Chapter 027 [Inverted V] 27

The golden utopia was engulfed by a sandstorm overnight. The demon god who represented the scorching sun and authority also fell at the same moment. The king of the rainforest rushed to the edge of the rainforest and the desert to fulfill a promise that had been overdue for thousands of years.

"...But the poison I accidentally took shouldn't stay in this world. I wonder if she can remember our friendship—" El-Melloi II closed the book in his hand and asked the group of students who never let him rest, "Two-thirds of the mission in Teyvat has been completed, and your research on the records related to the Red King should also come to an end."

"Then, may I ask who the old friend that King Chi was talking about is referring to?"

"…It's the flower god, right?" Gilgamesh, who had already returned to Chaldea last night, was looking up relevant records in the library. Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was taking a rare break, commented on the content written in the book opposite him, "Since this Teyvat lacks the Three Kings Alliance, King Gilgamesh of the Clairvoyant Chat Room 'Avalon', Mr. Merlin, and King Solomon were arranged to go there."

"So the relationship between the three is not what the Sumi Alliance should be." Fujimaru Ritsuka casually pulled out a piece of white paper and drew a triangle on it to represent the alliance. "The Flower God is undoubtedly the bond that connects the Tree King and the Red King - but the Flower God died in order to open the channel to obtain taboo knowledge, so the Tree King and the Red King broke up with the Flower God's departure."

"Simply put, it is impossible for a country to have two leaders with completely opposite directions - or, in other words, two kings."

Solomon came to the border between the desert and the rainforest, looked at the sandstorm that almost covered the sky, sighed deeply, and erected a huge sand-proof wall for the rainforest - countless giant trees appeared behind him, and soon only the outer shells were left. They were connected to each other and became a solid shield to block the sandstorm.

However, Solomon did not look at the sand barrier behind him, but went straight into the sandstorm and walked towards the Red King's Tomb.

In the center of the sandstorm, a sacred tower from Uruk stood quietly.

"...There can't be two identical Jerusalems, nor two identical Uruks in this world - of course, not even Camelot." Lansermelo sat on a high stool in the observatory, shook the pen in his hand, and looked at Merlin who was looking directly at Teyvat through the window. "The city can be rebuilt - but even if it is the same chalk city, it will be different in the hands of different people."

Gilgamesh was of course aware that what was lost could not be regained, just as the dead could not be resurrected - but when building the desert kingdom, he still chose to build the Ziggurat of Uruk in the desert.

Solomon was also aware that they were different from the three Sumire gods - even before he became the human "Roman", even if they were only together in the clairvoyant chat room "Avalon", they were still different from the three gods who shared the kingship.

——They will not break up because one of them leaves, because they themselves cannot be considered close friends.

"Eh?" Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked and looked at Gilgamesh in disbelief. "I always thought that King Gilgamesh had never had any other friends because Enkidu was your only close friend... But why? Mr. Merlin and King Solomon also thought so!?"

"King Solomon was created by gods and humans to make the kingdom better - and the device is inhumane." Gilgamesh showed his rare patience and explained for the lord of Chaldea. "As for Merlin...ha, that guy is just a bystander."

"We can be companions, colleagues, or even have each other's backs - but we can never be friends."

"The most obvious reason is that the three of us are not human beings. As we are not human beings, we naturally cannot understand the friendship among humans."

"We can cooperate with each other." Gilgamesh pointed at the line that Fujimaru Ritsuka had drawn on the white paper connecting the Tree King and the Red King. "Solomon was a king who was good at listening to advice. Although I am not a wise king at a young age, I am a wise king who is completely different from the tyrant in my youth."

"First, because of the existence of the Clairvoyance, we would not have embarked on this path to destruction; second, even without the Clairvoyance, Solomon's words still have the power to make people obey." Gilgamesh knocked on the table, reminding Fujimaru Ritsuka to concentrate. "It is not the divinity of the God-made Device that makes humans subconsciously obedient - only this point is based on its own existence."

"Even if he is not Solomon, this ability still accompanies him. I believe that you rarely interrupt the head of the medical department, right?"

Solomon found the surviving priests of the Red King in the sandstorm. The records of the World Tree had been rewritten long before they went deep into the sandstorm, so even the priests closest to the gods had forgotten what their king originally looked like, and worshipped the illusion that had never existed in this world as his master.

"...Please, save the desert."

The priest died completely after saying this - however, being able to survive the sandstorm until now can be considered a miracle.

Solomon reached out and closed the priest's eyes, then stepped into the ziggurat and came to the hall where the throne was.

He hadn't chanted a complete spell for a long time - but magic spells have always only had the effect of self-suggestion. In the past, as long as the desired effect could be maintained, Solomon always liked to simplify the procedure of releasing magic to the minimum, and the spell was also simplified to just one sentence.

However, standing in the empty hall at this moment, Solomon looked at the yellow sand pouring into the tower and chose to carry out a complete magic ritual. Although no one knew what was happening in the depths of the sandstorm, he followed his heart and put a solemn end to the story of the desert.

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, who reigned in Jerusalem.

The Preacher says, Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

What profit has man from all his toil at which he toils under the sun?

One generation passes away, another generation comes, but the earth endures forever.

The Preacher recited the words of preaching deep in the temple, and the sandstorm stopped - but when he left, he became younger and no longer had the appearance of the one sitting high on the throne.

"The World Tree has changed." Barbatos, who was wandering around with his harp in his arms, stroked his chin and cast his gaze towards the towering mountains not far away. "Come to think of it, it's been a while since I last saw Morax. It's just right. I'll ask him to go to Sumi to drink cold-soaked snake wine this time."

"During the previous gatherings, Solomon was always so busy that he forgot to bring wine. This time I'm going to Sumi myself, so I can't still not be able to drink this wine, right?"

After the first gathering, Rock God and Wind God both chose trigger magic to preserve their memories - except that the trigger condition was changed from a keyword to a direct connection with the World Tree. Every time the World Tree changed, the magic left by Solomon would be automatically triggered, helping Rock God and Wind God to regain their original memories.

The wind of freedom is always a casual fellow who does whatever it thinks of. So after finishing his work for the day, the gradually calmed Rock God was greeted by this light breeze before he had time to close the window.

"Don't always go through the window, Barbatos - the door is right there." Morax closed the window and habitually reminded his free-spirited old friend, "Come to find me at Sumi?"

"You already know this!" Barbatos hid his hands behind his back, smiled and tilted his head to Morax, "You won't have a job anymore, right? Let's go to Sumi to find Solomon!"

"Indeed, according to the contract, now is the time for us to go find him." Morax nodded slightly and glanced at the desk piled with documents behind him. "However, Liyue still needs to say a few words to the immortals before leaving - I guess you came here directly again? Is the matter of Mondstadt over?"

"The song of freedom will once again ring in Mondstadt." Barbatos plucked the strings of his harp, but suddenly revealed a lonely look. "Besides, the leader of the new Knights told me not to look for her during this period of time. It just so happens that the World Tree has changed, so I came to find you."

So Morax and Barbatos accompanied him, disguised as ordinary people, and boarded the ship from Liyue Harbor to Sumi.

The news that the god of the City of Scholars had shrunk in size spread throughout the entire Sumi City within just a few days. Although everyone knew that the wisdom of their god was still endless, there were still many scholars who would pretend that they had taken the wrong path, and would go to the gate of the Jingshan Palace at the top of Sumi City and peek inside to try to catch a glimpse of the appearance of the Grass God as a child.

After sending off several scholars from the academy, Solomon, who had drunk the elixir of rejuvenation and turned into Jedidiah, could no longer hold back the smile on his face. He resolutely closed the door of the Palace of Purity and thanked the guests. However, as soon as the door was closed, he heard the laughter coming from the Chaldean control room, which was gradually becoming more and more unbridled.

“… Stop laughing!!!”

It's a pity that even Solomon, who usually could stop everyone at such times, had his intimidation reduced by half when he performed the same behavior with the appearance of a child - not to mention that Jedidiah now still had some Roman anger and shame, so it was even more useless. Even the shepherd was dragged into the control room by the nosy Lord to watch.

"Ahem." Lansemero cleared his throat, suppressed the laughter in the control room, and suggested to the angry Yedidia, "Since we have closed the door to welcome guests, there is no need to continue drinking the elixir of rejuvenation - the effect of this time will wear off tonight, right? Why not turn into Roman, leave Sumi Castle, and go somewhere else?"

Lansemelo's suggestion finally soothed the angry Jedidiah - so when the moon had just passed halfway across the sky tonight, the orange-pink-haired doctor left Sumi Castle and headed for the port of Omos.

Perhaps acting late at night was in line with the seven worldly rulers' idea of ​​not wanting to disturb their people - so when Roman arrived at the port of Omos, he happened to meet Barbatos and Morax who came to Sumi to find him.

The God of Rock and the God of Wind walked up to Roman and exchanged names with him as if they were meeting for the first time.

"Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Zhongli, and my friend Wendy and I are visiting Xumi for the first time. May I know your name?"

"My name is Romani Achiman. Actually, I prefer to be called Roman." Roman smiled and extended his hand to Zhongli, but his eyes fell on Wendy. "I wonder if you two are interested in tasting the cold-soaked snake wine produced by Sumitomo?"