"It seems your life in this world has been quite good, you with the blood of evil."
Hmm? In her dream, Durandal heard someone talking to her. Judging by the tone, in Durandal's perception, there was only one person it could be.
When her vision slowly recovered, what appeared before Durandal was indeed the entity who had tried to seal her when she first arrived in this world, but was soundly beaten by her—the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Durandal didn't mind her addressing her by that title. When introducing herself, Durandal had claimed to possess evil blood. To elevate her own status, she had automatically ignored Durandal's name and used that title to refer to her.
"It's been over a thousand years since we last met, hasn't it? I thought we wouldn't have another chance to meet."
"No, you actually know very well that we would meet again, don't you? As long as you travel with that person from another world, you will certainly meet me in the future. Perhaps... you might even become my enemy."
If possible, the Heavenly Principles truly didn't want to fight Durandal. In the past, she always easily crushed others; when had she ever been crushed by someone else?
If Durandal hadn't been unwilling to harm her and had gone easy on her during their fight, her position as the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles would probably have been taken by Durandal.
This made the Heavenly Principles both afraid of Durandal and hold a certain fondness for her, which was why she was talking to her so amicably here.
"No, I won't help her against you. She might fight you in the future, but... I won't help her, and of course, I won't help you either."
"I hope you can keep your word and not intervene in that battle."
The Heavenly Principles waved her hand, and the surroundings changed. They arrived in a courtyard, sitting face to face, with a steaming cup of black tea between them.
"As the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, do you still need to drink afternoon tea?"
"I naturally have things to do, but I also have times for rest. Human resting behavior is quite good; I've borrowed from it a little."
These were all things the Heavenly Principles learned from those who came to Celestia. They were quite useful; at least they gave her something to do when resting, and doing so also enhanced her authority.
"Is there something wrong, Heavenly Principles? I have kept my promise and haven't caused any destruction to this world."
After a brief and implicit statement, Durandal voiced her doubts. They had agreed not to cause any destruction to this world, nor to have too great an impact on it.
She had strictly adhered to both points, so the Heavenly Principles should have no reason to seek her out. Why had she suddenly pulled her consciousness from her dream?
"...Forget it. With your abilities, the things you've done indeed don't amount to much."
The Heavenly Principles looked at Durandal with a complex mood. She really wanted to say that among the people Durandal had healed with her abilities, there were individuals who could impact the world.
They should have died from illness before achieving anything, but Durandal cured their illnesses, giving them the opportunity to continue their endeavors and eventually develop actions that would affect the world.
Although these were not done by Durandal, she indirectly caused these things to happen, so in a sense, she was also responsible.
But she didn't know this; she simply cherished life and saved those people. This made it difficult for the Heavenly Principles to say anything, so she could only reluctantly accept the situation.
"The reason I sought you out this time is because of a problem with the world. This world... is about to be 'discovered'."
"This world discovered? What do you mean?"
"It means... something very dangerous is about to notice the existence of this World Bubble. I have always tried to prevent World Bubbles from being discovered, but with the world's development and the increase in the World Bubble's strength, it can no longer be hidden."
At this point, the Heavenly Principles let out a long sigh. Before the Seven Archons, she was the lofty Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, but she also had her own troubles.
As the Sustainer of this world, the most pressing concern for her was not this world itself, but things beyond it. If that 'tree' or that 'sea' were to notice it, this world would be doomed.
She couldn't tell the Seven Archons about this. Their power was strong for this world, but it wasn't enough beyond it.
The only suitable person was Durandal. If any disaster truly struck, or if something happened to her in the future, Durandal could help.
"...What exactly do you want to say?"
Durandal frowned, realizing that the Heavenly Principles had called her here for something major, something very significant.
She wasn't a fool; the Heavenly Principles clearly wanted to entrust her with something, and was likely about to tell her a secret, a secret about this world.
Durandal was not mistaken; the Heavenly Principles indeed had this intention and was prepared to do so.
With a casual wave, a familiar energy appeared in the Heavenly Principles' hand—the power of the Abyss, a powerful yet eerie force.
"You should know this, right?"
"Of course, power from the Abyss. Is there a problem?"
"A problem? Of course there's a problem. What brought the world into crisis is this power. Originally, the continent of Teyvat did not possess this power. It was all because of the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah, because they discovered that power, that the current situation came to be."
When mentioning the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah, the Heavenly Principles' expression became quite complex. It was a powerful kingdom that, relying on human wisdom alone, had developed into a nation far surpassing others.
In fact, the Heavenly Principles did not reject the development of these nations. Rather, she welcomed it if humans developed normal technology, as it would make the world more convenient and also make her life much easier.
But the scientists of Khaenri'ah should not have discovered the truth of this world, nor should they have discovered that 'power'.
Under Durandal's gaze, the Heavenly Principles separated the Abyssal energy, extracting an ominous elemental force and another distinct power.
"This is the forbidden power that the people of Khaenri'ah discovered back then. It was because they tried to research this power that I united with the other Seven Archons to subjugate that nation and destroy them."
"Forbidden power? What kind of power is it that made you go so far as to destroy a nation?"
Durandal couldn't understand. Destroying a nation was undoubtedly an extremely cruel act, at least something Durandal could absolutely not condone.
But did the Heavenly Principles have other hidden motives for doing so? And was this hidden motive related to the power the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah discovered?
What kind of power could make the Heavenly Principles so wary that she would even destroy a nation to prevent Khaenri'ah from researching it?
"This power has a name; it's called... Honkai Energy."
The Heavenly Principles briefly explained the situation to Durandal, and also explained information about 'World Bubbles' and the state of this world.
She also clarified what the 'tree' and the 'sea' in the Heavenly Principles' words were: the imaginary tree and the Sea of Quantum, respectively.
These two things were complex to explain. Simply put, the continent of Teyvat was one of many 'World Bubbles' within the Sea of Quantum.
In the past, the continent of Teyvat also had a very strong civilization. This civilization discovered this truth, realizing that Honkai Energy was a mechanism used to filter suitable World Bubbles from many, and eliminate those that did not pass.
To ensure their world could continue to exist, humanity employed various methods, ultimately uniting all their wisdom to initiate a plan. This plan was 'Deceiving the World'.
Through some technology, this world was hidden, presenting to the Sea of Quantum a world that was undergoing a Honkai trial, while internally, Honkai Energy was sealed deep within the world, preventing its reappearance and drawing the attention of the Sea of Quantum, thereby achieving the effect of deception.
To achieve this goal, humanity was almost annihilated, and even civilization itself was destroyed, leaving only scattered embers and the existence of her, the 'Sustainer of Heavenly Principles'.
For countless years, she had been fulfilling her duty, protecting this world.
But Honkai Energy was not completely sealed; the energy that occasionally leaked out would still affect this world. To combat the affected creatures, she created elemental power.
Through these elemental powers, a whole new system was created, giving birth to the Seven Archons, allowing them to help her manage this world.
This plan initially proceeded perfectly, and the world developed in a good direction. Everything began to change when the technology of the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah became increasingly advanced, and they accidentally detected the existence of Honkai Energy, finding the Honkai Energy sealed deep within the world.
"...So, you were worried that the people of the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah, through excessive research, would completely unseal the Honkai, leading to disaster for the world?"
"The most important thing is for the true situation of the World Bubble to be discovered by the Sea of Quantum. Although there are many World Bubbles within the Sea of Quantum, its processing speed is not slow. The predecessors sacrificed an entire civilization to protect this world. I cannot let their efforts be in vain for the sake of one nation."
Durandal nodded. It was certainly impossible to compare the people of one nation to an entire civilization. It was understandable that the Heavenly Principles would have such a thought.
"But your plan doesn't seem to be going smoothly."
"That's right. Although Khaenri'ah was destroyed, the humans of that nation, in their final moments, used the Honkai Energy they researched to transform themselves into another form of existence."
Those members of the Abyss were people from the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah. Their conflict with the Heavenly Principles and the Seven Archons was irreconcilable, reaching a point of life or death.
The most troublesome thing was that they were hiding deep within the world, in the place where Honkai Energy was sealed. That was the only area the Heavenly Principles could not access.
This could be considered a layer of insurance, applied by past pioneers to prevent the absolutely powerful existence of the Heavenly Principles from losing herself for some reason, going there to release the power of Honkai, and causing the world's destruction.
It was originally a good intention, but unexpectedly, it restricted the actions of the Heavenly Principles.
Fortunately, although those people in the Abyss were insane, they also understood the impact that power would have on the world once released, so they didn't commit any serious acts.
But this doesn't mean she can relax; or rather, the current situation is already quite dangerous. The Heavenly Principles has a premonition that the Honkai seal will be opened sooner or later, and this world is about to face disaster.
"The reason I brought you here this time is to hope that you can help me protect this world when disaster strikes."
"...The truth?"
"I have no choice (my plans have run out). I hope you can help me, please."
The Heavenly Principles lowered her proud head, making a humble request, hoping to cling to Durandal's leg and have her help at the crucial moment.
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