Hallo! I haz found time! YAAAAAY! Lol, anyway I hope you enjoy and tell meh what ya thought!
Review time!
SkyChaser17: Thanks so much for reminding me about he archive! It'll help a lot! And thx for the kind words!
Stemdapple: I PMed you the reason lol. Basically I consider Qiqi as being in a stasis between life and death, not fully "alive." Hope that makes up for the inconsistency.
me: Thanks, I appreciate the understanding!
Disclaimer: Genshin Impact belongs to Mihoyo. I only own characters of my own creation.
Chapter 9 (Part 2): Tea Time with a Paradox
(Wangsheng Funeral Parlor)
"Why in Celestia are you here anyway?"
I regard the goddess's question with a stern expression.
"Two reasons. The first being that I'm bored, and the second is something I'd rather talk about in private," I say, while looking towards Zhongli.
He seemed to get the memo and left the parlor, going about his day.
"So, what's so important that only I can know?" The girl asks curiously.
"The gods aren't happy with you. Apparently when you allowed those poor souls to reincarnate, you went against their supposed "Heavenly Principles." So, they want you dead."
"Typical. But can't you help deal with that? Aren't those gods like a grain of sand in a dessert to you?" she says nonchalantly.
"I can't help with this," I reply, anticipating the response.
"Huh?! Why?" She asks incredulously.
I sigh, and look out the window.
"For one, your comparison doesn't give the power gap justice. It's more like a single photon compared to a mid-sized multiverse, but that isn't important. The reason is that compared to this world, they are powerful. So much so that they could end it," I reply to the panicking girl.
"So?" she asks, not getting the point I'm trying to make.
"So, instead of not taking things seriously, which would spare this world of collateral damage, they would do everything in their power to kill me. While that would have an exactly zero percent chance of success, the damage it would cause to Teyvat would be catastrophic," I say, putting the tiniest, most insignificant fraction of my power into intensifying my voice. Dramatic effect and all that. It seems to have worked wonders, considering how much she is trembling.
"O-Oh," She replied, finally understanding the severity of her situation.
"Now, personally, I could care less about Teyvat," I say offhandedly.
"What?!" came the expected reply.
"I would make sure to keep you, Aether, and all the friends you two have alive. That's a guarantee. But everything else I am only considering protecting for the mental state of you two. Aether I would keep around for entertainment, and you for my personal plans. Your friends would only be spared from death to keep your mental state stable. Everything else simply isn't a necessity," I say coldly.
"B-but why? How could you say that!" She yells, tears streaming down her cheeks as she imagines the horrific image of what that future would look like.
I stand, straighten my clothes, and put my full power on display, no longer holding back my presence.
"I have saved countless worlds from annihilation. I have prevented existence from collapsing no less than 86 times. I have massacred more gods than there are atoms in this universe. I have saved more lives than days I've been alive. I have written the very laws of reality that keep all things in check. I have fought side by side with the true creators of all," I say, glaring down at her. Seeing her terror gives me pause. Squashing down my sympathy, I continue.
"I have seen it all. All that was, all that is, and all that will be. I have done everything I could for the people across the infinite expanse of Akasha," I steel myself for my next words.
"But it was never enough. No matter how much I did, they always asked for more. They, just like you, believed that I could solve everything, and give them all a utopia, where they could have everything they could ever want," I try my best to keep the malice I feel from entering my voice.
"C-can't you?" She managed to say.
I was unsuccessful.
"No. I can't. The reason that they all think that I can, is because they forgot something. A small, simple fact that has been lost to time," With that, all my malice and power leaves my voice, replaced with a solemn undertone.
"I am still only human," I say as tears threaten to fall from my eyes.
The girl's eyes go wide, shock plastered onto her face.
"How…" she whispers.
I wipe the tears from my eyes before replying.
"Despite what almost all of Akasha believes at this point, I am not the grand creator of existence. I am a ruler, or watcher, if you will. The creators are gone. I only have as much power as I do because of circumstance. I was simply a magician when I started," I confess to the goddess.
"Oh wow… I-I'm so sorry," she says carefully, her shock now replaced with sympathy.
"I don't need any sympathy. I made a promise to the creators, no, to my friends, that I would watch over Akasha in their stead. The others who made that promise with me are long gone as well, having fallen while upholding their promise. For over half the age of existence, I have stood alone, against everything that has tried to take down Akasha. Never once failing. An absolute being of power, unshakable, unbreakable. It would really be more accurate to say that I only consider myself human. But back on topic, I can't do everything myself. Simply erasing them with a simple snap of my fingers would draw the attention of some MUCH more powerful beings," I say, emphasizing just how much more powerful they are.
"What kind of beings?" She asks, her usual curiosity back in full swing.
"Wandering entities and magicians of the dimensional pathways are often very powerful, though they aren't what I'm worried about. They can be taken care of easily. What worries me is the small chance that a conceptual being notices and acts on it."
"First, what are those? Second, why are you worried about them? And third, why do I not want to know why you're worried about them?" the goddess says, visibly trying not to laugh at her own sarcastic comment.
"Real funny, Tao," I say with enough sarcasm to make Archer proud. Once the girl finishes failing to contain her laughter, I continue.
"Conceptual beings are entities that embody a concept. Similar to gods. Unlike gods however, they don't simply represent their concepts, they essentially ARE the concepts. It's hard to explain how that works. I'm worried about them because they are the only things in existence that could give me a hard time. Although, I am also technically a conceptual being," I tell the ever curious goddess.
"Really? What concepts are yours?"
"Paradox and reality. Anyway, conceptual beings are the second most powerful type of entities in Akasha. The only thing greater, are absolute beings, which is more accurate for what I actually am. The creators are also within this class," I helpfully inform the clueless goddess.
"What's the difference between them?"
"Simple. While conceptual beings are essentially concepts, they don't create those concepts. Absolute beings are those that create concepts. And currently, I'm the only one left."
"Huh," she replies, seemingly satisfied with all the information given to her.
"Now can we please get back to how we are going to deal with the imminent future? As much as I like to answer your questions, we don't have all day," I inform, while noting how much time has elapsed since the beginning of the conversation. About 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 56 seconds.
"Oh, sorry!" she says, flustered at how sidetracked she had gotten.
"It's fine. Now for what we will do…"
(10 minutes later)
After telling her the plan I had in mind, I made my way to the door to leave.
"By the way, tell Zhongli I said thanks for the tea," I say before opening the door.
"Wait!" she calls out to me. "You don't have to-"
I give her an amused smile before leaving through a newly formed dimensional rift.
"…go," she finished.
"…I have to talk to Yanfei," she says before leaving.
(A realm outside of Akasha)
An entity observes the vast expanse of Akasha, hoping to relieve herself of her boredom. As always, there is something interesting going on. However, she does note that something more interesting than usual is happening in a certain world. This world is called Teyvat.
What is happening is something Rī%ï Æžäthøth doesn't often get to see. An old friend of hers is getting involved. Knowing what this could mean, she quickly scans through Akasha for something in particular. She managed to find it. A smile makes its way across the nihilistic entity's face.
"So we may finally meet face to face once more. It's been too long, Nœväya Azadyme."
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Wazzup! Finally finished this! And as you may or may not be able to tell, next chapter will have some fluff! Also, I think I've finished building Paradox's character for the foreseeable future, so for the few who complained about that, there ya go! Anyway, tell me what you think! Did you like the chapter? Do you like where the story is going? What suggestions do you have for me to add to this? All of these would greatly help in writing, so please, and thank you to those who do.
Anyway, this is your Hyperactive Nova, and I'll see ya in the next chapter! :P