After the Irodori Festival ended, Lumine and Paimon decided to remain in Inazuma and continue their treasure hunt. There were still plenty of chests left unopened, and Paimon was determined to clear them all before they eventually headed to Sumeru.
Meanwhile, Lora planned to return to Liyue first.
Unfortunately, Yae Miko firmly refused to accompany her in fox form. Otherwise, Lora would have had a perfectly warm hand warmer for the journey.
However, the moment she stepped off the ship at Liyue Harbor, she spotted Zhongyue waiting at the dock.
"Huh? Why are you here?" she asked, puzzled.
The woman looked up, let out a sigh, and said, "You finally came back. What took you so long? Hurry—come with me."
Without giving her time to react, she grabbed Lora's hand and started dragging her toward the road leading to the Chasm.
"Something urgent came up," she explained as they walked. "Zhongli wants to see you. He'll explain once we arrive."
"Huh?"
Lora still had no idea what was going on before she was hauled all the way out of Liyue Harbor.
Once they reached the mountain road, Zhongyue suddenly pulled her into the air.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them landed at the center of the Chasm.
Zhongli stood there alone.
When he saw them descend from the sky, he spoke calmly.
"You've arrived."
"I brought her here for you. No need to thank me," Zhongyue said, pushing Lora forward.
The Geo Archon turned his gaze toward her.
"Forgive me for summoning you so abruptly."
Seeing him waiting here, she had already guessed part of the situation.
"This is about the Chasm, isn't it?"
He nodded.
"Five hundred years ago, an eruption of Abyssal corruption broke out here. A Yaksha once fought alongside the Millelith to hold the line. After learning of this incident, Xiao entered the Chasm to investigate."
He continued,
"Deep within the Chasm lies an artifact known as the Fantastic Compass. It can manipulate time within a limited area, creating illusions that leap across different points in the past."
"So you want me to deal with it?" Lora asked. "Shouldn't something like that be easy enough for you?"
"If it were that simple, I would have handled it myself."
Zhongli's voice remained calm.
"The Compass was originally created to suppress Abyssal corruption. It contains the aura of Abyssal creatures. If handled improperly, the monsters sealed beneath it could surge out from the depths."
His golden eyes met hers.
"If that happens, the people of Liyue would suffer."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"With your power, you can completely purify the corruption here. So I ask that you cleanse it—and bring Xiao back."
For someone like him to use the word ask spoke volumes about how seriously he regarded the matter.
Lora didn't hesitate.
"Leave it to me."
She had already been planning to deal with the matter involving that Yaksha and Xiao anyway. Since the opportunity had presented itself, it worked out perfectly.
After she descended into the depths of the Chasm, Zhongyue's expression suddenly changed.
"Zhongli. Someone's coming."
He turned to look toward the distant path.
Yanfei was running toward them, followed closely by Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu.
Zhongyue frowned.
"Those two behind her are from Inazuma, aren't they? Wait… what exactly is that white-haired one?"
"No need to worry," Zhongli replied calmly. "We only need to ensure they don't notice us."
The two quietly concealed themselves.
Yanfei and the others passed nearby without discovering them.
Meanwhile, Lora had already reached the underground mining area and continued descending deeper into the Chasm.
At the very bottom, she arrived before the place where the Celestial Nail had once fallen from the sky.
Standing there, she could already feel Abyssal energy leaking from the illusion created by the Fantastic Compass below.
Without hesitation, she jumped straight down.
Moments after she disappeared, someone stepped out from behind the rocks above.
It was Yelan.
She stared at the place where Lora had entered, her brows slightly furrowed.
From Ningguang, Yelan had already learned that Lora was an extremely powerful adeptus. That was the only reason she hadn't tried to stop her.
Still, she couldn't help wondering what exactly lay beneath the Chasm that had drawn an adeptus here.
...
After entering the space created by the Fantastic Compass, a dense wave of Abyssal energy rushed toward her.
It was the complete opposite of her own power.
Lora frowned.
Looking around, she saw no exit.
Even the passage she had fallen through had vanished. When she glanced upward, the surrounding rock walls had already sealed every possible opening.
Once inside, there were only two ways out.
Either break the seal through overwhelming force—
or activate the Fantastic Compass itself.
In essence, the illusion was a massive seal designed to imprison the Abyss beneath it.
"Whatever," she muttered. "I'll just find them and purify everything."
Power surged from her body, pushing back the invading Abyssal aura.
But before she could even take a few steps—
Someone suddenly dropped from above and crashed heavily onto the ground behind her.
Hearing the impact, she turned around.
Several people were sprawled across the floor.
"Oh wow." She gave a casual wave. "What a coincidence."
Yelan was the first to rise. She gave a respectful nod.
"Greetings, Adeptus."
Nearby, Yanfei groaned while rubbing her backside.
"Ow… my butt…"
When Kuki Shinobu saw Lora, her eyes widened.
"Wait—aren't you the deity who was standing beside Kujou Sara earlier?"
Lora blinked.
"…What?"
The moment those words left Shinobu's mouth, both Yelan and Yanfei turned to look at her in shock.
"Deity?" Yanfei repeated.
"…%&*@!"
A string of colorful language burst from Lora's mouth.
Whether Shinobu had done it intentionally or not… she couldn't tell.
Arataki Itto rubbed the back of his head and stood up, looking around curiously.
"Where is this place? Shinobu, how'd we end up here?"
"No idea," she replied, shaking her head.
Yanfei hesitated before glancing at Lora.
"Lady… Adeptus… no—uh—Deity… do you know where we are? And why we're here?"
"Just call me Lora," she said flatly, a dark line appearing across her forehead.
"This place is an illusion created inside the seal of the Fantastic Compass. Right now, all of you are trapped within it."
"An illusion? And a seal?"
Itto looked around with growing excitement.
"Sounds pretty awesome."
He walked over to a nearby rock wall and punched it.
The stone didn't even move.
Yanfei blinked awkwardly.
"Um… friend from Inazuma… you…"
She trailed off, unsure how to continue.
Shinobu let out a quiet sigh.
"Sorry about the boss. That's just how he is."
Then she added calmly,
"He's innocent. Not stupid."