The deafening explosions continued to rumble across the sky.
"Impressive. Truly worthy of the title Geo Archon, Morax—your strength lives up to the legends.
What a shame…"
Hidden in the shadows near Lingju Pass, Childe looked up at the sky—its light flickering between gold and darkness—and couldn't help sighing in awe.
Honestly, at this point he had abandoned all expectations of stealing the Geo Archon's Gnosis.
Morax's power far exceeded anything he had imagined.
Not that he lacked ambition—just a sense of reality.
Even one of those falling meteorites could crush him like an insect. Let alone dozens.
He had originally hoped that mysterious white-haired girl would force Morax into a desperate fight—maybe not kill him, maybe not even truly injure him, but at least drain enough strength to open a sliver of opportunity.
But the reality?
That girl hardly unleashed anything earth-shaking before vanishing beneath Morax's overwhelming attacks.
Childe, who had cautiously kept his distance, didn't even detect what she did.
Everything—from beginning to end—was Morax's show: technique after technique that shook heaven and earth.
To Childe, it looked like a one-sided beating.
Lucky…
If he had really charged in to snatch that Gnosis, he would have ended up plastered into some boulder, impossible to scrape out.
With a bitter smile, Childe exhaled in relief.
Honestly, he should be grateful he was still breathing.
"I didn't even get to see what that girl looked like…
A pity.
Rest in peace, I suppose…"
Shaking his head at the missed chance, he decided it was time to go back.
Enough excitement for one day.
But then—
"…Hm?"
The sky grew darker.
He paused.
That wasn't right.
Not clouds.
Something… else was blocking the light.
He slowly lifted his gaze.
And froze.
High above, several gargantuan meteorites hovered silently—each one large enough to blot out the sun, turning half the battlefield into cold shadow.
"What…? The fight isn't over?"
Shock rippled through him.
Then another realization hit—
A silhouette.
Vague.
Suspended at the center of those floating giants.
Morax?
No…
A girl?
Could it be—
"Morax, have you thrown enough rocks?
Isn't it my turn now?"
The cold, slightly irritated voice echoed through the air.
Childe felt goosebumps explode across his arms.
She was alive?
And not only alive—she had raised those monsters into the sky?
How?
Wind?
Impossible.
No elemental signature at all…
But before he could finish reevaluating the entire situation—
Rumble.
Behind him, the sound of shifting stone grew louder and louder.
"What now…"
Childe turned.
And wished he hadn't.
A forest of colossal Geo spears—each spanning hundreds of meters—was rising behind him, their forms solidifying as if the earth itself were sharpening its teeth.
"…I really came to the wrong place today."
He didn't even need to think about it.
Those meteorites up above and these spears down below were about to collide.
He didn't want to know who would win.
He only knew who would die if he stayed.
Him.
"Magic—Delusion Activation!**"
With no hesitation, he forced his Delusion open, black and orange power erupting around him as he sprinted away like his life depended on it.
(Which it did.)
This trip was a complete disaster.
No Gnosis, no glory—only terror and wasted lifespan.
If he survived this, he swore he would only drink tea with Zhongli for a week straight like a civilized person.
No more "heroic opportunities."
Not for a while.
"Diluc," Kaeya said, gripping the railing of the rapidly retreating Jade Chamber, "how did you even survive 'sparring' with her? I swear you couldn't even withstand one serious strike."
Diluc didn't look at him.
"Maybe it's her idea of entertainment.
Like how you tease cats."
Kaeya blinked.
He hadn't expected Diluc to be this… calm.
"You? Making self-deprecating remarks? I must be dreaming."
"Know your limits," Diluc said flatly, folding his arms and closing his eyes as though resting.
Kaeya couldn't help chuckling.
Far away, atop the drifting Jade Chamber—
"That light…"
Moon Carver's expression tightened. "This is… the Archon's full power."
Now he understood why Rex Lapis had spoken so strangely earlier.
This opponent—this mysterious girl—was not someone ordinary Adepti could even approach, let alone confront.
"Moon Carver, leave it to the Archon," Xiao said.
"We do what we can. Just as we did in ages past."
"…Yes."
Moon Carver exhaled mournfully.
"That is all we can do."
High above Lingju Pass.
"Geo spears?" Su Mo murmured, expression indifferent.
"Bigger than the last ones… but meaningless."
Below, Zhongli gazed up at the sky.
He finally grasped it—the goddess wasn't attacking him to kill.
She was testing him, measuring how far he had come in the long centuries since the Archon War.
And she wasn't satisfied.
Which meant—
She was about to get serious.
Zhongli clenched his jaw slightly.
The stones she dropped earlier… only appeared weaker because she wasn't using her full strength.
If she willed it, the entire terrain of Liyue could be altered in half a breath.
He planted his feet and gathered monumental Geo energy beneath him, forming a growing mountain—no, a golden spear of stone aimed toward the sky.
Not yet.
Not until she moved first.
"Ah?" Su Mo's lips curved.
"You still have some tricks. Good.
Then as a reward for surprising me—"
She raised a hand.
"Take them."
The meteorites behind her trembled—
—and plunged.
Zhongli braced himself, golden light erupting beneath his feet as the earth surged upward, his mountain-lance growing at breakneck speed to meet the falling stars.
Even from miles away, people could see the moment the two forces collided:
A pillar of gold rising toward a rain of blazing suns.
"By Rex Lapis… what is that…?"
"An omen… a divine omen…"
"No—look! Someone's standing on it!"
"That's impossible…"
"Is this… divine punishment?"
All across the land, eyes widened in fear and awe.
"That's the Archon," Jean whispered, trembling.
"So… they've begun."
"Everyone brace yourselves," Ningguang called out sternly.
"And Adepti—assist me!
Raise the shields!"
The Jade Chamber surged faster, but the shockwave still hit them.
BOOM—!
The entire structure rocked violently, the protective barriers shuddering as a storm of stone fragments rained across the sky.
Even small pieces were enough to shake the Chamber like a ship in a hurricane.
Larger ones punched through the outer formation, slamming into the side and dragging the whole platform downward.
"Hold on—don't fall!"
Xiao darted into the air, rescuing a flung soldier.
The storm would last a while.
Meanwhile—
Childe ran for his life under a rain of meteors.
Magic crackled behind him.
He didn't dare look back.
"Why did I even come here…?"
He gasped. "I should have just gone drinking with Zhongli…"
Another meteor slammed down nearby.
Childe felt his soul leave his body for a moment.
Back at the center—
Zhongli looked up at the goddess calmly amid the chaos.
"Judge me however you wish," he said.
"But spare the people of Liyue.
They have no part in this."
Su Mo floated quietly above him.
"Oh?
And why," she asked softly, "should I believe you?"
Zhongli met her eyes without hesitation.
"Because aside from Barbatos and myself…
No one knows you are the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
I can help you stage a scene—
to prove none of this involves them."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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