When Lu Chen stepped on the Abyss Herald's hand, the guy let out a painful gasp.
However, his tone remained unnervingly defiant, showing no intention of begging for mercy.
"You despicable followers of the Seven Archons! Pathetic ants crawling on the surface... deluded fools... ha! You... all of you will one day face the judgment of truth—and die miserably!"
"The Abyss shall endure forever!"
The Abyss Herald tried to rise in a frenzy, only to be stomped back down by Lu Chen.
"What are you even raving about?"
Lu Chen pressed down harder, until a cracking sound came from beneath his foot.
But the Abyss Herald kept ranting about "greatness," "the Abyss," and "truth," offering no useful information. Lu Chen was running out of patience.
Just then, Xiao entered the ruins hall. Seeing him, Lu Chen dragged the Herald over and dunked his head into the container that held the Archon remnants.
He wanted this guy to feel what it was like to have his body gnawed away by resentment and corruption.
"Ah—!"
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Only the Herald's screams echoed through the ruined hall.
"So you are afraid." Lu Chen yanked him back up, sneering as he looked at the face now distorted by the black mist. "I thought you Abyss creeps were fearless. How does it feel? This is what possession feels like for those you control. Comfortable, isn't it?"
While he interrogated, Xiao slowly stepped toward the container, peering inside with caution.
"These auras... they're familiar..."
"Which Archon?" Lu Chen stepped on the nearly-dead Herald again, glancing curiously at Xiao.
"They're the Archons who lost the Archon War—suppressed beneath the sea by the Geo Archon..." Xiao said thoughtfully. "I didn't expect the Abyss Order to have found them. What exactly are they planning...?"
Lu Chen gave it some thought. If not for him, then the Abyss Order's main scheme would likely have been the Loom of Fate.
They were trying to control these Archons—or what was left of them—and turn them into weapons. Khaenri'ah's technology was always like that, its war potential off the charts. Just imagining a swarm of mechanical Archons storming the Seven Nations and even Celestia was terrifying.
But after his arrival—and the emergence of the Gate of Teyvat—they found a more refined plan: "New Home."
That plan, however, had been destroyed before it ever took off. Lu Chen glanced up at the strange glowing device suspended overhead, still uncertain how to deal with it.
"Still not talking?" he asked coldly, about to toss the Herald into the pile of corrosive Archon remnants.
"Stop! Stop—"
Seeing Lu Chen's motion, the Herald finally broke.
Physical pain was bearable, but spiritual torment—especially the kind brought by "karma"—was far worse.
"I don't know where the power comes from... His Highness the Prince discovered it... it's a higher plane of power..."
"Higher plane?" Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. "Celestia? Life, death, time, space, reason?"
"I don't know, I really don't..."
"Useless." Lu Chen summoned Anemo, wrapped the Herald's body in wind, and began pushing him toward the remains.
"No! Just kill me already!"
Looking at the pleading Herald, Lu Chen sighed and turned to Xiao. This kind of pain—Xiao had endured it for centuries.
Xiao, sensing his thoughts, shook his head.
"The karma inside me built up over many years. It didn't start out like this."
"Oh... that's a relief." Lu Chen exhaled lightly.
Then he turned back to the Herald with a cold smile.
"You still haven't told me how this device works."
"I can activate it for you! Only we know how to use it!" The Herald suddenly seemed to realize his value and spoke quickly.
But he was clearly surprised. Weren't these people trying to stop them from activating the weapon? Why the change of heart?
Lu Chen asked, "If this thing can suppress and control Archon remnants... can it control karma caused by those remnants?"
He hadn't forgotten Xiao's situation. If this device was really controllable, maybe it could help purge the karma in Xiao's body...
[Mission time remaining: 41 hours, 12 minutes, 30 seconds...]
There was more time than expected. Maybe they could use this opportunity to complete Xiao's challenge task...
...
Northwest of the Chasm, upper temporary mining zone.
Lumenstone lanterns cast a soft glow across the expansive mine and the silhouettes of busy workers.
Though the main tunnels had long been sealed—and even the main surface exit blocked off—the Chasm, as Liyue's primary mining zone, hadn't completely shut down.
A few licensed miners still worked under special permits, staying in the camp for emergencies.
A tall figure with short blue-black hair and a draped coat appeared at the site. As soon as the supervisor saw this mysterious and striking woman, he immediately straightened up and approached with a smile.
"Lady Yelan, you're finally here. We've had another strange tremor down below, and you—"
"Where was it? Any other anomalies?" Yelan cut straight to the point.
The supervisor quickly pulled out the underground map.
"No other anomalies—no one fainted or raved like last time. The tremor was near the previously discovered ruins. It's too dangerous down there, so we didn't go deeper..."
"Oh?" Yelan narrowed her eyes at the map.
What had caused this new tremor? Could it be the same buried ruins? Was it linked to the Fatui, as Ningguang warned? Or was the Abyss Order stirring again beneath the continent?
As Liyue's intelligence expert, Yelan's mind raced through suspects in moments.
She had no idea the chaos underground was caused by Lu Chen and his team.
"I'm going down myself."
With that, Yelan's figure vanished into the depths of the mine.
...
Below the Chasm, inside the ruins hall.
Through interrogation, Lu Chen had forced more intel from the Abyss Herald.
The device could collect and suppress Archon remnants—and in doing so, could manifest the remnant energy inside Xiao's body in physical form.
After all, this was how the Abyss Order recovered Orobashi and other Archon remnants from the sea.
But for Xiao, it was incredibly dangerous. After centuries, the karmic afflictions were practically fused with his body. Lu Chen feared the device could do more harm than good.
Yet when Xiao heard there was a chance to eliminate the karma within him, his golden eyes lit up.
"Let's try it. My body's already like this—whatever damage it takes doesn't matter anymore. Activate the device."
"You can't just give up like that..." Lu Chen could see the resolve in Xiao's eyes.
Miko spoke thoughtfully, "The device isn't going anywhere. No need to rush—we'll test it on a small scale. If it works, great. If not, we shut it down immediately."
Ei nodded. That was the best approach.
"Then let's try it," Lu Chen said, looking back at the device.
"But everyone, stay alert."
"Xiao carries countless karmic afflictions. We don't know how many malevolent spirits this will awaken... prepare for a battle."