Behind the bonfire, Ailina hid behind a hastily erected tent, her eyes bloodshot.
Finally, she could no longer contain herself. She stumbled out from behind the tent and lurched toward the coffin.
The moment her fingers brushed against the cold coffin wood, they trembled violently, as if the icy touch had seared her.
The sight of Angie's mangled body inside the coffin sent a chill down Ailina's spine, even after years of witnessing countless horrors.
These wounds...
What unimaginable suffering Lady Angie must have endured in life!
Ailina clenched her jaw so tightly that her teeth ground together with a grating sound, and her gums bled from the force.
Angie wasn't just her superior, her Lady, but also her kin, her... sister...
Angie was strong and independent, but in private, her many little habits revealed that she was still, at heart, an immature Damselette.
Ailina had witnessed all this firsthand, and the realization cut her deeper than anyone else's.
Seeing Angie in this state, Ailina felt as if a piece of her heart had been forcibly ripped away, leaving a raw, bleeding wound.
Overwhelming agony engulfed her, each breath searing like a knife.
"How could this... You promised me... You said..."
Ailina murmured incoherently, her voice choked with sobs. Tears streamed down her suddenly bloodless cheeks like broken pearls, dripping silently onto the cold coffin.
"I should have been by your side... I should have always been by your side..."
Even if the final outcome was death, she should have been there with her...
Ailina knelt on one knee on the opposite side of the coffin, her head bowed.
In that moment, the lighthouse of her life, her very reason for existence, had been extinguished.
Her despair was a silent, bleeding grief—the utter desolation that follows the collapse of faith.
Many Fatui Soldiers silently gathered around the crystal coffin, maintaining a respectful distance and bowing their heads.
Vanyeliya was among them.
She removed her hat, revealing her delicate features and...
Tear streaks that blurred her vision.
-
Natlan, Stadium of the Sacred Flame.
Two days and two nights had passed since Lumine fell unconscious. She had been asleep the entire time, only awakening now.
Her injuries had completely healed, thanks to Rukkhadevata's healing magic and, more importantly, Lumine's body's remarkable self-healing ability.
The Goddess had infused a portion of her divine energy into Lumine's body, prioritizing its pure and unadulterated nature. This made it highly compatible with Lumine's own energy.
As Lumine channeled this energy, it, in turn, enhanced her body's restorative processes.
Compared to her state five hundred years ago, Lumine's strength had not only fully recovered to its peak but had even surpassed her former zenith.
Aether had been watching over her constantly. Upon her awakening, he told her everything that had happened while she was unconscious.
The battle between the Goddess and the Abyss continued unabated. The Three Gods and the other deities had yet to return.
He had personally delivered Angie's remains to Childe, the Fatui Harbinger. Childe was deeply shaken and had reportedly refused to eat since then.
The atmosphere in Natlan remained somber, the entire nation shrouded in the gloom emanating from the Abyss.
Paimon was still asleep in the Serenitea Pot, clearly exhausted from some ordeal she had endured.
Lumine listened silently, and just as she was about to leave the room...
Boom—!
The two opposing energy waves that had been locked in a celestial stalemate finally erupted into a dramatic shift.
Lumine bolted outside, her gaze piercing through the clouds and endless sea of stars. She saw the pink energy, previously evenly matched with its counterpart, suddenly surge with overwhelming force, seizing the vast majority of the celestial battlefield and shattering the long-maintained equilibrium.
A surge of elation filled Lumine's heart. Without a moment to spare, she leaped into the air, soaring to the highest reaches to observe the conflict more closely.
Then, a terrifying tremor originating beyond the world itself crashed down, shaking the very foundations of Teyvat and shattering the minds of every living being within it.
"Is this... the final Judgment?!"
An uncontrollable surge of emotion welled up within Lumine, mingled with deep concern for the Goddess's fate.
With no time for hesitation, she ascended again, her figure streaking upward like a reverse-flying meteor, piercing through the cloud canopy to the limits of the sky. She strained to capture a clearer view of the battle's changing tides, the conflict that would decide the destiny of Teyvat.
At that moment, the thunderous roar from the starry sea reverberated clearly across every corner of Teyvat.
The Dark Sea.
The Three Gods strained to lift their heads, their gazes fixed on the source of the erupting energy.
"The tide of battle has shifted."
"Victory or defeat hangs in the balance, right here, right now."
Morax and the other gods steeled their resolve. They had previously agreed that if the situation became untenable, they would risk even their own destruction to fight for Teyvat's future.
It wasn't just the Dark Sea; all across Teyvat, people watched the battle unfold in the starry sea.
The world fell utterly silent, yet the silent thunder echoing from the depths of the cosmos stirred every soul.
Liyue Harbor, Jade Chamber.
Ganyu's fingertips dug deep into the white jade railing as she tilted her head back, gazing at the sky stained with an otherworldly radiance.
Keqing's purple hair whipped wildly in the anomalous currents. Gripping Lion's Roar tightly, her eyes burned like lightning as she stared intently at the starry sea.
Though their vision was limited, they could sense the epoch-defining battle raging beyond their sight.
Mondstadt, Favonius Cathedral Plaza.
Every knight instinctively laid a hand on their sword hilt, heads raised toward the heavens.
Grand Master Jean Gunnhildr stood beneath the Statue of the Anemo Archon, took a deep breath, and her clear voice cut through the silence:
"Hold your posts! No matter where the wind guides us, Mondstadt and freedom will endure forever!"
Her resolute oath dispelled the lingering unease, straightening the spines of every Knight.
Sumeru City, before the Akademiya.
The monitoring terminal in Alhaitham's hand emitted a piercing alarm as its energy curve surged beyond historical extremes.
"Exceeding all known parameters," he calmly recorded, though the slight urgency in his tone betrayed his inner turmoil.
Electro crackled around Cyno as he slammed the Staff of the Scarlet Sands into the ground:
"Whatever the stars may portend, we need only defend the land beneath our feet."
Fontaine, by the Court of Fontaine.
The people gathered beneath a shimmering water barrier, gazing up at the bizarre, shifting sky.
Whispers mingled with the anxious cries of children, but Focalors' unwavering leadership acted as a stabilizing force, preventing panic from spreading.
Snezhnaya, outside the Frozen Palace.
The icy wind froze in place as Fatui Soldiers stood in rigid formation, their masked eyes fixed on the heavens.
Though the Tsaritsa and the Harbingers were away on campaign, the Steel Nation maintained its iron discipline. Each soldier gripped their weapon tightly, awaiting the final command.
Natlan.
The war drums fell silent as warriors gathered around the Sacred Flame, the flames and starlight intertwining on their bronze skin. In their silent gazes, there was no fear, only the serene resolve of warriors facing their final battle.
Across all of Teyvat, from bustling port cities to remote Tribes, billions of eyes converged on the same stretch of sky.
Hope and dread intertwined, faith and trepidation coexisted.
They knew their strongest guardians were fighting a bloody battle in the Black Sea beyond the stars. The outcome of that distant cosmic struggle would directly determine whether their world would greet the dawn or plunge into eternal darkness.