Lumine, Mavuika, and Aether followed closely behind the Goddess.
They took in the scene of the battlefield: the three gods, radiating immense power yet now battered and weak, their bodies riddled with grievous wounds.
"Ronova..." Lumine recognized one of them by her aura—the Ruler of Death herself!
Lumine's breath hitched. If that was Ronova, the identities of the other two became painfully obvious. But... there should be four gods. Where was the fourth?
Seeing the Three Gods reduced to such a state, the Abyss's power once again surpassed Lumine's imagination.
Thank goodness I awakened the Goddess in time...
Lumine looked up at the figure standing before the Goddess—her exact double, yet radiating an unmistakably Abyssal aura.
Unlike the Goddess's long pink hair, the being from the Abyssal Dark Plane had hair the color of blue-purple twilight, crimson eyes, and a chillingly inappropriate grin.
"It's been far too long, hasn't it? You sealed us away for over ten thousand years."
Jiang Mumu's voice swept across the battlefield like a glacial wind from the Abyss, carrying a bone-deep hatred and twisted malice: "This 'gift'... We have never forgotten it, not for a single moment. We've been pondering how to... return it tenfold!"
The Goddess gazed at her silently, a fleeting hint of sorrow flickering in her pink eyes.
She saw not just an enemy, but another part of herself forcibly torn away and corrupted by the Abyss—the beauty that once belonged to her twisted into pure evil.
"The Abyss would never tell me these things. So, while the Abyss has changed you, it has also been affected... though the changes are minimal."
The Goddess's voice remained gentle, yet it carried an unwavering resolve: "Seeing you like this... my heart aches too. I understand the pain of being forcibly taken, of being corrupted better than anyone. I understand you, but that's no excuse for you to unleash this pain indiscriminately."
"Understand? Pain?" Jiang Mumu tilted her head, crimson eyes burning with pure, undisguised lust for destruction:
"Don't lump me in with you. I am the embodiment of the Abyss itself. Consumption and destruction are my instincts, my pleasure! Teyvat... such sweet bait. Devour it, then devour you! I will finally be complete, transcending all!"
She spread her arms wide, the dense Abyssal aura writhing around her like a living thing, hungering for the world's life force.
"And you... you're just the last, annoying barrier standing between me and my feast. Soon, even what remains of you will become my nourishment!"
The Goddess sighed softly. She knew this creation had long ceased to be connected to her "self." It was a monster forged from fragments of her remains and the purest malice of the Abyss—communication was futile.
At the same time, she keenly sensed the presence of another formidable figure near Jiang Mumu—the Temporal Husk.
She could handle Jiang Mumu, but would be entangled in the process. And with the Temporal Husk here... in this situation, Teyvat would have no one capable of opposing it...
No more hesitation.
The Goddess suddenly turned and strode gracefully to Lumine's side. Under Jiang Mumu's mocking yet slightly bewildered gaze, she reached out and gently cupped Lumine's cheeks.
Amidst Lumine's bewildered expression, the Goddess said:
"Ah, it seems our reminiscing time is over."
Her smile remained radiant, as if the impending crisis were merely another minor adventure to be faced together.
"Then, my dear Traveler, will you accept this small 'gift' once more and temporarily safeguard this beloved world for me?"
Before Lumine could answer, a warm and boundless power gently poured into her from the Goddess's palm.
The energy flowed like the spring sun, pure and brimming with life, blending seamlessly with Lumine's own energy to form a sturdy protective barrier. It also granted her temporary, transcendent power beyond her usual Authority.
This gift wasn't meant to thrust her into the final battle, but to equip her with the Ability to withstand the Temporal Husk's relentless gaze after the Goddess's departure.
"Sharing power with a mere ant? Utter foolishness!" Jiang Mumu sneered, her eyes burning with contempt. "Once I devour you, this paltry power—along with this feeble world—will all be reduced to nothingness!"
The Goddess released Lumine's hand and winked, conveying her trust: I'm leaving it to you.
She turned back to Jiang Mumu, her smile vanishing as a radiant pink aura began to emanate from her body, divine and majestic.
"This place is too cramped. I can't move freely here," the Goddess said, her voice clear and resolute. "Since your goal is to devour me, then come! Let us settle this at the edge of the Sea of Stars!"
With those words, she transformed into a pink meteor piercing the heavens, tearing through the World Barrier and hurtling into the boundless void beyond Teyvat.
"As you wish! Your power, your very existence, everything you protect—all will become mine!" Jiang Mumu roared with maniacal laughter, transforming into a dark, swirling vortex that devoured all light. Fueled by a will to annihilate all, she surged after the Goddess, vanishing beyond the world in an instant.
The departure of these two supreme beings eased the pressure on the battlefield, but the Temporal Husk's shrieks and frantic movements grew increasingly clear.
Lumine felt the warm power coursing through her veins and gripped her sword hilt tightly.
Aether and Mavuika stood beside her.
The Goddess had bought them this final chance—for her, for Teyvat.
Now, it was their turn to protect this land.
-
In the boundless depths of space, far beyond the Teyvat World, in a desolate realm where even starlight rarely ventured, two terrifying forces capable of reshaping the cosmos erupted in a cataclysmic clash.
A radiant pink divine light, shimmering like dawn's first blush, collided fiercely with the all-consuming dark purple Abyss Energy, like two primordial behemoths locked in an eternal struggle.
The energy waves rippled outward in concentric rings. Planets that had drifted in desolate solitude for billions of years didn't even have time to utter a mournful cry before they were instantly reduced to dust, vanishing into the void like ice crystals thrown into a furnace.
From a cosmic perspective, this was undoubtedly an epic battle, a war that would shake the stars and be etched into the annals of history—a direct confrontation between the ultimate concepts of Creation and Destruction.
Yet at the very heart of this destructive maelstrom, the two instigators—the Goddess and the Abyss Goddess Jiang Mumu—seemed strangely... preoccupied.
Their figures flickered in and out of sight amidst the raging torrents of chaotic energy, their movements graceful as they unleashed star-shattering power with every gesture, precisely controlling the scale and direction of each collision.
Yet, if anyone could pierce through the layers of energy barriers, they would be astonished to discover that their gazes were not locked on each other, their supposed mortal enemies. Instead, both their gazes simultaneously pierced through the infinite spatial barriers, stretching across the cosmos to focus on the gently luminous world of Teyvat.
Despite the immeasurable distance, the scene unfolding on the Dark Sea was vividly reflected in their deep, fathomless eyes.
Meanwhile, the seemingly chaotic and destructive energy storm swirling around them, which appeared to be tearing apart everything in its path, continued to maintain its terrifyingly realistic illusion of a world-shaking battle. Without its master's focused guidance, the storm relied solely on its initial momentum and intricate structure to sustain this grand, deceptive spectacle.