Chapter 261: The Prelude

As the massive whale made of water elements descended upon them, blotting out the sky, Nolan realized he couldn't rely on his elemental shield for defense. It was clear that his current abilities wouldn't be enough to block it.

With no other choice, just like before, everyone retreated into the corridor to avoid the attack.

As the whale crashed down, they noticed that Childe, who should have been behind it, was nowhere to be seen.

Instinctively, they all turned to look at the Exuvia of the Geo Archon. Sure enough, Childe had repeated his earlier tactic, now standing in front of the Archon's body, already plunging his hand inside.

This time, Nolan had no way to stop him.

In his Foul Legacy form, Childe could easily disperse Nolan's mental threads, not to mention now that he was clad in his Foul Legacy armor.

"Damn it!" Keqing, her body glowing with lightning, was about to rush in and stop Childe.

But Nolan grabbed her pale wrist, holding her back.

Keqing turned her head in confusion, looking at him.

Nolan released her wrist and cast his gaze toward Childe in the distance. "Look closely—he doesn't seem to have found the Gnosis inside the Body."

"Huh?"

Hearing this, the lightning surrounding Keqing began to calm down. Her pale purple pupils narrowed as she observed.

She noticed that Childe's hand, which had plunged into the Exuvia, was rummaging around, but he wasn't pulling anything out. It did indeed look like he couldn't find what he was searching for.

"Could it be that the Gnosis isn't inside the Body?" Lumine's fair face showed a hint of confusion.

"Maybe Ningguang, knowing the Fatui had their eyes on the Geo Archon's Gnosis, took it ahead of time," Nolan casually speculated.

Of course, the Gnosis was still in Zhongli's possession. There was no way it would be inside this mere avatar.

"With what I know of Ningguang, she definitely could have done something like that," Keqing said, exhaling softly in relief. No matter what, as long as the Fatui's schemes hadn't succeeded, that was all that mattered.

"Hmph, do you think just anyone has the ability to seize a Gnosis?"

From a distance, Tartaglia overheard their conversation and couldn't help but laugh at their ignorance.

The ability to take a Gnosis came from the power bestowed by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa. He didn't believe for a second that someone like the Tianquan Star could do such a thing.

After all, no matter how cunning she was, Ningguang was just a mortal—where would she get divine power from?

"So that's it," Tartaglia said, having ruled out various possibilities. He arrived at the most likely conclusion. "Haha, the Geo Archon has countless incarnations. Putting on a show with one of them is no big deal!"

"Honorary Knights, Miss Yuheng Star, it seems we've been tricked. Morax isn't dead at all!"

Morax was the true name of the Geo Archon.

In Liyue, out of respect for their god, people usually referred to him as Geo Archon or simply as the Archon. Calling him by name was considered rude.

"That's right," Lumine remarked with a smirk. "And if I recall correctly, you were the one who first brought that theory up to us."

"Well then, since the Geo Archon seems to still be alive, and you won't be getting the Gnosis, how about you surrender now? Trespassing in the Golden House is, after all, a serious crime," Nolan added with a chuckle.

He could sense that Childe was somewhat angry now. After all, he had gone to great lengths to enter the Golden House to seize the Gnosis, only to find that all his efforts were in vain.

The Geo Archon, who had orchestrated this whole charade, might very well be watching the spectacle from the shadows. Who could be happy about that?

"Surrender? Hahaha, are you saying something ridiculous?" Tartaglia burst out laughing, seemingly releasing all the emotions he had kept pent up after hearing Nolan's words.

He suddenly deactivated his Foul Legacy armor and dropped to the ground, looking up at the dome with a hint of anger. "Fine, Morax, you may be good at hiding, but can you keep hiding forever?"

After saying this, several "Sigils of Permission" appeared around Childe, and the fluctuations of hydro elemental power around him became much more intense.

"What is he doing?" Lumine's golden hair was disturbed by the powerful aura emanating from Childe.

Sensing that he was preparing some powerful technique, she quickly summoned the power of geo and raised several Starfell swords from the ground to try and block him.

Unfortunately, the energy swirling around Childe easily shattered the rocks. In his current state, no one could approach him.

"Those are Sigils of Permission, containing adeptal power. With so many of them, he could certainly unleash a massive force. Is he planning to destroy the Golden House?" Keqing speculated but then shook her head. It didn't seem likely.

Even though the Golden House was the continent's only mint, destroying it wouldn't achieve much. After all, it could simply be rebuilt. There was already a vast amount of mora in Teyvat, so even if the mint were shut down temporarily, it wouldn't have much of an impact.

And if the Geo Archon had not truly passed away, he wouldn't reveal himself for such a trivial matter.

As a Fatui Harbinger, Childe must have understood this. So, what exactly was he planning?

"Wait! Could it be…"

Keqing's mind raced, and she finally came to a realization.

There was a legend that the Geo Archon and the adepti had once sealed an ancient god, the Vortex God Osial, beneath the ocean of Liyue.

And the Sigils of Permission contained adeptal power. If Childe used their power to break the seal, he might be able to bypass the defense mechanisms.

"This is bad! There's no time to explain, we have to stop him!" Keqing, usually calm, couldn't keep her composure. With a worried look, she gathered lightning on her Lion's roar sword and charged at Childe.

Nolan and Lumine had no choice but to follow her. They couldn't let Keqing take the risk alone, so they ran after her.

"Sorry, but the process of breaking the seal has already begun. No one can stop it now!"

Tartaglia didn't seem to care about their attempts. Around him, the Sigils of Permission formed a circle above his head.

The runes on the sigils began to glow.

Then, a massive beam of energy shot out from the Sigils of Permission, piercing through the dome of the Golden House and into the clouds above.

Keqing, Nolan, and Lumine were all pushed back by the overwhelming tidal wave of energy, unable to get anywhere near Childe.

Meanwhile, at Guyun Stone Forest.

The previously clear blue sky had turned dark with storm clouds. Suddenly, a beam of light shot down from the clouds, crashing into the sea below.

A massive vortex slowly began to form.

Beneath the water, the vague outline of a colossal creature could be seen rising to the surface.

On the platform outside the Jade Chamber.

Ningguang, the Tianquan Star, stood with her secretaries, ready to greet the arriving adepti. But as she watched the sky darken and noticed the abnormality in the distant sea, her expression grew serious.

Placing her hands below her chest, Ningguang frowned and said, "A great trouble is coming."

(End of Chapter)

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