Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

The battle in Mondstadt is fierce, and the situation on Venti's side is also not going well.

The secret realm teleported them to Dvalin's lair, but Dvalin reacted quickly, immediately flapping its wings and flying into the sky.

Paimon: "He flew away!"

"Leave it to me." Wendy's braids began to glow, and a gust of wind began to rise around them, pushing them toward Dvalin.

"Traveler, it's up to you from behind." Wendy stood guard at the rear, supporting the group. The Traveler used wind element to attack the poisonous blood on Dvalin's back, but Dvalin was clearly driven mad by them, and he himself was preparing to launch an attack to stop them from pulling out the poisonous thorns.

Diluc: "Oh no, he's preparing to counterattack."

Qin: "He's flying towards that high platform. Let's land there."

Wendy controlled the wind direction to ensure everyone landed safely. He breathed heavily, as he was also feeling the effects of the recent blow.

Paimon: "Wendy... are you alright...?"

Wendy spread his hands, and the Poem of the Last Lament appeared in his palm: "Hahaha, it's alright, this platform is perfect, this way I can fight Dvalin on equal terms. Teyvat would be better off having a bard come to its aid!"

Diluc: "Watch out, it's coming!"

As soon as Diluc finished speaking, Dvalin appeared high in the sky in front of them, his claws attacking them, and the hurricanes his wings whipped up waves in an attempt to blow them down.

Paimon: "How are we...how do we get close to him! This...this is too dangerous!"

Wind energy gathered in Dvalin's mouth, and Wendy seized the opportunity to unleash a sword strike. The wind energy in Dvalin's mouth dissipated instantly, injuring him in the process and causing him to fall before them, temporarily unable to fly.

Wendy gasped for breath and quickly called out to Kong, "Hurry up and remove the filthy blood from Dvalin's neck!"

Kong reacted quickly, grabbing his sword and forcefully hacking at the dark purple poisonous thorn. The thorn was as hard as the dragon scales that grew on Dvalin's body, but Kong possessed an incredible power that could purify it; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to cut a notch in it.

"Roar!!!" Dvalin felt the pain and woke up, beginning to struggle violently.

Paimon: "Kong! Get down here quickly! It's awake! It's dangerous!"

Kong continued swinging his sword, his mind screaming: (Faster, faster!)

Diluc and Jean exchanged a glance, then immediately used their weapons to distract Dvalin. Venti took a deep breath and used his Anemo ability again to trap Dvalin, buying time for Sora. Unfortunately, Dvalin eventually broke free, and Sora fell off its back, which Diluc caught.

Qin: "Everyone, be careful! His attack is coming!"

High in the sky, Dvalin roared, its wings flashing with wind elemental light, and countless wind elemental attacks rained down from above…

Wendy quickly told everyone to evacuate: "Let's go to the other platform! This place is about to collapse!"

The group immediately jumped onto a nearby platform, thus avoiding the attack.

Paimon: "That was dangerous..."

While aiming at Tetvalin, Wendy continued Paimon's words, "That's Tetvalin's signature move, [Finale of the End], be careful next time!"

Paimon: "...What a strange name..."

Wendy fired the arrow she had just used, hitting the tumor squarely, and then said, "Hey... I just removed it..."

Sora, Jean, Diluc: ...

Wendy's arrow caused Dvalin to collapse in pain. This time, without Wendy's prompting, Kong consciously went up to continue removing the tumor.

Wendy looked at Dvalin and said softly, "Dvalin... just bear with it a little longer... it'll be over soon..."

This time, the tumor finally disappeared. Kong wiped away his cold sweat and waved to those below to indicate that he had succeeded.

Paimon waved happily in celebration, Jean smiled with a rare relaxed expression, and Diluc's lips curled up, indicating that he was in a good mood.

However, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to shake, and cracks appeared.

Paimon: "Ah! Run! We're going to fall!"

Diluc was the first to remove his weapons, and Sora jumped off Dvalin's back, but the crack was clearly moving faster than them, and the platform quickly collapsed...

"Hmm!" Xuan Qing, seemingly sensing something above Mondstadt, immediately looked up at the sky, but quickly turned back to the battlefield on the ground against the monsters. The knights were already at a disadvantage in terms of stamina, but the monsters were still gathering, and even coming in more fiercely, like a final charge...

"Hmph..." Xuan Qing's eyes turned to the monster wearing armor not far away—the Abyss Apostle, a monster with even greater power than an Abyss Mage.

The Lesser Yin transforms into an arrow, the bowstring is fully drawn, and the wind element is compressed into a sharp arrow, silently shooting towards its target, killing the enemy before they can even react. The compressed wind energy within the arrow immediately explodes, sweeping across the entire battlefield in an instant.

The monster was lifted high into the air and then crashed down. The knights retreated immediately and were unharmed, but someone shouted, "It's Lord Wind God! Lord Wind God has returned!"

The Knights were filled with arrogance and once again took up their weapons to attack the monsters. This time, without the orders of the Abyss Apostles, the monsters immediately scattered and fled. The final outcome, of course, was Mondstadt's victory!

The rising sun revealed its colors, and people below chanted Barbatos's name. Xuan Qing's lips curled up, and he was in a very good mood.

High in the sky, the falling people were caught by the giant dragon that had just awakened, and they were all safe and sound.

Wendy lay on Dvalin's back, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds, filled with endless emotion: "It's been so long since we flew together... Dvalin..."

Dvalin: "Just now... why... unlike before, did you ask me to [protect] you...?"

Wendy smiled slightly and sat up: "I don't want you to obey the Abyss, but that doesn't mean you have to obey me, Dvalin."

An energy formed in Wendy's hand and then merged into Dvalin's body. His originally dull wings began to shine, and his scales emitted a bluish-green glow.

Dvalin said with some surprise, "This is... the power of the Wind God's Familiar, but I am no longer the Guardian of the Four Winds."

Wendy didn't seem to mind and comforted him, "Even without that identity, you still protected us, didn't you? From now on, with my blessings in mind, fly more freely."

The story ends as follows:

The dragon scourge of Mondstadt has thus come to an end. Jean, representing the Knights of Favonius, clarified the misunderstandings to the public and announced the resolution of the matter. Diluc and Xuanqing are discussing the next meeting, Venti is playing a tune on the statue in Mondstadt Square, and Kong—as usual, he's taking Paimon to accept quests and earn Mora. Everything seems normal, haha, of course, if you don't count their occasional sneaky visits to Dvalin…

One day later —

Kong and Paimon learned from Amber that nearby monsters had attacked Mondstadt while they were engaged in battle. A strong gust of wind bought them time to recover after the Knights were already at a disadvantage, allowing them to turn the tide of the battle.

Amber: "So, everyone in the city is talking about the return of the Wind God, and the people's enthusiasm has soared!"

Paimon: "Hmm?...Oh! I see..."

Kong noticed Paimon's question but simply shook his head slightly. Then he said to Amber, "Thank you, Amber. Have you eaten? Would you like to go to the [Deer Hunter] restaurant for lunch?"

Amber: "Oh right! I remember we made a promise to treat you guys to [honey-glazed carrot and pork stir-fry], but I've been busy with the dragon disaster... How about we celebrate this and I treat you guys to it?"

Paimon: "Yay! Even if Amber forgets, Paimon won't forget!"

Amber: "Hehe, I haven't had 'Honey-Glazed Carrot and Pork' in ages! You guys go wait for me at 'Deer Hunter,' I'll be there after the battlefield's cleaned up!"

Kong and Paimon nodded and entered Mondstadt first.

Paimon: "That's strange... Venti has been with us the whole time, so how did he suddenly appear in Mondstadt?"

Kong: "Wait until you see him before you ask him?"

Paimon: "That makes sense. Right now, filling our stomachs is the most important thing."

They arrived at the [Deer Hunter] restaurant, and a blue figure came into their view. They deliberately ignored him, though they were still thinking about retaliating.

Sarah: "Oh, what would the guests like to order today?"

Kaiya: "Sigh... How heartless! Are you just going to ignore me, your 'best friend'?"

Kong feigned surprise: "I accidentally missed you."

Kaeya: "Hahaha... It seems that after the great battle, you've not only grown stronger, but also acquired the knightly virtue of 'humor.' The new hero of Mondstadt standing before me—as a knight, I feel a real morale boost."

Paimon: "Kaiya's just sweet-talking again."

Kaiya: "Haha, I'm telling the truth."

Sora: "What are you doing here?"

Kaiya: "I'm looking for a quiet place to sort out my thoughts."

Paimon: "The other knights are all working hard to clean up the battlefield..."

Kaiya: "Thinking is hard work too. I think cleaning up the trash is easier."

Paimon: "Hmm? So what are you thinking about?"

"It's about... the Abyss Order," Kaeya said, uttering the name.

Kaeya: "With the dragon scourge raging and the Knights Commander far away fighting dragons, this presents a golden strategic opportunity for the Abyss Order. If you were a monster in the Abyss Order, would you only send Hilichurls to 'seize this opportunity'?"

Following Kaeya's train of thought, Kong also fell into deep thought: "It's strange that only Hilichurls are attacking..."

Kaeya: "To see the truth clearly, my decision is to wait—to observe their further actions. Until the day you turn the Stormterror's Lair upside down, and the shouts of the Hilichurls echo through the city gates..."

Kaeya: "I have finally spotted a suspicious figure in Mondstadt."

"In the city?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise.

Kaeya: "Well, when the other knights were defending the city from the outside, that was when the city's defenses were at their weakest. So, I stayed in the city and dealt with the Abyss Order's infiltrators for a while."

Kaeya: "Through some underhanded means, I obtained new information. The information is: behind these assembled Abyss Order monsters, there is a leader."

Paimon: "The...leader of the Abyss Order?"

Kaeya: "The plan to transform Dvalin into weapons of war was also devised by that leader."

"What kind of 'tricks' would you use to find out all this?" Paimon wondered again.

Kaeya: "Hehehe... You can consider it my natural talent in 'language.' That leader is called... 'Princess' by the monsters of the Abyss Order."

Sora: "The Princess..."

Kaeya: "Alright, that's enough intelligence sharing for now. I think I see Amber coming this way. I secretly retreated to Mondstadt and didn't stay with her to fight the enemy. She seems to still be angry with me... Please allow me to leave for a bit and lay low for a while."

As soon as Kaeya left, Amber ran over. It was hard to tell whether it was a coincidence or just too much of a coincidence.

Amber: "That guy Kaeya actually ran away! He must be feeling guilty!"

"Actually, he's been working hard in secret too..." Sora tried to explain for Kaiya, but it seemed to be no use...

Amber: "Is that so? Hmm...you weren't fooled by his sweet talk, were you?"

Amber: "Never mind him for now. I'm so tired, my stomach is growling. Let's order first! Miss Sarah, I'd like 'Honey-glazed Carrot and Pork Stir-fry'—"

Xuan Qing was sitting with his eyes closed in an inconspicuous corner when Xuan Yue flew in from afar to join him, bringing news…

Xuan Qing's strange eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Let's go see what qualifications she has."