The air underground was stifling, and the light was faint.
Lin En steadied himself against the rock wall. Wet, slippery moss and loose stones lay underfoot, and a cliff dropped away beside him. There was a railing, but the wooden barrier never felt sturdy to him.
Ronava walked ahead at an unhurried pace. The two followed a narrow passage, where faint blue lights occasionally flickered across the rock walls, dimly illuminating the path ahead.
After walking for about an hour, the passage suddenly opened up.
A vast underground cavern appeared before them. Its vaulted ceiling was so high that they could hardly see the top, and glowing ore covered the surrounding rock walls, bathing the entire space in an eerie blue light.
At the center of the cavern, an enormous pitch-black nail floated in the air, its surface covered in glowing blue patterns.
It was the Nail of Retribution.
Ronava paused for a moment, then quickened her pace toward it.
Lin En followed behind her. He could sense a vast, indescribable power contained within the nail.
Ronava stopped before it and reached out, pressing her palm against its cold surface.
"Ten minutes."
She glanced back at Lin En.
"I need ten minutes to absorb the power inside it. During that time..."
"I'll stand guard for you."
Lin En cut her off and drew the short sword he had bought in Liyue Harbor from his waist. Though he knew it probably wouldn't be much use against a real monster, holding it at least made him feel a little more secure.
Ronava looked at him for two seconds, then said nothing more. She turned and pressed both hands against the Nail of Retribution.
The patterns on the Celestial Nail suddenly flared, and energy visible to the naked eye began to flow from its surface toward Ronava's palms. Her body trembled slightly, and the force of the energy swept her silver hair back. Her brows were tightly knitted, and the process was clearly not easy.
Lin En stepped back, turning his back to Ronava and facing the passage. It was the only way to approach the Celestial Nail.
For the first two minutes, there was only the low hum of energy flowing through the nail.
In the third minute, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
Lin En's pupils contracted sharply. A monster was coming!
Boom-
Loose rocks burst from the ground as a gigantic mechanical serpent's head emerged from beneath it. Its body, as thick as a century-old tree, rose segment by segment, sending rocks and dust flying. It locked onto Ronava in front of the Nail of Retribution. It was a Ruin Serpent!
Lin En knew it was a minor boss, but he should be able to hold out for seven minutes.
Ronava noticed the commotion and looked over.
"Ronava! Keep absorbing it! Don't stop!"
Even as Lin En shouted, he was already charging forward.
The Ruin Serpent's tail slammed toward Ronava, moving so fast that it sent a piercing whistle through the air. At the last possible moment, Lin En drove his short sword into the ground and summoned all his strength to activate his Vision.
A stone stele shot up from the ground and slammed into the side of the serpent's tail. Though it failed to deal any real damage, it at least knocked the tail slightly off course.
The serpent's tail was about ten meters to Ronava's side, sending stones flying, but she did not move an inch. All her attention was focused on the Nail of Retribution.
"Come on, you pile of scrap metal!"
Lin En pulled out his short sword and sprinted to the side, trying to draw the serpent's attention away from Ronava. His Vision flashed repeatedly as rocks rose from the ground and smashed into the serpent's body. To the serpent, those attacks were like ant bites, but at least they were enough to irritate it.
The serpent finally turned and locked onto him.
"Yes, that's it! Look at me!"
Lin En ran faster, rolling out of the way between sweeps of the serpent's tail. Geo gathered in his hand to form a crude shield that barely blocked the flying stones. He had almost no combat experience, and all he could rely on was the faint power of his Vision.
The seconds and minutes ticked by.
After four minutes, a flying stone carved a deep wound in Lin En's right arm, exposing the bone. Blood ran down his fingers and dripped onto the ground.
In the fifth minute, a sweep of the serpent's tail shattered his shield. The shock wave sent him flying into the rock wall. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and climbed back to his feet.
In the sixth minute, he discovered that the range over which he could control Geo was shrinking, and his strength was rapidly draining away. The serpent's attacks grew fiercer, as though it had realized that this puny human was stalling for time.
In the seventh minute, Lin En's vision began to blur, and the wound on his leg made it hard to stay on his feet. He glanced back at Ronava. Most of the patterns on the Nail of Retribution had gone dark, and most of its energy had transferred into her body.
Ronava's eyes were squeezed shut, her brows tightly knitted. Almost there, almost there.
"Don't worry... I can still hold on..."
He gritted his teeth and straightened up again.
The serpent seemed to lose patience. It abandoned its pursuit of Lin En, its massive body turning abruptly as its head lunged straight at Ronava.
Lin En's pupils contracted. If that blow hit Ronava, they would both die here. If he sacrificed himself, at least she could survive.
He had no time to think. His body was already moving before he knew it.
"Ronava!"
He stepped in front of her.
The serpent's spike pierced straight through his chest.
The spike pierced Lin En's chest with cold precision. Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Lin En lowered his head and looked at the metal tip protruding from his chest, covered in blood-his blood.
Pain swept over him like a tide, only to recede in an instant. He could no longer feel his body, only a strange cold spreading from his chest to his limbs.
His knees buckled, and he fell forward.
Ronava looked somewhat shocked. She had not expected Lin En to risk his life to block the attack for her.
Lin En tried to turn his head to look at her, but his vision was already blurring.
Ronava watched him, watched the bloody hole in his chest, watched his body fall. Her golden eyes, always calm and cold, as though she cared about nothing, now showed a flicker of turmoil.
Those eyes were filled with disbelief. Then the gold within them began to burn.
A dazzling blackness erupted around Ronava. It was pure power, a primordial pressure belonging to a higher plane of existence.
"How dare you..."
She raised one hand. The blackness around her gathered into a single point, then exploded.
The entire underground cavern where the Nail of Retribution stood was illuminated by the strike, as though a sun had risen beneath the earth.
The Ruin Serpent's mechanical body shattered inch by inch in the white light. Its metal shell, frame, and core were all reduced to dust.
The white light faded, and silence returned. Ronava held Lin En in her arms.
Without her complete authority over death, she had no way to stop Lin En's life from slipping away. Was he really just a passing figure in her life?
Lin En's lips moved. He wanted to say, "I'm fine," but all he coughed up was blood. He reached out to touch Ronava's face, but his hand would not obey him.
"This time... it was my own choice. Live on for me. I don't belong here... cough, cough!"
A white light appeared before Lin En's eyes. He had never felt that he belonged in this world. He was only an outsider and should not have intruded on these characters' lives, but Ronava's words pulled him back to reality.
"Don't speak."
Her voice was low and hoarse.
"I'll take you out."
She picked him up and raced toward the passage they had come through.
"He's fine. He simply used all his strength protecting you and fainted from exhaustion."
At The Chasm, Ronava had encountered Zhongli, who was out for a stroll.
"But his chest was clearly..."
Zhongli reached a hand toward Lin En, and a sheet of white paper floated out of him.
"He and I still have a contract between us. I won't let him enter the Ley Lines just yet. The Ruler of Death asking someone to save a life-that's quite a novelty."