In a dark and secluded palace deep within the Abyss—
Upon the highest throne, a golden-haired youth lazily propped his chin with his hand, looking down upon the followers of the Abyss below.
Abyss Heralds, Abyss Lectors, Abyss Mages, Riftwolves...
Countless terrifying Abyssal creatures, any single one of which could wreak havoc and unleash a storm of bloodshed upon the world if it appeared.
But now,
They knelt below the throne, expressing their unreserved submission to their prince.
"Your Highness, the mages have gathered sufficient Abyssal power. The spell capable of corrupting even a level of a god is ready," a purple Electro Abyss Lector reported on one knee to the youth on the throne.
The youth was none other than the Traveler who had crossed countless worlds, Aether.
Aether tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, speaking calmly, "Good. In that case, corrupting Dvalin is practically assured. Our plan shall begin from Mondstadt."
"As you command, Your Highness."
The Electro Abyss Lector answered respectfully, then continued, "However, recently, our Hounds discovered something... particularly unique in Liyue."
"Oh?"
Aether raised an eyebrow, asking, "What is it that has caught their attention?"
He felt curious. The Abyss Lectors who commanded the Abyssal creatures, had lived through long ages, and were widely experienced. Logically, even the creations of The Seven shouldn't cause them much stir.
"Bring it item forward."
The Abyss Lector, beckoned.
An Abyss Electro Mage approached the foot of the throne, respectfully holding up an object with both hands.
"This is... a magical... girl wand?"
Aether's expression stiffened slightly upon seeing the object, a trace of strangeness appearing on his usually impassive face.
He had traveled through countless worlds. In one world, their popular entertainment media featured this very item.
But that was merely fictional creation. How could it truly...
"So it's called a Magical Girl Wand? A rather fitting name," the Abyss Lector nodded, explaining: "Our Hounds, while hunting in Teyvat, eliminated a Treasure Hoarder group. In their underground vault, they unexpectedly discovered this wand, stored away with great care. Your Highness, please observe carefully."
The Abyss Lector reached out, touching the heart-shaped gem atop the pink rod. A burst of purple lightning sparked from his fingertip.
Stimulated by the Abyssal power, the wand erupted in a flash of pink light.
The glow persisted for a moment before slowly fading.
"Your Highness, the residual power on it isn't strong, but it is extremely refined, and.."
"And this type of power doesn't belong to any known system in Teyvat, nor is it related to the Abyss," Aether finished the Lector's sentence, thoughtful.
"Correct, Your Highness."
"Hmm. I initially intended to start our plan in Mondstadt and proceed step by step. But it seems Liyue requires simultaneous attention now."
Aether nodded, looking towards another Lector below.
"Ursus the Tidebreaker, you shall go to Liyue for now. Gather necessary information and investigate the of this wand."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The Hydro abyss Herald clad in menacing armor knelt on one knee.
Meanwhile.
Near Cuijue Slope, by a small lake.
"Ahhh, this feels so good."
Ji An took off his grimy clothes and jumped into the clear water.
The grime washed away by the water, finally freeing him from the sticky, uncomfortable feeling that had plagued him for days. It was like being reborn.
After washing up,
Ji An leaned back by the lakeshore, the curves of the muscles on his upper body visible, his lower half still submerged.
His black hair was wet, his clean-cut face well-defined, his eyes bright, his nose bridge straight—a far cry from his previous 'even dogs would avoid him' appearance.
Dressed in fine robes, he might even attract admiring glances from women at a Liyue opera house.
This wasn't surprising; since childhood, he had often been the type to receive confessions from girls.
He looked at the moon in the sky, leisurely sighing, "The moonlight tonight is so beau..."
"So, this is Liyue?" A voice suddenly came from behind.
Ji An froze.
Huh??
Wasn't I the only one here? Who's talking?
And the voice sounded strange, like it had a reverb effect, echoing.
He felt something was off and turned to look behind him.
Then, he witnessed a scene that left him stunned.
A dark, void-like rift suddenly appeared in the air, rapidly expanding.
Then, an extremely tall figure, clad entirely in fearsome armor, stepped out from the rift.
Ji An: "..."
Any sane person wouldn't consider a figure shrouded in dark energy and radiating a sinister aura to be friendly.
So, Ji An quietly tried to sink lower into the water, hoping the armored stranger would overlook him.
'Don't see me, don't see me...'
He chanted silently in his mind, inwardly cursing his luck. Heavens, are you playing with me? Taking a bath and running into this kind of monster? Is this reasonable?
Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed.
The Abyss Hydro Herald emerged, scanned the surroundings briefly, and his gaze fell upon the fair-skinned mortal bathing in the lake.
"Hmph, a human? Good timing. The Hounds happen to be hungry."
The Herald waved his hand. Several rifts tore open in the air, and a few Riftwolves emerged, their hungry eyes instantly locking onto Ji An.
Holy crap! What kind of monster is that?!
A chill ran down Ji An's spine. Without a second thought, he immediately yelled towards the sky, "Miss Shenhe, save me!!"
"Grrr—ROAR!"
Simultaneously, the Riftwolves bared their ferocious fangs and charged at Ji An.
It seemed he would be dead the next second.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
At the critical moment, Ji An grabbed the stick he'd used to hang his clothes and unleashed the ''Hilichurl Storm Axe Art' he had practiced before.
Under the threat to his life, he performed exceptionally well, actually managing to block the first wave of the wolves' assault.
The wolves retreated a few meters, looking somewhat dazed.
They seemed puzzled about how this mortal had managed three strikes in a second, each hit squarely on their heads.
Wasn't this supposed to be takeout? Why was the food fighting back?
Their confusion was short-lived. The wooden stick Ji An used did minimal damage to the wolves, mostly just fueling their rage.
The wolves' eyes glowed darker, ready to tear this human to pieces.
Right then.
"Wait!"
The Abyss Hydro Herald suddenly let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
He waved his hand, signaling the wolves to halt.
There seemed to be something subtly profound about the stick technique this human had just used, which piqued his curiosity.
Seeing the wolves stop, Ji An seized the opportunity and quickly scrambled towards the woods to escape.
However, he was dragged back by tendrils of Hydro, snakelike in form, summoned by the Hydro Abyss Herald.
"Mmph, mmph..."
Ji An struggled fiercely but couldn't move an inch.
The other day, he couldn't even break free from an Abyss Mage's bubble; how could he hope to escape the binds of a far stronger Abyss Herald?
"Ugh..."
He was wrapped up tightly by the Hydro tendrils, almost like a mummy, with only his eyes visible, straining wide as if searching for something.
Then, his eyes lit up.
"Spirit, emerge!"
The figure of the aloof woman finally appeared in his sight.
As she chanted an incantation, an ice puppet, bringing with it a gust of frigid air and snow, charged towards them, arriving in an instant.
Seeing this, Ji An felt a surge of excitement. His interactions over the past few days had given him considerable confidence in Shenhe's strength.
The Abyss Hydro Herald also saw the newcomer.
Clang—!
Two water blades instantly materialized in his hands, imbued with Abyssal power, and met the ice puppet head-on.
"A necromancer?"
The Abyss Hydro Herald shook the ice fragments off his water blades.
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
patreon.com/deadlygoober