A vast stretch of the Guyun Sea was now sealed beneath ice.
Beneath that frozen layer, thunder raged—a violent pulse of violet light surging below the blue-white frost.
Osial had barely shown his face before being slain outright, leaving not a single mark upon Liyue's shores.
But the Raiden Shogun and the Tsaritsa's battle had nothing to do with destruction— it was personal.
Even so, the aftermath of a divine duel was no small matter.
Half of Guyun Sea lay in ruin.
Countless sea creatures had perished.
Under the clash of ice and lightning, it might take centuries— perhaps even millennia—before the land and sea recovered.
From now on, sailing between Liyue and Inazuma would be far more treacherous.
Fortunately, rumors of chaos spreading across Inazuma had already discouraged anyone from setting sail there.
Inside the Northland Bank, the atmosphere was glacial.
The Tsaritsa and Raiden Ei sat facing one another.
Their divine battle had been halted— for good reason.
Had it continued, Liyue would have suffered irreparable damage.
At the urgent pleas of the Adepti and the Liyue Qixing, Su Ran himself had stepped in to stop them.
Thankfully, both goddesses gave him face.
Otherwise, he would have had no choice but to stop them by force.
Even without fists or blades, their gazes continued to clash like two blades of divine power.
Behind the Tsaritsa stood Childe and La Signora, silent as statues.
The Tsaritsa's chill was even colder than the depths of the Snezhnayan palace.
La Signora could endure it—after all, she spent her life suppressing the flames in her heart.
But Childe… was having a rough time.
Without the Genius's borrowed power, he was the weakest among the Eleven Harbingers.
Standing behind his Queen now, he felt as though he were back in the Snezhnayan capital—
barely breathing beneath divine pressure.
Meanwhile, at the center of the storm, Su Ran sat off in a quiet corner, casually playing with the Little Duck in his arms.
He squeezed her soft cheeks and pinched her tiny, expressionless face— as if kneading a ball of dough.
"Duckie, Duckie~ tell me who's the most handsome man in the world?"
The Tsaritsa's gaze flicked toward him, icy as ever.
To avoid further fueling their conflict, Su Ran had wisely chosen not to sit beside either goddess— instead, he picked a neutral corner of the room.
A smart move.
A very smart move.
"..."
Little Duck: (???)
"Come on, say it~"
She sucked on her finger, refusing to answer.
Sure, she hadn't met many people, but Su Ran was easily the most handsome one she'd ever seen.
Still… did he have to tease her like this in front of everyone?
Just because he was her creator, father, and master— did that give him the right to bully her?
Even the big Duck—that enlarged version of her working under the Tsaritsa— never dared treat her like this!
"So," Su Ran sighed dramatically, "Little Duck doesn't like Daddy anymore?"
Little Duck: (???) …I'm just going to stare and say nothing.
The tension in the room thickened.
Even if the flames of conflict wouldn't reach her, Little Duck knew better than to draw everyone's attention now.
"The Genius," the Tsaritsa finally spoke, her voice smooth but edged with frost, "it seems you've been quite busy in Inazuma.
Even their god can't seem to take her eyes off you."
She had thought him an unusually capable outsider— but this… was far beyond what she'd imagined.
For Baalzebul to be this invested, what exactly had he done?
Su Ran brushed his hair back with exaggerated vanity.
"Well, gold shines wherever it goes.
Someone as dazzling as me is bound to attract attention.
If the Raiden Shogun's so obsessed, doesn't that just prove your judgment was spot-on, Your Majesty?"
"Excellent," the Tsaritsa said flatly.
"Then you'll return to Snezhnaya with me tomorrow."
Her tone left no room for discussion.
"No!" Ei snapped immediately.
"He's crucial to Inazuma. I won't allow him to go!"
The Tsaritsa's eyes narrowed.
"And in Snezhnaya, he's my subordinate—an Executive of the Fatui."
"In Inazuma," Ei countered, "he's my future husband!
He holds equal authority to mine!"
"..."
For once, even the Tsaritsa was speechless.
How long had they even known each other?
And she was already willing to stake herself just to keep him?
The more Ei said, the more the Tsaritsa understood—
Su Ran must have done something extraordinary in Inazuma.
"Tell me, Genius," she said coldly.
"What did you do in Inazuma that made Baalzebul this… attached to you?"
Rank had its privileges; the Tsaritsa could ask whatever she pleased.
Both Childe and La Signora leaned forward, curious.
After all, no word had reached Snezhnaya from Inazuma for weeks.
Su Ran shrugged lightly.
"Oh, nothing much.
I just… created a dream world.
Everyone who enters Inazuma gets pulled into that dream.
They live their lives there."
Raiden Ei added quietly,
"That dream is eternal.
Those within never die, never fall ill, their consciousness never fades.
Even a god cannot escape it.
It is the very embodiment of Eternity."
Childe's eyes went wide.
"So that's why no one who's entered Inazuma lately has come back…?"
What a terrifying concept— a land where everyone is trapped forever.
Still, for Inazuma's people, it wasn't without its blessings— no death, no pain, no suffering.
A divine paradise… or an endless prison.
The Tsaritsa gave a long, measured look.
"You must have spent great effort to create such a thing."
Now she finally understood Ei's desperation.
The man had literally built her eternity for her.
No wonder she wouldn't let him go.
Su Ran waved dismissively.
"Eh, not really. Took me, what—ten minutes to sketch the design?
A day or so to finish the whole thing. Not too hard."
The Tsaritsa froze.
"…A day?"
Was she insane?
Had she really let someone like this leave her country?
How could she have let this monstrous genius wander into another god's arms?!
"I didn't even know you had that kind of talent…" she muttered.
Su Ran raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you never asked."
You didn't ask, so I didn't tell—simple as that.
The Tsaritsa's lips twitched.
You dare talk back to your queen like that?!
La Signora tried to defuse the tension, "Your Majesty, this was also the power he granted to us—his subordinates."
Childe quickly pulled out the amber gem and held it up.
"This stone gave me strength on par with a demon god!
If not for the Genius killing the Vortex God himself, I could have taken Morax's Gnosis!"
He clenched his fist, clearly frustrated at the lost opportunity.
"…What did you just say?"
The Tsaritsa's voice sharpened.
"Power on par with a demon god?"
That couldn't be right.
Had "demon god-level" power become this common now?
Her gloved hands trembled slightly.
For the first time in centuries, the Tsaritsa felt something she hadn't known in ages—shock.
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