It finally came.
Sikok's body froze mid–squat.
This was the moment she'd been waiting for—
Su Xuan's true evaluation of Surtrochi.
She could hardly contain herself.
She wanted to know: in Su Xuan's eyes, what kind of existence was the man she had chased her entire life?
Between these two peak beings, who truly stood higher?
"You seem very eager to know who's stronger—me or Surtrochi."
Su Xuan extended his hand casually.
"You've been drooling for a while."
Sikok: "…"
She jerked away from his teasing touch, but he only laughed.
"I'm stronger than he is."
Sikok exhaled sharply.
"Because you surpassed some limit over time?"
"No," Su Xuan said simply. "Just as we are now—the current me is stronger than the current him."
Sikok's rose-colored eyes trembled.
She knew Su Xuan was strong—terrifyingly so—but hearing him say outright that he surpassed her master still shook her heart.
In all her travels, she had never met anyone stronger than Surtrochi.
"Otherwise," Su Xuan continued lazily, "would I dare bully his disciple this much?"
Sikok: "…"
"But although you've lived under his shadow of fear," Su Xuan added, "according to the fate he once glimpsed… the future you will surpass him."
"What!?"
Sikok cried out reflexively.
But before she could process the meaning behind his words, her world spun.
The room warped and shifted like a dream.
She blinked—
And suddenly found herself lying flat on the ground while Su Xuan sat comfortably in front of her.
"Next training: sit-ups."
He pointed to the space before him.
"You know where. Be precise."
"If you scrape me even a little," he added with a grin, "I'll punish you properly."
Sikok: "!?"
She looked down.
Su Xuan was quite satisfied with her immediate compliance.
With his attention drifting off her body, he resumed writing in his diary.
[Speaking of Surtrochi, that cosmic calamity—]
[Once upon a time, he and Dainsleif, the last light of Khaenri'ah, were both knights of the Khaenri'an Order.]
[Back then, the two of them upheld knightly virtues and did countless good deeds.]
[Unfortunately, the upper echelon of the Order did not appreciate Surtrochi and even crippled him.]
[Yet even that couldn't stop him from becoming one of Khaenri'ah's future elites.]
[After taking one-sixth of Aether's Abyssal power, he left Teyvat and wandered the worlds beyond.]
[He only reconnected with Teyvat after receiving a prophecy from Visverfnir—another of the Five Sinners.]
[The prophecy concerned his disciple—Sikok.]
[Visverfnir had told him:]
["Sin stains the heavens, and calamity spreads across the cosmos. Nothing will restrain your freedom anymore, but your fate remains tied to this world."]
["Just as in the near future, you will send your disciple here."]
[Of course, the 'sin' and 'calamity' referred not to the Abyss, but Surtrochi himself.]
[He often bragged that the number of geniuses he had slain equaled grains of sand beneath his feet, and even fate itself bowed before him—]
[Yet he himself had not escaped the bounds of destiny.]
[For he did indeed go to Sikok's homeworld, save her, make her his disciple, and send her to Teyvat—]
[Exactly as Visverfnir foretold.]
[As for his current strength…]
[He once asked Sikok whether she believed he was the greatest calamity in the entire cosmos.]
[Then told her it didn't matter whether she believed it—those who didn't had already vanished into the void.]
[And honestly, the title is well-earned.]
[No matter the opponent—whether weapons forged using the resources of entire star systems; gods formed by the faith of countless civilizations; or the strongest warriors of billions—]
[None were his match.]
[If the foe was a beast, he devoured its flesh.]
[If it was a god or machine, he absorbed its energy.]
[If it was a warrior or sorcerer, he toyed with them until bored—then killed them.]
[That is the power Surtrochi wields now.]
[He has grown so strong that Teyvat no longer interests him.]
[The curse of immortality left to Khaenri'ah is nothing to him—he can break it at will.]
[His form is no longer bound to humanity; he can exist in countless shapes.]
"W–what!?"
Paimon's eyes nearly fell out.
"Sikok's master is THAT strong!?"
"And that's only one-sixth of your brother's power!" she added.
"If Surtrochi became a cosmic calamity from that… how strong was Aether at his peak!?"
Lumine frowned deeply.
She hadn't expected someone who took only a fragment of Aether's Abyssal strength to grow into such a monster.
But with a calm breath, she pieced the truth together.
"He wasn't this strong in the beginning," she muttered.
"He must have grown over hundreds of years after taking Aether's Abyssal energy."
She tapped her chin.
"Su Xuan said he grows stronger by absorbing energy.
The Abyss isn't just raw power—it contains knowledge and forbidden forces from beyond the world."
"In other words," she concluded, "Surtrochi must have obtained some kind of strange… devouring ability."
"So… if fate told him to take Sikok as a disciple, and Su Xuan is bullying his disciple right now…"
Paimon gulped.
"Will he rush back from beyond the universe to kill our boss?"
Lumine snorted.
"If Su Xuan dared do it, he clearly isn't afraid."
"Surtrochi claims he's the greatest calamity in the cosmos? I think our Su Xuan also fits that title."
"He already smacked a planet apart once. Destroying a star system wouldn't even be difficult—just swing a few more times."
"In comparison, Surtrochi's feats… feel a bit underwhelming."
[Now, about Surtrochi and Sikok's relationship—]
[Because of Visverfnir's prophecy, he sought Sikok out and became her master.]
[To hone her swordsmanship, Sikok trained until the bones of her wrists shattered and her palms were nothing but blood.]
[Surtrochi reset her bones himself, cutting away necrotic flesh.]
[Eventually, her limbs were ruined beyond repair, forcing her to rely on Abyss-formed mimicry.]
[Yet the true motivation he gave her came not from pain, but fear.]
[He believed fear was the catalyst for evolution.]
[So he told Sikok that one day, he would destroy everything she experienced in Teyvat.]
[Every view she saw, every person she met, every friend she made—]
[All would be erased.]
[That was why Sikok kept her distance from everyone.]
[…Which means Alice, Dori, Tartaglia, and Barbatos are all on his 'to-kill' list.]
Alice & Dori: "!?"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged looks.
Dori had met Sikok through Alice's introduction.
Tartaglia was Sikok's reluctant disciple.
As for Barbatos… how did he end up on the list?
[When Sikok visited Mondstadt, Barbatos stopped her, taught her some local music, and invited her to a drinking contest.]
[He immediately got drunk and died on the table.]
[I suspect he simply had no Mora and pretended to lose.]
Lumine: "…"
Paimon: "Yeah… that does sound like Barbatos."
The Mondstadt girls fell silent.
Whenever Su Xuan wrote about Barbatos, chaos followed.
[Personally, I think Surtrochi's 'fear' was meant to be interpreted in reverse.]
[He wasn't threatening to destroy Sikok's bonds—]
[He wanted her to overcome the fear he placed on her and form bonds anyway.]
[After all, he still isn't devoid of emotion.]
[Before leaving Teyvat, he sought out an old Khaenri'ahn friend and offered to remove his curse.]
[And in Fontaine, he left him a gift—the Star-Swallowing Whale.]
Furina: "!?"
So THAT monster was something Surtrochi left behind!?
No wonder Su Xuan said Sikok would meet him because of it!
If something made by someone that strong appeared in Fontaine…
She suddenly regretted reading further.
[During that visit, Surtrochi proudly talked about the disciple he would soon take—]
[Sikok.]
[He said:]
['Visverfnir's prophecies are reliable. I will take a disciple somewhere in the cosmos and send her to Teyvat.']
['Someday in the future, the stars themselves will bow to her.']
Sikok: "!?"
[His friend was shocked, saying the disciple must be extraordinary.]
[Surtrochi was very proud.]
['Of course. Only the extraordinary can become my disciple.']
[And when he departed, he spoke his true belief:]
['Walk whatever path you please. Even villains have the freedom to be villains.']
[Sikok would learn this truth years later because of Lumine.]
[And after learning it, she realized—]
[What Surtrochi desired wasn't a glorious battle, but a defeat without regret.]
[And indeed—]
[A sinner will eventually fall before the one to whom the stars bow.]
[When that day comes, he will have no regrets left.]
[His disciple will build her own order—one where tragedy no longer exists, where might is no longer justice.]
[Ironically, Sikok's ideal order contradicts some of my own needs…]
[Which is why—after finishing these notes—I plan to make sure she fully understands this truth:]
[In front of me, might is still justice.]
A ripple of laughter spread through the girls reading.
Everyone knew exactly what "might" meant in Su Xuan's dictionary.
And yes—he had zero interest in Teyvat's affairs,
but for diary-holders…
He insisted on dominating them thoroughly.
[Before exercising my 'might,' I should give Sikok a clear answer about who is stronger—me or her master.]
[Surtrochi fights things like star-system-level weapons and faith-forged gods.]
[His tier is already dropping.]
[After gaining the Power of Divine Prestige, my attacks reached the level of destroying planets with a single strike.]
[My 'world-class combat power' refers to this kind of destructive ability.]
[Even without Divine Prestige—]
[ALL my abilities are world-class.]
[Take Total Cognitive Override, for example—]
[I can instantly trap every living being on a planet in illusion with no escape.]
Sikok: "!?"
[Or Explosive Clay—]
[C4 Garuda can annihilate all landmasses, sending micro-charges deep into the mantle to blow up the planetary core.]
Sikok: "!?"
[The Sky Witch can summon blade-sharp winds that scour entire worlds.]
[Amaterasu's black flames burn unceasingly until they consume a world to the edges.]
[My psychokinesis can crush a planet instantly.]
[I can even pull planets into each other and use them as meteorites.]
[This is my current world-level power.]
[Not to mention Divine Prestige · Qitian.]
[The golden avatar behind me can grow as tall as the sky itself.]
[Its golden staff stretches farther than even I can measure.]
[With my current strength, destroying an entire star system isn't difficult.]
[Each sweep of the staff would casually shatter planets.]
[And like Surtrochi, I also possess devouring capabilities.]
The girls: "!?"
Of course he had even more hidden abilities.
[And if Surtrochi carries a divine authority, my own 'Godslayer' authority would activate automatically.
My power would skyrocket during our battle.]
[So when I say I'm stronger than him—]
[I'm not exaggerating.]
[I don't like bluffing.]
[Oh, and even if Surtrochi can exist in any form—]
[My sword cuts anything I want it to. His shapeshifting means nothing to me.]
—
Back in the domain—
Sikok's mind buzzed like it had been struck by thunder.
She knew the man in front of her was strong.
She knew he hid countless secrets.
But she never expected this level of strength.
Planet-shattering?
Star-system-erasing?
Psychokinetically smashing worlds together!?
Her mind struggled to even imagine such destruction.
"What are you spacing out for?"
His voice snapped her back to reality.
She stared blankly at him, utterly speechless.
But the moment her focus drifted—
Tap.
A gentle push to her forehead sent her flat onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
"The answer you wanted—I've given it."
"Now," Su Xuan said, voice calm yet absolute,
"I should fulfill my promise."
"To show you that before me—might is still justice."
"So, Sikok…"
"Grab your ankles."
"We're beginning several days of obedience training."
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