The Dendro Archon's Revival Plan

The Irminsul's roots spread through the void, their decayed branches like desiccated veins clogged with the black ooze of Forbidden Knowledge. Nahida floated at the heart of the cognitive realm, Dendro threads stitching the World Tree's fissures—each touch searing her fingertips with corruption embedded in every growth ring. 

"We must sever the Greater Lord's consciousness," she murmured, gaze fixed on the Orb of Light in Kazuha's palm. "Or her existence will remain bound to this poison forever." 

The teardrop-shaped artifact glowed softly, its core swirling with fragmented memories: Dunyarzad dancing during the Sabzeruz Festival, Cyno's Electro spear cutting through darkness, Jeht's laughter echoing across dunes... even moments Kazuha himself had forgotten—humming hometown tunes while restocking shelves, secretly framing a sunrise photo with Lumine at Qingyun Peak. 

"Are you certain?" Lumine's voice trembled. Her finger brushed the orb, plunging into a memory: Kazuha drenched and frantic, carrying her feverish body into Bubu Pharmacy during their first year together. 

Kazuha forced a grin. "I'm a professional blind box merchant. Equivalent exchange is my creed." He ignored the orb's flicker of an impossible scene—a crowned version of himself clinking glasses with Abyss Heralds. 

Nahida's roots coiled around the orb as emerald light erupted. The Greater Lord's phantom materialized—Nahida's mirror image bearing millennia of exhaustion. When the orb began absorbing her residual consciousness, icy threads pierced Kazuha's temples— 

**"High-purity emotional energy detected. Memory extraction initiated."** 

The system's mechanical voice split his mind. 

Kazuha's consciousness fractured. Half remained at the Irminsul altar watching the orb bloom with golden patterns; the other plunged into memory rapids: 

*Teaching Qiqi to photograph Liyue Harbor's sunsets, her stiff lips curling in their first smile.* 

*Dawn light through Mondstadt Cathedral windows as Klee shoves a Jumpy Dumpty into his arms—"Stars for Brother Kazuha!"* 

*A desert storm night holding feverish Lumine, her scorching breath against his neck...* 

"All this... fuel?" Kazuha laughed bitterly in the mental abyss. His memories dissolved into golden threads binding the Greater Lord's form. His physical body began fading—fingers dispersing like ink in water. 

Nahida gasped as the Irminsul shuddered. The Greater Lord's phantom awoke with dual-era starlight in her eyes: **"Halt! This child trades his existence for my revival!"** 

But the transfer couldn't be stopped. The orb cracked like glass, Kazuha's cherished memories pulverized into stardust—tea sessions with Zhongli recounting Archon wars, modeling Hu Tao's ghostly costumes, preparing secret birthday surprises in the Serenitea Pot... all flowing into the Dendro Archon's reforming body. 

Through elemental sight, Lumine saw Kazuha's soul unraveling. She lunged for his translucent wrist—her hand passing through emptiness. "Anchor him!" Cyno drove his Electro spear into the ground, weaving an elemental cage. 

When dawn light hit Kazuha's face in Aaru Village, he stared blankly at a plate of椰炭饼 (coconut charcoal cakes). 

"Your reserved Desert Special盲盒 (blind box)." He slid a gilded case toward Lumine with a salesman's smile. "Shall I explain the probability matrix?" 

A shattered bowl startled sandbirds outside. Tighnari burst in to find Lumine gripping the table—knuckles white—as Kazuha regarded her with polite detachment. 

"Short-term memory intact. Cognitive functions normal." Tighnari's elemental vision scanned Kazuha's mind, voice tight. "But emotional recollections replaced with... product catalogs?" 

Nahida's hologram materialized, orb shards spinning in her palm. "He became a memory conduit. The Greater Lord resides in the orb now, while he..." 

Lumine cradled a fractured shard revealing storm-lit memories: Kazuha carrying her through thunder, rain dripping from his jaw as he joked, *"If you get roasted, Director Hu'll bankrupt me."* 

Now the man asked courteously: "You seem fatigued. May I recommend our 20%-off calming balm?" 

Under midnight Irminsul boughs, Nahida buried the orb's remnants. A sprout emerged, its roots revealing Kazuha's hidden truths— 

*Him altering system codes to divert corruption from Nahida.* 

*Swapping Akademiya commands with *Death Note* pages to trigger Scaramouche's rampage.* 

*A final smirk to the void: **"The house always wins."*** 

Lumine's footsteps approached. Nahida offered the sprout: "The Greater Lord says some memories aren't lost—just awaiting spring." 

At dawn, Kazuha performed "miracle unboxing" for children, producing Padisarahs he no longer recognized as Lumine's favorite. Deep in the orb's cracks, the Dendro Archon waved—the sprout in Lumine's arms blossomed with petal-shaped memories of their shared journey. 

"Care for a blind box?" Kazuha grinned, holding an empty case. "Guaranteed surprises." 

Lumine tucked the sprout into his breast pocket: "Already found mine." 

Desert winds scattered unspoken words as orb dust glittered like stars. A sealed memory stirred—Kazuha instinctively clutched his chest, phantom images flashing: a computer screen showing his three-year-old novel outline titled *Teyvat Blind Box Merchant*.