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[What do you think of ley lines?] ×2
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Two pairs of golden eyes, both shimmering with ripples of light, met each other's gaze—one carrying noble mystery, the other brimming with innocent charm.
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[...] ×2
[Ether Anchors!] ×2
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As if sharing the same thought, C.C. and Lumine's lips curled into identical smiles, their moods lifting instantly.
The Quantum Sea was never a true ocean.
It could be seen as an aether-made medium that held entire worlds within it—the very foundation that carried every world-bubble, spanning all eleven dimensions.
Like children playing with soapy water, the Quantum Sea's ebb and flow gave rise to membranes.
Some of these membranes had the chance to evolve into world-bubbles, though they could also shatter at any moment.
World-bubbles, fragile as soap bubbles, lacked stability.
Even their basic physical constants shifted as their coordinates drifted.
But the existence of ether anchors changed everything.
They stabilized world-bubbles, allowing them to extend infinitely across four dimensions, while seven more dimensions coiled in on themselves.
With them, physical constants aligned with what humans considered "normal."
Such stable world-bubbles were like the leaves of the Imaginary Tree's parallel worlds—in essence, no different at all.
Both were equally stable universes.
To those living within them, there was no perceptible difference.
The divergence existed only on a higher, structural level: one drew its power from the Quantum Sea, the other from the Imaginary Tree.
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[But, according to the information you uploaded to the chat group, the Genshin world I'm sitting in should be a leaf of the Imaginary Tree.]
[By theory, it shouldn't even have the defining core of a world-bubble—ether anchors.]
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Lumine's small, rosy tongue slid across C.C.'s pale slender finger, the damp and slippery sensation rushing from tongue and fingertip alike to the nerves of her brain.
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[True, leaves of the Imaginary Tree don't have ether anchors. But what if Teyvat isn't merely a leaf?]
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C.C.'s lips curved slyly. She slowly withdrew her finger, and as her forefinger slipped free from Lumine's parted lips, a thin silvery strand of saliva stretched between them.
In her mind replayed what she had once glimpsed outside the world: the so-called "Genshin world"—this very leaf—had already been corroded by the Quantum Sea.
And more—within Honkai, the Previous Era civilization had mastered the technology to construct miniature universes.
At its core was nothing less than the creation of ether anchors.
Compared to the Honkai main world, this particular bubble might have been tiny, but it still revealed just how ridiculously overpowered Mei truly was.
That little bubble was no bigger than about five European continents put together.
Naturally, its starry sky wasn't real at all—it was something Mei had simply slapped on like a "wallpaper background."
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[The starry sky… is nothing but a grand lie. Seems the Fatui aren't entirely clueless, noticing even this much. Or perhaps… is the Cryo Archon behind it?]
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The first half of those words were once spoken by Scaramouche, the Sixth of the Fatui Harbingers, to Mona and Lumine.
Yes—Teyvat was not the entirety of the Genshin world. In all likelihood, it was itself a world-bubble.
And to create a world-bubble within a leaf was hardly impossible.
In fact, it wouldn't even be strange if the Genshin world itself was half-leaf of the Imaginary Tree, half-stable bubble of the Quantum Sea.
It was well known: the Quantum Sea and Imaginary Tree were rivals.
The Tree pruned and corrected its branches through disasters known to humanity as "Honkai."
Yet Nagami had never found concrete evidence of their opposition within the Honkai world.
But if Genshin was added to the picture… something could be glimpsed.
Was the Quantum Sea devouring the leaves of the Tree?
By converting parallel worlds into stable bubbles, those worlds would fall under the Sea's dominion.
And if so…
"Wait! What were you just thinking!?"
Lifting her head abruptly from C.C.'s soft lap pillow, Lumine sat bolt upright, staring blankly at the green-haired girl deep in thought. Her jaw nearly dropped.
Nagami…
Nagami was actually wondering whether he could take advantage of the competition between the Imaginary Tree and the Quantum Sea!?
Never mind that the true nature of the Genshin world wasn't even clear yet.
Even if it were exactly that—two cosmic titans locked in rivalry—what kind of existence within a world could possibly meddle in that level of battle?
Wasn't that nothing short of suicide!?
Lumine practically screamed in her mind.
She had lived long enough to never once dare entertain schemes against either entity. Just where did Nagami get such gall!?
"Don't get so worked up. I was only thinking out loud. I can't interfere now… but that doesn't mean I can't interfere later."
C.C. tilted her face, leaning forward to nuzzle into the pale nape hidden beneath Lumine's golden hair.
"I'm not reckless. Even Codes mean nothing before multiversal deities—I'd never deliberately seek death."
The sudden warmth at her neck made Lumine freeze. Almost without realizing, she wrapped her arms around C.C.'s soft body, breathing in the faint fragrance that clung to her hair.
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[We both have long lives ahead.]
[But as long as a world remains caught between Tree and Sea, there will be no peace. Chaos comes again and again—who could stand that!?]
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Wouldn't it be best for the world they lived in to break free from both Tree and Sea?
Nagami could always live in other multiverses through the chat group.
After all, his original multiverse wasn't rooted in the Imaginary Tree.
But the Herrscher girls? They couldn't simply abandon their native world so easily.
Because if they left, should Honkai resurface, humanity's only path would be extinction.
But forging a third path—independent of both Tree and Sea—was no easy feat.
Whether such hope existed depended heavily on the true nature of the Honkai Gakuen 2nd world. If that world was truly… then perhaps it could…
And besides, a special kind of power would be needed. Even strength that could obliterate planets, stars, or galaxies meant nothing in a "battle" of that scale.
For that level was no longer about raw power—it transcended dimensions themselves.
"…You're serious, aren't you?"
With a helpless look, Lumine pushed C.C. away, then delivered a soft chop to her head. This time, she was careful not to use force.
This girl's talent for seducing "herself" was terrifying. Without even realizing, Lumine had completely fallen into Nagami's rhythm.
"Well, it's just a half-baked thought at best."
As Lumine pulled back her hand from C.C.'s forehead, rubbing the spot she'd struck, the green-haired witch suddenly rose to her feet.
"In that case, I'll add one more main mission for myself in this world—helping me grow stronger!"
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