27 Buer [1/3]
"What have you done..."
"I did what was needed."
In the same white plain of existence filled with blooming flowers.
Isaac stood stiffly as he watched two people quarrel with vacant eyes.
One of those people was a silhouette of a man, while the other was a silhouette of a woman.
"You'll die." The silhouette of the woman warned him.
"If that's what Her Majesty wishes..." However, the man's silhouette remained unperturbed.
"...you really are insane." She added as she looked at him helplessly.
"...they won't like this." The woman added as she looked at him with fierce eyes. "Especially the Director of that organization."
"...Dedushka would understand." The man's face remained impartial as he said this. "To forge a path of progress, sacrifices must be made."
"I am no exception." The man sighed as he said this. "At the end of the day, I am still that disposable orphan in that orphanage..."
The woman was silent for a few seconds before crossing her arms and clicking her tongue. "You fool..."
"..." The man didn't answer as he silently looked at the woman.
Her long white hair that had green tips, coupled with her elongated ears were what made her stand out.
Crack—*
Just like before, the dream shattered before Isaac could even ask anything about the scene.
---
Once more, the sun bathed the land and another day arrived, bringing forth a new breeze of life to the world.
"Hawn~" Isaac yawned deeply as he woke up from his deep sleep. He rubbed then his eyes, '...That was a good sleep. I feel fresh!'
After thinking this, Isaac soon sat up from his bed before he looked at the window where the morning sunlight was pouring in.
"Another day, another work..." Isaac smiled softly as he said this. "This time, it's time to help the radish."
He was referring to none other than Nahida, the Dendro Archon, the God of Wisdom trapped by her own people.
The youngest Archon of the Seven Archons that was born in the calamity five hundred years ago, the neglected God that still cares deeply for her people.
Someone who doesn't deserve to be imprisoned somewhere by some smelly nerds.
Jumping out his bed, Isaac made some light stretches before going down to the cafe to cook some breakfast.
Arriving in the kitchen, Isaac started multi-tasking. He picked some eggs, heated a pan, and started cooking while looking at the system interface.
[+200 Mora]
'...where did that come from?' Isaac looked at the extra Mora he got seemingly from when he was sleeping. 'Is it something I got from last night's quest that arrived late?'
'Odd...' Isaac decided to make a mental note of this and decided to look into it at a later time.
After cooking and eating a simple breakfast consisting of fried eggs, sausages, and rice, Isaac finally decided to clean up the cafe.
"Since Nahida would be the one visiting, I need this place to be as comfortable as possible for her," Isaac muttered to himself as he looked at the room.
Truth be told, Nahida was the only God Isaac truly cared about in this world. He doesn't know why, but the urge to protect her just rises from the depths of his soul whenever he sees her suffering.
It was a weird feeling. Like an elder brother's instincts to protect his younger sister, combined with what feels like a moral duty.
It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say that Isaac would risk his life for her.
That's how Isaac feels.
"Well, I am part of the Nahida Protection Squad in my past life, after all." Isaac shook his head with a wry smile. However, his smile soon turned sinister. "But those damn sages... Just wait. Once I get powerful enough, I'll make sure your plans fail miserably in the future..."
Shaking his head, Isaac returned to his previous thought. He looked around and decided to create a calm atmosphere.
He dimmed the lights a bit and shut the blinders, limiting the light coming in from the outside.
He then bought some fairy lights from the system and hung them on the counter.
Looking at the new atmosphere of the cafe, Isaac grasped his chin. "It feels like something's missing..."
However, soon, he was reminded of something.
"Ah— that's right!" Isaac then opened his system shop and bought a few more items. "Artificial grass walls!"
"No cafe would be complete without these." Isaac smiled softly as he remembered the local cafe he used to visit in the past.
Isaac then proceeded to paste them over on a wall, where the customers sit down and dine.
After doing this, he took a step back and observed the cafe for a bit while grasping his chin. Afterward, he nodded with a proud smile. "Yeah, this would work."
"Now it's time to free my little cabbage."
He then opened the system interface and opened Nahida's profile.
[Summon 'Nahida'? Y/N]
'Yes!' Isaac didn't hesitate and quickly pressed the button.
Shortly after doing this, the same golden lights appeared on the door, showing signs of summoning.
"Here goes nothing," Isaac sighed with a smile as he adjusted his apron.
---
Sumeru— the Land of Weeds and Trees, as well as Wisdom and Sands.
Sumeru is where all Akademiya is located, where various people from different nations gather to study many things.
The Akademiya is responsible for the distribution of knowledge, as well as administrating the nation— essentially its government.
The ones that lead the Akademiya are the six sages, but among them, the Grand Sage is considered to be of high authority.
...well, if you ignore their God.
Due to the selfish desires of the Sages, they decided to imprison and seal their Archon within the Sanctuary of Surasthana on the very top of the Akademiya.
So, despite the Dendro Archon being a God, she doesn't get the authority or respect she deserves.
Inside the Sanctuary, a green sphere was present, and inside, a child with white hair was levitating and seemed to be sleeping.
This was Lesser Lord Kusanali, also known as Nahida.
Due to her seal, her body is unable to leave the Sanctuary, however, she managed to find a way to visit her people's dreams, albeit subtly.
She does this by going inside the Akasha System and visiting her people's Akasha Terminals— which are directly connected to their minds.
Inside the Akasha System, Nahida's virtual avatar was floating amidst the thousands of sparkling green lights.
'I wonder if Kaveh finished his project on time... He pulled off a long all-nighter last night...' Nahida thought with a smile as she looked for Kaveh's Akasha Terminal in the sea of consciousness. 'He must be really tired or asleep right now...'
'This should be the one.' Nahida saw the familiar Akasha Terminal and entered it to peek at Kaveh.
Her eyes dimmed for a moment before her vision changed. This time, her virtual avatar was floating beside Kaveh, unseen by him.
"Ugh, I told you! Buying this would only ruin the symmetry and harmony of the kitchen!" However, contrary to her expectations, he was quite energetic. "Can't you see that this doesn't fit with anything here?"
"I think that it's a great addition," Opposite of Kaveh was a man who had an aloof expression replied. "Besides, having it would lessen my burden and increase my efficiency."
"IT'S A CLOTHES RACK!" Kaveh yelled, enraged. "It doesn't even fit the kitchen! Seriously, do you even have an inkling of taste, Alhaitham?"
"Well if you don't like it, then you're free to leave my house." The man named Alhaitham said with a light smile as if mocking Kaveh.
"Y-You!" Kaveh looked at Alhaitham with furious eyes. However, he soon groaned in defeat. "Ugh, fine. If not for me, I bet your house would be in a disorganized mess... Less than a pig's stable, might I add."
After saying this, with an irritated face, Kaveh decided to plan where the clothes rack would be placed.
As an architect, this was no problem for him. However, it was rather arduous, in his opinion.
Watching the quarrel between the two, Nahida giggled as she floated unseen by them. "These two really are interesting. An impartial scribe and an empathetic architect, what an odd yet good combination."
"The impartial scribe and the extremely empathetic architect are like two different styles of paintbrushes in the hands of an artist." Nahida began making an analogy— one of her favorite hobbies. Shen then grasped her chin.
"While one brush focuses on precision and accuracy, the other brings depth and emotion to the canvas. Together, they create a harmonious masterpiece, each contributing their unique strengths to the final work of art."
"Yes, this analogy sums up their situation quite well." Nahida nodded to herself. Though she said this, no one was actually there to hear them.
"..." Seeing that no one responded to her words, Nahida lightly smiled. "Right... Silence."
She had known this silence since the moment she was born and was not unfamiliar with it.
"...I should leave." Thinking of this, Nahida decided to leave Kaveh's Akasha Terminal and once again entered the sea of consciousness.
Just then, right after leaving the Akasha Terminal, she suddenly saw a glowing Akasha Terminal. "Huh?"
Deep inside the sea of consciousness, it was as if an Akasha Terminal that had long been buried in the past suddenly resurfaced.
Seeing the strange yet new Akasha Terminal, Nahida became cautious. "I've never seen this before..."
Curious yet cautious, Nahida decided to fortify her mind just in case before approaching the glowing Akasha Terminal.
"What could it possibly be...?" Nahida remained at a safe distance as she observed the glowing Akasha Terminal. After a few minutes, she muttered to herself, "It doesn't seem to be dangerous..."
Nahida then looked around before looking at the glowing Terminal again.
With cautious wit, she slowly extended her hand to the glowing terminal. 'It's dangerous but... I must know what it is.'
After a few seconds, her hand finally touched the terminal. Shortly afterward, her consciousness entered it.
'I hope I'm not falling for a trap...'
---
A few moments later, contrary to her expectations, nothing bad seemed to have happened.
Opening her left eye, he looked at where she was at.
"Huh?"
However, she was surprised to see that she had appeared somewhere else. "This is...?"
Just then, a calm and soothing voice drifted over to her. The voice spoke politely. "Welcome, is there anything you like?"
Nahida turned her head and saw the man behind the counter looking at her with a warm and gentle smile on his face.
However, before she could ask anything, she was instantly stunned by the man's words.
"You... You see me?"
And so starts another business.
* * *
A/N: I deleted Genshin. I can feel my social life returning now.
I can never download it again. It was fun until it lasted.
Now, I play Honkai Stat Rail. It's been a while.
