Rain fell relentlessly over the sea.
The clouds above Liyue Harbor had become a vast, dark ceiling, stretching from horizon to horizon. Thunder rolled across the heavens while flashes of lightning illuminated the ocean below.
And within that storm stood a lone figure.
A pair of brilliant golden wings stretched outward from his back.
He floated high above the waters, completely motionless.
His clothes were soaked by the rain, his golden hair moving gently in the turbulent wind.
His eyes were fixed upon Liyue Harbor.
Below him, everything had stopped.
The battle between Osial, Capitano, and Arlecchino had been interrupted.
Capitano stood upon the battlefield, his weapon lowered slightly.
Arlecchino remained several dozen meters away, her crimson weapon still in her hand.
Neither of them understood what they were looking at.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The only sounds were thunder, rain and the distant waves.
Arlecchino narrowed her eyes.
"Who..."
She paused.
"Who is that?"
Capitano didn't answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed upon the figure in the sky.
There was something strange about him.
Something that Capitano could feel even from such a distance.
Power.
Something deeper.
Something that seemed to bend the very atmosphere around the young man.
Capitano finally spoke.
"That is the traveler."
Arlecchino glanced toward him.
Arlecchino's eyes narrowed.
"So he finally decided to appear."
High above them, the mysterious figure remained silent.
He didn't attack.
He didn't speak.
He simply watched.
Inside the Jade Chamber, Ningguang stood at the front platform.
The moment she recognized him, her expression hardened.
"Aether."
Keqing, standing nearby, looked at her.
"Ningguang..."
"I know."
Ningguang's eyes remained fixed upon the golden-winged figure.
Keqing hesitated.
"He isn't attacking us."
"I can see that."
"Then perhaps we should—"
"No."
Ningguang's answer was immediate.
The people surrounding her looked toward their leader.
Ningguang's expression remained cold.
"We cannot allow another variable to interfere with this operation."
Keqing stared at her.
"Ningguang, wait."
Ningguang raised one hand.
"Prepare the Guizhong Ballistae."
Keqing's eyes widened.
"Against him?"
"Yes."
"But he hasn't done anything."
Ningguang finally turned toward her.
"He abandoned Liyue when we needed him."
Keqing's expression changed.
"Ningguang..."
"I will not allow him to interfere now."
Keqing looked toward Aether again.
Something inside her resisted.
She remembered the gates of Liyue.
The prison.
His silence.
His question.
"Did you ever regret putting me in the prison?"
She had never forgotten his eyes when he asked it.
But Ningguang had already given the order.
Across the surrounding mountains, the enormous Guizhong Ballistae began moving.
Their mechanisms groaned as they rotated toward the sky.
On Beidou's fleet, similar weapons were prepared.
Hundreds of ships had positioned themselves around the waters.
The sailors looked upward.
"Are we really firing at him?"
"The order came from the Qixing."
"Then load the ballista!"
"Ready!"
The weapons hummed with gathered energy.
Above them, Aether remained completely still.
His expression revealed nothing.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
His eyes simply watched the approaching projectiles.
Ningguang raised her hand.
"Fire."
The night sky erupted.
Hundreds of projectiles shot toward Aether.
They came from every direction.
From the mountains.
From the ships.
From the fortified positions surrounding Liyue.
The projectiles tore through the rain like falling stars.
Keqing's face became pale.
"Stop!"
But the weapons had already fired.
Aether slowly raised one hand.
The world stopped.
Every projectile halted in midair.
Silence descended.
The weapons that had been travelling with tremendous speed now hung motionless around Aether.
Hundreds of glowing projectiles surrounded him.
From below, they looked almost beautiful.
Like stars scattered across the night sky.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Beidou stared upward.
"What..."
One of her sailors whispered,
"Did he just stop all of them?"
Another answered quietly.
"With one hand."
Aether's fingers moved slightly.
The space around him distorted.
Gravity changed.
The hundreds of projectiles began moving.
Not toward him.
Around him.
They slowly converged into a single point.
Metal, stone and condensed energy compressed together.
The projectiles disappeared into a brilliant sphere.
Within seconds, the enormous collection of projectiles had been reduced to a single glowing sphere roughly the size of a basketball.
It shone brighter than anything else in the storm.
Ningguang stared.
Keqing stopped breathing.
Aether slowly turned his head toward the Jade Chamber.
His eyes met Ningguang's.
She froze.
There was no hatred in his expression.
That somehow made it worse.
His face was completely calm.
Cold.
Emotionless.
For one terrifying moment, Ningguang felt as though something ancient was staring back at her.
Aether raised the sphere.
He pointed it directly toward the Jade Chamber.
Keqing's heart stopped.
"Ningguang..."
Ningguang didn't answer.
The Qixing members stared at the sphere.
Aether's hand remained perfectly steady.
The message was obvious.
You attacked me.
I could return everything.
A intense moment of silence....
Then Aether slowly shifted his arm.
The sphere moved away from the Jade Chamber.
He turned toward the open sea.
And released it.
The sphere vanished into the distance.
A heartbeat later—
BOOOOOOM!
The ocean erupted.
A gigantic column of water and energy shot upward.
The blast illuminated the entire coastline.
A shockwave travelled across the sea.
Ships rocked violently.
Sailors were thrown backward onto their decks.
People inside the harbor struggled to remain standing.
The Jade Chamber itself trembled.
Windows shook.
Rain was momentarily blown sideways by the force.
For a brief moment, the ocean looked as though an enormous star had fallen into it.
Then the column collapsed.
Water came crashing down.
A tremendous roar followed.
Silence returned.
Nobody could speak.
Aether lowered his hand.
Then he crossed his arms.
The ships began moving.
At first, Beidou thought the current had changed because of the impact.
Then she realized something was wrong.
"Why are we moving away like this?"
The helmsman grabbed the controls.
"I'm trying to stop us!"
"Then stop!"
"I can't!"
The entire fleet began drifting toward the shoreline.
Not randomly.
Precisely.
One ship after another was pushed toward the coast.
The captains desperately turned their wheels.
Nothing worked.
The sea itself seemed to have become subject to Aether's will.
"He's moving the ships!"
Beidou looked upward.
Her expression was difficult to read.
"So that's what he was doing."
The fleet continued moving until the ships reached safer waters near the harbor.
Then the Jade Chamber began moving as well.
Ningguang immediately realized what was happening.
"He's moving us."
Keqing stared at Aether.
"Why?"
Ningguang didn't answer.
The Jade Chamber gradually moved away from the battlefield.
Aether wasn't attacking them.
He wasn't destroying them.
He was removing them from the battlefield.
That realization created an entirely different kind of uncertainty.
What was he planning?
Why had he come?
Why had he prevented the fleet from remaining near Osial?
And why had he attacked only when they attacked him?
Nobody knew.
Then the wind changed.
A tremendous gust swept across the sea.
The clouds twisted.
A long wall of swirling air began forming between Liyue and the open ocean.
The barrier expanded.
Higher.
Wider.
Longer.
Soon it stretched across a vast section of the coastline.
Capitano looked at it.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he understood.
"He's isolating Liyue."
Arlecchino glanced toward him.
"From Osial?"
"Yes."
Capitano looked toward the sky.
"He's creating a battlefield."
Thunder exploded overhead.
Then came another sound.
A roar.
Not Osial.
Something much larger.
Everyone looked upward.
A gigantic blue dragon emerged from the clouds.
Its wings spread across the stormy sky.
The dragon circled Liyue once.
A powerful gust followed its movement.
Many people stared upward in disbelief.
"Is that..."
"Impossible!"
"An actual dragon!"
Then a familiar voice came from above.
"Well, well..."
A man sat upon the dragon's back.
Venti.
Or rather, Barbatos.
The wind itself seemed to respond to his presence.
The dragon roared.
Dvalin circled once more before descending slightly.
People throughout Liyue watched in awe.
For many, this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a sight.
Zhongli, standing on the shore, merely folded his hands behind his back.
He looked at Venti.
Then Dvalin.
His expression remained surprisingly casual.
"Barbatos."
Venti smiled.
"Morax."
Their eyes met from a distance.
Neither spoke further.
Then—
ROOOOOAAAAAR!
The sea exploded.
Osial emerged once more.
The ancient Lord of the Vortex rose from the ocean, his enormous serpentine heads cutting through the rain.
His eyes immediately found Aether.
He stopped.
Aether turned toward him.
The two stared at one another.
Osial's heads shifted.
"Again..."
His voice shook the sea.
"You."
Aether drew his sword.
The blade reflected the lightning above.
Osial's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
Aether's expression remained calm.
"The name is Aether."
Osial growled.
"Who gave you the right to interrupt my battle?"
Aether tilted his head slightly.
"Why don't you find it yourself?"
Several of Osial's heads recoiled.
"What?"
Aether raised his sword.
"You wanted to fight."
He pointed the blade toward Osial.
"So fight me."
Osial's anger grew.
But he didn't attack immediately.
Instead, one of his heads slowly turned.
He noticed the enormous wind barrier.
Then he noticed Capitano.
Then Arlecchino.
The two Harbingers stood behind the barrier, watching.
Osial understood.
Aether had removed everyone else from the battlefield.
He wanted a one-on-one battle.
Osial's heads turned back.
"Fine."
The sea began to rise.
Aether's golden wings spread wider.
Thunder cracked overhead.
For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.
Then Osial attacked.
The sea exploded beneath Osial.
A wall of water hundreds of meters high surged toward Aether.
Aether disappeared.
His wings flashed.
He shot upward.
The tsunami passed beneath him.
He spun through the air.
Osial's first head snapped toward him.
Aether immediately detected the movement.
His inner voice activated.
Analyzing...
A translucent interface appeared within his vision.
Target detected.
Movement prediction calculated.
Attack trajectory identified.
Aether's eyes narrowed.
"Left."
He moved.
A massive Hydro blast passed within inches of him.
Aether twisted through the air.
Another head attacked.
He dodged.
A third followed.
Aether accelerated.
His golden wings carried him between the serpent heads with incredible precision.
Osial roared.
"Stop fleeing!"
Aether suddenly disappeared downward.
Osial's head followed.
Aether appeared directly beneath it.
He raised his hand.
Gravity intensified.
The enormous head was dragged downward.
Osial struggled.
"What is this?!"
Aether shot upward.
His fist struck.
The impact sent a shockwave through the rain.
Osial recoiled.
Aether immediately followed with his sword.
One slash.
Two.
Three.
He moved around Osial's head faster than the eye could follow.
Osial retaliated.
A massive Hydro sphere formed beside him.
It launched.
Aether raised his hand.
Gravity bent.
The sphere changed direction and passed harmlessly into the ocean.
Osial's eyes widened.
"That power..."
Aether didn't answer.
Osial opened his enormous jaws.
Aether's inner voice reacted instantly.
Danger.
Target attempting close-range capture.
Aether moved backward.
Too late.
Osial lunged.
His jaws closed around Aether.
For a moment, Aether disappeared completely.
Arlecchino's eyes widened.
"He's been swallowed."
Capitano remained still.
"No."
Inside Osial's enormous maw, Aether raised both hands.
Gravity erupted outward.
The space around him compressed.
Osial's head convulsed.
Aether's power forced the jaws apart.
He launched himself outward.
The force of his escape sent Osial's head crashing backward.
Aether emerged from the opening.
Osial roared.
Then something extraordinary happened.
The damaged portion of his form began reforming.
Hydro energy gathered.
The shape rebuilt itself.
Aether stared.
His inner voice immediately responded.
Regenerative capability detected.
Aether's eyes narrowed.
"So you can regenerate."
Osial's voice thundered across the ocean.
"I have existed since before your people remembered the names of their gods!"
The sea rose again.
This time, the water formed enormous whirlpools.
Aether flew between them.
Osial fired concentrated Hydro beams from multiple heads.
Aether accelerated.
The beams crossed the sky.
He moved through them.
One passed behind him.
Another beneath him.
Another above him.
His wings carried him through impossible gaps.
Aether suddenly stopped.
He looked directly at Osial.
His inner voice calculated.
Counterattack opportunity: 91%.
Aether smiled faintly.
"Found you."
He accelerated.
A powerful gust erupted around him.
Aether became a golden streak through the storm.
He reached Osial.
Sword raised.
Slash.
Osial's head recoiled.
Another head attacked.
Aether ducked.
He rotated.
His foot struck the side of the serpent's neck.
The enormous creature was pushed sideways.
Osial responded with brute force.
One massive head swept across the battlefield.
Aether raised both hands.
Gravity shifted.
The attack slowed.
Not stopped.
Slowed.
Aether flew over it.
Osial fired another energy blast.
Aether redirected it.
The blast struck the sea.
The resulting wave rose into the air.
Aether used it as a platform.
He launched himself higher.
Osial looked upward.
Aether was directly above him.
He descended.
Sword first.
The impact sent a massive shockwave across the ocean.
Osial roared.
The sea churned violently.
"ENOUGH!"
His power erupted.
A colossal tidal wave surrounded him.
Aether's wings spread.
The wave rose higher and higher.
Then Osial unleashed it.
Aether raised both hands.
Gravity changed.
The enormous wave bent.
Its crest twisted away from Liyue.
It crashed harmlessly into the open sea.
Capitano watched from behind the wind barrier.
"He isn't merely powerful."
Arlecchino looked toward him.
"He's controlling the battlefield itself."
Capitano nodded.
"Exactly."
Osial attacked again.
This time he relied on raw strength.
His heads struck from every direction.
Aether moved between them.
He flew upward.
Then downward.
Sideways.
Backward.
Every movement was perfectly calculated.
His swordsmanship became increasingly precise.
Osial tried to predict him.
But Aether's inner voice was already predicting Osial.
Movement detected.
Attack predicted.
Counterattack recommended.
Aether followed the recommendation.
He struck.
Osial recoiled.
Another strike.
Another.
Finally, Aether landed on the surface of the ocean.
Osial rose above him.
The ancient god gathered an enormous amount of energy.
The sky darkened.
A sphere of Hydro energy appeared between his heads.
It grew.
And grew.
And grew.
Arlecchino stared.
"That is enough power to devastate the entire harbor."
Capitano's hand tightened around his weapon.
But Aether didn't move.
The enormous sphere fired.
Aether raised both hands.
His golden wings spread.
Gravity surged.
The incoming attack slowed.
The ocean beneath Aether sank from the pressure.
Aether's feet remained firmly planted.
His expression became colder.
Then he pushed.
The Hydro sphere changed direction.
It curved upward.
And exploded high above the battlefield.
The resulting flash illuminated the clouds.
Osial stared.
Aether lowered his hands.
"You've had enough."
Osial roared.
"I decide when this ends!"
He summoned another enormous wave.
Then another.
Then another.
The entire sea seemed to rise.
Aether looked at the approaching walls of water.
His inner voice spoke.
Maximum gravitational output available.
Aether's eyes changed.
"Then I'll end it."
His wings opened fully.
The air around him became still.
Then gravity exploded outward.
The waves stopped.
The ocean itself seemed frozen in place.
Osial's heads looked around.
"What..."
Aether rose into the sky.
His hands slowly moved apart.
Osial felt something pulling him upward.
"No!"
The ancient god struggled.
His enormous body began rising from the ocean.
Water cascaded from his body.
Osial roared.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
Aether continued.
Higher.
Higher.
The entire gigantic body of Osial was lifted into the air.
Everyone watching was speechless.
Even Capitano stared.
Aether raised both hands.
Gravity intensified.
Osial's massive form began compressing inward.
The enormous body was drawn together.
The surrounding sea churned beneath him.
Osial struggled against the invisible force.
His heads roared.
But the pressure continued increasing.
Aether's expression remained completely emotionless.
"You've lost."
Osial's movements became weaker.
His enormous form was compressed into a much smaller shape.
Not destroyed.
Not killed.
But completely restrained.
Aether held him there for several seconds.
Then he stopped increasing the pressure.
His inner voice analyzed the result.
Target combat capability: critically reduced.
Aether looked at Osial.
"You can't fight anymore."
Osial's remaining strength was barely enough to move.
Aether released the gravitational hold.
Osial dropped.
Aether redirected his momentum.
The enormous creature flew toward the shore.
He crashed into the coastline with a tremendous impact.
Water surged outward.
The ground shook.
But Osial remained alive.
He attempted to rise.
Nothing happened.
His heads lowered.
He no longer had the strength to continue.
Aether slowly descended.
His golden wings carried him toward the battlefield.
He landed several meters away from Osial.
The storm continued around him.
Rain fell across his face.
Osial looked toward him.
For the first time, the ancient Lord of the Vortex seemed to understand the difference between himself and the person standing before him.
Aether lowered his sword.
"You should have chosen your opponent more carefully."
Osial didn't answer.
He simply remained where he had fallen.
The battle was over.
Aether had won.
And across Liyue, everyone who had witnessed the battle stood in stunned silence.
No one knew what would happen next.
But one thing was certain.
The young traveler who had once been imprisoned by Liyue had returned to its shores as something far more powerful than anyone had imagined.
And this time...
Aether had chosen the battlefield himself.