They actually let her out…
Nahida slowly descended onto the stone bed, still finding it a bit hard to believe.
Who had taken control of the Grand Sage?
Instinctively, Nahida tried to sense the presence with her own power, but she couldn't detect any other consciousness nearby.
_(It's over.)_
Seeing the Dandro Archon released by his own hand, the Grand Sage's heart grew even darker. He felt like all his efforts for Suru had been in vain.
_(Now that I've been controlled… the only chance to turn things around lies with him—the Doctor.)_
"You won't get the chance. From now on, I'll be taking over the Akasha System. Whatever plans you had—none of them will succeed."
Hearing the Grand Sage's inner voice, Nahida simply shook her head with a calm expression.
_(No, you can't do this!)_
The Grand Sage was furious.
Without the Akasha System's assistance in cognitive power, their god-making plan would undoubtedly grind to a halt.
Even if over 90% of the project had already been completed, the remaining work—relying on personal ability alone—would take him more than ten years, and he still wouldn't be able to pull it off.
Unless… _the Doctor_ could co up with another way.
In the "Shallow Space," Nolan, having seen that Nahida had been released, began to ascend to the "Surface Layer." He planned to temporarily send the Grand Sage away—
And then talk with Nahida to see if she could hand over the divine artifact left behind by the Great Lord Rukkhadevata.
After all, that thing wasn't essential to her anyway. He could just consider it his reward for this mission.
"You're the one who helped , aren't you?"
Before Nolan could even send a spiritual ssage to the Grand Sage, Nahida had already looked over and spoken.
Nolan's heart skipped a beat as he instinctively looked down at himself.
He hadn't disabled his invisibility… so how did she spot him?
Even without diving into the "Shallow Space," his invisibility skill had been greatly upgraded—patched up in every weak point and significantly strengthened.
Logically, unless soone had far superior ntal strength, it shouldn't have been possible for them to see through it!
"Don't overthink it. Because of my Authority, no conscious being can hide from ."
Although Nahida couldn't physically see Nolan, she could clearly sense the presence of his consciousness.
"…"
Nolan was montarily speechless. He hadn't expected the Little Drando Archon's Authority to be so powerful. But still, wasn't casually reading other people's minds a bit impolite?
"Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't do it on purpose, it was just instinct…"
Nahida, hearing his inner thoughts, retracted her Authority with a sowhat embarrassed look.
"It's alright, no big deal."
Nolan responded with a ntal ssage to Nahida, then instructed the Grand Sage to leave for now.
The Grand Sage had no choice but to obey.
Once the Grand Sage had gone, Nolan released his invisibility and greeted Nahida, "Greetings, Lady Dandro Archon. It's an honor to et you."
"You're… You're that traveler who's been making waves recently!"
Nahida leapt off the stone bed in delight, raising her head to look at him with shining eyes.
Suru was facing a great crisis.
As its god, even while imprisoned, she had never given up hope of saving Suru.
So during her ti inside the Akasha System, aside from studying, she had also used her consciousness to possess bodies outside in search of opportunities.
And the travelers—those making their way through the Seven Nations, turning the tides in Mondstadt, Liyue Harbor, and Inazuma—were key people she had kept a close eye on.
She had been waiting and hoping for them to co to Suru City, so she could reach out and ask for their help.
She hadn't expected that mont to co so soon!
At their first eting, the traveler had actually subdued the Grand Sage and rescued her!
Thinking about it, Nahida couldn't help but feel a bit of affection toward Nolan.
[Nahida Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You. Obtained 500 Affection. Current Affection Level: Lv.3 (200/300)]
Nolan chuckled lightly and said,
"That's right, Lady Dandro Archon. I've had a few run-ins with the Fatui before, and when I found out they were secretly colluding with the Grand Sage of the Akademiya to carry out so massive conspiracy—and even went so far as to imprison you—
"There was no way I was going to let their plans succeed. So I decided to free you first, and then we can work together to bring down their whole operation!"
Though the reason he gave was slightly different from the real one—after all, it involved his knowledge of the storyline
It was better not to say anything, if it could be avoided.
As for Nahida's ability to read minds, there was nothing Nolan could do about it. After all, even in the original story, not even the Doctor at the peak of his power could resist Nahida's mind-reading abilities.
And that man had achieved extraordinary feats in the field of consciousness—he could even completely block out the Dandro Archon's awareness, preventing her from accessing the Akasha System or helping the Traveler outside.
Yet even soone _that_ powerful couldn't stop her from reading his thoughts, couldn't keep his cautious nature from being laid bare.
In the end, he paid the price of destroying all his segnts just to trade for the Gnosis from her.
So Nolan didn't think he had the ability to resist Nahida's mind-reading either. All he could do was hope she would keep her word and not pry into his thoughts, just as she had promised.
And based on what he knew of the Dandro Archon, he wasn't too worried—Nahida would honor her word.
Of course, even if she did sohow learn his secrets, as long as she didn't spread them around, there wouldn't be a problem.
That way, at least he wouldn't end up attracting unnecessary trouble.
Naturally, Nahida would keep her promise. She wouldn't eavesdrop on Nolan's mind. She felt quite happy hearing his thoughts, though her expression remained calm as she said:
"Mm. Thank you. You really _are_ a kind and selfless Traveler. I do need your help right now. And as for the item you were thinking about just now—I'll give it to you right away!"
Nahida had heard his passing thought about the divine artifact left behind by the Great Lord Rukkhadevata, and without much hesitation, she handed it over.
After all, it was thanks to him that she'd been able to escape. And besides, that artifact—which was mainly ant to imprison others—wasn't of much use to her.
Since Nolan had a need for it, it made sense to give it to him.
"Thank you, Lady Dandro Archon. I truly do have a deep interest in rare and precious treasures."
Nolan didn't stand on ceremony. He imdiately stored the semi-transparent green sphere floating in midair into his own fairyland space—and at once, he felt the space inside begin to expand rapidly.
The spatial trait that ca with it was quite impressive:
[Successfully acquired the rare treasure "ditation Chamber of the Great Lord Rukkhadevata." New spatial trait unlocked: _Contemplation_ — While inside the "Golden Vault" space, all thoughts are enhanced by this trait. Thinking speed is accelerated, research and learning beco easier, and spiritual energy gained through ditation is doubled.]
Enhanced thinking speed, easier learning and research, double spiritual gains through ditation… every single effect was powerful!
With this, Sucrose, Mona, and Lisa would be able to conduct their research much faster. Even Raiden Ei and the Salt God Havria would recover more quickly!
As expected of a divine artifact left by the Great Lord Rukkhadevata, Nolan thought to himself with admiration.
"You seem quite pleased?"
Nahida tilted her head slightly to look up at him, then pressed a finger gently to her lower lip and asked curiously.
Nolan didn't hide anything from her. Since they were going to work together, he candidly shared his thoughts:
"That's right. My personal space has the ability to absorb rare treasures and gain traits or powers related to them.
"That's actually part of the reason I ca to Suru. I was hoping to recover the Gnoses that the Doctor and his people took from Inazuma—secretly, of course—and store them in my space."
Because they were about to work together, Nolan chose to be open about his goals.
Besides, as a master in the field of consciousness, even if Nahida didn't use her mind-reading powers, she could probably still easily tell truth from lies in his words.
With people he respected, honesty was best.
"I see," Nahida nodded in understanding, but then seed to recall sothing and gave him a sudden warning:
"The _Gnosis_ is deeply connected to Celestia. Any one of the seven that leaves Teyvat might be sensed by _It_.
"If _It_ is awakened from slumber, that could be disastrous. I strongly advise you _not_ to do this."
The Gnosis didn't originate from Teyvat—it ca from Celestia. More precisely, from the very power known as _The Heavenly Principles_.
If even one of the Gnoses were to vanish from Teyvat…
The consequences could be unpredictable.
"…"
Nolan suddenly froze.
He rembered that in the ga's plot, Nahida had indeed used the threat of _destroying_ a Gnosis to awaken the Heavenly Principles and intimidate the cautious Doctor.
And his Wonderland was its own separate world. Without the "Gate" being opened, it wasn't connected to anywhere else.
It could even sever the threads of fate itself.
If the Gnosis were placed inside the Wonderland space, there was a high chance it could sever its connection with Celestia.
In that case, it would be no different from the Gnosis being destroyed.
Nolan suddenly felt a wave of disappointnt.
He had spent so long preparing to collect the Gnosis, even going so far as to fuse a stealth skill on the level of a secret technique.
And now, to find out that collecting a Gnosis might attract danger? That was just… demoralizing!
Wait... no, hold on.
If the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis could be used as an energy source to power the "God of Pure Reason" that the Doctor and his people created in the original story...
Then even if he didn't store it for power, it would still be incredibly useful!
After all, the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis represented the laws of Electro—whoever possessed it would essentially have an endless source of lightning at their disposal.
And with unlimited electricity, the developnt of elental technology in Teyvat would no doubt leap forward.
Who knows? The age of exploring the stars might even co sooner than expected!
Tch... now that I think about it, every Gnosis probably has so major use.
The Electro Gnosis equaled infinite electrical energy. The Pyro Gnosis would be endless fire energy, right? And the Dendro Gnosis was the core that sustained the Akasha System.
So wouldn't the Anemo, Geo, Hydro, and Cryo Gnoses also serve huge purposes?
Suddenly, a thought crept into Nolan's mind—a thought eerily similar to the Tsaritsa's:
What if I collected all seven Gnoses?
Hiss—!
Nolan sucked in a cold breath.
_Why the hell am I thinking sothing so suicidal?!_ Going up against the Tsaritsa, one of the top Archons, was insanely dangerous!
Better to rack up more Adventure EXP first. When he reached a level where no one could threaten him, _then_ he could consider it.
Suppressing his reckless idea, Nolan went silent for a mont, then turned to Nahida and said:
"You're right. But either way, we still have to retrieve the Gnosis."
"The Fatui are trying to create an artificial god here in Suru and plan to replace you as the region's deity. That's sothing we absolutely have to stop."
"So, Lady Dandro Archon—what's your take on all this?"
Although he'd already decided to follow his original plan—interrogate the Grand Sage to uncover the secret workshop where the Fatui and the Doctor were making the artificial god, then sneak in and investigate—since Nahida was right in front of him, and he'd just accepted her artifact reward, it was only polite to ask.
"Hmm. I'm planning to take control of the Akasha System first—shut down its function of harvesting dreams and secretly siphoning off people's cognitive abilities," Nahida said.
"But I think... it's best to leave things as they are for now. If we suddenly cut off that feature, the absence of support from the harvested 'thought power' would probably raise suspicions."
"So we'd better avoid alerting the enemy for now. Let sneak into their secret workshop first and gather information before we take our next step."
"You make a good point," Nahida nodded lightly. "Then I'll wait until you return from the investigation before taking over the Akasha."
"Alright, Lady Dandro Archon. For now, just stay here. I'll instruct the Grand Sage to carry on like usual, and once I get the location of the workshop from him, I'll sneak in."
Nolan explained calmly.
"No problem," Nahida agreed. "But the Fatui Harbinger 'the Doctor' is incredibly powerful. Going alone might be too dangerous—how about I go with you?"
Nahida thought his plan was solid, but the danger level was high.
The Doctor was terrifyingly strong, and she was genuinely worried sothing might happen to Nolan.
He was a rare find—powerful, willing to help, and genuinely kind-hearted.
No matter what, she couldn't let anything happen to him.
"...Uh, you're not wrong," Nolan hesitated for a mont, then nodded. "Then let's not waste any more ti. We'll have the Grand Sage lead us to the Fatui's secret workshop right now."
Nolan knew that the top three Fatui Harbingers all had power rivaling Archons—but since he had never seen the Doctor at full strength, he wasn't sure just how dangerous the man really was.
Still, bringing Nahida along would definitely be safer.
And if worst ca to worst, he could always call for backup. With the Shogun resting inside the Wonderland space, things probably wouldn't spiral too far out of control.
With their plan decided, the two of them went to find the Grand Sage and asked him to reveal the location where he and the Doctor had carried out their "God Creation Plan."
Once they got the intel, Nolan instructed him to keep working as usual and not to show any signs of abnormal behavior.
Then, Nolan and Nahida set off toward the secret workshop where the god-making experints were taking place!
(End of Chapter)
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