Genshin Impact world.
Natlan, Fatui camp.
"Captain, we have brought back the latest information regarding the Pyro Archon."
A Fatui intelligence officer hurried over.
"Speak."
The tall, masked man said, his voice heavy and slow.
"It has been several days since the new Pyro Archon suspended the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame's Holy Night, and the Natlan people still feel dissatisfied with this action."
"Every day, there are people challenging the Pyro Archon, and the results are undoubtedly crushing defeats."
"Among them, even Citlali, the shaman of the Masters of the Night-Wind, confronted the Pyro Archon, but in the end, she returned empty-handed, unable to change the Pyro Archon's intentions."
The intelligence officer reported.
"...Even Citlali has been stirred?"
The captain said.
"Yes. We also sent people to track Citlali, but they were discovered by her, fell into her trap, and struggled for quite a while before getting out."
The intelligence officer said.
"That's only natural."
Citlali was an old monster who had lived who knows how long.
Even a powerful Pyro Archon would have been worn down by her across several generations.
Her exceptional talent, along with years far longer than ordinary people, made her the unmatched shaman of the Scions of the Smoky Enigma in others' eyes.
The Fatui's plans in Natlan required Citlali's assistance.
However, before that, the captain had other matters to attend to.
"Natlan's Pyro Archon is too young and knows very little about the terror of the Abyss."
"If the Gnosis remains in his hands, not only Natlan, but perhaps all of Teyvat will be destroyed."
Though the captain was human, he possessed power no less than that of an Archon.
Even against the Seven Sovereigns of the Mortal Realm, he had the qualification to contend with them.
As long as he made a move, it was not impossible to seize the Gnosis from the Pyro Archon's hands.
At that moment, the Fatui intelligence officer continued reporting: "However, there is one thing that is particularly strange."
"According to records, Natlan's Sacred Flame requires the Flames of Rivalry produced by the Natlan people's struggles during the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame's Holy Night to sustain its burning."
"But the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame's Holy Night has been suspended for so long, yet not only has the Sacred Flame not dimmed, it is burning even more vigorously than before."
It wasn't just him.
Even the local residents of Natlan felt puzzled.
Clearly, they were no longer providing the Flames of Rivalry, so the Sacred Flame should gradually fade.
Yet the Sacred Flame showed no signs of weakening; on the contrary, it appeared to be burning even more vigorously.
"You're saying the new Pyro Archon has another way to sustain the Sacred Flame?"
Hearing the intelligence about the Sacred Flame, the captain lowered his head to look at the intelligence officer.
"I dare not say for certain."
"But based on the current intelligence, the new Pyro Archon, Rios, does indeed have methods different from other Pyro Archons."
The intelligence officer said.
"Different methods..."
The captain lowered his head slightly, organizing in his mind the intelligence regarding Natlan's new Pyro Archon.
Raised in the Flowing Springs Tribe, he had displayed combat strength stronger than adults from a young age.
In the competition for the position of Pyro Archon, he easily defeated all opponents; even Mavuika couldn't last half a minute.
Though excessively powerful, after receiving the Sacred Flame's baptism, Rios should have continued upholding Natlan's traditions just like past Pyro Archons.
Yet Rios had shut down the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame's Holy Night and even suspended the Night Warden Wars along with it.
On the day he announced this policy, he defeated all the dissenters.
Just when everyone thought that without the Flames of Rivalry from the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame's Holy Night, Natlan's Sacred Flame would cease burning.
But Rios had used some unknown method to continue sustaining the Sacred Flame, ensuring Natlan was not harmed by the Abyss.
"Rios's ideas are indeed different from those of past Pyro Archons."
"And he possesses unknown abilities."
"If it's him, perhaps he could understand my actions."
"I should talk with him."
The captain had come to Natlan not to seize the Gnosis, but to use the Gnosis to save the Natlan on the verge of destruction.
It was just that his ideas clashed with those of past Pyro Archons, so to implement the plan, he could only take the path of forcibly seizing the Gnosis.
But if the one to negotiate with was Rios, who also held ideas different from past Pyro Archons, perhaps unnecessary conflict could be avoided.
The captain was preparing to call over a Fatui diplomat to have them convey his desire to meet the Pyro Archon.
But the diplomat took the initiative to come over.
"Captain, there's news!"
The diplomat half-knelt on the ground and reported: "The Pyro Archon wishes to conduct a transaction with us."
"You're saying... the Pyro Archon?"
The captain felt it strange.
For this trip to Natlan, he had only brought a small number of elite soldiers, and the supplies were just enough for their own use.
What could they possibly offer to trade with a god who governed an entire nation?
It couldn't be the captain's head, could it?
"What does Natlan's Pyro Archon want from us?" The captain looked at the diplomat.
"The Pyro Archon said," the diplomat's tone was heavy, "he wants our Delusions."
"...To pay rent."
Delusions were props created by the Fatui in imitation of Visions, which could help people use elemental power just like a Vision.
However, Delusions would erode the user's body, and excessive use would bring irreparable harm to the user, even possibly leading to death.
Even the Fatui did not dare to use Delusions casually.
Only those with powerful strength, unafraid of the Delusion's erosion, would use the power of Delusions.
"For a grand Pyro Archon to want Delusions imitating the Gnosis."
Upon hearing that Rios wanted Delusions, the captain didn't even hear the latter part about using them as rent.
A bold idea emerged in his mind: "Could the Pyro Archon be wanting to..."
======
Stadium of the Sacred Flame.
Announcer's Booth.
Rios furrowed his brows tightly, his expression grave, hands clasped together in a steeple as if deep in thought.
The secretary responsible for assisting the Pyro Archon with affairs couldn't help but feel surprised in her heart upon seeing this.
"The Pyro Archon is actually so serious; what he's pondering must surely be matters of national importance, right?"
The secretary's guess was quite accurate.
Rios was indeed thinking about national matters, but the content of his thoughts was somewhat different from what she had guessed.
"Why is the players' attention all focused on my gender?"
Through the system, Rios could see the discussions in the player world.
He had originally thought that after seeing his new policy, the players would enthusiastically discuss what kind of person he was.
As a result, the players only focused on the fact that the Pyro Archon was male, not female, and then they argued incessantly, posting hundreds of related posts and videos saying all sorts of things, but none discussing the plot.
"That's true; the players know nothing about Natlan and don't understand the importance of the Pilgrimage of the Returning Flame's Holy Night to the Natlan people."
"It's normal that no one is discussing it."
After going through all the various posts, Rios understood why the players' focus was on gender.
The mentally exhausted him opened the system's mall, and the first thing he looked at was still that one.
[Craft Pyro Vision (Mass Production Version)]
[Price: 3000 Shock Value each]
[Requires unlocking via deconstructing Vision, Gnosis, Delusion]