"Since it's your request…" Kokomi took a slow step out of the Coral Palace and called into the distance, "Tsuyuko, come here for a moment."
"Lady Kokomi!" The shrine maiden named Tsuyuko jogged over quickly.
"Tsuyuko, the preparations for entering Enkanomiya—those haven't been completely abandoned yet, have they?"
"Lady Kokomi?" Tsuyuko blinked in alarm, realizing something was off. "Didn't you tell me to put that plan on hold?!"
"If we were to resume now, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?"
"Lady Kokomi… the preparations for the Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri were already canceled. I'll need funds—lots of them—and time to rehearse with the shrine maidens. Plus, we're missing a chosen hero to retrieve the coral. Finding one will take some time…"
"Don't panic. I'll allocate the necessary funds. The Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri doesn't need to be rushed—just proceed normally. As for the hero, we already have the best candidates." Kokomi turned slightly, gesturing toward Victor Wang and Lumine. "What matters now is unsealing Enkanomiya and sending the heroes below."
"Aren't these the strategist and vice general from the resistance? Perfect, perfect! If we have people and money, there's nothing we can't do!"
After discussing the details with Tsuyuko, Kokomi turned back to Victor Wang and Lumine. "You both already know the general background of Enkanomiya. If there's anything unclear, you can ask Tsuyuko. However, before the entrance can be opened, five seal nodes on Watatsumi Island must be lifted first. Tsuyuko will explain the specifics."
Victor nodded earnestly. "Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me. Without you, we'd already be preparing the Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri by now."
"Come along, come along!" Tsuyuko urged cheerfully. "With two such renowned heroes as our champions, I feel much more at ease!"
…
As the last Hydro Mimic dissolved into water, four mechanical platforms released a surge of mysterious currents that converged on a large Hydro sigil hovering above a massive coral structure. The sigil shimmered and pulsed before coalescing into a strange, crystalline droplet, which fell precisely into the container below.
"Amazing! In just half a day, you've solved all five parts of the Eye, Fang, Fin, Tail, and Heart mechanisms at Sangonomiya!"
"Mm… Miss Tsuyuko, do you know what this thing that dropped is?" Paimon asked curiously.
"That is the Key of the Moon-Bathed Deep."
"'Yu-uh… Fish… Moon'—ugh, that's such a mouthful! What is it again?" Paimon stumbled through the pronunciation, nearly biting her tongue.
"Haha, just call it the Key of the Deep for short. It's an essential item for opening the entrance to Enkanomiya. Legend says it was forged from the blood of the Great Orobashi himself."
"That sounds so mystical."
"Not mystical at all, really. In fact, it's quite practical… Once we report to Lady Kokomi and wait for the ley lines to flow correctly, we'll be able to enter Enkanomiya."
"When will the ley lines flow correctly?" Victor Wang asked, his tone showing genuine concern.
"According to our previous calculations, tomorrow should be an ideal day."
"Awesome! That means we can go treasure—uh, I mean, go find the Bloodbranch Coral tomorrow!"
"Bloodbranch Coral?!" Tsuyuko's eyes widened. She turned sharply toward Paimon. "How do you know that name?"
"Eh? Victor, isn't that what it's called?"
Hearing that, Tsuyuko's expression darkened. Her gaze shifted to Victor Wang. "Those who've never been to Enkanomiya should only know it by the name as the Coral Branch of the Depths."
"Ah?" Victor froze—he hadn't thought of that. He quickly deflected, "The name Bloodbranch Coral came from the Raiden Shogun… How she knew, I honestly have no idea."
"The Raiden Shogun, huh… I see." Tsuyuko exhaled slowly. "Very well, let's return to the Coral Palace and await tomorrow."
…
That night, unexpectedly, Kokomi invited Victor Wang out alone.
Standing atop a high cliff beneath the moonlight, the two of them overlooked the mist-veiled inner island of Watatsumi.
"Look," Kokomi said softly, "how beautiful Watatsumi Island is beneath our feet. Yet only those who live here know… this beauty is nourished by sorrow."
"…"
"Sorry to call you out so late. With Enkanomiya opening tomorrow, and the matter of the holy soil weighing on me, I just felt… melancholic. I wanted someone to talk to. And after thinking about it, I realized you'd be the best person for that. You… don't blame me for it, do you?"
Victor Wang shook his head. "I'm more than happy to be your listener."
Hearing that, Kokomi exhaled softly, her voice faint beneath the waves of the night.
"When I was little, I used to wonder—since the holy soilification doesn't happen overnight, doesn't that mean the land changes gradually? If we moved the half-converted soil somewhere outside Watatsumi, could it perhaps revert?"
"I really tried it once. The result was that no matter where the soil was taken, it only returned to normal after performing the Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri."
"I had another idea: what if we bought two or even three sets of soil from other nations, using them alternately like clean and dirty clothes, hoping to delay the corruption? But once the soil became tainted, it couldn't be cleansed—so that idea failed too."
"I thought of many, many other things—like leveling all of Watatsumi Island, to see if that would prevent the holy soil's spread, since the outer island seemed unaffected."
"Unfortunately, the elders told me that even the outer island once came close to whitening entirely."
"As things stand now, we've achieved a lot. Without draining Watatsumi's strength to purchase foreign soil, we can still cultivate crops and sustain ourselves. That's… really, truly wonderful. But I still can't help wanting just a little bit more…"
Kokomi suddenly stepped closer—so close that Victor instinctively leaned back. But she followed him with three small steps until she grasped his shoulders, leaving him nowhere to retreat.
Their faces were nearly touching.
Victor could feel her warm breath brushing his skin—a stark contrast to the night's cool air. He noticed the faint blush tinting the tips of Kokomi's ears, and he was sure his own face was heating up just as fast.
Kokomi whispered, "Can you help me find… a way to end the holy soilification?"
"I…"
That question clearly referred to a solution other than the Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri. And in that fleeting, charged moment, Victor nearly let slip an alternative method—because he really did know one.
The people of the Byakuyakoku once believed in the existence of three realms: the Realm of Drakes, the Human Realm, and the Realm of Nothingness.
The Realm of Drakes—also known as the Light Realm—was a domain of pure, primal elemental beings. Its elemental energy was wild and raw, unfit for human life.
The Human Realm was the world of Teyvat as it exists today.
The Realm of Nothingness contained the Abyss, whose power was poisonous even to elemental creatures.
The Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri, at its core, used Orobashi's lifeforce to awaken his second kin, the Sangacorallia. The Sangacorallia could transform the savage elemental energy of the Light Realm into the gentler form suited for the Human Realm—in other words, converting light-element energy into human-compatible energy.
Therefore, the holy soil's true nature was this: the land of Watatsumi Island was being eroded by the elemental force of the Light Realm, making it unfit for the human world.
And from that, it followed that Enkanomiya likely suffered from an excess of Light Realm energy.
According to the original course of events, after the next Watatsumi Goryou Matsuri, the island's holy soil problem would neither "reverse" nor "continue," but rather… stop.
That "stop" was intriguing. It meant the Sangacorallia had ceased its work, yet the Light Realm's energy had also stopped its advance. If Watatsumi could reverse its corruption first, then reach that same state of stasis, wouldn't the problem be solved forever?
The reason it had stopped, however, was because someone above—the Abyssal researcher—had spread the Abyss's power through Enkanomiya using the Tower of the Void.
In short: Enkanomiya's excess Light Realm energy caused Watatsumi's corruption. The Sangacorallia could convert that energy to reverse the process, while Abyssal power could suppress the Light Realm's influence. But using the Abyss's power came at a cost—the draconic creatures and the Sangacorallia within Enkanomiya would suffer terribly.
It was a method, but one Kokomi would never accept—and one Victor could never bring himself to say aloud.
"Please don't mind me," Kokomi said softly. "I know what I'm asking is far too difficult. I merely wanted to test the Beauty Trap strategy from The Thirty-Six Stratagems… seems it worked rather well."
She released her grip on his shoulders.
"I'll have the seals on Enkanomiya undone. Please, Victor, Lumine—descend as our chosen heroes and bring back the coral for Watatsumi."
"…Alright."