"Sorry, I don't have any Mora." Lora set down her glass and spread her hands helplessly.
"Uh…"
Venti was momentarily at a loss for words.
Just then, loud commotion suddenly erupted outside "Angel's Share," accompanied by the howling of violent winds. Both Venti and Lora felt the surging, irritable Anemo energy filling the city. They exchanged a glance and immediately rushed outside.
The entirety of Mondstadt was already engulfed in raging gales, with sand and stones whipping through the air. The debris carried by the wind made it impossible to keep one's eyes open.
"There! Dvalin is over there!" Venti pointed toward the sky and called out to Lora.
Following the direction of his finger, Lora looked up. Amid the rolling clouds and roaring winds, Dvalin's blue-black form appeared and vanished intermittently as it ravaged the skies above Mondstadt with a violent storm.
Dvalin roared, summoning terrifying tornadoes that descended upon the city. People scattered in panic, screams echoing everywhere.
"Stop it, Dvalin!" Venti shouted his name. But soaring high above and already corrupted by the Abyss, Dvalin—consumed by fury—could not possibly hear him.
At that moment, Lora spotted a figure being swept skyward by a tornado. "That's… Lumine?!"
"That's your friend!" Venti also noticed her, clearly startled.
"We'll go after Dvalin. Venti, help Lumine—she's in serious danger!" Lora said quickly. Then she leapt upward toward the skies.
Flying without Wind Wings would surely raise suspicions if anyone noticed. The only reason she dared to take off so openly was the chaos Dvalin had caused—no one nearby had the presence of mind to pay attention to anything else.
Venti transformed into a current of wind and ascended into the sky. With both hands outstretched, he stirred the flowing winds, steadying Lumine's Wind Wings so she wouldn't suddenly fall, protecting her amidst the boundless storm. Once that was done, he hurried to catch up with Lora.
Dvalin was already far ahead, carrying the raging tempest with him.
Lora and Venti pursued closely from behind, gradually approaching Stormterror's Lair.
Suddenly, an cryo wall materialized before them, blocking their path. Lora didn't slow down. She unleashed a volley of water arrows—each one carrying immense force—piercing through the cryo wall until it shattered completely.
But once the wall broke apart, what appeared before them was a Cryo-element Abyss Herald, accompanied by two Abyss Mages—one cryo, one pyro.
"An Abyss Herald!" Lora instinctively called out, her brows knitting together.
Every Abyss Herald was an extremely powerful existence. This one was an Ice-element Abyss Herald, and with her own strength not yet fully restored, she wasn't sure she could defeat it.
The Abyss Herald's gaze lingered on Venti for only a brief moment. But when it turned toward Lora, a clear look of shock flashed across its face.
Both Lora and Venti prepared for battle, Venti already gripping the Skyward Harp in his hand. However, the Abyss Herald had no intention of fighting. After successfully cutting off their pursuit of Dvalin, it swiftly retreated from the scene together with the two Abyss Mages.
"Huh? It ran? Not even going to fight us?" Venti looked at the fleeing Abyss Herald in surprise.
From the side, Lora said, "Scared off by the divine might of the Anemo Archon, obviously. Don't waste time—Dvalin's getting away!"
During the brief delay, Dvalin had already entered Stormterror's Lair.
With the Abyss Herald no longer blocking them, Lora and Venti quickly arrived outside Stormterror's Lair.
This vast expanse of land was once Old Mondstadt. Now, however, towering walls of raging wind surrounded it. Like blades shrieking through the air, the storm walls barred their entry.
"Looks like we still need the 'Holy Lyre der Himmel'…" Venti sighed, placing his hand lightly against the storm wall. The violent winds cut against his skin. Though they couldn't truly harm him, he still couldn't pass through.
"You can't disperse these storms?" Lora stood outside the wall, gazing up at the deep-blue tempest that stretched into the clouds.
Venti slowly shook his head. "There's no way. I slept for too long. The winds here are filled with resentment toward me. Without the 'Holy Lyre der Himmel,' I can't dispel them. Such deep resentment… Dvalin…"
"Venti, don't be sad. We'll definitely cure Dvalin. Trust me." Lora gently patted his shoulder.
"Mhm. I believe you." Venti nodded, lowering his hand and taking a deep breath. "Let's head back. Your friends will be worried if they can't find you."
The two turned back toward Mondstadt, though Venti couldn't help glancing back repeatedly at the land of Old Mondstadt, still sealed behind the towering storm wall.
"Lora, you don't have a Vision, do you?"
"Of course not. I don't need a Vision to use elemental power."
"Then how about I make one for you? That way, when you use your abilities in front of ordinary people, they won't question how you can control the elements."
"Does it cost Mora?"
"Considering we've been colleagues for a thousand years, I'll give you a discount!"
"No thanks. I don't have any Mora."
"Huh?"
...
"Your Highness, 'Prince,' the Anemo Archon has awakened. We intercepted him in the sky while he was pursuing the Anemo Dragon." The Abyss Herald stood behind a blond youth, reporting what had just transpired.
"The change in Mondstadt's winds already foretold the return of the God of a Thousand Winds. I'm aware of it."
The blond youth addressed as the "Prince" was Lumine's brother, Aether.
After a brief pause, the Abyss Herald continued, "However, we also witnessed another Archon."
"A Archon?" Aether frowned. "Aside from Barbatos, are there any other gods still present in Mondstadt?"
"She is not Mondstadt's god," the Abyss Herald said, shaking his head. "She is… the Hydro Archon, Egeria."
"Impossible!" Aether immediately denied it.
"Egeria perished in Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago. Her divine body became pure water, and her remaining consciousness was placed within the Harvisptokhm by the Dendro Archon. You must be mistaken."
"Your Highness," the Abyss Herald said calmly, "if it were only me, that would be one thing. But could all three of us have been mistaken?" He gestured to the two Abyss Mages beside him. "We saw it with our own eyes. The one standing beside the Anemo Archon was none other than the Hydro Archon, Egeria."