The MC World.
Near Mondstadt Base One.
More precisely: above the open sea adjacent to Mondstadt Base One.
After months of effort, the place had been transformed beyond recognition.
Mondstadt Base One had always been the closest base to the End portal entrance, making it the most significant of Mondstadt's early installations. Its reconstruction had consistently been Mondstadt's highest priority.
Unlike Liyue, which built bases and cities across a wide area and treated Base One primarily as a large training center, Mondstadt's approach to their first base had been pointed from the beginning: Jean and the others had aimed to turn it directly into a city.
Specifically, to rebuild Mondstadt City.
The portion built over the beach had become the outer ring of Mondstadt and its great bridge. The city gate rose from the water, and beyond it the main residential district floated above what resembled Cider Lake, just as the original Mondstadt city sat above its own lake.
Buildings replicated one-to-one from the original filled every block. Gothic architecture was visible at every turn.
Mondstadt's characteristic windmills had been completed as well, integrated with Redstone technology that kept them turning forever.
They didn't generate wind, but they turned.
From high above, the overall impression was nearly indistinguishable from Teyvat's Mondstadt.
What remained was expanding the perimeter and refining the details.
Even as it stood, this city, which needed only a little more work to be considered finished, could already house a hundred thousand people.
Open sea. Sandy beach. Mountain range. City walls.
The view was nothing short of Teyvat's Mondstadt, and when night fell, the city blazed with light at every corner. Everyone understood that darkness spawned monsters, so whatever else a city might lack, it could not lack light.
These days, city-builders had moved well beyond torches staked into the ground everywhere. Hanging lanterns, Glowstone, Sea Lanterns.
Some placed as streetlights. Others hidden within walls.
The overall effect was a Gothic city that never went dark, lit through the night like something out of an old illustration.
Plenty of Knights of Favonius soldiers moved through the streets, completing the last of the construction work.
By the time of the Lantern Rite, this city should be fully finished.
When that happened, Mondstadt would have a city of its own in this world.
Standing on a floating island above it all, Aether and the others stared in stunned silence.
Zhongli and the others came here frequently for Bed Wars and other recreational activities and had watched this base become a city over time. For them it had long since stopped being remarkable.
But Aether's group was different.
Aether. Alhaitham. Cyno. Rahim.
And the dozen-odd Abyss Lectors and Abyss Heralds Aether had brought along, already restored to human form.
They all stood there staring at what lay before them, none quite sure how to respond.
After a long silence, Aether pressed his lips together.
"This city was genuinely completed within two months?"
Diluc beside him exhaled with resigned patience.
"That is the thirty-fourth time you have asked. For the final time: yes. Two months. From design, to planning, to construction."
"Total time elapsed: one month and twenty-one days. Total workforce: one thousand people. The projection is that Mondstadt City will be fully complete before the Lantern Rite arrives."
"At that point, Knights of Favonius members can move in and take up residence."
Aether gave a helpless laugh.
"I understand, it is just... genuinely beyond belief."
"A large city capable of housing a hundred thousand people, complete with detailed interior construction, furniture in the buildings, and all manner of extraordinary mechanical devices..."
"A thousand people in total. Not even two months."
"Forgive me for saying this, but I have traveled through countless worlds, and even so, this strains the imagination."
"I have never heard of anything this absurd..."
Lumine rolled her eyes.
"That's because you haven't seen enough. If you'd been here when Liyue broke ground, you wouldn't be saying that."
"Ryen's manor villa, the mountain behind it rebuilt into a replica of Qingyun Peak: that took Lady Keqing one month to plan."
"Liyue already has one fully completed city where people are living and working, and a second modern city in its final construction stage, projected to be finished within the month."
"Lady Ningguang's plan for next year is to build three main cities and twelve satellite cities in Liyue alone."
"Add the cities Mondstadt, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Snezhnaya are each building."
"This continent will have at least nine main cities, each with its own character, and thirty-six satellite cities linking them together."
"Ryen's projection is that by the time those cities are finished, this single continent should be able to sustain two million people in permanent residence."
"And that's just the surface construction."
Lumine looked at Aether with the expression of someone explaining something obvious to someone very slow.
"Nine large floating sky islands are planned for the upper airspace. Underground, a full cross-continental subway network is being built alongside subterranean mining cities."
"Next year's work plan is where it truly gets serious."
"What you're looking at right now barely registers as a large project."
In the past, that kind of insufferable commentary from Lumine would have drawn an immediate retort from Aether.
Right now, he had no interest in that whatsoever.
Nine main cities and thirty-six satellite cities in a single year. It sounded like a fantasy.
But thinking it through carefully, he had to admit: it was genuinely possible.
No. It was going to happen.
This world simply did not follow the rules.
Looking at it this way, never mind three years: if the Heavenly Principles slept even one additional year, she was going to get beaten so thoroughly she would have no grounds for complaint.
The pace of development in this world was like a high-speed rail with rockets strapped to it.
"Do we get to build a city too?"
Cyno looked at Lumine with barely contained anticipation. Alhaitham forced down his excitement and said in a steady voice:
"Yes. Before you arrived, the Alliance held a meeting and confirmed that next year's objective is to complete Ryen's second-phase plan across the board."
"At minimum, this continent must be fully developed into a network of civilized cities."
"Nine main cities total. Sumeru has been assigned one main city and four satellite cities."
"Liyue builds three. Mondstadt builds two. Inazuma builds two. Sumeru and Snezhnaya one each."
"The standard configuration is one main city surrounded by four satellite cities. The large sky islands and the underground continental line follow the same assignment."
"Each must reflect the character of its nation."
Cyno and the others were visibly excited. To build a Sumeru city in another world entirely was an honor without precedent.
But after a moment's reflection, Cyno's brow furrowed slightly.
"Why are we only assigned one?"
Alhaitham exhaled.
"Because we don't have enough people. Beyond that, we joined latest, and our soldiers are still in training."
"After the Lantern Rite, the new year begins, and the plan rolls out fully."
"Sumeru has to handle base construction, resource gathering, and now city construction simultaneously."
"With fifteen hundred people, do you want to work them to death?"
Rahim considered this quietly, then said:
"I could bring in another thousand from the Eremites. Between that and the rainforest contingent, we could probably get to three thousand."
Alhaitham shook his head.
"We can't pull more forces right now. The desert reclamation project in Sumeru is still underway and needs significant manpower."
"But, "
Cyno looked like he wanted to press the point. Alhaitham raised a hand.
"There is nothing more to say. One city in one year is already enough. We joined too late this year. By the year after next, we will have built up sufficient strength."
"And there will still be the new continent after that. There are far more places Ryen wants developed than we have people for. We will have opportunities."
Cyno and the others gave reluctant nods.
Beside them, one of the Khaenri'ahn people leaned quietly toward Aether's ear.
"Your Highness, it seems this continent has already been divided up. The Alliance's focus next year will be concentrated here."
Aether said nothing. He had anticipated this from his conversation with Ryen the day before.
"Our focus is on the new continent. There is no conflict. This world is genuinely without limit. There is nothing to fuss about."
"The land available for Khaenri'ah to develop is vast beyond measure. Don't worry about that. Focus on watching how they build their cities."
"When our people arrive, start establishing a base and building cities immediately."
"Set a goal: before the first half of next year, get every Khaenri'ahn person into this world and settled."
"Our development priorities are different from theirs. Their first priority is resources. Our first priority is the restoration."
"Build the city first. Once the nation is restored, we can collect resources at our own pace."
"Our advantage over them is that our entire nation will be within this world. They will always have commitments elsewhere."
The Abyss Lector nodded, then continued:
"Your Highness, I am not worried about those things, and I am not suggesting we compete with the five nations for territory. Ryen has said he will not permit conflict, and we would not dare."
"But you also heard what was said: they intend to shift their focus to the new continent in two years."
"Given how well they know this world, they will build faster than we can, no question."
"So... could you perhaps discuss with Ryen the possibility of sending a somewhat larger second wave of settlers?"
"We are not asking for the entire new continent to be ours. But Ryen did say the new continent is the land he set aside for Khaenri'ah's restoration."
"Other nations can have cities there as well. That would make cooperation and exchange easier for us too. But in terms of overall control of that continent, our share should be no less than half, should it not?"
Aether's brow creased slightly. He muttered internally that this was very on-brand for Khaenri'ah.
Land was everything to a Khaenri'ahn person. It was why they had invented farming machines in the first place.
And precisely because this world was genuinely infinite in scale, there would, for once, be no conflict over territory. In any other world, Aether suspected disputes over land would have been inevitable.
"No need to rush."
He waved the concern off.
"You have a year. If in that year your people cannot master this world's knowledge to the level these nations have reached, "
"And the new continent gets divided up before you can get there, "
"That is on you for not learning fast enough."
"This world ultimately belongs to Ryen. He will not manage the specific divisions. He will manage the whole."
"The new continent is what he set aside for Khaenri'ah's restoration. If in one year your people cannot build it up, then step aside and let someone else."
"Ryen looks at outcomes. He looks at what the world ultimately becomes."
The Abyss Lector gave a firm, deep nod.
"This subordinate understands. This subordinate has full confidence in the Khaenri'ahn people."
"Moreover, the future Khaenri'ah will be the native life of Ryen's world. Naturally we will work harder than they do."
"The restoration is the dream we have all carried. Anyone who gives less than everything is making an enemy of every Khaenri'ahn person alive."
Aether gave a small nod.
"Good."
"They will begin large-scale development of the new continent in a year. That window is enough for us to build our nation."
"Set everything else aside. Stop thinking about anything else. The immediate priority is to learn their city-building methods thoroughly."
"Redstone technology. Specialized architecture. If you cannot understand it, memorize it first. Assign dedicated people to research and develop it."
"I want to see Khaenri'ah's capital established on the new continent within three months."
"Built to a scale that can house and sustain a hundred thousand people."
"No one is permitted to hold Khaenri'ah back."
The Khaenri'ahn people around him responded in unison, voices low and certain.
"Understood!"