A dark shadow lunged straight toward Zhongli.
"Fusha! Stop!"
Xiao's face changed, his spear flashing into position. With a powerful swing, he intercepted the attack, his wrist trembling as fierce adeptal energy erupted and blasted the shadow far back.
"…Sigh."
Zhongli let out a weary breath.
That shadow wasn't the real Fusha. It was nothing more than a phantom—an echo without clarity or reason.
Everyone who knew the story understood what this meant: Fusha's phantom was mistaking them for the abyssal beasts buried deep beneath the Chasm.
"Huff… huff…"
The phantom panted heavily after being struck. But against Xiao in his prime, how could such a thing stand any chance?
"Restrain it first," Zhongli said helplessly.
Killing it wasn't right. Leaving it alone wasn't right either. After all, it wasn't truly Fusha.
"I'll handle it!" Paimon volunteered.
She raised her tiny hand, and vines sprang from the ground, twining around the phantom and locking it firmly in place.
Zhongli swept his gaze across the cavern, then spoke. "Come with me."
The group followed. Before long, Zhongli stopped. The earth split open beneath his feet, revealing a stairway descending into darkness.
They went down, the shadows thickening. Lumine switched on her flashlight.
"This… is where Fusha and Boyang sacrificed themselves?" she whispered.
"Yes." Zhongli nodded, halting with a sigh. "Here lies Fusha's remains."
The beam of light revealed a hollow cavern. In one corner rested a skeleton, larger and sturdier than any human, with four arms—unmistakably belonging to the yaksha Fusha.
Beside it lay a pile of fragile, almost powdery fragments. The remains of Boyang, ancestor of Yelan.
Yakshas, long-lived as they were, could leave behind bones that endured for centuries. But a mortal man like Boyang—five hundred years had reduced him to brittle dust.
"Gather everything carefully. Leave nothing behind," Zhongli instructed.
"Yes!" Xiao bowed, then knelt to collect Fusha's remains piece by piece.
Lumine and Paimon did the same for Boyang's brittle bones, taking extra care not to let them crumble further.
Once both sets of remains were secured, they returned to the surface. The phantom Fusha still struggled, roaring in fury.
Xiao tightened his grip on his spear and looked to Zhongli. "Lord of Geo… let me deal with it."
Zhongli raised a hand to stop him. His brow furrowed in thought.
Even here in this hidden realm, their phones still had signal.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhongli pulled his out and started a video call.
In Inazuma, at Mount Yougou, night had just fallen. Lu Heng had already dined at Narukami Shrine and now sat with Yae Miko, sipping tea under the sacred sakura while admiring the moon.
The tranquil evening was interrupted by the buzz of his phone.
"Someone checking in on you from home?" Yae teased.
"Impossible." Lu Heng shook his head with a smile. "They'd be happier if I found more companions."
"…Excuse me?" Yae raised a brow. "Women like that actually exist?"
"You just haven't met them," Lu Heng chuckled. Then he blinked at the caller ID. "Zhongli? Why is he calling me?"
He answered—and the scene on the other side froze him for a second. It was still daylight, the backdrop unmistakably a fragment of the ancient domain beneath the Chasm.
"…Am I disturbing you?" Zhongli asked.
"Don't waste time with small talk," Lu Heng replied. "If you're calling me, it's serious. Speak."
Zhongli turned the camera, showing the bound phantom, and then the skeletal remains. His sigh carried deep weight. "I've run out of options. I wanted to ask if you know of another way… to bring Fusha back."
"Revive him?"
"Yes."
Lu Heng frowned, thinking. Then he asked, "How are the leylines around you?"
Zhongli quickly handed the phone to Xiao, then checked. "Stable."
"Then it's possible." Lu Heng nodded.
Yae Miko, watching from beside him, widened her eyes. She'd seen the remains through the video—just bones, and a phantom echo. With stable leylines, was revival truly possible?
For anyone else, it would have been absurd. But for Lu Heng, impossibility rarely seemed to exist.
Zhongli's eyes lit with hope.
But Lu Heng raised a finger. "Not me. You."
"…Me?" Zhongli blinked in shock.
"If you could do it yourself, would I need to call you?"
Lu Heng sipped his tea. "You just haven't thought it through. I'll guide you."
Zhongli straightened, grave and attentive.
"First—you have the Brush of Insight, don't you? With your art at the Dao level, paint flesh onto Fusha's bones. Rebuild his body. But don't paint the eyes yet."
"Next, wear the Wrathful Visage. Its boost isn't enough on its own, so borrow some amplification cards—at least two. That'll push your strength to the Four-Shadow level."
"With that power, combined with your art, Fusha's body can be re-created. Then you'll anchor him with memories: the phantom's fragment, the leylines' echoes, your own recollections, Xiao's memories of him. Interwoven, they'll restore his true self."
Xiao frowned. "But would that really be him? Or just something like him?"
"It will be him," Zhongli answered firmly. "The Brush of Insight, when used with true memory, doesn't create a copy. It calls the soul back into being. Once the eyes are painted, he'll awaken."
Lumine and Paimon's jaws dropped.
"This… actually works?" Paimon gasped.
"Of course. Otherwise, what's the point of cards?" Lu Heng smirked. "Any other questions?"
Zhongli shook his head. His mind now raced with possibilities.
"Then I'll leave you to it. And Zhongli—next time, repay me with some good tea." Lu Heng ended the call.
Yae Miko glanced at him. "That plan sounded impossible."
Lu Heng smiled. "Difficult, yes. Impossible? No. As long as all conditions are met."
Back in Liyue Harbor, Zhongli borrowed Ganyu's Strengthened Amplification, then Childe's Desperate Revival. With three boosting cards ready, he returned to the cavern.
Before everyone's eyes, the Lord of Geo's aura surged. Wearing the Wrathful Visage, fueled by the amplifications, his presence grew overwhelming.
He conjured a brush from divine energy and knelt before the arranged skeleton. Stroke by stroke, flesh began to grow upon the bones.
Lumine and Paimon watched in awe. It wasn't mere painting—the flesh bloomed into existence with every line drawn.
Head, neck, shoulders, arms, chest… until the whole body stood restored, clothed in drawn garments. Only the eyes remained empty.
"Remarkable," Xiao breathed.
Zhongli's breathing grew heavier. But he pressed on. With a gesture, the earth trembled. He seized the memory of the leylines, condensed it into a golden spark. Then he drew one from his own brow, and another from Xiao's.
Three sparks merged, and he pressed them into Fusha's forehead.
At last, he lowered the brush to the empty eye sockets. Stroke by stroke, he shaped the eyes.
"Fusha… awaken!"
A thunderous cry shook the cavern.
The body on the ground convulsed.
Thump… thump…
A heart began to beat. Blood flowed. Breath rasped out in gasps.
Fusha opened his eyes—dark at first, but slowly color returned.
"L-Lord… of Geo? Xiao…?"
Xiao's stoic face finally broke, overcome with emotion. "He remembers! He knows us!"
"Brother!" Xiao exclaimed, rushing forward. "How do you feel? Are you well? Anything wrong?"
Fusha answered with clarity, recalling his life from beginning to end.
Only then did Zhongli release a long breath. His knees buckled slightly.
"Lord of Geo!" Xiao caught him in alarm.
Zhongli waved weakly, dispelling the card's effect. The immense price of power had burned much of his strength and soul.
"Lord of Geo!" Fusha cried, horrified.
"For your sake, he's drained himself dry!" Xiao shouted.
Guilt shadowed Fusha's face. "Lord of Geo…"
"I'll be fine," Zhongli said quietly.
"Leave it to me!" Paimon declared. A flower blossomed on Zhongli's shoulder, blooming with vitality. Some of his strength returned, enough for him to nod in approval. "Not bad."
"Heheh! See? I'm not just weak little Paimon anymore!" she boasted, hands on hips.
"I'll help too," Lumine said, casting her healing arts.
Warm light wrapped around the Lord of Geo, easing his weariness.
For the first time in five centuries, the Yaksha Fusha stood once more among his kin.
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T/N:
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