"Your backup, huh? Let me guess—also some kind of god?
Since you're the Anemo Archon, then those two must be… what, Geo and Hydro?"
Su Mo muttered casually as he glanced toward the distance.
"Oh~ so that's the Electro Archon—"
Before he could finish, space behind him twisted—inky violet darkness bloomed open like a spreading stain. Thunder rumbled within it, lightning crackling like something alive.
When the expanding darkness reached its limit, a blade-light cut through it—
and from the slit, an eye-shaped pattern snapped open.
Raiden Shogun.
Wendy saw everything—and his expression tensed.
What scared him wasn't the attack itself, but the fact that "Wenti" didn't even move.
She tilted her head, as if mildly curious.
Meaning… she wasn't afraid of the Raiden Shogun's strike at all.
She might have even prepared something for it.
Wendy's concerns deepened.
Shu—!
As the eye fully opened, the Raiden Shogun herself tore out of the void, blade in hand—Dream-Eating One Heart humming with lightning as she swung at the floating girl.
She's not— avoiding?!
But to Ei's astonishment, the ominous white-haired girl didn't dodge, didn't summon a shield, didn't even lift a weapon.
She simply reached out—
and caught the blade with her bare hand.
Zzzzt——!
No tricks.
No force field.
No divine shield.
Just a hand.
And her fingers closed around the sword.
Dream-Eating One Heart, a blade that could pierce gods and cleave demons—
stopped cold.
It didn't even move a centimeter further.
Lightning raged across the blade, crawling over the girl's hand—
but it didn't so much as scratch her.
A troublesome enemy…
That was Ei's immediate thought.
Since the Archon War, she had fought countless foes—
ones that matched her, ones she crushed, ones that nearly killed her—
but never something like this.
No—right now she was the one being crushed.
She grabbed… my sword? What kind of monster…?
Wendy, though already aware of how terrifying Wenti's power was, still felt a chill crawl down his spine.
He knew the Raiden Shogun's strength well.
Even Morax wouldn't dare catch that attack bare-handed.
Yet this girl did—
smiling casually, holding Ei's blade as if weighing a toy.
Ei, meanwhile, was anything but calm. Her face, normally unreadable, tightened with alarm.
She poured every ounce of force she had into her sword arm, trying to push the blade down.
But Dream-Eating One Heart still didn't move.
Not even a fraction.
Her full power was meaningless.
What… is she?
Could it be—like that disaster 500 years ago…?
The thought surfaced, unbidden and unwelcome.
She hated remembering that era—
the losses, the ruin, the person she could never replace.
This time, she came not just to investigate—
but to destroy the source of a similar calamity.
Yet she had gravely underestimated her opponent.
"This is how you welcome a guest?
…But—"
Su Mo smiled, eyes narrowing with amusement.
"I like it."
"Anyone who threatens eternity does not deserve courtesy."
Ei's voice was cold, unwavering.
"Eternity? Please."
Su Mo clicked his tongue, almost pitying.
"That joke isn't even funny. With power like yours, you dare prattle about 'eternity'?
…Well, I suppose gods do like flattering themselves."
By the end she sounded like she was mumbling to herself.
"I have my own path. I don't need your judgment."
Ei tried to pull back—impossible.
She tried to advance—also impossible.
She couldn't free her blade unless she let go.
And letting go of the blade Miko had given her—was unthinkable.
Then—
…What?!
A chill ran up Ei's arm.
Black, twisted markings spread across the once-pure purple blade—starting exactly where Su Mo's fingers gripped it.
Just one touch—and her sword was being corrupted.
The Raiden Shogun's eyes widened.
This power…
It surpassed even the Abyss.
Yet she clearly saw abyssal qualities in it.
Had she misread it? Was this something beyond the Abyss…?
"Tch. And here I thought your sword looked fun to play with.
But is it fragile?
Try not to bring toys this cheap next time.
Dying because of a bad weapon would be embarrassing."
Su Mo sighed, genuinely disappointed.
Still, she wasn't done "playing."
"So? Still not letting go?"
Zzzzt!
Ei ignored the question—her free hand lit with violent lightning as she struck at Su Mo.
Zzzzt——!
CLANG!
But between them shimmered something invisible—an ideal fluid, compressed beyond all limits, the hardest substance that could exist within this world.
No thunder could penetrate it.
"Seems this blade matters a lot to you.
But you really won't let go?"
Su Mo raised her other hand—
and condensed the air into an invisible spear, equally uncompressible.
It could pierce anything in Teyvat.
She could've snatched the sword instantly, but she wanted to see Ei's reaction.
This was the fun part.
Ei sensed the lethality and still refused to release the sword.
She would not allow anyone to take the blade left by the one she cherished.
Damn…
Wendy understood better than anyone what that invisible spear meant.
And now, he finally understood why the girl dared call herself the Anemo Archon.
Her control over wind made even him look like a student.
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
He had to help Ei.
Yes… this might work—
"Wait! Wenti—didn't you want to become the Anemo Archon? I can—"
"I don't want that anymore.
I want her sword instead.
Stop bothering me~"
Wendy: "…"
He hadn't even finished before she cut him off.
Godhood? Worthless.
A cool sword? Now that's interesting.
How old is she…?
Wendy began doubting everything.
She acted like a child swapping toys every five minutes.
Before he could try again—
Another bored voice drifted into his ear:
"Another one?
Can't you bring someone stronger…?"
A second later—
Ei was flung away, sword and all.
Wendy barely caught her in time.
"You alright, Raiden Shogun?"
"I'm fine. Thank you, Barbatos."
Ei steadied herself, though her expression darkened at the sight of her sword—
corrupted black scars crawling across its surface.
This—this aura…
It resembled the force that ruined the world 500 years ago.
Only stronger.
Far stronger.
Just what… was she?
"You two are unharmed?"
A steady voice echoed.
Morax finally arrived over Mondstadt.
"You sensed her energy too, I see. But… sigh. Forget it."
Wendy wanted to say more—
but even he didn't know how.
Is this the reason the Sustainer descended last time…?
Morax frowned as he studied the girl.
Her aura was darker, denser, purer—and far more ruinous—than the Abyss.
Monsters were going mad across Teyvat.
And the leylines were warping—
the foundation of the world itself shaking.
And behind her… that strange sigil—
"Looks like you all came here to kill me, right?
Any more of you?
Call them over.
Coming one by one is boring.
Why not all at once?"
Su Mo yawned, sounding honestly annoyed.
"If not for your actions, we would not—"
Morax stopped halfway.
Why did he feel like they were the ones being unreasonable here…?
And why did she act like a child?
Was she newly born?
He couldn't tell.
"My actions? What did I even do?
This weather?
Your 'Electro Archon' suddenly attacked me."
Su Mo genuinely didn't understand.
She had done nothing except change forms and block an attack.
Oh—
and accidentally killed that Abyss Herald.
But that guy asked for it.
Morax: "…"
"Morax, don't overthink her behavior. She's—"
"Green hat, you think I can't hear you?"
"…Please don't call me that."
Wendy nearly choked.
"Forget it. I'm done playing."
Su Mo vanished—
and reappeared in front of them.
Too fast.
BOOM—!!
Wendy shot across the sky, crashing into a hill outside Mondstadt.
BOOM—!
Zzzzzz—!
Ei sensed Su Mo getting serious.
She raised her corrupted blade high—
A thunderbolt split the heavens.
Mondstadt flashed white—
even ordinary citizens felt electric needles pricking their skin.
Lightning surged into Dream-Eating One Heart—
"All evil—must fall!"
The violet torrent roared like a divine tsunami, shredding space itself as it descended.
The city was drowned in purple light.
Those who looked up saw something impossible—
The storm clouds above Mondstadt were split in half, clean and sharp like a sword parting the sky.
"Th-that… is that divine punishment…?"
"Just what kind of gods are fighting…?"
"The sky… it… opened…"
The people forgot to flee.
Forgot to breathe.
Forgot everything.
"This one's better than earlier.
But… this is as far as it goes."
Su Mo finally showed a hint of interest—
just a hint.
"This technique is cool.
I'll take it."
She formed a blade of compressed wind—an invisible edge—
and swung.
Instead of a crack, the sky formed a river, an enormous canyon of light tearing the clouds apart.
Sunlight poured through like the world was being born again.
Citizens couldn't see the wind blade—
but they saw the miracle in the sky.
The clouds covering Mondstadt split entirely apart.
"It cannot be…"
Ei's pupils tightened.
"Get away!"
Morax didn't hesitate—
this attack wasn't something he could block.
Eternity…
Ei vanished from the blade's path.
The thunder faded.
The sunlight returned.
Mondstadt shone as if cleansed.
"Miracle…
It's the Anemo Archon's miracle…"
"Wind God… Wind God…"
People fell to their knees, overwhelmed.
BOOOOOOM—!!
A deafening roar rolled across the land.
"L-look! The mountain—Dragonspine—
It's gone!"
The peak—
simply not there.
"D-did the Wind God… slice it off…?"
"That's impossible…"
But the mountain was truly sheared clean.
This…
This was a god.
"What is that?!"
Before the shock faded, someone pointed at the sky—
A glowing golden rhombus had appeared above Su Mo.
"…Crap.
I forgot to suppress my power."
Su Mo blinked, startled.
A voice descended—
cold, mechanical, absolute:
"Outlander.
Cease your actions."
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