Ningguang looked at the suddenly appearing reinforcements, her eyes full of astonishment, her phoenix-shaped eyes slightly widening: "Allies from... Mondstadt?"
"I apologize, the Knights of Favonius are short-handed at the moment, so we could only bring this many people as reinforcements." Jean replied with a smile, her gaze sweeping over Venti in the distance, then looking back at Ningguang, her eyes filled with determination, "Liyue and Mondstadt are allied nations, it is our honor and the Knights' duty to contribute our strength to Liyue."
Ningguang followed her gaze and saw Venti waving at her, his figure exceptionally conspicuous on the battlefield, and instantly understood something.
A smile curved her lips, and her tone was filled with gratitude: "Liyue is profoundly grateful. Mondstadt's kindness will be remembered by Liyue."
On the battlefield, the Knights of Favonius converged with the Millelith, Anemo, Pyro, and Cryo elements intertwining with the Geo element to form a splendid yet powerful barrier, and the originally one-sided battle gradually reversed.
Yunqin looked at the growing number of reinforcements below, watching those she had regarded as "enemies" now protecting the Liyue she wanted to protect.
The Moonlight Strings on her fingertips were still vibrating violently, but that vibration had shed its pure fury, quietly mixing in a few hints of flustered panic she herself was unwilling to admit.
The scene on the battlefield below was like a dull knife, repeatedly slicing through her consciousness shrouded in Abyssal Black Miasma.
The uniforms of the Knights of Favonius were exceptionally conspicuous amidst the smoke. Acting Grand Master Jean's sword strokes were clean and decisive, and the wind kicked up by her sweeping cloak as it passed over the Seaborn bodies carried an unwavering resolve to protect.
The phoenix summoned by Diluc blazed like the scorching sun, incinerating dozens of monsters the moment it descended into the Seaborn swarm, its fiery heat even dispersing the poisonous fog in the surroundings.
Kaeya's Cryo energy spread like a tide, freezing the Seaborn while also meticulously forming thin ice shields in front of the Millelith to keep them from being splashed by the Poisonous Bog.
Why did they come?
Liyue's calamity had nothing to do with Mondstadt.
Yunqin's gaze locked onto the lyre in Venti's hands. Its melodious tune, like a gentle spring rain, was gradually permeating the black miasma enveloping her body, even fading the frigid chill of the Moonlight Strings on her fingertips.
Her reason told her to be furious, to command Hydra to tear these "meddling" people to shreds, yet fragments of memories surged uncontrollably from the depths of her consciousness.
These slivers of warmth were like faint light piercing into her pitch-black consciousness, causing the crimson in her eyes to fade slightly.
But the Abyss's whispers soon surged back like a tide, roaring in her mind with bone-chilling cold: "Don't be fooled! They are only afraid you'll destroy Liyue, afraid you'll completely lose control and become a threat!"
"Look, the people of Liyue are still hiding from you, the Millelith's spears are still pointed at you, and even the common folk you fought so hard to protect, didn't they also point at you and scream 'Monster' back then?"
Yes, they all fear me.
The notices on the walls of Liyue Harbor, Uncle Wang's darting eyes as he packed up his stall, the cold metal touch of Captain Li's sword pressed against her neck...
The very people she had once protected with the Geo element had ultimately treated her as an enemy.
But why?
Why would the people of Mondstadt travel across mountains and rivers to come here?
Why is Venti still playing that gentle tune, as if soothing an out-of-control little beast?
Why are Lumine and Tartaglia still holding on, holding back their strength in every move, refusing to strike a lethal blow, refusing to give up on her as a "threat"?
The Moonlight Strings on her fingertips suddenly went out of tune, and even the silver threads controlling the Seaborn wavered in the air.
Below, Lumine was shouting in her direction. The wind blurred her exact words, but there was not a hint of fear in her eyes, only anxiety and an unwavering determination to not give up.
Tartaglia gripped his elemental blade crackling with Electro energy, yet he did not seize the opportunity to attack.
She had clearly left so many openings, he could have clearly pierced her heart with a single sword strike, thereby ending this disaster completely.
But why... why are they still not attacking?
"Stop lying to yourself!" The Abyss's voice grew ever sharper, almost tearing through her consciousness. "They just want to use you! Use the god power within you to fight the deeper Abyss! Once you're no longer useful, they'll abandon you just like the Liyue locals did!"
Yunqin shook her head violently, trying to shake off these malicious thoughts, but her mind felt torn apart by two opposing forces, growing more chaotic.
Venti's lyre continued to play, its melody filled with understanding and heartache, silently telling her, "I know you're suffering, I know you didn't mean to do this."
The Hydra, connected to her consciousness, also began to grow restless. Its nine heads twisted frantically, and the Abyssal Runes on its forehead flashed erratically.
Her confusion spread to the creature through the vines of her consciousness, making the monster even more berserk. Dark green venom continuously splashed onto the sea's surface, corroding it into large patches of bubbling Poisonous Bog.
She watched as more and more reinforcements arrived below, seeing them fight side-by-side and protect one another, and suddenly found it laughable.
She had once thought she was Liyue's protector, fighting the Abyss with all her might.
But now, the ones truly standing in front of Liyue were these "outsiders."
She once thought she had been abandoned by the entire world, even her own breath carrying the chill of loneliness.
But now, the ones who refused to give up on her were Tartaglia, whom she had once been wary of because of his "Fatui" identity, and Venti and the Traveler, whose bonds with her were not even one ten-thousandth as strong as those of Liyue and its people.
A flicker of clarity flashed in her crimson eyes, like a firefly briefly lighting up the darkness, only to be instantly covered by even denser dark energy.
Yunqin gripped the Moonlight Strings tightly, her nails almost digging into the strings, her knuckles turning white from the force.
I can't think about this anymore!
If I keep thinking, the "indifference" I worked so hard to build will completely collapse, and I will utterly break down in the tug-of-war between light and darkness!
The Abyss is right, they are all just using me, they are all lying to me!
Only by destroying Liyue, by destroying this place that brought her so much pain, could she finally escape this torment and never be hurt again.
But why... when she saw Lumine reach out with worry, did her heart still ache as if pierced by needles?
Why, upon hearing Venti's lyre, did she still remember the laughter and joy of eating grilled fish and telling stories together during their first meeting?
Why... when she controlled the silver threads to shoot toward the reinforcements, did her fingertips subconsciously veer off, deliberately avoiding Lumine and Tartaglia's direction?
Her consciousness was torn repeatedly between light and darkness, making Yunqin's entire body tremble slightly.
The Moonlight Strings tightened again, and the silver threads fell like a rainstorm, yet they quietly changed trajectory as they drew close to Lumine and Tartaglia.
It was the struggle within her subconscious, the tenderness belonging to "Yunqin" that the Abyss had failed to completely devour.
What she did not notice was that amidst Venti's melodious lyre music, the Abyssal aura within her body was being gradually diluted.
Deep within her consciousness, that once forgotten light belonging to "Yunqin" was quietly igniting, like an inextinguishable firefly in the darkness.