"My world... at least in terms of entertainnt, is far more advanced than this one."
Lucian didn't dare claim that technology was more advanced too—Teyvat's tech tree was downright bizarre. Those giant cha-like machines? Lucian couldn't even begin to wrap his head around them.
Not to ntion entities like Scaramouche and the Raiden Shogun—those sentient puppets were practically black technology. Ei really was an insanely skilled tech-otaku girl.
Lucian had no intention of hiding his origins either. Being an outlander wasn't sothing he needed to keep secret from those present—they were all his people now.
He also didn't consider himself equivalent to an entire world, so he probably didn't qualify as a Descender.
"As for a way back..."
At this, Hu Tao and Navia both perked up, listening intently.
"I don't have one." Lucian shrugged.
After all, there was nothing left for him there—no blood relatives to seek, no attachnts to speak of.
In Teyvat, however, he had ford bonds. If he left... what would Furina do?
Never having known hope was far less cruel than having it granted, only to be snatched away.
Navia and Hu Tao both sighed in relief. They'd heard from Paimon about the Traveler's eventual departure and had worried Lucian might leave just like that.
"Lucian, keeping sothing this big from the director? You really deserve a punishnt~"
Hu Tao wiggled her fingers mischievously, threatening to tickle him.
She held back for now, though—out of respect for the Traveler's presence, she spared Lucian the embarrassnt.
"Hu Tao's right." Navia nodded, the two now united against him.
If we're talking about secrets, Lucian mused, Zhongli's no better than .
Outsiders in Teyvat weren't unique, but the Geo Archon? There was only one of him.
The mighty Rex Lapis, deceiving a girl barely sixteen or seventeen, swindling his way into free als and lodging—truly shaless.
By all accounts, Zhongli deserved the highest punishnt!
Lumine now understood—unlike her, Lucian wasn't a traveler journeying between worlds.
The difference was, she had a way to leave. He didn't.
Truthfully, even she'd grown attached to Paimon. But if her brother chose to leave, she couldn't force him to stay.
What she didn't know was that her brother had already naturalized as a Teyvat local—far more thoroughly than she ever could.
Rene (Rene de Petrichor) had severed his ties with Teyvat to defy the prophecy, forcibly making himself an outsider.
Aether, however, had done the opposite—despite having no inherent connection, he'd forcefully registered himself into Teyvat's system.
Speaking of outsiders, the reason Fontaine's people carried original sin might stem from their origins—when these "water beings" first erged, their fates lay outside the divine design, making them unregistered entities.
This clearly disrupted the Heavenly Principles' "eternity," leading to Egeria's imprisonnt.
But back then, the Heavenly Principles still held absolute power, so they didn't resort to imdiate force.
Instead, they granted Fontaine's people citizenship, then slowly boiled them alive with a predestined fate.
It wasn't until the arrival of the Second Descender that the Heavenly Principles' power ceased to be absolute, and eternity was shattered.
Forced to revert to an alternative seven-elent order, the Seven Archons beca its custodians—less a race, more a job title.
Funny how both Hydro Archons ended up betraying their roles.
Egeria's purpose was to control the Primordial Sea and maintain the seven-elent order.
Instead, she used the Primordial Sea to create an entire race of water beings—earning herself a divine prison sentence.
Focalors inherited Egeria's legacy, betrayal included.
The Archons' duty was to safeguard the Gnoses and divine thrones, yet Focalors outright shattered hers.
Celestia, the "managent," must've been at a loss—what to do with employees born to rebel?
"By the way, Lucian, do you know why we ended up in this world?" Lumine asked.
The twins' arrival had been accidental—they hadn't chosen Teyvat.
Passing by, they'd been pulled in. Even she didn't understand how.
"About that... it's a long story. Better to learn through your travels." Lucian waved it off—too much effort to explain.
Besides, with Hu Tao and Navia present—both native citizens—it might not be wise to elaborate.
The full story involved Khaenri'ah, Celestia, the Seven, and the Abyss.
The truth about Khaenri'ah was known to both the Heavenly Principles and the Archons. They'd expected its downfall—just not that spectacularly.
Khaenri'ah's plans had three branches: alchemy, chanical engineering, and... gacha.
The engineering route aid to create beings surpassing Descenders to oppose Celestia.
Alchemy sought to recreate the Primordial One, potentially remaking Teyvat's order—freeing humanity from predestined fate.
As for gacha? They'd been pulling for outlanders—maybe trying to summon a Descender.
After who knows how many pulls, they hit double gold—Aether and Lumine.
But while the dream was grand, the reality...
Sohow, Khaenri'ah "accidentally" invited the Abyss into the mix.
The resulting catastrophe forced Celestia and the Seven to clean up the ss.
Here's where the Archons' helplessness showed.
Take Egeria—with her authority over the Primordial Sea, Fontaine's flood crisis wouldn't occur while she lived. Celestia couldn't allow that.
Likely foreseeing her death, Egeria passed her throne and Gnosis to Focalors before departing.
Similarly, Makoto knew that even if Khaenri'ah fell, Inazuma would face the Abyss.
The only solution was a god's sacrifice—using Istaroth's power to manifest the Sacred Sakura and seal the Abyss.
Unwilling to let her sister bear this, Makoto went to Khaenri'ah in secret, knowingly to her death.
When the Seven gathered at Gurabad, Hydro Archon Egeria perished before even reaching Khaenri'ah.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata used the Goddess of Flowers' relics and Egeria's essence to grow the Tree of Seeds, sealing the Abyss.
After this, she never went to Khaenri'ah—instead heading to Irminsul, where she... well, everyone knows how that ended.
Two Archons lost before the battle even began.
Of the remaining five, Makoto wasn't a combatant—the fight against the Abyss was brutal.
Already exhausted, Venti returned to Mondstadt only to face Durin—then slept for five hundred years.
Oh, and Ei—poor Ei, upon learning her sister had gone to Khaenri'ah, rushed after her.
She arrived just in ti to hold her dying sister, utterly shattered.
No sooner had she left Inazuma than the Abyss invaded.
Returning, she found her nation on the brink, an unknown tree towering over ruins, her friends and people nearly all gone.
In that brief ti, she'd lost everyone.
All her martial prowess, yet she'd failed to protect her sister, friends, or people.
Devastated, she withdrew entirely, crafting a puppet to rule in her stead.
Celestia's condition was unknown, but it entered prolonged dormancy.
Truly, Khaenri'ah had pulled off sothing monuntal.
Aside from Zhongli, the Seven either perished, slept, or isolated themselves.
Though not their intended outco, they'd nearly shattered Celestia's order—alongside Teyvat itself.
The twins were likely part of Khaenri'ah's plan—perhaps ant to beco Descenders opposing Celestia.
Lumine would learn all this eventually. Wasn't uncovering the world's truths the point of traveling?
"Let's just say... your brother's already walked this world. He knows the truth. Now, it's your turn."
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