Hello! It's me, Nova-chan! So, what was originally gonna be one big chapter, is now split into two smaller chapters, cause I didn't think they fit well in one chapter. That one may come out July 31, but we'll see. I will probably try and stick to at least a monthly schedule for chapter releases. Anyway, this took a good long while, so I hope you enjoy 2000 words or so of ACTUAL content! (I know I'm slow)

Reviews:

SkyChaser17: Fluff is in the plan, don't worry ;)

LilyMaja: It really do be like that m8

New Wound: It was a new thing for me, doing a perspective shift, but I'm glad it worked out! Also yeah, sorry but updates may continue to be slow, since I'm pretty quickly catching up to all planned events in the near future. Some slice of life stuff will be in between, which is where I will have some fluff, k?

Thanks for the reviews, Now please enjoy!

Genshin Impact belongs to Mihoyo. I only own characters of my own creation.

Chapter 11: To Court!

All things must come and go,

Always following the eternal flow.

Against the terrors I must fend,

From the Dawn of the Beginning,

to the Dawn of the End.

As I awaken, I get the strange feeling that I am forgetting something important.

Probably just a dream. They are mysterious, and often quite insightful, but are unfortunately almost always instantly forgotten. Whatever, I got a court case today, and I better be ready for it!

I hop out of bed and begin my morning routine. Bathe, brush my teeth, and get dressed for the day.

"Should I dress as Ereshkigal today?" I ask Zhongli as he hands me my breakfast sandwich. Good ol' reliable Zhongli!

"You do have a Celestial Court case today as that persona of yours, so I'd advise so," he says, in his usual, over-complicating tone.

"C'mon! Don't gotta be so formal! Anyway, have you seen Paradox around anywhere? Gotta meet her in an hour to get to Celestia," I say, before biting down on my sandwich. SO GOOD! I must get him to cook more often!

"I last heard she was headed over to Yanfei's abode to give her something. Apparently, it's a book of some sort, though we all know that girl. It's likely one of unimaginable power— the likes of which this world couldn't possibly ever imagine," he says, a hint of tiredness in his voice.

"M'yea, pwobabwy." I say, before swallowing the last bite of this heavenly sandwich. "I'd bet it's some book of hers that contains the "Absolute Truth of Reality," or something. Nothing could surprise me at this point."

"While a few months ago I may have said that such a statement could only ever be false, it certainly does feel like we have come quite close to it. A girl so mysterious as she could very well have seen the very beginning of existence itself," he says, a rare hint of amusement in his tone.

"Well," I say, as I stand from the table, "I better go change again. It's been a good while since I went out in that outfit!"

(Meanwhile…)

Why do I get the feeling that two particularly true statements have been jokingly made about me? As I ponder the strange feeling, I come across my destination.

I knock on the door of a medium-sized house not far from Yujing Terrace, holding a very special book in my other arm.

"Coming!" I hear from a particular half-adeptus, moving at an admittedly impressive speed of 24.72691 miles per hour through their kitchen and then living room.

As I brush off the unnecessary information, I smile and watch as the girl named Yanfei opens her door; her hair a bit disheveled from her unnecessarily aggressive pace.

"Good morning miss Yanfei! Your morning seems to be going well, you're very near trip to the door aside," I say, both amusement and cheer in my voice.

"While I won't refute that, I am curious as to why you came to visit me?" she says, with some slight amusement of her own, followed by curiosity.

"Would you mind if I came in?" I responded politely.

"Oh! Of course! Sorry. Here, come on in," she says, holding the door open for me.

"It's fine, I don't mind, though I am here for a matter of great importance, so I'd prefer we speak in your study, upstairs and two doors to the left," I responded while withholding my amusement from my voice. The flatter my tone is, the funnier it'll be! LOL!

"Sure. Though I hope you don't mind if it's a little bit of a mess, I've been very busy lately," she said, before turning to walk up the stairs.

Damn it. Dissatisfied with the response, I follow her into the study.

"So, whad'ya need from me that's so important?" she asks as she sits down in one of the two armchairs within the room.

I sit down in the other, debating with myself whether or not this is actually a good idea. Screw it. If this somehow messes things up and everything goes horribly wrong, at least I won't be the one who has to deal with it by the time it happens.

I hand her the book and watch as she curiously inspects it.

"So, what is this, and why are you giving it to me?" she says, unamused by the lack of context.

"That, my dear, is the law book of reality. It contains every single law ever created, from legal to scientific. And it includes all the laws of reality that I, myself wrote. In fact, I once used this as a catalyst to create and erase such laws," I casually explained to her.

"Eh? EHHHHHHH?! You're telling me that you are giving me the authority to manipulate reality!" she says, clearly panicking due to the amount of responsibility such a power would put on her.

"Of course not! Its power has been taken and sealed, along with most of my power, within Daedron, the Sword of Reality. Of course, I wouldn't just give someone the ability to alter my meticulously written and painstakingly constructed masterpiece that is reality! But what it still can do, is provide you with the information and authority to win any court case that you are on the right side of. Which just so you know, we are on the right side of the case today. Only use this if you must, cause I hate invoking Akashic Law, But on page 39, section 6, in the Akashic Law category, it states that, barring special exception granted directly by an Akashic Spirit, all souls must either be reincarnated, or be sent to one of the afterlife worlds specified by page 347, section 12 of the Realistic Law category," I say, probably rambling more than I should.

"But what about those Akashic Spirits? Do you know for sure they did not make a special exception? And is this world not listed in that afterlife world section?" she asks, prolonging our legal debate.

"For one, no, this world is indeed not listed as an afterlife world. It is allowed to hold the souls of the dead, but only for a maximum of 10 years. And at the 10-year marker, they get either reincarnated in a random world throughout Akasha, or sent to an afterlife world, where they will stay for an indeterminate amount of time to manage the number of living souls within the infinite worlds. As for Akashic Spirits, there have only been 6 to ever live, and they are essentially the rulers of Akasha. There have been two generations of them. The Creators, and the Rulers, with three Akashic spirits in each. This is irrelevant however as 5 of those 6 have passed on to a world called The First Dawn, which was the first world ever created and exists outside of Akasha. As for the last one, I have been the only Akashic Spirit within Akasha for 72% of the time Akasha has existed. And this world simply has not been around long enough to see the time where multiple Akashic Spirits were still around," I say with a sigh.

"And why do you not want to use this if you don't have to, despite it being a guaranteed win in the court?" she asks.

I sigh again, then pout.

"Cause it must always be validated by a high ranking Akashic Official, which is almost always me. And it takes hours even for the simplest of cases, and must also be enforced by me… I detest it," I say, my tone filled with disdain.

"So, you're just lazy," she states flatly.

"Why'd ya gotta put it like that…" I say dejectedly.

"Fine, fine, but without any other option, I will be using it," she says, finally relenting to my pleas.

"That was the plan in the first place! Now let's go get Ereshkigal, cause we got a court case to get to!" I say, my spirits instantaneously rising from the depths of the abyss straight to the sky.

(1 hour later, atop Mt. Tianheng)

"So, why are we here? I thought we were going to Celestia," I ask the seemingly omniscient and omnipotent overlord.

"I actually suggested it. It's near the city, yet simultaneously out of its view. Perfect for whatever magiciany thing she's gonna do to get us there," Yanfei responded.

"Ha! None of you have ever seen magic in your lives. The gods? The visions? None have a single ounce of magic in them. They operate within the bounds of natural law. Anything you can do with them is technically possible, albeit with less conventional means, it is all still possible. Similar to magecraft, it uses magical energy, or mana, to do something possible, but just in a much easier way. Magic, however, is when you use magical energy to do something naturally impossible. And very few gods can actually do such. Turning back time, reviving the dead, making holes in the dimensional boundaries. That is magic, and that is what I will show to you," Paradox says, a smug grin upon her face.

"Now, watch as the basic laws set by the Akashic Spirits are broken. Kælïd Nįphlīm: Cëlîæ!"

With those words, the world shatters around us, as two points in reality become one. A passage is formed, with walls depicting what can only be described as the absolute truth. Every possibility, every variable that can be changed and their ensuing outcomes in a picturesque form layered upon the triangular shards of reality. And on the other side, I can see our destination. Celestia, a place with light brighter than the sun, where divinity takes physical form, and the world's fate is decided.

However, the hall that leads us to it is greater, more powerful, and more ethereal than Celestia could ever hope to match. Such is that girl's wonder. Celestia may rule the world, but what rules it, and everything else? Reality. And what rules that? Paradox.

I have come to realize something about that girl that I have refused to acknowledge till now. The single most terrifying being I will ever come across, is standing right next to me. At the very least, I can take some solace in the fact that she's currently on my side.

"Well, no time like the present!" she says, as she walks through the ethereal passage, leaving Yanfei and I dumbfounded.

Yanfei and I look at each other, nod, then turn to walk through the path that reality itself has opened for us.

Stepping through the void-like place left me with both a feeling of comfort and immense unease. Staring at a single triangular shard of reality for more than a few seconds gives me severe headaches, as if my mind simply couldn't bear the weight of their knowledge, or comprehend their endless complexity. But I still stared nonetheless, as they were the most beautiful things I've ever bore witness to. Every single detail of their own respective dimensions somehow legibly and perfectly recorded on such tiny glass-like shards. By the time I stepped out and into Celestia, I was barely able to stay conscious, and I could tell Yanfei was in a similar state.

As I looked up, I could see the most brutal battlefield I could ever imagine myself in. In the court of the gods.

Sighing, I steel myself for the mental battle to come.

-(\0/)-

Thank you for reading, and a special thanks to CrunchyBroz for helping me edit this chapter!