The Irminsul's Lament

The roots of the Irminsul twisted into vascular tendrils in the void, oozing corrupted sap that solidified mid-air into *Bloodborne*-esque malformed embryos. Kazuha gripped the *Steins;Gate* time-leap device, its countdown digits flickering in mathematical defiance—23:59:59, 00:00:00, -1:15:32... Each jump sent memory fragments flashing through his retinas: Nahida's profile gazing at stars in the Sanctuary, the Greater Lord's fading fingertips, and a shadowy figure crowned like the Scarlet King laughing in the Abyss.

"Ley line readings critical!" Lumine's Serenitea Pot hovered above them, its holographic map now fully corrupted. "Time anchor deadzone ahead—three minutes maximum reversal!" Her Geo crystals flickered like dying candles.

Nahida's hologram glitched into existence, Dendro patterns crawling up her dress. "The corruption predates Khaenri'ah..." Static distorted her voice. "It's an older cycle... buried by the Seven."

The world tore like a wound when Kazuha activated the device. Plunging into the memory stream, they witnessed Sumeru's rainforests withering five centuries past—the Greater Lord's white hair cocooning the Irminsul as she cradled a child version of Nahida. Corrupted roots pierced her back, staining her divine form *Silent Hill* rust-red.

"To break the cycle... the world must forget me." The Greater Lord's fingers phased through the child's chest, the Dendro Gnosis shattering into jade stardust. Lumine's elemental sight burned—the stardust contained *Dark Souls* humanity shards, each light sphere tainted with forbidden power.

The child Nahida's tear transformed into a Padisarah upon hitting the ground, its pistil revealing a *Madoka Magica* contract sigil. The Greater Lord's whisper echoed through time: "Make your wish... restart everything..."

Alarms shrieked from the time-leap device as their bodies began quantum dissolution. Parallel worlds flashed before them—Nahida as a desiccated battery in the Sanctuary, Sumeru City becoming a *NieR* mechanized graveyard, Teyvat itself impaled by rotting roots with Celestia crashing onto the burning Irminsul...

"Grab on!" Lumine's Geo crystal exploded, encasing them in *Attack on Titan*-style hardening. Following the light spheres' trajectory, they reached the Irminsul's roots witnessing the Greater Lord's final act—her hair transforming into pale vines that bled *Bloodborne* Old Blood from bark fissures.

"The predecessor sealed corruption using herself..." Real-world Nahida manifested in the time rift, her Gnosis resonating with the contract sigil. "...at the cost of her very existence."

In collapsing House of Daena, scholars panicked as the Akasha erased history—the Greater Lord's portraits blanked, hymns became garbled code, even the Scarlet King's mural ally vanished.

"Stop this!" Kazuha crawled from the time rift, his arm showing *Interstellar*-style fifth-dimensional folds. "You'll be forgotten too!"

Nahida's dress pixelated with *Digimon* deletion effects. "This is how I inherit her duty..." Her eyes reflected dying Sumerus. "...but truth must survive."

Lumine tore a blank page from *Death Note*, engraving memories with Geo energy. "Transfer the corruption!" Her Vision blazed as *Fate*-style command seals crawled up her neck.

The overclocking device spat *steampunk* sparks. Dragged back to reality, they saw Nahida's Gnosis merge with *Madoka's* Law of Cycles. The Irminsul's lament became purifying rain containing *CLANNAD* orbs of light.

Three months later, Cyno's Electro spear flipped open the new chronicle in the Archives. Its pages read: "Five centuries ago, six sages repelled forbidden knowledge." No mention of sacrifice—only edited emptiness.

In the blind box shop's inner vault, thirty-seven orbs floated—each preserving memories: the Greater Lord teaching star charts to young Nahida, their time capsule buried at dawn, and her final smile before dissolution.

In the rebuilt Sanctuary, Nahida wound an music box crafted from the Puppet System's core. As *Macross*'s "Do You Remember Love?" played, Padisarahs swayed without wind—as if an unseen presence harmonized.

"You remember everything," Kazuha gestured to her new picture book—a white-haired deity cradling an infant under the glowing Irminsul, background stars forming ancient Sumeru text: "May your journey reach the stars."

Nahida traced the painted cheek. "Memories fade... but wishes take root." Deep in the rainforest, thirty-seven Dunyarzad clones planted enhanced Moonlotuses, their dewdrops refracting auroras.