The grand doors of Ningguang's office swung open, not pushed by mortal hands, but blown inward by a silent, powerful gust of wind. The air shimmered, and then, they were there.
Five figures, radiating an aura of ancient power so immense it felt like the very gravity in the room had increased. Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper appeared in their grand, divine beast forms, their presence filling the space with a primal majesty. Madam Ping was there, her small, grandmotherly form belying the millennia of wisdom in her eyes. Xiao stood near the back, a silent, deadly shadow, his arms crossed, his golden eyes burning with a coiled, furious energy. And at their head was Cloud Retainer, in her elegant, human form, her golden gaze as sharp and as cold as a winter gale.
The adepti had arrived.
The Qixing, Ningguang, Keqing, and a handful of their highest-ranking ministers, stood their ground, their mortal authority a stark contrast to the raw, divine power that now filled the room.
And caught in the middle were Ganyu and Ren. Ganyu stood, her expression a painful mixture of loyalty to her adeptal kin and her duty to the Qixing. Ren, however, had already retreated to his small desk in the corner, a silent observer to the historic, and potentially explosive, confrontation.
The meeting began. It was not a negotiation; it was a clash of worlds.
Moon Carver's deep, resonant voice was the first to speak, a rumble that seemed to shake the very foundations of the floating palace. "The Geo Archon has been murdered. The Qixing sealed away his vessel without consulting us. An act of profound disrespect."
"We acted to prevent city-wide panic and to secure the scene of the crime," Ningguang countered, her voice as calm and as unyielding as the jade of the chamber itself. "It was a matter of mortal governance."
"The governance of Liyue is a duty entrusted to us all by our contract with Rex Lapis!" Mountain Shaper's voice cracked like splitting stone. "You have broken that contract."
The debate raged, a storm of accusation and justification. The adepti, in their grief and fury, saw the Qixing's actions as a power grab, a sign of mortal arrogance. The Qixing, in turn, argued for pragmatism, for the new reality of a Liyue that could no longer rely on a divine ruler.
Ren paid little attention to the specifics of the debate. He knew how this would end. It was all a part of Zhongli's grand, final test. Instead, he pulled a bag of sunsettia chips from his satchel and began to eat, his gaze fixed on the world outside the grand windows. He watched the clouds drift by, he watched the ships in the harbor far below, and he waited.
The argument grew more heated. Xiao, who had remained silent, began to radiate a dark, murderous aura, his patience clearly wearing thin with the mortal's endless talk. Cloud Retainer and Keqing were locked in a battle of cold, sharp logic, their words like dueling blades.
It was then that the interruption Ren had been waiting for came.
A Millelith guard burst into the room, his face pale with alarm, his formal etiquette completely forgotten in his panic.
"Lady Ningguang! Security breach at the Golden House!"
Everyone, mortal and adeptus alike, froze. All heads turned to the guard.
"It's the Fatui. They have attacked the Golden House! The Traveler and some Yelan have just now engaged him in a battle, but… he's clearly there for something other than mora!"
A second, even more terrifying, alert came almost simultaneously. A guard on the outer balcony shouted, his voice high with terror.
"Look! The sea! By the Guyun Stone Forest!"
Every eye in the room turned to the grand windows. Ren was already there, his snack forgotten. Far in the distance, where the stone spears of the Guyun Stone Forest pierced the sky, the sea was churning. The water was being drawn into a massive, swirling vortex, and from its depths, a colossal, multi-headed, serpentine form, wreathed in a storm of pure, destructive Hydro energy, was beginning to rise.
Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex, an ancient god that had been sealed away by Rex Lapis himself, was free.
The debate was over. The accusations, the political posturing, it all vanished in the face of a single, world-ending threat. Liyue was under attack by a vengeful god, and its leaders, both mortal and adepti, were all trapped together, miles in the sky, watching it happen. The test had begun.