At the age of 18, you pretended that nothing had happened. You continued studying the knowledge you'd once learned from the Doctor, just as before.
You had once resisted that knowledge—its methods, its implications—but now you absorbed it diligently. Because now, it helped you understand the Doctor better.
Your shift in behavior pleased the Doctor immensely. He had always believed you were like him: someone willing to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of knowledge. Now, it was clear to him that you had taken another step down that path—further into depravity.
To destroy darkness, you must first plunge into it. That, you already understood.
By the time you were 18 and a half, your efforts began to bear fruit. Your strength had grown significantly. More importantly, your complete dedication had drastically accelerated the progress of the God-Making Project. You had even discovered several hidden failsafes—secret doors the Doctor embedded within the Skirmisher mechs.
The Doctor was indeed cunning. As long as those secret doors remained, even if the mass-produced soldiers attained godhood, they could never surpass the Doctor. On the contrary, they would be nothing more than his puppets.
But rather than dismantle them and risk alerting him, you catalogued them quietly, one by one.
At 18 years and 7 months, you knew that creating a god required three components: the body of a god, the heart of a god, and the wisdom of a god.
You already possessed the Heart of God. The divine body was complete as well—and under your design, it was far more powerful than expected.
All that remained was to inject the so-called "canned knowledge of gods" into the scattered soldiers, then harvest large quantities of dreams through reincarnation cycles to amplify the Void Terminal's power output. Once the Void Terminal reached peak performance, it could channel the Heart's divine energy and establish the "core of godhood."
Only then could the God-Making Project be completed.
But ever since establishing contact with the Little Auspicious Grass King, you had come to understand the truth: this "canned knowledge" held no divine wisdom at all. It was culled from the minds of deranged scholars—taboo knowledge that could drive mortals mad.
Relying on it, the soldiers could never attain true divine wisdom. Even if they forced the Heart to function and achieved a crude godhood, they would only become false gods.
Yet even this weakness was an opportunity—a chance to turn the tables on the Doctor.
You now held three distinct advantages:
First, the Doctor didn't know you had allied with Scaramouche. He was exposed. You were hidden.
Second, as the Supreme Ruler of the Order Institute, you wielded ultimate authority over the Void Terminal. It was entirely your decision when to begin dream harvesting and god creation.
Third, you had secretly manipulated many sages and reached an agreement with the Little Auspicious Grass King. You could release her physical form at any time, turning her into a formidable ally.
With these cards in hand, you now had the power to confront the Doctor. There was no reason to delay. You would set your plan in motion tonight.
[Somatosensory Mode: Engaged]
"…."
Yilan opened his eyes, finding himself in the familiar study.
He tapped the Void Terminal next to his ear. "Little Auspicious Grass King, are you there?"
After its latest transformation, his Void Terminal could now establish direct connection with her.
"I'm here," said the Little Auspicious Grass King, appearing beside him like a holographic projection. Her form was slightly translucent. "Also, you can call me Nahida."
"Alright, Nahida," Yilan said. "Just to make sure nothing goes wrong, repeat tonight's plan."
"Okay… First, you'll lure the Doctor to the Descending Workshop, where the scattered soldiers are housed. Along the way, you'll remotely command the Grand Sages to release my body. Once that's done, my true form will join you in battle. Then you'll activate the Void Terminal at full power to begin dream harvesting…"
Nahida hesitated briefly. As a benevolent god, she hated the thought of harming her people.
But she also knew it was necessary—to defeat someone as powerful and dangerous as the Doctor.
Still, she and Yilan had modified the Void Terminal to avoid affecting citizens with fragile vitality, like Dunyarzad.
"Once the Terminal's power is fully unleashed, the scattered soldiers will ascend into gods. At that moment, you'll trigger the magic formation we've prepared in the Spirit Workshop to weaken the Doctor. Then the three of us will confront him together."
At one point, Yilan had considered enlisting characters like Signora, Alhaitham, and Dehya. But he dismissed the idea.
Even the strongest among them were, at best, mid-level warriors. Against the Doctor's most powerful segment—a mind sharper than any scalpel—they would only be sacrifices.
As for the Traveler, the God-Making Project had advanced so rapidly thanks to Yilan's involvement that, in this simulated timeline, the Traveler hadn't even arrived in Sumeru yet.
"After we defeat the Doctor," Nahida continued, "the scattered soldiers will plunge Sumeru City into chaos. I will then intervene and 'resolve' the issue. The people will be grateful for their rescue… and I will finally become a Dendro Archon truly recognized by my people."
She placed her hands behind her back shyly and rocked slightly on her heels. "But I still feel bad… like I'm deceiving everyone."
"Deception," Yilan replied, gently patting the top of her illusory head, "is also a form of wisdom."
As a Sumeru native, his gesture was technically sacrilegious—but it came naturally. And Nahida didn't protest.
Originally, Yilan had planned to use Azar and his cohorts, then eliminate them afterward.
But Nahida rejected that idea. She believed their corruption was also her responsibility—as a once-absent god. She didn't want to see them lose their lives.
So Yilan compromised. Instead of execution, Azar's punishment would be public exposure of his academic fraud… followed by exile to the desert to work in the mines.
The still somewhat naïve Nahida may not have realized that such an end could be even more agonizing than death.
Finally…
"Nahida, I want to see Nilou," said Yilan.
"Hmm?"
Nahida tilted her head, confused why he would bring that up now.
"You can see her anytime, can't you?"
Yilan shook his head. "The Doctor is extremely cunning. We can't afford any missteps before he's completely defeated. I can't meet her in my real body."
Not to mention… in order to gain power quickly, Yilan had made numerous modifications to himself.
He didn't want Nilou to see him in this damaged, unnatural state.
"So I want to ask… is there a way for my soul to meet her?"
"There is," Nahida said. "Let me try."
After finishing her performance at the Zubayr Theater, Nilou returned home.
It was already late. She had eaten dinner at the theater with everyone else, so after greeting her parents, she changed out of her "Flower of Paradise" costume, filled the bath, and slipped into the water.
She hadn't seen Yilan today.
She was a little down… rehearsals had been rough, and without him there to encourage her, it all felt heavier.
Dunking her face beneath the water up to her nose, she exhaled bubbles like a fish.
Imagining her troubles rising and bursting along with them, she soon smiled again.
"Nilou, let's do our best! Tomorrow will definitely be better!"
With that bright thought, she finished her bath, curled into bed, and slowly drifted to sleep…
But just as her consciousness began to fade, she felt a presence—someone sitting at the head of her bed.
Oddly, she wasn't afraid.
The figure glowed warmly, soothing her.
The person leaned down, gently stroked her cheek, and whispered:
"Nilou."
Her eyes flew open. She threw herself into the person's arms, heart leaping.
"Yilan!"