At that moment, at Wangshu Inn, the audience below, moved by Li Mo's emotions, began praying for Baal and Beelzebul. They begged the gods of Celestia to show mercy and save these innocent infants.
Even Keqing could not help but say, "I really hope he can find Celestia and receive the gods' help…"
But Shenhe replied, "Impossible… how could an ordinary boy ever reach the realm of the gods?"
"Besides… Celestia did not have the Seven Archons as it does now."
"To save the two infants, there is only one path—challenge the mighty Tengu clan…"
It was a despairing answer.
When she mentioned the Tengu clan, Shenhe's expression shifted subtly.
She knew all too well…
In ancient Inazuma, the Tengu were among the most terrifyingly powerful gods.
Trying to steal a sacred relic from the Tengu was no different from walking straight to one's death.
Beside Keqing and Shenhe, Qiqi also watched the storyteller on stage with curiosity.
Suddenly… she took a stalk of Qixing Flower and ran up to the stage, her face innocent and pure as she approached Li Mo.
She held out the Qixing Flower to him. "Time to take your medicine…"
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Li Mo did not refuse the Qixing Flower Qiqi offered. Instead, he took it directly and placed it in his mouth without hesitation.
"It's delicious…"
"Thank you, Qiqi."
Just as in that lifetime long ago, the Qixing Flower Qiqi picked was always sweet.
Li Mo looked at Qiqi with a complex expression, then shook his head vigorously, pushing aside the guilt he felt toward her for now.
He continued telling the story of the Electro Archon:
"Driven to despair, the boy climbed to the mountaintop and raised his finger to curse the gods!"
"Heaven's wrath descended!"
"A bolt of lightning struck down, nearly killing the boy who had dared blaspheme the gods… It wounded his body but could not silence his mouth."
"'Cruel heavens… you worthless gods… I am your father!'"
"Heaven's wrath sent down lightning!"
"A second bolt, a third bolt… a twentieth bolt… Terrifying lightning shattered the mountaintop rocks and lit up the evening sky…"
"The boy was at death's door, covered in wounds."
"As long as the gods did not appear, he would not fall!"
"Bolt after bolt grew stronger, the panicked Electro energy growing more and more frenzied… Just as the hundredth bolt descended and the boy was about to die…"
"Something even more terrifying occurred…"
"On the cliffside struck countless times by lightning, a dark flash of Electro light suddenly flared."
"As the hundredth bolt struck, the terrifying dark Electro energy erupted without warning, instantly engulfing the entire canyon, the entire sky…"
"Even the lightning descending from the heavens was devoured, one bolt after another."
"Then, countless strands of dark Electro energy surged madly into the boy's body, rampaging, consuming, growing within him…"
"They tore through his insides, pierced his beating heart. The searing pain drove him to slam his head against the ground in agony."
"But the boy could not die yet."
"Baal…"
"Beelzebul…"
"Those two sisters were waiting for him to return."
...
As Li Mo spoke, within the illusory realm formed by elemental energy above the inn, a terrifying figure appeared.
A boy's body, enduring the torment of endless dark lightning.
Crowned with the name Thunder Demon.
Just one look made every listener below tremble.
None of the audience understood… was the Electro Archon of Inazuma not the Raiden sisters? Why, when they were on the verge of death, did a Thunder Demon appear instead?
Had this terrifying Thunder Demon truly existed?
And what connection did the Thunder Demon have to the Raiden sisters?
Though the listeners could not fully grasp what was happening, a vague understanding began to dawn on them.
No one made a sound. All chose to listen closely, eager to know what happened next.
Li Mo paused briefly, took a sip of tea, and continued recalling the experiences of that lifetime.
As he spoke, the illusory images formed by elemental energy above the inn shifted continuously, scenes flashing by like a film reel.
In the images…
The boy's broken body was now enveloped by mutated black Electro energy.
Rumbling sounds echoed from within him.
The rampaging dark Electro energy tore through his organs, searing every piece of flesh in his body…
The boy gritted his teeth, writhing in agony on the ground.
He had no strength left to curse the gods.
In this moment… he tasted death ahead of its time.
As the dark Electro energy rampaged through his body, his flesh and blood were destroyed.
His heart in particular…
The original heart of flesh and blood had vanished, replaced by a dense cluster of dark Electro energy.
For any ordinary person, faced with such pain, such despair, they would have long since turned into a cold corpse.
But miraculously…
At the moment of death, an overwhelming will to survive erupted from within the boy, along with an endless yearning for power.
He longed to gain enough strength to protect those two sisters.
Baal!
Beelzebul!
The future Electro Archons, the hope of Inazuma.
At the moment of death, driven by that fierce obsession, it was as if a pair of mysterious eyes cast their gaze upon him, bearing witness to this tragic scene.
The gaze of the gods.
A sigh.
Then… a miracle was born!
The rampaging dark Electro energy, as if guided by some mysterious force, gradually calmed from its chaotic state.
Not only did it stop its destruction, but it also resonated with the boy.
All the turbulent dark Electro energy gathered around his shattered heart, replacing it.
It took the form of a gem crackling with dark lightning, pulsating with life in place of his heart.
The boy… was not dead!
...
At that moment, at Liyue Harbor's Wangshu Inn, Li Mo was recounting his memories with complete immersion.
Every detail he described was projected through the illusory realm above the inn for everyone to see.
When the audience below witnessed this scene—especially the flash of lightning within the boy's chest—they were utterly astonished.
"There it is—the endless longing, the fierce obsession, the gaze of the gods…"
"A Vision… it's been born…"
"It really is a Vision… but why is its element mutated Electro? And why is it forming in his heart?"
"The boy, pushed to the edge, resonated with the mutated Electro energy inside him for the sake of saving Baal and Beelzebul."
"Wow, this boy is incredible. He managed to obtain a Vision even under these conditions…"
"A Vision forged from mutated dark Electro energy… what effects will it have?"
"Even if an ordinary person obtains a Vision, it's nearly impossible to control its power."
"I'm guessing the boy will next seek out the Tengu clan. That's the only way left to save the Raiden sisters."
"The Tengu were far too powerful back then. It'll be nearly impossible for the boy to win…"
"Hopeless…"
...