Seeing Ayaka's earnest expression, Kamisato Ayato frowned slightly and tapped lightly on the table.

In an instant, all sound from outside the room was cut off.

Only after doing this did Ayato look toward his sister, nodding slightly for her to continue.

Ayaka took a moment to collect herself, recalling everything she had seen and heard.

"Right now, Liyue, Mondstadt, and Snezhnaya have entered into an alliance of mutual advance and retreat. The three nations are now completely bound together."

"Their combined strength is growing at an astonishing pace."

"A few days ago, even though they were separated from us by the vast sea, and despite the Shogun's thunderstorm blockade, Brother, you must have noticed something."

At this, Ayato fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice:

"The unrest coming from the direction of Liyue? If I recall correctly, that should have been the time of the Rite of Descension?"

Ayaka nodded.

"Yes. Many things happened at the Rite. The Geo Archon stepped down."

"And the demon god Osial attacked Liyue with his sea beasts."

Ayato's eyes widened in shock.

"A demon god's attack? Liyue actually faced a demon god's assault in this age?"

Ayaka pressed her lips together.

"The most crucial part is that neither the Geo Archon himself, nor the Adepti, made a move…"

"Then Liyue…"

"Liyue defeated the invading demon god and his sea beasts."

Hearing her confirmation, Ayato shook his head in awe.

"As expected of the nation with the deepest heritage in all Teyvat. To suppress a demon god without the Adepti or the Geo Archon lifting a hand…?"

Lumine blinked and added with a mischievous smile:

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't just a demon god, you know!"

"Everything at the Rite of Descension was a trial arranged by the Geo Archon for his abdication. Which meant only the people of Liyue themselves were allowed to act."

"The Geo Archon summoned tens of thousands of sea beasts, thousands of Fatui skirmishers, and even the wife of Osial himself—the demon god's consort, the being closest to a demon god."

"Beisht!"

Hearing this, even Kamisato Ayato's composure wavered.

"Such numbers… The Geo Archon truly was merciless with his trial."

To be frank, if that scale of enemies appeared in Inazuma, and if the Raiden Shogun did not intervene, there would be no chance of survival for the entire nation.

But if the Shogun did intervene… only Osial himself would be troublesome to kill. Everything else posed little threat.

Glancing at Ayaka and Lumine, Ayato felt a suspicion grow in his heart.

The people of Liyue must have grasped the power to suppress demon gods. Otherwise, the Geo Archon would never have set down such a test.

After a pause, Ayato murmured softly:

"Time truly is poison. Even the oldest of archons, the Geo Lord himself, has stepped down…"

"Since you can say this, and have come here safely from Liyue, it must mean they passed the trial—defeated the invading demon god."

Ayaka and Lumine exchanged glances. For some reason, Ayaka's face carried a bitter smile.

Recalling the overwhelming heritage she had witnessed in Liyue that day, Ayaka still found it hard to believe.

After a long silence, she finally spoke softly:

"Brother, what I'm about to say may sound unbelievable to you, but please trust me—this is all what truly happened."

"Liyue, with zero casualties, in a crushing display of power, managed to wipe out every sea beast and even the Archon Osial himself in less than half a day."

"The only loss was a section of the harbor that Liyue had already planned to demolish and rebuild anyway…"

At that, Kamisato Ayato could no longer maintain his composure. His palm tightened unconsciously, snapping off a corner of the table.

The ever-calm Ayato found his mind thrown into complete chaos.

By all logic, Liyue should have paid a tremendous price, barely managing to deal with the invading sea beasts and the Archon. That would at least make sense!

Even if the blow had cost them hundreds of billions of mora in damages, Ayato could still barely accept it.

After all, this was an Archon's assault.

Was an Archon something trivial, like some mangy dog or a weak monster?

No—Archons were truly the pinnacle of existence in Teyvat. Any Archon could easily inflict a catastrophic blow on an entire nation.

Not to mention, Ayato was already aware of Osial's circumstances.

That was a sea-dwelling Archon sealed not far from Inazuma's own waters.

Back in the Archon War, Osial had been one of the strongest among his kind. Even after centuries of sealing and a sharp decline in power, he should still have been far stronger than a newly ascended Archon.

And he hadn't come alone—he brought with him an Archon's consort, tens of thousands of sea beasts, and a thousand Fatui Skirmishers!

That was a force powerful enough to shake a nation's very foundation!

So how… how was the price nothing more than the loss of a harbor that was already slated for demolition?

Not a single life lost?

What were they fighting—an Archon, or a bunch of slimes?!

No, that couldn't be right either!

If the Fatui Skirmishers had truly attacked Liyue, then how could Liyue possibly still form an alliance with Snezhnaya afterward?

Chaos.

It was utter chaos!

How had the continent fallen into such disarray during Inazuma's short period of isolation?

It was completely beyond Ayato's comprehension.

He rubbed at his temples, lips parting again and again as if to speak, yet not knowing where to even begin.