Within the domain of the Gift Game, every lifeform is a participant, every one a contender.
Activating a Cosmology to summon the Pseudo Star Map Creation is essentially the process of recreating a new universe—and succeeding.
Gods above the True God level act as explorers, observers; the highest gods of each pantheon are the hosts, and all life serves as witnesses.
At this moment, every lifeform resides within the world of a new universe.
If one must use an analogy: Truth and Pan-Human History become an ocean, and every living being is a fish within that sea.
What each fish must do is seek out the ocean's source, the ocean's truth, the ocean's totality.
They exist within an illusion of truth and fantasy.
Of course, this is no mere illusion. This otherworldly realm composed of truth and illusion becomes a real universe the moment the Cosmology is activated.
It attaches to the Great Universe. This universe is the otherworld shaped by the Cosmology, and each such universe grows stronger as the holder of the Pseudo Star Map Creation grows stronger.
When the holder of the Pseudo Star Map Creation reaches the realm of the Almighty, then this universe reaches the level of a Single Universe.
When all holders of the Pseudo Star Map Creation step into the Almighty realm, the Teyvat Universe itself will reach beyond the Single Universe level.
At the moment the Gift Game begins—
In Hu Tao's eyes, the entire world instantly collapses, and she falls into a colorful vortex, eventually drawn into its depths.
"Aaaah! What is happening?! Everyone disappeared! Zhongli! Guizhong! Xiangling!"
Hu Tao cried out in surprise as she tumbled through the colorful vortex, but with her strong heart, she quickly calmed down.
"Gift Game! This is a Gift Game, nothing to worry about! Think, think—what should I do?!"
This was a Gift Game that activated a Cosmology, on a completely different level from the ones she had experienced through community organizations before.
Though it was a Gift Game, each person would face a different trial.
Once calm, her plum blossom pupils glanced around the colorful vortex.
"I need... I need to find clues to the Cosmology, to uncover its true face."
"To explore it, I must converse with all things, with civilizations, with gods, and with myself."
Hu Tao took a deep breath as the knowledge of the Gift Game continuously surfaced in her mind.
The Almighty carved a brand-new path.
The Unyielding unveiled the veil of all things.
The one who lost their sight first glimpsed the truth of the world.
The final victor stood upon the giant's shoulders, holding up the sky, gazing toward the dome above, recording the trajectory of the stars.
The star guiding the era spread its radiance across the land, illuminating what the naked eye could not see.
Thus, the countenance of the Almighty revealed itself, grasping the ultimate Authority.
The tyrant who questioned the majesty of the gods inherited ultimate wisdom.
The sage who knew omniscience observed from the sidelines, smiling at the light of humanity and divinity.
"I know what I need to do now."
Hu Tao closed her eyes, and when she opened them again—
The multicolored corridor had vanished, replaced by a vast, primeval forest.
A group of primitive humans, only capable of howling, roared by a riverbank. One of their companions had fallen into the river and was dragged away by a crocodile. Red blood churned in the water.
These primitive people, without even language, mourned the loss of their companion. They wept with cloudy eyes, overwhelmed with grief and fear.
Their cries were filled with sorrow and terror.
"Is this... the first time humanity grieved a companion's death? The first time they understood death?"
Hu Tao's plum blossom pupils trembled slightly. She had seen death many times, but how humanity first came to understand it—she had never known.
Now she did.
Hu Tao slowly began to walk forward. Time seemed to accelerate.
Countless events unfolded around her.
Each world holds a different path to humanity's first understanding of death—different worlds, different possibilities.
Hu Tao walked along the river of civilization, deep in thought.
Time held little meaning here. She didn't know how long she'd been walking—a year? Ten years? A hundred?
Humanity first came to know sorrow and fear through death.
They discovered fire, created it, and used charcoal to paint on cave walls their memories of the departed, and the rituals born from fear of death.
As civilization advanced, fear of death gave rise to faith, and faith gave birth to gods of death.
Humanity's understanding of death, the past, and the afterlife grew ever deeper.
This led to observation and inquiry into the world beyond death.
As an observer, Hu Tao continued to explore, and the aura around her became increasingly profound.
"Is Cosmology the understanding of the world of the dead? Or is it... something more?"
With her clever mind, Hu Tao immediately thought of something.
She remembered what Zhongli had once told her: Cosmology chooses those who are compatible. And she, Hu Tao, was the main god of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, surrounded by funerals and the deceased since childhood...
A Cosmology that favored someone like her must be related to the world of the dead.
"Mama, please don't die!"
"Darling, how can I save you?"
"In the next life, I must finish what I couldn't."
"If there's another life, let's still be together."
"How can I bring you back?"
"No regrets in this life, none at all."
"Life... it's so radiant."
"Reincarnation... do I really get another life?"
"They say all sins will be judged after death."
"Yes, for it is the Lord who judges the fate of mortals—even gods cannot defy it."
"Haha, as long as I live it up now, who cares what happens after death?"
"You won't die well!"
Hu Tao walked through countless stories. With every story she experienced, her aura grew more infused with the cosmos.
She continued to gain deeper understanding of the other side of life and death. Her plum blossom pupils trembled ever so slightly. She had seen death many times.
"This isn't death, nor is it reincarnation. It's everything—everything converging together. That is the true face."
Hu Tao couldn't tell how many stories she'd passed through, how many cycles she'd undergone.
"Each story is a part of a world. These stories... no, they aren't just stories. They are reality—past, present, and future events."
"As long as life continues to die, as long as people mourn loved ones, friends, even strangers, as long as emotion exists, the belief that the departed live on in another world will never fade."
"This... is the truth."
Hu Tao's plum blossom pupils instantly burst with multicolored light. Everything around her shattered like glass.
Crack crack—
She now stood in a place of complete darkness.
One could only call it a "place," for here, there was no time, no space.
It felt like the beginning of the universe.
At the center was a dark purple sphere.
The entire sphere resembled a celestial globe, encompassing all primordial rules of the universe, like a blueprint waiting for its master to carve.
Hu Tao felt a powerful connection to this celestial globe.
Her eyes widened, and instinctively, she raised her hand.
Vmmm!
The instant she lifted her hand, the celestial globe radiated light akin to the dawn of creation and flew toward her, crashing directly into her chest.
Vmmm vmmm vmmm!
Hu Tao cried out in surprise, "Ah! The Pseudo Star Map Creation—Underworld Heaven!"
Vmmm!
The moment Hu Tao comprehended the true nature of Cosmology, her Cosmology was activated, directly summoning the Pseudo Star Map Creation.
The instant she instinctively raised her hand, she became the master of the Pseudo Star Map Creation: Underworld Heaven.
At the moment she became its master, Hu Tao's very existence underwent an earth-shattering transformation.
Anyone capable of wielding the Pseudo Star Map Creation is one who is destined to reach the Almighty realm.
This is not a simple enhancement of potential, but a manifestation of causality itself.
The moment she obtained the Pseudo Star Map Creation, the past, present, and future became unified across three dimensions.
It wasn't that she would reach the Almighty realm because she obtained the Pseudo Star Map Creation—it was that she obtained it in the past because, in the future, she would reach the Almighty realm.
Causality reversed, the past, present, and future became one. She became a sovereign born holy, an uncontested sacred king.
Hu Tao pressed her palms together before her chest, eyes closed. At that moment, she appeared divine and untouchable—as if the Almighty God had descended.
Held between her joined hands was the miniature of the universe, the blueprint of creation.
And she, just like that blueprint, stood at the beginning stage—a nascent God of Creation.
It was as if, in the next moment, she would create a universe from this dark void where time and space did not yet exist.
The power of the Pseudo Star Map Creation gradually quieted, the profound energy around Hu Tao receding back into her body.
In the blink of an eye, she returned to her previous appearance.
"The Pseudo Star Map Creation: Underworld Heaven... is mine. No—it's the Pseudo Star Map Creation of the Liyue Divine Collective! I've done it!"
Hu Tao slowly opened her eyes, her plum blossom pupils unable to conceal the joy and excitement within.
Yet within the depths of those eyes resided the sediment of civilizations and the accumulated stories of endless time.
These were the traces left by her continued search for truth during the Gift Game.
Even Hu Tao herself had no idea how many civilizations' rises and falls she had witnessed, how many human stories she had experienced.
Her state of mind had already been elevated during the Gift Game to a realm even a Primary God shouldn't possess.
Even the current Supreme Gods or Primordial Gods would find it difficult to reach such spiritual heights.
This was an added benefit of obtaining the Pseudo Star Map Creation through her own effort and trials.
Such rewards rightfully belonged to those who had endured the test.
This was something that Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei lacked. Though they had made up for it somewhat afterward, they would still need more experience to ultimately reach the Almighty realm.
Despite all she had witnessed—all the stories and the rise and fall of civilizations—Hu Tao's heart and personality remained unchanged.
The negative consequences of overwhelming experiences altering one's nature simply didn't exist in the Teyvat Universe.
Oh, all such negativity had been concentrated into the Abyss.
That was why all gods in the Teyvat Universe dreaded the Abyss and sought to avoid it at all costs.
Hu Tao came back to her senses and raised her hand. The dark purple celestial globe appeared in her palm.
"Underworld Heaven, initiate—transcend the sixfold cycle of reincarnation and shine forth, Pseudo Star Map Creation."
Vmmm!
The celestial globe pulsed instantly, as if it were about to unleash universe-level power in the next moment.
Hu Tao quickly interrupted it, and the celestial globe calmed down.
What she had just recited was the activation chant for the Pseudo Star Map Creation. In a single sentence, it carried ultimate power and supreme wisdom.
"Whew~ that was close, really close. Almost activated it."
Hu Tao patted her chest. "This thing can't be activated casually."
"One misstep and it might destroy a universe."
Just the activation alone could unleash power on the scale of a Single Universe—destroying one with ease.
Though the Teyvat Universe was immensely powerful and unlikely to suffer destruction from such a blow, better safe than sorry.
"Now that I've obtained the Pseudo Star Map Creation, that means the Gift Game is completed, right?"
Just as Hu Tao spoke those words, everything around her changed.
She found herself still seated upon the divine throne.
The entire divine temple hovered between illusion and reality, the colorful light distorting everything.
It was as though they were within a dream.
Now possessing a Cosmology, Hu Tao instantly understood what was happening.
"The Gift Game isn't over yet? I'm the only one who's completed it?"
In response to her doubt, the Pseudo Star Map Creation displayed some information.
"There's another Cosmology?"
Hu Tao's eyes widened. "The Liyue Divine Collective actually have two Cosmologies being activated? That's unbelievable!"
At the same time—
As Hu Tao completed the Gift Game, the entire universe was filled with joy.
The Voice of the Cosmos rang out, echoing within the hearts of every sentient being.
Though none of them understood what had happened, they all felt genuine happiness and offered heartfelt congratulations.
However, beings above the True God level immediately sensed the shift.
A Cosmology had been activated. A brand-new absolute law from another universe was spreading outward from the center of the cosmos.
It was resplendent and majestic. It seemed as if a lone existence was confronting an enormous Great Universe.
The gods who had come to witness the ceremony all trembled.
Venti's breath caught, his eyes locked on the now-awakened Hu Tao, feeling the irresistible pressure of a universe-level force.
"She did it?! Already?!"
"What terrifying pressure—it's like the totality of another universe, including its mass, laws, and order."
Buer stared unblinking at Hu Tao. "Yes. Hu Tao has succeeded. But the Gift Game isn't over yet."
Focalors drew in a sharp breath. "Not over yet? Then that means—"
Tsaritsa added, "Multiple Cosmologies. Whether two or three, we don't yet know."
Upon hearing this, Venti's liver quivered. "Wha... another Cosmology? Old man, you're really shaking the gods to their core!"
Staring at Zhongli, who had yet to awaken from the illusion, Venti's eyes brimmed with envy and jealousy.
Lumine pouted and turned away. "T-Two? S-So what. It's still just one usage." Though she tried to sound indifferent, her eyes were already glowing red.
Damn it!!! I don't even have one—not even one! Why does this old fossil Zhongli get to try it once and pull two Cosmologies?!
Unfair. This is too unfair!
Right now, she wanted nothing more than to switch places with Hu Tao or Zhongli. Even if it meant going through fire or brimstone, she'd lie down without hesitation.
The gods who had been watching the ceremony and just started discussing Hu Tao's success with the Pseudo Star Map Creation were instantly silenced by a brand-new, unfamiliar cosmic aura pressing down on them.
They turned to see Zhongli—standing like a father figure beside Hu Tao—now radiating a presence similar to Hu Tao's, Raiden Makoto's, Ei's, and Athena's.
It was the aura of a Cosmology bearer.
Hissss...
Venti's eyes bulged instantly.
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