"Yaksha soul characteristics recorded. Scanning the entire territory."
A cold, mechanical voice emerged from the chest cavity of the twenty-meter-tall, silver-white Gundam. Wolf King tore through the clouds, leaving a pale blue streak of immense energy across the night sky.
Jesse, Elliot, Zane, and Matt —the four Hilichurls—clung like ornaments to the outer armor of the Gundam, while Lumine and Paimon stayed inside the relatively comfortable cockpit, looking through the observation window at the swiftly passing lands of Teyvat below.
After nearly a full day of carpet-style searching, utilizing Wolf King's powerful energy sensing and extreme speed, they finally pinpointed the last targets deep within a desolate valley situated on the border between Liyue and Mondstadt.
The sky had long since completely darkened, and stars dotted the ink-blue curtain of the night.
In the center of the valley, three faint yet stubborn glows flickered in the night wind, like candles about to burn out.
They displayed different colors:
One was the restless, blazing fire-red of a jumping flame (Indarias, The Great General of the Fire Rat)
One was the deep, flowing, dark water-blue (Bonanus, The Great General of the Spiral Shell).
And one was the heavy, stable yellow of bedrock (Menogias, The Great General of the Mind Ape).
Adding to this Bosacius, The Grand Marshal of the Soaring Serpent, who had already been rescued and was currently being personally cared for by Zhongli in Liyue Harbor, and Alatus, The Great General of the Golden Wing, who constantly guarded Liyue—the Adeptus Yakshas who once awed the four directions—had finally found the opportunity for reunion at this moment.
"Found them!"
Jesse excitedly patted the armor plate beneath him.
"Quick, quick, quick! Prepare the agents!"
Zane urged, pulling out three crystal bottles, shimmering with stardust-like light, from a specialized container on his waist.
Wolf King slowly descended, its massive frame kicking up a cloud of dust.
the quartet nimbly jumped down. Matt landed carefully, afraid of shaking apart the fragile soul lights.
Lumine and Paimon also quickly exited the cockpit.
Without unnecessary words, the four split up tacitly.
Jesse walked toward the blazing fire-red, Zane approached the pale blue water-vortex, and Elliot rushed toward the steady earth-yellow.
Matt's massive body stood guard vigilantly nearby —although there was likely nothing in this remote wilderness that could threaten them.
"I hope this concentrated 'Soul Solidifying Broth' is potent enough!"
Elliot muttered, pulling the stopper from the crystal bottle.
The three simultaneously poured the liquid, which flowed with a galaxy-like radiance, precisely onto their corresponding remnant souls.
"Sizzle—!"
Like cold water dropped into boiling oil, a fierce reaction instantly erupted! The three soul lights violently expanded, contracted, and twisted, emitting a piercing hum.
Blazing fire phantoms, surging wave illusions, and heavy mountain rock outlines intensely flashed and collided within the light.
But the power of the agent quickly permeated, soothed, and reshaped them.
The chaotic energy fluctuations were forcibly stabilized, and the blurry soul lights solidified at a visible speed, outlining specific physical forms—a woman as passionate as fire, a female as gentle as water, and a man as steady as mountain rock.
When the last trace of light retracted, only three sleeping Yakshas remained in the valley, their bodies having transformed from illusory forms into real flesh and blood, their chests gently rising and falling with long breaths.
Indarias's fiery red long hair spread across the ground like a Burning sunset, Bonanus's smooth blue hair seemed to have water flowing through it, and Menogias was like a sleeping stone statue, his face resolute and calm.
"Phew... done!"
Zane wiped away non-existent sweat and let out a long sigh of relief.
"The consumption was significant, but the effect was outstanding. Alright, let's leave the rest to the professionals."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if in response, several streaks of light lit up the night sky.
Adeptal energy swirled, and powerful auras approached from afar.
The first to descend was a streak of purple lightning. Bosacius's burly figure crashed onto the ground, his four arms spread wide, his eager gaze instantly locking onto the three figures lying on the earth.
He looked as if he had been struck by a paralyzing curse, his massive body trembling violently, his breathing halting. His eyes were filled with a complex storm of interwoven, unbelievable ecstasy and profound grief.
"Benefactors! Please wait!"
Bosacius's voice was hoarse and trembling with excitement. He had initially intended to express his deepest gratitude to the Hilichurl quartet and Lumine, but when his gaze met the three faces on the ground, faces familiar to the deepest part of his soul, all words clogged in his throat.
His Adam's apple bobbed violently a few times before he managed to retrieve his voice. Turning to the group, he bowed deeply, a bow so profound it seemed his waist might break, his four arms trembling slightly: "Th-thank you! Thank you, benefactors, for saving us! For allowing us... allowing us brothers and sisters... to finally be reunited!"
Every word was heavy as a thousand jun, filled with five hundred years of longing and the wild joy following despair.
A green shadow silently landed beside Bosacius.
Xiao's figure remained straight as a spear, but his usually cold and unchanging face was now clearly etched with enormous shock.
His golden pupils violently contracted as his gaze swept over the sleeping faces of Indarias, Bonanus, and Menogias in sequence, as if trying to engrave every detail into the depths of his soul.
He pressed his lips tightly together, his jawline taut. The knuckles of the hand gripping the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear turned white from the force, and his body trembled slightly, uncontrollably.
Five hundred years of solitary vigil, the closest kin he thought he had lost forever, now miraculously lay before his eyes... This immense shock rendered him speechless for a moment; he simply stood there, like a frozen statue.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Accompanied by a clear crane cry, Cloud Retainer elegantly folded her wings and descended, transforming into her human form.
She pushed up the spectacles on her nose bridge. Behind the lenses, her sharp eyes shone with intense astonishment and scrutiny.
"Truly... an astonishingly powerful ability! To be able to restore such complete souls and grant them substance... Such methods, even if this Adeptus studied for a millennium, would be unheard of!"
Her gaze intensely swept over the Hilichurl quartet and the massive Wolf King Gundam beside them, filled with the intense interest of an Adeptus toward unknown mysteries.
Xueyue Zhuyang, The True Lord, walked over with steady steps, his enormous antlers gleaming with a warm luster under the starlight.
He did not speak, merely gazing at the three sleeping Yakshas on the ground, then looking at the uncontrollably agitated Bosacius and the stunned Xiao. His eyes revealed deep emotion and the relief of a heavy burden lifted.
He nodded slightly, greeting the quartet and Lumine. His gaze contained unspoken gratitude.
Lishui Dieshan, The True Lord, followed closely. This Adeptus also rarely showed such emotion.
He looked at the scene of the Yakshas' reunion before him, then at the four Hilichurls who seemed comical yet had created a miracle, finally casting his gaze upon the massive, silently standing mechanical creation, "Wolf King," and slowly uttered two words: "...Well done."
These simple two words were the highest praise this Adeptus could express.
The starlight quietly sprinkled into the valley, illuminating the three newly reborn Yakshas, illuminating the reunited Bosacius and Xiao, and illuminating the "anomalies" who had created all these miracles.
The Adepti surrounded them. The air was filled with a complex atmosphere of silent shock, profound gratitude, and deep sorrow interwoven with joy, spanning five hundred years.
At this moment, time seemed to freeze, solely for this hard-won reunion.