"Boom!"
The Elemental Storm, a maelstrom of three interwoven colors, raged until the last speck of light vanished, finally restoring a moment of tranquility to Wangshu Inn.
As the light faded, two opposing figures emerged clearly.
Lydia held the Festering Desire, her snow-white skirt still dusted with fine elemental particles; Yunxuan leaned against her violin, her hair slightly tousled by the wind.
Their eyes met, the lingering fighting spirit still visible, yet interwoven with the exhilaration of having met their match.
They were like two extinguished flames, their warmth still lingering.
Lydia's arm trembled uncontrollably. That last move had nearly drained all her strength, leaving even the hand gripping the Festering Desire weak.
The dark purple tentacles extending from the blade gradually lost their luster, slowly retracting like exhausted vines, and the once-shimmering dark purple runes dimmed, leaving only faint traces of light.
The Anemo Hilt she had summoned with her other hand lost its power, dissolving into specks of cyan-green particles that swirled in the evening breeze before finally vanishing into the air.
She forced a faint smile at Yunxuan, her eyes still bright, but her body could no longer support her. Her knees buckled, and she fell straight backward.
"Watch out!"
Venti moved with lightning speed, his figure transforming into a cyan-green streak of light. He caught Lydia's limp body steadily almost a second before she hit the ground.
The young woman's cheeks were a bloodless, deathly pale, her breathing as ragged as a traveler who had just completed a long journey.
Her long, snow-white eyelashes lowered, clearly indicating she had passed out from exhaustion.
Gently cradling the back of her head, Venti could feel the faint tremors running through her body, and a flicker of heartache surfaced in his eyes.
As Yunxuan watched Lydia's fallen form, the tension in her shoulders finally slowly relaxed. Her violin and bow dissolved into starlight.
The crescent moon floating behind her lost its elemental supply, gradually turning transparent before falling onto the wooden floor and vanishing in an instant.
She raised her hand to pull her hood back up, the brim pressing down low and obscuring most of her face, leaving only her sharp jawline visible.
She kept the complex emotions in her eyes tightly hidden as her gaze slowly swept over Zhongli, Xianyun, and Xiao.
In the end, she neither paused nor said goodbye, simply turning and setting out toward Mondstadt.
Her ink-black hair fluttered gently in the wind, as if she were off to keep an appointment that no one else knew about.
Osial and Beisht exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement.
The couple said no more, simply quickening their pace to follow their daughter, flanking Yunxuan on either side.
The figures of the family of three gradually vanished at the end of the mountain path.
"Yunxuan!" Xianyun instinctively took a half-step forward, wanting to call out to the retreating back, but her wrist was gently held by Zhongli.
She turned to look at Zhongli, her eyes filled with confusion and urgency: "Rex Lapis, why do you stop me?"
"There is no need to stop her, that child knows her own limits," Zhongli slowly shook his head.
"The obsession in her heart is the grudge concerning Yunqin, and also her own redemption, which she must ultimately unravel herself, others cannot interfere, nor can they help." His gaze turned toward the direction Yunxuan had departed, a trace of understanding and relief in his eyes, "Besides, with Osial and his wife there, they will never let their daughter suffer even a moment's harm, she will be fine."
Lumine and Paimon had long been unable to contain their worry, and after hearing Zhongli's words, they immediately rushed over to Lydia.
Paimon pounced to Venti's side, her voice carrying an imperceptible tremor: "Venti! How is Lydia? Is she seriously injured? Should we find a doctor?"
Lumine also knelt down, her fingertips gently resting on Lydia's wrist. Feeling her steady but slightly weak pulse, the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally let out a sigh of relief.
"She's still breathing, she just fainted from exhaustion, there is no life-threatening danger." She looked up at Venti, her eyes full of worry, "Let's find a quiet room for her to get some good rest, the previous battle consumed too much energy, she needs to replenish her strength."
Venti nodded and carefully lifted Lydia up in a bridal carry, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure.
The young girl's head rested on his shoulder, her snow-white hair cascading onto his lapel.
He turned to look at Zhongli and the others, his tone carrying a trace of apology: "Thank you all for helping out today, and I'm sorry you had to witness such a fierce exchange; it must have been quite a shock."
"We'll take Lydia to rest first, and we can discuss the subsequent matters regarding the Abyss once she wakes up."
Zhongli nodded slightly without saying much, his gaze simply falling upon the Festering Desire. The connection between this sword and the Abyss seemed to be deeper than he had imagined.
And the bond between Lydia and Yunxuan was also by no means a coincidence.
-
On Earth, the Genshin Impact community had already boiled over into chaos.
When the three-colored elemental storm on the balcony of Wangshu Inn exploded across the screen, the image froze at the moment of its most brilliant radiance. Dark purple, azure green, and silver white intertwined like a burning dream.
"Holy crap! Did they burn the entire year's budget on these special effects? That 'BOOM' just now almost blew out my headphones!"
"Lydia and Yunxuan are just too amazing! I got goosebumps all over when the wind blade met the crescent moon. Now this is a real fight scene!"
"Who gets it! Watching two beautiful women fight makes my heart race like crazy! I'm so excited I'm about to crush the potato chips in my hand!"
"..."
At the same time, discussion threads in the Genshin Impact player community were refreshing at a rate of dozens per minute.
A post titled "Yunxuan vs. Lydia: From Elemental Resonance to Fated Bond, This Is the Pinnacle of Teyvat Sparring!" rapidly climbed to the top of the trending list.
The original poster not only attached a frame-by-frame analysis of the battle clips but also marked the details of every single move transition between the two.
From the condensation trajectory of Lydia's Anemo Hilt to the angle changes of Yunxuan's Crescent Blades, they even compared the colors of the light particles when the elements collided.
The comments below had already piled up into a thousand-story building, each one exuding the fanatical passion and meticulous attention to detail of the players.
"Did anyone notice the detail of Yunxuan putting on her hood at the end? She obviously won, so why does she look so lonely? Could she be going to Mondstadt to take revenge on the Abyss?"
"Bumping the comment above! When Osial and his wife followed along, Beisht even quietly handed a bottle of water to Yunxuan. The details are so touching!"
"But I'm really worried about Yunxuan. Her obsession with the Abyss is too deep. What if she gets manipulated?"
"Doesn't anyone think their bond is absolutely insane? They could predict each other's moves the very first time they met. This definitely isn't a coincidence! I bet ten bags of potato chips they've met before!"
Meanwhile, in the "Story Analysis" section of a certain gaming forum, players had already entered Sherlock Holmes mode, digging up even the smallest details from previous plotlines.
"Based on the scene where Yunqin was ambushed and killed by an Abyss Knight, Yunxuan, as her other half soul, must be seeking revenge against the Abyss. This time in Mondstadt, she might even run into Dainsleif, since Dainsleif is also pursuing the Abyss!"
"Lydia's Festering Desire was taken from Fake Albedo. Fake Albedo is connected to the Abyss. Will her trip to Mondstadt be related to the missing Statue of the Seven?"
"Zhongli said, 'Yunxuan knows what she is doing.' Could he have known about her plan all along? Even paved the way for her?"
Until late into the night, players were still discussing this battle.
Some replayed the battle footage repeatedly, breaking down every move into slow motion.
Some opened drawing software, staying up all night to create fan art of the two.
Others organized the timeline, trying to speculate on the future direction of the story.
Every lamp in front of a screen reflected the focused faces of the players. They were anxious about Lydia's strength, worried about Yunxuan's resoluteness, and also excited about the so-called "bond" between the two.