Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

Lia believed him.

But this did not comfort Lia, or rather, it did not comfort Heuria.

This does not offer any solace.

Heureia gazed in the direction of Liyue.

Her golden eyes were now only filled with coldness, and a heavy, chilling aura of a demon god slowly emanated from them. The bamboo house crumbled slowly with her thoughts, turning into thick, fine salt. She walked towards Liyue, her long, mercury-like hair falling naturally to her ankles, swaying slightly in the cold wind.

Is it [sweet rain]?

what.

It's her again.

what.

It is sweet rain.

Heuria still remembered the aura she felt in her dream. Amidst the overwhelming karmic energy, she sensed the most polluted one. Although she had never seen Gan Yu, she could tell that the filth was neither immortal nor human, but rather came from a half-immortal beast.

Sure enough, their reunion was anything but auspicious.

Sure enough... As long as I listen to myself, everything will be fine. As long as I stay in the ground and don't produce salt, everything will be fine. As long as I listen to myself, everything will be fine.

She remained incredibly calm. During her two thousand four hundred years of waiting, she did not develop any so-called 'karmic obstacles'. On the contrary, through the tempering of time and sand, the salt grains became increasingly resilient.

You promised.

You made a promise; believers cannot deceive God.

Heureia moved quickly. It seemed like it was raining heavily in Liyue. Thick clouds rolled with terrifying flashes of light, and the mist made everything around them look white.

When Heureia saw the heavy rain, she couldn't help but think of the rainy night when the Salt Flat collapsed. At that time, she couldn't find that person, no matter how hard she searched, she could never find him.

The same thing can't happen a second time.

She could still feel that 'connection,' the connection with the believers, like a ribbon, through which she could lend most of her authority to Qingnuoan.

This connection has not been severed.

The mournful rain pattered against Heuria's cheek. She could see the Abyss of Rocks, the mouth of the abyss shrouded in smoke, with four towering stone pillars standing around it.

Almost there, almost there...almost there.

Like a suspended stone slowly falling, her heart relaxed slightly, but this feeling of ease only lasted for a moment before Heureia was stunned.

Because she could sense... the authority and power she had given away were constantly being returned.

From that thin ribbon, from Qingnuoyan's body... it returned to itself.

It keeps returning.

Why...why?

The rain gradually stopped. Just moments ago, the sky was filled with white streaks of clouds, but now the heavy dark clouds slowly dissipated, and the afterglow of the setting sun peeked through the gaps in the clouds, shining brilliantly on the newly cleared earth.

Heureia realized something... she realized the worst was happening.

Everything is sliding towards the worst possible outcome.

She finally entered the abyss of towering rocks, stopped in her tracks, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

because.

That ribbon, that 'connection,' the link between believers, has been severed.

She could no longer find Qingnuoyan.

Hey.

Hey.

She lowered her eyes and walked forward unconsciously until she reached the point where the connection was broken. She searched blindly and unconsciously, but found nothing.

"You are my god, and I will be your believer."

This was the last sentence of Qingnuoyan's prayer.

Heureia finally discovered something. In the very center of the Abyss of Layered Rocks, she saw Xiao, she saw Gan Yu, she saw Zhong Li, and she saw... Ying.

The blonde girl knelt on the ground, her head bowed, seemingly holding something—glass shards. In the dazzling sunlight, they reflected layers upon layers of light, the delicate glints dancing between her fingers. So beautiful, so dreamlike, holding those shards was like holding a sunset.

The heart was broken into seven pieces.

what.

—Heureia finally recognized what it was.

That's...that's it.

Fragments of the heart.

The heart is broken, but it's not just one heart that's shattered.

Ying didn't speak; she just kept her head down, forever lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Liar..."

In an almost murmured voice, she said, "Liar."

She clutched a shard tightly, so tightly that the sharp fragment pierced her pale palm, drawing blood.

Within that translucent fragment of the heart, there seemed to be a line of fine writing.

[Eighth Promise: Before sunset, we must go home for dinner with Ying.]

This is... the true appearance of the Heart of Contract, dazzling and dreamlike. All the promises cherished in this life will naturally appear on the surface of the Heart of Contract.

This is Qingnuoyan's confession to the world.

Gan Yu stared blankly at the line of text, not even noticing Heuria's arrival.

'I'm going home to have dinner with Ying.'

That line of text was simple and unadorned, without any superfluous embellishments or embellishments. It was just a simple statement, but it was precisely because of its simplicity that it was sincere. Such a simple thing was engraved in my heart.

Just like the simplest aroma of a hearth fire, warm and beautiful as the fire dissipates—Gan Yu once heard this saying: the person who waits for you to come home for dinner is the one you care about most in this world.

Because that person is willing to wait for you to come back, and you are willing to return.

Gan Yu understood that that person... used to be her.

There are even more fragments, each one recording a promise, each one recording the longing between the boy and Fushe across two lifetimes.

These fragments, when put together, form their hearts, their final declaration of love for their beloved.

Now, their inner thoughts are openly exposed to everyone, and everyone understands their hearts.

The first fragment was given to the girl who had been sealed away for a thousand years.

[Promise 1: In the cave of Tianheng Mountain, dig out the little zombie you sealed away, gently hug her, and say 'Welcome home']

The second fragment is for the scattered family members.

[Second agreement: Go to a desolate slope at Wuwangpo, wait by a deserted grave, and drink a cup of sake with the mourners.]

"

The third fragment is for that friend who bought flowers and wine.

[The third agreement was to drink with the first person I met at Wanmintang.]

Zhongli lowered his head and said softly, "I wanted to buy osmanthus flowers and share wine... but alas, where are my old friends?"

His voice was very low, really low.

If you want to buy sweet-scented osmanthus with wine, it doesn't seem like you are a teenager.

I tried to pluck a flower branch, but it all came to nothing; I made a promise lightly, and now I have to start all over again.

The fourth fragment is for the master who raised me.

[The fourth agreement was to go to Mount Aozang in the deep clouds, offer three sacrificial dishes: Pearl White Jade Soup, Mora meat, and Matsutake mushroom stuffed meat rolls, and bow three times and prostrate three times.]

Heureia trembled. She saw the fragments too. Her eyes trembled slightly. She lowered her eyes, her nails digging deep into her skin.

The fifth fragment is for the god who loves his people.

[The fifth agreement is to go to the 'Salt in the Earth,' find the salt jar and the salt ruler, and awaken her.]

The sixth fragment, for that sardine and salty summer.

[The sixth agreement was to cook sardines with salt as a seasoning and dine with her.]

Two hearts, two promises, both belong to Lia, but Heuria is not happy. She doesn't want the fragments, she doesn't want these things.

All she wanted was for that person to come back. She had built the city, she had made all the promises, summer was almost here, she had...

Her demands weren't high; she didn't ask for much more. She just wanted... she just wanted...

"asshole."

"asshole."

She kept her head down, cold raindrops dripping from her wet hair, like a homeless kitten, abandoned and forever lost. She pursed her thin lips, her voice lowering:

"You are my only subject, you are my only subject, but now... I have no subjects."

She lowered her head and said, as if choking back tears, "No one can live in my city anymore."

My city is no longer habitable.

The seventh fragment is given to his true self, to Nuoyan, and to his promise.

Please proceed to the Lava Abyss.

He didn't back down at all, he kept all his promises, he was worthy of everyone, and he finally became himself. That's all.

The first seven fragments all originated from a promise made in the next life, from Fushe, while the eighth fragment originated from a new life, born from a boy named Qingnuoyan, symbolizing his "present," and at this very moment, it is shining brightly in Ying's palm.

Gan Yu remained silent.

Gan Yu stared blankly at Heuria, and also at Ying. She didn't know what to call the emotions surging in her heart at this moment... She took a step back, her heart aching slightly. She lowered her head and stared blankly at the fragments.

Mr. Zhongli just said...

These fragments of the soul will be given to everyone involved, whether they are Yakshas or the True Lord Liuyun and Jiefeng. They will all receive them and have the right to know. And the history that has been distorted for two thousand years will return to the right track today.

Finally, at this moment, seeing those hearts, looking at those fragments, my emotions are slowly... becoming blank.