Nahida spread her arms and skipped through a sea of flowers, like an elf among a hundred blooms.
A smile never left her slightly chubby, baby-faced cheeks.
She could enter dreams and even guide others to recall beautiful memories.
But in others' dreams, Nahida was more of a guide and observer.
Jiang Xuan was different.
His willpower seemed somewhat strange.
Here, he knew he was dreaming, he could control the dream, performing all sorts of incredible feats.
Of course, this wasn't what Nahida cared about.
Because Jiang Xuan was her good friend, no matter what they did, even if it was just sitting and chatting, Nahida was very happy.
Nahida skipped and landed next to the most vibrant yellow flower a flower she had never seen before.
She loved it.
She knelt down obediently, staring at the small yellow flower with eyes full of affection.
"Jiang Xuan! Come look!"
Jiang Xuan, who was following behind her, chuckled and knelt down with her.
"This is a Dandelion."
Hearing this, Nahida shook her head and said seriously,
"I mean, this flower has one more petal than the others, it's so beautiful!"
Jiang Xuan was a little surprised, but then his heart softened even more.
Nahida didn't care what kind of flowers they were; she simply used her own affection to carefully remember the appearance of each one.
She was incredibly innocent...
"I'll pick it for you."
Jiang Xuan said with a smile, but Nahida quickly shook her head and refused.
"No, no! Such a beautiful little flower should grow freely and wildly with the wind. I can't stifle its future just because I like it!"
Jiang Xuan fell silent.
It was this adorable loli, who couldn't even bear to pick a flower in a dream, yet she willingly allowed herself to be imprisoned by her own people for five hundred years.
She protected the free growth of the flowers, but who cared about her innocence?
Jiang Xuan didn't dwell on such mood-affecting thoughts.
He simply waved his hand, conjuring an identical flower, and handed it to Nahida.
"How magical!"
Nahida seemed to forget this was a dream, happily taking it and examining it for a while.
Then she turned around and carefully planted it next to the Dandelion on the ground.
"Hehe! Now she has a companion!"
Jiang Xuan said nothing, simply stood up, took Nahida's hand, and led her to an open grassy field.
It was extremely close to the sea of flowers, yet it was just a vast, empty grassland.
Jiang Xuan smiled, pointing at the flower sea before them.
"Let's build a house here, facing the sea of flowers. Nahida can wake up every day and see her favorite garden."
Hearing this, Nahida thought for a moment and asked curiously,
"Building houses, is that a specialty of Jiang Xuan's world?"
"Hmm... you could say that."
Jiang Xuan smiled.
"My world has many other specialties. I'll take you to see them in person someday, Nahida. But for now, this is our world."
"Here, you can do whatever you want! What do you have in mind for your house, Nahida?"
Hearing Jiang Xuan, Nahida's eyes twinkled for a moment, and she softly said,
"Can... can we build a Sanctuary of Surasthana?"
"Sanctuary of Surasthana?"
"Uhm... that place, I heard it's the God of Wisdom's residence, a very beautiful building... Jiang Xuan has never seen it, so never mind then."
Nahida felt a little guilty.
She really liked the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Although it had imprisoned her, it was, after all, the only place she truly had in Sumeru.
"The Sanctuary of Surasthana? Of course I've heard of it!"
Jiang Xuan smiled and nodded gently.
"I heard it's the residence of the God of Wisdom, built upon a giant tree, the most revered place in Sumeru."
Hearing this, Nahida was clearly happy, but still shook her head and said,
"Actually, it's not. The Sanctuary of Surasthana is the residence of the current Lesser Lord Kusanali. When the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was still present, it truly was the most revered place in Sumeru."
"But now... Lesser Lord Kusanali doesn't seem to be a qualified deity yet, and the true revered place in Sumeru is the Academiya."
"But Jiang Xuan, you just arrived in Teyvat not long ago, so you probably don't know these stories, right?"
Nahida spoke naturally and calmly, without a hint of other emotions.
She truly believed that she was far from a qualified deity.
Perhaps it was due to the pressure of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's great deeds, but Jiang Xuan felt it was more because of the indifference of the Academiya's sages and the people of Sumeru.
But Jiang Xuan disagreed.
"I actually know all the stories of Teyvat very well."
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was indeed a great deity; that is undeniable."
Nahida's eyes flickered for a moment, and she smiled softly.
"Is that so? Jiang Xuan also knows of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's greatness!"
"But I think Lesser Lord Kusanali might not be an unqualified deity."
Jiang Xuan gazed steadily at Nahida, his eyes so deep that Nahida felt a pang of nervousness.
For a moment, she thought Jiang Xuan had seen through her identity.
"After I came to Teyvat, I met a very knowledgeable friend, and I chatted with him for a long time, about many things."
"He knows a long history, as deeply ingrained as if he had lived it himself."
"He also told me from personal experience that evaluating whether a deity is qualified, what great deeds they have accomplished, and what beauty they have brought is one aspect."
"But the most important aspect is whether a deity can love their people for hundreds, even thousands of years, day after day."
"A deity loves humans, and humans love a deity; this is the main theme of Teyvat. This feeling should be a mutual journey, not a one-sided payment."
Pausing, Jiang Xuan smiled again.
"Like Anemo Archon Barbatos of Mondstadt, Nahida, why do you think Barbatos is still revered by the people of Mondstadt even after not appearing for hundreds of years?"
Nahida blinked curiously and softly asked,
"Is it because... Barbatos once brought freedom to his people from the tyranny of Decarabian, the Isolated Tower King?"
"That is one reason."
Jiang Xuan smiled and shook his head.
"Barbatos's great deeds extend beyond that, but that is not the fundamental reason why the people of Mondstadt love him."
Nahida looked at Jiang Xuan with a hint of anticipation. It was clear she genuinely wanted to know how to become a revered deity like the other Seven Archons and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
Even after being imprisoned by her own people for five hundred years, she still firmly believed that she wasn't doing enough.
"The reason Barbatos is loved by the people of Mondstadt day after day is because the people of Mondstadt clearly feel that they are loved by the Anemo Archon."
"As long as the wind flows, they know that their god is watching over them."
"Departed souls can return to the embrace of their god, and the living can pursue the freedom they love under the wind's protection."
"They can clearly perceive the Anemo Archon's favor towards them, and so, they have loved Barbatos for thousands of years, day after day."
"And Barbatos, too, feels the same."
At this point, Jiang Xuan paused, hinting,
"Then, Nahida, as the God of Dreams, do you think Lesser Lord Kusanali loves Sumeru and its people as deeply as Greater Lord Rukkhadevata did?"
"Of course!"
Nahida answered decisively, without a hint of hesitation.
Jiang Xuan smiled, gently ruffling Nahida's hair.
"Great deeds are epics bestowed upon deities by the long passage of time, but you must know."
"The prerequisite for achieving these legendary epics is a deity's sincere love for their people."
"This love grants them unimaginable power and enables them to accomplish indescribably great feats."
"Since Lesser Lord Kusanali already loves Sumeru as deeply as Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, then, from the very beginning, she was qualified."
"She is now simply progressing from a qualified deity towards a great deity."
"In the near future, she will surely become a great ruler comparable to, or even surpassing, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
"This is the essence of the Seven Archons, and it should also be the belief held by humans beloved by the gods."
Seeing Nahida seemingly lost in thought, Jiang Xuan said no more.
He simply couldn't stand Nahida's self-disapproval.
But even if Zhongli were to come now and evaluate Nahida, he would say Nahida is a very qualified deity.
Because she genuinely loves her people and her nation.
That is enough.
The renown of Zhongli, God of War, and the glory Rex Lapis brought to the people of Liyue.
All of it was forged, punch by punch, based on Zhongli's premise of loving humanity.
If Zhongli didn't love humanity, why would he have fought so fiercely in the Archon War, and how would he have attracted countless Adepti to follow him to their deaths?
Nahida should have understood this during her five hundred years as a deity.
But she was imprisoned.
It was the Academiya, it was Sumeru, that wronged her.
They stifled Nahida's path to becoming a great deity.
However, Nahida would say nothing, because she loved this nation.
But Jiang Xuan wouldn't.
Firstly, he was a petty human.
Secondly, Nahida was his good friend.
This was enough for Jiang Xuan to scatter the ashes of the Academiya.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
Jiang Xuan smiled as he ruffled Nahida's head, softly saying,
"Although I know about the Sanctuary of Surasthana, I haven't seen it in person, so many details need your help to refine, Nahida."
"Shall we... start building our home?"
Saying this, Jiang Xuan took out a few Oak Tree saplings.
Nahida firmly remembered Jiang Xuan's words, then nodded vigorously.
"Yes! I'll help Jiang Xuan!"
Jiang Xuan knelt down, arranged the Oak Tree saplings, then took out Bone Meal with his backhand. After thinking for a moment, he added,
"So now, I'm going to teach you the most important rule in this world, Nahida!"
Hearing this, Nahida immediately became serious, staring intently at Jiang Xuan.
The latter slowly spoke.
"To get rich, first punch trees, dig three, fill one, and mine!"
Nahida's eyes sparkled with an inexplicable light, committing the sentence completely to memory.
Bone Meal sprinkled, and the Oak Tree saplings orderly shot up from the ground, aligning to form gigantic, towering trees.
Watching everything before her, Nahida clapped her hands happily.
Jiang Xuan took her flying, facing the Oak Trees, and placed the first Block.
In the empty dream plains, Nahida's joyful voice slowly echoed.
"Jiang Xuan! You placed that wrong! The main gate of the Sanctuary of Surasthana has a pointed arch!"
"The steps at the entrance of the Sanctuary of Surasthana have six sections!"
"Jiang Xuan, Jiang Xuan! I don't have enough blocks, give me some more!"
"Jiang Xuan, Jiang Xuan..."
The loli's joyful laughter was endless in this dream Minecraft world where the sun never set.
And the Sanctuary of Surasthana she yearned for was rapidly being completed under Jiang Xuan's skilled craftsmanship and Nahida's guidance.
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