"Truly worthy of Rea, her perspective is so sharp. Yet, it must be said, she makes a valid point."
After witnessing the dialogue in Astrea's storyline, Elysia couldn't help but comnt:
"Previously, the Raiden Shogun's character wasn't particularly likable. It was more about her imposing presence, which truly lived up to the title of a deity, completely different from Venti and Zhongli, giving players their first glimpse of divine might. But aside from that, she was almost entirely flawed—except for her stunning beauty. However, with the Supre Bishop's explanation and Rea's words, the Raiden Shogun's character has suddenly beco much more nuanced."
Outside the storyline, Elysia remarked as such. Within the story, after a mont of stunned silence, Paimon also expressed similar thoughts.
"I just thought she was terrifying, but after hearing Rea's words, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for the Raiden Shogun."
At that mont, the cara focused on Ye, giving him a close-up shot.
Ye's eyes gently closed, his voice carrying a rare complexity: "This is what it ans to be a deity. They are always willing to sacrifice themselves to protect their people. Perhaps the Raiden Shogun's thods are not accepted by her people, but there is no doubt that everything she does now is for the sake of her nation's citizens. Whether it's creating a puppet solely dedicated to pursuing eternity or imprisoning herself in solitude for five hundred years, it's all for this purpose. And this... is also where our chance of victory lies."
"Chance of victory?" Ayaka looked at Ye, pondering those words.
Ye calmly continued, "The Raiden Shogun's will is not unchangeable. If she chose to pursue eternity for her people, then she will also choose to abandon eternity for them—as long as we can genuinely present the will of the people before her, forcing her to no longer hide in the Plane of Euthymia like a turtle retreating into its shell."
Paimon couldn't help but interject, "I feel like just sending Themis would give us a chance of winning, right?"
"You overestimate Themis. Even under my control, Themis can only hold her own against the Raiden Shogun for a short ti. Her chanical capabilities are still insufficient to defeat the Raiden Shogun... If it were Rea, that would be a different story, but I have my reasons for not using her."
"Control? chanical capabilities? Wait, I think I saw sothing earlier—you had wires connected to Themis. What... what exactly is going on?"
At Paimon's question, everyone turned to Ye, as his choice of words was clearly unusual.
Astrea, on the other hand, looked slightly flustered, her hands clasped nervously in front of her.
Ye's expression remained calm, unchanged. He simply glanced at Astrea and then spoke in a asured tone: "What I an is, both Astrea and Themis, as well as all the knights in the Sacred Knights, are puppets I created."
"Their bodies were crafted by ."
"Their souls were bestowed by ."
"Their power was granted by ."
"And only under my control can their chanical capabilities be fully utilized."
After Ye's words, the room fell into complete silence, everyone's faces filled with shock.
After a long pause, Paimon finally murmured, "S-so, you're saying that Rea and the others are like that puppet Shogun?"
"If you an similarities, there are certainly commonalities. For instance, despite being puppets, they all possess their own will and soul—Astrea, Themis, and even the Raiden Shogun are no different. However... the similarities likely end there."
Ye spoke nonchalantly:
"This isn't a particularly important matter. For now, let's focus on what we should do next. If nothing goes wrong, we'll all be wanted soon, and when that happens, among those sent to capture us will undoubtedly be Sen'emon."
Although this was far from unimportant, the ntion of Sen'emon's na imdiately made Ayaka and Thoma tense up.
Ye, wanting to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, adopted a slightly more solemn tone.
"Whether it's the Raiden Shogun or Sen'emon, if we want to defeat them, I may have no choice but to unseal the power sealed within Astrea. This is sothing I wish to avoid at all costs, so for now, let's keep our distance."
Paimon couldn't help but ask curiously, "Does Rea have hidden power? Why don't you want to unseal it?"
Not just Paimon, but the players were equally curious.
After all, in Astrea's character story, it was stated from the beginning that Astrea possessed imnse power, but due to her worriso personality, the Supre Bishop had sealed it away.
Yet, even with the seal, Astrea still wielded power comparable to that of a deity, even earning Zhongli's recognition. So, how powerful was her original strength?
From the start, Astrea's power exhibited a nature entirely different from other gods and humans. Her character profile explicitly stated that her power was called "Original Sin," and Astrea was the "Emissary of Original Sin."
No player truly understood what "Original Sin" was, nor what an "Emissary" truly represented. As a character available from the ga's launch, Astrea was shrouded in mystery.
It wasn't until the "Shanhai Jing" storyline that so of these mysteries began to unravel.
"Original Sin" was a power from beyond this world, originally belonging to the Supre Bishop of Fontaine.
This was the information players currently possessed.
At the sa ti, players also knew one thing: the power of "Original Sin" was undoubtedly imnse, and the Supre Bishop of Fontaine was no ordinary figure... At the very least, he must have been incredibly powerful in his pri.
Both Astrea and Themis were able to rival deities precisely because they possessed the power of "Original Sin."
And now, it was confird that both Astrea's and Themis's powers were bestowed by Ye.
So, how powerful was the Supre Bishop originally?
—It was impossible to imagine.
Not just the Supre Bishop's power, but even Astrea's true strength was beyond the players' comprehension.
After all, there was no standard for comparison.
Only a group of die-hard fans wildly speculated that Rea's true power must rival the Seven Archons, and the Supre Bishop at his peak must have been no weaker than the Heavenly Principles... But these were just baseless claims, with no evidence to back them up.
This, of course, couldn't gain the consensus of all players.
After all, the Hydro Archon, the Supre Bishop's superior, must be stronger than him, right?
And even the Hydro Archon wouldn't dare challenge the Heavenly Principles, instead stating that the Heavenly Principles were the only force in this world that should not be opposed. Given that, no matter how strong the Supre Bishop was, he couldn't possibly compare to the Heavenly Principles.
Astrea, then, must be even weaker, surely not on par with the Seven Archons, right?
—But this argunt alone wasn't enough to serve as evidence.
In any case, for the players, the Supre Bishop was a figure shrouded in mystery, and Astrea was no different.
However, with the Supre Bishop's official appearance, it seed these mysteries would gradually be unveiled!
Players were filled with anticipation for this part of the storyline.
As for Paimon's question, what answer would the Supre Bishop provide?
Ye simply stated calmly, "You already know that I ca to this world from beyond. What I possess is not the power of Teyvat, but a force called 'Original Sin.'"
"That doesn't sound like a good na," Paimon quipped with perfect accuracy.
Ye nodded in agreent. "Indeed, it's not a good na, nor is it a good power. 'Original Sin' refers to the inherent flaws of all living beings, and correspondingly, it amplifies those flaws, turning what might have been minor desires into sothing that can destroy everything."
The Traveler hesitated slightly. "Then you...?"
"I, of course, suffered greatly from it in the past... Though that might not be the right way to phrase it, as it sounds like I'm shifting bla."
"Because 'Original Sin' rely amplifies a person's flaws. Those who cannot resist it are ultimately bound by their own desires, and cannot bla others."
"Therefore, rather than saying I suffered from it, it's more accurate to say I never had the intention to resist in the first place."
Ye spoke with complete honesty:
"When I first obtained the power of 'Original Sin,' instead of suppressing my ever-growing desires, I chose the easier path and indulged myself thoroughly."
This was indeed the truth.
Forcing oneself to suppress desires through sheer willpower would naturally lead to suffering. For example, Longhua's character was built around this concept—she suffered greatly because she chose to suppress her amplified desires. Ye, on the other hand, never bothered to suppress his.
Before devouring the pure, fragnted Original Sin, Ye lived a life of complete indulgence.
...But after arriving in Teyvat, he spent five hundred years as a miserable office worker, which could be seen as a form of karmic retribution!
"Later, the power of Original Sin within shattered, and now it's all divided among Astrea and the others. As a result, my situation has improved—but in exchange, Astrea and the others must now bear the burden of 'Original Sin.'"
Ye glanced down at Astrea once more, his voice calm:
"The other puppets are fine. The 'personalities' I designed for them allow them to barely suppress the 'Original Sin' power I bestowed upon them. But Astrea is different..."
Astrea pursed her lips, remaining silent, her eyes slightly downcast.
Ye continued, "I bestowed upon Astrea the complete 'Sin of Pride'... You might not fully grasp what this ans, and explaining it would be too complicated. So, just understand that if Astrea's power isn't sealed, she would be utterly unable to suppress her 'pride.'"
"And the power I gave Astrea... She is actually far stronger than I am now. If her power were unsealed, it might beco impossible to seal again, and at that point, it could lead to a catastrophic disaster."
This statent was half-truth, half-lie.
The lie was that, as Ye's alternate persona, he could always take control of Astrea's body at any ti, so the idea of her being uncontrollable was false.
The truth, however, was that... after the Liyue storyline, Ye had indeed bestowed Astrea with the complete "Sin of Pride."
This wasn't sothing obtained from Baoyu, but sothing Ye later did himself to save on popularity points.
Although, given the current state of Original Sin, this so-called "complete" power was heavily diminished. But even so, Astrea still possessed the complete "Sin of Pride."
Even a fragnted "Sin of Pride" was still a complete "Sin of Pride," and this wasn't a contradiction.
So, what did this complete "Sin of Pride" an?
—It ant that if the "Original Sin" path were restored, Astrea would imdiately beco the strongest Emissary in the universe.
Without question.
Why is that?
First, one must understand what a "path" is, and what a "Aeon" represents.
In essence, an Aeon, an Emanator, and a Pathstrider are all the sa—they are all beings who derive their power from a path.
The difference lies in the fact that if a path is likened to an ocean, the Aeon is the ocean itself, while Emanator occupy varying portions of that ocean depending on the individual, and Pathstrider are rely waves upon its surface.
The difference between a Aeon, an Emanator, and a Pathstrider lies in the portion of the path they occupy—nothing more.
So, the question now is: what does Astrea's complete "Sin of Pride" as an Emanator of Original Sin truly represent?
—This requires an explanation of what Ye's "Original Sin" path truly is.
Paths have hierarchies, and Aeons have varying levels of strength.
Just as oceans differ in size—the Pacific Ocean spans 181.34 million square kiloters, while the Arctic Ocean covers only 14.5 million square kiloters, a difference of more than tenfold.
And the "Sin of Pride" Ye bestowed upon Astrea?
That wasn't the Arctic Ocean—it was the Atlantic Ocean, spanning 76.76 million square kiloters.
In Ye's Original Sin path, the "Sin of Pride" occupied nearly half of it. If the Original Sin path were intact, Astrea's power would surpass that of many Aeons.
To put it simply, it would be like "Harmony" Xipe suddenly deciding to bestow the complete "Order" upon one of her Emanator, resulting in... an Emanator of Harmony wielding the full power of the Aeon of Order.
Yes, Astrea is, in na, an Emanator, but in reality, a Aeon.
Of course, with Original Sin in its current fragnted state, Astrea couldn't display such power—but even so, Astrea couldn't withstand the influence of the "Sin of Pride."
—But this setup didn't need to be revealed.
The Genshin Impact storyline didn't need the introduction of Star God-level power, as it would only disrupt the players' experience. Thus, Ye never intended for Astrea to display power beyond Teyvat's worldview, nor did he plan to restore the Original Sin path to its full state.
The current level of power was sufficient—anything more would be excessive.
Therefore, Ye simply stated matter-of-factly:
"Astrea still needs to grow."
"I cannot yet place my full trust in her as she is now."
"So, I will not unseal her power."
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