Greater Lord Rukkhadevata gazed at the boundless lake before her, the lush green trees lining its shores, and the vast expanse of fiery clouds in the sky. She frowned for a moment, but her brow quickly smoothed out.
Turning around, she saw a figure standing not far away, watching her with a smile.
"What, aren't you going to grant me a sweet dream too?"
Lofan shook his head at her teasing remark. "Isn't this place beautiful enough?"
"It is beautiful," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said sincerely. "Truly beautiful. Scenery like this is rare even in my memories."
"So, Lord Edward," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata began, her voice soft as she studied the young-looking man before her. "You've shown me such a beautiful sight. What do you hope to gain from me in return?"
She actually wanted to ask for the details of his plan, but she knew he was unlikely to reveal much. There was no point in wasting her breath.
"How about a few secrets about Teyvat?" Lofan offered. "And by that, I mean the kind of secrets that must never be known."
At his words, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's brow furrowed once more. "You intend to challenge Celestia?"
"And why not?"
She hadn't expected him to admit it so readily. Shaking her head, she wondered if he was truly fearless or simply naive. "Forgive my bluntness, but while your power is considerable... it's not enough."
"Celestia's strength far surpasses anything you or I can imagine. That entity is practically the world itself."
"To fight her is to make an enemy of this world."
"So what?"
His casual dismissal clearly caught Greater Lord Rukkhadevata off guard. Her expression turned serious. "You will die."
Die?
Lofan laughed.
Right now, death was probably the last thing he cared about.
Because he had already died tens of thousands of times.
Although his main consciousness no longer needed to control the clones to experience death, he still possessed all the memories of every clone that had perished—including the parts about death itself. He simply kept those memories locked away, like files in a drawer he rarely opened.
But this was his greatest secret, and Lofan had no intention of revealing it to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"So what if I die?" he retorted. "I'd rather die on the path to finding hope than perish in a future where resistance is impossible."
"It seems you know quite a lot," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said, studying him intently. His words had struck a chord within her.
In truth, she knew something of the future and shared his concerns. But as someone who was already dead, she felt it was best to trust in the wisdom of future generations.
"In all my millennia as the Dendro Archon, I've never heard of the faction you belong to. Are you truly from Teyvat?"
Faced with her suspicion, Lofan remained perfectly composed, his Master-level acting skills leaving no room for doubt. "Doesn't Irminsul have information about us?"
"Only a small fraction," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata emphasized.
"That should be enough to prove my point."
Lofan chuckled. "Besides, if we weren't from Teyvat, why would we waste our energy trying to find a way to save the world?"
Hearing this, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata hesitated. Although Lofan's explanation was flawless, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying.
Even so, she decided to let it go. From what she had seen, his actions hadn't harmed Sumeru, and it was clear he wouldn't reveal the true answer anyway.
"If this is a transaction," she said, "what you've offered isn't enough."
"Really? Not even after I saved your life?" Lofan replied with a laugh, covering his mouth slightly. "You should know that the power I wield can devour more than just Forbidden Knowledge. If I had wanted to, you would have already become a part of me."
"I'm well aware of that," she countered. "But it's still not enough. I was already dead. You didn't truly save my life."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata smiled mischievously, her entire presence seeming far more spirited.
"Lady Rukkhadevata, I feel like you're taking advantage of me," Lofan said. "You know full well there are countless ways for you to continue living in Teyvat in your current form."
"So what? I'm just a child of a few thousand years. Can't I take advantage of you a little?" Greater Lord Rukkhadevata replied in a playful, almost coquettish tone.
Lofan was momentarily speechless. A child of a few thousand years? How can you say that with a straight face?
"Lady Rukkhadevata is quite skilled at using her advantages to get what she wants," Lofan sighed, finally relenting. He decided to see what she was planning. After all, this sudden shift in her demeanor was hard to resist.
"So, what else do you want from me, Lady Rukkhadevata?"
"I want a promise from you." Her tone instantly reverted to its usual intellectual grace, as if the mischievous little girl from moments ago had never been there.
"I want you to swear an oath: 'Under no circumstances will you ever harm the innocent people of Sumeru in any way.'"
"Is that all?"
"Yes, that is all."
Lofan was somewhat surprised. "I thought you would ask me to protect Sumeru if it ever faced a crisis."
"That would be pointless. If you find a way to save the world, you would save Sumeru even without this promise. And if you ultimately fail to find a way, no amount of oaths would make a difference."
Lofan nodded, acknowledging the truth in Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words.
"Alright, I promise."
Killing myself wouldn't violate the oath, right? he thought. Worst case, I'll just make sure everyone involved is from other nations.
"Under no circumstances will I ever harm the innocent people of Sumeru in any way."
"By the way," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said with a brilliant smile, "I had another reason for making you swear this oath. I wanted to see if you had an escape plan."
"After all," she continued, her smile widening, "someone with no future wouldn't care about such things."
Lofan froze, completely stunned. He had carefully considered every word of their conversation, yet he'd still been outmaneuvered by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. This woman has eight hundred schemes up her sleeve!
He had no choice. Lofan, who had originally planned to sacrifice Dr. Edward, was forced to change his plan on the fly. Otherwise, his secrets might be exposed.
Although he hadn't lost many Points, Lofan still felt a pang of annoyance.
After all, if Edward doesn't die, I'll have to figure out his future role in the story. That's a real headache, you know?
Moreover, Lofan hated having his plans disrupted.
If he hadn't started with such a high opinion of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, he might already be plotting how to teach her a harsh lesson about the cruel realities of the world.
Just look at Lumine, he thought wryly. Still soaring without a care in the world.
Sensing Lofan's displeasure, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata spoke again.
"If I had known you had no escape plan, I would never have agreed to this deal, no matter what you promised. I refuse to see anyone who fights for this world's future die in vain."
Her words instantly soothed Lofan's anger. He couldn't help but marvel at her mastery of the art of conversation.
Some people, he thought, just deserve to be popular.
"Alright," Lofan said. "Can you tell me what I want to know now?"
Hearing his words, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata lowered her head and fell silent for a moment.
Lofan wasn't in a hurry. He simply watched her in silence.
She really is just like Nahida, he thought.
After a moment, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata raised her head, her expression grave as she looked at Lofan and spoke slowly.
"I don't possess much of this kind of information."
"Just one thing."
"I know only one secret that must never be tolerated."
"The entire continent of Teyvat... is a dream woven by someone else."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had dropped a bombshell with her first words. Lofan's expression grew thoughtful.
"You know of the false sky, don't you?" she asked.
Lofan nodded.
"Then you must also know that for anyone from Teyvat, their entire life is recorded in Irminsul, and their fate can be divined from the stars above."
"What does the starry sky of Teyvat seem like to you?" Greater Lord Rukkhadevata asked Lofan.
"A program," Lofan replied. "A pre-written one. Everyone just follows the steps laid out in the code. Any occasional deviation is probably just a bug."
"If that's the case, then the entire continent of Teyvat is essentially a simulation tool, and every person is just a cog in that simulation."
"No wonder there are rumors of a 'Loop' in Teyvat. The simulation must have reached its limit and couldn't proceed, so they just reset everything and started over."
"In that case, Celestia's role can also be deduced. She must be the monitor and corrector, ensuring the simulation runs correctly."
After hearing Lofan's string of deductions, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was momentarily stunned.
Shouldn't she have been the one to reveal this secret? Why did it feel like Lofan saw things even more clearly than she did?
Dumbfounded, aren't you? Didn't expect me to have watched analysis videos, did you?
Seeing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's dazed expression, Lofan felt a secret thrill.
While the analysis videos he'd watched were incomplete, his numerous bodies had already gathered enough intelligence in this world. With Greater Lord Rukkhadevata providing the final, crucial clue, everything fell into place as easily as piercing a sheet of paper.
Based on this reasoning, Lofan also understood why Celestia hadn't appeared, even though he had practically made Irminsul his own domain.
As long as Lofan didn't do anything to alter the "deduction process," Celestia likely wouldn't intervene.
Conversely, if Lofan changed the fates of enough people, Celestia's descent would be inevitable.
But this raised another question: this was Teyvat's final Loop. Was it because time was running out? Was there insufficient energy for the deduction? Or had the mastermind behind it all simply given up hope?
In short, if he went too far, Celestia wouldn't care that this was the final Loop. She would simply follow her established procedures: if the world's changes became too drastic and the deduction results lost their value, she would force Teyvat into the next Loop prematurely.
What a pain...
Looks like I'll have to be more careful with my plans from now on.
I should stick close to Lumine. She's probably the officially sanctioned "variable." As long as I'm with her, Celestia will likely turn a blind eye, no matter how much I change things.
Having settled on his future strategy, Lofan felt a wave of relief. He then reached out and playfully ruffled Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's hair. Her shocked expression only made him feel even better.
He never held grudges—he preferred to settle them on the spot!
"Alright, our deal is made. I'll uphold my end of the bargain."
"I'll also take the 'meme' from No. 1 with me."
"Meme?"
This was the first time Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had heard the term, and she asked with curiosity.
"It's something related to causality. If you trigger the right conditions, you get infected."
"I can't explain it in detail, but you'll probably find out soon enough."
Seeing that Lofan had no intention of elaborating, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata gave up on questioning him further. But her mind was already reeling.
Involving causality?
This mysterious faction is even more terrifying than I predicted!
Thinking of the mere twenty thousand people in the Restricted Zone, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata immediately realized Lofan had shown restraint. She spoke softly.
"Thank you."
What Greater Lord Rukkhadevata would never guess was that Lofan had simply run out of Points.
If he'd had enough, he would have unleashed a plague of hundreds of thousands—anything less would have been an insult to Great Sage Azar, the perfect scapegoat!
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata then recalled Scaramouche's behavior. It seemed that even Archons weren't immune to this "meme" contamination.
"No need for such formalities between us. We share a secret now, after all."
"As a final friendly gesture, Lady Rukkhadevata, here's a piece of information."
"Rene of Fontaine can create a body for you that will maintain your consciousness and prevent it from dissipating."
Neuvillette would have told her eventually anyway, Lofan thought, deciding to offer this favor now.
With that, Lofan turned and walked away.
His figure gradually faded into the distance.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata watched him go and sighed softly.
This time, it seemed they had spoken openly, yet the fog of mystery surrounding him had only thickened.
No. 1, meme...
She wondered which "lucky" nation would be the next to suffer such a catastrophe.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata knew that the members of that mysterious faction were not all benevolent. Sumeru had simply been fortunate that the one orchestrating events this time was Dr. Edward.
Thankfully, she had made a deal with Lofan. With his protection, future disasters would likely bypass Sumeru.
But everything hinged on him not failing.
Even with the most thorough preparations, confronting an enemy on the level of Celestia carried a high risk of catastrophic failure.
I hope everything goes smoothly...