The morning I left Wangshu Inn was cool and misty. The encounter with the Vigilant Yaksha, Xiao, had left a deep impression on me. It was a stark reminder that I was a trespasser here, an anomaly carrying a dangerous taint in a land guarded by ancient, powerful beings. My brief respite was over; to linger was to invite scrutiny I could not afford.
With a final, wistful look at the towering inn that had been my first bastion of safety, I set out on the main road heading east. My destination was Liyue Harbor, a sea of humanity where I hoped my own strange presence would become just another drop in the ocean.
The journey took me south from the wetlands of the Dihua Marsh. The landscape began to change, the lush greens giving way to the rolling, golden-grassed hills and crumbling stone structures of the Guili Plains. The air here felt different—heavy with the weight of history and unspoken sorrow. Xianyun's warning echoed in my mind. This was a land of fallen gods and forgotten cities, a battlefield where the residue of the Archon War still stained the very soil.
My Energy Perception skill, though still novice, felt the truth in her words. The elemental energy here was chaotic and turbulent, clashing in invisible currents. I touched the red rope Shenhe had given me, its cool, calming presence a welcome anchor against the uneasy atmosphere of the plains. I thought of her, of her own internal battle, and felt a renewed sense of determination. We had both promised to grow stronger. This journey was the first step in fulfilling that promise.
According to the map, the main road snaked around the densest area of the ruins, a long, time-consuming detour. A smaller, older path cut directly through them. It was a clear risk, but it would save me nearly two days of travel. With my limited supplies, it was a risk I felt I had to take.
Entering the heart of the ruins was like stepping into a graveyard. Strange, geometric stone structures, half-swallowed by the earth, stood like weathered tombstones. Faded inscriptions on stone tablets told fragmented stories of a prosperous civilization, of a god of dust and a god of stone ruling together, and of a great calamity that had turned it all to ruin. The silence was profound, broken only by the sigh of the wind through the tall grass.
It was in the middle of a particularly dense cluster of these crumbling stone edifices that my Instinct screamed a silent, violent warning. I dove to the side, my sword already in my hand, just as a trio of missiles made of pure energy slammed into the spot where I had been standing, erupting in a shower of explosive force.
I rolled to my feet and saw it. From behind a collapsed archway, a hulking automaton of ancient design emerged. Its single, glowing red eye fixed on me, a symbol of cold, mechanical malice. A Ruin Guard. And from the other side of the path, the tell-tale sound of grinding gears announced the activation of a second one. I was trapped between them in a narrow, stone-lined corridor.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Hostile entities detected: [Ruin Guard] x2. Analysis: High physical and elemental resistance. Weak point is the core located in the 'eye'. Caution is advised. Survival probability: 17.3%]
The first Ruin Guard stomped forward, its massive metal arms raised to crush me. I was not the weak, injured boy who had fought the Geovishaps. I was healed, and my Anemo power, though still faint, was usable. I met its charge, not with force, but with agility. My body, guided by Eternal Arms Mastery, moved with a grace that felt out of place in this brutal confrontation. I ducked under a sweeping arm, my sword leaving a screeching, sparking gash along its leg that did almost no real damage.
My mind raced, my Tactics skill analyzing the situation. Direct assault was useless. Their armor was too thick. My only hope was to disable them by hitting their core.
I unleashed a Palm Vortex. The gust of wind, which would have sent a group of hilichurls flying, barely made the Ruin Guard flinch. It was like throwing a handful of leaves at a stone wall. My weak Anemo was useless here.
The second Ruin Guard began its infamous spinning attack, its arms a whirlwind of destruction that churned up dust and shattered the ancient flagstones. I was forced to retreat, dodging both the spinning automaton and the stomping attacks of the first. I was being herded, my options dwindling with every passing second.
I needed a new strategy. I used the terrain, ducking behind a crumbling pillar. The first Ruin Guard slammed its fist into the stone, shattering it. I used the explosion of dust and debris as cover, scrambling up a pile of fallen masonry to get a height advantage. From above, I leaped, aiming my sword down like a spear at the creature's glowing eye.
It reacted faster than I anticipated. It swatted me out of the air like a fly, its massive metal hand sending me crashing into a stone wall. Pain erupted in my back, and the breath was knocked from my lungs. I slumped to the ground, my vision blurring.
The Ruin Guard that had hit me advanced slowly, its arms raised for the finishing blow. The other one stood sentinel, blocking my only escape route. This was it. I was out of tricks, out of stamina. My swordsmanship was useless. My Anemo was too weak.
In the face of my own imminent death, a cold, defiant calm settled over me. There was one option left. One last, desperate gambit. A power I had been warned not to use, a fire I had been so carefully, painfully trying to tame.
The Knight of the Wind isn't enough, I thought, a grim finality settling in my soul. Then the King will answer.
[CRITICAL SYSTEM WARNING: Internal Energy Reserves at 3%. Activating Mana Burst may result in total energy depletion and forced unconsciousness. Proceed with extreme caution.]
Confirm, I sent back, my will an unshakeable command.
I didn't try to create an explosion. I didn't have the energy for that. I needed one perfect strike. I pushed myself to one knee, gripping my simple Knights of Favonius sword with both hands. I focused, pulling every last, dormant ember of my golden power from the depths of my soul. I channeled it not outwards, but inwards, pouring it down my aching arms and into the simple, unadorned steel of my blade.
The transformation was instantaneous and breathtaking.
The sword erupted in a blinding, silent flash of golden light. It no longer looked like steel; it looked like a solid shard of the morning sun. Ethereal, intricate patterns of light, patterns I knew from the deepest parts of my memory, flickered across its surface. The air around the blade hummed with an immense, holy power.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Insufficient energy for full Noble Phantasm materialization. Forcing low-level simulation based on host's core template.]
► [Temporary Noble Phantasm Simulation Activated: Caliburn (Rank E-)]
► Description: The Sword of Selection, a holy blade that outputs immense destructive energy against evil. Rank is severely limited by host's depleted state and inadequate vessel.]
As the Ruin Guard's massive fists came crashing down, I swung my sun-forged blade upwards to meet them.
There was no clang of metal on metal. There was only a sound like a divine, harmonious chime. The golden blade passed through the automaton's hardened alloy arms as if they were mist. The holy light did not just cut; it unmade, vaporizing the ancient metal on contact.
With its primary weapons gone, the Ruin Guard was defenseless. I surged forward, my body screaming from the strain of wielding such power, and drove the glowing sword directly into its single, red eye. The light intensified for a moment, and the automaton's core overloaded, its inner mechanisms melting into slag. It froze, then fell backwards with a deafening crash, silent and dead.
The brilliant, golden light on my sword immediately flickered and died, leaving it a simple, slightly glowing piece of steel.
The backlash was absolute. A wave of grey exhaustion washed over me, so total it felt like my own life force was draining away. The world lost its color. My sword fell from my nerveless fingers.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Internal Energy Reserves at 0%. Forced biological recovery initiated. Host will experience extreme weakness, nausea, and severe pain.]
I dropped to my knees, panting, my vision swimming. I had won. I had defeated one.
But the other Ruin Guard was still active. It turned its glowing red eye towards me, its mechanical head tilting as if in curiosity. It began its slow, inexorable advance. I was defenseless. I couldn't even lift my sword. My desperate gambit had only bought me a quicker death.
So this is it, I thought, a bitter sense of irony washing over me. To die in a forgotten ruin, so far from home.
Just as the Ruin Guard raised its foot for a final, crushing stomp, a blur of motion streaked through the air. A thin, glowing line of pure Hydro energy, intricate and complex like a spider's web, wrapped around the automaton's legs, pulling taut and sending it crashing to the ground.
Before it could rise, a figure dropped from the top of a nearby archway with the silence of a hunting cat. She landed in a crouch, and in her hand was a bow that seemed to be made of solidified moonlight and water. She nocked an arrow of pure Hydro, drew, and fired in a single, fluid motion. The arrow struck the downed Ruin Guard's eye with a hiss, the Hydro energy shorting out its core with a violent shower of sparks.
My savior stood, turning to face me. She was a tall, striking woman with short, dark blue hair that faded to a lighter shade at the tips. She wore an elegant, dark-colored outfit that was both practical and regal. But it was her eyes that held my attention. They were sharp, intelligent, and held a penetrating, analytical light. They took in the entire scene in an instant: the two disabled Ruin Guards, my tattered Mondstadt-style clothes, my utter state of exhaustion, and, most importantly, the faint, fading golden motes of holy energy that still clung to my sword lying in the dust.
Her gaze was sharp, her expression a mask of calculating curiosity. "You're a long way from home, little knight of Favonius," she said, her voice a smooth, low alto that held an unmistakable edge of steel. "And you fight with a light this one has never seen before."
She took a step closer, her eyes narrowing. "You have some explaining to do."