Venti raised his hand to touch Lydia's shoulder, but she ruthlessly swatted it away.
"Look, today is your eighteenth birthday party, the day you've been looking forward to the most. How can you let strange thoughts cloud your mind?" his gaze was cold as he continued.
"No... This isn't an illusion!" Lydia looked up sharply, her eyes bloodshot, her snow-white hair clinging disheveledly to her cheeks, "There's the Abyss! There are monsters! And Yunqin... Yunqin, she..."
Before she could finish, a violent headache forced her voice to cut out again. Suddenly, an invisible gale erupted around her, carrying a greenish-cyan Anemo element, and forcefully threw Venti aside.
Venti stumbled back several steps but wasn't angry. Instead, his lips curved into a meaningful smile as he pointed toward the tavern's entrance. "Look, Lydia, your parents have come to pick you up."
Lydia followed his gesture, her pupils suddenly shrinking as the agony on her face was instantly replaced by utter panic.
Standing at the entrance were two familiar yet strange figures, clad in heavy black armor. Faint dark energy swirled around the armor's joints. They were her parents, who had been corrupted by the Abyss and turned into Poison Dragon Knights!
"No... Impossible!" Lydia trembled violently, her voice choked with desperate sobs. "They've already... already..."
Lumine also instinctively took a step back, her heart pounding wildly.
"What are you talking about?" She suddenly rushed in front of Lydia, spreading her arms to block the view of the people around them, her tone filled with anger and confusion. "The Poison Dragon Knights are Lydia's parents, that's true, but... but haven't they already been corrupted by the Abyss? How could they appear here?"
The word "Abyss" was mentioned again, and the entire tavern instantly fell into a dead silence, with only the sound of everyone's hurried breathing.
Just then, Aether walked slowly to Lumine's side and gently patted her shoulder, his tone gentle as if soothing her: "Sister, what's wrong? Have you been influenced by Lydia too?"
His gaze was clear and innocent, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at Lumine. "What... exactly is the Abyss?"
Lumine's whole body shook as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
She turned to look at Aether, staring at his familiar face, as that childish voice echoed in her mind once more.
"Traveler! Traveler!"
Who? Just who was it?
The voice was so familiar, yet she couldn't remember who it was... Why?
Why did Brother not know about the Abyss?
Why did everyone around them act as if they had never heard the word before?
The whispers of the crowd rose again, clearer than before:
"Poor child, her delusions are acting up again, and she's even dragged the Traveler into it."
"Yeah, a perfectly good birthday party, all ruined by her."
"The Poison Dragon Knight finally makes an appearance, and he has to see her like this. How awkward."
These words were like sharp knives, stabbing Lydia's heart.
She looked at her "parents" at the door, at the cold gazes of the people around her, and felt her memories being erased from her mind. Finally, she broke down and screamed.
"No! You're all lying to me!"
"The Abyss is real! Yunqin... Yunqin sacrificed herself to stop the Abyss! How could you all forget!"
Her voice was hoarse and desperate. The Anemo energy around her intertwined with the dark purple glow of the Festering Desire, forming a chaotic energy field.
Tables and chairs were overturned, the cake fell to the floor, and sweet cream and broken tableware lay scattered everywhere, like a dream torn to shreds.
The Poison Dragon Knights marched toward Lydia with heavy, stiff strides, the clank of their cold armor piercing the dead silence of the tavern.
They extended their iron-clawed hands, ignoring Lydia's struggles, and forcibly hoisted her to her feet.
Lydia's body went limp, tears of despair streaming down her face. The dark purple glow of the Festering Desire flickered violently, yet she could not break free from the Abyss-controlled hands of her "parents."
Venti walked slowly in front of Lydia, that same hypocritical smile still lingering on his lips.
Suddenly, a red light flashed in his pupils. Then, his green eyes were completely replaced by a crimson hue, like poisoned gems, radiating a suffocating malice.
Lumine reacted instantly, the hair on her arms standing on end.
This isn't Venti!
It's an Abyss disguise!
Just as she was about to draw her sword, a pitch-black space rift suddenly tore open behind her. A violent surge of Abyss energy swept out, carrying a small figure that slammed heavily onto the floor.
"Ouch!"
Paimon scrambled up, rubbing her backside. Before she could even complain, she saw the Abyss energy in the rift shrink away in panic, as if it had met its worst enemy, and instantly seal the rift shut as if it had never existed.
When she finally saw the scene before her, especially the two Poison Dragon Knights holding Lydia, she was scared out of her wits. She screamed and lunged behind Lumine, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.
"Traveler! What happened? How did these monsters get resurrected again! And this place... why is it such a mess?"
The familiar, childish voice struck like a bolt of lightning, clearing the layers of fog in Lumine's mind.
The forgotten memories rushed back instantly: Paimon's incessant chatter, the days and nights they had spent adventuring together, Yunqin's sacrifice in the ruins, the Abyss's conspiracy...
All the truths hidden by the illusion were now as clear as yesterday.
"Paimon!" Lumine's eyes reddened. Just as she was about to reach out and protect the little one behind her, a pair of warm hands suddenly clamped tightly around her neck.
She turned her head in disbelief to meet those cold, rippleless eyes above. There was no sibling affection in them, only pure indifference and killing intent.
At the same time, Paimon's neck was also seized by Aether's other hand. Her small body struggled in vain within his palm, her face turning bright red.
"Brother... you..." Lumine's voice was broken, the feeling of suffocation making her vision go black.
At this moment, the six "Gods" who had been standing to the side slowly walked over.
The majestic aura surrounding them was no longer gentle, but had turned into an invisible pressure, descending like Mount Tai to render Lumine and Paimon unable to move.
Their blurred faces were still shrouded in mist, yet they exuded a chilling coldness that shared the same origin as the Abyss.
Venti watched this scene and smiled faintly.
The Anemo energy around him suddenly dissipated, replaced by a dense Abyssal Black Miasma.
His green cloak transformed into a tattered black mist. The familiar figure twisted and changed within the dark energy, finally taking the form that was seared into Lydia's heart: clad in Abyss Armor, with snow-white hair falling down, his features identical to Lydia's, only those eyes were so cold they lacked even a hint of warmth.
Lydia's pupils shrank sharply, and her entire body trembled violently.
The Abyss Knight, with a face no different from Lydia's, curled his lips into a cruel smile.
Her gaze swept over Lumine and Paimon, who were being strangled, and then fell upon Lydia.
"I am you, and you are... me."
She walked slowly in front of Lydia, her fingertips gently stroking her cheek. The cold touch made Lydia tremble all over. "Now, it is time... for us to become one."
The Poison Dragon Knight held Lydia, pushing her toward the Abyss Knight.
Lydia looked at the "self" just inches away, feeling the wail of the Festering Desire within her body, and Yunqin's final smile suddenly flashed through her mind...