"Rosalyne has always acted discreetly,"
Dottore said lightly.
"At the very least, she never flaunts her… dirty deeds in the open."
"But you—my dear Scaramouche…"
He stepped behind him, tone dripping with mockery.
"When you die, every sin…
will be placed neatly on your corpse."
"Believe me—Shushan won't investigate too deeply."
"Between a talented disciple and a pile of dead mortals, they know exactly which weighs more."
"They only need a scapegoat.
One who can't talk back—
one who can carry every crime."
"And you, who performed so many delightful missions with Rosalyne…
are the perfect candidate."
"Congratulations.
You've officially entered the Tsaritsa and Rosalyne's kill list."
"Tell me—do you think she'll let you walk into Liyue alive and ruin the path she's carved to immortality?"
Scaramouche's brain wasn't completely broken—just stubborn.
This, even he could understand.
He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked.
"Let her come! Cultivation is powerful, yes—
but she's only trained for a few days!
And she wants to kill me?!"
"Ridiculous!"
Dottore gave him a pitying look.
"Is that so? My dear colleague, it seems you don't understand the power of cultivators."
"The Childe you once looked down on?
Now a Shushan disciple.
A demonic cultivator.
Only mid-stage Refined Essence—
yet he can suppress a god with ease."
"Even Her Majesty is no match for him."
"Days ago, Osial and Beisht attacked Liyue and were beaten down by a group of mid-stage cultivators."
"I hear their souls were carved apart."
"And just recently, a mere early-stage cultivator invaded Inazuma and fought your mother—Raiden Shogun."
"At the final moment, when she swung Musou no Hitotachi,
the yaksha Xiao arrived and shattered it effortlessly."
"Raiden Shogun—
utterly powerless."
Scaramouche's face turned corpse-white.
"And do you know Rosalyne's cultivation?
Arlecchino's?
Her Majesty's?"
Dottore's smile widened.
"Rosalyne and Arlecchino are mid-stage Refined Essence—Shushan inner disciples."
"As for Her Majesty…"
"She is a Shushan inner elder.
Mid-stage Divine Transformation."
Scaramouche's breath caught.
Divine.
Transformation.
"And if you try to lay a finger on them…" Dottore continued lazily,
"you won't just face them."
"You'll face Shushan's Law Enforcement Hall."
"Early-stage to late-stage Refined Essence disciples."
"That senior disciple who crushed Raiden Shogun with a single strike."
"From the dark seas returned—Elynas—the Divine Transformation late-stage elder."
"And above all—
the Dragon Head Peak Master, Zhongli."
"Also Divine Transformation late-stage."
Dottore folded his hands politely.
"So… shall I prepare your funeral song?"
Scaramouche exploded.
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT!
The Tsaritsa! Rosalyne! Childe!
You all deserve to die!"
Wind raged violently, tearing the room apart—
but Dottore sat untouched.
He was the Second Harbinger for a reason.
Eventually Scaramouche's fury burned itself out.
He stood trembling, panting heavily.
"They dare block my path to cultivation…
I'll expose everything they've done!"
Dottore snorted.
"How cute."
"To Shushan, mortals matter—but not that much."
"As long as they have one scapegoat,
they can ignore a few inconvenient truths."
Scaramouche's rage returned, boiling.
"What's your plan, then?"
"Plan?"
Dottore gave a short laugh.
"In front of absolute power, all schemes are illusions."
"And wasn't that always your own philosophy?"
Scaramouche froze—he couldn't deny it.
"Cultivation is beyond our reach for now."
"In that, we agree."
"And since we're on the same sinking ship…"
Dottore rose, dusted his coat.
"I advise you to hide."
"If they find you, the perfect scapegoat will be delivered right to their hands."
"I'm leaving. Pierro as well."
"If we meet again—I hope it won't be as the corpse of 'the wicked Scaramouche,'
slain righteously by Rosalyne."
"Oh, one more thing."
He paused at the doorway.
"Teyvat has martial arts now.
Weaker than cultivation, yes—
but far stronger than the old world."
"Beasts, martial paths, resurrection of spiritual energy…"
"All the information is yours."
"Do try…
not to die too quickly."
Then Dottore faded into distortion and vanished.
Scaramouche stood still for a long while.
Anger.
Hatred.
Resentment.
Eventually he grabbed the documents Dottore left him—
and vanished into the wind.
Snezhnaya
Inside a hidden lab, Dottore's real body set aside a test tube.
"It's over… or perhaps just beginning."
He took only a small box, placing it into his Vision's storage.
He stepped toward the wall.
"Cultivation… truly the most beautiful experiment."
"A pity…"
"Before I go—one last gift."
He disappeared into swirling violet-black ripples.
Moments later, the entire base erupted in shouts and clashing steel.
When the fighting stopped, the door was kicked open.
The Captain strode in, killing intent rolling off him like a storm.
Behind him, dozens of wounded Fatui staggered.
He surveyed the horrific laboratory—
the twisted experimental bodies—
Many Fatui retched on the spot.
A soldier rushed in.
"Captain! We've searched the entire base—no sign of the Doctor!"
"Neither the Balladeer nor the Marionette is anywhere to be found.
Their modified soldiers cost us three thousand men!"
The Captain snorted.
"Cunning rats."
"Photograph everything.
Send it to the Rooster—he'll handle the rest."
"And issue a continent-wide bounty.
Snezhnaya condemns the Doctor, the Jester, and the Balladeer.
Dead or alive!"
The soldiers hesitated.
"Captain… can normal people even fight them?"
"Do as I say!"
They scrambled away.
Whether they survived didn't matter.
What mattered was announcing to all of Teyvat:
The Fatui were cutting ties with the three of them.
Every past atrocity—
every sin—
would fall on those three heads.
The Captain left the ruined laboratory
and joined the surviving Harbingers at the long table.
So many seats were empty now.
Pierro—the Rooster—stood at the front, holding a yellow talisman.
When Pulcinella, the Regrator, arrived last, Pierro spoke:
"We've all heard the news.
Her Majesty has issued new orders."
"When the world will appeared before the Shushan Sect Master,
Her Majesty conversed with it."
"As of today, the Tsaritsa has abandoned her plan against Celestia."
"The Fatui will be restructured."
"Former Harbingers—the Jester, the Doctor, and the Balladeer—
are guilty of atrocities beyond forgiveness."
"Snezhnaya will mobilize the whole nation to hunt them.
Dead or alive."
"Additionally, the Fatui will pay compensation to all innocents harmed by their actions."
"Regrator—you will oversee the funds."
Pantalone forced a bitter smile.
"Her Majesty's plan…
this will drain the Bank—"
"Pantalone."
Pierro looked at him with quiet gravity.
"Those still here are Her Majesty's trusted.
We are blessed."
"What is money compared to her favor?"
"Rosalyne, Arlecchino, Tartaglia—they remained by her side.
Do you understand why?"
Pierro's gaze burned with fervor.
"The visions in the sky today were caused by the Sect Master's anger—
he nearly destroyed Teyvat."
"For Her Majesty, who has now stepped into the path of cultivation—
Celestia is no longer our enemy."
"Immortality.
Ascension.
Transcendence."
"That is our new goal."
"The world is changing.
Teyvat is entering the age of spiritual revival."
"If we don't change with it—
we will become fossils."
"Liyue now has the most cultivators.
Then Mondstadt, Sumeru, Fontaine."
"And Snezhnaya?
We rely entirely on Her Majesty, Tartaglia, Rosalyne, and Arlecchino."
"We must cleanse our past.
Cut away the rot.
And earn the right—
to join Shushan."
"Teyvat's future belongs to cultivators."
"And we will not be left behind."
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