The streets were lined with the remnants of collapsed buildings, shattered glass, and debris scattered everywhere, resembling a battlefield after war—a silent testament to past glory and present desolation.
The air was thick with a suffocating heaviness, as if even breathing had become arduous.
Under the ash-gray sky, Zhongli hovered silently, the occasional crow flitting past him, their harsh cries adding to the apocalyptic atmosphere.
On the streets, zombies roamed aimlessly, their tattered clothes stained with flesh and blood, their hollow eyes brimming with endless hunger and desire. Their low growls echoed through the lifeless city, sending chills down the spine.
The few remaining survivors had abandoned their once-glorious pride, hiding in dilapidated buildings, their eyes filled with terror and despair.
Witnessing this scene once more, even Zhongli—a god with six millennia of experience—could not help but mourn for this civilization, struck by undeserved calamity.
His eyes reflected both sorrow for the world's suffering and burning anger toward the zombies.
After all, when he saw this nation—its people sharing the same language, similar culture, and familiar appearance as his own citizens of Liyue—he couldn't help but superimpose Liyue's image upon it.
Teyvat, too, existed upon the Imaginary Tree. If the Honkai World had "zombies," how could Teyvat guarantee such a tragedy would never befall it?
The thought of Liyue potentially meeting the same fate sent a sharp pang through Zhongli's heart—a hatred born of powerlessness in the face of losing something precious.
Unable to suppress his emotions any longer, Zhongli's gaze turned icy as he looked down upon the zombies.
"Monstrous aberrations, perish."
With a thought, his attire transformed into the divine garb he wore during the Archon War, a relic of his millennia of battle.
The Authority of Geo, left unclaimed in this world, instantly yielded to his will.
As Zhongli seized control, the very earth trembled, heralding the descent of a god.
The divine majesty of the Geo Archon once again swept across the land, his mountainous pressure announcing his arrival to the world.
A golden Geo halo slowly rose behind him, radiating a light that was not the blaze of the sun but the sacred, unwavering solidity of the earth itself.
His white robes billowed without wind, and a hood draped over his head, obscuring half his face and veiling his expression.
"This scene... how familiar."
Beneath the hood, his diamond-shaped pupils, glowing gold, fixed upon the land below, memories flooding his mind.
The sight before him was eerily reminiscent of Liyue before its founding—a time of war, ruin, chaos, and fear, when the world was engulfed in strife.
The negative emotions of countless souls had once plunged the world into turmoil.
This familiarity stirred memories of the Archon War, his original resolve, and his duty to bring order to chaos.
"Though I stand alone, I cannot ignore the suffering of the people. I shall cleanse this world and protect a corner of its fleeting peace."
His resonant voice, imbued with divine weight, laid bare his solemn vow.
Zhongli's eyes hardened, reflecting the unyielding determination and decisiveness of the God of War from six thousand years ago.
Now, the Geo Archon, Rex Lapis, had descended upon this world.
Morax, the oldest of the Archons, victor of the Archon War, and sovereign of Liyue, had returned.
It was time for the might of the Geo Archon to shake the heavens and earth once more.
"Rain of Stone."
With a slight raise of his right hand, Zhongli commanded the Authority of Geo.
Countless Geo spikes materialized in the sky, dense enough to blot out the sun, an endless sea of obsidian hovering like a shroud over the city.
The oppressive mass turned the already dim sky darker, as if the world itself awaited divine retribution.
Zhongli observed the scene below with unwavering calm.
To him, this battle held no challenge.
He didn't even need to invoke his divine power or summon a meteorite.
The Geo spikes alone would suffice to purge the aberrations (zombies).
Admittedly, these spikes would have been mere irritants to the other Archons during the Archon War.
But this was no Archon War.
Here, his enemies were but slow, mindless beasts, incapable of resisting the onslaught from above.
A single falling rock carried enough force to shatter a skull—let alone the sharper Geo spikes.
Thus, with but a flick of his finger, Zhongli could resolve this city's plight.
"Adeptal Art: Precise Detection."
As the progenitor of the adepti, Morax's mastery of adeptal arts was unparalleled—be it Scenic Creation, Alchemy, Talismans, or even obscure arts.
This technique, for instance, was devised during the Archon War to swiftly eliminate lesser foes while sparing allies.
It allowed him to survey the entire battlefield under his divine influence, distinguishing friend from foe for precise strikes.
With the art's feedback, Zhongli instantly grasped the city's situation.
A subtle motion of his finger adjusted the trajectories of select Geo spikes.
Then, with a sweep of his hand, the spikes descended like rain.
Every zombie was struck with pinpoint accuracy.
Their heads burst like shattered melons.
Even those hiding in buildings were impaled by sudden stone pillars erupting from below, silenced forever.
...
Read 50 advance at patreon.com/CNBLUE
(End of Chapter)