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At this moment, Dehya lay quietly on the bed in the guest room. Through the curtain-filtered sunlight, her face appeared slightly pale, yet her eyes still carried that same unyielding resolve.
Her body was tightly wrapped in layers of gauze—only a few patches of unbandaged skin revealed her natural tone, a stark reminder of how severely she'd been injured.
Dunyarzad entered the room carefully, her steps light, carrying a bowl of medicine that gave off a faint herbal fragrance.
She slowly approached the bed and called softly, "Dehya, the medicine's ready."
Dehya turned her head slightly toward Dunyarzad, a faint warmth flickering in her gaze.
"Thank you, my lady. To think that I, your bodyguard, would end up being the one taken care of…"
Dunyarzad carefully lifted the bowl, spooning up a small portion and bringing it gently to Dehya's lips.
Dehya opened her mouth slightly and swallowed the bitter liquid with some difficulty.
As she continued feeding her, Dunyarzad whispered comfortingly, "It's only right. Even if you're my bodyguard in name, you've long since been my friend."
When the medicine was finished, Dehya's eyes shimmered faintly with tears. She gazed at Dunyarzad and asked weakly, "My lady… am I useless?"
After all, both of their missions had failed—and without Rahman this time, she too would've perished in the Grand Bazaar.
Hearing this, Dunyarzad's heart tightened painfully, but she forced a gentle smile.
She wiped the corners of Dehya's eyes and said softly, "Don't say that, Dehya. You're the bravest and strongest person I've ever met. You'll recover soon. We'll get through this—together."
Hearing Dunyarzad's reassurance, Dehya nodded slightly, her voice trembling with gratitude. "My lady…"
Just as the air between them grew warm and tender, Nilou burst into the room in a panic.
She ran in frantically, her expression filled with alarm.
"Something terrible's happened! Something terrible!" she cried.
Dunyarzad frowned in confusion, unable to comprehend Nilou's panic.
Dehya's heart skipped a beat. "Is it the Akademiya searching for us?"
Nilou shook her head rapidly and pointed toward the window. "No! Look—look at the sky!"
Curious and uneasy, Dunyarzad walked to the window and lifted her gaze toward the sky she knew so well.
…
But when she looked through the glass, what she saw made her breath hitch.
A horrific crack had appeared across the skies of Sumeru—like an invisible hand had torn the heavens apart.
Then, the entire sky shattered like a broken mirror.
Yet this was not the false sky of Teyvat being pierced—it was something else, something unprecedented and otherworldly.
Beneath that strange canopy, the sun and moon hung side by side.
But the sun was dim… and the moon, blood-red.
Then came the fire. A blazing inferno rained down from the heavens, carrying destruction upon the lush rainforest below.
In an instant, flames ravaged the land like a storm, devouring every trace of green without mercy.
Creatures of the rainforest—animals, people, and Hilichurls alike—fled instinctively in all directions. Their desperate cries echoed one after another, resonating through the forest that was swiftly turning to ash.
Bodies twisted in agony amid the flames before collapsing into charred remains—too horrific to behold.
As for the monsters… perhaps they had returned to the Ley Lines.
The crackling of burning trees sounded like the weeping of the forest itself, mourning its doom.
The firelight turned night into day, and towering plumes of smoke rose to the heavens, blackening the sky.
Even though Sumeru City was still some distance away, the stench of sulfur was already seeping into its air.
It was hard to imagine the horror unfolding outside those city walls—the terror, the despair consuming the forests beyond.
…
Shao Yun rode his horse toward Sumeru City.
For him, the day felt endless—an eternity of exhaustion and fire.
He had passed through the ghostly silence of Caravan Ribat, where not a soul remained.
Then he entered the burning rainforest path.
All around him, flames raged without restraint, consuming everything they touched.
Green leaves and vines turned to ash in an instant, leaving only blackened wreckage.
From the sky, fiery sulfur meteors fell like shooting stars of death, scorching hot and deadly.
Each impact ignited new fires, spreading the inferno faster than it could be quelled.
Thick smoke billowed upward, blotting out the sun. The stench of sulfur and char filled the air—it was suffocating.
The smell carried on the wind all the way to Sumeru City.
When it reached the city, panic erupted.
Citizens screamed and scrambled in terror—they had never seen such catastrophe.
Some tried to flee the city in haste, while others outside struggled desperately to get in.
At the city gates, chaos reigned—people pushed, shouted, and wept.
Only a few Corps of Thirty mercenaries held their ground, enduring the noxious air as they tried to keep order.
Shao Yun rode through the turmoil.
Strangely, when the crowd saw him astride Boadicea, they parted instinctively—an invisible force seemed to push them aside.
In moments, the chaos gave way to eerie order.
A sharp-eyed mercenary spotted him and barked, "Who are you?"
Shao Yun yanked his reins, and Boadicea reared up with a piercing neigh.
Then Shao Yun's cold voice cut through the noise: "That pompous fool, Azar—where is he?"
At once, the mercenaries froze.
Azar? This man had the audacity to speak of the Grand Sage with such contempt? Unthinkable.
After a stunned pause, one braver mercenary sneered, "Who the hell are you? You've got some nerve."
Before he could continue, his earpiece—the Akasha Terminal—flashed.
He stiffened, then muttered, "What? The Grand Sage? …Oh. I see."
He tore off the device and tossed it toward Shao Yun. "Here! The Grand Sage wants a word with you."
Shao Yun caught it, hesitation flickering across his face.
After a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and put it on.
At once, Azar's voice came through—calm and arrogant.
"Greetings. I presume you're one of those foolish rebels."
Shao Yun snorted. "Hmph. I'm not in the mood for pleasantries."
Azar's composed tone continued, "Neither am I. But this isn't the time for emotion. Look at the sky. Can't you see what's happening?"
"Sumeru stands on the brink of annihilation. Only a new god can save us. Think carefully, before you act against salvation."
Shao Yun sneered. "Oh? You really think I'll buy your nonsense?"
Azar chuckled, unfazed. "What I speak is the truth. Our God-Creation Project will birth a being powerful enough to quell this disaster. Surely you can trust the word of the Grand Sage?"
Shao Yun's voice turned to scorn. "Ha! Spare me the act. You're just stalling for time!"
Seeing his tactic fail, Azar's tone hardened. "The God-Creation Project is moments from success. You can't stop me—and you cannot defeat a god."
At that moment, strange words flashed through Shao Yun's mind, and his lips moved on their own:
"Listen well. Etecce, Dominus venit cum milibus sanctorum eius, ad exe-candum judicium super omnes."
Then he growled, "Prepare yourself for hell."
He tore off the Akasha Terminal and tossed it to the ground.
The mercenary who had given it to him trembled. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"
Instinct took over—he turned and ran, vanishing from sight.
Shao Yun smiled grimly. "Correct answer."
At that, the other mercenaries—alerted via the network—drew their curved blades.
One of them shouted, "By order of the Grand Sage, arrest him! Everyone, attack!"
Shao Yun laughed coldly. "You've been monkeys so long you've forgotten you're not dogs. At least dogs know when to fear their predator."
With deliberate calm, he drew John's Cattleman Revolver and gave them a quick lesson in enlightenment.
Each shot dropped a mercenary.
Their screams echoed through the gates of Sumeru City.
"Ahhh! AHH!"
Shao Yun nudged Boadicea forward. He hadn't planned to strike again—but Boadicea's hoof came down hard on the skull of the one who'd first tried to arrest him.
Crack.
The sound was sharp, grotesque.
The mercenary's head burst like a crushed melon—blood and brain matter splattering the sand. His body twitched twice, then went still.
Boadicea raised her head proudly and carried Shao Yun onward.
As he rode toward the Akademiya, Shao Yun pulled from his pack the Pagan Ritual Mask—a horned skull made from something between a goat and a bull.
He took off his hat, inhaled deeply, and muttered as he put the mask on, "I must be losing my mind…"
…
Inside the Akademiya, Grand Sage Azar sat in his office, listening to the barrage of frantic reports through the Akasha.
Apocalyptic fire, divine vengeance, the Scarlet King's supposed return—even rumors of the dead rising again.
The noise gave him a splitting headache.
Just days ago, he'd dreamed of another self, urging him to tighten control over the Akasha Network. He'd done so—and it had thwarted Alhaitham's sabotage of the God-Creation Project.
But now, when he thought victory was in hand, disaster struck again.
As if fate itself mocked him—rebels resurging, the world burning.
At that moment, a scholar burst into the room—Ghulam, disciple of Khajeh, one of the project's researchers.
"Grand Sage! It's terrible! Master Khajeh was burned alive by fire from the sky—it must be the Scarlet King's vengeance against the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!"
Azar's temper exploded—he slapped Ghulam across the face. "Idiot! That nonsense may fool desert fools, but not me! Don't tell me you've tricked yourself now too?"
Clutching his cheek, Ghulam stammered, "B-but how else do we explain it? And the Corps of Thirty report that a man claiming to be the Scarlet King's agent has slaughtered the guards and is heading straight for the Akademiya!"
Azar raked his fingers through his hair, nearly tearing it out. "The God-Creation Project is almost complete… it must not be interrupted!"
He snapped, "Go! Use the Akasha to seize control of everyone wearing a terminal—mercenaries or not! Strengthen the Akademiya's defenses immediately!"
Whether Ghulam understood or not didn't matter. He nodded dumbly. "Yes, Grand Sage!"
Moments after Ghulam left, the ground trembled violently—an earthquake. It lasted only seconds before fading.
Then Ghulam came running back, panic in his voice. "Grand Sage! The captured rebels—they're cutting their way through the city! They're coming straight for us!"
Azar nearly collapsed in despair—but then a thought struck him.
He could reason with Shao Yun. Perhaps face to face.
A fine plan in theory… cruel in practice.
For when Azar and Ghulam reached the Akademiya plaza, they saw him—Shao Yun—wearing the Pagan Ritual Mask, his Legend of the East coat soaked in blood.
In one hand, John's Revolver gleamed; in the other, a machete dripped red.
When Shao Yun saw Azar, he raised the blade and roared, "Azar! I'm here for you!"