It was not merely useless.
In fact, because the World Seed itself stood at far too high a level, Flynn, as its bearer in the present world, was instinctively rejected by the will of the universe.
An ordinary transmigrator carried only so much weight and standing, nothing enough to pose any real threat.
But Flynn was carrying the World Seed. It was like a foreign object entering a living body. Naturally, the body's own circulatory system would respond with instinctive rejection.
That rejection manifested as the "terrible luck" Flynn had described earlier so casually, only for the captain to dismiss it as a ridiculous story.
Fortunately, his misfortune was not like Bennett's, the kind that seemed determined to torment him to death so long as it could not actually kill him. The World Seed's rank was still there. Even before sprouting into a true world, it possessed a certain ability to respond.
The rejection from this universe was, in the end, only a broad and unconscious reaction. That gave Flynn room to turn a small force into a greater effect. He could not avoid bad luck altogether, but he could keep the final outcome from becoming too disastrous.
That was the real reason he had encountered the Wild Hunt again and again in Nod-Krai, yet survived every single time.
Still, the rejection had never stopped, which meant it constantly consumed the vast majority of the World Seed's power.
As a result, the power Flynn himself could draw on had been reduced to a pitiful trace, useful only for enhancing his perception. Worse, the seed had lost the ability to absorb energy and grow on its own, forcing Flynn to gather nourishment for it manually.
Luckily, Teyvat did contain a kind of energy that met the World Seed's needs.
The exact principle was too complicated. Flynn understood it, but putting it into words was another matter entirely. In simple terms, ordinary elemental energy, ley line energy, and Abyssal power were all unsuitable. Only Light Realm power would do, and the amount required was not actually that large.
At least, it was far less than he had imagined would be needed to gestate an entire world.
So in Nod-Krai, he had secretly gathered Lunar power. Then after arriving in Natlan, he quietly collected Phlogiston for a full year. At last, he had accumulated enough in total.
But perhaps because of principles like "three gives rise to all things" and "all things come in threes," the total quantity was nearly enough while the number of distinct kinds was still short by one.
That, too, was one of the reasons Flynn had left Natlan.
What he had set his sights on was naturally the Primordial Sea water, the only other power, aside from Lunar power and Phlogiston, that had been clearly and positively identified in the parts of the story he knew as Light Realm power.
What was happening now, however, was entirely unexpected.
Even Flynn had not imagined that he would suddenly come across an entire shipload of Sinthe, and that its owner would offer no objection whatsoever while he quietly guided the World Seed into absorbing the Primordial Sea component hidden within it...
What a kindhearted man.
Flynn could not help reflecting on it inwardly.
At this point, his original plans for what came next would have to be completely overturned and rewritten.
He did not mind in the slightest.
On the contrary, he was delighted, because so many of the steps he had originally planned only existed because he had not been strong enough yet. Or rather, because his cheat had not been working hard enough.
But now...
Flynn gathered his thoughts and focused fully on the seed, which had finally absorbed the power of the Primordial Sea and completed the final missing piece needed for sprouting and birth.
A tiny ripple suddenly spread through his sea of consciousness, flowing into every corner of his soul. Then, turning from something intangible into something real, it washed through his entire body, cleansing him from within and without.
The feeling was indescribably comfortable.
At the same time, a deep surge of emotion welled up inside him, like experiencing birth itself.
No, not my own... no, that's not right. It is mine. More precisely, it's my incarnation, it is...
A world.
The moment that thought arose, the connection that had once existed only in some unseen, undefined place became real. It bound him completely to the world that had just begun to sprout into existence.
And then, Flynn witnessed the grand scene of that world's birth...
...
When he finally emerged from that overwhelming emotion called Birth and opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was Escoffier's worried face.
"Flynn, are you all right?"
There was unmistakable concern in her voice.
"I'm fine."
"Or rather, this is a good thing."
Flynn rose to his feet and answered gently.
He casually wiped a hand across his face. A moment ago, he had been immersed in the vision of a world being born, flooded with the emotions of new life. Tears had been nothing more than a natural physical response.
But from Escoffier's perspective, he had been sitting there perfectly still and then suddenly started crying. How could she not worry?
Naturally, he would have to reassure her properly.
But before that...
"Come on, let's get out of here first."
Flynn extended his perception outward and quickly judged the ship's current condition beneath his feet. Then he decisively called for Escoffier to leave with him.
"Hm? All right."
Escoffier froze for a moment, then reached without hesitation for Flynn's hand, intending to pull him away and take him with her.
It was a little embarrassing to admit, but although Flynn was the one who took the lead in their relationship, from the standpoint of pure strength, he had actually been the weaker one.
There was no helping it. He had transmigrated here in his own body barely a year ago, and his cheat had been half-crippled the whole time. How was he supposed to compare to Teyvat's real powerhouses?
Escoffier had once ventured alone into Dragonspine and returned safely even before receiving her Vision. Now that she had one, the truth was that although this trip had been described as Flynn escorting her back to Fontaine, she had actually been the one serving as their main combat force.
So in an emergency, Escoffier's first instinct was to drag Flynn away with her, because her speed and agility far surpassed his.
But now, things were different.
Flynn did not refuse the hand she reached out to him. Yet after taking it, instead of letting her pull, he gave a deft tug of his own.
With the birth of his world-incarnation, Flynn himself had not instantly ascended to the heavens, but he had still undergone a complete transformation inside and out. As for how great that change was...
"Ah!"
Escoffier gave a startled cry. Her first instinct was to suppress her body's reflexive resistance, only to discover in astonishment that it was completely useless. That tiny bit of instinctive force she had exerted against Flynn now vanished into him like mud sinking into the sea.
Before she could make sense of it, she was already in his arms in a princess carry.
"Let's go!"
What is going on?
What exactly happened to Flynn?
Her heart filled with questions, but at his single word, all of them melted away into acceptance.
It did not matter. It was a good thing, and if it was something he could say, he would never hide it from her.
For now, all she needed to do was quietly enjoy the feeling of being held in his arms.
Come to think of it... I should be the first person Flynn's carried like this, right?
That little thought rose in her mind before she quickly pushed it away again. Mostly because now was really not the time.
"Oh, right, Flynn, the Sinthe..."
"Don't worry. I left a bomb behind."
Flynn glanced back over his shoulder.
Following his gaze, the spot where he had just been sitting now held a gemstone resting silently on the floor, gleaming dark red in the dimness.
A solid Phlogiston bomb. Its power was guaranteed.
Flynn carried quite a few things like that on him. Most of them had been gifts from his friends in Natlan.
In truth, once he absorbed the Primordial Sea component within it, that Sinthe no longer retained the key properties that made it addictive.
But the substance itself might still be toxic enough to harm the body.
So, just in case the ship sank and the bottles drifted elsewhere, only to be picked up by someone who mistook them for drinks, Flynn decided to play it safe.
Sinthe...
With that passing thought in mind, Flynn broke into motion.