Losing the Gnosis had been a devastating blow for Scaramouche at the time. He broke free of his connection to Shouki no Kami and finally came crashing down from it.
In Heaven Dou City, at the Akademiya Branch, Nahida looked at Ouyang Kong.
"Void, why did I call you my first sage on the Sky Screen?"
She hadn't asked the question aloud. As the God of Wisdom, she could probably guess what had happened.
Because of Teyvat's laws, she had been forced to forget certain things. Now that she had left Teyvat, those lost memories ought to return.
Nahida looked at the Sky Screen again. Perhaps it could give her an answer.
As Scaramouche fell from Shouki no Kami, the image on the Sky Screen slowly faded.
In truth, Scaramouche's desire for the Gnosis had struck a chord with many people on the Douluo Continent.
But they had felt for him in different ways. Some sympathized with what he had gone through, while others thought of their own struggles to pursue power.
Scaramouche himself, on the other hand, remained calm. After all, he had already lived through it once.
Most people were more curious about what would happen next. Now that the false god had been toppled, how would he be dealt with?
The Sky Screen didn't keep them waiting long. A new image slowly appeared, showing a beautiful tree with a conspicuous break in its trunk.
Scaramouche stood beneath it, with the Traveler behind him.
"We can begin, Lesser Lord Kusanali."
"Access to Irminsul granted. Connection established."
A tree-shaped ball of light appeared, and Scaramouche and the Traveler walked into it.
The image flashed, turning pale blue. Everything around them had taken on a data-like appearance—a scene the people of the Douluo Continent couldn't understand.
The Sky Screen helpfully provided a written explanation.
[Irminsul: A place that records all the information in the entire world. Everything that happens in the world is recorded by Irminsul] [Nahida is the caretaker of Irminsul, responsible for maintaining its operation] [Scaramouche once ascended to the divine throne and, because of his origins, has a trace of access permissions within Irminsul] [Scaramouche is assisting Nahida in organizing information related to Irminsul]
With the Sky Screen's explanation, most people finally understood.
As Scaramouche searched for information beneath Irminsul, he found a record. The Sky Screen's image returned once more to Tatarasuna, to the moment "Dottore" killed Niwa.
Scaramouche heard again the final words Niwa had left for him.
"...Lord Nagamasa... and I... and everyone else... all considered him... one of us."
"He didn't need to do anything to prove himself. Between people... there's more than just using one another... Only someone like you... would think otherwise."
In Spirit City, Scaramouche lowered his head in silence, mourning Niwa. On the Sky Screen, the Scaramouche who had just learned the truth laughed maniacally.
"Hahaha, hahaha! Dottore! Dottore! Good, very good! Hahahahaha!
"Lesser Lord Kusanali, is this what you wanted me to see? These things... they're meaningless now."
"Are they really meaningless? At least now you know the truth. You know Niwa never betrayed you. You should understand better than anyone what that means."
Nahida said nothing more, giving Scaramouche time to calm down.
Once he had composed himself, Scaramouche continued his work. As soon as it was done, he forcibly overtaxed his access permissions and blocked Nahida out.
He looked at the Traveler and reached for his hand.
"Tell me, has history ever been changed in this world?"
The Traveler didn't answer, but Scaramouche had already found his answer in the Traveler's expression.
"Thank you, Traveler. You should leave here quickly. We probably won't meet again.
"From now on, neither 'Balladeer' nor 'Kunikuzushi' will exist!
"Everyone who died in Tatarasuna and was connected to me deserves a different life."
The image on the Sky Screen darkened again, and a line of text appeared alongside it.
[Scaramouche deleted his own existence from Irminsul, but he didn't know that his access permissions weren't enough to delete himself]
Many people on the Douluo Continent couldn't truly understand what this meant. They could only assume that Scaramouche had killed himself.
But in truth, this was something far more terrifying than death.
There was a saying that the end of life and the fading of the soul didn't count as true death. True death was being forgotten. Only when everyone forgot you and every trace that you had ever existed was erased had you truly died.
By deleting himself from Irminsul, Scaramouche had clearly wanted to die completely, without leaving behind even a trace of his existence.
Some might say he was running away. They wouldn't be wrong. He was running away, but not from guilt. Someone like him could hardly care about something as trivial as guilt.
What he truly wanted to escape was fate: the fate that had toyed with him. He also wanted to rewrite the tragic destinies of the people in Tatarasuna who cared for him—Niwa, Katsuragi, and Nagamasa.
However, Teyvat's fate had long been set. With only that sliver of access to Irminsul, he could never defy it.
"Heh. Fate, huh? I said it before—I'll slap fate right in the face someday!"
Scaramouche now understood that he couldn't shake Teyvat's predetermined fate, but that didn't mean he had no chance at all.
What had happened to Little Durin had already shown him that fate wasn't invulnerable.
The image on the Sky Screen appeared again. Scaramouche now wore the same outfit that had appeared on the Sky Screen at the very beginning.
But the Balladeer in the image had eyes that were far too clear, like those of a newborn baby.
He was curious about everything around him and unfailingly polite to everyone. He was much like the one Katsuragi had just brought out of Shakkei Pavilion.
Scaramouche had erased his information from Irminsul, but failed to erase his own existence. And so a Wanderer with no memories appeared.
Having lost his memories, he had also returned to the person he had been when he was new to the world.
Tighnari, Cyno, and the others now understood why they had lost their memories of Scaramouche.
The people of the Douluo Continent also understood why Scaramouche was three years old.
Because his information had been deleted, his age had been reset as well.
Scaramouche's life had been full of twists and turns. It made for a fascinating story that drew people in.
In Heaven Dou City, at the Akademiya Branch, Sethos asked Tighnari, "Tighnari, now that you know the truth, does it bother you that Scaramouche struck you with lightning?"
Tighnari thought for a moment before answering, "Of course it bothers me. But he's a member of the Akademiya now, and Lesser Lord Kusanali must have had her reasons for taking him in.
"Besides, he's helped me out a few times since becoming Scaramouche. I can let it go."
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