Victor Wang returned once again to Enkanomiya.
The side effects of teleportation were inevitable—but at least now he knew what the hidden relic of Byakuyakoku truly was. Without a doubt, it was the Goblet of the Void.
Those three grueling hours he'd spent running through the passageway earlier—at least two and a half of them had been spent being toyed with by that cursed cup. Then came the forced teleportation that kicked him out, forcing him to endure the agony of another return jump. Even knowing that it was merely the goblet's self-defense mechanism didn't make it any easier to swallow.
The instant he set foot back inside that tunnel, he raised his hand toward the empty air and gave it a very international, very unfriendly gesture.
He retraced his steps. When the Abyssal resonance peaked once more, he stopped at once.
This time, he was prepared. From the previous ordeal, he'd learned that charging ahead blindly only wasted time—and that the moment he stated where he wanted to go, he'd be teleported there automatically.
Since this was the spot where the Abyssal response was strongest, he decided to strike first before the cup could play its tricks again.
He channeled Electro and Anemo into his sword, adding a touch of Pyro for good measure—and blasted a huge hole through the tunnel wall. Acting as a one-man detector, he stepped inside the breach… only to find that the Abyssal signal hadn't changed.
Fine. Blow it further.
Still no change.
Maybe… not far enough?
Victor hesitated—then decided to keep going. This time, something did change: another passageway opened up right beside the first one.
Unfortunately, the Abyssal response was as calm and lifeless as still water.
To avoid falling into another looping spatial trap, he placed a Geo construct at the start of the first tunnel before entering the second one. Then, steeling himself, he continued blasting forward. When he'd dug through the same thickness again, a third, identical tunnel appeared.
He paused to sense carefully. The Geo construct remained stable in the first corridor, and the strain of maintaining its link grew heavier with distance. In other words—all three tunnels were real.
But if the locations were physically distinct, why hadn't the Abyssal signal changed?
Above, then? Or below?
Without hesitation, Victor returned to the first passage, turned downward, and began blasting into the floor. After three detonations, a new tunnel revealed itself beneath him.
"…You're kidding me. Fake. Fake! It's all fake!"
He tore through five layers in total, confirming each one's physical reality—then unleashed a surge of lightning beneath his feet and sped down the lowest corridor at full force.
But from the outside, there was still only one exit. No matter how he tried, he couldn't create new visible passages near the entrance. Even the holes he'd blasted earlier had vanished.
"…So, I am being toyed with."
Still, he needed to find the Goblet of the Void—so he kept testing.
This time, instead of using Geo markers, he left Little Wen behind to monitor the original tunnel. Yet from the exit, there were still no signs of any other paths; even the holes from his last attempt near the exit had disappeared, though those around Xiaowen's location remained.
"Little Wen," Victor said, "we'll split up. I'll head to the exit through Tunnel One—you take Tunnel Two."
["Got it!"]
"I refuse to believe this will vanish again."
To accommodate Little Wen's slower pace, Victor kept his speed moderate. Partway through, he even called out to her. Though the two tunnels were far apart, shouting loudly let them still hear each other. Even as he neared the exit, their voices carried—until they both stepped out… through the same doorway.
["How can that be?! I swear I heard you right beside me!"]
"I heard you right beside me too…" Victor frowned. "If only we could keep both tunnels connected all the way to the exit… but that'd take too much energy."
He sighed. Sheer power conquers all. If Zhongli were here, he could simply collapse the entire crust—then no matter how clever the goblet was, it would have nowhere left to hide.
"Looks like I'll have to use my brain for once."
["Use your… brain?"] Xiaowen blinked.
Returning again to the spot where the Abyssal reaction was strongest, Victor spoke aloud:
"I want to go home."
By "home," of course, he meant Earth. If it actually worked, it would be the perfect outcome.
The Goblet of the Void didn't respond.
"What, lost your nerve? I said I want to go home! Home!"
In Teyvat, he didn't really have a home yet. Strictly speaking, the address on his ID still listed Keqing's residence.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the world went black.
"Oh no—!"
He materialized right in the courtyard of Keqing's estate.
Thankfully, it was nearly midnight. Although a few windows still glowed with lamplight, no one seemed to notice the quiet disturbance outside.
He tiptoed toward the exit. This was his first time actually being here—before, he'd only ever looked down from above.
The Keqing Clan was one of Liyue's old noble houses, its estate vast and stately, with vermilion gates and guards posted at all hours. The main entrance was out of the question. Fortunately, his overhead memory map served him well: he slipped along the shadowed walls like a thief, avoiding the lanterns' glow, and made it to the outer wall.
He vaulted up in one smooth leap—and, as fate would have it, landed face-to-face with Keqing, just returning home from work.
"You—what are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, sword flashing to hand before recognition dawned. "Victor?"
"C-cough, I—uh—got lost. Don't mind me!"
"Lost? Here?"
"That's not important! Why are you still up so late anyway? Staying up ruins your skin, you know. Take care of yourself! Bye!"
Before she could ask another question, Victor beat a hasty retreat.
"Should've used the Light Realm route… No, I'd probably still have run into her. Damn it, damn it all—this is that blasted cup's fault!"
Enduring the agonizing backlash of teleportation yet again, Victor found himself back in Enkanomiya. This second forced trip taught him something new about the Goblet of the Void: it didn't necessarily require him to speak his destination. As long as he pictured it clearly, it could send him there.
But clearly, Earth was outside its range.
An idea sparked. He clasped his hands and prayed with exaggerated sincerity.
"Oh, mighty Goblet, could you send me to the Tsaritsa's palace?"
The goblet remained silent—which confirmed his theory. The target had to be somewhere he'd already seen, or perhaps personally visited.
He hadn't been to the Tsaritsa's chambers… but the Raiden Shogun's—
Stop.
With a supreme act of will, Victor quashed that suicidal thought.
Otherwise, the next morning's headlines would read: "Assassination Attempt on the Shogun—Entire City Locked Down." Followed by the Shogun's statement: 'No need. The assassin was vaporized on the spot.'
"Then…" He took a deep breath and said,
"Oh Goblet, oh Goblet—send me somewhere near you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air at the end of the corridor began to shift.