The original purpose of the Akasha, created by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, was to make it easier for her people to access knowledge.
However, after the Great Sage gained control over the Akasha's permissions, it gradually became a 'resource,' with layer upon layer of barriers added to accessing knowledge.
The people of the rainforest could no longer access the latest knowledge, and the desert dwellers were denied even the right to seek it.
If the Great Sage continued down this path, the rainforest and desert would split apart entirely—no, in fact, they were already deeply divided.
To Nahida, this was utterly wrong. Both the desert and rainforest peoples were her subjects, and they all deserved the right to access 'knowledge.'
In the future, if she could escape her 'birdcage,' Nahida would ensure everyone had equal access to knowledge, with no distinction between rainforest and desert.
She might even choose to shut down the current, 'unrecognizable' Akasha, which had strayed far from its original purpose.
Initially, the Akasha was meant to be a tool to facilitate the Sumerians' pursuit of knowledge.
But now, the Sumerians had become overly reliant on it, drawing all their knowledge from the Akasha, 'Googling' it when needed, which ironically turned them into the 'tools.'
The exploration of new knowledge slowed down, and the Akasha, far from being beneficial, began to hinder the development of knowledge.
However, completely dismissing the Akasha wasn't the answer either. If possible, Nahida wanted to reform the current system; if not, she would have no choice but to shut it down.
Unfortunately, in her current state, she could do nothing. She had control over the Akasha but couldn't let the Great Sage discover this.
In the story, Yae Miko said the following:
["Eh, you still don't know? 'Lesser Lord Kusanali' is the god worshipped in Sumeru, a term of endearment the Sumerians use for her."]
"A term of endearment, huh…" Nahida lowered her small head, dejected.
In Sumeru, the Kusanali grass was indeed considered 'sacred grass,' so calling it a term of endearment wasn't wrong.
But most Sumerians didn't even know she existed. The rainforest revered Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the desert worshipped the Scarlet King, and it seemed no one believed in her.
On top of that, since her birth, she had been locked away, constantly gaslit into believing she was a useless, inadequate god, leaving her with little confidence.
Venti noticed Nahida's gloom and spoke up: "Drinking like this feels really nice. I remember back when I drank like this, I was just an unknown wind spirit."
"Who could've thought that I'd become the Anemo Archon in the future?"
Zhongli nodded. "People's perceptions change based on what you do. From obscurity to fame—it's but a fleeting moment for us."
Venti secretly gave Zhongli a thumbs-up, which Zhongli pretended not to see as he took a sip of tea.
"Exactly, exactly! Even Beelzebul was changed. What can't be changed?" Venti continued.
Originally, Nahida had come to comfort Zhongli, but in the end, it was she who needed comforting.
Nahida understood their intentions and felt grateful to her two seniors.
"Thank you…" Nahida smiled again, joining her seniors to read the final bit of content.
The last part didn't contain much information—it was purely Yae Miko teasing the Traveler.
[Yae Miko: "Oh, by the way, Traveler, do you still have the omamori I gave you?"]
[The Traveler replied: "Of course, I'll keep it safe."]
[Yae Miko narrowed her eyes slightly: "Keep it safe? Is that all?"]
[She then feigned disappointment, sighing: ]
["I thought you'd wear it prominently on your chest, telling everyone you meet, 'This was given to me by the wise and beautiful Lady Yae Miko.'"]
I'm a miner, and this is pure copper.
Readers thought: Aren't you two being a bit too flirty? Earlier, we were torn between Yae Miko and Ayaka Kamisato, and now it turns out you're close with both!
Why don't the four of us just settle down together?
Readers grinned with auntie-like smiles, entertaining silly ideas, thinking the story had ended.
They weren't wrong—the story of Omnipresence Over Mortals had indeed concluded.
But the book's content wasn't over yet. Turning the page, after the third act, there was a series of illustrations.
Calling them illustrations wasn't quite accurate, as Lucian had designed them like manga panels, complete with dialogue, fully within the realm of a comic.
This time, being able to draw a manga was thanks to the 'tentacle monster,' the legendary artist—Albedo.
After meeting Albedo last time, the number of illustrations in Lucian's novels had noticeably increased, all thanks to Albedo's help with the artwork. When Albedo and his group visited Liyue last time, Lucian and Albedo hit it off, and Lucian gave Albedo a Pocket Anchor Point. Lucian could teleport to Albedo's side at any time to "rush drafts."
With the miraculous Teacher Albedo around, Lucian no longer had to toil away "producing content" himself. In return, Albedo was naturally the first to learn about the contents of Lucian's prophetic book. Additionally, Lucian had to let Teacher Albedo check his health to ensure he was "developing normally."
This time, the illustrations depicted the PV—A Winter Night's Lazzo. The first panel showed a Fire Crystal Butterfly dancing against the snowy wind, performing a "Reverse Butterfly." The second panel depicted a chessboard and the silhouette of "Pierro," along with dialogue: [Pierro: "The Sages believe they know everything."]
The next panel switched to a close-up of Pierro's face: ["But only we understand the righteousness behind those foolish acts."]
["In this game, there are no so-called 'discarded pieces.'"]
The first panel on the right page was a horizontal illustration depicting the entire chessboard, with the Fire Crystal Butterfly flying toward a chess piece. Even Zhongli and Venti's Gnoses were placed on the board as "chess pieces." This scene caused the people of Mondstadt and Liyue who read it to feel their blood pressure spike!
Readers who had read the book knew that the Gnoses were "willingly" given up by their Archons, but to actually use them as chess pieces in a game? Though they were angry, they kept reading. In Teyvat, illustrations were mostly used for fairy tales or, at most, simple sequential art, so Lucian's "young adult manga" style was still quite novel.
The next panel showed the Fire Crystal Butterfly resting on a chess piece, accompanied by Pierro's dialogue: ["Because in this chess game, 'checkmate' is not the end."]
The final panel zoomed out, giving a "family portrait" of the Fatui Harbingers present. Tartaglia craned his neck.
"Didn't they say the next stop was Sumeru? Why are they showing a story about Snezhnaya?"
"Also, can we really broadcast what Lord Pierro said? Can we really let others know? We can't, right? We can't!"
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice: Rosalyne – About Raiden Shogun "…Hmph, just another foolish puppet like Scaramouche. They should have 'The Marionette' or 'The Doctor' add an obedience command to her."