At Liyue Harbor, Wangshu Inn, Li Mo told his story on stage.
Above the inn, Electro energy gathered, projecting the narrated scenes into vivid images.
Below, when the audience saw the two sisters draw their blades against the colossal god, a sense of dread washed over them.
Murmurs broke out among the crowd:
"Don't do it! You can't defeat a god like this—run!"
"Stay low and grow stronger! Don't rush in!"
"Baal, Beelzebul! You don't have elemental power right now—there's no way you can defeat a god like that!"
"It's over…"
"Damn storyteller, don't break our hearts like this… it's too much!"
"Storyteller, if you kill off the Electro Archon, I'm sending you threatening letters!"
"Don't worry, the Raiden Shogun can't die… I'm more worried about the Thunder Demon boy…"
The audience, watching these events unfold, not only speculated about the story's direction but also began arguing among themselves.
It seemed a dispute was about to break out.
But then, Keqing's expression turned cold, and she rose from her seat once again.
She drew her sword.
A flash of cold light slashed through the air, cleaving a table in two.
"If you want to listen, shut your mouths. If you don't want to listen, get out."
"In the name of Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, I declare—anyone who makes another sound will answer to my blade."
She was worthy of being Yuheng.
The flash of her sword brought instant silence.
On stage, Li Mo remained entirely unaffected by the commotion below and continued his tale without pause:
"Baal, who had taken the name Raiden Makoto…"
"Beelzebul, who had taken the name Raiden Ei…"
"Faced the terrifying god and drew their blades."
"In that moment, the two sisters finally made up their minds. They would fulfill their dream of protecting Inazuma. They would defeat every god in this land and bring peace to their people."
"Baal asked, 'Are you ready to fight?'"
"Beelzebul answered firmly, 'I have been ready for a long time. I have trained in martial arts for over a decade—all for this moment.'"
"'To slay the gods, to protect Inazuma!'"
"Together, the two sisters drew their blades and charged at the terrifying colossal god."
"To the colossal god, the sisters were as insignificant as ants. It did not even need to act—its minions could deal with them."
"But the god underestimated Baal and Beelzebul. It underestimated the dream burning in their hearts."
"Though they had no elemental power, their exquisite swordsmanship and unyielding will to fight drove them forward, making them stronger with every clash."
"With their sharp blades, they cut through the god's minions and pressed toward the colossal god itself."
"A single strike drew blood from the god's flesh."
"For a thousand years, this colossal god had known no defeat. For the first time, it bled—even if the wound was trivial…"
"But it was enraged."
"It lunged at the sisters with its great claws, bared its fangs, and breathed forth searing flames. Endless scorching fire engulfed the village, consuming the land."
"The enraged god was far too powerful."
"With its divine form, it crushed the two human sisters beneath its might."
"With its claws, it shattered their blades. With its flames, it consumed their bodies."
"Just as it had fourteen years ago, the terrifying god crushed the weak humans beneath its heel."
"Baal, Beelzebul… they had not expected that a decade of martial training and a decade of accumulated knowledge would prove so powerless before the might of such a god."
"It was over."
"In a haze, the sisters once again felt the pain they had known as infants."
"In the final moment before their consciousness faded, they wished—more than anything—that their brother would appear as a hero, riding on clouds of light to save them."
...
Above Wangshu Inn, Li Mo immersed himself completely in the memories of that lifetime, speaking in a quiet, measured tone.
Before he knew it, tears had welled in his eyes.
As the Raiden sisters were engulfed in flames, the virtual images formed by Electro power above the inn came to an abrupt halt.
The audience was not pleased:
"Storyteller, why did you stop?"
"Keep going! They are Baal and Beelzebul. Even without Visions or elemental power, they cannot die at the hands of some god."
"Don't break our hearts…"
"Those poor sisters… they suffered the flames as infants—why must they endure it again?"
"Where is the boy? Where is their brother? Get out here already! Don't let the Raiden sisters die…"
"I've already guessed what happens next, but I'm not saying anything…"
...
The audience buzzed with discussion.
Many began cursing the boy, demanding to know why he had let the sisters fight alone while he was nowhere to be found.
Faced with the audience's questions and accusations, Li Mo remained silent.
To the people below, all of this was nothing more than an entertaining story.
But to Li Mo, this was the painful memory of ninety-nine lifetimes.
It was reality—his reality.
He took a sip of tea, gathered his emotions, and began speaking again.
As he continued, the virtual images formed by Electro power above the inn shifted once more.
In the images…
The sisters, who had named themselves after lightning, were enveloped in the colossal god's flames, their consciousness fading, clinging to life by a thread.
At this critical moment, the boy, who had been out hunting, finally returned to the village.
When he saw the village consumed by flames, saw Baal and Beelzebul clutched in the god's grasp…
He lost his mind once more.
Why…
He had lost his elemental powers. He had retreated to this mountain village.
Why had a god still come to destroy them?
"No—"
With a cry, the heart within him—the heart that had long been silent, replaced by a mutated Electro Vision—began to beat again with renewed vigor.
Thump… thump… thump…
Endless Electro energy gathered, blotting out the sky in the form of black lightning.
It swirled around the boy.
In an instant, the boy, who had stood no taller than an ordinary human, transformed into a terrifying god of thunder a thousand meters tall.
The Thunder Demon had returned.
Gripping a blade forged from black lightning, he struck at the colossal god.
With a deafening boom, the black lightning blade severed one of the colossal god's arms.
This battle shook heaven and earth.
The power on display surpassed even the battle with the great Tengu chieftain from over a decade ago.
Every god in Inazuma trembled.
In that moment, all the gods of Inazuma understood—the dreaded Thunder Demon who had defeated the great Tengu chieftain had returned to this land.
The battle ended swiftly.
The Thunder Demon, transformed from the boy, carved through the colossal god with overwhelming force, each strike of his blade cutting it down.
Once again, he saved Baal and Beelzebul from the clutches of a god.
But Baal and Beelzebul, having been rescued, were just as they had been over a decade ago.
Their bodies were burned, their lives hanging by a thread.
Even the faint consciousness they had left was slowly slipping away.