Lumine lit the incense and placed it into the burner. A faint, lingering fragrance spread through the air. She closed her eyes and silently prayed, hoping to find her brother soon. Beside her, Paimon mimicked her posture and also began to pray.
After they finished and moved away from the burner, someone in the crowd sniffed the air. He nudged his friend and asked in confusion.
"Hey, do you smell that special Wangsheng Incense? I think I smell it. That's not a good omen."
His friend quickly covered his mouth. Such words shouldn't be spoken here. Saying something like that on this occasion—if the Millelith heard, he might end up eating prison rations for a few days.
"The auspicious hour has arrived!"
As the auspicious hour came, the noisy crowd gradually quieted down. At the center of the Rite of Descension grounds, Ningguang, Keqing, and Ganyu had long been ready to welcome Rex Lapis. Ningguang, at the forefront, lit the famous incense on the table. Three wisps of smoke slowly drifted into the sky.
In an instant, dark clouds filled the sky. A sense of foreboding rose in Ningguang's heart. Remembering what the astrologer had told her yesterday, her expression grew more solemn.
'Please, let nothing go wrong.' Ningguang silently prayed. Whether her prayer worked or Rex Lapis answered, the sky burst with six-colored light.
Beneath the dark clouds, the light was exceptionally dazzling. Someone in the crowd shouted, "Rex Lapis has appeared!" This caused an uproar among the people.
"Has Rex Lapis truly appeared?"
"It must be Rex Lapis."
"Does the Archon have something important to announce? I heard Mondstadt was attacked by Stormterror a few days ago. Could it be..."
"After this battle, Mondstadt belongs to Liyue!!!"
Regardless of the speculation, as the six-colored light shone upon them, all Liyue people knelt down with a thud, waiting for Rex Lapis to appear.
"Old man, your Liyue people are quite warlike. They want to invade Mondstadt..."
"Speaking generally, this is indeed a good opportunity."
"Hey hey, old man, you're not actually going to order an attack on Mondstadt, are you? Didn't you invite me to watch your retirement ceremony?"
Hearing Zhongli's words, Venti's hand trembled, spilling some wine on the ground. But when he saw the smile on Zhongli's face, he knew he had been tricked.
"I didn't expect that after retirement, you'd learn to joke, old man."
"Hehe, spending these past few days with those children has made me feel younger somehow."
"Now, watch closely. According to Azhdaha, she wants to show me something called 'magnificent black.'"
Zhongli stood on a high place, looking up at the sky. With his keen eyesight, he could clearly see a little finch in the sky, a glowing lantern in its beak, flapping its wings with great effort.
In a hidden alley in Liyue Harbor, Azhdaha was observing the sky with her two good friends. Behind her, a large black pipe stood upright, pointing toward the heavens.
"Sister Toto, I finished making the thing you wanted! Klee worked on it for a long time last night."
"Good job, little Klee. After we're done, I'll take you out for delicious food. My treat!"
Azhdaha was very pleased with what Klee had made. Beside her, Qiqi tilted her head, observing the big black pipe. Having never seen fireworks before, Qiqi didn't know what this thing was for. Right now, she was just worried that Six-Six might get tired—oh, Six-Six was the name Qiqi had given the little finch.
"It's about time. Leave the rest to me."
Azhdaha gathered a large ball of Hydro energy in her hands, then took out a bottle of precious ink that Zhongli had stored away. After thoroughly mixing the ink with the Hydro energy, she added a few drops of a strange-tasting beverage to mask the ink's smell. With that done, she jumped high and climbed into the big black pipe.
"Alright, begin, Klee. Make sure the Overloaded reaction is strong. I don't want to fall out halfway."
"Sister Toto, are you sure nothing bad will happen?"
Klee held an Electro Crystal in one hand and Pyro energy in the other. Although she knew Azhdaha was very strong, she had never experienced stuffing a person into a firework tube before, and she was worried about hurting her.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Even if Morax dies, I won't."
"Begin. The more violent the Overloaded reaction, the better."
"Okay then. Sister Toto, please be careful. If you get hurt, Klee will be sad, and Master Jean will scold Klee."
Urged on by Azhdaha, Klee reluctantly placed the Electro Crystal at the bottom of the firework tube. Then, closing her eyes, she pulled out a large Jumpy Dumpty and detonated it at the tube's base.
BOOM!!!
After a massive explosion, Pyro and Electro triggered a violent Overloaded reaction. The shockwave even lifted the talisman on Qiqi's forehead.
Klee steadied her tilted hat. The tremendous force from the Overloaded reaction sent Azhdaha inside the tube shooting out with a whoosh.
The small, loli-sized Azhdaha, holding a ball of black Hydro energy, traced a perfect arc through the sky. Experiencing fast flight for the first time, she squinted her eyes, enjoying the sensation of wind slapping against her face.
But she didn't forget her mission. Aiming for the dark clouds, she hurled the large ball of Hydro energy into them. Instantly, the clouds began to churn. The Hydro content inside the clouds rapidly increased. Before long, black raindrops began to form and fall toward the ground.
"Lumine, something dripped on my head."
Paimon, huddled among the crowd, touched her head. Since she and Lumine were outlanders and hadn't knelt with the Liyue people, they noticed the rain first. But why was the rain black?
"Has Teyvat been hit by a biochemical crisis too?"
Lumine watched the black raindrops landing on Paimon's forehead, her heart tightening. In other worlds, black rain usually carried strange viruses. Among the worlds she had explored, several had become lifeless due to the effects of such viruses.
"Biochemical crisis? What's that? Bleh, bleh, this rain tastes terrible."
Paimon accidentally swallowed some rainwater while talking. The strange taste made her little face scrunch up. She had never imagined rain could taste like this.
Standing on a high place, Zhongli watched Azhdaha crash headfirst into a small hill, his face twitching. Amid the six-colored light, a downpour of black rain flooded Yujing Terrace. The "magnificent black" was born.
"Azhdaha, you really are something. What a genius. Old man, I've learned something new today."
"Magnificent black, hahaha! Old man, your familiar is quite creative. Bleh, what is this taste? Oh no! I left my wine on that table!"
Looking at the people drenched in black rain, Venti beside Zhongli couldn't stop laughing. But then a few drops of black rain carried by the wind landed in his mouth. An indescribable taste exploded in his mouth. Venti frantically looked for wine to rinse his mouth, only to remember that he had left his bottle on the stone table at Yujing Terrace. And by now, Yujing Terrace was already covered in black rain.
"My wine! My century-aged wine! NOOOOO!"