DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Genshin Impact is owned by MiHoyo.

Please support the official release.

Chapter 41: Clean Trees (And you may find a long-lost goddess)

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c

Sumeru City welcomed Nahida as a proper deity, but many were quick to notice how she was not atop a floreal chariot. Her nude feet stepped through as she personally spearheaded a large group of believers and hopefuls that wished to see her proper return.

Many would easily latch to the idea she did so as a humble deity, to walk among her people, but Nahida's own reason to refuse a chariot was that unnerving personal fear of being put back in that simulation and back in that cage. The dark thought was firmly pushed aside as she knew those people were sheep. Not much by their own choice, but because of the unruly shepherd that wrecked the perfect balance her mother created.

As she took a seat on a proper place to connect to Irminsul, Nahida first prodded the deactivated Akasha System, relieved to notice how it had been running on a form of 'standby status'. And while this process she was entertaining would make her inactive for several hours, she left her father in charge of the politicking.

"You did this to me in Liyue, so it's your turn to suffer the paperwork, dad."

Sure, keeping a company afloat wasn't the same as patching up a country and reforming its bureaucracy to be more up to the current times, but Nahida was still a child, a brat, and a proud petty person. Thus, she ignored her father's whining about getting the boot by his own daughter and focused on the chore at hand.

Nahida was aware that meant putting a lot of energy to make this work as intended, but, from the very moment she was able to touch the fine ground of her homeland as a free and wiser individual, the young Dendro Archon was aware that the land had to be fixed first and foremost through the esploration of the very source of knowledge that had been tarnished.

The Corruption, the Taint, the Destructive Darkness that had ripped into the minds and souls of so many was something within reach that could be destroyed. While it wasn't exactly something she had experience with, she had the preparation on what she was looking to do through the backlog of info within the Akasha System's default program.

A backlog that her mother had left behind to anyone that could notice it. Opening such bundle of 'random' data, Nahida was able to recognize a pattern. She remembered the few mentions her father had about 'programming codes', and how it was possible that the Akasha System ran on two different codes (a common one and a proper administrator one).

It proved to be the truth as she could discern a 'dialect' within the programming that wasn't available for other sections of the system. A specific set of commands that were quite powerful on their own. And those had some 'effects' within Irminsul.

Entering the 'Matrix' was indeed a risky business with the shapes adopted by the corruption, but Nahida had a chance to train her capacity in combat together with Klee, Diona and Qiqi. The few hilichurls rushing at her were smacked away by some dendro bombs she conjured mixed to long ranged dendro seeds' barrages.

Personally cleaning the taint felt absurd, but considering the full extent of it, she doubted that she could just reach the core and do an automatic cleanup. As her father always told her, if you really want to clean something, you go down dirty and grimey.

And Nahida was unwilling to let this good place be stained by this corruption. Cleaning was, truth be told, more like pushing some of the pollution away. Most of it she could purge with her power alone, but the rest was just too strong even for herself- thus she just hurled it out of reach so it would die within the void.

The entire process went on for twelve consecutive hours. She was spent by the time she made it back to the core section, hoping that she had done it and... she smiled happily as she stared at the flow of information now going through as intended. Dreams would return to Sumeru, and Eleazar could kiss goodbye to its hay days because it was now gone.

Sitting down on the massive top of the tree, Nahida drew a groan, leaned back and then fell down to lie on the cozy petal greeting her cheek.

"This was a drag. Maybe I should have picked the paperwork and hurled dad at this."

There was silence as she was speaking alone but it wasn't a lasting one as she had expected.

"I think John would have been less effective than you, child," A voice spoke, melodic and familiar, but Nahida didn't pay attention to it at first. Tired as she was, she thought it was a mere illusion when she saw something covering the light of the core aiming at her.

Annoyed, Nahida turned and froze as her lazy posture soon regarded a smiling young woman that bore so many similar traits to hers. Urged by admiration and a sense of embarrassment, Nahida was soon standing and she couldn't believe it. It was her, she was... she was as wonderful as she thought her to be.

"Surprised?" Greater Lord Rukkhadevata inquired with a mirthful tone. "Let's say that it would make two of us at this point."

"How?" The girl asked. "You- You died during the calamity!"

"Physically? Yes. My body perished and my gnosis was thus turned to you. But my essence, my spirit, reached Irminsul and... sadly so, it caused the pollution tainting me to spread within its roots," The former Archon explained, stepping forward and appearing quite physical in that moment. Her presence within this realm was far stronger than it should have been, baffling Nahida on how this was possible considering this meant she should have been impossible to save! "I suppose you are shocked by how I am no longer polluted, yes?"

Nahida nodded 'loudly', and that made Rukkhadevata giggle. "Well, do you remember those 'cysts' you removed by throwing those in the void?"

"...Those were the source of the corruption?"

"That's right!" The former Archon praised lovingly, causing Nahida to smile and blush automatically at her words. "Your diligent work was able to remove the corruption, giving me the chance to properly help you fight back the corruption and restore Irminsul to its former glory. Thank you."

"You're welcome... mom."

The woman paused and then appeared sad. "I never..." Her head lowered briefly as she sighed. "I never thought the day I would met you and make it longer than I had feared for it to last would come. But still, hello, my child."

The two were now standing in front of each other and- Rukkhadevata gushed over Nahida as she suddenly pulled the little Archon in a big hug. Nahida was stunned at first, but was soon struggling against the sudden barrage of affection she was being subjected by her loving mother.

"Aww, why are you so cute~? Come on, give me a hug~!"

"M-mom! No, Stop! Lemme go!" Nahida fought with all she could muster, but in that familiar motherly warmth, she found herself stuck and almost unwilling to depart.

She felt at home, truly, in that embrace. And while her embarrassment made her feisty, her heart throbbed with joy at reuniting with her mother. The moment felt eternal and Nahida could have fallen asleep if not for a peculiar question from her mother.

"So, what was it about your daddy being around~?"

Part of her wanted to say that John was indeed in Sumeru, but then she remembered the situation tied to John having had someone else 'preceding' him in Teyvat that was pretty much him but also not. So, she tried to make sense of it in a simplifed sentence-long response.

"So... Dad is dad, but he is not the dad you met."

"...Hm?" Rukkhadevata smartly replied, soon precipitating the conversation into quite the situation.

One that involved a certain grumbling paperwork-dealer, a mercenary that spied upon him from afar, a tsundere cabbage daughter, and a very confused former deity.

AN

No one expects the Greater Radish return!