The Pyro element was utterly pure, its orange-red glow as warm as the winter sun. It slowly spun and gathered in the air, gradually outlining a human silhouette.
Yunqin's breath caught in her throat. The ink-black hair, the familiar face, even the faint, ambiguous curve of her lips—everything was identical to her own!
Venti frowned deeply, Anemo swirling around him, ready to strike at any moment. "Who are you? Why do you look exactly like Yunqin? What is your connection to the Abyss?"
The "Pyro Yunqin" slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was devoid of emotion—neither angry nor wary, just as still as a tranquil lake. She simply stared at Yunqin.
Her voice, ethereal and as gentle as wind chimes, carried clearly to both of them. "I am not Yunqin, yet I can be."
"To greet you in this form... as a scion of the Deep Sea, can you truly remain composed?"
Huoqin hovered in mid-air, orange-red Pyro elements swirling around her like a warm halo. Yet the chilling cold in her eyes seemed to drop the cavern's temperature by several degrees.
Her gaze swept over Yunqin with playful scrutiny, completely ignoring the tense Venti beside her as if he were nothing but thin air.
"Have you been having strange dreams lately?" Huoqin's voice, ethereal yet piercing, pricked Yunqin's ears like fine needles. "In your dreams, black waves churn beneath your feet, the buildings around you sway and collapse, and the people you know stare at you with terror. Some even scream 'monster' and try to drive you away."
Yunqin's body went rigid, her fingertips instantly turning ice-cold.
Huoqin had just described the exact nightmare that had been plaguing her repeatedly.
The overwhelming despair of being rejected by everyone in the dream still made her heart pound long after she woke up.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, and forced herself to retort with a semblance of calm, "How do you know that? This is my business, and it has nothing to do with you!"
"Nothing to do with me?" Huoqin chuckled softly. The skirt formed from Pyro elements swayed, scattering tiny sparks of fire. "Aren't you curious why, every time you wake up, you find everything around you in ruins?"
She slowly advanced, her steps as light as if she were walking on flames, the seductive undertone in her voice growing stronger.
"Let's call it your body's 'self-defense mechanism'—helping you conceal your loss of control, and helping those who 'care' about you hide the fact that you could harm them."
"'Self-defense mechanism...'" Yunqin repeated under her breath. Her heart pounded uncontrollably, and her breathing grew ragged.
Just then, Venti suddenly moved!
The Anemo energy around him surged, and swirling green currents whipped up miniature tornadoes within the cavern. Several sharp blades of Anemo, like frost-hardened shackles, instantly bound Huoqin tightly.
The wind vortex contracted, its sharp edges slicing into Huoqin's body.
But strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed out. Instead, faint Pyro elements and dark Abyss energy seeped from the wounds.
"Who are you? How do you know so many secrets?" Venti's eyes blazed with undisguised killing intent.
Huoqin's words had crossed a line—a line he and Zhongli had drawn.
Huoqin, however, remained completely unfazed. She lifted her chin, a strange smile playing on her lips, and looked at Venti as if he were an overconfident child. "Since when did Mondstadt's Anemo Archon have such long arms, meddling in Liyue's affairs?"
She deliberately slowed her speech, each word like a baited hook.
"It doesn't matter if you kill me. But don't you want to know where the key to resurrecting Lydia is hidden?"
The name "Lydia" struck Venti like a clap of thunder, leaving him completely stunned.
His pupils shrank to pinpricks, the surging Anemo energy around him dissipated in an instant, and his breathing grew ragged.
Lydia—the girl in Mondstadt who could wield a Dual Vision, the one he had failed to protect, his greatest regret.
"Now, that's more like it, Lord Anemo Archon." Huoqin smoothed the hem of her skirt, which had been ruffled by the wind blades. Her smile grew even more triumphant as she deliberately tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Your own regrets are far more important than other people's secrets, aren't they?"
Yunqin stood frozen, her mind a complete blank.
She stared at Venti in disbelief, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "Venti... you're... Mondstadt's Anemo Archon?"
Venti opened his mouth, about to explain.
But before he could speak, Huoqin cut in, "Oh dear, you didn't know?"
Huoqin feigned surprise, covering her mouth with her hand, but her eyes gleamed with malicious delight. "Then again, the people around you have edited your entire life into a beautiful fantasy, haven't they?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Yunqin shook her head violently, her face turning as pale as paper. "Master wouldn't lie to me! Mr. Zhongli wouldn't either! And Rex Lapis would never!"
"Wouldn't they?" Huoqin sneered.
She advanced on Yunqin, her voice dropping to a low, conspiratorial whisper. "Then let me tell you what happened seventeen years ago."
"Seventeen years ago, Osial, Overlord of the Vortex, and his wife gave birth to an heir in the depths of the sea."
"That child carried the purest of god bloodlines and possessed an instinctive hostility toward Liyue. From birth, she could summon colossal waves and was destined to inherit the power of a god in the deep sea. But by a twist of fate, she ended up at the feet of Rex Lapis."
"In the end, the Geo Archon and the Adepti had no choice but to seal her memories and power with adeptal energy, transforming her into a 'new person'—an ordinary disciple who believed she was adopted by an Adeptus, a 'Yunqin' who revered Rex Lapis as her faith."
"So, does this story stir any memories for you?" Huoqin's voice was seductive, a curse-like whisper boring into Yunqin's ears. "Those images you thought were 'nightmares' are actually fragments of your sealed memories. That power you can't control is your true nature."
"No... It's not! This isn't real!" Yunqin clutched her head as a sharp pain shot through her skull, as if countless ants were gnawing at her brain.
Fragmented images flashed wildly through her mind—black seawater, terrified faces, and a blurry figure... one that looked just like her.
She tried to banish the images, but they were rooted in her mind, impossible to shake off.
"That's right. That child was you!" Huoqin's voice struck Yunqin's heart like a heavy hammer. "You never expected it, did you? The Rex Lapis you worship every day is the one who sealed you. The Master you rely on is the Adeptus who watches over you. And Liyue Harbor, the city you love, has always seen you as a potential enemy!"
Watching Yunqin's agony, the killing intent in Venti's eyes nearly solidified. The wind patterns on his braids began to glow faintly, the cyan light piercingly bright in the darkness.
He was already prepared to utterly destroy Huoqin, no matter what she said next.