Shiki fell into contemplation; indeed, this possibility was not out of the question.
Based on common sense, generally, the primary reason for cultural differences is language differences.
If communication itself is a problem, then naturally, cultures will not develop identically.
But the problem is that Teyvat's language is unified, the so-called common language.
(Here, I'm making a fanon point: the common language is exactly like modern Chinese, and the writing systems of each nation are just the writing systems of different periods in their history. Inazuma uses Edo Japanese, Liyue uses Qin Dynasty small seal script. It's just writing, it doesn't affect anything.)
Look at what places with a common language are like. They're fantasy continents in other worlds, right? Although there are many countries, their cultures are basically the same.
Switching to another country, besides their own language, there's no difference from other countries.
But the continent of Teyvat is different. This place, roughly the size of Asia, has seven different cultural landscapes, yet the language used by all Seven Nations is the same.
Moreover, the names of the Archons also follow a certain format. Leaving aside the issue of the 72 Demon Pillars for now, their names are all distinctly Western European in style.
For example, Baal, Morax, Barbatos, Orobas, and so on.
Morax, Venti, Raiden Ei, and other names with vastly different styles, are all products of later naming.
So now, Shiki had a rather bold conjecture.
It's well-known that allogene is a direct product of the Honkai universe. Whether the Abyss is Honkai or not, we won't discuss for now. Let's talk about Enjou's conjecture first.
'Assuming Celestia and the Archons indeed came from outside, then could the vastly different, Earth-like cultures of the Seven Nations be a product of their deliberate guidance?'
'So what exactly is Celestia? A spaceship?'
'Or... a seed ship escaping from Honkai?'
'Klee's mother, Alice, once said that Teyvat's boundary is gradually weakening. Is this boundary what's holding back the Honkai?'
'Could the weakening boundary also be related to the advanced technology of some nations in Teyvat?'
'After all, in the Honkai setting, the stronger the technology, the more powerful the Honkai becomes!'
The more Shiki thought about it, the more something felt off. She felt as if the entire world had become unfamiliar, yet she also felt a sense of familiarity due to its cultural similarities with Earth. This contradictory feeling made her feel incredibly unreal.
'The starry sky... is fake. The continent of Teyvat is not a planet, but rather a flat earth as described in myths.'
Perhaps the sky and the boundary are one and the same.
She had known that the continent of Teyvat wasn't a planet ever since she looked out from Ritou.
Ships didn't slowly sink and disappear as they normally would; instead, they simply became invisible beyond a certain distance. If not for the fog at sea, she might even have seen Liyue on the other side.
Also, Teyvat's creation myth mentioned Pangu. Shiki wasn't sure about other things, but Pangu was very familiar!
Any person from the Heavenly Dynasty would have heard of the legend of Pangu creating heaven and earth.
Assuming Celestia intervened in the human landscape, could these various signs indicate that they came from Earth?
Shiki came up with one conjecture after another in her mind, completely forgetting about the bloodbranch coral's trial.
'What's wrong with this woman? Why did she suddenly stop reacting?'
Enjou didn't know that Shiki was currently in a brainstorm. He wanted to speak up and remind the bloodbranch coral, but remembering his previous experience of being electrocuted, he still shut his mouth and remained silent.
Aru, on the other hand, was simply a merciless answering machine; he wouldn't speak unless asked. One person, one soul, and one monster thus maintained an eerie silence for a long time.
Finally, Enjou couldn't hold back and broke Shiki's contemplation.
"I say, a Celestial Envoy shouldn't make you silent for such a long time, should he?"
"Oh, I just thought of some things. Tell me more about this Celestial Envoy."
"What's there to talk about? A Celestial Envoy, as the name suggests, is an envoy from the heavens!" Enjou shrugged: "And what else is in the heavens besides that island?"
"..."
"Forget it, there's still too little evidence. I can't figure anything out now. Let's go back to the trial."
Shiki sighed. The history of Celestia and Teyvat was like a kitten, making her heart itch.
She had a premonition that the book 'before sun and moon', which Orobas had designated as forbidden, would reveal many unknown things to her.
"Aru, after bringing those three fragments back, what then?"
"That can only be told after you bring them back. If you bring them back, it means you have the ability to proceed to the next step of the trial. If you don't, it proves you don't have the ability, and it's useless for me to tell you what to do next."
"That's true. Then I'll go first."
"Oh, right, remember not to tell the sinshadows that they are already dead. That will make them dissipate directly. I only continue to exist because of the ritual."
"Got it."
After speaking, Shiki teleported to Xiajian Street. She planned to start from there.
After seeing the girl disappear, Enjou first released a wisp of Abyss power. Only when he confirmed that the other party hadn't returned did he breathe a sigh of relief.
'Finally, I can leave!'
With Shiki gone, he could use the power of the Abyss for spatial teleportation. He wouldn't be foolish enough to wait here for her to return.
As for the girl's harsh words, Enjou didn't care at all.
Once he left, he would immediately distance himself from Inazuma. At worst, after his fortune was told in Liyue, he would just stay in the Abyss!
Thinking this, Enjou disappeared into the Mikoshi. It was a pity about 'before sun and moon'; he came for that book, but with Shiki there, he didn't dare to look for it.
Seeing Enjou disappear, Aru also relaxed a little, though it wasn't apparent from his outward appearance.
The Abyss could interfere with the ritual. If his spiritual body were to dissipate, the ritual couldn't proceed.
Not revealing the next step of the ritual was also for this reason. Although it seemed this guy was completely subdued by the girl, there was no guarantee he wouldn't try to cause trouble.
'Now, everything depends on you, brave one.'
After Shiki teleported to Xiajian Street, she didn't immediately go looking for the fragments of the reins of resurrection. Instead, she first went to the Library.
Aru had said that under Evernight, sinshadows would appear throughout Enkanomiya, retaining most of their memories from when they were alive. Perhaps she could learn something from them.
And a significant place like the Library would surely have someone there, right?
As expected, the moment she stepped into the Library, Shiki saw a spiritual body floating on the second floor.
"Woah, don't come over here! The book lending service has stopped!"
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