At Lumine's signal, Paimon immediately dropped her food and sprang into the air, grinning from ear to ear.
"From now on, we're all partners!" she declared cheerfully. "So this beginner's gift pack is your welcome present!"
"Here you go, here you go! Ten Eyes of Ender each, two bottles of every kind of alchemical potion, and one Totem of Undying per person!"
"Don't lose them! If you do, you'll have to figure out how to replace them yourselves!"
Like handing out red envelopes during a festival, Paimon happily distributed the gifts to everyone.
These were all supplies she kept stored in her space, just in case.
After traveling to Inazuma, she had grown quite experienced at this.
First Kamisato Ayato, then Yae Miko,
Lumine had long anticipated that this trip to Sumeru would involve recruiting people.
After all, Sumeru was Nahida's homeland.
With Nahida present, Sumeru had no realistic option other than joining the Alliance.
This outcome had been part of Lumine's calculations from the start.
Alhaitham might be operating on the fifth layer, but as the Traveler, Lumine was already in the stratosphere.
"Eyes of Ender, alchemical potions, Totems of… Undying?"
Dehya looked at Lumine in confusion.
"I've seen alchemical potions before, Nilou and I even carry some ourselves. But these Totems of Undying and the Ender Pearls…"
Alhaitham's heart stirred slightly, and he cast a discreet glance at Dehya.
It seemed that her last trip to Liyue had yielded quite a harvest.
If he had been able to leave, he would have gone himself.
"No, no, no!" Lumine waved her hands with a laugh.
"What you have isn't the same as what we're giving you!"
"The potions you're carrying, you bought those in Liyue Harbor, didn't you?"
"Yes!" Dehya replied earnestly, still visibly astonished.
"Strength, Swiftness, Jump Boost, Health Regeneration… they're incredible!"
"Hmph! That's still far from the real thing," Lumine said proudly, lifting her chin.
"The potions you're familiar with are the ones we sell publicly, Tier One potions."
"The Millelith are issued Tier Two."
"Only those who sign a contract get access to Tier Three alchemical potions."
"In simple terms: a Strength potion lets you beat a Abyss Herald to death with your bare hands."
"A Swiftness potion boosts you to the level of an elemental acceleration comparable to a divine familiar."
"A Health Recovery potion will restore you to full condition instantly, as long as you're still breathing."
"There are also Regeneration potions that restore health over a long period. Even if your arm is severed in battle, it'll grow back in the blink of an eye."
"And that's not all, Invisibility potions, Fire Resistance potions that grant complete immunity to fire damage, and more."
Cyno's expression tightened as he gripped the potion in his hand.
"These are far too precious… Can things like this truly exist?"
"As Albedo would put it," Lumine replied calmly,
"These potions contain the power of laws themselves, they are incarnations of laws. You know what that means, right?"
Everyone nodded solemnly and carefully put the potions away.
These were treasures that prolonged life itself.
If Lumine was telling the truth, then after drinking one, anyone could reach the combat power of a divine familiar.
"Then what about these Ender Pearls?"
Candace asked cautiously, examining the item in her hand.
"Oh, those?" Lumine blinked.
"They let you teleport instantly."
"A spatial divine artifact?!"
Alhaitham's hand trembled as he clenched the Ender Pearl even more tightly.
"And this Totem of Undying…"
Dehya studied the unassuming object. She had seen it before, Lumine and Paimon carried several at their waists.
"This is the most important item," Lumine explained seriously.
"It's your second life."
"A Totem of Undying has only one effect: undying."
"As long as you carry it, even if a god kills you, you'll revive instantly on the spot."
"At the same time, you gain temporary immunity to fire, and your condition is restored to peak state."
"No matter what afflicts you, Eleazar, the curse of the Heavenly Principles, erosion, karmic debt, it will all be erased."
"After revival, the Totem removes every negative condition, leaving only your purest life state."
"Don't worry, we've used these plenty of times. The effect is guaranteed."
"Even Azhdaha, who rivals the highest-tier gods, was revived with one."
"And Venti, the Anemo Archon, died four or five times recently while playing Bed Wars. He revived every time using Totems."
Silence fell over the room.
Everyone tightened their grip on the Totem of Undying, unsure what to say.
This was far too valuable.
They hardly dared to accept it.
And yet,
This was life itself.
Who could guarantee they would never face mortal danger?
A single Totem meant two full lives at peak condition.
Whether for turning the tide in battle or escaping with one's life, it was an incomparable treasure.
After a long pause, Dehya clenched her teeth and pushed the Totem forward with closed eyes.
"Lumine… this is too precious. I can't accept it. I already owe you far too much."
Lumine smiled and patted Dehya reassuringly.
"Relax! We have tens of thousands of these in the Alliance, and we produce more every day."
"Otherwise, do you think Venti would dare use them just for games?"
"We each carry four or five on us, with more than a dozen in reserve."
"And before Paimon left, Ryen stuffed over two hundred Totems into her hands."
Paimon puffed out her chest smugly.
"That's because Paimon is Ryen's favorite little treasure!"
Lumine rolled her eyes but didn't refute it.
After a moment of silence, Alhaitham took a deep breath.
"To you, this may be insignificant," he said quietly.
"But to us, it is life itself. I'm sorry, I cannot refuse this temptation."
"I owe you a tremendous debt. If you ever need anything, I'll do everything in my power to help."
Lumine waved her hand casually, saying nothing.
"…So," someone finally asked, voice low,
"Is this why Liyue was able to defeat Osial without a single casualty, because of the Totems of Undying?"
Cyno asked quietly, and Lumine shook her head.
"Nope. Back then we didn't use a single one. Osial was defeated purely through overwhelming strength."
She paused briefly, then continued in a calm, explanatory tone.
"Since you've officially joined the Alliance, it's time you understood what kind of foundation the Alliance actually has."
Stretching lazily, Lumine spoke as if recounting something entirely natural.
"At present, the Alliance consists of four nations, you already know that much."
"The Alliance exists for one purpose: to oppose the Heavenly Principles. You have a rough idea of this already."
"As for what the Heavenly Principles actually are… Cyno and Candace probably don't know yet. You can think of her as the superior authority above the Seven,
the one who orchestrated the Archon War and defined the Seven in the first place."
"Five hundred years ago, Khaenri'ah was also destroyed by the Heavenly Principles, who forcibly summoned the Seven to wipe it out."
Seeing Candace and Cyno nod slowly in realization, Lumine continued.
"Opposing the Heavenly Principles requires not only individual strength, but also vast power and influence."
"She rules Celestia. Any gods who ascended there in the past were placed under her control, stripped of true autonomy."
"When the war truly begins, Celestia will be the battlefield we face directly."
"Which means that only combatants at the level of gods can participate in the highest-tier engagements."
Cyno frowned deeply.
He trusted his own strength, but he knew he couldn't possibly compare to beings who had once ascended to Celestia.
That meant this war might be beyond him.
"You don't need to worry about fighting the Heavenly Principles yourselves," Lumine said reassuringly.
"The Alliance has plenty of top-tier combat power."
"In Mondstadt, there's Barbatos, a peak-tier Archon.
Lisa, Ryen's girlfriend, wields a master-grade staff and already possesses combat strength comparable to a junior god."
"In Inazuma, there's the peak-tier Archon Ei, and Makoto, Ei's sister, who was recently revived and possesses mid-tier god-level strength."
"In Snezhnaya, the Cryo Archon herself is also a peak-tier god.
Even though many of the Fatui no longer obey her, Rosalyne and Tartaglia, after receiving blessings, barely qualify as god-level combatants."
"And as for Liyue…"
Lumine paused, then smiled brightly.
"When it comes to top-tier combat power, no one compares to Liyue. They are the true backbone of the Alliance."
"The Geo Archon, the God of War, no explanation needed.
Azhdaha, now free from erosion, can barely be handled even by the Geo Archon when he stands on solid ground."
"Guizhong, the God of Dust, has been revived.
The adeptus Xiao, formerly second only to gods, has also been revived and, with blessings, now wields god-level strength."
"Xiao the Vigilant Yaksha, Cloud Retainer, and others all possess god-level combat ability."
"Together with more than a dozen illuminated adepti, each comparable to elite divine familiars, they can jointly contend with high-tier gods."
"Liyue's military strength is unmatched. Six major legions exist, three of which are capable of suppressing gods directly."
"The Liyue Air Force, once fully prepared, can even seriously injure the Geo Archon when his defenses are at maximum."
"And Liyue's modern weapons divisions were the main force that annihilated Osial."
"In terms of top-tier strength, we lack nothing.
What we don't yet know is whether the Heavenly Principles possess additional hidden forces."
"That's why we need numbers."
"Liyue alone cannot fight this war."
"So once you've joined, you must continually strengthen yourselves."
"If you cannot fight on the front lines when the time comes, then you must support Ryen's plans through logistics, development, and infrastructure."
"Right now, everything in the Alliance revolves around Ryen's planning. Development comes second."
"The war won't begin anytime soon, you still have time to grow."
"But before it does, you must make Sumeru strong. Otherwise, it may become the first nation the Heavenly Principles erase."
"This will be a war that engulfs all of Teyvat. No one will be spared."
"The Heavenly Principles are not gods. They do not love humanity."
"Once we rebel, Khaenri'ah's fate will be her only choice."
Cyno and Candace fell silent, the weight of this revelation settling heavily on them.
Alhaitham, however, had already accepted the inevitability of this war.
He took a deep breath and asked calmly,
"Then what exactly did the Heavenly Principles do, to make you all determined to oppose her?"
Lumine shrugged lightly.
"You know hilichurls, right?"
Alhaitham froze, staring at her in disbelief.
"Yes," Lumine nodded slowly, confirming his thoughts.
"Exactly what you're thinking."
"Hilichurls are the cursed remnants of nations destroyed by the Heavenly Principles, former citizens transformed into monsters."
"As far as we know, she has destroyed the ancient Snow Mountain civilization, the Kingdom of Byakuyakoku, and Khaenri'ah…"
"All their people were turned into undying abominations."
"For thousands of years, nearly every great tragedy in Teyvat can be traced back to her."
"She severed Teyvat's path of progress. Whatever her original intent, the world has been reduced to something she merely keeps."
"A world without the unknown cannot develop."
"And that is why the Heavenly Principles must be overthrown."
Alhaitham lowered his head, silent for a long time.
When he looked up again, his gaze was unwavering.
"I understand now."