The impact of the images shown on the light screen was no less shocking than the revelation of Teyvat's hidden truths.
Everyone could understand that, when faced with death, people might act against their conscience.
What no one could understand—
was why, after choosing to betray their conscience, some would still feel the need to trample on others.
That was Jean Gunnhildr.
The woman who had given everything to Mondstadt.
And yet, among Mondstadt's people, there were those who claimed she was begging others for mercy.
The words were deafening—
so horrifying they made one's scalp go numb.
This future was like a storm of slaps raining down on Mondstadt's face, mercilessly exposing the ugliest truth hidden in their hearts.
They respected Jean only because she was useful.
The moment she no longer was, they distanced themselves without hesitation.
Worse still—
once they believed their own lives were secure, they began preaching morality from a position of safety.
Since Jean had "betrayed Mondstadt," she deserved execution—
and before dying, she should also endure their lofty judgment.
[Furina]: "These… are Mondstadt's people?"
[Hu Tao]: "I'm furious just watching this."
[Rosalyne]: "This is Mondstadt. Lazy and stupid. The Fifth Descender said twice he despises traitors, yet they still chose the side of death."
[Rosalyne]: "Let me tell you how lazy they are—big or small issues, they run to Jean. If she's busy, they look for a girl in a maid outfit. If they didn't starve without food, they probably wouldn't even feed themselves."
[Jean]: "Lady Rosalyne!"
[Rosalyne]: "Oh? Still defending them? Don't worry—I'm not the one being humiliated in the future."
[Lisa]: "I'm exhausted. Just end it."
[Faruzan]: "If it's really that bad, then Mondstadt's people…"
[Shenhe]: "Hmph."
[Thoma]: "Even that man's expression changed for a moment."
[Yoimiya]: "Jean was still trying to save them at the end… and they thought she was begging for mercy. That's cruel."
"Venti, what do you think?" Dvalin suddenly asked.
Venti poked his head out, eyes still fixed on Aerin.
"He's… walking."
"I'm asking what you think about Mondstadt's people throwing Jean under the bus," Dvalin rumbled, lying flat like a massive lizard, hot air puffing from his nostrils.
Venti fell silent.
Even he hadn't expected this.
Those standing on the left were clearly going to return to the Ley Lines anyway—
couldn't they at least die quietly?
As Mondstadt's Archon, Venti felt as if the sky had collapsed.
"…I gave them too much freedom," he finally sighed.
The voices from the left side grew uglier.
"She wanted Eula's power, that's why she surrendered."
"She must've planned to defect long ago."
"Pathetic—she still wasn't chosen."
"Tsk. You never really know a person."
Lisa, Barbara, and the others stared at them in disbelief.
Were they insane?
They hadn't even witnessed the battle.
They hid in their homes while others fought in despair.
No one blamed them for being afraid.
But why say this?
Why stab someone already dying?
On the platform, Jean's muffled sobs grew louder.
Her body trembled violently.
She looked desperately toward Lisa and the others.
Lisa understood—
Jean wanted them to move left as well.
So they could live.
But for them, betraying their conscience would be worse than death.
They couldn't do it.
"Wake up, you idiots!" Lisa shouted in rage.
Kaeya and Diluc, wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, made furious muffled noises that clearly sounded like curses.
"This is a trap meant to crush Mondstadt's will—don't fall for it!"
No one on the left responded.
"…Forget it," Lisa said bitterly.
The remaining people stood tall, facing the platform.
The sand in the hourglass was nearly gone.
Jean's cries grew frantic.
Too many.
There were far too many.
The expedition force Farka took away were knights—not civilians.
If Aerin killed everyone on the left…
Mondstadt would lose at least seventy percent of its population.
Aerin sighed softly as the last grain of sand fell.
He stood and approached Jean.
"I didn't expect their will to rot to this extent," he said calmly.
"This was… educational."
"But it's fine."
"Thirty percent remained steadfast even under this pressure."
"That's enough."
Jean's pupils dilated in horror.
Aerin turned back to the crowd.
"Execution begins."
"Jean!" Barbara cried out.
Jean froze.
It was the first time Barbara had ever called her sister.
"You are a great knight," Barbara said, then gently closed her eyes.
Boom.
A massive ring of ice erupted, enclosing only the people on the left.
"What—what is this?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Wasn't Jean the one being executed?
"I said I despise traitors," Aerin said coldly.
"They were still helping you wake up."
"And yet you couldn't even pass this small test."
"Pathetic."
"If your ancestors who founded Mondstadt after the Archon War could see this, they wouldn't even need the Fate Loom to resurrect—they'd crawl out of the Ley Lines just to slap you."
Thunderous words exploded through the plaza.
Only now did they realize—
This was a test.
But the price was unbearable.
Alice screamed in despair.
"Aerin! What are you doing?!"
"Are you really going to kill them all?!"
She charged—
Gravity crushed her to the ground.
"Idiot," Aerin snapped.
"Have you forgotten Klee?"
Alice froze.
She could only lie there, trembling, unable to look.
Screams.
Panic.
Despair.
The people trapped in the ice ring froze slowly, like demons in hell.
"Take this memory back to the Ley Lines," Aerin said coldly.
"If this world is ever reconstructed…"
"Don't make me kill you a second time."
"Die."
The ice intensified.
Bodies crystallized.
With a snap—
they shattered.
Jean's muffled sound died instantly.
Time itself seemed to stop.
He really did it.
Seventy percent of Mondstadt—gone.
Lisa whispered faintly:
"…What did he mean by 'don't kill you a second time'?"
Eula arrived just then, her expression heavy.
Aerin turned away.
"Free Jean."
"She's no longer useful."
Eula looked at Jean—gagged, tear-streaked, eyes completely hollow—
and felt a sharp ache in her chest.
"…Understood."
People thought the worst part was Mondstadt's betrayal.
They were wrong.
The worst part was watching them all return to the Ley Lines.
Aerin never lied.
If someone failed his standard—
they died.
Paimon nearly fainted.
"He really sent them back to the Ley Lines…"
Lumine swallowed hard.
If her future self didn't submit—
she would die.
"I just want to find my brother…"
"I never wanted to fight for a world…"
She was terrified of the choice she hadn't yet seen herself make.
Somewhere in Mondstadt's Mountains
Eula muttered in shock:
"Seventy percent… that's practically annihilation."
"…There's a big difference between seventy and a hundred."
She froze.
That voice—
Slowly turning—
She saw Aerin standing behind her.
"Still eating Sunsettias all night?" he asked casually, pointing at the cores.
"Didn't you tell Amber you were having roast meat?"
Cold sweat soaked Eula's back.
Her vision blurred.
She collapsed at his feet.
Aerin: "..."
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