Just as Keqing led the Traveler and Paimon onto the Yujing Terrace, two voices—one male and one female—called out from behind them again.
"It's the Traveler and Paimon…"
"Traveler, Paimon, wait!"
Hearing this, the Traveler and Paimon quickly turned around and immediately saw Tighnari and Collei hurrying toward them.
Running into Tighnari and Collei here took them completely by surprise.
Keqing looked puzzled. "Who are they?"
Paimon hurriedly explained, "They're Tighnari and Collei from Sumeru…"
Without wasting a moment, the Traveler and Paimon walked toward them.
"Why are you in Liyue too?"
Collei, breathing heavily, said, "Sumeru… Sumeru has encountered an abnormal situation. The Lesser Lord Kusanali saw omens of a disaster… We came to seek counsel from the Geo Archon…"
There was no time to rest. Collei immediately gave a brief overview of Sumeru's situation.
The Withering Zones in the forests had reappeared and were rapidly expanding. Moreover, the Lesser Lord Kusanali, using the power of the Irminsul, had glimpsed a premonition of the black calamity descending.
After hearing Collei's account, both the Traveler and Paimon were deeply shocked. They hadn't expected similar omens of disaster to appear in other nations as well.
It seemed the situation was far worse than they had imagined.
Nearby, however, Keqing did not look surprised. Instead, she studied Tighnari and Collei thoughtfully. She and Ningguang had already anticipated this possibility.
At that moment, Collei said urgently, "Traveler, Paimon, please help me find the Geo Archon—or the Liyue Qixing…"
Paimon said solemnly, "As you can see, this is one of the Liyue Qixing—the Yuheng."
Keqing nodded seriously. "My name is Keqing. Come with me."
With that, Keqing led the Traveler and Paimon deeper into the Yujing Terrace, with Tighnari and Collei following closely behind.
A short while later, they met Sam Li, Venti, Ningguang, March 7th, Billy, Nicole, and the others once again.
After some brief introductions, Keqing asked Collei to repeat what she had just explained.
Collei, however, said earnestly, "The situation is urgent, Lady Yuheng. Please take me to see Liyue's Geo Archon…"
Keqing was about to explain when Sam Li spoke calmly, "Just speak. The Geo Archon will hear."
Hearing this, Collei glanced at the Traveler, then at Paimon. When both nodded, she slowly explained Sumeru's situation once again.
After listening to the accounts from Collei and Tighnari, Sam Li frowned deeply.
Previously, he had thought it might take at least half a year—perhaps even longer—before the Antimatter Legion and the Annihilation Lord, better known as a Lord Ravager, could break through the False Sky of Teyvat and enter the world.
But judging from the current situation, they likely wouldn't even last half a year. In just two or three months, the black calamity would descend.
After a moment of silence, Sam Li said slowly, "If this is true, then Mondstadt, Snezhnaya, and Fontaine should also have experienced similar omens…"
Keqing asked at once, "Then what should we do next?"
Although Keqing was diligent and highly capable in her work, the black calamity was far beyond the scope of what she could personally handle. Everything she knew about it came from ancient texts.
At this moment, Venti also became uncharacteristically serious.
"The first thing we need to do is contact all nations and discuss a joint response."
Five hundred years ago, it was precisely because the nations fought separately and were caught completely off guard by the black calamity that their losses were so severe.
This time, they had to learn from that lesson.
They needed to unite the strength of all Seven Nations—including Snezhnaya—and face the black calamity together.
Suddenly, Sam Li looked toward the outside. "They've arrived as well."
Keqing was confused. "Who?"
Before Sam Li could answer, a Millelith on duty hurried in.
"Reporting to Lady Keqing—envoys from Mondstadt have arrived."
Before Keqing could move, another Millelith rushed in.
"Reporting to Lady Keqing—envoys from Fontaine have arrived."
Paimon said excitedly, "It must be Furina and the others, and Klee too! Traveler, let's go greet them."
Keqing, the Traveler, and Paimon quickly went to the entrance of the Yujing Terrace. Sure enough, they saw Klee, Kaeya, Furina, and Clorinde arriving from Mondstadt and Fontaine.
At the same time, Paimon's gaze passed through the crowd and landed on a familiar figure across the street.
"It's Tartaglia… Hey, Tartaglia! Are you here representing Snezhnaya?"
Hearing this, Paimon, Keqing, Furina, and the others all turned to look. Sure enough, Tartaglia was standing across the street.
Under the attention of so many people, Tartaglia spread his hands helplessly.
"So you found me."
He had also come on orders from the Tsaritsa, the Cryo Archon of Snezhnaya.
However, his mission hadn't been to meet the Geo Archon or to formally discuss countermeasures with Liyue. Instead, he had been sent to investigate whether Liyue had experienced any abnormal phenomena.
The results matched his expectations. Liyue, too, had shown signs heralding the imminent arrival of the black calamity.
Faced with this, Tartaglia had decided on his own to come to the Yujing Terrace—only to be discovered by Paimon and the Traveler.
Paimon asked seriously, "Tartaglia, has Snezhnaya also seen signs of the disaster?"
Tartaglia nodded. "That's right. I came to Liyue to investigate… cough, to discuss countermeasures with everyone."
He then briefly explained the situation in Snezhnaya. The Northern Sea, frozen for five hundred years, had suddenly begun to thaw. Beneath that ice lay the very place where the black monsters had surged forth five centuries ago…
After hearing Tartaglia's account, the Traveler and Keqing exchanged glances.
Keqing said firmly, "Everyone, please come with me. We need to discuss our response together."
Soon after, Keqing brought Klee, Kaeya, Furina, Clorinde, and Tartaglia before Sam Li and the others.
At this point, representatives from all Seven Nations of Teyvat had gathered at the Yujing Terrace in Liyue.
Once everyone was present, the Traveler, Collei, Kaeya, Furina, Kuki Shinobu, Tartaglia, and Keqing once again gave detailed reports on their respective nations.
In the end, the representatives of the Seven Nations formally signed a pact to jointly resist the black calamity and immediately began formulating a response plan.
According to the plan they agreed upon, the first step was for all nations to begin emergency preparations. Meanwhile, Sam Li, Venti, the Traveler, and the crew of the Astral Express would immediately head to Natlan to provide support and stabilize the situation there.
Paimon stood at the entrance of the Astral Express and called out to Tartaglia, "Tartaglia, hurry back to Snezhnaya and tell the Tsaritsa to start preparing for battle right away!"
Although the Traveler and Paimon didn't like Snezhnaya—or the Tsaritsa—in a situation like this, uniting with Snezhnaya to resist the black calamity was the only correct choice.
Tartaglia sighed softly. "I'll head back right away…"
He was already thinking about how to explain this to the Tsaritsa. He had been sent to Liyue merely to investigate, yet somehow ended up signing a pact for the Seven Nations to jointly resist the black calamity.
Still, such an agreement brought no harm to Snezhnaya.
Her Majesty the Tsaritsa… probably wouldn't blame him for it.
…