Chapter 87 – The Land Where No Gods Exist

Dainsleif looked at Lumine and Paimon speaking before him.

“Then, your brother told you.”

“That the fall of Khaenri’ah caused catastrophic changes across the world, urging you to leave this world called Teyvat together.”

Dainsleif gazed at Lumine and slowly began to speak.

“The fall of Khaenri’ah—is that how he phrased it?”

Paimon also turned to look at Lumine and asked slowly.

“That’s right. Those were the exact words I heard back then.”

Lumine nodded at Paimon.

“You experienced that calamity… it was… Five Hundred Years Ago…”

“It seems your first awakening in this world also occurred during that period.”

Dainsleif looked at Lumine before him and spoke slowly.

“Hmm… So, your brother…”

“Since he woke up earlier, he must have understood this world better than you did at the time.”

Paimon also spoke slowly.

“And what followed was that you soon encountered…”

“A deity who blocked your path, preventing your escape.”

Dainsleif continued.

“Yeah, this part is the one I’m most familiar with.”

Paimon nodded at Dainsleif, after all, this was the story she heard right after Lumine fished her up.

When Lumine heard about the unfamiliar deity,

her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Qiu Bai beside her.

“Lumine, tell me.”

“What did the deity who blocked your path look like?”

Qiu Bai turned his head and noticed Lumine looking at him, perhaps thinking he should know something.

Unfortunately, he had spent most of his time in slumber. As a transmigrator,

he knew what the Heavenly Principles Sustainer looked like, but he pretended not to know as he looked at Lumine.

“Let me think.”

Lumine placed a hand on her chest, then described the appearance and features of the deity who had blocked her path to Qiu Bai.

She then looked at Qiu Bai with hopeful eyes.

“No… Among the deities I know of…”

“I haven’t heard of such a deity.”

Qiu Bai furrowed his brows, pretending not to know.

But he wasn’t entirely wrong—among the deities he knew in the mortal realm, none matched that description.

“Even Qiu Bai doesn’t know?!”

“But aren’t you…”

Paimon widened her eyes, looking at Qiu Bai beside her, and asked loudly.

Seeing the disappointment in Lumine’s eyes, Qiu Bai sighed.

He wished he knew, but how could he, having been asleep for so long?

“I’m sorry, Lumine, I truly don’t know.”

“The specific identity of the deity you encountered.”

Qiu Bai looked at Lumine and spoke slowly.

“It seems this Mr. Qiu Bai knows quite a lot.”

“Even the Traveler hopes to find answers from you.”

Dainsleif frowned as he looked at Qiu Bai.

He didn’t suspect Qiu Bai of being a deity, merely regarding him as some kind of mage or similar.

After all, Teyvat has billions of living beings, while there are only eight deities.

This isn’t a game—deities are rarely seen.

“It’s fine, don’t mind me.”

“Please continue, Dainsleif.”

Qiu Bai smiled as he looked at the frowning Dainsleif.

“Back then, you had just awakened and were in a hurry to leave this world, completely unaware of any background regarding the name Khaenri’ah.”

“But now, having gained some understanding of Teyvat, you surmise that the battle you experienced back then was the very war that led to Khaenri’ah’s downfall, correct?”

Dainsleif looked at Lumine, crossing his arms as he asked.

“Though it is merely a place name.”

“It is nevertheless the second most important clue after the eight deities.”

Lumine gazed at Dainsleif and slowly began to speak.

“Yes, to seek the deities, one could travel across all seven nations.”

“But Khaenri’ah, which fell five hundred years ago, should be nowhere to be found now.”

Paimon held her head with one hand, speaking slowly to Lumine.

“Regarding Khaenri’ah, I likely know more than you.”

“Khaenri’ah was a nation without gods—deities did not die or depart, but simply never existed in its history from the very beginning.”

Dainsleif looked at the three and explained.

“It was a powerful nation built purely by humans.”

“Humans took pride in its unprecedented prosperity and glorious civilization.”

Dainsleif lowered his head as if recalling something, then raised it again and spoke slowly.

“It truly was formidable, and worthy of pride.”

“After all, just look at the two Ruin Golems in Sumeru.”

Qiu Bai twitched the corner of his mouth, murmuring inwardly.

Those two Ruin Golems—when he played the game before crossing over, seeing them was truly awe-inspiring.

“A nation… without gods…?”

Paimon muttered with a strange tone.

“And what followed, just as in the memories you left behind.”

“Everything was destroyed by the gods.”

Dainsleif spoke with heaviness.

“You, you mean…”

Paimon said with surprise.

“Five hundred years ago, it was the gods who descended together and annihilated Khaenri’ah.”

“Uprooting the so-called pride of humanity like weeds from the garden of the gods.”

Dainsleif looked at the three and spoke with somber gravity.

“How could that be? History books never mentioned this.”

Paimon said, unable to believe it.

“Truly excessive.”

“In such a dangerous world, I want to find my brother even sooner.”

Lumine’s gaze immediately turned to Qiu Bai beside her, her brow tightly furrowed.

Paimon also stared blankly at Qiu Bai.

Feeling the two pairs of eyes on him, Qiu Bai couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.

“Damn… don’t look at me, big sis.”

“I really don’t know anything.”

Qiu Bai held his forehead with one hand, feeling a headache coming on.

“Moreover, several of those gods were notably absent.”

“One of them was Morpheus, the God of Yin and Yang, also known as the Adeptus of Yin and Yang in Liyue.”

Dainsleif looked at the three and spoke slowly.

“I heard that Adeptus Lord slept for a thousand years.”

“He awoke not long ago, destroyed the Overlord of the Vortex with a single sword strike, and then fell back into slumber.”

Hearing Dainsleif’s words and seeing Lumine frowning at Qiu Bai, Paimon quickly spoke up.

Qiu Bai hurriedly nodded. If he didn’t nod, Lumine would soon grow suspicious of him.

Seeing Qiu Bai nod, Lumine’s furrowed brow finally relaxed.

Indeed, she had also heard that Qiu Bai had been sleeping all along.

“Hmm… that deity has always been like this, exceedingly mysterious.”

“Continuing to dwell on the past here will only wear down one’s will.”

Dainsleif observed the oddly behaving group and spoke slowly.

“Dainsleif, it’s not that I’m mysterious.”

“It’s that I was asleep the whole time and never woke up.”

Qiu Bai twitched his mouth upon hearing this.

Then he looked at Lumine, who was still lost in thought while staring at him.

“But, the next time we meet Venti and Zhongli.”

“It might be necessary to hear their explanations.”

Lumine’s relaxed brow furrowed once more. Since Qiu Bai didn’t know, then surely Venti and Zhongli couldn’t be unaware.

“Let’s keep moving forward for now. As for the things you wish to know,”

“I’ll tell you along the way.”

Dainsleif looked at the contemplative Lumine and spoke slowly.