In the comments, those from Mondstadt and Snezhnaya qualified to post gradually began arguing under Jean and La Signora's lead. People from the other nations happily watched the drama unfold, while the video continued.
[ACT.1]
[Farewell, Archaic Lord]
"Under the gaze of countless witnesses, the God of [Contracts] was murdered!"
In reality, Zhongli finally closed his eyes helplessly.
Although the first video had already given him a vague sense that this screen would sooner or later lay bare all seven gods' secrets and expose the things they had hidden.
But his retirement... ah, no, his plan to test whether Liyue could implement human rule had yet to begin. Was it about to have its answers leaked in advance?
And this ambiguous wording...
It tended to mislead the viewers.
For someone like him, who knew the whole story, it was fine. Naturally, he knew exactly what his own murder entailed.
But the worry lay with those half-informed people who knew a little, but not the whole picture. They might instead be completely misled by this video.
Ordinary people in Liyue who blindly followed Rex Lapis were merely raising a clamor, indignantly protesting the video's nonsense. How could the mighty Rex Lapis be murdered?!
But those who knew that Erosion existed in Teyvat, and that Rex Lapis had lived for over six thousand years, would probably wonder whether Erosion had tormented Morax so severely that he could no longer even detect a plot to murder him within Liyue.
If any humans or adepti truly thought that, it might cause a huge mess.
For the moment, Zhongli could no longer worry about exposing himself. He directly used adeptal arts to contact the mighty and illuminated adepti.
In short, he needed to calm down these hotheads who genuinely had the power to overturn Liyue Harbor first. Otherwise, whether Liyue Harbor would even see tomorrow morning was an open question.
In fact, things were exactly as Zhongli had imagined. Had he not been experienced enough and acted quickly enough to contact the mighty and illuminated adepti immediately, the group led by Cloud Retainer would absolutely have been the first to explode. Good heavens, they had even begun seriously discussing suppressing Liyue Harbor.
However, while the adepti had been calmed, he could not immediately calm everyone else.
[Keqing: That's impossible. How could Rex Lapis be-?!]
[Ningguang: We need to lower our assessment of this screen's credibility.]
[Ganyu: How could... uh, ooh...]
[Yanfei: Senior Ganyu, what are you trying to say-uh...]
[Beidou: Why are you two reacting so strangely?]
[Xingqiu: Rex Lapis... how could this happen?]
[Chongyun: Someone actually dared... no, anyone capable of assassinating Rex Lapis definitely isn't human. It could only be a being on the same level. Who was it?]
[Keqing: During my recent inspections, I've noticed that there seem to be more Fatui advance troops within Liyue.]
[Xiangling: Huh? Aren't the Fatui advance troops here to help us deal with things over at the Chasm?]
[Ningguang: You can know someone's face without knowing their heart. In any case, we need to take action now.]
[Tartaglia: Hey, by "take action," do you mean having a bunch of Millelith surround our Northland Bank?]
[Keqing: Heh, the Liyue Qixing issued no such order. This is simply a spontaneous response from the Millelith. Doesn't that tell you enough about how ordinary people in Liyue view the Fatui?]
[Tartaglia: You?!]
[Xingqiu: Speaking of which, both the Hydro Archon and the Dendro Archon are in this discussion forum. Rex Lapis should be here too, right?]
[Chongyun: Hmm, you mean that since Rex Lapis has also seen this footage, the so-called murder won't succeed, right? After all, if Rex Lapis is prepared, who in all of Teyvat could possibly hurt him?]
[Keqing: That does make sense, but we can't just do nothing. I propose that all Millelith squads immediately enter combat readiness and maintain strict defenses.]
[Ningguang: Seconded.]
[Ganyu: S-seconded...]
The news that Rex Lapis, who had ruled Liyue for thousands of years and was the oldest even among the Seven, had been assassinated sent all of Teyvat into an uproar.
Especially since Mora, the universal equivalent everyone used throughout Teyvat, was produced by Rex Lapis.
Had Dori not retained enough sense to know that adding fuel to the fire now would jeopardize the subsequent resale of that Rex Lapis Mora, she probably would not have been able to resist posting in the discussion forum to ask what would happen to Mora production now that Rex Lapis was dead.
Their arguments nearly kept everyone from paying attention to the rest of the animation.
The screen would not stop for their discussion. Rather, stirring up such arguments and clamor was one of its pleasures.
"At the final moment, he will sign the contract to end all contracts."
[Ganyu: Rex Lapis...]
[Keqing: The final contract?]
[Ningguang: Hmm, that arm is definitely mine.]
Watching the footage of herself lavishly scattering precious gems, Ningguang recalled that she had rather liked this sort of continent-wide fame before. After all, boosting her reputation helped expand her business. But she really did not want her image appearing in a video announcing Rex Lapis's assassination at a time like this.
The screen went black again, and everyone in Teyvat felt their hearts skip a beat, especially those in Sumeru and Inazuma. Judging by the video's sequence, one of their two nations would be next.
Please, no bombshell like Rex Lapis getting assassinated.
[ACT.Ⅱ]
[Omnipresence Over Mortals]
"The Shogun lives forever, and the duration of the shogunate's closed borders is likewise without end!"
In reality, on Inazuma's main island, the Kamisato siblings sat up straight. At the shrine, Yae Miko looked toward the distant Tenshukaku with a playful smile. Within the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Ei, who had long since tried every means she could to affect the screen without success, felt her heart sink.
Onscreen, an ornate fan opened. Behind it, a beautiful girl with white hair in a hime cut opened her eyes, splendid Cryo energy dancing through the air with the fan in her hand.
[Kamisato Ayaka: Huh? That's me?]
[Alice: I told you, little Ayaka is perfect for debuting as an Inazuman idol.]
[Kamisato Ayato: Thank you very much for your kindness, Miss Alice. However, my younger sister is busy with official duties and must contribute to the Shogun's eternity. She truly has no time to debut as an idol.]
Kamisato Ayato immediately stepped forward to protect his sister.
From the fact that the screen was still playing normally nearly an hour after its appearance, and from the increasingly thick thunderclouds above the distant Tenshukaku, he could tell that the Shogun was definitely in a rather poor mood, and that the invincible Shogun was powerless against the screen.
He was also afraid that, upon seeing this with nowhere to vent her anger, the Shogun might drag his innocent, adorable sister into it.
Dainsleif's voice paid no heed to what these Inazumans thought, continuing calmly from the screen.
"What eternity has the god who pursues eternity seen in the eyes of the world?"
Wasn't that a fucking question that cut straight to the heart?
A rare bead of cold sweat ran down Kamisato Ayato's face.
Perhaps because they knew their own god was also in the discussion forum, none of the Inazumans qualified to speak dared say anything beyond those few from earlier and the fox who continued brazenly provoking her afterward.
Recently, Kazuha had indeed had some questions he wanted to ask the Raiden Shogun because of his friend's strange remarks. But his friend was not dead yet, after all. Perhaps out of a desire to avoid trouble and let sleeping dogs lie, Kazuha ultimately did not post in the discussion forum.
Of course, had he known what his friend had gone off to do today, he probably would not have thought that way.
Each nation basically received a single scene. Inazuma's segment soon passed, and now it was Sumeru's turn to wear a mask of pain.
Sure enough.
[ACT.Ⅲ]
[Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana]
As Sumeru appeared, the music suddenly grew cheerful. Collei watched worriedly as Tighnari kept muttering things like, "Our reputation as people of Sumeru..."
"Wisdom is the enemy of the God of [Wisdom]."
Oh boy, the very first line dropped a huge bombshell. Wisdom was the enemy of the God of Wisdom. What massive stunt had their scholars pulled now?
Those around the Grand Sage cast subtle glances at his gloomy face, while the Grand Sage utterly loathed this video.
"Knowledge is the bait floating on the surface of the sea of ignorance."
Connecting this to the growing number of mad scholars lately, Tighnari, Alhaitham, and the other scholars all began entertaining quite a few troubling thoughts.
"The scholars of the city of learning are fomenting folly, and the god's wisdom has no objection."
The yellow sand dispersed, and Cyno appeared on the screen with his weapon in hand.
[Tighnari: Oh, no, why is it still Cyno? Our reputation as people of Sumeru?!]
Tighnari was deeply puzzled. The representatives of the previous three nations had all seemed quite reliable, so why was Sumeru represented by Cyno, who had just been exposed as the king of bad jokes?
[Kaveh: Give up. We people of Sumeru lost our reputation ages ago.]
[Alhaitham: An interesting statement. Your rent-]
[Kaveh: Shut up, you bastard, Alhaitham!]
[Dori: Kaveh, when are you paying this month's interest?]
[Collei: This person seems so miserable.]
[Amber: Huh, Collei?]
[Collei: Ah, Amber. Um, long time no see.]
[Amber: Long time no see (jumps up high)! Collei, how have you been lately?]
[Collei: Um (fidgets), I've been well.]
[Eula: Hmm (spots something)?]
[Tighnari: Ahem, let's get back to the video.]
[Collei: Ah, yes, Master!]
Sumeru's segment ended. The next nation would be either Fontaine or Natlan, and as the footage continued, everyone learned that Fontaine was next.
[ACT.Ⅳ]
[Masquerade of the Guilty]
"The God of [Justice] loves every farce in the courtroom, and even longs to judge the gods."
In reality, upon seeing this, Furina inwardly cursed up a storm, but still forced herself to keep her spirits up and proudly hold her head high and chest out. The people of Fontaine in the Opera Epiclese also cheered for their theatrical "god."
Listening to the Fontainians cheering below, Furina was about to overflow with Hydro herself.
In the past, saying things like this behind closed doors was one thing. Now, it was being broadcast live to everyone in Teyvat, including the other six gods.
Especially when she thought of the other gods also being in the discussion forum, Furina truly wished this screen had a private messaging function so she could privately kowtow to each of the other six.
[Yae Miko: Oh my, is the Hydro Archon really so ambitious?]
[Ningguang: I originally thought Snezhnaya was quite suspicious. Hmm, but now...]
Now what? Go on, say it!
Furina wanted to cry but had no tears.
She had been saddled for no reason with suspicion of assassinating another nation's god. Wasn't this just-
Wait, a grand trial... could this be what it meant?
Furina's spirits lifted. She seemed to have caught sight of the end of her five hundred years of perseverance.
[Furina: That's right. I am the embodiment of justice, and I will judge all injustice in Teyvat!]
Seeing hope of breaking the prophecy, Furina unleashed a taunt on all of Teyvat.
[Neuvillette: ...]
[Navia: There she goes again.]
[Charlotte: Oh, oh! As expected of Lady Furina. We'll never have to worry about running out of big news.]
[Nahida: Huh? Are you going to judge me, Sister Focalors?]
[Furina: Ahem, except Nahida!]
[Barnabas: Understood. We can change the order on our end.]
Although she had not explicitly stated what order she meant, every Harbinger who saw that line immediately understood.
Still, they had not expected their noble Tsaritsa to respond to this Hydro Archon, who looked unreliable at a glance. Could this Hydro Archon actually have some real ability?
Everyone fell silent for a time, each with their own thoughts, while the animation continued.
"But she understands very well that only the [Heavenly Principles] must never be made an enemy."
Accompanying Dainsleif's narration were Fontaine's famous magician Lyney and his assistant Lynette.
[Lyney: Oh my (scratches cheek), I've actually become famous here. Looks like I can go on a continent-wide tour in the future.]
[Lynette: Brother, can I have an extra little cake afterward?]
[Furina: Mm-hmm, very good. Choosing you two as Fontaine's representatives shows excellent taste. I invite you to my tea party!]
As for the Heavenly Principles mentioned on the screen?
Never mind the people of Fontaine; everyone throughout Teyvat tacitly played that down.
As Fontaine's segment drew to a close, the video's music suddenly grew stirring. Even without the captions appearing, everyone knew this absolutely had to be Natlan, where war persisted.
[ACT.Ⅴ]
[Incandescent Ode of Resurrection]
"The rules of war are inscribed within living beings. The defeated become the embers of war, while the victors burn anew."
For some reason, La Signora felt something different stir within her upon seeing that sentence.
Raiden Ei, Zhongli, and even Venti each had their own thoughts as they read this description of the Pyro Archon's authority.
"The God of [War] tells the traveler this secret, because she has her reasons for doing so."
[Fischl: Hmm, O friend of mine, forge a new future!]
[Oz: What milady means is that the person onscreen looks very much like Mr. Bennett, with whom she often partners.]
[Bennett: Huh? Me? Uh, I guess there is a bit of a resemblance.]
[Iansan: Huh? We look alike? Um, could you send a picture?]
You two aren't fucking siblings, are you?