"To unite all three nations against one enemy…" Ei murmured. "In all of Teyvat, only Celestia has that kind of power."
She sighed softly and fell silent.
When it came to Celestia, Ei's resentment ran deep.
If not for Celestia's coercion, why would Makoto , her sister , have gone to Khaenri'ah back then?
And if Makoto hadn't gone to Khaenri'ah, she never would have died.
The one truly responsible for Makoto's death… had always been Celestia.
That was something Ei would never forget.
But in the past, Celestia's power was overwhelming. Ei couldn't afford to defy it , she had to protect Inazuma, safeguard what Makoto had left behind.
Now, however, things were different.
The three nations were united.
Makoto had been revived and returned to Inazuma.
Ei no longer had any reason to hold back.
If joining the alliance meant she could take vengeance , so be it.
"In truth," Lumine said gently, noticing the storm brewing in Ei's expression, "even if Inazuma didn't join the alliance, this coming war would reach you eventually. You'd still be forced to choose a side."
Ei wasn't surprised; she nodded slightly.
"I understand. Just like Khaenri'ah back then…"
"Not just that." Lumine continued, her tone grave.
"Resurrection itself is something beyond Celestia's control. Even if Inazuma stayed neutral, just the fact that Makoto has returned to life will draw Celestia's attention."
"Celestia won't allow anything in Teyvat to exist beyond its grasp."
"So…"
Ei's eyes turned cold, her voice calm but resolute.
"So from the very beginning, there's only one path we can take."
To fight against Celestia.
She didn't hesitate at the thought , in fact, the hatred within her made it feel almost natural.
Makoto had finally returned. But knowing Celestia's nature, it would likely try to erase her again, to "correct" the world line.
If that happened…
Then Celestia would be her mortal enemy.
Anyone , or anything , that dared to harm Makoto… Ei would cut down without mercy.
"In any case," Lumine continued, "while Celestia still slumbers, the best move is to join the alliance quickly. Enter Ryen's world and start building your foundation there."
"With an entire world to fall back on, the odds of resisting Celestia are actually pretty good."
"And worst case," she added with a grin, "as Ningguang says , if you can't win, retreat into Ryen's world, grow stronger, and come back to fight again later."
"One way or another, we'll win against Celestia someday."
"And if all else fails," Lumine shrugged playfully, "we'll just let Ryen handle Celestia himself."
Ei raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.
"You keep mentioning this Ryen. Is he… really that strong?"
"Strong?" Lumine tilted her head, thinking for a moment before replying softly.
"How should I put it… You understand what it means to be a World Master, right? As Zhongli says , Ryen's level of existence, his very lifeform, is higher than that of this world."
"As for his strength…"
She smiled faintly.
"Let's just say , the Dark Sea is his hunting grounds. Every Archon, every god, no matter their power… are merely his playthings."
"As long as Ryen wishes," Lumine said lightly, "he could shatter Teyvat with a single punch , Celestia included. But that's also the key problem: Ryen doesn't possess any special elemental affinity."
"He only has pure, absolute, limitless power. Which means when facing Celestia, he can only destroy, not seal."
"Unless things reach a true point of no return, Ryen will never personally take action."
Ei frowned slightly. She could hardly imagine such a being existing.
But then again… for someone who controlled an entire world, perhaps that level of strength was only natural.
"Anyway," Lumine went on with a little smile, "Makoto's revival ultimately came from Ryen's world. Without it, it would've been impossible."
Ei nodded.
"I understand. I'll make sure he's properly repaid. But… since he already rules a world and wields such power, "
She paused, frowning slightly.
"Do we really have anything he could possibly want?"
Lumine waved her hand and grinned.
"Oh, you definitely do!"
Ei blinked in confusion, watching as Lumine pointed directly at her.
"Your Gnosis. Ryen wants the Gnosis."
"My… Gnosis?" Ei echoed, surprised.
"That thing doesn't mean much even to us Archons. Why would he want it?"
To a being like Ryen , one beyond even divine existence , something like a Gnosis should've been utterly trivial, shouldn't it?
For some reason, Lumine's expression turned a little awkward.
Pressing her lips together, she murmured, almost embarrassed,
"Well… you could call it one of Ryen's little collection habits."
"Even though he's incredibly powerful, Ryen doesn't really use any elemental energy himself. But he loves things that look flashy , all those glowing effects and elemental particles."
"He says it's 'cool.' Don't ask me why." Lumine sighed, half amused. "Anyway, if you bring him your Gnosis, he'll be absolutely delighted."
"Right now, the other three Archons have already given him theirs , the Cryo Archon even brought him seven Delusions as a bonus."
Her tone turned exasperated.
"That guy even made Zhongli find him a bunch of empty Visions. But since he can't actually activate them, he got really mad recently , kept saying he'd go up to Celestia and slam every Original God into the ground until they activated them for him."
"Oh, and one more thing," Lumine added quickly. "When you get there, don't mention Visions. And definitely don't talk about where Celestia is."
"It took all of us ages to calm Ryen down the last time. If he remembers the Vision issue again, he'll start talking about tearing Celestia apart."
For now, Ningguang and the others had persuaded him to leave the Visions with Albedo, saying they were being "researched" for compatibility with materials from Ryen's world , when in truth, it was just to keep them out of Ryen's sight and mind.
Otherwise, knowing him, one bad mood could lead to him storming Celestia and delivering a passionate "I have a dream" speech before obliterating the place.
Ei didn't quite understand everything Lumine was saying , but she was deeply shocked nonetheless.
After a long silence, she spoke softly:
"I'll bring him my Gnosis. But… since he already has seven Delusions, doesn't that mean he can use all seven elements now?"
Lumine threw up her hands helplessly.
"And that's exactly the point , Ryen's a collector! He doesn't care if he can use them or not."
"Right now, he wants to collect all seven Gnoses. And after that… I bet he'll go after the seven Visions next."
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