Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 146 Istaru

"Herakti? Me?"

"Correct!"

The Great Tree King, or rather, Buyer, nodded and said, "However, this name may still be quite unfamiliar to you."

No, no, no! It's very familiar!

Rather, how did you find out about this?

"So can you explain to me what exactly is going on?"

"Um, I'm sorry, but I'd much rather you find out about this yourself than have me relay it. Besides, this is something you specifically told me not to get any information from me now."

"Why are you so wary of me? Is this some kind of tradition of sabotaging yourself?" Kiana said, somewhat exasperated.

"Buyer doesn't know~"

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. King of the Great Compassion Tree, you said you did this to fulfill a promise you made with me back then. What was that promise?"

"Simply put, you promised to help me resolve the impact of forbidden knowledge on the World Tree, and in return, I have to help you find the location of the throne."

"Forbidden knowledge... I feel like I've heard of it somewhere before. Forbidden knowledge is something that doesn't belong to Teyvat, right?"

"That's right, those are all corrosive kinds of knowledge. The so-called Demon Scale Disease and Dead Zone are both caused by forbidden knowledge polluting the World Tree."

"So, has the problem of taboo knowledge been solved?"

"It's resolved in a sense."

What does "a certain meaning" mean?

Kiana's heart skipped a beat; she had a bad feeling.

"Five hundred years ago, during that war, I realized that forbidden knowledge had corrupted the entire World Tree through me. But just as I was born from the World Tree, the World Tree is also inextricably linked to me. Therefore, to resolve the corruption once and for all, my traces must be erased at the source. But..."

"But no one can completely erase themselves. As the manager of the World Tree, you can't completely erase yourself through the World Tree either, right?"

"Yes, so I broke off the purest branch from the World Tree to be my future life, hoping that she could complete what I failed to do in the future. I wanted the world to completely forget me, and it was at this moment that you, who had disappeared for so long, suddenly appeared in front of me."

"Disappeared for a long time?"

"Well, you may not know that you knew me, the Crimson King, and the Flower Goddess in the past and had a very good relationship with them. But then you suddenly disappeared... Anyway, you made the above request to me. With your help, most of the pollution of the World Tree was cleared, but many stubborn problems still remain that the World Tree needs to slowly heal itself."

"Then why are you here, and why are you so...weak?"

"This is what I'm going to talk about next. Although the forbidden knowledge has been cleared, I am still deeply bound to it and cannot help but be affected. Now I can only wait for my death inside the World Tree."

"how so…"

"It might be hard for you to accept, after all, you had the same expression after healing the World Tree back then."

Didn't I try to find a solution back then?

"I've thought about it, but the conclusion is that there's no way to completely solve it. However, she also said that maybe she would have a way if she were five hundred years in the future."

"Me? What can I do?"

Kiana looked at the Great Tree King with a puzzled expression and asked. It was not hard to see that both Zhongli and the Great Tree King were seeing their future selves.

Or rather, he is preparing to become the future version of himself, since his plan does involve traveling to the past. However, he did not expect that he would actually use the name Herakti to travel to Teyvat.

If she couldn't solve it back then, what way could she possibly have to solve the Great Tree King's situation now?

Wait a minute! Kiana suddenly realized something. Based on her intuition, she was bound to be tricked by her future self. Could it be that her future self was thinking of letting her present self solve the problem?

Upon closer reflection, it does seem to be a possibility.

After all, if the current Kiana can solve this, there's no reason why the Kiana from the future who traveled to the past wouldn't be able to solve it.

But how can I deal with the fact that the Great Tree King is gradually dying?

"Great Tree King, I want to ask you a question."

“Just call me Buyer,” Buyer said.

“Alright, Buyer. Can the World Tree block the view from Sky Island?”

"No, after all, the World Tree is related to the entire Teyvat. All the information about the ley lines is gathered inside the World Tree, which is the place that the Sky Isles are most concerned about."

"That's right."

"However, you don't need to worry about Sky Island coming to cause you trouble. After all, as the manager of the World Tree, my resurrection is a good thing for them."

"But didn't you create your own future self? Won't that cause problems for her?"

"Although they are my descendants, strictly speaking, they are my offspring. If I can be resurrected, it means that they will have two administrators. As long as nothing unexpected happens, one administrator will survive no matter what. Why not?"

"That's true. Although I have experience resurrecting others, I don't have the right materials to create a body that can nurture your consciousness."

"That's no problem. If you want, I can break off a branch of the World Tree for you as material. In fact, as long as I have enough power, I can create a body for myself. It's just that my consciousness is gone. Because the forbidden knowledge was bound to me, when the forbidden knowledge was cleared, a part of my consciousness was also cleared away."

"That's why I can only stay inside the World Tree, and only the power of the World Tree can ensure that my consciousness will not dissipate."

"This is indeed a difficult problem."

The incident happened suddenly, and he didn't have any Feather Dust on him. Relying solely on the power of his consciousness, he couldn't guarantee that he could protect Buyer's consciousness.

Just like in the real case, Buyer's consciousness will slowly dissipate over time.

However, unlike Shin, Buyer can use readily available materials to create a physical body, such as branches of the World Tree... Kiana has never encountered such materials before, and she doesn't know if there will be any problems in actual operation.

Fortunately, there are people here who have used this material before. Theoretically, as long as she transfers enough power to Buyer, she can create a body for herself.

"Buyer, tell me honestly, did you already know how to solve the problem of your consciousness fading away?"

"Discovered?"

"You can figure this out just by thinking about it, right? So what exactly is your purpose in choosing to have me resurrect you five hundred years later?"

"Well, could this be considered a kind of historical cycle?"

"Reincarnation... never mind, tell me what I need to do?"

Kiana sighed and then resignedly asked Buyer.

"It's actually very simple. As long as you transfer your power into the World Tree, I have a way to use that power to create a body."

"Is that right?"

Kiana began transferring her power to the World Tree as instructed by Buyer, and at that moment Buyer revealed a triumphant smile.

"I can't believe you actually did it! You didn't really think this was inside the World Tree, did you?"

As she spoke, Buyer's originally bright silver hair became dull and lifeless, and the emerald green leaf on her head turned dark green.

Her clothes had changed to black latex suits, and her emerald green eyes had turned dark red.

Looking at Buyer's current state, Kiana inexplicably recalled various... well... dark versions of characters she had seen on a certain app in her previous life.

"It's not that simple after all!"

Kiana sighed wearily, already used to her future self digging a huge hole for her present self.

"What are you sighing about? Don't forget that your power is currently connected to mine! If I want, I can corrupt you along these circuits, and your body will become my vessel, allowing me to return to Teyvat!"

Kiana looked at Buyer with pity, or rather, at the embodiment of forbidden knowledge.

"With your power, you don't really think you can corrupt me, do you? Aren't you underestimating me a bit?"

"Hmph! Although you tricked me five hundred years ago, causing me to be separated from Buyer's body, I have gained enough power to fight against the world through my quiet erosion of the World Tree over the past five hundred years! Things are different now, Kiana, you will obediently become my vessel for returning to Teyvat!"

"Unfortunately, you can't do it."

"Wait! What... what is this power?! I feel like I'm being purified! What have you done to me?!"

"To be honest, I felt something was strange from the beginning. Although the place I was in was indeed quite close to Sumeru, it was still within Liyue territory. Moreover, there's no reason to come to the interior of the World Tree just by following the ley lines to find the location of the throne. You used the information on the World Tree to set up an ambush here in advance, right?"

"..."

The embodiment of forbidden knowledge glared at the calm Kiana through gritted teeth. She couldn't understand why Kiana was able to discover her true purpose when she was simply acting according to the information she obtained from the World Tree.

"You might be very confused right now, but I can tell you with certainty that you made a fatal mistake from the very beginning!"

"...What is it!"

"If I truly helped Buyer purify the World Tree in the past, then you would never have existed in the first place. In other words, I deliberately spared your life five hundred years ago to create this situation. As for the purpose, it was so that I could meet someone. Am I right, Time Ruler Ishtar?"

How did you know I was here?

Istar's voice rang out beside Kiana, and then she appeared. It was a woman who looked very much like Wendy, and for a moment Kiana mistook her for Wendy.

Because Wendy and the captain had made preparations in advance, she was not captured by Cocolia but was successfully rescued and taken to St. Freya Academy.

She later successfully removed the gemstone through surgery, but this left her with a disability in both legs.

"Just now. I sensed your presence when I connected with her power."

"It seems I was a bit too hasty. The thought of you being possessed made me anxious, and I inadvertently revealed a little bit of my aura."

"Now that we've lured you out, it's time to talk about what we have to say."

As she spoke, Kiana increased her power output, and in no time the embodiment of forbidden knowledge was completely purified.

Ishtar closed her eyes and sensed the aura of the ley lines. After confirming that the forbidden knowledge had indeed been completely destroyed, she smiled with relief.

"It has been confirmed that forbidden knowledge has been completely purified, and I believe that the calamity of Sumeru will soon be completely dissipated. Buyer, who is guarding inside the World Tree, can also rest assured."

"So, all of this was part of your plan?"

"Yes and no," Ishtar shook her head. "Kiana actually orchestrated all of this, but you were the one who did it all!"

"I?"

“That’s right. You went against the flow of time and came to the time when Teyvat was just born to start planning everything now, all in order to take over the power of my master, Fanes, and become the second God of Heaven, and save this world from destruction.”

"So that's how it is!"

Kiana didn't know how many times she sighed.

So what exactly is this plan?

I cannot go into the details.

"Is this part of the plan?"

"I suppose so, but if possible, I really don't want you to destroy the Geo Archon's throne right now. After all, as long as that being exists on the throne, the false heavens of Teyvat will not decline."

"You mean Zhongli is maintaining the false heavens of Teyvat right now?"

"Indeed, only a daemon like him, who came from beyond the heavens and was born within Teyvat, has the ability to maintain the existence of the false heavens."

"Zhongli, isn't he an incarnation of the fragment of Phanes?"

"He is a natural-born demon god who was formed from a meteorite that fell on the original Teyvat after a long period of time. He is fundamentally different from the demon gods who were formed from fragments of the Lord. In other words, he is also qualified to become the next God of Heaven."

"So you didn't try to contact him?"

“We did try, but when we found him and talked to him about it, he refused. Instead, he suggested that you become the next Tenri, so we signed a contract with him to guide you to gradually become the next Tenri.”

"What I didn't expect was that Zhongli's suggestion was actually made by you. This is also the answer I later found by using my own power to explore the river of time, and it was at that time that I met you."

"You ran into me?"

“That’s right. You were going back in time back then. I don’t know how many times you’ve done that, but after that chance encounter, I conducted a lot of investigations on you through the World Tree.”

"It is precisely because I have investigated your deeds that I sincerely hope that you can inherit the position of Tianli!"

"this…"

Looking at Istar's pleading eyes, Kiana didn't know how to answer for a moment.