Paimon rested her chin on her hand. "It's information from the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. I thought it would be about that King Deshret."
Nahida said, "King Deshret? He was a deity who passed away even earlier. There are still some desert dwellers who worship him. You might have heard some rumors."
Paimon asked, "Then what does that message actually mean?"
Nahida said, "I haven't been able to decipher it yet. Even the Akasha's current capabilities can't manage it."
"The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's residual consciousness seems to have been contaminated, containing extremely dangerous information."
"Many scholars who have connected their consciousness to it have fallen into complete madness. Though I've warned the Akademiya multiple times, there are still victims."
"But I believe the key to saving the world lies within it, so I've never given up studying it."
[Ningguang: "World" and "forgetfulness"... What problem does the world face, and who must be forgotten?]
[Nahida: The world is ill. It's still contaminated by Forbidden Knowledge. This is a matter that threatens all of Teyvat. The cause of Eleazar also stems from this.]
[Lumine: So until the pollution of Irminsul is cleansed, Dunyarzad won't truly recover.]
[Nahida: That's correct.]
[Lumine: Good. Now we've found the direction we need to work toward.]
[Nahida: To be precise, we've only found a direction to strive in. I don't have a way to cleanse the pollution.]
[Paimon: And just like that, hope is shattered again.]
Paimon's curious eyes sparkled. "So the tree in that vision was Irminsul? Tighnari also said Irminsul was ill. Is that because of the contaminated consciousness?"
"But if even you don't know what that vision means, did we come to you for nothing?"
Nahida thought for a moment and said, "Lumine came into contact with that consciousness and was completely unaffected. You're the first person I've seen like that. Perhaps with you here, we have a chance to decipher it."
"And we absolutely must uncover its secret. I've already ruled out all other factors that could affect Irminsul. This is the only one left."
"This is a puzzle that stakes the survival of Irminsul—of all Teyvat—on the challenge."
[Furina: Ah, I just got rid of my anxiety, and now the world is about to be destroyed.]
[Ningguang: Don't worry. The world's problems will be solved. During battle, Lumine used Anemo, Geo, Electro, and Dendro power—but not Hydro.]
[Furina: What does that mean?]
[Ningguang: In Inazuma, Lumine didn't use Dendro power in battle. In Liyue, she didn't use Electro. I think Lumine can only recover specific powers in their corresponding nations. And the order of her travels should be Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru. Fontaine comes after Sumeru. Before the great trial, Sumeru's problems should already have been resolved.]
[Paimon: You noticed all that, Ningguang?]
[Ningguang: As a shrewd merchant, I don't overlook any small detail.]
Lumine didn't dwell on the question and asked a second one. "Why have you taken Katheryne's form?"
Nahida said, "You could say I'm using the Akasha as a medium to borrow Katheryne's consciousness."
"If someone is wearing an Akasha Terminal, theoretically I can enter their mind."
"The Akasha is the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's legacy. I am the Lesser Lord Kusanali—and also the first Akasha Terminal. So my consciousness has always been connected to the Akasha. However, I've always respected my people's free will and never truly invaded their consciousness. I only borrow this Snezhnayan bionic puppet when necessary."
[Paimon: So Miss Katheryne is a robot.]
[Nahida: Yes. The kind that doesn't need to use the toilet.]
[Paimon: Don't bring that up again!]