The Lambad Tavern remained bustling with noise and laughter.
In contrast, Lu Chen's table was quiet to the extreme. Everyone was deep in thought, watching the other patrons closely, trying to spot any flaw in their words or behavior.
Venti set down his half-empty wine jug. "The owner doesn't seem to remember us."
Just like yesterday, he had ordered a bottle of the tavern's specialty wine and deliberately struck up a conversation with Lambad, only to discover that the man had completely forgotten their visit the day before.
"It's like some kind of prank. Look outside." Venti jerked his chin toward the window.
Everyone followed his gaze. Yesterday's deserted Treasure Street was now bustling with life, people coming and going nonstop.
"It's as if the whole city is acting out a play for us." Venti clicked his tongue in wonder. "If this is real, then the one pulling the strings really went to great lengths."
Lu Chen looked around the table. "What do you all think? Speak your minds."
Ei was the first to put forth a theory. "What if everyone's memories have been wiped? Like in a science fiction movie—or when you restart a game and no one remembers what happened the day before."
"Then why weren't our memories erased?" Lu Chen frowned.
"You're underestimating yourself," Scaramouche said with a faint, mocking smile. "Sitting here are the Seven Archons of the Mortal Realm, and you—a man no weaker than a Archon. To wipe your memories, even the ones from Celestia would have to step in personally."
"Even Celestia might not be able to do it." Lu Chen shook his head. Ever since he had mastered the power of the Light Realm, he was already close to the strength of a Ruler. To erase his memories... only the Reality Teyvat System itself could accomplish such a thing.
Ei suddenly recalled what had happened when she returned to Inazuma—in her inner world, she had experienced a strange turbulence of time.
"Could it be... that time really has been reset?"
"Unlikely," Nahida said.
She took out her delicate little coin pouch and shook it lightly.
"Remember, I paid for you yesterday. If time had truly reset, the Mora in my pouch would be unchanged."
"And now?" Lu Chen asked. "Has your wallet changed?"
"It has," Nahida replied. "There's less Mora. Which means the food and wine I paid for yesterday were real."
"Ha!" Venti suddenly chimed in, grinning. "If Mora really never ran out, I'd come here to drink every single day!"
"Is that all you aspire to?" Lu Chen rolled his eyes.
"That's a fine aspiration!" Venti nudged Zhongli with his elbow. "You'd never have to worry about forgetting your Mora again. Isn't that great?"
Zhongli gave him a silent look.
Lu Chen laughed. "He didn't even have Mora to pay the first time."
"True enough..." Venti shrugged.
After a bit of idle banter, Lu Chen steered them back to the real issue.
"What you said, Nahida, only proves that yesterday was a real day. But if we come back again tomorrow, maybe Boss Lambad still won't remember us. In other words, a loop is happening—and it's probably happened many times before."
He thought back to the strange sights since entering Sumeru. "Do you remember the exhausted Sumeru people we saw yesterday? Those physical changes must be connected to what we're experiencing now. Which means what happened today must have happened before, too."
"Endless repetition... that would explain why everyone feels so worn out." Nahida lowered her voice, troubled. "But I still can't bring myself to believe in something like a time reset. It's too absurd. Would a being powerful enough to command the laws of time really bother with something so trivial, playing out a farce for us? For what purpose?"
Lu Chen turned to Ei, who was still frowning in thought. "But your earlier idea reminded me of something."
"What idea?" Ei asked, meeting his gaze.
"You said this feels like a science fiction movie, or like restarting a game." Lu Chen looked at her, then swept his eyes across the chatting diners.
"What we see—do we know if it's real, or fake?"
"Now that's an interesting thought." Venti tipped back his jug for another swig, completely unfazed. "What do you call people like that in your world again? NPCs, right?"
"Exactly." Lu Chen smiled. "Rather than believe in time resets, I'd sooner believe these people are just illusions."
"Illusions..." Nahida suddenly stiffened. She reached up to touch her left ear.
There, a small green cursor glowed faintly. The "Akasha Terminal" issued by the Akademiya.
"No wonder that Akademiya officer was so eager yesterday when we entered the city!" Venti exclaimed, realization dawning on him.
Lu Chen nodded. He had noticed it too—when the officer saw them put on the Akasha Terminals, he hadn't looked smug, but he had clearly relaxed, like someone relieved at having completed his assignment.
But since Nahida had explained the Akademiya's reason for lifting the ban, Lu Chen hadn't thought too much about it.
"If that's the case..." Ei touched his own ear thoughtfully. "Remember, that officer said the ban on Akasha Terminals was only lifted in recent months. That timing matches what Lambad said about when people's sleep started worsening."
"It seems they really are using the Akasha system for something," Nahida said angrily. "Akasha was originally created by the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to unite the wisdom of the people and resist disaster. But the Akademiya is using it to control all of Sumeru—hurting people's health in the process. This is..."
Her small fists clenched tightly. "Unforgivable!"
Everyone's opinion of the Akademiya—and the sages—sank even lower.
Venti pulled out his Akasha Terminal. "If this thing is what's messing with us, then let's just get rid of it. Maybe we'll snap back to reality."
Everyone's eyes turned to him. With a squeeze of his hand, the Akasha Terminal crumbled into powder, and the green glow at his ear vanished.
But then—nothing happened.
Venti blinked, looked around, then glanced out the window.
"Huh... looks like nothing changed at all."
Lu Chen was startled. The rest followed suit, destroying their own Akasha Terminals—but everything stayed the same.
The Lambad Tavern remained lively. Treasure Street outside bustled with crowds. No sign of the "real world" they had expected to return to.
The atmosphere grew heavier, more unsettling.
"Damn it..." Venti muttered. "So they're not NPCs? Was the whole virtual-world theory wrong?"
But Nahida slowly shook her head. "The people of Sumeru... do not dream."
Everyone turned to her as she explained the principle of the Akasha.
"When humans dream, their brains are at their most active. Dreams are a collection of human wisdom. The Akasha system was designed to harness this collective wisdom, dispersing the polluted forbidden knowledge that flooded in after the disaster."
"So you're saying..." Venti gaped, "the Akademiya is controlling the dreams of the entire population? We're... inside a dream?"
It all made sense now.
Lu Chen looked at the others and concluded, "The reason destroying the Akasha Terminal didn't return us to reality is because we only destroyed it within the dream. In reality, we're still asleep—and the real Terminals are still on us."
"The people's poor sleep and drained spirits prove this has been happening more than once."
"No wonder..." Venti muttered, realization dawning. But then a new question formed, and his tone grew sharp. "The Akademiya has been siphoning the people's collective dreams ever since lifting the ban months ago—day after day... What in the world are they trying to achieve?"