At dawn, Aerin woke from his sleep and stretched lazily.
"They stood guard all night?"
At the jagged cliffs along the outer perimeter of Stormterror's Lair, two figures hid among the rocks.
One was Venti, cautiously peeking out from behind the stone.
The other was Skirk, lurking in the shadows, not daring to show herself.
Last night, after the future projection abruptly ended, the two of them had arrived one after the other.
They discovered that Aerin had been sleeping openly on the first level of the ruined tower.
Yet neither dared to approach.
Curiosity gnawed at them—why had the vision ended so suddenly?
But remembering the narration's explanation, neither thought too deeply about it.
For beings like Venti and Skirk, sleep was hardly a necessity.
But for ordinary people, it was different.
With the future left hanging overnight, whether those involved could sleep at all depended entirely on their mental resilience.
As for Aerin?
He had slept exceptionally well.
"I'll do a pull first… then breakfast."
He opened the system interface.
40 pulls glowed clearly before him.
The destruction of Mondstadt's walls—and the narrator's explanation—had generated immense emotional value.
The timid no longer dared to speak in the chat.
Even those who loved stirring trouble now tiptoed around any mention of Aerin.
But Aerin had never exaggerated his strength in the Future Weaving.
Reality was the baseline.
If the vision showed world-ending power but reality fell short—that would be the greatest flaw.
Reward Acquisition
[Mimetic Core]
Allows non-humanoid monsters to assume human form and gain basic intelligence.
Aerin paused—then immediately entered the Imaginary Space and fed the core to Benareus.
Light erupted.
Her massive draconic body shrank, reshaping itself—
Until a young girl stood before him.
Long ash-gray hair.
Sky-blue eyes.
Black shorts, white stockings, white heels.
A white armored vest hugging her frame.
Aerin clearly felt it—
His own power surged again.
Benareus's humanoid form was stronger than her original state.
True evolution.
Not only that—
As her core body, Benareus could now manifest four elemental avatars, each aligned to one of her attributes, all under her direct control.
And her will?
Forever bound to Aerin.
"Buy one, get four free?"
Aerin raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
"Master?" Benareus tilted her head, confused by his smile.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
He patted her head gently.
She leaned into his hand contentedly.
More rewards followed.
[Authority Core – Wind]
Control of air currents. Healing, information transmission, and natural disasters.
Decent.
Authority stacking was always valuable.
[Third Power — Susanoo]
A colossal manifested battle avatar. Absolute offense and defense. Can be fused with other artifacts.
Aerin tested it mentally.
A complete form.
"People of Teyvat are far more valuable than I expected," he murmured.
"So much power… just from their emotions."
His thoughts drifted to Inazuma.
"The Raiden Shogun manifests lightning constructs as well…"
"I wonder what Ei would think if she saw this."
Stormterror's Lair
Venti paced restlessly.
"He went into that strange space again—where did he go?!"
He had finally found Aerin, yet hadn't dared disturb him.
Now the man was gone.
Venti nearly bit through his regrets.
"Stop panicking," Dvalin muttered, keeping his massive body low.
"Look—he's back."
Venti froze.
"…That direction—"
His face changed instantly.
"He's heading toward Mondstadt."
Before he could react, Dvalin warned:
"The future projection—it's showing again."
Mondstadt Prison
Paimon zipped back and forth anxiously.
"What's going on? We were getting along fine—why is he suddenly our enemy?!"
"I don't know either!" Lumine snapped.
"Paimon, can you at least try to get this collar off me?"
"I can't! Every time I touch it, we both get electrocuted!"
Inside the cell, only Paimon retained her freedom.
Lumine was bound tightly to a wooden post.
Chains wrapped around her body.
A suppression collar glowed faintly at her neck.
Sleepless, real-world Lumine stared at the scene, eyes dark with exhaustion.
"He's not really going to execute me, right…?"
"I just want to find my brother…"
Her heart was on the verge of collapse.
She never asked to be part of a cosmic struggle.
She only wanted her family.
And yet—
She was labeled the Fourth Descender.
Footsteps approached.
Paimon shrieked and hid behind Lumine.
A familiar figure emerged.
"Aerin…"
Lumine bit her lip.
"What do you want from me?" she demanded.
"We don't have any grudge. We even got along before."
"That's true," Aerin admitted calmly.
"But as the Fourth Descender, you must be controlled."
"I just want my sibling!" Lumine struggled against the chains.
"I don't even understand what a Descender is!"
Aerin studied her.
She wasn't lying.
Neither she nor Paimon had recovered their full memories.
"You tried to leave Teyvat through Celestia," he said slowly.
"Were stopped by a god. Lost your power."
"And then—by coincidence—you fished up a creature unlike any other."
"Touching the Statues of the Seven restores your strength."
"Don't you find that strange?"
Lumine slowly turned toward Paimon.
Even Lisa couldn't identify what Paimon was.
"…Wait," Paimon squeaked.
"You're talking about me?!"
Aerin smiled.
"Primordial Algorithm Intraient Matrix Overseer Network."
"P.A.I.M.O.N."
"The Primordial Fate-Weaving System."
Sanctuary of Surasthana
Nahida leaned back, stunned.
"Network…"
Sumeru knew that word well.
The Akasha system functioned on similar principles.
"So Paimon is… a system?"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Back in the cell—
Paimon and Lumine stared, mouths agape.
Aerin pinched the bridge of his nose.
"This is like talking to rocks."
He sighed.
"Simply put—Lumine."
"You are an outsider whose will is equivalent to this world."
"That's why you're called a Descender."
"Descenders can wield Celestia's authority."
"Your role was to travel with her."
"When the world is destroyed, Paimon records everything—people, history, civilization."
"She becomes a new Ley Line and World Tree."
"And you… recreate everything."
Lumine trembled.
"Recreate… as in revive?"
Aerin nodded.
Silence.
Then anger.
"So Celestia used me like a tool," Lumine whispered.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
"What does this have to do with you?" she demanded.
Aerin stepped closer.
"Teyvat is special."
"Human willpower here is extraordinarily potent."
"After the ancient catastrophe, Celestia created the Vision system."
"Those who break fate's shackles may become something akin to gods."
"You were chosen to convert that will into power."
"Your strength means little to me," Aerin said coldly.
"But I am cautious."
"So I give you a choice."
He produced a Stigmata Serum.
"Drink this."
"You'll gain power."
"And your will… will be partially mine."
Lumine's eyes hardened.
"So that's what you did to Eula?"
"Eula is free," Aerin replied.
"You are not."
"The world's structure makes you dangerous."
"I need humanity's will to evolve—before I take this world."
"So."
"Choose."
"Death."
"Or obedience."
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