"Lumine, Victor, do you have time right now? There's something I want to talk to you about."
After the Sabzeruz Festival finally came to a complete end, Nahida asked this. Victor Wang and Lumine had no reason to refuse, so the group bid farewell to Dunyarzad and found a somewhat quiet place for a confidential talk.
"Before I tell you about my situation, you might have many questions. You may ask them now—I'll answer as much as I can."
Their gazes crossed. Victor Wang gently shook his head, giving Lumine and Paimon the chance to speak first.
"Then I won't hold back?" Paimon cleared her soft little throat and asked the first question. "I want to know—why did Nahida turn into the form of Katheryne?"
Standing before them was not the true form of Nahida from the dream, but the Adventurers' Guild's Katheryne.
Controlling Katheryne's body, Nahida explained, "It's not that I turned into Katheryne. I occupied her consciousness through the Akasha and controlled this body. But don't worry—I respect everyone's will, and I have never actually taken over anyone. I only borrow this Snezhnayan bionic puppet when necessary."
"Huh? We suddenly learned something incredible… so Katheryne wasn't a real person! No wonder there were so many weird things… But what about your real body? Outside the dream, it feels like we've never actually seen the real you?"
"My real body is locked inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Controlling Katheryne's body is one of the very few opportunities I have to move around outside."
Nahida spoke calmly, but in Lumine and Paimon's ears this news was even more shocking—though Ningguang had hinted at this long ago…
"You were really… imprisoned by the Akademiya? How did they manage that? To imprison an Archon?"
"Around five hundred years ago, after Greater Lord Rukkhadevata disappeared and I had just been born, the sages found me—still young and powerless. Under the pretense of 'protection,' they locked me in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Inside was a device originally used by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to meditate while shutting out all external stimuli. The Grand Sage modified it so it could no longer be controlled from within. And that's how my body became trapped."
Paimon stomped angrily. "Those awful sages! That awful Grand Sage! But since you can still communicate with the outside world, why not overthrow them?"
"Since I could communicate with the world through the Akasha, there wasn't much need for my physical body. And the Akademiya had always been responsible toward Sumeru. Also, with the Akasha system left by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, my existence didn't seem that meaningful. So, I never thought of doing anything."
"Previously," Lumine caught the key word, "which means… you have new plans now?"
This time the answer was not as quick. After two seconds of silence, Nahida finally nodded.
"The Akasha is too dangerous, and the Akademiya has gone down the wrong path. Someone has to stop them…
That's why I came to you. If I want to take action, someone outside must cooperate. And the circumstances we're dealing with are far from ordinary. At the very least, you must possess a Vision to participate.
You two—plus Dehya and Nilou—are the people I determined to be both capable and trustworthy across so many cycles."
"Not ordinary circumstances…" Lumine asked, "I remember we talked about the Akademiya's goal during the cycle. They chose the dream of the Sabzeruz Festival for harvesting energy because it had some special meaning, right?"
"The Sabzeruz Festival is held to celebrate the birth of a god."
This truth was too absurd—Nahida didn't dare phrase it too definitively.
After another long pause, she continued, "I already have my suspicions. Honestly, if they were willing to talk to me and carry out this plan correctly, I wouldn't necessarily oppose it. But as things are now—what exactly their plan is, whether it carries uncontrollable risks—these must be investigated. And gathering energy through means that disregard people's safety must be stopped."
Paimon scratched her head, unsure how much she had understood. "So, our enemy… is the entire Akademiya?"
"Yes. Will you help me?"
Lumine immediately agreed, and Victor Wang, though reluctant to stir anything, also couldn't refuse.
"When do we take action?"
"No rush. In the dream I protected many fragile consciousnesses, so my mental strength is extremely depleted… After this conversation ends, I'll need to rest for a while."
As soon as she said she was tired, she yawned, exhaustion surfacing in her eyes. "Do you have any other questions? Ask them now—before I get some proper sleep."
Lumine asked the final question. "When we first arrived in Sumeru, we were affected by a scholar's incense for meditation in the Avidya Forest and accidentally connected to Irminsul. We heard someone say, 'The world… forgets me.'"
"That is a fragment left behind by the remnants of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's consciousness—perhaps her final memory before death. I cannot interpret it yet. It seems 'polluted' and carries an extremely dangerous aura. But since you could connect to it without harm, you may be able to interpret it someday… though that must wait until after we deal with the Akademiya."
Exchanging a glance with Paimon, Lumine looked at Victor Wang. "We have no more questions."
Feeling a bit heavy-hearted, Victor Wang finally spoke. "Then… I want to ask—Nahida, do you know the Aranara?"
Nahida pondered. "The Aranara… They are the familiars of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. During the cycles of the Sabzeruz Festival, I sensed an Aranara protecting Dunyarzad's dream. I was curious why an Aranara would appear in Sumeru City. Could it be…"
"There was an Aranara who came with me to Sumeru City. Our lodging wasn't far from Dunyarzad's. Maybe he sensed she was in danger, so he helped a bit."
"So, in other words… you were the one who saved my devoted follower."
"…Then do you know about the Ashvattha Tree—if the Aranara's Ashvattha Tree begins to wither, is there any way to heal it?"
"The Ashvattha Tree is having problems…? Are the Aranara doing poorly now? They are the spirits of the forest. If I could leave the Sanctuary of Surasthana, I might be able to help repair the Ashvattha Tree, but…"
"To help you—I understand. As long as there's a way."
The trajectory of Aranyaka seemed to bend slightly, and Victor Wang finally felt some relief.
"Since only my consciousness is outside, the strength I can exert is extremely limited. But… this gives me yet another reason to oppose the Akademiya. Do you have any other questions?"
"No."
"Huh?" Nahida blinked in mild surprise. "I thought you'd have many things you wanted to ask me?"
"Wanting to ask doesn't mean I have to ask. Just like some questions—wanting to answer doesn't mean you can answer."
Victor Wang muttered a complaint, and indeed—though he had once sworn to become a master of riddles, he had now reached half that level.
===BREAK===
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