Celestia.
Nolan stood at the edge of the floating island, spreading his spiritual perception across the not-so-large landmass and carefully examining it.
Before long, he discovered that the island itself appeared rather ordinary—no vastly different from islands out at sea.
However, scattered across parts of it were numerous white buildings. At the very center stood a grand palace adorned with intricate golden patterns.
Perhaps that was where the Heavenly Principles resided.
Nolan also noticed a white stone pathway extending outward from the island for two to three hundred meters, ending at a stone gate.
That gate felt strangely familiar.
It looked remarkably similar to the one that appeared every time he logged into the game.
Could this stone gate be the entrance beyond the world—hidden beneath the veil of the "False Sky"?
Nolan pondered his speculation.
Five hundred years ago, when Lumine and her brother were preparing to leave this world from here, they had been stopped by the "Sustainer of Heavenly Principles."
Nolan felt he might as well try the same—perhaps he could draw her out.
Although directly exploring the palace might be more efficient, a wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Testing things first would be safer.
With that in mind, Nolan once again activated his distance-manipulation ability and adjusted the space between himself and the white stone gate.
Taking a single step forward, he instantly arrived before it.
He did not conceal his aura. Reaching out, he was just about to touch the stone gate—
When a sense of danger flared behind him.
He shifted slightly to the side.
Bang.
A dark red cube struck the gate and dispersed into energy.
"How did you come to this place?"
A cold, detached voice sounded from behind.
Nolan turned around to see a rift in space torn open by dark red cubes suspended in midair.
From it emerged a woman with white hair and golden eyes, radiating an overwhelming sense of authority. She hovered in the air, her expression calm as she looked down at him.
"Who are you?"
Nolan asked knowingly, even as he activated every ability he had for gathering information:
[Level: 132]
[Affection Skill Potential: Gold]
[Sustainer of Heavenly Principles: During the slumber of the "Heavenly Principles," she safeguards both Teyvat and the continuation of the Heavenly Principles themselves, maintaining the "False Sky" to prevent invasions from the Abyss.]
(T/N: Affection Skill Potentials are follows: White ← Green ← Blue ← Purple ← Gold.)
The information provided by his Affection Skills was clear.
The Sustainer before him was only Level 132.
At that level, Nolan could defeat her with ease.
As for the golden Affection Skill potential—there was no need to elaborate. A pinnacle existence like the Sustainer would be abnormal if she weren't gold-tier.
Most revealing of all was the final piece of information.
First, it confirmed that the "Heavenly Principles" were indeed asleep.
Second, it clarified the Sustainer's responsibilities: not only guarding the slumbering Heavenly Principles, but also protecting Teyvat itself.
The "False Sky" existed to resist enemies from beyond the world—the Abyss.
So Teyvat had indeed been facing threats from the Abyss all along.
If he wanted Teyvat to connect with interstellar society, he might first need to resolve the Abyssal problem.
"Answer my question."
Dark red cubes surged around the Sustainer, layering and interlocking, ready to strike at any moment.
This was the resting place of the Heavenly Principles. For someone to intrude so easily represented a severe security flaw. She needed answers.
"Alright. I simply used a special ability of mine to shift my position—something like spatial movement."
Though the Sustainer's tone had been far from polite, Nolan remained courteous and answered her question first.
"In that case… you shall remain here."
The moment the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles spoke, the dark red cubes surged toward Nolan in attack.
Celestia was protected by spatial laws—ordinary individuals could not reach this place. However, those with profound mastery over space might indeed discern the pattern and break through.
That alone was enough for her to label Nolan a "threat." To prevent him from sneaking back to Celestia in the future and attempting to open the gate to escape—
If that were to invite the Abyss in, Teyvat's destruction would follow soon after.
"Alright then."
Seeing that she resorted to violence without hesitation, Nolan had no intention of indulging her.
He looked at the incoming dark red cubes and fixed the distance between himself and them at exactly ten meters.
Instantly, the cubes appeared frozen in midair.
But upon closer inspection, they were still moving. It was simply that the distance between them and Nolan had been stretched into something like infinity.
(T/N: Definitely not Gojo's ability guys!)
No matter how they moved, their actual displacement relative to him was zero—hence the illusion of being suspended in place.
"Hmph."
The white-haired Sustainer had to admit that this man truly possessed considerable mastery over space.
She tore open more spatial rifts and released an even greater number of dark red cubes.
Nolan raised an eyebrow.
He fixed precise distances for every single target—then shifted his gaze to the Sustainer herself and adjusted the distance between her and himself to thirty centimeters.
How could she possibly anticipate such an absurd ability?
Before she could react, she suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
Nolan immediately seized her by the throat. Semi-transparent spiritual threds shot out and bound her limbs in an instant.
Facing her stunned golden eyes at close range, he unleashed a massive surge of spiritual power directly against her consciousness.
Like a lone reef battered by an overwhelming ocean, the Sustainer wavered under the crushing force.
In less than two seconds, she was on the verge of collapse.
By the third second, her eyes rolled back, her limbs went limp, and she fell unconscious.
Seizing the opportunity, Nolan swiftly inscribed a Command Spell upon her, placing her entirely under his control.
Only then did he release her and mend the spiritual damage he had inflicted.
Moments later, she slowly regained consciousness.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles staggered back at the sight of Nolan and instinctively tried to summon the dark red cubes once more.
He smiled faintly.
"Still want to fight? You should understand the gap between us by now."
At the same time, he issued a silent command, forcing her to remain in place.
"What—?!"
When she realized she could not move, and felt the information transmitted through the Command Spell, the Sustainer understood she had been controlled.
Shock and fury filled her gaze as she stared at Nolan.
How could he possibly achieve something like this?
As the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, even with the Heavenly Principles asleep, the world itself granted her countless forms of reinforcement.
Immunity to mental control was among the most fundamental protections.
Yet this human before her had still accomplished it.
Had he surpassed the world itself?
But that was impossible.
If someone like this existed in Teyvat, how had she never discovered him before?
(End of Chapter)
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