Heulia Dies at the Hands of Her Own People; Tang San: The Heavenly Principles' Rules Twist People's Hearts!

Heulia walked out of the Temple. Looking at her frightened, uneasy people, she wore a gentle yet sorrowful smile. She reached out, as if to comfort them.

And yet, at that very moment...

A Stone Spear pierced her chest from behind without warning.

The attacker was the friend she trusted most—the Rock Demon God who had always helped and protected her, Morax.

No. Perhaps not.

The Light Screen's view pulled back, revealing Morax standing in the distance, his face stricken with shock and grief he had no time to conceal.

That spear wasn't his.

The true murderers were the very people Heulia had sworn to protect with her life.

Their faces twisted with a mixture of fanaticism and fear as they surged forward, completely swallowing up the frail body of their goddess.

"Goddess, forgive us!"

"We had to do this to survive!"

"Your power is too weak to protect us! So please... become our Token of Allegiance to the strong!"

Betrayed by her own people, the Salt Demon God turned to Salt Dust and scattered into the world.

The sight made everyone watching feel as if they'd fallen into an icy abyss.

"No... No..." Xiao Xiao burst into tears.

Even a man as strong-willed as Ji Dong was trembling with rage. Black-and-white flames erupted uncontrollably from him.

"You animals! You're all animals!"

Lie Yan clasped his hand tightly, but her own fingertips were ice-cold.

Tang San slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a flash of light passed through his Purple Demon Eye.

"I understand now."

"This isn't a simple betrayal."

"This is corruption by the Rules. The Heavenly Principles' Divine Decree isn't just an order. It's also like a meme, a Thought Virus that has infected all of Teyvat. It amplifies the darkness in every living being's heart—fear, greed, and selfishness."

"Heulia's people didn't simply betray her. Their minds were twisted by the 'Rules' themselves. Faced with the highest command—'survive at any cost'—their love and reverence for their god couldn't withstand a thing."

Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Spear let out a low hum, as if mourning the gentle goddess who had passed away.

"In the name of protection, they commit murder. In the name of love, they betray."

Gu Yuena's silver eyes were so cold they seemed capable of freezing time and space.

"This is the Archon War."

The scene on the Light Screen changed again.

The golden pillar of light that had pierced the heavens slowly faded away, but the Heavenly Principles' Divine Decree had already become invisible Shackles, branded into every inch of the Teyvat World and every wisp of its elements.

Friends and allies from the past now looked at one another differently.

Morax looked at Guizhong beside him. His dear friend's face was filled with sorrow and confusion. He wanted to reach out and pat her shoulder as he always did, to tell her, "I'm here. Everything will be all right."

But his hand stopped in midair.

Beneath the Divine Decree, all were dust.

They, too, were enemies.

The Light Screen's view shifted to Heulia, the Salt Demon God.

She cowered in her Temple, trembling. She couldn't even protect her own people. How could she hope to survive this war sweeping across the world?

Fear, confusion, resentment, anger, resolve...

Countless intense emotions erupted at once in every corner of the continent.

The war had begun.

The scene no longer showed grand vistas, but instead focused on individual Demon Gods.

A Demon God who had once delighted in brewing fine wine and sharing it with gods from all walks of life was now wiping dust from a long spear. His gentle face held nothing but cold resolve.

A goddess who had once woven illusions to give her people sweet dreams now stood at the border of her kingdom, gazing at the neighboring land. Its ruler had once been her best friend. Now, that land was the "nourishment" she had to devour to survive.

"Love" and "protection" had become the most high-minded excuses.

"For the sake of my people, I must claim final victory."

"To protect this land, I have no choice but to turn you to dust."

Similar words echoed throughout Teyvat. The warmth and tenderness of the past had been torn to shreds. What stood revealed before everyone was the naked law of the jungle.

The Seven Seats meant there would be only seven Victors.

Yet there were thousands upon thousands of named Demon Gods on the Teyvat Continent.

This was a culling destined to run red with blood.

"They've gone mad! Every last one of them!" Xu Sanshi couldn't help but growl. His Black Tortoise Shell Shield appeared in front of him instinctively, as if to hold back the malice rushing toward them. "All because of some ridiculous Divine Decree? They're throwing away friendships that lasted thousands of years just like that?"

"They haven't gone mad, Sanshi." Bei Bei's voice was heavy. As the Tang Sect's senior disciple, he saw the issue from a deeper perspective. "This is fear. When death becomes the only end, and killing others becomes the only way to survive, every moral principle and emotion becomes too fragile to withstand it."

He Caitou pushed his cigar into place, but didn't light it. "Look at it another way: this is the most efficient 'consolidation of resources' imaginable. All the scattered power is gathered into the hands of the seven strongest through mutual slaughter. The method is brutal, but the goal... is terrifyingly clear."

His words made everyone shudder even more.

"B-but Goddess Guizhong and Goddess Heulia..." Tears welled up in Xiao Xiao's eyes once more. "They were so gentle. They didn't want to fight at all!"

Tang Ya gently wrapped her arms around her, her own body trembling slightly. "Under Rules like these, kindness is an Original Sin."

No one was born a tyrant, but Rules could force you to pick up the butcher's knife.

Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Eye shimmered. He no longer saw mere images, but the dense Negative Emotions that hung over the entire Teyvat World.

Resentment, greed, fear, murderous intent... Countless streams of black-and-red energy soared into the sky, dyeing the heavens above the world an ominous shade of blood.

"The 'emotions' of an entire world have been completely unleashed in this moment." Rong Nianbing's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest. As the God of Emotion, he could clearly sense the madness sweeping across the world. "The Heavenly Principles aren't selecting the strong. They're creating monsters. They're feeding on the most extreme emotions to raise seven of the coldest, most powerful 'gods.'"

"They're more than monsters." Zhou Weiqing let out two mocking laughs, but there wasn't a trace of his usual roguishness in them—only bone-deep coldness. "This is Raising Gu. You put tens of thousands of poisonous insects in a jar and let them slaughter one another. The one that survives is the Gu King. These Demon Gods are those insects."