"Why are so many people gathered over there?"
From afar, Cloud Retainer could already see the dense crowd swarming across the plains.
Bosacius frowned, a vague sense of unease rising in his chest. He couldn't help but recall the man in Liyue who had knelt before him, begging for help with tears streaming down his face. Something about this felt eerily similar.
"Something's not right…" he muttered under his breath. "Hurry."
In an instant, he released his power and shot forward at full speed.
Cloud Retainer seemed to sense something as well, unleashing her power to follow closely behind.
When the two arrived above Guili Plains, they immediately noticed two distinct open circles amid the mass of people.
As Bosacius and Cloud Retainer looked more closely, their pupils constricted sharply, and a tremor ran through their bodies.
Lying at the center of those circles were none other than Guizhong and Marchosius.
"Guizhong! Guizhong!!!"
Cloud Retainer rushed to Guizhong's side, panic flooding through her. She called out frantically, her voice trembling.
She reached out and gently touched Guizhong's body—only to feel a deathly chill. There was no doubt about it. She was gone.
"No… no, this can't be happening. It shouldn't be like this…"
"Gods invasion? Why weren't we warned?"
"Why didn't even the Emperor sense it!?"
"Why…"
Cloud Retainer's mind was a storm of confusion and fury. For the first time since her creation, rage burned within her—fierce and unrestrained.
Her divine aura surged outward, forcing the nearby citizens to stumble back in terror.
Across from her, another surge of violent energy erupted skyward.
It was Bosacius.
The same anger. The same disbelief. The same uncontainable fury.
Their eyes blazed crimson, their vision drowned in red.
Rage consumed their reason.
They wanted to know who had done this.
They wanted to tear that person apart—limb from limb—until nothing remained but dust and blood.
At that moment, their fury and divine pressure radiated from Guili Plains, echoing all the way to Tianheng Mountain.
Dark clouds began to gather and spiral toward the plains.
The Adepti and Yaksha stationed on Tianheng Mountain immediately sensed the enormous power emanating from Bosacius.
Something's happened!
The realization struck them all at once. Without hesitation, they shot toward Guili Plains.
But before they could even move, a golden streak of light tore across the sky like a falling star, heading straight toward Guili Plains from the other side of the mountain.
It was Morax.
He, too, had felt Bosacius's raging aura—and rushed there at full speed.
Just moments ago, he had been sparring with Azhdaha, as he often did. Even though no god had dared invade Liyue for hundreds of years, Morax never allowed himself to grow complacent. To keep his strength sharp, he would regularly train with the Dragon King.
Until the end of the Archon War, he refused to let his guard down for even a moment.
But in the midst of their duel, Bosacius's overwhelming aura had erupted from Guili Plains.
Morax immediately ordered Azhdaha to remain and guard Liyue, while he went to investigate.
When he reached the region, the sight that greeted him froze him midair.
He saw Bosacius, engulfed in fury. Cloud Retainer, trembling with wrath.
And at their feet…
Marchosius lay beside Bosacius, his chest pierced through. Guizhong lay beside Cloud Retainer—her chest, too, impaled clean through.
Nearby, Glaze Lilies were scattered across the ground, their white petals soaked crimson with blood.
Morax's body stiffened. Disbelief clouded his mind as he descended slowly from the air, his feet touching the ground beside Guizhong.
"Hello there. Let us formally meet. I am Guizhong, the God of Dust. Welcome to my domain."
"This is the token of our pact—and also my challenge to you."
"All of my wisdom lies within this stone lock."
Morax's trembling hand brushed gently across Guizhong's cheek.
As he gazed down at her lifeless face, memories flooded back—the laughter of the young goddess who once stood beside him.
"Look!"
"The Guizhong Ballista!"
Tears welled in Morax's eyes, clear as crystal.
He opened his mouth to speak—but no words came.
Pain. Regret. Confusion. Rage.
Countless emotions surged within him, crashing through his soul like a relentless storm.
"I'm so useless… Morax… so useless…"
"A god like me… shouldn't even exist, should I…"
"You've protected Guili Plains so many times. I wanted to protect it too—just once—with my own strength."
Why… why did this happen?
The war was over.
Peace had finally returned.
Life had been getting better, little by little.
So why… why did it have to end like this?
Morax couldn't understand. He couldn't accept it.
The grief was unbearable, like knives twisting deep into his chest.
He tried to breathe—but no air came. It felt as though invisible hands were crushing his throat, choking the life from him.
Centuries of companionship weighed heavily on his heart.
Even a mortal pet—raised for a few short years—could stir deep affection.
But this…
A bond that had lasted centuries, a friend who had shared his burdens for generations, now gone as though she'd never been.
Morax felt the world spin around him as the crushing sorrow swallowed him whole.