Old Man Hu's expression was incredibly solemn. Regarding the Soul Messengers, he had only ever heard rumors. Existences within the soul-land who claimed to be its servants? To put it simply, they were the stewards of this gray reality.
After the contract was signed, the mysterious servant spoke. "Currently, there are two major fissures. One can still be maintained for a time... but the other is troublesome. It requires a great deal of essence to repair."
"Then why doesn't the Demon God of this place fix it?" Hu Tao interjected, crossing her arms. "Waiting for us to show up before asking for help... how embarrassing."
"Hu Tao! Watch your tongue!" Old Man Hu glared at his granddaughter. He was technically an employee of this realm; if she offended the higher-ups, he'd be the one facing the music.
Hu Tao snorted. "Am I wrong? The moment we arrive with a big shiny tower, he suddenly appears."
"The Lord of Souls is not refusing to repair it; he cannot," the servant explained calmly. "Our Master fell into a deep slumber thousands of years ago. We apologize, but had you not arrived, we would have eventually sought others to aid us."
Through further conversation, Su Han learned that the master of this realm was indeed an ancient Demon God from the era of the Archon War. Their authority was unique: providing a sanctuary where souls could rest in eternal sleep.
"And reincarnation?" Su Han asked.
"Teyvat has no such function," the servant admitted. "Dissipating soul energy is used to mend minor leaks in the world's fabric. Some 'lucky' fragments might return to the surface to become the foundation for new life, but it is a cycle of energy, not a continuation of self. People call it 'reincarnation' out of a fear of true extinction."
"So, the border is truly in danger?"
"Yes. We servants have struggled to maintain safety. Some time ago, another living being arrived—a lady with pointed ears. She was very beautiful and gave us many suggestions that proved quite effective for the boundary."
"Pointed ears? That has to be Alice, Klee's mom!" Hu Tao exclaimed. That woman really went everywhere—even the land of the dead.
Su Han asked, "What did she do?"
"She reinforced the seals and told us to guard the fractured areas. She said if she found another method, she would return to help us."
"I see. Take us there. Let's start with the weaker fracture," Su Han commanded.
The Patch on the Sky
Led by the messenger carrying a spectral blue lantern, the trio journeyed deeper into the mists. After half an hour, the fog thinned, revealing a shocking sight.
The "sky" of the underworld was fractured like broken glass. Curiously, there was a patch over one section—it looked like a giant, glowing "Band-Aid." It didn't stop the leakage of energy entirely, but it slowed it down significantly.
"You're telling me that is her reinforcement?" Hu Tao blinked.
"Yes, Miss Hu. It looks simple, but it is effective. Before she arrived, many of our kin were sucked into the void while trying to guard this spot. Our Master said that if the boundary fails, it is the beginning of the world's collapse."
Old Man Hu finally understood the gravity of the situation. This wasn't just a local haunting; it was a structural failure of Teyvat itself.
The Abyssal Monsters
They passed through a spatial tunnel to the second location. Here, the "sky" was a gaping, swirling vortex of darkness. Black-robed servants were locked in a desperate battle with creatures that made Hu Tao's skin crawl.
They looked like dogs, but their skin was a pitch-black, asphalt-like hide. They moved with sickening, jerky teleportations, reminiscent of Eldritch horrors.
"What are those things?"
"We don't know," the servant replied. "Since the wall shattered centuries ago, they have been pouring in. They seek only to devour souls. If not for that lady's help earlier, we would have been overrun."
"Why didn't you tell Rex Lapis?" Hu Tao asked. "He'd wipe them out in a second."
Old Man Hu sighed. "This place is outside Liyue's jurisdiction, and the Soul-Land rejects the entry of active Demon Gods. Think of it as being inside another God's body—you wouldn't let a rival in, would you?"
Hu Tao didn't wait. She summoned her spirit-fire and lunged into the fray. "Whatever they are, let's thin them out first!"
She moved like a flash, her Pure Yang Flame incinerating a monster with a single strike. "Heh! Not so tough!"
However, as she cut down a dozen more, a massive shadow loomed behind her. The creature was a mass of writhing tentacles and a gaping, tooth-filled maw.
"Hu Tao!" the old man screamed.
A streak of silver sword-qi cut through the air faster than the warning, shredding the behemoth into a thousand fragments.
"Hehe! Don't worry, Grandpa. Su Han is here; I'm perfectly safe."
Mending the Heavens
Su Han watched the endless tide of monsters. "Killing them is just treating the symptoms. As long as the rift exists, the problem remains."
"True," the servant sighed. "We only ask that you slow their invasion, as the lady did."
Su Han pondered. Liyue was his home, and he couldn't let its basement fall apart. Zhongli, Venti, and Ei couldn't enter this space without triggering a divine conflict, so it was up to him.
"I'll try that item," Su Han decided.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a treasure that Kamisato Ayaka had obtained—one of the legendary Five Elemental Pearls.
[The Water Spiritual Pearl]
As the cerulean orb manifested, radiating a serene blue light, every soul in the vicinity turned to look.
"The Water Pearl! Su Han, are you going to use it for this?"
"Mhm. Legend says the Five Pearls were used to mend the heavens. Even if it's just one, it should have the power to stabilize space. Treasures can always be found again, but this rift cannot wait."
He clasped his hands, pouring a massive amount of spiritual energy into the pearl before hurling it toward the vortex.
"Open!"
Communicating with the pearl's intent, Su Han triggered its dormant power. A gargantuan blue membrane of water-energy expanded from the orb, wrapping around the swirling rift. The azure power seeped into the cracks of the world, severing the connection to whatever lay beyond.
The thick black mist was cut off. The fractured walls began to slowly knit together under the pearl's influence. Finally, the ten-kilometer-wide vortex was covered by a shimmering blue seal.
"Whoa... it actually worked!"
"It's a miracle!"
Su Han panted heavily, his forehead drenched in sweat. "It's not fully over... the pearl is just a plug. Mending space isn't that simple."
Repairing the fabric of reality was far more taxing than any battle he had ever fought. He felt as though he had just tried to hold up the sky with his bare hands.
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