"GANYU!!!" you scream from below, your voice cracking and hoarse against the storm's roar. Your hand stretches out in vain, as if sheer willpower alone could pull her back.
Just as the lethal water cannon is only inches from Ganyu's body… BZZZT! TRANG! The air around her suddenly crackles. A blinding flash of purple light tears through the night's darkness, followed by a thunderclap that deafens the ears.
A silhouette streaks forward at lightning speed, leaving trails of electricity behind. The figure reaches Ganyu at the exact critical moment. In the blink of an eye, she vanishes from the cannon's path. DUAARRR!
The water cannon slams into a building behind where Ganyu had stood, obliterating it into stone dust and flying wooden splinters that scatter across the sea.
You gasp, eyes frantically searching for where that lightning bolt went.
Not far from you, on the roof of a still-intact building safely beyond the waves' reach, two figures land with a light tap.
There stands a young woman of medium build, her fair skin reflecting the storm's flashes. Her amethyst eyes gleam sharply, the unique oval pupils patterned like a stiletto, warily scanning the sea. Her long purple hair reaches her waist, tied into distinctive twintails shaped like cat ears, fading to silvery-purple at the tips that sway in the wind.
She wears an elegant yet highly mobile outfit in shades of purple and pale blue: a sleek short dress with delicate layered accents, paired with flowing detached sleeves and dark gloves gripping a long sword crackling with electrical aura. Brown patterned stockings, purple-toned shoes, golden accessories, and flower-motif ribbons—now soaked by rain—complete her look.
It is Keqing. The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing!
Keqing drives her sword into the wooden roof to steady herself, then turns to Ganyu in her arms with clear worry. Ganyu still looks shocked, breathing hard, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Are you alright?" Keqing asks quickly, tone firm. Rain begins soaking their faces.
Ganyu stays silent, still processing how close she came to death seconds ago. She blinks several times, then nods slowly. "Yes… yes, I… I'm fine."
Keqing exhales roughly. She releases Ganyu's shoulders, letting the half-qilin stand on her own.
"I think what you did earlier was far too reckless, Ganyu," Keqing says, arms crossed, staring sharply at the secretary. "Sacrificing your own defense for the civilians is noble, but if you die, who will help us hold back that insane monster?"
"I'm sorry, Lady Keqing, but—" Ganyu begins, voice still trembling. She meets Keqing's eyes with guilt.
Keqing cuts her off with a sharp wave. "Enough. Interrogation and regrets can wait."
She turns, narrowing her amethyst eyes at Osial still rampaging out at sea. Tiny sparks still crackle along her blade's edge.
"We have to deal with that god before he does whatever he wants and turns Liyue Harbor into nothing but ocean," Keqing grits out.
Ganyu looks at Osial, then her eyes tremble violently as the memory resurfaces. Her hand instinctively clutches her chest. She glances around the ruined harbor.
"What about the people?" Ganyu asks anxiously.
"The Millelith moved fast. Most have already been evacuated to safety," Keqing sighs, shaking her head slightly. "You… worrying about others right after you nearly died."
Hearing that the residents are at least safe, Ganyu strokes her chest, shoulders relaxing in relief. "Thank the heavens…"
"Hey! Are you two okay?!"
Your voice cuts through from below. You scramble up a pile of shattered crates to reach their roof. You're panting hard, lungs burning. Your clothes and face are filthy with dust, rain, and mud.
Hearing your panicked shout, Ganyu's body trembles. She slowly turns downward, staring at you struggling to climb.
"You…" Keqing scans you head to toe. Her eyes narrow in suspicion. She recognizes your face—the man who was once in Ganyu's office with her. Her tense expression hardens further.
Then, abruptly, Ganyu leaps down from the roof and lands right in front of you. Her bell chimes loudly.
"You!" Ganyu exclaims, face flushing—a mix of anger and worry. "Didn't I tell you to evacuate with the Millelith?! Why are you still here?! This isn't a playground!"
She's so close. You can smell her Glaze Lily scent now mixed with rain and ozone. She's practically chest-to-chest, her scolding so fierce you instinctively step back, nearly slipping on the wet roof. You avert your gaze, unable to meet her accusing purple eyes.
"I… I just wanted to help," you reply softly, feeling like a scolded child caught playing outside in a storm.
Ganyu looks even angrier at that answer. "Help?! With bare hands?! You really are… so stubborn!"
Her fists clench at her sides, chest heaving rapidly. Then, slowly, the tension in her shoulders eases. She lets out a long sigh, anger fading into genuine relief.
"But… thank goodness you're safe," she murmurs, the tiniest, faintest smile touching her lips.
Ahem. A loud, deliberate cough sounds from above. Keqing stands at the roof's edge, one eyebrow arched high. Arms crossed, an intimidating aura radiates clearly.
Realizing the situation, Ganyu—who had been standing extremely close to you, almost touching your chest—gasps. She awkwardly retreats two full steps. Her pale face instantly blushes crimson to her ears; she turns away, pretending to stare at debris to the right.
Keqing leaps down gracefully, landing silently beside Ganyu. She glances at Ganyu—very obviously—then shifts her gaze to you. Her eyes scan you analytically.
"Help, you say?" Keqing looks at you strangely. She sighs again, tone turning cynical and slightly mocking. "And exactly what can you do? Throw antiques at him?"
You swallow. Keqing's barb is sharp, but there's no time to feel offended. Their lives—and possibly yours—are on the line.
Instead of anger, you put on the most serious expression of your life. You straighten your back and meet Keqing's eyes without flinching.
"With this."
You carefully reach into your inner pocket, then raise your right hand, letting the lightning illuminate the object in your palm.
"W-What is that?" Ganyu, who had been looking away in embarrassment, now turns back, curiosity piqued. She steps closer, squinting at the item.
Keqing's eye twitches. A vein faintly pulses at her temple. She looks at the object in your hand.
It's a rusty brass-framed monocle with a lens cracked into a thousand pieces. It looks like garbage fished from the harbor gutter.
Keqing looks back at your face, searching for any sign you're joking. Then back at the monocle.
"Isn't this just trash?" she asks coldly, voice flat as ice.
"What can a piece of junk like that do?" Keqing's face shows pure irritation. Rain keeps pouring, and she feels her time is being wasted by a lunatic.
"Are you seriously messing with me right now?!" Keqing snaps, patience gone.
She strides forward fast; her dark-gloved left hand seizes your soaked collar. She yanks you close with surprising strength for her frame. You feel static electricity making the hairs on your arms stand.
"I'll give you credit for having strong nerves—or maybe just being insane—to stay calm and crack jokes in a situation like this," Keqing hisses, face mere inches from yours.
She releases one hand from your collar, then jabs her index finger toward Osial in the distance, now gathering purple water energy in preparation for another roar.
"Just so you know, sir," she continues, voice dripping threat. "Your jokes aren't funny at all right now. If you're useless, get lost before I kick you into the sea."
You stare at Keqing, feeling her tight grip on your neck. You don't resist. You know her anger comes from caring about her city.
"Why so angry, Yuheng?" You slowly raise both hands. You take a long breath, meeting her amethyst eyes calmly. "I haven't even explained anything yet."
Keqing snorts softly. She shoves you back lightly, making you stumble one step.
"Then explain. Quickly," she demands, crossing her arms again. "What can that piece of junk do? Summon a dragon god from the sky?"
You fix your crumpled collar, then look at the monocle in your hand. You draw a deep breath. This is the moment.
"First, let me explain its function." Your tone shifts to formal and measured, mimicking a top-tier merchant's negotiation style. You look sharply between Keqing and Ganyu.
"This item… allows me to make any target I view through its cracked lens become extraordinarily powerful. Extremely, extraordinarily powerful."
Ganyu tilts her head, still doubtful. Keqing merely narrows her eyes, refusing to be impressed.
You pause, letting raindrops fill the silence. "If you ask how powerful… any attack they normally perform becomes ten times more destructive."
You emphasize each word slowly. "Ten. Times. Over. One thousand percent destructive power."
At that absurd number, Ganyu and Keqing freeze. Ganyu's mouth parts slightly; Keqing's eyes widen in disbelief.
In a world where battles are decided by razor-thin margins of strength, a tenfold increase isn't just a buff—it's the power to tear reality apart!
And this man claims he can grant such a buff?!
Utterly illogical!
You see their shocked expressions and press on before false hope can build.
"But in this world, no power comes completely free. Especially not something of this caliber. There must be a terrifying price to pay for such might."
You swallow, voice dropping lower and grimmer.
"Therefore… the target who receives this buff automatically sacrifices all physical and elemental defense, reducing it to absolute zero in exchange for that offensive power. In other words, the target becomes extremely fragile… and will take ten times the damage from any source."
Ganyu's eyes widen further; her hand covers her mouth. Keqing tenses, her strategic mind instantly grasping how suicidal the drawback is.
"One more thing," you add, knowing you must reveal everything before they decide. "I forgot to mention… while the effect lasts for ten seconds, the target's body emits an overwhelmingly threatening aura. Like a giant beacon in the dead of night. The target instantly becomes hated by every creature within hundreds of meters and automatically draws every attack."
You glance at Osial. "That monster… will focus every head, every attack, solely on whoever bears the monocle's effect."
You look at Keqing, now silent with a complex expression.
"If you don't believe me or this thing, that's fine," you say with finality. "I understand if it sounds like a madman's ravings."
But then… you look past their shoulders at Osial. All five mouths begin glowing bright purple, preparing another deadly rain of water projectiles.
The three of you can still talk and debate on this roof because, in the air far off, several silhouettes move swiftly. The other Adepti have apparently arrived and are launching long-range attacks to distract Osial for these precious few seconds.
In your heart, you thank them deeply. The time they bought is the time you're using for this negotiation.
"I think…" You swallow your doubt, voice hardening with resolve. "This may be one of the keys—perhaps the only key—we have right now to end the giant problem staring us down. One attack at ten times the power from either of you might shatter one head or damage its Abyss core…"
You exhale deeply, feeling the moral weight of the offer pressing on your chest. You close your eyes briefly to gather courage, then open them and look at both in turn: Ganyu's gentle purple eyes, Keqing's sharp amethyst.
"I'm no military strategist, and I don't want to force any fatal decision without your consent," you admit honestly, humbling yourself.
"That's why I want to ask you both."
The wind howls fiercely, whipping your hair back as you pose the question.
"Are you willing to risk instant death for that one strike?"
…
You sprint away from the center of destruction. Breath ragged, lungs feeling filled with hot sand. You scramble up the rising slope of a small hill overlooking the sea, dodging Osial's occasional attacks.
Rain of water projectiles still falls sporadically, though most are deflected or frozen by Ganyu and Keqing. SYUUUT! A water spear streaks from the sky straight at your back.
But before it can pierce you, a black shadow slices the air. The Blade of Insatiable Ego orbiting you intercepts with demonic precision.
TRANG! The pitch-black sword cleaves the attack into harmless vapor. It hums low, almost annoyed at being used as a shield instead of an executioner.
Even though I told them I had a plan, you think with a grimace, feet still pounding up slippery rocks. The truth is I have no idea how to use this damn item! Just like the other gacha items, this cursed system gave no manual!
You exhale heavily. And in an apocalyptic situation like this I have to trial-and-error with life on the line? One wrong twist, one wrong press, and failure? No second chances. I'd die pathetically, and they'd follow right after!
You pause for a moment. You hide behind a large boulder and look toward the harbor plaza.
There, Ganyu fires arrow after arrow. Her silhouette darts nimbly among ruins. She draws her bowstring to its limit and releases a Frostflake Arrow glowing pale blue.
The ice arrow streaks through the storm wind and strikes one of Osial's left-side giant eyes. CRAAASH! Ice blooms instantly across the god's eye.
Osial reacts in tremendous pain. It rears back, and from all five mouths issues a roar no longer mere water rumble but a piercing, ear-shredding shriek.
KRRRRAAAAAAAAA! The frequency damages eardrums. You clap both hands over your ears, curling behind the rock. Your head feels like it will split.
When the roar fades, you lower your hands, ears still ringing.
So noisy, you mutter, forcing a stiff smile that fails to hide your fear. Like a giant baby crying because its toy got taken.
You peek again. Osial looks furious. It gathers dense purple energy in all five mouths, preparing a massive counterattack. But the charge takes time. Its water-formed body surges chaotically, needing moments to stabilize the raging Abyss corruption inside.
You stare at that pause, then shift your gaze to Ganyu in the distance. The girl doesn't idle. She uses the opening to retreat far enough, finding Osial's blind spot and preparing her next strike from a different ruined rooftop.
You can't help but admire her inwardly. She's incredibly good at hit-and-run. Thousands of years of war experience don't lie. You nod in respect.
You reach into your pocket, take out the monocle, and with trembling hands place it over your right eye. The brass frame feels cold against your skin. The world through your right eye instantly blurs, webbed with countless cracks.
You try something. You blink repeatedly. You stare straight at Osial and mentally scream, Activate! You even tap the frame like fixing a broken radio.
Nothing. No new system text, no crosshair, no change. You still don't know how to activate it!
You sigh, disappointment and panic mixing into deadly poison in your veins.
Right then, Osial finishes charging. It unleashes. Hundreds of purple water projectiles rain down.
The barrage destroys untouched parts of Liyue Harbor. The western dock collapses; a stone bridge crumbles to rubble. Thankfully, no one is hit. The people have long been evacuated high into the mountains.
Clearly a blind, brainless tantrum. Pure elemental rage driven by pain and corruption.
While Osial rampages, you spot a purple flash below. Keqing races toward the base of the water pillars supporting Osial's body at blinding speed. She teleports via Stiletto from ruin to ruin.
Reaching the monster, she unleashes a flurry of sword slashes infused with maximum Electro. ZRRAAASH! BZZZT! BZZT! Lightning arcs, trying to vaporize the water forming Osial's body. But Osial… doesn't even glance at Keqing.
To the ancient sea god, her attacks feel like nothing!
Like a mosquito bite.
You watch Keqing from afar. She looks extremely frustrated, clicks her tongue, then is forced to retreat via Stiletto as a massive wave from Osial's movement nearly sweeps her away.
She leaps back and lands near Ganyu on the half-destroyed restaurant roof. Both look exhausted, breathing heavily. Normal attacks will never suffice.
And out at sea, Osial opens all five mouths again. This time, it seems to have locked onto Keqing and Ganyu's position.
Feeling time running out, you panic. You try all sorts of ridiculous things to activate the item. You rub the lens, squeeze the frame, even blow on it. Nothing changes.
Right then, in your wild, panicked scanning, your eyes catch something by chance.
On an apple tree growing on the hillside where you hide, a pair of tiny Hydro Slimes bounce around. Apparently flung ashore by the storm, the dumb monsters now ignore the apocalypse and try jumping to reach a ripe apple on the lowest branch.
In that instant, a crazy idea flashes through your mind.
You stare at the innocent Slime through the monocle. Your fingers fumble along the brass frame's edge. Index and thumb feel a tiny protrusion—a miniature gear.
You hold your breath and twist the small gear clockwise. Click. A faint mechanical sound, followed by a sudden flow of mana energy humming.
Instantly, as your focus locks on the Hydro Slime. The spiderweb cracks on the lens fuse back together neatly and swiftly. In one second the glass becomes perfectly clear—yet now glows menacing red.
At the same moment, a glowing red crosshair appears on the forehead of one tiny water Slime, blinking slowly.
Instantly, the air around the little Slime distorts violently, as though reality itself thins and threatens to tear. A blood-red aura of absolute hostility bursts from its blobby body, broadcasting enmity in every direction.
And you know exactly what that aura means.
The side effect has activated!
Right then, Osial—who had been aiming all five heads to obliterate Ganyu and Keqing—suddenly stops.
All five hydra necks whip around at terrifying speed. Ten giant purple eyes lock simultaneously onto the tiny Slime on the hillside. Onto the apple tree.
Onto you. You feel the ancient god's gaze—like a mountain crushing down.
Instinct screaming danger—danger that could erase your existence—you don't waste a second.
You spin and flee with absolute panic-fueled strength. You leap down rocks, uncaring if your ankle twists or knees scrape.
Behind you, Osial unleashes. Not small projectiles—this time a single high-pressure beam of water-Abyss energy from its main mouth.
You dive behind a small ridge in the final split-second, tumbling into muddy ground. BOOOOOOOOM! The explosion behind you deafens. Earth shakes violently, tossing your body briefly airborne before slamming you down. Scalding steam washes your back.
You cough violently, slowly rise with what strength remains, and look from cover.
Then you freeze.
You stare at the hillside where the apple tree stood. The tree is gone. The large boulder where you hid—gone. Half the hill has evaporated, leaving a gigantic, scorched, smoking crater.
The Slime… obliterated. Vaporized before it even realized what killed it. The apple it wanted—ash.
Your lips twitch; you swallow bitter saliva. You look at the slime monster's fate and imagine yourself as dust if you'd jumped one second later.
Then you wipe your filthy face, stand straight, and brush off your clothes. You look back at Osial, now confused again, searching for the vanished great threat.
A crooked smile appears on your face. Looks like I finally figured out how to activate it.
Right then, down at the harbor, Ganyu's ice arrows streak again and strike another of Osial's heads. CRAAAASH! Ice blooms once more; though not permanently wounding the god, it draws attention back. Osial whips its head downward, glaring at the two annoying flies.
It roars—furious at being toyed with.
Osial gathers energy again. Purple light collects in all five jaws. It prepares another full-scale attack!
Seriously. How much energy does this bastard have?! you curse aloud, staring at Osial while running to a better position. What kind of developer designed this boss fight drunk?! Spamming ultimate attacks without mana drain?!
As you run, searching for another target to pull aggro, your eyes catch something.
A seagull!
The bird is soaked, struggling to fly away from Osial's vortex. The only bird left behind in the storm, perhaps separated from its flock.
Guilt stabs you for a second. Your heart clenches.
Sorry, little bird! You quickly lift your face and stare at it through the monocle. Your index finger spins the small gear fast. Click.
Instantly, the monocle activates, targeting the bird.
A red crosshair blinks onto the unfortunate seagull's body. An absolute hostility aura explodes from the tiny struggling bird above the sea.
Right then, Osial—who had finished charging to annihilate Ganyu and Keqing—freezes. Its hydra neck jerks. All heads swivel 180 degrees.
Instinct responds to the provocation aura. The god redirects the full-powered attack already at its throats… toward the seagull. ZWWUUUUSSSHH!
Five pillars of water-Abyss energy slam one tiny point in the air. The attack vaporizes the seagull completely, erasing it along with surrounding air molecules.
Osial's lethal strike wasted—again!
Now! you shout inwardly.
Earlier on the roof during the debate, you had told them both that you didn't yet know exactly how to activate it. So you gave a signal: "If Osial suddenly redirects its attack to a random spot at the last second, that means I've figured it out. And on the second random redirection… be ready."
They were initially confused and skeptical, staring at you like a madman, but they understood—there were no other options.
And now, with Osial's attack direction changing twice in a row for the first time… that is the clear signal. It means you've cracked the item. Therefore, they can proceed to the core of this suicide plan!
You look toward Ganyu's position in the plaza.
Ganyu, seeing the seagull vanish in midair, immediately understands. She draws a deep breath, closes her eyes briefly, then opens them radiating iron resolve.
She has already prepared her ultimate shot. Bowstring drawn to maximum curve, ultra-dense Cryo energy gathers at the arrowhead, shining blindingly. She waits for your cue.
You stare at Ganyu through the red lens. Your hand trembles slightly realizing you've just targeted the person you care for with this deadly curse. You inhale deeply.
Click. You twist the gear.
The monocle's effect activates on Ganyu instantly.
A red crosshair blinks on her forehead. And instantly, the air around Ganyu distorts violently. All her ice defenses, shields, natural elemental resistance… vanish to absolute zero. Gone without trace. In exchange, a blood-red aura of god-level threat explodes from her slender body.
Right then, Osial—who had just erased the seagull—snaps its gaze. The sea god senses an overwhelmingly high threat!
Without thought, without pause, Osial opens one mouth and fires a gigantic high-speed water spear straight at Ganyu.
If it hits her now, with zero defense, her body will disintegrate without remainder.
The spear streaks, tearing space.
Right then, Keqing—who had stood beside Ganyu sword drawn—is ready. She doesn't know exactly what you did to Ganyu, but she can feel how fragile the Adeptus is now.
Keqing's amethyst eyes blaze. As the water spear hurtles, she dashes in front of Ganyu.
"Don't underestimate Liyue!" Keqing intercepts the massive water attack with a barrage of maximum-infused Electro slashes. Trang! Trang! Trang! She pours every ounce of strength into deflecting the god's strike. Lightning clashes with water, creating blinding steam explosions that obscure vision. Keqing is pushed back, heels gouging stone, but she alters the spear's path by a hair from Ganyu's body.
Now. With the attack diverted, Ganyu releases the shot she held. SWUUUSH!
Not one—but five gigantic ice arrows manifest and rocket forward. They aren't merely large; they carry Ganyu's pure Cryo power, now multiplied one-thousand percent by your cursed monocle.
The ice arrows surge at impossible speed. Their blue light so bright it blinds.
Everything in the world seems to pause or move in slow motion. You see raindrops frozen mid-fall, lightning stilled in the sky.
The five ice arrows pierce mist, cross the sea, and strike dead-center into the base of each of Osial's five necks. JLEB!
They hit perfectly before the sea god even registers. The tenfold-amplified ice cannot be resisted by moving water.
In an instant, from each puncture point, ultra-solid thick ice spreads at insane speed. Giant ice flowers bloom, freezing Abyss veins, freezing tidal water, freezing every inch of the hydra body.
KRAAAK! KRAK! The sound of freezing ocean—like the earth's bones snapping. Osial freezes into a gigantic ice monument in the sea, all five mouths open in a silent roar.
Then, because physics cannot contain such mass of ice, internal pressure reaches its limit.
DUAAAAARRR! The ice giant statue explodes from within. It shatters into mountain-sized chunks that crash into the sea, creating shockwaves that sweep away the storm's remnants in the sky.
They're destroyed!
On the hill, you stand frozen. Legs weak. "D-Did… did we do it?" your lips tremble, face paling.
Your eyes stare blankly at the sea now filled with floating giant ice boulders, at Osial's remains slowly crumbling and sinking. Rain has stopped. Purple lightning gone. Storm clouds part, revealing calm moonlight.
You finally breathe easy. You remove the monocle from your eye, hands shaking as you pocket it. The item performed its task perfectly.
You have slain a god.
Down in the harbor plaza, victory exacts its instant price.
Ganyu, still under the effect's final seconds, suddenly feels agony from zero defense. She wasn't hit by Osial, but… tess… tess…
Residual raindrops from the roof above fall onto her shoulder and arm.
To a body with zero defense, those water drops feel like sledgehammer blows. Sharp, nonsensical pain stabs her nerves.
"Ukh…!" Ganyu groans in pain. She drops her bow, which vanishes into light. Her body goes limp; legs fail to support her. She collapses toward the wet stone.
Keqing—hands trembling from deflecting Osial earlier—swiftly discards her sword and catches Ganyu before she hits ground. Keqing kneels, cradling the half-qilin.
"Ganyu! Hold on! We did it! We killed it!" Keqing cries, voice overflowing with immense relief. She looks toward the now-calm sea.
On the hill, you smile. You want to shout in joy, run down and celebrate. No doubt—you've changed Liyue's fate.
But right then, your eyes tremble. Your still-ringing ears catch a rumbling. A tearing sound. An indescribable scream rises from the dark deep ocean—like millions of tortured souls blended into pure despair.
And then, before your horrified wide eyes, the sea churns again.
The giant ice chunks left from Ganyu's attack—rather than melting—are sucked back into a suddenly opening whirlpool. The ice shatters, liquified once more, but the water is no longer blue or clear.
It is black-purple!
Under moonlight, above the ice ruins, a gigantic silhouette reforms from corrupted water. Its purple veins glow a hundred times brighter, drawing hatred from the deepest abyss. The hydra heads re-form from black water, staring at land with eternal, unfreezable loathing.
Slowly, Osial restores its body!
It rises again. And this time, it looks far larger and far darker!
…
A/N: This didn't go according to plan… it was supposed to end the story at chapter 30, but as you can see, the story refuses to conclude so easily. Fighting the last boss can't possibly be that simple, right? That's enough for now. I'm glad there are still people reading this story up to this very second. I hope some of you remain curious about what happens next. See you in the next chapter. By the way, if you can't wait for the next one, feel free to check my Patreon—updates there are much faster than on this platform!