After the Five Archons' Summit ended, the streets of Sumeru City were still as lively as ever.
In the alleys and marketplaces, people occasionally discussed the Snezhnaya Empress, who had come and gone in haste.
Some claimed that the Dendro Archon had crushed the Cryo Archon's arrogance during the meeting.
Others whispered that the four nations had secretly formed an alliance to resist the ambitious invasion of Snezhnaya.
Most of it was mere rumor, nothing more than idle chatter over tea.
What they did not know was that, during that very summit, a plan capable of changing Teyvat's fate was already taking shape.
...
High above the world, Lu Chen looked down at the land below. As he continued to ascend, Sumeru City grew smaller and smaller, until it was no more than a dot.
The higher he rose, the thinner the air became. An ordinary person would have fainted long ago, but Lu Chen's body was no longer ordinary.
With a wave of his hand, the air thickened around him. Water vapor gathered at his command, cloaking him in an ethereal mist as though he were a god treading clouds.
At last, the full expanse of Teyvat stretched before him. On the horizon, dawn broke—the sun rising from the sea in the east.
Half the world bathed in light, half swallowed in darkness. From this perspective, he felt the rhythm of day and night like never before.
Above him, countless stars shimmered in the sky, no longer veiled by clouds—so close they seemed within reach.
And indeed, they were.
Here, Lu Chen saw it clearly: the false sun, the false stars. The so-called alternation of day and night was not the orbit of planets around a star.
This was the truth of the false sky. The stars the people saw were nothing but projected illusions.
Lu Chen had reached the true boundary of the world. His perception struck against an invisible "wall."
When he spread his senses further, he discovered that this boundary was riddled with cracks.
Through those fissures, he glimpsed what lay beyond the world.
A realm of pure chaos. Pitch-black darkness. Torrents of raging elemental energy, with no trace of light.
Distorted. Twisted. Tumultuous.
And within that darkness, faint presences stirred—indistinct yet terrifying—pressing endlessly against the boundary, desperate to break through.
"So this... is the state of Teyvat now?"
Lu Chen fell into deep thought. If those things broke through, it would spell catastrophe for all life in Teyvat.
And somehow, he had been thrust into the role of "firefighter."
He recalled the reward for completing his current mission: the [Ark Technology Energy Shield Blueprint]. Clearly, it was technology meant to sustain a massive protective barrier.
But before he could earn that reward, he had to stop the Abyss Order's so-called "Loom of Fate."
"Could it be the Abyss Order plans to invade with the power of the Abyss itself?" Lu Chen muttered as he stared at the cracks, frowning. "Invade this world?"
"Even if Phanes is half-dead, the Heavenly Principles still function. Phanes once defeated the Sovereign itself. Aren't they afraid of waking him?"
No matter how he thought about it, now didn't seem the right time for a large-scale invasion. If he were leading the Abyss Order, he might wait until Snezhnaya struck first, forcing the Heavenly Principles to fight on two fronts...
As he pondered, a faint, magnetic female voice echoed around him.
"Just a friendly reminder—the Abyss Order has more than one option."
"Who!?" Lu Chen's heart jolted. He spun around.
But behind him lay only endless darkness, empty skies, and the thin veil of clouds below.
No one.
At his current level, for someone to approach without him noticing was unthinkable. Instantly, Lu Chen summoned Skyward Pride from his system.
He scanned the surroundings, blade raised.
At last, his eyes fixed on one point.
"Come out! Don't think I can't see you!" His sword pointed forward.
"Please, don't be alarmed. I mean no harm. With my strength as it is, I pose no threat to you..."
The voice echoed again, soft and ethereal.
Lu Chen's brow furrowed. "What are you playing at?"
The woman's voice answered, gentle and distant:
"I drift across the corners of the world. I no longer have a body. By the logic of your world... perhaps you could call me a ghost."
"A ghost?" Lu Chen frowned in confusion—then realization struck. "Wait... you know about my world?"
He remembered her first words—that the Abyss Order had more than one option...
"Are you saying... the Abyss will invade my world?"
That bustling world wasn't his birthplace, but it so closely resembled his original one. And after living there—sharing joy and warmth with so many—he had already come to see it as home.
"Don't take my word for it. I'll show you some visions... visions of the future."
"What—?" Lu Chen's eyes widened.
Countless specks of light stretched forward, and the world around him receded at impossible speed. That same strange sensation engulfed him—space and time twisting.
The scene before him changed.
"Where... is this?"
It felt as if he had stepped back through the Gate of Teyvat into the other side.
But what he saw made his heart sink.
The sky was gray-black, pressing down like a slab of lead. The world was drowned in endless darkness. Here and there, flames tore into the heavens, casting momentary light on the horrors below.
Corrupted, oozing filth spread across the land. Rivers lay cracked and dry. Cities crumbled into ruin. Abyssal creatures roamed unchecked.
And among the wreckage...
People, broken and pitiful, muttering madly, staggering in delirium.
It was the very image of the world's end.
The vision shifted rapidly. He saw the last remnants of resistance—pink hair scattering in the wind.
"Miko..."
Lu Chen froze.
He had never seen Yae Miko like this. Her robes drenched in blood, her breath ragged, her eyes filled with unbearable sorrow.
Beneath her feet lay a mountain of corpses. Among them, the dull glint of a broken Traveler's Handy Sword.
"Why did you do this... Do you think I wanted to keep living like this?"
"Without you... without you..."
"What in this world is left for me to cling to?"
She faced the endless darkness ahead, a bitter, mocking smile on her lips.
"You haven't granted my wish yet..."
"Idiot..."
Her words fell—and the ground shook, the heavens split, and darkness surged to engulf the world.
"This time, even as a ghost, I won't forgive you..."
The tide of black swallowed her whole.
Silence.
No light remained.
"Miko!!!"
Lu Chen's vision blurred with rage and grief. He could no longer restrain himself—his eyes burned as he screamed.