Osial and Beisht left with the blessing of the Archon of Humanity.
Up in the Pavilion Tower, a gratified smile appeared on Zhongli's face.
Just as Ellin had said, all that hatred had its roots in the war thousands of years ago.
In that Archon War, every Archon had been drawn into the conflict, willingly or otherwise, to determine the final seven victors.
Zhongli and Osial's decisive battle had merely been forced upon them by the circumstances of the time. They had had no choice but to become enemies.
But thousands of years had passed. The Archon War was over, and its final seven victors had been decided. No matter how unwilling Osial was to accept it, that war had ended, and the order of the Seven Archons had been established. There was no longer any reason for him and Osial to remain enemies.
Time slipped by. As the one who had lived the longest, he had lost countless things over thousands of years.
Hatred, hostility, anger-all of it would fade with the passage of time.
For Zhongli, who had witnessed the changing ages and endured so many losses, even an old enemy was someone worth remembering fondly.
If he could, he would have liked to let Osial go, too. But he could not, because he was Liyue's god, and he had to answer for the safety of its people.
He could also have killed Osial, but he could not do that either, because the archon residue produced by Osial's death would contaminate Liyue Harbor.
He could also have tried, as Ellin had, to persuade Osial to let go of his hatred, then grant him freedom.
But he knew that was impossible.
He was the one who had defeated Osial and sealed him away all those years ago. If he