Liyue Harbor.
Jade Chamber.
Finally… it's over.
Keqing stepped out of the chamber and headed toward where Ningguang and the Adepti waited.
After that mysterious white-haired girl suppressed the Vortex Demon God, Liyue had returned to its usual calm—
But that calm belonged only to the people.
For the Qixing and the Adepti, the aftermath was just beginning.
Massive anti-invasion fortifications constructed to defend against that girl still needed dismantling.
City order needed restoring.
Disaster relief needed organization.
And more.
The Adepti handled Orobashi-related remnants; the Qixing handled everything else.
Keqing had been drowning in work for days.
At least… Now it is finally wrapping up.
Once the Adepti returned to Jueyun, she could in theory rest—
But she had no intention of resting.
There was still too much to do.
Still…
Everything should be finished now, right…?
"Honored Adepti, thank you for your aid these past days," Ningguang said with her usual refined smile.
"Without you, the Qixing alone could not have been completed so much so quickly."
"No need for thanks. We are the Adepti of Liyue—this is our duty," Cloud Retainer replied, sounding unusually pleased. She had witnessed the Qixing's capability firsthand in these last few days.
"In that case, we shall—hm?"
Moon Carver's words halted mid-sentence.
The clear sky darkened in an instant.
Thunderheads rolled together, swallowing the sun.
Moments later, violent winds ripped across the Jade Chamber, sharp enough to force everyone's eyes half-shut.
"What—what's going on?! Don't tell me another Demon God is coming out!?"
Keqing forced one eye open against the gale, heart pounding.
Ever since Orobashi's eruption, even normal thunderstorms gave her PTSD.
A cloudburst? A sudden gust?
Her first thought was always the sea demon is back—
Enough to scare even Ningguang at times.
The Vortex Demon God…?
No—wait. What is…
Ningguang instinctively turned toward Guyun Stone Forest—
but her pupils contracted sharply.
Guyun was peaceful. Completely still.
The disturbance wasn't from the sea.
It was from the sky—
Above the left side of Dragonspine, where a colossal mass of clouds was coiling together.
Pitch-black, thick as ink, expanding with visible speed.
Within minutes, it would reach Liyue.
Beneath that darkness, the land was swallowed in shadow as if night had fallen.
And the clouds…
They weren't simply gathering.
They were rotating. Rapidly.
As if encircling some unseen core.
Forks of lightning flickered within, like venomous serpents writhing through tar-black night—
Bright for a heartbeat, then consumed by darkness again.
If this were a painting, it would be the end of the world.
What…
Is it inside that storm?
Even Ningguang's always-composed features showed rare shock.
"This baleful aura… unprecedented…"
Moon Carver's voice trembled.
He had lived for countless years—never had he witnessed such an oppressive presence.
Not even during the Archon War.
No—
Not even Rex Lapis at his absolute peak possessed a presence like this.
Not even close.
Even at this immense distance, the pressure was suffocating—
his Adeptus power instinctively recoiled, shrinking deeper into his body.
His own power… was afraid.
What kind of being could inspire this level of dread?
"Has the disaster from five hundred years ago come again…?"
Madam Ping's voice shook.
Memories flooded her—
A black curse spreading like floodwater,
festering blood eating through land and steel,
warriors falling like wheat beneath a sickle,
gods collapsing in ruin.
A time of suffocating darkness.
And this presence…
far surpassed any god of the present age.
Even the Seven combined would not compare.
A disaster worse than the one five hundred years ago was descending.
"What… is happening…"
Mountain Shaper whispered.
Even Xiao stood silent, his expression heavier than stone.
He had faced countless horrors—
but nothing like this.
This presence was beyond "monsters," beyond "calamity."
It was something from a different tier of existence.
Five hundred years ago?
Keqing blinked.
She didn't understand the Adepti's murmurs, but she could sense clearly:
That darkness…
was wrong.
Deeply, viscerally wrong.
The Abyss?
No… something even worse.
Zhongli stood on a high pavilion overlooking Mondstadt's distant direction.
His face, usually serene, had darkened.
He had been quietly drinking tea—
when a presence erupted across the continent.
A presence far beyond even the strongest of the Seven.
Possibly beyond even the Heavenly Principles themselves.
Worse—
that power was still rising.
If this continued, Teyvat's very fabric would collapse.
Even without its wielder doing anything, its mere existence was destabilizing the leylines.
Teyvat was facing annihilation.
All beings… will suffer.
"Honored Adepti—
No…"
"The Emperor is here."
Ningguang turned, startled, as a figure in white appeared behind them—hands folded calmly behind his back.
"Rex Lapis…"
"I have come because of this matter," Zhongli said without turning.
"I am going to investigate.
You all—stay here and protect Liyue's people."
He paused.
"If I do not return…
Remember—stay away from that place.
This crisis concerns all of Teyvat, but it is not one mortal nor Adepti can intervene in."
The Adepti froze.
Even Keqing went pale.
Even he spoke of not returning…?
"Rex Lapis…"
"Emperor, what is happening?! Is it another Demon God?!"
But Zhongli did not answer.
He vanished.
"Rex Lapis!"
"Ei! Don't tell me—don't tell me it's happening again! Ei—wait!"
"Stay here and guard Inazuma!"
Ei didn't hesitate.
Before Yae Miko could protest, the Shogun vanished in a flash of violet lightning—
leaving only an echo of her words behind.
Miko stood frozen.
Her stomach twisted.
Again…
Just like five hundred years ago.
And once more—
She was ordered to stay behind.
This time… to guard Inazuma in her place.
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