Chapter 1: The People of Teyvat Have Become the Law of Nature
The wind howled across Mt. Tianheng, carrying the scent of stone and distant sea salt. Below, Liyue Harbor shimmered like a constellation fallen to earth—thousands of lanterns mirrored on the dark water, breathing life into the night.
Two figures stood atop the peak, their silhouettes framed against the glowing city.
One was a young man in flowing white robes, his dark hair glinting faintly under the moonlight. His expression was calm, but his eyes—clear and sharp as starlight—held quiet authority. The other, cloaked in black and gold, watched silently beside him. His golden eyes reflected the harbor below like twin suns—Morax, the God of Contracts, known now to mortals as Zhongli.
"Well then, Morax," the young man spoke at last, his tone steady but commanding. "How about handing over your Gnosis?"
Zhongli turned to him slowly. In his hand, he held a small object shaped like a chess piece, pulsing faintly with golden light—the Geo Gnosis, symbol of his divine office.
"The Gnosis?" he echoed, voice deep and measured.
Even after millennia of existence—after the Archon War, after watching empires rise and fall—Zhongli could not remember the last time he had been caught unprepared.
When had the Heavenly Principles changed hands?
And how had this mortal… inherited their will?
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The young man—Kael—stood unflinching beneath the Archon's gaze. There was something boundless in the air around him, a quiet pull that felt older than time itself. The mountain's ley lines stirred faintly in his presence, as though recognizing him.
"The former Heavenly Principles have fallen," Kael said evenly. "The Sustainer slumbers. And now… I have taken up that mantle."
Zhongli's brows furrowed slightly. The claim was impossible—absurd even—but the energy radiating from Kael was undeniable. The weight of celestial order hung upon him, like invisible chains that reshaped the world with his every word.
For the first time in thousands of years, Morax felt small before another.
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"The barrier holding back the Abyss still stands," Kael continued, "but it won't last. The power of the old Heavenly Principles is fading. In five years—perhaps less—it will collapse entirely."
He looked out over Liyue's lights, voice lowering.
"When that happens, the Abyss will descend upon Teyvat. And everything you built will turn to dust."
A silence settled between them, broken only by the rustle of mountain wind and the distant hum of the city below. Zhongli's gaze lingered on the lanterns of Liyue Harbor, each one a heartbeat of mortal life. For the first time in centuries, he felt… uncertain.
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"Yes," Kael said, reading his thoughts. "I'm asking for your Gnosis. But I won't take it for nothing."
He clasped his hands behind his back, his tone resolute.
"In return, when my strength matures, I'll help you and your fellow Archons overcome the erosion gnawing at your souls. I'll aid you in purging the last remnants of the fallen Demon Gods. And when the Abyss rises, I'll stand at your side to protect Teyvat."
His eyes flickered to the glowing fragment in Zhongli's hand. "That Gnosis is a shard of Celestia's power. It belongs to the order I now embody. If I can reclaim it, it will help me understand what I've inherited… and what I must become."
Zhongli studied him quietly. For mortals, the Gnosis was nothing but a relic—a token of a long-standing contract with Celestia. Yet in Kael's presence, even that ancient object seemed to hum in recognition, as if awaiting reunion.
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"It's quite the offer," Zhongli said finally, his voice low and thoughtful. "You propose to aid gods and cleanse the world… yet you speak as though you've already been appointed its savior."
He turned his gaze toward the harbor again. "Still, I am curious. As the new arbiter of Celestia—what are your thoughts on this nation?"
Kael's lips curved faintly. "Do you want the truth," he asked, "or the comforting lie?"
Zhongli gave a small chuckle. "The truth, if you would."
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"The truth," Kael began, his tone soft but piercing, "is that Liyue's splendor hides rot beneath its gold."
He stepped closer to the cliff's edge, eyes reflecting the glow of the city below. "If you, the Geo Archon, were still ruling with a firm hand, those flaws would remain buried. But the moment you step down… they'll surface, one by one."
Zhongli's smile vanished. The young man's words hit too close to a secret few knew—the end of his contract, the quiet retirement he had been preparing.
"You already know," Zhongli murmured. "About my plans."
Kael nodded slightly. "I know more than that. And I know what happens to nations when gods look away."
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The wind grew colder. Above them, the moon slipped behind clouds, and the mountain seemed to listen.
"I come from a world without gods," Kael said. "A world where mortals ruled everything—and destroyed everything."
Zhongli's eyes narrowed.
"In my world, faith was used as a weapon. Power replaced wisdom. In less than a century, humanity unleashed wars that scorched the earth and devoured their own kind. A hundred million lives… gone." His voice wavered for the first time, quiet with memory. "They fought not for justice, but for pride. And they called it progress."
Zhongli's expression hardened. A world without divine guidance… was it truly that fragile?
His thoughts drifted to Snezhnaya—a nation chasing the same path. Unchecked ambition, forbidden research, the mockery of godhood itself. "They too," he murmured, "seek to defy the heavens."
"And they will meet the same end," Kael replied. "Your world stands on that same precipice. Mortals who defy the divine, yet have no wisdom to take its place… that is the path to ruin."
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He turned again toward Liyue Harbor. "And within your shining city lies another war—one fought not with blades, but with bloodlines."
Zhongli's gaze sharpened. "You mean—"
"The class divide," Kael interrupted. "The children of merchants become merchants. The children of the Qixing inherit power. The children of the poor inherit struggle. Few ever rise above their birthright."
He looked down at the harbor's flickering lights. "Ningguang's rise was a miracle. But what happens when miracles become impossible?"
Zhongli fell silent. The words burrowed into his mind like chisel marks in stone.
He had always believed in humanity's potential—that they could shape their own destiny without divine oversight. But Kael's words stirred a quiet dread. If he withdrew completely, would the Qixing hoard power unchecked? Would the poor be trampled beneath their coin and contracts?
Would Liyue, his proudest creation, decay into a gilded cage?
---
Kael's voice broke his thoughts.
"Tell me, Morax," he asked softly, "if you were to rule again… what would you do differently?"
Zhongli turned the Gnosis in his hand, watching its golden light dance across Kael's face. For a long moment, neither spoke.
Finally, Zhongli exhaled. "Perhaps," he murmured, "that is not my question to answer."
The Gnosis gleamed faintly, caught between them like a heartbeat of creation.
And for the first time in thousands of years, Morax felt the world shifting—a silent promise of change written in the stars above.
Perhaps this young man—this Kael—was not merely the successor of the Heavenly Principles.
Perhaps he was the storm that would rewrite the laws of Teyvat itself.
✨ End of Chapter 1