Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

In a mountain village slightly north of Liyue, a dark figure entered a cave under the cover of night.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" The question carried a heavy sense of pressure.

"I'm certain that the demon god possesses a more refined Dragon King power than the Dragon King Ruotu. Even if its original form isn't a dragon, there must be some connection between them."

"Hehe, good, very good." A huge figure emerged from the depths, and a dragon appeared: "If I eat them, will I be able to transform into a dragon king faster?"

"Of...of course, sir," the shadowy figure replied tremulously.

"Then, give the order and make preparations."

"Yes."

On a cliff in Liyue—

"You did it on purpose." Xuan Yue's words were not a question, but a statement of certainty.

“Yes.” Xuan Qing did not deny it: “In the darkness, no demon god can escape my perception.”

"Heh, are you now preparing to push for the end of the war?" Xuan Yue said in a rare cold voice.

"Yes."

Do you know the consequences of doing this?

"know."

“Xuanqing,” Xuanyue met his gaze expressionlessly, “you are now just like them, filled with [divinity].” The meaning behind this was self-evident.

“The War of Demons and Gods can only end with seven victors,” Xuan Qing paused before speaking again, “and we are no exception.”

"..."

"Xuan Yue, the future is in your hands."

Xuan Yue just looked at him, unable to say anything, but still responded with a sound and didn't say anything more.

"It's dawn, time to go, routine." With that, Xuanqing's spirit disappeared, and when Ruo Yavis opened his eyes, he was once again dressed as Xuanqing.

(I'm going back to rest. You can handle the rest.) Xuan Yue left only these words, handing over control to Xuan Qing.

Xuanqing didn't say anything more, but scale patterns appeared on his black robe, his purple pupils turned into vertical dragon pupils, and his aura changed slightly, making him somewhat similar to the Dragon King Ruotu.

"I'm sorry..." Xuan Qing looked towards the direction of the sunrise, but it was unclear whether he was looking at Li Yue or Jue Yun Jian, or perhaps both...

--split line--

"Just recently, the Heavenly Emperor and the Emperor, along with all the immortals, decided on some matters. What were they? I heard that the Heavenly Emperor decided to improve the magical artifacts made by the immortals as a reward for the efforts made by mortals in the war. This artifact is the Taiwei Yipan, which was personally crafted by the Heavenly Emperor."

The storyteller was speaking enthusiastically on stage, while the audience was a vast sea of ​​people who took a break from their busy schedules to listen to the rest of the story.

"The Celestial Lord made the decision to bestow this celestial artifact upon the currently powerful Ancient Hua Sect, and the Emperor also nodded in agreement without any objection. It is said that the Celestial Lord only said this sentence: 'The current peace in Liyue cannot ignore the efforts of mortals. It is commendable that mortals fight against demons with their own bodies.' The immortals all nodded in agreement."

"Recently, besides the Gu Hua faction which is gaining momentum, there is another person who has caught the Emperor's eye."

"Who?"

"Say it quickly!"

"Isn't that Old Hu who sells white cloth?!"

"Hey, that's Old Hu from the city, the one who hangs white cloths and treats the sick when someone in the family dies. Old Hu is a doctor, and he's the kindest person. I'm sure everyone knows about the ghost incident at Wuwang Slope during the Lantern Festival. I heard that the Heavenly Emperor and the Emperor joined forces to resolve this incident. The Heavenly Emperor used his extraordinary abilities to create a special place for those souls to be reborn, thus repairing the boundary between life and death in the mortal world."

“But every house needs a gatekeeper to guard the boundary. So the Emperor picked and chose among the mortals, and that’s how he chose Old Hu.”

"The Emperor appeared before Old Hu, who was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and couldn't get up for a long time. The Emperor didn't mind and asked, 'Are you willing to take over the boundary between life and death and guide the souls through the cycle of reincarnation?' Upon hearing this, Old Hu mustered all his strength to stand up and said, 'By order of the Emperor, I am willing to guide the souls of the dead through the cycle of reincarnation in this life. My descendants will also strictly abide by this order and guard the boundary between life and death. Those who break their promises will be punished.' The contract was made, and the Emperor left. Now you see, Old Hu's shop has been renamed the Hall of Rebirth."

After the storyteller finished telling this part, seeing the audience's unsatisfied expressions, he suddenly felt the urge to continue.

"Sir! Sir!" At this moment, a child waved his little hand from below the stage and shouted, "Where are the Heavenly Emperor and the Emperor recently?"

"This..." The storyteller stammered, unable to speak.

"I know that. Things have been unsettled at the seaside lately, and most of the Chongyan Army has gathered there. I estimate that a war is about to break out there. The Heavenly Lord and the Emperor are currently fighting."

"Oh, I see..." The child scratched his head. "Mom, shall we go see the sea after the war is over?"

"Okay," the child's mother replied with a smile.

But things weren't peaceful at the beach at that time—

"How many batches is this? I'm exhausted." Li Shui sat panting on a tree, holding a gun, looking at the blood-stained seawater and the corpses on the surface.

"Be vigilant; this sea demon is not easy to deal with," Xiaoyue warned.

Morax stood in mid-air, scanning the sea. If you looked closely, you would see that his expression was very unnatural.

"What's wrong?" Xuan Qing appeared beside him at this moment, but unlike Morax, he was splattered with some blood and some sticky, transparent juice.

After all, the sea contains not only fish but also some strange creatures with tentacles.

"Well, given my current situation, it's not very good," Morax said somewhat awkwardly.

"Is that so? Then I'll go and remind them to prepare for another attack." Xuan Qing was about to go down to give the warning, but Morax stopped him again.

"There won't be a new wave of enemies in the sea for the time being. After all, these are just probing attacks, not a full-scale enemy offensive."

"then you……"

"It's my personal reason. I didn't expect you to completely misunderstand what I meant."

"So, what I mean by 'the situation is bad' is..."

"I have a bit of a grudge against those tentacled creatures in the sea, so it's inevitable that I'll..."

Xuan Qing nodded after listening: "I understand. It was a bit of a surprise."

"Haha, even a demon god is not perfect; there will always be weaknesses."

“I agree with that, but in recent months, things from the sea have been frequently coming up to harass us, and the soldiers’ bodies are clearly not holding up.” Xuan Qing shifted his gaze to the Chongyan Army soldiers. Some of them were covered in bandages, while others had only suffered minor injuries, but their spirits were clearly failing.

"This must be their plan, to wear us down before launching a final offensive. After all, we can't afford a war of attrition right now," Morax analyzed. "And you, how do you feel?"

"I'm mentally exhausted. The next batch will probably be replaced by Xuan Yue. My spirit is weak right now, and if I lose my mind, it will only give the enemy an opportunity."

"Is your injury still not healed?"

"The wound of a split soul can only be healed when the soul is restored to its wholeness, and Xuan Yue is still somewhat resistant to it." Xuan Qing spoke as if it were a trivial matter.

"Really, there's no other way to keep both of you at the same time."

Xuan Qing paused, and after a long while, he finally spoke: "What you're saying is rather foolish. When [divinity] and [humanity] are separated, [humanity] will fall into depravity due to joys and sorrows, while [divinity], lacking emotions and desires, will not offer any so-called help. The two cannot be restrained, and it might even hasten the death of one, causing nothing but harm." Xuan Qing's words were ruthless, and Morax fell silent in response.

"Don't be sad, at least we're all doing well now."

(What do you mean we're still doing well now!) Xuan Yue's voice rang out, refuting Xuan Qing's words.

(Big Iceberg! Hurry up and let me take your place! Look at your soul! Still trying to hold on! Come back now!) Xuan Yue's tone was clearly very angry.

"Okay, then I'm going to rest." Xuan Qing said goodbye to Morax and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Xuan Yue was there.

“Really, it’s still the same as always.” Xuan Yue sighed, then spoke to Morax: “It’s undeniable that Xuan Qing is right. He and I haven’t merged yet, so you don’t need to be sad. But actually, merging wouldn’t make any difference. After all, we were originally Noavis. After merging, the real Noavis will return, and you should be happy.”

"Well, that's your private matter, but..." Morax said with some emotion, "the thought of one of you leaving makes me sad."

"He's right, you will indeed be a very good leader in the future."

"what?"

"It's nothing, let's continue patrolling. I estimate they'll launch another attack around dusk."

"Okay, I'll be patrolling the skies. You guys be careful."

"Let's go." Xuan Yue donned her divine armor, flicked her fan which transformed into a long spear, and headed straight for the sea.

"What, here we go again?" Liu Yun's head drooped instantly.

"That's... Xuan Yue?!" Li Shui exclaimed in surprise.

"It seems Xuanqing is also starting to feel the strain. Having two souls is great; if one gets tired, the other can take over, allowing for rotation and rest." Xiaoyue said with a hint of envy.

"Alright, we're not demons, tearing apart our souls to create our own," Liu Yun said mercilessly.

Xuan Yue frowned as she looked at the calm sea. After a moment, she thrust her spear down, freezing a thick layer of ice.

"It escaped." Xuan Yue frowned and shouted towards the shore, "Warning! Something in the sea is approaching this area!"

"Warning! Warning!" Chongyan Army immediately picked up their weapons, and the immortals rose again to protect the humans behind them.

Xuan Yue submerged underwater, while Morax, wielding the Rainbow Piercing Spear, remained suspended in mid-air.

The air was completely still, the atmosphere was oppressive...

"Boom!" Xuan Yue used her spear to lift a transparent monster covered in tentacles into the air, then reached out and froze the monster into an ice sculpture before throwing it into the black hole.

"What...is that?!"

"What kind of monster is it now?!"

"..."

The crowd began to stir, the immortals became nervous, and Morax's expression also turned grim.

"These things are practically invisible in water, so watch your step. They can regenerate if you cut them into pieces, so it's best not to make any rash moves," Xuan Yue warned.

"Step back," Morax warned the others, then unleashed a Rock Rain attack from the sky, instantly stirring up waves on the sea surface, with tentacles churning.

Xuan Yue seized the opportunity, plunged back into the water, and plucked out the tentacles one by one. Emerging from the sea, she wielded her spear, splitting the sea and the sky with a single thrust…

Working together with Morax, the sea quickly calmed down again.

“Let’s retreat,” Xuan Yue said to Morax. “I’ll go take care of the wounded.”

He then flew into the camp to treat the soldiers.

"Did you all see that clearly...?" The Moon-Slicing Immortals were still standing there, stunned.

"I saw it," Risui added.

"Who said Xuan Yue's combat power is weak! It has even split the sea open!" Liu Yun was furious. Xuan Yue's single strike had cleaved several trenches in the seabed, causing the sea level to drop by an unknown amount.

I don't know who among the immortals said that Xuan Yue's attack was weak, but it's ridiculously weak!

Xiaoyue and Lishui nodded in response, both feeling that perhaps they had misunderstood the word "weak".

"Ah! Who said that about me?" Ruoduo, far away in Liyue, sneezed.

"Did we put too much pepper in?" Mark Hughes looked up from the kitchen.

"It shouldn't be. Would the Dragon King catch a cold?" Gui Zhong paused his writing amidst the pile of documents and asked.

"It's nothing, just a normal reaction."

None of them took it seriously...