Victor Wang had encountered yet another unexpected twist.
When he reached his hand through to the other side of the Boundary, there was no resistance—it slipped in as easily as if he were being swallowed by a slime. And once he passed through the shimmering veil, the sensation intensified. His whole body floated in a weightless state—it really did feel like being inside a massive Hydro Slime.
Fortunately, it didn't seem all that dangerous. The light screen he had entered through was still behind him—presumably, he just had to touch it again to leave.
Everything beyond the screen was pure white, and the familiarity of it hit Victor Wang almost instantly.
Pure white and weightlessness—opposite of the pitch-black, empty space he'd encountered when he died as a Hilichurl. Apart from still having his body and not hearing any stream-like sound, this place was strikingly similar to that other realm.
There was no mistaking it—this was the space where humans go after death, while the black space was where Hilichurls go. The two were likely connected.
So, what now? As he drifted aimlessly, Victor Wang pondered his next move.
This place he had longed to reach—the boundary between life and death—was empty. Should he try to die here and see if he could resurrect again?
The thought was instantly dismissed. This wasn't the time to take such a risk.
And to be fair, that black space had never fully digested him—it always spat him back out. This white space, built for humans, probably had even less digestive capability…
One thing was certain: this space, like the black one, was part of the ley lines—some structure or pathway within them. Which meant the black space likely belonged to the ley lines too.
He followed that thread of logic.
Hilichurls die, enter the ley lines, and a day later are expelled and reborn.
Alice had once said that the curse of immortality was essentially a "rejection of death"—and what rejected him was the ley lines.
Why the ley lines would reject him… probably had to do with Khaenri'ah and the Abyss—their powers originating from outside the world.
Long ago, the Goddess of Flowers sacrificed herself to help King Deshret open a forbidden door. Deshret, corrupted by forbidden knowledge, had to be restrained by the Great Lord Rukkhadevata, who exhausted her strength to contain the corruption. Deshret then sacrificed himself and tricked the dendro dragon Apep into swallowing him to seal the disaster.
Two beings on par with the Dendro Archon had perished. The Great Lord became the Lesser Lord Kusanali, and the first Dendro Dragon has been suffering ever since… That history had once stunned Victor Wang.
If Khaenri'ah's power was of the same nature, the ley lines definitely wouldn't let themselves be tainted.
That would explain why, for Hilichurls, even their spirit, body, clothing, and weapons are rejected by the ley lines.
Maybe that black space was black because it was contaminated…
A space the ley lines opened specifically to process Hilichurls. Like the quarantine folder of an antivirus program… Not even wild beasts or Kairagi are treated this way.
"Are Hilichurls really that filthy? Even the heavens wouldn't tolerate it…" Victor Wang felt increasingly uncomfortable.
His own bloodline had always allowed him to look at Hilichurls more rationally, more neutrally—and he'd grown sympathetic toward them.
"But… it's not something you can help."
On Earth, people often praised good stories by saying, "This story has no villains."
No bad guys.
Everyone was doing what they believed was right.
But someone still got hurt.
Even standing in a Hilichurl's shoes, Victor Wang couldn't say the ley lines were wrong to quarantine them. If he were the ley lines, he'd do the same.
And that was the most tragic part.
Hilichurls were like misfits scattered across Teyvat. Ubiquitous, but completely unnecessary.
Not just unwanted—they were harmful.
If the ley lines could dump them into outer space like trash, they probably would've done it long ago…
Just as Victor Wang was drowning in that sorrow, another figure entered the space behind him—an adventurer who had come to find him: Li Ce.
As soon as Li Ce entered, his semi-transparent body began to glow. Starting from the feet, his form slowly dissolved into colorful light, scattering like particles.
He glanced down at his fading form without much concern. After surveying the space and seeing only one other person, he hurried toward the distant figure.
"Hey! Young man! Are you Hu Tao's friend?"
Victor Wang turned abruptly to see a spirit, now waist-up only, streaking toward him with a tail of multicolored light trailing behind.
"I am. And you are?"
"Who I am doesn't matter now. Hu Tao's waiting for you outside—she's feeling real guilty!" As Li Ce spoke, his body dissolved up to the chest.
Victor Wang smacked his forehead. "I forgot to consider Hu Tao's feelings!"
"Then hurry up—try and see if you can get out—" Before he could finish, Li Ce vanished completely, leaving only a trail of shimmering color to decorate the otherwise colorless realm.
"…You." So, this was what true death in Teyvat looked like?
Suddenly, the colored trail began to change. Many hued light particles gathered where Li Ce had last been, forming a floating orb of color. The remaining uncolored, pure light points shimmered and faded into the white space.
Victor Wang watched quietly, waiting to see what the colorful orb would do next.
The orb pulsed like it was breathing—five pulses—then collapsed inward. A moment later, it condensed into something tangible: a plain green headband.
"!"
It appeared so ordinary yet felt so significant—unexpected, yet logical.
In the game, it had the following description:
Though this is just an ordinary green headband, made of tough, sweat-absorbing fabric, and its owner was just a mortal with a body of flesh and blood—the vast stars above and the lightless Abyss below, with all their hidden secrets, await to be hunted by this fragile man.
This was a 1-star artifact: Adventurer's Bandana.
If those pure light points represented spirit, soul, or will—then the colorful ones might be emotions… or memories. Things death couldn't carry, and the ley lines didn't need.
Victor Wang picked it up. Like the Adventurer's set he'd bought in Mondstadt, it had no physical presence aside from the visual. Which made sense—how could you feel something like this?
"But some artifact sources are still alive, right?"
Characters like The Fair Lady and The Jester were still alive, yet they already had associated artifacts. If one were to explain that… either similar historical figures left those behind, or artifact creation wasn't limited to death.
Victor Wang released the bandana to see what it would do—surely it had a destination. Otherwise, this place would be overflowing with artifacts.
As soon as contact was broken, it began to shimmer—then blinked out of existence.
"Heh, and here I thought you'd lead me to some artifact stockpile…"
Encountering this artifact here reminded him of the mysterious voice urging him to find Khaenri'ah relics. But things were never so simple…
Still, this journey had clarified many things: that the place one goes after death is the ley lines, and that artifacts might be formed from emotion and memory. Not bad for a day's work.
He let out a sigh and drifted toward the light screen. After one more slime-like squirm through, he emerged into the world again.
"A living person actually went in and came back out," Lanxi said calmly, though her face looked like she'd seen a ghost.
Hu Tao couldn't resist getting up close, almost poking him, afraid he was a fake. "How did you get in?"
"I don't know."
"Are you still you?"
"I'm Victor. You're Hu Tao. That's Lanxi. I booked services at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor with my friend Dainsleif. On the way here, we composed poetry with Mr. Bohuan."
"Whew, thank goodness! Honestly, if your friend hadn't known about the 'Boundary' too, I would've used a major memory wipe spell on you! What a mess… but at least it's over now." Hu Tao clapped her chest like a steel plate, letting out a genuine breath of relief.
"I'm really sorry. Let me do something to make it up to you—as compensation for all the trouble, especially for that talisman. I'd feel awful if I didn't repay you." This was his final shot at raising her favorability!
Hu Tao shook her head. "That talisman's nothing. Your life is what's important. If you hadn't come back out, I'd have been ruined forever."
"Then let me help you somehow."
"Then it's still my fault for letting you in."
"No, you fulfilled your duty. You only needed to show me the 'Boundary', right? You got me there safely, and I achieved my goal. I'd say this was a happy ending for everyone."
"…When you put it like that… I guess it does make sense?" Hu Tao spun the thought in her head twice—didn't find anything wrong with it.
"Right? Except… that adventurer who went in just now… who was he?"
"You saw Li Ce? So even at the end, he made a difference…" Lanxi gazed at the screen and explained, "You don't have to worry. He was ready to go. Helping you before he left probably made him very happy."
"Oh, I figured as much."
"So, what's it like inside the 'Boundary'?"
"A space of pure white. When a spirit enters, it dissolves into points of light. And their emotions and memories… might become artifacts."