Just as the Geo element was about to form, the Vision suddenly erupted with a fierce sense of rejection!
Immediately after, a chilling aura spread from the Vision, constricting the meridians within her body.
Yunqin let out a muffled groan. Her Elemental Power instantly dissipated, and her limbs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, making even breathing difficult.
This Vision was rejecting her!
"You thought that just because you wear Yunqin's face, you could truly become her? This body never belonged to you in the first place." Seeing this, the Abyss Knight's voice came through its helmet, full of mockery and ridicule.
Before the words had even fully fallen, the Abyss Knight suddenly exerted force, enduring the intense pain in its back, and swung its jet-black longsword backward to stab at Yunqin's left shoulder!
The sword was both fast and fierce, carrying a hint of madness.
Yunqin instinctively tried to dodge, but her movements were a half-beat slow.
With a shink, the sharp blade instantly sliced through her left shoulder.
Blood dripped onto the ground and was quickly dried by the high heat, leaving dark stains behind, as the smell of blood filled the air.
The excruciating pain forced a cry from Yunqin's lips. She stumbled back two steps, leaning against the cold wall to barely keep her footing.
The wound on her left shoulder burned fiercely, as if countless ants were gnawing at it. What made her heart race even faster was the growing sense of rejection from the Vision.
Now, even the Elemental Power within her body had begun to run wild, making it difficult to maintain the water veil around her. The pale blue veil gradually became transparent, almost dissipating completely.
The Abyss Knight slowly rose to his feet, reaching out to pat the dust off his Cryo Armor. His movements were leisurely, exuding an aura of overwhelming dominance.
He walked toward Yunqin step by step, each footfall striking a nerve: "Look at you now, how pathetic you are."
He extended his hand, using the jet-black longsword to lift Yunqin's chin, forcing her to look up.
The dragon-headed helmet was almost pressed against her face. The cold aura emanating from it made Yunqin shiver uncontrollably.
"You are nothing more than a parasite borrowing someone else's body. Don't even dream of replacing them."
Yunqin bit her lower lip hard, tasting a faint metallic tang of blood.
Enduring the pain in her chin and the excruciating ache in her left shoulder, she raised her hand, attempting to reach for the fallen lyre bow to counterattack.
But the moment her fingers touched the bow, a wave of weakness swept over her.
The numbness caused by the Vision had already spread to her fingertips, and she had barely any strength left to even lift her hand, her fingers trembling futilely.
"I am no parasite... I am Yunqin... I did not borrow someone else's body..." She glared defiantly at the Abyss Knight.
"Is that so?" The Abyss Knight sneered, his foot coming down heavily on Yunqin's dropped lyre bow.
With a crisp crack, the lyre bow instantly snapped into two pieces, dissolving into a pool of clear water before being evaporated by the intense heat.
The Abyss Knight's smile grew even more cruel as dark energy oozed from his body, gradually enveloping Yunqin.
"The Adeptus was she... You, a descendant of a god who only broke their seal by using the Abyss, are nothing but an imposter!"
He raised his hand, and the pitch-black mist slowly crept toward Yunqin, freezing the very air it touched.
"Now..." The Abyss Knight paused, his voice dripping with malice, "I will let you witness with your own eyes how this body is devoured by the Abyss, leaving not even a single bone behind!"
Yunqin watched as the dark energy drew closer, her heart filling with despair. Her back pressed tightly against the cold stone wall, leaving her nowhere to retreat.
She could feel the strength within her body growing weaker and weaker, while the Vision's rejection nearly swallowed her consciousness.
The pitch-black mist was like greedy tentacles, slowly winding around Yunqin's ankles. Its icy touch crawled up her skin, slipping into her collar and coiling around her wrists, until even her breath was laced with a bone-chilling cold.
She lay paralyzed on the ground, her consciousness drifting on the edge of darkness. The Vision's rejection felt like a dull knife, tearing through her meridians with every pulse, while the wound on her left shoulder throbbed so intensely that her vision went black.
Was she really going to vanish here?
Just like this, dying in a place no one would ever find.
When she had only just... seen so little of this world...
The weakness in her body grew heavier. The black mist had already risen to her chest, and even her fingertips were losing all sensation.
Just as the black mist was about to cover her mouth and nose, a golden Geo light suddenly pierced the darkness!
Whoosh
The sharp sound of the Stone Spear breaking the air made the stone walls of the forge tremble. The long spear, forged entirely from Millennial Cor Lapis, pierced the Abyss Knight's chest with the unique, heavy pressure of a god!
The dark energy froze instantly, like a snake scalded by boiling water.
Then it twisted and struggled frantically, never daring to take another step forward.
Yunqin's entire body went limp, and she collapsed completely to the ground.
Her vision blurred, seeing only the Abyss Knight stiffly lowering his head to look at the Stone Spear impaling his chest. Pitch-black blood dripped from the spear's tip, corroding small holes into the ground.
"Who?!" The Abyss Knight trembled in disbelief, his dragon-headed helmet slowly turning backward.
Against the light, a dark-robed figure walked slowly toward them.
The Geo element aura Zhongli emanated was as heavy as the mountains of Liyue.
With each step he took, faint rock patterns faintly appeared on the ground, and even the air seemed to solidify.
He walked in front of the Abyss Knight, his eyes as cold as thousand-year-old jade. Without any unnecessary movements, he simply slowly withdrew the Stone Spear that had pierced the other's chest.
Pitch-black blood splattered onto his cuffs, yet it failed to tarnish the majesty befitting the Archon of this mortal realm.
His gaze swept over the gaping wound in the Abyss Knight's chest. There was no flesh or blood within, only an endless stream of dark energy that seemed like a bottomless abyss.
Zhongli's frown deepened, clearly sensing the eerie nature of this power.
Without a word, he vanished as if by magic, appearing beside Yunqin. His large hand gently covered the carotid artery on her neck.
Feeling her faint but still beating pulse, the tension in his brow finally softened. A flicker of relief passed unnoticed in his eyes, and even the piercing Geo element radiating from his body dimmed.
"Speak," Zhongli said as he turned back to the Abyss Knight. His voice held no inflection, yet it struck like a heavy hammer against the heart, carrying an unquestionable sense of pressure. "Who are you? Why did you attack Yunqin? What conspiracy lies behind the 'He' and the 'Reincarnation' you spoke of?"
The Abyss Knight stumbled back two steps, clutching the wound on his chest, then suddenly erupted in a jarring, cold laugh. "The Seven Archons... you meddle far too much!"
"Knowing too much, are you not afraid that 'They' in the Heavens will unleash Divine Punishment, making Liyue repeat the tragedies of the Archon War?" He deliberately emphasized the word "They," his tone brimming with provocation. Dark energy flowed through the gaps between his fingers, coalescing into a twisted pattern on the ground.
Zhongli did not reply, merely gazing at him in silence.
The Geo element radiating from his body grew denser, and sharp Geo spikes began to emerge from the ground, spreading densely toward the Abyss Knight.
That was the pressure of a god, weighing down on the Abyss Knight's heart like an invisible mountain, making even breathing difficult.