The Zibai inside the instance charged toward the Heavenly Nail without hesitation, just as she had once done.
Zhongli slowly exhaled, his gaze as steady as stone.
"Follow the plan. Everyone-solid as a rock."
Boom-
A thin Geo shield covered everyone's bodies. It was almost transparent, yet as steadfast as an immovable mountain.
The Tsaritsa's gaze sharpened slightly as she looked at Zhongli.
Rumor had it that the Geo Archon Morax had been all but worn away by the years, yet this shield... even she would struggle to break it.
She said nothing, merely making a mental note: the Geo Archon was, in the end, still the Geo Archon.
Venti blinked, chuckled an "ehe," and gently plucked his lyre.
A gentle breeze rose beneath their feet.
"Ehe, the old man's shields really are as reassuring as ever. Now-let these thousand-year-old winds carry you a little farther~"
In the shadows, Istaroth froze. That familiar presence... her power?
But she had only given Zibai the Wheel of the Moon. This wind... was hers too?
As she puzzled over it, a figure appeared before her.
Silvery-white hair reached her knees, and she bore a seven-petaled flower emblem.
Istaroth recognized her and said in surprise, "Ronava, how did you... no, that's the presence of time."
Ronava shrugged, looking as though she had known she would be discovered.
"You could say we came from another world to save your daughter. This is a world whose fate hasn't been anchored."
Istaroth's pupils abruptly contracted.
"Another world... a fate that hasn't been anchored?"
She repeated the words softly, an almost imperceptible tremor in her voice.
As the Ruler of Time, she knew better than anyone what "anchoring" meant-an inviolable law, shackles even she could not escape.
Ronava's silvery-white hair floated gently in the void, the outline of