"You see," said Zhiqiong, pointing into the distance, "while we've been talking, there's only one Bedrock Key left."
Following the direction of her finger, Lumine looked out over the horizon. The bright flowing lights that had once marked the seven nodes of the formation had dwindled—only one solitary stream remained.
"Wow, you're right! That was fast! But hey, with someone that capable around, we can save a lot of work ourselves~"
"Destroying a Bedrock Key isn't all that difficult," Zhiqiong murmured, biting her lip, "but that adventurer seems to know his way around here even better than I do…" Suddenly, she stiffened and stared at the ground. "Wait. The earth's shaking."
"What?"
Paimon blinked in confusion—but before Zhiqiong could answer, the Chasm itself replied. The ground began to tremble violently. Even though Paimon's feet never touched the earth, the shockwave rattled her so much she shrieked and threw her arms over her head.
"Waaah—! Eh? The earthquake… stopped?"
"It seems to be over," Zhiqiong exhaled. "Good thing we're on the surface. If we'd been inside the mining tunnels… that would've been disastrous."
Just imagining being trapped underground during a quake made Paimon's heart pound. "Do earthquakes happen a lot in the Chasm?" she asked nervously.
Zhiqiong shook her head. "Not often. This tremor likely happened because the Seven Star Formation loosened—the surrounding rock structure must've shifted."
"Phew…" Paimon let out a huge sigh of relief. "That's good to hear! I was about ready to give up on this commission! But since someone's already working on breaking the formation, what do we do now?"
"'Wait here for a while,'—that's what the adventurer said before he left. We didn't understand what he meant at the time… but now, I think we do. So, you should wait here too. It shouldn't be long before we can enter the underground section of the Chasm."
"Come to think of it, who is this amazing adventurer?"
"He's a rather… peculiar one," Zhiqiong admitted. "Wears a mask. Doesn't really get in the way of adventuring, but it's still… odd."
"Mask…" Paimon turned to look at Lumine—and found Lumine already looking back at her.
"You two know him?" Zhiqiong asked, noticing their exchange.
"Not sure yet," Lumine replied. "We'll know when we meet him."
"His name—"
"Look! The last light stream just vanished! That means he's probably on his way back, right?"
"…"
Zhiqiong swallowed the name she was about to say. The masked adventurer possessed a Vision, might even know Lumine, and could freely navigate the Seven Star Formation without any map or guide. The realization left her uneasy—was her role about to be replaced?
Her eyes dimmed for an instant, but she quickly regained composure, forcing a cheerful tone as she began asking Lumine about her past adventures, the dangers she had faced, and the stories she had to tell.
Within a few minutes, a familiar figure appeared in the sky, descending through the fading light.
"Victor Wang!" Paimon waved excitedly, then quickly put her hands on her hips. "I'm not even surprised anymore—seriously, why is it always you?!"
"Keqing trusted me with this task," Victor Wang replied with a small grin. "So of course, I can't betray that trust. Coming here was… inevitable. I'm just taking a little time to settle my thoughts."
"Keqing? Oh—you mean the Qixing are involved with the Chasm operations, right? But what do you mean by 'settle your thoughts'?"
Victor Wang shrugged. "I don't know."
"What's that supposed to mean? Don't act mysterious!"
"It's something Jiangxue said. Don't look at me like that—I think he doesn't even know what it means either."
Lumine offered thoughtfully, "Do you mean… to reach your own destination, just as I must reach mine, so that your eyes can witness the true essence of this world?"
That's Aether's line! Victor Wang nearly twitched. And you haven't even reached your own destination yet! I've barely gone half as far as you… "Uh… well, let's just say," he replied awkwardly, "our settling might mean different things."
"Really?"
"Anyway, back to the main topic." Victor Wang turned to the slightly crestfallen Zhiqiong, whose pride as a veteran adventurer seemed shaken. "The seal over the Chasm is gone. We can start exploring anytime. Do we need to prepare anything else?"
"Yes," Zhiqiong nodded. "We'll need catalysts made from Lumenstone. Without them, we can't move safely in the darkness below."
She pushed open the rickety wooden door of an old storage shed behind her. Inside, several beautiful, faintly blue crystals shimmered faintly in the gloom.
"Only Vision bearers can fully utilize these catalysts," Zhiqiong explained, "but since Lumine can use elemental power, she should be fine too. You two—each take one."
Victor Wang noticed Lumine quietly touching the fake Anemo Vision hanging around her neck on a red string. Both she and Paimon saw him notice—but no one said anything. The two each took a Lumenstone catalyst.
The crystal felt cool to the touch, its texture like polished jade. Apart from its beauty, it didn't seem extraordinary—until Lumine tried channeling a bit of elemental energy into it. The Lumenstone glowed gently, then flared into a burst of bright white light when she increased the flow.
"Wahaha!" Paimon laughed as the light faded and noticed Victor Wang had instinctively taken a step back. "Victor got scared! Hah!"
"Y-yeah… it was just… sudden," Victor Wang replied, going along with it.
Scared…? he thought inwardly. Well, maybe a little. Being enveloped by the Lumenstone's radiance had made him uneasy—not hurt, just… uncomfortable.
"Honestly, it startled me too!" Zhiqiong admitted, laughing lightly. "That light spread so fast! Anyway, this confirms Lumine can use the catalyst. Once we check in with Muning, we can finally head down into the Chasm."
When the expedition team finished preparations and went to say goodbye to Muning, they found him drenched in sweat, still panicking from the quake and the vanishing of the Seven Star Formation.
"Ah, you're here! So? Who destroyed the Bedrock Keys and the formation?!" he demanded, his mustache trembling.
"I did," Victor Wang stepped forward calmly.
"Oh, that's good, that's—wait, what?!" Muning's relief froze mid-sentence as he remembered his duty. His tone sharpened instantly. "You destroyed them without authorization—how do you plan to explain that?"
"I have the right to remain silent," Victor Wang replied dryly. "Please direct all further inquiries to my lawyer."
"Lawyer?"
Victor Wang simply lifted Keqing's signed permit.
"Cough. Fine, fine. If it's you, I'll let it slide… The responsibility's covered anyway."
"Oh, Muning," Zhiqiong teased, "you're awfully compliant today. Word is you were scared out of your wits earlier?"
"Hmph. If you're ready, then get going already. Go wherever you need to, just—don't wander around in front of me!"
"Bleh! Fine, fine—we're off! You stay here and stew by yourself!" Paimon called out with a grin as they headed toward the depths of the Chasm.