"Pseudo Star Map Creation Askr Yggdrasil, Yggdrasill, the World Tree... Hmm, I understand now. Thank you, my dear husband."
Buer spoke as she placed a gentle kiss on Noah's cheek.
She had already suspected that Sumeru also possessed a Pseudo Star Map Creation. After all, even Inazuma had one.
Noah returned the gesture and continued, "With Norse and Sumeru merging into a major divine collective, I do hope the Norse Pseudo Star Map remains with Sumeru."
"Of course, that will depend on your efforts. If there is no natural wielder, then a Gift Game for the Pseudo Star Map must be held."
If just anyone could wield a Pseudo Star Map Creation, it would lose all its value.
After all, it represented the center of a divine collective. To control it was to become a sacred one—and in time, to attain omniscience and omnipotence.
Buer nodded firmly. "Understood. No matter what, I will fight for the Pseudo Star Map Creation."
She and Nahida were the same at their root. She hoped Nahida could grasp the Norse Pseudo Star Map.
The Norse Pseudo Star Map, Asgard, was a cosmology very similar to Askr Yggdrasil.
In fact, it could even be said that Asgard was derived from Askr Yggdrasil.
Thus, since she was the natural wielder of Askr Yggdrasil, then there was a high probability Nahida could master Asgard.
Noah smiled and gave Buer's perky bottom a squeeze. "As expected of Wisdom—you understood my intent instantly."
Naturally, he hoped that the merged divine collective would be led by someone he favored in mastering the Pseudo Star Map.
But he couldn't deny others the opportunity to claim it, so he would only provide the chance.
In the end, the opportunity had been given. If they still lost despite the advantage, then it couldn't be helped.
Nahida wasn't a natural wielder of Asgard, but she was highly adaptable. Of course, there was someone even more compatible than Nahida—Norse's God-King, Odin.
But Odin was not the natural bearer of Asgard either.
After all, Pseudo Star Map Creations were nurtured by him, the Heavenly Principle.
Naturally born wielders of Pseudo Star Maps could only be found among the original gods of Teyvat. Those who came later would only ever have a chance.
As he conversed with Buer, Noah walked deeper into the Temple of Truth.
Here lay the origin and end of Pan-Human History, where Phanes sat upon the Human Principle Throne, overseeing the entirety of Pan-Human History.
She sat like a giant god upon the Milky Way, with the entire history of Pan-Human History unfolding before her:
The birth of civilizations, their flourishing, their decline…
Everything—an immeasurable power converging.
Behind Phanes' head slowly revolved a divine halo tinged with the hue of history.
Her presence was now at least three times stronger than before—proof that Pan-Human History had tripled in strength.
Before Phanes lay a miniature of the Great Universe.
This miniature depicted the distribution and relative strength of civilizations throughout the cosmos.
The brightest light of civilization, without a doubt, was the central galaxy of the universe's core.
With Noah's arm wrapped around her waist, Buer stepped forward and instantly felt a pressure unlike anything she had ever known.
In her clover-shaped pupils, she looked up at the figure upon the Human Principle Throne with deep reverence and awe.
As a Primordial God, she was among the strongest beneath the Gods-above-Gods.
Yet now, she clearly sensed that the gap between herself and Phanes was far greater than when she had been an Archon and Phanes had been the Heavenly Principle.
At the Supreme God tier, every level of difference was a dimensional gap.
And above the Supreme God tier stood the Holy Gods.
She understood well: the stronger the civilizations of the Great Universe became, the more powerful Pan-Human History would grow.
Phanes… was likely the closest existence to the Heavenly Principle.
"So, my dearest wife, how does it feel? Isn't the growth of Pan-Human History exhilarating beyond compare?"
Phanes had already sensed the Heavenly Principle's return when the quality of the Dream Truth was elevated.
She slowly opened her eyes—golden irises encircled by a ring of shifting multicolored light.
"Mm, it's alright. According to the classification you defined, I am among the strong within the strong single-universe tier. If I had to quantify it, my normal state is at standard single-universe level, and with full power, I can break through a handful of standard single universes."
Single-universe tier meant the ability to alter an entire universe. But to utterly destroy a universe—to erase its existence entirely—was a feat for the strong single-universe tier.
Take the Honkai: Star Rail universe for example. The Aeons there possessed single-universe level power, but none could obliterate a universe—they could only alter it.
If they could truly erase a universe, they would be considered strong single-universe tier.
Right now, Phanes at full power could pop that universe like a bubble.
Of course, reality was never so simple.
The Star Rail universe is backed by the Imaginary Tree, and directly connected to it. If Phanes tried to destroy it, she would be suppressed by the Great Will of the Tree and Sea.
Moreover, the Star Rail universe wasn't purely single-universe—it was linked to the Imaginary Tree's branches.
The Aeons weren't true single-universe entities either. The Imaginary Tree's rules had evolved into "Principles," and the Aeons merely acted as agents of those Principles.
That's right—agents, not Lords of Principle.
Aeons merely carried out the will of the Principles. They were not the source. That source was the Imaginary Tree.
A true Lord of Principle, on the other hand, would certainly be considered strong single-universe tier. If the Tree and Sea willed it, a Lord of Truth would ascend to super single-universe tier.
But the Great Will of the Tree and Sea lacked vision. It refused to nurture a True Lord or a Lord of Principle.
No wonder it had stagnated for countless eons at weak multiversal level, never advancing to true multiverse.
"Once the two major Gift Games conclude, your power should reach high-tier strong single-universe level."
Noah nodded with satisfaction.
To breach the universe's limits and evolve in quality, one must obtain multiversal power and step into super single-universe tier.
In this, Noah had no worries. Teyvat had the foundation of a weak multiverse. Following the plan and enhancing the world, the Lord of Truth would naturally reach super single-universe tier.
Beyond the Lord of Truth, however, it became difficult. Even a Lord of Principle was merely a strong single-universe.
Only by becoming a True Lord of Principle could one achieve super single-universe level.
A weak multiverse lacked the key to grant multiversal power to anyone but the Lord of Truth.
This was no different than how a God-King required the Truth's blessing to become a Supreme God.
Phanes' eyes brightened. "You're preparing to start the Gift Game?"
"Exactly. With civilization now spanning a third of the Great Universe, it's time."
A faint glint of heavenly radiance shimmered in Noah's golden eyes.
"The forty-two Pseudo Star Maps have begun to stir, drowsy eyes slowly opening, awaiting their rightful masters."
"Phanes, stir all of Pan-Human History. Initiate the Gift Game."
A gleam of excitement shone in Phanes' eyes. The ancient divine wheel behind her flared to life, releasing its power.
An unimaginable ripple spread from the source of Pan-Human History, expanding into every civilization across the cosmos.
[Gift Game Title: Gods, See the Truth of the Universe]
The Almighty has paved a new path.
The Undaunted have torn the veil from all things.
The one who lost their sight... has glimpsed the truth of the world.
The final victor ascends the shoulders of giants to uphold the sky, gazing at the dome above the heavens, recording the path of the stars.
The stars that lead this era scatter their brilliance across the land, illuminating that which lies beyond the reach of mortal eyes.
Thus, the face of the almighty is revealed, grasping the ultimate authority.
The sovereign who dares challenge the gods' majesty inherits ultimate wisdom.
The sage who understands omniscience observes from the sidelines, smiling upon the brilliance of gods and mortals alike.
To seek out the Omniscient and Omnipotent—to converse with all things, with civilization, with the gods, with oneself—is to uncover the universe's ultimate secret.
Now, the era of omniscience and omnipotence has truly arrived—
Gift Game Victory Conditions:
1. Uncover the foundational blueprint hidden across the entire universe.
2. Reveal the true nature of the object the game seeks to exalt.
Declaration: With respect to the above, based on pantheon honor, community banners, and the continuation of divine collectives, the Gift Game shall commence.
Participants: All pantheons within Teyvat and all worlds affiliated with those pantheons.
Organizer: Heavenly Principle
Supervisors: Ophis, Dream, Mio, Phanes
Executors: Paimon, Asmoday, Istaroth, Baal
A golden parchment appeared before Phanes.
Upon it was inscribed the largest of all cosmic authority contests—the two greatest Gift Games in the universe.
The instant this Gift Game was declared, all of Pan-Human History surged to life. An endless power from the Human Principle radiated throughout the universe.
Not only that, it spread beyond the universe into the Dimensional Gap, enveloping all dimensions.
It even radiated further, ultimately reaching the full extent of the Teyvat Universe's influence—an area as vast as a super single-universe, spanning trillions of light years.
This scope could easily encompass more than a thousand Teyvat Universes.
At the moment Pan-Human History activated, the Cosmic Nexus burst into light.
A brilliant aurora-like pillar connected the universe's two poles, then pierced beyond the universe into the Dimensional Gap, continuing even beyond its bounds toward the Dimensional Realm of the Tree and Sea.
That radiant light resembled the Morning Star—visible even from the farthest reaches of the Imaginary Tree.
The Aeon of Joy, who had long gazed toward the center of the Dimensional Realm, caught sight of the overwhelming cosmic force—and could no longer restrain themself.
They slipped off the branch of the Imaginary Tree and began descending into the Dimensional Realm.
At their current falling speed, it would only take a few tens of thousands of standard Teyvat time units to reach the edge of the Teyvat Universe.
"A perfect Great Universe—hahaha! Ahah, I'm coming to see for myself!"
A humanoid silhouette surrounded by countless clown masks burst into clear laughter.
Even after detaching from the universe and the Imaginary Tree, they would not perish.
As an Aeon bearing the Principle of Elation, so long as their actions did not betray that Principle, they would not die.
The newly formed realm in the Tree and Sea exerted an intense pull on them. Even more so, they had discovered within the Dimensional Realm a perfect universe completely independent of the Tree and Sea.
As the embodiment of Elation, how could they resist the urge to explore it? To ignore it would feel unbearable.
...
As for regions beyond Teyvat's reach, Noah didn't know what would happen there.
Even though they lay within his domain of dimensional authority, he had not investigated and thus remained unaware.
Noah extended his hand. The golden parchment descended into his palm.
This parchment was woven from the power of the Five Truths, the universal laws, and the historical essence of all civilizations in Pan-Human History.
It was the Gift Game that would determine the allocation of universal authority.
Beyond the Truth and Pan-Human History, the universe's cosmologies and Solar Sovereignty were the highest forms of authority.
"Let it begin. Activate the Gift Game to determine the rightful wielder of the Pseudo Star Map Creations."
Noah hurled the parchment across the entire universe.
In an instant, the parchment infinitely replicated, dispersing into Teyvat's divine domains, all major space-time continuums, and the Endless Planes.
Each replica bore a distinct portion, unique to the rank of each god.
Activating the Pseudo Star Map Creation wasn't solely a matter for gods.
However, the appearance of a Pseudo Star Map Creation was indeed the business of the highest gods.
If a pantheon's highest deity wished to explore a cosmology, they had to converse with gods, with civilizations, with all things—and finally, with themselves.
During this process, they would observe the cosmology belonging to their divine collective, thus causing the Pseudo Star Map Creation to manifest.
Failure to discover one during this process would result in being deemed unworthy, and the entire pantheon would suffer backlash from the cosmology.
At best, they would fall out of favor with Pan-Human History. At worst, the gods of the pantheon would collectively drop in rank.
After all, failing to obtain cosmic authority couldn't come without a cost.
Indeed—those who would wear the crown must bear its weight.
Woom—Woom—Woom—
A deep, mysterious, and supreme bell tolled across the universe.
This bell, echoing through all of existence, sounded different for each listener. The higher a god's rank, the clearer they heard it. Those below True God could only sense the descent of supreme power.
Middle and Lower Gods could no longer hear it.
Ordinary mortals below divinity only experienced a brief daze—believing they had imagined it.
At this moment, in Liyue Harbor—
The Zubayr Community, Yun-Han Society Community, and Church of Favonius had jointly organized a grand celebration for all singers and dancers across the universe.
"Our esteemed Goddess of Healing, Barbara, will offer the interlude blessing for the universe's first grand song-and-dance festival!"
Barbara, Nilou, and Yun Jin were now superstar idols across the universe.
In fact, being a goddess had become their side job—being a celebrity was their main role. They were the patron deities of all singers and dancers, bestowing divine protection upon performers everywhere.
Any idea of exploiting songstresses through hidden rules was impossible under their watch. Anyone who tried would face divine punishment from a True God.
"Wow! The Goddess Barbara is going to sing! I've waited five hundred years for this performance!"
"Her voice can even heal wounds of the soul!"
"Huh? What's that in the sky?!"
"What?"
"Ah?! Golden Gift Game parchments are falling from the sky like snowflakes!"
"This—how is this possible?!"
"How can so many parchments suddenly appear all over the sky?!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven