Everyone stared at the enormous heart before them—motionless, lifeless, no longer beating—and were momentarily stunned...
What was going on here?
Hadn't the heart of Durin, the Dragon of Calamity, been beating ceaselessly all these years?
Even Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, together with Dvalin, had paid a great price to defeat Durin, yet they hadn't chosen to completely destroy his heart…
It was probably the same as what happened back in Liyue: Morax only sealed and suppressed those Demon Gods rather than killing them outright...
Because the death of such powerful beings would inevitably bring consequences too great to bear...
But no matter what, Durin's heart was no longer beating now, which meant he was truly and completely dead...
So then—what exactly had happened here in Dragonspine?
"Look over here." At that moment, Aether noticed a small wound upon Durin's heart, one that seemed to have been pierced by a sword…
And around the wound were traces of corrosion and erosion…
"Could it be that someone stabbed Durin's heart with a sword imbued with that eerie power, and that was what killed him?"
Su Yuan observed the scene, his brow furrowing in thought:
"Ordinary attacks shouldn't have been able to utterly destroy Durin's heart. And for a creature of Durin's level, his death should have caused tremendous disturbance to the surrounding environment—but from what we see, that hasn't happened…"
"If he was killed by eerie power, then all of this would make sense…"
"After all, back in Liyue, when Zhongli was under the control of that eerie corruption, he wielded eerie power to slay those Demon Gods sealed beneath Guyun Stone Forest…"
"And the Demon Gods killed by eerie power didn't cause great calamities like the God of Salt did…"
"Then… who was it that used eerie power to completely destroy Durin's heart?" Eula's face showed doubt.
"Could it be that this was all Albedo's doing?"
"Either way, I think we should find Brother Albedo first!" Klee piped up eagerly.
"Indeed." Aether also nodded.
"There are too many unknowns right now. The most important thing is to find Albedo first."
"On the southern slope of Wyrmrest Valley, halfway up the mountain, there's a cavern. That's where Albedo's research station in Dragonspine is located. Let's head there first and see if he's around. If not, maybe we can at least find some clues."
"Alright, let's set out immediately!"
"You don't need to look for me, because I'm already here."
Just as everyone was about to leave, a voice came from behind them.
A moment later, Albedo's figure appeared before their eyes.
"Klee, Traveler, Paimon, Eula… and this unfamiliar friend. I didn't expect to meet you all here."
"Big Brother Albedo!" The moment Klee saw him, her face lit up with joy.
She immediately wanted to rush forward and throw her arms around him, but Eula, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed her just in time.
"Klee, did you forget what we just talked about?" Eula whispered a reminder.
"There's someone who looks exactly like Albedo… His name is Albetwo."
Hearing Eula's reminder, Klee calmed down little by little.
Then she spoke up:
"I get it now. This Albedo might not be the real Albedo at all, but Albetwo in disguise!"
"Big bad Albetwo! How dare you pretend to be Brother Albedo to trick me!"
Klee puffed out her cheeks in anger as she glared at the figure before them and shouted:
"You big meanie, where have you hidden Brother Albedo? Give him back to us right now!!!"
At that moment, both Aether and Su Yuan were staring at this Albedo with wary, doubtful expressions.
The timing of his appearance… wasn't it just a little too convenient?
They had just decided to head for Albedo's base in search of him or some clues—and right then, Albedo suddenly appeared before them?
Was this perfectly timed entrance meant to stop them from going to the research station?
And this "Albedo," seemingly noticing the suspicion and caution written on their faces, gave a faint smile and spoke:
"I suppose your being here means you've also noticed Joel's father, Joserf, has gone missing, haven't you?"
"That's right. I came here to look for Albetwo's traces as well. And I suspect it was he who killed Durin."
"As for your doubts about my identity… I can understand. After all, Albetwo can change his form to look exactly like me."
Next, Albedo slightly raised his head, stretched out a finger, and pointed to the yellow diamond-shaped mark on his neck.
He spoke:
"Perhaps the others here don't know what this means, but Traveler and Paimon, I imagine you should know, right?"
"Oh! That's right, I remember now!" Paimon suddenly had a look of realization and exclaimed, "That's Albedo's birthmark… oh no, wait, it's actually an imperfect flaw from being created through alchemy as a homunculus!"
"Because humans are not perfect, this flaw is precisely what proves that Albedo is truly human!"
"I remember too," Aether also nodded and said, "When we dealt with Albetwo and Albetri before, neither of them had this yellow diamond mark on their necks!"
"That's because they've never grasped what it truly means to be human. Still obsessed with pursuing perfection, they deliberately erased the existence of this mark."
"So that means… you really are Albedo?"
"Unique and genuine, without a doubt." Albedo smiled faintly as he answered.
"Hooray, it's the real Brother Albedo!!!"
Seeing this, Klee immediately broke free from Eula's hand and ran over to Albedo.
And this Albedo showed no intent of harming her—he simply patted Klee gently on the head and asked with concern:
"Klee, during the days I wasn't in Mondstadt, did you behave and listen to Master Jean?"
"Of course, Brother Albedo! I've been very obedient to Master Jean, I didn't make any mischief at all!"
Klee quickly said, "While you were gone, I missed you every single day!"
"Without you by my side, Master Jean wouldn't even let me go out and play!"
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