"Hehe, hello, hello. My divine name is Barbatos, but you can just call me Venti. I'm the leader of the Mondstadt Collective. The very first moment I saw you, I knew—we'll surely become good friends."
Venti stepped forward, grasping Lan's hands with the easy familiarity of an old friend, his tone brimming with warmth, as if they were comrades reunited after tens of thousands of years.
"Oh, greetings, Barbatos. I've already heard much of your renown across many worlds." Lan showed no awkwardness at all.
After all, even before becoming an Aeon, he had already been a great general and hero of the Xianzhou Alliance.
"Oh! Then tell me, Lan—what sort of god am I in the stories you've heard?" Venti asked curiously.
"Well, naturally, you are the breeze of hope that blows across countless worlds—the freest, the most carefree, the one with the least majesty, and also the supreme deity who least resembles a god." Lan answered honestly and directly.
After leaving the Main Universe, he had wandered through the Dimensional Gap, encountering myriad worlds—cosmos and planes alike. While marveling at the boundless vastness of the Teyvat Universe, he had also come to know many gods, though to him most were weak. Still, the endless diversity of civilizations had deeply touched his spirit.
Venti only chuckled awkwardly, unfazed. "Lan, you're certainly straightforward—but not wrong at all."
He then looked past Lan, greeting the Aeons behind him, whose auras were not much weaker than his own.
"New friends, I'm Venti. Might I have the honor of befriending you all?"
The Aeon of Erudition, Nous, who had taken human form resembling an intelligent automaton, offered a gentlemanly bow.
"Of course, Lord Venti. I am the Aeon of Erudition—just call me Nous. To exchange words with a higher lifeform unlike us Aeons is an honor. I believe through dialogue, we can exchange knowledge equally, enriching one another's understanding."
He had been in the Main Universe for some time, and had traveled beyond the Dimensional Gap as well. More often, however, he conversed with scientists. The sciences of various universes had greatly advanced his understanding.
In particular, he had once met a high-level lifeform remarkably similar to himself. In unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos, that being had matched him almost evenly. Though that lifeform had not yet reached his own tier of existence, their exchanges had been mutually rewarding.
That being, who called himself Holou, seemed destined to soon ascend to a lifeform on par with himself.
Through such exchanges of knowledge, Nous had become the Aeon most familiar with the current world. The infinite mysteries of this multiverse enthralled him.
Once, he had thought parsing a single universe would suffice to overheat his primary core. Now, with endless universes before him, even burning out his processors could not unravel a ten-thousandth of it.
"Hehe, well said."
"Compared to Mondstadt, I think Fontaine would suit Lord Nous even better. Fontaine is Teyvat's most scientific Collective, after all."
Focalors approached with a smile. "I imagine Holou must have been an excellent conversational partner for you as well."
Nous bent in a courteous bow. "Indeed, Lady Focalors. I have long heard your name."
Venti's lips twitched. "Hey, hey, Focalors—this isn't a recruitment drive. No need to push it like that."
"My, everyone seems so welcoming. I thought there might be some hostility, but I was clearly overthinking it."
A mature, composed voice carried forward as Himeko, who had become the Aeon of Trailblaze, stepped out.
"Greetings, I am Himeko, the Aeon of Trailblaze. It is a pleasure to meet you all. I hope we can become friends."
"Hello, hello, I am Raiden Makoto."
"I am Raiden Ei."
"I'm Nahida."
"Hello everyone, I am Firefly, the Aeon of Destruction. It is a joy to become friends with you all."
"I am Robin, the Aeon of Order, newly ascended. Please take care of me."
"I am Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance. I am intrigued by your unforgettable memories. Might I exchange some with you?"
"Memories? That won't do. Memories are the most private domain—even with the best of friends, that cannot be shared."
"Is that so?"
"I am Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance. If any of my friends fall ill, come to me. As long as I can help, I will never refuse."
"Say, at our level, who could even get sick?"
"Oh, right—Odin, your eye is blind. Why not let the Aeon of Abundance heal it?"
"Out of the way! This is the Rite of Omniscience, tied to my true name. It's not blindness. You're mocking me, aren't you? Care to test Gungnir?"
"I am Oroboros, the Aeon of Voracity. Friend, you smell delicious."
"Eh? You're drooling! Get away from me!"
The Aeons quickly grew acquainted with the gods, but half of them had personalities the gods simply couldn't mesh with.
The Aeons of Nihility, Enigmata, Harmony, Finality, and Voracity—these were personifications of cosmic phenomena or primordial beasts, their minds utterly misaligned with intelligent life.
But the rest of the Aeons could communicate normally.
"Hahahaha! Looks like everyone's been waiting for me~"
Just as the gods and Aeons were exchanging greetings, a familiar, brazen voice rang out.
All eyes turned, and they saw a starship sailing toward them, a silver trail gleaming in its wake.
The silver trail transcended time, space, and causality, as though a higher god had drawn a straight line across the cosmos.
At the prow stood a golden-haired girl, hands on her hips, chest thrust out, her posture radiating arrogance.
"As expected, she's the last to arrive. Truly infuriating. If not for the fact I can't beat her, I—Yae Miko—would surely spank her soundly."
Yae Miko narrowed her eyes at the flamboyantly arriving girl.
Nahida nodded. "Well, she is the Traveler. Naturally, the protagonist always arrives last."
Venti spread his hands. "Ah~ but of course. The Traveler is Teyvat's greatest connection. Her brother is the Abyssal Sovereign, and she shares sisterhood with the Sustainer of Heavenly Principle."
"And now she herself is a Lawbearer, opening star routes for countless worlds. Her achievements practically shine."
"We may as well step aside and let her through~"
Athena laughed lightly. "Overwhelming accomplishments naturally grant the right to stand above all."
She herself was proof—rising from an obscure deity to the leader of her Divine Collective, now standing as a cosmic powerhouse.
Among her own gods, she was even prouder than Lumine.
Raiden Makoto nodded. "By paving roads across all of Teyvat, linking countless universes and worlds, every Collective and every god has benefited. Every life that has walked the paths she opened owes her a debt of gratitude, more or less."
At present, none could deny that the one who had contributed most to Teyvat was the Traveler—Lumine, Lord of Law/Lawbearer.
The Star Rails linking worlds were indispensable to the Collectives. Now all of them relied heavily on those pathways.
Time and space had been shattered.
Even worlds infinitely distant from the Main Universe could be reached in mere moments through the Star Rails, reducing the cost of managing worlds to almost nothing.
Thus, all Collectives were indebted to Lumine, and all would give her face. Even if she acted willfully, they would tolerate it.
In Teyvat, merit decided status. Strength? That was not the absolute measure.
The starship vanished, and Lumine flipped gracefully through the air, landing elegantly before the gathered gods, arms outstretched as if awaiting applause.
But the gods only stared in silence.
Lumine frowned. "Excuse me, but why is there no applause for such a dazzling entrance by a Lawbearer like me?"
"My friends, where is the applause?"
Zhongli shook his head helplessly, clapping like one humoring a mischievous junior.
"Ah~ The Traveler's entrance this time—if I had ten points to give, I'd give her a hundred." Venti, shameless as ever, clapped loudly.
Furina, Nahida, and Raiden Makoto—close friends of Lumine—also humored her with applause.
With the leaders clapping, the rest of the gods naturally joined in.
Even the Aeons, exchanging glances, could not resist clapping in the collective mood.
"Rise, my beloved subjects~" Lumine placed her hands on her hips, chin held high, intoxicated with herself.
"Look at you, so pleased with yourself," Yae Miko cut in drily. "Careful, or the ones above might think you're overstepping and provoking them."
Lumine's expression stiffened. She suddenly remembered the last time she had been beaten by Asmoday for daring to grumble at them. She quickly waved her hands.
"Impossible. I'm already a Lawbearer—just half a rank lower than the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles."
Those four Sustainers were also merely Lawbearers, though stronger than her. Status-wise, she wasn't far behind.
She was now a high-tier strong single-universe, her strength equal to hundreds of standard universes in mass.
And as she continued increasing her Law mass, her power grew swiftly.
Not to target anyone in particular—but really, everyone present was nothing more than rabble, worthless and laughable.
"Ahem~ Traveler, we're friends, right? Could you maybe tell us how wide the gap really is between a Lawbearer and us?" Venti whispered.
The ranks beyond single-universe were clearly defined, but none of them had any sense of what such power meant.
After all, how could they imagine a tier of strength they had never touched?
Lumine waved her hand carelessly. "Ah, Lawbearer? Nothing special. I could swat aside a few hundred Barbatos with no trouble at all."
She patted Venti's shoulder as she spoke, letting a faint trace of Law's aura spill forth.
An overwhelming pressure burst outward for just a second, forcing the gods back a step.
And in that instant, they glimpsed the essence behind that pressure.
Hundreds, nearly a thousand great universes stacked together like glass beads—yet all of them were held in a single palm.
And the owner of that palm looked down at them coldly, as if they were ants—ready to crush them with a flick of a finger at the slightest displeasure.
The infinite, terrifying pressure shattered the composure of the weaker gods instantly.
But only for a moment. In the next instant, the aura vanished.
All gods except the Seven Archons felt their very souls quake, their eyes briefly vacant, their divine bodies trembling lightly as they came back to themselves.
Odin's teeth ached as he muttered: "Th-this is a Lawbearer… Such terrifying power… Is this truly the rank just beneath the Eternal Throne…?"
Yae Miko smoothed her fox ears, which had bristled up. Though shaken, she quickly regained composure. After all, Lawbearer or not, she bore the mark of Heavenly Principle—her future was to climb to that same level.
Venti pulled a small handkerchief from nowhere, wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow. "Hiss… That's nearly a thousandfold single-universe… The power of Law is absurd."
Furina muttered enviously: "Indeed… to become a Lawbearer is to instantly rise to high-tier strong single-universe."
Still, she only envied briefly. A bearer of Cosmology was no weaker than a Lord of Law—perhaps even surpassing them in the far future.
Lumine feigned nonchalance. "Ah~ That's all it is. I'm still weak. Only a little bit stronger than you all."
She pinched her fingers together, forming a tiny "universe" between thumb and forefinger.
"My fists are clenching! I can't take this!" Tet growled, clenching her hand tight.
Such cheap humility—so infuriating.
Furina pouted. "You're no better. You, Lumine, and Venti—you three are called the Teyvat Three Scoundrels."
"Huh? What? Furina, why are you mumbling?"
Lumine blinked innocently. Just as Furina was about to retort, Lumine's eyes lit up as she turned toward the Aeon of Trailblaze, Himeko, smiling mischievously.
"Well, well~ The Aeon of Trailblaze, huh? I am the bearer of the Principle of Trailblaze, and you're part of my faction. Red-haired onee-san, come, introduce yourself~"
In that moment, Lumine looked exactly like a street punk harassing a respectable lady.
But it wasn't some strange switch flipped—it was simply her excitement at gaining a powerful subordinate.
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