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Staring into Victor Wang's eyes, Nahida felt a strange illusion. She felt that this person understood her exceptionally well, as if the sorrow in her heart had been completely seen through.
So even though she had been fine just moments ago, she couldn't help but take a deep breath, her nose suddenly stinging.
"What are you talking about… Nahida… your eyes?"
"Oh, honestly… I was already mentally prepared during the Sabzeruz Festival, so why… why does this bionic puppet have such complete functions… no, something must be malfunctioning…"
"Nahida…"
"Huu… I'm fine."
Knowing that time was tight, Nahida quickly suppressed the emotional turbulence and explained to Lumine and Paimon:
"Do you remember why the Akademiya chose the Sabzeruz Festival as the setting for the recurring dream? Because the Sabzeruz Festival exists to 'celebrate the birth of a god.' What they needed was precisely the power of such a dream. And to heal Irminsul, power below that of a god is unlikely to be sufficient—so the Akademiya is probably attempting to create a new god."
"What?!"
Lumine and Paimon looked at each other. Before coming to Sumeru, imprisoning a god was already almost unimaginable. Creating a god… no sane person would even think of such a thing.
Still in shock, they looked toward Nahida.
Although they had known each other in reality for less than ten days, they had spent nearly three months together within the Sabzeruz Festival's cycle. At this moment, there was a calm smile at the corner of Nahida's lips, yet tears that hadn't fully been wiped away still clung to the corners of her eyes.
A god—first imprisoned by her own people for five hundred years, then abandoned by those same people. Nahida's earlier tears were not hard to understand…
Paimon called softly, "Nahida…"
"I really… am fine. Please don't talk about me anymore. Don't let my sadness resonate, or this body will malfunction again."
"The Akademiya is awful! Victor is right—they won't succeed with their plan. We absolutely won't let them succeed!"
"Mm… I believe in you."
Nahida nodded lightly, then continued, "The most urgent matter now is to identify the new god. If he is The Doctor, then we only need to face one enemy. If he is not The Doctor, then we may have to confront two powerful enemies."
"So, the 'project that can heal Irminsul' the sages mentioned is actually that god-creation plan. Tighnari should be at Chinvat Ravine—let's hurry in and ask him!"
Chinvat Ravine was a facility of the Akademiya's Amurta Darshan, where various rare plants were cultivated for research. Simply put, it was a field—so there were rarely people staying here.
Let alone coming here in the middle of the night. When Victor Wang and the others entered Chinvat Ravine, the empty garden held only one person—and it wasn't Tighnari, whom Lumine and Paimon had expected.
"Lumine? Is that Lumine?!"
"Haypasia? This is Haypasia, the ascetic scholar we met in Avidya Forest when we first came to Sumeru." Lumine first introduced her to Victor Wang and Nahida, then asked Haypasia, "You left Avidya Forest—have you already passed the 'Satyavada Life'?"
Haypasia said excitedly, "Hehe, that's right. I've already entered the 'Paripurna Life.' I've already met a god within my consciousness!"
This caused everyone—who had just been discussing the Akademiya's god-creation—to freeze.
Paimon awkwardly clapped. "R-really? Congratulations…"
"Haha… being able to share this noble joy with you all is truly delightful! You wouldn't understand—at the moment when one's consciousness connects with a god, it is an unparalleled supreme experience…"
"Is that so…" Lumine asked tentatively. "Which god did you see?"
"Hehe, curious, aren't you? I can help you establish a connection with the god's consciousness yourselves. Want to try?"
This was a good opportunity. If what they saw was a god outside of the Seven, it would likely be the Akademiya's newly created god. Lumine exchanged a glance with Nahida. "What do you think?"
Nahida replied, "We can try. I will protect your consciousness with everything I have."
"Alright."
Seeing Lumine agree, Haypasia immediately got busy.
"Just a moment—I brought spiritual incense. This ritual is still indispensable. It's lit now… hold my hand. I'll help you establish the 'channel' for consciousness connection."
Haypasia extended her hand. Only Victor Wang didn't touch it. In his view, moments later, Lumine opened her mouth in surprise, Paimon clutched her head, and Nahida fell into thought.
Haypasia's reaction was even more unusual. Exclamations burst from her mouth. "You saw it, didn't you? A sublime god! A sublime will! Sublime emotions!"
Suddenly, she lowered her head. "But alas… what beats within my chest is a filthy, human heart… God, could you forgive me? Could you redeem me…"
"Haypasia, snap out of it…"
Lumine tried to wake Haypasia, but although Haypasia was aware that she had gone mad, she was unable to restrain herself.
Before Lumine could say more, a group of Eremites barged into Chinvat Ravine. Yet before they could act, violent winds surged outside the garden, like invisible hands reaching in and grabbing the Eremites.
As their panicked wails echoed in the air, Victor Wang coldly warned, "Money or your lives—go back and think it through carefully."
The raging wind swept them away, tossing them one by one into the forest far from here.
After the commotion subsided, Tighnari—whom Victor Wang and the others had originally come to find—finally arrived late. Although they had already, by chance, learned the information they needed… and Haypasia, who had made a tremendous contribution, had fallen unconscious amid the contradictions of her own mind.
Tighnari stood there, confused and at a loss. Knowing he could be trusted, Victor Wang briefly explained the sequence of events.
Lumine also clarified the new god's true identity. "It's The Balladeer, the Sixth of the Fatui Harbingers. His words confirmed our suspicions—the new god is being born…"
"So, this 'Katheryne' is actually Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
"Hello, it's me."
Tighnari tapped his forehead with a clenched fist, frowning in thought. "No wonder Haypasia's symptoms were different from those of other scholars who went mad. So, she came into contact with the consciousness of a god still being born. And the Akademiya… I knew they always underestimated Lesser Lord Kusanali, but I never imagined they would commit such arrogant folly as 'creating a new god.'"
"And the Fatui are involved as well."
Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma—every nation's troubles had the Fatui lurking behind them. Now Sumeru was no exception. Lumine let out a deep sigh.
Nahida summarized, "So the enemies we must face are the Akademiya, The Doctor, and the nearly divine The Balladeer. But don't be afraid—listen to my analysis."
"The Sabzeruz Festival cycle has already been disrupted by us. At that time, the Akademiya was still using the Akasha to harvest dreams and accumulate energy. Based on my understanding of the Akasha, extracting such massive energy and infusing it into an individual requires special devices. So, before the accumulation is complete, The Balladeer should not be able to act freely.
"That leaves the Akademiya and The Doctor. To deal with the Akademiya, the best allies would be the desert people, who have never been on good terms with them. We may need to make a trip into the desert.
"And lastly, The Doctor. To be honest… I haven't figured out how to deal with him yet. He is the most troublesome opponent. We must seek out as many allies as possible."
Paimon glanced around. "The second-ranked Fatui Harbinger… I wonder if Lumine and Victor together could beat him…"
Lumine didn't hesitate. "No matter what, we have to stop them."
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