Dainsleif clenched his fists, his face filled with hatred as he roared, "I never wanted things to turn out like this!"
"But you still coveted that power," Su Han replied calmly.
No matter what had been discovered along the way, Dainsleif still bore part of Khaenri'ah's sins.
The moment those words were spoken,
it was as if all the strength left Dainsleif's body.
No matter how much he refused to admit it, the souls of Khaenri'ah already knew the truth about him.
Paimon was stunned by the revelation. She stared at Su Han in shock and asked, "What exactly happened?"
"Why don't you let him explain? Well? Are you willing to tell everyone what really happened back then?"
Faced with Su Han's gaze,
Dainsleif had no right to refuse.
Looking at the spirits of Khaenri'ah, he said painfully, "Everything began because of greed."
No matter how much they tried to embellish it,
no matter how unwilling they were to admit it,
everything that happened in Khaenri'ah started with endless desire.
"Our nation was located underground. Some people said we were descendants of those who had been driven there, and that we eventually built our own kingdom."
"People firmly believed that even without gods, we could still become powerful."
"However, no matter how strong a nation became, it could never exist without resources."
Khaenri'ah was a nation built on technology.
No matter how advanced it became, it still depended on resources.
Steel for manufacturing machinery.
Food for its people.
Even the problem of obtaining light.
All of these factors eventually forced Khaenri'ah onto the path of war.
Paimon fell into thought before quickly frowning.
"If that's true... then you people were the ones who started the wars?"
"Yes. A large portion of them were started by us."
Having lost all his previous arrogance, Dainsleif finally became completely honest.
When he had traveled with Paimon and Lumine before, he had always acted proud and had shown nothing but contempt toward the Seven Archons.
But during the Archon War, where had Khaenri'ah been?
At that time, gods fought everywhere across the land. Khaenri'ah could have taken advantage of the chaos to seize territory, yet they chose to hide instead.
The answer was simple.
They were afraid of dying.
At the end of the day, they were nothing but cowards. After their nation was destroyed, they still shamelessly claimed that the Seven Archons had stolen the world.
In reality,
they were simply losers.
Every nation ruled by the Seven Archons had been earned through genuine struggle.
Take Liyue, where Su Han lived, for example.
Back then, countless gods had occupied that land. At least ten gods had once appeared in Liyue, yet in the end only Zhongli and Guoba remained.
It was the richest region in resources.
So why had no Khaenri'ahns ever come to seize it?
After learning the truth,
the respect in Paimon's eyes disappeared completely, replaced by nothing but disgust.
Someone this hypocritical truly made her sick.
Lumine felt exactly the same.
Su Han commented,
"That's why I've never forced anyone to accept my views. I only respect the truth. I hate the people of Khaenri'ah, and yes, I enslaved them. Those are all things I did. But what you cannot deny is that I restored their sanity."
"Thank you for your mercy."
"Save your thanks for later. Continue telling us about your nation's sins."
Su Han had no interest in accepting their gratitude.
What he wanted was history.
He wanted the truth.
Today, Lumine and Paimon had to witness everything that had happened to Khaenri'ah with their own eyes.
Looking down at his hands with lifeless eyes, Dainsleif continued,
"When I traveled with Aether back then, we journeyed through many places and visited countless nations. I admit that I deliberately guided him, but in the end, the ones who truly led everything toward destruction were us."
Hearing that her brother had been led astray,
a trace of disgust flashed across Lumine's face.
It was because of people like them that her brother had become who he was today.
How wonderful it would have been if they had never existed.
"So... what exactly did you do?"
Paimon asked curiously.
What had ultimately destroyed Khaenri'ah?
"It was the Abyss."
"We stole the Abyss's power and believed we could control it. The Chaos Furnace Core you saw before was actually a product born from the Abyss."
Unable to obtain enough resources through defeating gods,
Khaenri'ah sought another path.
Gradually, some people came to believe that the Abyss might be the perfect solution.
In fact, not long after they settled underground,
people had already proposed researching it.
Many opposed the idea, believing the Abyss was far too dangerous and unstable.
But the Gold Alchemist stepped forward and voiced a different opinion.
"If it's unstable, that simply means we haven't studied it thoroughly enough. What if it allows us to glimpse the laws of this world? The Abyss exists because it is an inevitable part of the world. Its power is so great precisely because no one has truly researched it."
From that day onward,
Rhinedottir began her research.
Powerful machines became unimaginably terrifying in her hands.
Colossal creations as large as mountains were all born from that alchemist.
Eventually,
she discovered something extraordinary within the Abyss.
A mysterious life substance.
Thus,
she ushered in a new era.
The creation of artificial humans.
"Wait... then doesn't that mean Albedo is also made from material originating from the Abyss?"
During their stay in Mondstadt,
they had investigated many things.
Almost everything related to the Abyss had been examined.
Among all that information, Albedo's records had been one of the most important pieces.
He was an artificial human and the disciple of the Gold Alchemist.
He possessed countless secrets.
Dainsleif nodded.
"That's right... Heh... That was the true source of all sin. Creating life was nothing but a lie."
What was the Abyss?
It was the vortex of death.
The root that sought to devour the world.
The funeral bell that heralded the destruction of the land.
Naturally, such a place contained the power of life as well.
But no one else understood that.
They desperately searched the Abyss for every strange substance they could find, while Albedo's teacher claimed to have discovered miraculous materials deep beneath the earth.
Lumine's expression changed drastically.
She had already guessed what happened next.
Digging too deeply into the Abyss would inevitably bring disaster.
"After obtaining that power, several of us grew incredibly strong. Some of our swordsmen also began entering the Abyss frequently. Powerful monsters lived there. Defeating them granted enormous resources, experience, and even greater power."
"But I truly regret it. Before the catastrophe erupted, it was precisely the power those things gave us that destroyed our nation."
Dainsleif's thoughts returned to that dreadful day.
At first,
some machines began losing control.
Their energy lights changed from white to purple and black,
and they started attacking humans.
Soon afterward,
soldiers also began going mad.
Some believed it was retaliation from the Abyss.
Others believed an enemy invasion had begun.
After conducting an extensive investigation,
Dainsleif made the horrifying discovery that every abnormal phenomenon was connected to the Abyss.
He immediately reported everything.
But his warning vanished without a trace.
One month later,
the number of out-of-control experimental creations increased dramatically.
Even the Gold Alchemist herself could not stop it.
Instead,
she was wounded by the very monsters she had created.
Most terrifying of all,
those creatures had been artificial lifeforms with numerous control measures placed upon them.
Yet they broke through every restriction,
and even freed their imprisoned companions.
Dragons.
Machines.
Automatons.
Everything connected to the Abyss lost control.
At that moment,
Dainsleif and everyone else realized they had caused an unimaginable disaster.
But by then,
regret was meaningless.
"I desperately wanted to stop the catastrophe and find the others. But every one of them had already left. They abandoned Khaenri'ah."
Dainsleif's words shocked both Lumine and Paimon.
"Wait... You're saying the people who caused this disaster all ran away?"
"That's right. The Five Sinners. Every one of them left..."
As he spoke,
hatred filled Dainsleif's face.
Su Han sneered.
"Paimon, have you ever wondered why this man is standing here alive today?"
"You mean... Dainsleif ran away too? Wait, something isn't right. Su Han, doesn't that mean they caused a catastrophe and then refused to take responsibility?"
Paimon finally realized what had been bothering her.
Previously,
Dainsleif had constantly mocked the Seven Archons.
Every conversation was filled with contempt for them.
But now she realized something was completely wrong.
When disaster struck Khaenri'ah,
the ones who stepped forward to suppress it were the Seven Archons.
The ones who fled were the people of Khaenri'ah.
Thinking about it that way,
Dainsleif and the others were truly despicable.
Lumine and Paimon looked at Dainsleif without hiding their disgust or contempt.
It wasn't wrong for Khaenri'ah to seek the Abyss's power.
But once disaster struck, they should have tried to fix it themselves.
Instead,
the catastrophe erupted.
Their people were dying.
And they ran away.
"No wonder the people of Khaenri'ah deserved to become Hilichurls."
Lumine spoke coldly.
They possessed neither shame nor honor.
They were nothing more than beasts.
Dainsleif never argued.
Because everything he had said was the truth.
And the real history was even crueler.
His memories returned to that day.
The earth collapsed.
The Abyss swallowed Khaenri'ah first.
The once-glorious kingdom was filled with screams and desperate cries for help.
As wave after wave of black mud engulfed the soldiers,
the people finally surrendered to complete despair.
"Please save me, Lord Dainsleif!"
"Lord Twilight Sword, help us..."
One desperate cry after another.
One plea after another.
Every single day and night,
those voices echoed endlessly in his ears.
But Dainsleif chose to flee.
At that moment,
his endless imprisonment became endless condemnation.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't opened the Abyss, none of this would have happened!"
"I hate you! I hate you!"
"What Twilight Sword? You're all nothing but beasts who used Khaenri'ah for your own benefit!"
The nation was destroyed.
Its people all became monsters.
Dainsleif came back to his senses and was about to continue.
But Su Han interrupted him.
Turning toward Paimon with a smile, he asked,
"Let me ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Why do you think the people of Khaenri'ah became Hilichurls?"
"Why? Isn't that obvious? It was Heavenly Principles' curse."
Paimon answered without hesitation.
Standing beside her,
Lumine caught the deeper meaning behind Su Han's words.
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"That's not right, Paimon."
"That idea was planted in your head by someone else. Think it through from the beginning and ask yourself how Hilichurls came to exist. There's one thing you need to remember."
"They're spread across all Seven Nations."
Lumine deliberately emphasized those last words.
Spread across all Seven Nations?
Hilichurls?
Paimon lowered her head and began counting on her fingers.
Finally,
she understood what Su Han had been trying to tell her.
"I get it! The reason the people of Khaenri'ah became Hilichurls was because Heavenly Principles was protecting them!"
"Impossible!"
Dainsleif immediately rejected the conclusion.
How could turning people into monsters possibly be considered salvation?
What kind of joke was that?
Lumine snorted coldly.
"Still trapped by your hatred? Su Han was right. Open your eyes and look carefully. Why are Hilichurls spread across all Seven Nations? Do you really think they escaped Khaenri'ah on their own? But if you abandon that assumption, what answer do you arrive at?"
Boom.
At that instant,
the question that had haunted Dainsleif for years was finally answered.
Very few people had actually escaped Khaenri'ah.
Most remained around Mondstadt,
because the other nations deeply hated Khaenri'ah's people.
After all,
they were the ones who had brought about the catastrophe.
That alone was enough to prove Venti deserved to be called a god.
He had been far too merciful.
Far too tolerant.
But what had the people of Khaenri'ah done in return?
Seek revenge?
Nurture hatred?
To be honest,
they did not deserve either.
"You should have paid more attention to Halfdan's beliefs. He and his men were the true people of Khaenri'ah. They chose to protect the weak. Even after becoming monsters, even after losing their sanity, they never abandoned their responsibilities."
Su Han openly admitted that he hated Khaenri'ah.
But he also acknowledged one thing.
Halfdan was a real man.
The knights under his command were equally worthy of respect.
After being harshly rebuked by Su Han,
Dainsleif was on the verge of collapse.
He lowered his head.
It was as though all his convictions had disappeared.
"Yes... Halfdan did speak to me. He said atonement was only right. I was the one who failed to understand them."
"Pride truly is the original sin."
"So is desire."
Looking back over his life,
how often had he ever treated others as equals?
He had always viewed the world through ideas forced upon him.
He had always acted as though everyone owed Khaenri'ah something.
But in reality,
no one owed Khaenri'ah anything.
Instead,
Khaenri'ah owed the world far more than it could ever repay.
"What happened after that?"
Paimon was extremely interested in what became of Khaenri'ah.
She was equally curious about what the people of Khaenri'ah ultimately wanted.
Su Han answered,
"They wanted complete domination over this world. That's why they built the Field Tillers. Their goal was to alter the ley lines. Isn't it ridiculous? Since they lacked sufficient strength, they resorted to every underhanded method imaginable."