He changed Tiwat

Ultimately, the "False Heaven" gave the continent of Teyvat a "historical process," allowing "circumstances to create heroes."

What Wendy is doing is creating more and more "butterfly storms," ​​allowing "individual struggles" to influence "the course of history," and letting "heroes create the times."

As for whether it will succeed or not—Han Fulai thought that the Wind God would definitely say, "How will you know if you don't try? Heh heh!"

Mona pondered for a long time before asking her ultimate question: "But... how do you explain 'Constellation'?"

To discuss "predestined fate," one cannot bypass the "seated constellation" that everyone in this world possesses. Mona and her fellow astrologers also dedicated their lives to studying those "seated constellations."

To break free from the constraints of "fate," one must completely break free from the shackles of this "seated destiny."

The Ascendant system is what Lisa Lisa refers to in "Dog Half" as the destiny that "no one can live to be free."

Even if those celestial stars are just illusory, the control they represent over human destiny is very real.

Faced with this constraint of fate, Lisa, a genius of the Church of Christ who is one in a century, could only think of a solution to "lie flat" and stop her "hourglass" from flowing.

When faced with Mona's questioning, Han Fulai's answer was just three words—

"Kanria".

Mona tilted her head. "But... Kanria is already destroyed... Doesn't that mean Kanria couldn't escape the shackles of fate either?"

"No, quite the opposite, the destruction of Kanria was actually a break from the shackles of fate. If I'm not mistaken, according to the 'script' of destiny, the country of Kanria should still exist on this continent today."

Han Fulai's tone was exceptionally confident.

“Five hundred years ago, during the ‘Dark Calamity,’ the Keeper of the Law of the Sky Isle joined forces with the Seven Gods to destroy Kanria—if the Law of the Sky had foreseen that day, why did it wait five hundred years before taking action?”

"As we all know, the 'Dark Calamity' brought profound disaster to the entire Teyvat, and one of the culprits was the sage of Kanria, 'Gold' Rhinedoth. If the laws of nature can truly foresee or even write so-called 'destiny,' why didn't they take action earlier to prevent it? If she were truly omniscient, wouldn't she have simply crushed Rhinedoth a thousand years ago with a single finger?"

"Moreover, as far as I know, Kanria's rebellious heart against the principles of Heaven was established as early as two thousand years ago."

"All of this shows that Kanria has broken free from the control of Heaven's Law."

Han Fulai briefly recounted to Mona the information he had obtained from Ye Mingxiang, the last surviving member of the Kanria royal family, at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss. This included information such as Kanria sending people to the White Night Kingdom two thousand years ago to seize the "Prehistoric Events of the Sun and Moon," the prophecies written in the "Chronicles of Kings," Kanria's contact with the power of the abyss, and the mechanical serpent at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss. All of this brought Mona a shocking and terrifying experience.

The astrologer, who had always been indifferent to worldly affairs, clutched her head in regret after hearing these words—it was hard to say whether the secrets she had overheard or the one she had spied on the old woman's diary was more serious; in any case, they were both deadly secrets…

Although she was already on Venti's pirate ship from the moment she decided to explore the truth behind the "False Heaven," Han Fulai's words undoubtedly dragged her onto Liyue's pirate ship as well.

"Don't tell me things that can't be told... What are we going to do now...?"

If Mona weren't sitting in a chair, she would probably be collapsed on the ground, her eyes lifeless, just like the day she met Claire...

Of course, the reason Han Fulai told Mona all this was to forcibly drag this genius astrologer and the witch behind her into his camp.

Although it was somewhat unethical, Han Fulai would tighten his belt and treat Mona to a lavish meal at the Goethe Hotel, and he believed Mona would forgive him for the sake of the delicious food.

“Listen, Mona, you are important. The reason I chose to tell you these things here is because—you are the ‘observer,’ the ‘observer’ in the ‘observer effect.’”

"Me... an observer?" A question mark appeared on Mona's forehead again.

Han Fulai nodded, “Your sect’s ‘Water Divination Technique’ can peek into the workings of the ‘False Heaven.’ This is something that no one else besides your master and you can do. If the principles of quantum mechanics also apply to this world, your observations will definitely bring about changes to ‘Destiny’.”

Chapter 259 There is no such thing as prophecy in this world [4k]

"Can my observations bring about changes in 'destiny'...?"

Honestly, Mona never thought that observing the stars could interfere with fate, after all, all astrologers could do was "look".

In response to Mona's question, Han Fulai said seriously, "Yes, observation itself is a form of interference. You can even imagine that there is no definite 'fate' in this world. They are just countless random numbers hidden behind a huge system, a crossroads with countless forks. But because of your observation, some 'fates' have become certain."

Even if half of what he said was a lie, it's still worth trying with 100% effort, even if there's only a 50% chance.

Mona was still puzzled.

Although, according to the so-called "quantum mechanics" theory, observation seems to be able to have some effect on things... even if the so-called "quantum mechanics" really exists on the continent of Teyvat, there is still one problem that cannot be bypassed...

"But... that's just a 'false heaven,' isn't it? Even if we can decipher that information, it's still false, isn't it?"

Han Fulai's response was a couplet of poetry: "When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood; when nothingness is taken for existence, even existence becomes nothingness."

Mona pondered the meaning of the two lines of poetry carefully: "You mean... turning a lie into a reality?"

“That’s right. In fact, I want to use some experiments to verify the operating mechanism of this ‘Constellation’ system, and Mona, you are a very important observer.”

Han Fulai had previously encountered the "Layer Rock Nail" in the Layered Rock Abyss and also the AI ​​of the Sky Island within it. After Tianli fell asleep, this world was almost entirely managed by AI.

Thanks to his experience of switching to coding for his postgraduate entrance exam, Han Fulai had some understanding of AI. At least he knew the operating logic of a program—even a large-scale program covering the entire world, its underlying design must follow the simplest logic. For example, the ley lines are responsible for data storage and processing, while the Sky Island is responsible for command control and execution, and so on.

This system of "False Heaven" and "Seat of Fate" must also involve program logic.

Although... these are just his guesses.

He picked up a book in front of him, "Dog and a Half," and said to Mona, "Mona, I have a question for you. In Mondstadt, or rather, throughout the entire continent of Teyvat, are there many works like this one that record many cryptic 'prophecies'?"

“Well…” Mona tilted her head and thought about it carefully before giving an affirmative answer. “I don’t know about others, but the members of the Witches’ Guild like to do this… Besides that ‘M’ and Lisa, I’ve also heard from an old woman that there is a ‘prophet’ in the Witches’ Guild with the code name ‘N’. It is said that she has a very good ‘sense of direction’ and she always appears quietly to ‘guide’ people whenever the world faces huge changes.”

"Well, so that means 'prophecy' really does exist in this world, right?" Han Fulai continued to ask.

“Of course.” Mona nodded emphatically. “At least the old woman… I mean, my master Barbie Ross, and that Nico Lane with the code name ‘N’, are people who are capable of making world-changing prophecies.”

"So... Mona, what do you think qualifies as a 'prophecy'?" Han Fulai gently tapped the cover of the book. "For example, the 'dominoes game' we just played with these books, and predicting the ball's path on paper, etc., would those be considered prophecies?"

“Obviously not.” Mona shook her head. “Things that are so obvious can’t be considered prophecies! Prophecies belong to the realm of the occult, the occult!”

She emphasized the word "mysticism" twice.

Using scientific principles to calculate and draw conclusions about future events is logically sound and nothing surprising. People usually only refer to inspiration gained from a whim as prophecy.

"You advised me yesterday to bring more Mora when I drink tonight. Was that a prophecy?" Han Fulai continued to ask.

“…That doesn’t count either.” Mona still shook her head. “It was just that I deduced from the information I obtained by observing the fate of that knight lady that you would spend a lot of Mora last night…but it doesn’t qualify as a prophecy.”

"Can you give me an example of prophecy?" Han Fulai seemed to be really into the word "prophecy."

"The most famous one should be the 'prophecy of the sinking' about Fontaine, right?"

Mona paused, then lowered her voice: "All the people of Fontaine are born with sin, which cannot be erased no matter how the righteous kingdom of Fontaine judges them. Until one day, the sea level in Fontaine will begin to rise, and the people burdened with sin will gradually be submerged by the sea... In the end, everyone will dissolve into the sea, leaving only the water god weeping on his throne. Only then... will the sins of the people of Fontaine be washed away."

"Moreover... the sea level in Fontaine has been rising over the past few centuries, and this prophecy may very well come true."

"Huh? Who made this prophecy? Your master?"

Han Fulai was unusually surprised that Fontaine had a "sinking prophecy," something he, a fake Fontaine and time traveler, had never heard of before.

However, the rise in sea level in Fontaine has indeed affected the entire Teyvat continent, and Liyue has also been affected to some extent. He had just presided over the flood control work in Biyue River and still remembered it vividly.

Mona raised her hand and pointed to the sky, "It's that person's prophecy."

“Oh…” Han Fulai thought for a moment and asked Mona a question, “Based on the history you know, did Fontaine have this ‘sinking prophecy’ first, or did the ‘rising sea level’ come first?”

"Of course the prophecy came first, right? Otherwise, people wouldn't have associated rising sea levels with the prophecy, would they?" Mona asked, puzzled.

After hearing Mona's words, Han Fulai rested his chin on his hand and once again struck his "Thinker" pose.

Mona had no idea what her "prophecy" about Fontaine meant, but though she spoke without thinking, Han Fulai took it to heart. It was a very important piece of information, and he was willing to carefully consider the matter of rising sea levels in Fontaine.

He saw in this the possibility of cooperating with Fontaine Water God, and another entry point for his "Teyvat Community of Destiny" plan.

Of course, these things are not very relevant to the "experiment" he wants to do at this stage, but they are indeed very helpful references.

After pondering for several minutes, Han Fulai spoke again.

"Mona, what I'm about to say might be a little hard for you to accept, but I hope you can listen to me patiently and think carefully about what I'm about to say."

He uttered his first words:

"A prophecy is a prophecy because it is absolute."

Mona had no objection to this statement.

Han Fulai then said a second sentence:

"But we don't call a prophecy a 'prophecy' if it hasn't been verified."

"..." Mona suppressed her urge to complain. Wasn't that obvious?

These two sentences were heard by Han Fulai at the bottom of the Abyss of Layered Rocks. He had actually had similar feelings to Mona, and it was from that time that Han Fulai vaguely realized where the so-called "destiny" on the Teyvat continent came from.

So he said a third thing to Mona:

"There is no such thing as 'prophecy' in this world. All 'prophecies' are the result of human manipulation."

Even though Han Fulai had already warned Mona beforehand, Mona couldn't help but get a little angry: "You, you're talking nonsense!"

Han Fulai's words are essentially equivalent to saying that astrologers and prophets are all frauds.

Leaving aside other astrologers, Mona was very clear that neither she nor her master had ever manipulated anything to make a prophecy come true.

Han Fulai quickly reassured her: "Mona, you misunderstood. I'm not referring to you astrologers. The predictions you make for the diviners are all information read from the 'Constellation of Fate.' You are merely 'observing.' The Sky Island is the one truly manipulating these things. Your divination results are also recorded by the ley lines, and the Sky Island must have made adjustments based on that."

"Think about the 'sinking prophecy' of Fontainebleau. Before the prophecy, Fontainebleau didn't flood. After the prophecy appeared, Fontainebleau started to flood. Do you really think there's no causal connection between these two things?"

After hearing Han Fulai's words, Mona calmed down and thought about it carefully. "You mean, the flooding in Fontaine is the result of Sky Island's intervention to make Fontaine's current situation conform to the 'prophecy of the sinking'?"

Han Fulai nodded. "Although I don't have any evidence to prove this point to you at the moment, I think it's very likely."

"Next, please answer a very important question for me as a professional astrologer: Is it possible for an astrologer to accurately predict his own destiny?"

“Well…” Mona frowned. “The old woman did warn me, ‘Astrologists should not divine their own fate unless absolutely necessary.’ She said that such behavior could lead to contradictions in one’s destiny, which is very dangerous. But that also means that, theoretically, we can divine our own fate… if we ignore the potential dangers…”

Han Fulai smiled again at this moment: "I really want to meet your master... she is really amazing."

"Huh?" Mona tilted her head.

Han Fulai shook the book in his hand.

"Let's conduct a thought experiment first."

"Suppose an astrologer possesses extraordinary abilities to predict everything in the world. Once, this astrologer performed a divination on himself and discovered that if he went out at 8 PM that evening, he would be killed by a falling meteorite. So he chose not to go out that evening, thus successfully avoiding this unexpected disaster and changing his tragic fate. Was his prediction successful or unsuccessful?"

Mona, being clever, immediately understood what Han Fulai meant: "...Because of this divination, the astrologer successfully escaped the tragedy of being crushed to death, most people might think the prophecy came true. However, according to his prophecy, he should have died. He didn't die, so the prophecy was unsuccessful. Hmm, this is what the old woman meant by the contradiction of fate."

"Did your master tell you where the real difference lies in this contradiction?" Han Fulai asked.

“The real… difference?” Mona tilted her head.

Han Fulai tapped his temple with his finger.

"The difference lies here."

"In fact, when an astrologer makes a prophecy about himself, he is simultaneously changing the state of the world. This change is accomplished in such a way that before making the prophecy, he does not know his 'future.' After making the prophecy, he knows his 'future.' Between 'knowing' and 'not knowing,' there is a difference in his own state of consciousness. At least, his brain has an additional prophetic message."

Mona looked slightly confused: "You mean... just knowing a prophetic message changed the state of the world?"

Han Fulai nodded seriously: "Don't forget, astrologers are also part of the world."

"When we talk about 'the present state of Teyvat,' the state of this world includes the state of every individual, including the astrologer who made the prophecy for himself. A change in his state means a change in the overall state of the world."

"First, let's assume that there are two identical Teyvat continents in this universe. We'll call the world we live in Teyvat A, and the other replica world Teyvat B. Naturally, there's also an astrologer like the one we just mentioned in that identical Teyvat B world."

"This Teyvat A world and Teyvat B world are identical in 99.999%...%, well, you can imagine that within a range of countless 9s after the decimal point: the sun and moon are still in the same motion, the positions of the 'Constellations' are exactly the same, everything around us is still moving according to its original 'destiny,' and even that meteorite that would crush astrologers has not changed at all..."

"In Teyvat A, the astrologer did not make a prophecy and died; but in Teyvat B, the astrologer made a prophecy and survived."

"The difference between these two worlds lies in one thing: the astrologer's understanding of the prophecy's outcome. In world A, the astrologer is unaware of the prophecy's outcome; in world B, the astrologer is aware of the prophecy's outcome. The astrologer's prophecy is based on the initial state of world A, but the actual evolution of the world after the prophecy was made turned Teyvat A into Teyvat B—there should be an astrologer in the real Teyvat A who was killed by a meteorite."

"A world that includes the prophet himself is different before and after the prophecy is completed: one world contains a prophet who is ignorant about the future, and another world contains a prophet who has some knowledge of the future."

"Therefore, astrologers, as part of the universe, will always find that the act of making a prediction itself, without exception, alters the initial state of the universe, but their predictions are based on an initial state that has not yet been changed. Thus, we can discover..."

Mona continued, "...An astrologer can never make a valid prediction about themselves. That's...the paradox."

Chapter 260 The Course of History

"Now I finally understand why the old woman warned me... The reason why prophets cannot predict their own future is not because they lack knowledge of astrology, but because it is logically impossible!"

Mona suddenly realized that her trip to Mondstadt might be a very important turning point in her life, or, in astrologer's terms, even a "crossroads of destiny." Meeting Han Fulai, this visitor from another world, was clearly the most crucial turning point in her fate.

Without needing to observe the "Constellation," Mona already had a clear premonition—her life must have been completely changed after hearing Han Fulai's words.

Because her mind now contains many concepts and information from another world.

And because of this information, she became a "new Mona".

The naive and clueless Mona from Teyvat A has now become the no-longer-naive Mona from Teyvat B.

This is the 'self-reference paradox'.

Han Fulai was pleased with Mona's comprehension ability.

"The most crucial point here is that the astrologer himself is included in the future he predicts; 'predicting one's own future' is a type of 'self-referential system.' Our world discovered long ago that the 'self-referential system' is a logical paradox. Well, let me describe this 'self-referential system' in one sentence..."

He paused, then said six words: "'That's a lie.'"

“‘That’s a lie…?’” Mona murmured, repeating herself.