[The cycle of reincarnation has ended. A new life awaits ahead—please explore on your own.]
Teyvat Continent.
Mondstadt, Windrise.
Staring at the glowing words that only he could see, Gu Chen's face lit up with joy.
"Finally! It's over! I'm done grinding at last!"
Gu Chen was not a native of Teyvat—he was a transmigrator.
Or, as the people of Teyvat would call him, a Descender… an Outlander.
He still remembered it clearly—he'd been in his dorm, grinding through The Forest Book all night long, only to drop dead from exhaustion. The next moment, he'd woken up in Teyvat.
The moment he arrived, a Reincarnation System had bound itself to him, forcing him through lifetime after lifetime of missions.
Gu Chen had tried not to grind too hard at first—he didn't want to die the same way twice—but the system's rewards were simply too good. One mission led to another, and before he knew it, he was on an endless grind.
And now, finally, every single mission was complete. The power that surged through his body was terrifying beyond measure, and that filled Gu Chen with immense satisfaction.
"At this point, I should be more than capable of protecting myself in Teyvat, right?"
Feeling the strength flowing inside him, Gu Chen's mood lifted.
He had no real sense of how strong he'd become—he only remembered that, in one of his past lives, he had fought Celestia's Will itself, and even then, it hadn't seemed all that impressive.
Now, with all his accumulated power fused together, he finally felt truly safe.
("Hah, this feels amazing!")
"Hey, buddy! How amazing, exactly? Tell me more!"
A teasing voice came from the distance, growing nearer.
Gu Chen blinked in surprise and turned his head toward the sound. What he saw made him pause.
The newcomer was a youthful-looking boy, dressed in Baroque-style clothes—white stockings beneath his green cloak and feathered hat, which was pinned with a Cecilia flower. Two braids of black-and-green hair hung beside his face.
It was none other than Barbatos, the Anemo Archon himself—Venti.
"Venti?"
Meeting Venti at Windrise—was that unexpected, or only natural?
"Yo~ looks like you've heard of me already, huh?"
Seeing that Gu Chen recognized him at a glance, Venti blinked in surprise, then grinned. "I'm the most beloved bard in all of Mondstadt! Want my autograph? You could sell it for a good amount of Mora! Only three thousand Mora for a genuine Venti signature~!"
"…You're serious?"
Who would pay for the autograph of a bard who spent all day slacking off and drinking?
Gu Chen's expression was odd as he said, "If people knew you were Barbatos, maybe it'd actually sell. But since your identity's still secret, maybe don't bother."
Venti's grin slowly faded. His expression turned serious as he studied Gu Chen carefully.
"Who exactly are you?"
He had no memory of this man—and no one should have known his true identity.
"Eh-he~!"
"What's 'eh-he' supposed to mean?!"
Venti's eyes widened. Somehow, that little noise was extremely irritating!
Even worse, he realized with a headache that he often did the exact same thing himself.
Just as he was about to say more—
BOOM!
A deafening noise echoed from the skies above.
Both Gu Chen and Venti instinctively looked up—and froze.
[Exposure System Descends!]
[This system shall reveal countless secrets of Teyvat to all living beings!]
[Note: The system will release a new exposure video every seven days. The first video will begin broadcasting in ten minutes!]
[Initializing group chat—Two groups detected: Ordinary Group and Transcendent Group!]
Massive golden words blazed across the sky, and moments later, light screens appeared before both of them.
[Transcendent Group Chat]
Hu Tao: Hello hello? Anyone here? Is this thing actually working?
Klee: So amazing! It's even easier to use than the one Mommy gave me~
Kaeya: Looks like real-time communication. The Ordinary Group next door is already buzzing—who could have made something that connects all seven nations like this?
Jean: Could it be Lord Barbatos? …No, unlikely.
Zhongli: By all rational measures, even the Seven Archons lack such power.
Mona: Ahh… I'm starving…
Klee: Mona-sis, what's wrong?! Klee will come visit right away!
Venti: Friends, allow me to introduce myself—three-time consecutive champion of Mondstadt's "Most Beloved Bard" award—the one and only Venti!
Zhongli: …
Paimon: Whoa, so many familiar faces! Even the singing guy's here!
Lumine: There are a lot of people here, give him some face.
Paimon: Oh, right, right! The best bard in Mondstadt is here!!
Venti: …
Zhongli: …
Hu Tao: Alright, alright! Then let me introduce myself too—the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, master of dark alley poetry… that's me!
Windrise.
Even as Venti bantered in the chat, his expression had turned grave.
A power that could connect the minds of every being in Teyvat—he could scarcely imagine such a thing.
Could it be… Celestia?
But as his gaze drifted toward the floating island high above, he immediately dismissed that thought.
Celestia had no reason to do something like this—and nothing to gain from it.
Liyue, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Just as he was about to step out, Zhongli paused before the light screen, deep in thought.
"This power… it cannot be of Celestia. Then… what kind of being has descended upon Teyvat?"
His brows furrowed slightly, a trace of unease flickering in his golden eyes.
Inazuma, Tenshukaku.
Raiden Shogun gazed coldly at the sky.
"Only eternity can approach the laws of Celestia. If this is not Celestia's doing, then it must be a power that surpasses it—and such a force cannot be made an enemy."
That was her judgment.
Deep within the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Ei awoke from meditation, staring blankly at the glowing light screen before her.
Sumeru, Sanctuary of Surasthana.
"So this thing lets you communicate with the outside world?"
"It's somewhat similar to the Void System left behind by the Rukkhadevata…"
"…Could it help me?"
"At the very least, I can finally see what's happening outside… without being discovered."
Within her confinement, Nahida's white cross-shaped pupils gleamed with a faint trace of hope.
Fontaine, Opera Epiclese.
High in the VIP seats, the Hydro Archon Focalors—Furina—was watching an ongoing trial. The sudden appearance of the light screen startled her… then quickly filled her with excitement.
Stone Gate.
The border between Mondstadt and Liyue.
Lumine and Paimon had just arrived at the pass leading into Liyue.
"Lumine, what do you think this thing is? We're almost in Liyue, and now we can actually talk to Jean and the others in real time! Even the singing guy's here!" Paimon exclaimed, eyes wide.
"It feels familiar… but I can't quite remember," Lumine murmured, shaking her head.
She didn't know who could have made it, but so far, this group chat seemed… pretty convenient.
"At least it makes talking to people a lot easier!"
"And look! There's a countdown in the sky! That 'Exposure System'—what secrets is it going to expose? I'm kinda curious! Let's find a place to rest and watch before we move on, okay?"
Paimon gazed up at the countdown glowing in the heavens—visible to everyone across Teyvat—half eager, half exasperated.
"Mm, okay."
Lumine smiled and nodded.
She, too, wanted to see what this so-called Exposure System would reveal.