"Do you remember?" Yunxuan struggled to raise her hand, trying to touch Yunqin's cheek, but she turned her head away without hesitation.
She did not give up, continuing to speak with a choke in her voice, full of nostalgia and pleading.
"We watched the sails at the docks of Liyue Harbor, shared Almond Tofu at Wangshu Inn, picked Glaze Lilies in the Guili Plains, and lay on the grass to sunbathe. You said you wanted to protect every inch of Liyue's land, so all the people could live and work in peace and prosperity..."
These beautiful memories of Liyue, like scattered starlight, briefly illuminated Yunqin's chaotic consciousness.
A flicker of struggle crossed her eyes, the hand gripping the Blade Glow trembled slightly, and a hint of clarity swept through her crimson pupils.
But the Abyss's whispers were like maggots clinging to bones, quickly regaining the upper hand, making her gaze grow even colder and more crazed.
"Shut up!" Yunqin roared, her tone filled with madness and paranoia, her voice piercingly shrill, "You are not me! You are just a weak counterfeit!"
"Only by eradicating you can I be unique! A weakling like you, bound by rules, is utterly unworthy of the name 'Yunqin'!"
Before her words even faded, Yunqin abruptly raised her hand, condensing a dense Abyssal aura into a solid, dark purple Blade Glow. It tore through the air with a sharp whistle, slashing viciously toward Yunxuan!
Yunxuan was already at her limit, barely able to stand, let alone dodge. She could only stare wide-eyed at the approaching Blade Glow, her gaze filled with despair and unwilling resignation.
"No!" Lumine and Lydia cried out in unison, trying to rush forward to intervene, but they were blocked by a sudden stone wall raised by "Zhongli." They could only watch helplessly as the tragedy unfolded, their hearts burning with desperation.
The Blade Glow struck Yunxuan's chest with brutal force. She let out a muffled groan and coughed up a large mouthful of scalding blood, her body collapsing softly to the ground like a kite with its string cut.
Her breath was so faint it seemed it could vanish at any moment, her chest heaving violently. Yet, she still struggled to keep her eyes open, staring fixedly at Yunqin.
"Yunqin... Wake up... Don't let the Abyss control you anymore... Those beautiful memories... they were all real..."
Yunqin looked down at Yunxuan's dying body on the ground, her eyes showing no trace of emotion. Instead, a flicker of twisted pleasure crossed her gaze.
She raised the Blade Glow again, intending to finish Yunxuan's life completely and eliminate this sole "threat."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Osial and Beisht were at their absolute limits.
"Zhongli's" gaze was cold as he approached step by step. He raised his hand and struck Osial's head with a palm strike. Osial let out a muffled groan, his massive body crashing to the ground.
Seeing this, Beisht summoned her last ounce of strength to launch a sneak attack, but "Zhongli" struck her with a backhand palm. Her body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming heavily against the rock wall.
She let out a dull thud, her breath now a mere flicker of life.
"Zhongli" slowly turned around, his crimson eyes filled with a dense, suffocating killing intent. He walked toward Lumine and Lydia, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly, carrying an overwhelming pressure: "Now, it's your turn."
-
At this moment, across the Genshin Impact live streams on Earth's various platforms.
In Lu Nanqing's stream, she stared fixedly at the screen where Yunxuan lay fallen, tears streaming down like broken pearls, splashing onto her keyboard and forming wet stains.
Her voice, choked with a breakdown, was almost a shriek: "Yunxuan! No! Mihoyo, are you crazy? Why do you have to do this to them!"
She raised her hand and slammed it hard against the desk, making the microphone buzz with the impact: "Yunqin, wake up!"
The stream's chat was instantly flooded with a wave of grief and rage, scrolling so fast it was impossible to read, the dense text nearly bursting the screen:
"I can't take this anymore! Even as Yunxuan's life was fading, she was still trying to persuade Yunqin, only to be treated so cruelly!"
"Osial and Beisht are both gravely injured. Are they really going to wipe out the whole team?"
"Yunqin is too deeply controlled by the Abyss, not even their beautiful memories can wake her. My heart aches for Yunxuan!"
"Stop the angst! Stop the angst! If you keep twisting the knife like this, I'm actually going to quit the game! Yunxuan can't die! Please, Mihoyo!"
Other streamers' chats were also boiling over.
On the official Genshin Impact forums and social platforms, trending posts were refreshing frantically every second.
Hashtags like #YunxuanMustLive, #MihoyoYouOweUsAnExplanation, and #MyHeartAchesForYunxuan quickly seized the top spots on the trending list.
"My mind is filled with images of Yunxuan lying on the ground, and the look she gave Yunqin in the end, full of reluctance and heartache, I'm literally crying to death!"
"Osial and Beisht are both no match for 'Zhongli.' Who will come to save Lumine and Lydia next? Is Yunqin really completely beyond saving?"
"Why do you have to make two identical people kill each other? Mihoyo, do you just enjoy seeing us cry?!"
"Please, Mihoyo, don't let Yunxuan die! Give us players a chance! I'm willing to trade all my Primogems just to have Yunxuan live!"
-
Meanwhile, in the world of Teyvat.
"Zhongli's" eyes were locked onto Lumine and Lydia, dark energy churning like ink all around him.
Countless Abyss vortexes materialized out of thin air behind him, and a dense array of pitch-black Stone Spears pierced through them, their tips gleaming with a bone-chilling cold light as they aimed directly at the two women's vital points.
The overwhelming pressure felt like Mount Tai collapsing upon them, leaving Lumine and Lydia frozen stiff, their limbs as heavy as lead, and their blood seemingly congealed in their veins.
The two could only watch helplessly as the Stone Spears tore through the air with a whistle, hurtling fiercely toward them.
Despair drowned them like a tidal wave.
At this critical moment, a frail yet resolute figure suddenly threw herself forward, shielding them both.
It was Yunxuan, already on the brink of death!
She mustered the last shred of her remaining strength, using her broken body to build a barrier of flesh and blood.
"Puff, puff, puff!"
Several pitch-black Stone Spears pierced through her body without resistance!
Scalding blood instantly stained her tattered clothes crimson, trickling down the cold Stone Spears to pool in a glaringly red puddle on the ground.
Yunxuan's body slumped forward, her breath completely ceasing. Those eyes, always filled with resentment and hope, finally closed slowly, with undried tears still clinging to her long eyelashes.
She couldn't even manage a final cry before her life force vanished forever. Only the faint, relieved curve at the corner of her mouth spoke of her final obsession.
"Yunxuan!" Lumine and Lydia wailed heart-wrenchingly, tears streaming down their faces and splashing into the pool of blood on the ground, creating expanding ripples.
Yet they remained firmly bound by the overwhelming pressure, lacking even the strength to step forward and embrace Yunxuan. They could only watch helplessly as her body gradually lost its warmth, their hearts aching so much they could barely breathe.
Not far away, though severely injured and unable to move, Osial and Beisht witnessed this scene with crystal clarity, their eyes splitting with fury.
Osial unleashed a low, thunderous roar, the Hydro Element around him churning wildly, yet it could only vainly strike against the shackles binding his body. His massive frame trembled violently with a mixture of fury and helplessness.
Beisht's eyes were rimmed with red, tears streaming down his cheeks. He bit his lip so hard he tasted blood, yet he still couldn't suppress the grief and resentment in his heart, forced to watch helplessly as Yunxuan fell protecting others.
Across from them, the moment Yunqin saw the last flicker of life vanish from Yunxuan's eyes, the madness and glee on her face froze, as if a pause button had been pressed.
Immediately after, an indescribable terror swept over her like a tidal wave.