Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

Chapter 605 The Abyss (Part 1)

“I see. You’ve already met. That makes things much easier,” Rednos said, lowering his hands.

"What do you mean by that?" Karin asked.

"What I mean is, what's coming next might be more troublesome than you think." Rednos, unusually serious, abandoned his usual joking manner.

"Even with you and Caesar in charge, it's still not enough?" Zixuan asked.

“Of course not. Since Caesar told you, he should also tell you what is sealed at the bottom of that abyss, right?” Rednos said.

“The earliest nightmare of the other dimension, and the fire demon born from stealing fire,” Karin repeated. “That’s what he said.”

Rednos nodded, then turned his gaze to Rek'os.

Hyotei was silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "Beneath the Abyss, two beings equal to me are sealed. One is the nightmare of the past, the first sinner, Erebus; the other is the demon born from stealing and devouring the flames of the Eastern Divine Bird, Ifrit."

"They are ancient calamities that existed since the birth of Teyvat. They once harmed all living beings in their struggle for dominion over the world. I went to great lengths to seal them in the depths of the Abyss. No matter which one is released, it will bring endless calamity."

"No way, are these two things really that dangerous?" Karin asked, stunned.

At this point, Mo Yan complained helplessly, "Hey, you're only just finding out now, aren't you?"

Kailin glared at Mo Yan, but did not refute him.

Rednos continued, "So, the Fallen Gods' true objective this time was never to use natural disasters to trigger an avalanche. The reversed testimony and that extraction device were all preparations they made to awaken Erebus or Ifrit."

Zhao Heng's expression turned grave: "So, we've all been played?"

“Not entirely,” Rek'os said in a deep voice. “At least now that we know their true intentions, it’s not too late. The seal on the Abyss is not so easy to break, and even with the help of the Night Hawk, it will take time.”

"So what should we do now?" Zixuan asked.

Rednos looked at Rek'os and smiled wickedly: "That depends on whether a certain former ruler is willing to reveal his identity. After all, only the former Ice Dragon of Annihilation can deal with these two calamities."

The air in the infirmary suddenly froze.

All eyes were on Rek'oth. The guardian who always presented himself as the Ice Emperor, cold and aloof, stood silently at the door.

"The Ice Dragon that destroys the world..." Zhao Heng murmured, a look of shock flashing in his eyes, "Could it be..."

“That’s right. The Ice Dragon that once destroyed the world had three great followers: the Snow Phoenix, the Ice Rhinoceros, and the Fierce Tiger. They were just the counterparts to the Three Saints of the Glacier. This shouldn’t be a coincidence, right?” Rednos said jokingly.

Rek'os did not deny it. He slowly walked into the room, stood by the window, and turned his back to the others.

"Ten thousand years ago, I was a ruler who governed all four directions. At that time, the land was a frozen world." His voice was deep and calm, as if he were telling someone else's story.

"It wasn't until I made a pact with the first king and sacrificed my power to the earth that all things began to revive. From then on, I relinquished the name of 'World Destroyer' and became his first contractor, until I became the Ice Emperor of this place 5000 years ago."

The room was deathly silent.

Although I had heard those legends from Sirius and Rednos before, the shock was still immense when the person involved admitted it in person.

"So... that so-called array core actually used your own remains?" Zixuan asked cautiously.

“Yes.” Rekos did not turn around. “Back then, in order to construct the protective barrier of the glacier, I used part of the original body that was sleeping in the earth’s veins. Those bones contained my primordial power and were more suitable as the core of the array than any elemental crystal.”

"No wonder the Fallen God Guild wanted to target those key points of the formation." Mo Yan suddenly realized, "They weren't trying to destroy the barrier, but rather to extract the power from your remains to break the seal of the Abyss!"

Rek'os nodded slightly: "Erebus and Ifrit were sealed by my primordial power back then. The most direct way to break that seal is to use the power of the same origin to impact it from the outside."

"So the energy they extracted..." Karin's voice trembled slightly, "was used to break the seal?"

“It’s not necessarily an explosion,” Rednos interjected. “It’s more likely an ‘induction.’ Using the same source of power to simulate the aura of the ice dragon, making the seal mistakenly believe that the main body has returned, thus automatically releasing it. This method is not uncommon in ancient spells.”

“And the remaining power will be devoured by one of the two, making things even more troublesome,” Peruvieri mused.

“Then we must stop them even more. If these two monsters are released, not only will the glacier be doomed, but the entire Teyvat will be doomed,” Sandoni said.

"What's there to be afraid of? We still have Rek'os to back us up, right? Since he was able to seal those two monsters back then, dealing with them again shouldn't be too difficult," Kailin said.

Rednos nodded, but his tone held a different flavor: "Hmm, that makes sense, but we need to clarify one thing first. The one who sealed those two things back then was the fully-formed Ice Dragon of Annihilation, while the current one is Rek'os. As for power..."

“Not even one in ten survives,” Rek'os said, taking over the conversation himself.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent.

"No, are you kidding me?" Karin said angrily, stomping her foot.

Rek'os turned around and spread his hands: "There's nothing I can do. After all, when I made the pact, I already dedicated my power to the entire Teyvat. It's already a miracle that I have even a tenth of that power now."

“One in ten…” Zhao Heng murmured, “Then what are your chances of winning if you face Erebus or Ifrit?”

"That depends on whether they have been worn down by the times. If so, let's separate them into three groups."

“No, not at all,” Karin asked.

“There’s no chance of winning,” he said calmly, his arms folded in his lap.

After a moment, the entire room fell silent again.

Karin opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't say anything.

One in ten against a calamity at its peak—it's not a question of chance, it's a complete rout.

"What should we do then?" Zixuan's voice carried a rare hint of panic. "We can't just stand by and watch those two monsters get released, can we?"

Mo Yan pondered for a moment: "But if that's the case, wouldn't the Fallen Gods Brigade be shooting themselves in the foot? After all, with their strength, it would be very difficult for them to completely control even one of them."

“But that’s the scariest part. The fact that it’s out of control means they probably never intended to control it in the first place,” Rednos continued. “That madman, Itt, finds his greatest pleasure in observing the chain reaction caused by ‘accidents’ and ‘loss of control.’ To him, releasing the calamity is a ‘success’ in itself; as for what happens afterward…”

He shrugged, the mockery on his face completely gone.

"It has nothing to do with him."