Nahida's chubby little hand pressed against Silaya's cheek, tears streaming down her face. Silaya gently wiped away the tears with her own hand.
Being this close to Nahida, touching her soft cheek—Silaya had longed for this moment. Now, she had finally realized it.
You used to comfort me. Now, it's my turn to comfort you...
-
Player World
On the screen, the image of Silaya and Nahida forehead-to-forehead shifted. Now, they were in a dark space, and two bean-sized tears streamed down the cheeks of a young Silaya.
At that moment, Nahida gently stroked Silaya's small face, their foreheads still pressed together.
"Don't cry, Silaya," Nahida murmured. "If no one else is here to keep you company, will you let me stay with you?"
The screen showed Silaya's adorable, tear-filled eyes slowly overlapping with her current, grown-up ones.
"Don't cry, Dendro Archon," she whispered. "If you cry, you'll lose the dignity of a God..."
Watching this scene, the players felt their tear ducts working overtime.
[Ugh, Mihoyo's stabbing me again! And I'm such an easy target.]
[Silaya grew up under Kaveh's care, but wasn't she also raised by Nahida?]
[This storyline is tearing both Nahida and me apart. I managed to hold back my tears until now...]
-
Amidst a sea of flowers:
"Dendro Archon, my time is running out. There's only one final step left to save the Rukkhadevata and Irminsul. I must leave now."
Nahida clung tightly with her small hands. Silaya gently pried them loose, stood up, and cast one last glance at the group.
"Farewell, everyone."
With her hands clasped behind her back, Silaya walked deeper into the sea of flowers, away from the others. Before her form completely vanished, she turned back one last time.
-
The screen froze on Silaya's backward glance. She smiled faintly, her face devoid of the sorrow and fear one might expect from someone facing death. Instead, her expression radiated pride and satisfaction at having accomplished such a monumental feat.
"Goodbye, Silaya."
In Chen Xiyao's live stream, she remained noticeably calmer than when she had witnessed the deaths of Rola and Qingge.
Rola and Qingge had been forced into their fates, but Silaya had chosen hers willingly. She had been preparing for this moment for a long time...
Perhaps not that long, considering the time she spent in Sumeru and the Desert combined totaled less than two months. Yet, in such a short span, Silaya had conceived the idea and brought it to fruition.
As an ordinary person, she had accomplished what the Akademiya had failed to do in centuries, what had stumped two generations of the God of Wisdom.
[Silaya is awesome!]
[Goodbye, Silaya!]
[We'll remember you forever. You'll never truly disappear from our hearts!]
[Goodbye!]
[Sigh... I don't know how to evaluate this. The outcome is undoubtedly the best possible, but... my Silaya...]
[Is it really impossible for even one Pure Soul to survive?]
[Silaya's sacrifice is like erasing her own soul, preventing the Abyss from claiming it.]
[How did Silaya even learn that the Abyss was collecting Pure Souls?]
[Her consciousness is connected to Irminsul and the Akasha now, so she probably knows everything. Or maybe she figured it out herself?]
-
Chu Xi sat blankly on the ground, wiping away her tears again and again.
"Silaya..."
Everyone fell silent. Paimon clung to Lumine once more, the little one's heart and mind wounded anew.
Alhaitham had already regained his usual composure, his gaze fixed on the spot where Silaya had vanished.
"Farewell, Silaya..."
Meanwhile, in the final moment before her consciousness faded completely, Silaya felt a warm embrace enveloping her awareness, accompanied by an infinitely gentle voice:
"Little Silaya, thank you for your sacrifice."
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, I did it."
"Yes, you did it. Now, you should rest..."
The Dendro Archon whispered into Silaya's ear. In the last instant before her consciousness dissolved, Silaya sensed the Dendro Archon's sorrow and tenderness. She departed with a smile...
-
One minute before Silaya's information was completely erased from Irminsul, within Sumeru City:
Sensing something was amiss, Dottore arrived at the Sanctuary of Surasthana with a grim expression. He watched Silaya's body slowly dissipate and, without hesitation, reached out.
Dottore's hand merely brushed against the shimmering particles, unable to halt the dissolution of Silaya's body. Yet the moment he touched them, a sudden burst of information flooded his mind.
This was Silaya's deliberate parting gift, meant to unsettle him. If he didn't come, then so be it.
Silaya knew Dottore well enough to predict his arrival.
Closing his eyes to process the flood of data, Dottore's body trembled with excitement.
"Hahahaha, hahahahaha... Even I was ensnared by your schemes, Silaya! Hahahahaha..."
"I was right about you all along! I thought we were kindred spirits, but you've surpassed even my audacity and genius. Tsk tsk... What a pity... What a pity..."
"You've certainly given me a conundrum—two generations of Gods of Wisdom..."
At that thought, Dottore's mind suddenly went blank.
"Hmm?"
Why had he come here?
Had this segment of his consciousness malfunctioned?
Dottore promptly left the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
-
Above Sumeru City, vast amounts of green Elemental Energy converged in the sky, creating a breathtaking spectacle that drew countless onlookers. Cyno, Tighnari, Dehya, and others scattered across the city all looked up in awe.
"What is this...?"
"Lord Kusanali?"
The green Elemental Energy coalesced into a massive sphere before suddenly bursting outward.
After over five hundred years of separation, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, revered by the people of Sumeru, had once again appeared before them!
Tighnari's ears twitched wildly, his eyes widening in disbelief. "That's... the G-Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!"
Dehya crossed her arms, her hands on her hips. "What exactly have the Travelers been up to?"
Collei, who had been lying in her room, suddenly felt her fatigue and malaise vanish completely. She immediately pulled up her sleeve to check her arm and discovered that the Eleazar scales were rapidly disappearing.
"Oh my god!"
Collei bolted out of her room. When she saw the impossibly dense Dendro Elemental Energy swirling above Sumeru City, she gasped, covering her mouth in astonishment.
Grand Sage Azar, witnessing the divine miracle in the sky, immediately rose from his wheelchair and collapsed to his knees with a thud.
He didn't spare a thought for how his broken legs had healed so quickly; his gaze was fixed solely on the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata high above.
"Dendro Archon... please guide us once more..."
He had completely forgotten his past actions, or perhaps he simply didn't care. None of it mattered now that the Dendro Archon had returned.
In some other realm, Jiang Mumu waved her small hand. "All preparations are complete. Now it's their turn. Let's recreate a fragment of the Archon War once again..."