Chapter 137
The silence between them shattered like glass in an instant.
Robin lunged first. With a single beat of her massive wing, she shot forward, the sheer force of her movement fracturing the space behind her. Her scythe gleamed, slicing a black arc through the air, aimed directly at Zhongli’s throat.
The earth answered him before he moved in that moment.
A monolithic pillar of golden stone erupted from the sand, intercepting the strike. Robin’s scythe met resistance, but instead of cutting clean through, it screeched against the divine rock, sending sparks of abyssal energy crackling outward. She clicked her tongue and twisted, vanishing into a blur of darkness before reappearing at his flank.
A volley of razor-sharp feathers exploded from her wing, each one laced with abyssal corruption, each one sharp enough to carve through steel. Zhongli extended a hand, palm facing outward. In an instant, the sands trembled, and golden constructs of ancient shields materialized in a semicircle before him, intercepting the incoming barrage. The impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield, dispersing the surrounding sand into thick clouds.
Through the haze, Robin’s form twisted. Shadows coiled around her, and she spun midair, bringing her scythe down in a vicious, crescent arc. This time, Zhongli moved. His body blurred as he sidestepped, the blade carving through empty space where he had stood. The sand beneath them responded to his presence, hardening into golden rock to grant him footing, while Robin’s very presence corroded the ground beneath her into nothingness.
She grinned.
"Faster than you look, old man."
He remained silent, his gaze locked onto her. Then, without warning, the air itself cracked.
Zhongli slammed his foot into the ground. The dunes split apart, and massive stone spears burst forth, spiraling toward Robin in an unrelenting onslaught. She flipped backward, her wing unfurling in a powerful gust that sent her soaring above the assault. But Zhongli wasn’t finished. The moment she took to the sky, he raised his hand.
A massive meteor, wreathed in golden sigils of ancient power, materialized above. The weight of it alone sent a deafening boom across the desert, bending the air, warping reality itself with its sheer presence. Robin’s eyes widened slightly before narrowing. With a single thought, the abyss surged around her.