Standing atop Mt. Tianheng at night and gazing eastward, the whole of Liyue Harbor lay beneath his feet. Streets crisscrossed in a glowing lattice, illuminated by thousands of lights, while each human below looked like a tiny black dot wandering aimlessly through the avenues.
"It's so cold. If I hadn't climbed this mountain so late at night, I'd have forgotten it's already about to be November. Liyue really is peaceful."
With the eastern face by the sea and the peak resting at a height of a thousand feet, Mt. Tianheng's winds bore a faint taste of winter under the pull of shifting temperatures.
Perhaps it was his excessive trust in his fellow Khaenri'ah-born, or perhaps his confidence in his curse of immortality. Though he could not quite understand why Victor Wang had chosen Mt. Tianheng as their meeting place, Diergis still came as promised.
"It's been thirteen years since I last spent the Lantern Rite at home…"
Victor Wang narrowed his eyes. "You really consider Yunyan Hall your home?"
"Hehe, don't laugh at me for saying this—but it's true, the more one lacks something, the more one craves it. I've been homeless and wandering for centuries. Now that I've finally built a home, of course I treasure it.
"But even if my home is in Liyue, what flows in my veins is still the blood of Khaenri'ah, and my heart still belongs to my homeland. Foreign festivals… I can't say I put much stock in them."
After some polite chatter, when what he desired was nearly within reach, Diergis suppressed his restless emotions and, as if in casual conversation, hinted, "The fact you asked to meet means you've made up your mind, hasn't it?"
A faint unease stirred in Victor Wang's heart. He had made up his mind, but what he had decided was how to draw words from Diergis—how to squeeze him for information before eliminating him.
There was the faintest flicker of guilt, but he quickly reminded himself: he was merely a tool. And tools did not need feelings.
Victor Wang nodded. "I'm willing to trade my encounter with a god for your secrets."
"A wise choice."
The two of them then stood in silence against the cold wind, each waiting for the other to speak first.
"Very well. Since you once shared with me information regarding Khaenri'ah's relics, I'll show some sincerity first."
Not intending to reveal much at all, Victor Wang decided to say just enough to bait him. "Not long ago, I had a close encounter with a certain god."
"A god?"
"It was the Overlord of the Vortex. Don't worry about how I encountered it—the point is, nothing in my life has been more unusual than this. I thought maybe it's related."
Diergis had entertained a faint hope, but upon hearing that name, he immediately rejected it. "Impossible."
"…After that encounter, something else unusual happened. I clashed with the Abyss Order—and for the first time, I used one of their teleportation arrays. What do you make of that?"
Diergis knew of these events already, just as Victor Wang knew that he did. But the act had to be played out regardless.
As expected, Diergis dismissed him again with growing impatience.
Victor Wang feigned deep thought, then let his eyes brighten as though a memory had struck him. "After stepping through that teleportation array, I was surrounded by thousands of Hilichurls. And it was in that great battle that the final unusual event happened. If it's not the first two, then surely it's this one!"
"What happened?!"
"Hah… didn't you say I only needed to recount how I encountered a god? Maybe you think what I've said so far isn't worth much, but I've already given you two-thirds of the story leading up to it…"
"You sly brat. Fine, tell me—what do you want to know?"
Victor Wang tested cautiously. "I want to know about the Prince of Khaenri'ah, about the divisions within the Khaenri'ahn court, and the true cause of the war that destroyed Khaenri'ah."
"Very well." Diergis nodded.
Had he succeeded?
Exchanging trivial words for secrets—what a bargain!
Victor Wang's heart pounded in his chest. But then Diergis added, "Since that's what you most wish to know, then I won't tell you. Not yet. Once you finish recounting everything, I'll reveal it. For now, let's trade for a different question."
"Tch… you're insincere." Victor Wang clenched his teeth in irritation.
"The feeling's mutual. We're not here to make friends. We're here to take what we need." Diergis shrugged, his tone calm, though a flash of hidden malice flickered in his eyes.
"Fine. Then tell me how much you know about Khaenri'ah's god. Everything."
"Hehe… then listen carefully."
Diergis turned toward Liyue Harbor, stood in silence for a moment as though recalling the past, then said:
"I've already told you—this god did not rely on faith. This god was manufactured. And not only that, the technology that birthed Him came from beyond this world, as did the power that drives Him. He is a god born in this world, yet of it not. A god from beyond the veil—granted both the ability and the mission to shatter destiny itself.
But even shattering destiny is itself a form of destiny. Even among the few in Khaenri'ah who knew the truth, not all welcomed His birth. The gods of the heavens certainly did not.
And so, He was born regardless, only to, for reasons yet unknown, become a mad god—unable to bear His true responsibility.
And we—the Abyss Order—our task is to set Him back on the right path."
At this, Victor Wang cautiously stepped back, defensive but not yet signaling Ye Caizhen.
Diergis' gaze burned cold yet fervent, his expression twisted with both hunger and desire. The power of the Abyss welled and ebbed within him, yet he still chuckled softly.
"I know you know I'm of the Abyss Order. But fear not—we've never cared for ordinary mortals… forgive me, I should say we've never held them in our hearts. Though the meaning's the same, doesn't it sound nicer that way?
Hahahaha! Besides, you are hardly ordinary. The breath of godly descent upon you… it's beautiful.
You truly carry Khaenri'ah's blood. If you wish it, I could recommend you to the Abyss Order at any time."
Joining the Abyss Order… If it had been before everything began, it might have been a tempting choice. But the Order had yet to find that Khaenri'ah god—meaning they lacked the power to restore him to humanity. And besides, they were enemies of the Seven Archons.
'You've already chosen your own path. Go now, and complete your redemption…'
The words sprang to Victor Wang's mind suddenly, though he could not recall where he had once heard them. He shook his head. "I have no desire to join the Abyss Order."
"No matter. This meeting was a personal endeavor. As long as we both get what we want, that's enough."
As long as both get what they want. But what if one didn't?
This was the second time Diergis had spoken the phrase. Its meaning was clear. Luckily, he had come with ill intent—and Victor Wang had not come in kindness either.
"My questions aren't finished. What is your Order's true relationship with Khaenri'ah's god? If it isn't a good one, how do you even recognize His aura?"
"That god does not appear often, and contact with Him is rare. But His Highness the Prince once stood before Him directly. That aura remains to this day."
Aether had stood before Him… Victor Wang asked uncertainly, "Then that god must be the very one who aided Chlothar Alberich in establishing the Abyss Order?!"
Chlothar Alberich—father of Caribert. He had once faced the Abyss alongside the Outlander, confronted the mysterious being who named itself the Sinner. After pleading before the Sinner, Chlothar restored Caribert's mind, founded the Abyss Order, and eventually even broke free of the curse of immortality.
To common ears, the name would sound light as a feather. But to those who knew, it was thunder. Diergis froze, his expression faltering. "You… even know that? Don't tell me your forebears were my colleagues… or even my superiors?"
"Don't change the subject. Answer me."
"Humph! Fine. Yes. The god least in need of worship became the very faith of the Abyss Order. The Order is filled with pitiful wretches like me, forced into reversed roles… But we need His power." With a self-mocking laugh, Diergis pressed urgently, "Now—continue. Tell me the rest of how you encountered Him."
Victor Wang sighed. "After all this, it's still not enough? …Tell me, Diergis, have you ever seen stone bloom?"
"What?"
A rock-flower bloomed quietly in Ye Caizhen's palm. And thus Mt. Tianheng received its first snowfall of winter. She and Jun Zheng ascended the mountain, snow drifting around them.
"Father… I've come to see you off."
Diergis looked first at Victor Wang retreating swiftly, then at his daughter and old friend. A kindly smile touched his lips as he feigned ignorance. "Zhenzhen… what is the meaning of this?"
Ye Caizhen lowered her gaze, avoiding his eyes. Her hand brushed her sword. "'If one day I am tainted by the Abyss, then I am no longer myself. When that time comes, do not show mercy.' Just as you told me on my third birthday. And when you ordered the Abyss Order to kill me… you showed no mercy then either."
"…You actually remembered that."
"Perhaps it's the Khaenri'ah blood. Even the laments you poured into my ears while I was still in swaddling—every word was etched deep into my mind."
"Hehe… hahahaha. I'm glad you've grown so strong. Jun Zheng, thank you for raising Zhenzhen in my stead. As a father, I've been… a failure."
"My lord," Jun Zheng bowed, "my life was saved by you. Of course I fulfilled the duty you entrusted to me."
Diergis' face shifted instantly, like a book flipping pages. Suddenly he roared, "And now what are you doing?! Hah?! You two defying me?!"
"My lord, as my lady has said, I have yet to complete the task you gave me thirteen years ago. Naturally, I must see it through first."
"You two… must you tear everything apart?! Must you destroy my home—my only remaining refuge?!" His hysteria mounted, his eyes flashing with madness. He raised his right hand and jabbed a finger furiously at Ye Caizhen and Jun Zheng, before flinging his arm as if to swat away insects.
"Father… so many years have passed, yet I still cannot see through you."
The snow fell thicker. If thunder was the Raiden Shogun's wrath, and rain the tears of the Hydro Dragon, then the snow here and now mirrored one person's heart.
"On my fifth birthday—the day you abandoned me—you wanted to play a game before you left. You said: 'From this day forward, only the words I speak with the word "if" are true. Everything else is false.' I remembered. But since you returned… not once have I heard an 'if.'
"Am I allowed, then, to treat even your anger as a lie?"
Victor Wang turned his head away sadly. That day he had first met Ye Caizhen at Youshan Orphanage, he'd thought it was merely a children's game. He hadn't realized it weighed so heavily on her—that what was a game to others had been her life.
Diergis fell silent, eyes unsteady. At last, with venom he hissed, "Enough talk. You don't actually think you can kill me, do you?"
The dark-violet Abyss surged up, swallowing his body whole. His frame stretched, growing to three meters tall. His garb was consumed and replaced by the vestments of an Abyss Lector of Cryo.
"Father… I told you. I've come to send you off."
The snow carried murder. Within the bounds of the mountaintop, each flake hardened into iron, all drifting toward Diergis at once.