In the distant sea of stars, on the battlefield where all of Teyvat's eyes were fixed, Jiang Mumu and the Goddess finally decided to end this tiresome battle. Had they not been waiting for Lumine to awaken, it might have concluded even sooner.
Lumine, who had traversed towering mountains and crossed the starry sea, deserved to witness the final act.
During this time, Jiang Mumu and the Goddess hadn't merely been spectators. As this was an unprecedented, world-shaking war, simply loafing around would have been inappropriate.
Thus, Jiang Mumu and the Goddess engaged in an impromptu brawl, using the opportunity to vent their pent-up frustrations from gaming and resolve the dissatisfaction of consciousnesses like Rola's.
It was essentially a fight between one's own conflicting selves, a way to settle their differences through combat.
The result?
Chu Xi and the Abyss Goddess, formed from Jiang Mumu's consciousness, proved no match for the Goddess. Left with no other option, Jiang Mumu reluctantly raised the white flag in surrender.
Thus, their plan to teach the ultimate scam artist, Kuki Yuna, a lesson had to be abandoned halfway.
Now, at last, the curtain was falling on the final act.
Jiang Mumu's plan for dealing with the Abyss was... sealing it.
Yes, sealing it again!
This time, however, she would cripple the Abyss first before sealing it.
Just as it had been long ago, the Abyss was immensely vast, representing the dark side of the world. In the ancient war between the Goddess and the Abyss, the Goddess had ultimately "fallen."
Though the Goddess had sealed the Abyss, banishing most of it from Teyvat, she herself had lost much of her divine power and a portion of her physical form.
Now, with the Goddess having only recently been resurrected and having already divided some of her power to Lumine, there was no reason to believe she could simply obliterate the Abyss outright.
In short, after being sealed, Jiang Mumu's Abyss would cease to exist. As for the remaining Abyss...
Jiang Mumu lacked the emotional energy to hunt them down and destroy them all. Moreover, only after the Goddess sealed the Abyss once more, causing her soul to fragment and dissipate, could the subsequent revival and return of Rola and the others proceed smoothly.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Mumu and the Goddess began their journey toward Teyvat.
-
Beyond the Outer Sea, sensing the rapidly approaching pink and purplish-black energy, the Three Gods, the Hexenzirkel members, Skirk, Morax, and other God-Dragon Sovereigns soared into the sky.
As the distance closed, the world-destroying energy intensified.
"Something... feels off..." Ronova frowned.
"Damn it! The energy is completely out of control!"
Outside Teyvat, the pink and purplish-black energy hurtling from the depths of the cosmos hadn't even fully arrived, yet its oppressive aura of destruction already caused the very fabric of space to groan under the unbearable strain.
The void cracked and shattered, and the surging energy turbulence, like countless invisible razors, tore through everything in its path.
"Attack together!"
Someone roared the command first.
In the next instant, three slightly dimmed yet still overwhelming bursts of Archon divine power shot skyward.
The Hexenzirkel members chanted arcane incantations, weaving Elemental Energy into intricate defensive formations. Starlight and mystical power intertwined, illuminating the battlefield.
Skirk moved like lightning, her sword flashing as she slashed through the incoming energy waves. Each strike sent a tremor through her arm.
Neuvillette channeled the Primordial Sea water into a towering aquatic barrier, attempting to cushion the world-ending impact with the fundamental power of life itself.
Morax, Barbatos, Buer, Beelzebul, and others also unleashed their respective powers, desperately trying to halt the cataclysmic torrent of destructive energy.
Mavuika and Lumine, having raced to the scene, joined the fray simultaneously.
The deluge of annihilation struck with the force of a billion mountains, a black void that devoured all light, crushing everything in its path without mercy.
The united defense of the protectors shattered like foam under sunlight, rapidly dissolving and crumbling.
The three foremost Archon bodies groaned as their divine power rapidly drained, despair like a freezing abyss choking the throat of every mighty warrior.
A flicker of resolve flashed in Morax's eyes.
He sensed with absolute clarity that they had reached their limit.
In the next instant, the dam would shatter completely, and the myriad realms of Teyvat behind it would face the full fury of destruction's baptism.
The Contract of Protection, the primordial oath etched into stone, would reach its final chapter through him.
Abandoning all attempts at defense, he instead began to reverse-activate the Primordial Rune deep within his core—the embodiment of the God of Geo's Authority!
A power far more ancient, far more profound, yet carrying the weight of finality, began to coalesce and seethe within him.
This was the harbinger of the Authority's self-destruction—the ultimate act of burning away one's very existence and the Laws themselves to unleash a fleeting, absolute power.
He thought calmly:
For over six thousand years, though the mortal world is flawed, it remains worth safeguarding. Let this body return to stone, in exchange for the eternal light of Teyvat's countless hearths. The Contract... is fulfilled.
Almost simultaneously, Venti wiped the blood from his lips, a flicker of relief and lingering reluctance in his emerald eyes. He hummed a melody no one had ever heard before—a tune both free and mournful. Within him, the core of his Authority, representing "freedom" and "wind," began to glow erratically, preparing to transform the Song of the Thousand Winds into a final aria of protection.
Neuvillette gripped his scepter tightly, the Primordial Sea water behind him wailing mournfully. He prepared to assume the form of the Complete Dragon and channel the primordial power of the entire Primordial Sea.
Even if this act might cause him to revert to his primal state and strip Fontaine's waters of their "definition."
The three gravely wounded gods exchanged glances, each seeing the others' unwavering resolve.
Rhinedottir, too, fell silent, relinquishing control of her body back to Nabe.
Ronova murmured softly, "For survival... what is this body worth?"
Skirk and the Hexenzirkel members also ignited their life essence, preparing for one last, perhaps futile, stand.
Just as the wills of countless sacrifices were about to synchronize, unleashing a final barrier at the cost of their own annihilation—
The crushing, suffocating pressure of world-ending might was wiped away as if by an invisible giant hand.
One moment, the universe-shattering despair had been palpable; the next, utter silence.
The torrent of energy vanished, the harbinger of destruction vanished without a trace, leaving only the shattered void of the Dark Outer Sea and a group of Teyvat's protectors, their strength utterly spent but their minds still frozen in the moment of mortal combat, standing bewildered in place.
Within Morax's body, the surging power of his Authority gradually subsided. He gazed dazedly at the starry sky, now "peaceful" yet infinitely deeper and more inscrutable than before. In his golden eyes, for the first time, appeared an unreadable complexity of emotions.
Just as the deathly silence and the hollow exhaustion of survival washed over everyone's hearts, a light, melodious voice, like the chime of silver bells, rang through the shattered void:
"Oh dear~ How terribly embarrassing, everyone!"
A dazzling pink streak of light gracefully descended from the depths of the starry sea, coming to a gentle stop before the assembled group.
As the light dissipated, the Goddess's flawless figure materialized.
She remained as radiant and captivating as ever, her long pink hair flowing like shimmering twilight, her robes billowing around her. A perfectly measured hint of apology graced her face, along with a barely perceptible... underlying fragility.
She glanced around at the weary, disheveled group, their eyes still wide with shock and confusion from the exhausting battle. Clasping her hands together and tilting her head slightly, she offered a sweet smile that could make the stars themselves pale in comparison:
"That last attack... I lost control of my strength a bit~ Some of the aftershocks accidentally drifted over here. Did it frighten you all? I'm truly sorry."