My Next Life in Teyvat: I Just Wanted Friends, Not Every Girl's Love!-Chapter 223 - 222: Destroy it, quickly
"Thousand-armed... hundred-eyed god statue. These so-called hundred eyes, do they refer to the Visions embedded in the statue?"
In front of the statue of the thousand armed, hundred-eyed god, Durandal looked at this statue, which was much more exaggerated than the statue of the seven, with an indifferent expression.
She was getting more and more displeased with this never-before-seen Electro Archon. Despite the terrible situation in the country, she was still wasting manpower and resources building something so meaningless.
"This place makes me feel so uncomfortable, there’s a chilling aura. So many Visions on it, how many people’s Visions have been confiscated?"
Although it wasn’t so exaggerated that they couldn’t be counted, the number of Visions on it was still very astonishing.
"Haha~ Don’t worry." Thoma chuckled a few times, looked around, and made sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation before whispering, "Only some of the Visions on it are real; the others are just handicrafts."
The populace was not without resistance to the Vision Hunt Decree. The best way was to turn in a fake Vision. This way, the people of the Tenryou Commission would cross their name off the list of confiscated Visions, and they could safely keep their Vision.
Many people had already safely evaded the Tenryou Commission’s inspection using this method, and the number of real Visions embedded in it was not as many as it seemed.
"Even so, some people’s Visions must have been taken, right? Did they... not have any adverse reactions?"
"Well... I don’t know how to tell you. If you’re really interested in understanding, it’s better to personally observe the situation of those whose Visions have been confiscated."
"You’re not going to tell us about their situation?"
Durandal didn’t believe Thoma was unaware of what would happen to those whose Visions were taken. As a member of the Shuumatsuban, which opposed the Vision Hunt Decree, Thoma must have investigated.
The reason he didn’t tell them about those people was probably to let them observe with their own eyes, thereby making them willing to help the Shuumatsuban bring about change in current Inazuma.
Later, Thoma told everyone the reason why the Raiden Shogun was doing this: everything was to achieve her desired goal of eternity.
Mondstadt had freedom, Liyue had contracts, and Inazuma had eternity.
The Raiden Shogun’s eternity was to remain unchanging and Unyielding for thousands of generations, keeping Inazuma in a state of stasis, thereby achieving so-called eternity.
"eternity... huh." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Durandal lowered her head. The situation in this world was quite special. Although there were long-lived species, they would also encounter a situation, which was erode, and even gods could not avoid it.
Durandal, in a certain sense, was perfect eternity. Her lifespan was infinite, and the erode of this world could not affect her. Even if her body was beaten until only one cell remained, she could be reborn.
Was the Raiden Shogun seeking a state similar to hers?
"I don’t approve of such eternity."
Lumine, Shenhe, Paimon, and Thoma looked at Durandal. Thoma asked curiously, "Oh? What do you consider eternity to be?"
Thoma had heard many people’s descriptions of eternity. A unique person like Durandal must have her own unique insights into eternity.
What did she consider eternity to be? Durandal thought for a moment, then suddenly she heard a sound from not far away and turned to see an old man walking with his grandson.
She watched this pair of descendants. This Child would also grow old in the future, and would also have his own grandchildren in the future, passing on from generation to generation. This could also be considered a form of eternity.
"To live a short life to the fullest, and leave the fruits of one’s labor to future generations. Inheritance, this is what I consider eternity."
"To live a short life to the fullest, and leave the fruits of one’s labor to future generations... Well, it truly is you. This is the most thought-provoking answer about eternity I have ever heard."
Since she viewed eternity this way, she would absolutely not be able to endorse the Shogun’s ideals. This way... she would have an even greater chance of becoming one of them.
"That’s amazing, Durandal. How did you think of that? Even though you..."
"Paimon, don’t say anything unnecessary."
Lumine quickly covered Paimon’s mouth. Durandal’s true situation could not be casually told to others.
Even though Thoma was very kind to them, Durandal’s identity was a secret and absolutely could not be easily told to others.
"I’m... I’m sorry. I’ll be careful next time."
Paimon scratched her head somewhat sheepishly, grinning foolishly.
"Alright, we’ve seen the statue of the thousand armed, hundred-eyed god, so let’s leave. Your identities are a bit sensitive, and you wouldn’t want to attract too much attention, would you?"
If it were ordinary people, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but Durandal and her group were simply too conspicuous.
Lumine, Shenhe, and Durandal were all beautiful Damselettes with maxed-out Return rate(head-turning rates), and Paimon was also a rare sight; their group standing at the statue of the thousand armed, hundred-eyed god was quite noticeable.
If Thoma, a member of the Shuumatsuban, hadn’t been with them, the guards would probably have already come to question them. They wouldn’t have been able to stand there for so long.
"Wait a moment..."
Lumine looked at the statue in front of her and couldn’t help but reach out to touch it.
But the moment she touched the statue, she heard countless voices. These voices were too numerous and jumbled together, making Lumine feel as if her head was being pricked with needles. She covered her head, unable to bear it, and let out a cry of pain.
"Are you... are you alright, Lumine? You looked really uncomfortable just now."
"I... I’m fine. It’s just that when I touched the statue, I heard something. It seemed like... it seemed like wishes?"
Lumine clutched her head, looking at the statue in front of her, her expression bewildered, completely unaware of what had happened.
"Wishes? You mean you heard other people’s wishes when you touched the statue?"
"Yes, and not just one or two, but the voices of many people. It was because there were so many voices that I couldn’t quite handle it."
Did the statue have such a function? They had also touched the statue in Mondstadt, and even sat on the hand of the statue, but there was no reaction at all.
They all knew that Lumine’s constitution was special. On her way to Narukami Island, she had already touched Inazuma’s statue of the seven and unlocked the Electro Element.
But the statue of the seven was special. This statue of the thousand armed, hundred-eyed god was man-made, similar in nature to Mondstadt’s statue of the seven. The only difference was that it was inlaid with Visions.
"Could it be... because of these Visions? Did the wishes Lumine heard come from these Visions?"
"Wishes?" Thoma was stunned for a moment: "I have heard a saying that when a person’s wish is strong enough, the gods’ gaze will be cast upon him. This is the origin of the Vision. In a sense, a Vision represents that person’s wish."
In other words... a Vision doesn’t symbolize power, but rather a wish... Did those who obtained a Vision receive it because of their strong wishes?
Durandal looked at Shenhe. Shenhe had said that she obtained her Vision when she faced those monsters alone in the cave.
At that time, was her wish for her father to return and bring her home again?
So what was Klee’s wish? What was Jean’s wish? And what would be the wishes of others?
"Let’s leave here first. We can talk about anything when we’re somewhere without Tenryou Commission people. Chatting here isn’t safe, no matter how you look at it."
Thoma cautiously observed his surroundings, and when he confirmed that a certain person wasn’t there, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"What are you looking at, Thoma?"
"I’m checking if that person has returned. If she came back from a mission and saw us staying at the statue of the thousand armed, hundred-eyed god, we’d definitely be questioned. She might even act against you because of the Vision on this Demoiselle."
Shenhe’s Vision was quite noticeable. Previously, because of her foreign status, those people couldn’t do much.
But that person had no such qualms. Even foreigners would be arrested first and await the Raiden Shogun’s judgment.
"Oh, so they even dare to meddle with foreigners. Inazuma truly isn’t afraid of causing diplomatic incidents now. Do they really think that by implementing a Sakoku Decree, they don’t have to worry about foreign sanctions?"
Durandal sneered, truly believing she could act as she pleased by virtue of her status as one of the Seven Archons? Daring to interfere even with foreigners, did she really think no one could control her?
"There’s no other way. That person is extremely loyal to the Raiden Shogun. She will carry out any of her orders without hesitation."
If possible, Thoma did not wish to conflict with that person. She was a member of the Tenryou Commission and also the one most easily able to contact the Shogun.
He did not want the Shuumatsuban to be affected because of him. The Tenryou Commission had always been watching the disobedient Shuumatsuban, and once they found an opportunity, they would attack fiercely.
The young master already had enough headaches; he couldn’t add any more trouble for him.
"She’ll carry out any order, no matter what? Even orders that make this country worse, she’ll still carry them out?"
Lumine couldn’t help but ask. If that were the case, wouldn’t it be blind loyalty? Not offering advice when the monarch needed it, and simply completing orders—was such behavior truly good?
Thoma was startled by Lumine’s question. In truth, he didn’t know much about that person. He had only seen her from afar a few times and heard things about her.
But Thoma felt it was certainly true. Kamisato Ayato had once commented that her loyalty to the Raiden Shogun was absolute, and given her personality, it was probably true.
The group exchanged glances. In just a few days, they had witnessed things they had never seen in Liyue and Mondstadt.
They were clearly just ordinary Travelers, and they didn’t want to get involved in these national-level matters, but... they still couldn’t help but want to complain, what on earth was going on with this country?
They didn’t believe these problems had always existed. It must have been at some point, due to an issue in a certain link, that Inazuma became like this.
But... what exactly was the reason?
Just let it be destroyed, quickly.
I’m tired.
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