However, things didn't unfold as beautifully as she had imagined.
By the time they reached the Grand Bazaar, they could already see Nilou arguing with someone on stage. Nahida slowed, gently tugging at Lora's hand.
"That's the Grand Sage, Azar."
Lora stopped as well and turned to Lumine and Paimon.
"Nahida and I can't go over there. You two should."
Dunyarzad and Lumine understood at once. Paimon looked confused, but didn't question it and followed them toward the stage.
Once the others had left, Lora glanced at Nahida.
"He came to shut down the Sabzeruz Festival, didn't he? Should we step in… or do you want to handle this yourself?"
Nahida kept her gaze on Nilou, distant and unreadable. She didn't answer immediately.
"…Even if I showed myself now, it wouldn't change anything."
A brief silence passed before she continued, her voice quieter.
"This didn't start with him. It's been building for a long time… five hundred years."
She paused.
"Removing Azar won't fix it. He's not the one who matters most."
Her voice dropped further.
"The Fatui Harbingers from Snezhnaya… they're the real threat."
Lora nodded. "You're right."
She left the decision to her. Whatever Nahida chose, she would stand with her.
This was Sumeru, after all. No one else could walk this path for her. Sooner or later, she would have to face it herself.
Azar soon stepped down from the stage. As he headed their way, Lora quietly pulled Nahida aside, keeping her out of sight. He passed without noticing them.
Only after he was gone did a group of disheartened people approach.
"What happened?" Lora asked.
Before anyone else could answer, Paimon stomped her foot in frustration.
"That awful Grand Sage! He said if we keep preparing for the Sabzeruz Festival, he'll shut down the Grand Bazaar!"
Nilou let out a soft sigh.
"He said we're not allowed to hold the festival anymore. I never thought the Akademiya would go from refusing to host it… to stopping people from celebrating it at all."
She glanced at Dunyarzad.
"Is there any other way?"
Dunyarzad lowered her head and shook it.
"There's no need… There's nothing we can do. If we push any further, the punishment might only get worse."
"Did he really come just to stop the festival?" Nahida looked at them, a faint sadness in her eyes. "Has it really come to this… that they can't even tolerate Lesser Lord Kusanali's birthday?"
At her words, those who knew her identity fell silent.
Dunyarzad frowned slightly, her gaze gentle with concern.
"Miss Nahida… please don't be sad. We're still here. We still remember the birthday."
She forced a faint smile.
"It's just… not being able to watch Nilou's Dance of the Flower God with you… that's a real shame."
Because of Azar's interference, the long-prepared Sabzeruz Festival came to an abrupt end. Carrying that lingering regret, Dunyarzad returned home.
Nahida and Lora walked through the streets in silence.
Around them, members of the Eremites urged shopkeepers to take down any decorations and signs related to the festival.
The Akademiya's stance was unmistakable.
In the nation of wisdom, within sacred Sumeru City… how could something unrelated to knowledge be allowed to exist?
How narrow-minded.
People bound by the Akasha, immersed in a hollow illusion of wisdom, unable to see their own emptiness.
When they reached the doorway, Nahida suddenly stopped, lightly tugging at Lora's sleeve.
"Auntie… I can't let this happen again. Whether it's the Akademiya or the Grand Sage… they've already gone too far."
Lora smiled faintly and ruffled her hair.
"Then stand against them. I'll be with you."
That night, as she slept, Lora heard something strange echoing through the Akasha.
A pull followed, tugging at her consciousness.
She didn't resist.
Instead, she let herself be drawn in.
Within the illusion, a Sumeru City rose from nothing.
Nahida appeared beside her, watching in silence.
"It's begun," she said quietly. "The Akademiya is using the Akasha to create a god."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"First, we need to protect the minds being pulled in. Otherwise… many of them won't make it."
They raised their hands together.
Aqua-blue and emerald-green light spread outward, washing over the city like a gentle tide. Every consciousness drawn into the dream was enveloped, protected within their divine power.
And within that protection—the Sabzeruz Festival began again.
Once.
Then again.
And again.
With each cycle, Lora and Nahida appeared just as before, guiding Lumine and Paimon as they tried to break the loop and find a way forward.
But each repetition took its toll. Dunyarzad's consciousness grew weaker.
Even so, because Lora had once suppressed her Eleazar, her mind didn't fade completely. It only dimmed, like a flickering flame stubbornly refusing to go out.
Until the final cycle.
She could no longer rise from her bed.
"I still didn't get to see Nilou's Dance of the Flower God… what a shame…"
Her voice was barely audible as she looked at those gathered around her. In the end, her gaze settled on Nahida.
"I'm sorry… Miss Nahida…"
Nahida shook her head gently, her voice soft but steady.
"No. You have nothing to apologize for. You haven't done anything wrong. You're wonderful, Dunyarzad."
She urged her to rest.
Lora stood beside the bed, her tone calm and certain.
"The dance will be performed. It will happen."
At that moment, Nahida turned to Lumine and Paimon.
"There's a 'core' within this dream. If we can find her and wake her, the dream will collapse—and the Sabzeruz Festival will finally end."
Her eyes met theirs.
"As for how to find that 'core'… that's up to you."