Tap, tap, tap—
So, you're finally back...
Just as she was pondering, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Ningguang knew Keqing had returned. She had gone to a rather distant place for some business today.
Stopping beside Ningguang, Keqing asked her question directly.
"Did something happen, Ningguang?"
She had been out on business today, but unexpectedly, Ningguang had sent someone to summon her back. That meant something important must have happened; otherwise, she wouldn't have been called.
Ningguang answered Keqing's inquiry just as directly.
"That's right. It concerns the young man named Kaito, or more specifically, one of his girlfriends."
Seemingly stunned for a moment, Keqing pressed on.
"Girlfriend? The Anemo Archon? Is this about the Anemo Archon?"
Although the young man named Kaito had two girlfriends, she subconsciously thought of the Anemo Archon first. After all, only matters involving gods would warrant such serious attention from Ningguang.
Ningguang slowly shook her head.
"No, it's the other one."
"The other one?"
It had to be said, Keqing was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected it to be the other one.
Then she continued to ask, "Then what... what exactly happened?"
While waiting for Ningguang's answer, Keqing tried to recall the appearance of the girl named Kiana. In truth, she had only seen Kiana for a very short time—just for a moment, really. But even so, Kiana had left a deep impression on her. Even though they hadn't exchanged a single word or even made eye contact, she could still sense that Kiana was no ordinary person.
Instead of answering Keqing's question directly, Ningguang gazed into the distance and spoke leisurely.
"If you had been in Liyue Harbor today, you would have heard the sound coming from Nantianmen."
Glancing at Ningguang, then in the direction she was looking, Keqing felt utterly baffled, having no idea what Ningguang was talking about.
"What do you mean? Can't you be a little more direct?"
What kind of sound would make Ningguang take it so seriously?
And coming from Nantianmen...
Wait.
Nantianmen?
Isn't that where...
Shifting her gaze back to Keqing, Ningguang continued in her unhurried tone.
"You know of the great tree at Nantianmen, don't you? It's where Rex Lapis sealed Azhdaha all those years ago."
"So what did Miss Kiana do there?" Not expecting the matter Ningguang mentioned to be related to Azhdaha, Keqing's expression immediately turned grim.
Keqing knew about Azhdaha, even though it happened a long time ago. But she couldn't imagine what kind of event could possibly involve both Azhdaha and Miss Kiana. At most, she figured Miss Kiana might have gone to Nantianmen and done something related to Azhdaha. Perhaps she tried to dig underground to see Azhdaha, or maybe she tried to chop down that tree.
Wait a minute.
A sound coming from Nantianmen?!
For a sound to travel from that far away...
how loud would it have to be?
As she pondered this question, Keqing fell into deep thought, only to be pulled back by Ningguang's next words: "Azhdaha might have already been... dealt with by Miss Kiana."
"Dealt with?!"
The moment Ningguang finished speaking, Keqing cried out in alarm. She had never imagined something like this.
What in the world...
is going on?
Is Miss Kiana really that powerful?
And why would she deal with Azhdaha?
Could Rex Lapis have asked her to do it?
In an instant, a multitude of questions flooded Keqing's mind. But alas, knowing so little, she had no answers.
Wait.
If she really has the power to deal with Azhdaha...
then...
is she also some kind of god???
Two god girlfriends???
That Kaito...
what is his identity???
Is he a god, too?
Countless more questions appeared in her mind. Keqing was truly shaken.
Seeing Keqing's reaction, Ningguang seemed to have anticipated it. But she, too, didn't know what had become of Azhdaha.
"Not necessarily, but Azhdaha's presence is indeed gone. Perhaps it escaped, or perhaps it's truly dead."
"Then... what exactly happened? Why would Miss Kiana attack Azhdaha? Could it be that Rex Lapis instructed her to do so?"
Right now, the only explanation Keqing could think of was that Rex Lapis had asked Kiana to do it. Otherwise, she really couldn't understand why this would happen. It couldn't be that Azhdaha was just minding its own business and Miss Kiana went to slaughter it out of boredom, could it?
"And is that Miss Kiana also a god? How else could she have accomplished such a thing?" Keqing added.
Although many people thought she was disrespectful towards the gods, she knew just how much stronger gods were than mortals in the realm of power. She found it hard to believe a mortal could do something that even Rex Lapis himself couldn't do back then.
Ningguang nodded, then looked down.
"A mortal certainly couldn't cause this level of destruction below."
Below?
Hearing Ningguang mention destruction below, Keqing was taken aback for a moment.
Weren't they flying over Liyue Harbor?
Had something happened down in Liyue?
With this question in mind, Keqing took a step forward and looked down.
This isn't Liyue Harbor?!
But...
how can this be?
Looking down, Keqing realized that they had, at some point, moved to a different location. Perhaps she had been so shocked just now that she hadn't even noticed the Jade Chamber below was moving. But that didn't matter. What mattered was what had happened down there. A giant crater, a flattened landscape as if crushed by some behemoth, and mountains snapped in half—the entire scene looked as if some colossal creature had been thrashed about by an unknown force.
Azhdaha?
Suddenly, an image formed in Keqing's mind. A behemoth, Azhdaha, was being swung left and right by its tail by an unknown force—that is, by Miss Kiana. She might have even swung it around in circles several times.
Er...
could it...
really be like that?
Although the thought was comical, Keqing felt it was somewhat plausible. She just couldn't be sure.
"When I arrived here, Miss Kiana was in mid-air, watching me with a blank expression."
"And... did she say anything?"
"No."
___
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