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Beidou felt the presence of something awakening deep under the sea once again, the same way she did when Beisht came with the intent of "avenging" her husband and ending up doing a horrible job, really.
But it wasn't the same level of power this time, no. It was much worse.
Beidou wasn't someone who'd be afraid of fighting sea gods and creatures since, after all, she did have a reputation after slaying a sea dragon without a vision. Yet this time she seemed almost... hesitant? Which really didn't go unnoticed by Kazuha who seemed to catch with the help of the wind on Beidou's thoughts.
"Is something bothering you Captain? The wind seems to be more agitated around you. Almost as if there's something on your mind."
With a surprised gasp Beidou turned around, the ronin's presence going unnoticed at first since she was so lost in the sea of her own thoughts.
"There's something coming back to life down there. And I'm afraid we won't be able to deal with it on our own this time."
"Ah then we shall ask for the tianquan's help, I'm sure that she'd be able to come up with something now, wouldn't she?"
"No... Kazuha you do not understand. When I say on "our own" I don't mean only the crux. The whole of Liyue. And Ningguang will refuse to ask for help from the adepti or someone of sorts just to prove that we can do it on our own but this time it won't be an easy one. Lives are gonna be lost Kazuha, and it isn't gonna be a beautiful view. It's going to be a rather morbid one and the sea as we know it will lose its purity and color to sin and blood."
Kazuha seemed to be left without any words at the Captain's statement. There was no reason to lie, really. He also felt the strong scent of death in the air, but he didn't want to admit it. Not when the possibility of losing people that he kept close to his heart could be the ones dancing in the grim reaper's hand.
———
The news made their way to the Jade Chamber rather quickly, leaving the tianquan deep in her thoughts as she realized who the new threat to Liyue could be.
It really felt like nothing but a bad joke, and she knew that this time she needed to come with a plan to seal the god forever in the darkest corners of the sea, so the threat would be no longer there.
She already had to tap enough in her "divine" powers every time such things decided to haunt Liyue, but she knew deep down that it wasn't enough. It was either all or nothing.
A sacrifice was needed and archons how she wished this would've happened much later.
Her regrets? Not many really. She just wished to see the city she adored next to the one she loved from up in the sky. Watch its people evolve more and more and feel her chest swell with happiness from how proud she felt at everyone's achievement.
But in the end it seemed that the universe had a whole another plan for her huh?
———
The whole situation felt so familiar that it really pained Ningguang.
Everyone around was trying their best, on the small islands once again were the milelith getting ready to use the ballistas under Keqing's command while Ganyu and Shenhe seemed to be ready to charge straight at the god if that was needed; the Crux was right under the Jade Chamber with its own fire force and people ready to fight with everything they had to protect the city where their loved ones were living and on the Jade Chamber this time Ningguang sat alone.
The wave which seemed to be nothing but an innocent threat at first seemed to grow in size way too quickly for anyone's liking, reaching astounding heights in seconds, being almost at the same height as the Chamber, forcing Beidou's ship to change course so they wouldn't all be wiped out in a blink of one's eye.
This was the signal.
Out of all the people present, only one seemed to know the true direction of the suicidal mission that Ningguang started.
With a single tear staining her cheek, Ganyu took one last look at the tianquan, wishing to do more than just sit around and be a simple paw In this hell of a chess game Ningguang was playing.
Many would've thought that Ning wouldn't call for the adepti's help no matter how bad it would get, yet she did the unexpected.
"Ganyu. The second you see the Jade Chamber rising higher than ever, call out for Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, Madame Ping, Xiao, Moon Carver and ask them to save the people who came out to protect the city which holds their memories. Tell them that /I/ asked for their help. They'll know what's going on. It seems that I pushed for far too long something that should've been done from the beginning. Please Ganyu."
And that's exactly what she did. It all happened in the blink of an eye really. One second everyone could feel their deaths in their bones and in the other one they were safely in Liyue, with the adepti looking in the distance with sadness pooling in their eyes.
With a pleased yet sad hum, Ningguang closed her eyes, feeling the once dormant power now rush through her veins ready to devour their owner alive.
It hurt, there was no denying in that. It felt like hundreds of monsters were clawing at her skin, tearing it apart only to see the tianquan's blood gather in a grotesque pool beneath her body. The flesh on her bones felt like it was on fire, burning her alive and punishing her for the wrongs the power she gained has done in the past.
And not only did she feel as if all of that was happening. You could actually see the skin slowly being ripped apart as gold lines appeared everywhere across it, almost as if they were caught in a deadly dance.
The sound of broken bones could vividly be heard in the chaos caused by the harsh wind and the angered sea as everything was too much for Ningguang's body to sustain. That's why she still hasn't touched it yet and preferred to treat it as if it was Pandora's Box. She knew that nothing but death would come out of this, but it had to be done.
A golden glow surrounded both her and her greatest creation, the warmth emanated being enough to burn anyone who'd dare to come too close to the two, the Jade Chamber now proudly moving towards its final enemy as Osial seemed to look straight into Ningguang's eyes, waiting for their last moments.
———
The second Beidou's feet touched the port in Liyue, panic took over her as she realised that not everyone was there. Hundreds of men, her own crew, the Qixing, the adepti yet someone was missing.
The Tianquan herself.
Seeing Ganyu look with so much grief and sadness in the distance towards Guyun Stone Forest only made the captain worry even more about her lover who now seemed to take the Lord of the Vortex on her own in what seemed their last fight.
For a second everything stopped as the light in the distance suddenly grew even brighter, sign that the end was approaching and Beidou could feel her heart fall in the pit of her stomach. This couldn't be happening. No no no no. She refused to believe it.
Ningguang would never do something this stupid. She promised her that. That had to be someone else not the person who owned the key to her heart.
Beidou wasn't afraid of anything really yet at the moment her knees seemed to be trembling in fear just at the thought of what could happen.
Quick on her feet, she tried to make the most rational decision she could at that time which in reality was one of the most stupid ones really, the captain finding herself begging Cloud Retainer almost on her knees to get her closer to Ningguang so she could maybe do something about it.
The adepti knew very well that there was nothing that anyone could do really, but they couldn't find it in themselves to say no to the Beidou's silent plea, only a nod of their head being seen before the two were not sat atop the highest peak in Guyun.
And she could see it all. Beidou could see how the body of her beloved was giving up under its own power just to protect Liyue and end this for one and for all, her screams of agony and tears being lost in the air as no one but herself and Cloud Retainer could hear them.
———
It wasn't long before something close to an explosion took place, the Jade Chamber Falling right on top of the awakened god who seemed to have accepted its own fate.
It took mere seconds for Ningguang's body to fall apart, the constant beat of her heart now being silenced.
Yet her consciousness was still present. It was almost as if Ningguang could feel the lingering touch of her lover, Beidou's hand lightly touching her waist with the intent of getting the two bodies closer and closer together so the two could share their deepest secrets, wishes and feelings right then and there.
The warm touch of her calloused palms memorizing every single curve and inch of Ningguang's skin, unfolding her like no other.
The sweet words of praise shed hear all the time leave the Captain's lips when the two got a few moments to spare.
Ningguang got to live through every single one of her memories once again while her body got dragged in the deepest parts of the sea, monsters tugging at her skin and using their claws to get what was left of the once untouchable tianquan.
Oh how sad of an ending it was for someone as bright as her.
———
It was all over. Not even a sign of Osial's presence nor of he tianquan's or the Jade Chamber.
Beidou felt her throat be on the verge of bleeding from how sore it became, her voice coming out in nothing but a hoarse whisper as her last cries seemed to have
taken everything from her, leaving her numb yet in so much more pain than anyone could've imagined.
And a single thought seemed to bounce around In her now empty mind.
"When should I join her?"