I, the Geo Archon Morax with 2.1 Billion Mora, Have Joined a Chat Group [230]

The Traveler and Paimon led the way, while Fu Hua, Zhongli, and Guizhong followed a few steps behind.

Their footsteps left fresh imprints on the vast, snow-covered slopes. The soft crunch of boots pressing into the snow was the only sound breaking the silence.

Even the usual cries of Hilichurls were absent.

"Traveler."

Zhongli’s voice suddenly echoed through the stillness, startling the golden-haired girl ahead.

"Huh? What is it?"

Lumine turned back, slightly puzzled as she met the gaze of the Geo Archon.

"Hmm… I’d like to pose a hypothetical question."

Zhongli’s voice was calm, almost contemplative.

"If you were to see your brother again right now… what would you say to him?"

The question made Lumine frown.

She looked at Zhongli, sensing something odd in his inquiry.

"Why ask this so suddenly?" she asked quietly.

"Merely a thought. A passing curiosity," Zhongli replied, his expression unchanged.

Lumine fell silent for a few seconds.

Just as the others thought she might not answer, the girl finally spoke—her voice carrying a trace of loneliness.

"I think… I’d probably cry."

"...Yeah, I think I’d just cry."

Zhongli nodded slightly, then said, "I see. In that case, allow me to share something with you."

"Today… you may very well see your brother."

Even though she had already suspected something from the way Zhongli had questioned her, hearing him confirm it out loud still made Lumine’s expression shift.

Her golden eyes lit up instantly.

In one swift motion, she stepped back toward Zhongli, clasping her hands together as she looked up at him with an expression full of anticipation—her eyes practically brimming with unshed tears.

"Really? Is it… really true?"

Lumine didn’t often use her cuteness as a weapon, but she certainly knew how to.

"Yes," Zhongli answered plainly. "I can sense a presence—one that shares your exact essence. Your blood, your soul."

"He is climbing the other side of the mountain as we speak."

"Then let’s go find him—now!"

Lumine reacted in an instant. She grabbed Paimon, securing the floating companion in her arms as she prepared to dash toward the opposite side of the peak.

"There’s no need for haste." Zhongli raised a hand slightly. "Simply proceed at our usual pace and continue toward our original destination.

"I can tell that his goal is also the summit of Dragonspine. There’s no need to rush—we will meet him today."

"Rather than panicking, use this time to think carefully about what you truly wish to say to him."

"Will you ask how he has been all these years? Or discuss what each of you has gone through?"

"Perhaps you’d rather ask when he first awoke?"

"Any of these would be valid."

His words were patient, sincere.

Lumine fell into thought for a moment before nodding.

She realized Zhongli wasn’t wrong—she truly hadn’t considered what she would say when the long-awaited moment arrived.

Would she throw herself into her brother’s arms without hesitation? Or would she punch him in frustration, venting all the helplessness she’d felt while searching for him?

Would she tell him about the despair of watching him be taken away, frozen in a fate she couldn’t change?

She wanted to say it all.

"I understand, Zhongli."

She turned forward again, a bright smile forming on her lips. Her heart was a mix of excitement and nervousness—three parts anticipation, seven parts joy.

Behind her, however, Paimon wore a strange expression.

She hesitated before slowing her pace, allowing herself to fall back to Zhongli’s side.

Frowning slightly, she waited until Lumine had walked a bit further ahead before whispering,

"Zhongli… tell me the truth. Did you arrange for Lumine’s brother to show up here?"

"It’s just way too much of a coincidence that we just happen to run into him now."

"Originally, this shouldn’t have been the time when—"

She suddenly froze mid-sentence.

Realization flashed across her face.

Awkwardly, she scratched the back of her head, trying to cover up her slip.

Zhongli glanced at her but didn’t comment on the mistake in her words.

Instead, he answered plainly,

"By the logic of the world, I do not interfere with the future—nor do I attempt to peer into it.

"Even if that future stands just before me, I will not meddle in it.

"So rest assured, Paimon."

"This meeting was not arranged by me."

"Although… I am involved in some way, this was never something I deliberately orchestrated."

"Whether or not you believe me is entirely up to you."

Paimon scratched her head again, deep in thought.

Finally, she nodded.

"I believe you, Zhongli."

"If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have asked you directly like this."

"But still… this coincidence is just way too much of a coincidence."

"Alright, alright… I—"

Before she could finish speaking, Lumine’s voice called out from ahead.

Paimon immediately snapped her mouth shut.

Without hesitation, she darted forward, hurrying to catch up with the Traveler.

---

"[Gold], my dear," the witch called out lazily, her voice drifting like a whisper over the vast white expanse.

She walked with ease over the snow, her crimson hair a striking contrast against the endless whiteness. Her tone was casual, almost bored, yet tinged with amusement as she addressed the girl walking ahead of her—a girl who appeared youthful, yet shrouded in an inexplicable haze.

It was difficult to make out the details of her face, as if reality itself refused to define her existence.

The witch, of course, understood.

This distortion was proof that the world itself rejected [Gold], the alchemist.

A curse.

A punishment from the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.

The curse rendered her unwelcome in all of Teyvat, turning the very world against her.

Water would choke her instead of quenching her thirst. Her voice could trigger an avalanche. Any experiment she conducted would inevitably end in an explosion.

For any ordinary alchemist—or even a weaker member of the Seven—such relentless opposition from the world itself would have driven them into despair. Death, either by accident or surrender to madness, would have been inevitable.

But she was different.

She had used alchemy to create a true copy of herself.

And then, she had killed that copy.

By doing so, she had deceived the world, erasing herself from its records.

Even the witch, with her thousand years of knowledge, had never heard of such an unfathomable technique.

"What is it?"

The alchemist turned her head slightly, her cold gaze meeting the witch’s. There was a flicker of curiosity in her otherwise emotionless golden eyes.

"Well…"

The witch twirled a lock of fiery hair between her fingers, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"I only heard the gentleman mention that there was some kind of temporal reversal in Dragonspine recently, but he didn’t elaborate on the details. Now that we’re here, would you care to enlighten me?"

"That gentleman only told me a summary of the situation," [Gold] replied flatly.

She saw no reason to conceal anything.

The witch was, after all, a seeker of knowledge. Even if she chose not to speak now, the thousand-year-old sorceress would eventually find a way to uncover the truth.

"Reversing time is no simple feat. That gentleman once said:"

"The past is the present, and the future is the present. To alter the present using events from the past is nearly impossible."

"So when he discovered traces of time reversal in Dragonspine, he was first shocked… and then, delighted."

"He saw hope."

"It didn’t matter whether this power belonged to a living being, a phenomenon, an object, or a technique—he wanted to witness its potential."

The alchemist’s voice was even, but beneath it was an undercurrent of something deeper.

"This is my hope as well."

She turned to the witch and asked,

"Does this not excite you? The possibility of fulfilling a long-held dream, finally within reach? Do you not wish to see this power for yourself?"

The witch paused.

She understood.

As one who had long since defied the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles and this world’s order, she had already been branded an enemy of Teyvat.

Yet, compared to [Gold] and that gentleman, her feelings toward this world were not quite as… hostile.

If anything, she felt a shred of sympathy for the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.

She loved this world.

She didn’t want to see it consumed by endless darkness and chaos.

But neither was she willing to sacrifice herself to save it.

If this world were truly doomed, she would simply take her daughter and leave.

And so, unlike [Gold] and that gentleman, she did not share their burning desire to seize control of time itself.

"...Fine, fine. I understand now," the witch said with a chuckle.

She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, then turned her gaze toward the golden-haired prince, who had been walking ahead in silence.

"Prince," she called out, "order your men to hurry up."

"We still have a long way to go, and we can’t afford to waste time on the road. If we want to descend before nightfall, we need to pick up the pace.

"Once night falls, the environment at the summit will become even harsher."

"You and I may be fine, but the majority of your subjects won’t survive the cold."

The prince gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

He raised a hand and called out to the Hilichurls surrounding him.

"＃%！@＃…… (Increase speed.)"

At his command, the Hilichurls instantly straightened, quickening their pace as they marched toward the summit.

...

An hour later, they arrived at the peak.

Standing before them, close enough to touch, was the towering, floating Skyfrost Nail.

Staring at the colossal structure, [Gold] clicked her tongue in irritation.

She reached into her coat and pulled out a small glass vial.

Without hesitation, she threw it to the ground.

The vial shattered with a sharp crack!

In an instant, the dark soil beneath them began to tremble.

A moment later, a massive Geovishap emerged from the earth, its rocky form towering over them.

The alchemist’s golden eyes glinted coldly.

"Jump up," she commanded.

"Destroy that pillar completely."

---

T/N: PAIMON?????? JHELLO/

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