Raiden Ei's attitude was sincere enough to cut steel.
Set aside the quality of what she offered. For the sake of reviving her sister Makoto, she was one step away from offering even herself. Aside from one "Musou Isshin," everything else she could give—she gave, all at once.
All-in can be a kind of supreme wisdom.
Look at that sincerity. How could Taro turn her down?
He couldn't. What he cared about was the sincerity itself. Whether it was "valuable" was beside the point. In this world, who else could provide what he actually needed? No one.
So for now, her sincerity was more than enough, and Taro did not dislike her. For him this was a single skill's worth of effort anyway.
"Please, Mr. Taro, make your move."
Raiden Ei placed one hand over her chest and offered up everything in a single bundle. Her voice was quiet. "This puppet body—please wait a little. When my sister awakens, my consciousness and soul will withdraw. This body will be at your disposal."
"She also has a will of her own," Ei added of the puppet.
"No problem."
That was all Taro needed to hear. If it was handed to him, he had a way to make it serve.
"Thank you, Mr. Taro."
Ei dispelled the last barrier, then produced a small, sealed "space."
"Additionally, Mr. Taro, this is Makoto's consciousness space. I don't know whether lacking it would hinder her revival, so… please look it over."
Makoto's consciousness space?
This thing was not simple.
From it, Taro clearly sensed a fluctuation that did not belong to an Archon. It was familiar. It felt exactly like the shard of temporal authority Venti had given him.
Obviously, this was Istaroth's handiwork, a "contract trigger" left behind after Ei struck some kind of deal with the Time Archon.
It fit. Inside this space was a seed of the Sacred Sakura, and—more importantly—a root-level trigger waiting to be activated, a special temporal node in a superposed state of future, present, and past.
Once this node was activated and the Sakura seed planted, then past, present, and future would braid into one inevitability. In the flow of time, what must happen would happen—call it fate, or destiny: using a [future that is already determined though not yet realized] to save an [already-occurred past], and in doing so, shaping that [determined future]. A perfect closed loop.
Taro had to admit: Istaroth's application of time had reached a very high level—far beyond that dying, incomplete World Tree. She was likely one of the First People. Very strong. A little absurdly so. It made Taro more interested in meeting this Time Archon in person.
And once this "trigger" was lit, that unknown Time Archon—wherever or whenever she was—would probably at least glance over, given that it touched Teyvat's future.
"Let's begin."
Taro accepted the "consciousness space" without hesitation and, with the authority of a Primordial Dragon, activated it.
In an instant, the view changed. The sun-washed Yaoguang Shoal vanished, replaced by a mysterious, special inner realm. At its center, a lone figure stood waiting.
"The Shogun?"
Ei frowned. When the Shogun had been released before, she'd barely stirred. But now—
"You're here, Inner One," the Shogun said, raising her head from quiet contemplation. Her cool gaze locked onto Ei. "I know the past and the present in full. The future… is half-understood at best. But this body still has a question: Inner One, are you truly certain you will no longer uphold Eternity?"
"…"
Ei drew a long breath. "Shogun, I no longer wish to argue. If you want to fight, we can. But not now. After my sister returns, I—"
"Silence."
The Shogun's voice cut cold. "Deflection. One question, one answer. Why be circuitous? You lived two brief events in my body and your heart wavered. You think the you of now is more rational than the you of then, therefore you think the you of now is correct. Tell me—have you truly grasped the truth of Eternity more firmly… or has your resolve been worn down by irresistible erosion?"
Listening to her other self, watching that waist-deep glow of "Musou Isshin" haloing her form, the Shogun's eyes sharpened.
"This body is the Inner One's assistant, and the guardian of the law. If the Inner One seeks to betray law and shake [Eternity]—then this body will become Asura."
"…"
Ei did not want to fight. She had not come here to quarrel with the Shogun. Why fight? If they damaged the stability of this space and hurt Makoto… Her own inner realm could be wrecked; that would be fine. But not here. Not when it could affect her sister's revival.
Yet the Shogun was her former ideal—the cornerstone of the [Eternity] she once set. No ordinary force could shake it. She was stubborn to the end. And Ei truly had departed from the law she herself had forged.
Headache.
"Answer me, Inner One. Are you truly certain you will no longer uphold Eternity?"
"…"
Ei was silent a moment. Then she raised her head, drew her blade, and there was not a shred of hesitation in her eyes.
"My Eternity was obstinate and self-enclosed, without the least vitality. If I can choose, I prefer the Eternity my sister spoke of."
Before, she had not understood "the flowing Eternity of dreams" her sister described. Now she did—because now she had her own answer. So even if it overturned the creed she had clung to for centuries, she would do it. An Eternity without dreams or future is a dead pond.
Vmm—
Musou Isshin gave a single, low hum. A thin, dreamlike radiance spread across the blade. It was the power that had once belonged to Makoto… sensing all this.
A mist seemed to rise in Ei's eyes.
"My sister's blade… is answering me?"
That had never happened before.
"My sister supports me too. So my choice… is right."
"…Very well."
The Shogun's posture shifted by a hair, accepting the answer—yet the air only grew tighter, like a bowstring drawn to its limit.
Ei took her stance. The puppet mirrored her. Two figures, one will. Serious Ei. Serious Shogun.
The duel over what "Eternity" meant was about to begin.
(End of Chapter)
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