Chapter 124. Why don't you become the Acting Dendro Archon?
The trial began, with Futsu Mitama applying pressure and Nahida using her authority to determine whether the accused was lying.
The purpose of this was twofold: first, to establish Nahida's authority; second, to let the Akademiya understand what Azar and the others had done.
As the Lesser Lord Kusanali of Sumeru, she could be approachable, but she also had to possess dignity, because her people had ignored her for far too long.
In Sumeru, very few people even knew Lesser Lord Kusanali existed; everyone only knew Maha Rukkhadevata.
Even if Nahida was very approachable and considerate toward others, who could truly understand divine benevolence?
That was why the later plan existed: people might not understand gratitude, but if the Sages of the Akademiya understood gratitude—
With their wisdom, they should be able to understand that if not for Nahida's benevolence, how could she have endured being imprisoned by a group of humans for "five hundred years"?
During those five hundred years, Nahida had many chances to influence the Akademiya scholars.
After all, she only needed to say,
"I, Lesser Lord Kusanali, let me out of the Sanctuary of Surasthana, and you will be the next Great Sage!"
Do not say it is impossible. Teyvat is a world where Archons are supreme.
If Nahida truly wanted to get out, she had many options. She could even have officially announced that she, Lesser Lord Kusanali, would no longer protect Sumeru.
Then Sumeru would become a godless nation, and everyone knew how miserable the fate of godless nations on Teyvat was.
Every other nation had Archon protection. If you did not, unless your technology was as advanced and your military strength as strong as Khaenri'ah's—then by nature, Sumeru without Archon protection would certainly be at a disadvantage.
Some would even mocked Sumeru, asking how a godless Sumeru could be called a Nation of Wisdom.
So Nahida was not without ways to deal with them; rather, she was truly kind.
Archons love humans, but humans do not necessarily love Archons.
That was why Maha Rukkhadevata specifically proposed this plan in the Chat Group.
Nahida had initially been somewhat resistant.
But Maha Rukkhadevata was very firm, saying that the guilty must be punished, and that Nahida, as the Dendro Archon, must not let those with blood on their hands escape justice.
Love is equal. It does not mean someone's value can override the sins they have committed.
If everyone in the Akademiya had participated in this massacre, then Maha Rukkhadevata would have chosen to eliminate them all.
Although that would mean the Akademiya would exist only in name, it would still be a necessary choice.
The reason is simple:
if the perpetrators are not punished, they might tell their successors to boldly continue such experiments.
"I committed such a huge crime back then and survived; you definitely won't have any problems either."
Cyno agreed with this. He said some scholars would always believe, with a bit of luck, that what they were doing was right, and would use a pile of excuses to continue their experiments.
The reality was that they made a mess they could not clean up and expected others to deal with the consequences.
They had their fun, their experiments failed, and others had to bear the results. Was that reasonable? Not at all.
The God Creation Project was exactly like that: people died because of it. Did the death of only a few Sages mean nothing ever happened?
Were the scholars who participated in the God Creation Project truly innocent? Were they truly completely unaware?
So Nahida cooperated with Futsu Mitama and began a serious trial.
Futsu Mitama was responsible for suppression. With his identity as the next Electro Archon and his terrifying power comparable to an Archon—
No one in Sumeru could oppose him.
The knowledge and wisdom the Akademiya prided itself on had no effect on him.
Nahida, of course, was the Dendro Archon. Who would dare criticize her?
However, Futsu Mitama was not wrong about one thing: Maha Rukkhadevata was indeed watching the current Sumeru scholars.
She watched this trial through the group livestream and sighed more than once in the Chat Group.
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Alas, the current Akademiya is truly rotten. How could this be? It's only been five hundred years, and so many scholars—"]
[Azhdaha: "Don't sigh. This is very normal. After all, not every nation is like our Liyue~"]
[Azhdaha: "Hahahahahahaha!!!"]
[Raiden Makoto: "These familiar words."]
[Raiden Ei: "Yes, very familiar. It's as if the last time it appeared was when I first joined the group half a year ago."]
[Cyno: "The Akademiya's atmosphere indeed began to change over two hundred years ago. We Matra have tried our best to stop it. But the effect was not very good. In the end, the Matra could not even judge students from the Sage lineage."]
[Eula: "Hmm? I can understand not being able to judge Sages, but why can't even students be judged?"]
[Kuki Shinobu: "It's probably because the Sages' students have relatively noble status."]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: "That's normal. Students of Sages likely assist Sages with some matters. If they face the Matra and say the wrong thing—I'm afraid someone would come looking for trouble with the Sage. So, to avoid that trouble, the Matra are not allowed to judge students from the Sage lineage?"]
[Cyno: "Yes, according to Azar, the Matra's authority comes from the Sages, so the Matra have no right to judge Sages, or even the Sages' students."]
[Lumine: "Is this the so-called 'mutual protection'? A chain of protection."]
[Paimon: "No, this is just sheer unreasonable nonsense, right? Doing something wrong and not even allowing an investigation?!"]
[Albedo: "No wonder everyone judged so far knew about the God Creation Project and its dangers, but did not object. That is to say, they all knew what they were doing, but self-interest made them choose silence, and they had no pity for the dead citizens."]
[Klee: "These guys! They're all big bad guys! Why do they all know they're wrong but don't stop it?! Mommy, Acting Grand Master Jean, Kaeya big brother, and Lisa Auntie all told Klee not to do bad things, and to apologize when you do something wrong!"]
[Kamisato Ayaka: "Perhaps they believed they were superior beings. Just like Kujou Takayuki back then, who thought he was supreme. But when judgment came, he realized he was nothing."]
[Kuki Shinobu: "Perhaps that is simply human nature."]
[Yae Miko: "Hehehe~ Indeed~ Once humans gain power, they start thinking about other things. However, not all humans are like that Look, there are so many people here: Futsu Mitama, Aila, Shenhe, Shinobu, Kokomi, etc. Are they people who crave power?"]
[Zhongli: "Yes, even Archons have good and bad sides. The Archons during the Archon War also included evil Archons. Or rather, from their perspective, their actions were righteous, but from our perspective, they were evil."]
[Azhdaha: "That's true. During the Archon War, many Archons took pleasure in destroying others. They believed it was survival of the fittest. But when death came for them, they all began to fear."]
[Albedo: "No one can face the threat of death with complete calm, but those who disregard the lives of others and trample everything they possess are even more afraid of judgment's arrival. Perhaps that is also why these scholars are so afraid." ]
[Nahida: "During this time, I will change Sumeru and the Akademiya, preventing them from straying further down this wrong path." ]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Alas, I leave it to you. At this point, there is nothing more I can say." ]
[Raiden Makoto: "@Maha Rukkhadevata, did you feel my heartache?" ]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "I did. To be honest, it was quite painful." ]
[Venti: "Hahahahaha, don't overthink it~ Overthinking won't help. It's better to let the people manage everything themselves." ]
[Cyno: "..."]
[Azhdaha: "I have to say, Barbatos, you really know how to twist the knife. Isn't Sumeru's current situation precisely a case of the people managing themselves?" ]
[Venti: "Cough, cough, that's not what I meant. I meant letting the people break free from the Archons, letting them not blindly pursue the world through the Archons' eyes. Isn't Sumeru's current predicament caused by excessively pursuing divine wisdom?" ]
[Nahida: "Venti is right. Perhaps my failure to impart so-called divine wisdom to the Akademiya's Sages is what led them to extremism." ]
[Futsu Mitama: "Don't put all the blame on yourself. The Akademiya's excessive greed, wanting everything, is what led to this outcome. Did they not understand the taboo? On the contrary, they knew the taboo; they simply used the guise of curiosity to satisfy their selfish desires." ]
[Cyno: "Hmm, Futsu Mitama is right." ]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Fortunately, Futsu Mitama is here. Otherwise, for Nahida to quickly resolve the Akademiya and Sumeru's problems on her own would likely take an unimaginable amount of time. Futsu Mitama, instead of becoming the next Electro Archon, why don't you become the Acting Dendro Archon first?" ]
[Nahida: "For me, no problem." ]
[Raiden Ei: "????"]
[Zhongli: "..."]
[Raiden Makoto: "I disagree!" ]
[Azhdaha: "I also disagree!!!" ]
[Venti: "You're showing your true colors, Rukkhadevata!" ]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Raiden Ei, Raiden Makoto, don't doubt me. I'm only letting Futsu Mitama temporarily take over the Dendro Archon's position so he can gain some experience. I absolutely have no intention of making him the true Dendro Archon." ]
[Nahida: "I still have a lot to learn, so if Futsu Mitama temporarily takes over as Dendro Archon, I might be able to play with Klee for a bit longer." ]
[Klee: "Yay!!!!" ]
[Raiden Ei: "Impossible." ]
[Raiden Makoto: "Yes, that is absolutely impossible." ]
[Azhdaha: "You'll have to ask the people of Liyue whether they agree! Zhongli @Guizhong @Bosacius @Keqing @Shenhe @Aila." ]
[Yae Miko: "We have quite a few people in Inazuma too~ Aila @Kuki Shinobu @Kamisato Ayaka @Sangonomiya Kokomi." ]
[Venti: "I have many people in Mondstadt too! @Klee @Albedo @Eula." ]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "My people of Sumeru... @Cyno!" ]
[Bosacius: "Ah, this..." ]
[Kamisato Ayaka: "Unexpectedly drawn into a conflict." ]
[Eula: "Indeed." ]
[Guizhong: "Yes, but we in Liyue will never let go of Futsu Mitama!" ]
[Cyno: "Although I am the only Sumerian in the Chat Group, given the current situation in Sumeru, it would naturally be best if Futsu Mitama could stay." ]
[Futsu Mitama: "Let's talk about it later. No rush, no rush." ]
In the Chat Group, a dispute over Futsu Mitama inexplicably arose again.
Futsu Mitama himself was helpless, but he could understand why Maha Rukkhadevata wanted him to stay.
Nahida's prestige was too weak. She could use her Archon authority to forcibly control her people.
But that would be tyranny, and it would bring no benefit to Nahida's future. Perhaps one day, the true Sumeru Resistance would rise up, and even if Maha Rukkhadevata were revived, it would probably be too late to turn the tide.
Therefore, a show of force like Futsu Mitama's was necessary.
He was Inazuma's next Electro Archon. No matter what he did in Sumeru, others would not dare to speak against him.
Because, the Akademiya had indeed taken the Electro Gnosis from the Fatui to use as the energy core For Shouki no Kami, The Prodigal.
And Futsu Mitama had just exposed that fact, so he had the right to witness the true conclusion of the God Creation Project and the fate of those who had participated in the experiment.
As more and more people refused to tell the truth, Nahida also revealed their inner thoughts.
The Matra were responsible for arrests, and later, when there were too many people, the Thirty came to make the arrests.
More than eighty elite scholars from different fields were all sentenced to death.
More than one hundred and fifty scholars, due to their unwitting participation in important experiments, were not sentenced to death, but their Akademiya scholar status was revoked.
This caused an unimaginable uproar. Being stripped of scholar status was more frightening than death.
They were as good as dead while still alive.
It was equivalent to stripping them of everything they had achieved up to that point.
This caused a commotion, but under Futsu Mitama's suppression, they all fell silent.
The sentiment remained the same: compared with those innocent people who died without knowing anything, your current punishment is already much lighter.
All the scholars remained silent about that.