Nahida spread her arms wide, hopping and skipping through the vast sea of flowers.
Like a little spirit of the blossoms.
Her slightly chubby cheeks carried an unbroken smile, pure and radiant.
She could enter dreams, even guide others to relive their most precious mories.
But in the dreams of others, Nahida was rely a guide, a visitor.
Ryen was different.
His willpower was... strange.
Here, he was fully aware that he was dreaming. He could control the dream, bending it to his will, performing feats beyond imagination.
Of course, that wasn't what mattered to Nahida.
Because Ryen was her friend. No matter what they did—even if it was just sitting together and talking—Nahida would still feel happy.
She bounded forward, landing beside a particularly bright yellow flower.
A flower she had never seen before.
And she loved it.
Crouching down obediently, she stared at it with sparkling eyes full of delight.
"Ryen! Co look!"
Ryen, following behind, chuckled and walked over, squatting beside her.
"That's a dandelion."
Upon hearing this, Nahida shook her head, her expression serious.
"No, I ant—this one has an extra petal compared to the others. It's so pretty!"
Ryen was montarily taken aback.
Then, his heart softened even more.
Nahida didn't care about the na of the flower. She was simply morizing each blossom by its own unique beauty, with the pure fondness of a child.
Innocent to the point of being unbelievable…
"I'll pick it for you."
Ryen smiled, reaching out.
But Nahida imdiately shook her head in protest.
"No, no! Such a beautiful little flower should be free to bloom and dance with the wind. I can't just take away its future just because I like it!"
Ryen fell silent.
This was the sa girl who couldn't even bear to pluck a flower in a dream.
Yet she had willingly allowed herself to be imprisoned for five hundred years by the very people she sought to protect.
She had fought to preserve the freedom of flowers, but who had ever cared about protecting her innocence?
Ryen shook off the lancholic thoughts.
With a flick of his fingers, he conjured an identical flower out of thin air and handed it to Nahida.
"Amazing!"
Nahida's eyes lit up with excitent, montarily forgetting that they were inside a dream. She held the flower in her hands, carefully turning it over, examining it with fascination.
Then, with great care, she turned around and planted it in the soil beside the original dandelion.
"Hehe! Now she won't be lonely anymore!"
Ryen said nothing, only smiled, standing up and pulling Nahida's hand as they floated toward an empty patch of grassland.
It was close to the flower fields but remained an open, untouched prairie.
Ryen pointed at the vast, blooming landscape before them, his smile playful.
"Let's build a house here. Facing the sea of flowers, so every morning when you wake up, you'll see your favorite garden."
Nahida thought for a mont, tilting her head curiously.
"Building houses—is that sothing unique to your world?"
"Hmm… you could say that."
Ryen chuckled.
"My world has many unique things. I'll show you one day. But for now, this world belongs to us."
"In here, we can create anything we want! What kind of house does Nahida want?"
Nahida's gaze flickered with thought. After a mont, she murmured softly:
"Could… could we build the Sanctuary of Surasthana?"
"The Sanctuary of Surasthana?"
"Um… I've heard it's the ho of the Dendro Archon. A very beautiful place… But you've never seen it before, so it's fine if we don't."
Nahida suddenly looked a little guilty.
She truly liked the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Even though it had been her prison, it was also the only place in Suru that had ever belonged to her.
"The Sanctuary of Surasthana? Of course, I've heard of it!"
Ryen nodded with a grin, his voice soft yet certain.
"They say it is the dwelling of the Dendro Archon, built upon a great tree—the most sacred place in all of Suru."
Hearing this, Nahida brightened slightly, but then she hesitated and shook her head.
"That's… not entirely true. The Sanctuary of Surasthana is the residence of the current Lesser Lord Kusanali. Back when the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was still present, it was the most sacred place in Suru."
"But now… the Lesser Lord Kusanali is probably not a very qualified god. The true heart of Suru now lies in the Akademiya."
"Though, Ryen, you haven't been in Teyvat for very long. You might not know much about these stories, right?"
Nahida spoke calmly, her voice free of resentnt.
She truly believed that she was unworthy of being called a proper god.
Maybe it was the imnse shadow cast by the legacy of Rukkhadevata.
But Ryen thought it had more to do with the sages of the Akademiya—their cold indifference, their deliberate disregard.
He, however, completely disagreed.
"I actually know quite a lot about Teyvat's history."
"The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was indeed a remarkable god—there's no denying that."
Nahida's eyes shimred for a mont, her lips curving into a soft smile.
"You think so too? You also recognize how great she was?"
"But I don't believe that the Lesser Lord Kusanali is any less worthy of being a god."
Ryen fixed his gaze on Nahida, his eyes deep and unwavering, causing her heart to suddenly race.
For a fleeting second, she felt as though Ryen had seen right through her.
"As I traveled through Teyvat, I t a very knowledgeable friend. We talked for a long ti about many things."
"He knows the world's history as if he had lived through every mont himself, rembering it in his very bones."
"He told sothing from his own experience—when judging whether a god is truly worthy, their great deeds and their contributions are important, yes."
"But even more important… is whether that god can love their people, unfalteringly, for centuries, for millennia."
"In Teyvat, gods love their people, and the people love their gods. That is the very essence of this world—the bond that should be reciprocal, not one-sided."
Ryen paused before adding with a smile:
"Take Barbatos, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt. Nahida, why do you think the people of Mondstadt still revere him, even though he hasn't shown himself for hundreds of years?"
Nahida blinked in curiosity, then whispered:
"Because… Lord Barbatos once freed his people from the tyranny of the King of the Tower."
"That is just one reason," Ryen said with a smile, shaking his head.
"Barbatos accomplished many great feats, but those alone are not the true reason Mondstadt's people love him."
Nahida gazed at Ryen with anticipation. It was clear she genuinely wanted to know what it took to beco a god like the other Seven—or even like the Great Lord Rukkhadevata.
A god who was truly beloved.
Even after being imprisoned for five hundred years by her own people, she still firmly believed that it was her own shortcomings that led to this fate.
"The reason Mondstadt's people love Barbatos day after day is simple," Ryen continued. "Because they can feel, in the depths of their hearts, that they are cherished by the Anemo Archon."
"As long as the wind continues to blow, they know that their god is watching over them."
"The departed souls return to his embrace, while the living, under his protection, pursue the freedom they love."
"They know—without a doubt—that Barbatos cares for them. And so, for thousands of years, they have loved him in return."
"And Barbatos... he has never stopped loving them either."
At this point, Ryen paused briefly, then asked aningfully, "Now tell , Nahida—O God of Dreams—do you believe that the Little Lord Kusanali loves Suru and its people just as deeply as the Great Lord Rukkhadevata once did?"
"Of course!" Nahida answered without hesitation, her voice unwavering.
Ryen smiled. He reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"Great deeds beco immortalized in history, transforming into the epics that define a god. But you must understand sothing."
"Before any of those legendary feats were accomplished, there was one fundantal truth."
"A god must first truly love their people."
"It is that love that grants them unimaginable strength. It is that love that allows them to achieve extraordinary miracles."
"If this Little Lord Kusanali already loves Suru as deeply as the Great Lord Rukkhadevata once did, then from the very beginning, she was always worthy of being called a god."
"Right now, she is rely walking the path—from a worthy god to a great one."
"In the near future, she will beco an Archon just as magnificent as the Great Lord Rukkhadevata... perhaps even surpassing her."
"This is the essence of the Seven Archons. And this... this is what the people, the ones loved by their god, should believe."
Nahida fell silent, lost in deep thought.
Ryen said no more.
He simply couldn't stand watching Nahida doubt herself.
Even if Zhongli himself were here to evaluate Nahida, he would say that she was already a fine god.
Because she sincerely loved her people and her nation.
And that was enough.
The reputation of Zhongli, the God of War, and the glory that Morax bestowed upon Liyue—
All of it was forged by his love for his people, in battles fought with his own fists and blade.
If Zhongli had not loved his people, he never would have bled for them in the Archon War. And if he had not fought for them, why would so many adepti and warriors have willingly followed him into battle, laying down their lives without hesitation?
Nahida should have understood this after five hundred years as a god.
But she had been imprisoned.
By the sages of the Akademiya.
By the people of Suru.
They had stolen from her the chance to walk the path toward greatness.
But Nahida would never say such things aloud.
Because she loved this nation.
Ryen, however, was different.
First, he was just a human—one who bore grudges easily.
Second, Nahida was his friend.
And that alone was enough for him to consider burning the Akademiya down to ashes.
"Alright, let's not dwell on these things anymore," Ryen said, smiling as he ruffled Nahida's hair again. His voice softened.
"Although I know about the Sanctuary of Surasthana, I've never actually seen it with my own eyes. There will be many details I'll need your help with."
"Shall we... start building our ho?"
With that, Ryen took out several saplings of oak trees.
Nahida carefully morized his words, then nodded firmly.
"Mm! I'll help you, Ryen!"
Ryen crouched down, arranging the oak saplings in a neat row. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a handful of bone al. After a brief pause, he looked up at Nahida and said with utmost seriousness,
"Now, I'm going to teach you the most important rule of this world."
Nahida's expression imdiately beca solemn. She stared at Ryen with full attention.
He slowly opened his mouth and declared:
"If you want to get rich, first punch so trees. Dig three down, then cover the hole to mine safely!"
A mysterious gleam flickered in Nahida's erald eyes. She carefully engraved this wisdom deep into her mory.
With a gentle sprinkle of bone al, the tiny saplings shot up in orderly rows, growing into towering trees that seed to reach for the sky.
Seeing this, Nahida clapped her hands in delight.
Ryen took her by the hand and soared into the air, hovering before the majestic oaks. With precise movents, he placed the very first block.
In the vast, open dreamscape, Nahida's cheerful voice rang out.
"Ryen! You placed that wrong! The entrance to the Sanctuary of Surasthana is an arched spire!"
"The stairs at the entrance have six steps!"
"Ryen, Ryen! I ran out of blocks—give more!"
"Ryen, Ryen…!"
The playful chatter of a young goddess filled the endless sky, echoing through this dream-crafted world of Minecraft.
And the grand Sanctuary of Surasthana, the ho she had long yearned for, slowly took shape—under Ryen's skillful hands and Nahida's enthusiastic guidance.
~~----------------------
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