Takumi touched his chin. "Yes, these two planetary worlds are from parallel Earths outside the 'Tree and Sea' cosmology.
"Don't be so surprised. The mysteries of the multiverse are endless, and there's nothing surprising about them."
After receiving all the information, Jean couldn't help but say, "These two worlds are worlds without gods. Such worlds are really cruel to humans!"
Living in a country like Mondstadt, blessed by the God of Wind, the worst situation Jean could imagine was the 'Dark Disaster' mentioned in historical records five hundred years ago, or the oppression and enslavement during the aristocratic period.
These two worlds, however, represented a true apocalypse—civilization on the brink of collapse, where humanity itself faced extinction at any given moment. The decline of human ethics, especially in the second world called "Black Bullet," was unbearable. The children born with special abilities were abandoned, abused, or captured to be turned into fighting machines—which was, for them, the happiest possible outcome.
It was absurdly cruel.
Alice, on the other hand, was not very moved. Having traveled to many such apocalyptic worlds, she had developed a resistance to such things.
"This is the common state of apocalyptic worlds," Alice said. "In ancient times, the top throne in the world of Teyvat protected humanity. In this era, gods are the guardians of humankind.
"A world without gods can easily lead to destruction. Among the 137 causes of human extinction, human self-destruction accounts for more than half. In these two worlds, it was humans who brought about their own downfall, creating the 'Dead Body Virus' and 'Gastrea Virus,' which led to the collapse of civilization.
"In the apocalyptic worlds I've traveled to, over 90% of them were caused by humans destroying themselves."
These cold words hit Jean hard. "The self-destruction of humanity... This is unimaginable."
Facing this kind of situation made Jean's head spin. She glanced at Venti, her eyes filled with respect and gratitude.
After all, if it weren't for the protection of the God of Wind, Mondstadt might have self-destructed during the old aristocratic period. Back then, the old nobles wanted to sacrifice the people of Mondstadt to feed the demon dragon Ursa. If the God of Wind hadn't sent the great hero Vennessa...
Venti, holding his wine glass, smiled nonchalantly. "There's no need to be so grateful to me. I'm just fulfilling my duties. What humans should be grateful for is Lord Tianli."
"Master Tianli is the true protector of humanity. Even the notion of protecting humans is naturally present in the godhead of the Archons. Lord Takumi may have become the Law of Heaven, but that hasn't changed. It shows that Lord Takumi also loves humanity."
Takumi waved his hand dismissively. "What I like is only the good side of humanity. To me, despicable humans are just monsters in human skin. So, for these two worlds, I have only one request for you."
Takumi's golden eyes became filled with indifference. As his mood shifted, a cold aura naturally spread, and Alice, Venti, and Jean felt a chill from their souls, as if they had fallen into an ice-cold abyss.
Alice swallowed nervously. She understood that such a powerful being's will was absolute—it was akin to the rules of the universe. Like the existence known as Star Gods in the greater universe she had once visited.
"Separate humans into good and evil. Those who are more good than evil will stay. Those whose evil outweighs their good must be separated.
"In the first world, you can decide what is good or evil. However, in the second world, the judgment will be based on the degree of harm done to the children.
"Those who have not harmed, and have even helped the children, will be deemed good. Those who have neither helped nor harmed will be considered neutral. Those who have hurt those children, however, will be deemed evil.
"Anyone who is evil is unworthy of living in my Teyvat universe."
After he spoke, Takumi relaxed, picked up his wine glass, and took a sip. The cold aura dissipated, and he smiled again. "Alright, the mission has been assigned to you. Let's talk about how to prepare."
Venti wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Despite being an elemental spirit, the fear had been enough to make him feel as though he could sweat. Lord Takumi's mood swing alone made him feel as if his soul might be extinguished.
"Ahem, well, I think the first world is relatively simple, so I won't be needed. The holders of Visions can complete it," Venti said. He then looked at Alice. "I wonder if Ms. Alice is interested in conquering the first world alone?"
Alice's red eyes sparkled. "Conquer a parallel Earth on my own?" she repeated with great interest.
"Though the second world seems more attractive to me, both are parallel Earths... Oh, how I wish I had that monkey's cloning ability," Alice said wistfully.
Jean raised her hand. "Ms. Alice, if you prefer to go to the second world, then leave the first one to me. That world poses no threat to me, and as long as the people of that world recognize the existence of gods, our influence will expand rapidly.
"After all, that world is full of ordinary people. As a Vision holder, I can serve as living proof of the existence of gods."
Alice gave a thumbs-up, her eyes filled with enthusiasm. "No problem, I'll leave it all to you. I'll go to the second world and deal with the Gastrea."
Venti spoke up. "I'll handle the Gastrea of the second world, especially the fifth stage ones that could become Zodiac-like monsters."
As Venti reviewed the information in his mind, he couldn't help but sigh at the grim state of humanity in that world.
The Gastrea Virus was a slow, agonizing demise for humanity. As time went on, humanity's living space would shrink more and more until they finally perished.
Even the children who carried the Gastrea Virus and possessed special abilities were inhumanely treated as killing machines, merely delaying the rate of humanity's extinction.
The most effective weapon humans had against the Gastrea, Varanium, could only kill the first stage Gastrea. The second stage already had resistance to Varanium and regenerative abilities, while the third stage had regeneration at a cellular level.
The fourth stage had to be reduced to ashes to be destroyed. Even the smallest fragments could regenerate.
The fifth stage, with its immortality similar to that of gods, could adapt to all environments, withstand magma, survive at absolute zero, and even achieve molecular regeneration.
Not only was it unkillable, but it also had the genes and abilities of every living organism on Earth. These genes could combine to form countless attack methods—such as virus spread, lasers, and supersonic attacks—making it an almost impossible adversary.
Takumi summoned two golden keys, indicating the opening of the 'primary' permission. This time, there was no need to make a grand scene. Instead, the 'Gate of the World' appeared in a much subtler way, causing no strange phenomena in the Teyvat universe but bringing unusual sights in the two worlds.
"Without further ado, the God of Breeze and Hope under my command, the God of Freedom, go and save these worlds in my name."
Venti finally received one of the keys to the Gate of the World, and he responded solemnly, "Yes, Lord Tianli. I won't keep you waiting for long."