Chapter 243

Although she was immortal and did not know how long she would live, a thousand years was too long.

How could she have known that beneath Watatsumi Island lay the entrance to the legendary underworld, and that there truly existed such a place of reincarnation?

This experience was indeed enlightening. Even though she had traveled to countless worlds, she had never heard of a place like the 'underworld' existing in any of them. Not even the 'greater universe' had such a concept.

Although she wasn't beaten by the god after being caught, her power was sealed. She was forced, alongside the 'flower spirits,' to transport the notebooks recorded by the 'underworld officials' to the temple for review.

She had been carrying the 'record books' for an entire day. Even when hungry, she was offered only flower water like the 'flower spirits.'

*No way, at least they should prepare proper meals for this girl,* she thought.

*Gurgle.*

Lumine's stomach rumbled as she thought about the feast she had enjoyed in Inazuma. She sighed hopelessly.

Though her special body wouldn't die from hunger, she still felt the pangs.

"Blonde traveler, here are the 'Records of the Dead' from the East Asia regions of 'Parallel Earth World No. 1' and 'Parallel Earth World No. 3.' We need to deliver them to the 'Lord God,'" said a pink 'flower spirit' as she approached Lumine, holding a pile of 'record books.'

"Blonde traveler, you must not lose any of the 'record books,' nor damage or alter them. They record the good and evil deeds of the deceased. The Lord God will determine reincarnation based on the records.

"If you lose one, it will affect the next life of thousands of people," continued the flower spirit seriously. "Although it's possible to re-record it, a mistake in reincarnation will result in severe punishment."

Lumine nodded helplessly. "I understand. You've said it a thousand times—I'll be thrown into the abyss if I mess up, right?"

When she was in Mondstadt, she had thought the Abyss was simply an evil faction of the world of Teyvat. But as she unraveled more mysteries, she realized that the Abyss was actually a collection of all the world's darkness—an interface like hell or a prison.

Any harmful waste the world no longer needed was thrown there.

And that annoying brother of hers was imprisoned there.

So, what had that troublesome old brother done?

The Abyss had supposedly been completely sealed by 'Celestia,' with no exit whatsoever.

That meant her troublesome brother was probably trapped there. Back in Mondstadt, she hadn't realized how deep this world's mysteries went, but after experiencing more, she knew.

The depth of this world was unfathomable.

In Liyue, she thought she could handle one or two Archons if her power wasn't sealed. But when she arrived in Inazuma and felt the energy of the two Raiden Shoguns... Wow, they were ten times stronger at full strength.

By her estimation, they could even split a continent in half.

*Venti and Zhongli were just playing around with me,* she thought.

Being captured by the 'Lord God of the Underworld' shattered her worldview yet again.

The world of Teyvat wasn't just a world; it was an entire universe—a universe with parallel worlds, no less.

And most shockingly, some of those parallel universes contained Earth.

Unbelievable.

The water in this world was truly bottomless.

Lumine held the pile of 'record books' that was almost as big as her, feeling hopeless. "Great, just great. I've ended up making the same mistake as that idiotic brother of mine."

She assumed her brother had similarly caused trouble and was sent to a labor camp.

But her brother had refused to accept it and thought he could fight his way out.

Instead, it seemed that he, too, had underestimated how deep the waters of this world ran. Before even leaving the main world of Teyvat, he had been slapped down by the 'Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.'

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**Temple of Hades**

The temple had been constructed by Maricata herself using divine power. It was vast, even larger than the Red King's tomb in the desert. The souls empowered by Maricata, now 'underworld officials,' busied themselves delivering documents and decrees.

The flower spirits flitted in and out of the temple, holding 'record books.'

In the main hall of the highest part of the temple, Maricata, dressed in her divine attire, reviewed and corrected the 'record books' and arranged reincarnation for all the deceased.

Throughout the entire 'Teyvat Universe,' over a hundred million souls arrived in the 'Underworld' each day.

While that number seemed exaggerated, as a god embodying the very rules of existence, Maricata found this complex task manageable.

Without any concept of 'erosion,' the strength of the gods only grew stronger, ultimately reaching a balance that the 'Teyvat Universe' could sustain.

Lumine stared up at the 'record books' piled hundreds of meters high, whirling around the 'Lord God of the Underworld' like a vortex. The record books she held flew towards Maricata, joining the swirling mass.

Even though it was her second time seeing this, it still seemed overwhelming.

Every day, countless record books were corrected here, each holding the records of the Teyvat universe's deceased.

Supercomputers weren't even this crazy.

*Ah, God incarnate of rules... just pretend I know nothing about how powerful you are.*

Corrected records were taken by a masked girl and distributed to the 'underworld officials' responsible for managing reincarnation. Each official would throw the deceased into the 'reincarnation passage.'

Thus, the reincarnation process for each soul was completed.

Though Lumine had only been here for two days, she already understood the inner workings of the 'underworld.'

She sighed deeply before speaking up. "Uh, Lord God of the Underworld, I didn't mean to trespass. I didn't know this was the underworld. I accept the labor camp as my punishment, but could you shorten the sentence a bit?"

Maricata looked down at Lumine and sighed. "Hmph! Trespassing into the underworld without permission, according to Lord Tenri's rules, would mean you'd be thrown into the 'Abyss,' never to be reincarnated.

"However, you carry Lord Tenri's aura, and I don't know your relationship with Lord Tenri, so I gave you a lighter sentence of a thousand years of labor."

Maricata felt a pang of sadness.

*Ah, Lord Tenri, please visit me sometime.*

*Even just one word from you would be enough.*

While Maricata was lost in her thoughts, the sound of footsteps echoed through the temple.

Maricata and Lumine both looked up.

In this place, where all were undead or flower spirits, the sound of footsteps was out of place.

When Maricata saw who had arrived, her heart leaped with joy, and flowers bloomed around her, reflecting her happiness.

Lumine's eyes widened in surprise. "It's you! And Paimon!"