Breathing the damp air rising through the little gap he'd left—air laced with the earthy smell of mud—Lin Feng guided the roots and vines around him, slowly burying himself underground.
Cradling Little White, lying inside the wooden capsule he'd carved out by hand, Lin Feng suddenly felt like one of those hopping vampires from Uncle Ying's movies—secretly siphoning off ley-line energy.
…Actually, he thought, wasn't that pretty much exactly what he was doing?
Thinking of his next step, the realization finally hit him.
The reason he suddenly decided to bury himself like this… all traced back to who he was.
From the beginning, Lin Feng had known—he was absolutely not a native lifeform of Teyvat.
The garbled mess in the Race column of his system…
The moment he first touched a Statue of the Seven, that bizarre new trait he unlocked—
Elemental Mastery · Dendro
A plain-looking term, but phrased another way… it meant one-seventh of Teyvat's divine authority—
the right to command life and vegetation.
He didn't have some flashy title like "Lord of Verdure" or "Master of All Flora," sure.
But those were naming issues; the essence of the authority was right there, quietly sitting in his panel.
Four thousand years ago, Celestia had forced the Archon War, pushing gods to slaughter one another, sacrificing countless divine lives just to forge the Seven Seats—the purest embodiments of elemental authority.
And he? He touched a statue once and got it?
There was something deeply, deeply wrong with that.
And now, since he'd planned to use the Seven's statue to connect into the ley-lines and gather enough power to face the Withering Avatar, he could finally take this opportunity to verify some of his long-held suspicions about this body's origin.
He was eager, yes—but before that, there was one last thing he needed to do.
Confirming that the specially-prepared 15-percent sugar Patisharan Pudding in his storage was still safe and sound, Lin Feng stirred his dream-type energy and slowly closed his eyes.
—
A soft green world unfolded—overflowing with life, blooming flowers, and lush trees spreading to every horizon.
At a small table covered in snacks, Nahida sat waiting. The way she looked toward the fading corner of the dream—where a figure gradually took shape—was filled with anticipation.
The shadow solidified, forming the face of a familiar boy.
—Lin Feng, now a regular visitor to the little Archon's dreams.
He slipped into his favorite chair with practiced ease.
He had come here on purpose tonight—for something he couldn't skip.
To say a temporary goodbye.
Because of Nahida's peculiar circumstances, living in dreams described her existence perfectly.
And since she'd once given Lin Feng permission to enter her dreams freely…
He had, of course, shamelessly visited every single night to freeload food and snacks.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to show up for a while, Lin Feng feared she might overthink, feel lonely… start imagining things.
So before burying himself, he'd come specifically to explain—so she wouldn't be left wondering.
As usual, Lin Feng playfully stroked Nahida's silky white hair while chatting about his recent adventures.
Halfway through, he suddenly withdrew his hand.
"…What's wrong?"
Still immersed in his story, Nahida tilted her head, puzzled.
"I brought you something. Want to guess what it is?" Lin Feng teased.
"This is a dream. How could anything real be brought in?"
She blinked, confused.
In her view, this place was pure fantasy—nothing from reality should be able to cross over.
"You're right. Under normal logic, dreamscapes can't hold physical objects."
Lin Feng admitted readily.
"But the issue is—I'm starting to suspect that normal logic and I aren't exactly compatible."
As he spoke, a pale lilac-colored Patisharan Pudding materialized on the spotless white table.
He gently slid the plate toward her.
"Try it. I asked the chef in Gandharva Ville to add extra sugar—no idea if it suits your taste."
Nahida sighed softly when she saw it pushed in front of her.
"You know I can't actually taste things here. Authority issues… I can't exist as naturally as you do in your dreams. But… thank you."
Even so, she brought the delicate pudding closer, studying its beautiful lavender sheen. She scooped a tiny bite with her spoon and placed it into her mouth.
—It'll have no taste anyway, she thought.
Yes, Lin Feng could now freely create objects in this dreamscape.
But this level of dream manipulation should still be far from enough to fool her.
As the Archon of Dreams, Nahida never ate inside dreams.
Her insight was too sharp.
The moment anything touched her tongue, her subconscious would strip away the illusion—revealing its true nature.
No matter how delicious something looked… once she realized it was a dream construct, the experience collapsed.
Thinking this, her heart twinged with guilt.
Let him see you look happy, she told herself.
Or else… maybe don't dodge the head-pats later.
A tiny compromise.
Her expression, outwardly, remained as placid as always.
Across from her, Lin Feng observed her carefully—half nervous, half hopeful.
He knew full well she shouldn't be able to taste dream-food.
And he wasn't totally confident the pudding he smuggled in via his anomalous ability would be an exception.
"So? How is it?" he asked, head tilted.
"…It's good."
Nahida lowered her head and took another bite, then another—just like always.
"Really? You're not lying to make me happy?"
Uncertain, Lin Feng scooted closer—only to notice her small shoulders trembling slightly.
"Lin Feng… do you know why I like date-honey candies so much?"
Instead of answering directly, Nahida suddenly asked something she'd never mentioned before.
The smooth texture on her tongue… the dense creamy sweetness…
For the first time in five hundred years, real flavor filled her mouth.
Her head lowered further—she didn't want him to see her face.
"It's because… it was the only real food I had ever tasted."
"Before the day I was sent to the Akademiya five hundred years ago."
Nahida lifted her head.
And Lin Feng finally saw her expression.
—The always-gentle, always-sunny Little Green Archon…
Now wore an expression so hollow it was almost doll-like.
As if all emotion had been scraped clean.
"… …"
Oh no.
He'd just auto-attacked and triggered a hidden main story.
Lin Feng fell silent.
He had always suspected Nahida wasn't as carefree inside as she looked.
But seeing her like this—
The weight of five centuries of isolation—
The kind of spiritual damage long-term confinement could inflict—
It hit him harder than he expected.
He'd subconsciously assumed gods were born with stronger hearts—
That Nahida could endure simply because she was… Nahida.
But the truth was simpler, sadder:
She already understood.
Even if she revealed her fragility—
No one would care.
So she numbed herself with responsibility instead.
And smiled.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786