บท 138: Chapter 138

In the Ice God's Temple, Takumi sat on his throne, looking at the Tsaritsa with golden eyes full of indifference, much like he had looked at Asmoday for the first time.

It was just the aura surrounding him. As a representative of Celestia, he possessed the aura of every living being in the world of Teyvat. His supreme aura was the sum of all the auras in Teyvat.

Therefore, facing the 'laws of Celestia' was akin to facing the entire world of Teyvat.

Did she have the courage to make an enemy of the entire world of Teyvat?

The Tsaritsa knelt in worship in the main hall, as if she were a minister being scrutinized by the emperor.

The Tsaritsa knew that Lord Celestia must be aware of everything she had done or planned to do, and that was why he was preparing to drop the 'Nail of Punishment' on Snezhnaya.

"Lord Celestia, all of this is under my orders. Whether it was appointing the Fatui Harbingers to stir up conflicts in various nations or collecting the Gnosis from the gods, all of this was my doing."

"The people of Snezhnaya are simply affected by my will."

"I am willing to die for my sins without regret, but I beg Lord Celestia not to punish the innocent people of this land."

The Tsaritsa lowered her head before the 'laws of Celestia,' her forehead touching the ground. There was no trace of fear in her eyes, only a firm resolve to accept her fate.

Kneeling behind her, Pulcinella's eyes filled with tears as he heard the Tsaritsa's words. Yet, in this temple filled with supreme aura, he could not voice his own thoughts.

He could only feel pain and sadness in silence.

Takumi looked at the Cryo Archon, who was begging for death, and said coldly, "Do you wish to bear all the sins of your people on your own? Do you think that by doing so, the sins of Snezhnaya will cease to exist?"

How many unscrupulous acts had the Fatui committed across the continent of Teyvat?

In Inazuma, they colluded with the powerful to destroy the Mikage Furnace, causing the entire region of Kannazuka to be contaminated by demonic resentment. Although this was not directly done by the Fatui, it was their deliberate instigation.

There was also collusion with the Akademiya in Sumeru, involving the buying, selling, and kidnapping of innocent civilians and children for experiments. These actions were no longer covert but were conducted openly.

The Tsaritsa heard Takumi's words and saw the images conveyed by his supreme will. They were all evidence of the 'Fatui' and 'Snezhnayan merchants' committing evils throughout Teyvat.

She looked desperate, but she still would not abandon the people of Snezhnaya.

"Lord Celestia, the sins of a small number of individuals in Snezhnaya do not represent the entire nation. Most people in Snezhnaya are innocent. Please give them a chance."

She could feel Celestia's disdain for human beings—a will that could not tolerate the evil within human nature.

Under this will, only those whose positive aspects of human nature outweighed the negative would be allowed to remain. Humans defined as sinners would be swept away like remnants of garbage by the laws of Celestia.

Takumi looked at the pleading Cryo Archon and said, "I want to hear from you why you chose to play the villain against Celestia. I will only give you one chance. If you lie, there will be no reason for Snezhnaya to exist."

Upon hearing this, the Tsaritsa raised her head and looked at Takumi, his majestic golden eyes staring at her indifferently.

She calmed herself at that moment. Lord Celestia wanted to hear her explanation. As long as she didn't lie, the people of Snezhnaya would not be erased from Teyvat.

She knew she would certainly die, but the people of Snezhnaya might not.

The Tsaritsa pursed her lips.

"Because I want to protect the people of Snezhnaya."

"After returning from the battlefield of Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago, I feared that my people would be destroyed by Celestia, just like Khaenri'ah."

"I found evidence of the destruction of ancient human civilizations in the relics collected from Khaenri'ah."

"In times long past, whenever human technology reached a level comparable to that of Khaenri'ah, it would be destroyed."

"And Snezhnaya's technology is the most advanced among the Seven Nations. I feared that once Snezhnaya's technology reached a certain level, it would be punished without reason."

"From what I learned in Khaenri'ah, the 'Gnosis' is made from the bones of the Second Throne, so I collected the 'Gnosis' in hopes of gaining the power to resist such punishment."

"The purpose of gathering powerful beings from the other six nations was to decipher ways to resist that punishment."

"That is everything, Lord Celestia."

After saying this, the Tsaritsa awaited her sentence of death.

Her actions were, at their core, a defiance of the natural order.

She had no desire to live.

Takumi propped up his cheek, looking at the Ice Archon, who awaited her death, and sighed, "Gods are supposed to love their people. This is the rule set by Phanes for all demon gods."

"Such rules are indeed not problematic when the world is developing normally, but when human curiosity becomes so great that it threatens to destroy the world, such rules become harmful—especially in a fragile world like Teyvat."

"You would even defy the Creator for the people you love."

Listening to the words of 'Celestia,' the Tsaritsa had no doubts. She knew that the 'Celestia' before her was not the Phanes she had imagined.

But no matter who he was, he was 'Celestia,' the creator of the demon gods.

Takumi understood the Tsaritsa's fears.

The hints obtained in Khaenri'ah were about the ancient human civilization destroyed by Phanes. Some of Khaenri'ah's technologies also originated from ancient civilizations.

That was the era before Phanes came to Teyvat and initiated the 'Year of Fire.'

In that era, humans quickly gained knowledge under the guidance of fairies. Over the course of hundreds of years, they gradually understood the world, and their technology was almost equivalent to what Khaenri'ah had today.

Once technology reached a certain level, if there was no god to guide humanity, humans would become arrogant, believing themselves omnipotent—so arrogant that they even attempted to contact the mysteries of Sky Island.

Humans continued to build towers, trying to reach Sky Island.

This behavior was exactly like the myth of the Tower of Babel, in which humans sought to reach the gods' domain.

For Phanes, this was blasphemy against her, the Creator.

In anger, she directly enacted punishment, pushing human civilization back to the original Stone Age, forcing humanity to restart from the earliest, most innocent, and ignorant state.

This had happened several times—for instance, the human civilization before Fontaine was destroyed for similar reasons, but it wasn't Phanes herself who did it.

Takumi looked at the Ice Archon coldly and said, "Tsaritsa, I am not Phanes, but you understand my will. Although you defied Phanes, not me, it is still a transgression against Celestia."

"You think that by dying, the sins of the people of Snezhnaya will disappear. That is simply wishful thinking."

"I will give you one chance. If you fail to meet my requirements, you, the Ice Archon, can be replaced, and there will be no reason for Snezhnaya to exist."