"One by one, don't rush, don't rush!" In a tranquil sea area of the Dark Sea, a scene resembling a fan meeting was unfolding.
Yu Jin stood on a high platform, surrounded by the crew members below him.
Ever since they heard that Yu Jin was an Adventurer, and a legendary Adventurer at that, one who was going to the Dark Sea, the crew members of the Alcor immediately became enthusiastic.
In Teyvat, being an Adventurer is an enviable profession, and a legendary Adventurer even more so.
Because they represent humanity's courage to venture into the unknown; the birth of every legendary Adventurer means the boundary of human cognition is further widened!
And now, a legendary Adventurer who was about to head to the Dark Sea stood before them! Regardless of whether he could survive, getting his autograph was the priority.
"Alright, next!"
"What, no paper? Turn around, I'll sign your back."
"Sign on the weapon? You're probably trying to make things difficult for me, aren't you? Fine, I'll satisfy you!"
..."Beidou, isn't this a bit too relaxed?" The first mate of the Alcor saw the commotion on the ship and couldn't help but feel a little worried.
As one of the earliest members to travel the Dark Sea with Beidou, the first mate was well aware of the dangers out there. With the ship so lax now, if a sea monster came, the losses would likely be heavy.
Who knew that after hearing the first mate's words, Beidou took a big gulp of wine, then laughed and said, "Don't worry, Old Sun, nothing will happen. Haven't you noticed that besides storms, we haven't even encountered a single sea monster along the way?"
"This..." Old Sun frowned. Only after Beidou's reminder did he realize the unusual nature of this sea voyage.
"Alright, alright, you're just too cautious. Relax and enjoy the scenery of the Dark Sea; you won't get another chance like this." Beidou, seeing Old Sun still puzzled, offered words of comfort.
"Alright, since you say so, Beidou, then I'm relieved." After hearing Beidou's words, Old Sun's worries instantly vanished.
At sea, trusting Beidou is never a mistake—this was the consensus among the members of The Crux Fleet.
Then Old Sun, like the other crew members, ran off to get an autograph. As the person who most enjoyed bragging to new crew members, Old Sun wouldn't miss such an opportunity to increase the credibility of his bragging.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Seeing Old Sun waving a diary and shouting, Beidou almost spat out the wine in her mouth.
"Seriously, no foresight, he didn't even think to get an autograph for the captain!" After muttering a complaint, Beidou went back to drinking by herself.
She had a premonition that Yu Jin would definitely return. So, the autograph could wait, at least until no one else was around. As the big sister, she felt a little shy about asking someone for an autograph.
The sun and moon rotated several times; although the Dark Sea was mostly gloomy, there were still day and night cycles.
Daytime brought light, while night was as black as ink.
And now, the Alcor was sailing through the darkness. The Alcor in the dark night didn't have its main lights on; only some element lamps on the deck glowed faintly.
Emitting a huge light in the Dark Sea usually invited danger. Normally, the Alcor feared nothing, but now, the important thing was to quickly deliver Yu Jin to the edge of the Dark Sea.
Soon, a line of light suddenly emerged on the distant sea surface. This light then grew larger and larger until it contended with the pitch black.
This wasn't the sun rising, but the edge of the Dark Sea.
Looking at the line of light in the distance, Beidou approached Yu Jin and said, "Do you see it? That's the edge of the Dark Sea."
"Why is it so bright? Why is its sea surface so calm? We don't know any of this."
Beidou removed her eye patch, her valiant, fiery red eyes gazing at the distant light, remaining silent for a long time.
Even the 'Dragon King' of Liyue had waters he dared not tread.
"Heh heh, the rest is up to you, Yu Jin." Beidou patted Yu Jin's shoulder, saying with some anticipation.
Even if she couldn't step into that sea area, humanity's inherent curiosity constantly drove her to obtain more information about this unknown place.
Yu Jin felt the eager gaze from behind him, smiled, and then said, "Hahaha, wait for my good news!"
With that, Yu Jin turned and leaped off the Alcor.
"How did he just jump off?!"
"Didn't we put out a small boat?"
"No..., he doesn't need a boat."
"How can he not use a boat..."
The crew members stopped arguing because they saw a pair of red-gold wings appear behind Yu Jin.
"Phew—, truly unexpected, Yu Jin." Beidou, seeing Yu Jin soaring with his wings, was no less shocked in her heart, she just didn't show it.
After taking a few deep breaths, Beidou shouted to the crew members, "Alright, brothers! To your stations, the return journey won't be as easy as the way here!"
After taking a deep look at the distant Dark Sea, Beidou also returned to the captain's cabin. Just as she said, from now on, battling sea beasts would be the daily routine of the Alcor... Yu Jin retracted his Furnace Wings and landed steadily on the calm sea surface. Everything before him was bizarre and colorful; the luster of seven elements was fully displayed in this space.
They flowed, but they did not touch. Each streak of light here represented an elemental force so vast it was chilling.
And beneath Yu Jin's feet was water that was incredibly calm, like an boundless giant mirror, reflecting everything in the world.
Click! A photo was tucked into Yu Jin's pocket. Such good scenery, he had to take a picture.
Then he began to walk aimlessly across this calm sea area.
This was not the Dark Sea itself, but merely a "boundary" between the inland of Teyvat and the Dark Sea.
The deeper he went, the more Yu Jin could sense the disorder of elemental energy. The seven elemental lights, originally solid and dazzling above the sea, became dispersed and faint.
Mists of seven colors—cyan, yellow, purple, green, blue, red, and white—intertwined, forming a dreamlike landscape.
The originally calm sea surface also began to undulate under the influence of some special factors.
However, Yu Jin paid no attention to these things. He continued walking, all the way to the end of the "boundary".
By then, the sea beneath his feet was already turbulent, the surface like tattered cloth fluttering in the wind, shaking and swirling wildly.
The seven colors that could previously be distinguished had now completely merged, forming a hazy expanse.
But this haziness signified endless danger, for it represented elements so dense they were almost material.
Elemental energy a hundred times, even more, concentrated than the Electro element that permeated Musoujin Gorge back then!
Each surge of the waves here was enough to capsize a large ship!
No wonder no one had ever reached the Dark Sea. This kind of scene could probably only be endured by a God-level power.
Even the Black Blades hidden around him began to leak some aura. Clearly, they were also very uncomfortable in this situation.
Yu Jin saw this without much surprise. Although the Black Blades could collectively slay a God, that was still a life-for-life struggle.
Just as Yu Jin was about to stop and let the Black Blades retreat into his body to rest, he suddenly felt eleven familiar auras emerge around him.
Those were the auras of the Blessings, the Blessings he had bestowed upon life.
The auras flashed and then Yu Jin found that he could no longer sense the Black Blades' positions.
"My King, you need not worry about us." The voice of the Black Blades echoed in Yu Jin's mind, still as clear and cold as ever, without any change.
"It seems you've all progressed a lot." Yu Jin smiled and shook his head, then continued to walk forward.
Even though everything before him was still hazy and the ground beneath his feet was constantly churning, Yu Jin's steps showed no pause or hesitation.
The haziness eventually had an end, and Yu Jin walked all the way to that end.
Then he saw a familiar scene.
Doomsday.
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