-"Your Majesty."-Saluted guards when we entered the camp.
~"Where are the Sentinel Generals?"
-"They are in the main tent meeting with Marshal Hua, Your Majesty."
~"I see, thank you."
-"It's our honor and duty to serve Your Majesty."
I nodded and walked past them with Artemis. The main tent was at the center of the camp, so we walked there directly. Along the way, all Elves and Dracthyr would salute me the moment they saw me. Even dragons would lower their heads and not dare to fly over me.
-"Every time I see how much reverence people of your Spirit Empire have for you, I feel that it's you who is a god, not me."
~"To them, I'm a god."~I shook my head.~"I'm not only their ancestor but also one who led them through calamities that threaten the entire world."
-"I know. I wonder if Hold will share the same devotion for you one day."
~"Who knows, the hearths of people are not exactly easy to read."
-"True."
With such banter, we arrived in the main tent. Inside, all Sentinel Generals and Scalecommanders stood around a big sand table with fully modeled Rakia capital on it. Marshal Hua leaned on the table, marking some locations with small flags.
-"What's up?"-Hua looked up from the table at me.
~"The ceremony will start shortly. How are your preparations?"
-"Not complete because someone decided to make a mess for over a day."
~"I apologize for that, but it was not time wasted."~I let my antlers appear for a moment.
Marshal Hua stared at them, stunned, before looking me in the eyes and asking seriously.
-"Are THEY no more?"
~"From now on, [Yggdrasil] is Aeon of Abundance. Yaoshi has cesed to be."
-"What will you do with that Path?"
~"The Blessings of Abundance shall be available to all like before, but one has to earn them."
She nodded and turned her eyes to the table.
-"We located some spots that had residues of Divinities, but all of them were emptied. Only some minor traces could be recovered, but there is no sign of what we are looking for."
~"Have you searched the whole city?"
-"Yes, that's why I'm so troubled. Either we hade the wrong trail, or they have a way to hide that we can't see through."
~"Then we have to brute-force it. Have people ready to act during the ceremony. I'll do something to force the 'rats' out."
-"Sure. Right, one of my girls has to accompany you from now on. Who will be first?"-Hua looked at Sentinel Generals with a smile.
All eight of them looked at me, saying to pick them with their eyes.
~"Sigh, who has the biggest merit in this campaign?"
-"Aside from me, that would be Kor'vas who reinforced the capital."
~"Then would you mind escorting me, Kor'vas?"
-"It's my honor, Your Majesty."
~"Just call me Yue when you are with me. All of you do so. I don't want to be compelled to use pleasantries all the time. Just make sure to adapt to surroundings when needed."
-"Yes, Lord Yue."
~"Will you also come with me, Hua?"
-"Nope, I'm not a representative, just an advisor. Deal with the whole ceremony yourself. I don't want to be bored there."
~"I should have expected that. Whatever, let's go."
With Kor'vas joining us, we returned to the city and moved to where the ceremony of declaring independence was about to happen. We were welcomed by leaders of the rebellion, but as my status was beyond them, I decided to join Athena on the side.
-"You changed since I saw you last time."-Athena commented after I approached her.
~"Does it matter? I'm still me."
-"Then it's indeed all that is important."
~"What do you think about those guys?"~I motioned toward the leaders of the rebellion.
-"They have hearths in the right place. The question is, how long will it take for that power to corrupt them."
~"Will it matter if you create solid guardrails to keep them in check? Monarchy is as good as the monarch. While democracy, republicanism, and communism have their issues, at least their merits don't lay on a single person."
-"That's why I left most of my familia to settle here. They will take care of their homeland with the knowledge I gave them."
~"What about you then?"
-"Artemis invited me to join Hold, and I accepted. I will take the most elite children with me and see what I can do."
~"Happy to have you on board. Do you want to get involved in our matters here?"
-"I can lend some aid."
~"Here."~I created and gave Athena a memory stone that contained all the necessary information about our plans.
-"Loki is having fun, huh? But you seem to have an issue with finding your targets here."
~"Well, I'm about to deal with it."
-"Is that so? I await your performance."-Athena smiled as she looked at the people speaking on the prepared stage.
We listened to speeches about freedom, peace, equality, and other beautiful words that mortals love to hear, even though those are all but illusions. After everyone made their promises, they officially declared independence. After cheers from the audience quietened, I decided to make my move.
Stepping forward, I appeared before the new leaders.
-"Your Excellency?"
~"Since it's your day, allow me to give you something as congratulations."
I extended my hand and manifested the golden flame on my palm. It instantly attracted everyone's eyes.
~"This is the Immortal Fire. It burns with life rather than destruction. Today is your day of rebirth, so I shall help you rise like a phoenix from the ashes."
As I finished speaking, I let the flame fall to the ground. At the moment of contact, it burst and quickly spread around, arriving before the first leader before he could react. Seeing flame covering him, he instantly wanted to put it out and scream, but before the first sound came out of his mouth, he felt as if his old wounds were closing up.
The old veteran next to him was also covered in the flame, and the next second, all the hideous scars covering his body were wiped out. The audience also noticed the unusualness of the situation quickly. Not panicking but accepting the spreading fire.
Blind people regained their sight, lost limbs were restored, and even illnesses were burned off. Soon, the whole city was glowing bright gold, scorching the past to start moving into a better future. The flame continued to burn for around ten minutes, and when the embers cooled off, the devastated city regained a spark of life that was lost before. By the time the fire ended, I already left with Athena, having achieved my purpose.
-"So, some explanation?"-Athena asked after playing with the Immortal Fire in her palm.
-"It has been some time since I've seen you use Immortal Fire."-Artemis commented offhandedly.
~"That's because it's a great fire, but only for a few special purposes. The fire that burns into life and not destruction is mystical and all but nonpractical for purposes one would use fire. Abundance is more flexible in most aspects."
-"Then why use it now?"-Asked Artemis.
~"For spectacle. Both Abundance and Immortal Fire could achieve the same results, but fire can leave a greater impression."
-"This brings us back to your purpose. How did you use the fire to find the 'rats'?"-Athena was intrigued by my actions.
~"Simple, I let Life Force permeate the whole city. It explored all crevices and underground chambers."
-"But why could it find our targets while scanning with other methods that didn't achieve the same results?"-Artemis asked the key question.
~"Because few people shield from Life Energy. If you are not undead, Life Force can only bring you benefits, so why bother? Not to mention that the whole of nature constantly flows with life. If one spot was isolated, it would be easy to spot."
-"Then why is it not used more often to look for targets?"
~"Few can control Life Force so precisely to use it to search, not to mention that almost all living beings have a limited amount of life. No one would waste their life if there were better methods."
-"Interesting, it would seem I need to learn more unconventional tactics."
~"I wouldn't expect anything less from the goddess of knowledge and war."~I spoke as we arrived at the ruined mansion.~"We are here."
-"I remember that Elves already looked through this place."
~"They did, but the method of concealment used here is a little ingenious."
We walked through empty halls and rooms before entering one of the bedrooms. The inside wasn't looking different from any other place in the mansion, but as I knew what to look for, I wasn't deceived by the seemingly normal appearance.
I walked into a corner of the room and looked at the broken mirror hanging on the wall. In its reflection, one could notice that where I stood, there was an outline of a door before me, but there was nothing there in reality. Said door was seen only because of the perspective that joined lines on the wall next to me and the cracks on the mirror to form an outline of a door. Extending my hand and grabbing the air, I pushed forward, and instantly, a portal appeared before me.
-"Oh! A subspace?"-Athena looked around, trying to understand how the concealment worked.
~"Yes. Hidden by splitting the entrance between the real world and the mirror. If not for the subtle flow of life through it, I would be able to find it earlier."
-"Your Majesty, should I call for some Sentinels?"-Kor'vas asked from the entrance to the room.
~"No need, I already informed Hua. There is no need to waste time. Let's go in directly."
I stepped into the portal with two goddesses and one Elf following behind me.
As things in Rakia were progressing, I was spending my last day in Mondstadt traversing one of the nearby domains with members of the Chat Group and our adventurer friends. I also couldn't forget to mention Miko who was accompanying me, as the person chosen for the job was rather surprising.
~"So how did you get duped by Yae to become Miko?"
-"I'm not sure... It just happened."-Kokkoro spoke with her head lowered.
~"How did you even meet Yae? She isn't one to look for strangers."
-"I met her when I visited the shrine in Hold. She invited me to be a writer, and later I became a Miko."
~"Want me to intervene?"
-"No. I'm happy to have a chance for some time with you. While everyone here is nice to me... I feel close to only you."
~"Be careful of that feeling."~I warned her seriously.~"That attraction you feel is innate due to your nature as a Spirit and my new power of Abundance. Don't let it control you and influence your own thoughts."
-"Mhmm."
-"Yue! We found a treasure!"-Elysia shouted from the platform hanging on the other side of the room.
I grabbed Kokkoro's shoulder and teleported us to join the rest of the party. Looking into the chest, I found it had only some Mora and a few loose pages.
~"You calling this a treasure should be counted as a charitable donation, sadly we don't use a tax system so you can't make a deduction."
-"Mou! It's the spirit that counts."-Elysia pouted at my comment.
-"Little underwhelming."-Rias had a sad smile.
-"You win some, you lose some."-Tsunade shared the wisdom of her life.
-"You can win, Tsunade?"-Accelerator acted shocked.
-"What are you trying to say, bastard?!"
-"Who are you calling a bastard, bastard?!"
-"You two..."-Lena was lost for words.
-"Heh, you guys are funny."-A member of Fischl's party called Bennett laughed.
-"Yue."
~"What's up, Arisu?"
-"Can you explain how Domains work? I found it strange that such a gamelike place can form naturally."
~"You are correct that this place is not natural. Domains were built by lost civilizations on Lay Lines to harvest their power. After long years of being abandoned the same power that was used here reclaimed those spaces."
-"That would explain some things."
~"Well, this domain was just ancient storage or laboratory, so it's not that valuable. If we were to visit a Domain that has an active Lay Line, we would have seen why people once tried to control that power."
-"Interesting. Next time, we have to visit one for sure."
-"So what now?"-Stephen asked everyone.
-"I believe it's time to go back."-Kirari commented little bored with such childish challenges found here.
~"It's already sundown outside. We should hurry if we want to find an open restaurant after returning."
-"I can bring everyone there faster."-Korosensei raised his tentacle.
-"Thank you, but... I'll walk."-Umi answered while moving away from the yellow pervert.
-"Don't be like that, Little Umi."
-"Stop it, man."-Sora called out to him while shaking his head.
~"Sigh. Whatever."~I waved my hand and opened a portal for everyone to pass through.
I watched as everyone exited this place before sending manifestation to join them, while my true avatar remained here. I stood in silence for a minute or so before three people approached me.
-"Man, long time no see."-A ginger-haired man spoke first.
~"How can I help you, Fatui?"
-"Ugh, there goes a small talk."-Tartaglia's smile twitched a little but he soon returned to normal.
-"We came here as messengers of Her Royal Highness."-Signora answered my question.
~"Speak."
-"Our Lord wishes to extend an olive branch and find a way to solve past misunderstandings. To show her sincerity she ordered us to deliver this to Your Excellency."-Arlecchino spoke as he took our small coffer.
Taking it from her, I noticed its intricate design and countless runes covering the surface of the chest. Rather than a keyhole, this small coffer had a black stone embedded in it, which pulsated with the power of an Archon.
~"What is this?"
-"We are unaware, and Her Royal Highness asked to not open it under Tianli's eyes."-Signora added.
~"I see."
-"Our Lord wished to meet you in person given the chance, but because of certain circumstances, she can't leave her land for now. If one day Your Excellency wishes to visit Snezhnaya, we shall provide the best of receptions."
~"I will visit, but that will have to wait. For now, I just hope that our organizations can keep from each other ways."
-"This is what we also hope for."
~"Tell the Tsaritsa that if she wishes to contact me, just pass the message to Ningguang. I might be unreachable more often than not."
-"We will pass that message."
After that three of them left.
After passing the coffer to my avatar in Hold, I teleported to Mondstad, replacing my manifestation there at the perfect moment when the food was arriving at our table. Seeing that nobody noticed my absence, I decided not to mention it and focused on eating while listening to everyone's conversations.