Night draped Teyvat like a curtain.
At center stage, a girl in a blue-white gown sat quietly, paging through her diary copy again and again. At last she reached a conclusion:
For today's Teyvat, whether "Heaven" sleeps or wakes, whether she's god, human, or artificial intelligence—none of that matters. Even if Heaven truly perished in that ancient war, so long as the false sky's fate system remains unbroken, all living things in Teyvat still march along the tracks she laid down.
"Then… was Egeria's so-called 'sin' also just one link in that system?" Furina's ahoge bobbed twice.
She didn't understand what the cosmos beyond the world looked like, nor did she think her rank entitled her to unmask Heaven's true identity. But the "elemental dragon king who reclaimed ancient draconic authority and ascended to a complete dragon"—wasn't that precisely Neuvillette as in her plan?
To be sure, Furina reread the diary. Su Xuan had said someone burdened with guilt had no choice but to sacrifice their life, so that one person could break through fate and earn a personal reflection in the sky. Was that not exactly what she had set up—shattering the god-seat at the price of her life to return authority to the Hydro Dragon, letting Neuvillette awaken as the complete dragon and save Fontaine?
Furina lay back on the stage boards and stuck out her tongue with a sheepish grin. "Hehe. I'd thought it was all my cleverness. Turns out I've just been fulfilling a mission Heaven assigned—one move in fate's grand machinery."
Su Xuan's words were clear: the one who became a complete dragon rejected his forebear's path and chose Heaven's side, stepping willingly into the system—becoming a chess piece, a segment of fate. That lined up perfectly with the five-hundred-year play she'd arranged: Neuvillette learns to love Fontaine's people, changes his outlook on the future, keeps reverence for the 'King' Nibelung, and then walks to the side of the "Usurper," Heaven.
Don't underestimate that change of heart—he's the new complete dragon. If even he turns, it signals dragonkind, once proud rulers, have been folded under Celestia's hand. All beings will unite in the end to face the black void.
Was Heaven right? At least against the Abyss, she must have more experience than Nibelung. As for that cosmic "street-roamer" who records civilizations—she denounced Heaven likely because such Recorders champion non-interference and self-determination. Extinction and rebirth are just entries in their ledger. She even tried to take only Nibelung and leave the rest to their fate.
Compared to that Recorder, Heaven and Nibelung—though different in doctrine—were both seeking the continuation of Teyvat's civilization.
Furina exhaled, then smiled. "Fate, shm-fate. The world's already a mess because you showed up, isn't it? If the blonde 'Auntie' is the variable, then your arrival is the bigger variable. If Heaven wakes and you're still strolling around Teyvat, even Heaven will have to stare. This world's destiny has already flipped because you exist."
—
Next morning, sunrise.
After breakfast, Su Xuan, Rosalyne, and Cloud Retainer lounged together.
"How did you sleep?" Rosalyne asked, entirely natural.
"Woke up almost smothered by a mountain," Su Xuan stretched. "What do you think?"
Cloud Retainer: "…"
"Blame the true adeptus," Rosalyne raised a brow at Cloud Retainer. "She probably hauled two peaks in while you slept."
Cloud Retainer snorted and looked away, especially from the wicked culprit named Su. In all her life she'd never imagined sharing a table with a Fatui Harbinger—let alone being matched against her in a… 'head-butting' game—yet after learning the world's truths, Su Xuan's importance only grew in her mind. Not a mere foreign Traveler—the savior Teyvat can actually rely on. Who else could she pin hope on?
And after getting a taste of red dust's "fun," even Cloud Retainer found it… not intolerable. She had yearned for mortal life anyway. Entangling with Su—no complaints. Whatever the future becomes, they who gained side-effect-free longevity have tied their fates to this man.
"I'm going to ask Morax for the Gnosis later," Rosalyne said, then eyed Su Xuan. "When are you heading to Inazuma?"
"Inazuma?" Su Xuan blinked, then smiled. "Model employee of the Fatui, aren't you. Worried Ei will one-slash you into respawn?"
"Tch!" Rosalyne's shoulder quivered. "It could happen. Since you and the Raiden Shogun got… acquainted, the whole nation flipped. Now Ei kills any Fatui on sight and even seized Snezhnayan assets. Except for a few who can dig quietly, most won't dare set foot there. If Madam Tsaritsa must continue the show to steady her people, then without your nod there's no getting that Electro Gnosis."
"I thought, with her former peak restored and Limit Break stacked, Ei would walk north and cleave Snezhnaya in two," Su mused.
A cold sweat broke on Rosalyne's back. Thank the Archons the Shogun didn't think of that.
She rallied with a honeyed tone. "The Tsaritsa's nobility needs no praise. As for Columbina—she shares a thread with the Seelie; break her curse and she sings and dances like a dream. And Arlecchino—you know her. All buttoned up like a man in a suit, but her figure is a scandal. Always so serious; someone needs to… teach her, lest she forget her own gender."
Su Xuan: "?"
Cloud Retainer was struck dumb. A Harbinger… selling out her colleagues? That's a gambit.
Su squeezed Rosalyne's waist. "I still underestimated you. Go do your errands. When I head to Inazuma, I'll make a record of it."
Rosalyne heard the assent between the lines, kissed his cheek, and swayed out.
"Hmph." Cloud Retainer sniffed her disdain. Su ignored the posture; he knew her pride and the reason beneath it.
"See? Learn from Rosalyne, Idle Cloud," he teased. "This is how mortals handle relationships. Speaking of disciples—when are you sending Shenhe over?"
Cloud Retainer flushed to the neck. "Sh-Shenhe… Absolutely not! This immortal would never let her disciple—"
Su laughed. "I'm teasing. Anyway, your Shenhe chased the trail of my railgun that night on Mt. Aocang. Almost found us, but we left as she crested the ridge. On the way back I watched her sprinting mountains to reach the site."
He patted her shoulder. "Relax. I'll persuade Shenhe so you two can meet without masks."
"You?!" Cloud Retainer's eyes went round. "Absolutely not—this immortal must never be seen by Shenhe or Ganyu in—"
Su didn't answer; he leaned back into the sofa, ruffled her hair. "Enough. If you're free, come review yesterday's new knowledge. I'll lie here a bit."
"You've barely woken and already want to lie down?" she muttered—then sighed and obliged. Warmth washed over Su Xuan; he kept his eyes on the glowing panel.
After a "Double or Nothing" pull, a cool breeze seemed to rise within.
Huh? He jotted it down.
[ Met with Rosalyne again—flame-hot as her title. ]
[ Rare wines, national gifts, and fifty million mora delivered; next rendezvous: Inazuma. ]
Tenshukaku, Inazuma.
Raiden Ei's heart stuttered; Eightfold Divine Priestess arrived on fox-light feet, reading her friend with a smile.
"So the Tsaritsa hasn't given up on collecting Gnoses," Yae Miko purred. "No diary copy in her hand? This Rosalyne is clever—going straight for Su Xuan. Say, Ei—should I hand over your Gnosis, or die before giving it?"
Ei's glare was icy. "Mind yourself, Miko. If your flippancy offends Su Xuan, we may never see Makoto and Kitsune Saiguu again."
Oho? The fox grinned inside. Dodging the question and lecturing her? Fine. Teasing time later—friend first.
"I think we should renovate Tenshukaku now," Yae said sweetly. "When Su Xuan arrives, we lodge him here. We can't lose to Tianquan Ningguang on hospitality, can we?"
Ei brightened instantly. "You're right. Summon the finest artisans—restore every beam."
Yae: "…"
[ Between Rosalyne and Ningguang, my mora is creeping toward a 'small target.' ]
[ Not that I need it—my larder's a mountain anyway. ]
[ More importantly, I woke to a greater problem: I obtained a very special power. ]
[ Lost Magic of the Sky. ]
The girls: "?"
Here we go again. Two nights after punching a hole in the heavens with a railgun, before anyone had recovered—another new power.
[ It's not as overpowered as it sounds. In Teyvat terms, it's akin to Barbatos's authority—the right over flowing wind. ]
[ Lost Sky Magic concerns air. I can manipulate any fluid flow. ]
[ It also comes with some quirky privileges. ]
[ Since I already carry Ice, electromagnetism (lightning-type), and now wind-like flow, from today on I can eat Ice, eat Lightning, and eat Air to restore energy and stamina. ]
[ Plainly put: as long as I can breathe, my energy and stamina continuously recover. ]
[ Truly, "living on the western wind"—no meals required. ]
All the girls: "!?"
He can treat breathing as food?!
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