"Hmm~ Among all the Pseudo Star Map Creations, only the Bottomless Abyss doesn't require activation. Lucky for that kid Aether."
The Abyss is the most unique among all cosmologies—one of the two deepest layers of the Teyvat Universe's cosmology. It can also be considered the original cosmology of this universe. After all, in the beginning, Teyvat Continent consisted of only these two things.
From the very start, the Abyss's Cosmology required no activation—it has always been active, and not just in an ordinary sense. As such, this Cosmology is inherently potent.
Once the Pseudo Star Map Creation: Bottomless Abyss is unfurled, no matter where it manifests, it becomes the Abyss. All things opposed to it will be consumed completely—faith abandoned, fear forgotten, eras severed, rules erased.
In short, its effect is like a delete key—everything is cleared away. It's somewhat similar to Zeno's Erase in the Dragon Ball world, though far less god-tier—a low-end version, so to speak. It also bears resemblance to the End Emptiness of the Mondaiji world, but only superficially; in essence, it's completely different.
Noah glanced at the Abyss, then withdrew his gaze.
Just then, a voice reached his ears, drawing his attention back to the dueling arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Up next is our most anticipated duel match!"
"From our Fontaine Marechaussee Phantom, the Champion Duelist—Lady Clorinde—will be conducting trials for all challengers today!"
"As stated before, those who pass the trial will win the grand prize of this duel arena—the Truth Fruit, which grants the opportunity to unlock the Gift of Truth!"
The host's exaggerated tone whipped the audience into a frenzy. But even without the hype, the trial by a Primary God-level powerhouse like Clorinde, plus the grand prize that could potentially elevate one to God-King status, was enough to make the crowd roar.
UOOOOHHH!!
The massive colosseum-like stands erupted in their wildest cheers. The audience for this entertainment Gift Game consisted of guests from pantheons across the cosmos, numbering over a hundred million—most of them extraordinary beings who had yet to ascend to godhood. Half the grandeur of such festivities came from these common extraordinary folk.
Lightning flashed onto the arena floor, and Clorinde appeared midair, valiant and imposing.
"I am the Champion Duelist of Fontaine's Marechaussee Phantom, and today's trial conductor."
"Though this is mere entertainment, I will still follow tradition and repeat the offer."
"To the top ten victors among you—will you accept my trial, or do you have the courage to challenge me directly, to prove your valor and seize glory?"
"Of course, should you defeat me, you will receive Fontaine's most generous blessings."
...
Noah rested his chin in one hand, watching the arena, waving away for the third time a server trying to sell him on betting odds.
In a divine realm packed with gods—especially one where countless factions interwove—the dueling arena naturally emerged as the hub for settling matters. Of course, the arena merely provides the venue; at its core, it thrives thanks to the Gift Game culture.
Disputes? Go to the arena.
Betting? Go to the arena.
Celebrations? Go to the arena.
Nearly every godly nation has such places—only the names differ.
The founding celebrations of the Fontaine Divine Collective featured every kind of performance seen in the cosmos—not just from Fontaine's court, but across the entire Fontaine Divine Collective throughout the main universe.
"It seems… I haven't really spoken with Furina—Focalors—alone in a long time."
"No, actually, we've never been alone together at all."
That first time, when he stuffed Furina into a sack for his own amusement, didn't count.
Thinking back, in the beginning his personality had been far too unruly. After all, at that time he had just crossed over, still in that "protect my Teyvat, I don't eat beef" mindset.
"Now, Furina has also obtained a Pseudo Star Map Creation, and truly reached the top of Teyvat's pyramid."
Noah rubbed his chin, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Although she couldn't yet compare to Ophis or the Four Shades, she could at least unleash single-universe level power—calling her a top-tier existence was no exaggeration.
"Let's go play with Furina and Focalors~ Besides, I've hardly had a chance to enjoy Fontaine."
Noah's figure gradually faded, unnoticed by the surrounding audience.
...
At the same time—
The Abyss.
The Abyss is exactly the same as the main universe—after all, it is its shadow, the dark and negative side of the cosmos.
The main universe had already been developed over 40%, while the Abyss—despite its countless god-tier beasts and hundreds of billions of Abyssal gods—had only been developed 20%.
Even so, with that 20%, Aether's strength ranked among the top three Primordial Gods.
The weakest Primordial God is at least at the cosmic-structure level, and as the sovereign ruling the Abyss, Aether had now reached the low single-universe level.
The Abyss is equal to the main universe, and with the main universe currently at the high single-universe level, if Aether could fully develop the Abyss, he too would reach the high single-universe tier.
Of course, as the universe grows, so too does the Abyss. Even now, Aether barely kept his development ahead of the universe's natural growth.
And this was during the current recuperation phase of the Teyvat Universe.
Aether walked through the crimson-deep void of the Abyss, a backdrop of violet-black galaxies behind him.
The universe has a center—here it is marked by a black-red aurora pillar piercing through the entire Abyss. This is the dark counterpart to the main universe's aurora pillar.
Naturally, this aurora pillar is also a manifestation of the Cosmic Nexus.
The closer one draws to the center, the denser the surrounding galaxies become.
Eventually, they form a star ring tens of millions of light-years wide around the aurora pillar.
At the very heart of this ring, a celestial sphere no larger than Earth slowly rotates. Its mere presence influences the entire star ring for tens of millions of light-years.
It simply rests there quietly—its aura alone creating such a cosmic wonder.
Aether approached slowly. "I've sensed you for a long time."
"Pseudo Star Map Creation—Bottomless Abyss."
He extended his hand.
The celestial sphere emitted a hum, resonating with the universe. There was no foreign power from another cosmos—this was pure Abyss.
The sphere shrank until it could rest in his palm.
"Bottomless Abyss, activate—wear all things away! Pseudo Star Map Creation!"
Without hesitation, Aether spoke the activation words.
Hum—
At this moment, the entire Abyss came alive, as if the Abyssal cosmos itself had gained consciousness.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz—
The whole Abyss resonated. Its cosmic structures, superclusters, galaxies, stars, and planets all churned with fluctuations of law beyond the perception of any life below the Supreme God level.
Once, the Abyss was like a lifeless corpse. But now, it had birthed an Abyssal Will—and that will was naturally Aether, master of the Pseudo Star Map Creation.
The Pseudo Star Map Creation: Bottomless Abyss is, by nature, the ultimate cosmology of terror imagined, perceived, and known by all intelligent life in Teyvat.
All those Abysses described in literature are but insignificant fragments of the true Teyvat Abyss.
Yet the Abyss is not merely a cruel nightmare—this is only how life from the main universe perceives it. For Abyssal beings, the Abyss is the most beautiful of homelands.
Abyssal life is not inherently evil—it simply exists in opposition to everything in the main universe.
The Abyss has been developed 20%, with over a trillion galaxies birthing flourishing civilizations—civilizations formed entirely by Abyssal life.
Some Abyssal beings are indeed grotesque, matching the monstrous images of fiction, but many are humanoid. Stripped of their Abyssal identity, they are as beautiful or handsome as humans or elves of the main world. Some species are no bigger than the palm of a hand, innocent and naïve like flower fairies.
Within the Great Universe of Teyvat, the Abyss is unique. Even with the emergence of multiple Primordial Universes—future thriving standard universes—they are, in essence, still inferior to the Abyssal Universe, by far.
A holder of a Pseudo Star Map Creation becomes the master of a universe—but the ruler of the Abyss holds dominion over the reverse side of all universes.
The more subsidiary universes the Teyvat Universe has, the greater the accumulated reverse side the Abyss will encompass.
Thus, even among Pseudo Star Map Creation holders—fellow universe masters—the Abyssal Sovereign stands half a tier higher.
So the grand promise Lord Heavenly Principle painted for me back then has truly come to pass.
Aether could feel that after activating his Pseudo Star Map Creation, his strength had reached the single-universe level—and faintly edged toward surpassing it. He couldn't help but recall his first meeting with Lord Heavenly Principle.
Back then, Lord Heavenly Principle told him of the World Annexation Plan, urging him to work diligently, promising that one day he might become a universe-level existence.
When Lord Heavenly Principle displayed that staggering power, he knew his potential was limitless.
"In this state, even the Aeon who once tried to invade the universe—I could confidently defeat him."
Aether withdrew the Pseudo Star Map Creation into himself, his power surging from the cosmic-structure level straight to the low single-universe tier.
This was not a mere increase in scale—it was a direct leap across a chasm as vast as the gap between mortals and gods, a leap in the very dimension of life.
Why such a massive leap? Because the power of a Pseudo Star Map Creation's master is intrinsically tied to the state of their own universe.
His Pseudo Star Map Creation was already in its mid-stage of development.
The activation words of a Pseudo Star Map Creation essentially simulate the full 100% matured state of its Cosmology's power.
That's why it's called a Pseudo Star Map Creation—rather than simply a Star Map Creation.
Only when the associated universe reaches full 100% development will the Pseudo Star Map Creation become a true Star Map Creation.
Now, the Abyss had birthed countless civilizations, species, and god-tier beasts, and 20% of its cosmic region had been developed.
When the Abyss reaches 60% development, his true form will break through to the standard single-universe tier. At full development, he will reach the high single-universe tier.
Only now did he realize—the Teyvat Universe itself had already reached the high single-universe level, yet its development was only at the standard single-universe tier.
No wonder Human Principle Phanes was in such a hurry.
When the civilizations within a universe cannot keep pace with its growth, the universe's continued development will stagnate.
"…This is… a link to another universe?"
Just after reaching the low single-universe level, Aether noticed an anomaly at the edge of the Abyss.
It was a row of more than a hundred thousand World Gates.
Each gate was the size of a star, all currently sealed shut. Yet faint traces of an aura distinct from the Abyss seeped through.
"World Gates? This many?" Aether was stunned.
Once, only Lord Heavenly Principle could open a World Gate. But now, any God-King could forge a permanent one.
Each pantheon had its own name for them—Heaven called them the Heavenly Gate, the Norse called them the Bifröst, the Greeks the Stargate, and Eden called theirs the Gate of Heaven.
However, gates forged by the gods could only traverse within the Teyvat Great Universe—to the Endless Planes, countless timelines, or even the various primordial universes.
But this many gates, radiating an aura from a foreign great universe, were clearly portals leading beyond Teyvat's Great Universe.
As far as he knew, besides the Heavenly Principle, only the four Incarnations of Truth could open gates to other great universes.
Yet those four would never interfere with the Abyss.
"Could it be… that the next world mission will directly grant me the Abyss?"
"And with so many World Gates, is it meant to launch a sweeping invasion of that great universe?"
As a single-universe-level powerhouse, Aether instantly reached his conclusion.
The thought sent a tremor through his divine will—thrill and excitement surging.
At last, the Abyssal faction would have a chance to go all out.
Indeed, Abyssal power was far too immense to be needed before. But at the vast scale of a great universe, it was different.
Now, the Abyss's overwhelming forces would be necessary to mass-produce troops and cleanse the great universe—
—to purge everything Teyvat did not need, all the dregs of civilization.
In such matters, the Divine Collectives of the main universe was far too slow.
—
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