Yunqin did not dodge or evade. The Geo element rapidly condensed around her body, forming a complete set of Geo Armor.
Ancient adeptal runes flowed across the armor's surface, emitting a faint golden glow and protecting her thoroughly.
The fragments struck the Geo Armor, producing a crisp "clink, clink, clank," yet they failed to leave even a single scratch.
Taking advantage of the moment when Xiao Qin's old strength had just faded and her new strength had yet to arise, Yunqin suddenly bent down. Her right leg once again condensed golden light, which this time shone even more brilliantly than before, actually forming a golden whirlwind around her body.
The whirlwind was laced with countless tiny rock blades, resembling a rotating golden meat grinder.
"This move is the one I prepared for you!" Yunqin shouted softly, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible exhaustion.
Her body spun like a top, the golden whirlwind sweeping up the sharp blades of the Geo element as she launched a fierce attack against Xiao Qin.
Xiao Qin was forced back repeatedly. The feather blades on her wings were shredded by the whirlwind, and the dark energy on her body was suppressed by the golden light, causing it to shrink continuously and reveal her pale face.
A flash of desperate madness crossed her eyes as she suddenly unleashed all her Abyssal power. The dark energy condensed in front of her into the phantom of a god, standing a hundred feet tall.
"Since you want to die, I will grant your wish!"
"This is the power condensed from all your suffering, as well as the suffering of all the people of Liyue. Feel this despair!"
Yunqin looked at the phantom of the god rushing toward her. Her heart held no fear, but instead, a powerful conviction surged within her.
The phantom of the god struck with wind pressure that tore the heavens and earth asunder. Yunqin's hands began to tremble slightly. The extreme pressure caused a hazy white light to suddenly appear before her eyes.
It was not the darkness of the Abyss, but a warm halo like the morning light of Liyue, which began to flow rapidly before her eyes.
-
The first image to emerge was the morning sun over Mt. Aocang.
Her younger self crouched on the ground, clutching a newly carved Rex Lapis figurine that had just been ruined, her fingertips frozen red.
Zhongli stood nearby, his voice as gentle as ancient stone: "Yunqin, the resilience of Geo lies not in its form, but in the heart."
Back then, she did not understand the meaning of his words, only that she followed her Master to learn the art of carving figurines and deciphering the runes etched into the stone.
The scene shifted to the Lantern Rite in Liyue Harbor.
She held her Master's hand, squeezed among the crowd to watch the Xiao Lanterns soar across the sky.
Xianyun held up a lantern painted with Rex Lapis and smiled as she offered it to her: "Make a wish, it might just come true!"
She looked down at the Xiao Lantern and made a wish with all her heart: "I wish for Liyue to be safe forever."
As the Xiao Lantern rose, she saw Zhongli standing on the rocks at the pier.
Then came the nightmare that had long haunted her.
In the dream... she was curled up in a cave on Mt. Aocang, covered in dust, while a torrential rain poured outside.
She wept, her voice a low, broken murmur.
When the rain stopped, she saw a blurred figure standing at the cave's entrance...
It's Hydro Qin!
At the time, she did not know that was another version of herself, only that the loneliness in the other's eyes was identical to her own.
Then came the moment her Vision lit up.
As she was engulfed by the Abyssal Black Miasma and her consciousness began to fade, the Vision that had appeared before her eyes suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light.
Zhongli's voice seemed to whisper in her ear: "Protection is not an obsession, but a choice."
Venti's wind also gently brushed across her cheek: "Don't give up, little girl, your story isn't over yet."
She saw her own hand condensing Geo energy, forcibly tearing through the shroud of black miasma!
At that moment, she finally understood what her Master meant by "the heart."
She understood the true meaning of power.
The revolving images of her life gradually faded away, and Yunqin's hands ceased to tremble as the golden light surrounding her body grew even more brilliant.
"My pain..."
She completely fused the Geo element with the last of the adeptal energy within her body, and the Stone Spear instantly transformed into a colossal spear a thousand meters long!
The spear's tip shimmered with a divine golden light, and the runes on its shaft flowed like living things, radiating a power that could purify everything.
"It's for protecting everything I cherish: my Master's teachings, the companionship of my friends, and every single lantern in Liyue!"
Yunqin gripped the Stone Spear tightly with both hands, and with a posture almost like a sacrifice, she thrust it fiercely toward the phantom of the god.
Wherever the spear's tip passed, the dark energy melted like snow, and even space itself began to distort slightly, while the entire sea surface trembled violently under this power.
"BOOM!"
The moment the colossal Stone Spear collided with the phantom of the god, the golden light completely devoured the dark energy, illuminating the entire sea as bright as day. Countless stone pillars rose from the seabed, forming a magnificent stone forest that stood like a barrier protecting Liyue.
Xiao Qin's figure was sent flying backward in the golden light, the bat wings on her back completely shattered, and the dark energy around her body scattered like sand as she fell heavily onto the sea surface, kicking up a large splash of black water.
Yunqin also fell to one knee due to her overextended power, the Geo Armor covered in cracks on her body shattering along with it, as bright red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"I told you, you can never replace me... because you will never understand the meaning of protection."
-
On the battlefield, the clash between golden light and dark energy nearly tore the night sky apart, the sonic booms making the sea surface churn continuously, while the god's roars and the God's deep snarls wove together into a symphony of destruction.
Hydro Qin hovered at the side of the battlefield, her fingertips rapidly plucking the violin formed from the Hydro Element, the melodious tune flowing like moonlight, fiercely suppressing Xiao Qin's conscious control over Osial and Beisht.
But as the dark energy around Xiao Qin suddenly surged, her melody gradually became sluggish, and the fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead slid down her pale cheek, splashing onto the violin and creating tiny ripples of water.
Xiao Qin's illusion was violently backlashing through the Abyssal power, the grievance of being ostracized by the people, the pain of being misunderstood by family, the fear of being swallowed by the Abyss...
Countless negative emotions flooded into her mind like a tide, making her feel dizzy in waves, and double images even began to appear before her eyes.
Yet she still bit her lower lip hard, forcing herself to keep the melody from breaking.
Once she stopped, Osial and Beisht would completely become Xiao Qin's puppets.
For a moment, the main battlefield completely descended into a duel between Yunqin and Xiao Qin.
Xiao Qin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her pitch-black eyes churning with frenzied rage, even the dark energy around her body following suit in agitation.
"Do you think you can defeat me with such meager skills?"
She raised her hand and waved it, and from the dark energy, a sturdy shield of the Geo element and a sharp blade of the Hydro element condensed simultaneously.
The two powers intertwined in her palm, appearing even more tyrannical than when Yunqin and Hydro Qin used them individually.
"I have absorbed all of you!"
"Everything you have, I have; and everything you don't have, I have too!"
Before her voice even faded, Xiao Qin had already transformed into a dark figure and pounced, the water blade piercing straight at Yunqin's heart with a sharp sound that tore through the air.
Yunqin's gaze was resolute, and she barely managed to sidestep the attack. The water blade grazed her, leaving a deep gash on the hem of her clothes.
"Is this all you've got?"
Xiao Qin sneered, then swung her other hand to strike Yunqin's shoulder. The dark energy coiled around it like poisonous vines, instantly wrapping around Yunqin's shoulder.