And so, Nahida brought Lumine and Paimon into the God-Descension Workshop deep within the Sanctuary of Surasthana. They were utterly shocked by this enormous, hidden experimental facility that the Fatui and the Akademiya had built together.
What shocked them was not just the technological sophistication on display or the manpower, resources, and money spent on it, but, even more so, the choice of location.
Perhaps no one would have imagined that, besides the deity Lesser Lord Kusanali hidden at the very top of the Sanctuary of Surasthana, a New God of their own creation was hidden in the underground workshop beneath it. This was what it meant to overlook what lay right under one's nose.
On their way to meet Scaramouche, Nahida asked Lumine and Paimon for more details about him to prepare for whatever might happen next, learning what sort of person he was. After all, the more information she had, the more precisely she could address the problem.
Finally, after navigating one turn after another, the three of them reached the door to their destination. An ordinary iron door could no longer conceal the unparalleled aura Scaramouche unconsciously let slip.
Just then, Nahida took out a curious creature that floated in the air, just like Paimon.
Lumine: "What's this little floating thing? A utility machine like Paimon?"
Paimon: "What do you mean, like me? We're obviously very different!"
Lumine: "Sorry, I was just trying to ease the tension. But at first glance, you're both tiny and floating..."
Paimon: "Hey-"
Nahida laughed. "Hehe, this is a little something I made in my spare time earlier. You can think of it as an upgraded Akasha Terminal. We may have a difficult battle ahead of us, and it should be able to help in certain situations."
Paimon: "Nahida, aren't you nervous?