The little girl eyes widened as black aura surged from her body.
"No! Impossible… could you be—?!"
She stared at Kun Jun outside the seal, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"After the seal weakened, your power manifested in the outside world as a child."
"Using that form, you tried to voice your resentment over being suppressed but the people didn't care."
Kun Jun looked calmly at the girl before him and spoke in a composed tone.
"Then you realized the loosening seal gave you an opportunity."
"You abducted miners to dig out the entrance to the seal, planning to attack it from within and outside."
Arms folded across his chest, Kun Jun addressed the girl radiating dark aura within the seal.
"How dare you speak such blasphemy!"
"If you are truly part of me, why do you stand beside that betrayer?!"
The girl inside the seal glared at Kun Jun and shouted angrily.
"I am the other power that awakened when the seal loosened."
"So weak I could not take shape on my own only able to attach to a human."
Kun Jun replied slowly, eyes locked with hers.
"My consciousness was murky, I couldn't even recall who I was."
"Only things related to the past could stir a reaction in me..."
He slowly closed his eyes as he spoke.
"I had only one goal."
"To find Morax and have him stop you."
Kun Jun opened his eyes and turned to Zhongli at his side.
"If your power had been a little stronger, I might've recognized you sooner."
"Rather than waiting until you mentioned the Dragon-Sealing Stone to notice something was wrong."
Zhongli said calmly as he looked at Kun Jun.
"It's not your fault. I'm no longer who I used to be."
"It wasn't until I touched that ancient stele that I remembered everything from the past."
Kun Jun let out a helpless chuckle.
"So much time has passed… Secrets unknown to both young humans and aged geo dragons alike..."
"Morax, would you like to explain, or shall I?"
Kun Jun turned to Zhongli with a smile.
"It's no matter—leave it to you."
Zhongli responded with quiet composure.
"Haha, you're still the same as ever."
"Very well, I'll tell it."
Kun Jun chuckled lightly, then turned to face Lumine and Paimon.
"The Geo Dragon King Azhdaha was once the closest companion and battle partner of the Geo Archon Morax, with a lifespan far beyond that of mortals."
"But like all things born of the earth, he was no different from the stones beneath our feet…"
Kun Jun raised his head, recounting the past.
"The memory of stone does not last long. Only emotions of the deepest intensity are engraved within it."
"The longer the passage of time, the more memories blur and erode. And that erosion was the fuse the world lit upon us."
Kun Jun explained slowly, gazing at Lumine and Paimon.
"Erosion..."
"Qiu Bai mentioned that word too..."
Lumine murmured softly, her hand resting on her chest as she looked at Kun Jun.
"Erosion stole the thoughts of Azhdaha. He gradually forgot the face of his old friend, forgot the harbor of Liyue he once protected with his own claws."
"It turned the once-whole Dragon King into something irritable, aggressive…"
Kun Jun spoke slowly, as though lost in memories.
"It was humans who attacked the ley lines I relied on to survive!"
The little girl inside the seal interrupted furiously upon hearing Kun Jun explanation.
"That much is true."
"And so three hundred years ago you attacked The Chasm, leading to that great battle with Morax."
Kun Jun responded calmly, eyes resting on the girl within the seal.
"At first, it was for expanding territory and increasing productivity Liyue's people entered the mountains to mine."
"Excessive mining caused tremors in the ley lines, and we suffered greatly because of it."
Kun Jun turned to Lumine, explaining in a slow measured voice.
"And erosion made us become like beasts."
"No matter how hard we struggled, we kept losing our ability to coexist with humans... we lost our reason."
He lifted his head, his tone deep with sorrow.
"Morax split off part of his own power in an attempt to stop our erosion, but it was all in vain."
"Erosion lies in the order of the heavens—beyond the reach of mere strength."
Kun Jun seemed to be reminiscing about past events.
Then slowly, he turned to the girl sealed within.
"I am your final contract—witness to the agreement between the Geo Dragon King Azhdaha and Morax."
"You may be angry, but you must not deny me."
Kun Jun looked at the girl with solemn eyes.
"No... no!"
The little girl hurriedly cried out in denial.
"I am the remnant of Azhdaha benevolence, the will of contracts, the lofty heart."
"And the peaceful intent to coexist with humanity."
A white aura radiated from Kun Jun body as he clutched his chest and declared firmly.
"No! I am Azhdaha—the crystallization of elemental creation!"
"I carry the memory and power of the earth itself. My lifespan equals the mountains and seas—I am no ally to insects!"
The little girl, consumed in black aura, snarled back at Kun Jun with rage.
"Morax is no insect."
Kun Jun answered, his tone calm and resolute as he stared at her.
"The god of insects… is still but an insect."
She spat her words with disdain.
The little girl, her body radiating with black aura, shouted angrily:
"It's fine if you insult Morax, but could you not insult me too?"
"Aren't Morax and I both gods of the people of Liyue?"
Hearing this, Qiu Bai twitched at the corner of his mouth and muttered internally, somewhat speechless.
"If you are the memory of the earth..."
"Then I am the memory of coexistence with humanity."
Kun Jun gazed at the girl within the seal and spoke softly.
"The heavens stir all phenomena, the mountains and seas take shape..."
He reached out a hand, and white energy began to flow from him pouring into the girl body.
"...Wastelands give birth to stars, brilliant as... the blazing sun..."
"Strange... what is this feeling? These... these are..."
The girl inside the seal looked around at the white aura surrounding her, speaking in astonishment.
"You were long since exhausted. You'll vanish before me."
"But before that, I will share these things with you."
Kun Jun said gently, looking at the girl before him.
"Snow falling on the spring fields will melt in an instant—fleeting and ephemeral. It may not leave any trace in your heart... even if this is the last time."
"No, how can this be... I do not accept this as fate!"
"Mora...x..."
And with those final words, the girl vanished.
"Sigh... When I saw this scene in the story..."
"It really made me feel a little uncomfortable."
Qiu Bai let out a sigh, looking toward the spot where the girl had disappeared, his tone subdued.
"Is this the fate of being worn down by erosion?"
Lumine asked, a bit curious.
"Azhdaha... The current you..."
"Are you the last trace of Azhdaha's kind-hearted will? The only memory he has left?"
Qiu Bai furrowed his brows, turning to Kun Jun who now radiated a white glow.
"Yes. I'm afraid that once I disappear..."
"The next time you face Azhdaha, it won't be a split will like us anymore."
Kun Jun answered, looking at Qiu Bai his expression darkening.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [p@treon.com/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)