After the old god stepped down, a new god was bound to be born.
In other words, a new Geo Archon would appear sooner or later.
Gods were born in accordance with people's wishes. The people of Mondstadt longed for freedom and a chance for change, and so Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, was born.
The people of ancient Liyue longed for a powerful, steady, dependable god to shelter them amid the flames of war, and so Morax, the Geo Archon, appeared.
Now, Liyue was wealthy and militarily strong, and its people lived in peace and prosperity. They no longer yearned for protection.
The era of the god-Liyue contract had ended, and the old Geo Archon stepped down with the passing of that era.
The era of the Liyue-human contract had arrived. This was an era of human governance.
In this new era, a new Geo Archon would be born in accordance with the people's wishes.
But even so, what sort of person would this new god be? What would their temperament be like? What policies and ideals would they embrace after their birth?
All of that remained unknown.
This was also what worried Zhongli most.
He did not know what sort of new god Liyue would welcome after he stepped down from his divine throne.
But in Ellin, Zhongli saw a chance for change.
Unlike other immortals and gods, Ellin had been born human. She possessed far more humanity than they did.
And in Ellin, Zhongli saw the potential for a Geo Archon of the new era.
This immortal maiden, who could laugh and play with ordinary people in the streets, might be better suited to becoming the god Liyue needed in this age.
Even if Ellin could not become the Geo Archon in the future, that was all right.