A little earlier...
After leaping into the Mouth of the Chasm, Lumine found herself in the same predicament as Qingge had been in before—only worse. Most of the Abyss Monsters had stopped climbing toward the Chasm Entrance and were now turning their attention to her.
Facing the dense swarm of Abyss Monsters, Lumine fluidly switched between three elements, her longsword tearing through the creatures one after another.
While Lumine was locked in a stalemate with the Abyss Monsters, in the Player World...
The players, already anxious about entering The Chasm, were immediately swarmed by hordes of monsters. Though these creatures dealt relatively low damage, they proved incredibly difficult to kill.
Even Chen Xiyao, with her well-leveled character, struggled to defeat them. The average players fared even worse.
[Ugh, these monsters are disgusting! I've never seen anything so repulsive!]
[Why are their shields so long? And why are they so thick?!]
[Mihoyo's brains must be rusted over! Who thought it was a good idea to make these revolting things?!]
[I need to find Qingge! Why are they trapping me here?!]
The players grumbled incessantly, but fortunately, Mihoyo wasn't that cruel. After clearing several waves of monsters, a message popped up on their screens:
[After a grueling battle, you finally break free from the monster swarm. You notice the number of Abyss Monsters seems to have dwindled significantly, but you have no time to ponder this. A growing sense of unease urges you onward.]
[Don't mess with me! A sense of unease?!]
[[Qingge's down there alone! No way...!]
[Mihoyo, I swear, if you actually...]
-
At the Chasm Entrance.
The Abyss Monsters below had ceased their assault, and Tartaglia, a master of crowd control, quickly suppressed the remaining Abyss Monsters above.
Nearly a third of the Millelith had fallen, and almost all survivors bore injuries.
Tartaglia approached Qingxu. "Stay here and be safe. You know you can't do anything down there. I'm going to rescue your sister."
Turning to a Millelith Commander, he barked, "Guard her! Lady Mu ordered it!"
The summoned commander nodded vigorously at Tartaglia. Though he was Fatui, at least for now, he was helping them.
"Rest assured, we will protect Lady Mu's sister with our lives!"
Tears welled in Qingxu's eyes, but she stubbornly wiped them away. "You'll bring my sister back, won't you?"
Tartaglia paused mid-jump, his body still for a moment. "Absolutely!"
Whoosh—
He plunged into the chasm.
After Tartaglia's descent, Millelith Commander Chong Sui immediately assigned several soldiers to guard Qingxu.
"Miss Mu, you are the most important person to Lady Mu. You absolutely must not come to harm. Leave the rest to us."
Chong Sui gave Mu Qingxu a crisp military salute. Though the girl was young, her bravery during the battle had earned the respect of every soldier.
Truly, Lady Mu's own sister!
Chong Sui led the remaining combat-ready Millelith toward the chasm's depths. They were Millelith, Lady Mu's soldiers. If a woman like Lady Mu could charge the front lines, they certainly wouldn't stand idle!
Millelith, fight to the death and never retreat!
Solid as the Chasm, unyielding as the mountains...
-
The team dispatched to reinforce The Chasm moved quickly, but for Yelan, it was still too slow.
At that moment, she and Shenhe were riding on Ganyu's back, who had transformed into a qilin, leaving the main force far behind.
When Ganyu tired, they switched: Shenhe carried Ganyu while Yelan activated her rapid movement state, repeating the cycle.
A journey that would normally take days was now being covered in just a few hours thanks to their combined efforts.
As they raced toward The Chasm, Yelan couldn't help but wonder:
What would have happened if I hadn't listened to Qingge's message to return?
The Adepti are all occupied; the Abyss Monster Tide there isn't a simple matter. Can the Millelith stationed there and Qingge really hold them back?
Yelan pondered Qingge's temperament, suddenly recalling the scene she had witnessed after Qingge entered that door at the bottom of the Abyss.
Her anxiety deepened.
Qingge, Qingge... you idiot! Don't you dare get hurt!
Ganyu and Shenhe were both quite familiar with Qingge. As the Qixing's Secretary, Ganyu often had to interact with her, and Qingge even frequented Cloud Retainer's abode, where she first met Shenhe.
Though their relationship had initially remained superficial, ever since Shenhe started helping at Wanmin Restaurant, Qingge often went there, and the two had gradually become friends.
For Shenhe, "friend" meant someone she cherished deeply.
Now that she knew her friend was in danger, she would move heaven and earth to save her!
-
Deep within The Chasm, Lumine's relentless search for Qingge finally bore fruit.
Deeper still, she encountered someone other than the Abyss Monsters.
But it wasn't Qingge she found; instead, it was Malice, the creature that made her grit her teeth in hatred!
"Bastard! Where's Qingge?!"
The moment she saw Malice, Lumine's heart skipped a beat.
From her earlier conversation with Diluc, she knew this creature could communicate. She didn't know if Qingge had encountered it down here.
Malice remained silent, wordlessly retrieving Qingge's severed arm and flinging it toward Lumine.
In the dimness of the cavern and the suddenness of the attack, Lumine initially failed to recognize what Malice had thrown.
As the object hurtled closer, Lumine realized with horror that it seemed... it seemed to be...
Lumine frantically caught the severed arm. When she clearly saw what was in her hands, a bone-chilling coldness spread through her, leaving her mind momentarily blank.
This... this is...
Qingge's... arm?!
A frosty mask descended over Lumine's face, her eyes blazing with fury as her hands trembled with rage.
"You're looking for... its owner... aren't you?"
Malice's voice cut through the air at precisely the wrong moment, igniting the bomb in Lumine's heart.
"What have you done to her, you bastard?!"
"What have I done? Haven't you... already... seen?"
"You... deserve to die!!!"
Roaring those final words with all her might, Lumine lunged at Malice.
-
Player World.
Streamer Chen Xiyao pressed her hands tightly over her mouth, but couldn't completely suppress her sobs.
The live stream's chat exploded with messages, mirroring the chaos from when Rola had been brutally stabbed to death. The sheer volume of messages was overwhelming.
[No! ! !]
[Is that Qingge's arm? Did he... cut it off?!]
[Fuck Mihoyo!]
[Holy shit, he actually did it?!]
[Waaaaah! My Qingge! ! !]
[This has to be fake! Mihoyo wouldn't dare do this, right?!]
[Impossible... Qingge's so strong...]