[EARLY ACCESS] SHRINK IMPACT | GENSHIN IMPACT - CHAPTER 56

The air shifted as Ningguang stepped into the cavern.

Finally, the time had come for her to confront the Cloud Retainer. Both you and Mona had convinced her that sooner rather than later was the way. She had so many victims, if Ningguang acted quick, at least some of them might be saved.

She moved forward with poise, betraying no emotion. Her qipao was ink black tonight, high-collared and sleeveless, split at the thigh to allow swift movement—practical, but still elegant. Her hair was pinned tight. Her eyes sharper than any blade she carried.

No guards. No defenses.

It was a trap, obviously. And she walked into it with her chin high.

From the far reaches of the chamber, a voice like cool rain echoed—

“Always so brave when you’re alone.”

Ningguang turned, calmly.

Xianyun emerged from behind a raised pillar of crystal—barefoot, lips curled in that maddening half-smile. Her robes were loose, slipping low off one shoulder, the silks brushing her hips like waves drawn to shore. Her long hair flowed unbound, trailing silver down her spine.

“Cloud Retainer,” Ningguang said.

Xianyun’s grin widened, tongue flicking lightly across her teeth. “You only call me that when you're afraid.”

“You’ve taken innocents. I’m here to bring them back.”

“Is that all?” Xianyun padded closer, steps slow, controlled. “Or are you here to find out why I did it?”

The Adeptus raised her arm—and with a soft flick of her wrist, the far wall of the cavern shimmered and dropped away.

Behind it floated an enclosure of jade and gold, suspended in an arcane lattice of clouds. Inside…were dozens of them. Shrunken figures, no taller than a finger. Some clothed in scraps, others nude. Some stood pressed against the barrier, eyes wide with terror. Others lay in limp piles, glassy-eyed and unmoving. A few stared up in rapture, whispering prayers to no one at all.

A young woman was kneeling, tears streaking her face. A man with long black hair sat with his arms wrapped around himself, rocking faintly. A child beat tiny fists against the crystal wall in silence.

Ningguang’s pulse throbbed at her throat, a low drumbeat.

“They’re not yours,” she said coldly.

Xianyun tilted her head. “Aren’t they?”

With a ripple of cloudlight, she vanished—then reappeared behind Ningguang in a heartbeat, her breath warm at the back of her neck.

“You think I’ve lost myself,” she whispered. “But I’ve found myself. Found what I am, what we are.”

Ningguang turned with a sweep of geo energy, a razor-sharp barrier flaring between them. Xianyun stepped back, laughing.

“You don’t like it when I touch you now,” she purred, circling. “But you did before.”

“You’re delusional.”

“I’m free.” Xianyun’s eyes gleamed with something wild. “You used to crave that too.”

Ningguang didn’t flinch. “You were a guardian once.”

“I still am,” Xianyun said. “I guard what no one else dares. The forbidden. The true self.”

She raised her hand, and this time, brought forth something small—something moving.

A tiny man, naked and golden-haired, squirming in her palm.

Ningguang’s breath hitched.

Xianyun lifted him slowly, her fingers curling around his twitching limbs with delicate control. The man gasped and whimpered, back arched, no larger than her thumb.

“I could eat him right now,” Xianyun whispered. “Whole. Soft. He wouldn’t even bruise.”

Ningguang took a step forward.

Xianyun’s gaze snapped to her. “Ah…there it is. The flicker.”

“I’m not here to indulge your madness.”

Xianyun moved closer. “Then why is your mouth open?”

Ningguang froze.

She hadn’t realized. Just a slight parting of her lips. Just enough to taste the tension in the air.

Xianyun grinned wickedly. “You came here to punish me, but part of you wants to join me.”

“Liar.”

“Then prove it,” Xianyun said, stepping so close their chests nearly touched. “Refuse me.”

She raised the tiny man higher, until he dangled above Ningguang’s lips, shivering in her shadow.

“You know what it feels like, don’t you?” she whispered. “The power. The taste. The way they squirm.”

Ningguang’s heartbeat was a thunderclap in her ears. Her eyes locked on the man’s trembling form—his terrified, pleading eyes. Her body tensed. Her fists clenched.

“Let him go,” she said.

Xianyun’s smile faltered for a moment. Then she whispered, silk-soft: “Open your mouth, and I will.”

Ningguang stood perfectly still. Her skin burned where Xianyun’s fingers brushed her cheek. Her spine ached from holding tension too long. Her lips trembled, then—

Just a fraction. They parted again.

Xianyun exhaled slowly. “That’s it…”

She lowered the tiny man until his feet brushed Ningguang’s bottom lip, balancing him delicately—her palm resting beneath his back, cradling him like a sacrament.

“Take him.”

Ningguang didn’t move. Her tongue was dry. Her jaw clenched.

The man cried out—wordless, trembling, helpless. Ningguang felt guilt over just how petrified he must have felt. How terrifying it must have been.

And yet…

“You could save him,” Xianyun murmured, eyes alight with something between desire and madness. “Swallow him now. End his fear. Be his goddess.”

Ningguang’s gaze snapped to hers, cold fury mixing with something darker—something unspoken.

“I’m nothing like you,” she whispered.

“But you could be.”

A breath passed between them. A heartbeat. And then—