"Phew, we finally lost those monsters!" Deep inside the domain, they shut the ancient door.
Pale, crumbling walls lay scattered throughout the underground structure, and traces of its former glory seemed still plainly visible.
"If the rumors are true, these ruins were left behind by Khaenri'ah!" one of the adventurers said excitedly.
"That was the most glorious godless empire of its day, with countless brilliant technologies and a quest to understand the nature of the world."
"If we can get our hands on something good here, won't we make a name for ourselves in one fell swoop?"
"But is it really a good idea to barge into a place like this?" one of the more cautious adventurers asked uneasily.
"What's the problem?" another said dismissively. "Before we set out, I asked someone to report it to the Adventurers' Guild. By the time we're done gathering our loot, that Nod-Krai consultant should be here."
"There's no risk at all. What's there to be afraid of?"
And so the three of them walked for a while, venturing deep into the ruins. Terrifying shackles and chains lined the area. Traces of long-dried blood seemed like the cries of countless wronged souls.
"What on earth is this place?"
"No idea." One of the poor fools picked up a notebook from the ground. "Let me see..."
"Rerir, leader of some organization or other in Khaenri'ah?"
The moment he uttered "that name," space and time around them suddenly froze. Pairs of crimson eyes opened all around the three of them.
Soon, a tall, white-haired figure wrapped in bandages appeared in the cramped space. Red feathers circled his hand, and his red eyes, one of them covered, swept over each of them.
"According to the heavenly order, addressing an Archon by name is an indisputable capital offense." His voice was utterly cold, without a trace of emotion. "Therefore..."
With a snap of his fingers, three feathers with open eyes landed on them. Three muffled thuds followed in succession as their bodies hit the ground.
Then a red-and-black rift tore open again, and "Rerir," one of the Five Sinners and the one currently carrying out the duties of the Archon of Death, vanished from the space.
"This is... the Power of Death!" At the entrance to the ruins, Ronava's beautiful golden eyes suddenly widened.
"What do you mean?" Linaya asked, puzzled.
"Wait, Ronava, you're not joking, are you?" Tang Wang, meanwhile, grew visibly tense.
"There's no mistake." She shook her head. "I can feel it. The Power of Death appeared over there."
"Can you take us there?"
"Yes. Stay close to me." With that, she raced through the twisting maze as fast as she could.
After rounding countless turns and climbing over an unknown number of walls, they finally arrived before the long-sealed door.
"Lumi!" In the emergency, Linaya could no longer worry about protecting the ruins. "You can't be a picky eater!"
With that, she took a pile of glittering ores from her backpack and tossed them all into Lumi's mouth.
After eating the ores, which were infused with Linaya's Geo power, Lumi received an extraordinary boost. Its body swelled to several times its size, and the hammer in its hand grew enormous as well.
With a single blow, it blasted the sealed door open. When the three rushed inside, they found only three corpses with peaceful expressions awaiting them.
"The pulse is cold." Tang Wang checked a pulse. "There's no doubt about it. They're dead."
"There are no obvious external injuries, which means they weren't involved in any fighting." Holding back her emotions, Linaya began to make her professional assessment.
"This is the Power of Death." Ronava's expression had grown exceptionally grave. "I... I couldn't mistake it."
"Death makes all things equal. It is the final release, eternal peace..."
"Then why exactly did they die from the Power of Death?" Tang Wang asked the crucial question. "Lumi! Help me look for books or anything else with writing on it around here."
"Yahoo!" With a cry of assent, the little golden frost spirit joined him in searching all around.
They found nothing except a pile of ashes left by burned books.
"Should we bury them?" While Tang Wang and Linaya stood lost in their own thoughts, Ronava's question broke the stalemate.
"Yes, we should bury them." Tang Wang nodded. "We should let their families see them one last time."
"Then should we leave now?" She looked down at the three corpses.
"Yes, Linaya, it's time to go." Tang Wang turned to look at Linaya, who was crouching silently in a corner and wiping away her tears. "It's sad, but there are still many living people who need our help."
As he spoke, he also pulled a handkerchief from his shadow domain and gently wiped the tears from Linaya's cheeks.
"Mm, let's go." She got up and headed in the direction she had marked. Lumi seemed to want to snuggle into her arms and comfort her, but Linaya gently pushed it away.
"Yahoo..." So the somewhat dejected Lumi could only snuggle into Tang Wang's arms instead, and he merely stroked its head gently.
"It's all right, Lumi. She's just a little sad right now. It's always heartbreaking to see these young people from the Adventurers' Guild die while pursuing their dreams, isn't it?"
As he spoke, he approached the three corpses on the ground, intending to put them away in his shadow domain.
Like most storage items, his shadow domain could not hold living things-though, as things currently stood, that might simply be because he had "insufficient permissions."
According to the laws of Teyvat, corpses were merely piles of organic matter, so naturally there was no such problem.
"...Let me do it instead." Ronava stopped him and used her Pyro power to form three hands.
She lifted the three corpses as gently as she could and followed Tang Wang. This attempt to rescue the adventurers had naturally ended in failure.
Meanwhile, inside the Dawn Winery, a hooded figure in black robes paid a quiet visit. "You want to hire me to deal with the dragon disaster? Fine, but you'd better offer a suitable price."
"I'm a mercenary, not a philanthropist." She stressed the word "mercenary" heavily, seemingly emphasizing her current identity.
"Come now, there's no need to put it that way..." The dark-skinned man sitting across from her wore a slightly flippant smile. "Miss Danika, I know you're that person's apprentice, and I also know you're a highly skilled fighter."
"So naturally, the Knights won't shortchange you. But as for the circumstances behind this matter-"
"I know. I'll keep my mouth shut." Her tone was rather cold.
"Very good. Then we have a deal." With that, Kaeya tossed her a bag of Mora as a so-called "deposit."
"However, Miss Danika, you certainly won't be fighting alone-the Adventurers' Guild's elites will be there to help you as well."