Nantianmen, the Fulong Tree
The incarnation of the Azhdaha a girl named A-Jiu stood beneath the great tree, quietly gazing at her surroundings.
Something about her state was very wrong.
At times her eyes were clear and lucid.
At other moments they turned murky and violent.
Meanwhile, the seal beneath the Fulong Tree was gradually weakening.
If things continued like this, the day when Azhdaha would break free from the seal was drawing near.
An oppressive aura spread throughout the entire area around the tree—so heavy that few would dare approach.
Yet even in this land shrouded in malice, a blonde girl stood calmly at the edge of the area with numerous members of the Abyss Order.
The bone-chilling aura seemed to have no effect on the cold-faced girl at all.
She looked toward the terrifying presence emanating from Azhdaha.
"As expected of Azhdaha. Even after being sealed for a thousand years, merely the remnants of his anger and hatred can still produce such power."
Standing beside her, a tall Abyss Lector whose body glowed faintly red sighed with emotion.
"After all, this is the very being who once fought alongside the Geo Archon to purge the gods that brought chaos to Liyue."
Then he added with some concern:
"But, Your Highness… the god of Liyue is not like the one in Mondstadt."
"If we treat his old friend like this… could it bring unnecessary trouble?"
Worry appeared on the Abyss Lector's face.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence in their strength.
But recently, the Geo Archon had been quite active in Liyue.
Because of that, he felt pessimistic about the Abyss Order successfully recruiting Azhdaha.
The blonde princess said calmly:
"Even if we did nothing, Azhdaha would soon break the seal anyway. All we have done… is move that moment forward."
The Abyss Lector muttered quietly behind her:
"Not just moving the time forward… You've also fed that Dragon King quite a lot of remnants of fallen gods."
"Enjou! You seem to be talking quite a lot!"
the princess snapped in annoyance.
"Why don't you stay here and handle the rest yourself?"
Hearing the princess grow angry, the Pyro Abyss Lector Enjou quickly waved his hands.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness! I'm just a scholar—if you leave this task to me, I'll definitely mess it up."
Just then, another Abyss Mage stepped forward.
It respectfully reported:
"Your Highness, the plan at Cuijue Slope was interrupted by a mysterious Adeptus called the Ink-Shadow Adeptus."
"Ink-Shadow Adeptus?"
The princess frowned.
During their earlier investigation of Liyue, she had never heard of such an Adeptus.
The Abyss Mage continued:
"According to rumors, that Adeptus' true identity may be the fierce god Taotie."
"Taotie?"
Confusion appeared on the princess's face.
After all, the last recorded activity of Taotie had been thousands of years ago—so it was normal that she didn't know.
But while she didn't know…
someone else present certainly did.
The princess turned toward Enjou.
Enjou also looked back at his princess.
"..."
After a moment of silence, the princess spoke with clear irritation:
"Enjou!"
Realizing she was genuinely angry, Enjou hurriedly explained:
"Taotie was a god active during the early stages of the Archon War. It had an insatiable appetite and possessed the power to devour heaven and earth."
"According to historical records, the reason the Morax and Azhdaha were able to defeat it was… because it became too hungry."
"Taotie was so starving that it devoured half of its own body, greatly weakening itself. Only then were the Geo Archon and Azhdaha able to defeat it."
Even Enjou felt the story sounded absurd as he spoke.
"Of course, I can't guarantee the accuracy of those records. If you want the truth… you'd have to ask the Geo Archon himself."
A deep, heavy voice seemingly carrying the weight of millennia—suddenly spoke nearby.
"The truth may instead be that Taotie grew stronger after devouring itself.
The Geo Lord and Azhdaha paid a heavy price before barely defeating it."
"That battle nearly left both of them unable to continue protecting Liyue."
"So that's how it was. Thank—"
"!!!"
The sudden voice had answered Enjou's question but it also startled him badly.
He immediately spun around and assumed a combat stance.
Nervously, he stared at the elegant man who had appeared behind them without warning.
The princess and the other Abyss Order members also became tense.
The newcomer was the same man who, at Yujing Terrace, had recognized Jun Ze's identity as Taotie at a single glance.
"Morax?"
The princess narrowed her eyes.
The man replied calmly:
"When walking in this identity, it would be more appropriate to call me Zhongli."
The man known as Zhongli, who was in truth the Geo Archon Morax, spoke with complete composure.
It seemed as though the situation before him was not particularly dangerous at all.
Which made sense after all, he had survived the brutal Archon War. There were few things he had not witnessed.
Meanwhile, Enjou couldn't help adding:
"See, Your Highness? I told you—"
The princess turned and snapped:
"One more word and I'm sending you to Inazuma!"
"…Oh."
Enjou shrank back.
It seemed the princess really was angry she was even threatening to exile him.
Zhongli looked toward the distant incarnation of Azhdaha, whose malice now filled the sky.
A trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes.
"Azhdaha was sealed here… and yet you do such things. That is rather inappropriate."
Though Zhongli still appeared calm, the princess and the Abyss Order could feel a terrifying pressure radiating from the ancient god.
On the surface he looked tranquil.
But inside, his anger was already burning.
Enjou quietly reminded the princess:
"Um… Your Highness… The Geo Archon also has the title God of War. He's not like that Anemo Archon."
"Right now… we probably can't beat him."
"I said—be quiet!"
"O-Okay…"
The princess faced Zhongli and said seriously:
"We mean no offense. We simply believe that Azhdaha protected Liyue for many years, yet ended up suffering such a fate. We merely could not bear to watch."
"..."
Zhongli fell silent.
Then he began to walk forward.
His movement made the Abyss Order even more tense.
Yet he did not attack them.
Instead, he walked toward Azhdaha.
His voice carried both melancholy and the weight of past memories.
"Since the promise has been broken… one must bear the punishment of devouring rock."
"This was the agreement we made long ago."
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