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Seeing that Nahida had not used her authority as the Dendro Archon, Aether lightly patted Shao Yun on the shoulder and said, "There's no time to lose. I'll head to Irminsul right away."
"I'll leave you the coordinates of the Abyssal Node. As for the Dendro Archon… that will be your responsibility. I believe you'll make the best choice."
The moment Nahida heard Aether's words, her eyes widened in shock; not only were they going after Irminsul, but everything he said implied he was telling Shao Yun to kill her.
She instantly stretched out her hands, tightly gripping Shao Yun's sleeve as she screamed, "No! Absolutely not! You despicable lot will never succeed—don't even think about touching Irminsul!"
"Even if it costs me the last shred of power I possess, I'll fight you to the very end—until one of us dies!"
But Aether acted as though he had heard nothing, continuing calmly as he began directing the Abyss Order to activate the Abyssal portal.
A flash of blinding light swept across the area, and the figures of the Abyss Order gradually vanished.
In the hall, only Shao Yun and the gravely wounded Nahida remained.
Shao Yun fully understood the real meaning behind Aether's earlier words—eliminate Nahida, a potential threat, before unexpected complications arose.
Yet when his gaze fell upon the small, fragile Archon before him—her face pale, her eyes filled with despair—his heart wavered. He could not help seeing, again and again, the pair of graves marked by wooden crosses that had haunted his memories.
The image clung to him and would not release him, making it impossible to harden his heart.
Shao Yun gently brushed aside the messy strands on Nahida's forehead and spoke in as gentle a voice as he could manage: "Nahida… to be honest, I don't want to kill you. But our situation is too urgent—we can't afford hesitation. So please, calm down. Stop resisting. If you cooperate, you'll survive."
Before she could respond, he lifted Nahida directly into his arms.
Nahida, weak and defenseless, fell helplessly into the warmth and strength of his embrace. Had she even the slightest bit of strength, she would have bitten him without hesitation to show she was not someone to be trifled with.
But with the Abyssal corruption ravaging every inch of her small body, all she could do was use what remained of her strength to curse him.
"Get away from me! You deranged lunatic! I already apologized—I admitted my mistake—and yet you still side with the Abyss to destroy all of Teyvat!"
Shao Yun looked down at the tiny figure like a delicate doll in his arms and said helplessly, "I have no choice… maybe this is karma."
His expression then turned cold. "To ensure nothing goes wrong, Nahida, I'll have to confine you again—just like before."
Holding her tighter, he strode toward the meditation pod that had once imprisoned her.
Seeing herself about to be sealed away again, Nahida used every ounce of remaining strength to struggle and resist. "You monster! You're exactly the same as those Grand Sages!"
Shao Yun replied expressionlessly, "There's one difference—I'll let you out eventually. But only if you behave."
With those words, he tossed her into the meditation pod. Before closing the device, he threw in a bottle of ordinary healing medicine.
Nahida forced herself upright, pounding furiously on the pale green barrier. "Let me out! I'll kill you!"
Standing outside the barrier, Shao Yun spread his arms fearlessly. "Plenty want to kill me—but only when they're healthy. Drink the medicine and rest."
…
At this moment, the four Abyssal Lectors stood circling Irminsul, chanting incessantly as a strange, glowing magic formation gradually appeared.
The formation slowly linked Irminsul to the Loom of Fate.
Just then, Shao Yun stepped out of the Abyssal portal and approached Aether. "I didn't come too late, did I?"
Aether turned and, seeing Shao Yun arrive, allowed a relieved smile. "Perfect timing. The Loom of Fate has successfully connected to Irminsul."
But when his gaze fell again upon the entwined fates of Irminsul and Caribert, a trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes. "It's just a pity that Caribert will never witness this moment."
Unlike Aether's somber mood, Shao Yun clapped his hands excitedly. "Great! Since everything's prepared, does that mean we can start the final showdown now?"
Aether looked at Shao Yun's overflowing enthusiasm, swallowed hard, and lowered his head. "Sorry…"
Seeing Aether suddenly apologizing, Shao Yun froze, assuming he was backing out. "What do you mean 'sorry'? Everything's ready—don't you dare back out now!"
Aether quickly waved his hands to explain. "It's not that! I just… didn't expect things to progress so smoothly. I haven't gathered enough power to overthrow the Heavenly Principles yet!"
Shao Yun nearly fainted from anger. "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Aether looked aggrieved. "I tried! But you were completely possessed at the time—charging forward like a runaway bull—there was no way to get a word into your head!"
The second Aether said that, Shao Yun raised his massive fists as if ready to beat him senseless. A family brawl seemed seconds away.
But in the end, the last shred of reason overcame his rage, and he reluctantly lowered his fists. "This is like breaking into a bank, reaching the vault, and realizing you forgot the explosives!"
Shao Yun was furious beyond belief.
Seeing this, Aether hurried to clarify. "Don't be angry! Even if things aren't perfect, we didn't come out with nothing! There's still something we can do."
Hearing that there was still hope, Shao Yun instantly calmed down. "…What?"
Aether cleared his throat and explained, "While I don't have enough power to topple the Heavenly Throne yet, I do have enough to rewrite the fate of an ordinary person."
"So I want to run a trial—gain experience."
"We can try letting someone doomed survive, or someone living die—just to understand how fate adjustment works."
Aether then handed this rare opportunity to Shao Yun. "You've supported me all this time. You choose whose fate to alter."
Shao Yun sighed helplessly. "So basically, we don't have enough explosives—we can't open the vault, only blow a hole in the wall and grab a few gold bars?"
Even so, he accepted it. Something was better than nothing.
He ran through potential candidates in his mind.
Glory? Her boyfriend already returned—no need.
Lessig? His ending was fine.
Teppei? Already defied fate.
Shinnojou? Who even is that?
After thinking for some time, he found someone appropriate.
"In Liyue, there's a woman named Nianhua. See if you can save her."
Aether nodded and told the four Abyssal Lectors to search Irminsul for all of Nianhua's fate data.
They began at once.
Then, curiosity overcame Aether. "Who's Nianhua?"
Shao Yun briefly explained. "A pitiful woman—the only one I think truly didn't deserve to die."
Aether's expression remained calm. "I see…"
Time passed, and finally one Lector spoke up: "We found her—but something is unusual. Prince, something is wrong."
Aether's heart tightened. "What's wrong? Speak!"
The Lector replied, "To ensure this woman Nianhua survives, three others—Huachu, Gentry De'an, and Jianqiu—should also survive, according to causal reasoning."
"But no matter how we adjust the calculation, those three cannot be saved."
"Forcing Nianhua to live will cause severe logical contradictions."
The moment Shao Yun heard the names, he relaxed completely. "Oh, them? The devil already took their souls. Don't worry about them."
"Just fix the logic—kill them in a way that makes sense."
The Lector hesitated. "We can… but we need a causally consistent explanation."
Shao Yun thought for a moment and said, "Write it like this: Jianqiu attempted to murder Huachu but failed and was arrested by the Millelith. Gentry De'an, caring about his family's reputation, demanded Huachu cut ties with Jianqiu."
"But Huachu refused, continued contacting him in jail, and even bribed Liyue officials to free him."
"Gentry De'an, wanting to crush her hope, poisoned Jianqiu. Huachu couldn't accept the truth and took her own life. Gentry De'an went insane from grief and guilt and hanged himself."
Aether listened and muttered, "…That's really dramatic. But… fine."
Shao Yun shot him a sidelong look. "Believe me—real life is much more dramatic than what I just made up."
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