After assigning the task to Xilonen, Caelus found himself with nothing to do.
"I might as well go watch the individual matches."
Mauvika was participating in this round of the individual competition.
He wanted to see how the former Pyro Archon would suppress the younger generation.
With a single thought, his body transformed into flames and streaked toward the spectator stands of the Sacred Flame Arena.
Currently fighting were Mualani and Kachina. Their strength was evenly matched, and after a prolonged exchange, neither had gained a decisive advantage.
After another clash, the two of them tacitly stepped back at the same time to recover their stamina.
At that very moment, gasps erupted from the audience.
Mualani and the others looked up to see an orange streak of fire flash across the sky before landing on a solitary seat positioned high above.
The seat reserved exclusively for the Pyro Archon.
"Caelus!"
Seeing the red haired youth who had not appeared earlier suddenly arrive to watch the match, Mualani's eyes widened slightly and a bright smile appeared on her face.
"That Mualani. She dares to get distracted even during a fight."
Caelus waved in her direction before sitting down in his designated seat.
Now that he thought about it, this seemed to be his first time actually sitting there. It was unexpectedly comfortable.
"Aunt Atea was right. Caelus really did come to watch my match."
The fatigue Mualani had been feeling seemed to vanish instantly, replaced by renewed energy.
"Kachina, here I come!"
Kachina tightened her grip on her weapon.
"I won't lose."
The battle between the two intensified once again. This time, however, Mualani gradually gained the upper hand, steadily pressuring her friend.
Realizing that continuing head on would only result in defeat, Kachina deliberately exposed an opening to lure Mualani into attacking.
"Perfect."
Mualani took the bait and struck decisively at the apparent weakness.
At that instant, Kachina twisted aside and used the momentum to circle behind Mualani, swinging her golden shovel in an attempt to knock her away.
"Kachina, I've already seen through that."
Mualani had anticipated her opponent's intention. As Kachina moved behind her, Mualani decisively raised her arm and drove her elbow backward into the girl's abdomen.
Kachina, who had just been about to attack, had no time to evade. She was sent flying by the elbow strike and crashed heavily onto the ground.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Kachina did not rise.
"The winner is Mualani!"
"Let's thank both warriors for their outstanding performance and give them a round of applause!"
Encouraged by the host, the entire Arena erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
Instead of celebrating immediately, Mualani walked over to Kachina and extended her hand.
"Kachina, are you alright?"
"I'm fine…" Kachina grasped her hand and stood up, though her voice trembled slightly.
She had lost again.
"Kachina, you're strong. Everyone here can see that," Mualani said gently, patting her on the head. "If you lose this time, then win next time."
"Mm."
Kachina nodded.
She could feel that she was indeed stronger than before.
By the next Holy Night of the Return of Fire, she should be able to achieve a better result.
She just did not know whether there would even be a next time.
"Thank you for your cheers, everyone!"
After Kachina's emotions steadied, Mualani led her in thanking the audience.
When facing Caelus's direction, she even flashed him a victory sign, looking extremely proud.
Caelus raised an eyebrow and returned a thumbs up.
At the same time, he thought to himself, If Mualani were still a five star, and she lost to a four star like in the original storyline, would that generate a large amount of Emotion Points from the players?
Before transmigrating, he remembered a certain mobile game where, during a limited banner pull, an animation would show the limited character fighting a standard banner character.
If the limited character won, you obtained the limited unit.
If the standard character won, you lost the 50 50 and received the standard unit instead.
Even though Caelus had not followed that game closely, he knew that when players saw the limited character lose to the standard character, they would definitely be furious.
If he recreated something similar, players would probably lose their minds.
Unfortunately, it was only a passing thought.
He had no ability to ask HoYoverse to design a special gacha animation like that.
Even if it were possible, while players were losing their minds, they might also start thinking about storming HoYoverse's headquarters.
At that point, they truly would not be able to log into Genshin Impact anymore.
After the individual matches concluded, five warriors advanced.
From the Scions of the Canopy, the former Pyro Archon Mauvika, who disguises herself as a newcomer.
From the Collective of Plenty, the fitness instructor Iansan.
From the People of the Springs, the rising star Mualani.
Also from the People of the Springs, Kaiulani, who claimed victory in the individual competition again after ten years.
And finally, the Traveler from another world.
"Let's give them our warmest applause!"
As always, the host ignited the emotions of the audience, and thunderous applause filled the coliseum.
"What a pity," Kaiulani sighed while standing with the other qualifiers. "We only advanced through the individual competition. We cannot participate in the Night Warden War."
"Kaiulani, even without that honor, you can still be proud of who you are now," Mauvika said gently.
"I know…" Kaiulani smiled helplessly.
She had won again in the Holy Night of the Return of Fire after ten years.
Yet the competition no longer carried its original meaning, leaving her with a lingering sense of emptiness.
It was like finally winning a championship again after many years, only to discover the tournament had become an exhibition match. Even victory no longer felt the same.
"Aunt Kaiulani, how about I ask Caelus later to restart the Night Warden War?" Mualani suggested from beside her.
Kaiulani paused, then slowly shook her head.
"If it were in the past, Caelus might have indulged you. But I can sense that he is unusually firm regarding the Night Warden War. No matter how much you plead, it will not change his decision."
"We still have to try." Mualani puffed out her cheeks slightly.
While the people of Natlan were conversing, the Traveler and Paimon were also whispering to each other.
"Traveler, it seems like people from the People of the Springs all call the Pyro Archon by his name, Caelus," Paimon whispered to Lumine.
"The Pyro Archon originally comes from the People of the Springs. To them, he is someone they watched grow up."
After speaking, Lumine sensed someone's gaze on her.
Turning her head, she saw a woman with fiery red hair looking in her direction.
"Traveler, do not forget our agreement."
Reminded by Mauvika, Lumine recalled that she had promised to speak with her alone after the matches.
The Holy Night of the Return of Fire had concluded.
It was time to honor that promise.
...
This Work is completed on p@treon
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