Apep cleared her throat and slowly began recounting the tale of King Deshret.
Enjou listened intently to every word, occasionally lowering his head to hurriedly jot down notes, afraid he might miss even a single important detail.
As the minutes ticked by, no one knew exactly how much time had passed before Apep finally finished her long narration.
By now, Enjou had already filled his notebook with dense lines of writing, yet there was no sign of fatigue on his face—if anything, he wore an expression brimming with satisfaction.
Enjou gently closed the notebook, exhaled a long breath, and sighed, "Oh, so that's how it was! I never expected the ancient desert kingdom to have such a magnificent and turbulent history."
"And to think King Deshret, the Flower Archon, and the Dendro Archon went through so many twists and turns!"
Just then, nearby, Nahida—petite like a little doll—stood with her hands on her hips, a clear look of displeasure on her face.
She stared at the contented Enjou, muttering under her breath.
"You people of the Abyss Order already control Irminsul. If you want information, can't you just read it directly from the Irminsul? Why go through all this trouble?"
Enjou put away his notebook carefully, then softly shook his head as he patiently explained to Nahida, "If we want to successfully read the information contained in the Irminsul, we must rely on the authority you hold."
"Otherwise, we would have to consume an enormous amount of precious energy."
"And our Abyss Order's hard-won and extremely valuable energy absolutely cannot be squandered on something as trivial as satisfying my own personal curiosity."
Hearing this, Nahida looked puzzled and pressed further, "Then why do you go to such lengths to control the Irminsul? If it's not to alter the memories and cognition of the people of Teyvat, and not to obtain the vast knowledge stored within… that's very strange!"
Enjou glanced at the still-confused Nahida, suddenly feeling a little curious.
"I remember Mr. Shao Yun mentioned this to you at the time, didn't he?"
"Oh, wait—I almost forgot. You didn't feel like listening to him at all back then."
At that, Enjou paused briefly, organized his thoughts, and began explaining in detail the plan known as the Loom of Fate.
He did this because he understood what Shao Yun had intended at the time—and he was simply helping Shao Yun achieve it.
If Shao Yun had never planned to tell Nahida about any of this, then no matter what, Enjou would never have revealed even half a word.
When Nahida finished hearing everything Enjou had explained, her delicate little face immediately lit up with interest.
She gently raised her right hand, pinched her small, rounded chin, and murmured softly, "How interesting… To think it's possible to directly alter the trajectory of someone's fate like this…"
No wonder Shao Yun had been so reluctant when he hurt her back then—so this was the reason.
Changing fate rather than altering memory—at first glance, it truly was something one could go mad for.
Seeing that he had successfully piqued Nahida's curiosity, Enjou couldn't help feeling a bit smug.
With a smile and a slightly proud tone, he asked, "So, what do the two of you think? Lady Dendro Archon, Lord Dragon Sovereign—would either of you be interested in cooperating with our Abyss Order?"
Enjou thought to himself, If I can get the Dendro Archon or the Dendro Dragon Sovereign—or no, both!—to become friends of the Abyss Order, then I'll be the prince's most favored one for sure!
However, before Nahida could respond to his proposal, Apep let out a disdainful snort.
Immediately after, she rejected his seemingly absurd and fantastical invitation without hesitation.
"I don't have any fondness for the Heavenly Principles—they stripped me of my ancient dragon authority, let this tiny brat call herself Sumeru's ruler, and even pinned me down with a giant nail from the sky, turning half of Sumeru into a desert. That infuriates me…"
After a brief pause, Apep continued with solemn authority: "But I don't have a good impression of your Abyss Order either!"
"The forbidden knowledge infused with Abyssal power tormented me for so long. If I were to cooperate with your Abyss Order now, wouldn't that be courting death?"
Nahida also rejected Enjou's invitation with a cold and distant expression.
"Even though you once saved me and I allowed you to work with me temporarily, that doesn't mean we've established any friendship."
Seeing these two resolute women reject him without mercy, Enjou froze for a moment before his face transformed into an exaggeratedly heartbroken expression.
He clutched his chest with both hands, his body trembling slightly as he wailed, "Heavens! How could you both be so heartless? It hurts me so deeply…"
His appearance looked as if he had suffered some great injustice—like cold rain slapping chaotically across his face…
After a brief pause, Enjou seemed to feel that this wasn't dramatic enough, so he gathered even more emotion, preparing to push this ridiculous performance to its climax.
He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and in a tone filled with grief and anguish, continued,
"At this moment, my heart is like a lonely island battered by fierce winds and torrential rain. And your cold, merciless rejection is the howling wind that cuts through me, the downpour that drenches me."
"Every gust of wind is like relentless ridicule, and every raindrop a razor-sharp blade, piercing deeply into my already scarred and fragile heart."
"And so, I sink alone into this endless sea of sorrow—struggling desperately, yet unable to escape."
Although falling into water would indeed be tragic for Enjou, upon hearing this unbelievably overblown and nauseating display of sadness, Apep truly wanted to slap him just to make him shut up.
Yet despite his remarkable "acting talent," Apep ultimately forced herself not to kill him on the spot and simply ignored him.
Her only thought was to get these two out of her body as soon as possible.
Just as she was preparing to send them out, Apep gave Nahida a solemn reminder.
"Before I send you away, Buer—little Dendro Archon—listen well to my advice."
Apep's tone carried a heavy warning.
"The day you die from your ever-expanding curiosity, I will scorn and laugh at you in my heart."
"Do not be curious about everything. Recognizing your own ignorance is a rare form of wisdom."
Hearing these words, Nahida's lips curled subtly, forming a teasing smile, and she remarked, "Seems your illness has healed—your tongue works quite well now."
"But… thank you for the advice."
A moment later, Apep's voice sounded weary.
"That is all. The wounds of millennia… I will need a long time to rest."
But just as Nahida was about to fully leave Apep's body, she couldn't help asking one last question out of lingering concern.
"Not planning to go crazy and destroy Sumeru anymore?"
Upon hearing this, Apep fell silent for a moment before responding meaningfully, "Now… the one who will destroy Sumeru likely won't be me."
…
Apep sent Enjou and Nahida out from within her, and as their figures vanished, she slowly closed her eyes and slipped into deep sleep.
Just as Enjou and Nahida had finished teleporting out of Apep's body, two silhouettes appeared before them.
It was Aether and Shao Yun, who had just stepped out of the Abyss portal! Their sudden arrival made both Enjou and Nahida pause in surprise.
Shao Yun swept his gaze over the two, and upon seeing that Nahida and Enjou were safe and unharmed, he couldn't resist teasing them.
"Wow, Nahida, Enjou—you two look totally fine. Still had the mood to hold a little cave picnic, huh?"
"But I gotta say, your choice of location is pretty terrible."
Hearing Shao Yun's nonsense, Nahida frowned deeply, placed her hands on her hips, and snapped, "You scoundrel, I don't need your concern."
"You're not the type who genuinely cares whether people live or die!"
Shao Yun, however, remained completely unfazed as he swayed his head and said, "Ah, Nahida, you've misunderstood me!"
"This time, I actually came to check on Enjou. Whether you died in the ley-line energy stream doesn't matter to me."
"But Enjou is different! If he scraped even a tiny bit of skin in that ley-line flow, my heart would ache terribly!"
He even theatrically patted his chest and pointed at Enjou, acting as if he were truly worried for him.
Though Shao Yun originally only wanted to annoy Nahida, his display of care genuinely moved Enjou, bringing him to tears.
Enjou sniffed loudly, barely preventing the snot from reaching his lips, then said with heartfelt gratitude, "To be honored by your concern… to me, that is second only to receiving praise from the Prince!"
Hearing that, Nahida was instantly emotionally demolished.
She puffed up her cheeks in anger and huffed, "You—! Hmph!"
Seeing this, Shao Yun didn't stop—in fact, he intensified his harassment toward Nahida.
"I'd love for you to die right now, so Paimon and I can sneak off and gorge ourselves on your offerings!"
Nahida was furious enough to spit fire.
She stuck out her soft pink tongue at Shao Yun, then made a face at him to express her overwhelming dissatisfaction and anger.
But soon, she forced herself to set her issues with Shao Yun aside.
"My business with you can wait…"
Then Nahida shifted her gaze toward Aether, who had been standing silently at Shao Yun's side.
With a serious expression, she said, "Now then—Prince of the Abyss Order, sibling of Lumine—let us properly discuss the matter of the Irminsul."
"Your subordinates have already disclosed certain details to me regarding the series of actions you've carried out using the Irminsul."
"To be frank, I remain cautiously skeptical about whether this so-called 'Loom of Fate' can truly rewrite a predetermined destiny."
Shao Yun immediately defended his brother-in-law upon hearing Nahida's doubt.
"We already changed the fate of a single mother named Nianhua in Liyue! Isn't that proof enough?"
But despite his explanation, Nahida maintained her skepticism toward Aether's Loom of Fate plan and clarified her reasoning.
"You must understand—the Irminsul's memories possess special power. Its changes can influence the cognition of the people of Teyvat."
"In other words, when you change something, the cognition of everyone related to it is updated accordingly."
"With that in mind, I cannot be certain whether this Loom of Fate has truly changed destiny at all."
Hearing this, Shao Yun suddenly had a flash of inspiration, recalling what happened between Nahida and Scaramouche in another worldline.
Quickly, he suggested, "Why don't we use canned knowledge? We can record the exact details of the destinies we want to change beforehand, then compare them afterward."
"That way, we'll clearly see whether anything actually changed. How does that sound to you?"
After listening, Nahida nodded approvingly. "That is an excellent idea. Let's do it your way."
Seeing Nahida appear so enlightened, Shao Yun couldn't help feeling a rising sense of suspicion.
He thought, Did this little brat never intend to cooperate with my big brother-in-law in the first place? So she never mentioned the canned knowledge method intentionally.
But now that I've brought it up, she suddenly acts like she's had an epiphany?
As if she never thought of it? Yeah right…
"I feel like you're pretending…" Shao Yun muttered quietly.
Though he kept his voice low, Nahida picked it up immediately.
She tilted her head, looking at Shao Yun curiously. "Hmm? What did you just say?"
Shao Yun immediately waved his hand casually. "Nothing, nothing. You go ahead and talk to my brother-in-law."
After that, he leaned closer to Aether and whispered in a voice only Aether could hear, "I've already set up the perfect opening for you—now it's all up to you to take over."
He even tapped his chest confidently to reassure him that everything would be fine if he followed the path he had prepared.
Aether, moved by Shao Yun's gesture, felt genuinely grateful.
But after careful thought, he slowly shook his head.
With a slightly apologetic tone, Aether said, "I'm sorry. It's a good plan, truly, but… brother-in-law, you suggested it too late."
Nahida stared at Aether in confusion. She couldn't understand why he would refuse a flawless plan.
"What do you mean? Isn't Shao Yun's method good?"
Aether let out a soft sigh before explaining, "His idea is excellent, but there's still an issue…"
He paused briefly to gather his thoughts, then continued, "First, you should know that connecting the Loom of Fate to the Irminsul consumes a large amount of energy."
"And even maintaining the connection—without performing any actions—still constantly drains energy."
"So, to conserve it, I have already cut the Loom's connection to the Irminsul."
Nahida listened, thinking it was a trivial issue, and calmly offered a solution.
"How about this? I can open a green channel using my authority so that you can reconnect to the Irminsul through the Loom of Fate without consuming any energy at all."
"How's that? That is the greatest concession I can offer."
But Aether again shook his head gently.
"That's exactly the key point I want to address."
"The Order's experiments have already succeeded. Naturally, we won't waste precious energy just to prove anything to you."
He wasn't wrong. The success had been demonstrated; there was no reason to waste more time or energy.
Aether was racing against time—if the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, whom Shao Yun had beaten unconscious, woke up before he was prepared, it would spell disaster.
Hearing this, Nahida's face softened into a deeply helpless expression. With a weary sigh, she said,
"Then you have personally severed all possibility of cooperation between us."
===BREAK===
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