Venti's face twitched slightly.
It was the kind of expression that clearly said he wanted to laugh but didn't dare to—pure schadenfreude written all over his face.
Meanwhile, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles stared straight into Zhongli's eyes, waiting for his answer.
At that moment, Zhongli spoke calmly:
"Lady of Heavenly Principles, over the long passage of time, I have been worn down by erosion. My days are numbered.
"I sense that in the near future, the wear inflicted by time will reach its limit.
"Before that happens, I wish to see Liyue possess the strength to withstand any calamity."
Hearing Zhongli's explanation, the Sustainer fell silent.
At least from her perspective, his reasoning was acceptable.
She raised one hand lightly and waved it.
A gentle breeze brushed across Zhongli's face.
In that instant, Zhongli immediately felt a change in his body.
"Done. The erosion has been removed," the Sustainer said indifferently. "I hope nothing like this happens again."
Zhongli's expression turned rather strange.
The erosion of time had been purged by the Sustainer herself.
He honestly didn't know whether he should feel happy or troubled.
"Ahem…"
"You'll have to work hard from now on!"
Venti hurried over and patted Zhongli on the shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Morax, shouldn't you hurry up and thank Lady of Heavenly Principles properly?"
"…"
Zhongli fell silent.
After a moment of thought, he still turned toward the Sustainer and said calmly, "Many thanks."
"Mm."
The Sustainer nodded.
Then she continued, "Since the matter has been clarified, you should withdraw the Archon power you granted that young man."
"On it!"
Venti answered immediately.
The next instant—
Snap!
With a snap of his fingers, the power of the Nightmare God that had been bestowed upon Lin Mo turned into a streak of light and returned to Venti's body.
Lin Mo instantly felt the loss of power.
But he didn't feel any regret.
After all, it had never truly belonged to him in the first place.
"Mm."
The Sustainer nodded again.
Then she turned to Zhongli with a puzzled look. "Morax, why haven't you withdrawn your power yet?"
Zhongli replied calmly, "In response to Lady of Heavenly Principles, what I gave Lin Mo was my divine origin.
"I do not have the ability to take it back. Only after he fully masters that power can he return the Archon origin to me."
As he said this, Zhongli glanced at Lin Mo and smiled slightly. "Once you've completely mastered it, you can give it back to me."
Lin Mo: !!!
Venti: ???
"Completely master it?"
The Sustainer immediately frowned. "How long will that take?"
"Hmm… hard to say."
Zhongli closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "After all… this is also my first time giving my divine origin to another."
The atmosphere atop Mt. Tianheng suddenly grew eerily quiet.
Only the sharp mountain wind could be heard sweeping past. No one spoke first.
Venti, who had moments ago been enjoying Zhongli's scolding, now looked at him with deep resentment.
Morax!
People shouldn't—no, people absolutely must not do this!!!
If you were going to abdicate this way, why didn't you tell me beforehand?!
If we were going to use such a shameless method, why didn't you give me a heads-up?!
"In that case, we'll have to let it stand," the Sustainer said, forced to compromise.
Because she could indeed sense that there was not a trace of Archon power left within Zhongli.
The only thing still related to an Archon was his body itself.
At that moment, the Sustainer slowly raised her hand toward Zhongli. "Hand over the Gnosis."
Zhongli's gaze shifted slightly.
This Gnosis was the object of a contract he had agreed to give Rosalyne.
The terms of the contract were:
The Fatui would release the ancient god Osial to test Liyue.
Once the trial was complete, the Gnosis would be handed over to Rosalyne as payment.
This put Zhongli in a difficult position.
He had upheld contracts his entire life.
Was he really going to violate one at the very moment of his retirement?
"What is it?"
The Sustainer asked in confusion.
"Nothing."
Zhongli spoke calmly.
There was no other choice.
He reached into his chest and took out the Gnosis that the Sustainer had bestowed upon him long ago, placing it into her hand.
She nodded.
Then her gaze shifted to Lin Mo as she said indifferently:
"You stood forward when Liyue was in danger. That proves you harbor no ill intent toward it.
"The Qixing, the Adepti, even Barbatos and the Four Winds all place their trust in you.
"Since you have inherited Morax's power…"
She continued calmly, "Then this Gnosis shall be entrusted to you. Keep it well. Until you have fully mastered Morax's power, you will—"
"What?!"
Lin Mo looked completely dumbfounded.
Wait! What kind of development is this?!
I'm supposed to be the one who defeats you, and you're making me a god instead?!
"What's with that expression?"
The Sustainer frowned slightly. "Do you have a problem with it?"
I've got a huge problem!
I might not be able to beat you right now.
But that doesn't mean I won't one day team up with Lumine and the Cryo Archon to beat you senseless!
But if I become the Geo Archon…
If I'm supervising Lumine while she's running around doing main quests in other nations, and you catch me, what if you charge me with dereliction of duty?
"Well… uh…"
Lin Mo didn't know how to respond.
"You don't want to?"
The Sustainer's tone instantly turned cold.
"Lady of Heavenly Principles, I'm afraid I can't shoulder such a responsibility…"
Lin Mo said with a troubled look. "Especially when I think about losing my personal freedom—it really doesn't interest me…"
"How does it restrict your freedom?"
The Sustainer asked, puzzled.
Lin Mo replied matter-of-factly, "If I travel to other nations for fun during my tenure… wouldn't that count as neglecting my duties?"
"Neglecting duties?"
At those words, the Sustainer's expression changed.
She immediately pulled Venti over in front of her and said, "If we're talking about neglecting duties, can anyone compare to this one?"
"Five hundred years ago during the dragon crisis, Mondstadt handled it themselves.
"Last month's dragon crisis? Same thing—his people solved it.
"For the sake of slacking off, he even branded Mondstadt the 'Nation of Freedom' and let the citizens govern themselves.
"And yet he's never been afraid of my reprimands. What are you afraid of?"
Being called out so directly left Venti utterly ashamed.
Hearing this, Lin Mo realized something.
The Sustainer… didn't actually seem that bad.
All of Venti's years of slacking off—she'd known about them the whole time.
And more importantly, she'd essentially allowed it.
It seemed her tolerance toward the Seven Archons was quite high.
Lin Mo thought it over.
The Sustainer didn't look like someone easy to reason with.
The fact that she'd gone this far already meant she was giving him plenty of leeway.
If he stubbornly refused…
Would she seal his powers?
Or banish him to the Dark Sea beyond the world, like other gods had been?
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T/N:
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