"I have a wilderness of a world. It is my world, and I have a responsibility to develop it into a true gathering place of civilization and life."
"This is what I want to do. It is also what I must do."
"Every plan, every action, its ultimate purpose is to make that world perfect."
Ryen smiled as he looked at Aether, his eyes bright with something alive in them. Beside him, Ganyu and the others found their hearts stirring without quite meaning to.
Ryen, when he turned serious, was without question at his most compelling.
The smile in his brow, the warmth in his gaze, and yet Aether could see through it all to something that brooked no argument. An unshakeable certainty.
"The Abyss Order is composed of Khaenri'ah's people, those who have endured five hundred years of the undying curse. I know what you want."
"Revenge against the Heavenly Principles? Overthrowing the seven nations? Those are the least worthy of your aspirations."
"I believe the most fundamental dream of every Abyss Mage has always been this: to reclaim their humanity. To restore Khaenri'ah."
"Teyvat clearly has no place for you. Only I can give you a place to live."
"My world is vast beyond measure, without edge or boundary. Setting aside a territory for your nation to take root is nothing to me."
"I am nothing like the Heavenly Principles. The Heavenly Principles suppressed your imagination and intellect, forbade you from exploring the world, from developing knowledge and technology."
"I will support you in exploring the world. I will support you in developing technology. That, in fact, is precisely what I need from you."
"Of course, on the condition that you develop the world according to the framework I provide. Deviate from it, and the Heavenly Principles merely brought down a curse. I will erase the civilization entirely."
"Terms like these only require you to contribute enough people, make a change of identity. I consider it an excellent bargain. What do you think?"
Having said his piece, Ryen lifted his teacup and drank at his own unhurried pace.
Aether lowered his head slightly. His gaze moved, thoughts turning behind it.
After a long moment, he said in a low voice:
"You're right. Whether it's overthrowing the Heavenly Principles or overthrowing the seven nations, for us, it was always about revenge. About venting centuries of rage."
"Even if the plan succeeded, Khaenri'ah, once lost, would still be lost. Our humanity, once stripped away, would still be gone."
"The true dream of every existence within the Abyss Order has always been to restore the nation. To see Khaenri'ah's glory live again."
"Your terms are compelling. I have no rational reason to refuse. But, "
Ryen raised a hand slightly.
"I have no interest in excuses. You are not worth the effort of elaborate negotiation."
"No 'but.' Right now you have exactly two choices: agree and sign the contract, or refuse and leave."
Aether let out a wry laugh, bit down on whatever else he'd been about to say, and said:
"I agree. But I need to know your requirements."
Ryen snapped his fingers and signaled Zhongli to produce a fresh contract.
"My only requirement is that you listen to me."
"I will provide you with a place to live and rebuild your nation, Khaenri'ah, restored as a civilization."
"But the prerequisite is that you follow my direction. What I say is what is done. Without hesitation, without exception."
Aether studied Ryen for a long moment.
"Absolute obedience," he said quietly.
"You can think of it that way. But I don't need your loyalty."
Ryen waved a hand with mild indifference.
The Abyss Order was powerful on its own terms, but it meant nothing to him. What enemy in the world required him to put in genuine effort? The Imaginary Tree? Absolute loyalty was beside the point.
What Ryen wanted was for every Abyss Mage to carry out every task he set them, completely, without reservation, without question. The way Dashi and the others did.
Tell them to develop the world, and they develop the world. Tell them to conduct research, and they conduct research.
Everything else, he had no interest in managing. The singular priority was developing the world.
It was precisely because the Abyss Order had the numbers, and was in its nature a Khaenri'ahn civilization, that this worked. The moment they reclaimed their humanity, Teyvat had no place for them. The MC World was the only viable destination.
Fill the MC World with that many people, and the embryonic civilization Ryen had been envisioning would finally have substance.
This was a ready-made nation, handed to him.
Not enough to rival the seven nations in population, perhaps, but tens of thousands at minimum, surely?
Tens of thousands of people. Permanently settled in the MC World. Transformed from Teyvat beings into the intelligent life of the MC World.
Wouldn't this wilderness of a world finally be evolving toward becoming a true birthplace of civilization?
Ryen wasn't entirely sure where this conviction had taken hold of him.
Perhaps it was the sense of responsibility that came with being a World Master, the way the World Tree existed entirely to serve Teyvat's evolution.
Perhaps it was simply Ryen wanting to achieve the supreme accomplishment of becoming a true god of creation.
Or perhaps,
Some instinct, dimly felt beneath conscious thought, told him that doing this would bring benefits not only to the MC World, but to himself, on a scale he couldn't yet fully imagine.
Whatever the reason, Ryen was determined to bring enough human settlers into the MC World. And the Abyss Order, at present, was the most suitable candidate.
"Please be direct. What do you need from us?"
Aether frowned slightly, studying Ryen with a question in his eyes.
Ryen raised a finger.
"First: absolute compliance. What you're told to do, you do."
"Second: full immigration. You will remain in my world, build a civilization, and develop it."
"In other words, from this point forward, you become beings of that world. Not of this one."
Aether considered this, then gave a single nod.
"Agreed. I can think of no reason to refuse. For us, these are the best possible terms."
Teyvat truly had no room left for Khaenri'ah.
With the seven nations standing and the Heavenly Principles watching, even if Khaenri'ah were restored, restored where? Underground? The subterranean kingdom had long since been destroyed. There was nothing left to inhabit.
"Then let's sign the contract. And to state things plainly from the outset, "
Ryen passed the contract over to Aether with a casual hand.
"Compliance is one condition. I won't interfere with your restoration of the nation, but you will also participate in the work of developing the world. People, effort, both."
"Most importantly: I won't stop you from pursuing technology, but you are absolutely forbidden from touching the taboos of that world."
"If you do, I won't be like the Heavenly Principles and merely curse you."
Aether nodded.
"I'll keep them in order."
Ryen continued:
"At present, the area we've fully explored and developed is a single continent. Everything there has already been planned and laid out."
"The territory I'm allocating to you is a newly discovered region, untouched, unexplored."
"The area is roughly four or five times the size of Liyue. How much of it you actually use is your business. If you have the capability, you can build cities across the entire continent."
"In the early stages, however, I'll need the majority of your people working on development."
"For the selection of personnel, coordinate with Yelan and the others. I don't want Abyss Mages entering this world with divided loyalties, causing me problems."
"In addition, every Abyss Mage who enters the world must also sign a contract individually."
Aether said nothing more on the matter. He had already signed a contract with Ryen; having agreed to Ryen's terms, the remaining details were minor. The most pressing thing now was the restoration of the nation, above all else.
Rebuilding and expanding Khaenri'ah within another world was, when he turned it over, not a bad path at all.
"As for the milk resolving the curse, since you'll be settling in, we'll leave that to you to handle."
"Once you're settled and familiar with things, send people in to find the resources yourselves. Milk is hardly a rare commodity in that world."
Aether gave a small nod, then looked at Ryen with a trace of hesitation.
"The Abyss Order may not match the Five Nations in power at present, but our numbers are considerable. Aren't you concerned that sending so many of us across might pose a threat to your control over the world?"
The moment the question was out, everyone in the room exchanged a knowing look. An almost invisible smile moved through the group, but no one answered.
This was something none of them had ever considered worth worrying about. Not Ryen, and not even Ningguang and the others.
The particular strangeness of that world was not something words could adequately convey, nor imagination adequately supply.
At the most fundamental level,
Anyone who entered that world and wanted to actually function within it needed, as the most basic prerequisite, to receive the physical constitution that Ryen shared through the system.
Without it, even Zhongli would struggle to deal with a few dozen zombies.
Elemental power was one thing, even Imaginary energy would be suppressed in that world.
If the Abyss Order truly had the audacity to contemplate seizing control of the world,
Ryen wouldn't even need to act himself. The system would withdraw the shared constitution immediately.
And then?
Ten thousand Abyss Mage rebels charging forward, each armed with a wooden sword?
What then?
Setting aside whatever arsenal of nuclear weapons Ryen had stockpiled, and that collection of extraordinary staves, his absolutely loyal forces alone could crush any such uprising in moments.
Causing trouble in Ryen's world,
Even if Aether were given Creative Mode, the odds were effectively zero.
One Sword of Universal Dominion sealed every crooked path shut.
The world's ownership had never been in question, and never would be.
The question Aether had raised struck Ryen as about as amusing as the World Tree he had once encountered, a life born from the Imaginary Tree, wondering whether it had any standing to defy the Imaginary Tree.
Aether himself seemed to realize his question had been somewhat peculiar. He shook his head and let it go.
He had no intention of trying to seize the world, and no courage to attempt it either. Anyone could figure out with their little toe how terrifying the foundations of a World Master were.
What he had really been asking, what he had actually been worried about, was whether Ryen, with so many Abyss Mages coming in, might develop other ideas about them.
If Ryen could suppress the entire Abyss Order effortlessly, that was, honestly, a good thing.
At minimum, Ryen wouldn't fear the Abyss Order causing trouble. And if he didn't fear them, he wouldn't treat them with suspicion. And if he didn't treat them with suspicion, they could live decently.
How things would actually unfold, Aether still had no precise sense of. Everything would have to wait until he entered that world and saw for himself.
He returned the signed contract to Ryen and watched him put it away.
A breath left his chest quietly.
Everything was resolved. This visit had been more than fruitful. There was hope ahead now.
The only downside,
From here on, he would apparently be seeing that wretched sister of his every single day. The mere thought of being tormented by Lumine on a daily basis made Aether feel tired before it had even begun.
The Abyss Order's dream was more than halfway fulfilled.
What remained was overthrowing the Heavenly Principles.
As for the seven nations,
Never mind.
Liyue alone could crush the Abyss Order flat. And Ningguang and the others were all Ryen's women; Zhongli and Venti were his closest friends.
Thoroughly untouchable.
The grievance between the seven nations and Khaenri'ah wasn't beyond resolution, it just needed to be redirected onto the Heavenly Principles where it belonged.
Sensible people would do well to forget the rest as quickly as possible.
After a moment's pause, Aether said quietly:
"Can I go to that world now and take a look? Get a sense of it in advance so I can make some preparations."
"No preparation needed."
Ryen waved the idea off.
"In that world, the rules of Teyvat, the rules of every world you've ever traveled through, none of them apply."
"When the time comes, just send people in to learn directly. But having you take a look in advance is fine too. As it happens, we were planning to bring the Sumeru army in today."
"And since you're representing the Abyss Order for the immigration, you can have a newcomer's gift package as well."
With that, Ryen reached over and tossed something to Aether with a casual flick of his wrist.
"I hear your people used to place a great deal of importance on enchanted iron swords?"
At those words, Aether's expression darkened. He threw a sharp glare in Lumine's direction.
Ryen ignored the byplay and smiled pleasantly.
"Take a guess, what do you think that is?"
Aether pressed his lips together and shook his head.
"I don't know. My senses can't read anything from it."
"Exactly right."
Ryen gave a small nod.
"That thing is called a Totem of Undying."