94: The Dendro Archon’s Dream

The sun in the sky—square.

The floating clouds—square.

Everything around him was rough, like a world covered in pixelated mosaics.

Ryen stood in the middle of an open grassy plain, looking around in confusion.

"An original, unmodded MC world? What the hell…?"

He quickly glanced down at himself and let out a small sigh of relief upon realizing that he wasn't blocky like the world around him.

However, that only made the sense of incongruity even stronger.

This wasn't the MC world he controlled.

And yet, his power still existed, fully intact. He could feel it surging through him—so much so that he was sure if he exerted even the slightest force, this entire world would shatter.

"Where the hell am I…?"

Ryen frowned slightly, his last clear memory stopping at the moment he had laid down in bed, slowly drifting off to sleep.

"...Sleep?"

A flash of realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

Before he could think further, a soft, adorable voice suddenly spoke behind him.

"Finally… the connection is established…"

The voice was sweet and airy, like a tiny bell ringing in the wind.

Ryen turned around—

Only to find nothing but an empty, endless stretch of grasslands leading all the way to a distant desert.

"Look down!"

The voice now carried a hint of frustration, but it remained soft and irresistibly cute.

Ryen lowered his gaze—

And suddenly understood.

A badminton shuttlecock!

…No, wait.

Nahida.

A petite girl stood before him, her delicate elf-like ears occasionally twitching adorably.

Her long, silvery-white hair was tied into a side ponytail.

Her bright green eyes held a cross-shaped pattern in their pupils, resembling blooming clover leaves.

She wore a charming light green dress with intricate designs, paired with white frilly shorts.

Her tiny bare feet rested upon the grass, and wherever she stepped, the grass seemed to grow even lusher, vibrant flowers blooming in her wake.

The little girl tilted her head, her large eyes filled with curiosity. Yet, buried deep within them, Ryen caught a glimpse of something else—guilt.

Little Lord Kusanali—Nahida.

The kind, intelligent, and heartbreakingly gentle Dendro Archon.

Of course, Ryen knew who she was.

470—the one who held dominion over dreams and the power of Dendro.

With her appearance here, the nature of this place became clear.

But Ryen still feigned ignorance, raising an eyebrow.

"And you are…?"

Nahida's expression flickered slightly before she composed herself, puffing up her tiny chest and assuming a serious demeanor.

"I am the Goddess of Beautiful Dreams! Nahida!"

She declared, her voice carrying the weight of authority—or at least, she was trying to make it sound that way.

This playful and mischievous version of Nahida was slightly different from the one in Ryen's memories.

And yet…

Compared to the wise and mature Nahida he knew, this version of her somehow felt even more real—more human.

Ryen crouched down, his gaze level with hers, a teasing smile playing at his lips.

"Nice to meet you, Little Miss Nahida. My name is Ryen. So, let me get this straight—you entered my dream and created this dreamscape?"

"Ugh…"

The tiny girl visibly flinched, lowering her gaze, her delicate features tinged with guilt. She hesitated, then quickly added:

"But this is a beautiful dream!"

As if afraid he would misunderstand, Nahida earnestly explained:

"This dreamscape was created by drawing from your most cherished memories—it's a dream full of nostalgia and happiness!"

"Please don't think of it as a prank!"

Hearing her insistence, Ryen's gaze softened.

She wasn't wrong.

Although he had played MC for years and had long since become accustomed to high-resolution textures and shader packs, at its core—

Minecraft would always be that rough, pixelated, blocky world where it all began.

The place of his earliest, most cherished memories.

The real reason he used shader packs was simply because they made the world look a little nicer.

As he reminisced for a moment, he noticed Nahida was still watching him with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

With a chuckle, he finally spoke.

"It is a beautiful dream. I suppose I should thank the great Goddess of Beautiful Dreams, Nahida."

Nahida's face lit up instantly. She waved her small hands, her voice brimming with delight.

"It's nothing! This is my duty as the Dream Goddess! Also, if you don't mind… you can just call me Nahida."

Ryen's eyes flickered with amusement. He feigned seriousness as he said:

"In my world, calling someone by their name means you're close friends. Are you sure you want me to address you so casually?"

"Friends?!"

Nahida's emerald eyes sparkled with excitement.

Without hesitation, she nodded eagerly.

"Of course! I can be your friend!"

"Then—"

Ryen extended his hand, his smile warm.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ryen."

"Mmh! Ryen, I'm Nahida!"

Their hands met—one large, one small.

At that moment, Nahida's smile grew even brighter.

And in response, hundreds of flowers bloomed across the surrounding grasslands, filling the air with their vibrant colors.

Ryen glanced around and smirked.

"Looks like Nahida has the ability to make flowers bloom at will."

"No way!"

Nahida shook her head firmly, her expression unusually serious.

"The Goddess of Flowers was a great deity. I can only do this in dreams…"

"So, does that mean you really like flowers?"

"I do!"

Nahida's response was immediate. Her eyes shone as she murmured wistfully:

"I've always… always wanted to ride on a flower carriage and see the world, but…"

She hesitated, her voice trailing off.

Her gaze dimmed, shifting away from Ryen as she whispered:

"But because I am the Goddess of Beautiful Dreams… I can only appear in dreams…"

A long silence followed.

Ryen knew exactly why Nahida could only manifest in dreams.

She was gentle and considerate—so much so that even now, believing Ryen to be a stranger, she refused to speak of the cruel treatment she had suffered at the hands of the Akademiya.

But Nahida…

What had she done to deserve such a fate?

The wind stilled. The flowers around them wilted.

And then—

A warm hand gently rested atop Nahida's head.

Ryen smiled.

"Then we have a deal. When I find you, you must wake up."

"I'll prepare a garden just for you."

"And then, we'll build a flower carriage together. How about that?"

Nahida blinked in surprise.

Then, a joyful smile blossomed across her face.

She nodded.

"Mmh! It's a promise!"

Ryen didn't say anything more.

Nahida hid her emotions well, but he could see the sorrow beneath her cheerful facade.

But what was the point of dwelling on it?

No matter how much they talked, she was still imprisoned.

And if he made a promise, then he had to keep it.

Otherwise, he'd just be another worthless liar.

Since the Akademiya was the one that had broken the rules first—

Wouldn't it only be fair if he sent a few zombies their way as retribution?

If Sumeru refused to recognize Nahida as their Archon…

That was fine.

When the zombie horde ravages the land, Ryen will drive a flower-covered carriage and take Nahida back to Sumeru.

And when that time comes...

The carriage rocks gently, and Nahida opens her eyes.

The sages of the Akademiya are torn apart by the undead, yet Sumeru itself blossoms into her own garden.

A cold glint flickered through Ryen's eyes before vanishing as he stood up, taking Nahida's hand as they strolled leisurely through the dreamlike land.

"Nahida, do you know where we are?"

"Um... I don't know. Even though I guided this dream into existence, the true ownership still belongs to you, Ryen."

"You got that right!"

Ryen lowered his gaze, looking at Nahida with a teasing smile.

"This world—it's mine. Not just in a dream. Even in reality, in Teyvat, I possess a world like this."

"Ah!"

Nahida looked at Ryen in slight panic.

"Then... doesn't that make you the master of a world?"

"I'm still your friend, Nahida!"

Ryen emphasized with a chuckle.

"This world is a miraculous land of square-shaped blocks. Here, you can do things just as wondrous as in dreams."

"Oh! I almost forgot—we are in a dream right now."

With that, Ryen snapped his fingers and activated Creative Mode.

In the next instant, he soared into the sky, pulling Nahida along with him.

Walking through the air, he led Nahida on a tour through the vast Minecraft world.

"By the way, Nahida, why did you enter my dream?"

Hearing this, Nahida lowered her head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Because... because you're a traveler from beyond the stars. I wanted to see what kind of dreams an outsider would have, to catch a glimpse of the scenery from another world, and this was the only way…"

"Before this, I also tried entering another outsider's dream. But… she seemed to be rather special. Everything I saw was completely blank…"

Another outsider, and it was a "she"?

That must mean Lumine.

As for Aether, he was currently in the Abyss, and far too powerful—Nahida likely wouldn't be able to enter his dreams.

The only reason she could enter Ryen's dream was that he hadn't put up any defenses, nor was he like Zhongli and the others, who had the divine authority of an Archon protecting them.

"If you're here to see different scenery, then this place might be a little dull."

Ryen chuckled, then, relying on his control over his own dream, whispered softly:

"Let's add some shaders."

The moment his words fell, the entire world underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

Nahida stood there in a daze, watching everything around her change.

She knew this was a dream.

But even after five hundred years of dreaming, after entering countless people's dreams, Nahida had never imagined that dreams could be manipulated like this.

No—more accurately—she never imagined that Ryen's world could be manipulated like this!

From the moment he spoke, everything visible and invisible around them shifted in an instant.

The once perfectly square sun in the sky transformed into a more natural shape, casting golden rays through irregularly shaped clouds, draping the land in a warm, sunlit rain.

The pixelated, blocky ground softened into a vibrant, living landscape, where lush grass swayed gently with the breeze, bowing in rippling waves across the plains.

But upon closer inspection, one could still tell that each piece of grass was just an extremely realistic block.

The rivers now had shimmering ripples, winding forward with a calm and steady flow.

In the distance, snow-capped mountains, deserts, and jungles were veiled in a faint mist, adding depth and mystery to the scenery.

This was the true face of Ryen's world—the landscape he had grown accustomed to.

To be honest, Teyvat was already breathtakingly beautiful, and Sumeru even more so.

The way the rainforest and desert stood in stark contrast yet remained unified was truly a wonder of nature.

But Nahida rarely had the opportunity to witness Sumeru's landscapes firsthand.

Let alone something as uniquely strange and beautiful as this.

With another snap of Ryen's fingers, the grasslands beneath them suddenly burst into full bloom.

A riot of colors spread out beneath them—an endless sea of flowers, flourishing wildly in every direction.

This was an actual flower field biome from the Minecraft world. Ryen had merely transported it here.

Gently bringing Nahida back down to the ground, he let her experience the vivid scent of countless blossoms.

They filled every corner of the land, growing in a natural yet seemingly deliberate harmony.

Nahida carefully stretched out her small foot, hesitating before stepping down, as if afraid of trampling the flowers.

Her large, sparkling eyes were filled with an unprecedented sense of wonder.

But even as she admired the scenery, she held onto Ryen's hand tightly—one of the few friends she had.

"Do you like it?"

Ryen asked with a soft smile.

Nahida nodded seriously, her expression filled with sincerity.

"I love it!"

"Then that's all that matters."

Ryen gestured toward the vast, endless sea of flowers stretching beyond the horizon.

"From this moment on, this world belongs to us…"