"I'm not some brainless brute like you who enjoys fighting!"
Rosalyne mercilessly cut off Childe's half-formed invitation.
She wasn't stupid.
When the genius had unveiled that stone earlier, he hadn't bothered to conceal its aura.
She had felt it clearly— a terrifying force, leagues above her own.
To spar with Childe now would be nothing but self-torture.
She had no such masochistic tendencies.
That amber stone… it could very well push Childe's strength into the forefront of the Harbingers.
"Then forget it. Another time, maybe."
Sparring with the Raiden Shogun?
Pointless—her strength was far too overwhelming.
Challenging Su Ran? Even more meaningless, since the stone's power came from him in the first place.
As for Zhongli… too bad he had already left Liyue. Otherwise, Childe would have loved to issue a challenge.
"Ah! But the Traveler's still around!"
A thought lit up in his mind.
The hero who had saved Dvalin in Mondstadt— surely her strength was nothing to scoff at.
Perhaps dueling her could help him master this new power faster.
"…Speaking of which, what exactly is this energy? It doesn't feel like elemental power… nor the Abyss."
Having been exposed to the Abyss since childhood, Childe was all too familiar with its taint.
But this… this was something else entirely.
"This is Imaginary energy, from the Envoy. In simple terms—when you use that stone, you're borrowing a fragment of my power."
"…A fragment of your power?!"
Childe's voice shot up an octave.
He had thought it some brilliant invention— but the truth was far more staggering.
Su Ran had sealed a portion of his own strength within that amber?
"Wouldn't that… weaken you?"
The energy he had sensed earlier was already beyond himself by a wide margin.
If even a fraction of that was siphoned off, wouldn't the creator pay a hefty price?
"Barely a ten-millionth. It's nothing."
Su Ran shrugged it off.
That sliver of power meant nothing to him— and besides, it gave him a way to keep track of Childe's whereabouts.
Should Childe one day return to Skirk's side, Yae Miko could use that link to find her as well.
So why would he mind such a trivial cost?
"…Heh."
A ten-millionth, and he dismissed it as nothing?
Childe would rather believe the man was bragging.
The gap between them couldn't possibly be that vast… could it?
Not even between himself and Her Majesty the Tsaritsa was there such an insurmountable gulf.
Could this so-called genius really be a thousand times stronger than her?
Unbelievable.
And yet… Childe's respect for him deepened.
Aside from Skirk and the Tsaritsa, this was the only person willing to grant him power.
"You meant that, didn't you?"
Later, when Su Ran returned to his quarters, Ei trailed after him with a sudden question.
"…Meant what?"
He blinked, puzzled.
"That the stone holds no more than a ten-millionth of your strength."
Her tone was serious.
Exaggerated though it sounded, it wasn't impossible.
And if it were true… just how terrifying was Su Ran's true power?
Even Ei, who disliked relying on external tools, couldn't deny the stone's temptation.
"Of course. My power… would be enough to wipe Teyvat off the map with a single strike."
And not even at full force.
After all, Envoys capable of destroying worlds in one blow were plentiful.
That was the baseline.
If you couldn't crush a planet, you had no right to the title.
Well… unless you were an Envoy of Elation.
That Path was peculiar, handing out blessings while withholding raw might.
For all anyone knew, one of its Envoys might be an untouchable being—or completely powerless.
"Then… how did you become so strong?"
Ei's eyes glimmered with curiosity.
"Only a few months ago, I was weaker than even Yae Miko.
So weak that a stronger mortal could have killed me."
"…A few months ago?"
Ei's disbelief was palpable.
If he had said a few millennia, or tens of millennia, perhaps she could accept it.
But mere months?
This was the man who had captured Morax alive.
The one who had shattered her puppet body with a single punch.
And he claimed it had only taken months to reach such heights?
"My intellect caught the notice of a Star God.
In return, I was granted Their blessing, and an identity.
That's how I set foot on a Path— and that's why I gained this power."
A Star God again…
Ei had heard the term more than once from him.
But if it was his wisdom that had drawn their gaze— then that wisdom had always been his own.
"…Then can I walk a Path as well?
Could I meet a Star God?"
If she could walk a Path, perhaps she too could wield the power to protect.
Even a fraction of Su Ran's strength would suffice.
She truly felt now that the gap between them might be in the realm of millions.
"You once had the chance to tread the Path of Nihility.
But unfortunately… Makoto's existence prevented it."
The Ei of the past had been little different from a Destruction-worshiping madman.
She had claimed to pursue Eternity, yet turned her back on the world outside.
Some became Destruction's pawns through corruption.
But she had chosen that path herself.
Her self-annihilation was the sort even a healer of Chaos could not mend.
"But now? It's simple.
Makoto dies again.
Yae Miko too.
Inazuma crumbles.
And I… vanish from your sight forever.
Do that, and I guarantee you'll awaken a Path.
Want to try?"
"Try your head!"
Ei's small fist thudded against Su Ran's chest.
Power was only a means to protect.
If everything she wanted to protect was gone, then what meaning would such strength hold?
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