Sacrilege to Bring Down Heaven

Feels like we've been wandering around forever... I wonder how Proprietress Zhiliu is doing.

C'mon, Little Minion! Let's head back to EverSpring and check in!

What was that noise...? What's going on?

It seems that Miss Zhiliu has completed her preparations at the Zhuyin Altar.

She left word, if you came looking for her, you're to wait here in the main hall. Once the ritual is complete, she'll return to meet you.

Wait, what!? We're just supposed to sit here and do nothing!?

Sealing Zhuyin is no simple task. If you go, you could be seriously hurt...

That doesn't sound good. We should go, every extra hand could make the difference.

But... Miss Zhiliu said...

Oh, come on! In a situation this critical, you can't seriously be fussing over your boss's orders!

...Very well. Head to the highest point of the Gritblight Expanse. A temporary path to the Zhuyin Altar has already been prepared.

I can already smell the final showdown with an evil loong, wait, this doesn't sound like a quest for the Demon King...

...Let's get going.

Whew... that was way too close.

Do not let your guard down. The upper seal is still unstable, I can feel it shifting.

I must maintain the formation here, I cannot leave my post. Can any of you go up and inspect the situation?

Leave it to me, Proprietress Zhiliu.

...Vita? What are you doing here?

Your commission was already completed. I explicitly told Wangchun to have you wait in the chamber until I returned.

Things seem heated in here, I couldn't just sit and do nothing. I had to see if there was anything I could help with.

Consider it premium after-sales service, Phoxhunter style! And we're good!

You can count on us, Proprietress Zhiliu! Vita is nimble as can be, spins, flips, leaps, no obstacle too high for my Little Minion!

...If you insist.

Vita, take this copper coin. Place it on Zhuyin's forehead, I'll handle the rest.

Be careful. Don't let yourself get hurt.

Du Li, take the wounded and leave first.

Yes, Miss Zhiliu!

O soul adrift, to the north thou stray; to hunt the blight where shadows lay. Bound by Zhuyin, thee and I; bear the doom till time should die...

(...! That voice again. The same one I heard back in the Gritblight Expanse.)

(So it really was the whispers of Zhuyin...)

What is it, Vita?

...Nothing.

O scattered soul, the past doth wane; foundations crumble, lost in bane. Through realms forlorn, thine end awaits; Yet Time shall guide thee back to Fate.

(That voice... it's getting clearer.)

...Who might decree the weaving of fates, of sunderings and partings? Who roves forlorn, tarrying in lands beyond all chartings?

Zhuyin! Were those your memories!? What is it you're trying to tell me!?

All is done... beyond recall... A doom shall befall the world, inescapable, unbound...

Little Minion! You alright?

I'm fine... I think I just saw... something. Like... memory fragments.

Everyone, strike now, while it's still restrained! This is our only chance to bring it down!

Wait!

I saw something just now, in Zhuyin's memories. Fragments of the truth about the Nine Chapters... It might have something to do with the Scourge of Zhuyin!

Maybe we can talk to it! If we can calm its wrath, we might not have to fight!

That won't be necessary.

Zhiliu... you knew this all along, didn't you?

Perhaps what you saw is true. But what of it?

The age of the Lord Argent Sovereign ends here. And I shall claim Their mantle.

What...?

A pity... Were the hour less dire, I would not resort to such measures.

...Zhiliu! Let me out!

Qin Qiu once warned me that your heart is too pure. It would have gotten in the way.

So I sent you away... yet still you returned.

Those days in Icelake with you... they were a rare respite, as fleeting as a dream.

If only you had not shown up here, we could have gone on as ever before, sharing idle words and quiet mirth.

But merchants have no "if only."

What are you trying to do...?

Ssh... It is for your own good, though perhaps not in the way you would choose.

Hey! What the hell happened here!? Let her go!

Vita, are you hurt?

Steady now. Take a breath, and let your thoughts settle. I will help restore your energy.

I'm fine... just a little dizzy. Fushu, please, no more straining yourself to heal others. You promised me, remember?

Worry not, I know my limits. In this moment, your safety is what matters most.

Damn it... Why am I always a step too late today!? If only I hadn't slacked off so much during lightfoot training back then... serves me right!

I'm okay, don't worry... But how come you two came together?

I came to a realisation... and I wished to share it with you.

I looked for you at EverSpring, but you were not there. Someone mentioned you had come this way, so I followed, hoping to catch up. Along the road, I happened upon this swordsman.

After we parted ways at Crowsong Hollow, I figured my shixiong might have headed towards the Gritblight Expanse, so I hung around the area, wandering and keeping watch.

Then all of a sudden, the winds rose up and the ground itself began to quake near the altar. I came running to see what was going on... and there you were. If only I'd gotten here sooner!

Nah, what just happened was way too scary! Even if there'd been ten of you, it wouldn't have made a difference!

That woman, she trapped me and my Little Minion in some magic cage... and she ate a whole loong! A real one!

I'm still getting chills just thinking about it... I can't believe we spent so long hanging around a creepy character like her!

Vita, is that true?

But why go so far, what's she really after?

I don't know...

If you ask me, she's out to grab that loong's power, take over the world, and crown herself as the ultimate Demon Lord!

Take over the world... huh.

She did say something like that...

The age of the Lord Argent Sovereign ends here. And I shall claim Their mantle.

She... she's trying to become a god?

Given what you have shared... if she has indeed been weaving these designs since Icelake, then her machinations likely run deeper than any of us might fathom.

Bah, no point racking our brains over this now. Let's head back and dig up what we can. Oof... I only meant to track down my shixiong, never thought I'd stumble into a mess like this!

I'm going back to the Outer Peaks to warn them. If worse comes to worst, they'll need to be ready.

I shall seek out the Wishen. Some among them have witnessed the turnings of many ages... they may hold truths long since lost to memory.

...I knew it. Anyone who throws in with that Old Fox is bound to be trouble.

And what about you, Vita?

So you've got a heart for the world, too, I've got to say, I really admire that, my friend!

You have already borne so much. You deserve a moment's respite.

Heh, sun's nearly gone. Let's get off this mountain before it gets cold enough to bite. No sense in hanging around here any longer.

Let us leave this place.

Wait a second... What about the pay we were promised? Do you think she's planning to stiff us?

So much for the commission, I guess... Little Minion, looks like our grand journey to Huaxu was all for nothing!

Well... at least we got that giant pocket money from her. Hmph... if I'd known it'd end like this, I'd have asked for even more!