Clap clap clap—
Applause echoed. Space split open, and from the rift poured a dark red aura.
A figure stepped out, her presence carrying the scent of death itself.
"The Ruler of Death?"
Rukkhadevata frowned slightly, recognizing the white-haired woman immediately.
Koji turned to look. The woman—Ronova, the Ruler of Death—was wrapped in black silk, her crimson eyes glowing faintly in the gloom.
"God of Wisdom Rukkhadevata, this is our second meeting." Ronova nodded politely.
Compared to the Cryo Archon's authority, Rukkhadevata's power—bound directly to consciousness and the World Tree—was far more unique, enough to draw Celestia's attention.
Ronova's gaze slid briefly toward Paimon and Lumine. Her eyes flickered with meaning.
"Koji, isn't it? You hurt Ishtaroth. I've come to even the score." Ronova smiled, a little too pleasantly.
"You injured the Ruler of Time?" Rukkhadevata asked in shock.
Koji nodded. "I didn't kill her. I let her leave alive."
"Come out, Ishtaroth."
Ronova's voice was soft, but space itself rippled in response.
A vortex of time spiraled open, a red eye turning within the rift. Temporal ripples spilled outward as another white-haired deity emerged—her hand pressed to her chest, glaring at Koji with cold fury.
That elbow strike… her ribs still ached from it.
"This wasn't my fault. You attacked first, I simply countered," Koji said evenly.
"You crossed time, bringing people from the past into the present. That's a crime!" Ishtaroth puffed her cheeks indignantly.
"So? What are you going to do about it?"
Koji unsheathed the Divine Blade: Dawn, pointing it toward both deities.
"You've got such authority, huh? Maybe I should see if punching you counts as a crime," Ishtaroth muttered under her breath, frustrated that logic didn't seem to apply here.
"And tell me," Koji continued, "did what I did actually change history?"
"You dare claim you've never meddled with time?"
"Perhaps I have," he replied flatly. The simple words left Ishtaroth speechless.
Ronova laughed softly, glancing at her companion.
"Ishtaroth, who have you provoked this time? One wrong move and you'll die for real."
Even with her immortality, instinct screamed that Koji truly could kill her.
Were all beings from beyond this world this absurdly powerful?
"To restore the dead to life… quite the trick," Ronova said with mild admiration.
"Relax. I don't resurrect people recklessly." Koji's tone was calm. "This world already has enough regrets. If everyone came back, chaos would follow."
Ronova nodded thoughtfully. Then she asked, "Tell me, Koji—do you wish to become Celestia's Will?"
Ishtaroth froze.
As one of the four shadows cast by Celestia, her loyalty lay only with the Heavenly Principles.
"I've no interest in that. Teyvat already has enough problems. Solving them first will be better for everyone."
Rukkhadevata nodded slightly at his reply.
Ishtaroth fell silent. Koji's power, she realized, was far beyond hers—perhaps even beyond Celestia's sleeping Will.
He carried too many divine blessings to count, and among them she sensed a temporal authority akin to her own.
"If Teyvat ever faces ruin, I'll help," Koji said finally. "There are people here I care about."
"Very well," Ronova smiled faintly. "When that day comes, just call my name."
With that, she vanished, and the rift above sealed itself once more.
"She's gone already?" Ishtaroth muttered. "Typical Ronova…"
Her halo flickered, then faded.
"She's powerful," Lumine observed. "As powerful as the one who governs Celestia itself."
"Life, death, and time—the four Rulers are the reflections of the Heavenly Principles, each commanding one of Teyvat's supreme authorities," Paimon whispered.
Koji tilted his head. "So, between the Seven Archons and the Four Rulers, who's stronger?"
"The Four Rulers," Rukkhadevata answered without hesitation. "But the Seven may have hidden powers even we don't understand."
"If the two sides truly clashed, I'd remain unharmed," she added calmly. "I was born of the World Tree—its balance sustains me."
Paimon tilted her head, deep in thought. Something about the Rulers felt oddly familiar, as if she'd known them before.
Could she… really be connected to Celestia?
"Anyone else notice that Ishtaroth's voice sounds a lot like Venti's?" Eula suddenly asked.
"It does!" Lumine compared the two in her head. "Same tone, same pitch—it's uncanny."
"Barbatos and the Ruler of Time share a connection," Rukkhadevata explained. "Only Barbatos himself knows the truth."
"Don't tell me Venti's just one of her avatars?" Koji joked.
The Wind Archon was literally a wisp of air—it was entirely possible they were connected.
"So… Venti's gender. Male or female?" Lumine smirked.
Ishtaroth was female, after all. If Venti was born of her essence, then… the question became interesting.
"Technically, the form of a god isn't fixed," Rukkhadevata said. "We can choose our shape and gender at will."
"Enough about my gender already."
Venti appeared out of nowhere, sighing. "What's there to discuss?"
"Long time no see, Barbatos." Rukkhadevata nodded.
"Five hundred years, at least," Venti said cheerfully. "You're alive again—that calls for a drink."
"I think you just want to drink," Paimon shot back.
"Ehe~" Venti stuck out his tongue.
Paimon stamped her little feet in the air. "Don't you 'Ehe~' me, you damn drunkard!!"
This bard really was impossible.
(End of Chapter)
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