Chapter 135. Matters in Sumeru
Futsu Mitama was unaware of what was happening in Snezhnaya; he was currently busy with matters in Sumeru.
Yes, he was busy with matters in Sumeru.
The trial concerning Scaramouche in Inazuma wouldn't begin for three days, so during this time, Futsu Mitama chose to stay in Sumeru to help Nahida resolve some issues.
Well, there wasn't much to do, just guarding the Scholars to prevent anyone from rescuing them.
As for other matters, they were left to Maha Rukkhadevata and Nahida to handle; after all, they were the Dendro Archons.
Theoretically, with Futsu Mitama, the next Raiden Shogun, guarding them, no one would be foolish enough to attempt an escape.
But, to his utter surprise.
Azar and the other Sages still had quite a few supporters; on the second night after the death sentence was announced, a total of over twenty people infiltrated the prison, attempting to rescue them.
After capturing this group of people, they cursed loudly, not only insulting Futsu Mitama for meddling as the next Raiden Shogun but also declaring Lesser Lord Kusanali a sinner who had invited a wolf into the house.
The Great Sage and the other Sages had done nothing wrong! The God Creation Project was Sumeru's future.
Futsu Mitama shook his head at this, lamenting that Nahida's influence was indeed too weak.
In Inazuma, as long as Raiden Ei gave an order everyone followed and believe in it.
Kujou Takayuki held a significant position, right?
Head of the Three Commissions, patriarch of the Kujou Clan, Inazuma's foremost family, and the highest authority second only to the Raiden Shogun's Retainer.
His status was the same as the Great Sage's.
But after Kujou Takayuki was imprisoned, aside from his son and Kujou Sara visiting him.
Everyone else, including the subordinates he had meticulously cultivated, directly "severed ties" with him.
Forget about visiting him; they wouldn't even discuss him in private, as if he wasn't imprisoned in a death row but had already died.
Although, in a sense, Kujou Takayuki's situation was indeed no different from being dead.
But he hadn't expected that Azar, after being sent to prison, would still have people coming to rescue him; this was something Futsu Mitama hadn't anticipated.
Maha Rukkhadevata, Nahida, and Cyno also hadn't expected that even in such a situation, people would still come to rescue Azar.
This made Cyno's expression very grim, and he immediately had these people arrested and imprisoned according to Sumeru law.
Their crimes were the same as the Great Sage's: the death penalty.
This greatly shocked the prison breakers; they couldn't believe that they were merely breaking out of prison and were also sentenced to death!
In response, Cyno coldly stated that insulting the Archon, insulting the next Raiden Shogun, attempting to rescue the great criminal Azar, disregarding Sumeru's laws, etc.
These crimes combined were enough for them to die three times over.
Later, Cyno had the Matra and the Thirty announce the fate of these prison breakers.
But even so, the number of people attempting prison breaks only decreased slightly; some still tried to rescue him.
Futsu Mitama caught the subsequent Scholars from the Akademiya who came to rescue Azar and asked them curiously.
Knowing that the person had committed a crime, yet still coming to rescue him, weren't they foolish?
But those subsequent Scholars argued that even if the Great Sage had made mistakes, his crime wasn't punishable by death.
Futsu Mitama retorted by asking them if the innocent citizens of Sumeru City deserved to die.
The Scholars then sophistically argued that it was normal for people to die in experiments.
This made Futsu Mitama completely lose patience for talking with them; these Akademiya Scholars were clearly abnormal.
Treating human lives as consumables and self-righteously claiming that it was normal for people to die in experiments?
Then why don't you go die?
Futsu Mitama directly threw out this sentence, then had them imprisoned.
Later, Cyno came again, his expression now extremely grim, because Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's reputation had been completely ruined by these guys!!
—
By the next day, the executions of Azar and others began.
Originally, their executions were to take place after some time, but too many people were attempting prison breaks
Better a quick end than prolonged suffering; in the Chat Group, Maha Rukkhadevata and Nahida discussed it and finally decided to expedite the executions.
This would allow them to cut the Gordian knot quickly; those who wanted to rescue Azar and the other Sages would jump out and be dealt with all at once.
Even if they didn't jump out, once Azar and the others were dead, they would have no reason to act.
At that time, Nahida could use the Akasha to monitor all of Sumeru, and even if they tried to plan something in secret, they could be apprehended immediately.
Therefore, Azar and the others' executions began earlier.
At noon, Azar and the others sentenced to death were escorted by the Matra towards the execution ground.
On the road, some people cursed, some began to cry, and others walked in silence.
Just a few days ago, they were the esteemed Sumeru Scholars of the Akademiya.
Now, they were about to face death. No matter how strong one's mental fortitude, their emotions would surely break down at this moment.
Even if their emotions broke down, there was nothing they could do, because surrounding them were the Thirty and the Matra, led by Cyno.
The "Guardian" beside Azar and the other Sages was Futsu Mitama, there to prevent anyone from "thinking things through" again.
At the same time, his presence also served as a deterrent, warning those in the shadows that if they wanted to save Azar, they would have to get past him.
Of course, he was the last resort; it was basically unlikely for him to have to act, given the presence of the Thirty, the Matra, and Cyno.
If he still had to make a move today, Cyno's face would probably darken once more.
It was tough for Cyno; he had to handle both major and minor affairs.
Who told him he was the Matra?
Similarly, in Sumeru now, besides Cyno, who could be heavily relied upon, getting others to do things was a bit tricky.
Faruzan was not suitable for this task.
After rescuing his teacher, Tighnari returned to Gandharva Ville and showed no intention of interfering with matters within the Akademiya.
Alhaitham, as merely a Scribe, was not suitable for these matters.
But Futsu Mitama always felt that Alhaitham's words had a hidden meaning, as if once the matter was resolved, he could legitimately start slacking off.
It was also for this reason that Cyno was busy everywhere, needing him to appear or take action; it was truly urgent, urgent, urgent, the Matra!
"We are going to die."
On the way to the execution ground, Azar suddenly spoke.
After being imprisoned for two days and two nights, he seemed to realize that he was truly close to death.
"What, do you have any last words?"
Futsu Mitama looked at Azar. He was truly going to die; no one on the continent of Teyvat could save him now.
This was certain; even his allies, the Fatui, were too busy to help themselves.
It was impossible for them to send people to save him; almost half of those within the Akademiya who wanted to save him were already in the execution line.
"Yes."
Azar looked at Futsu Mitama. At this moment, his eyes held no trace of his former arrogance and madness; instead, there was a sense of relief. He asked,
"Will Sumeru's future be guided by the God of Wisdom? Are we still favored by the God of Wisdom?"
As these words were spoken, the Sages beside Azar also raised their heads to look at Futsu Mitama.
Some of the Scholars who heard Azar speak also stopped their unnecessary emotional outbursts.
This answer was very important. A large part of why they approved of the God Creation Project was their desire to return to the embrace of the God of Wisdom.
To be once again granted wisdom by the omniscient and omnipotent deity was their long-cherished wish, and the future that the entire Akademiya anticipated.
Now, they were about to face death. Most of them had silently accepted reality.
Only a small number still couldn't accept that they were calling the shots just a few days ago, and now they were about to face death. This was simply unacceptable.
Futsu Mitama looked at Azar, the Sages, and the Scholars. He said,
"Sumeru's future will certainly be guided by the God of Wisdom."
Yes, this was an inevitable situation. With Maha Rukkhadevata present, it would be difficult for Nahida to make mistakes, plus there were stable presences like Zhongli and Venti in the Chat Group.
And Raiden Makoto, an excellent Archon who could pull Inazuma back five hundred years with the power of one Archon.
Nahida, this little one of five hundred years, would surely grow rapidly and truly become an independent God of Wisdom.
Hearing Futsu Mitama's words, a light shone in the eyes of Azar, the other Sages, and the Scholars.
Sumeru's future was guided by the God of Wisdom, not by an enemy. Just knowing this was enough for them.
"But, you are not favored by the benevolent God of Wisdom."
Futsu Mitama deeply gazed at Azar and the others, his tone flat,
"She has always seen your actions. You have shamed knowledge and wisdom. Possessing wisdom does not make you superior, nor does mastering knowledge mean you should be indifferent to life."
Azar did not speak; he remained silent as before, because within these two days and two nights, he had calmed down and speculated about certain things.
Futsu Mitama might be telling the truth.
He was entrusted by Maha Rukkhadevata to come to Sumeru to find Lesser Lord Kusanali and bestow upon her the legacy.
But when he arrived in Sumeru, the sight he saw was different from what he expected, so he did not publicly enter Sumeru with his identity revealed. Instead, he went undercover and secretly gathered information.
Later, through Cyno and other Sumeru Scholars, he learned about what they had done and confirmed that Lesser Lord Kusanali had been imprisoned by them.
Futsu Mitama used some unknown method to find Lesser Lord Kusanali's location and rescued her.
Perhaps during this period, he informed Maha Rukkhadevata of everything that happened in Sumeru, letting that benevolent deity know what was currently happening in Sumeru.
It was these conjectures that led Azar to ask Futsu Mitama those two questions.
"Will Sumeru's future be guided by the God of Wisdom?"
"Are we still favored by the God of Wisdom?"
As for whether the other party was lying to him, Azar didn't think so, because what leverage did he have to make the other party lie to him?
Anyway, he was going to die as a criminal, so what if the other party lied to him?
"I have one last question I wish to ask you."
Azar spoke again, his voice trembling slightly, as if he was somewhat afraid of what he was about to say.
Because he didn't know if this question would receive an answer.
This was also why Azar suddenly used the honorific "you" when addressing Futsu Mitama.
"Hmm?"
Futsu Mitama looked at Azar somewhat puzzled. What did he want to say? He suddenly became polite.
"Speak."
Futsu Mitama didn't mind answering, because as Azar thought, he was going to die soon anyway, so they might as well chat for a bit.
To be honest, Futsu Mitama felt a little emotional. If Azar, with his status and position, hadn't cornered himself, his outcome would most likely have been the same as Kujou Takayuki's, merely being imprisoned.
But Sumeru now was different from Inazuma. Sumeru needed a bloody reform for Nahida, this "new Archon," to be reborn and truly enter the public eye in Sumeru.
In Inazuma, Raiden Shogun was the true Archon; her every word and action represented the voice of all Inazuma's citizens, with no one agreeing and no one opposing.
"If we had not initiated the God Creation Project and had released Lesser Lord Kusanali, what would have happened?"
Azar asked, looking at Futsu Mitama with extreme seriousness.
Before his death, he wanted to know what would have changed if he hadn't stubbornly pushed the God Creation Project, but instead had done something different from previous Great Sages.
Would there have been any changes?
"You regret it?"
Futsu Mitama's first thought upon hearing Azar's words was, did he regret it?
"I don't know."
Azar shook his head; he didn't know if he regretted it or not.
On one hand, he didn't regret the God Creation Project; even now, he still believed he was correct.
Compared to his predecessors who accomplished little, he had initiated a reform experiment significant enough to impact Sumeru. At the very least, he had taken that step.
But what was happening now also greatly shook Azar's heart. Before death arrived, he had to confront the questions within himself.
"Hmm..."
Futsu Mitama pondered for a moment, actually looking at the Chat Group.
Because he wasn't good at answering this, and he didn't know what kind of answer Azar wanted.
Should he say that he would become a great hero of Sumeru? That was certainly impossible~
Because from the attitude of the Sumeru Scholars towards Lesser Lord Kusanali, it was clear that anyone aware of her existence—feared her.
They believed that Lesser Lord Kusanali, after being imprisoned for five hundred years, would surely seek revenge on the Akademiya, and even destroy it.
So if Azar had stubbornly insisted on releasing Nahida, he would very likely have been ostracized, or even hated, by many Scholars or Sages!
This was also why Futsu Mitama found it difficult to answer this question, and at the same time, he didn't want to answer it, because the question itself was unanswerable.
However, Maha Rukkhadevata cared.
Although divine favor would not descend upon him,
As the God of Wisdom, Maha Rukkhadevata would still enlighten Azar, allowing him to find some peace before his death.
Futsu Mitama looked at the message Maha Rukkhadevata sent in the Chat Group and said,
"Azar, the future you speak of, no one can know."
"Perhaps you would be met with heroic cheers, or perhaps with the betrayal of friends and family."
"It is precisely because of the unknown."
"That is why you, as if insane, pushed forward the God Creation Project, unable to resist exploring the path ahead."
Futsu Mitama felt like he had said something, but also like he had said nothing at all. Was this Maha Rukkhadevata's wisdom?
But Azar, the other Sages, and the Scholars stared wide-eyed, as if struck by lightning, utterly shocked.
"Hahahahahahaha!!! So that's it!! So that's how it is, this is 'Wisdom'."
Azar suddenly laughed with relief. He seemed to understand something, but he looked as if he had aged more than a decade.