The gates of the Temple of the Wolf of the North stood wide open.
The two of them advanced to the end of the passage. Below lay a shallow, sunken area filled with ankle-deep water.
Several lumps of Slime Condensate were scattered across the ground.
"Slimes were killed here," Diluc said.
Slimes didn't always drop condensate when defeated, so there was no way to tell how many enemies had been here originally.
The two jumped down, splashing water everywhere.
Jiang Yan crouched and calmly took out a container, collecting three pieces of Slime Condensate.
"You're actually interested in that stuff?" Diluc asked.
"It's pretty good for making drinks. You should try brewing with it sometime—might turn out surprisingly nice."
"…You put that in your drinks?"
Diluc's voice shot up before he forcibly suppressed it. He still couldn't help but rub his throat.
After all, he'd drunk quite a lot of the Good Hunter's iced beverages in the past.
Jiang Yan always used them to entertain him.
And—annoyingly enough—he'd liked the taste.
"It's not poisonous or harmful. What's there to be afraid of?" Jiang Yan said indifferently.
Diluc clenched his fist.
He silently swore that he would never drink another Good Hunter iced drink again.
Collecting the condensate didn't take long.
The two continued running forward through the passage.
Ahead, flame-spouting mechanisms blocked their path.
One on the left, one on the right, spaced at fixed intervals.
Between them was a relatively safe zone—where more Slime Condensate had fallen.
Someone had clearly passed through here.
And if they'd safely reached the first safe zone, then passing the second mechanism wouldn't be a problem either.
"Let's hope Kaeya's still alive," Diluc muttered.
Kaeya's Cryo element could temporarily freeze the mechanisms and allow safe passage.
But now that the ice seal was gone, it meant Kaeya had passed through quite some time ago.
If he'd really run into a Cryo Abyss Mage…
"Let's move."
Jiang Yan waved his hand.
Two Geo walls instantly rose up, blocking the streams of flame. The two of them ran straight through from the other side—
Picking up another piece of Slime Condensate along the way.
"That is convenient," Diluc admitted.
Even as a Pyro user, forcing his way through flames like that would've been messy.
He wouldn't be injured—but his clothes definitely wouldn't be intact.
The path ahead was eerily empty.
Soon, another obstacle appeared: a pool filled with sharp spikes. Swimming across was impossible.
Jiang Yan ignored it completely.
A Geo wall formed beneath his feet, letting him stride straight across.
Diluc followed behind.
"Do you ever run out of Geo energy?" Diluc couldn't help complaining.
A Vision could only store a limited amount of elemental energy. After using it, one had to absorb more from the environment—meaning cooldowns were unavoidable.
"You guess," Jiang Yan replied with a grin.
After all, Visions were external magical organs.
And he didn't have one.
"Tch."
Diluc clicked his tongue again.
"Shh."
Jiang Yan signaled him to stop.
They were nearing the upper levels of the temple. A distinct, biting chill filled the air.
As a Pyro user, Diluc was equally sensitive to such cold.
The two exchanged a look.
Without a word, they split left and right, carefully approaching the hall ahead.
That was the source of the cold.
The space was saturated with Cryo energy.
No other elemental reactions—just pure ice.
"So we really did clash elements," Diluc muttered darkly.
What rotten luck.
At least the one suffering wasn't him.
The fact that Cryo energy was still flooding the hall meant the standoff between Kaeya and the Abyss Mage hadn't ended.
Which meant—
Kaeya was still alive.
The two peeked in from opposite sides.
The hall was coated in frost. Ice crystals clung to Kaeya's hair and clothes.
Opposite him, a Cryo Abyss Mage floated in place, shield raised, chanting continuously as it drew Cryo energy straight from the ley lines.
Even in a Cryo-rich environment, the speed at which Kaeya absorbed energy through his Vision couldn't possibly compete.
Jiang Yan inwardly cursed his luck.
If he hadn't run into Diluc right after leaving the Temple of the Eagle of the West, Kaeya would've been left here alone.
For Jiang Yan's own progression, every Vision bearer mattered.
If one of them died, he'd probably lose several potential levels.
Diluc drew a greatsword from his back.
The two exchanged a few hand signals, then nodded to each other.
A dense surge of Pyro energy exploded at the entrance of the hall.
Diluc's greatsword came down in a sweeping arc—
A massive bird of flame burst from the blade.
"Dawn!"
Diluc's voice rang out.
Where the firebird passed, frost evaporated instantly or melted into streams of water.
At the same time—
Jiang Yan appeared at the hall entrance.
A violent gale erupted from his body, sudden and overwhelming, like a wind torn straight from the heavens.
His bandaged hand gripped an invisible blade, slashing forward with the wind at his back.
"Gale Surge Slash!"
Like a towering wave, Anemo followed close behind, overtaking the blazing bird—
And slammed straight into it.
Boom!
Fire fed by wind exploded violently.
The elemental blast engulfed the entire hall.
The Cryo Abyss Mage took the brunt of it.
Its Cryo shield shattered instantly as its energy was completely drained.
A shadow fell over it.
Diluc's figure descended from above—
A flaming greatsword raised high—
And crashed down mercilessly.
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