If a single nation running at full speed could provoke Celestia's fear and wrath, then what about all seven nations running at full speed?
Among the Seven, Snezhnaya had already touched upon powers that even the higher gods found threatening. That frozen land in the far north now carried an ominous momentum, not unlike the long-fallen godless nation of Khaenri'ah...
Teyvat's technological progress had reached an unsettling threshold.
Lu Chen glanced at Zhongli, curious about the contract he had signed with the Tsaritsa before stepping down as the Geo Archon.
He had asked about it once. Unsurprisingly, Zhongli said nothing.
It was a plan buried deep within him.
Even though both Zhongli and Venti often acted like enigmatic riddle-masters, Lu Chen had begun to discern their intentions through the subtle developments around them.
It was about their stance.
To put it plainly—they had picked a side.
Surrendering the Gnosis didn't mean giving up their divine power. A archon's strength wasn't tied to the Gnosis.
On the contrary, the Gnosis was more like a burdensome tool—used by Celestia to "communicate" (and monitor) its godly proxies.
Snezhnaya had already raised its banner in defiance, openly resisting the so-called Heavenly Principles. The Tsaritsa needed the support of the other Archons.
Some were putting on a show.
Some remained silent.
Some had gone off the grid entirely...
Lu Chen looked at Ei as she quietly downed her final cup of yellow wine.
Once they returned to Teyvat, they'd have to face this thorny issue together.
Still, he couldn't help but admire the two sly foxes—Venti and Zhongli.
They had handed over their Gnoses, played their parts convincingly. It wasn't that they were disobedient—it's just that the other side was far more devious.
That way, they had plausible deniability.
Maybe once they got back, he should just have Ei toss her Gnosis into a lake and say she lost it...
"This world's technology operates on a system completely different from Teyvat's," Ei said thoughtfully. "It lacks elemental energy and is quite backward in alchemical knowledge, but precisely because of that, it's free from the constraints of the seven elements. And from that freedom came unexpected prosperity."
So she understood, Lu Chen realized. The reason this world wasn't bound by Celestia was because its laws were entirely different. Celestia had no jurisdiction here.
But once they returned to Inazuma, things would be different.
"Learning is always useful," Ei continued, clearly reading his thoughts. "At the very least, it gives us a choice. Isn't that enough?"
Lu Chen nodded silently.
"Yes. The power to choose."
Zhongli nodded in agreement. "Compared to the Abyssal technologies, the science here isn't likely to draw Celestia's attention—at least not in the short term."
"Anyway, the wine here is amazing," Venti chimed in with a thumbs-up. "I'm definitely bringing modern brewing techniques back home!"
Everyone laughed at that.
The wine had cooled slightly. Venti added another kettle of hot water to the pot.
The warm scent of alcohol lingered in the motorhome's lounge.
Hu Tao, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up.
"I still don't get it. Why would the gods want to destroy a country that's thriving under their rule? Isn't a prosperous world a good thing?"
She had been mostly confused during the earlier debate—sometimes puzzled, sometimes wide-eyed, sometimes exchanging clueless looks with Qiqi.
But by now, Hu Tao had begun piecing things together from the cryptic exchanges between the three Archons.
Her understanding of Teyvat's foundations was beginning to shift.
Lu Chen answered on their behalf.
"Once human civilization develops past a certain threshold, it attracts 'divine punishment.' That's the rule imposed on our world by Celestia after its rise."
Hu Tao tapped her chin.
"But... what are they trying to gain from that?"
Lu Chen paused, then replied slowly.
"Entropy."
"Huh?" Hu Tao blinked. "What kind of -tropy?"
It was the first time he'd brought up the term, and all three archons turned toward him.
"Entropy," Lu Chen clarified.
Hu Tao looked completely lost.
Qiqi turned her head as well, blank as ever. She had been confused the whole time.
Drinking coconut milk seemed way more interesting.
In fact, even playing with Hu Tao was more fun than listening to grown-ups talk philosophy over wine.
"The Second Law of Thermodynamics?" Ei asked.
Lu Chen nodded. As expected, the scientifically inclined Ei caught on quickest.
"Explain it," Venti said, intrigued.
Lu Chen looked to Ei. She recalled the knowledge from her books and explained to everyone:
"Simply put, in an isolated system, if no external force acts upon it, the total disorder—or entropy—will continue to increase."
Lu Chen gestured to the slightly messy lounge, cluttered from their little banquet.
"Matter always evolves toward greater disorder. Leave a room alone, and it'll get messy. Clothes get dirty. Earbuds get tangled. Hot water cools down..."
"Even the sun ages because it keeps burning..."
"And most importantly—entropy increase is irreversible."
That led to a rather bleak conclusion.
Stars will burn out. Life will fade away. The universe will fall silent.
Its ultimate fate—heat death.
A world of utter stillness.
Hearing this, Hu Tao felt the chill of the breeze blowing through the car window and shivered.
"Getting kinda cold..." Venti waved a hand, and the window quietly shut.
He turned back to Lu Chen.
"So, if all worldly prosperity increases entropy and hastens an irreversible end... then Celestia's actions start to make sense."
Celestia came from beyond Teyvat. They likely understood the truths of the universe far better.
All living things depend on negative entropy to survive. And Celestia? It calls itself the judge.
"In that case... isn't Celestia doing a good thing?" Hu Tao asked, eyes wide.
"There's no such thing as good or bad in this," Lu Chen shook his head. "Or at least from our perspective, Celestia is still the villain—even if they believe they're doing the right thing."
Zhongli, calm as ever, lifted his wine cup to his lips.
"The higher gods don't want the world to collapse. So they keep mortals penned in. But mortals refuse to be caged—and rebel against the gods. It's all just perspective. There is no absolute right or wrong."
Lu Chen nodded.
"Well said. Humans could never accept being ruled—entrusting their fate to something they don't even understand."
As a human himself, Lu Chen firmly believed he was on the right path.
Humanity needed one thing above all else—
The right to choose.
The mood turned somber for a moment. Hu Tao looked around at everyone's serious faces—then suddenly laughed.
"Relax~ Even if that day comes, it'll be way in the future! I mean, if the sun's already gone out, what's left to miss?"
Qiqi nodded.
"No sun..."
"Cold..."
"Pointless..."
Lu Chen chuckled too.
"Yeah... We're probably overthinking it. No matter what happens, we've already left our mark on this world. That's enough."
Zhongli looked around the room.
"Civilization will find its own way forward. Give time to civilization—not civilization to time."
Within our finite lives, what matters is making them rich and free. That kind of life is far more valuable than the so-called "eternity" Celestia represents.
Ei said nothing, but her violet eyes wavered.
This debate among the three archons had given her new perspective on her pursuit of "eternity."
Lu Chen finished the last of his wine and suddenly began pondering the system's purpose.
Life, at its core, is a battle against entropy. It survives on negative entropy.
And though the ending may seem inevitable...
He possessed the ultimate anomaly—something that ignored both time and space.
And perhaps, the only way to fight entropy was—
To reverse it.