Dragons, the aboriginal inhabitants of Teyvat, were the undisputed overlords of land, sea, and sky, but the arrival of the First Throne, Phanes, heralded the end of their reign.
Humans subsequently rose to prominence and, under the leadership of numerous Gods whose nature was "love," became the protagonists of Teyvat.
However, dragons merely withdrew from the stage of history; this does not mean that this great race became extinct on Teyvat. There are still many sub-dragon species, and even pure-blooded dragons, if they reach a certain level of strength, can be subdued.
There is Stormterror Dvalin of Mondstadt, Azhdaha of Liyue, and of course, Sumeru also has its own Dendro Dragon, Apep.
Before the First Throne arrived, Sumeru was Apep's territory; the entire Sumeru was a vibrant rainforest, and Apep was a verdant Dendro Dragon.
However, after the arrival of the First Throne, the dragons were defeated in the war to defend their world. The Dragon King, Nibelung, fled beyond the world, while the remaining Elemental Dragons either died in battle, surrendered, or endured in silence.
Thus, after an unknown number of years, the Dragon King, Nibelung, returned to Teyvat from beyond the world, having acquired the power of the abyss. He led the surviving Elemental Dragon Kings in a rebellion against the order defined by the invaders, engaging in an unprecedented great war with the Heavenly Principles, the ferocity of which nearly caused the entire world to collapse.
This great war ultimately concluded with the demise of the Dragon King, Nibelung, and the Dendro Dragon, Apep, was a survivor of those two great wars.
But the power of the abyss that the Dragon King brought back from beyond the world did not dissipate with his death; instead, it remained.
Apep, who personally witnessed the conclusion of this world-ending war, still stubbornly believed that the power of the abyss brought back by the Dragon King was the only power that could defeat the Heavenly Principles.
Because after Nibelung obtained this power, his strength indeed advanced by leaps and bounds, far exceeding his own power. Even though Nibelung ultimately unfortunately perished, Apep believed that their battle against the Heavenly Principles was not as hopeless as the first great war.
Apep believed the reason for their failure was that Nibelung was too eager for revenge. If they had been given some time to also acquire the power of the abyss, the overall combat power of the dragon race would have risen by an entire level, and at that point, it would have been uncertain who would emerge victorious.
Unfortunately, Nibelung had already fallen, and they had lost the best time for resistance. Thus, Apep chose to continue enduring in silence, on one hand secretly accumulating power, attempting to access more forbidden knowledge, and on the other hand, waiting for the opportune moment for revenge.
But Phanes also learned from his mistakes. After the battle with Nibelung, he realized the unusual and strange nature of that abyssal power. Therefore, he conducted strict scrutiny throughout Teyvat. Once signs of forbidden knowledge were discovered, the judgment of the Skyfrost Nail would immediately descend.
Better to kill a thousand innocent than let one guilty go free! This was the attitude of the Heavenly Principles!
And after Apep went into hiding, Sumeru entered the era of the Gods. The Scarlet King, the God of Flowers, and Lesser Lord Kusanali, the three Gods, divided the territory of Sumeru, and Apep's hidden location was precisely near the Scarlet King's territory.
Nahida looked at Miyashiro's meaningful sneer and felt that he might know something, so she quickly asked, "Miyashiro, do you know what this is?"
Miyashiro: "Nahida, do you feel anything strange while holding this heart?"
Upon hearing this, Nahida closed her eyes, sensed it carefully, and said, "A feeling... yes, there is. This heart seems to be resonating with a certain place, and this place seems to be right here in the Hypostyle Desert."
Subsequently, Nahida pointed her small hand towards the northwest, and this direction coincided with the direction of the rainforest's vitality loss.
Miyashiro: "Since that's the case, let's follow the direction this heart is pointing and see what is hidden there, shall we?"
Nahida nodded and followed Miyashiro, heading northwest.
The Hypostyle Desert is the most desolate and harsh place in the Sumeru Desert region. Amidst the endless yellow sand, fierce sandstorms occasionally blow up, and walking in the extremely low visibility of a sandstorm makes it very easy to get lost.
At this moment, the heart in Nahida's hand became the best positioning device.
Nahida seemed to have discovered something strange and said, "Miyashiro, be careful. I feel a powerful force, no less than my own, lurking around us, sometimes moving away, sometimes approaching, seemingly warning us."
Miyashiro chuckled at this, "Nahida, do you know who it is now?"
Nahida said in a deep voice, "Within Sumeru, an existence not inferior to mine is probably only the Dendro Dragon, Apep!"
He can be said to be the oldest dragon race on Teyvat, existing for a history even much longer than Lord Rex Lapis. His elemental accumulation is also much deeper than mine. However, I haven't heard any news of him for a very, very long time. Could it be that the important thing I forgot was this?"
Just then, the ground began to tremble violently, and the surrounding sandstorm suddenly became more ferocious. A colossal sand-yellow dragon, like a mountain, slowly appeared before Miyashiro and Nahida, looking down from above. A pair of sharp dragon eyes gleamed with yellow light, staring intently at the two people present.
Before the mountain-like dragon body, Nahida and Miyashiro seemed like two ants; it seemed Apep could blow them a hundred thousand li away with a sneeze.
A majestic voice, carrying an endless primal aura, reached their ears: "Little God, little human, leave my territory! Weak lives like yours cannot survive amidst the endless yellow sand."
Miyashiro subconsciously exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? It's a female!"
Apep: "Presumptuous!"
With Apep's furious roar, the entire Desert seemed to writhe, as if the whole Desert was working against him, giving him the illusion of being at odds with the world.
Amidst the sandstorm, countless grains of sand instantly condensed into sharp cones, flying towards Miyashiro and Nahida.
[Wood Release: Wood Golem Jutsu!]
Miyashiro's hands moved swiftly; as he clapped his hands together, giant tree branches suddenly emerged from the ground, combining to form a collapsible demon mask that enveloped Miyashiro and Nahida.
The next moment, countless sharp sand cones arrived one after another, but upon contact with the demon mask, they all shattered. Immediately after, the sand covering the demon mask began to flow rapidly, completely engulfing the demon mask.
Countless rapidly flowing grains of sand furiously rubbed against the demon mask, generating a large amount of wood shavings and heat, eventually igniting the entire demon mask, forming a fiery tornado with the help of the sandstorm.
Just as Apep snorted coldly at the sight, a scoffing voice came from behind Apep: "Apep, look at yourself now. You don't look like a Dendro Dragon King at all; you should just change your name to Sand Dragon King. No, wait, I heard the Wenut in the Desert are your descendants, so you should just change your name to Wenut King!"
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