Chapter 296: I, Odin, Swear to the Heavenly Principle
"Ahhh! Two Pseudo Star Map Creations—two of them! Both Liyue and Fontaine have multiples!"
"And one of them is unclaimed!"
In the highest temple of Sumeru City, the gods, waking from the Journey of Civilization, first beheld the two armillary spheres floating in the hands of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
The aura of two great universes spread instantly throughout the entire Sumeru Divine Collective.
The gods exclaimed in awe as they received this supreme blessing.
Amun, the Egyptian pantheon’s highest god—already at God-King level and on the verge of breaking through to Supreme God—was the first to cry out, rousing his still-dazed peers.
Odin of the Norse pantheon followed with his own exclamation. He saw not only the two Pseudo Star Map Creations, but also one that belonged specifically to his Norse pantheon.
During the Journey of Civilization, he had already sensed and successfully observed it.
He hadn’t known its true name until the Cosmology manifested it before them: Pseudo Star Map Creation Asgard.
Asgard was another, purer name for the world where the Norse gods were born.
The Pseudo Star Map Creation of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was named Askr Yggdrasil.
This proved that Asgard was born from the foundation of Yggdrasil—that the World Tree came first, and then Asgard.
All across the cosmos, it was known that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was the incarnate master of the World Tree, keeper of all memory in the universe.
It was also said she could freely enter the Heavenly Principle’s sacred, supreme dwelling—the Garden of Eden.
To the high gods of every pantheon, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was the strongest super-deity beneath the High Gods, ranking even above Liyue’s Rex Lapis.
Odin only allowed himself a brief moment of envy for the Norse pantheon’s own Pseudo Star Map Creation before averting his gaze.
With hundreds of thousands of years of experience beyond that of younger gods, he knew that some things could not be demanded.
If it was meant to be his, it would be his; if not, no amount of begging would change it.
Even if it looked likely to be his, that was still only a possibility.
Though he wanted it greatly, he had enough self-restraint to keep his composure.
He scoffed at the God-Kings of the Fontaine pantheon, who acted like rabid dogs, crowding forward at the sight of the unclaimed Pseudo Star Map Creation—displaying nothing but disgrace, and only inviting the displeasure of higher gods.
Buer said nothing, as always wearing her gentle smile, taking in every expression among the gathered gods.
Currently, Sumeru ranked in the middle tier among the Divine Collectives—not the best, but not the worst.
The Sumeru Collective consisted of three pantheons: the Sumeru pantheon as the ruling sect, followed by the Egyptian pantheon and the Norse pantheon.
In the Egyptian pantheon, Amun-Ra had reached God-King rank, placing in the top twenty of all God-Kings.
The remaining Ennead were all Primary Gods—Shu, god of wind and air; Tefnut, goddess of rain; Geb, god of the earth; Nut, goddess of the sky; Osiris, god of the underworld; Isis, goddess of life, magic, marriage, and family; Set, god of desert and storms; and Nephthys, guardian of the dead.
The Ennead had worked hard—with just one God-King, eight Primary Gods, and a few hundred True Gods, they had opened millions of galaxies.
They were close to advancing to one Supreme God and eight God-Kings.
The Norse pantheon’s elder God-King Odin, aided by Venti, had also grasped the will of the Heavenly Principle, earning his pantheon an excellent reputation across the universe.
Their only flaw was that the male gods of the Norse pantheon were, on average, all hopeless drunkards.
Currently, the Norse boasted three God-Kings: Odin, on the verge of reaching Supreme God pending more merit; the giant king Surt; and Víðarr, the forest god and creator of the elves.
Thousands of years ago, Venti struck a deal with Odin, ensuring that Odin could one day become a Supreme God. In return, Odin had paid dearly—giving up Valhalla and all the heroic epics tied to it.
For Odin, this had been not just a fair trade, but a tremendous bargain. Venti was one of his few true friends, a brother in all but blood.
"Goose, goose, goose... hehehe... Alhaitham, my potential reaches God-King level! And I’ve just become a Primary God—Primary God! I never even dared dream of this before!"
Kaveh boasted proudly to his good friend and the Sumeru pantheon’s spokesperson, Alhaitham.
"And you? How far can you go? Tell me—quickly. Given you’re about the same as me, you should be about the same level, right?"
"Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me you’re far behind me."
Alhaitham, the god of knowledge, furrowed his brows, but as always replied calmly:
"How many times have I told you—don’t go patting me on the shoulder in front of everyone like this..."
"And don’t you think you talk too much?"
Though he disliked the duties and title of Sumeru’s spokesperson, once thrust into the role, he couldn’t simply abandon it. The real problem was, even after thousands of years, no one else could be found to take his place.
Kaveh scowled. "What’s that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on me? We’ve been best friends since childhood. If I didn’t know this was just your personality, I’d have bared my fangs at you long ago."
Alhaitham glanced at him. "No need to imagine—you’re already baring your fangs now."
Kaveh’s temper flared immediately. Every time he tried to talk to Alhaitham outside of work, he’d get this same reaction. For official matters, it was fine—but for anything else, Alhaitham could irritate him to the point of bursting like an Anemo Slime.
Tighnari shook his head and sighed. This was a habit neither Kaveh nor Alhaitham would ever break—if it could have been fixed, it would’ve been fixed millennia ago.
At least they had the sense not to bicker in front of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. But once they returned home, they’d surely argue for an entire day—well, Kaveh would argue for a day, while Alhaitham would quietly read as if Kaveh weren’t even there.
Cyno and Sethos exchanged a glance, saying nothing, and instead turned their respectful attention to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Dehya, Faruzan, Layla, Candace, Collei, and Dori had all reached Primary God rank.
The original wave of Sumeru gods from the first generation had all ascended to Primary Gods. Alhaitham would, in time, reach God-King rank, while Apep, the Dendro Dragon King, had directly attained God-King.
Buer observed all their expressions and nodded with satisfaction.
The gods of her Sumeru Divine Collective possessed an admirable vision—much higher than Fontaine’s.
Since that was the case, she would proceed with her original plan.
With a gentle smile, she spoke:
"Norse God-King Odin, I have taken note of all your deeds and merits."
"You naturally have the qualification to attempt the trial for the Pseudo Star Map Creation."
"Asgard will be entrusted to you for now—I hope you can pass the trial."
"If you cannot, I will have no choice but to open the Asgard trial to all gods of Primary God rank and above within the Sumeru Divine Collective."
With that, the Pseudo Star Map Creation Asgard slowly descended toward Odin.
Under the astonished gazes of the gods, the master of their Divine Collective’s pantheon placed down, without hesitation, the supreme armillary sphere that could make its wielder the second master of the Divine Collective—and allowed it to fall directly toward Odin, the God-King of the Norse pantheon.
Not only were the gods of the Egyptian and Norse pantheons stunned, but even the gods of the Sumeru pantheon were shocked.
No matter the highest god of any Divine Collective, there would always be personal interests—priority was always given to one’s own direct gods, and only afterward to those outside.
Odin, hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata’s praise, thought it was merely an ordinary commendation. He never imagined she would actually grant him the Pseudo Star Map Creation.
His divine heart pounded like a drum.
Before his eyes, the supreme Greater Lord Rukkhadevata extended her hand, and the armillary sphere in her grasp slowly floated toward him.
The power of another universe drew near, and only now did he fully grasp what was happening. Ecstatic didn’t begin to cover his emotions—alongside it came endless gratitude.
As the master of the entire Sumeru Divine Collective, one of the great pantheon leaders of the cosmos, she was known to all as selfless, gentle, and boundlessly compassionate.
Yet he had never imagined she would be this selfless.
This was a Pseudo Star Map Creation—even if it belonged to the Norse pantheon, as master of the Divine Collective she had the natural right to control all of its resources. And the Pseudo Star Map Creation was in her possession.
If it were him, he would never be so selfless. He would first ensure his own pantheon’s candidates succeeded. Even if he didn’t use it, he would hide it away to maintain absolute control.
Only after becoming an Almighty God above the universe itself would he consider releasing a second Pseudo Star Map Creation.
As the sphere descended before him, Odin felt nothing but shame.
Yet his hands instinctively reached out to cradle it, feeling everything that came from another universe.
"Your Majesty Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, your selflessness makes me ashamed of myself," Odin said. "I will not disappoint you. While I may not have high chances of passing the trial, if I fail, I will open it to the entire Divine Collective."
From certain perspectives, sincerity truly was a killer move.
Especially when shown by one in power toward those below—it won their loyalty in an instant.
Buer looked mildly surprised, then returned to her gentle smile. "It seems the God-King’s vision has transformed much through the Journey of Civilization."
"Just for those words, I believe you will become its master."
Truth be told, she was genuinely impressed. As one of those closest to the Heavenly Principle, she understood divine will well.
While everything in the Teyvat Universe could be determined by the Heavenly Principle’s word, he would not do so blindly. The Heavenly Principle was fair: if you were truly the most suitable candidate, you would be chosen.
Of course, that required your vision and resolve to satisfy him.
Put simply, your deeds must leave even the Heavenly Principle without cause for favoritism.
She knew better than anyone that the Heavenly Principle could be partial—but not absolutely so.
Even if he favored a goddess and wished to grant her a Cosmology, if another god could sacrifice himself for all life while she could not, the gift would go to him.
Unless she matched that act, the Cosmology would never be hers.
Thus, after Odin spoke, and given his already immense merits—close to Supreme God level—Buer knew the Heavenly Principle would likely grant him the Pseudo Star Map Creation.
Moreover, Asgard itself was already the Norse pantheon’s cosmology. Even if she wanted to give it to Nahida, there would be no justified reason.
Hum—
At that moment, Odin felt the armillary sphere in his hands release a thread of primordial power from another universe into his body.
Crack!
In an instant, his God-King rank broke through—he ascended directly to Supreme God.
The thousands of universal Laws he had mastered merged furiously with the Truths he had comprehended, and the aura of the universe itself was born within him.
Behind him appeared a divine halo of aurora.
The patterns of the cosmos rippled across his form, and his aura skyrocketed tens of thousands of times.
He had leapt from galactic level straight to super-galactic—meaning galaxy cluster level.
A galaxy cluster, composed of tens of thousands of galaxies, was among the universe’s largest structures.
The aurora halo behind him was the fusion and sublimation of his thousand Laws and mastered Truths—his Supreme Authority unique to a Supreme God.
"I... have been acknowledged?"
Odin could hardly believe it, feeling this unimaginable, surging power. It seemed he needed only a fraction of his authority to create a galaxy.
Supreme Gods could indeed create galaxies—though with so many already in the universe still unexplored, few cared to artificially create more.
Becoming a Supreme God wasn’t the shocking part; he had been on track to reach it in the near future.
What was shocking was that the Pseudo Star Map Creation had acknowledged him.
It wasn’t enough to make him its master outright, but it boosted his chance of passing the trial to over half.
In other words, as long as he held to his current resolve, he had a high probability of success.
"Supreme God! God-King Odin, you’ve become a Supreme God!"
"And you’ve been acknowledged by the Pseudo Star Map Creation too, haven’t you?"
"No wonder you’re the God-King of the Norse pantheon. Its stellar reputation across the universe is inseparable from your personal charisma."
"Yes, indeed."
"Congratulations on becoming a Supreme God, Norse God-King—no, Norse Supreme."
"We hope you pass the trial and become the second master of our Divine Collective."
The Nine Pillar Gods of the Egyptian pantheon looked on with envy, but without jealousy—they had no chance to obtain it themselves. Besides, they were part of the same Divine Collective. The Pseudo Star Map Creation’s fortunes were theirs to share, and its losses were theirs as well.
Odin ignored the congratulations, instead gazing with reverence at the smiling Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"Your Majesty Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, as a member of this Divine Collective, I swear to the Heavenly Principle that I will fulfill my duties to both the Collective and the universe, without the slightest dereliction."
Hum—
The Pseudo Star Map Creation in his hands resonated, forming a binding pact between them.
Swearing to the Heavenly Principle was no mere formality—it was a contract with the Heavenly Principle itself, one that could never be broken.
Even Noah, enjoying himself elsewhere, hadn’t expected Odin to swear directly to him.
It was akin to swearing before the Heavenly Dao in the Great Desolation—but in Teyvat, the binding force of an oath to the Heavenly Principle far exceeded the Heavenly Dao’s hold over the immortals and gods of that era.
"I hadn’t expected much from any divine systems outside the Seven, but it seems their outlook isn’t bad. Whatever their inner thoughts, their actions have matched that standard."
Noah was slightly surprised at Odin’s sense of scale.
Though Odin’s personal ambitions were far greater than those of the Seven, judging by deeds rather than intent, his divine character was acceptable.
And since Odin had gone this far, if he also gave the Norse Pseudo Star Map Creation to Nahida, that would be overstepping.
To the gods, a Pseudo Star Map Creation was the ultimate divine secret, an embodiment of eternity. But to Noah, it wasn’t so rare.
The number of Cosmologies currently gestating had already passed a hundred. Although none were yet at the point of forming a Pseudo Star Map Creation, such things were not scarce to him.
Even throwing out a dozen or twenty would hardly matter—especially since anyone who obtained one would push even harder to expand their cosmos and develop the primordial universe.
And don’t think for a second that gaining a Pseudo Star Map Creation meant it could never be revoked.
At each million-year Divine Assembly, if the results were poor, Phanes would strip it away without mercy.
As the embodiment of Human Principle and Pan-Human History, Phanes had the authority to revoke a Pseudo Star Map Creation—though the other Truths had to agree.
After all, a Pseudo Star Map Creation corresponded to a primordial universe, and each Truth stood above the peak of all cosmologies.
But knowing the personalities of Ophis and Dream, they wouldn’t bother interfering. As the de facto elder sister among the Truths, her word was law.
In other great universes, Human Principle was the youngest among the Truths—since only the combined efforts of Ouroboros and Kabbalah could elevate Pan-Human History.
But in Teyvat, civilization came first; Ouroboros and Kabbalah joined later.
Even so, the inheritance of a Pseudo Star Map Creation for newcomers would be delayed.
It wouldn’t be fair for latecomers to surpass their seniors too quickly.
The original Seven were his first generation of gods. Odin and the others were the second generation, Athena the third.
Thus, the Seven would first be allowed to reach weak single-universe level under the Pseudo Star Map Creation’s blessing, before newcomers fully inherited theirs.
That didn’t mean they couldn’t use it at all—just that the Pseudo Star Map Creation’s permissions would be unlocked gradually.
Without full permissions, it couldn’t be fully activated—meaning it couldn’t instantly unfold a Cosmology to single-universe level.
They could only use its auxiliary powers, like the cosmic force, laws, energy, and mass of another universe.
"What’s the matter, Lord Heavenly Principle? Why stop~?"
A drowsy voice reached Noah’s ears, and Lumine, after a brief pause, handed him a steaming bun. He took a bite without hesitation.
"Nothing—let’s continue."
Even while eating, his hands didn’t stay idle, tapping just two keys on Furina’s tablet without touching the rest—so long as they were there to press.
...
If anyone was happiest at the activation of a Pseudo Star Map Creation, it was Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya.
Yes, not Athena of Olympus.
The difference lay in circumstance.
Athena had long enjoyed the favor of a Pseudo Star Map Creation and knew she would inherit it. The Olympian gods knew their pantheon would, under her leadership, become one of the universe’s giants.
But Snezhnaya was not like that—the gods of Snezhnaya knew all too well that they had once been despised by the Heavenly Principle.
While other divine systems were flourishing, Snezhnaya’s development had been worrisome. Those who, like them, had ascended through Vision-to-Godhood had already become Primary Gods or God-Kings, while they had barely reached True God.
Such progress was no different from the newly joined divine systems of Teyvat.
Worse still, their beloved Tsaritsa had been ignored or given the cold shoulder by the Seven more than once.
Though they still advanced faster than the newest divine systems, they were not so far ahead as to be untouchable.
At one point, they had even been overtaken in the divine system rankings by the Norse and Olympian pantheons.
If not for the Tsaritsa being far stronger than the leaders of those pantheons, the others might have freely competed with them for merits.
Only their strong internal unity—sharing resources generously with new gods and taking great care of them—kept their pantheon together.
Had the new gods understood Snezhnaya’s struggles, they might have defected long ago. Those with mythological origins might even have considered full conversion to another pantheon.
And when, at the last Divine Assembly, they learned that the Olympian pantheon had sensed a Pseudo Star Map Creation and already gained part of another universe’s power, the Snezhnayan gods could hardly breathe.
To wash away the original sin upon them, they had worked tirelessly to create merits for the universe.
They had, through sheer determination, established the Adventurers’ Guild across the entire cosmos.
In every time-space and endless plane where an Adventurers’ Guild existed, civilization crises were nonexistent—or swiftly resolved by adventurers.
Beyond the Adventurers’ Guild, they had founded the House of the Hearth.
Wherever a House of the Hearth was found, abandoned children were taken in and taught the knowledge they loved, without conditions or obligations, never asked to repay the House of the Hearth later in life.
Thanks to this, Snezhnaya’s reputation across the cosmos was sterling.
They also maintained the Northland Bank, a massive interstellar trade network, participating in countless commercial activities.
It had become the universe’s largest commercial community, maintaining close ties with all other major commercial collectives, and working alongside them to preserve the prosperity of the cosmos’ economy.
Through such good works, earning universal praise, they had finally drawn the Heavenly Principle’s eye again—ending the original sin placed upon them.
Now, in Snezhnaya’s greatest political center, the Zapolyarny Palace, the gods of Snezhnaya looked on with tearful eyes at their Tsaritsa upon the highest divine seat, cradling the Pseudo Star Map Creation in her hands.
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: