Chapter 283: Belle's Amen
"This isn't working!" Lumine's voice was sharp and steady as she danced away from a row of stone spikes that erupted from the ground. "The armor-breaking is going way too slowly!"
"Its defenses and regenerative abilities are too strong, and it keeps changing the terrain on a whim..." Dan Heng's brow was deeply furrowed. He spun his spear, shattering a rock spike that lunged at him from the side. "A prolonged battle is completely to our disadvantage."
Welt's tone was heavy with concern. "On top of that, the Abyssal corruption around us continues to rise. Zhongli's jade pendant is under constant strain."
They were facing a colossal, rule-defying monster. Its defenses were absolute, its recovery was astonishing, and its ability to create a perpetually hostile domain was draining their will. A creeping sense of powerlessness began to settle in their hearts. This was a war of attrition with no end in sight.
Far away, at the edge of the Sacred Ring of Fire, the onlookers were suffering just as much.
Though they couldn't make out the specific details of the fight, the ferocious shockwaves and roars of energy carried on the wind, coupled with Venti's occasional, concise updates, painted a grim picture of the peril their friends faced.
"What do we do... If this keeps up, Lumine and the others won't be able to hold on..." Belle wrung her hands, her knuckles turning bone-white from the force. Anxiety was etched across her face.
She glanced at her brother, Wise, his profile grim and solemn. She saw Zhongli's silent but piercing gaze, and Hu Tao's face, for once, devoid of its usual mischievous smile. In that moment of shared tension, a detail she had almost forgotten flashed through her mind like a meteor streaking through the darkest night.
It was the night before they had traveled to Teyvat for this world commission.
That day, she had watched her brother master his Mera Mera no Mi abilities and Fire-Woven techniques with growing skill. A thought had struck her then: even though she had obtained the Ice-Ice Fruit and Hyōrinmaru, her own combat methods felt too one-dimensional for the complex battles they often faced.
An urgent desire to grow stronger—to bear more of the burden for her team—had driven her. Later, while Wise was out and no one was paying attention, she had secretly, with a heart full of both anticipation and guilt, performed a ten-pull.
The results had been... interesting. Besides a blue-quality ability orb called `[Three-Color Haki]`, which sounded like some kind of complete sensory and defensive technique she hadn't yet had time to study, she had also drawn a strange item.
It was a seemingly ordinary, almost crude stone artifact shaped like a short rod, its surface covered in blurry, unidentifiable ancient patterns.
The item's description was simple, yet it carried an immense weight.
`[Divine Light Rod (One-time use)]`
`Level: Blue (Special)`
`Description: This is no ordinary iron; it contains a wisp of the "Light of Hope" from a distant world. It cannot be actively triggered and will only respond to a specific call. When you fight against deep darkness, when you refuse to give up, when the hearts of the people still hold light and faith, it will hear the call of the soul, transforming into a light that tears through despair and helps you overcome disaster.`
`(Note: Disappears after use.)`
At the time, Belle had stared at the mysteriously described stone rod, feeling a little lost and a lot guilty. Wise had always warned her that more was not always better. He stressed that her priority should be mastering the Ice-Ice Fruit and Hyōrinmaru, not chasing after new abilities through the gacha.
So, she hadn't dared to tell anyone about the two new items. She had quietly stored them in the Chat Group's shared warehouse, planning to study them later or find the right moment to confess to her brother and the others.
But now... watching the scene of Lumine and the others struggling against a seemingly impossible foe, their plight relayed by the wind itself... staring at the suffocating Abyssal darkness that blanketed the battlefield... a thought began to grow wildly in Belle's heart.
'The Abyss... isn't that the ultimate darkness?'she thought, her pulse quickening.'And everyone... Lumine, Stelle, Dan Heng... they're all fighting for Natlan, for hope!''The people's hearts are full of light! This... doesn't this perfectly match the trigger conditions for the Divine Light Rod? Maybe... maybe it could actually work!'
Once the idea took root, it could not be suppressed.
She knew this was no time for secrets. Any chance, no matter how small, to break the stalemate had to be taken.
She snapped her head up, her eyes locking onto Venti, who stood with his eyes closed, perceiving the battlefield through the currents of the wind. "Mr. Venti!" she shouted, her voice urgent. "Please, use the wind to tell Lumine! Tell her to immediately get an item called the `[Divine Light Rod]` from the Chat Group's warehouse! It might be useful!"
Venti's eyes fluttered open, a flicker of surprise in their depths, but he didn't question her. He simply reached out and plucked an invisible string in the air.
On the battlefield, Lumine, who was in the middle of a sliding dodge to avoid another ground-shattering stomp from Baqunava, suddenly heard Venti's voice echo directly in her mind. "Lumine, Belle says to immediately retrieve the `[Divine Light Rod]` from the group warehouse!"
Lumine's heart skipped a beat. In the heat of battle, her companions would never distract her without a damn good reason. For Belle to send such a clear and urgent message through Venti meant this was critical. That item, with its somewhat dramatic name, might just be the key to breaking this desperate deadlock.
Without a shred of hesitation, Lumine used the dust cloud kicked up by Baqunava's attack for cover. Her mind raced, connecting to the interdimensional Chat Group interface. She swiftly located the inconspicuous stone rod tucked away in a corner of the public inventory—the `[Divine Light Rod (One-time use)]`.
With a flash of light, the crude, ancient stone rod appeared in her hand. It was cool to the touch, feeling no different from an ordinary piece of rock.
Lumine couldn't help but wonder, 'Can this thing really bring the Light of Hope?'
In the very next moment, however, something extraordinary happened.
It started with a single, faint glow.
From within the Sacred Ring of Fire, a tiny golden speck of light, like a lone firefly, floated up from a Natlan warrior who clenched his fists, his eyes burning with an unyielding flame.
Then came a second, and a third... They rose from the tribal warriors, scarred but unbroken, who stood guard over the civilians. They rose from the ordinary people who, though gripped by fear, still prayed with all their hearts for those on the front lines. They rose from Paimon, who was zipping everywhere to purify the Abyssal corruption, exhausted and drenched in sweat but refusing to stop.
They rose from all the people who were fighting, praying, and holding onto hope—the hope to protect Natlan and resist the Abyss. Thousands upon thousands of golden specks of light, like stars flowing against the current of the night, ascended from every corner of the land.
They ignored physical distance and passed through solid walls, drawn as if by a supreme, silent summons. They all converged towards a single point: the small, simple rod in Lumine's hand.
What began as a stream became a river, and then a vast, brilliant ocean of gold.
The light was so pure, so immense. It was the physical manifestation of belief, of courage, of the fierce determination to protect, and of the unwavering anticipation for the future. All of it condensed into the ultimate force of "Hope."
The radiance grew so intense that it momentarily outshone even Mavuika, who burned like a second sun in the sky, and for a brilliant, stunning moment, it drove back the suffocating Abyssal gloom that had enveloped Natlan.
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