The Abyss Knight's figure began to fade in and out of view, as if it could be torn to shreds by the Geo element at any moment.
"Heh..." He glanced at Yunqin on the ground, sneering as his eyes filled with mockery, "Reincarnation is at hand, and even if you are the God of Wealth and Gilded Stone who has guarded Liyue for a thousand years, you cannot stop His awakening!"
"The doom of Teyvat will surely come! When the time arrives, you so-called Gods will be nothing more than dust beneath His feet!"
"I ask you one more time." Zhongli's eyes suddenly sharpened. A majestic Geo Elemental Power erupted instantly, binding the Abyss Knight's body like chains and pinning him firmly in place.
Simultaneously, above the ceiling, a massive Planet Befall slowly materialized. Golden light streamed through the cracks in the roof, carrying an aura of world-destroying power, making even the temperature of the smelting chamber seem to drop.
"What connection does Yunqin have to the 'reincarnation' you mentioned? And Lydia... just how can she be revived?"
This time, his voice held a hint of urgency, even a barely perceptible tremor.
The Abyss Knight did not answer. He only stared fixedly at Yunqin, his eyes filled with an eerie anticipation.
Just as the Planet Befall was about to descend and the stone walls of the smelting chamber began to shake, a violent Hydro Element attack suddenly struck from the side!
Zhongli instinctively turned his head, only to see a lyre-bow condensed from Hydro Element pressed against the center of his back.
The person holding the bow was Yunqin, who had just been collapsed on the ground, her consciousness nearly fading away!
She slowly rose to her feet, her body enveloped in a faint black mist. Her originally clear eyes had now turned crimson.
Hydro Element surged wildly in her palm. Though it was a gentle element, it now exuded an aura more destructive than the Abyss, twisting the very air itself.
Zhongli's pupils constricted, and his hand gripping the Stone Spear trembled slightly.
Having lived for a thousand years, from the Archon War to the founding of Liyue Harbor, he had witnessed countless storms, yet for the first time, he felt such panic.
The Yunqin before him possessed his familiar silhouette, yet also radiated an unfamiliar madness.
That divine power, slightly weaker than his own but far more violent, was absolutely not something Yunqin should possess!
"Yunqin, you..." Zhongli's voice held a hint of disbelief.
He tried to wake her, but Yunqin's eyes held none of their familiar warmth, only a hollow coldness.
Before Zhongli could finish, Yunqin suddenly turned and walked straight into the Planet Befall's target area, standing in front of the Abyss Knight without hesitation.
Hydro Element instantly enveloped her entire body, forming a deep blue barrier. With a wave of her hand, the violent divine power surged out like a tide, directly shredding the power that bound the Abyss Knight.
This colossal power caused even the Planet Befall in the air to shake violently, its golden light dimming slightly.
"Yunqin!" Zhongli roared sharply, his voice full of heartbreak.
He tried to recall the Planet Befall, but discovered that Yunqin's divine power was interfering with his elemental control, and the Geo Element in his palm had become sluggish.
Yunqin did not turn back, her crimson eyes simply turning slightly to look in Zhongli's direction, her lips curling into a cold arc. This was not the smile he knew, but one tinged with mockery.
The Abyss Knight slowly walked to Yunqin's side and gently squeezed the lyre-bow in her hand.
With a "crack," the lyre-bow instantly dissolved into water droplets.
He looked into Yunqin's crimson eyes, a strange smile curling on his lips, and then the black mist around them both instantly expanded, enveloping them like dark clouds.
"Soon, Liyue will change hands." This was the Abyss Knight's cold voice, tinged with the mockery of victory, echoing through the smelting chamber.
"The Vortex will eventually bury this land." This was Yunqin's voice.
It had lost its former liveliness, leaving only a hollow coldness thatstabbed like a blade into Zhongli's heart.
As the black mist dissipated, the spot was already empty, leaving only the undried black traces on the ground to prove that everything just now had not been an illusion.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew in, and Venti's figure suddenly appeared.
He held his lyre, his green cape fluttering in the wind, but his brow was furrowed deeply, his tone filled with gravity: "My wind field actually failed to capture any aura of them escaping..."
"It's as if they never appeared at all..." Venti walked to Zhongli's side, his expression equally grim.
Zhongli sighed deeply, a sliver of a crack finally appearing in his millennia-old composure.
His gaze turned to the roof. The Planet Befall's shaking just now had already caused a huge crack to appear in the ceiling of the Golden House.
The next second, there was a "crash" as it shattered.
Lumine and Paimon fell from above, screaming.
Tartaglia, already in his Foul Legacy form, landed on the ground before Lumine and Paimon.
"You guys..." Tartaglia was about to speak, but as he looked up, he met the gazes of Zhongli and Venti.
Seeing the two gods present at the same time, the words on the tip of his tongue were instantly swallowed back, and he subconsciously suppressed the aura of the Foul Legacy.
The Electro element surrounding Tartaglia had not yet completely dissipated, and the berserk aura brought by the Foul Legacy still lingered in the air.
The battle with Lumine just now had made his blood boil, and the numbness from the clashing of blades still lingered on his fingertips.
He was just about to provoke Lumine, but when he looked up and met the gazes of Zhongli and Venti, that bellicose impulse was instantly extinguished as if doused with water.
Beneath the seemingly casual postures of the two gods was a vigilance that could stir up a hurricane at any moment.
These two were gods who had lived for millennia. Let alone him just deploying the Foul Legacy, even a Fatui Harbinger in his prime would not gain any advantage before the two gods.
"You two..." Tartaglia subconsciously restrained his aura, and the Foul Legacy gradually dissipated like a receding tide, revealing his original appearance.
He scratched his head awkwardly, yet his eyes did not dare to show the slightest hint of slackness.
The battle-high from his fight with Lumine completely receded, leaving only the clear awareness of his own situation.
Zhongli said nothing, only glancing at him with eyes as deep and still as rock jade.
Tartaglia's heart chilled, knowing there was no need for further explanation. Before this God who had guarded Liyue for a thousand years, any pretense was redundant.
After less than two seconds of eye contact, without any extra movement, a trace of lightning had already condensed on Tartaglia's fingertips, and his entire figure was rapidly enveloped by the Electro light.
"Since you two are here, I'll leave the Traveler to you." He nodded hastily in the direction of Lumine and Paimon.
Before his voice even finished, his entire figure had vanished instantly.
Only a lingering trace of Electro element remained in the air to prove he had indeed been there.
"Eh? Why did he run away?"
Paimon had just helped Lumine to her feet, and before she could even pat the dust off herself, she saw Tartaglia's disappearing back and couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Lumine braced herself on the ground as she stood up, her arm still faintly numb from the recent battle.
She looked in the direction Tartaglia had disappeared and shook her head helplessly: "He didn't run away, he just knows his limits."