Honkai Impact 3rd X Genshin Impact Crossover: My adventures with the Valkyries

Chapter 94: Saving Irmensul and Aftermath

They found themselves in the memory. They were inside of a cavern.

Paimon: Huh, this sure seems very different from what Paimon imagined... Shouldn't Irminsul be in this realm of consciousness?

Nahida: Yes, that is our destination, but I didn't expect the remaining consciousness of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to be as polluted as this.

Aether: Polluted?

Green Heart: Surely not...

Aether: It must be due to forbidden knowledge.

Nahida: Forbidden knowledge? Hmm, it seems you know about a concept that even I don't completely understand. Could you tell me what you know?

They tell Nahida all about what they had learned in the desert.

Nahida: Your inference seems logical enough...

Nahida: Forbidden knowledge once polluted the desert thousands of years ago, but was successfully repelled thanks to King Deshret's self-sacrifice and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata nearly exhausting her power. Then a second instance of forbidden knowledge pollution occurred during the Khaenri'ah cataclysm five hundred years ago. But I'm afraid it is much more serious this time, with Irminsul itself already in danger.

Paimon: So if we're in the remaining consciousness of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, and it's also been affected by forbidden knowledge pollution, then does that mean, in order to save us, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata...

Nahida: Yes, it's very possible that she sacrificed her life in the fight against forbidden knowledge. She didn't completely eradicate forbidden knowledge, but if it weren't for her actions, the pollution would have been far more rampant over these past five hundred years. The way that everyone, including me, has forgotten everything about forbidden knowledge may very well be due to her restoration of Irminsul. ...

Paimon: Aw, do you feel sad, Nahida?

Nahida: I'm just sharing her pain... The pollution of her consciousness here is severe. There is madness, chaos, and pain all around us. Did she fight to resist the forbidden knowledge pollution in such terrible conditions, all the way up till her last breath...? She even used her last remnant of lucid consciousness to leave a clue for us to follow...

Aether: By "clue," you mean... The words, "...World... Forget me..."?

Nahida: Yes, her words were distorted by forbidden knowledge, so that's all we could hear. But now we have a chance to find the answer to this mystery. We can cross the polluted consciousness until we've found the right path to meet with her lucid consciousness. And then... we'll let Greater Lord Rukkhadevata tell us the truth in person.

Aether: I hope we can use that truth to save everybody.

Theresa: Sumeru has already suffered enough.

Nahida: Each of us need to be mindful of the state of our own consciousness while we are here. Even with the Gnosis' protection, we must always keep a clear mind. Otherwise, we could go mad at any moment.

Paimon: Eek! That's so scary!

Nahida: Don't worry, it should be easy enough for you to keep that mind of yours clear, Paimon. Let's go.

They exit out of the cavern. There were floating islands and a large boat.

Patrick: This feels like being inside the Matrix of Leadership.

Paimon: Are we... in the air? And why is there a huge boat!?

Nahida: That's the Boat of Consciousness, which symbolizes reason here. Its course is the direction our consciousness is traveling towards. If we lose control over our consciousness, we will fall into madness... So let's make sure the boat stays on course.