"This is a token of our alliance—
and my challenge to you."
"All of my wisdom is hidden within this stone lock."
"If you can unlock it…"
Zhongli was drawn back to the moment he first met the Dust God, Guizhong.
That day, the wilderness was filled with blooming Glaze Lilies.
A barefoot girl in a flowing, wide-sleeved dress stood before him, presenting the token with a face that tried—and failed—to look solemn, excitement sparkling in her eyes.
Zhongli had seen countless gods in his lifetime.
Yet among them all, only this lively Dust God had ever taken the initiative to ask him to form an alliance.
At the time, Zhongli had been faintly impatient.
How foolish, he thought.
There is no formal contract. We are merely acting together of our own accord…
Seeing his silence, Guizhong smiled.
"You don't always have to keep such a stiff face. Everyone actually likes you, you know. I used to think the same way—once you held divine authority, you had to look cold and aloof."
"But those adorable humans—so tiny and fragile, like dust—kept telling me that no matter how hard things get, you should always learn to smile."
"Look, I finally learned—"
She squinted her eyes and grinned foolishly at Zhongli.
"That's enough!" Zhongli snapped.
"For the sake of all living beings, I will give my all in this war."
Hands clasped behind his back, he turned toward the vast sea of clouds beyond the mountains.
"Oh… okay."
Scolded, Guizhong shrugged her shoulders—then stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Then… can I still travel with you? Fight alongside you?"
"As you wish."
"Hee-hee…"
From that day on, she quietly followed behind Zhongli.
Cloud Retainer and the other adepti often laughed at her, calling her a mere tagalong.
Yet in countless battles that followed, Guizhong repeatedly helped Zhongli escape mortal danger.
And every time he was wounded, she was always the first to appear—tending to his injuries with meticulous care.
Once, Zhongli asked suspiciously,
"Are you a spy sent by my enemies? Why are you always watching me?"
Guizhong covered her mouth and laughed, finding the man beside her strangely endearing.
"Yes, yes. I'm a spy for the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial—here to assassinate you."
During the early and middle stages of the Archon War, gods fell almost daily.
Zhongli was not the strongest among them; many rivals stood on equal footing with him.
Unable to suppress all foes alone, he led Azhdaha and the adepti and yaksha in relentless campaigns across the land.
Constant assassination attempts left Zhongli perpetually on edge. Hearing Guizhong's reply, he immediately raised his stone spear and aimed it at her.
"What did you say? Say that again."
Seeing that he had taken her seriously, Guizhong burst into tears.
"I—I can't help you much. Our strength is worlds apart. I can only do small things."
"In this age of great strife, you fight every day. Your life is always in danger. I just… I don't want you to get hurt. I want to protect these incredible humans together with you."
Zhongli didn't understand why she was crying—but at last, he realized she was a reliable ally. From then on, he resolved not to let her face danger.
Yet when he spoke, his concern turned cold.
"If you understand that you are a burden, then you should keep your distance. My enemies will use you against me—because you are close to me."
"Hee-hee. If they try to threaten you with me, I'll just kill myself!"
Calling her unreasonable, Zhongli turned and walked away.
Later, in a brutal battle, Zhongli was ambushed by ten demon gods and gravely wounded.
At the brink of death, arrows streaked across the sky, covering his retreat.
Those arrows were launched from the Guizhong Ballista she had created.
Together with her close friend Madame Ping, Guizhong used the ballistae to save him.
"Such a life-saving debt—how can I ever repay it?" Zhongli asked afterward.
"What do you want?"
"Don't drive me away," she replied softly.
"Let me stay with you. Always."
Zhongli sighed. He had no answer for her.
As the Archon War neared its end, the name Morax shook the world, marking him as a leading contender among the Seven.
In the most perilous decisive battle—upon the seas of Guyun Stone Forest—Zhongli faced the ten demon gods once more, alongside Azhdaha.
The battle raged on—perhaps a year, perhaps five.
Azhdaha's physical body shattered; his spirit nearly dispersed.
Zhongli himself was covered in wounds, his Geo Archon body reduced to half its form.
In the end, the ten demon gods were defeated and sealed beneath the sea.
Before he could savor victory, news arrived—Guili Plains had been attacked.
Zhongli rushed back.
Guizhong and the adepti fought to the death to protect the people.
But Guizhong was not skilled in combat. She fell in battle.
When Zhongli arrived, she was already dying—her life barely sustained by the yaksha, waiting only for his safe return.
With her final breath, Guizhong smiled faintly.
"It seems… I still can't walk this road with you…"
"And that lock… forget about it…"
For the first time, Zhongli wanted to hold her—if only her hand.
Not long before, she had told him she wished to learn how humans smiled through hardship.
So he had secretly observed them.
It was a funeral.
A husband embraced his wife's body—killed by war.
Guizhong loved humanity more deeply than anyone.
So Zhongli wished to send her off in a human way.
But her body scattered into countless grains of dust, drifting across the fields of Guili Plains.
That day—
Every Glaze Lily in Guili Plains withered overnight.
They would never bloom there again.
Back at the auction hall.
Zhongli leaned forward, staring blankly at the Dust of Realms Lock.
Terrifying Geo energy surged within him, as if ready to burst forth at any moment.
"Planning to seize it by force?" Severin asked calmly.
"The contract of auction has already been formed. Those who break contracts suffer the punishment of stone."
Sensing Zhongli's instability, Severin released a trace of divine power to steady him.
If Rex Lapis lost control here, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Even after more than three thousand years, Guizhong's death still haunted Morax.
Outwardly, he drank tea and watched operas in leisure—
yet inwardly, he was more troubled and lost than anyone.
He couldn't unlock the Dust of Realms Lock.
He didn't understand Guizhong's last words.
Nor could he comprehend why he still clung to the memory of a former ally.
The flickering Geo energy in Zhongli's eyes finally calmed.
"Contracts must never be broken. They are Liyue's foundation," he sighed.
"I almost committed a grave mistake."
"No harm done, Morax," Severin replied lightly.
"To err is human."
He deliberately spoke Zhongli's true name.
Zhongli studied the young man before him anew.
"With a single sentence, you pulled me from obsession. You wield such profound Cryo power—and possess insight not inferior to my own. You are the Prince of Snezhnaya?"
Severin nodded.
Zhongli raised his teacup in salute.
After the earlier lesson and this auction, he truly acknowledged Severin as a friend—title aside.
At this moment, bidding had reached a frenzy.
Facing a treasured artifact of Rex Lapis, everyone wanted to enshrine it at home for protection and prosperity.
Zhongli looked at the Dust of Realms Lock, clearly preparing to bid.
"Morax," Severin said calmly,
"I advise you not to buy it back."
Zhongli explained,
"Last year, during the Lantern Rite, I was lost in thought. I returned the lock to Guili Plains and buried it. Now… I regret it."
"Morax," Severin said softly,
"you believe you never unlocked its secret, don't you?"
"But have you ever considered this—
the moment you stopped being Rex Lapis, Morax, and became Zhongli, consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—
you had already unlocked the Dust of Realms Lock."
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