The Final Battle Approaches

It was late at night.

Taking advantage of Furina's slumber, Felina ascended into the sky, soaring toward Celestia.

Celestia—the supreme symbol of power in Teyvat. And now, Felina stood upon it.

Yet, there was no divine palace as the myths described—only an endless sea of mist.

Walking through the thick clouds, Felina was not met with any hostility. Instead, she was greeted.

"You have arrived."

"Welcome."

A woman with white hair and bandaged feet appeared before Felina. Her expression was calm, as if she had been waiting for her all along.

Felina studied the woman in front of her. This was the very god who had blocked the Traveler's siblings from leaving Teyvat—the self-proclaimed Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Asmoday.

"You do not seem surprised by my arrival," Felina stated.

"Naturally," Asmoday replied. "A being who has mastered the Laws has both the right and the ability to come here."

Her golden eyes gazed at Felina. "It seems you have many questions."

Felina nodded. "Indeed. Will you answer them?"

"Of course. If you ask, I will answer."

This response surprised Felina. From what she had known, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles was not one to be so accommodating.

Two gods sat among the clouds of Celestia and began their conversation.

"This world… seems slightly different from the Teyvat I know."

Felina spoke. The longer she had spent in this world, the more she noticed the inconsistencies.

For example—

The churning waters of the Primordial Sea in Fontaine were supposed to spiral out of control in three years, yet it was already on the verge of breaking loose.

Marcel's conspiracy to kidnap Furina with the help of the Fatui—this event did not exist in the original story.

The Abyss invasion of Natlan was supposed to take another four years before becoming uncontrollable, yet according to Mavuika, the invasion had already reached a critical state.

All of this deviated from the Teyvat she once knew.

"The Teyvat you know?"

Asmoday's expression subtly shifted. "It seems… you truly are a soul from beyond this world."

Then, she told Felina a story.

Legend has it that Teyvat is a floating world within the cosmos.

The universe it belongs to is governed by a fundamental law: The resources of the universe are finite.

However, if a civilization continues to develop, its demand for resources will only increase—eventually leading it to consume everything in the cosmos.

To maintain balance, the Laws decreed that once a world's civilization reaches a certain level of progress, it must be destroyed.

The civilizations of destroyed planets would have their energy returned to the universe, fueling the birth of new worlds.

This was the so-called Law of Creation and Destruction.

Teyvat, the drifting continent in the cosmos, was meant to be erased by this law. However, in the face of annihilation, a miracle occurred.

The World Tree of Teyvat suddenly awakened with consciousness. Gathering the wishes of all living beings, it resisted the Law of Creation and Destruction.

Then, with its vast roots, it coiled around the entire continent of Teyvat, escaping the universe and entering the Sea of Abyss, a realm beyond the universe.

Rooting itself in the Sea of Abyss, the World Tree continuously absorbed its energies, growing stronger and larger.

No one knew how many eons had passed before the tree had finally amassed enough power to grow to an unimaginable height.

Its massive crown shrouded the Sea of Abyss. With its boundless strength, it formed its own universe, sheltering Teyvat from the Law of Creation and Destruction.

And at the moment it became its own universe, its branches bore countless fruits, each one a replica of the original Teyvat from which it had once taken root.

Thus, it came to be known as the Mother Tree of Infinite Worlds.

Felina's expression shifted upon hearing this revelation. She understood the meaning behind Asmoday's words.

"You're saying that only the Teyvat that originally existed beneath the roots of the Mother Tree is the true Teyvat, while the one we live in now is merely one of its fruits?"

"Precisely."

Asmoday nodded. "When the Mother Tree became its own universe, countless worlds were born upon its branches, each modeled after the original Teyvat."

"Some of these worlds remain in ancient times, some are still in the era of the Archon War, some have already stepped into technological civilization, and some are still in the age of dragons."

"In some worlds, all Seven Sovereigns have perished. In others, the Geo Sovereign has feigned his death and abdicated. In some, there is already a second generation of the Geo Sovereign."

"Take our world, for example— the 'Heavenly Principles' Phanes is dead. Before Phanes perished, they entrusted their power and memories to me. Now, I uphold the laws they established, ensuring that this world does not fall into ruin. That is why I call myself the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles."

Felina furrowed her brows. "Wait a moment."

She had discovered a contradiction.

"According to you, the Mother Tree has already left the original universe, meaning it is no longer subject to the Law of Creation and Destruction. If that's the case, then why do the fruits hanging from the Mother Tree's branches still suffer from abyssal corruption?"

Asmoday gave a calm response.

"It is not difficult to understand."

"Not every apple on a tree grows to perfection. Some are eaten away by pests, others rot due to microbial infection, and ultimately, they decay."

"And, unfortunately, the world we reside in... is one of those rotten fruits."

She spoke with an indifferent tone, as if merely stating a simple fact.

Felina's gaze sharpened. "If that is the case, then what of this Mother Tree you speak of? Does it merely sit idly, watching this world wither away?"

Asmoday shook her head.

"To the Mother Tree, every world upon its crown is a child of its own. But there are too many worlds."

"You are the god of Fontaine. Can you personally protect every single Fontainian from misfortune or harm?"

"Moreover, the Mother Tree is benevolent—it has not abandoned this world."

Her gaze locked onto Felina's.

"You… are the cure the Mother Tree has sent to eradicate the 'pests' in this world."

The words of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles made Felina's expression shift slightly.

As expected, Asmoday knew far more than she had anticipated. Coming here today had indeed been the right decision.

"You're saying… I was actually sent here by this so-called Mother Tree?"

Felina narrowed her eyes. She had long harbored doubts about the reason she had arrived in this world, and she had been equally curious about the true identity of Sister Shiju and the others.

Now, with Asmoday's explanation, many of her questions had found their answers.

"I cannot say for certain."

Asmoday shook her head. "I have never seen the Mother Tree myself, nor do I know what she looks like. But the power of the Mother Tree resides within you."

The words were already clear enough. Felina had her answer.

She did not linger on this subject but instead shifted her question to Asmoday's view on Fontaine's prophecy.

The answer she received was:

"You have governed Fontaine for some time now. Surely, you have already seen the problem for yourself."

Fontainians were not true humans.

They were Oceanids who had transformed into an incomplete human form. The moment they touched Primordial Seawater, they would dissolve and return to their original state as water spirits.

Their very existence was an aberration.

Because they could not conceive and give birth naturally, Fontainians had to go to Fountain of Lucine to pray for children.

And when they did, the Oceanids, longing for reincarnation as humans, would respond to their wishes, entering their wombs and becoming their children.

The core of the problem lay in this: Fontainians did not only marry among themselves.

They also fell in love with and married people from the other six nations—true humans.

But as long as one parent was Fontainian, they could not conceive naturally and would have to seek children at Looming Springs. Thus, their offspring would always be incomplete humans—Oceanids in disguise.

As time passed, an inevitable outcome would emerge.

The more Fontainians intermingled with true humans, the more Fontainian-blooded individuals would be born, while true humans would become rarer and rarer.

One day, true humans would nearly go extinct, and the entirety of Teyvat would be filled with incomplete humans.

At that moment, all it would take was one great surge of Primordial Seawater—and human civilization would dissolve into the ocean.

This was the original sin of Egeria and the Fontainians.

The birth of the Fontainians was not merely Fontaine's concern—it was a matter that affected the survival of all of humanity.

Egeria, out of compassion, had agreed to the request of the Oceanids, creating incomplete humans.

Yet she lacked the divine authority to create humans, and by forcibly doing so, she had planted the greatest catastrophe upon all human civilization.

As for the so-called prophecy, it was not some vague omen.

It was an inevitability.

Because the Primordial Sea could never remain calm forever, the ocean would eventually stir. And the moment the incomplete Fontainians touched the Primordial Seawater, they would dissolve—this was their inherent weakness.

In other words, from the very moment of their creation, their fate had already been sealed. One day, they would inevitably become one with the sea.

Celestia would never tolerate the destruction of human civilization, which it had painstakingly created.

And Egeria's act of creating humans had indeed caused an immense disaster. That was precisely why she had been imprisoned in the Primordial Sea for so long—only being released during the Archon War.

"Fontainians dissolve upon contact with the Primordial Seawater. This was an inherent flaw from the very moment Egeria created them."

"For thousands of years, Celestia has done nothing to the Fontainians aside from delivering the prophecy of their eventual dissolution."

"But no matter what, their very existence remains a potential threat to human civilization."

"Now that you have mastered the Law of Water, as long as you turn them into true humans, Celestia will naturally cease its pursuit of this so-called 'original sin'."

Asmoday maintained a cooperative attitude, answering all of Felina's questions without reservation.

Following that, Felina engaged in a deep discussion with Asmoday regarding the Abyss Invasion.

The discussion lasted for a long time, stretching until the sky began to brighten.

Only then did Felina descend from Celestia and return to Fontaine.

Asmoday had no intention of hindering humanity's progress. As long as the nations did not actively seek out the Abyss, Celestia would not interfere.

"If we compare this world to an apple, the Abyss to a pest, and the shell of protection—the 'False Sky'—to the apple's skin…"

"Then now, this apple's skin has been gnawed away by pests. The inside is already infested, and outside, countless more insects hover, eager to devour what remains."

Upon returning to Fontaine, Felina immediately summoned the other six Archons to convene a meeting.

She laid out the current state of Teyvat before them.

"Disaster will arrive within the next year at most. During this time, I urge all of you—prepare yourselves!"

The moment this message was conveyed, the entire continent of Teyvat underwent a drastic transformation.

A somber, oppressive atmosphere blanketed the lands.

Those aware of the impending catastrophe hurried to accelerate production, research, and war preparations.

Before the coming disaster, nothing else mattered.

Survival was the only priority.

The seven nations united, working together as one.

Even the Captain and the other Fatui soldiers, who had been captured by Fontaine, were released back to Snezhnaya.

War was upon them.

And in the face of this calamity, every ounce of strength was precious.

Ten months later.

A thunderous tremor shook the land.

The first report arrived from Natlan—

The Abyss Invasion… had begun!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: 

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven