"Zhongli, time to get to work!"
Taro put away the materials he had knocked off Azhdaha's body, looking very satisfied.
No doubt, the Elemental Dragon King lived up to its name. As expected of a former ruler.
These materials alone were enough for him to forge a top-tier divine artifact.
"I'm here."
Zhongli turned his head with a strange expression.
Carrying Azhdaha's benevolent will, he flew over to Taro's side.
"Taro-dono, I am ready."
"Then let's begin!"
Taro nodded with a smile.
"Wait… what are you two trying to do?"
Azhdaha's benevolent will grew uneasy as it floated out from Zhongli's palm.
"Give you something tasty."
Taro shrugged, then snapped his fingers.
Pa!
Clatter clatter clatter—
The chains binding Azhdaha spun rapidly.
One loop hooked his lower jaw, another clamped the upper. With a crisp crack, his massive mouth was forced wide open.
"Shhh—"
Even though he claimed he could not feel pain, Azhdaha's benevolent will still hissed.
"Ah! Why don't you check more carefully first!?"
"So, just because the pain isn't yours, Morax, you can do whatever you want, huh?"
He clutched at Zhongli's ear, shaking it back and forth as his phantom face twisted in toothache.
"Cough—"
Zhongli cleared his throat. "Taro-dono, your technique needs practice."
"No helping it."
Taro spoke with absolute seriousness:
"I have no experience with this, so this is the only way."
"Anyway, you said it yourself—so long as he doesn't die, it's fine. Seems good enough to me."
With that, Taro waved his hand.
The chains lifted Azhdaha's colossal body into the air, turning him upside-down, maw facing the heavens like an animal awaiting slaughter.
"Morax…"
"I will be sure to thank you properly."
Azhdaha's benevolent will ground his words through clenched teeth. His old friend was suffering, yet Morax still cranked up the pressure? Truly outrageous.
"This is a necessary measure. Endure it, old friend. Once this is done, I will host a banquet with the other Adepti."
Zhongli's face remained calm as he spoke. He then raised his hand, summoning the power of Hydro Hypostasis. Water cascaded down like rain.
Taro reached into the void before him.
Target: Azhdaha, the Dragon King.
He pulled a colorful potion bottle from his personal storage.
With a push of his thumb, crack!—the bottleneck shattered.
The entire potion turned into a seven-colored light, pouring straight into Azhdaha's gaping maw.
"Azhdaha, time to return."
Seeing this, Zhongli gestured for the benevolent will to rejoin.
"We'll meet again soon."
"Understood."
Without hesitation, the benevolent will merged back into Azhdaha's body.
"Rooaar… glug glug… Mora… glug glug… -x…"
The return of the benevolent will also roused the malevolent will.
But chained as he was, Azhdaha could not budge an inch. Agonizing pain spread through his body.
He could not even close his mouth, forced to gulp down the mysterious liquid. His cries came out garbled.
Within the seven-colored glow, benevolent and malevolent wills began to fuse, balancing each other out.
The erosion from Celestia gradually faded.
Sanity returned.
Like rivers flowing backward, the liquid surged into Azhdaha's giant maw, filling every inch of his immense body. His eyes watered from choking.
"Mora… glug glug… enough… glug glug…"
The now-lucid Azhdaha begged Zhongli to stop.
But Zhongli kept it going for a full quarter-hour before finally ceasing.
"Ugh—cough cough—"
Azhdaha's huge mouth convulsed, trying to spit back up the potion, but the chains bound him tight, leaving no escape.
"Azhdaha…"
Seeing the red glow in his friend's eyes fade, Zhongli sighed in relief.
"All done."
Taro snapped his fingers, unlocking the chains.
Thud!
Azhdaha's massive body crashed to the ground, shaking the cave-dwelling.
"Ugh—cough cough cough—"
He rolled over, spewing a rainbow torrent from his jaws.
When the torment subsided, he clutched his head with both legs, pounding the ground.
Thud thud thud—
"It hurts! Morax, I'm going to kill you! Hurts hurts hurts hurts—!"
Taro dared not provoke him.
But Morax, the true culprit—hmph!
Zhongli looked slightly guilty, though his face still wore a faint smile.
Soon, Azhdaha adjusted to the pain.
Golden light enveloped his body. His gigantic form shrank, reshaping.
Transformation technique.
When the light faded, a towering, scholarly-looking man with a muscular frame stood there.
"…Morax, prepare to die!"
Veins bulged on Azhdaha's face as he swung a massive palm.
Boom!
Zhongli raised his own hand to block. Their strikes collided, shaking the cavern with thunderous echoes.
"Azhdaha!"
"Less talk, more fighting!"
The two turned into streaks of light, colliding again and again within the domain. Luckily, the protective formation absorbed the shockwaves.
Taro dragged a rock over as a stool, quietly watching.
"Not bad, Azhdaha!"
"You haven't weakened either, Morax. In a few years, I may not be able to match you."
"Cut the chatter—fight!"
Azhdaha, the Dragon King—an elemental being of creation.
The spirit of Teyvat's earth, progenitor of the ley lines.
The apex of elemental life.
Despite erosion, despite millennia of suppression, his power had not diminished. If anything, it had grown.
Without those tribulations, Azhdaha might well have been able to overpower Zhongli outright.
No wonder the First Throne had seized his authority, piled erosion upon him, and sought to cripple his divine mind.
Left unchecked, the Elemental Dragon King would have reclaimed the world from the First Throne itself.
"Teyvat was always meant for elemental life."
"This First Throne does not understand balance. Seizing the world only to suppress and crush those with power."
"Humanity should not rule Teyvat. Humanity must integrate into it."
"Contact, understanding, adaptation, assimilation—only then can coexistence thrive. That is the true Way.
(End of Chapter)
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