Dainsleif glanced at Shao Yun, then turned his eyes to the collapsed Abyss Herald Wicked Torrents. His voice was calm, almost detached. "You should have let that stiff-tongued fool finish me."
Hearing this, Shao Yun gave a helpless smile. He answered softly, "I always wanted you and Aether to sit down and talk things through… If you'd come just a little later, maybe I'd already have been gone."
He reached into his pack and pulled out a vial of shimmering elixir, popped the cork, and handed it over with a gentle smile. "Drink. Don't worry, it's not poison."
Dainsleif slowly pushed himself upright, took the bottle from him, and studied it carefully.
His gaze rose again to Shao Yun, and he murmured an assessment. "Your strength seems to have grown… though perhaps I was simply careless."
Shao Yun blinked at that, puzzled. "Why do you say that?"
Dainsleif's eyes slid back to the fallen Herald. His tone was flat. "Last time, you killed that stiff-tongued one with a single shot. Yet when the Abyss Order hunted you down, you chose to hide in Dragonspine instead."
"I thought that was the limit of your ability. Unless… you've received help again, from the one behind you?"
Shao Yun sighed and explained point by point. "Back then… all I wanted was to 'pay a smaller price in exchange for wisdom.'"
"If it were me now, I'd have dragged Mondstadt and Liyue into it, let them draw the Order's attention while I slipped away with everyone else."
He admitted it openly—that was indeed what he would dare to do now.
It was the same as Dutch van der Linde using the natives for his own schemes—ruthless, self-serving, with no guarantee of success. But he'd still do it.
Finally, he added, "I did… make another deal with that one. But things are complicated."
Almost unconsciously, his eyes flicked to the revolver at his hip—Micah's Revolver, proof of that deal.
Dainsleif caught the vagueness in his words, but the last part was clear enough: he had received help.
"I see… so that's how you defeated me," he said quietly.
Shao Yun only shrugged, unconcerned. "Whether I've gotten stronger, I don't know. But all I did was 'draw, cock, pull the trigger.' Then you went down, and I gave Wicked Torrents a bullet for trying to finish you off. Considering your bond with Lumine, why would I kill you? I just want to talk. Though I admit… I've been a bit unhinged lately."
Dainsleif downed the elixir in one motion. Before their eyes, his body began to knit itself back together at an impossible pace. Flesh and skin rewove over his chest wound, until the injury was gone.
Watching this, Shao Yun asked, "How do you feel now?"
Wiping the residue from his lips, Dainsleif rose smoothly to his feet. He gave no verbal answer—his recovery spoke for itself.
His gaze shifted to Aether, his tone edged with suspicion. "I have to wonder, Aether… what kind of deal did you offer Shao Yun to make him serve you so willingly?"
Not far away, Aether's face clouded with melancholy. "I never asked my brother-in-law to help me. I only brought him to see. You saw it yourself: when things grew tense, my first thought was to send him away. Didn't you do the same? You agreed not to involve him."
"I didn't expect… that he'd intervene."
Dainsleif rubbed his chin thoughtfully, nodding slightly. Still, his voice carried doubt. "Reasonable, but not convincing. For all I know, you two staged this—Shao Yun luring me into a false opening."
Shao Yun's lips twisted into a half-smile that wasn't a smile. "Given your bond with Lumine, why would I do that? I didn't. I fought you openly, fair and square. That's all."
Dainsleif flexed his arms, feeling strength coursing through him, even the pain of his curse eased. A strange comfort filled his expression. "Your potion… has restored me. Even the torment of the curse is lighter…"
But Shao Yun, wary of misunderstanding, hurried to clarify. "According to the Knights of Favonius' chief alchemist, this brew only strengthens the body. It doesn't cure chronic illness. When the effect wears off, things will return as they were."
Dainsleif nodded faintly. "So that's how it is…"
Seeing his calm, Shao Yun pressed the point. "Then… can we sit down, like in Dragonspine, and really talk?"
Dainsleif gave a small nod. His eyes shifted toward the Abyss Mages still present. "If we're to speak as we did then, have these others withdraw."
…
Aether gave orders. The Abyss Mages carried the unconscious Wicked Torrents away, leaving only three figures in the ruins: Shao Yun, Aether, and Dainsleif.
"No outsiders now," Dainsleif said seriously, fixing his eyes on Aether. "Tell me—what is your plan?"
Aether drew a deep breath. He laid it out in detail: to use the ruins' pool and device to reverse the curse placed upon Khaenri'ah's people.
Dainsleif listened in silence, glancing from time to time at the pool that had brought him brief relief.
When Aether finished, he paused a long while, then spoke firmly. "It's impossible."
Aether's fists clenched. "I know. But I must try."
Coldly, Dainsleif recited the truth he knew. "I have lived with this curse for five centuries. No one knows it better. There is no salvation. To force its removal brings only agony, and death."
"You are not saving Khaenri'ah's people. You will torture them to death."
Aether's voice broke with desperation. "Then what else can I do to make it right?!"
Dainsleif saw his loss of composure, and memories of their journey together stirred in his heart.
Softly, he said, "Once, we walked the same path—to save Khaenri'ah. But you chose the Abyss. And I chose to oppose you, and to take vengeance upon the sinners who caused this tragedy."
His gaze turned sharply to Shao Yun. His tone was icy. "Perhaps that is why the gods of Mondstadt and Liyue do not want Lumine to halt her journey. If she were to join the Abyss, as you have… the consequences would be unthinkable."
Shao Yun had no reply. None of this truly interested him.
But Aether, jaw clenched, voice taut, declared, "Those days are gone. I don't believe this path is wrong!"
Seeing he wouldn't look back, Dainsleif redirected the focus. "Fine. Then let's speak of now. Your plan is self-deception. I've said enough—will you still not believe me?"
Of course, Aether understood he was gambling. Still…
"I know. But…" His eyes slid to Shao Yun, carrying unspoken weight. "To pursue a better world… is not shameful."
Dainsleif caught the glance, heard the undertone, and realized the root lay in Shao Yun's influence.
So, he asked, "Then Shao Yun—what do you think? Tell me your view."
Aether's voice softened. "Do you think I am wrong?"
The sudden weight of choice startled Shao Yun. Again? First the Jade Chamber, now the Chasm… do these people think it's my job to decide everything?
He pointed at himself in disbelief. "Me? Again?"
Still, since the choice was his, he would answer.
After a pause, he spoke plainly. "I don't care about the Hilichurls' lives. Whether they die slowly in darkness, or in pain under your plan—it makes no difference to me."
"If Dain fears for himself, he can leave the Chasm."
Dainsleif heard the answer and understood that Shao Yun sided with Aether, though his words were callous.
"I shouldn't feel pity for Hilichurls," he admitted, "but what have you endured to speak with such coldness?"
It felt strangely familiar. If Lumine or Paimon were here, they'd surely stand with him.
Shao Yun rubbed his temples, his voice flat. "Either way, they will die. Without the plan, they wither in darkness. With it, they die in pain. The outcome is the same."
He turned to Aether, laid a hand on his shoulder as though in comfort, and rambled on. "But brother-in-law, I know you still hold that dream—that hope of restoring Khaenri'ah, that vision of Tahiti."
"So, I'll follow you in this attempt. Even if it's absurd. Even if it's doomed. Because… you're Lumine's brother."
Dainsleif frowned deeply. "Just because he is Lumine's brother, you would support such a reckless, doomed plan?"
Shao Yun nodded without hesitation. His gaze was steady. "Yes. Is there a problem?"
Dainsleif looked up at the pool above, recalling the dying Hilichurls he had seen here. A sigh slipped out.
"It feels like everything is spiraling out of control… into madness."
"And yet… I find myself agreeing with you."
Just as his heart wavered, ready to concede, a black shadow appeared at his back.
It came too fast, materializing in the ruins in a blink.
A Black Serpent Knight stood there, hissing in strange words.
Dainsleif turned—and froze, eyes wide with shock.
He had seen this knight before, more than once in the Chasm. But until now, he hadn't recognized it.
At last, he realized the truth.
This Black Serpent Knight was Halfdan.