People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 600 Ishtar: I don't know what he is, but he can't possibly be "human".

Above Teyvat, in a dark space separate from reality.

It seems as if it has not been officially used for a long time.
Everything came to a standstill, and an intense, impenetrable silence and darkness permeated the place.

The lockdown had lasted for so long that there was no sound or light to be perceived, and even the concepts of time and space began to blur.

"."

"jingle--"

The pointers clashed, the crisp metallic sound breaking the silence, a melodious sound like wind chimes slowly spreading and echoing in the center of the open space.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and her golden eyes slowly opened.

As if the eternal nothingness and darkness were pierced by this soft gold, everything began to flow, and faint points of light gradually lit up from the surrounding space.

"You're awake, Istaru."

"The 'time' for holding the meeting has passed."

This isn't the first time you've been late.

A voice, devoid of any emotion, rang out, and the crimson lines of eyes shone from the shadows.

In the darkness, the solidified "death" outlined a blood-red pupil.

Even a slight glance gives off a dangerous aura, as if it were something inhuman.

But it's different from the impression that the aura gives.

As this figure, predominantly black and red in color, slowly emerged into the light...

As a majestic deity in charge of death, her face beneath her white hair resembles that of an innocent young girl, mixed with a contradictory and alluring aura, like a poisonous apple.

"."

"jingle--"

A clear, metallic clanging sound rang out, and sensing the gaze fixed upon him, the figure sitting cross-legged on the fluorescent steps tilted his head slightly.

The light in the space finally spread completely, illuminating the figure of another girl below.

As if not fully awake, he paused briefly for a few seconds.

The pointer hovering above the golden wheel swayed slightly, symbolizing the owner's current mood.

“Huronawa, you should know that maintaining ‘time’ is not like sleeping. ‘Punctuality’ is meaningless here.”

"Besides, if you're talking about shirking your duties, you should go talk to Nabe first."

The languid voice was intermittent, suggesting that the speaker was not yet fully engaged in the meeting.

At the edge of the venue, beneath a golden wheel symbolizing "time,"

The girl combed her long, white hair to one side, letting it trail behind her on the steps made of scattered fluorescent lights.

Maintaining the posture of someone who has just woken up, the incomparably majestic "Ruler of Time" curled up with her arms wrapped around her knees, her white skirt wrapped around her knees.

"."

"jingle--"

The pointer wobbled, and intermittent metallic clanging sounds could be heard.
I slept for so long that it took me a long time to wake up.

She seemed to possess both the innocence of a young girl and the elegance of an elder; time seemed to have shifted around her.

With slightly misty eyes, the white-haired girl slowly covered her mouth with her left hand, which was covered by a silk glove, yawned, and turned her gaze to the other side where no one had spoken.

"."

"Ah, shirking your duties? I can't pretend I didn't hear that."

“We will not accept such slander, will we? My dear Miss Nabe.”

The light spread, and a blonde woman emerged from the shadows.

He responded to the accusation in a languid tone, his unique half-gold, half-silver pupils particularly striking.

The soft footsteps approached, and beneath the halo of light, which resembled golden vines intertwined, came the only figure present who could be described as "mature," accompanied by the breath of life.

"."

"Of course, thank you for your support, dear Rheindorf."

"After all, although I lost my stance after being devoured and merged by you, my powers still perform their duties and will not disappear like Asmodie."

Fragments of power materialized in the space, and a different voice, distinct from the external sounds, resounded in the minds of the three.

"."

Ever since the shadow symbolizing "life" among the four shadows of "life," "death," "time," and "space" was swallowed up by "Rhinedoth" in front of him, he had long been accustomed to this scene.

Istaru and Jonawa, who was standing next to her, did not express their opinions. After all, according to the "rules," no matter how special the situation, the owner of the power always has the right to participate in the meeting.

"."

The pupils, half gold and half silver, were engraved with unique patterns, and the blonde woman's words were loaded with hidden meaning.

It is clear that as the enforcer of the Teyvat rules, there is one less player on the field.

Having long since ceased to witness a ruling entity symbolizing "space," the ever-expressionless Jonawa blinked her golden eyes, offering a blunt response:

“We don’t know where she went; Asmodée has never given us any response.”

"Ever since she intercepted the twins from beyond the heavens within this world, she has never appeared here again."

"."

"Oh? Disappeared even more completely than Miss Nabe, whom I 'swallowed'? Miss Asmodé's whereabouts are truly mysterious."

“Miss Jonawa, do you think it’s possible that she’s betrayed us? Like my old friends in Kanria.”

"."

The seven-pointed star pattern in her pupils became more and more obvious, and the red eye hair ornament on her forehead shimmered slightly.

Place your hands together on your lower abdomen.
Seemingly having recently experienced too many anomalies outside the "rules," the white-haired girl gazed at the "sinner" from Kanria before her, her usually calm words now carrying a rare, subtle fluctuation:

"Don't make 'betrayal' sound so easy; we are not human beings."

"The 'shadow' is a projection of the natural order itself; everything we are originates from it."

"Does the 'shadow' cast betray its own essence? Only if we love our new master more than we love ourselves."

"."

No one answered, and apart from the sound of the pointers clicking, the scene fell silent for a moment.

Sensing the weight of those words, Rhein-Dortmund gazed thoughtfully at his two "colleagues" before him and nodded.

“I remain determined to find Asmodé. Since Tianli sent us into this world, there has never been a case of ‘absence’.”

"But now is not the time to dwell on Asmodé's whereabouts; we have far more important work to do."

Continuing to meticulously organize her work, Ronava's words and actions conveyed a sense of seriousness and rationality, a stark contrast to the authority of "death." As she finished speaking, the space, which had previously shown signs of discussion, fell silent once more.

"."

A soft, metallic clanging sound, like the tinkling of wind chimes, rang out.
Unlike Rhinedoth, who watched with keen interest, Ishtar, having spent countless hours with her colleague, knew exactly what her colleague meant by "work," and what was most deeply connected to it was herself.
"Rona, is it really alright to discuss this here? Especially about 'him'."

"Even with the cover of 'death' and 'time,' you should know that from the moment we arrived here, we could no longer escape the gaze of 'the ground.'"

She sits up slightly from her curled-up position, her hands clasped around her knees, like the embodiment of time itself, with endless silver-white sand dissipating and flowing away at the end of her platinum gown.

Istaru blinked and, a beat slow, voiced what they should be most worried about.

But they did not receive a response from the two people in front of them.

As if she had already heard what they were going to say, she continued to explain, answering her own questions:
"."

"Well, perhaps it's as you say, he could have found us a long time ago, but he's just maintained this tacit understanding of not interfering with each other."

"The isolation of this space is not sufficient."

"The reason they're not coming now might be out of friendliness, or perhaps they, like us 'shadow' projectors, hope we can contribute a little more."

He always speaks at a fixed frequency, and because his speaking speed is too constant, he always gives people a drowsy and lazy feeling.

There was a hint of laziness in his words, or perhaps it was a herd mentality.

In the endless flow of time, there is always work to be done, and Ishtar's enthusiasm for work is far less than that of Jonawa, who initiated this meeting.

"Ha, based on the story you've told, it seems he's not a 'guest' of this world?"

"If he truly chose to allow us to exist for this reason, then does that mean he considered this place, and even 'us,' as his own from the very beginning?"

It's somewhat surprising that the two people in front of me seem to take this for granted.

After regaining his senses from the madness wrought by the abyss, Rhinedot learned a little about recent events through the Witch's Guild.

Although the Descendant was growing rapidly, Rheindorf felt that their attitude was not solely due to the Descendant's authority and power, but rather something beyond that.
"."

"Perhaps it can be said that he is qualified."

"We cannot expect to leave him without doing anything."

“He cooperated with us, and we had to give something in return.”

I don't intend to explain too much.

Ishtar looked down with her head slightly lowered, knowing that for them, the current outcome was already excellent.

"."

"I still have a lot of work to do, and I may have to meet with him frequently in the future, so this contact is very important."

As they talked, they noticed that the two people next to them seemed somewhat distracted.
The girl, who was sitting on the steps with her knees drawn up, paused slightly and turned to look at her colleague with the best figure next to her:

"—Please don't dismiss this, Ronawa. In the 'time' I've witnessed, there have been times when you had to face him alone."

"Being able to coexist peacefully with such a being is already the best outcome. Within the 'rules,' I don't recommend engaging in any conflict with him."

"."

"Oh? Such a reaction is quite rare. It seems you know something special?"

"Being merely recognized as an 'Adventurer' is insufficient for such treatment. Could you perhaps reveal the true identity of that being?"

Turning his head with great interest, Rhein-Dort felt his curiosity growing stronger.

Knowing that his "child" had dealt with him before, and judging solely from his attitude, this person was exceptionally friendly among beings of similar power.
But apart from that, she didn't know much else about him besides his identity as an Arrival.

"What is he?"

Ishtar blinked, and the disc above her head swayed slightly.

After a slight pause, he answered:

"."

"I do not know."

"What can be confirmed is that it could be anything, but it absolutely cannot be 'human' in any sense."

"."

"Perhaps, at such a height, one's identity is not important."

“Nabe, oh no, Ms. Rheindoth, please don’t be overly curious about this kind of thing.”

After standing silently for a moment, maintaining her previous posture with her hands clasped, Ronava brought the topic to a close in a calm tone.

"With one person absent, this meeting has already gone on long enough."

“Istaru, now that you’ve figured out how to make contact, let’s end this discussion here.”

"Although it's a futile effort, according to the rules, when someone notices this place, I should declare this space 'dead.'"

He raised his right hand, ready to end the meeting in the next moment.

But before the final move could be made, Rheindott, standing nearby, stepped forward with a smile, preventing "death" from happening:

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment, I have one last question."

“I do not deny that befriending such a being is a choice that suits my taste, but the matter of Kanria is not long ago, and I have no idea that you are such a benevolent being.”

He paused slightly, but his tone didn't reveal much sadness about what had happened to Kanria.
After realizing their attention had shifted, Rheindorf also raised his real question:
"—I mean, if you're so wary of that person, why let him grow to his current level instead of making contact with him when he was weak?"

"Or, as you have done in the past, to drive away and eliminate the threat when it can be dealt with."

"."

"Because we are 'shadows,' contacting him is outside the scope of the 'rules.'"

"Moreover, I need to correct a mistake in this statement."

Ishtar paused slightly, shaking her head as she looked at her colleague who had been devoured and fused with someone, and didn't mind giving her conclusion:

"—That is, he never had a moment that could be described as 'weak,' never."

"."

"Alright, that's enough of the delay, Istaru. Prepare for this contact."

"As for this space, let's find another one next time."

Without waiting for a reply from Rheindorf, Jonathan clearly wasn't going to wait any longer.

Crimson patterns slowly lit up from the jet-black clothing, outlining blood-red pupils on the body's contours.

Power gradually gathered on the silk gloves, and the original black color was gradually stained red with blood.

Looking in a certain direction, I felt an undisguised gaze fixed on me.

Jonawa paused as she raised her right hand.
With a wave of his hand and a barely perceptible snap of his fingers, the space used for meetings gradually crumbled into fragments, entering an indisputable "death."

(End of this chapter)