Genshin Impact: I'm The Envoy of Snezhnaya
Chapter 70: The Sealed Archon Residue
This was Collei's first time visiting Starsnatch Cliff, and also her first time standing somewhere so high up.
She looked at Cyno, who was standing at the very top, then glanced at Bai Luo beside her before directing an inquiring look toward the latter.
"Right now, the aura of the god is at its weakest. I'll ask you one more time: once the seal is complete, you must never use the power of the god again. Otherwise, the Archon Residue will regain its awareness and devour you completely. Even if you stay by his side, it won't make any difference."
Cyno wasn't trying to frighten Collei. He was simply telling her the truth.
This situation was rather like someone enjoying a hotpot meal and singing happily, only to suddenly get robbed by bandits.
The Archon Residue had already been constantly suppressed by a strange man. Now, a young boy had suddenly appeared and sealed it away.
If Collei gave it another opportunity to run wild, it would probably devour her without the slightest hesitation.
Forget about Bai Luo stepping in to suppress it. Even if the Tsaritsa herself personally intervened, it would still fight to the bitter end.
After all, it was already nothing more than a remnant. Someone with nothing left to lose had nothing to fear.
"..."
Collei fell silent.
Throughout all these years of wandering, the power of the gods had played no small part in allowing her to cling to life.
Although this power had also tormented her, wasn't it, in a way, another form of Vision to her?
The reason she had agreed so readily last night was that she had heard it would only be sealed. She had wondered whether there might still be an opportunity to release it someday.
But if it were sealed permanently...
Tap
Bai Luo gently placed his hand on Collei's shoulder and spoke softly.
"Make your own decision. Don't let it influence you."
"It?"
Collei was initially taken aback. However, her expression soon began to change as she realized what Bai Luo was referring to.
The Archon Residue.
Collei's little face turned deathly pale.
She hadn't expected that the sealing process had already alerted the Archon Residue inside her body to what was happening. Worse still, it had even begun influencing her thoughts.
"Please, help me seal it!"
It didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered anymore.
Those days belonged to the past. She no longer needed to rely on something like this to keep herself alive.
She had a new faith now.
BK201.
The wind that blew endlessly through Mondstadt swept across Cyno's cloak, making it billow gently.
He raised both hands and brought them together in a prayer-like gesture (similar to the pose he makes when changing artifacts in the character menu), beginning to chant something under his breath.
The gentle wind gradually became restless and violent. Even this place, which stood closest to the heavens, began to be shrouded in dark clouds.
"Hiss—"
A blackish-purple substance resembling flames was pulled out from the back of Collei's neck, gradually separating itself from her body.
"Ugh... Aaaah!"
Collei fell to her knees in agony. Every bone in her body creaked, while her limbs convulsed uncontrollably.
Bai Luo had once described what it felt like to have the Archon Residue extracted. He had compared it to riding a roller coaster.
She didn't know what a roller coaster was, but whatever she was experiencing now was far more painful than what Bai Luo had described.
It felt as though something had taken root inside her body, and what Cyno was doing now was forcibly ripping it out.
The purple-black flames gradually gathered above Collei, eventually taking the shape of a cobra.
It glared viciously at Cyno, seemingly wanting to swallow the young man whole.
However, the moment its form fully materialized, the incantation in Cyno's mouth came to a halt.
Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—!
Four walls of light appeared around the serpentine flames, forming the shape of a pyramid and completely enclosing it.
"AAAAAAH!"
The serpentine flames let out furious roars as they repeatedly slammed into the surrounding walls of light.
Collei, who was kneeling beneath it, also cried out in agony. Each impact from the giant serpent felt as though it were striking her own body.
Blackish-purple substance seeped through her bandages and sank into the ground, disappearing into the magic formation beneath her.
Cyno's hands, which had initially been held slightly apart, slowly moved closer together until they were completely joined.
At the same time, the pyramid containing the giant serpent gradually began to shrink.
Amid the serpent's agonized roars, the pyramid eventually shrank to the size of a Sunsettia before sinking into the back of Collei's neck.
Collei's body swayed unsteadily before she collapsed onto the grass.
However, the magic formation beneath her, which had originally been a pale golden color, had now turned completely purple-black.
"Haah... Haah... The sealing is complete. I'll head back to Mondstadt and report first."
Breathing slightly heavily, Cyno spoke.
Sealing a god was no easy task, especially when it came to one that had been residing inside Collei's body for many years.
Even though it was merely a remnant, having been nurtured within a human body for so long had made it considerably more powerful than ordinary Archon Residue.
Fortunately, his efforts hadn't been in vain. The Archon Residue had been successfully sealed, and he had also gained more material for his academic research.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's my duty."
Cyno didn't stay for long. He still had plenty of things to take care of, and he also needed some rest.
Bai Luo even offered to lend him the Slime to travel back, but Cyno politely declined.
After seeing Cyno off, Bai Luo helped Collei sit up. However, he didn't rush to wake her. Instead, he examined her body first.
All her vital signs were normal. Cyno's seal had only targeted the god. Despite how agonizingly she had screamed earlier, she hadn't actually sustained much physical damage. Most of the pain had simply been the result of the giant serpent's suffering being transmitted back to her.
Bai Luo lifted her arm and removed the bandages wrapped around it.
The previously hideous wounds had completely disappeared. In their place was soft, delicate skin, pale with a healthy rosy tint, replacing the disgusting dark-red muscle tissue that had been exposed before.
And it wasn't just her arm.
The areas affected by Eleazar, including her cheeks, neck, chest, and abdomen below her chest, had also healed. Almost all the places that had once been covered in terrible wounds had now recovered.
"Was this the effect of the formation?"
Bai Luo looked once again at the formation, which had been left completely charred.
He recalled that something had indeed been absorbed into the formation earlier.
Originally, he had assumed it was simply a sealing formation designed to assist in suppressing the Archon Residue. He hadn't expected that it was actually a healing formation meant to treat Collei's injuries.
Looking at Collei resting with her head on his lap, Bai Luo reached out and removed the blades of grass stuck to her face. He also gently straightened her slightly disheveled hair.
Having lived together with this child for so long, he knew very well what she went through every night.
Pain, torment, anxiety...
Bai Luo had once teased her about crying after having nightmares and asking to sleep together. He hadn't been joking, though. He had witnessed the suffering this child endured throughout the night with his own eyes.
It was only last night, when she had been turned into a cat using Cyno's potion, that she had finally managed to get a good night's sleep for the first time.
There were several reasons why he had done this.
Apart from not wanting the Missionary to discover her existence, he had also wanted her to undergo the sealing process in a well-rested and mentally refreshed state.
It wasn't that Bai Luo feared the Missionary.
According to his plans, the Missionary simply couldn't discover Collei's existence too early. Otherwise, it would interfere with his arrangements.
Now, Collei was sleeping more peacefully than she ever had before.
Curled up into a little ball, she looked just like a newborn baby. The exhaustion and wariness that had always been present on her face were finally gone.
Sleep. Get some good rest.
Because once you wake up, another battle will be waiting for you.