Watching the scene unfold in the Akasha, countless people were too stunned to speak.
Scaramouche had already demonstrated terrifying power, yet in the end, he was utterly suppressed by a seemingly ordinary pillar.
What in the world is that thing?!
And what place is that scene shown in the ethereal projection in the sky?!
Countless questions flooded people's minds as they stared at the massive pillar floating in the void.
Witnessing this, Enjou inwardly exclaimed, Holy crap!
He never expected to see this thing with his own eyes. He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of insane act that doctor named Edward had committed.
When had Enjou ever witnessed such a scene? Although the Abyss Order had dealt with this thing before, this was the first time he had seen it fall from the sky firsthand.
Just surviving to see the whole thing was enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life!
Reflecting on the recent events, Enjou couldn't help but complain internally. Life with Lumine was far too exciting; his fragile heart could barely take it!
"That... is the Celestial Nail,"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata took a deep breath, feeling a slight sense of relief after confirming that only Scaramouche had been suppressed by the Celestial Nail.
"I never imagined that even without acting personally, the methods displayed by that one would be so terrifying."
Hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words, Nahida snapped out of her shock.
"So this was Dr. Edward's true goal..."
Nahida was utterly stunned by his madness. This was a being that even gods like them feared immensely, yet Dr. Edward, a mere mortal, had dared to play such a high-stakes game!
Neuvillette's expression also grew solemn. Even with his current strength, he had absolutely no confidence in challenging that one. Dr. Edward's audacity was truly astounding.
However, Neuvillette also noted that Dr. Edward had used Scaramouche as a scapegoat.
Even with such a tactic, there was still a significant chance of drawing that one's attention. Dr. Edward had completely disregarded his own life and death this time.
Neuvillette couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration. He knew that the doctor had risked everything for the future of Teyvat.
Lumine's fists clenched tightly. She finally recognized it—this power was terrifyingly similar to the one wielded by the being that had separated her from her brother. The sheer, despair-inducing strength of it left her heart pounding, unable to find calm.
Right, Paimon!
Suddenly remembering Paimon's unwell state, Lumine quickly knelt down to check on her companion's condition.
"Traveler, what's wrong with Paimon?"
Noticing the movement beside her, Nahida saw Paimon's strange state and spoke with concern, her gaze fixed on them.
Her cry drew the attention of the others.
When Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Neuvillette saw Paimon's current appearance, their expressions froze in stunned silence.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's heart filled with astonishment. She stared at Paimon, and a theory about her true identity quickly began to form in her mind.
Neuvillette couldn't discern Paimon's origins, but he sensed that she harbored a colossal secret.
Meanwhile, Lumine's face was etched with anxiety. She had absolutely no idea why Paimon was in such a state.
Lumine looked pleadingly at the others, but they could only shake their heads. This situation was clearly beyond their capabilities.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata might have been able to attempt something at the height of her power, but in her current state, it was best not to try.
The only small comfort was that Paimon's physical condition wasn't actually dire.
While everyone's attention was focused on Paimon, the Celestial Nail began to take effect. The corrupted parts of Irminsul started to heal, the blackness steadily receding.
However, to the shock of all onlookers, even this immense power couldn't completely purge the Void Energy from Irminsul. In fact, the Void Energy was attempting to devour the Celestial Nail's power in return.
This is insane. Utterly insane!
Dr. Edward had truly made a name for himself. In this moment, his reputation even surpassed that of Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
After all, in their eyes, the power he had left behind was so formidable that even this terrifying existence struggled to overcome it—and was even being pushed back. It was simply beyond belief
This scene seemed to completely enrage a certain entity once more. The light and aura radiating from the Celestial Nail intensified, finally suppressing the Power of Void completely. Immediately after, a series of sounds like popping bubbles echoed within the Akasha.
Only after nearly all the Power of Void had been purged did the Celestial Nail gradually dim, then hang silently suspended in the Akasha.
Meanwhile, the projection of the island in the sky faded, and the heavens returned to tranquility.
It seemed the entity above had no intention of retrieving the Nail.
"Tra... Traveler?"
The strange phenomena surrounding Paimon had completely vanished. As she slowly woke up, she yawned and flew toward Lumine.
"Traveler, is it time for dinner?"
"I feel a little hungry."
"Why... are you all looking at me like that?"
Suddenly, Paimon noticed the strange way Lumine was staring at her, and her sleepiness vanished.
She then looked at the others and saw they all wore similar expressions. She was utterly bewildered.
"Did I sleepwalk just now?"
"Oh, right... what were we doing before?"
Seeing Paimon's clueless expression, as if she'd completely forgotten everything that had just happened, the others hesitated, unsure whether to tell her. In the end, they all turned to Lumine with questioning gazes.
Lumine stiffened under the weight of their collective stares, the pressure mounting...
"Is it... over?"
After what felt like an eternity, someone finally snapped out of their shock from the earlier spectacle, muttering dazedly to themselves.
"I think... maybe... probably... it's really over."
As this realization sank in, a wave of excitement swept through the crowd.
In that moment, all barriers between people vanished. They cheered, high-fived, and embraced one another, unleashing the pent-up emotions surging within them.
Surviving such a cataclysmic event felt like being reborn.
The deep-seated beliefs and prejudices they once held now seemed insignificant.
However, one person, still standing dazed by the roadside, was tapped on the shoulder. Their body crumpled to the ground. Instantly, the surrounding crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed on the fallen figure.
After a long moment, a braver soul stepped forward to check on the person. A sharp gasp of alarm quickly followed.
"D-Dead!"
A shadow of gloom fell over them all.
This death wasn't an end—it was a beginning.
At the Akademiya, under the watchful eyes of Nahida and the others, several Matra and students suddenly collapsed, falling stiffly to the ground. Their breathing grew shallow, their lives hanging by a thread. Panic erupted. Nahida, her face instantly turning pale, urgently summoned Dr. Zachariah.
Dr. Zachariah arrived swiftly and began a thorough examination of the fallen.
As he worked, reports flooded in to Nahida from all across Sumeru. Similar incidents were occurring everywhere. The preliminary estimate put the number of casualties at around four thousand, and the count was still rising.
The faces of everyone present grew heavy upon hearing the number.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata found it hard to accept. She had made a deal with Dr. Edward, and he didn't seem like the type to break his word. Could something unforeseen have happened?
Neuvillette's expression was grim as well. He didn't believe Dr. Edward had intentionally caused these casualties. Instead, he suspected that even Emily hadn't foreseen this turn of events.
This wasn't surprising. A 100% accurate predictive ability was almost impossible. What Emily did was simply synthesize all collected intelligence to deduce the most probable outcome.
Minor adjustments were always necessary during this process to prevent significant deviations, so a situation like this was entirely possible. It was just that the price Sumeru had to pay was far too high.
Neuvillette sighed softly and looked at Nahida, who seemed as if her soul had left her body. He didn't know how to comfort her.
Just then, Dr. Zachariah finally finished examining the victims, his brow deeply furrowed.
"My apologies, Your Excellencies," he said, his voice strained. "My medical skills are insufficient. I... I can't save them."
"I can't determine what's wrong with their bodies. Their life force is steadily draining away."
Dr. Zachariah faltered, his expression deeply ashamed.
"How could this happen..."
Nahida shuddered, her mind reeling from the devastating blow.
Though she had already learned the truth from other sources, she had clung to a final shred of hope—that Dr. Zachariah's medical expertise could save these people. But the outcome remained unchanged. Nahida couldn't accept it.
Thousands of casualties meant thousands of families torn apart.
And the death toll was still rising. She had no idea how many more would perish in the end.
Unable to find the cause, she couldn't even try to stop it. All she could do was wait helplessly for it all to end...
Hearing this result, an unconcealable sorrow washed over the faces of everyone present.
But soon, their expressions froze, and their eyes gradually lost their light.
Lumine, whose observation skills had been honed to an inhuman degree, instantly detected the anomaly. Without realizing it, she had already gripped her Dull Blade tightly in her hand.
"Is there really no hope for them?"
"They're so pitiful... Traveler, what's wrong?"
Paimon was about to say something to Lumine when she noticed Lumine's wary stance and immediately grew tense.
Aside from Nahida, who was still lost in grief, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Neuvillette also sensed the anomaly, though their reactions were far less conspicuous.
"It seems I'm a little late," a voice said.
Lofan suddenly appeared before them, smiling faintly.
"Dr. Edward!" Paimon gasped.
Beside her, Lumine's killing intent surged violently. The mere backlash sent a bone-chilling cold through Paimon, making her shiver uncontrollably.
But as Lumine stared at Dr. Edward's back, memories of their past interactions flooded her mind. She raised her Dull Blade, then raised it again, but ultimately lowered her weapon.
No matter what, she owed her current strength to him. The process had been agonizing and nearly broke her, but she would never forget the debt she owed.
"Dr. Edward, Sumeru's casualties are constantly rising. How can we stop it?" Greater Lord Rukkhadevata stepped forward, urgently asking Lofan.
"Why should we stop it?"
Hearing this, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata froze.
Neuvillette, however, seemed to grasp something. He let out a faint sigh of relief and watched Lofan calmly, awaiting his explanation.
"Those are my people," Lofan said with another smile. "Evacuating Sumeru would be the best outcome for you, wouldn't it?"
Just as I predicted, he thought. When a new fate is inserted, the old destinies are treated as anomalous programs and simply purged.
It wasn't fatal. It just meant a group of people would now exist in this world without a past or a future. For him, however, reclaiming those Points was the most profitable move. He could even leverage the recent large-scale chaos to boost his earnings. All he needed was to leave a few bodies behind to gather intelligence in Sumeru.
"So that's how it is."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata understood as well. A bitter smile touched her lips, and her gaze toward Lofan held a hint of reproach.
"Given your power," she said, "I have every reason to suspect you deliberately waited until now to appear, watching our struggles from the shadows for your own amusement."
"Wait, hold on, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!" Nahida finally snapped out of her shock, wiping tears from her eyes as she spoke in disbelief. "Are you saying all those who died were members of that mysterious faction?"
"To be precise, they didn't die. They simply returned," Neuvillette clarified.
At this point, Lumine and Paimon were completely lost. They couldn't understand a single word of the conversation. Have we already fallen behind the times?!
"Ah, Monsieur Neuvillette truly understands us!" Lofan exclaimed with a sigh.
Neuvillette nearly lost his composure. After what you put Fontaine through, how could I not understand?
"Alright," Lofan said, waving his hand dismissively. "I just came to explain things and say goodbye."
"Lady Rukkhadevata, I've upheld our agreement."
Hearing this, everyone turned to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata with puzzled expressions, wondering when she had made a deal with Lofan.
"Traveler, let me borrow your sword for a moment."
Taking advantage of Lumine's daze from the previous conversation, Lofan snatched the Dull Blade from her hand. Under her bewildered gaze, he flashed a harmless smile, then swiftly slit his own throat with the blade. Blood instantly sprayed everywhere.
Warm liquid splattered across Lumine's cheek. Her pupils constricted violently, and a hint of madness flickered in her eyes.
Fake. It's all fake!
A dream... I'm still dreaming!
I can't tell... I really can't tell anymore!
By the time the others snapped out of their shock from Lofan's "hardcore farewell," they saw Lumine holding the Dull Blade to her own neck. Their faces instantly paled...