After everything settled, Tartaglia and Lumine left the Jade Chamber.
One was a neutral party— the other, technically a criminal.
If the situation hadn't spiraled so far out of control, the Fatui Harbinger would've long since been detained.
The rest remained inside the floating palace.
"You… you actually dared to imprison the Geo Archon?!"
Were it not for centuries of cultivated composure, Cloud Retainer might have fainted on the spot.
Morax—the Morax—imprisoned?
Unthinkable!
If not for the Rite of Descension, the Adepti would never have even learned of this.
To imagine that the Rock King himself had been trapped, and in a foreign land no less— it was an outrage that defied belief.
Su Ran blinked innocently.
"Why so angry? Even Morax didn't complain."
After all, when he'd locked Zhongli in that dream, the man hadn't resisted— he'd walked right in without a word.
Su Ran had even thought him well-behaved.
"Lord Baalzebul, please, you must judge this matter!"
Cloud Retainer turned to the Electro Archon, ignoring whether anyone else present recognized her.
If Inazuma's god herself stood here, then surely she could intervene!
Even a "descender" had to abide by reason— unless, of course, he'd come here seeking war.
Raiden Ei's expression twisted awkwardly under the Adeptus's plea.
"Well… strictly speaking," she said after a pause, "Morax isn't trapped in Inazuma.
He's bound within a dream realm that happens to overlap my nation.
It is not my domain."
If need be, she could send them Morax's body— but what good was that without his mind?
To the Adepti, a god without consciousness was little different from a corpse.
"Th-this…"
Cloud Retainer faltered.
A dream?
What kind of sophistry was this?
So the Geo Archon was trapped in Inazuma, but not in Inazuma?
Did that mean the Electro Archon could just wash her hands of it?
"Then… whose domain is that dream realm?"
she asked, though she already dreaded the answer.
Su Ran grinned.
"Who else? Mine!"
He said it with pride, chest puffed out.
And he had reason to be smug.
The Penacony Dreamscape required an entire planet and a Family's collective power to sustain it— yet he had crafted his own with a single Gnosis.
Short-lived, perhaps, and not nearly as ornate— but capable of granting eternal life of the mind.
That level of mastery was enough to earn his name among the stars.
"You sound proud of yourself?"
Keqing's voice cut sharp with anger.
As a secret devotee of the Geo Archon, her admiration for Morax was genuine.
She might have advocated for mortal governance, but that was because she believed the children had grown up enough to manage their own home— not because she had ceased to love their parent.
Now their "father" was imprisoned, the Adepti were in turmoil, and she was livid.
Suran only smirked.
"Why wouldn't I be proud?
A dream that can trap even gods— pretty impressive, don't you think?"
Even as the cat-eared woman bristled with fury, he found time to tease her.
"How about it, Ah-Qing?
Want to come visit the dream yourself?
You might not be able to return, but Morax is there— and in human form, too~."
"You dare tempt me?!"
Keqing's hair practically sparked with static.
Cloud Retainer, flustered but still trying to keep to the point, turned to Ei again.
"Lord Baalzebul… since this dream realm blankets Inazuma, does that mean Inazuma itself has—"
She hesitated, unsure whether she should ask.
Ei met her eyes calmly.
"The Inazuma of reality has lost its meaning.
My people now live eternally within the dream.
That… is true eternity."
She wasn't hiding her doctrine.
For gods, ideals were pursuits, not possessions.
If eternity could be shared, why not?
"Eternal life?"
Even Ningguang drew a sharp breath.
Not even gods dared claim such a thing for themselves— how could mortals achieve it?
Only now did she grasp just how terrifying Inazuma's transformation had been.
And all of it… traced back to Su Ran.
From Tartaglia's unnatural power, to the dream enveloping a nation— each was a warning carved deep into her mind.
This man's power was immense.
His value even greater.
To not have him on her side— that stung worse than any loss.
"I care little for Inazuma's eternity," Cloud Retainer snapped, "but Morax stands as your equal!
You have no right to force your ideals upon him!"
What did Inazuma's fate matter to Liyue?
But their own god was trapped within it!
Ei understood the Adepti's fury— and the longing beneath it.
"Still," she said softly, "the dream is not mine."
Her eyes flicked to Su Ran.
Eternity was her pursuit, but not her creation.
The dream was not her gift to her people— merely the shape her promise had taken.
Her meaning was clear: the one who trapped Zhongli was not her.
If they wanted answers, they'd need to ask him.
And she had no wish to sour relations with Su Ran over this matter.
So, after all that— they still had to negotiate with the little brat.
Cloud Retainer's feathers fluffed, her gaze sharp and full of threat trying to crush him with sheer presence.
Su Ran crooked a finger at her.
"Go on then—beg me~."
"You—don't stop me! I'm going to teach this boy a lesson!"
Cloud Retainer's voice rose to a shriek, divine energy gathering around her.
Behind her, Moon-Carver and Mountain-Shaper exchanged glances.
Neither made a move to intervene.
Fine by us.
If she wanted to fight him, they'd be happy to watch.
They were sick of the guy too— they just didn't know how dangerous he was.
"Please, Cloud Retainer, stay your anger."
Ningguang stepped in smoothly, offering the furious crane a way down.
She'd already guessed the truth:
Cloud Retainer didn't dare attack.
But giving her a graceful exit was still the polite thing to do.
Fortunately, Cloud Retainer was as intelligent as she was proud.
She huffed coldly, then took the offered step back.
That, however, left Suran a little disappointed.
He'd expected one of two outcomes: either she'd rage until she embarrassed herself, or she'd be cornered into begging him for mercy.
Simply taking the offered step down?
How boring.
"Mr. Su Ran," Ningguang said at last, "how is the Geo Archon faring in Inazuma?"
Playing the emotional card, then.
They had little genuine affection between them— he'd tricked her, after all, and thanks to his and Tartaglia's "performance," the Jade Chamber lay at the bottom of the sea.
Yet, if she weighed the loss— one floating palace for the death of a demon god— it almost balanced out.
The catastrophe had been averted.
Perhaps that was worth the price.
Now that her temper had cooled, she could finally start negotiating properly.
~~--------------------------------------
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