When it came time to formulate the plan the next day, Lumine and Paimon had both been playing around—they had already gone through a round of discussion.
Once Lumine joined in, they quickly worked out the first phase of the solution.
Afterward, Lumine chatted with everyone.
Alhaitham raised a new question about the current situation. "Given all the phenomena we're seeing—Withering Zones, Eleazar, sandstorms—don't you find it very similar to the forbidden knowledge contamination in the desert from a thousand years ago?"
Lumine thought for a moment and agreed, "Your guess makes a lot of sense."
[Paimon: How difficult is it to cleanse forbidden knowledge? The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata paid such a heavy price, and it still wasn't enough?]
[Nahida: This is probably the most difficult problem to deal with in all of Teyvat. Two deities have already sacrificed themselves for it.]
[Zhongli: The cost was never limited to that. The Khaenri'ah disaster was also related to the calamity of forbidden knowledge.]
[Dehya: What did King Deshret do?]
[Nahida: King Deshret didn't know forbidden knowledge was such a terrifying thing. If he had known it would lead to such horrific consequences, he never would have done it.]
[Paimon: Was King Deshret also a deity who loved his people?]
[Nahida: Yes. King Deshret was also a deity who loved his people.]
Paimon spread her hands. "But aren't the Withering Zones and sandstorms caused by Irminsul being ill?"
"That's what Tighnari told us."
Alhaitham said, "As you might have guessed, Irminsul's illness could very well be caused by forbidden knowledge contamination."
Paimon was startled by this guess. "What do we do then? That's a huge problem."
Lumine said, "We need to tell Nahida about this as soon as possible."
Alhaitham asked, "How would the Lesser Lord Kusanali respond to this situation?"
Lumine said, "Nahida said the key to saving the world lies hidden within the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's residual consciousness."
Paimon remembered something and asked, "Are you talking about the vision you saw when you passed out in Avidya Forest? And that line—'World... forget me'?"
Lumine nodded.
[Nahida: 'Let the world forget me'?]
[Lumine: Watching the video, I think I heard that line more than once.]
[Nahida: I... I think I already know the answer. I know how to save Irminsul.]
[Paimon: What is it? Tell us!]
[Nahida: I can't say yet. I have to find another way. Unless there's absolutely no other choice, I won't do it.]
Alhaitham said, "From this perspective, rescuing the Lesser Lord Kusanali is absolutely critical and immensely significant. Only by working with her to save Irminsul can Sumeru's problems be completely resolved."
Lumine nodded. "Exactly!"
Alhaitham said, "To carry out our goal, I'd like to go check on some work first."
Paimon asked, "Where are we going?"
Alhaitham answered seriously, "The Eremite camp."
Arriving at the camp, they saw the two Akademiya men again.
Alhaitham walked over and asked, "How's the progress?"
The two subordinates replied, "Oh, we've followed the Scribe's instructions and done the repairs. One unit is currently operational. The others are still being worked on."
Paimon looked confused. "Aren't these the devices used to extract Divine Knowledge Capsules? What use could they possibly have?"
[Paimon: What... what is Alhaitham planning to do?]
[Alhaitham: I haven't been keeping track of this livestream, so I don't know what my future self is thinking.]