Chlothar Alberich—the man publicly known as the founder of the Abyss Order—had, before establishing that Order, once encountered the "Sinner" of Khaenri'ah alongside Aether.
For someone of Khaenri'ah's royal nobility, his reaction was astonishing—it was as if he was witnessing an Abyss Lector for the first time. He even called the creature a "perfect lifeform." After that meeting, he initiated Loom of Fate Project and went on to create the Abyss Order. He seemed to have also grasped a method for manufacturing artificial Abyss Lectors…
His son, however—Caribert—was transformed into a Hilichurl. Hilichurls, like Abyss Lectors, were unafraid of the Celestial Nail's purification and could draw power from the Abyss… but unlike them, the Lectors retained reason, could revert to humanoid form, and wielded elemental energy. Compared to Hilichurls, Abyss Lectors were indeed "perfect lifeforms."
For ordinary people—even for those who required external organs of elemental magic such as Delusions or Visions—Abyss Lectors had one more advantage: the ability to survive within Abyssal environments. If everyone could successfully become such beings… perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing?
Maybe that was what Khaenri'ah had once believed.
Once Victor Wang understood that they hadn't merely wanted to overthrow Celestia but had also taken real, tangible action toward it—on the same level as the ancient Khaenri'ah Artifacts—he had to consider how far Khaenri'ah had gone.
A godless nation seeking to overthrow the Heavenly Principles—clearly not to appoint a new god.
Without anyone left to restrain the dragonkind, humanity could only rely on the Abyss for strength. But the Abyss' power harmed ordinary people. Surely Khaenri'ah knew that.
No… maybe not. Maybe they only realized it after the disaster had already struck.
But still, to revolt against Celestia, they must have had some method to control the Abyss. Power that could not be used—power that only destroyed—was no different from elemental energy that required divine permission to wield.
So that raised the question: in all of Teyvat, who could actually use the power of the Abyss?
"Jinwu!"
Hearing her name called, Jinwu, who was still busy setting up the temporary camp, turned in surprise. "You two… why are you coming from that direction?"
"Don't even ask. We took a detour—I mapped it all out, you'll understand once you see it."
"Hmm… Serpent's Cave? You mean that giant serpent?"
"Yeah. There really is a mechanical serpent tunneling through the mines. Before seeing it with my own eyes, I thought it was just a myth."
"Hmph. Down here, everyone works together against nature. Who would spread baseless rumors? I told you to be cautious, but you never listen."
"I know, I know!" Zhiqiong answered quickly, brushing it off. Her eyes darted—she glanced at Jinwu still hammering tent stakes, then at Victor Wang standing motionless like a statue. Then, with a flash of mischief, she said to Jinwu, "There's groundwater up ahead. I forgot to check its quality earlier, I'll go take a look."
Jinwu paused mid-swing, then continued hammering with a few crisp clinks.
"Go ahead. Just be careful."
"Got it!"
About a minute after Zhiqiong left, Jinwu turned to Victor Wang. "Please follow her and— huh? Where'd he go?"
…
"Woohoo! Now this is a real adventure! If someone's protecting you the whole time, can you even call that an adventure?"
Having shaken off Victor Wang with a clever trick, Zhiqiong walked briskly down the mine tunnel. The talk about checking water quality was a lie—her heart was set on exploring the uncharted areas.
When she reached the end of the temporary main shaft, standing atop a tall cliff, she first used her telescope to sketch a rough outline of the surrounding area. Then her eyes fell on a plank walkway clinging to the cliffside.
Just as expected, the walkway was broken—in two places.
The first gap wasn't bad, but the second… it looked like she'd need to take quite a leap—on a rickety wooden path that had been abandoned for two years.
Zhiqiong shifted her big adventurer's backpack around to her chest. It felt tight and uncomfortable, but necessary—she needed her Wing Glider ready to deploy. She was just about to glide across when she suddenly stopped, turning instead toward the broken walkway.
Climbing up the first break, she stood before the second, took a deep breath, and prepared to open her wings at any moment. With several quick thud-thud-thud steps, the sound of straining wood echoed through the depths below. The supporting beams held firm—even after her daring leap.
"Hah! See that? That's my real skill! This level of challenge—no Vision needed! Any adventurer could do it!"
As if by proving herself now, she could erase that earlier near-miss when Victor Wang had secretly been watching her. Knowing he wasn't here made her a little regretful.
Victor Wang, not far away but hidden, couldn't help but find it amusing. No matter how great her ambitions, at her core she was still a lively, bright-hearted girl.
Zhiqiong pressed deeper into the Chasm's main mining area. This place was far closer to the Abyss-tainted core than the temporary main shaft—the Dark Mud was much denser here, and one patch now blocked her path.
"Black Mud… should I take a sample?"
Standing at the edge of safety, Zhiqiong hesitated. From the shadows, Victor Wang was already poised to act.
But he trusted that she wouldn't recklessly dive into danger without cause—only that she wouldn't shy away from it when necessary. If she were the former… then she'd truly be beyond saving—seeking death, not adventure.
"Forget it. This isn't even my main job. Let Khedive, that stingy guy, study it himself."
Zhiqiong moved around the Mud, and Victor Wang silently breathed out in relief.
But the situation tensed again in the next instant. From the ground far below the high walkway came a sudden shout: "Run! They're coming for you!"
Zhiqiong hadn't yet figured out what was going on when, from the far end of her walkway, an elevator—somehow still running after two years of abandonment—rose with several Treasure Hoarders aboard.
"Tell Clitopho to shut up!" their leader cursed down below, then looked up at Zhiqiong. "So you're the one making all that noise? Huh? A female adventurer?"
"Bro, am I seeing things? A woman made it this far down? What do we… do with her?"
"Hmph. Doesn't matter. Women may not have the strength of men, but they're definitely more delicate and gentle. Tie her up—she can raise our Treasure Ferrets!"
Of course, Zhiqiong wasn't about to be captured. Though she had no idea why Treasure Hoarders were even here, she'd already opened her Wing Glider mid-conversation and was gliding away, calling back mockingly, "Wow, how old are those stereotypes? If you've got the guts, come catch me! Bleh!"
"Tch! After her!"
But when the man called "Second Brother" waved for his men to chase, none of them moved.
"I—I'm scared of heights…"
"I failed my gliding license test… didn't bring my glider…"
"Why did I even hire you lot!? Fine! I'll do it myself!"