" 'Sinner'? "
Ryen looked slightly curious.
"What kind of person would call himself a sinner?"
Aether shook his head.
"I don't know. Hundreds of years ago, I saw him once in Sumeru. With me at the time was the patriarch of the Khaenri'ah Caribert clan—the very founder of the Abyss Order."
"At that time, we witnessed countless hilichurls, wave after wave, making their way to worship him deep within the ruins."
"From him, Caribert obtained what he had been seeking…"
"And thus, the Abyss Order was born."
Zhongli's voice turned low and heavy:
"What did he obtain?!"
Aether fell silent for a moment before slowly replying:
"A method to restore the hilichurls' intelligence…"
"What?!"
Everyone stared at Aether in shock.
He nodded.
"I saw it with my own eyes—he restored his own illegitimate son's mind, and even lifted the curse of undying that bound him."
The news came too suddenly. For a while, everyone struggled to react.
But Aether was unwilling to speak further. He turned to Ryen and said calmly:
"Is this result satisfactory to you?"
"Barely."
Ryen waved his hand dismissively.
"Take your thing and go."
Aether nodded, stepped forward, and opened an Abyss portal. He walked up to the Statue of The Seven and retrieved the energy core.
He wasn't worried about Zhongli and the others making a move. With Ryen here, whether they acted or not made no difference—if Ryen wanted to catch him, it would take no more than the blink of an eye.
Xiao and the others were tempted to strike, but Zhongli stopped them.
If Ryen chose not to act, defeating Aether wouldn't be so simple. The man's strength was formidable; even Zhongli would need considerable effort to overcome him.
There was no need to fight here.
With the energy source safely in hand, Aether turned toward the Abyss portal.
"Hey! You didn't tamper with my Statue, did you?"
Venti glared at Aether in displeasure. The latter paused, then sneered.
"I haven't sunk to that level of baseness. I am not like you self-righteous Seven Archons."
"You—!"
Jean and the others glared furiously at him, but Aether paid them no mind.
Among everyone present, the only ones worth his attention—besides Lumine—were Ryen, Zhongli, and Venti.
As long as those three did not intervene, he had countless ways to walk away unscathed, even if everyone else attacked at once.
"Aether… stop being so stubborn!"
Lumine's voice trembled as she stared at him in helplessness.
"Don't we still have our journey? Don't we still have a home to search for?"
Aether's gaze flickered, dazed for a moment. Then he turned to look at her.
"Journey…"
He let out a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Wherever Lumine is, that's home… but I have things I must do."
"Lumine, continue your journey of witness. Witnesses exist to witness, and Recorders exist to remember."
"When your heart carries the weight of this world, you'll understand my reasons."
"Travel… travel!"
"We still must continue our journey—but not now, Lumine."
Aether cast one last longing glance at Lumine, then hardened his heart and turned toward the Abyss portal.
"I still have an unfinished battle with Celestia."
"When the Abyss floods the Seven Nations and drowns the throne of the Heavenly Principles…"
"We will meet again—but not now…"
His voice faded into the void, and then he was gone. The strange energies around the place vanished with him.
Not far away, the kneeling Hilichurls snapped out of their trance. Seeing the group, they immediately clenched their fists, ready to fight.
"Rex Lapis?"
Xiao asked tentatively.
Zhongli sighed and said softly,
"Expel them, there's no need to kill…"
Xiao nodded and led the adepti forward into battle.
The atmosphere grew heavy. Lumine, usually lively, lowered her head, looking sorrowful.
Hu Tao blinked and suddenly brightened the mood.
"Honestly, looking at you two, I can't even tell you ever signed a contract! Zhongli, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"Is this really how a contract-bearer should act?"
"To me, it feels like that guy couldn't wait to tear the both of you apart and swallow you whole!"
Zhongli shook his head.
"A contract is a contract, and a person is a person… We have our stance, and he has his burdens."
"In the grand tide of fate, an individual's influence is but a ripple."
Just as he finished, he noticed Ryen open his mouth, ready to interject.
Zhongli added,
"Of course… you are not among that count."
Venti nodded in full agreement.
Everyone present—even Lumine—was caught in the midst of a massive storm.
Everyone, except Ryen.
Before the storm winds even reached him, Ryen had already scolded them away with curses and sent them packing.
He held dominion over an entire world—matters that others saw as monumental struggles were of little consequence to him.
When all was said and done, Teyvat's affairs were still only Teyvat's.
But the matters in Ryen's hands shaped the course of entire worlds.
Teyvat alone could not drag him under—neither in terms of standing, nor in terms of strength.
Thinking of it this way, cooperating with Ryen might very well be the chance to escape this storm entirely.
"Anyway, this whole godly mumbo-jumbo is too much trouble for me! As long as I've got Ryen protecting me, I don't need to worry!"
Hu Tao pouted playfully, clinging to Ryen's arm.
He grinned.
"Of course! Whoever dares scheme against my Hu Tao, I'll deck them in the face."
"At the end of the day, let them fuss over their battles. We'll handle our own. Worst case? I'll flip the whole table and stop the game, then we'll all head to my world and stir up chaos together."
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