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It's strange how quickly everything comes together after the false God has been defeated.
He is escorted, practically dragged, back to Sumeru by Cyno in order to help Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Ah, he shouldn't call her that anymore, because there wasn't a Greater Lord to compare her to.
He's never spoken much about Rukkhadevata, and it's to his advantage that he does not slip and say her name. Every mention of her has faded, replaced with Lord Kusanali instead.
Whether it be ink or stone, her name has disappeared from everything. It's as if someone has laid down a strip of paper to conceal her and he is the only one to notice.
Though the world appears to remain the same, it's as if he's stepped into a different plane. Where Rukkhadevata and Kusanali are one and the same.
He does not question why that is, because it seems even the Archon herself is not immune to this change. Bringing it up would cause confusion, and he has no interest in the trouble it will cause.
Kusanali's plight has changed, from being a discarded and unwanted replacement, to a once beloved archon who fell from grace.
He doesn't know if that change eased any of her burdens, but perhaps it was better she couldn't recall the truth.
As for himself, he couldn't really fathom why he was immune to this change. He had his own suspicions he might not be a normal human being, but this seemed to be a confirmation of something more than that.
If he was immune to something even a God could not defend against, what was he?
He tries not to dwell on it.
At the celebration banquet, he notices something odd. The Traveler appears disoriented when hearing about what had occured.
He considers bringing it up, but all too soon the matter is brushed aside with Kusanali's appearance.
Perhaps they were the only two that recalled the truth now. If so, would it be wrong to bring up such a thing in private?
What happened after the False God's defeat?
How did they cure Irminsul of it's disease?
He wishes to ask those questions and more, but that too may cause ripples and tear at the peace they have worked so hard for.
Was his own remembrance of Rukkhadevata forbidden knowledge itself?
It certainly contradicted the truth of this world and he can no longer trust his own memory of the original Sumeru's truth.
A world so similar, but with a glaring difference that simply could not be overlooked.
Maybe it would be more apt to compare the world to a machine. A part was replaced, and without clear knowledge of the change, no one would recognize the difference, or know that there was a difference to begin with.
Maybe he shouldn't care to remember either. Even Gods could be replaced. Of the Seven archons that ruled Tevayt, only two remained of the original group, the Anemo Archon and the Electro Archon.
Though with the change, it would appear that it was now 3 archons.
A part of him falters at the thought of forgetting. Even though he has never thought very much of Rukkhadevata, her accomplishments had shaped Sumeru in its entirety.
To forget such a benevolent being, it felt a bit cruel.
So he does something he has never done before, he writes a story.
Though it will be nothing more than a fictional story to most, he and others like him will know the truth.
He hopes those that have forgotten will come to hear of this tale, of Queen Aranyani's final gift to her beloved world.
His first words are in dedication to her.
Though the world may forget you, I will remember.