Between Archons and mortals lies an unbridgeable chasm.
At least, that's how it is when compared to the seven beings who emerged victorious from the Archon War.
These seven stand at the absolute pinnacle of Teyvat's power.
The rest of the demon gods either dwell in Celestia or have abandoned their posts, retreating to the dark seas beyond the world's edge.
In short, every nation ruled by a Archon ultimately rests upon that Archon's shoulders.
Raiden Shogun gazed at the few figures respectfully leaving the hall, then shook her head slightly.
A civilization dependent on its Archons carries inherent flaws—something she could easily see in Lumine's memories.
Perhaps Zhongli realized the same thing when he faked his death and handed Liyue over to humanity... or maybe he was simply tired and wanted to take it easy.
Or perhaps… both.
The grand hall soon grew silent, leaving only that serene and regal figure standing there.
Raiden Shogun slowly closed her eyes as Nagami stepped out from the Plane of Euthymia, having just finished the final system adjustments.
A crimson glow flowed from the Shogun's body, gathering in Nagami's palm and solidifying into a beautifully ornate black-and-red katana.
With a graceful motion, he sheathed it—then the artifact Jizo Mitama returned to his body.
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[Nagami]: It's done. Raiden Shogun 2.0 is complete.
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Lumine pulled Paimon out from the dimensional rift, landing beside Nagami.
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[This update fixed dozens of bugs—and most importantly, it addressed the major access permission issues.]
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Nagami had gone through the code, cleaning up exploitable loopholes and reclaiming the ultimate administrative rights that the lazy otaku programmer had abandoned.
He hadn't touched the core code, of course.
Eternity was Ei's goal, after all.
Those codes were meant for her to modify herself once she gained a new understanding of "Eternity."
Nagami simply patched the parts that could be exploited.
And naturally, he left a backdoor.
Confident in his skill, Nagami was certain Ei would never discover it.
The backdoor was made specifically for Lumine, so that if anything ever happened in Inazuma after he left, she'd have an easy way to deal with it.
As for himself? He probably wouldn't need to use the Shogun anyway.
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[Lumine]: Heh~, Aren't you a dependable guy.
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Lumine's cheerful grin was brighter than the sunlight filtering through the hall.
She even began to hum softly, unable to contain her joy.
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[Nagami]: Dependable indeed. How about trying a… spicier position tonight as a reward?
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Nagami's telepathic reply carried a shameless tone.
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[Lumine]: Hmm? Are there even any new positions we haven't tried yet?
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Her delicate face relaxed with a playful smile, golden eyes sparkling mischievously.
She was long past the point of embarrassment.
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[Lumine]: You know what, you're right. I don't think there's anything left to experiment with…
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Nagami gave it a serious thought—and realized she wasn't wrong.
From that short exchange alone, one could imagine just how much "dignity" these two had lost during their nights together.
"Hey! You two! Why'd you suddenly go quiet again? Say something already!"
Paimon tilted her head, her tiny face twisting into a confused expression.
"Adults are talking. Don't interrupt, little one."
Lumine poked Paimon's forehead with a finger, then slipped her soft hand back into Nagami's.
"???"
Watching their synchronized expressions and occasional nods, Paimon blinked in confusion, question marks practically floating above her head.
She frowned, thought hard for a moment and then her face turned pale with panic.
"Oh no, Lumine! I think I'm sick! Paimon can't hear voices anymore!"
Nagami and Lumine exchanged glances, identical grins forming on their lips.
Then they both burst out laughing—perfectly in sync, even down to the sound of their chuckles.
When their figures finally disappeared from the hall, Raiden Shogun slowly opened her eyes again.
'BOOM!'
A blinding explosion tore through the horizon.
A blazing fireball shot skyward, breaking through the clouds before expanding into a towering mushroom cloud.
The sky lit up with dazzling, radiant beams.
The battle between C.C. and Zhongli had come to an end.
At first, it had just been a friendly spar, sparked by curiosity—but as the fight went on, Zhongli's fighting spirit reignited.
After all, the Geo Archon was once known as the God of War.
It had been ages since he met an opponent who could make him go all out.
"That's… so scary …"
Far above the battlefield, Venti floated in midair, watching with wide turquoise eyes.
The sheer destructive beauty of that blast left her momentarily speechless.
Other than Morax, perhaps none of the other six Archons could have taken that hit and survived—even she couldn't.
"As expected of Lord Morax… blocking something with that kind of nuclear yield…"
That wasn't mere rock anymore, it was harder than carbon sulfide crystal.
C.C. calmly dispersed the lingering radiation.
It couldn't harm any of them, but just in case Lumine ever brought normal humans here, it'd be a nightmare.
This place was practically death incarnate—any ordinary person would last mere seconds before collapsing.
"Are you… gods from another world?"
Zhongli emerged from the explosion, his damaged robes slowly regenerating.
Though a bit disheveled, his composure remained intact.
This round had been his loss.
Neither he nor C.C. had fought with full strength, but even if they had.
He knew the result wouldn't change.
That blast hadn't even been C.C.'s limit, and he'd barely managed to block it.
C.C., on the other hand, had deflected Planet Befall with ease.
Any Herrscher as long they fully mastered the laws of physics embodied by their core—could reach power beyond mortal imagination.
"A god? Not exactly," C.C. replied with a faint smile. "But if you really want to call it something… you could say we're apostles of true gods."
Her long, black-silk-wrapped legs glided effortlessly across the air as though she were walking on solid ground.
"The 'Heavenly Principles' of this world might be similar—agents of a higher divinity, you could say."
"Oh? True gods?"
Zhongli steadied his breath, golden eyes flickering in surprise.
C.C.'s words implied that the Archons of Teyvat were not true gods at all—a notion he'd never encountered before.
"If you don't mind," he said with a slight smile, "I'd like to hear more about that."
After all, these outsiders clearly understood the world far more deeply than he did—and even Zhongli couldn't resist his curiosity.
"Of course I don't mind," C.C. replied, smiling. "In fact, Ei's already here too. We might as well all discuss it together."
Her Herrscher weapon dissolved into glowing blue particles as she beckoned to Venti, who'd been watching from afar. Together, they flew toward the small island villa.
There, Yae Miko and Raiden Ei were already sitting comfortably—enjoying sweets while watching C.C. and Zhongli's battle unfold.
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