Teyvat's civilization could still be considered in its infancy.
Whether the demon gods, mortal, or dragon their understanding of the world was shallow—and of what lay beyond it, almost nonexistent.
If Khaenri'ah still existed today, continuing its rapid technological advancement from five hundred years ago.
The level of civilization across Teyvat might have already rivaled that of the Honkai world.
Well—assuming, of course, that "Honkai" itself didn't come knocking.
"The Imaginary Tree… and the Quantum Sea…"
After politely thanking Kurumi for the tea she served, Zhongli lifted the steaming cup to his lips.
His calm expression gave way to genuine astonishment.
"So our world is merely one ordinary leaf upon the branches of this… Imaginary Tree?"
"Ordinary, more or less," C.C. replied, taking a casual sip of her own tea. "But Teyvat is still a bit different from most worlds. The Tree and the Sea are opposites, two cosmic forces forever in conflict. You could say Teyvat is one of their… battlefields."
Calling it a battlefield, though, was giving it too much credit.
Compared to the true clashes between those cosmic entities, this was more like a skirmish between two foot soldiers in an endless war.
"Opposites… then perhaps the 'stars' and the 'abyss' are—"
Zhongli's golden eyes glimmered with insight as he turned toward the green-haired woman, whose serene smile never wavered.
"You catch on quickly. As expected of the Geo Archon," C.C. said. "Those names were coined by scholars from my world. In others, they probably go by different titles. But judging by what I've seen here—it fits."
She brought a slice of pizza to her lips as she spoke, her tone relaxed but certain.
Across the table, Yae Miko and Raiden Ei both furrowed their brows in deep thought, quietly digesting the implications behind Nagami's words.
"True, eternal existences…"
Ei murmured in awe as she set her teacup down and picked up a dango instead.
The topic might have been heavy—but these foreign-world sweets were divine.
"This is truly eye-opening," Venti—now back in her full form after a quick hot shower—remarked, arms crossed and head nodding in approval.
Then, with an unusually serious tone, she asked,
"C.C., do you happen to know what exactly erosion is?"
It was rare to see Barbatos with such solemnity in his emerald eyes.
Eyes that now carried both curiosity and hope.
Even the Seven could not escape erosion, and lesser gods were even more vulnerable.
Many had lost themselves to it—becoming corrupted entities, stripped of reason and memory.
Some of them had once been dear friends.
Take Azhdaha, for example: once Zhongli's comrade and a guardian of Liyue Harbor.
But over countless years, the decay of memory and the scars of human mining had twisted his mind.
In the end, Morax had no choice but to seal him away.
If C.C. had a way to solve this… it would be nothing short of miraculous.
The three Archons exchanged glances, silently coming to the same thought before turning their eyes toward C.C.—who was, at that moment, hand-feeding little Seele.
"Erosion, huh? I've actually looked into that before," C.C. said, wrapping her arms around Seele's slender waist and resting her chin on the girl's soft shoulder.
The warmth in her embrace made her visibly relax, a contented smile curling her lips.
"You beings are quite unique. In a sense, you're born from the world itself—nurtured directly by its essence, inseparable from it."
Barbatos' true form, for instance, was a wisp of wind given consciousness, while other Archons and demon gods had likewise emerged from the world's elemental flow.
"Do you remember what I said earlier about the nature of world bubbles in the Quantum Sea?"
As she spoke, C.C. nuzzled her cheek affectionately against Seele's smooth, pale face, breathing in the faint, comforting scent of her hair.
Watching this scene, Venti couldn't help but wear a slightly complicated expression.
Zhongli, however, nodded thoughtfully—his face growing serious as he connected the dots.
"All things, given time, naturally decay and collapse—returning to chaos once more."
"Exactly," C.C. said. "Normally, that decay only affects the world bubble itself. But because your existences are so deeply tied to this particular world bubble, the decay extends to you as well. What you call erosion, that's simply its external manifestation."
As all eyes turned toward her, Seele's cheeks flushed pink.
She fidgeted under their gazes, shy and unsure what to do.
Thankfully, it was C.C. holding her.
If it were Nagami instead, just imagining that scene was enough to make Seele cover her face in embarrassment—her porcelain skin turning an even deeper shade of red.
C.C. looked down at the shy little Seele, who had buried her face into her chest.
As the girl let out a soft whimper, C.C. gently tightened her embrace, letting Seele feel the warmth and softness pressing against her.
"If you stay close to either me or Nagami," C.C. said softly, twirling a strand of Seele's hair around her finger with a faint smile, "we can help slow down your deterioration."
Her mood seemed light, almost teasing, but her words carried weight.
"However… if you want to stop the weakening of all the demon gods permanently—" She paused, her smile fading slightly. "That's… difficult."
"Difficult?" Zhongli lifted his head. "So it's not impossible?"
He straightened, a flicker of hope in his amber eyes. "What must be done? If there's a way, we can rally every god across the continent to—"
C.C. raised her hand, cutting him off before he could finish.
"I'm afraid there's not much you can do in this matter… though perhaps, not entirely nothing."
Her voice grew distant, thoughtful.
"To permanently prevent decay, the world would have to fall entirely under the control of the Tree—driving out the power of the Sea completely.
Only then would Teyvat return to the stable state of a leaf on the Imaginary Tree, losing the quantum sea's unstable traits of decay."
She sighed lightly. "But once that happens, the world would face the same trial that follows the rise of every advanced civilization—the Honkai."
That… didn't sound like much of an improvement.
For Genshin world right now even if they don't experience Honkai, they still got some effect of it, it could be that someone did try to prevent Genshin world to ever got in touch with it.
At least in the current balance between Tree and Sea, ordinary people could still live in peace.
As long as this world continues to depend on the existence of those two forces, no civilization will ever develop smoothly. There will always be interference.
In the end, the only true solution is the same as completely eliminating the Honkai:
to sever the world entirely from both the Imaginary Tree and the Quantum Sea.
"If we can fully control the Anchor," she continued, "we might be able to stabilize things—at least temporarily."
Then C.C. added, almost as an afterthought, "After I leave, I'll send someone named Otto… to this world."
She hesitated slightly, frowning.
Though calling Otto human might be a stretch these days.
"I'll explain the situation to him. If you choose to assist him, you might be able to temporarily resolve the issue."
She didn't plan on letting Otto bring excessive Honkai-side power with him—it could disrupt the balance between the stars and the abyss.
So she intended to prepare some usable tools for him in advance.
Zhongli's calm voice broke the silence. "Then tell me—what do you want in return?"
You take what you seek, and I take what I desire.
That is the essence of a contract.
C.C.'s aid was far too one-sided to be simple.
In this world, the most expensive things are often the ones that seem free.
As the God of Contracts, Zhongli understood that truth better than anyone.
"My goal has already been achieved in the process," C.C. said after a pause, her refined face bathed in sunlight, a mysterious smile curling at her lips. "You don't need to worry. My actions won't bring harm to the humans or gods of this world."
She tilted her head slightly, her golden hair gleaming.
"I simply wish to test whether I can interfere… on a higher plane of conflict."
Those words made the Archons' eyes widen ever so slightly.
Even they had to admit—compared to the beings C.C. spoke of, the so-called gods of Teyvat were no different from mortals.
The difference was one of dimension, not divinity.
Through their earlier exchange, Zhongli had already gained a rough understanding of C.C.'s strength.
She was, without a doubt, invincible on Teyvat—her presence carried a pressure that even surpassed the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
But to meddle in that level of confrontation…?
His expression stiffened.
The confusion in his eyes slowly turned into solemn realization.
The ancient Geo Archon's golden gaze locked onto the green-haired girl before him, whose own golden eyes were now glowing faintly—no, not gold anymore.
A hue of violet spread across her irises like a blooming galaxy, the starlit purple expanding until it formed a radiant six-pointed star.
Around it shimmered countless intricate runes, flickering like cosmic circuits.
When those glowing violet eyes met Zhongli's, he felt—just for a heartbeat—utterly exposed.
As if her gaze pierced straight through his body, down to the very core of his soul.
'What… are those eyes?'
No—more than just her eyes.
In that instant, it felt as though C.C. herself had undergone a metamorphosis.
Something had… changed.