~•~•~
Arriving at the first mechanism, Wanyan speaks up again.
"Here it is. There's some debris scattered here that, when put together, look like they definitely had something to do with the god of salt. According to the inscription on the side, if one looks from a certain angle, the secret to the mechanism will be revealed.", she explains.
Lyra looks at the boulders, noticing strange patterns on them. She moves around, until she sees the patterns align. Just then, the patterns glow up and she looks back at the group.
"See that? Although we activated the mechanism, nothing happened to the seal.", Wanyan says.
"That's because there's actually another mechanism that must be activated.", Zhongli states. Wanyan looks at him, surprised.
"A-another?", she stutters out. Zhongli nods. "Let me lead the way from here."
Zhongli leads the group a little further. As they come to a stop by some ruins, Wanyan looks around.
"This place seems familiar... ah, I remember! I think there's some elemental ruins here – so you're saying they're related to all this? When I investigated this seal last time, I had someone with a vision accompany me. But when we lit up all the monuments, noting happened...", she says.
"It's one of those monuments that need to be activated in a certain order, right?", Lyra mutters.
"Correct. Otherwise the seal will not be broken. The secret to this puzzle is hidden in the legends about the archon war. 'Tianheng in the south, Yaoguang in the east, Jueyun in the west, Qingce in the north – all desolate and devoid of life. Liyue is vast, yet even one haven is hard to find.'", Zhongli recites.
"To the north... to the east... do the people of Liyue always talk in riddles?", Kliment grumbles.
"I-I think I've heard this saying before!", Wanyan stutters out. Zhongli nods.
"Certainly you have, and the contents of this saying are also related to the god of salt. To provide a haven for her people, whose lives had been ravaged by the archon war, this benevolent god searched all across Liyue. At the time, with the chaotic fires of war engulfing the land, even one silver of peace was a luxury. And Zhao haven she eventually found is right here. Today it is known as Sal Terrae.", he explains.
"How sad then... in the end, this peaceful place was destroyed by Morax.", Wanyan sighs.
"Okay, enough with these ancient stories. Now that we have the clue, hurry up and break the seal! Whatever happened doesn't matter as long as we can get inside that ruin!", Kliment complains.
Lyra sighs. "Let me at it.", she grumbles. She looks over at Zhongli, passing him. "Keep them occupied. They don't need to know my ability of controlling all the elements. These monuments are electro after all.", she whispers to him.
He nods and Lyra goes around, activating the monuments from the one south, to the one to the east, then the one to the west and lastly the one in the north.
As she activates the last monument, they notice some activity at the seal. Going back, the group sees that the seal is gone.
"Look! The seal really is broken! Mr. Zhongli is indeed quite remarkable!", Wanyan compliments.
"It was nothing really. Now, it's time that people learn the hidden truth lost in time.", Zhongli says. Lyra looks at him.
'The truth you wish for me to figure out myself... I will uncover it.'
~•~•~