(There are about five or six more chapters until the Sumeru arc concludes, and we'll soon arrive at the nation of justice—Fontaine.)
The rustling sound of flipping pages was unusually clear in the enclosed space.
Aether opened his eyes, his mind weary. He turned his head to the side and saw a familiar figure sitting beside him.
Noticing Aether stirring, the figure set down the book, their expression softening unexpectedly.
"Since when did our relationship become so distant?"
Lumine stared blankly at her brother, her eyes overflowing with emotions that she ultimately forced back down.
"Probably during these days of travel... Lumine, do you know? Throughout this journey, I've thought countless times...
About how the Abyss Order you lead—whether overthrowing nations under divine rule or forcing others onto the path you've chosen—
The ones who suffer are always innocent lives.
You've truly... made me feel an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity."
Aether slowly closed his eyes. At this moment, his heart was eerily calm. From the initial resolve to find his sister to now, it felt as if the only thing driving him to the end was to prove that his choices differed from hers.
Lumine's expression visibly dimmed. She raised her head, gazing at the spiral-patterned ceiling as she sank into deep thought.
For a long time, the only sounds were their quiet breaths, accompanied by silence.
"This time, I will kill Rover for good. I just hope you'll do nothing, Brother. Just wait quietly for the final outcome, alright?"
Lumine finally voiced her intentions, but to her surprise, Aether remained as unshaken as ever.
What kind of emotion was this? Disappointment? Resignation? Even Lumine couldn't quite define it.
She suddenly found it hard to read Aether as he was now.
"If all you came for was to tell me this... then leave."
Lumine felt a pang of sorrow. She stood up, casting one last deep glance at Aether lying on the bed, her heart aching.
If not for Rover, perhaps her relationship with Aether wouldn't have deteriorated to this point.
"Brother, everything I do is for your sake. It's fine if you don't understand.
But if Rover doesn't die, you'll never reach the final destination."
Exiting the room, Lumine murmured under her breath. An Abyss Herald approached her side.
"The Balladeer has been brought in. We can proceed to the next step."
...
"Rover, wait..."
Nahida tried to stop Rover as he prepared to leave. She bit her lip, clenching her small fists against her chest.
Stripped of her divine aura, she was just a girl who had made a mistake, standing there helplessly watching him.
Rover sighed, stopping in his tracks but not turning around.
"Follow me. First, publish this incident through the Akasha system—at least have the magistrates detain the sages and scholars involved in illegal activities."
Nahida nodded belatedly and immediately complied.
"Wh-what next?"
She spoke cautiously. Rover took a deep breath.
This is your nation. Your Sumeru!
As if sensing Rover's frustration, Nahida quickly explained:
"This is my first time wielding authority... It's like buying a new appliance—you have to read the manual before using it.
After all, the sages never truly taught me how to govern a nation..."
For the sake of Sumeru City's innocent citizens, Rover wearily took over control of the Akasha system, rubbing his temples.
His second step was to use the Akasha to identify suitable candidates for the vacated positions, as a number of scholars had been ousted and their roles needed temporary replacements.
Third, he had to reassure the city's residents, directing all blame toward the sages and the Balladeer while using external pressure to demand concessions from Snezhnaya—at the very least, to extract some compensation.
Oh, right. Currently, Sumeru had no one to spare. This meant that diplomatically, they held little advantage and might even end up paying reparations instead.
Rover frowned, deep in thought.
It seemed Sumeru's situation was worse than in the previous three nations.
First, the Withering Zones in the rainforest were expanding. Second, Sumeru City's residents weren't entirely obedient to the Lesser Lord Kusanali—some decrees might not be implemented even after being issued. Then there were tensions with the desert dwellers. If news of this incident reached the desert, who knew if it would spark unrest?
Even more critical was the Irminsul, which also seemed to be malfunctioning—he'd need to investigate that personally.
Meanwhile, the Abyss Order lurked in the shadows, forcing Rover to stay vigilant lest they cause some catastrophe.
When Rover laid out these issues for Nahida, she froze for a moment. Sighing, Rover turned to the Akasha's recommendations and settled on one person:
Alhaitham.
When Alhaitham was urgently summoned to handle these problems, even he was overwhelmed and nearly submitted his resignation to the Dendro Archon. But in the end, he managed to categorize and address each issue.
At the very least, his policies could temporarily stabilize Sumeru. As for the trial of the sages, following Alhaitham's suggestion, a letter was sent from the Akademiya to someone named Cyno.
Rover remained at the Akademiya for several days before Cyno arrived. At first glance, Rover could tell Cyno was formidable, which eased his mind—Sumeru still had capable people.
Lastly, there was the matter of the Gnosis. After defeating the Balladeer, the Electro Archon's Gnosis had returned to Rover's possession. This meant that if anyone wanted to collect all the Gnosis, they'd have to go through Rover.
The question was, which Harbinger would be capable enough to come negotiate with him?
Only after ensuring everything was properly arranged and order was restored did Rover finally leave the Akademiya.
He rarely played the role of the good Samaritan, but this time, if he hadn't stepped in, Sumeru's instability would have harmed innocent civilians—something Rover couldn't bear to see.
"Rover!"
Paimon's voice rang out. Rover noted that Aether looked well, having clearly recovered from the endless dreams and adapted to the lingering side effects.
"Hmm... So our next destination is Fontaine?"
Rover confirmed the next destination with Aether. Nahida granted Aether full access to the Akasha, providing him with much information.
It was clear that the young Dendro Archon wasn't the same deity Aether had encountered before. Aether planned to stock up on water and supplies to cross the desert and reach Fontaine.
Just as everything seemed settled, another upheaval occurred.
This time, it left Rover utterly grave.
The very thing he had feared had come to pass.