"Gift Games" could encompass everything—games, commerce, festivals, rituals, even contracts. Wherever there are people and gods, disputes will arise. And while there are countless ways to resolve such disputes—murder, arson, exploitation, forceful seizure—
The Main World forbids this kind of chaotic, evil god behavior. But when neither side is willing to back down, then they must establish a fair set of rules and determine the winner within those boundaries.
For example, there's only so much divine wine to go around. Countless gods want a taste. Then let there be a "competition," with the victor claiming the prize.
Or, when selling the divine wine across nations and business conglomerates all want the rights—another "competition" is held.
This would be a standard "Gift Game."
During festivals, the host might even hold various "Game-type Gift Matches," and whoever wins earns the host's "prizes."
Thinking of this, Noah couldn't help but smile.
"Gift Games… Since Communities already exist, we may as well introduce Gift Games too."
This would energize all the pantheons. In fact, why not even launch a full-scale "Pantheon Ranking Tournament" initiated by a Supreme God?
Right now, the "Sun Authority" and "Moon Authority" were still vacant. Wouldn't it be interesting if he, as the Heavenly Principle, hosted a "Solar Sovereignty War"?
The Sun Authority wasn't just a singular divine right. It came with numerous subordinate authorities. If divided into twenty-four parts and distributed among the pantheons to compete for, it would ignite a grand battle.
Even a minor Sun Authority would be a power at the level of a First-Tier Primary God—powerful even among that rank.
…
After a satisfying meal, Noah left Wanmin Hall, thoroughly pleased.
Guizhong patted her belly, cheeks tinged pink. "Xiangling's food is just too good. Even Lord Noah loves it. As expected of our Teyvat Universe's Number One Culinary God. Way better than that Olympian hearth goddess, Hestia."
Xiangling scratched her head shyly. "Guizhong, I'm really not that amazing to be called the universe's top food god…"
Xianyun agreed with Guizhong. "Xiangling, if you're being modest now, it's just arrogance. If even that person loves your cooking, then without a doubt—you are the universe's top culinary god."
Madame Ping added with pride, "As expected of my disciple. I'll be relying on you in the future, dear~"
Xiangling blushed. "Grandma…"
Xianyun clicked her tongue. "Ping, can't you ever change that old lady tone of yours?"
Madame Ping chuckled. "It's been centuries—habit's hard to break."
…
After leaving Wanmin Hall, Noah immediately began updating the rules within the Cosmic Nexus.
He overlaid the Gift Game Rules onto the Main World. The other planets and parallel timelines didn't receive this change.
Gift Games would only function within the Main World—as the central hub, it was always going to be a bit special.
Once the rules took effect, anyone wishing to hold a Gift Game would need to apply to the Cosmic Nexus. The Nexus would then oversee every detail of the game, preventing any form of cheating. Any participant caught cheating would suffer the full consequences of that game's penalties.
[Gift Game Rules successfully uploaded. All interpretation rights belong to the Heavenly Principle.]
[Rules take effect immediately.]
The Cosmic Nexus instantly applied the new Gift Game framework across the entire Main World.
Simultaneously, each pantheon's internal system received the notice.
—Mondstadt Pantheon—
[Venti: Ehhhhh?! 'Gift Game Rules'?! What's this?! Let me see! Oh my god—it lets you create your own game rules to resolve disputes!]
[Diluc: This rule… could resolve 99% of the world's conflicts. In fact, practically anything could be turned into a Gift Game to settle.]
[Kaeya: Oh? Gift Games, huh? This rule is really interesting.]
[Jean: Crafting fair rules and resolving conflicts through competition!]
[Venti: Mhm~ It's like the heavens delivered a pillow just as I was getting sleepy. Diona must be pretty troubled—Gift Games are a perfect solution!]
[Venti: The winner drinks, the loser watches. If you lose, you've got no room to complain.]
The Gift Game rules were simple—anyone who wasn't a fool could understand them. And it was clear at a glance what they were meant for.
—Liyue Pantheon—
[Hu Tao: Whoa~ Gift Games! Sounds fun! I want to host one too!]
[Yanfei: How are you planning to host it, Hu Tao?]
[Hu Tao: Hehe, I've decided to give away three free funeral services every year! The top three winners of my Gift Game will get them!]
[Ningguang: Only the eccentric mind of Hu Tao could come up with such an idea.]
[Keqing: …]
[Ningguang: These Gift Game rules are extremely comprehensive. I think they'll make the Lantern Rite and Moonchase Festival even more vibrant.]
[Ningguang: They could even have immense use in commercial negotiations."]
[Zhongli: Hmm… the applications are indeed vast. Even contests between gods could be handled this way. If both sides agree, even authorities, artifacts, or wealth could be wagered in a Gift Game.]
[Xingqiu: Hss…]
[Toga: What?! Gift Games can go that far?!]
Less than a minute after the rule's announcement, every major chat group erupted with discussion.
In Mondstadt, Gift Games had already begun.
When individuals host a Gift Game, the rules must be fair to both sides.
At least two win and loss conditions must be clearly listed. No self-contradictory rules, and no games where the outcome is predetermined or impossible to win.
If the host is a Community, they must stake their reputation. If the Community's reputation is too poor, they'll lose the right to host future Gift Games.
This was to protect contestants—most of whom were weaker parties. If a contestant won but the host couldn't provide the prize, the Cosmic Nexus would penalize the host's reputation.
If a Community's reputation became too terrible, it could be forcibly dissolved.
Community reputation was also tied to the Pantheon it belonged to. If a Pantheon's Communities were all notoriously dishonorable, that Pantheon would be flagged for review by the Cosmic Nexus, which might consider forcibly dissolving the entire pantheon.
The Supreme God chat group exploded in chaos.
Certain rules were visible only to Supreme Gods, and what they saw sent a shock through their very divine souls.
Only Primary Gods could see the newly added rules—namely, the "True Name Contest" and the "Solar Sovereignty Gift Game."
[Gift Game Name: True Name Contest]
Across the myriad realms, myths and legends often repeat.
Among pantheons, many gods share the same names. But "Authority," "Rule," "Truth," and "Concept" are unique.
If two gods share the same True Name, one must be false.
In the Teyvat Universe, only one True Name may exist.
The victor will claim all authority related to the True Name.
The loser will forfeit everything associated with the True Name and be downgraded accordingly—minimum demotion: Lower God.
Participants: All gods in the Teyvat Universe
Victory Conditions:
1. Defeat the other.
2. Opponent concedes.
Host: Heavenly Principle.
Start Time: Immediate.
Note: All interpretation rights reserved by the Heavenly Principle.
…
[Gift Game Name: Solar Sovereignty Gift Game]
Stars in the Teyvat Universe are tied to unique Authorities and Powers.
Many of these are directly connected to myths and legends.
Some of the solar constellations include: Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Morning Star, Mars… Gemini, Capricorn…
Victory Conditions: To Be Determined.
Failure Conditions: To Be Determined.
Participants: All Pantheons in the Teyvat Universe.
Host: Heavenly Principle.
Start Time: To Be Determined.
Note: All interpretation rights reserved by the Heavenly Principle.
…
These two Gift Games, encompassing all pantheons and all gods in the Teyvat Universe, sent a shock through every Primary God's divine soul.
[Odin: What's the meaning of these rules? Especially this 'True Name Contest'—does this mean that if there's another god named 'Odin,' the two must fight to determine the real one?]
[Nyx: Yes… I mean, I'm not doubting Lord Heavenly Principle, but is it even possible for two gods to share the same identity?]
[Indra: Unimaginable. I am myself. How could there possibly be another me?]
[Shiva: Exactly. That shouldn't be possible.]
[Barbatos: ...]
[Morax: ...]
[Furina: Why are you all acting like gods sharing the same name isn't a thing?]
[Guanyin: Hiss…]
[Shakyamuni: Amitabha… Barbatos and Morax, even before joining Teyvat, your names belonged to the 72 Demon Gods. If those beings still exist, a 'True Name Contest' will be triggered.]
[Barbatos: Across the multiverse, similar myths and shared names are incredibly common. Even on Earth, myths often overlap. Shared names are abundant.]
[Morax: However, a True Name is more than a label. It represents Authority and Power bestowed by myth. Thus, it must be unique.]
[Raiden Makoto: Exactly. A Primary God's Authority is absolute within this universe. If multiple gods share a True Name, that Authority becomes fragmented. If it splinters too much, the god would be downgraded.]
[Raiden Ei: Therefore, only one True Name can be real.]
The original Seven Archons instantly understood what was going on. They were, after all, the first to start this journey. Their understanding far surpassed the later-added pantheons.
Upon hearing this, panic spread among the Primary Gods.
[Odin: What?! What are we supposed to do?! If we lose the True Name Contest, we'll be replaced!]
[Nyx: Yes! This is terrifying—we can't allow this!]
[Shakyamuni: Amitabha…]
[Nahida: Everyone, let's not be so pessimistic. The ones who truly need to worry aren't the Primary Gods.]
[Guanyin: Wisdom God, what do you mean by that?]
[Nahida: Lord Heavenly Principle's conquests always go from stronger to weaker. He wouldn't take risks attacking worlds equal to or stronger than Teyvat.]
[Nahida: Which means that at the Primary God level, there likely won't be another god with the same True Name who can compete with us.]
[Nahida: The real concern lies below the Primary God level. That's where equivalent or even stronger duplicates could appear.]
[Lumine: Exactly. Primary Gods don't need to worry. But for everyone else—it's going to be nerve-wracking every time we annex a new world.]
[Lumine: Actually, more precisely—it's the gods with myth-based True Names who should be afraid. Those of us who rose from humanity step by step don't have that concern.]
[Nyx: Oh thank goodness. That scared me so much!]
[Odin: So that means we can use the True Name Contest to seize everything from our counterparts!]
[Gaia: That just reminded me—I've been researching anime and novels across the spacetimes, and I found a lot of characters with names linked to me.]
[Barbatos: Well, the name 'Gaia' represents too much—planetary consciousness, Earth Mother, etc.]
[Indra: I broke into a cold sweat just now.]
[Nyx: But other gods in our pantheon are in real danger. Especially Athena. The True Name Contest doesn't allow third-party interference.]
[Tsaritsa: Personally, I'm more excited about the 'Solar Sovereignty Gift Game.' Especially the 'Sun Authority'!]
Tsaritsa's eyes were burning. Those star and constellation authorities—the weakest of them were Third-Tier Primary God level. The 'Solar Sovereignty' was potentially First-Tier Supreme God level.
And the Sun Authority came with twenty-four distinct First-Tier Primary God authorities.
These powers would scale with the Teyvat Universe itself.
[Morax: I'm also more interested in the Solar Sovereignty Game. It's not just about powers—it's about the permissions a pantheon holds in the Teyvat Universe. The more permissions a pantheon has, the more prosperous and powerful it becomes. The stronger its gods.]
[Barbatos: For Lord Heavenly Principle to even offer such cosmic-level permissions… it's almost too incredible to believe.]
Odin, Nyx, Shakyamuni—all the Primary Gods could hardly contain themselves. They'd never even dreamed of such privileges. Their mouths watered at the thought.
And at worst, these were Primary God authorities. At best… Supreme God.
[Focalors: I just wonder when the Solar Sovereignty Gift Game will begin.]
At this moment, every Primary God's heart burned with raging desire—all of them locked their sights on the 'Solar Core Sovereignty.'
That Supreme Throne would belong to their pantheon—no matter what.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven