"Whether you have it is one thing, whether you can use it is another! Such a waste!"
Ryen once again brought out his usual argument.
Zhongli was a little speechless. Azhdaha glanced at him, then cautiously said:
"Um… should we… fight one more time?"
Hearing this, Ningguang quickly intervened.
With a slightly helpless look at Ryen, she said softly:
"No need. Don't mind him—he's just joking. The urgent matter is to first let you, Azhdaha, understand the current state of Liyue."
"There are many things you need to know before we proceed."
Azhdaha breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment of thought, he spoke quietly:
"Is… this about the thing that brought me back to life?"
"I'm also curious… what changes have happened in Liyue?"
Zhongli nodded slightly.
"We can talk on the way back. You probably don't want to stay here any longer."
Azhdaha didn't object.
Even though his memories had been worn down previously, this place had left a deep impression.
After all, this place had sealed him for a long time—not exactly a suitable spot for conversation.
He also wanted to take a closer look at Liyue's current scenery.
Ryen pouted, no longer fussing about divine energy, and somewhat sulkily mounted the dragon with the others to return.
Azhdaha also had a dragon to ride, and his size could still shrink.
Of course, what it felt like for a giant Azhdaha to ride a dragon—that was something Ryen could never know.
But to be fair, though the big Azhdaha looked imposing and majestic, once shrunk…
Politely put, he looked odd; bluntly put… like a frog.
Before long, everyone returned to Ryen's small courtyard.
Along the way, Azhdaha saw many of the Qixing forces that had undergone massive changes—indeed, a truly awe-inspiring sight.
Full of questions, Azhdaha could hardly contain himself. The moment he landed, he immediately started asking about what had happened.
Ningguang didn't take over the explanation. After all, Azhdaha had just been restored, and Zhongli had a lot to say as Azhdaha's closest friend.
So Zhongli, as Azhdaha's closest companion, took the lead in speaking.
As for Ningguang… she couldn't help but find Ryen's rare childish mood amusing.
Ryen sat on a chair, one hand propping up his chin, looking sulky.
Ningguang quietly poked him, teasing:
"Still sulking?"
Ryen glanced at her and complained:
"This isn't about sulking! Think about it—I've always pursued abilities with maxed-out flashy effects. In my imagination, I have countless cool skills I want to combine."
"But Zhongli and the others… they just used their abundant divine energy so crudely."
"This is a desecration of my beliefs!"
Ningguang shook her head, smiling.
"You make it sound so serious."
"Besides, isn't your power also something everyone dreams of having?"
Ningguang could understand Ryen.
Though his complaints were absurd, they were understandable.
Ryen was indeed very strong, but in Teyvat, he had no elemental power!
Every day, he watched everyone use flashy elemental abilities—summoning lightning, ice filling the skies…
And Ryen?
All he ever did was throw punches.
Expressive enough, yes, but ultimately, it was pure strength causing destruction.
Finally, with elemental power in hand, it ended up being the Evil Eye—which, strictly speaking, doesn't belong to the Archon's elemental system.
The details are complicated, but in short…
It's just Ryen's pursuit.
After gaining invincible power, a person always craves something.
Love, or a more dazzling form of strength.
Yeah…
Purely out of boredom.
But Ningguang and the others were more than willing to support Ryen's little tantrums.
Ryen was normally indifferent and desireless.
He had a world as his foundation, and unmatched power.
He really didn't need anything extra.
No need for Morax, no desire for indulgence.
People always have pursuits.
Ningguang pursues Morax, Lisa pursues knowledge…
Ryen pursues coolness!
Yeah…
Ningguang and the others might not understand, but that didn't stop them from supporting him.
After all, this was their man.
Seeing Ryen a little sulky, the Cryo Archon quietly chuckled to herself and whispered:
"If you don't mind… Zhongli and Venti's Gnosis are still with me, along with mine."
"Three Gnosis—you can use them."
Hearing this, Ryen immediately perked up, looking at her expectantly.
"Gnosis? Aren't those just tools linked to Celestia?"
The Cryo Archon shook her head.
"That's not exactly right."
"You probably heard Zhongli say this before. Indeed, for us, beings who are Archons, these aren't especially useful."
"But they aren't fragile either."
"A Gnosis can be considered a tool for gathering and storing power."
"The strength of an Archon relates to managing a nation; you could also understand it as faith…"
"However, due to the nature of Gnosis, we normally don't use them."
"Our three Gnosis contain a lot of power, also a form of divine energy."
"That should be enough for you to use."
"As for the Celestia-linked functions within the Gnosis…"
The Cryo Archon paused, glanced at Ryen again, and smiled wryly:
"For us, this is a concern we must consider, but for you, it's completely insignificant."
"If you need them, you can take these Gnosis."
Hearing this, Ryen's face lit up with joy.
"If I take the Gnosis, it won't affect your plans, right?"
The Cryo Archon couldn't help but chuckle.
~~----------------------
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