As he passed through Liyue, the sight of the city engulfed in flames made Morax's heart seize painfully.
Blood flowed like rivers across the scorched land, human bones scattered everywhere.
Soon, he saw the Jade Chamber—once floating proudly among the clouds—now lying shattered upon the earth. Beside it, the crushed remains of an Ancient God were pinned beneath the wreckage.
Continuing onward, he came upon the corpses of countless Millelith soldiers, their bodies trampled into formless pulp by monstrous beasts. Their flesh, bone, and armor had fused together into a grotesque and bloodstained mural.
Further ahead lay an enormous crater. The devastation here was unimaginable—the mountains reduced to rubble, the ground split and scarred from the violence of battle.
This was where the Yakshas had fallen.
The scenes flashed past his eyes, but each one carved itself deeply into his mind, piercing his heart like a thousand blades.
Forcing himself to endure the pain, Morax pressed on toward Jueyun Karst.
When he arrived, his eyes widened in horror.
Chaos reigned in Jueyun Karst. The once-towering peaks that stood like pillars had collapsed into heaps of debris. Bones covered the ground, the destruction as harrowing as that of Liyue Harbor. Four Ancient God corpses lay amid mountains of dead monsters.
Farther in the distance, two surviving Ancient Gods were retreating, lumbering toward the horizon.
"Die!!!!!!"
Unable to contain his rage any longer, Morax unleashed his final Planet Befall toward them.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!
A deafening explosion tore through the land, reducing both Ancient Gods to ash.
Nearly drained of divine power, Morax slowly descended from the heavens.
With each step, his feet were stained red—the blood of his people.
The corpses of Cloud Retainer, Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, Skyward Guide, and Ganyu lay among the dead.
Morax could barely breathe; every step forward was suffocatingly heavy.
Driven by desperation, he searched frantically for Guizhong. In his frenzy, he noticed a cave in the distance.
A memory flashed across his mind—this was where the Adepti once resided, a cave within Jueyun Karst filled with intricate mechanical designs.
Without hesitation, Morax rushed inside. At the farthest corner, he found Guizhong lying motionless, seemingly unconscious.
He sprinted forward and pulled her into his arms.
"You're alive... You're alive... Thank the heavens, you're alive..."
In that near-endless darkness of despair, a spark of light flickered to life within him.
Having long abandoned all hope, Morax broke down completely. He held Guizhong tightly like a lost child, tears streaming endlessly from his bloodshot eyes.
"Husband...? What's wrong?" Guizhong asked softly as she regained consciousness, her voice full of confusion.
"Alive... alive... you're alive..." Morax couldn't hear her, repeating the same words again and again.
Then, something stirred in Guizhong's foggy memories.
"No! That's not right! The Ancient Gods have revived! Cloud Retainer and the others are fighting them!!"
She suddenly pushed Morax away, panic in her tone. She remembered seeing six Ancient Gods marching toward Jueyun Karst before she had been struck down and lost consciousness.
"Husband…"
"Your hand…?"
Her anxious expression froze, her eyes widening in shock.
Morax instinctively looked down. Beneath his tattered sleeve, patches of deep violet corruption spread rapidly across his arm.
A deafening buzz filled his head. His pupils trembled violently.
He tore off his glove—half of his hand was already purple.
His breathing grew ragged as he raised his gaze to Guizhong, his eyes quivering uncontrollably.
His divine power was nearly depleted, yet he could feel that sinister force gnawing at his body, consuming him from within.
No...
I can't die...
I must not die...
If I die... what will become of Guizhong...?
These desperate thoughts filled his mind as he pulled out his Gnosis, frantically invoking the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
But no response came.
After a long, agonizing silence, Morax hurled the Gnosis away, desperately rummaging through his storage and tossing out everything he owned.
In his panic, he scattered countless ancient relics and crafts he had collected over the ages.
Then, his hand froze on a small, square box.
It was a craft he and Guizhong had bought together during the Lantern Rite after the Archon War—the very first one they had ever purchased.
Even then, it had seemed oddly familiar, as though he had seen it before. Now, that sense of familiarity overwhelmed him.
He stood there, frozen, staring blankly at the box.
"Husband...? Are you alright?"
Morax, who had been frenzied moments ago, suddenly fell eerily still, unsettling Guizhong.
He didn't respond. Deep within his mind, the seals that had locked away his memories were beginning to break.
A torrent of ancient recollections surged forth, crashing over him like a tidal wave.
"I remember... I remember..."
Morax's eyes widened, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Scene after scene flooded his mind.
Elliot—the Supreme One, the true god who stood above all Gods.
It was he who had led Morax into the mortal world, showing him the warmth and vitality of humanity—shattering the cold prejudices he had held for millennia.
It was he who, when Liyue was but a small village of a few hundred people, raised Tianheng Mountain to block the floods. Together with Morax, he had built the foundation of Liyue itself.
The people had once called him the Dark Sovereigns of the Night. Over time, his name faded from memory. Only at Morax's urging was the Lantern Rite created—to ensure Elliot would never be forgotten.
During the Archon War, whenever Morax wavered, Elliot appeared to guide him.
To prepare for the coming conflict, Elliot gathered the Adepti and Ganyu. Later, he granted the Dragon King Azhdaha twin eyes, awakening her will to protect Liyue.
When Liyue was besieged by seven Ancient Gods, Elliot secretly intervened—saving the Adepti and raising six colossal mountains at Guili Plains to block the floodwaters, ensuring not a single soldier perished.
After they marched to defeat the Seven, Elliot also released the five Yaksha from their seals, bringing them under Liyue's banner.
And then... he departed.
That departure lasted over a century.
Finally, to escape the judgment of the Heavenly Principles upon the defeated gods, he personally slew Guizhong and Marchosius—but later revived them by some unknown means, turning them into humans.
The next time Morax saw Elliot was upon Celestia. By then, he had completely forgotten him.
"Brother... Liyue is gone... I couldn't protect it..."
"Where are you... please, come back..."
Tears streamed from Morax's eyes as he collapsed to the ground, lifting his face toward the heavens and crying out in despair.
"I am here. I have always been here."
At that moment, an ancient, raspy voice echoed softly through the world. Though faint, every being across Teyvat heard it.
...