"The Familia I'd like to join..."
Sushang turned her gaze toward Furina. She didn't have many strict requirements, provided the Familia wasn't morally bankrupt.
In this, she trusted Furina's judgment. As the God of Justice, even if their moral compasses were shaped by different environments and eras, she believed there wouldn't be a significant rift between them.
Sushang's look of trust left Furina feeling a bit complicated.
For starters, she hadn't expected Sushang to suggest joining a Familia 'together.'
If she really thought about it, if she joined a Familia and entered the Dungeon, the difficulty of Sushang having to protect her would undoubtedly skyrocket.
Furthermore, even if it were more convenient for protection, giving her full discretion so easily was just too…
Though her heart was in a whirl, in front of outsiders, Furina maintained her composure and voiced her thoughts: "If possible, I would prefer a Familia with significant strength, or perhaps one that is just starting out and currently without a leader."
A powerful Familia…
Syr's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly, but she smiled as she spoke:
"In that case, I would recommend aiming for a powerful Familia. The reality of Orario might be a bit different from what you two imagine; here, life is quite difficult for weak Familias."
"If you don't do anything that attracts too much attention, you might manage to scrape by with an ordinary, quiet life. But in Orario, there is a rule known as the War Game."
"War Game?"
It was the first time either of them had heard the term.
Since they were fresh arrivals, they didn't know much about the city's deeper workings, and the War Game wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence that people talked about incessantly.
Seeing their confusion, Syr wasn't surprised.
She looked at Furina, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke with a hint of concern: "A War Game is a large-scale 'game' where one Familia petitions the Guild, and both sides formulate their own rules under the witness of the gods."
Though she made it sound light, the element of war was perhaps more prominent than the element of play.
I see. If a weak Familia were targeted by a powerful one, they might not just face secret harassment—there was also this thing called a War Game.
Furina couldn't help but think back to all those gods she had rejected. She had to consider the worst-case scenario.
So that's why she needed to join a powerful Familia...
The silver-haired girl fell into deep thought.
Sushang, standing by her side, hadn't realized there was such a thing as a 'Guild War' here. Looking at it this way, perhaps starting her own Familia would be the safest bet rather than joining someone else's.
She suddenly realized that Furina's situation had its own unique complexities. While she was confident in her ability to settle matters with force, violence had always been her last resort.
If they wanted to avoid trouble, simply joining a powerful Familia might not be enough.
With this in mind, she quickly queried her system:
"Speaking of which, once Furina returns to Teyvat, what will happen to the world-line there? Will it be completely restored to its original state? And what of everything she has experienced so far?"
[As a World Restoration System, this system will strive to repair any butterfly effects caused by external factors to the best of its ability.]
'So, everything she's experienced here will be forgotten?'
The workaholic system remained silent. Even though it lacked a personality, it possessed artificial intelligence; Sushang's pointed question caused it to pause for a moment of calculation.
Then, it replied: [This system has now been abandoned by the main system, and most of the clauses in the system protocol have become invalid.]
[If a portion of those clauses can be traded for the host's support and assistance, this system will prioritize the host's wishes.]
'Since you can send Furina back to Teyvat, does that mean you have the coordinates for that world?'
[There are countless Teyvats in the vast multiverse. Once this system's target is locked, the coordinates for the destination world can be acquired.]
That settled it.
What had held Amber back was never the method of traveling to other worlds; after becoming a god, Amber had obtained full authority over the system and made it her own. Transcending worlds wasn't exactly a rare ability.
In fact, every time they traveled, they just followed convenient coordinates.
Now that they had precise coordinates, reaching that world was no longer a difficult task.
In truth, Amber could have sent Furina back directly, but… unfortunately, that wouldn't have been handled by the system, so there was no way to provide the energy the system required.
It wasn't that it couldn't be provided at all, but there would be significant degradation in the process.
The reason was that the return wouldn't have gone through the system—it would have been an unauthorized, unexplained return, and the "performance credit" wouldn't be granted.
Since neither she nor Furina wanted to stir up unnecessary trouble, and the system had already located Furina's specific Teyvat, their task was simple: send Furina back.
But there was one more thing before that.
'You said your terms could be altered to a certain extent based on my attitude. Can you ensure that Furina and Focalors won't lose these memories once they return?'
The system's AI felt confused by this request.
[Furina and Focalors need to deal with the prophecy. These memories could lead the world toward unpredictable changes.]
'But you've already sent Furina back, haven't you? You can't exactly recall the progress of that return, can you? You just haven't performed the final wrap-up yet.'
That was true, but what benefit was there for the host or the system? Clearing away those "unnecessary" memories would clearly earn them more.
Neither the system nor Sushang cared much about the prophecy itself. After all… resolving a prophecy was really no big deal to these two "extraterrestrial" powerhouses.
You want to cut down the Hydro Archon Throne? Let me introduce you to the Edge of Taixuan.
You want to cut down the throne without Focalors dying? Let me introduce you to the Edge of Taixuan.
You want to keep the throne intact, save Focalors, and solve the prophecy? Let me introduce you to the Edge of Taixuan.
Through countless years of progress and deduction, both Fu Hua and Amber had achieved countless breakthroughs in optimizing and innovating the Edge of Taixuan.
Amber, with her profound understanding of the world and its fundamental powers, could use the Taixuan Eminence to sever absolutely anything she wished.
(Perhaps it could be understood as something like the "Root" in the Type-Moon universe?)
Once Focalors and Furina returned with their newfound mastery, how they chose to resolve the prophecy would depend entirely on their level of proficiency with the Taixuan Eminence.
If all else failed, she could just leave a manifestation of the Taixuan Eminence with them. After all, that was the least of her worries.
Put simply, it was a world where they already knew the coordinates. No matter the situation, Amber had the "Deus Ex Machina" capability to resolve any crisis.
She had the self-indulgent desire to see both of them live well, and the power to see that desire through. What could possibly stop her?
Having reached this conclusion, Sushang made up her mind.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL