"Hey, Lumine, did you hear that just now? It sounded like a lot of guards rushing past. Does this mean the plan has progressed to the next stage?" Paimon asked, spinning around the room in boredom.
"Most likely. It seems Nilou has completed her mission too," Lumine replied.
"Yeah, yeah! It's great that everything's going so smoothly!"
Paimon paced the room restlessly, her boredom leading her to ask, "Speaking of which, when exactly did Alhaitham swap out the Canned Knowledge in the Akasha?"
Lumine: "When he pretended to be corrupted by divine knowledge... do you remember him lunging at the Great Sage?"
Paimon: "Oh, right! I was too stressed to notice at the time."
"So, back in Port Ormos, Alhaitham must have secretly taken the Canned Knowledge of the Divine from the mercenary leader while everyone was distracted. It's a trick that's worked for him time and time again."
Lumine: "He stays calm even when things get chaotic. That's how he pulls off these schemes..."
"Hmph!" Paimon crossed her arms, looking disgruntled. "Why are we praising him all of a sudden? He's just a slightly clever but incredibly annoying guy!"
As she spoke, Paimon stomped her foot. That Alhaitham always loved to get on her nerves!
"Sigh... I wonder when we'll get out of here. It's so boring..."
Just as Paimon was complaining, the door to the Confinement Room suddenly swung open.
Chu Xi entered through the doorway, spotting Lumine and Paimon. She smiled and said, "Traveler, Paimon, I've come to rescue you!"
Paimon flung herself at Chu Xi. The three had been traveling together for so long that they were now close friends.
Chu Xi patted Paimon's small head. "The guards have all run off. I've been hiding outside for ages, thankfully the Scholars didn't spot me."
Lumine: "Thank you, Chu Xi. Let's get out of here!"
Inside the Akademiya, the Great Sage noticed something amiss.
Though the Akademiya was usually quiet, today's silence was unnerving.
He wheeled himself out of his office, intending to ask the guards about the situation, only to find them all gone.
A Scholar's explanation sent a chill down the Great Sage's spine.
Canned Knowledge... When had it been replaced?
The Traveler was supposed to be locked in the Confinement Room. Could it have been that Liyue woman?
No, impossible. She doesn't possess such capabilities.
Alhaitham!
Their goal is to rescue Lesser Lord Kusanali!
With this realization, the Great Sage urgently wanted to check on the Sanctuary of Surasthana, but he was currently confined to his wheelchair.
"Come here and push me to the Sanctuary of Surasthana!"
"Yes, Great Sage."
The scholar pushed the Great Sage to the entrance of the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where the Great Sage dismissed him.
The Great Sage pushed open the Sanctuary's doors and maneuvered his wheelchair inside.
As he entered the Sanctuary, the Great Sage looked up in horror to find that the device originally imprisoning Lesser Lord Kusanali was now empty.
"...Impossible! This can't be happening! My eyes must be playing tricks on me..."
He closed his eyes, rubbed them vigorously, and when he opened them again, Lesser Lord Kusanali's figure had reappeared within the device.
"Eh? She's really back... What's going on here?"
"What a farcical scene you've staged, Azar."
Azar turned to find Cyno standing behind him, nearly losing control of his wheelchair in surprise.
"Even the Great Sage, once the Akasha implants a certain idea into his mind, becomes unable to perceive reality. You've always only seen the world within your own minds, the world you believe exists."
Cyno sneered, "That's why you disregarded Lesser Lord Kusanali's existence—she, who is such a wise and benevolent god..."
As Azar maneuvered his wheelchair, Cyno caught sight of Silaya behind him.
"...Hm? She... What have you done to her?"
Azar's voice turned stiff. "Cyno... have you been waiting for an opportunity like this all along?"
Cyno's voice grew harsher. "Answer my question! What have you done to her?"
Azar hesitated. "...Silaya... well, she made a deal with the Doctor, hoping to study the Akasha..."
Cyno's brow furrowed. Study the Akasha?
Just then, Lumine, Paimon, and the others arrived, barging through the door.
"Cyno! Great Sage! Is that... Silaya?!" Paimon exclaimed loudly.
Cyno nodded to the trio before turning back to Azar. "Save your explanations for later. Release Lesser Lord Kusanali immediately."
Cyno's tone was severe, leaving no room for negotiation.
Azar remained silent for a moment, glancing down at his legs and then back at Cyno's icy expression. "The operational authority is in the office..."
Cyno followed Azar closely, wary of the old man's schemes.
Chu Xi rushed to Silaya's side, but no matter how she called out, Silaya remained unresponsive.
Lumine reassured her, "Chu Xi, don't panic. Let's ask Nahida once she's released."
Chu Xi nodded, her gaze still fixed on Silaya.
Paimon floated over to take a look. Silaya appeared to be asleep, but could someone really fall asleep sitting upright like that?
After a while, Nahida was freed from the device.
"Dendro Archon, what's wrong with Silaya?"
Nahida approached Silaya and reached out her hand, a surge of green energy flowing from her palm.
Lumine and the others stood silently nearby, refraining from interrupting.
About a minute later, Nahida withdrew her hand.
"Silaya's consciousness is in the Akasha. I tried to pull her out, but she seems to be resisting. She still has unfinished business. Forcibly removing her could severely damage her consciousness."
Chu Xi: "Then what do we do? Is Silaya in danger?"
"Only when she completes what she wants to do, or gives up on it entirely, will her consciousness emerge on its own," Nahida explained. "Silaya's current state isn't immediately dangerous, but if it persists, she will grow increasingly weak. Fortunately, I can infuse her body with vital energy..."
Paimon was utterly puzzled. Why had Silaya's consciousness entered the Akasha?
Wasn't the Akasha powered by the Gnosis? It made sense that Nahida could enter, but Silaya was just an ordinary human. How could she enter?
When Paimon asked Nahida, the Dendro Archon replied:
"That's precisely what's puzzling me. Silaya shouldn't be capable of this..."
Could it be... the Dendro Archon's Retainers helped her?
After considering all the possibilities, that seemed to be the only logical explanation.
Faced with Silaya's current state, everyone felt helpless. Yet the crisis in Sumeru City was far from over. After discussing their options, they decided that Chu Xi would stay behind to care for Silaya—a task Chu Xi herself insisted upon.
The rest would accompany Nahida to prevent the birth of the God.
However, before any of that, they needed to first break the Doctor's Akasha blockade against Nahida. Then, they would need to make some adjustments, revoke the Sages' permissions, and restore the Akasha to its original state, controlled solely by the God.