Paimon and Lumine led Dehya to the small wooden house.
“Paimon: Nahida, we’ve brought Dehya over. Are you busy?”
“Nahida: I think I told you that bringing people over is meaningless.”
“Paimon: No, we just wanted her to see Dina’s true condition…”
Dehya was a bit bewildered at this moment.
“Dehya: The true Dina? Where? Also, who are you talking to?”
“Paimon: Eh?”
“Nahida: Sigh… You two are special, so others can’t see me or Miss Dina.”
Dehya, using her 【Super Senses】, quickly located the person lying on the bed.
“Lumine: You… can see her?”
“Nahida: To possess such powerful perception… Could it be that she has invisible antennae?”
“Paimon: Uh… that’s weird.”
“Dehya: Miss Dina is lying here, right? How is her condition?”
“Paimon: Hmm… In short, it’s very serious, but how did you know she was here?”
“Dehya: I can sense… her aura… and a feeling of regret or unwillingness. What exactly happened?”
“Paimon: Do you believe what we said now? The Flower God's Festival is indeed replaying endlessly…”
After an intense discussion…
“Paimon: So you suspect… it’s the Sages’ doing?”
“Dehya: Yes, the Sages have always been against us. Who knows if they’re intentionally doing something with Akasha on this day?”
“Paimon: That’s true. For such a large-scale strange event, besides the Gods… only the Akademiya’s Sages would have the capability, right?”
“Lumine: Nahida, do you understand Akasha?”
“Nahida: Akasha operates by relying on the Gnosis. It is the embodiment of the God of wisdom’s power. It integrates the wisdom of all people and bestows knowledge upon them.”
“Paimon: So the Gnosis can be used like that.”
“Dehya: Um… what did that Nahida you mentioned say?”
“Paimon: He said, ‘Akasha operates by relying on the Gnosis. It is a great manifestation of the God of wisdom’s power. He integrates the wisdom of all people and bestows knowledge upon them.’”
“Dehya: …Bestowing knowledge is easy to understand, but… how do you explain ‘integrating the wisdom of all people’?”
“Lumine: Knowledge is obtained from… Irminsul…”
“Paimon: So that means…”
“Dehya: If it integrates the wisdom of all Sumeru citizens, wouldn’t that be like using Sumeru City as a giant brain?”
“Nahida: A remarkable deduction. Hmm, I like it very much.”
“Paimon: Then do we still need to find that person? Or should we just take off the Akasha Terminal? Maybe that will solve the problem?”
“Dehya: That person?”
Paimon explained everything.
“Dehya: I see, no wonder you came to me. However… I don’t think removing it will lift the effect.”
“Lumine: Let’s try it first.”
“Dehya: Alright.”
Everyone took off their Akasha Terminals.
【Beep—!】
“Paimon: Wow… Did you hear that?”
“Dehya: I heard it too! It wasn’t an illusion. There was a ‘Beep—’ sound just now, it seemed to come from inside my head! We clearly took them off…”
At this moment, Lumine’s vision began to blur, and countless images flashed through her mind.
【The duration of this phase has exceeded expectations. If this continues, there may be casualties…】
【But we… can no longer accept all our efforts being in vain.】
“Paimon: I… I remember everything!”
“Nahida: Very good. You two adapted quickly this time.”
“Lumine: At the very end of last night…”
“Paimon: We clearly took off Akasha, but we still heard the Akasha sound effect. What’s going on with that?”
“Lumine: We only thought we took off Akasha…”
“Paimon: Hmm… Why exactly are they doing this?”
“Nahida: For a lab rat to understand why it is being treated this way is indeed an extremely difficult thing.”
“Paimon: Are you comparing us to lab rats, Nahida? You never told us your identity before…”
“Nahida: Hehe, that diviner did mention it, didn’t he? I am the 【Moon】. Besides, you already know now.”
“Paimon: The Moon? Hmm… Who would connect that to a God…”
“Lumine: …”
“Nahida: How about we go look for clues first?”
“Paimon: Alright. For now, it’s confirmed that Dehya can communicate, so let’s go find her again!”
…
The two went to find Dehya again, only this time, Dehya’s arm had no scars.
Another day passed like this. In the evening… at the wooden house…
“Paimon: Phew, it’s finally evening. Besides that one thing, nothing else seems to have changed today.”
Paimon briefly explained what had happened.
“Nahida: Oh? Such progress has been made. Very good, very good. In that case, have a good rest today.”
“Paimon: Hey, what kind of ambiguous answer is that?”
“Nahida: Tomorrow will come. This is common sense for everyone, but whether tomorrow truly comes, only you, being in tomorrow, will know. How many times has today passed? Is it possible that after today, it will be yesterday? Is the word ‘tomorrow’ always a fabricated concept?”
“You will find that perhaps the entire world is false. The history of this continent is a long The Sabzeruz Festival.”
“Paimon: Alright, alright, don’t say anymore. My head is already tired.”
“Nahida: Hehe… So that’s why you shouldn’t expend energy today. Have a good rest, for example… go to the toilet happily or something.”
“Lumine: Is this a new type of stress relief?”
“Paimon: Huh?”
“Nahida: Hmm? People say they feel refreshed after going to the toilet, so I just recommended it to you. Is that strange?”
“Paimon: Uh… Is this what Sumeru’s God is like? Just now, he seemed to be talking about some profound principles.”
“Lumine: Then we’ll go back and rest first.”
“Continue to harvest.” Compared to the outcome, these are all insignificant costs.
Reality…
Qixuan sat beside the still-sleeping Dina, eating dinner. Just then, a person walked in, exuding an unsettling aura.
“Dottore: Miss, may I join you for dinner?”
Qixuan did not speak. The two were silent for a moment, then Qixuan said, “Among the Fatui, I’ve seen stupid ones, foolish ones, but I’ve never seen one who is both stupid and foolish. Also, isn’t it rude to come in without knocking?”
“Dottore: Haha, then I apologize here first. However, my purpose in Sumeru hasn’t changed. Her Majesty merely wanted me to see what kind of person the Chiyuan Immortal in Mondstadt, the End God in Liyue, and even the sister who resurrected the current Electro Archon in Inazuma are. Now it seems truly great…”
Dottore didn’t finish his sentence before he felt unable to move.
“Qixuan: Your Majesty’s information is quite well-informed. I know your purpose here, but the Electro Archon’s Gnosis seems to have been taken by one of your colleagues to do something inappropriate. Once my 【partner】 comes out and teaches your colleague a lesson, you can take the Electro Archon’s Gnosis and scram.”
“Dottore: Haha, I certainly have no objection, then… Grass God’s…”
Dottore’s words were again cut short. Suddenly, the surrounding pressure plummeted, directly pressing Dottore into the floor.
“Qixuan: Don’t be insatiable. You should know that I can kill you right now. Of course… that includes your 【segments】.”
“Dottore: …Cough, alright, got it.”
Then the pressure was lifted, and Dottore left, leaving behind a strange smile before he departed.
Dream…
“Paimon: So it’s still this day! Nahida, you actually knew the outcome last night, didn’t you? Why didn’t you just tell us directly!”
“Nahida: And what if I had told you? You would have spent last night in new anxiety, and tomorrow still wouldn’t have come. It’s better to relax in brief hope. This is a rare opportunity, perhaps it can make your minds clearer.”
“Paimon: So, in the end, it’s because you were afraid we’d be too anxious to sleep well, right?”
“Nahida: Of course, after all, during this time, you two are my everything.”
“Paimon: Huh… Why does that feel strange?”
“Nahida: Hahahaha… What I mean is, although I asked you two to solve the mystery, conversely, only you two can see me and feel me. If you two weren’t here, I would be no 【different】 from not existing, understood?”
“Paimon: Hmm… He’s saying something incomprehensible again.”
“Lumine: Doesn’t Qixuan-jie also know you exist?”
“Nahida: She’s also an exception. Let’s stop chatting here. Based on yesterday’s clues, do you have a new understanding of the 【current situation】?”
“Lumine: Indeed. We now neither know who the main dreamer is, nor was our previous deduction of a time loop correct.”
“Paimon: Huh? Why are you denying the previous idea?”
“Lumine: Dehya’s martial arts are improving.”
“Paimon: Oh, yes. It seems there wasn’t a place called Ruoyi before. A simple time loop should completely reset physical states…”
“Nahida: So what’s the new conclusion?”
“Lumine: Time… actually hasn’t looped. It’s just that our memories are being erased every day.”
“Paimon: That’s right!”
“Nahida: Hmm, a very clever deduction.”
“Paimon: So, was it right or not, Nahida!”
“Nahida: Simply put, it’s like using a Pyro Crystalfly as a firefly for illumination. Too much emphasis on 【feeling】 and ignoring its 【essence】.”
“Paimon: That’s not simple at all…”
“Lumine: Is it wrong again…”
“Nahida: Why don’t you two go talk to Miss Dehya again? You might gain new insights.”
“Paimon: Oh, that’s right! After all, all the new clues were discovered from her. Let’s go then!”
The two went to find Dehya again. After some explanation, Dehya disagreed and said she would take them to see the evidence, so she led them to the wooden stake where she practiced swordplay.
“Paimon: What’s this? Your practice dummy? What’s wrong with it?”
“Dehya: See the marks on it? These are what I’ve accumulated over the past few days. Assuming the Sages don’t replace it every day, it should have been completely battered by now, right?”
“Paimon: Yes, but what if they replace one every day?”
“Dehya: Then the Sages would have to rerun my previous sword practice marks on a new wooden dummy every time. I am a warrior, after all. In my martial arts style, the emphasis on 【control】 is very precise. Every swing’s force, angle, and entry point are carefully controlled, so I remember every single scar on it.”
“Just as the saying goes, a warrior’s sword is unique. No one can swing two identical swords. It’s absolutely impossible to perfectly rerun my sword marks.”
“Paimon: Impossible? What if they use some precise instrument to 【carve】 it little by little?”
“Dehya: People often say that a Kamera’s picture can never replace a painter’s landscape painting, because the former has no soul. Yes, it’s the same for me. Sword marks carved out and sword marks that are the Crystalizeation of martial arts training… I can tell the difference at a glance.”
“There shouldn’t be any more questions this time, right? Is this what scholars recently call a brain teaser? It’s quite interesting. Well, that’s that. I see it’s getting late. I’ll escort Miss Dina to Nilou’s place. See you later.”
Dehya left with Dina.
“Paimon: Sigh… Another dead end, but at least we have some theories now.”
“Lumine: We are not in reality.”
“Paimon: Hmm, indeed. So, can we still find some new ideas now?”
“Lumine: Something feels odd to me.”
“Paimon: Odd? I think everything lately has been odd…”
“Lumine: Why have we… never considered leaving the city?”
“Paimon: Oh, that’s right! Such an easy attempt, and we never tried it. If we check if the time outside the city is still stuck on the same day, we can confirm a lot of things.”
“Lumine: But I still feel it’s not that simple. We should ask Nahida first.”
The two returned to the small wooden house.
“Nahida: You returned very early today. Did you gain anything?”
“Paimon: Sort of, but we have a new question now.”
“Lumine: What would happen if we left the city?”
“Nahida: Leave the city? In my memory, you two have mentioned plans related to leaving the city twice.”
“Paimon: We said that?! Why do we have no memory of it at all? What happened afterward? What did we say after we came back?”
“Nahida: Let me think… It seems you never mentioned the results of those city-leaving plans. Oh, rather, you two didn’t come back on the nights of those two city-leaving plans. However, you also had quite a few nights where you didn’t come home, so I didn’t think it proved anything at the time.”
“Paimon: Hmm…”
“Nahida: Hmm… That’s strange then. Theoretically, it should have awakened all your memories.”
“Lumine: Let’s try again tomorrow. Perhaps the breakthrough is there.”
“Paimon: Hmm, there’s definitely something fishy. We must investigate thoroughly tomorrow!”
…
【Beep—】…