Boundless darkness spread across the entirety of Inazuma.
Su Han's power was overwhelming. He even fought his way into the depths of the sea.
If he was going to die,
then why not die gloriously?
Sword qi raged everywhere.
Towering waves were torn apart wherever it passed.
On Mt. Yougou,
Kitsune Saiguu was directing the overall situation.
The young members of the clan had all been sealed away, and Five Kasen had been tricked into staying inside Chinju Forest.
Everything seemed to have been prepared in advance.
But what about him?
Kitsune Saiguu gazed toward the coastline.
Within the black mist,
she could vaguely hear the sounds of that man fighting, yet she could not catch sight of him.
"What is he trying to do? Charging out there so recklessly, does he have a death wish?"
The fox bit her lip, wanting to call Su Han back.
Before she could leave,
Raiden Ei descended from the sky.
"Ei?"
"We'll talk later. My sister seems to have disappeared. I just discovered a message from the Heavenly Principles. It seems she went to Khaenri'ah. I'm worried..."
The Electro Archon's face was filled with concern.
Her sister was not skilled in combat.
And Khaenri'ah appeared to be the source of this catastrophe.
She had a bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
Her heart was filled with unease.
Kitsune Saiguu immediately made a decision.
"Then hurry to Khaenri'ah. Leave things here to us."
"But..."
Ei looked hesitant.
She wasn't foolish.
This catastrophe had engulfed the entire world.
Could Inazuma really withstand it?
If something happened here, how could she explain it to her sister?
Seeing her close friend unable to decide, Kitsune Saiguu smiled.
"Don't be afraid. If we can't win, we can always run away. Trust us this once."
"...All right."
Unable to stop worrying about her sister, Ei transformed into a streak of light and departed.
The moment she left,
countless sea beasts appeared around Inazuma.
Seeing this, Kitsune Saiguu gritted her teeth.
"Everyone, pay attention! Compress the battle lines!"
There were simply too many monsters.
Sending everyone out to fight them head-on would be completely unreasonable.
They had to rely on strategy.
As for the outer defenses, they would have to depend on Su Han.
The battle intensified.
Although the yokai were powerful, they could not withstand the sea beasts' overwhelming strength.
Just as despair began to consume everyone,
that man appeared.
Thunder roared.
Terrifying sword qi swept across the battlefield.
The entire coastline instantly fell silent.
"Lord Swordmaster has arrived!"
"He's incredible!"
A single sword strike came from the west.
Countless sea beasts were swept away.
That overwhelmingly domineering attack left everyone utterly stunned.
In the distance,
Chiyo grinned.
"What an incredible man. If I'd known, I would have sparred with him. But for now, defending comes first."
Inazuma was more than just Narukami Island.
None of its territory could be abandoned.
Chiyo transformed into a crimson shadow and rushed off to reinforce another battlefield.
As for this place,
she left it to Su Han and Kitsune Saiguu.
One hour passed.
Then two.
Su Han had lost count of how many people he had saved.
His utterly fearless fighting style terrified even the sea beasts.
One gigantic monster after another collapsed onto the shore.
"Phew... It's still not over?"
Su Han paused his attacks.
The coastline had temporarily quieted down.
The smaller sea beasts could now be dealt with easily by the yokai.
Yet an ominous feeling lingered in his heart.
In the dream,
he hadn't died charging into battle.
He had fallen helplessly into the black mud.
Judging from those fragmented memories,
there should still be another powerful enemy.
But the coastline before him had already grown quiet.
Unless...
another battlefield had erupted elsewhere.
Just as Su Han was searching for any overlooked threats,
the coastline near Tsurumi Island collapsed.
An overwhelming tide of black monsters surged forth.
Unlike before, every one of them was wrapped in dark purple corruption.
"So this is where they were."
Su Han's eyelids twitched as he looked at the monsters.
He knew there had to be stronger enemies waiting.
Among the countless black creatures stood three grotesquely mutated beings.
One was an enormous Rift Hound.
One was an Oni Beetle magnified ten thousand times over.
The last was a dragon.
Their auras were unbelievably bizarre.
Everywhere they passed became scorched wasteland.
"So these are the final ones?"
Without another thought,
Su Han charged straight toward them.
The soldiers along the coastline trembled in fear as they watched the monsters approach.
At that moment,
a violet streak cut across the sky.
The leading Rift Hound instantly exploded into chunks of flesh.
At the same time,
Su Han was struck by one of its claws.
"Two left!"
He reversed the direction of Tessaiga.
Wind Scar erupted.
The giant Oni Beetle struggled briefly before shattering into countless fragments.
Black liquid splattered all over Su Han.
"Just one left..."
Ignoring defense completely was truly agonizing.
But only this way could he activate the Revive-Revive Fruit.
Gritting his teeth,
Su Han charged at the final monster with his sword.
Several minutes later,
cheers erupted from the coastline.
But no one noticed
that their hero was already covered in wounds.
When Su Han returned to the main battlefield,
he was panting heavily.
His clothes were in tatters.
Bloody wounds covered his entire body.
Even so,
he never stopped fighting.
The number of sea beasts had increased once again.
So he couldn't stop.
Takuno looked at Su Han's miserable condition, his voice choking with emotion.
"Big Brother... I really misunderstood you."
"We can talk later. Guard the entrance to the forest. Make sure none of the yokai die. This battle is far from over."
"I understand."
Takuno understood exactly what Su Han meant.
As long as they held the line,
they would win.
After all,
the strongest monsters had already been eliminated by him.
But another two hours passed.
The sea beasts still hadn't retreated.
Su Han's stamina finally reached its limit.
His body began to sway unsteadily.
It made sense.
He hadn't used the Golden Light Mantra.
He hadn't used Haki.
He hadn't relied on any other abilities.
Lasting this long was already remarkable.
"Enough... Please... Stop already..."
At some point,
Kitsune Saiguu had appeared behind Su Han.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
If not for her pride,
if not for the emotional barrier in her heart,
they would have already been together.
But reality offered no medicine for regret.
No matter how deeply Kitsune Saiguu regretted it,
she could no longer change this ending.
Hearing her familiar voice,
Su Han forced a smile onto his face.
"Don't be afraid. I can still keep going."
"You idiot!!!"
Kitsune Saiguu wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind.
At that moment,
she finally realized how wrong she had been.
Kindness never came without reason.
Neither did love.
Failing to face her own heart had become the greatest mistake of her life.
At that moment,
a crimson flame entered Kitsune Saiguu's sight.
"That is..."
"The Flame of Longing. If you can survive, then we'll definitely meet again in our next life. At the very least, we'll see each other again five hundred years from now."
As Su Han spoke,
hesitation filled his eyes.
He couldn't change history.
The only thing he could do
was allow Kitsune Saiguu to exist as Hanachirusato.
He had considered altering history,
but if everything changed,
would it also affect the future five hundred years later?
For example,
would Hanachirusato still exist back home?
And what exactly had that dream been?
"If I want both Kitsune Saiguu and causality to remain intact... then could I simply create another one?"
Su Han was startled by his own idea.
But there was no harm in trying.
His gaze gradually became resolute.
While Kitsune Saiguu's attention was focused on the Flame of Longing,
he used his eye technique to control her.
Then, using the Human Path,
he extracted a portion of her memories while infusing them with the power of the Flame of Longing.
This was undoubtedly exploiting a loophole.
But under the circumstances,
it was the best possible outcome.
"If this succeeds, then those memories will have to bear the burden. As for Kitsune Saiguu's real body, I'll have to seal it away for now."
Everything was completed in the blink of an eye.
Kitsune Saiguu's duplicate possessed not only her memories,
but also all of her longing for Su Han.
It was practically an independent personality.
As for the original Kitsune Saiguu,
Su Han sealed her away.
"So... let everything end here."
With every arrangement complete,
Su Han could finally go and "die."
The battle unfolded exactly as history recorded.
Inazuma was saved.
The price,
however,
was the deaths of Su Han, Kitsune Saiguu, and Chiyo.
Takuno watched helplessly as both his clan leader and Su Han perished within the black mud.
He let out a grief-stricken roar.
In reality,
he had merely fallen under a genjutsu.
An hour later,
Su Han opened his eyes within a world of darkness.
What was the Underworld really like?
Some imagined it to be filled with yellow clouds and rivers.
Others believed it to resemble the realm of the dead,
dark,
silent,
and devoid of all life.
But in reality,
the true Underworld was astonishingly beautiful.
Flowers bloomed everywhere.
Life flourished throughout.
The ultimate form of death
was life.
Su Han skillfully opened the system panel.
A notification appeared before his eyes.
[Notice: You have died.]
[Notice: Your Revive-Revive Fruit ability has activated. Congratulations, Host. You have become the Lord of the Underworld and may now control and develop your own Underworld.]
[Notice: The Underworld exists independently of all other realms, but it must still rely upon the world of Teyvat.]
[Notice: By opening a passage, you may guide the souls of the dead into the Underworld.]
"Then what are we waiting for? Open it!"
Without any hesitation,
Su Han immediately opened the passage.
Because the Underworld had only just been established,
its influence currently extended to only two nations.
Inazuma.
And Liyue.
At that moment,
on the battlefields of both nations,
silent black rifts slowly appeared.
No one could perceive them.
But the souls of those who had died on the battlefield
instinctively walked toward them.
In less than an hour,
Su Han watched countless souls enter the Underworld.
"Looks pretty good..."
Almost every soul remained intact.
Although some had been corrupted by Abyssal power,
it didn't seem to be a major issue.
Just as he was preparing to leave for Liyue and Sumeru,
something astonishing happened.
Those corrupted souls began walking along the Road to the Underworld.
As they did,
the corruption covering them was gradually washed away.
"So the Road to the Underworld has this ability as well."
"It seems Kitsune Saiguu's sacrifice wasn't in vain."
Su Han sighed softly.
If the corruption on a soul wasn't cleansed,
it would lead to countless problems.
For example,
even after reincarnation,
those flaws would still remain.
Watching the souls remain orderly within the Underworld,
Su Han felt as though something was still missing.
But time was too precious for him to dwell on it.
Another battlefield was waiting.
Putting away the Underworld,
Su Han headed toward Liyue.
The battle there had not yet ended.
There was no time to waste.
Before leaving,
he remembered something.
"Oh right... the four Yakshas."
Before he had come,
Cloud Retainer had asked whether they could be saved.
At this point,
bringing them back to life was likely impossible.
But saving their souls would still be worthwhile.
Releasing his spiritual perception,
Su Han quickly located them.
Unfortunately,
by the time he arrived,
one of the three remaining Yakshas had already perished.
The other two
were also on the verge of death.
"But fortunately, you're still here."
The aura of death erupted from Su Han's hand.
Within a radius of ten li,
every monster was instantly annihilated by the power of death.
The two Yakshas stood frozen.
"Huh? Where did all the enemies go?"
"They're all dead. Did the Geo Lord arrive?"
The two Yakshas looked around,
but saw no sign of the Geo Lord.
Hidden within the shadows,
Su Han had already left behind Marks of Death.
If they died,
their souls would automatically be drawn into the Underworld.
"Reviving you is no longer possible. But after you die, you can become envoys of the Underworld and maintain its order."
"Your bodies are already close to collapsing. Cherish the time you have left."
"Three hours is your limit."
Just as the Yakshas were bewildered,
a majestic voice echoed in their ears.
"Who? Who's speaking?"
"Look at our hands. There's a mark."
Indarias lowered her head.
A black leaf-shaped mark had appeared on both of their hands.
At first,
neither Yaksha believed Su Han's words.
But after examining their bodies,
they realized their life force had already become like a flickering candle in the wind.
"So... we only have three hours left to live?"
"That's right."
"Then let's keep fighting together."
The two Yakshas charged back into the battlefield.
Even at death's door,
they would fulfill their duty.
Leaving Liyue,
Su Han arrived in Sumeru.
Darkness shrouded the land.
The trees that should have been full of life
were now steeped in deathly silence.
It was clear they had all been corrupted.
"Where is Greater Lord Rukkhadevata?"
Su Han spread out his spiritual perception.
He quickly found her in the desert.
That should be the place where she died.
His body transformed into a shadow
and rushed over.
Several minutes later,
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata knelt upon the ground.
The life within her was steadily fading.
Nearby,
a tiny seed slowly sprouted.
It was Nahida.
From her aura alone,
Su Han immediately recognized her identity.
"Then let all of you live within an illusion."
The Rinnegan hypnotized everyone present.
Afterward,
he carried Greater Lord Rukkhadevata away from the desert
and headed toward Khaenri'ah.
Every corrupted beast along the way
was destroyed by the power of death.
War raged everywhere.
As for the so-called Five Sages,
not a single one could be found.
At the very least,
Su Han never saw the Gold Alchemist.
"Heh. Always preaching righteousness and morality, yet abandoning your own nation. What a fine scientist indeed."