Outside Herta's office.
As thanks for Asta introducing him to Herta, Nolan handed her a four-star artifact. Asta accepted it with delight, smiling brightly as she said,
"Hehe, thank you~ I was already curious about these artifacts the moment you mentioned them."
[Asta Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (300/500)]
As another notification appeared, Nolan smiled and said,
"Then, Miss Asta, I'll take my leave and get back to work."
"Mhm, see you around—and just call me Asta," she said, waving goodbye before heading back to her station.
Nolan walked along the main control corridor, checking his phone—it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. That meant it was barely one in the morning back in Teyvat.
So he returned to his room and summoned the "Sword God of Lumine," letting her continue disguising herself as him to handle his duties on the station.
Meanwhile, he planned to go back and rest.
Since he couldn't split his consciousness while asleep to control the Sword God of Lumine, he simply let her stay in the room and laze around.
His current position was similar to that of Zhongli's consultant role—he only had to step in for important matters, and most of the time he was free.
No one ever came to check up on him anyway.
Still, Nolan used the adeptus arts knowledge he'd obtained from Ganyu's affection skill to inscribe a warning formation on Lumine's avatar.
If anyone came to find him, the formation would alert him instantly, allowing him to transfer back immediately—a simple and convenient safeguard.
When Nolan returned to the Wonderland Space, he climbed back into bed, pulling the girls into his arms, feeling the warmth of their bodies as they rested together.
By morning, after a brief cultivation session with the half-awake girls, his progress had risen significantly once again:
[Level: Lv.111 (450,362 / 21,000,000)]
After getting up and sharing breakfast with the girls—who soon left for work—Nolan headed to the third-floor library.
There, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata sat gracefully in a chair. Like Nahida, she had pure white hair and long pointed ears. With her dream authority, she projected an interface of the "Akasha Interconnected Network" before her, browsing through new research developments across the connected nations.
She had recently taken up scholarly research herself, focusing on theoretical studies.
Now, her soul form was half-corporeal; thanks to the space's properties and her deep affection bond with Nolan, she had nearly recovered.
Nolan approached and sat beside her, gently wrapping an arm around her slender waist.
Unlike Ei's soul form, the Greater Lord's presence felt lighter—lacking the physical warmth or softness of a real body.
"What is it?" she asked calmly, her fair face turned slightly toward him but her eyes still fixed on the virtual display. "I'm still not recovered enough to train with you, you know."
Because they spent so much time together, her affection for him had grown from Level 7 to Level 9—already very close to the maximum:
[Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's Affection Level: Lv.9 (600/900)]
Just one more boost, and she would reach full affection, unlocking her special affection skill. Thanks to their close bond, their gestures toward each other had become naturally intimate. Unfortunately, it would still take some time before she could join him in cultivation again.
Resting his chin on her shoulder, Nolan looked at the same virtual interface and said softly,
"Do you know anything about the world's authorities—or about Fontaine's prophecy crisis?"
He then recounted everything he'd discussed with Herta, including her advice.
"The woman wasn't wrong," the Greater Lord replied thoughtfully. "In Teyvat, the Seven Elements form the foundation of the entire world. The purest, most fundamental elemental authorities are naturally born within the world itself.
"They are the world's own powers—Teyvat's divine prerogatives. Because Teyvat was created upon the Seven Elements, the world is especially fond of elemental life.
"These seven elemental authorities, born from the world's core, are granted to the highest form of elemental life—the elemental Dragon Kings. Hence, these are also known as the Seven Sovereigns."
She paused her browsing, her soft lips moving as she continued:
"The elemental Dragon Kings who possess the Sovereign Authorities are innately able to command all things in Teyvat related to their respective elements.
"Unlike us ordinary Archons, who—even when we hold elemental authority—must still train and grow to wield that power effectively.
"Even if a god were to reach a level of mastery nearly equal to a Dragon King's, they would still be suppressed by the Sovereign Authority itself, because Teyvat's elements are naturally attuned to those dragons.
"When we wield the elements, it costs us effort and energy. But for them, it might only take a tenth—or even less. In a highly concentrated elemental environment, they might not just consume nothing, but even grow stronger as they fight."
Nolan blinked, astonished.
"So they're basically the world's favored children. Born with elemental authority—yeah, that's something to envy."
"Of course," she replied gently, "being beloved by the elements also makes it far more difficult for the Dragon Kings to grasp other forms of authority—like those over dreams or wisdom.
"So far, there's never been a recorded case of an elemental Dragon King mastering any authority beyond their own."
The Greater Lord shook her head softly—she herself didn't seem envious. For her, the best authority was the one most suited to oneself.
"The Divine Thrones that granted us—the Seven Archons—the right to rule the mortal realm were actually crafted by Heavenly Principles using fragments of the elemental Dragon Kings' power.
"As a result, every Sovereign Authority in existence became incomplete.
"In theory, a complete Water Dragon Authority would grant absolute control over the water element—perfect mastery over everything in Teyvat tied to water, including the Primordial Sea itself.
"But the 'Divine Throne' only contains a fragment of that authority. It cannot manipulate the Primordial Sea at a molecular level—thus, the former Hydro Archon, Egeria, was unable to fully transform the purewater spirits into true humans."
She turned her head toward Nolan, paused for a moment, and continued explaining:
"The current Hydro Archon, Focalors, is primarily the God of Justice. Her mastery over the water element is actually weaker than her authority over justice.
"Even with the amplification granted by the Sovereign Authority, she still can't turn the people of Fontaine into true humans.
"So, the first method that Ms. Herta mentioned—the best one—is indeed impossible to achieve with the current conditions of Teyvat."
Nolan frowned slightly, puzzled.
"The Divine Throne? I thought it was the Gnosis that granted you the Sovereign Authority?"
"Not exactly," the Greater Lord replied. "The Gnosis does contain elemental power, but that power is not the same as that of the Sovereign Authority. Its origin remains unknown.
"The World Tree records nothing clear about it. In essence, a Gnosis functions more like a magnifier—allowing a god to better exert their own power.
"But the Divine Thrones, created from fragments of the Sovereign Authorities, are fused directly into a god's soul. After all, only the soul can bear such power."
As the embodiment of the World Tree, the Greater Lord was supposed to know everything in existence. Yet even her records showed parts of the Gnosis' data had been erased.
"I see…" Nolan murmured, finally understanding. After thinking for a few seconds, he asked,
"Then do you think it's possible to find the Water Sovereign, return the missing part of the Sovereign Authority to them, and have them use their complete authority to help transform the people of Fontaine into true humans?"
He recalled the time he had discussed the Water Dragon King with Kokomi in Enkanomiya—though he didn't know whether a new Water Dragon King had been born yet.
If not, then his only option would be to gather everyone to research a massive formation that could isolate the Fontaine people from contact with the Primordial Sea's water.
With his current power, he could deploy an array large enough to cover an entire nation. That would buy some time—after which he could ask Herta to introduce him to Ruan Mei, the life-science genius of the Genius Society.
For someone capable of reviving an entire planet, transforming the people of Fontaine into true humans would probably be a trivial task.
But the Greater Lord slowly shook her head.
"Even setting aside whether this generation's Water Dragon King has been born… even if you did find one, those elemental Dragon Kings are fundamentally different from us Archons. They have no reason to save humankind.
"Worse still, many of them resent the gods—and, by extension, humans—for the fact that their Sovereign Authorities were taken and turned into Gnoses.
"Even if there happened to be a Water Dragon King who loved humanity as Egeria once did, you couldn't just give them back their authority. Returning an Sovereign Authority isn't as simple as passing around a Gnosis."
"Oh?" Nolan asked, puzzled. "So there's a special condition for returning it?"
"The Divine Throne is fused with the soul," the Greater Lord explained softly. "Under normal circumstances, it functions as a part of us. We can use the Sovereign Authority it contains, but we cannot remove or transfer it.
"When a god dies, their Divine Throne may automatically pass to their successor. The only way to release the Sovereign Authority and return it to the Dragon King is to destroy the Divine Throne itself.
"But to destroy a Divine Throne requires a force so immense that even other top-tier gods would struggle to achieve it—and since the Throne is fused with the soul, destroying it also means the god will fall."
Her tone grew heavy as she spoke those final words.
"Fall… huh?" Nolan murmured, frowning. "So that method won't work after all. Hmm?"
Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought struck him—the figure of Focalors, hidden within the Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale, came to mind.
As the successor of the former Hydro Archon, Focalors couldn't possibly be unaware of how to resolve the condition afflicting the people of Fontaine.
And when he thought about it carefully—if her plan truly was to restore the complete Sovereign Authority by returning it to the Water Dragon King so they could save her people—then many mysteries began to make sense.
First, why she was hiding within the Oratrice. That machine's purpose was to collect faith in justice and convert it into Righteous Energy.
If it were merely for powering the city, there'd be no reason for her to stay inside it for centuries.
After all, both she and Furina could collect faith simply by attending trials in person.
But if Focalors were secretly using that machine to gather enough energy to destroy her own Divine Throne, then the picture became clear.
The energy generated for the city's operations was likely only a small portion of the Oratrice's output—the rest, Focalors could have been storing within the core, amassing enough to one day shatter her Throne and release the full Water Authority back to the Dragon King.
No wonder she had remained hidden for centuries. To execute such a plan, she couldn't risk "Heavenly Principles" discovering it—and she needed full concentration to accumulate energy. That must be why she pushed Furina into the spotlight.
Then there was the question of why the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, possessed such an extraordinarily high level of power.
After the Archon War, there were almost no surviving gods aside from the Seven. Those who weren't dead were sealed—or had fled Teyvat entirely.
Yet here was someone nearly equal to a top-tier god… serving as Fontaine's Chief Justice.
That alone was strange. But if Neuvillette were actually the Water Dragon King's incarnation—just as Azhdaha had been in Liyue—then everything would make perfect sense.
The more Nolan thought about it, the more convinced he became.
It was only speculation, but his reasoning flowed naturally: to resolve Fontaine's prophecy crisis, only a complete Sovereign Authority could do the job.
And verifying it wouldn't be difficult. All he needed was to visit the Palais Mermonia and ask the Chief Justice directly—if he was the Water Dragon King, then everything would be confirmed.
As for asking Focalors herself… that was pointless. She had hidden herself for centuries; she'd never admit it.
If her plan was truly to destroy her Divine Throne, then when the time came—she would die with it.
That also explained why, when Nolan had previously asked her to cooperate in developing the "Akasha Interconnected Network" using her Authority of Justice, she had seemed tempted but ultimately refused.
If she intended to perish once her mission was complete, then of course she wouldn't form long-term collaborations.
Nolan realized he needed to confirm this quickly.
If Focalors really intended to go through with such a plan, it would be a serious problem. No god capable of enduring centuries of isolation for her people's sake would ever give up on that resolve.
There was no doubting a god's determination to save her people—just as Raiden Ei, in her pursuit of "Eternity," had driven herself into a dead end for the sake of her promise to Inazuma.
After pondering for a while, Nolan decided to act.
He asked the Greater Lord to notify Nahida, Raiden Makoto, Raiden Ei, Guizhong, Havria, Kitsune Saiguu, Cloud Retainer, and Yae Miko—all powerful allies—to begin researching a formation capable of isolating the Primordial Sea's water.
The sooner such a defense was ready, the better; after all, no one knew when the prophesied crisis might strike.
As for himself, Nolan teleported directly to Fontaine, heading for the Palais Mermonia to confirm the Chief Justice's identity.
After that, he would investigate the Primordial Sea itself—to observe its rising levels and detect any abnormalities.
After all, crises never happen without cause. If the root lay in the Primordial Sea, then something had to be wrong there.
(End of Chapter)
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +25 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +400 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌