In other words, Elliot had spent the past few years molding Morax into someone steadier and more adaptable. His thinking had opened up—no longer fixated on things that looked cool but were useless.
"Alright, follow me," Elliot said calmly.
Under his lead, they arrived at a place in utter disarray. Craters, large and small, pitted the ground everywhere, as if a brutal battle had once raged here.
"Brother...
This is where you usually study new skills...?"
Morax gazed at the scene before him, swallowing hard. The sight was so shocking he could barely speak.
"Yes. I've researched this for three years and only finished it recently," Elliot admitted with a nod.
At that, Morax shuddered, eyes widening at Elliot.
"Three... three years!?" he almost shouted in disbelief.
After all, the Magic Scale Spear had been conceived mid-battle—and from idea to completion, it had taken barely an hour... Yet this one technique had taken Elliot three whole years!?
Glancing again at the endless field of deep pits stretching out of sight, Morax felt a chill creep over him. He couldn't even imagine what Elliot had created.
"Yes," Elliot said, slowly extending his right hand.
A strange, square object appeared before Morax. From within it blazed a dazzling gold light, like a miniature sun sealed inside. On the outside, shackle-like black stone locked it tight. It hovered in Elliot's palm.
Morax's eyes tracked its gentle rise and fall. He had never seen anything like it. He knew Elliot preferred making things that appeared unremarkable, but this object overturned all of Elliot's previous work.
Its exterior wasn't striking, yet the moment it emerged, Morax distinctly felt an immense, overwhelming power—the strongest he had ever sensed. It seemed capable of moving mountains and filling seas, overturning heaven and earth, as if Elliot held an entire world in his hand.
Morax couldn't fathom how Elliot stabilized such power—nor why he would pursue a technique this devastating. It was beyond his understanding—like ancient people unable to grasp the terror of a "small mushroom." Even if they sensed its might, they couldn't comprehend why such power should exist.
Morax was indeed the God of Rock, born with immense Geo power. He wasn't weak—he only looked weak next to Elliot. Even the old Morax, who preferred flashy, impractical skills, still stood above most Gods. So why, after thousands of years, were his creations so lacking?
The root cause was simple—
—they had lived too comfortably.
Yes. The fundamental reason for Morax's former lack of edge was that he hadn't faced any major setbacks. For millennia, he wandered Teyvat, sightseeing and occasionally sparring. Could anyone expect life-and-death resolve from such friendly scuffles? Of course not.
If neither side meant to go all out, there was no way to grow stronger.
Take their very first spar. When Elliot was airborne, Morax's thrown spear wasn't meant to kill. Even if Elliot hadn't resisted, it would have merely pierced a hole—far from fatal.
The true reason Morax would later become the God of War was the Archon War. War is cruel—but it undeniably drives an era forward.
In humanity's early days, people subsisted by gathering wild fruit, migrating like animals and settling nowhere, heading south for the winter. Later, more and more gathered in one place to form tribes; to fight for territory, they developed better weapons. Towns and nations arose. With every war came new inventions never seen before.
Right now, Teyvat was akin to that earliest stage of humanity—its overall combat power very low. There was simply no need to grow stronger. If things like Rock Sharks and Rock Eagles were enough to secure a top-tier standing, why keep improving? For whom? To what end?
So it was only natural Morax didn't understand Elliot. In his eyes, Elliot was already invincible. If he was unbeatable, why obsess over stronger techniques?
But Elliot was essentially forcing out, ahead of time, the growth Morax would have gained during the Archon War.
"Brother...
Could you use that skill...?"
Morax stared at the pulsing square, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Whatever this was, it had taken Elliot three years—he had to see it.
"Alright."
Elliot gently tossed the square stone upward. Morax watched, dumbstruck, as it climbed higher and higher until it vanished into the clouds.
"Morax."
"What is it, Brother?" Startled by the sudden call, Morax turned instinctively.
"Remember this. This move is called...
Heaven Shakes, All Phenomena Change."