While Aaru Village was formulating their plan to counterattack Sumeru City, in Vanarana, beside the Tree of Dreams, Silaya sat before the tree, her head bowed.
Behind her stood a large group of Aranara, all utterly silent, not making a single sound.
Silaya's consciousness had once again returned to the base of Irminsul. When she looked up, the same crimson sky stretched above her.
Unlike her previous visits here, this time Silaya could clearly sense the Irminsul's pain—or rather, the suffering of the consciousness within it.
It seemed the drug injected into her body was finally taking effect.
Silaya approached the Irminsul step by step, the sensation growing stronger with each step.
The moment her fingers touched the tree's bark, a wave of inexplicable dread washed over her.
"...World...forget me..."
The voice echoed in her mind, more earth-shattering than ever before.
"Great Lord Dendro Archon... is that you?"
Tears welled in Silaya's eyes. Her consciousness was now deeply influenced by the Irminsul, and her mind flooded with countless images.
She even glimpsed a blurry green figure in the depths of her mind.
Just as Silaya prepared to deepen her connection with the Irminsul, her mind abruptly shut down, her grief-stricken expression shifting to blank stillness.
Her consciousness plunged into darkness.
In reality, Silaya slowly opened her eyes.
Her consciousness had been forcefully ejected.
"Great Lord Dendro Archon..."
Silaya clutched her head, her brain throbbing with excruciating pain.
A fragment of Irminsul's information had surged into her mind, nearly shattering her consciousness.
In the final moment, it seemed Rukkhadevata... had forcibly expelled her.
Gasping for breath, she struggled to calm her racing thoughts and organize the torrent of information that had flooded her mind.
"So... this was your plan all along..."
The information in her mind was chaotic, but Silaya managed to extract the most crucial pieces.
She now understood a small part of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's plan.
"So... the world... forget me... that's what you meant?"
But... this is far too unfair to you...
Silaya braced herself against the ground and slowly rose to her feet. Two Aranara rushed over to support her.
"Yellow Nara, you should rest now."
"Thank you, but I know my own body. I'll be fine."
Silaya waved them off. The matter wasn't settled yet. Though the situation had taken an unexpected turn, she wasn't without options.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on her. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, which were bloodshot and weary.
She had barely rested during these past few weeks. As her research deepened, Silaya realized the problems plaguing Irminsul were far more severe than she'd imagined...
Irminsul was slowly withering...
She had overestimated herself. Faced with Irminsul's dire condition, she couldn't even maintain the status quo, let alone save it.
Yet Silaya refused to give up. No project in all her years of research had ever left her feeling so utterly powerless.
For the past few days, Silaya had been tirelessly searching for a solution, so preoccupied she barely found time to rest.
Now, at last, her efforts had borne fruit.
Her next step was to visit the Akademiya.
Having completely lost contact with Lesser Lord Kusanali, she needed to harness the Akasha's power, drawing upon the authority of the Dendro Archon.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had become one with the Forbidden Knowledge. There was only one way to save her.
Silaya ignored the Aranara's advice to rest. After learning of Rukkhadevata's condition, she couldn't possibly find peace of mind.
Time was running out, both for Rukkhadevata and for herself.
Silaya bid farewell to the Aranara, grateful for their help these past few days.
Leaving Vanarana, she set out for the Akademiya.
She couldn't save Greater Lord Rukkhadevata alone, but Silaya was far from alone.
As the primary consciousness, Jiang Mumu had already prepared a wealth of Emotional Feedback, just waiting for Silaya to execute her world-saving plan.
The creatures of Teyvat knew nothing of the so-called Pure Souls—a vulnerability she could exploit to her advantage.
It's only natural that the Pure Souls the Abyss so desperately seeks possess some unique qualities.
Speaking of Pure Souls, it's time for a certain faction to make its presence known.
After finalizing the plan for Aaru Village, the screen suddenly shifted to another location.
Just as the players were beginning to wonder, Silaya appeared in the rainforest on the screen, looking like she'd been up all night for days.
Seeing Silaya's condition, Chen Xiyao felt both puzzled and concerned.
"What has Silaya been up to lately?"
The live chat flooded with similar expressions of concern:
[Silaya finally appears! Chu Xi said she was working on her thesis, but her thesis is about Irminsul!]
[It's like a grade-schooler choosing nuclear power as their research topic.]
[Grade-schooler? Silaya is an absolute genius at the Akademiya!]
[Those dark circles are heavy—just like mine right now.]
As Silaya walked along a mountain path, birds suddenly took flight overhead, as if sensing something terrifying.
Silaya stopped, her expression turning wary.
A few dozen meters ahead, an Abyss Gate slowly materialized.
A purple-black monster emerged from it, its appearance utterly grotesque and terrifying.
Silaya frowned and swiftly took cover behind a nearby tree.
After a few seconds, she cautiously peeked out, only to discover in shock that the damned monsters were heading straight for her, their path unerringly direct.
Silaya knew her limits. She could handle ordinary foes, but these creatures were clearly beyond her capabilities.
If she were a character in a gacha game, she'd definitely be a support character.
Now, a support was being forced to face monsters even the main DPS might struggle against. What was she supposed to do—wait to be someone else's corpse cleanup project?
Chen Xiyao was frantic. Why now of all times?!
Nearly all the capable fighters were in the Desert, while Silaya was being hunted down in the Rainforest. This isn't fair!
Could Silaya's current situation be the result of trying to evade the Abyss's pursuit?
[Holy crap, the Abyss! They've targeted Silaya!]
[We're doomed, we're doomed, we're doomed! We're not even supposed to be here! Run, Silaya!]
[Confirmed! Silaya is a Pure Soul!]
[No! Cursed Abyss, stop tormenting my Silaya!]
[The Dendro Archon is imprisoned. Who in Sumeru can fight back now?]
[Quick, lure these monsters to Sumeru City! Let them fight the Akademiya!]
[I hope this isn't some remote wilderness. Nothing must happen to Silaya!]
Sumeru, Rainforest
Silaya ran as fast as she could, but some of the monsters behind her were even faster, instantly appearing in front of her.