Will and consciousness are the essence of the soul.
Once erased, the result is no different from death—
or perhaps something even crueler.
Nahida clutched her head in pain.
Only now did she fully understand why Aerin, in the future revealed by the light screen, had punished her so harshly over a single wrong answer.
Even if he did not yet know the future in detail—
He knew Dottore and Scaramouche.
He knew what they had done, and what they were about to do.
And more importantly—
He knew her.
He knew that if she were rescued, and still spoke of "forgiveness,"
he would be furious enough to strike her down on the spot.
So instead, he sealed her within dreams.
Forced her to die again and again.
Forced her to feel fear, pain, and helplessness firsthand.
Only then could she truly understand how absurd it was to speak of "persuasion" to those who kill without blinking.
Nahida slowly regulated her breathing.
The sight of the Sumeru citizens lying motionless on the ground stabbed straight into her heart.
"Director Hu was right…"
"As a god, the proper response to those who harm one's people…"
"…is to crush them without mercy."
Anger flickered across her face.
She knew that by speaking her thoughts aloud in the chat, she had wounded the hearts of Sumeru's people.
But she refused to lie.
And now, it no longer mattered.
As long as Aerin stood at the helm of this world,
as long as he slaughtered those who treated Sumeru's people like lab rats—
She was willing to accept any punishment.
["Damn it!"]
["Why does he feel even stronger than before?"]
["Was he just playing with me back then?"]
["You've gotten smarter lately, Bella…"]
The cold voice startled Bella.
She spun around—
And saw a silver-haired girl standing behind her, one hand on her hip.
["Y-You—you—!"]
Bella instantly leapt back, taking a defensive stance.
"Bennares! How did you enter my Imaginary Space?!"
["With my master's help, of course."]
Bennares looked relaxed, her tone dripping with disdain.
["Bella, this ends here."]
["This time, I'll erase you completely."]
["Bennares!"]
Bella's voice rose sharply, then dropped into something dark.
"You think only you have been growing stronger?"
"I change every day too."
BOOM—!
The entire Imaginary Space shook violently.
Black radiance erupted from Bella's body—
And in the next instant, a colossal dragon, thousands of meters long, manifested before Bennares.
Bennares frowned slightly.
"…This is?"
["Dragon power."]
The deep voice rumbled from the heavens.
Bella roared with laughter.
"Don't underestimate me."
"I copied this power from you."
"Funny thing is—you never even noticed."
["Hmph."]
Bennares snorted.
Pure white energy began to spill from her body.
"In that case…"
"I'll take this a bit seriously."
In an instant—
White light flooded the Imaginary Space.
Bennares transformed.
A dragon just as massive as Bella's form took shape, its presence overwhelming.
Mondstadt — Windrise Plaza
Dvalin, sunbathing lazily, suddenly snapped his head up.
"…Huh?"
"They're… actually dragons?"
His mind went blank.
He still remembered being wiped out by Bennares' lightning back then.
Now, seeing her true form—
He realized she could probably kill him with a single claw.
[Eula]:"That's Bennares?!"
[Lisa]:"Don't tell me you didn't know she could do that."
[Eula]:"I really didn't! In the Imaginary Space she was only around a hundred meters!"
[Kaeya]:"Now she's bigger than a mountain…"
[Alice]:"If she lay down, people might mistake her for a snow-covered peak."
[Hu Tao]:"By Rex Lapis… those two dragons are terrifying."
[Yelan]:"Bella may not be a dragon, but she can wield dragon-level power."
[Venti]:"O-Ow… my head hurts just looking at this…"
Liyue — Mt. Aocang
Zhongli stood among the adepti, all eyes fixed on the screen.
"So this is their true power…"
"Even Bennares alone is this terrifying—how powerful must the Fifth Descender be?"
Cloud Retainer's glasses nearly slid off from the sweat.
Zhongli calmly set down his teacup.
"I suspected as much."
"The most frightening thing about him…"
"…is that no one can measure his limits."
Xiao turned toward him.
"Rex Lapis… you mean—"
Zhongli nodded slightly.
"I dare not guess."
Sumeru City
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Violent tremors erupted from the mountains beyond the city.
"What's happening?!"
Alhaitham and the others cried out in panic as the ground shook.
A beam of white light burst forth—
And with a deafening explosion, an entire mountain range collapsed.
From the ruins, a gigantic figure—over a thousand meters tall—slowly rose.
With each step, the earth shuddered.
Behind it, a halo flickered with seven colors.
The lights merged—
And a blinding beam of white energy fired outward.
BOOM—!
The beam sliced through Sumeru—
Splitting the land cleanly in two.
Everyone froze.
"What… is that?"
"What is that thing?!"
"One attack… and Sumeru—"
Cyno snapped out of his shock first and turned to Aerin.
"This… you know what this is, don't you?"
Aerin looked at the towering figure and smiled faintly.
"This is the god you were trying to create."
"Shouki no Kami."
"The Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom."
He continued calmly:
"Bella figured out the structure of the Gnoses."
"She didn't just use seven of them—she reconstructed them."
"Now it can wield all seven elements…"
"…and fuse them into something resembling pure light."
"And on top of that—Bella's own power."
Faruzan grabbed Aerin's arm in desperation.
"Now is not the time to admire it!"
"That thing just split Sumeru in half!"
Aerin glanced down at her, sighing.
"For an Akademiya scholar, your vision is rather narrow."
"That attack wasn't aimed at Sumeru City."
"It split the entire Sumeru tectonic plate."
The words hit like a hammer.
Faruzan's hand slipped from his sleeve.
"…So we sacrificed an entire city…"
"…to create a monster that only knows destruction?"
Lightning clouds gathered.
Thunder roared endlessly.
Bolts struck the ground one after another—
Each leaving behind bottomless craters.
Flames engulfed the land.
Laughter echoed from afar.
"Archon War?"
"Gods?"
"Rulers?"
"I only need to move this god slightly…"
"…and the continent will crumble."
"If I wished it, even this world couldn't withstand my power."
"Those seven above—worthy of being called gods?"
"Barbatos—"
"Put away your pride."
"Only I deserve that title."
Scaramouche's laughter spread across all of Sumeru.
With each step of the Shouki no Kami, even the desert trembled.
Storms rose. Sandstorms howled.
Climate itself bent under its presence.
"The slaughter begins now."
His gaze locked onto Aerin.
"After killing you…"
"I'll personally flatten Inazuma."
Fontaine — Palais Mermonia
Furina swayed, her head spinning.
She turned to Clorinde and asked from the depths of her soul:
"…Are we really this weak?"
"Why can outsiders destroy our world so easily?"
The Raiden Shogun could cleave continents.
Scaramouche boasted of shattering the world itself.
For the first time—
Furina doubted reality itself.
Clorinde hesitated.
"…I think… our world can contain extraordinary power."
"We have dragons, elemental beings, gods like you."
"But in terms of raw destructive force…"
"…those who can cut continents apart truly can destroy our world."
"And Bennares, too—she can alter the climate."
"This new god can do the same."
Furina nodded slowly.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Wait…"
"Fontaine has a legend."
"They say when the Hydro Dragon King cries, the heavens weep."
"Their weather changes by emotion, not power."
She leaned forward eagerly.
"Clorinde…"
"Do you think Fontaine's legendary Hydro Dragon…"
"…might be even stronger?"
"And if someone invaded Fontaine…"
"…would he appear to protect us?"
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