We traveled through time together, but I'm the only dragon? The others are all beautiful girls?

"..."

These words caused a violent upheaval in Akalion's heart, which had already hardened to the point of steel.

"...I'm really sorry."

"..." Ying remained silent for a long time. Slowly, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. Then, she hugged Akalion's hind legs and buried her face deeply in them.

"Never mind—" Her voice carried a hint of self-mockery, a hint of helplessness, and a hint of tenderness, "Anyway, 'I' am just this kind of person. If it were me, I would too—"

"You are not allowed to make this choice!"

Akalion immediately refused in an unquestionable manner.

"do not want!"

Ying tightened her grip on his hind legs, and this time, the force actually caused him a slight pain.

Her power seems to have increased significantly?

"Unless, you absolutely forbid yourself from making this wrong choice again."

“You know the answer,” Akalion replied softly; he couldn’t deceive himself.

"Then you know my answer!" Ying continued to exert more force to convey her anger. In any case, they wouldn't be truly harmed within the dark space. "After all, we are all 'Blue Heirs'!"

Aside from Eleanor, who was still silently clinging to Akalion, Artoria and Saintess both cast supportive glances at Ying.

“…Fine. But you should also understand that only I have the right to forcibly ‘repatriate’ you!” Akalion said lightly, stating what he considered his last trump card.

"Humph!"

A smug, devilish smile spread across Ying's face.

"No, that's no longer the case!"

"?"

Akalion tilted his massive dragon head in confusion. He looked at Artoria and Saintess and found that their expressions were almost identical to Ying's.

So, it seems this is true?

"Is it because of...that golden realm?"

“That’s right!” Ying released her grip and leaped lightly into the golden realm that radiated a soft glow in the darkness, seemingly constructed of materialized light. “From here, we can now actively travel between worlds. Although each stay is only three days long, there’s no need for those… intense ‘rituals’ anymore. This is a huge, huge leap forward for me!”

"Right!"

“Yes…Yes…”

Although Akalion wasn't particularly concerned about this, the loss of the 'privilege' he once possessed still caused a slight, almost imperceptible, sense of loss in his heart.

"Don't worry. If you really want to, I, Artoria, Eleanor, and Saintess will surely not refuse you." Ying's lips curled into a lewd smile. "But you must promise us that next time, you will absolutely not abandon us without permission again."

She changed the subject, her face once again revealing that mischievous smile, "—Although, even if you wanted to, you couldn't do it anymore!"

"..."

Akalion glanced instinctively at Saintess Celia, the angelic maiden who shyly lowered her head. But a moment later, she mustered her courage and looked directly at him with her pure, unadulterated red eyes.

"...It's not possible now."

"I didn't think that way!"

Akalion's massive, sword-shaped dragon tail swung uncontrollably behind him in excitement. Then, he quickly changed the subject.

"So, it seems that what's affecting the changes in the 'Lighthouse' isn't the 'ritual' itself, but rather the intense emotional fluctuations we experienced during the ritual?"

Love, hate, resentment, sorrow, joy...

"In reality, our emotions become the light source of a lighthouse—that doesn't seem to make sense either."

“It should be that we, ‘outside,’ actively used the power of the ‘Lighthouse,’” Artoria stepped forward and offered her judgment. “Your first ‘ritual’ with Eleanor in reality drew upon the power of the Lighthouse, which directly led to the creation of the [Stability Domain] and extended your stay.”

"And this time, you actively invoked the 'Lighthouse's' powers in order to forcibly 'repatriate' Eleanor and Firefly, didn't you?"

She gazed at Akalion and, word by word, uttered her final conclusion.

"It was this proactive use of power that ultimately enabled the light of the 'Beacon' to illuminate the curtain between worlds and solidify this dark space into this more stable [Golden Realm] that we can use freely."

Artoria's conclusion was unanimously accepted by all the "selves" present.

The workings of that lonely lighthouse spinning in the endless darkness have finally had a glimpse of what truly matters.

"If only this place could explain its functions and rules to us in a more intuitive way, like those cheat codes that allow simultaneous time travel," Akalion muttered, somewhat greedily. He looked down at Eleanor, who was still clinging to his hind legs like a koala, and said helplessly, "You can let go now. We need to discuss serious matters!"

"No!" Eleanor pressed her cheek closer to the warm, hard scales, her voice becoming somewhat muffled, but the determination within it was so obvious. "We can still talk like this."

“Just let her hold him like that.” Ying looked at Akalion’s helpless expression and gently shook her head. “While you were away from the Dark Dimension, she… almost really broke down.”

"Although I'm not much better off, I'm still in a better situation than Eleanor."

“—Alright.” Akalion fell silent. He turned his head and looked at Artoria and Saintess. “Besides allowing us to move freely, what other purpose does this golden realm serve?”

"It allows us to carry external life forms along with us on our journey."

Saintess answered Akalion's question in her gentle voice.

"Although, theoretically, there is no limit to the number that can be carried. However..."

"...However, the stay is still only three days." Artoria continued, a hint of regret and disappointment flashing in her emerald eyes.

Volume 1 Snowfield Dragon Lord: 65. Heading to Teyvat

Through traversing the Golden Realm, the time flow ratio between the original world and the target world is approximately 1:3.

Unlike traveling through Akalion, time in the primordial world is basically static, or the way to return is to go directly back to the timeline you left from.

The method for traversing the Golden Realm requires the lighthouse's beam to illuminate the worlds of other 'Blue Heirs' within the Golden Realm. Only then can these worlds be used as coordinates for jumping.

The method of carrying others involves projecting this light directly into reality according to 'Lan Si's' will, temporarily transforming a part of the real world into a temporary [Golden Domain], with a radius approximately one-third of the caster's own perception range. Then, all life within the domain can be taken away.

However, there is a major problem that cannot be solved at present – ​​the Eldra where Akalion is located is completely shrouded in eternal darkness, which even the lighthouse light cannot penetrate.

This also means that, currently, there is only one way to go to Akalion's world—that is, Akalion himself must take them there, and this can only be done by...

Otherwise, Ying and Eleanor would probably have already attacked.

Why endure the burning flames of longing here, flames that could consume your very soul?

“When the number of ‘Blue Heirs’ increases and the lighthouse’s light shines brighter, its ‘penetration’ should be qualitatively improved. Perhaps then we will be able to see the world of Akalion.”

Saint Jaelia stated her deduction.

"Probably—I hope the next 'me' arrives soon." Akalion prayed sincerely, then looked at Artoria and asked, "Is the Lowly King behaving himself?"

“He abandoned his protection of those Saxons.” Artoria recalled the information that had come from Morgan in the past few days, “but the mystical environment of the Age of Gods in the lands they occupied has become so diluted that they will not die immediately.”

"For us, even if we send troops now to reclaim those lands, the gains would not be significant."

"All the local infrastructure left behind by the Romans has been severely damaged by those uncivilized barbarians." At this point, Artoria's voice carried a hint of bitter resentment. "Those agricultural facilities, already crumbling due to neglect, were barely usable before! Now they're completely ruined!"

"Huh?" Saintess looked at Artoria in confusion, blinking her ruby-red eyes and saying, "The drone matrix I gave you earlier, capable of fully automated construction, is unusable?"

“Yes.” Artoria shook her head in frustration, even her ahoge (cowlick) lay flat. “In my world, it simply won’t start.”

"Is it the mystery of the Age of Gods that has a repulsive effect on creations originating from otherworldly technology?" Saintess expressed deep sympathy for Artoria's situation. "There's nothing we can do about it. I'll find you some comprehensive collections of medieval technology later."

“But then, the text still needs to be translated…” Artoria looked at Saintess with a hint of hope in her eyes.

"this--"

Saint Cecilia was speechless.

The language barrier is a huge problem.

In the wasteland desert where she lived, there were no fewer than thirty completely different languages.

Fortunately, her Chronos landship came with the complete language system of the wasteland world, so she didn't need to worry about it. But Artoria's world was different.

"Then why don't you draw out the problems you encounter in repairing the building, and give them to Saintelia so she can use more advanced graphic analysis methods to help you solve them?"

Ying thought her idea was pretty good.

But Artoria shook her head.

"The crux of the problem is that since the collapse of Roman rule in Britain, we Britons have lost all our skilled craftsmen. Now, we can't even build a decent stone building that can withstand the elements."

“Aren’t there still the fairies?” Akalion suddenly remembered that the legendary chalk city of Camelot was the work of the fairies. Last time, Morgan even brought out a map made of fairy leather. “Why don’t we let them participate in the construction?”

"!"

Artoria's golden ahoge (cowlick) suddenly jumped, as if it had been injected with a new life force.

"That's a great idea! I'll go right now and ask Sister Wang to let those fairies who ran off to the Fairy Realm participate in the construction of Britain! Then, the entire agricultural revitalization plan for Britain will be entrusted to you, Saintess!"

“Yes!” Saintess nodded vigorously. This was not a difficult task. With the computing core of [Chronos], it would only take a maximum of 0.0001 microseconds to complete.

As Saintess Jaelia echoed her words, Artoria's figure, brimming with energy, swiftly departed from this space.

"I need to go prepare the materials!"

Seeing that only Ying, Eleanor, and Akalion remained, Saintess Celestia's heart skipped a beat as she looked at him. She quickly made an excuse and left.

She had a feeling that if she stayed any longer, Akalion would devour her in another way.

"Eleanor, can you let go now?"

Akalion strained his voice, trying to make it sound gentler.

"Can......"

Having obtained enough Akalion elements from Akalion, Eleanor finally recovered from the fear of loss. Before letting go, she gently wiped away the last tear from the corner of her eye with Akalion's hard scales.

"I will never let you fall into such a lonely state again—and for that, I will become stronger than you!"

After saying that, her figure disappeared into the silent, dark space where only Ying and Akalion remained.

Akalion stared at the spot where Eleanor had disappeared; he could understand her resolve.

strength......

He longed for it too.

"—Akaglion, come to my world!"

Ying's energetic voice roused him from his reverie. She stepped forward, her radiant eyes reflecting his immense dragon shadow and his hopes.

"The crisis in Ansersheen has temporarily come to an end. If you continue to stay in Eldra, you will only be able to stare blankly at that snow that never melts, and eat cold stones and minerals as your staple food, occasionally garnished with fruit."

"While teasing those cute and obedient elves is certainly wonderful, Teyvat has plenty, plenty of real food!"

Her words, like a battering ram, shattered the walls of Akalion's heart, but his loyal guards continued to fight desperately. Ying pressed her advantage, saying:

"Moreover, perhaps if you just leave Eldra temporarily, the whispers of those ancient fragments in your mind will be able to subside a little?"

"...Maybe?"

Akalion glanced at his enormous body, which had become like a moving hill, and suddenly hesitated.

"If you're worried about body shape, that's not a problem at all! Among the immortals of Liyue, there must be those who can freely change their form. Even if that's not possible, you can at least take a look!"

Akalion was still hesitant.

no solution anymore.

Ying could only resort to her last resort.

She stepped forward and gently embraced the dragon's massive forepaws. Then, tilting her head slightly, she whispered in a heartbreakingly humble tone, filled with pleading and dependence:

"I beg you!"

"...Okay—anyway, nothing much is wrong!"

"Okay! Come on then!"

On Ying's face, a radiant joy, unique to victors, instantly blossomed! She immediately followed the 'ritual' she knew by heart and removed the Mondstadt outfit that exuded an air of adventure.

"—I will travel through the Golden Realm to your world."

Akalion's words made Ying feel as if she had been hit hard on the back of the head.

Seeing her like this, Akalion could only say:

"You don't want me to go crazy, do you? My mental state is already quite unstable right now because of my whispering."

"—"