"The people of Sumeru City—this abnormal state… what did you do to them?"
"I merely made a slight modification to the Akasha Terminals, allowing them to project information into the subconscious. Now, the passionate citizens all believe that the traveler by your side is the hero who saved the world, and that this is a grand welcoming ceremony. Hehe… the experiment was very successful. They seem barely able to restrain their enthusiasm."
Facing Katheryne's questioning, The Doctor replied calmly and effortlessly.
A massive crowd of innocent citizens gathered in front of the Akademiya gates, waving their arms, their burning gazes locked tightly onto Lumine. As The Doctor's words fell, they finally couldn't hold back and lunged toward Lumine.
"Traveler, we're your fans—!"
Unable to fight back and only able to retreat, Paimon grew anxious. "What do we do? They're all ordinary people being controlled…"
Katheryne spread her arms and stood in front of Lumine. "Go—leave the city first."
"But that's a Fatui Harbinger. How can we leave you behind…"
"I also… can't abandon the people of Sumeru City!"
One innocent citizen after another pressed closer. Standing at the very back, The Doctor watched this scene with satisfaction. But in the next moment, the Akasha devices on those citizens suddenly changed color—signifying a switch in Akasha state—and sure enough, the people all fell into a daze.
Panting with some effort, Katheryne said to Lumine, "It's fine… we'll meet outside the city…"
"…Mm."
The traveler who had been so close to his grasp slipped away just like that. The Doctor remained unhurried. His current primary research subject was "gods," and coincidentally, there seemed to be one right here.
He slowly walked through the crowd that seemed frozen in time, approaching "Katheryne." "Arbitrarily using someone else's body is quite improper behavior. And to still have the spare capacity to use your own consciousness to occupy the entirety of these people's thoughts… such a powerful consciousness—so you are the God of Wisdom, aren't you?"
"…"
"So, you can leave the Sanctuary of Surasthana after all."
"…"
"I've caught you now… hm?"
"Uh… the Akademiya? Why am I here? I really should find the maintenance staff sometime…"
Katheryne suddenly "came to her senses." The citizens at the Akademiya gates also recovered, utterly confused about why they were there, scratching their heads as they dispersed.
Left behind, somewhat stunned, [The Doctor] slowly curled his lips into a smile. "Heh… since I've noticed you, you won't be able to escape for much longer."
…
After withdrawing her consciousness from Katheryne's body, Nahida continued jumping her awareness through the Akasha, eventually returning to a location near Katheryne.
When it came to manipulating consciousness, only controlling Katheryne felt relatively guilt-free—and only Katheryne didn't require worrying too much about being dragged into these matters.
And then Nahida saw Victor Wang returning from slacking off, from the perspective around the Adventurers' Guild.
"Katheryne?"
"Ad astra abyssosque. Hello, is there something you need?"
"Did you see Lumine just now?"
"Just now? I seem to have had another bout of 'sleepwalking.' I don't remember any of it."
"Still too late, huh…"
With a sigh, Victor Wang turned to leave.
After confirming that The Doctor was no longer nearby, Nahida once again occupied Katheryne's body and hurried after him. "I know where Lumine is. I can sense the elemental power on her."
"And you are?"
"It's me." Nahida nodded, then continued. "The situation has grown more complicated. Let's talk while we move—we need to leave Sumeru City as soon as possible."
"Didn't you successfully persuade Setaria? What went wrong?"
"We encountered the Fatui Harbinger ranked second, The Doctor. It seems the Fatui are also involved in the Akademiya's plan, and The Doctor can modify the Akasha Terminals. He may be able to restrict my consciousness transfer. Time is very tight."
"If time is tight, then we shouldn't be walking…"
After a brief hesitation, Victor Wang removed the Wentian Sword. Nahida was still walking briskly forward. "So, we need to rent a carriage."
"No need. Get on the sword—I'll take you flying. Just give directions."
"Fly? Right… Anemo can be used like that."
"Not just Anemo. As the Dendro Archon, your power should be enough to fly as well."
"I've never tried. With only my consciousness outside, I can't use much power…"
Victor Wang fell silent for a moment. Nahida had been confined in the Sanctuary of Surasthana almost since her birth. For five hundred years… her body had never truly gone outside.
"Nara's growth requires a certain degree of freedom. Otherwise, it can't grow from a seed into a great tree. The Akademiya's sages throughout the ages never believed in your growth. But this time is different. A resilient seed will always break through the earth's constraints. If you're meant to grow into a towering tree, they can't stop you."
"…Thank you. Is that… something the Aranara would say?"
"It was Paimon who said it. Pretty amazing, right?"
"Hehe… someone with Paimon's personality would indeed be very, very sad if they lost their freedom. Having such an insight isn't surprising… How are the Aranara doing now?"
"They've already gathered three Vasoma Fruit. A new Ashvattha Tree can be planted at any time."
"That's good. Even if I can't help them, they won't encounter major problems."
"Then step on the scabbard and stand steady. Hold on—we're about to depart."
"Mm…" Nahida gripped Victor Wang's shoulder tightly and carefully sensed the direction. "Lumine is probably toward Gandharva Ville."
"Understood."
At first, they rose gently on the wind. Once Nahida adapted to the sensation of flying, Victor Wang began to accelerate, transforming into a long gust that tore through the air.
After more than half the journey had passed, hiding behind Victor Wang, Nahida closed her eyes again to sense their target. "Wait… it seems Lumine has headed toward the direction of Chinvat Ravine."
"Got it."
Victor Wang adjusted course immediately, arriving at Chinvat Ravine before Lumine could meet Haypasia.
"Nahida! That's great—you're really okay! And Victor Wang is here too!"
"Paimon, Lumine, I'll keep this brief. Earlier, while repairing the citizens' affected consciousness, The Doctor saw through my true identity. He has the ability to modify the Akasha and may completely restrict my ability to go outside. When that happens, only you will be able to act."
Paimon's eyes widened. What she thought would be acting together with a god had suddenly turned into fighting alone. She couldn't help feeling dejected. "Ugh, he's such a pain… And I've heard that The Doctor can hold onto the second Harbinger seat through sheer combat power alone…"
"So, we must think of a countermeasure as soon as possible. You came here—did you find any clues?"
Lumine explained, "We met a scholar named Tighnari. The sages once personally invited him to participate in a project described as 'determining whether the Irminsul can be healed,' and whose contents were strictly confidential. Thinking back now, that may be related to the Sabzeruz Festival cycle."
Nahida pressed, "Whether Irminsul can be healed… Did they really say that?"
Lumine answered with certainty. "It was when we first arrived in Sumeru. We saw it with our own eyes and heard it with our own ears."
Facing Victor Wang, Nahida gave a bleak smile. "They're preparing to plant another tree."
Born with weak power, burdened by people who compared her to the previous Archon, she was brought back in confusion—only to be imprisoned for five hundred years, never truly acknowledged, never truly free.
And because everyone lived well enough, she never thought to break this order, never thought to claim true freedom. She only wanted to grow a little more, and a little more, so she could shoulder her responsibility…
Yet after five hundred years, these people gave her no chance to prove herself. Instead, they would rather create a god artificially to replace her.
How could she not feel lost?
How could she… not feel sad?
"They won't," Victor Wang replied with absolute certainty. "They won't succeed. We won't let them succeed."
===BREAK===
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