White armor-like plating covered its entire body.
Its wings were traced with pale cyan patterns.
The massive dragon lay sprawled on the ground, its chest rising and falling gently with each breath.
At a single glance, it was obvious—
This creature belonged to the same category as the mutated Hilichurls outside.
This was not the world one went to after death.
This was the nest of the Fifth Descender, Aerin—
the place where he stored his mutated creations.
Knights of Favonius Headquarters, Mondstadt.
Amber's eyes were already swollen and red from crying.
She had truly believed Eula was dead.
Yet the reversal came far too quickly.
Good news—
Eula was alive.
Bad news—
She had been taken straight behind enemy lines… into Aerin's lair.
Somehow, this felt even worse than death.
[Furina]: "Unbelievable… is that dragon mutated too?"
[Navia]: "Same appearance as the mutated Hilichurls. It has to be."
[Kamisato Ayaka]: "A mutated dragon… the Fifth Descender actually controls a dragon."
[Yelan]: "The Spindrift Knight didn't die—but this may be more terrifying than death."
[Eula]: "What does Aerin want to do with me? The mutated Hilichurls outside are standing still like statues—they probably aren't under his active control yet. But why can the dragon move?"
[Furina]: "He's probably treating you as food and letting the dragon eat you."
[Hu Tao]: "Spindrift Knight of Mondstadt, Eula—care to book Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in advance?"
[Eula]: "If I get eaten and don't even leave a body, can you still do funeral rites?"
[Amber]: "Eula… w-waaah…"
[Hu Tao]: "No problem at all."
[Jean]: "Enough jokes. That's a mutated dragon—its size rivals Dvalin. If it appears, which nation could possibly stop it?"
Palais Mermonia, Fontaine.
Seeing Jean's near-collapse in the chat, Furina quickly wiped the excitement from her face.
Only now did she remember—
This wasn't a performance.
This was the future.
Aerin was real.
The mutated Hilichurls were real.
The mutated dragon was real.
"Eek…!"
Furina shuddered.
She didn't fully understand how powerful dragons in Teyvat truly were.
She couldn't judge how terrifying that white dragon was.
But even the silent army of mutated Hilichurls alone far exceeded expectations.
If they all moved together—
Every nation would face annihilation.
Falcon Coast, Mondstadt.
On a distant cliff, Dvalin had just landed.
Venti hopped down lightly from his back.
Dragon and bard stared at each other in silence.
Dvalin—
one of the Four Winds, the East Wind of Mondstadt—
an undisputed ruler of the skies.
His size alone already placed him among the greatest beings in Teyvat.
The remains of Durin on Dragonspine were proof enough.
And yet—
The mutated dragon shown on the light screen was at least an entire size larger than Dvalin.
If Dvalin was to Hilichurls—
Then that dragon was to mutated Hilichurls.
The gap was obvious at a glance.
Wangshu Inn, Liyue.
A single drop of tea splashed onto the table.
The water scattered across Xiao's hand.
He froze, glanced at the wet tabletop, then looked up at Zhongli, who was still holding his teacup.
Suddenly, Xiao's expression tightened.
Was it…
Was Zhongli's hand shaking?
This was the first time Xiao had ever seen him like this.
The Geo Archon—
a being who remained unmoved even if mountains collapsed before him—
Had failed to steady his cup because of the appearance of a mutated dragon.
Xiao couldn't even imagine how terrifying such a creature must be.
Narukami Shrine, Inazuma.
Yae Miko had already dropped her usual teasing smile.
She paced back and forth anxiously.
"My dear friend still hasn't said a single word."
"This is already a crisis at our doorstep, and she's still hiding in the Plane of Euthymia."
"I'm going to lose my mind…"
She opened the light screen's backend and switched to private messages.
Message after message flooded in—from the Shirasagi Princess of the Yashiro Commission—
all urging Lady Guuji Yae Miko to meet the Raiden Shogun and gather Inazuma's officials to discuss the future.
Yae Miko raised an eyebrow in helpless irritation.
"Sigh… it's not that I don't want to."
"If my old friend doesn't come out of the Plane of Euthymia herself, no one can see her."
"As for the 'Shogun' you all know…"
She trailed off and shook her head.
The Raiden Shogun on the surface was nothing more than a machine obsessed with eternity.
Talking to that would only lead to one outcome—
The puppet deciding that Aerin was an enemy of eternity and pursuing him,
causing Inazuma to fall before Mondstadt even does.
For now, the only option was to wait for Ei to emerge on her own.
"What is she even doing?"
"At least say something in the chat—then I could message her privately."
"…Don't tell me she doesn't even know this is happening?"
"No way…"
Future Projection
[Eula's already injured calves gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground.]
[The white dragon before her clearly belonged to the same category as the mutated Hilichurls.]
[Unlike the statue-still Hilichurls outside—]
[This dragon was alive.]
It lay there, massive body rising and falling with steady breaths.
All four eyes were closed, as if deep in sleep.
Eula swallowed hard.
Fortunately, she had lived through Mondstadt's dragon crisis before.
She had seen Dvalin's immense form with her own eyes.
So while terror gripped her—
She could still endure it.
Forcing herself to calm down, Eula looked around for an exit.
But in the vast hall, aside from the dragon—
There was only a stone platform not far away.
On it rested a delicate bottle filled with iridescent liquid.
The scene reminded her of stories where an evil dragon guarded its treasure.
"Calm down… calm down…"
She clutched her head, trying to steady her thoughts.
Was this really the world after death?
Why were there mutated Hilichurls outside—
and a dragon like them here?
This place was clearly connected to Aerin.
"…Don't tell me I didn't die."
"…Was I brought straight into his lair instead?"
Years of patrolling outside Mondstadt had honed Eula's instincts.
Once she calmed down, the inconsistencies became obvious.
She looked at the dragon again.
A chill ran through her spine.
"Did that bastard Aerin bring me here to feed me to this thing?"
"What a vicious man—this grudge, I—"
A deep, rumbling sound cut her off mid-thought.
Eula froze.
The white dragon had opened its eyes.
All four of them.
They locked onto her at once.
Fear exploded in her gut, a hot rush surging upward.
A voice echoed through the chamber—
"So… you're finally awake."
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, human knight."
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