Chapter 233: Seizing the Star Grail—The Beginning of Cosmic Annexation
Nahida's four-leaf clover-shaped eyes gazed at Kainath's statue, waiting for a response.
This was the place where Kainath's divine will was most concentrated. Speaking here was no different from speaking directly into his ear.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Each second felt excruciatingly slow.
The elders in the temple also lifted their heads to look at their creator's statue, their eyes filled with fanaticism. They were among the finest of Kainath's first creations.
They looked down on the new generation, even the Grand Magus Think Nirvalen who had done so much for the Elves.
Think Nirvalen held her breath, her heart racing wildly. She was fully prepared for Kainath to explode in fury and start a war.
Four seconds.
Five seconds.
Six seconds.
Still, there was no change in the temple.
At that moment, everyone understood Kainath's choice.
Nahida's four-leaf clover eyes gleamed with a hint of disdain. "So, you've forfeited the Gift Game. In that case, I declare victory."
She hadn't expected to claim an entire civilization so easily.
This was a civilization, after all—whether human or demi-human, any civilization granted a god unimaginable benefits.
Most directly, it meant gaining origin power through one's true name. This power allowed a god to receive support from Pan-Human History.
Another major benefit was that all future ascendants to godhood from this civilization would automatically fall under her pantheon.
After the universes merged, it would be easy to create a new race, but creating a new civilization would be much harder.
Pan-Human History would only recognize one true version of a civilization—others would be classified as derivatives.
Which meant that henceforth, Nahida was the master of Elven civilization. Even if Kainath created a new one, it would still fall under her jurisdiction.
[Gift Game Title: Clash of Civilizations]
Civilizations vary in quality. Civilizations have potential.
If you believe your civilization is the finest in the world, then challenge a civilization from another universe.
Prove the potential of your civilization. Demonstrate the wisdom of your people. Showcase the intellect of your species.
List of Contestant Leaders: God of Forest Kainath, Sumeru Nation's Archon Nahida
Organizers: Teyvat's Heavenly Principle, Disboard's One True God
[Judgment: God of Forest Kainath has forfeited.]
[Initiating final arbitration]
[Full custodianship of Elven Civilization will be transferred to Sumeru's Archon]
The Voice of the Cosmos rang in the minds of every Elf.
Crack.
The bond between the Elves and their creator Kainath was severed by the Cosmic Nexus.
From this moment on, the Elves would have no relation to Kainath. Their connection was cut completely, even at the level of causality.
Kainath could no longer transmit divine will to them as their creator, and the Elves could no longer reach him.
Even on the level of information, communication was impossible.
Meanwhile, Kainath, who had fused himself with the planet's nature, closed his eyes in silence.
He felt no regret or sorrow about losing the Elves—only calm acceptance.
To him, nothing mattered but becoming one with nature and the Star Grail.
The Star Grail had already been taken by an outsider, the One True God. His creations could no longer bring him victory.
Thus, the Elves were no longer of any importance.
In fact, he hadn't originally intended to create them at all. Their existence had simply sprung from instinct.
And the Gift Game held no bearing on him.
Even if one of them became a god in another universe, it wouldn't affect his goal of becoming nature incarnate.
"Heh... Other gods more or less possess a philosophy of love."
"Ocain sees his creations as children, Artosh hopes they find their true selves, Xenathus leads his creations to escape war, and Alram, even in death, created a sanctuary for the Fairy race."
"Each one of them loves their creations. But you, Kainath, have not a shred of compassion."
"Even maintaining the forest that sustains the Elves, you did so only to merge with nature."
"A god like you will never be loved by Teyvat."
Kainath's consciousness wavered violently.
You are the Only God from that other universe who stole the Star Grail?
But the voice never returned.
...
Beside the Star Grail, Noah withdrew his gaze from Kainath.
"Lacking the concept of love... then into the Abyss with you. Perhaps a conceptual god like you can shine better in darkness."
Kainath hadn't truly done anything wrong. As a creator, treating his creations as tools was arguably justified. After all, the Elves were his design.
But that didn't align with Noah's will. And he had no interest in teaching Kainath how to love.
Noah looked toward the Star Grail, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"More than half of all life now bears the mark of Teyvat."
"Your mechanism has cracked—you're starting to accept the gods of Teyvat as part of this universe too?"
With over eighty percent of life marked by Teyvat, the Star Grail's system was beginning to confuse Teyvatian gods with the native pantheon.
It was like adding a drop of ink into a clear bottle of water.
The water was no longer pure.
But it wasn't ink either—it had become inkwater.
The blend confused the Star Grail's judgment mechanism, causing a bug.
Noah reached out and touched the protective membrane formed by the Power of the Macrocosm.
This time, it didn't repel him.
His finger passed through like mist.
The moment it pierced the universal force, a strange, indescribable link formed between him and the Star Grail.
It was a kind of access—not dominion, but usage.
In other words, he wasn't its master, only its user.
Noah wrapped his fingers around the Star Grail, holding it like a simple trophy.
"To become its sovereign, I must reach a true Single Universe level."
"Seems even Tet, the Only God in the original world line, only had user access, not ownership."
"Heh... then let the annexation begin."
"The Single-Universe Teyvat... I've been waiting far too long for this!"
Noah held the Heart of Teyvat in his right hand and the Star Grail in his left. With the cores of two universes in his grasp, he felt the full might of both cosmoses surging through him.
At the same time, every detail of the two universes unfolded before his eyes.
In comparison, the Teyvat Universe was minuscule next to the Disboard Universe.
If the Disboard Universe was akin to a round table, then the Teyvat Universe was merely a fava bean sitting atop it.
Of course, this measurement excluded the dimensional interstice that encased the Teyvat Universe.
If that interstice were included, then the Teyvat Universe would be roughly the size of a soccer ball compared to the Disboard Universe.
Even though the Disboard Universe was vastly larger and more massive than Teyvat's, its total potential was far inferior.
At best, the Disboard Universe held the potential of a powerful Single Universe being. Teyvat, however, harbored multiversal-level potential.
"One universe in totality, and another's usage rights—right now, I possess Multi-Galaxy level strength. One step further, and I'll touch Cosmic Structure level."
Noah marveled at the power he now wielded. With just the Teyvat Universe, his strength had reached the small-galactic scale. But with the Star Grail added, he now stood at the Multi-Galaxy level.
What did Multi-Galaxy mean?
The Milky Way belonged to a local group of galaxies—roughly fifty in total. That was a Multi-Galaxy level.
Above that was the supercluster level—a structure comprising around 100,000 galaxies, forming the cosmic framework. Reaching supercluster level meant one could alter the macrostructure of the universe.
And beyond that, came the Single Universe level.
But even that was a vague concept.
Once a universe reached a certain size, no matter how it expanded or scaled, unless there was a qualitative change in its laws, it remained within the Single Universe category.
Whether it spanned 12 billion light-years or 120 billion, it was still a Single Universe.
"Such terrifying omnipotent energy... If fully unleashed, it would ensure Teyvat's evolution into a true Single Universe."
Noah fondled the Star Grail fondly, unable to part with it.
The boundless energy within the Star Grail was far beyond what any Law could contain. Not even a single Truth could manage it.
Only the unified force of three or more Truths—the Power of the Macrocosm—could bind such immense Single Universe energy into a core no larger than a palm.
Thus far, the Disboard Universe had used less than one hundred-millionth of that energy to create a universe the size of a local galaxy group.
Clang!
Noah clasped the Heart of Teyvat and the Star Grail together. A crisp sound rang out as Rule and Truth collided.
"System, can the Heart of Teyvat and the Star Grail be fused?"
[Ding! The system will initiate fusion upon activation of the annexation system.]
[Once the two cores are fused, the merging of the universes will proceed without any rejection.]
"Excellent."
Noah turned his attention to the many scenes of the Gift Game projected from the Heart of Teyvat.
...
In the starry skies of the universe, the battle between the Flügel and Teyvat's Lower Gods had come to an end.
Unsurprisingly, the Flügel were utterly defeated.
The gods of Teyvat all possessed unique cultivation systems. Lacking this understanding, the Flügel suffered greatly from the information disparity from the start.
Furthermore, they were simply weaker than Teyvat's Lower Gods.
Their defeat had been inevitable.
Even so, the Flügel were not sore losers. Moreover, the God of War Artosh held great respect for the strong and personally invited the Teyvatian gods to rest in Avant Heim's island.
Naturally, Lumine of the Traveler Pantheon would not miss such a golden opportunity.
Lumine tried to lure the Flügel with, "Come, come~ I can help you discover your true selves!"
Unfortunately, ordinary Flügel wouldn't fall for such tricks, nor were they willing to follow another god. Only Jibril, the outlier, took the bait.
"Come on, bring the fruit wine! We're celebrating a new addition to the Traveler Pantheon!"
"My Lady, please, some dignity..."
...
In the underground forge-city of the Dwarves, Ocain and the gods of Teyvat drank heartily.
This world already had the concept of alcohol, and the Dwarves, a forging race, were all fond of drinking.
And none of them came to destroy. After the Gift Game battles ended, respect was earned through conflict. If you respected my strength, I respected your character.
"Brother Ocain, I'm telling you—you haven't had a real drink until you've been to Mondstadt. There's a little lady there with the authority of a Wine God. Her brews are unmatched."
"Even a single sip stays with you for life."
"Oh? That good? Then what if we just... take her after the Gift Game?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! That Mondstadt leader is a ferocious god. If he comes knocking, we're finished."
"Ah? Tell me more about these Teyvat gods that are especially strong."
"Let me tell you..."
...
On the wide plains of the Luscia Continent, the human city-state stood as the only human settlement in the region. Around it, vast wheat fields stretched in orderly rows as people toiled under the sun.
"Hahaha! The first batch of wine brewed from our first harvest is finally done! This is the first wine of our civilization's birth! We must preserve it, old man."
Drooling, Venti eagerly stored away several large jars of the fresh brew.
Zhongli nodded. "Given your love for wine, I thought you'd drink it all."
The first wine of a civilization carries its primal essence—it's no exaggeration to call it a power of origin.
Such power was tremendously beneficial to gods beneath the Supreme level.
As for the nature of those benefits, that tied into Pan-Human History.
Anything linked to the birth of a civilization held immense significance.
Zhongli only had inklings of what that meant. Perhaps only a Supreme God could truly comprehend it.
Venti, less attuned to the Supreme path, didn't sense it as deeply.
He had already collected most of the "firsts" created by this human civilization. Venti had only managed to grab a few things by sheer luck.
But when the time came, Zhongli would surely take it all.
Venti shook his head. "I do love wine, but I have a feeling this jar is destined for something... so I want to keep it."
He looked deeply at the ever-calm Zhongli.
"Old man... I'm sure you know something."
Hands behind his back, Zhongli gazed out at the people tilling the fields. "Oh~ I wouldn't say I know much."
Venti's face twitched. That rock definitely knew but was hiding it. Crafty as always. Just like when he leaked nothing about the Pseudo Star Map Creation or the Divine Collective Gift Game.
His heart sank. Crap, I must have missed something.
A cold sweat broke. He didn't know what, but he was certain he'd been left out of a huge opportunity.
Quickly, he rubbed his hands together and flattered, "Old man~"
Just then, both he and Zhongli froze and looked up at the sky.
"It's begun."
"Yes... it has begun, old man."
"Looks like we've completed our mission."
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