Venti gently wiped the sweat from his brow.
The future revealed by the light screen had shaken him to his core.
Witch Bella was terrifying—so terrifying that in the future, he hadn't even been given a chance to flee before being killed outright.
What truly unsettled him was that, in Aerin's eyes, Bella's appearance hadn't stirred even the slightest ripple of emotion.
That calm statement—"She poses no threat to me"—had clearly come from the heart.
Venti felt fortunate.
In the future, he had not accepted Bella's power.
He had even said: "Your power is nothing compared to Aerin's."
That single sentence alone had narrowed the distance between them.
Venti silently praised his own wit.
Had he agreed to Bella's offer, Aerin would never have bothered speaking to him again—perhaps even ending him with a single palm strike, reducing him to nothing more than a wisp of wind.
The only regret was that his future self still hadn't fully grasped just how terrifying Aerin truly was.
If it were the current him, how could he dare address Aerin by name alone?
At the very least, it should be "Lord Aerin."
"Lord Aerin… before that, may I ask something?"
Venti carefully avoided the topic of Bella and probed cautiously.
"This light screen…"
"A friend of mine," Aerin replied flatly.
"One who wanders the cosmos, holds authority over endings, understands history and the future—and enjoys stirring up trouble."
"He insisted on showing me what my future in this world would look like.
Once he was done, he left."
"—Hiss!"
Venti felt the surrounding air freeze.
Eula stood there, completely stunned, unable to understand any of it.
In the distance, Dvalin crawled forward—then immediately flattened himself against the ground, unmoving.
No wonder the light screen could envelop all of Teyvat.
It had been created by a cosmic entity, merely fooling around with an old friend.
And that casual "game" had shaken the entire world to its foundations.
Venti took a deep breath and steadied himself.
At last, he steered the conversation toward Mondstadt's fate.
"Lord Aerin… your friend truly possesses unimaginable power,"
he said with a strained smile.
"But if things continue like this, won't it rob you of the joy of exploring this world yourself?"
"You are the future master of Teyvat."
Aerin glanced sideways at the ever-smiling Venti.
This wind god truly had a silver tongue.
The meaning was obvious:
If Aerin simply followed the future shown by the light screen, it would undermine his status as the world's true ruler.
Teyvat belonged to Aerin, not to the prophecy.
"This is not something you need to concern yourself with," Aerin replied.
"Y-Yes, of course…" Venti nodded rapidly.
Then—
Black vortexes silently opened around them.
Moments later, countless white, mutated creatures emerged.
Hundreds of evolved Geovishaps.
Venti swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his back, quietly awaiting Mondstadt's judgment.
"I've been thinking," Aerin said calmly,
"about how to fix Mondstadt's chronic laziness."
"War strengthens will—but for ordinary people, it mostly breeds fear."
"Didn't Alice once say that hilichurls could be repurposed as labor to power all of Mondstadt's workshops?"
"Since so many workshops still lie idle…"
He paused.
"Then let the ones who stood on the left that day become the labor force."
"One workday."
"Eighteen hours."
The system had already recorded the data of Teyvat's inhabitants.
That was why the future scenes felt so real.
Aerin transmitted the identities of the executed seventy percent of Mondstadt's citizens into the consciousness of the summoned creatures.
They would supervise them.
Relentlessly.
"I've granted these creatures limited authority," Aerin continued.
"They possess healing abilities."
"They can treat injuries—and also detect whether someone is truly ill."
"If anyone pretends to be sick to slack off…"
He smiled faintly.
"They will be executed."
"I've locked every target in place using the Thousand-Year Wind.
No one escapes Mondstadt."
"Those who flee will die as well."
Venti's face went pale.
Eula listened in horror.
What terrified her wasn't the executions.
It was the eighteen-hour labor days, under the watch of monsters.
Even Jean worked less than that.
Crushing physical labor.
Constant fear.
Endless darkness.
This punishment was worse than death.
Those who feared death most would suffer longest.
"If they choose suicide, it simply proves their will is unworthy of life," Aerin said coldly.
"Under this double torment of body and mind, some will change."
"Venti."
"Return to Mondstadt."
"Oversee the operation."
"While you're at it, resume governance.
Expand the city if you must—keep yourself busy."
"Purpose slows erosion."
Venti's mouth twitched.
Work… had arrived far too suddenly.
Yet this was the best possible outcome for Mondstadt.
Without lingering, Venti departed with Dvalin and the mutated Geovishaps, flying toward the city.
Aerin watched him leave.
He did not notice Eula staring at him.
Women, by nature, are drawn to strength.
Even the proudest among them long to be conquered by someone stronger.
Eula was no exception.
In the future, she would already be Aerin's Valkyrie.
With that destiny, who would dare mock the Lawrence name again?
"You're staring," Aerin said.
"N-No! Nothing!"
Eula flailed in panic.
"Still… after this, no one in Mondstadt will dare point fingers at your lineage again."
"Most of them are already on the labor list."
"Good luck."
Aerin turned to leave.
Only then did Eula fully understand what Venti's flattery had meant.
Aerin wasn't following the future.
He was using it.
Realizing this, Eula ran after him.
"Master!"
Aerin stopped.
Blushing fiercely, she asked softly,
"May I… call you that? Just like my future self?"
...
Some things must be claimed proactively.
Opportunity does not wait.
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