After several rounds of wine and courses of food, just before the celebration feast ended, Nahida called Lumine over to a corner for a private talk.
"While you were resting, I took some time to search Irminsul for information about your brother…"
"But… we came from beyond the sea of stars. Irminsul shouldn't have any records about my brother, right?" After all, even changes to Irminsul don't affect her—Lumine couldn't help but question it.
"Yeah," Paimon chimed in. "Irminsul should contain all the information and memories of Teyvat. Lumine and her brother don't belong to Teyvat, so they should be exceptions, right?"
"That's true for you, Lumine," Nahida replied. "Irminsul indeed has no information about you. However… the blood relative you're searching for seems to be different. This world has records of him."
"?!"
Lumine's pupils shrank as confusion flooded her mind.
If Irminsul could record him, did that mean Aether belonged to Teyvat?
How could that be? They had clearly been traveling together among the stars. Was her memory wrong—or had this world done something to him?
Paimon was equally shocked. "T-That's way too strange… Lumine, you two really did come to Teyvat from outside, didn't you?"
Lumine herself was starting to doubt. She asked Nahida, "My brother… what did he experience?"
"From the records I can access, your brother appeared suddenly in Khaenri'ah. After the Khaenri'ah catastrophe, he began a journey across all the nations of Teyvat. But just as his journey was nearing its end, the records related to him in Irminsul suddenly became blurred…"
"Blurred? What happened to him?" Paimon asked for her.
"I don't know," Nahida shook her head. "What I can be certain of is that someone deliberately obscured his fate."
"Obscured… fate… obscured fate?"
"Yes. Anyone capable of doing that must possess extraordinary power."
Lumine's thoughts raced. Combining what she already knew, she ventured a guess. "Does it have something to do with the Abyss?"
"I don't know," Nahida said again. "But there's another point worth noting. To my knowledge, within the Fatui's intelligence system, your brother is not listed among the 'Descenders.'"
"Descenders?"
An unfamiliar term, paired with unfamiliar revelations, left Lumine even more lost.
"This goes back to when 'The Doctor' forced you and Victor Wang into unconsciousness," Nahida continued. "To be honest, Fatui Harbingers ranked Third and above all possess power comparable to that of gods. In that situation, I was not his match. Even so, despite how dire things were, I managed to strike an equal trade with him."
This time, neither Lumine nor Paimon interrupted. They quietly waited for her to continue.
"Lumine, you still remember it, don't you—the one who changed both your fate and your brother's… was the Heavenly Principles.
Since the Khaenri'ah catastrophe five hundred years ago, the Heavenly Principles have remained silent. I threatened The Doctor with the possibility that destroying a Gnosis might awaken the Heavenly Principles, forcing him to agree to a deal.
The contents of that deal consisted of two parts: one was punishment for The Doctor; the other was knowledge—knowledge that I, as the God of Wisdom, found difficult to refuse. Information about the Descenders was one of the most important parts of that knowledge.
Descenders are beings from beyond this world. Lumine, you are Teyvat's Fourth Descender.
As for the most crucial part of that knowledge, I still can't tell you yet. But I believe that one day, you will come to know it."
After hearing this, Paimon was the first to react. "If we go by the Fatui's definition, not counting Lumine's brother, there were actually three Descenders before Lumine?!"
Nahida nodded. "According to my speculation, the 'First Descender' is likely the current Heavenly Principles. The identities of the other Descenders will require more time to verify."
"…That's a lot of incredible information to take in."
"Even after telling you all this, I still can't fully answer your questions, can I?" Nahida said softly. "As the God of Wisdom, that makes me feel ashamed."
Lumine needed time to digest everything, and Nahida had no further information to offer. Their conversation ended there.
Afterward, Nahida called Victor Wang over as well.
"When I asked for your help, I gave you the chance to ask me questions. After that, you successfully saved me and also resolved the crisis of 'Scaramouche,' who was on the verge of becoming a god.
In that case, simply answering those questions is no longer sufficient as a reward—especially since what you asked had nothing to do with you. The Aranara are… my followers. Resolving their predicament was something I should have done in the first place.
So, I want to do something more for you. Within my capabilities, I'll do my best."
Nahida spoke earnestly—she always did, straightforward and sincere.
That saved Victor Wang the trouble of bringing it up himself. Avoiding everyone's gaze, he removed the mask that seemed to have grown onto his face. The extra eye gleamed brightly as it stared at Nahida.
"Actually, I'm a… hilichurl. I'd like to ask you to cleanse the Dendro element from me and help me return to being human."
Nahida looked up and met his gaze for a moment before replying, "I can do that."
Victor Wang let out a breath of relief and asked out of habit, "What materials do I need to prepare? Drops from the Dendro Hypostasis or the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, a thousand plants rich in Dendro energy, and materials taken from the Dendro Dragon?"
"Dendro Dragon…?" Nahida said apologetically. "You seem very experienced, but I'm not entirely sure yet. The specific method will require searching Irminsul."
"That's fine. We can take it as it comes—I'm not in a rush."
Once their conversation ended, the celebration feast also drew to a close. After everyone said their goodbyes, Nahida stopped Victor Wang and Lumine again.
"Now it's time to fulfill my other promise. Let's go save the Ashvattha Tree."
"Oh, right!" Paimon suddenly remembered. "While staying with Lumine during her recovery, I totally forgot about the Aranara! I don't know if the Ashvattha Tree is okay… and Araromu—did he turn into a tree or not…"
"I've been keeping an eye on it," Victor Wang said. "Their situation is relatively stable. With the Withering gone, the Ashvattha Tree hasn't worsened, but after learning about its condition, they're generally feeling uneasy."
"That's good to hear. Then let's hurry over there! We agreed to help them once Nahida was saved."
"This was also my oversight. I really couldn't get away these past few days…" Nahida sighed, then lightly bit her lip. "I'll take you flying—it'll be much faster."
Drawing on her Archon's power, Nahida made no visible movement. The Dendro element obediently wrapped around Victor Wang, Lumine, and Paimon, lifting them into the air as she sped toward Vanarana.
They arrived very quickly.
Descending gently and standing before the great onion, Victor Wang skillfully pulled out his erhu. With its sound, everyone was once again transported into the dreamlike Vanarana.
===BREAK===
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