Aether gazed into the cave and said slowly, "Dendro Dragon, let us meet."
As Aether released the aura of the Abyss, the light inside the cave grew even brighter. The swirling wind and sand pulled him into the cave, but when the Abyss Herald tried to follow, he was blasted away by Apep's power.
The Abyss Herald was embedded in the sand and gravel, unable to move.
Aether, however, entered the depths of the cave without issue and met Apep.
"You were once a Dragon Sovereign who ruled over one-seventh of the earth. Now you can only hide away in this tiny patch of land and endure the oppression of the heavens. How pitiful," Aether said softly as he looked at Apep.
"You are filled with dense power from beyond the world. Why have you come to me?" Apep's voice was extremely cold, as if it had drifted in from beyond the heavens. After so many years of suffering, she despised that power to the core.
"I will overthrow the Heavenly Principles and reshape the order of this world. Under the new order, the Dragon Sovereigns will be freed from their oppression," Aether said slowly, looking at Apep.
He did not treat Apep the same way he had treated Dvalin and Azhdaha. He understood very clearly that compared to the sealed Azhdaha and the young Dvalin, Apep possessed far more terrifying power, especially now that she had been freed from the torment of Forbidden Knowledge.
"So?" Apep asked.
"I need the power of the Dragon Sovereigns," Aether said to her.
Apep replied, "I have been worn down for thousands of years. I have no power left."
"No. You do..." Aether looked at her and said in a low voice.
Apep stared at him. After a brief silence, a crystal glowing with pale green light appeared before him. Just as Aether was about to reach out and take it, she spoke again. "Outlander, let me offer you a warning. You have kept company with that kind of power for too long. It will not end well..."
"I know. I understand. But I have to do this," Aether said.
Seeing this, Apep said nothing more and sent him out.
After leaving Apep's domain, Aether returned to reality and saw the Abyss Herald still embedded in the gravel. Just as he was about to pull him out, a blade formed from Hydro slashed down directly in front of him.
Aether looked up and saw Lora standing on a protruding rock, overlooking him from above.
"We meet again, Your Highness, Prince," Lora said, her tone faintly cold as she looked at him.
"So the God of Justice resorts to tricks now?" Aether laughed when he saw that Lora had doubled back.
"No. I simply remembered something on the way. Since you want to obtain the power of the Dragon Sovereigns, there was no way you would let Apep, one of the first Dragon Sovereigns, slip by."
Lora looked at Aether and continued, "But I don't care what you or the Abyss Order behind you are trying to do. Return my people to me, and I'll let you leave this place."
"As long as you give me the power of the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, I'll return that Oceanid to you!" Aether said to Lora with a smile.
"Your sister is in my hands," Lora said.
"That doesn't sound like something the God of Justice would say," Aether replied.
Lora looked straight at him and said slowly, "The Egeria of the past is dead. The me standing here now lives only for everything in Fontaine."
"But I still don't believe you would harm my sister over this. She doesn't know anything," Aether said, looking at Lora. Then he added, "That Oceanid has not been mistreated in the Abyss Order. Give me the power of the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, and I will bring new life to this world!"
"New life?" Lora frowned slightly.
Aether nodded. "That's right! New life! Egeria, although you have received the rank of a god, your essence still belongs to Teyvat. You are another form of Hydro Dragon Sovereign recognized by Teyvat. Don't you want to save this world on the brink of collapse?"
Lora fell silent and did not answer.
Aether did not wait for her response. He continued, "The power of Teyvat alone can no longer save this world from collapse! Everything the Cryo Archon has done is for that very reason. Only power from beyond the world can reshape heaven and earth, break the false sky, and give this world a true future!"
The Gnoses were made from that one's remains. They were a power that did not belong to Teyvat. The Cryo Archon was collecting the Gnoses because she had realized that power from within Teyvat alone could not save this world on the verge of collapse.
Venti and Zhongli also understood this perfectly well.
After saying this, Aether fell silent and did not continue.
Lora looked at him. Only after a long while did she say, "You say I am this world's Hydro Dragon Sovereign in another form. Then can my power replace Neuvillette's? If it can, I'll give you part of my power, and you will return my people to me."
Hearing her words, Aether looked somewhat surprised. He frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not sure... Perhaps you could make a trip to the Amrita Pool. If it can truly be confirmed that your power can replace the Hydro Dragon Sovereign's, then accepting your power would not be impossible."
After all, he only needed the power of the seven Dragon Sovereigns. A duplicate would be useless.
"Amrita Pool..." Hearing that name, Lora was briefly dazed.
After going in circles for so long, she still had to set foot in this burial ground after all.
Aether left with the Abyss Herald. After Lora told Nahida what had happened here, she did not return to Sumeru City with her. Instead, she set off for the Amrita Pool.
Beyond the barrier of the massive sand wall, green beams of light could be seen shooting into the sky, colliding with the filth above and resisting it without pause.
That was the radiance released by the Harvisptokhm planted five hundred years ago by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, using the pure water formed from Lora's divine body after her death. It had been resisting the erosion of filth ever since, protecting the people of Teyvat.
Several gods who had given their lives for Teyvat were buried in this land.
The Lord of Verdure, the Mistress of Amrita, the Goddess of Flowers, and Al-Ahmar. This was Teyvat's main battlefield against the Abyss. This was where the Abyss had erupted. Even Raiden Makoto had fallen here.
Setting foot in the Amrita Pool once again, Lora could almost see the scene from five hundred years ago, when she had led the Oceanids from Fontaine to this place upon the waves to fight the Abyss.
But even though she had sacrificed her life and kept most of the disaster outside Fontaine, the people of Fontaine had still paid a devastating price