At the Chasm Entrance of the Chasm.
Qingxu meticulously prepared Qingge's remains. Shenhe and Yelan worked together to freeze her in a block of ice, placing it on a cart.
Qingxu pushed the cart herself, refusing to let anyone else take over.
She was taking her sister... home.
Yelan, Shenhe, and Ganyu followed behind. Tartaglia had left alone, his destination unknown.
The Millelith soldiers, suffering numerous casualties, remained behind at Yelan's insistence, awaiting reinforcements.
Lumine and Paimon stared at Qingge, now frozen in a massive block of ice, their gazes lingering in stunned silence.
Back then, Rola had also been encased in a similar block of ice...
-
Player World.
As the setting sun cast its golden rays, and Qingge was being escorted home by her companions, a quest notification appeared on the players' screens:
[Steadfast Bedrock (Complete)]
Throughout the storyline so far, Chen Xiyao had remained mired in grief over Qingge's death.
Her meticulously applied makeup had long since been ruined by tears, but at this moment, she couldn't care less about such trivialities.
Chen Xiyao and the viewers in her live stream collectively condemned Malice and Mihoyo, huddling together for comfort in their shared sorrow.
In moments of collective sorrow, people find a strange comfort.
Seeing others even more devastated can paradoxically alleviate one's own grief.
"Qingge is just... gone... It still doesn't feel real. What I truly can't understand is why the quest ended here!"
The live stream chat buzzed with similar questions:
[That's it?]
[Zhongli's rage was palpable. He's definitely going to retaliate!]
[Retaliate how? That dog is hiding! Who can find it now?]
[Waaah, my Qingge—!]
As the chat raged against Mihoyo's rushed conclusion, Chen Xiyao's computer screen refreshed with a new quest:
Scheme of the Abyss (Started)
Wiping away her tears, Chen Xiyao sat back down, her eyes still red.
"Let's see what the hell the Abyss's plan is! Why did they have to kill off two of my favorite characters in a row?!"
-
Somewhere in Liyue.
Aether pursued the trail of Malice, but his methods were imprecise. It was like a blind man groping for an elephant; he was getting nowhere.
Just as Aether was about to give up, a figure suddenly appeared before him.
Aether retreated warily. "Morax..."
Morax's cold gaze fixed on Aether. "You seem to be able to locate that creature."
Aether: "..."
Morax: "I require your assistance in finding it."
Though he phrased it as a request, his tone remained frigid, devoid of any emotional warmth.
"Is this how the God of Contracts asks for help?" Aether retorted.
"The contract stipulates that I will not target your Abyss Order."
Aether: "..."
He couldn't argue with that.
"My methods can't pinpoint its exact location," Aether explained. "I can only detect its approximate whereabouts."
"That will suffice," Morax replied.
"Very well."
Aether was the Prince of the Abyss Order. Though he had no direct connection to the Abyss, he couldn't claim complete detachment.
The creature's actions in Mondstadt had already enraged the Anemo Archon. Now, its rampage in Liyue had provoked the Geo Archon. Aether genuinely feared that these two Original Archons would turn their wrath against the Abyss Order.
Moreover, his sister seemed to harbor deep resentment toward him.
Morax's cold demeanor was almost a relief—the fact that he hadn't immediately impaled Aether with his spear was already a gesture of restraint.
One had to know their place in the world.
-
Liyue.
Having recklessly expended a considerable amount of Emotional Feedback Points, Malice had granted herself a fatal setting: a Forbidden Technique that would instantly kill her upon use but grant her immense power for a short time.
After all, as the primary antagonist of the early stages, and having caused such a massive stir in both Mondstadt and Liyue, it would be anticlimactic if she were treated as mere fodder. The players and the protagonist party wouldn't find their revenge as satisfying.
If her demise was inevitable, she needed to make it a grand spectacle, even if just by a hair.
She had to portray herself as being driven into a corner, with no escape, until she had no choice but to gamble everything and unleash her full power against them.
"Hmm?"
Charging forward at full speed, Malice slammed into something and was sent tumbling head over heels.
She rose to her feet and cautiously groped forward, soon encountering an invisible wall.
Malice: ???
She had passed through this area before; there was no wall here! She couldn't possibly be mistaken!
Could it be... they're tightening the encirclement?!
Malice quickly guessed the truth, but...
Doesn't Morax care about exhausting his energy like this?
He can just summon a shield over all of Liyue on a whim?
Even with Venti's help, this shouldn't be possible! Can their divine power really withstand such constant drain?
It seemed they were truly furious this time, determined to kill her at all costs.
Resigned, Malice changed direction and fled again.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Lumine and Paimon suddenly encountered Aether. Lumine was astonished—this was the first time Aether had ever sought her out.
"Aether..."
Aether gazed at the dejected pair and sighed softly. "The Geo Archon, the Anemo Archon, and I are hunting down that Abyss creature. Want to join us?"
Hearing Aether's purpose, Lumine's listlessness vanished instantly. Her eyes widened, and she asked urgently, "Where? Let's go! I'm in!"
Rage burned on Lumine's face, and Paimon clenched her tiny fist.
"Follow me..."
Aether led Lumine and Paimon to the Teleport Waypoint. "The summit of Jueyun Karst. Just teleport there."
After giving these instructions, Aether waited nearby until Lumine and Paimon teleported away. Only then did he open a portal and step through.
-
On the highest peak in Jueyun Karst:
"Old Man, let me take over now. You've expended too much energy..."
Barbatos, guided by Aether's secret detection method, gradually narrowed the scope of the Profound Shield, step by step shrinking the area it covered.
It was a crude method, but at this moment, only this crude method could help them locate Malice.
With each reduction, Malice would inevitably be contained within the shield's boundaries.
Lumine, Paimon, and Diluc stood behind, completely unable to participate in Zhongli's group hunt.
Diluc stood silently, his gaze fixed on the vast expanse of Liyue's land.
He eagerly anticipated the moment when that creature would struggle in its death throes.
The scene of Rola's final day, when she had wept to him, remained etched in his heart. He had even sought help from the Anemo Archon to experience the soul-devouring pain himself. After just a few seconds, the agony had nearly made him faint.
And Rola—Rola, whom he had cherished since childhood—had endured that torment for days!
Every time he thought of this, he wished he could tear that creature limb from limb!
These were his nightmares. Until he tortured that Abyss fiend to death, he would never find peace!
Lumine quietly watched her brother. He seemed to be desperately trying to prove to her that he truly had no connection to that monster.