Grand Sage Azar was utterly bewildered.
Just like any other day, he had been at the experimental facility, making preliminary preparations for the God-Creation Plan.
Then, suddenly, the entire base exploded.
Or rather, it was attacked by something.
If not for the Heart of God he carried with him, he would have ended up just like those unfortunate researchers—obliterated into nothing more than a mist of blood.
But honestly, being alive wasn't much better than death at this point.
The entire facility had been destroyed, all research data annihilated, and every single researcher involved had perished.
The progress they had painstakingly made with the God-Creation Plan was now completely wiped out.
The only silver lining was that one other person had survived.
The Fatui Harbinger who had been in the base with him—the former outcast of the Akademiya, the Doctor, Dottore.
Somehow, using an unknown method, he had also managed to cling to life.
Azar had to admit—when it came to the God-Creation Plan, Dottore was far more capable than he was, even as the Grand Sage.
With him around, they could simply start over from scratch.
But…
The loss of all that data and those materials…
Just thinking about it was enough to drive Azar to despair.
"Who the hell…?"
His voice, filled with barely contained fury, had only just left his lips when a bloodcurdling, malicious shriek echoed through the darkness.
Something eerie was hurtling toward him at terrifying speed.
Azar stared, stunned, as the next moment—a grotesque, monstrous zombie tore through the mist and lunged at him.
A suffocating aura of pure savagery and bloodlust enveloped him.
For all his arrogance as Sumeru's so-called greatest intellect, Azar was still just an ordinary man without a Vision.
To think he had survived the explosion only to die in the jaws of this creature…
He had no doubt this thing ate people.
But just as its razor-sharp claws were about to rip into him, an overwhelming flood of elemental energy swept in like a tidal wave.
The sheer force of it sent the zombie flying.
Footsteps echoed through the ruins, and a figure emerged—a man with long, jagged blue hair, wearing an eerie mask.
Dottore strolled forward at a leisurely pace.
"Looks like you've provoked something… rather powerful."
"Impossible!"
Azar immediately rejected the notion, his voice heavy with conviction.
"The God-Creation Plan is still in its preparatory phase. Only we know about it! Besides, an attack of this magnitude hasn't occurred anywhere in all of Teyvat for the last five hundred years!"
Hearing this, Dottore let out a sharp, mirthless chuckle, his tone laced with cold amusement.
"You really believe the Akademiya kept the Lesser Lord Kusanali's imprisonment a perfect secret?"
"You really think this was just some accident caused by a miscalculated experiment?"
"Confidence is good. But excessive confidence? That is nothing but ignorant arrogance."
"I don't care who you've angered, nor do I care if your plans have been leaked."
"But this time, you dragged me into your little disaster." Dottore's voice turned colder, his masked gaze piercing. "If you don't offer me some truly valuable experimental materials…"
"I will show you exactly why, in the past, the Akademiya and its Sages feared my research as if it were the work of a demon."
"Prepare everything anew. Find a more hidden location to restart the experiment."
"If this happens again…"
The look in Dottore's eyes—visible even through the mask—was glacial, sending a chill down Azar's spine.
But before he could respond, Dottore had already vanished.
This time, in order to preserve his prime-condition segment for the most crucial experiments, he had paid an unimaginable price.
Even for someone as obsessed with experimentation as Dottore, that loss stung.
He had no desire to linger in this accursed place any longer.
As he departed, he casually snatched up the strange creature that had attacked Azar.
However, before he could even bring the zombie back to the Fatui for analysis, it was instantly incinerated upon exposure to sunlight.
Right before his eyes, it disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind only a single piece of rotting flesh.
Dottore's expression darkened.
When the modified vanguard unit finally arrived, he remained silent, simply picking up the decayed flesh and leaving without another word.
This time, he had suffered a tremendous loss.
Back at the ruins, Azar clenched his fists so tightly that blood began to drip from his palms, the sound of it hitting the ground echoing through the desolation.
He seethed with fury—at Dottore's arrogance, at the attack that should never have happened, at the fact that his years of painstaking efforts had been obliterated in mere moments.
Now, he would have to start over from nothing.
"Who… did this?!"
Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists even harder, his nails digging into his skin, drawing more blood.
But a moment later, his body slumped in defeat as he collapsed onto the wreckage.
Even if he knew the answer—what could he possibly do?
Sumeru had imprisoned its own Archon, and the entire nation lacked even a single god-level combatant.
In a world rife with schemes and monstrous powers, this was the most fatal weakness of all.
This was precisely why, even in the era where the Fatui sought to gather the Hearts of Gods, Snezhnaya had no interest in outright invading Sumeru.
Had they chosen to do so, who knew what state Sumeru would be in now?
But just because the other nations refrained from acting didn't mean other forces wouldn't.
The only slight consolation was that the Lesser Lord Kusanali was still alive.
She was the last resort Azar had never wished to use.
But now, he had no choice.
She was the only god-level power left in Sumeru.
Suddenly, another guttural shriek rang out from the darkness.
Two more zombies tore through the dust and lunged at him.
"Dammit!"
Azar's eyes widened in terror as he immediately turned and ran.
But in the debris-ridden ruins, how could he possibly outrun them?
Within moments, they had caught up.
One of the creatures swiped its claws at him, slashing deep into his flesh.
Worse still, something in its claws—a toxin, perhaps—seeped into his wound, making his body feel… off.
But that wasn't the issue right now. The real question was whether he would even survive the next few seconds.
During the explosion earlier, the Heart of God had shielded him with its auto-defense field.
But now, it had dimmed to the point of near extinction, clearly drained of power.
Just as he was about to meet his end—
A brilliant surge of elemental energy descended upon the battlefield.
The dazzling radiance of thunder and the verdant glow of nature illuminated the ruins.
Two mighty figures landed amidst the chaos.
Sumeru's two strongest warriors—Cyno and Alhaitham—had arrived.
A storm of questions raged in their minds.
They had no idea why the Akademiya had been attacked.
Cyno and Alhaitham had no idea why such a hidden space existed beneath the Akademiya, nor why Grand Sage Azar himself was here.
But now was not the time for questions.
The terrifying creatures were still alive.
There was no time to waste. Without exchanging another word, the two lunged forward to continue the battle.
The zombies were unimaginably powerful—just a single careless swing of their claws could shatter massive boulders several times the height of a man. There was no way Cyno and Alhaitham could face them head-on.
Fortunately, the creatures seemed slow and cumbersome.
And both Cyno and Alhaitham excelled in speed and agility.
It took considerable effort, but in the end, they managed to eliminate the bizarre entities.
Panting lightly, they exchanged a glance, their suspicions growing deeper.
But now was not the time to dwell on it. They quickly turned back toward Azar.
The deep gashes on his body continued to bleed, but oddly, his blood had taken on a dark, almost black hue.
It looked like he had been poisoned.
Yet strangely enough, Azar was still able to hold himself together.
Gritting his teeth, he tore a piece of cloth and tightly bound his wound, his voice low and steady:
"Do you know who attacked the Akademiya?"
Cyno shook his head and replied gravely:
"The attack came from above. Such destructive force… at the very least, it had to be the work of a being related to a god."
"There were no elemental traces left behind, not even…"
Cyno paused for a moment, his tone growing strangely uncertain.
"All of Sumeru—even the entire Akademiya—only trembled slightly. Yet, only this place was destroyed."
"The attacker deliberately controlled the range and intensity of their assault. If that's the case… the one responsible is likely a god."
"There are no reports of injuries elsewhere in the Akademiya. The only casualty… is you."
Azar's pupils contracted sharply.
The worst possible scenario had come to pass.
The enemy had no interest in attacking Sumeru or the Akademiya itself.
Their sole target was this hidden facility.
To put it bluntly—the attack was aimed at the God-Creation Plan.
And the assailant… was a god-tier being who followed no logic.
Azar had always looked down on those who relied solely on brute strength.
Yet now, the wisdom he had so prided himself upon—his so-called intelligence—was utterly useless against a foe like this.
If the enemy realized he was still alive, would they come back to finish the job?
How could he continue the God-Creation Plan now?
A splitting headache surged through Azar—not only from stress but also from the aftereffects of the zombie's attack.
Clenching his teeth, he forced himself to remain composed and issued an order:
"I understand. This matter must not be made public. Announce that the destruction was caused by an earthquake."
Cyno and Alhaitham exchanged a look.
It was clear now—Azar had been conducting some secret experiment.
Neither of them responded, only standing in silence.
Azar had no time to concern himself with their thoughts.
Moments later, his personal guards arrived in haste.
After whispering a few words into his ear, Azar's face turned ashen. He urgently ordered them to carry him away at once.
His series of odd reactions only deepened Cyno and Alhaitham's suspicions.
A secret underground facility.
The Grand Sage's inexplicable secrecy.
A sudden, catastrophic attack of divine proportions…
Everything that had happened had gone beyond their expectations.
"What kind of experiment is he hiding from everyone?"
Cyno's face was cold as he turned to Alhaitham.
"As the Scribe, you must have some idea."
Alhaitham indeed had his own speculations, but there was no way he would share them with Cyno.
He wasn't sure of the General Mahamatra's stance or what choices he might make in the future.
With a neutral expression, he simply said:
"I don't know. As the General Mahamatra, you should seek the answers yourself."
Silence stretched between them as they stood amidst the ruins, observing everything carefully.
Yet, the explosion had left behind nothing but devastation.
After a while, realizing they would find no further clues, they had no choice but to leave.
Just as they were about to part ways, Alhaitham suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of implication:
"If… you were to learn that the Akademiya, the Sages, are not what you imagined—that wisdom has long since rotted—what would you do?"
Cyno paused mid-step but did not answer.
He simply kept walking.
However, Alhaitham seemed to have already gotten the answer he wanted.
A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he added:
"If you have the chance, try checking the archives. You might find some interesting information."
"And… be careful."
With that, Alhaitham turned and walked away in the opposite direction.
Cyno glanced back, his gaze lingering on Alhaitham for a long moment before he left without a word.
The strange intersection of their paths—the pursuit of secrets and truth—was supposed to come much later in their lives.
Yet now, thanks to the chaos stirred by an unexpected force, that moment had arrived far sooner.
Not that it mattered to Azar anymore.
Because…
The Lesser Lord Kusanali had vanished!
"Useless fools!"
Azar, lying on a stretcher, glared furiously at the two guards stationed at the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
The two men kept their heads down, silent, not daring to speak.
"You can't even remember what the intruder looked like?!"
"Grand Sage, sir… the enemy seemed to have used some strange power to erase our memories…"
One of the guards finally responded in a voice laced with shame.
Azar nearly passed out from rage.
Moments later, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm, and issued a new command in a cold, decisive tone:
"Mobilize all available forces. Find and capture the Lesser Lord Kusanali!"
"And immediately secure a new, hidden location to rebuild the laboratory!"
"Understood!"
The guards swiftly saluted and rushed off to carry out his orders.
Azar's expression darkened, his mind clouded not only by his injuries but also by the sheer weight of everything that had happened.
He had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, his secretary knocked on the door.
"Grand Sage Azar, we have received an urgent message from our merchants stationed in Liyue—"
"What emergency trade matter could possibly be more important than capturing the Lesser Lord Kusanali?! Get lost! If you can't handle such trivial issues yourselves, then you're unfit for your positions!"
Azar had completely lost all semblance of composure. Enraged, he grabbed the nearest book from the table and hurled it at the secretary.
The secretary ducked his head, quickly clutching the letter and retreating without another word.
This… was the worst day of Azar's entire life.
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