own residence to help evade the detection of the grand formation.
Relative to this universe, this was undoubtedly a form of betrayal.
But to Teyvat, it was merely the inevitable choice for survival.
However, such an action was clearly not a minor drain on Teyvat. Lynn could see that the state it had only just restored to the safety line had worsened by a few degrees again.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the end of its actions—
Boom!
This was the rumbling roar of a disturbance on the level of laws.
Teyvat made another move that caught Lynn off guard, and this time, the surprise far exceeded the last.
Lynn stared in complete shock—if he had facial features right now—at Teyvat forcibly tearing off a portion of its own "maimed limb," transforming it into a crimson rhombic crystal that melted into the outer membrane of the world-incarnation and formed a layer of protection.
Along with it came a final message:
[I am very sorry, my lord. The expenditure was somewhat greater than expected. I need to sleep for a while first. Please accept this portion of authority. It can help you mobilize part of my power, as well as part of a power that did not originally belong to me, lowering the chances of attracting attention when you use your own strength.]
[In addition, it may also be able to help you in some other ways...]
Once he received the message, he completely confirmed the crystal's true identity:
After half of it had been seized by the Heavenly Principles, this was the remaining half of the Pyro elemental authority. It could also be called the Pyro Authority.
This thing should originally have belonged to the Pyro Dragon King. But the first generation Pyro Dragon King had fallen. Although its remaining limbs and a fragment of its consciousness were suspected to have fused with the Abyss, Teyvat was absolutely not going to acknowledge that. Whether the planetary will was asleep or awake had nothing to do with it—half of the Pyro Authority was bound to return and wait to be bestowed upon the next generation of the Pyro Dragon King.
But now, with no next-generation Pyro Dragon King yet born, the awakened planetary will had temporarily handed it over to Lynn...
(End of Chapter)
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