Chapter 75: Accidental Dispersion
Stepping through the rift into the Night Kingdom felt nothing like setting foot on solid ground. Instead, it was like plunging headfirst into a lightless, freezing nightmare. The howling wind tore past their ears, carrying the distinct, malicious whispers of the Abyss itself.
"Everyone, stick close! Something feels off here..." Before Lumine could even finish her warning, the space around them violently rebelled.
The ground beneath their feet twisted, collapsing inward without a single warning sign. It was not a physical cave-in. Space itself warped, violently torn and kneaded by an invisible, colossal hand. A suffocating, hostile will swept over the entire group in a fraction of a second. It carried a freezing scrutiny, but buried beneath that malice was a distinct trace of apprehension.
It was as if the very consciousness of the Abyss had been startled awake by this bizarre team of overpowered anomalies from different universes, and it felt genuinely threatened.
A violent wave of weightlessness seized them. Up became down. Left became right. Their sense of direction was entirely stripped away as they tumbled through the dark void.
After an agonizing stretch of time, the suffocating tearing sensation and the dizzying freefall abruptly vanished.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several heavy impacts echoed through the dead silence, sounding jarringly loud in the desolate space.
Lumine felt a hard, jagged surface rushing up to meet her. She immediately tucked her shoulder, using her momentum to execute a flawless roll that absorbed the kinetic force. In a flash of golden light, the Prototype Rancour materialized in her grip. She dropped into a low stance, her golden eyes scanning the shadows with lethal precision.
"Lumine?" Mualani's voice carried a sharp wince of pain. That sudden, absolute loss of physical control had left her dizzy and nauseous.
The Natlan guide pushed herself up, leaning heavily against a bizarre, jagged rock formation. She rubbed her temples, her usually bright expression completely grave. "Where... are we?"
As far as the eye could see, the landscape was a desolate expanse of undulating, pitch-black hills. Steep slopes and jagged peaks jutted out at unnatural angles, casting massive, intersecting shadows that formed countless deep gullies and dangerous blind spots. Thick, inky mist choked the valleys, reducing visibility to a mere handful of meters and turning the surrounding rock formations into grotesque silhouettes.
"Wise?" Lumine's heart sank slightly as she did a quick headcount.
She spotted the Proxy not far away. Wise was calmly standing up from a pile of shattered rubble, methodically dusting the dirt off his dark jacket. His gray eyes were sharp, analytical, already sweeping over the harsh, unforgiving terrain.
Apart from the strange rocks, the suffocating mist, and the three of them, the area was entirely empty.
March 7th's lively chatter, Stelle's chaotic declarations, Paimon's dramatic shrieks... all of it was gone. The oppressive, silent mountains made the prospect of finding their scattered companions feel incredibly daunting.
Meanwhile, in an entirely different sector of the abyss.
"Ouch! My back... my spine is in pieces!" Stelle grimaced, rubbing her lower back as she awkwardly scrambled up from a sickeningly slippery surface.
She immediately realized something was terribly wrong. The sensation beneath her boots was not rock, dirt, or even normal water. It was a thick, freezing, viscous black sludge.
Looking around, the Trailblazer found herself standing at the very bottom of a massive, crater-like basin. Towering, sheer cliffs boxed them in on all sides, the rock faces dripping with the same foul substance. The entire basin was flooded with this abyssal black mud. It bubbled and popped sluggishly, releasing a stomach-turning stench of decay. It was a literal swamp of pure evil.
The dense abyssal energy radiating from the sludge was so thick it made the very air feel heavy and foul in their lungs.
"Stelle! Are you alright?!" March 7th's voice rang out, laced with sheer panic. The pink-haired archer was desperately trying to balance herself on a slightly elevated rock, trying to avoid sinking into the ankle-deep black mud. Her Six-Phased Ice bow was gripped so tightly her knuckles were white.
"What... what is this stuff?! It's so gross! Where's Dan Heng? Where's Paimon? Where did everyone go?!"
"And Iansan!" Stelle immediately added, sweeping her gaze across the bubbling swamp.
"I'm fine!" Iansan grunted from a few yards away. The fierce little warrior was currently yanking her leg out of a particularly deep, sticky puddle of black mud with a loud squelch. "Are the others gone?"
At the third landing site, Dan Heng touched down with the silent grace of a falling leaf. He absorbed the kinetic impact flawlessly, the legendary Cloud-Piercer already spinning into his hands before his boots even settled on the ground.
He immediately snapped his attention to his flank.
"Waaah! Paimon was so scared!" Paimon shrieked, floating frantically in the air. Her tiny face was completely drained of color, her little hands patting her chest in rapid succession.
"Lumine! Lumine, where are you?! Stelle?! March 7th?! Waaah... it's so dark here!"
Sensing her absolute terror, a massive, muscular, spectral figure suddenly materialized right behind the floating guide. Star Paimon crossed its massive, ghostly arms, standing guard over its tiny master in the gloom.
"Paimon, calm down," Dan Heng's steady, cool voice cut through the panic, carrying a naturally soothing weight.
His sharp green eyes swept the perimeter. He spotted Chasca, who had just managed to steady her footing, and Belle, who was currently rubbing the back of her head while looking around with wide, vigilant eyes.
"Belle? Ms. Chasca?" Dan Heng kept his spear angled downward but ready. "It seems the four of us landed together."
They were standing on a relatively flat, elevated plateau—a mountaintop area that, under normal circumstances, would offer a commanding view of the region.
However, a thick, suffocating black mist hung over the peak like a heavy funeral shroud. It tightly enveloped the entire plateau, restricting their line of sight to less than a hundred meters. Was there a bottomless ravine just a few steps away? A sprawling abyssal army? It was impossible to tell.
Only the freezing black stone beneath their feet and the pervasive, crushing pressure of abyssal energy served as reminders of their grim reality.
Dan Heng's grip on the Cloud-Piercer tightened, his expression turning dangerously cold.
"Where are they?! Where did everyone go?!" Paimon's voice cracked with unshed tears.
Belle's chest heaved with sudden panic. "Brother! Lumine! Where are you?! Stelle! March!"
Operating purely on survival instinct, the young Proxy raised her hand. A swirling sphere of freezing Ether condensed in her palm, casting a faint, icy blue glow to push back the encroaching shadows and boost her own courage.
"Paimon! Stelle! Can anyone hear me?!" Lumine's voice echoed out from her own isolated mountainous region, shouting into the thick fog.
Only the hollow wailing of the wind whistling through the jagged rock crevices answered her.
Almost simultaneously, the three separated groups realized they shared one absolute, unbreakable lifeline. The multiversal chat group!
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "@Everyone! Brother! Lumine! Stelle! Dan Heng! March 7th! Paimon! Where are you?! Dan Heng, Paimon, Ms. Chasca, and I fell onto a mountaintop! It's covered in black mist, I can't see anything!"
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "Mualani, Wise, and I are together. We landed in a very rugged mountainous area. There are jagged peaks and thick fog everywhere, visibility is terrible! Where are the others? Is anyone else together? Are you safe?"
[The Stellaron Hunters · Stelle]: "March 7th, Iansan, and I are together! We fell into a super-disgusting black mud pit! It's sticky and smells awful! Are you guys okay? You didn't fall into the mud, did you?"
The glowing blue interface of the chat box hovered in their respective fields of vision. Like a lighthouse cutting through a raging storm, the familiar text instantly dispelled the suffocating gloom threatening to crush their spirits.
[The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng]: "Paimon, Ms. Chasca, Belle, and I are on the mountaintop. Although the black mist is dense, everyone here is safe."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "Belle, stick close to Dan Heng and Paimon. Lumine, Mualani, and I are handling the rocky terrain, and we are secure for now."
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Waaah... Lumine! Stelle! It's so good you're okay! Paimon was so scared just now!"
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "It's a relief that everyone is unharmed. It seems the Abyss is far more cunning than we anticipated. It likely sensed our combined strength."
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "It deliberately tore space apart to scatter us into these harsh environments. This was a calculated move to hinder our reunion, delay the rescue of Kachina, and... force us to wander blindly until we are exhausted, leaving us vulnerable to its corruption."
[The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng]: "Lumine's tactical assessment is highly probable.... the abyssal energy in this space is unusually active. It possesses a highly aggressive, corrosive nature."
[The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng]: "It will not merely inflict slow physical damage. Like a maggot burrowing into bone, it will continuously assault the mind, inducing severe negative emotions, paranoia, and auditory illusions. Everyone, you must maintain absolute mental clarity at all times. Do not let the whispers affect you."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "Belle! Did you read Mr. Dan Heng's warning?! Mental corrosion! Our Ether elementalization is completely ineffective against psychological attacks of this nature! You must stay right beside Mr. Dan Heng and Paimon! If you feel even the slightest discomfort, speak up immediately! Absolutely do not try to act tough!"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "Got it, Brother! I will! Mr. Dan Heng, Paimon, I'm counting on you!"
[The Stellaron Hunters · Dan Heng]: "Rest assured."
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Mhm! Leave it to Paimon! I deal with the Abyss all the time with Lumine! I'll take great care of Belle!"
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