"Old man, you're not going to carry out your plan anymore?"
"…"
He'd played around a little too much.
"Yeah. Didn't you say that once Guizhong stabilized the situation, you'd raise the difficulty a bit?"
"…"
Not raising it even a tiny bit.
"How about we let Osial out and have some fun? Don't worry—I'll do it myself. I'll make sure it's clean. No one will know."
"…"
And who's the one who ends up unlucky in the end? Isn't it still me?
"Tch, this is boring. Old man, if you don't make a move soon, Taro is going to run off to play outside."
Staring at the utterly calm Guyun Stone Forest, Venti smiled with narrowed eyes as he swayed the wine bottle in his hand.
"Eh… or are you just waiting for exactly this moment, old man?"
"That does make sense."
Azhdaha nodded solemnly. "If Brother Taro doesn't leave, an old god from bygone days can't stir up even the slightest wave."
"I can't withstand even a little, let alone that lump of useless seafood."
The old gods sealed beneath Guyun Stone Forest—half of them had been beaten to within an inch of their lives by him before being tossed down there.
He knew exactly what that bunch was worth.
"Life is unpredictable~"
Zhongli held his cup and shook his head in silence.
"I have already stepped down from my divine seat. Now I'm just an ordinary person of Liyue."
He had once been the god of humans—so he ought to witness the rise and fall of humans.
He was no longer the god of humans—so he ought not interfere with human choice.
Because one corner of the mortal world had been under his protection, the people of Liyue had already gained a land of peace.
The road ahead was bright. The retreat was already prepared.
Now, he was only Zhongli—an ordinary person of Liyue.
"Tsk~" Venti smacked his lips. "When you couldn't let go, you never relaxed for even a moment."
"And now that you've 'let go,' it feels like you're ready to completely wash your hands of everything."
So did he truly let go, or not?
Hard to say.
"It isn't 'letting go.' It's simply peace of mind."
"I'd know what this guy is thinking better than anyone."
Azhdaha chuckled, shaking his head. His expression was… a little strange.
"Honestly, Morax—when did you figure it out?"
"It was definitely before I woke up, right?"
"…"
Zhongli merely smiled, saying nothing.
"Hm? Hm? Hmhmhm?"
Venti blinked.
He suddenly felt like an outsider.
"You two—what are you talking in riddles for?"
"And you've got some good news you're not sharing with me, too?"
Watching their expressions—the kind that said everything without saying anything—Venti felt like a kitten was clawing at his heart.
Even though he was allergic to cats.
"It's not a big deal."
Azhdaha smiled. "A powerful native creature like me can vaguely sense some things."
"And Morax can sense it too because of my connection to him. You…"
"You're separated by a wall. It's normal you can't feel it."
A powerful… native creature?
An elemental Dragon Sovereign of Teyvat?
What they were talking about had something to do with that?
Venti's expression instantly turned serious. His ears twitched slightly.
A moment later, his brows furrowed.
Dvalin hadn't sensed anything strange.
"You went and asked that little dragon?"
Seeing Venti frown, three traces of amusement floated onto Azhdaha's face.
"Don't bother asking. That kid is still too young."
"And besides—he only has a fragment of what belongs to wind. He's incomplete."
"Hey, I'm just saying!"
Venti puffed up his cheeks.
"You two—are you still my friends or not?"
"Are you deliberately hiding it from me, or is it something you can't say?"
It probably wasn't that they couldn't say it.
If it were truly unspeakable, these two wouldn't be deliberately stopping halfway to bait him.
Something tied to the Dragon Sovereigns…
"Wasn't it that night you were there as well?"
Watching Venti struggle to think, Zhongli smiled and offered a clearer clue.
"The night we faced Ronova?"
"Nibelung??"
Venti's eyes bulged.
If it was related to the Dragon Sovereigns, and it was a night he was present…
The only night that matched was when Ronova, the Ruler of Death, appeared in Liyue.
Ronova was frightened off. Taro took from her hands a remaining portion of Nibelung's corpse…
After he connected that point, Venti's mind went into overdrive.
Then his eyelid twitched.
"Wait, wait, wait~"
"Don't tell me… that thing is about to produce a new generation?"
The first king of Teyvat.
Name: Nibelung.
An absolute king of Teyvat—an existence born from the will that represented everything of Teyvat itself.
As for the Seven Dragon Sovereigns, they were born only after Nibelung divided his own Authority—allowing them to arise from Teyvat's various primordial powers.
The elemental Dragon Sovereigns of Teyvat could never be truly killed.
Unless you destroyed all of Teyvat itself.
When an old Sovereign died, a new Sovereign would inherit the remnants left behind in the source, and grow once more into the next elemental Dragon Sovereign.
After Phanes defeated Nibelung and seized Teyvat, he used different countermeasures based on each Sovereign's nature.
Those who held Teyvat's most critical Authorities were, for the most part, sealed.
Those whose Authorities were less important—those who lacked the strength to keep causing trouble—could be tolerated.
As for those stubborn, rebellious, and arrogant to the bone, Phanes simply singled them out and eradicated them one by one.
If they could be corrected during rebirth, fine.
If they couldn't be corrected, then he'd eradicate them again.
Only, Phanes hadn't expected that the Nibelung who had fled would return.
And he brought something huge with him.
Phanes paid an enormous price to finally kill Nibelung.
After dealing with Nibelung, Phanes himself was also left grievously wounded—
So grievously wounded that he no longer had the strength to smooth away the abyssal calamity Nibelung had brought.
In that state, it was even more impossible for him to suppress the elemental Dragon Sovereigns who would return and grow again.
So…
The Dragon Sovereigns suffered. Each had a portion of their ancient dragon Authority extracted.
That way, whether old or new, these Dragon Sovereigns would no longer possess the threat they once did.
As for Nibelung's corpse, it could only be forcibly sealed—
To lock away that first, original source, and prevent Teyvat from ever producing another new Nibelung.
Because Nibelung was too special. His Authority could not be casually split.
Unless you didn't want Teyvat anymore.
And now—because of Taro—the seal had broken.
Nibelung's source had returned to its rightful place…
Hiss—
Venti sucked in a sharp breath.
A new Nibelung was already being nurtured?
Just thinking that made his scalp go numb.
After a long silence, Venti spoke again.
"So, um…"
"How long will it take for this new Dragon King to be born? Do you two have any idea?"
"…"
Zhongli and Azhdaha exchanged a look—and smiled in perfect understanding.
Then they both shook their heads.
Wrong again. Completely wrong.
They raised their cups and lightly clinked them together.
Clink—
Venti reflexively raised his cup and clinked as well.
That crisp sound rang out, and Venti's eyes suddenly lit up.
Wrong, wrong!
His direction of thinking had been wrong from the very beginning.
If it were truly as he feared, could these two old fossils still be smiling?
If they could still smile, that meant things had already turned in a good direction.
These two old geezers clearly knew some inside information.
But…
What was the key?
Wait—Nibelung's remains were in Taro's hands!
Venti immediately cursed with a laugh:
"You two old bastards—was scaring me fun?!"
"…"
Zhongli quietly turned his head aside.
Azhdaha burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahahaha~~~"
(End of Chapter)
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