The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

Flames and lightning raged through the small village.

For ordinary people, such extraordinary power is no different from a natural disaster.

Even the slightest carelessness could leave behind a wound that will never be forgotten.

Fortunately, this supernatural power is controlled by rational people.

"call..."

Kiana sheathed the Flame King Sword and turned her gaze to the shadow behind her.

Seemingly noticing her gaze, the other person also put away their weapon.

"I didn't expect there to be so many of these monsters? Strange, what exactly are they?"

"They are the hounds of the Beast Realm."

Kiana thought for a moment and decided to tell Shadow about the origins of these monsters.

"Beast Hounds? I don't know what kind of monsters they are. Hmm... I suddenly remembered that you seemed to say in Liyue that these monsters came from Crane Gate?"

It wasn't until he saw the monsters that Morax, the Rock God, had described that Kage belatedly realized that Kiana had previously revealed information about these magical beasts.

However, at that time, she didn't seem inclined to reveal too much information.

Why are you suddenly thinking of revealing it to yourself?

"Kiana, what exactly... is your relationship with these monsters?" Shadow asked with some concern.

"Me? I have nothing to do with them, Ying, don't overthink it..."

Kiana touched her head, then her smile faded, and she began to recount the origins of the hunting dogs that were now scattered all over the ground.

To put it simply, these hounds are alchemists who have fallen into the abyss, creations of gold.

After the fall of Kanria, the alchemist fled the world with the remnants of Kanria and continued his research in some way.

The dragon Durin, who once ravaged Mondstadt and brought immense suffering to its people, was his creation.

It can be said that Gold is extremely powerful, and in the field of alchemy, he can be considered one of the top figures in Teyvat.

They can even create life and twist organisms with ease.

Even Winter's Technology, which can currently provide the Fools with special equipment, probably can't compare to his technology.

He deserves at least seven or eight parts credit for why Tianli destroyed Kanriya back then.

"Oh, so these are the monsters that these guys created?"

After listening to Kiana's story, Shadow didn't feel much.

"Hmm... Hatred is truly unfathomable. He must desperately want to destroy this world."

"I never imagined so much had happened while I was away?"

Although the shadow can perceive things outside the Pure Land of One Mind, it is subject to the medium of transmission.

To put it simply, I have a general understanding, but I don't really know.

At least regarding the events surrounding the destruction of Kanria, including those involving the dragon Durin and the Abyss Order, she was completely unaware of them.

"Hmm... a lot has indeed happened. Shadow, what are your thoughts on the Abyss Order?"

While comforting the wounded villagers, Kiana asked for Shadow's opinion.

From the perspective of the Seven Gods, the Abyss is an absolute enemy; from the perspective of the ruler of Inazuma, these demons are eroding her land and harming her people, so she cannot possibly have any sympathy for them, either emotionally or rationally.

However, from an absolutely objective perspective, the situation might be quite different...

"An enemy that must be eliminated."

Ying's answer was crisp and concise, without any hesitation.

"They may have had a sad past, but their actions were a provocation against the shogunate and an injury to Inazuma."

"Well... as a friend, I'll help you," Kiana assured her with a smile.

"Kiana..."

During the conversation, both parties successfully left the territory of Konta Village and arrived at the foot of Mount Kagemura.

This is a vast wilderness, backed by mountains, with rivers flowing through the gaps, creating a unique landscape.

To put it simply, the terrain is hilly and the roads are winding and rugged; to get through here, you have to climb mountains and walk.

It can be said to be extremely troublesome.

Fortunately, this difficulty was nothing to the two of them.

You can just travel normally.

When they encounter a relatively high cliff, both of them can easily jump up.

It is precisely because of these advantages that they were able to discover...

Those beast-like hunting dogs had unknowingly spread throughout the area surrounding Shadow Mountain.

"How is this going?"

Kiana looked around and saw that these hounds of various shapes and sizes were pacing motionless in the wild, like warriors waiting for orders.

It felt like we were involved in some major project.

Seeing this, Kage frowned slightly and directly took out the Naginata no Inari:

"There are already so many? We must hurry..."

Just as the shadow's eyes flashed with the elemental symbols unique to lightning, Kiana suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm:

"Wait, Shadow."

"Ok?"

Seeing that Kiana had actually stopped him, Ying turned his head away in confusion.

"What's wrong? Kiana, why are you stopping me?"

"Look at the way these hunting dogs are behaving, aren't they waiting for someone's command?"

Reminded by Kiana, Ying then carefully examined the beast hounds floating at the foot of Yingxiang Mountain, which were almost everywhere in the wild.

As it turned out, the hunting dogs were indeed quiet, like a well-trained army.

They will be mobilized immediately once the leader issues the order.

All enemies that must be eliminated must be annihilated.

"That is indeed suspicious. Is there a leader among the wolves?"

Although these monsters are called Beast Hounds, their appearance is similar to that of wolves.

Even their attacks are fairly standard claw strikes and bites.

The only difference between these hounds and the wolves is that they were created by alchemists from another world and have no wildness or freedom.

They're just monsters driven by humans to corrupt the world's borders.

"Hmm, they're probably waiting for someone's command. Perhaps we should wait for the person who issues the command..."

Kiana!

Before she could finish speaking, Shadow suddenly grabbed Kiana's hand.

Her sudden approach caught Kiana off guard, and she asked in a low voice in surprise:

"Hey! Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

"Do you know that guy too?" Shadow slowly stretched out his hand, pointing to a strange entity that was merely floating by.

Under the moonlight, the person, whose body was predominantly purple but had a darker tone, seemed to blend into the darkness.

However, even so, thanks to his exceptional eyesight...

Kiana still recognized it; this was another type of Abyss Apostle, Abyss Singer Purple Lightning.

"Why would this monster appear here?"

This type of apostle monster is no different from the water apostle we dealt with when we left Inazuma.

They can be considered to be above the Abyss Mages, and are considered mid-to-high-ranking enemies within the Order.

They are enemies not recognized by the world, so why would they dare to come here?

"Could it be..."

Kiana silently took out the Blazing King Sword.

"Is it related to the Beast Realm Hounds?"

The Battle Between Flame and Lightning and the Abyss (Genshin Impact): Chapter 40: The Flame Stands Tall on the Earth

On the steep cliff below the mountain, Kiana and Shadow leaned down together to observe the Thunder Apostle that was moving back and forth, seemingly searching for something.

As he moved, the extremely ferocious hunting dogs also shifted their gaze.

It was as if these hounds had all stayed quietly here, just to listen to the beautiful music played by this Thunder Apostle.

"Are these hunting dogs related to him?"

After hearing Kiana's explanation, Shadow slowly asked.

"Yes."

Kiana stared at the Abyss Apostle, her azure eyes gleaming with a fierce light like a cheetah under the cover of the quiet night.

It was as if a hunt was about to begin, or as if they were preparing to protect something inviolable.

The creation of the Beast Hound Kanria, a top alchemist of gold.

This nation, having violated a taboo, was ultimately expelled and fled to the dark outer sea.

This is a realm that even the Seven Gods cannot control, and also a realm that the maintainers of the laws of nature cannot govern.

These remnants of Kanria were plotting revenge within that realm, defying all reason and law.

Dúrin, who brought great calamity to Mondstadt in the distant past, was also created by the Gold and sent to this world.