Hearing Ryen's question, Istaroth was silent for a long time.
Then, with unhurried calm:
"I cannot say. The Imaginary Tree is supreme."
Ryen raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"You know it is supreme? Then do you know: your temporal power has already given you away?"
"Within the Tree-and-Sea universe, time is not something any person can command. Does that make you an apostle of the Imaginary Tree?"
Istaroth said nothing. Ryen did not press particularly hard on the question of her identity.
What could already be confirmed: Istaroth was absolutely connected to the Imaginary Tree.
More specifically, the entire First Throne was connected to the Imaginary Tree.
Which raised a fascinating question about how the Heavenly Principles had managed to overthrow the First Throne.
Defying the Imaginary Tree, within the Tree-and-Sea universe?
Could it be that the Heavenly Principles, like Ryen himself, came from entirely outside, from the outer domain, and was likewise a World Master?
If that were the case, everyone might as well stop what they were doing. No need to overthrow anything. They could all be good subjects under the Heavenly Principles together.
Looking at Istaroth, Ryen said without particular preamble:
"Do you know what Herrscher are?"
"Yes. Apostles of Honkai."
Istaroth's voice carried no particular inflection. The word did not seem to surprise her.
"Interesting. Are you connected to Honkai?"
Ryen rested his chin in his hand, studying her with open curiosity.
She shook her head.
"No connection."
"Then you are a messenger of one of the Imaginary Tree's higher-dimensional existences."
Istaroth gave no answer. But Ryen estimated the probability at roughly nine in ten.
"Do you know Otto?"
The question came out of nowhere, casual and unannounced. This time, Istaroth's composure visibly wavered.
"I do not."
She answered quickly.
"You are not a good liar."
Ryen smiled.
"It seems you know Otto well. Let me guess: at this point in time, has he already begun his assault on the Imaginary Tree?"
He paused.
"No, we haven't reached that stage yet. So..."
"Standing in the river of time, you know what he will do. The Imaginary Tree knows as well. But the Imaginary Tree has no subjective will, and you cannot influence the Imaginary Tree's time, nor can you even contact it."
"Which means what Otto intends to do has already become inevitable."
"It seems the First Throne does have some remarkable depth to it. So how exactly did the Heavenly Principles manage to overthrow you?"
Istaroth was silent for some time. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.
"Lord of the Outer Domain, we will not interfere with what you intend to do. We bear you no ill will. The manifestation of temporal power here was only in service of a fated cycle."
"I know your true body is not present here. Let me guess: is it in the past? A closed loop of time, like an Ouroboros?"
Ryen looked at Istaroth with thoughtful eyes. Something flickered in her bearing that looked like restrained frustration.
"Lord of the Outer Domain, would you permit me to leave?"
Her tone had sharpened slightly. The temporal power around her stirred.
That pressure, unprecedented to everyone present, put the room on edge. Even Makoto and Ei, both archon-class rulers, felt a fear that arose from somewhere deeper than reason.
Immediately following that came a far greater confusion.
They had known the four rulers of the First Throne were stronger than themselves.
But this...
Was this not somewhat excessive?
What they were feeling was only Istaroth's power filtered through the river of time, not her true strength directly.
And yet Ei and Makoto felt a sense of mortal danger more visceral than anything they had felt facing the Heavenly Principles.
An existence like this...
Had been overthrown by the Heavenly Principles?
Was that supposed to be a joke?
Sensing the fear radiating from the women around him, Ryen's brow creased slightly.
"You frightened them. Don't think I can't reach you. You should understand what the power of the Imaginary Tree represents."
"The temporal force you have left here is enough for me to use my Imaginary energy to trace back to wherever and whenever you are."
"Would you like to find out whether you can withstand a single punch from me?"
Istaroth went still. After a long pause, she lowered her head with an expression of poorly concealed displeasure.
"I apologize."
"We bear Teyvat no ill will. For many reasons I am unable to explain, but please be assured: we do not interfere with your development."
"Time is a closed loop, like an Ouroboros, head connected to tail. In the gaps within that loop lie the fated cycles."
"This is the destiny of Teyvat. And it is our destiny as well."
Ryen blinked, caught off guard.
"That phrasing sounds remarkably familiar."
Ningguang said quietly:
"Venti has spoken of fated cycles before. So has Zhongli."
Ryen understood.
"Istaroth, Thousand Winds of Time: what is your relationship with Venti?"
Istaroth shook her head.
"As he himself has said: he is a spirit among the thousand winds."
"I see. So he is your son."
"..."
Istaroth fell silent.
She had assumed the Lord of the Outer Domain would be someone dignified and measured. She had not anticipated that he was entirely capable of leaping between thoughts in ways that defied all conventional expectation.
She genuinely did not know how to handle Ryen.
"Lord of the Outer Domain, may I leave now?"
"One last question."
Ryen held up a single finger with an easy smile.
"The Heavenly Principles overthrowing the First Throne: was that also part of the so-called fated cycle?"
"...Yes."
"Understood."
Ryen waved a hand.
"No further questions. You may go. I'll find you to chat again when the time is right."
As he said it, the Imaginary Tree behind him quietly began to recede. A seed of temporal force condensed in his palm.
Istaroth's pupils contracted slightly.
"Lord of the Outer Domain, you..."
"You didn't really think I was just making idle conversation, did you? Surely not. An archon-ruler of the First Throne, an apostle of the higher-dimensional beings at the crown of the Imaginary Tree, and yet this naive?"
Ryen absorbed the seed into himself with a contented smile.
Istaroth's composure cracked further.
"You knew all along. You schemed against me."
"Schemed is a bit strong."
He waved the accusation away.
"Was it really so difficult to reason through? Apart from the higher-dimensional beings at the crown, who else would have the authority to share in the Imaginary Tree's power?"
"Your identity, the First Throne's identity: none of it has ever been a secret to me. Did it need to be asked?"
The pressure emanating from Istaroth deepened.
Ningguang and the others were beginning to find it difficult to breathe. Ryen's eyebrow rose with a mild edge of threat.
"Would you like me to come pay your group a visit in person? Or perhaps you could bring your backers out here and we could have a little sparring match?"
At that, Istaroth once again swallowed her displeasure with visible effort.
Since her existence began, she had never suffered an indignity of this kind.
And yet...
She had been outmaneuvered. Through his Imaginary energy, Ryen had already secured her temporal coordinates.
She could not afford to provoke him further.
This person did not follow any recognizable logic. And he carried a strength that placed him at the pinnacle of all of Teyvat.
No. At the pinnacle of the entire Tree-and-Sea universe.
She had not visited Ryen's world, but Istaroth could see clearly that with time, the power within him was rising at an extraordinary rate.
Perhaps it was connected to what they called mods.
She was uncertain, and she had no desire to invite additional complications. Maintaining the fated cycle was already taxing enough. There was no reason to create more turbulence.
She drew a measured breath, pressed down the displeasure within, and turned away from Ryen entirely.
Her gaze settled on Makoto and Ei, something complicated passing briefly through her expression.
"Later rulers of the Electro Archon: the only path to saving Inazuma lies in your hands."
Having said that, Istaroth immersed herself in the river of time. The seal of Imaginary energy fell away.
She looked at Ryen once more, and then receded into the flow of time and was gone.
"Ryen, has she left?"
Guizhong tugged at his arm with a faintly anxious look. He turned to her with an indulgent expression.
"She's gone. Don't worry."
The collective exhale from the women around him was audible.
Guizhong curled her lip.
"Honestly, that Lord of Time was somewhat excessive in her strength. Facing her felt like facing the Heavenly Principles."
Makoto gave a wry shake of her head.
"The Heavenly Principles may not even reach her level. So how exactly was the Heavenly Principles able to overthrow a First Throne like this? Could all of it have been arranged by the First Throne themselves? What are they trying to accomplish?"
Teyvat, which had seemed at least somewhat comprehensible, suddenly felt as though a layer of impenetrable mystery had been pulled over it.
For a moment, Makoto felt she understood the world rather less than she had before.
"Don't overthink it. My Imaginary energy detected no hostility from the First Throne. What she said was likely true."
Ryen offered quiet reassurance.
"The First Throne may have plans of their own regarding Teyvat, but from what I can see, those plans do not concern us. And even if there were a problem, I am here. It will be fine."
Truthfully, Istaroth and her kind were genuinely powerful. To put it in perspective:
Ryen had never seen the Heavenly Principles directly, and did not know her true strength.
But from what he could observe: Zhongli would be suppressed within a few exchanges against Istaroth.
That level of power clearly exceeded the ceiling of Teyvat.
Though considering that the other party was an apostle of higher-dimensional beings on the Imaginary Tree's crown, possessing less than this would have reflected poorly on the Imaginary Tree itself.
Even so, Ryen still did not feel that Istaroth and her kind posed any genuine threat to him personally.
At present, within the Tree-and-Sea universe, the only things he genuinely could not contend with were the higher-dimensional existences on the Imaginary Tree's crown itself.
But with each new mod the MC World opened, the pure force feedback it generated continued to accelerate upward.
He was not in a hurry.
He had no plans to leave Teyvat in the short term. What he had was more than sufficient.
"She said: the only path to saving Inazuma. What does that mean?"
Ei's brow furrowed. She looked at Ryen with genuine puzzlement.
Makoto went still for a moment, as though something had clicked into place. She pressed her lips together and said in a low voice:
"So it was that after all."
"Makoto?"
Ei's curiosity sharpened. She had a persistent sense that her sister was keeping something from her.
But Makoto did not intend to answer the question now. She looked up into the depths of the mist ahead.
There, a violet figure moved through it, steady and deliberate, a polearm held at her side.
The mist parted. The figure drew closer. Before long, she stood before them all.
She wore Ei's face. But where Ei's expression carried a natural reserve, the Shogun's was cold beyond that. Still. Almost rigid.
"Ei. The problem you created, you resolve."
Makoto exhaled and looked at Ei with the expression of someone managing a headache.
Ei gave a small nod. A flash of divine light rose around her as she stepped forward to stand before the Shogun.
The two faced each other in silence.
After a long pause, the Shogun's voice came: vast and flat, like ice that had never known warmth.
"Variables are the eternal enemy."
"Ei. You have forsaken Eternity. Your erosion will be corrected by me."