"Come on, admire me!"
Just as Cao Zhong was posing confidently, waiting for Lumine and Paimon to praise him—
Paimon suddenly launched a sneak attack.
[Paimon]: @Jean, Acting Grand Master, Cao Zhong says he knows everything—he even claims he knows all kinds of secrets!
[Ayaka]: ? What are you talking about, Paimon?!
[Ayato]: @Cao Zhong, watch your words.
[Kaeya]: Well played, Paimon!
Venti: Is this the distortion of humanity… or the downfall of morality?
[Ayato]: @Venti, don't push it.
Hu Tao: @Cao Zhong, I suggest you place an urgent order at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. We have premium services—very dignified, very grand!
Hu Tao: We even have a "legacy clock" service—people may go, but the clock remains.
[Zhongli]: It seems Mondstadt does not tolerate idlers.
At the workshop—
Cao Zhong pointed at Paimon, trembling.
"Are you trying to kill me just to inherit my debts?!"
[Cao Zhong]: @Ayato, don't believe them—they're just stirring trouble. You know me, I'm still single!
[Kaeya]: Calling him "brother"? That sounds suspicious.
[Ayato]: Who are you calling brother?
[Cao Zhong]: @Kaeya, trying to stir things up again? Careful, I might expose your secrets.
[Kaeya]: Threatening me? I'm not afraid.
[Cao Zhong]: @Diluc, Kaeya once—
[Kaeya]: WAIT! I was wrong! Please forgive me!
Venti: Truly a "filial" moment.
[Ayato]: @Kaeya, no dignity at all?
Venti: His bottom line is… flexible.
[Bennett]: You really understand "flexible."
Hu Tao: You really understand "boundaries."
At Mondstadt Cathedral—
Barbara watched the chat, her face flushed with anger.
"Why do people like Cao Zhong, Kaeya, and Venti even exist?!"
She clasped her hands and prayed.
"Lord Barbatos… if you must take someone away, please take them—especially Venti!"
On Starsnatch Cliff—
Venti froze.
"Barbara… you've changed…"
Meanwhile, in the Knights of Favonius—
Jean sat in her office, clearly annoyed.
"How do they always turn every topic into nonsense…"
Jean: Enough! Keep this up and I'll send all of you to confinement!
Klee: Yay! Is Cao Zhong coming to play with me?
Jean: @Klee, focus on your writing!
The chat finally quieted down.
Jean: @Cao Zhong, tell us what you know about Stormterror. No more distractions.
At the workshop—
Cao Zhong had already organized his thoughts.
[Cao Zhong]: Compared to "Stormterror," I prefer calling it by its real name—Dvalin, the Dragon of the East Wind.
The chat fell silent.
Dvalin—
A legendary companion of Barbatos.
One of Mondstadt's Four Winds.
A former guardian… a hero.
Jean: Is… that true?
[Kaeya]: Are you serious?
Diluc: This is hard to believe.
[Barbara]: Impossible! Dvalin would never attack Mondstadt!
[Zhongli]: From a rational standpoint… it may be true.
Hu Tao: Oh? And how do you know that?
[Zhongli]: …Just a guess.
Hu Tao: Go back to work.
Venti: I think Cao Zhong is right.
[Barbara]: And who are you to say that?!
Venti: I mean… I've read some old texts that support this…
Jean: Enough arguing. Cao Zhong, continue.
[Cao Zhong]: I know it's hard to accept—but this is the truth. People only remember that Dvalin disappeared after defeating the dragon Durin… but not the suffering it endured.
[Cao Zhong]: Durin's blood carried a terrible curse. When Dvalin defeated it, it was poisoned and fell into endless pain.
[Cao Zhong]: When it finally returned… it found that Mondstadt had forgotten it.
[Cao Zhong]: Its glory was gone. Its sacrifices erased.
[Cao Zhong]: It became lost… angry… unwilling to accept it.
[Cao Zhong]: Death is not the most frightening thing—being forgotten is.
[Cao Zhong]: And thus… the Stormterror you see today was born.
[Cao Zhong]: Heroes should not be forgotten.
The chat remained silent for a long time.
Jean: So… that's what happened…
[Barbara]: How could this be…
[Cao Zhong]: If you ask me who's to blame… I'd say—
[Cao Zhong]: Barbatos hasn't been doing his job.
For the first time—
No one laughed.