"Oh? Then let's hear it."
Zhongli's interest was piqued—he wasn't truly familiar with the gods of the other seven nations. Aside from his old friend Barbatos, the rest were second-generation Archons. Most of his old companions had fallen in the war that swept across all of Teyvat.
Of course, he still knew Beelzebul of Inazuma fairly well. She and her twin—twin gods—had attended the Seven's banquets together.
Yes—before the war with Khaenri'ah, the Seven would gather almost every year to drink tea, chat, and share insights. They took turns hosting: one year in Mondstadt, the next in Liyue, then Inazuma, and so on. Those meetings passed the time and strengthened ties between nations.
That's also why Zhongli's default stance toward other countries was kindness. He couldn't help it—these were realms left behind by old friends; what harm was there in looking after them?
But after Khaenri'ah, everything changed.
Only two of the Seven remained; the other five fell. At that year's "gathering," Zhongli sat in silence at a banquet set for one. Just him.
Even Venti, his closest friend, didn't come—he'd spent too much of his power and fallen into slumber alongside his companion, Dvalin. Beelzebul, the only other who might have come, shut herself away in the Plane of Euthymia after her sister's death, withdrawing from the world. The other nations' gods were consumed by their own burdens; no one came.
So apart from Venti and Beelzebul, Zhongli actually knew little of the other Archons—even the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya was no exception.
Seeing their curiosity, Rowan Galehart stopped holding back and spoke.
"Inazuma's Archon, Beelzebul—Raiden Ei—you two know her well enough," he began. "So I'll tell you what you don't know. Those decrees—the Vision Hunt and the Sakoku—weren't truly her hand at work. The Fatui were stirring the waters from the shadows so they could fish in the chaos."
"Il Dottore's largest experimental base is in Inazuma. Most of those who 'lost' their Visions were abducted by the Fatui for experiments."
"What—Beelzebul did nothing?" Zhongli was stunned. A nation twisted up like this by the Fatui, and Inazuma's god did nothing? Let them conduct human experimentation? Dereliction of duty… to say the least.
Venti was baffled too. He knew the other nations were suffering, but Beelzebul's choices still left him reeling.
"She dealt with most of the black calamities that threatened Inazuma—then built a puppet and hid inside it," Rowan said with a sigh. "She let everything else run on its own. Eternity, right? Unchanging."
"As long as she doesn't move forward, she can preserve 'eternity.' To fend off erosion, she's stayed inside the Plane of Euthymia for five hundred years."
Rowan shrugged helplessly. No matter the nation, Raiden Ei's approach was explosive. Venti did nothing because his heart wished to help but his strength was depleted. Ei, by contrast, chose to retreat into the Plane of Euthymia and avoid reality.
Inazuma had been a hair's breadth from falling under the Fatui's heel. If not for the Yashiro Commission and the Grand Narukami Shrine supporting each other to hold the line, things would have gone differently. Had Ei emerged any later, there might not have been an Inazuma left—its people all but gone. By then she'd have been a lone standard-bearer. Would that still make her Inazuma's god?
That's why so many people criticize Inazuma's tale.
"This 'eternity'… better to cast it aside," Zhongli said through clenched teeth. If Liyue had to pay with its people for such eternity, he would refuse it without hesitation.
How had he not seen, back then, how misguided Raiden Ei could be? What in this world is truly unchanging? Not the Archons—and not even that One Above All.
This child… it's all a wound that never healed after her sister's death, isn't it?
"A sin, truly," Venti murmured. "What about Sumeru?"
"Sumeru is even more absurd," Rowan said. "The new Dendro Archon, Lesser Lord Kusanali, was imprisoned by the Akademiya's so-called wise men—locked inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Their excuse? That her power didn't measure up to the late Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
Zhongli blinked, staring at Rowan as if he'd just heard a fable.
"Pardon—what did you say? The Akademiya, an institution founded under the Archon, imprisoned the Dendro Archon herself?"
Venti swallowed, feeling the storm of Zhongli's anger about to break. The old man abhorred ingratitude more than anything. For the Akademiya to do this to their newborn god—unforgivable.
"That's right. The Grand Sage did it personally," Rowan said. "She's been imprisoned by the Akademiya for five hundred years."
"…"
Zhongli fell silent. "She never fought back? As an Archon, her power should outstrip theirs by far. Why not resist?"
Rowan sighed. "She was newborn—a blank page. While she was still confused and learning, the Akademiya kept feeding her the same line: you're not enough; you're no Rukkhadevata. Before she ever resolved the forbidden knowledge plague or the Withering, they told her she wasn't a fit Archon."
"Day after day of that kind of indoctrination—how do you expect her to have the confidence to step outside? In her heart, she was unworthy—a poor successor who could never compare. So she never dared to lead Sumeru, and the ones who truly ruled were the Akademiya."
When he finished, Zhongli couldn't hold back any longer.
Rumble.
His fury erupted skyward. The ground—still frozen solid by the Tsaritsa's ice—shattered. Pillars of Geo surged up, leveling everything around them.
"Old man—easy! Breathe!" Rowan said quickly. "This isn't Liyue!"
(End of Chapter)
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