In Natlan, just before dawn, the air hung heavy, as thick as congealed blood.
The two days of unnatural silence had done nothing to ease tensions; instead, they had etched a bone-deep anxiety into every warrior standing guard.
No wind stirred, no insects chirped, and even the faint whispers of the Abyss, usually barely audible, had vanished completely. The world felt trapped within a massive, fragile glass dome, awaiting the final, shattering impact of judgment.
Suddenly—
At the eastern horizon, in the most heavily corrupted region where even the rocks flowed with tainted black-purple filth, the ground abruptly collapsed inward!
As if an invisible giant's fist had punched through the very foundations of the earth.
Then, a Pillar of Light, whose immensity defied description, violently tore through the fragile calm!
This was no pure elemental radiance; it was crude, savage, and brimming with destruction.
Its core burned with a blinding, white-hot intensity, akin to the cataclysmic explosion of a supernova.
The middle layer swirled with fathomless, abyssal black-purple, embodying highly concentrated Abyss Energy, almost solidified into matter.
Yet the outermost layer glowed eerily blood-red, as if stained with the blood of countless living beings.
It rose silently, yet with an overwhelming, crushing presence that dwarfed all around it.
From the moment it materialized, it arrogantly seized absolute dominion over the heavens and earth, becoming the sole center of existence.
The Pillar of Light's diameter was impossible to gauge, as if it were both supporting the entire sky and threatening to pierce the heavens.
Its blinding radiance instantly devoured the rising sun, bathing the vast lands of Natlan—mountains, ruins, and every astonished face—in an eerie, stark black-and-white palette of despair.
A massive shockwave of energy, radiating perfectly outward from the Pillar of Light in concentric rings, unleashed its fury.
Wherever it passed, the earth convulsed violently, heaving like a carpet, cracking and fissuring.
Rock formations near the pillar crumbled into dust without a sound, while ancient trees farther away were uprooted and torn into fragments by the dissipating energy mid-air.
The shockwave resonated with a deep, infrasonic rumble that bypassed the limits of hearing, striking directly at the soul. Every heart stopped beating as blood surged backward through veins and arteries.
From the Pillar of Light emerged colossal Abyss Monsters, far larger and radiating a far more concentrated Abyssal Energy than those that had previously attacked Natlan.
Nearly all the monsters converged on the Stadium of the Sacred Flame, which blazed with the Sacred Flame.
To maintain balance, each of the Six Great Tribes would also face Abyss attacks, though the scale of these assaults would be far smaller than the siege of the Stadium. However, even these strikes would be significantly more intense than the incursions before Jiang Mumu's intervention.
-
Player World
The Abyss's full-scale invasion was set to coincide with the next version update. While the previous version's main storyline had hinted at a major move by Mihoyo, Chen Xiyao hadn't expected it to happen right at the beginning.
In Guojia's live stream, Chen Xiyao muttered to herself as she maneuvered her Yelan through the mining tunnels of The Chasm in Liyue.
She was genuinely puzzled why the quest to Natlan would start here, in Liyue's Chasm...
When Chen Xiyao reached the quest location, the screen switched to an automated cutscene. The in-game time was early morning, the lighting dim, with only the faint elemental glows surrounding her character providing illumination.
Suddenly, the entire game screen violently shook without warning, as if struck by a massive earthquake.
A deep, bone-rattling hum filled her headphones, making her eardrums buzz.
"Holy shit!" Chen Xiyao yelped, nearly dropping her mouse in shock. "What the hell was that? A bug? Glitching textures?"
Her first thought was that the game was malfunctioning.
But before she could investigate, the shaking stopped, replaced by an eerie, unsettling silence.
Even the background music seemed to have been abruptly cut off.
Immediately afterward, through Yelan's perspective, she saw a Pillar of Light erupting from the horizon in the direction of Natlan—an indescribable, brutally violent beam that tore through the sky like a world-destroying beast breaking free from its cage.
The perspective then zoomed in rapidly, transporting them directly to Natlan.
Chen Xiyao witnessed the pillar's horrifying composition: a deathly pale core, churning purple-black middle layers, and an outer layer of terrifyingly viscous, blood-red light that chilled her to the bone.
Chen Xiyao froze completely, her mouth slightly agape and eyes wide with shock as she stared blankly at the screen, unable to utter a single word for what felt like an eternity.
After a brief silence in the live stream, the chat exploded with a torrent of comments, surging forth like a flood breaching its dam:
[Holy shit!!!!!!!!]
[What the hell is that?!]
[The pressure is overwhelming! I can barely breathe even through the screen!]
[The Abyss! This has to be the Abyss's doing!]
Chen Xiyao gasped sharply, as if finally finding her voice. Almost screaming, she shouted:
"I saw it! Oh my god! What is that?! So intense right from the start?! The pressure!"
The chat erupted into even more frenzied activity:
[Where's the health bar? I won't acknowledge this thing without a health bar!]
[Is this Genshin Impact's version of Cthulhu descending?]
[If the opening of this version is already this high-energy, what's coming next?!]
-
At the highest observation tower of the Stadium of the Sacred Flame, the Pyro Archon Mavuika gripped the stone railing so fiercely that the gem-forged barrier shattered into fragments beneath her palm.
Her crimson eyes remained fixed on the towering pillar of light piercing the heavens, the blood draining from her face.
This was a power unlike anything she had ever encountered. Merely sensing it surpassed the Abyss Energy that Natlan had been fighting against for ages, and the Abyssal Essence it contained sent shivers down her spine.
Lumine and Paimon swiftly arrived at the center of the Stadium of the Sacred Flame, accompanied by Iansan, Xilonen, Mualani, Ororon, and others who had already been confirmed as Heroes. They were joined by numerous Natlan warriors and Fatui Soldiers.
All eyes turned upward to Mavuika, awaiting her command.
Mavuika's hair blazed like the scorching sun, the surging flames casting her in the image of an enraged god.
With a powerful clench of her right fist, a cataclysmic burst of Pyro Element erupted, transforming into countless streams of molten fire that precisely channeled into every defensive node surrounding the Stadium of the Sacred Flame.
At that moment, the Sacred Flame in the Stadium of the Sacred Flame blazed even brighter, its raging inferno casting a crimson glow over the crowd gathered below.
Mavuika strode to the highest point, her voice cutting through the tense air and searing itself into the ears of every warrior:
"Warriors—"
"The final hour has come."
"Our homeland lies behind us; there is no retreat."
"Grip your weapons tightly, ignite the fire within your blood!"
"Today—we will either incinerate the Abyss..."
Her gaze swept across every resolute or fearful face, finally coalescing into a thunderous, soul-shaking roar:
"...or we will burn ourselves to ash!"
"For Natlan—!"