Tighnari said, "I've spent some time with you both, and it seems the Lesser Lord Kusanali is also on your side. So I trust you."
Paimon was delighted. "Thank you, Tighnari! By the way, we wanted to ask you earlier—do you know anything about the project the Sages are working on?"
Tighnari said, "That? I was indeed invited to participate in that project, but the Sages were tight-lipped about its details. I ended up turning them down."
"I only know that the project is supposedly about repairing Irminsul."
Lumine said, "I think I already know what the project is. I just got some new information. The Akademiya is helping Scaramouche become a god."
Paimon was shocked. "What?!"
[Yae Miko: The Akademiya's foolishness is beyond imagination. The Electro Gnosis has no authority over memory, nor can it connect to Irminsul. How could Scaramouche possibly save Irminsul?]
[Zhongli: I am also deeply concerned about Irminsul's problems. But as Miko said, I have no authority over memory either.]
[Paimon: So there's only one way to save the world—restore the Lesser Lord Kusanali's power, so she can search for the answer to restoring Irminsul.]
[Zhongli: Generally speaking, that is the only way.]
[Dottore: I was the one who told them that creating a new god could save Irminsul. My goal was simply to get them to cooperate with my god-making project. I didn't expect them to be so easily fooled.]
[Paimon: But if Irminsul is in trouble, all of Teyvat will be in crisis. What's your benefit in that?]
[Dottore: Irminsul would never actually be in trouble. At the final moment, the Lesser Lord Kusanali would certainly sacrifice herself to save Irminsul—just as the previous Dendro Archon did.]
[Furina: I... I am absolutely furious.]
[Paimon: Stomping my feet! So infuriating!]
[Dehya: So Dottore was planning all along to make the Lesser Lord Kusanali die.]
[Furina: But Nahida hasn't even seen the beauty of this world yet.]
[Nahida: If only sacrificing myself can save Irminsul, then I will not hesitate.]
[Lumine: I will never let anything happen to you.]
Lumine said, "I saw the half-finished god with my own eyes during the construction process. And in Haypasia's consciousness, what I saw was also Scaramouche."
Tighnari rested his chin on his hand. "I see. No wonder Haypasia's symptoms were different from those of other mad scholars before her. She had come into contact with the consciousness of a new god in the process of being born."
"Come to think of it, I knew the Sages looked down on the Lesser Lord Kusanali, but I never expected they would go so far as to create a new god. How arrogant. It was definitely the right choice not to accept their invitation."
Lumine said, "They were probably encouraged by the Fatui."
Tighnari sighed. "Both Scaramouche and Dottore—two Fatui Harbingers—are in Sumeru? That does sound a bit foreboding."
"At least from your description, the project isn't fully completed yet. There should still be a chance to stop them."
"But what does creating a new god have to do with restoring Irminsul?"
[Paimon: The answer is nothing. It's all just Dottore's lies.]
[Lumine: Arlecchino is from Fontaine and has been searching for a way to save her homeland. Even her Gnosis mission was put on the back burner. But Dottore...]
[Ningguang: Dottore also put his Gnosis mission aside. All he cares about is his mad experiments.]
[Tsaritsa: A good analysis. Recruiting Dottore was not the right choice. He is no longer a Harbinger of Snezhnaya.]
Paimon was also confused. "Yeah. We still can't figure out what the Sages' real goal is."
Lumine said, "Then let's head to the desert first. We have to stop them no matter what."
Under Tighnari's guidance, Lumine arrived at the outpost below the Wall of Samiel.
She also saw the tall wall that separated the desert.
"Don't just stand there staring. Follow me." Alhaitham appeared briefly and then vanished.
Lumine immediately followed.
They hid in a concealed spot, and Lumine saw several mercenaries appear from behind her and give chase.
Paimon was shocked. "We were being followed?"
Alhaitham commented coldly, "You were far too careless. Those tails' tracking techniques were clumsy. You should have noticed them long ago."