When Lumine and Paimon saw Qiu Nian in the distance, they exchanged hesitant glances.
Qiu Nian was not one of the Seven Archons—the current rulers of Teyvat.
But he was a god, that much was undeniable.
And his strength was said to be on par with Rex Lapis.
For a moment, they didn't know how to speak to him.
Should they talk to him the same way as before?
Despite their many concerns, they still walked forward.
After all—
Qiu Nian wasn't some evil god.
From everything they had seen during their time together…
And from what Zhongli, Madame Ping, and Ganyu had said about him—
He didn't seem frightening at all.
At that moment, Qiu Nian was gazing toward Guyun Stone Forest.
The breeze gently moved his hair and robes.
"Qiu Nian."
"Zhongli told us to come find you."
Paimon called out.
"Haha…"
"It seems you already know the truth."
Qiu Nian chuckled softly and turned to face them.
Looking at him now, Lumine and Paimon suddenly felt something strange.
Aside from the identity of an ancient foreign god, he still seemed exactly like the Qiu Nian they knew.
His tone remained calm and gentle.
"Yes, we know everything now!"
"Rex Lapis faked his death to test Liyue, and we also learned your identity!"
Paimon said with a slightly annoyed expression.
Lumine crossed her arms.
Even though Qiu Nian hadn't tricked her as much as Zhongli had—
She still had some lingering resentment.
"Oh?"
"And what identity would that be?"
Qiu Nian asked with amusement.
"You're Guixu."
"The foreign god Zhongli talked about."
Lumine answered.
"Foreign god…"
Qiu Nian repeated softly, touching his chin.
"And you even said that house in Jueyun Karst was passed down by your ancestors!"
Paimon complained.
"And that you trained in martial arts for two and a half years!"
"And you even asked about yourself when we were looking for the foreign god!"
"One Geo Archon and one foreign god… you two are incredible actors."
Lumine said with a sly expression.
Qiu Nian bowed his head slightly.
"For that matter, I must apologize."
"Due to my agreement with Morax, I had to deceive you for a time."
"That's more like it."
Paimon smiled again.
"Qiu Nian."
"Are you really that foreign god?"
"We heard it from Zhongli already, but we want to hear you admit it yourself."
Lumine asked seriously.
"Foreign god…"
Qiu Nian looked toward the sky, now glowing with the light of approaching sunset.
Then he smiled faintly.
"If you mean the Guixu mentioned by Morax and Ganyu…"
"Then yes."
"That would be me."
With that confirmation, the final doubt in Lumine's heart disappeared.
"Oh right!"
"Zhongli said you already resolved Liyue's final future crisis."
"Was that the thing you said you needed to handle earlier?"
Paimon asked.
"Resolved Liyue's final crisis…"
"Did he truly say that?"
Qiu Nian asked with a quiet laugh.
Lumine nodded.
"Hmm…"
Qiu Nian walked forward to the edge of the mountain peak.
Lumine and Paimon followed and stood beside him.
"I didn't do much."
"I simply removed the seal beneath Guyun."
"And released Osial."
He said it casually.
"WHAT?!"
"You removed the seal on the Overlord of the Vortex… and you even let him go?!"
Paimon's eyes widened in shock.
Lumine was equally stunned.
She and the Qixing and the adepti had worked so hard to force Osial back into the seal.
And Qiu Nian had just… released him again?
Xuehua in the livestream looked completely confused.
She had imagined many possibilities—
Maybe Qiu Nian killed Osial.
Maybe they had some mysterious conversation.
But she never expected that he had simply let Osial go.
As the sunset illuminated the sea—
Qiu Nian began speaking again.
At the same time, another cutscene appeared in the game.
"Thousands of years ago…"
"The territory of the Overlord of the Vortex lay within what is now called the Sea of Clouds."
"His subjects were the creatures that lived within those waters."
"At that time, the people of Liyue Harbor frequently sailed out to fish in those seas."
"With Osial's tacit approval…"
"His followers would sometimes crush the ships of Liyue's fishermen."
"And drag them into the endless abyss of the ocean."
"As time passed…"
"The Archon War began."
"And the conflict between both sides intensified."
Qiu Nian's voice was calm as he gazed across the sunset sea.
The wind gently moved his hair and robes.
The scene carried an indescribable divine aura.
"Eventually…"
"Morax hurled a spear that pierced the sky."
"And nailed the raging Osial to the depths of the ocean."
"After that day…"
"Dolphins and whales often gathered around that sea."
"They circled the waters, singing mournful songs."
"As if lamenting the fallen god they once revered."
"Their cries echoed like a sorrowful elegy."
Qiu Nian continued while looking toward Guyun.
Lumine and Paimon also gazed in that direction, their expressions complicated.
"So during the Archon War…"
"Osial attacked Liyue's ships to protect his own people?"
Paimon asked quietly.
"Gods love humanity."
"But gods also have their own people and kin."
"The ones they must love first…"
"…are their own."
"Just like Andrius, whom you met in Mondstadt."
"As a god, Andrius loved humanity and abandoned the struggle for the Archon's seat."
"But he loved the wolves even more."
"Because he loved humanity, he restrained the wolves from harming them."
"But if anyone harmed his wolves…"
"He would bare his fangs."
"Osial was the same."
"His love for his people came before his love for humanity."
"The only difference…"
"…is that Osial never abandoned the struggle for the divine seat as Andrius did."
Qiu Nian spoke slowly with his hands behind his back.
"I think…"
"I understand now."
Lumine murmured.
"If you look at it from a perspective beyond humanity…"
"Neither side was truly wrong."
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