"Avesta, yes—that is the Cosmology of our Zoroastrian faith!"
The divine will of Mithra, the God of Light, trembled.
Ahura, the good god, shook all over, his eyes fixed only on that supremely sacred celestial sphere.
The Pseudo Star Map Creation—this was their Zoroastrian Pseudo Star Map Creation.
It was something only a Zoroastrian god would have the chance to possess.
To hold the Pseudo Star Map Creation was to be destined to transcend the universe and become a god above gods, entering the realm of true omniscience and omnipotence.
Yet even though it had appeared, the Pseudo Star Map Creation had not yet decided its rightful bearer in the Gift Game.
One had to pass its trials.
As the highest god who founded the Zoroastrian pantheon, Ahura felt no disappointment.
He understood his own limits well.
He was a god from the Campione world who had merely won the True Name Contest; beyond Teyvat Universe, there were many far stronger Ahuras.
If he could one day reach Supreme God, he would be deeply grateful.
Now, he could feel he had the qualification to take the trial, but only that—success was unlikely, perhaps a thirty percent chance at best.
All other Zoroastrian gods of Primary God rank or above had the same qualification, though their chances were even lower.
He also sensed the selection criteria for the Pseudo Star Map Creation.
If all Zoroastrian gods failed the trial, the Pseudo Star Map Creation would open the trial to all Primary Gods across the cosmos.
If the Zoroastrian pantheon could not pass, it would choose one who could surpass all limits of courage, glory, and wisdom.
All gods who had gazed upon the Avesta Pseudo Star Map received this message.
Nuada, King of the Celtic Gods, withdrew his burning gaze and looked toward his pantheon with some bitterness, silently praying to the Heavenly Principle that all Zoroastrian gods would fail.
Among the onlookers, small calculations began to form in many minds.
Venti smiled lightly. "So an ownerless Pseudo Star Map Creation has such a screening trial… This completely prevents a pantheon unfit to bear the Cosmology from laying hands on it."
"Don't you agree, my lord?"
The will of the Lord Heavenly Principle ensured that nothing here was absolute.
A Pseudo Star Map Creation was directly tied to the birth of a single-universe-level god.
Even if a Cosmology perfectly matched a pantheon, if its gods' character, breadth of mind, and capacity did not meet the Lord Heavenly Principle's expectations, it would not be bestowed.
Better to have none than the wrong one.
As the god of freedom, hope, and wind, Venti had long wandered through many pantheons, knowing full well their flaws, and the measure of their highest gods.
The Zoroastrian pantheon was not weak, but among the great pantheons it ranked near the bottom—slightly better than the ever-warring Celts.
The last and second-last among the great pantheons.
Their outlook was narrow, their treatment of humans and civilizations driven more by utility than love; thus, both their god-kings ranked only mid-to-lower tier.
These were their highest gods—already middling, showing how lacking they were.
Barbatos always placed love and beauty first, utility second.
For them to have such qualifications was the real anomaly.
Look at the Greeks: though they had their faults, under Athena's leadership they followed the Heavenly Principle's will, placing love and beauty at the forefront.
Some Greek gods might have poor character, but in serious matters they acted without hesitation.
Zhongli stood with hands behind his back, calmly watching the ownerless Pseudo Star Map Creation. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the other gods watching—most with eyes burning hot.
"An ownerless Pseudo Star Map Creation may be a fine thing, but if handled poorly, it could become a source of chaos."
"I'm sure Focalors already has a plan for dealing with it."
"If, in the future, the Zoroastrian pantheon truly has no god able to activate it, then trying for it ourselves wouldn't be out of the question."
The Lord Heavenly Principle had never decreed that a god could only possess a single Pseudo Star Map Creation.
The Pseudo Star Map Creation was an omnipotent armament; and like any weapon, it could be held in multiples.
Raiden Makoto clicked her tongue. "The will of the gods is already growing restless."
Hu Tao remarked, "Well, it is a Pseudo Star Map Creation—there's no god in the universe who could resist such temptation."
"But the nobler the thing, the higher the virtue needed to wield it. Without that, it will only bring harm."
"As the saying goes: virtue not matching the position will surely bring disaster."
Zhongli nodded. "Director Hu speaks true. Still, such a thing will not happen."
Buer smiled faintly. As one of the gods closest to the Heavenly Principle, she knew his will well.
If the Zoroastrian gods did not reach a cosmic-level breadth of vision, they would never pass the trial.
First, it was not that possessing the Pseudo Star Map Creation made one a sovereign.
Rather, only a sovereign could obtain the Pseudo Star Map Creation.
Mortals and gods alike often inverted this simple cause-and-effect, ignorant of their own folly.
Tsaritsa shook her head. Over ninety percent of the gods in the universe were, in truth, ignorant, unable to comprehend divine will.
Odin: "An ownerless Pseudo Star Map Creation…"
Athena: "Mm… so that's the mechanism of an ownerless Pseudo Star Map Creation."
Shakyamuni: "Amitabha… an ownerless thing…"
Lumine's eyes turned with a glint of calculation. This ownerless thing… could I possibly obtain it? Hiss… it might actually be possible~
After all, these gods with no breadth of vision are hardly worthy. An ownerless thing naturally belongs to the virtuous.
And I, the Traveler Lumine—who in the entire universe does not know my virtue is second to none?
Under countless burning gazes, Focalors raised her hand.
The Avesta Pseudo Star Map Creation slowly descended into her grasp.
In that moment, every heated gaze cleared.
Now that Focalors had become the rightful master of the Pseudo Star Map Creation, she truly possessed the power of a god above gods. Before such absolute identity and strength, any petty scheming was but a bubble—burst at a touch.
Moreover, even without the Pseudo Star Map Creation, she was already one of the Supreme Nine Gods.
Focalors held the Avesta Pseudo Star Map Creation in her hands.
Having just acquired a Pseudo Star Map Creation and gained the full power of another universe, she could clearly feel the immense weight Avesta carried.
…She hadn't expected the Zoroastrian pantheon to be so lacking in vision that they didn't even qualify to directly inherit the Pseudo Star Map Creation. It was, admittedly, a little disappointing.
As a participant, she knew that the Fontaine Divine Collective possessed two Cosmologies.
When a Cosmology was activated, its power could be granted to the entire collective—but only once. It could not fully unlock the origins tied to the Cosmology.
That is, without a rightful bearer, the origins of the Primordial and Supreme Gods would not appear, and related gods could not ascend to that level.
Just like with the Liyue Divine Collective, all its gods had directly unlocked their potential, able to glimpse the heights they could one day reach.
Though a bit disappointed, Focalors was still deeply pleased at the founding of Fontaine's collective.
Now, with the Pseudo Star Map in hand, she had become a sovereign and at last understood the gap between gods bound within the universe and those who had broken past its limits.
Her past, present, and future now converged as one.
By activating the Dualism of Good and Evil, she herself became the universe.
Though the activation lasted only briefly, during that time she could unleash a single-universe-level dimensionality-reduction strike.
While still far from a true single-universe-level god, she now truly possessed that power.
Silently, she murmured in her heart:
Dualism of Good and Evil, initiate—reverse all, Pseudo Star Map Creation.
Dualism of Good and Evil was a cosmology of completely opposing forces in mutual conflict and mutual completion. All relative powers repelled and restricted one another.
In practice, it could invert every force, law, and concept.
Simply put, unless facing another Pseudo Star Map holder, even if confronted by single-universe-level beings in the dozens, she could reverse all power within this Cosmology : justice became evil, fire became water, light became darkness.
Such an overbearing effect could even directly slay a typical single-universe-level being at first encounter—numbers would be meaningless.
Though all cosmologies were single-universe-level, there were still gradations in strength.
Likewise, Pseudo Star Map effects varied in power.
The broader the Cosmology, the stronger the Pseudo Star Map.
Avesta itself was derived from the Dualism of Good and Evil cosmology.
There was a clear order here.
In Pan-Human History's mythic development, humanity first perceived Dualism of Good and Evil, and only upon that foundation perceived Avesta.
Though both were single-universe-level, in effect the Dualism of Good and Evil surpassed Avesta.
It was like the sequence of creation: from nothing came being; from being, the one; from the one, the two; from the two, the three; and from the three, all things.
The closer to nothingness, the broader the Pseudo Star Map's effect.
Drawing her mind back from contemplating the link between Avesta and the Dualism of Good and Evil, Focalors saw that less than 0.01 seconds had passed.
She looked to the gods of her Fontaine pantheon, then to the visiting gods of other pantheons, and smiled.
"This concludes the Gift Game. Once again, I announce the founding of the Fontaine Divine Collective, and I sincerely invite all gods to join the celebration!"
In her view, if the Zoroastrians could not inherit Fontaine's Pseudo Star Map, then it must be inherited by a god of Fontaine.
Whether it be Neuvillette, Lyney, the God of Games Tet, or even the God of Doubt Holou—all might have the chance.
Seeing Focalors speak, Furina also stepped forward, raised her hand high, and called out.
"Yes, the Fontaine Divine Collective is officially founded, and naturally we must hold a celebration that will fill the entire universe with joy."
"This joy is not only for the gods, lives, races, and citizens of Fontaine to share."
"Whether you are our allied gods from the Seven Nations or distant friends who have come to witness our birth as a divine collective, I, Furina, Supreme God of Fontaine, share my most heartfelt joy with you all!"
Furina spread her arms proudly, the hem of her blue, ornate gown swaying lightly. Her great divine will, sustained by the Pseudo Star Map, spread across all of Fontaine.
By her will, every guest, every citizen felt her joy and found themselves swept up in it.
Venti, ever the shameless freeloader, immediately stepped forward with a grin. "Hehe~ Focalors, then I won't be polite! I'll drink my way through all of Fontaine's finest wines. And if that's not enough, I'll just stick around and refuse to leave."
In Noah's eyes, Venti was shameless; but to other gods, this was simply being approachable and carefree—truly the god of freedom.
When the weak did such things, it was shamelessness. When the strong did them, it was charm.
Admiration for the strong was a fundamental law of life.
Jean, long accustomed to her highest god's antics in front of other pantheons, barely reacted.
Only Diona still harbored a grudge, though it didn't stop her from respecting him. Her distaste came from how often Venti lingered around her, begging her to mix drinks—when she hated alcohol.
It was outrageous. How was she supposed to refuse the god's earnest requests?
But once she gave in, Venti began appearing in her community every few days. Her only form of protest was to cross her arms, huff in annoyance, and then begrudgingly prepare his drinks.
At least, every time he troubled her, Venti brought benefits. In time, she reached the rank of Primary God—same as Jean.
…Though it seemed Jean was close to breaking through to God-King.
…
All of Fontaine was now immersed in the joy of the celebration. Across the divine realm, festive events filled every corner.
At the Fontaine Court, gods from across the pantheons gathered alongside countless communities.
In the Hydro Archon's temple, the original gods of Teyvat held a tea gathering.
Only these original Teyvat gods—and a few great gods from other pantheons especially close to them—could step into the Teyvat Universe's core circle.
Venti cradled a goblet larger than himself, filled to the brim with fruit wine, his face flushed.
"Hehehe… Though congratulations might seem redundant now, I'll say it again."
"After watching you and Focalors in the Gift Game, old man, I'm now a hundred percent confident."
"Next up is me."
Buer smiled softly. "We already have absolute confidence. The benefits of spectating might not mean much to us, but they are crucial for ordinary gods."
"So I think there's no need to wait—let's begin our Gift Game together."
Venti tilted his head. "Eh? Why's that? Wouldn't that mean our juniors lose many opportunities?"
Zhongli was silent for a moment, then pointed upward. "Barbatos, haven't you sensed it?"
"If we keep dawdling like this… that one might not be able to wait any longer."
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