Aerin entered Mondstadt with an air of absolute inevitability.
Even as night fell in the real world—when people should have been asleep—the emotions stirred by the future light screen made rest impossible.
Knights of Favonius Headquarters
Jean took a sip of water, barely managing to steady herself after what she had just witnessed.
Even through the screen, she could feel how utterly desperate her future self had been.
A city breached.
A home lost.
In war, the fall of a city's walls already spelled the trampling of everything within.
The only reason Aerin hadn't obliterated Mondstadt in a single strike was likely because he believed there were still people inside who were not worth dying alongside the rest.
Otherwise, Jean had no doubt—
He would have flattened the entire city right in front of her.
Scanning the crowd shown in the future, Jean noticed something else.
Her sister Barbara wasn't there.
Nor was Klee.
Klee had been drugged by Jean herself and left asleep.
Barbara must have been praying in the cathedral, begging Barbatos to save Mondstadt.
Ironically, Barbatos had been present the entire time.
And yet—utterly powerless.
There was another possibility.
Perhaps Aerin believed that instant annihilation would only produce spectacular fireworks—
not true despair.
"Wait… he said my life still had a use."
"And that he'd invade my will with Dark-attribute energy… to prevent me from killing myself."
Jean's eyes widened.
Only now did she recall what Aerin had said to Eula before entering the city.
"What does he want to do?"
"Is he going to control me… and force me to kill Mondstadt's people one by one?"
"If that happens… I'll truly go insane."
Her mind conjured a horrifying vision—
herself screaming and begging Aerin to stop,
while her sword pierced innocent citizens one after another.
The future hadn't even unfolded yet—
and Jean already felt her sanity beginning to crack.
At the same time, somewhere in Teyvat—
A violent explosion echoed across the surface of a lake.
Alice's state of mind was no better than Jean's.
Humiliated and furious, she vented her frustration alone, baring her teeth without a care for dignity.
"Damn it—damn it all!"
"That damned Fifth Descender!"
"He dragged me into the city like a slave—with a collar around my neck!"
"I've never suffered such humiliation in my entire life!"
As she spoke, tears nearly welled up.
"Bastard Aerin—just you wait!"
She suddenly froze, went silent, and glanced around.
When she confirmed no one was nearby, she finally exhaled in relief.
Patting her chest repeatedly, she muttered,
"He should still be in Mondstadt… what I said just now was complaining—pure complaining."
"I didn't mean anything against the Fifth Descender."
"Aerin's actually quite handsome… sunny, strong—ridiculously strong."
"Sigh… if he wants this world, just give it to him."
"Celestia can't deal with the Abyss anyway."
"If Aerin wipes out the Abyss, he deserves control of the world."
Beep. Beep.
A message arrived.
Alice glanced at it.
[Rhinedottir]: "Alice, have you returned to Mondstadt yet?"
Veins bulged faintly at Alice's temple.
She typed furiously.
[Alice]: "Get lost. Why are you in such a hurry to go to Mondstadt—want Aerin to send you back to the Ley Lines early?"
"Idiot. You're with the Abyss."
Far away, Rhinedottir stared at the reply, bewildered.
She couldn't understand why meeting Aerin had anything to do with being from the Abyss.
After all—
Nothing in the rules said the Abyss couldn't surrender to the Fifth Descender.
[Night fell over Teyvat.]
[This nation—known as the most prosperous among the Seven—boasted countless wonders.]
[Merchants gathered like clouds, ships arrived by the thousands, goods flowed endlessly.]
[People often described it this way—]
[Beautiful scenery. Powerful economy. And cuisine unrivaled among the Seven Nations.]
Wangshu Inn, Liyue
Cloud Retainer sucked in a sharp breath.
"Oh no… that sounds like us."
The other adepti instantly held their breath.
If the light screen was now focusing on Liyue—
Did that mean Aerin's next target was Liyue?
All eyes turned to Zhongli.
After a long pause, he cleared his throat.
"Everyone, we should simply do our best. There is no need for excessive anxiety."
"Let us observe—and consider how to establish a workable relationship with the Fifth Descender in reality."
The adepti exchanged glances.
Cloud Retainer nodded solemnly.
"His Excellency speaks wisely."
Only then did the others force smiles and echo,
"His Excellency speaks wisely."
[In Liyue, within a secluded bamboo grove, two clearly distinct voices echoed through a room.]
"Barbatos," said the older voice, "we haven't met in centuries. How have you been?"
"Old man, this is no time for pleasantries!"
Barbatos' voice—youthful and agitated—rang out.
"There's a massive problem in Teyvat."
"Hmm…" The older voice paused.
"Earlier today, I sensed an abnormal energy fluctuation from Mondstadt. One unlike elemental power."
"Is this what you're referring to?"
Barbatos recounted everything that had happened in Mondstadt to Morax.
"So you're saying Aerin shattered Mondstadt's defenses in a single blow—
and summoned Ruin Guards to completely encircle the city?"
"They're not Khaenri'ahn Ruin Guards," Barbatos corrected.
"As far as I know, they're simply monsters he summoned."
Morax fell silent again.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
"I had planned to fake my death and step down at the upcoming Rite of Descension."
"From what you're saying… that plan may need to be abandoned."
"That's not just abandoning it, old man," Barbatos snapped.
"You might actually die."
"I've already used the authority of the Thousand Winds to contact the expeditionary forces returning to Mondstadt."
"I ordered them not to return—
to wait outside until I gather more information."
"I need to understand what Aerin truly wants before making any decisions."
When Morax remained silent, Barbatos nearly jumped.
"Old man, don't tell me you're actually planning to pull off a real fake death—
step down and wash your hands of everything?"
"If a great war breaks out, we'll need you leading us!"
The conversation stunned both Liyue and Mondstadt.
Mondstadt's people were in disbelief.
From Barbatos' tone, it was clear—
Even the Anemo Archon feared Aerin.
He had even halted the expeditionary army's return.
And Morax?
Fake death? Abdication?
In an instant, people from both nations felt as though the sky were collapsing.
In the future—
Were their gods going to abandon them?
Jade Chamber
Ningguang listened in silence.
"The Geo Archon… stepping down?"
The Rite of Descension dictated Liyue's direction for the coming year.
If Morax truly abdicated, it meant—
Liyue would enter true human rule.
Its future would rest entirely in human hands.
That was what many had always wanted.
But—
A Fifth Descender had arrived.
One even gods couldn't stop.
What were humans supposed to rely on?
Ningguang exhaled slowly.
"I wonder how Keqing is taking this."
Keqing stepped out of the bath—
so dazed she didn't even notice the towel slipping from her body.
The Geo Archon… won't really step down, right?
Her thoughts were in chaos.
Mondstadt had ended in disaster—even with Barbatos' guidance.
If the expeditionary army returned now, they'd only be slaughtered by a ring of mutated Ruin Guards.
Barbatos' decision had been correct.
Without a god's intervention, even more would have died.
Then a terrifying realization struck her.
This was only because she knew the future.
If the future hadn't been revealed—
The future Keqing would still be the one advocating human rule.
If Morax truly abdicated—
She would be the first to support it.
And then—
She'd face Aerin with no recourse whatsoever.
Public execution.
That was all it would be.
"This is bad… really bad."
For once, the proud Yuheng collapsed weakly onto her towel.
[Keqing]: "Everyone… the Geo Archon isn't really going to fake his death, right?"
[Keqing]: "Lord Morax should be in this group, right? You won't abandon Liyue, will you?"
[Cloud Retainer]: "Hmph! What nonsense is the Yuheng Star spouting? His Excellency has protected Liyue for millennia—how could he abandon it?"
[Hu Tao]: "The way the Geo Archon speaks sounds a lot like Zhongli…"
[Zhongli]: "Many people speak with a calm tone, Director Hu. Please don't jump to conclusions."
[Furina]: "He sounds just like our Neuvillette in Fontaine."
[Keqing]: "As long as His Excellency doesn't truly step down…"
[Ningguang]: "..."
In the Jade Chamber, Ningguang shook her head helplessly.
"So she's already glimpsed her future…"
"And started to panic."
"Mondstadt hasn't even recovered from the terror—
and Liyue is already halfway into it."
[Seven days after Mondstadt's fall.]
[During those seven days, Aerin did nothing—
except place suppression collars on those capable of wielding elemental power.]
[He didn't restrict civilian movement at all.]
[Yet that only made the fear worse.]
[Surrounded by mutated Ruin Guards, citizens didn't even dare leave their homes.]
[Fear gnawed at them day and night.]
[Some stopped eating entirely—losing over twenty pounds in a week.]
"Grand Master Varka's expeditionary force changed course at sea," Eula reported calmly.
"They're heading elsewhere. No sign of returning."
"It must be Barbatos' instruction."
Eula—without using her Valkyrie power—stood outside a cell.
Inside—
Jean Gunnhildr sat curled in the corner, head buried in her knees.
She laughed coldly.
"Varka will never abandon Mondstadt."
"And if Barbatos truly exists—
he won't abandon Mondstadt either."
"Eula… I don't know why you sided with Aerin."
"But don't slander the Grand Master."
"He forced Mondstadt to accept you into the Knights."
"He never wronged you."
"That's true," Eula replied gently.
"But the expeditionary force staying away is the correct decision."
"No matter how many return—
they'll only die beneath those farming machines."
"If you have nothing else to say," Jean replied flatly,
"leave, great Valkyrie."
Jean understood.
Anyone returning would die.
But even she had underestimated Aerin.
When she regained clarity and attempted suicide—
She discovered she couldn't.
Her body had been bound by a taboo.
She could do anything—
Except die.
"Of course, I'm here for a reason," Eula said softly.
"My master offers you two choices."
"One—save Mondstadt's people."
"Two—watch every one of them die before your eyes."
"Jean… set aside knightly pride for now."
"Cooperate."
"It may truly be the better way to save Mondstadt."
Eula didn't know how Aerin planned to use Jean.
Nor how many would die.
But one thing was certain—
Aerin had returned the choice of life and death
to Mondstadt's own people.
Whether they survived—
depended on their decision.
Jean's head snapped up.
"Are you telling the truth?" she demanded.
Eula nodded firmly.
"I am. But the method—
you'll have to speak with my master yourself."
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