"…Hmm."
Qiu Nian slowly raised one hand.
As his hand lifted, a white aura began to gather around him, faint strands of pale red weaving through it.
Within his black eyes, subtle patterns appeared—so faint they were almost impossible to see with the naked eye.
In the center of his palm floated something wrapped in blue light, making its true form impossible to discern.
Yet Lumine and Paimon could clearly feel an indescribable power from it.
It carried a strange sensation—
Almost like a law of the world itself.
"The conflict between both sides already existed."
"And the Archon War merely served as the fuse."
"That was how such an ending eventually came to pass."
"In that era, most gods did not wage war out of desire."
"Like Morax, many were simply drawn into it."
"But…"
"A war driven by laws of the world is cruel."
"In those days, there was no clear standard to judge good or evil."
"In such a war governed by law…"
"Being weak was the only sin."
Qiu Nian gazed at the sun slowly sinking toward the sea.
His voice carried both weariness and faint remorse.
At that moment, the cutscene shifted.
A solemn instrumental melody began to play.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
"Osial…"
"Now that you have willingly abandoned the law that drove that war…"
"It means you have already let go of your obsession with the divine throne."
"And also your hatred toward the nation of Liyue."
"But you entrusted this to me…"
"…instead of Morax."
"It seems the pain of struggling beneath those stone spears…"
"And the hatred clawing against that unyielding rock…"
"…are not so easily erased."
Qiu Nian closed his eyes and sighed softly.
"But since you chose to trust me…"
"And laid down the hatred you carried through countless years beneath those stone spears…"
"Then I will accept this."
"Osial…"
"Though you have lost your divine status, your power has not diminished greatly."
"Perhaps…"
"This ending is already the best one for you."
Qiu Nian opened his eyes and looked toward the distant horizon.
In his hand—
The object glowing in blue light was none other than a fragment of the Primordial.
The divine core of the Overlord of the Vortex.
"Now…"
"This thing has found a better destination."
He turned around.
His gaze fell upon Lumine.
"You who crossed the firmament…"
"And traveled across the sea of stars."
"Take this."
Qiu Nian lowered his palm slightly, then gently lifted it.
The divine core transformed into a tiny orb of light.
It drifted forward—
And sank directly into Lumine's chest.
After doing this, Qiu Nian paid no attention to Lumine, who was now touching her chest in shock.
Instead, he turned again toward the sea.
Quietly watching the setting sun.
Until the last ray of sunlight disappeared beneath the horizon.
The cutscene ended.
In front of the screen, Xuehua sat in silence.
The scene had ended, yet the heavy atmosphere still lingered.
Although there were parts she didn't fully understand—
Qiu Nian's divine presence and the ancient sorrow in his voice had completely drawn her in.
Even the moment when Qiu Nian gave Lumine what seemed like an incredibly powerful gift—
Barely stirred her emotions anymore.
She was still immersed in the scene.
Even the chat had gone quiet during the cutscene.
Then the comments finally began to appear again.
[This scene is unbelievably atmospheric]
[Qiu Nian's sense of ancient weariness mixed with guilt… this story is god-tier]
[I'm seriously about to faint from how cool Qiu Nian is]
[I'm begging you, Hoyoverse—please make him playable!]
[Wait, what exactly did Qiu Nian give Lumine just now?]
[Yeah, I was too immersed in the story to notice]
[Something about the "law that drives war"?]
[It sounds insanely powerful]
[And did you see the aura around Qiu Nian? It didn't match any of the seven elements]
[Right! It was white with strands of red]
[So Qiu Nian doesn't use elemental power?!]
[It looked amazing]
Most viewers were still replaying the cutscene in their minds.
A few had already started discussing what exactly Qiu Nian had given Lumine.
"Q-Qiu Nian…"
"What was that thing that entered my chest just now?"
Lumine had barely recovered from everything he said.
Before she could even process it—
The orb of light had already merged into her body.
And strangely enough—
She felt nothing at all.
"Hmm…"
"Think of it as a gift from me."
"I believe it will help you greatly during your journey."
"You come from beyond Teyvat."
"So you don't need to worry about it affecting you."
Qiu Nian smiled faintly as he watched the sunset.
Hearing this, Lumine finally calmed down.
Thinking back to what he had said to Osial earlier—
That orb seemed to be something incredibly powerful.
"Thank you, Qiu Nian."
Lumine said sincerely.
"Why are you always so mysterious…"
Paimon muttered, still confused.
"Oh right!"
"Qiu Nian, what will you do next?"
"Zhongli said that after your battle with him, you only stayed in Liyue for ten years before disappearing."
"And you only reappeared recently in Jueyun Karst."
Paimon asked curiously.
Would a god like Qiu Nian really stay in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as a consultant?
"For now, I still plan to remain at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
"In this era, the adepti are still the ones I am most familiar with."
"And my old friend there…"
"…is probably the person I know best in this age."
Qiu Nian replied calmly.
"After all…"
"One by one, the familiar figures around Morax have disappeared over the thousands of years."
"Now…"
"I may be the only one left who can still sit and talk with him."
As he spoke, he looked down toward the brightly lit Liyue Harbor.
"By the way, Qiu Nian…"
Paimon suddenly asked,
"Don't gods usually have titles like 'God of Something' and demon names?"
"Like the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial."
"Do you have one?"
"Or is 'Guixu' really just your name?"
Lumine also looked curious.
"Hmm…"
Qiu Nian touched his chin as if thinking.
Then he lowered his hand.
A faint, mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"When did I ever say…"
"…that I was a god of the Archon War?"
"What?!"
Paimon froze.
"You're not a god?!"
Lumine's eyes widened in shock.
Qiu Nian…
Wasn't a god?!
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