Zhongli's attire transformed instantly as the divine robes of the Geo Archon draped over him, a geo halo slowly manifesting behind his back.
Lifted into the air by surging divine power, his expression beneath the hood was calm and composed.
It was as if the Geo Archon of the Archon War era—the one who had slain countless gods in Liyue, rising atop the corpses of fallen deities—had descended upon the mortal realm once more.
His overwhelming divine power raged across the skies as he gazed down upon the world below like a true sovereign.
"Solid as stone."
With a wave of his hand, Zhongli summoned sturdy geo shields around himself and every person behind him.
Almost instantly, before the adepti could even react, the attack from the Dragon King Azhdaha crashed against the shields.
Thud.
Yet, when the strike landed, the geo shields effortlessly deflected it, leaving not a single soul harmed.
Witnessing this, Azhdaha showed no disappointment. Despite being driven by erosion, his understanding of Morax's power remained crystal clear.
Even if his attack had been ten times stronger, it would have done nothing to breach those geo shields.
"Morax, the time has come to settle this grudge once and for all."
With a deafening roar, Azhdaha leaped high into the air before crashing down, his limbs channeling the power of the ley lines the moment they touched the earth.
Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, and Electro energies surged from his limbs, converging at his core before merging with his innate geo power at his maw.
A sphere of light took shape, radiating unfathomable explosive energy. Violent ripples distorted the space around it, and faint black fissures—tears in reality itself—began to appear.
BOOM!
With a single motion from Azhdaha, the sphere transformed into a beam, shooting toward Zhongli like a divine blade.
Where it passed, scorching energy cleaved through the very air, howling winds roared, and the fabric of space itself split apart.
"I will have order."
Seeing Azhdaha's attack, Zhongli's focus sharpened.
His divine power surged forth, coalescing in the heavens as he summoned the very essence of geo from the world itself.
In an instant, a colossal golden-brown meteor materialized above.
Carved upon its surface—like an ancient puzzle lock—were sigils of suppression, petrification, sealing, imprisonment, gravity... and more.
With a mere flick of his wrist, Zhongli sent the meteor crashing down with earth-shattering force, colliding with Azhdaha's breath in midair.
A deafening explosion erupted, shaking the heavens.
Mondstadt
Windrise
Venti, sprawled atop a tree with a bottle of dandelion wine in hand, abruptly jolted awake as he sensed Zhongli's divine power.
His bleary eyes snapped toward Liyue, shock flashing across his face.
"Such overwhelming power… Is the old man trying to destroy Liyue?"
"And that other presence… Azhdaha?!"
Feeling the clash of these two forces, Venti swiftly channeled his divine power, gathering whispers from the wind.
After a moment, he relaxed. "Pfft—so the old man undid the seal himself? Well, if he's got a plan, I'll just stay out of it."
With that, he raised his bottle and took another hearty swig.
Meanwhile, by Cider Lake, a small crimson-clad sprite from Mondstadt gazed at the distant mushroom cloud rising over Liyue, her wide eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Wow~"
"Klee wants to make a bomb that big too!"
Inazuma
Tenshukaku
The Raiden Shogun, seated in meditation, sensed Zhongli's power and slowly opened her eyes, turning her gaze toward Liyue.
"The God of Liyue? Such divine energy… Is he engaged in battle?"
"However… This has no bearing on eternity. It is of no concern."
With that, she closed her eyes once more, resuming her meditation.
Sumeru
The Dendro Archon, Nahida, was in the middle of a rather relieving bathroom break when the overwhelming surge of geo energy made her pause.
Her carefree expression stiffened as she frowned.
"So this… is the power of Rex Lapis? As expected of one of the few ancient gods who survived the Archon War. Truly terrifying."
"If I possessed such strength… would my people finally acknowledge me?"
The deities of Fontaine, Natlan, and Snezhnaya, the witches of the Hexenzirkel, the abyssal sovereigns, the elemental dragons…
Every being capable of sensing Zhongli's divine might turned their gaze toward Liyue with solemn expressions, their minds racing with calculations.
Even Asmoday on Celestia took notice—but after a brief glance, she dismissed it. The battle between Zhongli and Azhdaha held no significance to her.
"Is this the power of Rex Lapis? Truly worthy of an Archon who emerged victorious from the Archon War. Such might is unmatched."
Yanfei stared at the mushroom cloud in awe.
The adepti, who hadn't witnessed their lord's power in centuries, nodded in agreement.
None of them worried for their Archon.
They already knew how this battle would end.
Not only had Zhongli shed the burden of erosion, restoring his strength to its peak—rivaling even his Archon War-era self—but Azhdaha, though once his equal, had been ravaged by erosion and weakened by millennia of imprisonment.
Even if the Dragon King still retained some of his former power…
He stood no chance against the Geo Archon.
Before long, as Azhdaha was subdued, the meaningless battle finally drew to a close.
"Azhdaha… Do you remember? Neither of us wished for things to come to this…"
Zhongli descended, floating before the restrained dragon.
But Azhdaha cut him off.
"Morax… It was you who sealed me beneath the earth in the past. And now, a thousand years later, it is you again."
"You have won this time, Morax. But victory will not always be yours. The day will come when I return… and settle every last betrayal."
With that, Azhdaha fell silent, as if surrendering to his fate, waiting for Zhongli to seal him away once more.
"You are mistaken. Morax has never betrayed you. We have always been comrades… and friends."
"For centuries, the mining in The Chasm has tormented you. The erosion of time has stolen your reason."
"It has made you forget the faces of old friends… and the very harbor you once swore to protect. It has left you with nothing but rage."
...
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(End of Chapter)