Hearing Dehya's words, both Alhaitham and Tighnari frowned.
Although they had not known Dehya for long, they could already tell she was not someone who spoke recklessly. If she said the situation was dangerous, then it truly was.
"Please explain in detail," Alhaitham said calmly. "Only then can we think of a way to respond."
Dehya let out a bitter smile.
"Respond? How are we supposed to respond? With a handful of people who aren't even gods?"
"The only thing we can do is strangle Azar and his group's plan in its cradle, before it succeeds."
"Otherwise, what happened to Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago will become tomorrow's Sumeru."
Their expressions grew even heavier as they silently waited for her to continue.
"This all started when Nilou and I went to Liyue," Dehya said, exhaling softly.
"Alhaitham, the intelligence you gave us was incomplete."
"The alliance in Liyue doesn't consist of Mondstadt alone, Snezhnaya and Inazuma are also involved."
"The four most powerful nations in all of Teyvat have already united."
Tighnari froze and instinctively raised a hand.
"Wait. Inazuma is unexpected, but still understandable. But Snezhnaya…?"
Dehya shook her head slightly.
"It's Snezhnaya's official power, not the Fatui. The Cryo Archon herself is currently in Liyue, so there shouldn't be any mistake."
"From what I overheard in their conversations, it seems the Fatui have already broken free from the Cryo Archon's control. They're now completely manipulated by the Jester, the Doctor, and Pantalone."
"The Jester and the Doctor are both beings comparable to the Seven Archons. Even the Cryo Archon can't restrain them."
"So there's no need to worry about the Fatui acting on Snezhnaya's behalf."
Only then did Tighnari truly relax.
If the entire Fatui still obeyed the Cryo Archon, they would have had to consider whether Sumeru's turmoil was being demanded by the four-nation alliance itself.
But thinking it through, that didn't make sense.
Mondstadt harbored an irreconcilable hatred toward the Doctor, there was no way they would agree to cooperate with the Fatui.
Alhaitham narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Then what kind of enmity exists between Mondstadt and the Doctor?"
"For Mondstadt to mobilize the entire nation for vengeance… I need specifics. Otherwise, mishandling this could escalate into the level of foreign military invasion."
Dehya's expression darkened as she clenched her fists.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"This hatred is absolute. A blood feud. Even if it were debated at a Seven Nations summit, Mondstadt's military action would be entirely justified."
"Back then, the Doctor plotted against Mondstadt, releasing the demon dragon Ursa to attack the nation and bring untold disaster."
"Later, he personally 'defeated' Ursa himself, colluding with Mondstadt's corrupt upper ranks."
"He abducted large numbers of Knights of Favonius members, and Mondstadt's children, for human experimentation…"
"Those people… are either now modified soldiers, or already…"
Even with their boldest assumptions, both Tighnari and Alhaitham felt a chill crawl up their spines.
The room fell into heavy silence. After a long pause, Tighnari slammed his fist onto the table.
"Compared to the cannibal Azar, this Doctor is the true monster!"
"Laying hands on children… lower than beasts!"
Killing intent flashed in Tighnari's eyes as memories of Collei surfaced.
Collei herself had once been one of the Doctor's experimental subjects, tortured for years.
After Mondstadt rescued her and sent her back to Sumeru, she had been terrified of human contact for a long time.
Even now, unexpected touch still frightened her.
The psychological scars alone spoke volumes about the suffering she endured.
And she was one of the rescued ones.
What about the children who were never saved?
So the enhanced soldiers now ravaging Teyvat… were once children who should have grown up laughing under the sun.
"I underestimated the Doctor's madness," Alhaitham said quietly, rubbing his temples.
"With someone like him in Sumeru, it's nothing short of a disaster. He must be dealt with as soon as possible, or Sumeru's people may start disappearing into laboratories."
"Cold as it sounds, if this is truly the depth of Mondstadt's blood feud, then even a full-scale campaign to eliminate the Doctor would be entirely justified."
"At least that resolves the Fatui issue."
He paused, then continued slowly.
"But what about the four-nation alliance itself?"
"Liyue, Mondstadt, Snezhnaya, Inazuma…"
"Economically and militarily, this alliance is overwhelmingly dominant."
"Among the four Archons, aside from the Cryo Archon, the others are original gods of the Archon War era, their strength is unquestionable. Even the Cryo Archon herself is not much weaker."
"To bind such nations together, there must be not only shared profit, but also an enemy so powerful that none of them could defeat it alone."
"So the real problem lies with that unknown enemy, doesn't it?"
Dehya had to admit it.
Alhaitham's mind truly was razor-sharp.
She sighed and nodded.
"Exactly. They are bound together by a common enemy, life and death shared."
"Even so, they all admit that their chances against that enemy are still slim."
"That existence surpasses the gods."
"It stands above all of Teyvat, the true uncrowned king of this world."
She paused, then spoke slowly.
"The Heavenly Principles. The Second Throne of Teyvat."
"Have you heard of it?"
Alhaitham's eyes lit up as he nodded immediately.
"I've seen references in ancient texts."
"The Heavenly Principles orchestrated the Archon War, established the Seven, and ordered the destruction of Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago."
"So… the enemy is the Heavenly Principles?"
Dehya let out another sigh.
"Not only that."
"There are also the original gods enthroned on Celestia. They were designed by the Heavenly Principles and can no longer control themselves."
"When the war begins, even if they resist, they won't be able to stop their own actions."
"A war against the Heavenly Principles means all of Teyvat will be dragged in."
"The Seven Nations, Celestia, the Abyss, none will escape the flames."
"There is no option to stand aside. We can only choose a side."
"Because if we don't… the Heavenly Principles will destroy us as well."
"And the Lesser Lord Kusanali has already joined them."
"So from the very beginning, we never had another choice."
Alhaitham pressed his fingers to his brow.
This information had far exceeded his expectations.
And truthfully,
This was no longer a problem that could be solved by intellect alone.
In the face of absolute power, clever schemes were utterly meaningless.
The Heavenly Principles offered only two choices, submission or destruction. There would be no mercy.
"This matter… we should set it aside for now," Alhaitham said quietly after taking a deep breath.
"It's beyond our ability to resolve, and frankly, beyond our authority."
He paused, then asked softly,
"Is that everything?"
"No," Dehya shook her head, her expression heavy.
"That danger lies in the future. But right now, if we fail to stop the god-creation plan, and it succeeds, we'll face an even greater catastrophe."
She sighed bitterly and shot Alhaitham an irritated look.
"That's why I say it, your Akademiya scholars really deserve to die for this. Of all things to research, they chose god creation? If you want to throw your lives away, don't drag the rest of us with you!"
Alhaitham didn't respond.
Although the god-creation plan had nothing to do with him personally, he was part of the Akademiya, its scribe, no less.
That they and Cyno had failed to detect it early… failed to stop it before it began, was undeniably their responsibility.
"The reason the Heavenly Principles destroyed Khaenri'ah wasn't only because it touched the secrets of the Abyss," Dehya continued grimly.
"It was also because Khaenri'ah achieved research breakthroughs that the Heavenly Principles would never allow."
"Think about it."
"As the being that defined the Seven, essentially the supreme authority above all Archons, do you really think the Heavenly Principles would tolerate the existence of an artificial Archon?"
"This research is taboo."
"If the god-creation plan succeeds, if a man-made Archon truly comes into being, the Heavenly Principles will awaken."
"And when that happens…"
"The ancient Snowmountain Kingdom, the Eternal Night Kingdom, Khaenri'ah… every nation destroyed by the Heavenly Principles, that will be Sumeru's future."
"The Heavenly Principles are not like gods or Archons. They do not show mercy."
"They will annihilate Sumeru. Every last citizen."
"I heard this from the Geo Archon and the others, those hilichurls roaming Teyvat today…"
"They are the former citizens of ancient nations, cursed with immortality after their civilizations were erased by the Heavenly Principles."
Dehya grew increasingly agitated, finally rising to her feet in fury.
"That damned Azar wants to drag every single Sumeru citizen into hell with him!"
"If he succeeds in creating a god, not a single person in Sumeru will escape."
"All of them will be cursed by the Heavenly Principles, turned into monsters, hunted and slaughtered by the people of Teyvat!"
"Damn it! How did you fail to notice the god-creation plan in the first place?"
"How did you not strangle Azar before he ever got started?!"
Alhaitham fell silent.
For all his brilliance, even he was momentarily at a loss.
At least for now, the god-creation plan had not yet succeeded. There was still room to intervene, still a chance for humanity to act.
But if this dragged on…
If the Heavenly Principles awakened…
Then even if the Greater Lord were revived, it would still be impossible to face such a calamity.
"This was my failure," Alhaitham said quietly, clenching his fist.
"I was careless."
"Now isn't the time to assign blame," Tighnari said, shaking his head sadly.
"We must unite."
"The future of Sumeru, and the lives of all its people, rest on our shoulders."
"No matter what, stabilizing Sumeru comes first."
"We must completely dismantle the god-creation plan before it reaches its final stage."
"We cannot allow the Heavenly Principles to awaken."
Alhaitham nodded slowly, his expression hollow.
"I originally planned to proceed step by step, to resolve everything before the Sabzeruz Festival."
"But now…"
"We can't afford to delay. We can't gamble."
"No one knows how far the god-creation plan has progressed."
"We must resolve everything as quickly as possible, even if it causes massive upheaval."
"Total chaos is still better than the complete annihilation of Sumeru."
Rubbing his temples, Alhaitham stood up decisively.
"There's no time to waste."
"Tighnari you'll be responsible for maintaining contact and passing on intelligence from the Akademiya. Ignore the Fatui issue."
"Mondstadt will not miss the opportunity to deal with the Doctor now that he's surfaced."
"Dehya, I will take the Traveler and head to the desert immediately."
"We need manpower. A lot of it."
"If necessary, we may have to launch a direct assault on the Akademiya."
"We must contact the Eremite mercenary groups."
"As for Nilou, I need her to return to Sumeru City and monitor the Akademiya up close."
"And Cyno… let him come to us when the time is right."
"Now. Move. Immediately."
"We're out of time."
Both Dehya and Tighnari nodded, exchanging a glance filled with unspoken worry.
Dehya had wanted to mention the changes in Liyue, their overwhelming strength, their preparations.
But given the situation, now was clearly not the time.
It didn't matter.
Once Sumeru's crisis was resolved…
Once Nahida was welcomed back…
Everything that needed to be known,
Would be known.
~~----------------------
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