Real World — Inazuma, Hanamizaka, beneath the cherry blossoms.
Arataki Itto stared at the light screen with uncontainable excitement, his eyes practically glowing. He spun toward Kuki Shinobu and said,
"Hey, Shinobu, did you see that?! That Yae Miko lady said if I rise up with her and the rebellion succeeds, she'll make me the Great General of the Tenryou Commission! Once I'm the General, Kujou Tengu won't be able to do anything to me!"
Shinobu just froze, her expression the very definition of "subway old man staring at his phone."
The more excited her boss looked, the more her soul seemed to leave her body.
Her beloved boss really was great in every way—except… he was a little too pure-hearted.
Or rather, too gullible.
That fox had just been joking, yet he'd already started dreaming about being general.
Kuki Shinobu sighed and said helplessly,
"Boss, forget it. Lady Yae would never actually rebel against the Shogun."
"How's that possible? She literally said 'the Raiden Shogun is cruel,' didn't she?" Itto protested, full of disbelief.
Shinobu exhaled deeply again.
[Arataki Itto]: Hahaha! The Great General of the Tenryou Commission—that's me, baby! (Itto·proud)
[Kujou Sara]: (facepalm)
As someone who'd dealt with Itto many times, Kujou Sara knew his personality all too well.
But even she didn't expect Yae Miko's casual joke would have him spinning in circles like this.
[Venti]: I'm the Raiden Shogun! I've been kidnapped by the Crux Fleet! Send me 500,000 mora and I'll pay you back a hundredfold! (Hu Tao·evil grin)
[Arataki Itto]: Huh?! Wait, no, no—you're that wind guy! You're not the Shogun!
[Keqing]: Why do I get the feeling Mr. Arataki Itto is… very easy to fool? (Keqing·question)
[Kamisato Ayato]: Itto's just… straightforward.
[Raiden Ei]: Enough about that. @[Yae Miko] Explain yourself—how exactly am I "cruel"? If you can't justify it, you'll regret it later.
[Furina]: Excuse me?! Are you threatening the hero who dares rise up for the people?!
[Yae Miko]: Exactly! Imagine, threatening me like that! And what's your relationship with the Shogun, hmm? (Yae Miko·smirk)
[Scaramouche]: A glib-tongued fox, hiding her true nature behind fake affection for humans just to please her god—utterly hypocritical. And as for the other one, she's nothing but a cold, fragile-hearted fool. Both are a disgrace.
[Yae Miko]: …Excuse me?
[Raiden Ei]: …
[Tartaglia]: Bro, maybe stop roasting everyone—you're making the Fatui look bad.
[Scaramouche]: Oh? Am I "making" them look bad? They're already bad to the core.
[La Signora]:Heh. That's just how he is. Mouth like a blade—doesn't matter who he's talking to. (shrugs)
[Paimon]: Ugh, can we not argue right now? Focus, people! Thoma's been captured! @[Kamisato Ayaka] When's your family gonna pull the Shogun off her throne?!
[Kamisato Ayaka]: Ah—w-we would never dare think such a thing! (shakes head)
[Gu Chen]: "Every emperor takes their turn—this year, it's my turn!" Everyone, with me! Charge!!
[Raiden Ei]: …
While the chat group was in chaos, the video showed that Thoma was gone.
According to Ayaka, they'd overheard passersby saying the Tenryou Commission had captured him.
And as fate would have it, the Raiden Shogun was preparing to hold the Vision Hunt Ceremony at the Statue of a Thousand Arms and a Hundred Eyes—the target of the public confiscation would be none other than Thoma himself.
"No! I have to save him!" Ayaka said, panic in her eyes.
Thoma wasn't just a servant of the Kamisato Clan—he was family.
"Calm down!" Lumine interjected.
"If you go yourself," Paimon added anxiously, "won't that mean the Yashiro Commission is directly defying the Shogun? The people of your Commission will be dragged into this too!"
"Even so… I can't just abandon him! The ceremony is about to start!"
"He's our friend too," Lumine said firmly. "Stay here. We'll handle this."
"Don't worry!" Paimon nodded. "When it comes to saving friends, we never fail!"
They set out immediately.
Ayaka, bound by her noble position, could only watch them leave with deep worry.
[Kamisato Ayaka]: Thoma! Please be safe! (worried)
[Thoma]: I trust Miss Lumine, but… I've got a feeling the Tenryou Commission will be knocking on my door any moment now. (Qiqi·fainted)
[Kujou Sara]: Don't worry. The Shogun has already decreed that what happened in the "past life" doesn't affect the present.
[Raiden Ei]: (nods)
[Yae Miko]: Oh my, it looks like the Shogun's being quite reasonable this time. (Yae Miko·teasing smile)
[Lumine]: I have a bad feeling about this mission.
[Paimon]: Yeah, and after Gu Chen's fight with the Shogun, if they meet again now, they'll definitely start another battle! (Collei·unresponsive)
[Lynney]: Maybe the only one who can turn things around now… is Mr. Gu Chen himself?
[Paimon]: Wait! I see Gu Chen in the crowd!!
[Venti]: Where?! Where?!
[Kaeya]: Second floor, at the back!
In the video:
Before the Statue of a Thousand Arms and a Hundred Eyes, crowds had gathered, whispering nervously.
Thoma knelt on the ground, pinned by two Tenryou Commission soldiers.
Far behind the crowd, Gu Chen leaned lazily against a second-floor balcony, watching silently.
Lumine and Paimon squeezed through the crowd to the front.
Then—the Raiden Shogun herself appeared on the platform.
Expressionless, she raised her hand. Thoma's Vision tore free from his belt and flew toward her palm.
Thoma had seen what happened to those who'd lost their Visions—he knew he didn't want to become like that. But bound tightly, he could do nothing.
At that instant, Lumine leapt into the air, snatching the Vision before it could reach the Shogun's hand.
"Hmm?"
The Shogun's eyes flickered with momentary surprise.
Two guards lunged toward Lumine.
She countered swiftly, lightning arcing from her hands as both soldiers fell.
She knelt beside Thoma, trying to untie him—
A flash of purple lightning struck between them.
The Shogun's gaze darkened.
She stepped down from the air, each footfall supported by invisible power.
"You wield the elements without a Vision…"
"An anomaly. And anomalies are the enemies of eternity."
"I will enshrine you—within the statue itself."
Thunder surged around her. From her chest, lightning gathered into the shape of a sword's hilt.
She grasped it—and drew the blade.
The world cracked apart in blinding light.
Lumine blinked—and suddenly found herself in an endless void.
Before her sat a meditating figure, identical to the Shogun.
The figure slowly opened her eyes. Lumine charged with her dull blade—
Boom!
The next instant, she was slammed into the ground, unconscious.
Reality warped again.
Lumine lay motionless on the earth as Paimon frantically shook her.
"Lumine! Wake up!"
The Shogun approached, sword raised.
Thoma, using a broken spear stuck in the ground, tore his bonds apart.
As the blade fell, he spun and hurled the spear—
The Shogun deflected it with her sword.
Lightning flared, wind howled—
The explosion sent Lumine flying off the cliff's edge.
Thoma caught her as they tumbled away into the distance.
The Shogun stopped at the cliff's rim, her gaze turning toward the far-off balcony.
"General! That man…" a soldier began nervously.
The Shogun met Gu Chen's eyes across the distance, then said coldly,
"Add her name to the Vision Hunt Decree. Next time we meet… I'll strike again."
On the balcony, Gu Chen exhaled slowly—then vanished.
[Lumine]:I'm wanted again?! (Xinyan·furious)
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