Chapter 83: Stelle's Little Thoughts
As the Wayob's origin recovered and settled into a quiet slumber, the effects rippled outward with immediate, unmistakable clarity.
The most direct change manifested in the very air they breathed. Whether it was the jagged mountain maze where Lumine's team handled, the sprawling black mud plain Stelle's group trudged across, or the desolate wasteland Dan Heng's squad had just left behind—every single member felt the oppressive, suffocating density of Abyssal energy plummet.
It was still far from being fresh air, but the crushing weight that constantly gnawed at their minds and bodies had lifted significantly. The maddening Abyssal whispers that usually clawed at the edges of their sanity faded into a dull, exhausted murmur, retreating like a defeated tide.
"Phew... feeling a bit lighter?" Wise exhaled a long breath. He flicked his wrist, dispersing the sphere of high-temperature flames dancing over his palm, his analytical gaze sweeping the shifting atmosphere.
"The Abyssal aura..." Lumine narrowed her golden eyes, testing the air. "It's receding."
Beside her, Mualani's reaction was far more visceral. The Natlan guide closed her eyes, a brilliant, exhilarated smile breaking across her face. "My Night Spirit Power... it's recovering!" she gasped, clutching her chest. "It's slow, like a trickling stream, but I can actually feel the spent energy flowing back! It's not completely deadlocked anymore!"
For a warrior of Natlan, this was a shot of pure adrenaline in the dark. She tightened her grip on her weapon, the fighting spirit reigniting in her eyes like a struck match. "If we run into another ambush, we won't be fighting with our hands tied!"
At this moment, the chat group interface lit up.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "@Everyone! Report! Report! We just took down a massive, shape-shifting Abyssal monster! Super annoying! It kept switching forms—a golem, a dragon beast, a sword demon... you name it!"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "It finally ran out of juice and tried to recharge, but we jumped the gun and finished it off in one go! Oh, and Dan Heng's spear mastery was absolutely insane! Chasca's spirit gun was super clutch too!"
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "And Paimon! Don't forget Paimon! Where that big ugly monster died, a corrupted Wayob totem popped out! It was Natlan's original Wayob!"
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "That was its true body! Not a clone! Paimon flexed and purified it with Optimization Power! Now it's awake and resting! Isn't Paimon amazing?!"
Lumine caught the crucial detail instantly.
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "You purified the Wayob's true body? Great job, Paimon! No wonder..."
Lumine glanced over her shoulder at Mualani. "Mualani, that surge of Night Spirit Power you're feeling? It's because Paimon just helped a Wayob regain consciousness on their end."
Mualani practically vibrated with excitement. "Really? That's fantastic! The whole situation in Natlan should start stabilizing now. Kachina will definitely be able to recover some energy too!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Wow! Paimon actually did something useful! But speaking of impressive, you all missed the real show! You should have seen my sword strike just now in the black mud plain!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Whoosh—! A flash of golden light! Those elite Abyssal goons, plus half the basin behind them? Completely evaporated! Reduced to atoms!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "The sheer cinematic quality of it, tsk tsk tsk! That adaptive training room in the chat group is an absolute godsend! I perfected my Fire Dance Whirlwind in there! Highly recommended! Ten out of ten! It's just a tiny bit expensive... hehehe..."
Stelle, acutely aware of her newly emptied wallet, was desperately trying to drag the rest of the group into her financial misery. She wasn't lying about the results—the training room was worth every point—but her motives were entirely chaotic.
March 7th side-eyed the giggling Trailblazer next to her and immediately assumed her role as the designated voice of reason.
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "@Everyone Don't listen to her, she's trying to scam you into spending your points... The training room is great, sure, and the price tag is brutal, also true. This raccoon just wants company in her bankruptcy misery..."
A few paces away, Iansan watched the exchange in the real world. The small warrior tilted her head, whispering a soft, bewildered murmur. "Miss Stelle... she's just standing there, smiling strangely at thin air. Is this... a side effect of being incredibly strong?"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "@Belle! Are you okay? That monster sounded incredibly dangerous. Were you injured? Next time you face an enemy of that caliber, you need to be more cautious!"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "Uh, hehe... Relax, big brother! I'm totally fine! Mr. Dan Heng and Paimon were there to back me up!"
Belle wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, feeling a sharp twinge of guilt. The battle had been anything but safe. If she hadn't relied on her elementalization ability to phase through attacks, she would have been in serious trouble. Now, with Wise interrogating her, her confidence wavered. She quickly pivoted.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "Besides, I feel like I've leveled up! Actual combat really is the best teacher! Did you get to test out your abilities over there, big brother?"
Wise adjusted his collar, a dry sigh escaping him. How could he not know his own sister? The frantic subject change screamed guilt. Still, since she was energetic enough to type, she was likely unharmed. He mentally filed away a lecture for when they reunited.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "We ran into a few skirmishes, naturally. Nothing too tricky, but our combat proficiency has improved."
[Honkai: Star Rail · Dan Heng]: "@Lumine @Stelle According to the Wayob's spiritual guidance, we have locked onto Kachina's exact coordinates. We also have the approximate positions of your two teams. We are accelerating our approach now."
[Honkai: Star Rail · Dan Heng]: "A word of caution: although the Abyss's influence has thinned, the core threat remains active. Maintain high vigilance."
Lumine closed the chat interface, a sudden clarity washing over her.
It all made sense now. While their trek through the mountain maze had been treacherous, the monster ambushes lacked the overwhelming, suicidal intensity described by Stelle and Dan Heng's groups. The Abyss had recognized the other two teams as the greater threats and concentrated its main forces there.
With the Wayob's awakening weakening the Abyss's grip, their path forward had been indirectly swept clean.
"The Abyss is being contained," Mualani said, her voice dropping an octave, thick with urgency. "Kachina is just ahead! Let's move!"
The trio tore through the winding, jagged valleys. Mualani took the lead, guided by her increasingly sharp Night Spirit senses. They scrambled over loose shale and ducked under fallen stalactites, the air growing colder.
Finally, they squeezed through a narrow, jagged rock crevice. The claustrophobic tunnel suddenly gave way to a massive, open cavern!
But there was no time to admire the subterranean geography.
In the dead center of the cave, the very person they had been tearing this realm apart to find was in critical danger.
Kachina.
The small, young warrior was curled into a defensive ball against the base of a massive boulder. Her armor was cracked, her skin covered in dark, weeping wounds, and her life aura flickered like a candle in a hurricane.
Surrounding her were several massive Rifthounds. Their skeletal bodies radiated a thick, toxic Abyssal miasma, their jagged jaws dripping with corrosive drool.
One of the towering hounds reared back. It raised a massive, glowing claw high into the air, letting out an ear-piercing, space-tearing shriek. The air warped around the strike as it brought the claw violently down toward the defenseless Kachina!
"Kachina—!!!" Mualani screamed, her eyes snapping wide, bloodshot with terror.
There was no time to cast. No time to shout.
"You wish!" Lumine vanished from her spot.
A violent explosion of Anemo energy shattered the stone beneath her boots. The gale-force winds propelled her forward like an arrow snapped from a heavy bowstring, pushing her speed past its absolute physical limit.
She crossed the cavern in a heartbeat. The Prototype Rancour materialized in her grip, erupting with a blinding, geo-yellow brilliance. Carrying the crushing weight of her resolute will, she arrived first despite moving last!
CLANG—!!!!
A deafening, metallic roar shook the cavern walls! Sparks showered the dark stone as Lumine's blade perfectly intercepted the fatal, descending claw!
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