As the Guizhong Ballistas were summoned onto the ritual platform, Ningguang turned back to the adepti, her expression grave.
"I ask that you all set aside your past grievances," she said solemnly. "Join me in facing this catastrophe that threatens to engulf all of Liyue."
The three adepti nodded in unison. They stepped forward swiftly, each taking control of one of the ballistas.
"There are corrupted beasts in the sea..."
Xiao left those flat words hanging in the air before transforming into a streak of light, hurtling toward the ocean.
At that moment, the group spotted them—hundreds upon thousands of water phantoms, twisted black by abyssal corruption, riding the churning waves as they surged toward Liyue Harbor ahead of the storm.
Lin Mo gazed up at the sky, at the unfurling ritual platform. He knew it: the great battle was about to begin.
"This isn't good..."
A sense of foreboding gripped him. He remembered the original Genshin storyline. Even with the combined might of the Qixing and the adepti, they could only wound Osial severely—it took Morax's final strike to fell him. In the end, the ritual platform shattered under Osial's assault, forcing Ningguang to sacrifice the Jade Chamber itself. Only by turning it into a weapon of mutual destruction did they secure Liyue's peace.
But now, facing an Osial warped by abyssal taint and stripped of the Geo Archon's restraint? Could even the Jade Chamber's sacrifice turn the tide?
"Ganyu! What are you doing here?"
Hu Tao's voice cut through Lin Mo's thoughts. He turned and saw her, helping the Millelith organize the evacuation of civilians from the harbor.
...
Atop Mt. Tianheng, Rosalyn stood beside Zhongli.
She had assumed the "Geo Archon's trial" he spoke of was merely unleashing an ancient god, weakened by millennia of suppression, its strength faded to nothing. With Liyue's adepti and Qixing joining forces to subdue Osial, she could claim the Geo Gnosis as planned.
Yet even without witnessing a god's fury firsthand, the sheer terror of Osial's awakening sent a chill through her. Her heart raced with unbidden dread. Could the Qixing and adepti truly overcome a beast like this?
"Mr. Zhongli," Rosalyn couldn't help asking, "are you certain... this is merely a trial for Liyue?"
Zhongli's brow furrowed, but he offered no reply.
Clearly, the trial had spiraled far beyond his grasp.
...
In the southern reaches of Mondstadt, Dragonspine.
The Starfell Dragon coiled atop the frozen peak, its silver scales glinting as it peered toward the distant sea. The cataclysmic anomaly—dark clouds roiling even over these remote mountains—stirred deep unease in its ancient eyes.
"Liyue... it seems a calamity unlike any other is unfolding," came the dragon's low rumble.
A corrupted Whopperflower burst from the snow: "Durin, do you think Father's in danger?" "I'm worried about that too." "Then... shall we ask the Anemo Archon? He knows the winds' whispers from every corner of the world."
Windrise, Starsnatch Cliff.
The great dragon of the winds, slumbering amid the crags, stirred at a foul scent on the breeze. One eye cracked open, and there it beheld the heaving waves below—and the endless black clouds, crashing southward like a tidal surge.
"Barbatos, my lord... I smell the Abyss," Tevarin growled.
"Mm. The ancient sea god awakens," Barbatos replied, gazing at the thrashing waters with a slow nod. "And it's been tainted by something foul."
His thoughts drifted to Lin Mo and the others, right there in Liyue, beneath the shadow of descending doom. Wendy, my friend... will you be alright?
...
Mondstadt, Wolvendom.
"Teacher... I'm ready for the super heart."
Raiden wasn't one for flowery words, but his eyes shone with trust and gratitude. He knew his teacher would never lead him astray. Besides, she felt different now—vital, reborn. The faint weariness of age that once clung to Lisa had vanished.
"Mm~ Such a good boy," Lisa purred warmly. "Once the surgery's done, I'll introduce you to my even cuter little brother. He can be your sparring partner."
Raiden's ears perked in alarm. Lisa's "opponents" were always monsters he couldn't hope to beat!
He whipped around to bolt—only to slam face-first into a massive, furry paw.
"Lady Lisa..."
The Northern Wolf King Andrius loomed, his voice a deep rumble.
"Hm? What's wrong? I wasn't bullying him," Lisa said with a playful smile. She was no stranger to the mountain of fur before her.
"You mentioned your dearest one headed south... to Liyue, perhaps?" Andrius pressed.
"Oh? And?" Lisa tilted her head curiously.
"Look to the sky. That's the sign of impending doom—and its heart lies in Liyue."
...
Inazuma, Tenshukaku, Plane of Euthymia.
"Liyue's mess has nothing to do with me," Ei grumbled, not even glancing up from her copy of Inazuman Delicacies Cookbook.
"Didn't Lady Yae head there...?" the Raiden Shogun ventured.
"She went to Watatsumi, not Liyue. Don't bother me unless it's urgent," Ei shot back, already daydreaming of Sasayuri's face—delight or tears?—upon seeing a feast of her favorites.
"...I'll report back if anything changes," the Shogun said with a bow, then withdrew from the sanctuary.
...
Liyue, Jade Chamber.
Boom!
Rumble!
Boom!
Three devastating blasts erupted from the ballistas, piercing the clouds and hurtling toward the colossal behemoth miles away.
Rumble! Roarrr!
The explosions mingled with Osial's agonized bellows, sending shockwaves that whipped at the onlookers' clothes. They could see it clearly: plumes of white smoke rising from the sea-beast's island-sized form.
"It's working!" Paimon cheered, pumping her tiny fists.
But then—
Three portals shimmered with eerie light, blooming at the platform's edges.
"Ah—it's the Fatui!"
Paimon yelped as soldiers poured out, eyes locked on the adepti-manned ballistas.
"Sword drawn—shadow follows!" Keqing surged forward, intercepting the central portal. Her Electro-infused Beacon of the Reed Sea slashed through the air, cleaving the throat of a Hydrogunner Legionnaire mid-charge. The brute crumpled, lifeless.
"Wow, Keqing's amazing!!" Paimon clapped wildly.
More Fatui emerged—seven or eight from each of the other portals.
"They're after the ballistas!" Keqing shouted urgently.
"Too many—everyone, charge! Stop the Fatui!" Eula led with her Claymore, Claymore drawn, dashing toward the left portal.
"Ice to sever old grudges!" "Boom-boom time~!" "Count Rabbit, hop to it!"
The three Mondstadt girls dove into the fray, defending the right portal with frost, explosives, and mechanical fury.
"Winter's echo..."
Ganyu's soft incantation summoned a hail of razor-sharp ice shards, raining down on the platform.
Xiangling spotted the frost-slicked foes and seized the opening. "Pact is ironclad!"
Boom! Three Fatui agents vaporized beneath her Pyronado's fiery seal.
Down at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's entrance, Lin Mo stood with Hu Tao, both staring up at the Jade Chamber. The platform flickered with elemental bursts—he knew they were fighting to safeguard the ballistas.
With Eula and the others pitching in... the ballistas should hold until they've crippled Osial.
Though worry gnawed at him for their safety, and part of him yearned to join the battle and shield them, it seemed his meddling wasn't needed. More than that, he didn't want to derail the plot. The three adepti and Ningguang might even carry fragments of memories about him. Charging in could distract them, fracturing their focus on the ballistas.
Ningguang, especially—if he appeared before her now, would her heart falter, destabilizing the entire platform?
"Ah~ Ganyu, look!"
Hu Tao's excited cry pulled him back. She pointed toward Osial.
One of the beast's heads was gathering a sphere of concentrated Hydro energy, pulsing with cataclysmic power. Even from afar, Lin Mo felt its dread weight.
Then—
Whoosh!
A lance of azure water speared from Osial's domain, lancing toward the Jade Chamber's platform!
No!
This diverged from the game he'd played. Why was Osial striking the platform so soon!?
Rumble!
The right side of the platform shattered under the torrent. A wrecked ballista plummeted toward the sea—along with a white crane.
"Hu Tao," Lin Mo said gravely, "would you fight for Liyue?"
...
"Mm... I run Wangsheng, but I won't stand by while people die in disaster," Hu Tao replied firmly, though puzzlement flickered in her eyes. Why ask that now?
Before she could dwell, strong arms scooped her waist.
"Eek—hey! Hands off, you perv!" She squirmed in protest.
"Stop—it's me, Lin Mo. The one from that moonlit night."
The words hit like a spell, freezing her struggles. Calming, she looked up—and gasped.
He wasn't using Anemo to glide. Somehow, three pairs of shadowy Inazuman tengu wings had sprouted from his back, beating the air as he cradled her, soaring skyward.
He flew not toward the Jade Chamber, but toward the falling white crane.
Flap!
He caught it gently in one arm. Left: the crane. Right: Hu Tao. Together, they banked toward the Jade Chamber.
"L-Lin... Lord Lin Mo... I thought you were dead..."
Cloud Retainer's voice trembled with disbelief.
"Mm. You're badly hurt—save your strength," he murmured.
...
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T/N:
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