"General!"
"Sara, you may leave for now."
"Yes!"
After bowing respectfully, Kujou Sara quietly retreated and closed the heavy doors of Tenshukaku.
The moment the doors shut,
Jiang Mo immediately felt a sharp gaze fall upon him — a gaze that seemed to be examining him, perhaps even guarding against him.
"Hehehe~"
The wife-faced Raiden Makoto, seated gracefully behind her desk, lifted her wide sleeve to cover her smile and spoke softly,
"Jiang Mo, may I call you Xiao Mo? I'm sorry — Ei has always been this way. Ever since the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm five hundred years ago, she's been wary of anyone who approaches me."
"That's fine,"
Jiang Mo replied with a light chuckle and shook his head. He could already guess how overprotective Ei could be.
Makoto raised her hand slightly and said gently,
"Then please sit. I know people from Liyue don't like kneeling. You don't need to do that, Xiao Mo."
"Alright."
Without hesitation, Jiang Mo crossed his legs and sat down at the prepared table.
Once he was seated, Makoto spoke again, her tone warm and calm:
"My true name as a god is Baal — Raiden Makoto. If you wish, you may call me Makoto, or even Sister Makoto."
"..."
Jiang Mo didn't respond — mostly because he didn't know what to say.
Good grief!
This level of familiarity was a bit much.
He couldn't help but think: Could Xiangling have been right? Did Raiden Makoto actually… like him? No, wait — maybe she was planning to recruit him away from Liyue and make him the second Electro Archon?
When things seem too friendly, there's usually something suspicious behind it.
It's never wrong to stay cautious — even if she did have that alluring wife-like face.
"Hehehe~"
Makoto, of course, noticed his wariness, but only covered her lips with another soft laugh.
"Xiao Mo, there's no need to be so tense. I've spoken with Morax. This matter — in fact — is something beneficial for you."
"The old man?" Jiang Mo raised an eyebrow, relaxing slightly. "Then… Sister Makoto, what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"
If it involved the old man, it probably wasn't anything bad.
And as for whether Makoto was lying — that seemed unlikely. Morax was surely keeping an eye on things. If there really were a problem, he would've shown up already.
People might think of him as a laid-back old wanderer nowadays, but that's only because Teyvat had entered an era of peace. Back in the Archon War, Morax had earned the title of War God — with real blood and steel.
"Xiao Mo, don't worry — this has nothing to do with your bet with the Little Shrine Maiden."
Makoto's voice was so soothing that it made one relax without realizing.
"Your wager with that mischievous little fox isn't a bad thing, really. I just can't understand how a child I watched grow up could turn out so… mischievous."
At the mention of Yae Miko, Makoto sighed helplessly. It was clear she, too, found the sly pink fox a handful — perhaps even more troublesome than Lady Saiguu ever was.
Jiang Mo only smiled in response, saying nothing.
After a short pause, Makoto continued softly,
"Xiao Mo, do you know the origin of Teyvat?"
"The origin?"
"The Primordial Fuel?"
Jiang Mo blinked, thought for a moment, and answered, "The Aether?"
"Correct." Makoto nodded slightly. "When the Heavenly Principles — the First Descender — arrived, they defeated the original masters of Teyvat, the seven elemental dragon lords of the Primordial Flame. But the power of that flame was not something mortals could wield. So the Heavenly Principles split it apart, creating the seven elements."
Jiang Mo nodded — this much he already knew.
"But during the Archon War…" Makoto lowered her voice. "Teyvat underwent tremendous change. The Heavenly Principles fell into eternal slumber. The Four Shadows of Heaven, too, were utterly transformed — hidden away. Even now, no one knows how many cycles have passed since then…"
She stopped there — some things, it seemed, were not ready to be spoken aloud.
Jiang Mo didn't press further. He only thought to himself,
So, in this modified version of Teyvat, the root of change traces back to the Archon War. That actually makes sense.
Though full of questions, he stayed silent, waiting for Makoto to continue.
"After the Archon War ended, the Seven Nations were founded. Other than the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm five hundred years ago, there have been few major upheavals since."
"However…"
"For Teyvat itself, change has never ceased. It continues to evolve — endlessly. These shifts are invisible to ordinary people, but to us, the Seven who rule this world, they are clear as day."
"With every passing moment, Teyvat evolves — in mass, in energy, in essence. It is transforming."
"And…"
"No one knows what will happen once that evolution reaches its limit."
"Before the Archon War, the Abyss was the greatest threat to Teyvat. But now, aside from Natlan's region, Abyssal energy can hardly influence this world anymore."
Makoto's calm voice filled the air.
Though Jiang Mo hadn't heard all this directly from the old man, he had his suspicions before — and this confirmed them.
This Teyvat, in a sense, was like a gluttonous beast, endlessly devouring all that it could consume to strengthen itself. Like a predatory plant, it lured and absorbed power from countless other worlds — to grow even stronger.
Jiang Mo even began to suspect that the Heavenly Principles didn't choose to fall asleep — but were forced to.
Teyvat's evolution was simply too rapid for even the Heavenly Principles to control.
Overwhelmed by the flood of "nutrients," it could only enter dormancy to barely stay alive.
Otherwise…
It might have burst apart entirely.