Knocks of the past

The moment I stepped out of the ruins, a sinister tableau unfolded across the sky-a canvas painted with dark clouds and the grotesque face of a demon looming overhead. The air thickened with an unspoken dread as disease and famine ravaged the land, a cruel testament to the resurrection of the Demon God. His vengeance, once sought against the Martial God, now manifested as a scourge upon the entire world.

A tremor ran through my very core, and terror seized me as I beheld the consequences of my reckless actions. The words escaped my trembling lips, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault." The weight of responsibility bore down upon me, and tears streamed down my face as I grappled with the magnitude of the calamity I had unwittingly unleashed.

Amidst my sorrow, a thunderous roar shattered the eerie silence. From the depths of the earth emerged a rock dragon, a behemoth crafted by the Martial God himself. The ground quivered beneath its mighty footsteps as it faced off against the resurrected Demon God. Other mythical beasts joined the fray, rallying to the defense of the world that teetered on the brink of annihilation.

As the earth-shaking battle raged on, a glimmer of recognition pierced through the haze of my despair. A scripture I had encountered in the ruins echoed in my mind-the Martial God, during the Divine War, had excavated a stone spirit from the earth and molded it into the rock dragon that now valiantly fought against the forces of darkness.

The realization struck me with awe and reverence. Through tear-filled eyes, I whispered, "Even in the direst of moments, the Martial God had foreseen the need for a protector, a guardian of Liyue." The illuminated beasts that had fought alongside the Martial God in the Divine War returned to my memory-their request to be turned into rock, granting them immortality to witness the growth of Liyue. They would awaken during the night or in moments of dire need.

The battle waged on, and with each clash of titanic forces, the earth seemed to resonate with the echoes of an ancient pact. The girl who had once wallowed in sorrow now marveled at the resilience of a world protected by the foresight of the Martial God.

The rock dragon, in its monumental struggle against the Demon God, embodied not just raw power but an enduring commitment to safeguarding the realm. The illuminated beasts, rising from the very stone that bore witness to the Divine War, stood as sentinels of Liyue's growth and resilience.

Through tear-streaked eyes, I whispered in gratitude, "Even when the final contract was squandered, you still didn't give up on this world." The battle waged on, but in that moment, hope flickered anew-a hope that even in the face of my mistakes, the legacy of the Martial God endured, and the world had guardians eternally vigilant against the encroaching darkness.