Clearing away the "Nirvana" that Alice spoke of brought them back to the main issue.
Under normal circumstances, Riku's methods would yield a return of roughly 1+1=10. Achieving a tenfold return was already the absolute limit of what was possible. So, how could he possibly achieve a hundredfold return?
It was entirely because this universe was uniquely, profoundly, and supernaturally special.
Evil Gods. Destruction. The Abyss. Decay. And so on.
Generally, for a universe to spiral toward Nirvana, having one or two such catalysts would be a disaster. But not this universe. The catalysts for Nirvana in this broken realm numbered in the dozens—and many of them looked hauntingly familiar to Riku.
Furthermore, while Alice was incredibly powerful and known as the "Great Adventurer of Worlds," that title was limited to the planets within the Teyvat Universe. She lacked the ability to travel between universes directly. She had arrived in this reality two hundred years ago. By connecting the cause and effect, Riku had formed a theory. He began his research, and he had already achieved results.
("Quick! Quick! Quick! Let me see!") Alice bounced around him, her excitement clear as she demanded a look.
What could Riku do? She was his wife; he could only spoil her.
("Take a look.") He held up one hand. A semi-transparent, deep-blue gate—resembling a memorial archway or a *torii*—appeared in his palm.
Hmm... It had a more accurate name: the Mingshen Gate.
("A *torii* gate?") Alice blurted out, only to clutch her forehead with an "ouch" a moment later as Riku tapped her head.
("Given my origins, it should be called the 'Mingshen Gate',") Riku laughed.
("Is that what they call it in Liyue?") Alice didn't dwell on it. Instead, she asked with even greater curiosity, ("Darling, darling, with this, can we travel across universes to go on adventures?")
("Theoretically, yes. However, it isn't fully perfected yet. It will take about another year or so.") Riku nodded, though his tone shifted, carrying a strange nuance.
Alice immediately puffed out her cheeks, wrapping her arms around her slender waist. ("I know, I know! Do you think I wouldn't look after our daughter?")
Riku smiled without a word, which only served to make Alice pout. However, Alice was Alice—she moved on as quickly as she got worked up, and soon she stopped fretting.
("Darling, can you determine what kind of world is on the other side?") she asked.
Riku shook his head. ("I can't be sure. Crossing universes is extremely difficult; I am relying on the unique properties of the [Longhuang Universe].")
[Longhuang Universe]
This was the name Riku had given his own universe—whether for commemoration or nostalgia, it felt appropriate. Originally, he had considered names like Huanglong, Liyue, the Xianzhou, or the Yan Kingdom. But after discovering the nature of his universe, he decided: *Forget it.* What if he ended up creating a situation where his origins were tied to one of those places? As the Lord of the Universe, that would be far too embarrassing.
As for the properties of the [Longhuang Universe] itself? It was simple: the universe was like a sieve. People, objects, and energy from other realities could fall into it. This was how Alice had arrived from the Teyvat Universe, and it was also the source of the chaotic Nirvana plaguing his home.
Riku was essentially doing the opposite, researching a method to travel between worlds. Otherwise, crossing the Crystal Wall System—a term Riku found quite fitting—would be impossible. Generally, a universe could not achieve such a feat until it had completed its third or fourth evolution.
("What are you thinking about?") Riku asked, watching his wife tilt her head in deep thought.
Then, Riku fell silent.
Alice began listing her ideas: farming, mining, breeding, and, once they reached a certain age, using them to generate power. If that didn't work, then they could...
("Stop, stop, stop!") Riku quickly put an end to her wild, unrestrained ideas. ("Alice, are you actually a war criminal?")
("What war criminal? I haven't lost yet, so why would you call me a war criminal?") Alice retorted, looking incredibly proud.
Riku remained silent, still suppressing his wife's bold declarations. It wasn't anything else; it was simply that her methods were wasteful. He had already created a "comprehensive management plan" on how to harvest "Cosmic Energy" from other universes.
Alice's eyes shone like lamps. ("Quick! Quick! Tell me, darling, let me hear what it's all about.")
Riku didn't hide it and explained his plan.
("Darling, *you* are the war criminal, you should be...") Alice blurted out.
Riku instinctively retorted, ("What war criminal? I haven't lost, so why would you call me a war criminal?")
("...")
("Hahaha~")
Riku and Alice fell silent, looked at each other, and finally burst into laughter together. It could only be said that birds of a feather flock together. The fact that they were together proved they were, in truth, the same type of people.
After the banter, Alice thought of the "Nirvana" and asked with a touch of seriousness, ("Darling, in that case, can the Nirvana of the [Longhuang Universe] be solved soon?")
("It's hard to say. Nirvana is both destruction and rebirth,") Riku explained. If a civilization could withstand it, they would change, and the universe would be reborn. But that path was blocked; no sane person could withstand dozens of types of Nirvana and still hope for rebirth.
The second way was to use massive amounts of Cosmic Energy to clean out the Nirvana, which would strengthen the universe. This was a variation of the first path, but it required sacrificing the civilization to inject the energy.
As for the last way, it was simpler: find the core of the Nirvana and destroy it.
The problem was that Riku, as the Lord of the Universe, could only use the second method. It was absurd. For the first path, if he hadn't arrived to extend its life, the universe would have already hit "GG" long ago. As for the third path, Riku had checked over and over again, only to find the strange fact that the Nirvana in this broken universe had no core.
If it weren't for the fact that Riku had researched a way to travel between universes... he would have just turned around and left. Sacrificing the origin was better than staying here half-dead, waiting for the end.
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