“Tangxue… why did you follow me?” In the Infernal Abyss, cold as iron breath, Qianya stared at Tangxue in shock.

“I don’t know.” Tangxue shook her head lightly. “The thought rose, and the next second I was here.”

“Then don’t stray more than a meter from me. It’s dangerous.”

“Mm.”

They had shattered Vecna inside Tangxue’s mindscape, but gods don’t die. After leaving, Qianya purged the surface wraiths, then dove into the Abyss to finish him.

Evil gods and ghosts swarmed her like gnats around a torch. To Qianya, they weren’t threats at all.

Between common gods and apex gods yawns a gulf. If Vecna hadn’t coveted the whole pantheon, he wouldn’t be here, hunted and cast down.

“Qianya…”

“What is it?” Warmth first, softness in her eyes. “Are you feeling sick?”

“No.” Tangxue shook her head. “You and… are you truly one person? Did you merge, or…”

“How would I know?”

Qianya rubbed her brow and sighed. “You ask who I am? I’m Qianya, of course.”

“If you insist I’m Yueyu, I can’t stop you. That’s your first impression.”

“So, Tangxue, who do you want me to be?”

“Anyone’s fine, as long as you’re safe.”

“Mhm, there won’t be a problem.” Qianya’s smile was spring light through mist. “And you were great back there.”

“Under Vecna’s assault, you held steady and pushed back. Just like I thought.”

“…Qianya, are you really leaving?”

“I’ll be gone for a while, but I’ll come back.” She glanced at Tangxue with a crescent smile.

Tangxue said nothing. Together, they swept the Abyss clean of its remaining dregs.

The evil gods had been bled dry by Vecna. Their strength was less than a tenth of their peak.

With Vecna cut down, they scattered like roaches fleeing a lantern.

When they found Vecna again, his figure was thin as old smoke. He tried to resist.

Qianya pressed him with one hand, pinning him to the stone. No bargaining. No speech.

She drove him into the deepest pit, then sent him to a lonely ice tomb, a place with no footprints.

A wail rippled across the Abyss like a torn banner. Vecna’s presence vanished.

Only Qianya could unseal that place. She plucked the demon seed from Tangxue’s body, a thorn pulled free.

With the threat sealed, the world breathed easier.

Three days later.

“Finally back…”

Qianya looked drained, wind-worn. Exiting the Abyss was a grind of dark tunnels and slow steps.

Space magic failed there, speed dulled like a blade in sand. Easy to enter, hard to leave.

Even with a guide, it took three days.

“Qianya… the people of the Flower of the Other Shore, are we really not intervening?”

“That was their choice. I can only respect it.” Her sigh fell like rain on cedar.

“When they bargained with Vecna’s underlings, they became living dead. If they stay, the world’s will erases them.”

“So that place is the safest?” Tangxue’s gaze was clear, dark ocean under starlight.

Qianya paused, then nodded.

Vecna was gone, and the small fry couldn’t shake the seal. The Abyss sounds grim, but its resources mirror the surface.

Exiles can’t leave for other worlds, but if they live properly, they won’t fare worse than outside.

“This world’s will is thin, but self-aware. It instinctively drives out lost souls.”

“By the way, Tangxue, you really won’t go with me?”

“I want to stay and be with Mom.”

“…Alright.”

Qianya breathed out, a leaf drifting down. “Once I settle Yueyu’s matter, I’ll come back. So before then…”

“…?”

“It’s nothing.” Her eyes held a quiet apology. “Live well. Make up what you missed.”

In that instant, Qianya felt like someone else, guilt flickering like a candle in wind.

Tangxue’s lips trembled. As Qianya vanished, she shouted.

“Mom…! Thank you for bringing me into this world.”

Qianya’s figure dissolved like mist. Tangxue stared at the empty air, unsure if her words had reached.

A year later, at the ruins of the Merfolk royal palace, the royal descendants founded a new nation.

It represented no faction, only the sea’s peace and order, a lighthouse in long tides.

The Divine Artifact had a new master. It no longer swallowed the world’s breath.

Resources grew rich again like spring rivers. War and strife couldn’t be erased, but hope returned.

Most people had a future to walk toward.

“Mm-mm… that should do it, right?”

“No way! We still haven’t set off the most important fireworks!”

“But we’re under the sea!!” Tangxue clutched her head, hair like a storm-tossed wave.

First time she found her sister impossible? Not the first. They’d squabbled over small things since childhood.

The palace was dressed for New Year, bright coral and gold. Xuewei insisted on a ring of fireworks around the whole palace.

They could just set them off on the island above…

“Xuewei, random blasts on the seafloor cause tsunamis. Ordinary fireworks won’t even explode in the deep.”

“But…” Xuewei looked at Dreamsound, deflating in seconds, puffed cheeks going meek.

“Fine… we’ll do it your way.”

“Then I’m done here, right? I’m heading out, Mom Dreamsound~!” Tangxue waved and whooshed away before a reply.

“This child…”

“Whew. Then, Dreamsound, you can finish what’s left for little Tangxue~ She did call you Mom.” Yaya’s mouthless grin curved like ink.

“Mom…” Dreamsound gave Yaya a sidelong glance. The word warmed her chest like tea.

“I’ll do it.”

Tangxue slipped to the island slope above the palace, her private perch. She leaned back in a rocking chair, eyes on the sky.

“A new year again. I wonder if Qianya will return this year…”

“Thinking about me?”

“Qianya…?”

Qianya’s smile was sly as moonlight on water. Then she shifted her voice, playful. “Guess~”

“Qianya!”

Tangxue lunged, catching her off guard. A year apart, and Tangxue had become bold as a wave.

“Hey now, I’m back, aren’t I?” Qianya stroked Tangxue’s back, steady as a shore. “I’ll be with you for a long while.”

Tangxue clung to her, tears like warm rain.

“Qianya, you finally came back! After living with them, I realized… the only one I can bully is you.”

Qianya: “???”