I opened a shop on the Astral Train

Liyue Harbor.

It was already midnight.

The Internet café buzzed with activity, despite the late hour. The fluorescent lights cast a pale glow over rows of monitors, each displaying vivid game scenes or bustling chat windows. The rhythmic tapping of keyboards and the low murmur of conversations blended with the hum of the machines. 

Because it was cheap to stay overnight, the café was always packed after sundown. Students, travelers, and jobless wanderers found solace in the virtual worlds hosted here. It was a place where worries could be forgotten for a few precious hours if they needed it.

At the front desk, Zhongli sat calmly, eyes half-lidded. He was working temporarily as the network administrator, a position he'd accepted with quiet grace after the regular staff called in sick. Despite his status, he adapted easily to this humble role, content with observing the ebb and flow of human activity.

"I still wish I didn't take this job sometimes..." Zhongli muttered to himself.

Suddenly, Zhongli stiffened. His gaze drifted beyond the walls of the café, past the illuminated streets of Liyue Harbor, toward the distant sea.

The ocean was no longer peaceful.

Far on the horizon, the clouds had turned an ominous shade of violet. Thunder crackled through the sky as winds stirred the waters below. The sea roared—churning as though something massive stirred beneath its surface, something ancient, something wrathful.

Without a word, Zhongli vanished from his seat, reappearing upon a cliff overlooking the boundless ocean. He stood there, cloaked in his black and gold robes, his silhouette outlined by the flickering lightning above.

He was not the only one to sense the disturbance. All across Liyue, others stirred.

Ningguang's eyes snapped open as she studied her crystal arrays. Keqing tightened her grip on her sword as she gazed from Yuehai Pavilion. Yuri, meditating atop Mt. Tianheng, sensed the distortion in the elemental balance. The ancient immortals hidden deep in the mountains paused their rituals.

Even Asmodeus, seated comfortably in the far corner of the café, glanced briefly toward the sea before shrugging and returning to his rhythm game.

Atop the majestic Qunyu Pavilion, Ningguang stood with poise. The platform rose high above the clouds, propelled by geo energy, as she directed it toward the storm's epicenter—Guyun Stone Forest. Her eyes, sharp and calculating, narrowed as she gazed down.

There, rising from the depths, was a monstrous form—twisting, serpentine, terrible.

"It's finally here," she murmured. "I've waited a long time for this moment."

The creature below was enormous, its body layered in jagged black scales that shimmered with a strange, oily sheen. Three heads, each bearing different expressions of anguish, fury, and despair, howled at the skies.

This was Ba Che, wife of the sea god Osel.

Ba Che's voice rang across the water, echoing with otherworldly pain.

"Give me back my husband!"

The waters answered her call, rising high into the sky. A tsunami formed in seconds, looming over the Stone Forest and the shores beyond. Ningguang immediately issued commands.

"Activate the Qunyu Pavilion's retreat protocol. All units, fall back!"

Below, the Qianyan Army moved with trained precision, firing salvos of elemental arrows to suppress the beast. But Ba Che used the rising wave as cover, disappearing into the foam. Their attacks struck only water.

The wave crashed down.

And then—

A blinding light streaked through the clouds. A meteor—no, a blazing comet—plunged from the heavens and collided with the sea.

A shockwave exploded outward, vaporizing the massive wave instantly and throwing Ba Che's hulking form off balance.

Keqing shielded her eyes, then looked up to see a lone figure standing atop twin wheels of fire and wind.

"Hu Tao..." she breathed.

Hu Tao, the enigmatic 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, now stood poised for battle. Her red ribbon fluttered in the wind, her fire spear shimmering with lethal grace. She grinned playfully.

"Who dares attack my Liyue Harbor? Leave your life here!"

Without hesitation, she streaked through the air, a flaming bolt of fury. Her spear pierced one of Ba Che's heads before the beast could react. It exploded into fire, the howl of pain rattling the mountains.

Ba Che, panicked, attempted to retreat into the sea, but Hu Tao wasn't finished.

"Hun Tian Ling—go!"

The red ribbon shot forward like a serpent of flame, wrapping around Ba Che's tail and yanking her back to the surface. The creature thrashed and screamed, but Hu Tao darted through the air like a phantom, impaling a second head.

Only one head remained.

Hu Tao rose into the stormy sky, rain cascading off her as her spear burned brighter. She poised for the final blow—

Then Zhongli appeared beside her, arms folded.

"Hall Master, wait."

Hu Tao paused, recognizing his voice. She twirled mid-air to face him.

"Guest, you're still awake? Oh, of course. Who could sleep through such chaos? Did you see my magic treasures? Pretty great, right? Hehe~"

She conjured the gleaming relics she'd drawn from a golden trash can: the Nezha three-piece set—Wind and Fire Wheels, the Flaming Spear, and the Hun Tian Ling.

"Five million Stellar Jade worth! Can you believe that?"

Zhongli raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive. That explains your... sudden growth in power."

He glanced down at Ba Che.

"She is a follower of a fallen god. If you kill her, her essence will corrupt the ocean. Though we prepare to leave this world behind, we must not poison it in our wake."

Hu Tao pouted but lowered her spear.

"Fine, I'll leave her to you. I'm going back to sleep. Fighting all day's exhausting."

She yawned, waved cheerfully, and vanished into the storm.

Zhongli summoned divine chains of amber and bound Ba Che. With a ripple of golden light, he transported her to the Hall of All People, a timeless prison hidden in another plane.

Ningguang, Keqing, Yuri, and the assembled immortals watched in awe.

Hu Tao's overwhelming power had silenced a calamity within minutes.

—Back at the Hall of Rebirth—

Hu Tao stretched as she landed, kicking off her wheels with a yawn. Just as she reached for the door—

"Master! I want to talk!"

Asmodeus popped up like a mischievous jack-in-the-box.

Hu Tao blinked.

"You again? What is it, Asmodeus guest?"

He grinned, eyes twinkling.

"Do you want to become the God of Fire?"

She tilted her head.

"The God of Fire? Nah, I've got a funeral parlor to run. I'm beat—I'll sleep first."

Asmodeus pouted but tried again. "Please think about it, Master!"

She waved lazily. "Okay, okay. I'll think about it."

Then she disappeared inside.

Asmodeus sighed, turning back toward the café. She was strong, absurdly so. She would've made the perfect God of Fire—but oh well.

He reappeared in the e-sports room and resumed his game of Audition, tapping to the beat without missing a note.

—In the Prison—

The Hall of All People was silent. A vast chamber of stone and crystal, filled with cells suspended in amber.

Zhongli placed Ba Che gently beside another cell. Without a word, he turned and walked away.

Ba Che, stunned and weakened, lay still. Her body ached, two heads gone. Her mind swirled with confusion. But her eyes flicked around the cell, studying every detail.

Then—a familiar voice.

"Ba Che? You're here too? It's me—Osel!"

Her remaining head snapped up.

"Husband! You're here?! I've missed you so much! Don't worry, I memorized the way in—we'll escape together soon!"

Osel sighed, his voice heavy.

"My love... let it go. This isn't Teyvat anymore. We're in another world. Our strength is meaningless here."

Ba Che froze. Another world?

She looked again, seeing it clearly now—the geometry of the prison, the strange constellations beyond the ceiling. The silence of this place, unnatural.

Osel spoke again, quietly.

"At least we have space to move here. When I was sealed last time, I couldn't even twitch."