After casually banishing Lumine to the Second Layer Dream, "Paimon's" form gradually shifted, eventually reverting to Dr. Edward's appearance.
"We meet again, everyone."
Lofan greeted the group with a smile.
"Dr. Edward, what exactly are you trying to do?" Nahida asked Lofan seriously.
"Regarding that, Lesser Lord Kusanali, you will find out soon enough."
"As for now... I cannot say."
"Was this plan devised by Miss Emily?"
Neuvillette, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly looked up at Lofan and spoke slowly.
"That's right."
Lofan admitted it without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Neuvillette sighed softly.
Once again, he had been outmaneuvered by this remarkable girl down to the very end. It was a considerable blow to his composure.
Fortunately, her nature wasn't malicious. Otherwise, Neuvillette truly couldn't imagine what kind of catastrophe Teyvat would have suffered.
"Very well, I understand."
"If you see Miss Emily, please convey my thanks."
"On behalf of all the people of Fontaine she saved, I extend my sincerest gratitude."
"Furthermore, I promise to assist her once, provided it does not violate my personal principles."
Hearing Neuvillette's words, both Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata were inwardly stunned.
Given Neuvillette's current power, such a promise was incredibly valuable. It also indirectly highlighted just how much the girl named Emily had helped Fontaine.
From their conversation, it seemed Dr. Edward's entire plan had been devised by this girl, who had never even appeared in person. Such methods were simply unheard of!
"I will, Monsieur Neuvillette."
Lofan suddenly chuckled and spoke again.
"I wonder how Miss Furina has been doing recently?"
Hearing this, the expression on Neuvillette's face softened slightly as he spoke softly.
"Lady Furina is very well."
"With no one to supervise her lately, she's probably turned the Palais Mermonia into a complete mess, waiting for me to return and clean it up."
"I hope this period of independence will help her mature a little."
Hearing Neuvillette's words, Lofan almost burst out laughing.
Cough, cough.
"Since Lady Furina is doing well, she should be able to rest easy."
"I'll pass on your words to her after this is all over."
"Yes, thank you for the trouble," Neuvillette said, nodding, completely oblivious to Lofan's strange reaction.
"Dr. Edward, is Miss Emily also part of your organization?" Nahida asked curiously.
"Of course."
"And her abilities are terrifying. Even I feel inadequate in comparison; I'd stand no chance against her."
"If she had fought for it, she wouldn't have been ranked eighth."
Lofan spoke with shameless confidence. After all, since they were both him, praising one was the same as praising the other.
"And it was because of her that I changed my mind this time."
"Actually, I'm a pessimist through and through."
Showtime!
Lofan paused for a moment, then continued.
"After I realized that with my abilities, I had no way of saving this world, my perspective changed.
"Since I couldn't save everyone, I thought letting them live out a beautiful life in a dream, only to perish together in the apocalypse, would be a decent ending."
Hearing these words, the crowd could feel the profound helplessness and despair in Lofan's tone. The emotions were so intense that they couldn't help but be affected.
"But she was right—a fake is still a fake. No matter how perfectly I mimicked it, this isn't the real world.
"Perhaps the real world isn't always beautiful, but it's precisely those imperfections that make it so vibrant and diverse."
"And just because I couldn't find a way to save the world doesn't mean no one else can."
"All I need to do is my absolute best. For the rest, I'll trust in the wisdom of future generations."
As he spoke these words, Lofan appeared completely at ease, as if he had truly let go of everything.
"Alright, that's enough talk for now."
"I'll awaken everyone from their deep sleep immediately."
"It might be a little uncomfortable."
The moment Lofan's voice fell, the world began to collapse.
Countless buildings and terrified people plunged into the endless abyss along with the crumbling ground. The once harmonious and beautiful scene instantly transformed into a living hell.
Nahida couldn't bear to watch and intervened, saving some people nearby, but many more still fell directly into the pitch-black abyss.
"Couldn't you have sent everyone away in a gentler manner?"
Just as Nahida was about to reprimand Lofan for not using a more gentle method to send everyone away, the entire Akademiya began to collapse beneath them.
A terrifying sense of weightlessness sent adrenaline surging through them.
But soon, their consciousness faded into darkness.
When she awoke again, Nahida opened her eyes and looked around. She was still within Irminsul's consciousness space, but it was now calm and serene, with no trace of the bizarre phenomena from before.
Nahida saw Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, still asleep, and Neuvillette, whose form had become incredibly faint and translucent.
This likely meant Neuvillette's consciousness had already returned to his own body.
Soon after, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata also awakened.
The two exchanged a glance, then, without hesitation, withdrew from the consciousness space.
"Nahida! Greater Lord Rukkhadevata! You're finally back!"
"What just happened? You were suddenly standing there completely still, like your souls had left your bodies!"
The moment their consciousness returned to their bodies, Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata heard Paimon's frantic voice.
"I thought something terrible had happened to you! You scared me to death!"
Just then, a figure appeared on the ship's railing. Paimon looked up and, with a cry of excitement, pounced forward.
"Traveler—"
Shing!
The Dull Blade was instantly pressed against Paimon's neck, less than a millimeter from her skin. Paimon could clearly feel the icy killing intent radiating from the blade!
Instantly, Paimon's body went limp. She gasped for air and began to fall, but Lumine caught her just before she hit the ground.
As Paimon gradually recovered, she saw Lumine holding her by the scruff of her neck, eyes blazing with fury. She immediately panicked.
"You... you're not the Traveler!"
"Help! Nahida, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, save me!"
"This Traveler must be an imposter! She's trying to kill me!"
Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata watched the scene with awkward expressions. Lumine was so furious she seemed to have lost her mind.
Nahida raised her hand, releasing a burst of Dendro Elemental Power. The killing intent radiating from Lumine quickly subsided, and she loosened her grip.
Seizing the opportunity, Paimon scrambled out of Lumine's grasp and flew behind Nahida, hiding and peeking fearfully at Lumine.
"Paimon, the Traveler has confused the dream with reality. That's why she didn't recognize you. Don't be afraid," Nahida explained gently. After a great deal of reassurance, she finally managed to soothe Paimon's wounded heart.
Soon, Neuvillette returned, and the group immediately set sail on the Ship of Dreams.
Sensing their departure, Lofan, still controlling Dr. Edward's body, began to withdraw from Irminsul and retreated in the opposite direction.
Once both parties had completely withdrawn, Scaramouche, who had remained within Irminsul, suddenly opened his eyes and began to move.
His demeanor was now starkly different from before. His eyes, in particular, were unnervingly calm, completely devoid of the hatred and madness they had previously held.
An obscure aura gathered around him, a grayish-white mist that gradually enveloped the entire Irminsul, exuding a thick, ominous scent.
As if sensing what was to come, Irminsul began to tremble slightly.
Finally, Scaramouche raised his hand, which was imbued with a Power of Void so dense it seemed impossible to disperse.
He casually reached into the Akasha, and a translucent, crystalline shard materialized in his palm.
With a slight squeeze, Scaramouche crushed the crystal completely. At that same moment, the life trajectories of countless people in Sumeru were inexplicably altered—several days, which had never existed in the records, were suddenly added to their histories. Yet, none of them noticed. As this occurred, Irminsul's tremors intensified.
Suddenly, a strange aura swept across the continent of Teyvat.
At that moment, every being of sufficient power on Teyvat looked up at the high heavens. Unseen until now, the phantom of a massive island had appeared in the sky.
Nahida and Neuvillette stared at the sight, their faces etched with shock. They finally understood Dr. Edward's true objective. Beside them, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata clenched her fists, her heart pounding with unease.
Lumine, now clear-headed, followed their gaze and saw the phantom in the sky, but she felt nothing. Puzzled, she heard a dull thud beside her and quickly turned to look.
Lumine then saw Paimon sprawled on the ground, her eyes vacant, as if she had lost consciousness.
Lumine's expression changed, and she rushed to check on Paimon.
Just then, Lumine noticed Paimon's phantom limbs glowing with a light several times brighter than usual, swirling with countless strange halos.
For some reason, the scene felt strangely familiar.
The image displayed by the phantom limbs resembled the starry sky above Teyvat's dome!
Suddenly, an intensely unsettling aura descended from the heavens.
Lumine's body tensed. The aura felt deeply familiar. Temporarily setting aside the mystery of Paimon's condition, she looked up.
Then, she saw a massive pillar, carved with countless strange patterns, plummeting from the sky.
"Strange... I feel like I just woke up from a very long dream."
"You too? Me as well!"
At that moment, many people were still disoriented from the collapse of the dreamscape.
"So, what happened with Lesser Lord Kusanali and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata? Did we win?"
"I think so. If we hadn't won, the two Lords wouldn't have just left us to die, right?"
"Since we've won, what are we waiting for?"
"Let's cheer! It looks like Sumeru has two Dendro Archons now. Doesn't that make us invincible?!"
"Hold your celebrations! Quick, look! What is that?"
Someone noticed the anomaly in the sky and urged the others to look up.
When they saw the continuously falling pillar, their bodies were instantly gripped by extreme terror. It felt as if that thing could utterly erase their existence in an instant. Even just looking at it made them feel as if their very essence was being drained away.
Countless people were horrified, unable to bear looking at the sky any longer.
But even after just a brief glance, they were drenched in sweat, panting heavily like exhausted oxen.
"Wait, that thing looks like it's going to hit Sumeru City!"
At these words, panic spread across everyone's faces.
"Quick, tell the two Lords about this!"
"No need. The two Lords must have already seen it."
Indeed, Nahida and the others had a clear view of the scene, but they remained calm. They knew the pillar's target wasn't Sumeru City.
As expected, once the pillar descended to a certain altitude, it abruptly vanished from sight.
Soon, Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata shifted their perspective into the Akasha. There, they saw the pillar, radiating an unstoppable force, bearing down upon Scaramouche's figure.
Scaramouche smiled, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
His hands, wrapped in the Power of Void, were clasped tightly and held at his right hip.
The Power of Void furiously condensed, gradually forming a grayish-white energy sphere between his palms that pulsed with terrifying power.
Finally, Scaramouche thrust his hands forward. A beam of light so brilliant it bleached the heavens and earth burst from his grasp, instantly striking the descending pillar.
The pillar's speed abruptly slowed, but it didn't stop completely. It continued to press down on Scaramouche at a still considerable velocity.
BOOM!
A thunderous crack erupted from Scaramouche's body. In the next moment, the colossal form of the Shouki no Kami materialized in this realm. As the Shouki no Kami mirrored Scaramouche's stance, the aura emanating from the energy beam grew even more terrifying.
Finally, the pillar in the sky almost completely halted its descent, even being pushed back a short distance.
However, this development seemed to utterly enrage some unseen entity. The pillar shuddered violently, and countless runes flared to life across its surface. An ancient, heavy aura surged forth, instantly overwhelming the momentum of the grayish-white energy beam.
The pillar moved again, its speed instantly skyrocketing to its absolute limit. It broke through the energy beam's resistance and appeared directly above Scaramouche's head.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze.
The next second, Scaramouche and the Shouki no Kami behind him were reduced to dust.