"My good daughter, your wings have grown strong. Do you think that by having a Vision you can stand against me? But do you not understand? A Vision is, in the end, only an external tool. This form of mine—this is the true perfect lifeform!"
Diergis showed not a trace of fear. Swinging his twin blades, he cut down the swirling snow around him, his voice ringing with fervor. "The blood of Khaenri'ah flows in you as well. Join me in this glorious evolution, my daughter!"
"Glorious? Evolution? This form?"
Ye Caizhen's expression was as cold as ice. Shaking her head, she retorted, "Even with thousands of flaws, a Vision is still a million times better than an Abyss Herald. If becoming this form of yours required no price, then the Abyss Order would have already ruled over Teyvat long ago."
"Heh… it's only a tiny chance of death, nothing more. This is the blessing of a god—naturally, not everyone is worthy of enduring it! But now that our ties are torn, you either join me and the Abyss Order… or you die. It makes no difference."
His gaze swept slowly over Jun Zheng, Ye Caizhen, and Victor Wang. Malice burned in Diergis' eyes. With a flick of his right hand, the icy blade on his forearm extended to nearly two meters in length and lunged forward—yet Ye Caizhen twisted aside and narrowly evaded.
"Foolish child! Wintry Rush!"
Snow fell harder. Ice howled louder. Father and daughter both wielded Cryo, their battle dazzling to behold. Ye Caizhen's sword clashed again and again with Diergis's icy blades; neither held back.
"Mother would never want to see you like this."
"Silence!!!"
Barely a dozen exchanges, and those words ignited Diergis's rage. His body surged with Cryo, his elongated frame dissolving into a deep-blue afterimage. With inhuman speed he unleashed a wide, circular slash that slowed anything it touched, striking again and again—five consecutive waves of furious assault.
Driving Ye Caizhen back into defense, he flipped backward midair, blade angled up, opening distance. Suspended before landing, he roared, "It was you who killed her! What right do you have to speak her name?!"
Ye Caizhen's breath hitched. Her flawless defense faltered for but a moment.
Though she was his own daughter, Diergis did not hold back. Hanging in midair, he hurled three massive spears of black-blue ice at her. A follow-up volley of four sealed off her retreat entirely.
BOOM!
The black ice crashed into the snow, erupting in plumes of corrosive dark mist. Blood trickled down Ye Caizhen's cheek where a shard grazed her, a strand of hair severed. She forced herself out of the choking fog, coughing despite holding her breath.
The cut on her face stung cold. Her nose and throat burned. Yet none of it hurt as deeply as the ache in her heart.
"Shuang'er was… so beautiful."
Her father's voice pierced the black mist, echoing in her ears. Shuang'er—Ye Shuang—her mother. The one who had entrusted her life, the one who gave her courage to live on.
"She was lively, cheerful, forever filled with boundless passion for everything in this world. She was clever, resourceful, and yet—she offered her true heart to me, a stranger she stumbled upon in a ruin.
She said she could see through me. Said I was not a bad man. Said I was lonely. Said I needed to be saved. Heh…
One encounter is not enough to change a life. But in this vast, bustling world… it was her. Her alone who made me stop. Her alone who gave me peace of heart. Her alone who offered me a home."
Through the mist, silence enveloped the world. The old master's voice carried truths even he had never spoken before. Jun Zheng listened, deeply moved.
"I cast away the hatred of a fallen nation! I severed centuries of the past! I even braced myself for a future trapped in this cursed body of immortality, forced to watch the woman I love age and wither before my very eyes!!!"
"I gave everything for Shuang'er—for this home!"
Diergis's voice ground with fury. Victor Wang thought to himself: If not for that Abyssal mask hiding his face, his expression must be twisted beyond recognition now.
"But never… never did I imagine she would die to something so laughably trivial. Heh… heh…"
The mist dissipated. Diergis raised his blade, pointing it at Ye Caizhen.
"I thought and thought, over and over. If not for you—if you had never existed—then Shuang'er would have lived a full, normal life!
I endured endless suffering, risked near-certain death, just to grasp a sliver of hope for her sake. And you? You join some delusional, reckless order that opposes us at every turn. Can you bring your mother back?
Have you ever, even once, truly grieved from the depths of your heart for the mother you never even met? Hm?! You wretched star who stole her life away!"
Though his blade did not fall, each word cut sharper than steel into Ye Caizhen's heart.
"Master, you've gone too far!"
"And you—what are you? Do you think that raising this ill-omened child in my stead gives you the right to take my place?"
"Have you forgotten Lady Shuang'er's final words?!"
"Why should I be bound by a dying woman's whim?! Once my plan succeeds, Shuang'er will be revived! I had dreamed of showing her a warm, whole family upon her return—but now? Impossible. All ruined, by you vermin who usurp my home and will not rest! That was my home! Our home—mine and Shuang'er's!!"
Even Jun Zheng felt his blood run cold at those words. He glanced at Ye Caizhen's frail back, standing so still, then stepped forward.
"You are ensnared by delusion. Humans are fragile. After conceiving Miss, Lady Shuang'er wrote a letter meant for her—a farewell, should misfortune strike.
In it, she spoke of your undying curse. That her life would only ever brush against yours, never truly walk beside it. But with a child born, and that child to bear children, even if she were gone, you would still have kin in this world. Even without your homeland, your new family would be forever with you.
Had I known you would become this… I would have urged you to stay."
"Enough!" Diergis snarled. Two blades of ice crossed the air, lethal to any normal man. Ye Caizhen blocked them just in time.
"…Father, you are exactly as I expected."
Ye Caizhen lifted her head. Her already-cold face was now pale as the falling snow.
"You want to revive Mother. But can you be certain the Abyss Order truly has such power? Have you ever seen it with your own eyes? And if they could… would she truly still be her? You don't know. No one does. That so-called god you place your hopes in—no one knows their true power. This is nothing but your delusion.
"'There can never be two identical souls in this world.' Those were the words of the one who stands behind me. And for the sake of that dream, you've already committed so many wrongs. Wake up…"
"Nonsense! I want her alive!! Any who block me—die!!!"
"Then I will fulfill my duty."
Ye Caizhen's white robes billowed without wind, her long hair streaming upward. Snow and frost twined around her blade. "Frozen Celestial Sword!"
A massive sword of pure ice manifested, gleaming beneath moonlight. Its swing blurred—vertical, diagonal, horizontal—seeming to strike from every angle at once, leaving Diergis with nowhere to flee.
"It's useless! You cannot defeat me!"
If he could not dodge, he would not. Diergis raised his Cryo shield, his body fusing with elemental essence. Laughing wildly, he declared, "Do you understand now what it means to be a perfect lifeform? This is it—the Perfect Lifeform!"
The shield of an Abyss Herald—once among the thickest in existence, even sturdier than a Hilichurl Chieftain's. And unlike theirs, his would never dissipate with time. While it endured, he was immune to all Cryo and unshakable.
But shield and life were one: once the shield fell, so too would he.
Ye Caizhen could never break such a shield—yet Victor Wang entered then, wielding the blazing Wentian Sword.
With his left hand, he conjured Geo constructs, combining with Ye Caizhen's ice to entrap Diergis. With his right, he struck relentlessly with flaming Gale Blades. The Cryo glow around Diergis flickered weaker and weaker under his frantic gaze.
In Teyvat, where elemental reactions reigned supreme, mastery of "Advanced Elemental Theory" was protection enough to walk the world… assuming, of course, one had the power to trigger them. For now, with only Anemo mastered, one must rely on Swirl.
Regardless, shield or no shield, the scorching synergy soon gnawed away at Diergis' life. His fury waned. His strength drained.
"I… did not expect to lose. But you will not keep me." His struggle ceased. Abyssal energy melted away. His form shrank back into a frail, dying man. "So be it. This home, I leave to you for now. Next time… I shall return—with Shuang'er at my side."
"This is the end… I will not let you leave."
Ye Caizhen drew out a crystal of shimmering hues, speaking softly. "This is the Sevenfold Frost. Within it, all ties to heaven and earth are severed. In other words—whoever is sealed inside cannot release or draw upon elemental power. I forged it for you, Father."
"You… you…!!!
"Why… why can you not understand me? Shuang'er still waits for me! I will not remain here—not here!!"
Diergis stumbled back, collapsing to the ground, elbows scraping as he tried to crawl away. His terrified eyes fixed on Ye Caizhen and Jun Zheng. A farewell. They meant to send him away—for good.
"I will not let you suffer such torment awake. I will grant you eternal peace. Rest now."
Before her words faded, twin blades pierced through Diergis's throat and heart. What little life remained withered instantly.
His gaze fell upon Ye Caizhen, disbelief mirrored in both their eyes. His lips trembled, and in a ragged, leaking whisper he croaked:
"Zhenzhen… that game, I still remember… I only… didn't want to lie to you. Treat all the cruel words I said as lies… I… I'm going home now…"