Cyno's words struck the room like thunder.
Tighnari's heart sank instantly.
The Akasha System , that was what this all came down to.
He didn't wear an Akasha Terminal himself, not because he dismissed it, but because he feared it.
In his view, the Akasha wasn't a tool , it was a trap disguised as enlightenment.
Once it recorded a person's thoughts and behavior, it could predict their future actions with nearly 98% accuracy. The margin for error was practically nonexistent.
And that meant: every move Cyno made , every person he met, every word he spoke, every step he took , was already within Azar's field of vision.
At this very moment, the Grand Sage could be watching his next plan unfold through the Akasha's cold logic.
Tighnari's expression tightened.
"So it's true after all… My mentor was right. He warned me to stay away from the Akademiya, to stop using the Akasha. He must have realized something was terribly wrong."
Cyno's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with restrained fury. He could still recall the lines of code, the surveillance logs , the files about himself that he'd discovered in the Akasha's hidden archives.
Every thought, every mission, every breath, dissected and recorded like data.
No one could bear that kind of violation.
For Cyno, it was already a miracle that he hadn't torn the whole system apart in a blind rage.
"This," Alhaitham said after a long pause, fingers pressed to his chin, "is a problem… but also an opportunity."
Cyno looked at him in disbelief. "An opportunity?!"
"To be precise," Alhaitham replied coolly, "a weakness."
He leaned forward slightly, his tone deliberate.
"Even if the Akasha's predictions are nearly perfect, it's still a machine , a dead thing. It can analyze patterns, but it cannot comprehend human emotion. It can't predict how two people, in conversation or conflict, will change one another. That's something only human unpredictability can create."
He gestured briefly to himself and Tighnari.
"Neither of us have uploaded our full data into the system. That means our interactions with you will distort the Akasha's predictive model. The system's greatest flaw," Alhaitham said, eyes narrowing, "is its creator's arrogance , Azar's belief that logic alone can foresee everything."
"We can use that flaw against him. Let the machine choke on uncertainty."
Cyno's gaze sharpened, realization dawning. "…So what do you want me to do?"
A faint smirk crossed Alhaitham's face. "Not do anything."
Cyno blinked. "…What?"
"Exactly," Alhaitham said. "You're under constant prediction. So the less you act, the less accurate the Akasha's data becomes. We'll move in the gaps , once I retrieve the Divine Knowledge Capsule, we'll coordinate our strike. Until then, stay still, and stay unreadable."
Before Cyno could reply, his face darkened again. Crackles of purple lightning flickered behind his eyes , not summoned power, but pure rage.
"There's something else," he said hoarsely. "Something far worse."
Both Alhaitham and Tighnari straightened.
Cyno's next words came slowly , each one heavier than the last.
"Azar and his followers are using the Akasha to channel the minds of Sumeru's people. They're preparing a mass experiment… to be conducted on the day of the Sabzeruz Festival."
The words hung like a curse.
Alhaitham and Tighnari exchanged grim looks. Alhaitham's lips curled in a cold, humorless smile.
"So, it's true. The old fool's gone completely insane."
"I don't care whether he's mad or not," Cyno growled. "If that experiment proceeds, countless people will die , including Eleazar patients. And to do it on the Goddess of Flowers' Birthday, of all days…"
His eyes flared with thunder.
"That's the day Lesser Lord Kusanali was born. If Azar dares stain it with blood , if he disgraces her , Ryen will not stay silent. And if that man takes action, Sumeru will burn before the day ends."
Neither Alhaitham nor Tighnari argued.
Cyno wasn't exaggerating , Ryen's open affection for the young Archon was well known.
If that man's wrath ever turned on Sumeru, the nation wouldn't survive the week.
Alhaitham exhaled slowly. "Then we have little time left."
But before the tension could settle, Cyno spoke again , his voice low, trembling slightly, not with fear but disgust.
"There's more," he said. "I discovered something else while tracing the Akasha's archives."
"Azar…" , he swallowed hard , "is eating people."
Silence.
Then both Tighnari and Alhaitham shot to their feet.
"What?!"
Tighnari's ears flattened in shock. "That's impossible! He may be insane, but cannibalism?!"
Cyno's face was grim.
"Do you remember what Ryen said , that he had given Azar a few 'gifts'?"
Alhaitham froze. "You mean… those two things we found in the ruins , half-human, half-corpse? Ryen called them zombies."
Cyno nodded slowly.
"Azar was wounded by one of them. I believe the infection spread , the so-called zombie virus. He retained his consciousness, but lost the ability to eat ordinary food."
He glanced between them, his expression hollow.
"Everything Azar does is recorded in the Akasha. When I searched the system's database, I found records , shipments of raw meat delivered to his office. At first, only animal flesh. Then… live chickens, pigs."
His voice sank to a whisper.
"And recently… his personal secretary disappeared."
Alhaitham frowned sharply. "Azar said she was imprisoned for academic fraud. I remember the announcement."
Cyno's hand clenched. "I checked. She vanished while delivering his meal. And that's not all."
He drew in a slow, shaking breath.
"Azar's been ordering the Thirty Bureau to transfer convicts from the Akademiya's prison directly to his office. The records describe it as 'experimental use.' I believed that , until I found something else."
He reached into his coat, withdrawing an object wrapped tightly in layer after layer of cloth.
When he set it on the table and unfolded it, the iron scent of blood filled the air.
Tighnari and Alhaitham recoiled instinctively, eyes widening in horror.
Both Alhaitham and Tighnari already understood what Cyno had brought , but even so, they forced themselves to look.
Cyno unwrapped the layers of cloth slowly. The last fold fell away, revealing a blood-streaked bone.
Alhaitham's expression darkened; he leaned forward despite the nausea twisting in his gut. One glance was enough to confirm it: a human leg bone, still clinging to strips of half-rotted flesh.
But the edges were wrong , not clean, not sharp.
"The wound's irregular," he muttered, voice tight. "Torn, not cut. Bite marks… this is feeding damage."
A chill ran down his spine. Gooseflesh prickled across his arms.
Alhaitham was no stranger to death. As the Scribe of the Akademiya, his duties had taken him to the desert's ruins and monster-infested wilds; he had fought and killed before. But killing was one thing , swift, precise, almost surgical.
This was something else. Something feral. Something inhuman.
Tighnari sighed, the disgust plain in his voice.
"Put it away."
He could stomach gore; after all, Teyvat wasn't some perfect utopia. Even scholars had blood on their hands , monsters, bandits, the occasional fatal confrontation. But this… this was beyond depravity.
"To eat human flesh…" he murmured. "He's gone completely mad."
Alhaitham's fists clenched.
"No," he said through his teeth. "He's already become a monster."
Cyno nodded grimly.
"Right now, he's only consuming convicts. That's the only reason I haven't struck already. But if this continues, how long until he preys on ordinary citizens?"
The room fell silent for a moment, thick with the metallic scent of blood.
Alhaitham finally exhaled and said quietly,
"So this was Ryen's true punishment for him."
He looked toward the bloodied bone, eyes narrowing with bitter understanding.
"To let him keep his human mind , the intellect of a scholar, the pride of a ruler , while forcing him to live by devouring his own kind. A torment worse than death itself."
He straightened, his usual composure returning, though his tone remained heavy.
"But if we wait too long, there may be nothing human left to torment. We have to accelerate our plan. No more slow, methodical pacing , we need allies."
The three exchanged a glance and silently agreed to stop discussing the grisly evidence.
Cyno spoke first, voice low.
"You mean… Liyue?"
Alhaitham shook his head immediately.
"Impossible. Both Liyue and Mondstadt , from their Archons down to their statesmen , openly despise the God-Creation Project. If we ask for help, it might give them the excuse to intervene militarily. That would be seen as foreign intrusion, and we can't afford to open that door."
Tighnari's tail flicked in thought.
"Then you intend to seek out… Ryen himself?"
Alhaitham frowned. "He's close to the Lesser Lord Kusanali, yes, and he'd help her , but if he acts personally, he might destroy Sumeru in the process. No. That's too dangerous."
He tapped his fingers against the table.
"I meant the Traveler."
Both of the others blinked.
"She quelled Mondstadt's dragon crisis," Alhaitham continued, "and aided in Liyue's Rite of Descension. Her strength is proven, and she's allied with Ryen and the Archons , yet she belongs to no nation. That neutrality makes her the perfect intermediary."
He began to pace, his analytical mind clearly at work.
"Even if she can't face the Doctor directly, her connections run deep. She's a friend of both Morax and Barbatos. If things go poorly, she could summon help that even Dottore would think twice about challenging."
"She's the ideal entry point."
The statement hung in the air for a moment.
All of this , her reputation, her movements, even her rapport with Nahida , Alhaitham had learned through meticulous investigation.
He'd made a point of observing Mondstadt and Liyue's affairs after their alliance, and everywhere he looked, the Traveler's name surfaced with admiration.
Cyno folded his arms, thinking it over.
"It makes sense," he admitted. "But how can we be sure she'll agree?"
A faint smile tugged at Alhaitham's lips.
"She's a wanderer by nature. Coming to Sumeru would simply be the next step on her journey. And according to my sources, she already has a fond relationship with the Lesser Lord , they've even been seen traveling through Liyue together. That's our opening."
He leaned forward.
"If we approach her correctly, through trust rather than politics, she'll listen. And once she sees what's happening here, she won't turn away."
Tighnari tilted his head slightly.
"So… you want Cyno to go to Liyue and meet her?"
Cyno would be the obvious choice , powerful, authoritative, and now effectively invisible to Azar's tracking if he left Sumeru.
But Alhaitham shook his head again.
"No. Cyno's role is too important in what comes next. We'll need him here once I return with the Divine Knowledge Capsule. He can't leave."
Tighnari frowned. "Then who, ?"
Alhaitham's eyes glinted with quiet resolve.
"The ones going," he said, "will be Nilou, the Star of the Zubayr Theater… and Dehya, the Flame-Mane Lioness of the desert."
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