Chapter Summaries

Ouyang Kong wondered why the Tsaritsa wanted to rebel against the Heavenly Principles before the Sky Screen showed Morax meeting Azhdaha and sealing his friend after Erosion drove the dragon mad. Morax returned to his duties as Liyue’s Geo Archon, leaving The Unforged beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree.

• Ouyang Kong asked Greater Lord Rukkhadevata why the Tsaritsa was collecting Gnoses, and she said the Cryo Archon wanted to rebel against the Heavenly Principles but could not explain why.
• Morax found Azhdaha underground, offered him eyes and a life on the surface in exchange for three terms, and Azhdaha accepted the contract.
• Azhdaha became Morax’s close friend and helped him pacify the land and seas, but mining in The Chasm and Erosion eventually drove Azhdaha mad.
• Morax trapped Azhdaha after the dragon attacked miners, defended against his elemental assaults, and fought him from The Chasm to Nantianmen.
• Azhdaha regained a moment of awareness and cooperated as Morax sealed him beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree.
• Morax sat beneath the tree, carved an inscription into stone, left The Unforged there, and returned to his duties in Liyue.

The Sky Screen showed Zhongli joining the Traveler and Paimon to investigate a mining commission, where he met Kunjun and discussed a rare water-bearing crystal. After Zhongli and Kunjun bonded over minerals, the group remembered their search for missing miners and headed to The Chasm.

• Nefer realized that Rex Lapis had retired as Zhongli, a consultant at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
• The Traveler and Paimon recruited Zhongli to help with Lao Dai’s commission about geology and minerals.
• At the docks, Zhongli met Kunjun and recognized him while concealing his nostalgia.
• Kunjun showed Zhongli a rough stone containing a rare crystal formed around water, and the two became friends.
• The group recalled that several miners were missing and arrived at The Chasm.

The Traveler and Zhongli investigated the missing miners at The Chasm, uncovering Kunjun’s suspicious search for Dragon-Suppressing Stone and a link to Azhdaha’s seal. After the group was pulled through the broken sealing array, Azhdaha broke free of the stone pillars.

• Lao Dai told the Traveler and Zhongli that four miners had vanished, and Kunjun revealed he had seen them leave with a little girl.
• Kunjun asked Zhongli to help him find Dragon-Suppressing Stone, and their investigation led them from Lingju Pass to Nantianmen, where they found an exhausted miner.
• Zhongli explained that Dragon-Suppressing Stone had formed during the battle in which Azhdaha was sealed and had been mined out centuries earlier, making Kunjun’s search suspicious.
• At the Dragon-Queller Tree, Kunjun touched a stone stele as Zhongli found a newly dug passage; inside, the remaining miners attacked, and a little girl emerged from black mist before Kunjun blocked her strike with white light.
• The sealing array broke and pulled the Traveler, Zhongli, Paimon, Kunjun, and the others inside, while Nefer teased Jahoda and Thoth possessed Asheru.
• Azhdaha roared, smashed apart the stone pillars sealing him, and frightened Paimon.

Zhongli and the Traveler repaired Azhidaha’s seal, suppressing his malevolent side, while his benevolent side revealed how the two fragments had emerged. Azhidaha then began explaining his ancient bond with Morax and the erosion that clouded his memories.

• Zhongli shielded the Traveler as they fought Azhidaha and restored the seal, weakening him until he returned to the form of a little girl.
• Azhidaha’s benevolent side emerged from Kunjun and explained that the seal’s weakening had allowed both his benevolent and malevolent sides to escape in different forms.
• The benevolent side told the Traveler and Paimon that he had possessed Kunjun, forgotten his purpose, and only recovered his memories after touching the Dragon-Suppressing Stone.
• At Zhongli’s invitation, Azhidaha’s benevolent side began recounting Azhidaha’s friendship with Morax and how erosion had clouded the Dragon King’s memories.

Azhdaha’s benevolent half reminded his malevolent half of his old bond with Morax, and the two reunited before the benevolent half vanished. Azhdaha and Zhongli parted as friends, with Azhdaha recognizing that Zhongli was no longer the Geo Archon.

• Azhdaha’s benevolent half explained that Erosion had divided Azhdaha and that he embodied the dragon’s memories of living alongside humanity.
• The two halves chanted together as the benevolent half shared his power and memories with the malevolent half.
• The malevolent half’s childlike form vanished within the seal after addressing Zhongli as Morax.
• Azhdaha and Morax discussed their past, including Morax giving Azhdaha his eyes, before Azhdaha’s power began to fade.
• At the Dragon-Queller Tree, Azhdaha asked Zhongli to take Kunjun back to Liyue Harbor, and Zhongli agreed.
• Azhdaha sensed that Zhongli was no longer the Geo Archon, and they gazed toward Liyue Harbor before parting.

Zhongli and Azhdaha parted as friends after recalling their shared past, while the Sky Screen showed how Liyue remembered Azhdaha and revealed Zhongli’s reflections on erosion. The Silver Dragon King left Star Dou Forest to seek Lesser Lord Kusanali, and the Sky Screen then introduced Neuvillette and the Melusines.

• Azhdaha asked whether Zhongli had hesitated at The Chasm, and Zhongli explained that Azhdaha had chosen to be sealed to honor their contract.
• Azhdaha’s benevolent power faded, leaving Kunjun unconscious as Zhongli stood beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree.
• A Liyue storyteller recounted how Morax created Azhdaha, and Apep objected to the tale’s portrayal of a god creating a dragon.
• The Silver Dragon King took Di Tian from Star Dou Forest to find Lesser Lord Kusanali, while Alhaitham reported the matter to Ouyang Kong through the Akasha.
• Zhongli reflected on erosion and his duty to witness mortal history, before the Sky Screen showed Neuvillette with the Melusines.

The Sky Screen showed Neuvillette’s arrival in Fontaine and his efforts to help the Melusines live and work among humans. Carol joined the Marechaussee Hunters, but Fontaine’s hostility toward her persisted.

• The Sky Screen showed Neuvillette being invited to Fontaine by Furina, where he became Iudex.
• Neuvillette befriended Carol and encouraged her to face the difficulties of joining Fontaine’s society.
• Silver Dragon King was moved by Neuvillette and Carol’s conversation and drew hope for peaceful coexistence between Soul Beasts and humans.
• Carol became a Marechaussee Hunter, but Fontainians continued to insult and slander her.

Carol faced prejudice against the Melusines, while Wautrin helped her continue their outreach. The Sky Screen revealed how the Melusines were born from Elynas, and Neuvillette later honored Carol and Wautrin for five years of work toward human-Melusine trust.

• Carol argued with people who accused the Melusines of being dangerous and untrustworthy, and Wautrin warned them to stop spreading rumors.
• Wautrin offered to help Carol hand out flyers as she persisted in trying to earn the people's trust.
• The Sky Screen showed that Elynas ended his own life to prevent further harm, and that the Melusines were born from his remains, a primordial Oceanid, and embedded machinery.
• Anya accepted Little Durin's view that Elynas's choice was an act of protection rather than simply a tragedy.
• Neuvillette awarded Carol and Wautrin Medals of Peace for their five years of effort, though Wautrin cautioned that peaceful coexistence was still a long way off.

The Sky Screen showed how Fontaine aristocrats framed Carol and drove her to suicide, then revealed Wautrin’s revenge against those responsible. Wautrin surrendered to the Special Security Patrol and awaited judgment from Neuvillette.

• Tiberius and Solveig plotted to frame Carol and use the scandal to weaken Neuvillette’s authority.
• The aristocrats incited the public against the Melusines, and Carol took her own life amid the accusations.
• Wautrin’s investigation revealed the aristocrats’ scheme, but he kept the findings from Neuvillette and chose revenge.
• Wautrin killed Tiberius, Solveig, and the others on his list, then surrendered to the Special Security Patrol.
• Neuvillette prepared to judge Wautrin.

The Sky Screen showed Wautrin’s trial, where Neuvillette found him guilty despite the crowd’s pleas for leniency. Wautrin was sent to Fortress of Meropide, while rain fell across Fontaine.

• Sethos asked Cyno what he would do in a case with no evidence, and Cyno said he would use mercenaries to pursue the people behind it.
• Wautrin confessed to his crimes and said he had acted to avenge Carol, while people in the courtroom urged Neuvillette to acquit him.
• Candace told Dehya and Nilou that Wautrin and Neuvillette were likely acting to demonstrate Neuvillette’s impartiality.
• Neuvillette declared Wautrin guilty under the law, and the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale confirmed the verdict.
• Wautrin was sent to Fortress of Meropide, where he remained, as rain fell across Fontaine.

The Sky Screen showed Sigewinne learning medicine and trying to help a gravely ill human friend despite the prejudice against Melusines. Ouyang Kong and the others discussed Egeria’s creation of Fontaine’s pure-water humans as the origin of the prophecy, while Sigewinne’s teacher left her a potion before facing her own dissolution.

• Apep criticized Neuvillette for crying, and Scaramouche told Little Durin that history recorded no mass deaths of Melusines during Sigewinne’s era.
• Sigewinne’s human friend fell gravely ill, but her parents barred Sigewinne from treating her because she was a Melusine.
• Sigewinne’s teacher revealed that she had found a disease affecting Fontaine’s people and was too ill to help, then asked Sigewinne to return after she tested one final experiment.
• Ouyang Kong explained to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Nahida that Egeria had turned Oceanids into humans and argued that the resulting loss of humanity was Egeria’s true crime.
• Sigewinne’s teacher wrote that she could not cure the illness but had made a disguise potion, which would let Sigewinne treat her friend in human form.

Sigewinne accepted punishment for using her teacher’s potion to save a friend, then spent decades helping others until that friend recognized and thanked her. Meanwhile, Gu Yuena asked Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to save the Soul Beast Clan, and they agreed to reweave the Ley Lines.

• Sigewinne used her teacher’s potion to gain a human appearance, treated her sick friend, and confessed to Neuvillette, who sentenced her to the Fortress of Meropide.
• Sigewinne continued practicing medicine in the Fortress of Meropide after her sentence and became its head nurse.
• More than fifty years later, Sigewinne’s old friend found her, thanked her for saving her, and encouraged her to stop hiding her Melusine identity.
• Sigewinne attended her friend’s funeral and was comforted by her Melusine friends and Neuvillette.
• The Silver Dragon King asked Ouyang Kong, Nahida, and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to save the Soul Beast Clan, and Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata agreed to reweave the Ley Lines.
• The Silver Dragon King chose the name Gu Yuena.

The Sky Screen revealed how Vacher became Marcel and began abducting girls for experiments in an attempt to revive Vigne, while secretly selling diluted Primordial Seawater as Les. It then showed Callas opposing the drug trade and investigating the disappearances to protect Navia, before ending with a glimpse of their loving relationship.

• Vigne dissolved after coming into contact with Primordial Seawater, and Vacher failed to dissolve when he drank it himself.
• Vacher took the name Marcel, founded a rival organization in Poisson, and abducted girls for experiments based on Jakob Ingold's notes.
• Vacher's experiments repeatedly dissolved the girls without reviving Vigne, while Cyno and Sethos discussed how difficult the case was to solve.
• Vacher secretly sold diluted Primordial Seawater as Les and used money to place his people in the Fontaine Security Force.
• Callas banned Les in Poisson and investigated the disappearances to protect Navia, while hiding his terminal illness from her.
• The Sky Screen showed Navia bringing macarons to Callas and offering to help with Spina di Rosula, prompting Nilou and Little Durin to recognize her.

Callas sacrificed his life in a duel with Clorinde to protect Navia, while the truth behind the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls remained hidden. Three years later, the Traveler and Paimon met Neuvillette at Lyney and Lynette’s performance in the Opéra Epiclese.

• Callas met Jacques to hear clues about Les and the Serial Disappearance Case, but an assassin shot Jacques and dissolved after Callas subdued him.
• The Fontaine Security Force arrested Callas as the prime suspect, and he chose to challenge Clorinde to a duel rather than reveal what he knew and endanger Navia.
• Navia asked Neuvillette to suspend the duel, but he said the law prevented him from stopping it.
• Clorinde killed Callas in the duel, and Navia vowed to keep the Spina di Rosula going while Clorinde resolved to protect her in secret.
• Three years later, Nilou and others discussed Callas’s death as the Sky Screen showed the Traveler and Paimon meeting Neuvillette at Lyney and Lynette’s performance.

Lyney's magic performance ended in a fatal accident, and Neuvillette found signs linking it to the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls. Furina accused Lyney, prompting the Traveler to defend him in a Fontaine trial, while the Traveler investigated the crime scene.

• Neuvillette arrived at Lyney's performance, and Nahida and Ouyang Kong reflected on Furina's long isolation and hidden burden.
• Lyney performed magic without using his Vision or elemental powers, impressing the audience from Douluo Continent.
• During a teleportation trick, a water tank fell and killed Lyney's assistant while the selected girl vanished.
• Neuvillette sealed the scene and concluded that the incident bore the hallmarks of the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls.
• Furina accused Lyney, the Traveler became his representative, and the Traveler examined the crime scene.

The Traveler and Furina uncovered the truth behind Cowell’s death and cleared Lyney and Lynette, while exposing a scheme involving Primordial Seawater. The chapter ended with Vaughn dissolving in court as he began to reveal who was behind the operation.

• Neuvillette opened Lyney’s trial, where Furina challenged his alibi and exposed his connection to the House of the Hearth.
• During a recess, Lyney told the Traveler that he had secretly investigated the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale to oppose the Prophecy, and the Traveler chose to believe him.
• The Fontaine Security Force found Primordial Seawater in Cowell’s belongings and Lyney’s luggage, while Navia returned the missing girl and explained how Cowell had died in his own mechanism.
• The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale declared Lyney and Lynette not guilty, while Vaughn faced questioning over the false evidence.
• Vaughn said he had followed orders from his boss, who had discovered that Primordial Seawater could dissolve people and had been selling diluted seawater, before Vaughn dissolved in court.

Lyney explained how Arlecchino rescued Lynette and brought them into the House of the Hearth, then revealed that she intended to use the Gnosis to confront Fontaine’s Prophecy. The Sky Screen showed the Prophecy and ended with someone secretly pouring Primordial Seawater into a drink delivered to Navia.

• Lyney and Lynette asked the Traveler to hear their story, and Lyney explained how a noble adopted them for his magic before giving Lynette away.
• Lyney recalled finding Arlecchino at the nobleman’s home after she had killed him and rescued Lynette and other girls; she invited the siblings to join the House of the Hearth.
• Lyney told the Traveler that Arlecchino still sought the Gnosis but had promised to use its power against the crisis foretold by the Prophecy.
• The Sky Screen displayed the Prophecy, which foretold Fontaine’s rising waters, the dissolution of its people, and the Hydro Archon weeping alone.
• At Hotel Debord, a shadowy figure poured Primordial Seawater into a glass of juice that was brought to Navia.

The Traveler encountered Vigne’s consciousness at the Fountain of Lucine and learned that she had dissolved, asking that Vacher stop searching for her. After Clorinde helped Navia fight off Mek Guards, Navia and the Traveler went to Neuvillette to investigate the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls.

• Paimon drank Navia’s tampered Fonta, unknowingly saving her from the poison.
• At the Fountain of Lucine, the Traveler spoke with Vigne, who explained that she had dissolved and asked her to tell Vacher to move on.
• The Traveler woke surrounded by Mek Guards, and Clorinde joined Navia, Silver, and Melus to defeat them.
• Clorinde explained that she had followed Navia to protect her from the powerful people behind the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls, and Navia asked her not to follow without warning again.
• Navia and the Traveler visited Neuvillette, who allowed them to examine files on the disappearance case.

Navia confronted Neuvillette over his role in Callas's death, then renewed the investigation into Fontaine's disappearances with the Traveler. At Vacher's hideout, they found records and Vigne's diary linking Marcel to Vacher, but the story left the confrontation and final justice still to come.

• Navia accused Neuvillette of letting Callas die under disgraceful circumstances, and he apologized before she left Palais Mermonia.
• When rain began falling again, Navia connected it to Callas's case and resumed investigating with the Traveler, narrowing their suspects to Marcel.
• After Tartaglia was accused in the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls, Navia went to the Opéra Epiclese while the Traveler and Paimon searched Vacher's hideout.
• The Traveler and Paimon found dissolved girls' belongings, letters about Callas, Primordial Seawater, Les, and experiment records documenting the girls' deaths.
• The Traveler found Vigne's diary, which revealed that she had chosen the name Marcel for her future child, linking Vacher's alias to his past.

Tartaglia was accused of the Serial Disappearance Case of Young Girls, but Navia interrupted his trial and exposed Marcel as the culprit. The Traveler and Paimon arrived with Vigne’s notebook, leaving Marcel’s crimes revealed before the Opera Epiclese.

• Tartaglia accepted the accusation because he wanted to duel Clorinde, then challenged Furina when she warned him about the trial’s rules.
• Navia interrupted the trial with Silver and Melus, declared Tartaglia innocent, and accused Marcel of being the real culprit.
• Navia explained that Callas had concealed the truth about the dissolved person to protect the Spina di Rosula, and Clorinde testified that Callas had intended to die in their duel.
• The Traveler and Paimon arrived with Vigne’s notebook, and the Traveler accused Marcel of being Vacher and dissolving girls in an effort to restore Vigne.