"What the—? Are the Abyss rituals fueled by negative emotions or something?"
Gu Sanqiu slammed his weapon into the altar, shattering it to pieces. "That's about as morbid as it gets."
From the events unfolding, one thing was clear: while the underground and surface worlds had vastly different power systems and appearances, their essence wasn't so different.
Living beings feared pain. They feared death. And more than anything, they feared being killed.
The idea of "finding beauty in suffering" was absurd at best.
"Second altar."
To test a theory, Gu Sanqiu summoned a Geo shield and moved closer to examine the altar's intricate patterns.
Monsters continued their relentless assault, but unless they directly interfered with his observations, he swatted them away like flies, avoiding the gleeful carnage of earlier.
"Damn it... something's definitely off."
His expression darkened. "Some of these circuits are completely reversed. This altar is messed up!"
Even if he couldn't fully decipher Abyssal constructs, the energy flows and basic design principles weren't foreign to him—those were universal.
These altars weren't just summoning tools. At least part of their purpose had to be something else entirely.
"Albedo!"
In a flash of golden light, Albedo arrived, propelled by his Solar Isotoma's energy, and landed beside Gu Sanqiu in moments.
"You noticed too."
Albedo nodded solemnly. "Without a doubt. It's a textbook trap."
"Explain," Gu Sanqiu demanded, frowning.
"In simple terms, these altars are dual-purpose. Half of them summon creatures, while the other half are for collecting."
"Collecting what, exactly?"
"Corpses, residual energy, death auras, pain. Anything you could categorize as 'negative.'"
"When Kaeya and Diluc dealt with this earlier, they must've been pressed for time. The other half of these altars uses the summoned creatures as secondary sacrifices. As for why mental energy is involved, that part's unclear."
Albedo hesitated, a wild theory forming in his mind. It felt too implausible to voice aloud—too far-fetched, even for this situation.
"Fair enough. This is more your domain anyway," Gu Sanqiu grumbled, scratching his head. "Let me guess: you found traces of that leftover energy on one of the altars?"
"Exactly."
Albedo's expression hardened, a flicker of incredulity in his eyes. "They even sacrificed their own allies. That kind of cold-blooded determination is rare."
"I don't care how ruthless they are. That's their problem."
Gu Sanqiu's tone grew graver. "The real issue is: if we're right, there has to be a central altar running the whole show. Where's that thing hiding?"
The two instinctively glanced downward.
"How the hell would they..."
A deafening boom echoed as a massive, blood-red pillar of light erupted from the ground, annihilating every monster in Dragonspine Valley in an instant.
The sound reverberated like a cathedral bell tolling its final dirge. Screeches of despair flooded the valley, clawing their way into Gu Sanqiu and Albedo's minds like physical intrusions.
Meanwhile, the crimson pillar emitted a powerful corrosive energy. Even with their shields, the sound of sizzling and dark smoke rising from the contact points was alarming.
Gu Sanqiu experimentally sent out a gust of Anemo energy to test it, only to see it immediately corrupted, turning black and attempting to trace back into his body.
"Get lost!"
He slashed through the contaminated energy with a burst of wind. "Be careful. This stuff can trace back to its source and wreck you from the inside if you're not vigilant."
"Keep refreshing your shields. Let's regroup with the others. This battlefield is no longer tenable for us."
Albedo calculated the shield's decay rate. "Unless they've got some way to isolate themselves from this environment, fighting here is suicide."
A cacophony of beastly roars erupted from beneath the crimson glow as new creatures emerged. Their forms were similar to the earlier monsters but radiated a far more menacing aura.
The creatures ignored Gu Sanqiu and Albedo entirely, charging in an organized stampede toward Dragonspine's exit as if directed by an invisible force.
"You get the others. I'll thin their numbers!"
Another grim suspicion solidified. The Abyss Order hadn't failed to cast spells suppressing fear and pain—they'd deliberately chosen not to.
These weren't just beasts. They were weapons, designed to flood Mondstadt with chaos.
"[Divine Ward]!"
Golden spears of Geo energy materialized around Gu Sanqiu, connecting in a flawless lattice. With a commanding gesture, he unleashed a barrage of devastating strikes into the advancing horde.
The assault was interrupted by a figure emerging from the crimson glow. Wielding twin flaming blades, the stranger tore through the golden spears in a relentless storm of fire and destruction.
"A Gu? Ugh, I can't stand the Gu family."
The flame-wielder muttered irritably, then charged straight at Gu Sanqiu.
"Let the burning truth sear your blood and agony. Feel the blessing of divine grace!"
"Hear the sacred call!"
"You're asking to die."
Gu Sanqiu's spears multiplied, each suffused with concentrated Geo energy. Merging them into a singular, colossal weapon, he hurled it at the attacker with crushing force.
Boom!
The impact shattered several of the blood-red beams, sending the blade-wielder flying.
But Gu Sanqiu didn't let up. Riding the wind like a streak of green light, he pursued his opponent.
"If I don't take you down now, you'll just keep getting in my way!"
Outside the snowy mountain, the Knights of Favonius had erected a basic defensive line. Time was running out, and they could only manage the essentials.
"Acting Grand Master Jean!"
A scout burst into the command tent. "Report: unusual wind activity and irregular tremors spreading across the ground!"
"Understood."
Jean exited the tent, her longsword gleaming in the dim light. "Everyone, our comrades have bought us the time we need. Prepare for battle."
Raising her sword, she summoned a surge of Anemo energy that scattered into countless dandelions, blanketing the camp.
"May the Anemo Archon watch over us all."
The knights responded in unison, their determination unshaken:
"Knights of Favonius, lions of the west wind—we hold the line!"
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