Welt Yang's eyes widened as he looked at the earth-colored shaft of an amber-bladed spear. 

Jing Yuan, the cloud general, and his thunder lord were stopped by a stone monument that manifested from somewhere, pulsing with a familiar heartbeat of energy. 

"Well, well, well." A familiar voice echoed inside the Loufo as Welt looked at Kafka and Blade. By his side, their comrades tensed up as the thunder lord was shattered as an amber flash appeared in front of Kafka and Blade. 

"It can't be..." Welt whispered as he lost his grip on his cane. "How are you..." 

"Akavili offered me quite a hefty contract," A figure dressed in white robes said as amber-tinted dark eyes pierced the shadows of the hood. "I never could resist a good one," 

"General!" A squad of knights appeared as the flash died down, revealing a figure dressed in a black suit with a khaki button-up shirt.

"Then, I assume this contract is something that you can agree with?" Welt asked, stepping forward. 

"Of course, Elio offered a good reason and terms." The young man said. 

"Then... those Mara struck..." Welt whispered, remembering the stone spears that slew the immortals. "To think that you would be here too." 

"You don't sound happy to see me," 

"As our adversary," 

"That still stings quite a bit," The young man said as he smiled. "After all, you were my favorite," 

"... I assume that I can't convince you to join us," 

"A harem with sexy ladies will do," the young man suddenly said, causing Kafka to giggle and for Blade to shake his head while March gave the man a stink-eye. "No Himeko though... ugh, that would be too weird."

"Well, I do not want to get killed by any of your brothers or Kiana for that matter so no," Welt said, lightheartedly conversing with the young man. 

"Rex, it's time," Kafka said, gently giving the Archon a smile. 

"Sheesh, really? You better give me a massage later," Welt paled as he heard this. Images of an angry girl wielding a baseball bat appeared in his mind. 

-------

Omake: Former geo archon in Teyvat. 

Rex Crozzo, a.k.a Cerberus, hummed as he sat on a round table with several people. Barbatos sat on one, already drunk with wine. A girl that looked a lot like Mei sat quietly as she stared expectantly at the stick of Dango in his hand while the last person, a child named Nahida, read a book. 

---------------

Cerberus hummed as he found himself sitting inside the Wangshen Funeral Parlor beside Zhongli. The first and second geo Archon sat by side as somehow, they were roped into the antics of Hu Tao. It sadly led them to a place where there was a giant theater screen with Lumine and Paimon falling on the second Geo Archon's lap resulting in a lot of angry glares. 

They watched Zhongli's, Rex Lapis', revelation with the traveler. Finding that their ruler was still alive, many people from Liyue were grateful. 

That was until.

"While I understand that Lord Morax is alive and well, who are you? You fought with us during the battle with Osial," Ganyu asked the former Archon, who wilted at the sudden spotlight forced on him. 

"You should tell them," Zhongli said, hiding a small amused smile under that stoic facade, 

"You do know that I can literally just stop them," Cerberus asked only to be met by two things. Puppy dog eye from Nahida. The Dendro archon wanted to know the identity of the man she heard about from Lumine and how he manipulated energy without problem despite being a mortal. 

"Yes, but they are curious and you did cause a stir when we saw you kiss the traveler," Zhongli pointed out as numerous bloodthirsty auras flared up. 

"Fine..." Cerberus said only for the theater screen to turn on. 

A younger Cerberus, dressed in a white robe and overflowing with primordial power faced a being with gravity bending to its will as numerous distortions formed around it.

"What a drag," Cerberus said an amber glow pierced the shadows of his hood. Lowering it, a mop of dark hair with amber streaks danced with the air. "To think I would have to fight a Herrscher on my own," 

Taking it as an insult, the creature lobbed an orb of gravity towards the younger Cerberus, only for the young man to nonchalantly throw a sigil causing the orb to attack the creature instead. 

"Adeptus arts..." Cloud retainer whispered. "This one has not seen such mastery and use in this way."

Shenhe looked eagerly at the screen, hoping to learn more along with the others. 

"Adeptus art: Enuma Elish," speaking those words, the entire theater grew heavy as numerous chains from the ground embraced the creature, pinning it in place. 

"Woah! Can you do that?!" Paimon asked, looking at Lumine who shook her head while those who were in tune with elements than mortals looked at the former archon. 

"He stopped that creature in an instant..." the pyro archon whispered in awe at the sight of the beast of distortion being held in place by a human with no effort. 

"Sorry, but I can't deal with you honorably." The younger Cerberus said with a smile as he spread his arms. "I have to make sure that idiot won't do anything stupid," 

"Damn, you... human!" The beast roared with primal fury oozing with each attempt to break free. 

"Those chains..." Nahida whispered as she tugged on the former archon's coat. "They are not only meant to bind the physical form of your enemies, right?" 

"As expected of you, Buer," Cerberus said, surprising the little archon. "Adeptus Art: Enuma Elish, Oh humans, let us restrain the gods," Hearing the full name of the Adeptus art, all eyes went back towards the human. "Is an Adeptus Art I made based on the weapon one of my aunts use," 

"An Adeptus art meant to seal the powers of those to the same level as a human," Zhongli explained, looking at the screen. "A terrifying art that becomes stronger the more powerful and farther than a human the target is. Even I would not be able to escape if caught," 

"Correct, although it lacks in comparison to the real deal," Cerberus said, remembering the fear he felt when his connection to the Gnosis was severed for a while by Otto Apocalypse. "When I fought someone who knew how to use that weapon, I almost died." 

"Man, you guys keep on coming," the younger Cerberus whispered with a grin as his eyes glowed a beautiful shade of amber along with all of his hair. A massive sandstorm embraced the entire battlefield, blocking out even the sun's rays. 

"Even a vision can not do that..." Lisa whispered as she looked at the sandstorm. 

"I will have order!" Cerberus whispered as he spread his arms with a smile as countless Stone steles erupted inside the enclosed space forming a labyrinth of pulsing Geo energy, beating like hearts. The monsters trapped inside turned to statues, nothing remained safe as the power of geo turned everything to dust. 

"Damn, you!" The beast roared as numerous pulses of geo-energy battered its form.

"How cruel..." Jean whispered as she saw the poor beast dissolve to dust painfully and slowly as she held Klee in her arms. 

"Creating an interlocking series of Stone Steles similar to a labyrinth and using the powers of Geo to deliver pulses that will make it harder for your opponents to retaliate while damaging them. and the sand and dust drain them.

"Curse you, Archon!" The beast roared, surprising the audience as Cerberus hid under his clothes. "You call yourself the Joyful Lord of the Earth, yet your technique brings nothing but ruin!" 

"We humans are weak and I admit that compared to my predecessor and future successor, I pale in comparison," Cerberus announced as his amber eyes glowed with sadistic glee as the Herrscher of the stars crumbled away, both body, consciousness, and soul. "But, that is your hubris. For us, who mastered the art of war by killing each other ever since we first arrived from the first murder done by Cain, we have improved. In the end, it is not the gods nor other beings but we, humanity itself, will be our own end." 

Cerberus' words made most of the residents of Teyvt shiver in horror as numerous images of the horrors that war has brought and caused flowed through the theater screen. 

"I am a god! How can you kill a god?!" The Herrscher of the stars cried out as Cerberus said nothing as he formed a floating piano out of the element of geo. "What a grand and intoxicating innocence!" 

Cerberus said nothing as his hands glied over the keys, producing beautiful melodies ith each note breaking off piece and pieces off the creature's form. 

https://youtu.be/rXYCPiHIKWg

"This is so cruel," Venti whispered as he heard how each note from the piano broke off pieces from the beast as the younger Cerberus played each key gracefully. 

"Why didn't you end him earlier?" Barbara asked, looking at Cerberus with tears in her eyes as she to block tried the hauntingly beautiful and sorrowful tune in accordance with howls of pains. 

"This one has never seen such cruelty even in the Archon war..." Cloud Retainer said as she looked at Cerberus. 

"This..." Yan Fei whispered as she watched. "This is a war crime..." 

"Damn you..." The beast gritted through pain. "You are a god just like I am! But why do you oppose me?! Why do you fight for them!?" 

"Who knows," Cerberus said as he gave the beast a smile. "After all, what is a god to a non-believer?" 

Those words sent chills to the most devout of followers of their respective deities.

"You foolish Archon!" The beast spat as one by one, it's entire existence was ripped off one by one.

"You're an archon?!" Most of the people on Teyvat asked Cerberus as the suited young man raised his brow. 

"They call you the joyful lord! The one that brought peace and prosperity!" The beast shouted as Cerberus scoffed. 

"The Joyful lord of the earth." Cerberus whispered, remembering the smile of a girl with blue eyes as he held a rook in his hand. 

The seven archons and those who knew of the Gnosis stared in shock at the gnosis that the god of contracts formerly held. 

"The God of contracts senselessly slaughtered as his people watched on in horror." Cerberus recited as he ignored how the fragmented beast broke out of his Adeptus out. "In the end, he will sign the contract to end all contracts," The beast in one last breath, impaled the Archon. 

"How inefficient," Diluc whispered, trying to shake off the gruesome torture he had just seen. That was until he saw the figure of the Archon disappear as everything slowly played in reverse. 

"Adeptus Art: Master of the Courtyard," The voice of Cerberus whispered as the scene change to him holding onto a crystal ball in his palm as the scene repeated for the nth time, showing the eternal timeloop that the beast has suffered.

"Buer!" The wanderer shouted, recognizing the technique that brought his downfall. 

"He... he created a time loop in a pocket dimension... and trapped the beast in it..." Guizhoing whispered as she broke down the technique.

The archon let out a sigh as his white robe faded, revealing the missing left arm and the destroyed battlefield all around him. "And to think that my Predecessor used to fight beings like this almost every day," The archon said with a grin as he regenerated his left arm. "Sheesh, Morax must be one hell of a fighter and to think that I am not even that attuned to this element," Cerberus said as he pulled out a pocketwatch, revealing an Anemo vision. "Well, it's not nice to keep the ladies waiting. Oh, hey. That was torture, meaning, I still continued my daily war crime streak for three straight years, nice." 

As the viewing ended, Cerberus shrugged the attention a he drank a cup of coffee nonchalantly. "Yes?" He asked, looking at the audience with their focus on him. 

"How are you an Archon?!" Paimon shouted as she glared at him. 

"I received the qualification but I have no nation to rule over except the battlefield. So technically, I'm not a true Archon." Cerberus replied. 

"Are you still an archon?" Ningguang asked, cautiously preparing herself for the next Archon that Liyue might have. 

"Ha! No." Cerberus replied, shocking them more even so. "Sacrificed my Archonhood, most of my powers, and my vision," Cerberus said, holding up that fragments of his vision, causing several vision holders to faint, "As well as what Concepts I have Acquired to seal my people's ancient foe. Besides, can you imagine me as an Archon? I'd probably just sleep in every day and let you do what you want," 

"This one wishes to know how you have managed to acquire the knowledge to craft this Adepus arts," 

"Well, if you and your family spent the last 50,000 years waging a war against an unending mass of deadly beings that become stronger the more advanced a civilization is, you get to pick up a lot of tricks," Cerberus revealed, enjoying their reactions. "Although, we lost the first war badly. Badly enough that we needed to wait for 40,000 years while having our planet be rebuilt just to prepare for war number two. And before you say anything, you can not arrest me for war crimes not committed on Teyvat," 

"Well, if you and Mr. Zhongli fight, who will win?" Someone from Snehznaya said. 

"Morax would wipe the floor with me, no doubt." Cerberus admitted with no problem. "Especially since he knows my trump card and that we have a contract that should I fall to a madness with no cure and be a harm to Liyue, he would strike me down and vice-versa," 

"Although, that other version of your Enuma Elish would guarantee your victory if you use it before you can kill me," 

"Let's jut hope that never happens," Cerberus whispered with a shiver.