The afternoon sun blazed through the high windows of the Grand Hall, but inside, the air was cool and heavy with anticipation. Unlike the morning's routine assessment, this session had drawn a crowd. The tiered seating gallery was packed with Dasturs and Herbad from every Darshan, their robes creating a sea of color—green, blue, red, and yellow—all murmuring in hushed, excited tones.
Ren walked to the center of the room, his footsteps quiet but steady. He took his place behind the presentation podium, placing his hands on the cool stone. He looked up at the raised dais where the judges sat.
Ningguang and Lisa were seated prominently in the front row of the observation area, their expressions unreadable masks of calm support. Lisa gave him a subtle, encouraging wink.
A hush fell over the room as the heavy side doors opened.
Grand Sage Azar swept in, his robes sweeping the floor, his face a mask of arrogant solemnity. He was followed closely by Sage Khajeh of Haravatat, a man with sharp features and calculating eyes. They took their seats at the high table, looking down at Ren like gods judging a mortal.
Azar arranged his papers with meticulous slowness, letting the silence stretch, letting the weight of his authority settle over the room. Finally, he looked up, his gaze locking onto Ren.
"Before we commence the formal technical review," Azar began, his voice smooth and carrying effortlessly to the back of the hall, "I have reviewed the preliminary documentation submitted for this… 'Artificial Elemental Focusing Array.'"
He leaned back, steepling his fingers. "It is incumbent upon me, as the Grand Sage, to establish the context of this inquiry. This device represents a revolutionary leap in technology, yes. But it also treads dangerously close to the precipice of our most sacred laws."
A ripple of whispers went through the gallery.
"The Akademiya holds six cardinal sins," Azar continued, his voice dropping an octave, becoming grave. "One of which is: To attempt the forbidden, and fear none."
He let the words hang in the air, heavy with accusation.
"Visions," Azar intoned, "are divine gifts. They are the crystallization of ambition, granted by the Archons themselves. They are the manifestation of celestial will. To attempt to replicate such a miracle through mechanical means… to create a tool that mimics the divine power of the gods… is not merely engineering. It is hubris. It is dangerous. It is, by the definitions of our Darshans, forbidden."
He looked down at Ren, his eyes cold. "This review has not yet begun, and already, the nature of your creation stands in violation of our core principles. However, in the interest of… fairness… I will allow you to speak in your defense before we proceed to judgment."
The trap was sprung. Before Ren had even shown a diagram, Azar had framed the narrative. He wasn't an inventor presenting a tool; he was a heretic justifying a sin.
Ren looked around the room. He saw the curious, fearful faces of the scholars. He saw Ningguang's jaw tighten imperceptibly.
He closed his eyes for a moment. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
He opened them, his gaze meeting Azar's directly. His face was calm, betraying no fear, no anger. Just a quiet, disappointing realization.
"Grand Sage," Ren said, his voice steady and clear. "I note with some sadness that the review has not even formally started, yet a verdict has seemingly already been reached. I came here hoping to discuss innovation and the betterment of lives. Instead, I find myself standing as a culprit, asked to prove my innocence against a charge of heresy."
He paused, letting his words sink in. He wasn't defensive; he was observing a flaw in their logic.
"However," he continued, "I must respectfully disagree with your premise. This device does not toe the line of the forbidden. In fact, it is nowhere near the realm of the divine."
He gestured to the empty air where the hologram would be. "A Vision is a connection to the heavens. It is limitless, evolving with its user. It is a part of their soul. My device… it is a battery. It is a conduit. It channels elemental energy, yes, but it is limited. It is regulated. It acts as a low-power tool for daily tasks—lighting a stove, watering a field, lifting a heavy load. It cannot ascend to Celestia. It cannot rewrite the stars. A true Vision is, and always will be, superior."
Azar scoffed, a dismissive sound. "Semantics. The divine gaze is required for a Vision because it validates human ambition. By giving power without that validation, you strip ambition of its meaning. You hand out shortcuts. That is something even the gods would never condone."
Ren's expression hardened slightly. "On the contrary. A man-made Vision is a tool to help realize ambition, not replace it. A craftsman with a Pyro gauntlet can forge better steel. A doctor with a Hydro brooch can heal more patients. The ambition is still theirs; the tool simply helps them achieve it."
He looked at the Grand Sage, playing his trump card. "And as for the approval of the gods… I have traveled. In Inazuma, the Electro Archon, the Raiden Shogun herself, has seen this technology. She, who once hunted Visions to preserve Eternity, now looks forward to trading with Liyue for these very devices. She sees them not as a threat to the divine, but as a boon for her people."
A gasp went through the crowd. To invoke the Raiden Shogun, the most feared of the Archons, was a bold move.
Ren wasn't finished. "Furthermore, while this device is designed for mass production by humans, the original design… the core principle of the Elemental Conduit… was created by my Master. The Adeptus, Cloud Retainer."
He looked Azar dead in the eye. "An illuminated beast. A being who walked with Rex Lapis. If an Adeptus, a direct servant of a God, designed this technology… is that not divine approval enough for the Akademiya?"
Silence slammed into the room. Azar's mouth tightened into a thin line. He had tried to paint the boy as a rogue human meddling in godhood. Instead, Ren had revealed that the technology was adeptal in origin, sanctioned by gods, and desired by Archons.
Azar cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. The narrative had slipped from his grasp.
"We shall… see," Azar muttered, his voice lacking its earlier thunder. "Let us proceed to the technical demonstration. The panel will now review the… specifics."
The review was not over. But the first battle had been won. Ren had not just defended his invention; he had defended his right to invent.