Koji glanced at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and asked, "Where did Azhdaha go?"
"He went back to sleep beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree."
Zhongli answered calmly, with not the slightest hint of worry.
Azhdaha was not like him. He had already grown used to having a human form, but for a Dragon King, staying in his true form was still more comfortable. The Hydro Dragon King of Fontaine was the exception.
Even though the Dragon-Queller Tree was no longer the place where Azhdaha had to be sealed, it was spacious enough for him, making it a very suitable place to sleep. Having slept there for so many years, he was naturally used to it.
"Is he hibernating?" Koji asked curiously.
"Not exactly. He is simply sleeping. Dragon Kings live for so long that they often grow bored, and sleep can offset that boredom. It can even reduce erosion to a certain extent." Zhongli shook his head. "Besides, it is not winter."
"Speaking of erosion, Zhongli, how strong are you now? Erosion probably doesn't affect your strength at all, does it?" Guizhong asked curiously.
Right now, Zhongli looked just like an ordinary person. There was no oppressive aura around him at all.
"Heh, old-timers like Zhongli and Venti are definitely the ones hiding the most among the Seven Archons," Koji said.
Venti held part of the authority over time, and he had never even worn the crown, while Zhongli had never truly fought at full power all these years. It was impossible to judge the limits of his combat record, and he could even restore himself through long periods of slumber.
On top of that, Mora itself was connected to Morax. After all these years of Mora circulating through the world, whether that had affected Zhongli's power in any way was something no one besides Zhongli himself could possibly know.
"What is the point of worrying about that? I'm retired already." Zhongli smiled and did not answer.
Still, he truly was not weak.
…
In Nod-Krai, Lumine and Tiamat had arrived on this land in search of newly refreshed treasure chests.
"I didn't open the treasure chests here, so why did you call me over, Lumine?" Aether knew the moment he arrived what Lumine was probably going to ask, and he looked utterly helpless.
That was only because she was his little sister. If it had been anyone else, he would not even have bothered responding.
"I'm not asking you about that. It's just been a while since I last saw you, so I called you over."
Lumine planted her hands on her hips. Did he really think she was that bored?
Aether froze for a moment. So that was the reason.
"Aether, this is Tiamat. Hurry up and call her Mom," Lumine said, pointing at Tiamat as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Huh?"
Aether was completely baffled. She had called him over, and then told him to call someone Mom? What kind of logic was that?
"Tiamat?"
The moment he noticed Tiamat standing beside Lumine, Aether's eyes widened and he cried out in shock. How had this great goddess ended up in Teyvat?
If Lumine knew Tiamat, then of course he knew her too. Knowing of her was one thing, but he had never expected to run into a situation like this.
"Aaaaa—? (Do you want to be my child too?)"
Tiamat asked the question because Aether and Lumine were blood siblings, and their aura carried a similar bloodline.
"Lumine, what did she say?" Aether scratched his head. He did not understand Tiamat's language.
"Tiamat said, do you want to be her kid too?" Lumine said slowly, barely holding back her laughter.
"Oh, right. I acknowledged Tiamat first, so you're the later one. If you want to call her Mom too, then you should be calling me Big Sis."
Aether: "Seriously?"
Hearing that, Aether's mouth twitched. You could play it like that too?
"If you mind, then we can each do things our own way. You call me Sis, and I'll call you Aether," Lumine offered.
Aether wanted to leave on the spot. She called that doing things their own way? Why not just go all the way and call him Big Bro Aether while she was at it?
With Tiamat's age, let alone calling her Mom, even calling her an ancestor would not be excessive. After all, this was a being who had existed since the beginning of the world and was known as the Mother Goddess of Creation.
"Tiamat, greetings."
Aether did not call her Mom. Compared to his hopeless little sister, he still had at least a bit of dignity left. Lumine could handle the embarrassing part herself.
"Aether, Tiamat is the Mother Goddess of Creation from the Type-Moon world. If you miss this chance, you really won't get another one," Lumine said with a straight face.
"If you want to do it, go ahead." Aether shook his head.
"Why did you come here, anyway?"
The Abyss Order had many scouts, so he knew what kind of place this was. Compared to the other nations, this place was more dangerous, and it also contained power related to the Abyss.
"I heard about this place from Columbina, so I came to take a look. And while I was at it, I figured I'd loot some treasure chests too."
Lumine had not thought very deeply about it. The moment she heard there were treasure chests here, she had come straight over.
"…"
Aether let out a faint sigh. Sure enough, that was the reason. His sister still loved treasure chests way too much.
"Aether, are you busy right now? Want to come with me?" Lumine invited.
It had been a long time since the siblings had traveled together. The feeling was genuinely wonderful.
…
Both brother and sister were enjoying that sense of traveling and adventuring together.
"Aether, who's that?"
Lumine pointed at the blond figure in the distance, her face full of confusion. That person over there looked exactly like Aether.
It was bizarre. Aether was clearly standing right beside her, so why was there another Aether over there? If she were not absolutely sure the one beside her was real, she would have been completely dumbfounded.
"…"
Aether went silent for a moment. So someone was impersonating him.
"Why not go take a look?" Aether said with a cold smile.
…
Anyone taking on his appearance was obviously planning to use it against his sister. That had already crossed a line.
"?"
The fake "Aether" turned around and froze. Wasn't there only supposed to be the blond little sister? Why was Aether here too? His brain stopped on the spot, and he could not make sense of the situation at all.
"That aura… Abyssal. You're one of the Five Sinners, aren't you?"
Aether raised a brow. He could sense a familiar Abyssal power from this "Aether."
It was one of the people who had split his power apart.
But why was this person disguising himself as him? What exactly was the goal?
Lumine's expression turned serious as she drew her sword. She had heard of the Five Sinners, but she did not know much about them.
"Your Highness the Prince still has sharp eyes, as expected."
Now that he had been exposed, he gave up pretending and revealed his true form.
He had a tall, slender frame, white hair, and black bandages wrapped around his face, leaving only his eyes and nose exposed.
"The Moon Hunter, Rerir," Aether said slowly.
When his power had been divided, he had not been conscious. Dainsleif had told him the names of the Five Sinners, and over the past few hundred years he had gathered plenty of information on what they looked like as well.
"Why is Your Highness the Prince here?" Rerir asked flatly.
Aether gave a cold laugh. "If I weren't here, were you planning to use my face to get close to my sister?"
Rerir said nothing.
That had, in fact, been exactly what he planned to do.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]