"I've already notified them that they can begin developing technology."
"By the way, your little brother Morax has been searching the entire world for you. Why didn't you seal his memories this time?"
The Lord of the Underworld floated above the Sea of Quanta, speaking to Elliot, who sat cross-legged beneath him.
"Seal it...? Actually, that was only part of the plan," Elliot said with a faint smile.
"You foresaw that he'd regain his memories?" The Lord of the Underworld sounded surprised.
"Not me—the System." Elliot held the square box in his left hand as he spoke.
When he heard Morax's call, even Elliot himself had been surprised. He had completely locked away every memory related to Morax—by all logic, Morax shouldn't have remembered a thing.
Until Elliot noticed the familiar square box in his hands.
That box—it was something Elliot had given Morax in his First Life. A small, finely crafted wooden cube, its surface etched with intricate carvings. He still remembered buying it from a merchant back then.
Now, to see it again in Morax's possession...
Logically, the Ninth Life and the First Life were completely separate parallel worlds. Morax shouldn't have had such an object. Yet when Elliot thought back, he remembered that in the First Life, when Morax had first received the box, he had mentioned something curious—how it felt as though they'd known each other long ago.
At last, Elliot understood.
This ending—perhaps it had been predetermined from the very beginning.
The System had known since the First Life that the Morax of the Ninth would have his memories erased by Elliot. So, it had designated this seemingly insignificant wooden box as the key to awaken those sealed memories.
The System had planned it all in advance.
Just as Elliot had said—everything was part of the System's plan.
"So then, you sitting here is also part of the System's plan?" the Lord of the Underworld asked.
"Most likely," Elliot replied calmly.
"Then how long are you going to hold that thing up there?" The Lord of the Underworld pointed at the darkness looming above Elliot's head.
That "thing" was none other than the continent of Teyvat—created by Elliot through the power of One Thought, Three Thousand Realms.
At this moment, Teyvat was neither a leaf on the Imaginary Tree nor a world bubble adrift in the Sea of Quanta. It stood as a third entity in existence—a pure, independent world.
Elliot used himself as the dividing line, supporting the entire world with one hand. Beneath him stretched the Sea of Quanta, its corrosion endlessly assaulting him. His body served as the barrier that kept its erosion from reaching Teyvat.
The Sea's corrosive power constantly gnawed at the portion of him seated below, but it was instantly restored by the force of life—just as before. Beneath him, he endured unending pain, while upon his shoulders rested the weight of an entire world.
It was a crude, clumsy method, yet it was the only one possible.
Teyvat had already been abandoned by the Imaginary Tree. Elliot could no longer fix it in place. And the Sea of Quanta existed only to devour—there was no possibility of anchoring it there.
This was the only way he could keep Teyvat alive.
"How long will you keep holding it?" the Lord of the Underworld asked.
"I don't know," Elliot replied. "As long as I live, I'll keep holding it."
"Then you're doomed. You'll probably be holding it until the end of time."
"Then I'll hold it until the end of time."
"......"
"Can you do me one more favor?" Elliot asked after a pause.
"What is it?"
"Brew me a pot of tea. I'd like to have some."