Chapter 63: The Sacred Flame Breaks Its Promise, and an Abyssal Traitor Appears?
The Pyro Archon Mavuika sat high upon the altar of the Stadium of the Sacred Flame. Her posture was absolute, her presence majestic and heavy with the solemnity of the occasion.
Down below, under Entotia's careful guidance, tens of thousands of voices swelled across the massive arena. The crowd chanted the ancient Ode of Resurrection in perfect unison. Their voices rose and fell in a powerful, heart-stirring torrent, carrying the weight of an entire nation's prayers for the return of their fallen warriors.
Lumine, Paimon, Mualani, and Kinich stood among the front ranks. They sang with fierce devotion, pouring every ounce of their hope into the ancient melody.
The final note faded into the open air, its echoes lingering against the high stone walls.
A heavy silence fell over the stadium. Tens of thousands of eyes locked onto the fiercely burning Sacred Flame in the center of the altar. The crowd held its collective breath, waiting for the familiar, energetic figure of Kachina to step out from the roaring fire.
Seconds ticked by. The Sacred Flame merely flickered, spitting a few violent sparks into the air.
Kachina did not emerge.
Up on the high platform, Mavuika furrowed her brow. A fleeting shadow of confusion and grave concern passed through her eyes. She raised a hand, her gaze unfocusing slightly as she reached out with her senses. A moment later, her steady voice carried across the silent arena, carrying an unusual edge of tension.
"I did not see Kachina, nor did I find her ancient name within the Night Kingdom."
The words dropped like stones into a quiet pond.
"How could this happen?!"
"What is going on?"
"Kachina didn't come back?"
Gasps of shock and panicked whispers rippled rapidly through the dense crowd. The previously solemn, expectant atmosphere shattered completely, replaced by a restless, noisy anxiety. Confusion bred chaos, and the masses began to shift uneasily.
Right at that moment of vulnerability, a harsh, grating voice slithered through the noise like a venomous snake, dripping with malice.
"Isn't it simple? It is just because they did not actually win at all!"
A second voice chimed in, equally loud and mocking. "Think about it! The Ode of Resurrection can rekindle all victors. We have seen it happen countless times. Since the Pyro Archon could not find Kachina in the Night Kingdom, does that not just mean there is something fishy about this so-called victory?"
The two men stood near the front, arbitrarily twisting the facts and loudly attempting to invalidate the hard-fought triumph of the entire team.
Chasca stepped forward immediately, her expression tight as she tried to explain the reality of the battle, but the two agitators vehemently cut her off.
"Even if the mission was completed, there are plenty of ways to fake a contribution, right? For example, what if that little girl was too scared, hid in a corner, and did absolutely nothing?"
"Exactly," the first man sneered. "Even if she was technically on the winning team, a coward would never be recognized by the Wayob."
This malicious slander acted like a jagged blade, violently piercing the dignity of a warrior who had sacrificed everything. It was a blatant, open provocation against the Pyro Archon and the very foundation of Natlan's honor.
Lumine felt a white-hot surge of anger flood her veins. Her jaw locked. Without a single second of hesitation, a brilliant flash of golden light erupted from her palm. The heavy, lethal weight of the Prototype Rancour materialized in her grip.
She leveled the tip of the blade directly at the two men, her golden eyes sharp enough to draw blood.
"You two! Shut your mouths!" Lumine's voice cracked like a whip across the stadium. "How dare you defile Kachina's bravery?!"
Beside her, Paimon was vibrating with pure, unadulterated rage. The little guide's tiny fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. The air directly behind Paimon began to warp and twist, bending light around a massive, hyper-muscular phantom that faintly materialized in the distorted space.
It looked as though Paimon's Star was mere seconds away from rushing forward to deliver a brutal, high-speed barrage of 'Ora Ora' punches, ready to physically beat the lesson into these scoundrels that heroes were not to be disrespected.
"Paimon is so angry!" she shrieked, her voice pitching up in fury. "If you dare spout that nonsense again, Paimon will have Paimon's Star send you flying straight into the stratosphere!"
The sheer intensity of Lumine's killing intent, combined with the visually terrifying, rippling phantom looming behind the tiny floating girl, acted like a bucket of ice water over the crowd. The surrounding spectators instantly fell dead silent.
The two agitators, suddenly realizing they were staring down the barrel of a very angry, heavily armed Traveler and her menacing companion, swallowed hard. They subconsciously shrank back, pulling their necks into their collars.
From the high platform, Mavuika took in the entire scene.
She did not show a shred of anger toward the agitators, nor did she make any move to stop Lumine and Paimon from drawing their weapons. Her gaze swept calmly across the vast sea of people, finally settling heavily on the two men. When she spoke, her voice remained perfectly steady, carrying a commanding weight that forced the rising panic to settle.
"Enough. Quiet down."
Those three simple words brought absolute stillness to the arena.
"The victory of everyone involved is beyond doubt, and that includes Kachina," Mavuika stated, her tone leaving zero room for debate. "She is a hero whom we should respect and bless. However, it is also a factual reality that she could not successfully rekindle this time. I am currently investigating the specific circumstances of this anomaly, and for this failure, I offer my apologies."
She paused, letting the weight of her admission sink in. "No one can foresee everything, nor can anyone prevent all mistakes. That includes myself."
Mavuika frankly admitted to the existence of the unknown, refusing to hide behind her divine status. Then, her majestic gaze hardened as she locked eyes with the two troublemakers.
"Questioning is a tool meant to seek the truth, not a weapon to attack others. If you have a problem, ask me directly. It is perfectly fine to question my answers. So, is there anything else you want to clarify right to my face?"
Mavuika's resounding declaration acted like a stabilizing anchor, instantly crushing the rising hysteria. Her absolute candor, her willingness to take responsibility, and her fierce defense of a sacrificed warrior easily won back the hearts of the masses.
Under the crushing weight of the Pyro Archon's direct attention, the two agitators lost every ounce of their arrogant bravado. Their faces drained of color. They lowered their heads, staring at the dirt, lacking the courage to utter a single syllable. They had no real honor; they had merely wanted to elevate their own pathetic status by dragging Kachina's name through the mud.
Watching them cower only made Paimon angrier. Her tiny chest heaved. Behind her, the towering, muscular phantom of Paimon's Star seemed to perfectly sync with her boiling emotions. The distorted figure suddenly vanished from sight.
CRACK.
The two men jerked violently as if slammed by an invisible, high-speed battering ram. They screamed in terror as their feet left the ground. They flew backward through the air, completely airborne, before crashing heavily into the stadium's thick stone wall. A shower of dust and cracked masonry rained down around their groaning bodies.
The entire arena plunged into a suffocating, dead silence.
Tens of thousands of eyes widened to the size of saucers. The crowd stared at the crumpled men, completely unable to process the extraordinary, invisible violence that had just occurred. The people were utterly baffled. A few began to whisper, assuming the Pyro Archon herself had finally lost her temper and struck them down with a hidden technique.
Lumine's heart skipped a beat. She snapped into action.
"These two are truly hateful!" Lumine shouted, jumping forward and pointing an accusing finger at the groaning men. "At a sacred moment like this, they still want to slander our hero of Natlan and frame the Pyro Archon! They must have been incited by the Abyss! Quickly, guards, seize them! Do not let them escape!"
Behind her, Paimon suddenly realized what had just happened. The little guide squeaked, her anger evaporating into sheer panic. She darted behind Lumine's back, refusing to show her face.
"Lumine," Paimon whispered in an incredibly tiny, tearful voice. "Did I just cause a really big trouble?"
Lumine kept her face perfectly serious, though she knew exactly what had happened. Paimon's Star had thrown the punch. While the muscular stand could be materialized for everyone to see, it usually remained invisible, acting as a silent, constant guard over Paimon. Only those with exceptionally strong mental fortitude could even perceive it.
More, Lumine's brain was doing rapid calculations. She had already been slapped with wanted posters in Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine. She absolutely, positively, under no circumstances wanted to become a fugitive in a sixth nation. If she got arrested here, her multiversal reputation as a wanted criminal would be permanently solidified. She had to control the narrative immediately.
Fortunately, the crowd was still bewildered. They could not comprehend how two men had just been launched into a wall by thin air. The most logical conclusion for the masses was that the Pyro Archon had delivered divine punishment.
But Lumine's loud accusation provided a much easier, far more convenient target for their outrage.
The herd effect took over instantly. The crowd stopped trying to figure out the physics of the punch and instead erupted in righteous fury.
"Seize them!"
"Arrest those two who defected to the Abyss!"
The stadium guards finally snapped out of their daze. They rushed forward in unison, hauling the two groaning men off the ground and slapping them in irons. The guards loudly declared that the suspects would be strictly investigated and heavily guarded, effectively neutralizing the sudden public relations crisis that had threatened the ceremony.
High on the platform, Mavuika watched the chaos unfold. She had actually seen the faint, semi-transparent phantom rush out from behind the Traveler's tiny companion. The sheer kinetic force behind that invisible blow had been staggering, and it was obvious no one else in the stadium had possessed the visual acuity to track it.
Mavuika's lips twitched upward in a faint, amused smile. 'I have long heard tales of the Traveler's renown,'she thought.'But I certainly did not expect her little floating companion to pack such an absurd punch.'
Just as the dust began to settle and the crowd's anger subsided, a figure broke from the ranks.
Mualani rushed forward, stopping at the base of the altar. Her voice was tight with urgency, yet incredibly firm.
"Pyro Archon! Please, let me join the investigation! Kachina is my friend, and more than that, she is a hero of Natlan! I have to find her!"
Mavuika looked down at the young warrior, her expression softening with approval. She gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"Then come to my office," Mavuika instructed. She then shifted her gaze toward the golden-haired outlander. "Oh, and since this is a rare opportunity, if your schedule permits, I would also like to borrow a moment of the Traveler's time. We have much to discuss."
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