[You don't carry Chenxi for long before reaching the exit of The Chasm.]
[Seeing the faint light spilling in from the cave entrance, you know dawn has already broken outside.]
[Once again, you lower Chenxi from your back.]
[The moment Yelan sees your movement, her expression turns sharp with caution.]
["What is it?"]
[She thinks you're about to suggest something else she doesn't want to hear.]
[Seeing how tense she is, you can't help but feel both amused and helpless.]
[You know she's worried about you.]
[It's just that…]
[You give Yelan a gentle smile.]
["Yelan, thanks for everything you've done along the way. It couldn't have been easy."]
[This kind of warm, sincere expression is something Yelan has never seen on your face before.]
[Like thick ice melting away to reveal a calm, quiet lake beneath.]
[Like flawless jade, glowing with a soft and beautiful sheen.]
[Yelan freezes, staring at you as her heart pounds wildly.]
["And thank you… for everything you've done for me."]
["Just ahead is the exit of The Chasm…"]
[As you speak, you casually raise a hand and place it against the rock wall.]
["I think the rest of the road… I should walk it alone."]
["What?"]
[The moment your words sink in, the haze in Yelan's eyes vanishes.]
[She lunges toward you in panic.]
[But she's still a step too slow.]
[Just as her fingertips are about to touch you, a cold glow flares in your palm.]
[Fierce frost surges between the two of you, instantly forming a thick wall of ice.]
["Kael!!!"]
[Yelan loses all trace of her usual elegance, her eyes filled with alarm.]
[She doesn't hesitate. Aqua Simulacra appears in her hands as she draws an arrow and aims it straight at the ice wall.]
[Through the frozen barrier, you can vaguely make out her silhouette.]
[Seeing the blue glow of water energy gathering on the arrowhead, you immediately call out.]
["Wait!"]
[Yelan doesn't lower her weapon.]
[Her fingers are drawn tight on the bowstring, ready to fire at any moment.]
["Kael, drop this ice wall right now. Otherwise, don't blame me for tearing it down by force."]
["That won't be easy. Don't you know water is countered by Cryo?"]
[You speak with a hint of laughter in your voice.]
["Looks like Miss Yelan needs to brush up on her elemental basics."]
["Kael!"]
[Yelan is in no mood for jokes.]
[Her emotions are running so high that even the arm holding the bow begins to tremble.]
["You promised us. You said we'd find a way out together."]
["How could you lie to us like this?"]
[Her voice is thick with anger, and beneath it, a barely hidden sense of hurt.]
["How could you do this…"]
[You reply lightly.]
["As someone in intelligence work, isn't deception what we're best at?"]
["You bastard!"]
[Yelan releases the arrow.]
[The water-infused shot streaks toward the ice wall like a bolt of lightning.]
[The instant it strikes, it freezes in place.]
[Moisture along the arrow crystallizes into ice, locking it firmly against the wall.]
[Just as you said, her elemental attack has no effect at all.]
[You can't see Yelan's movements clearly from the other side, but you hear a sharp crack ring out against the ice.]
[You know she really did attack the wall.]
[You rub the bridge of your nose and speak helplessly.]
["Enough, Yelan. Don't draw the Fatui over here."]
[You were trying to ease her anger with a casual tone.]
[It clearly has the opposite effect.]
[Yelan sounds like she's on the verge of losing control.]
[Sure enough, trying to smooth things over with someone like her was never going to work.]
["Calm down and listen to me first."]
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