Abyss Order.
Aether's expression had completely frozen.
He couldn't understand it.
This was clearly something that had happened in a past life!
With Lumine's calm and rational temperament, how could she possibly…?
He felt a hollow ache in his chest. His fists clenched tightly, anger boiling up inside him with nowhere to go.
After a long silence, Aether let out a soft sigh.
"Forget it. My sister will grow up eventually… she'll learn what it means to grow."
Wangshu Inn.
Paimon glanced cautiously at Lumine.
Her expression was terrifyingly dark—those golden eyes, usually so clear, now shimmered with unhidden grief.
Paimon wanted to comfort her, but didn't know where to begin.
Lumine herself didn't quite understand what she was feeling either.
The moment she saw Gu Chen die, it was as if something heavy had slammed into her heart.
She felt like she had fallen into deep water—
the weight pressing in from every direction, crushing her chest, suffocating her.
A storm of grief welled up from deep inside, only to halt abruptly—
the kind of feeling where you want to cry, but can't, left her mind restless and aching.
She knew it was all from a past life.
That in this life, she and Gu Chen hadn't even met.
But still—why?
Why did his death hurt so much?
Scenes of their time together kept flashing in her mind.
Why…?
She couldn't make sense of it.
"Lumine…" Paimon spoke softly.
Lumine turned to her—her sharp gaze so fierce that Paimon flinched and darted aside.
"…I'm fine," Lumine said faintly.
Was she, really?
Paimon didn't believe it for a second.
She looked like she was trying not to cry—but couldn't even do that.
At a loss for words, Paimon turned her attention back to the glowing screen before them.
[Supernatural Group Chat]
After a long silence, messages began to appear.
[Venti]: So… Gu Chen really died, huh?
[Kaeya]: Seems that way. He wasn't a match for the Raiden Shogun, but maybe he foresaw Lumine returning. That's probably why the Shogun had no strength left to finish her off—she's now forced to fend off the resistance.
[Yae Miko]: Sigh.
[Raiden Ei]: …My apologies. It wasn't my will.
[Lumine]: …
Did this have anything to do with her?
Strictly speaking, that was all in the past.
This world's Raiden Ei had nothing to do with it.
And yet, Lumine still felt a surge of bitterness rise inside her.
[Kirara]: Wait—what's Miss Lumine doing?!
In the video.
Lumine held Gu Chen's lifeless body in her arms for a long time.
Then, slowly, her eyes hardened with determination.
Her gaze shifted downward—toward a silver-white spear.
Forged from the spine of the corrupted dragon Durin in Dragonspine's Wyrmrest Valley, the weapon was now battered nearly beyond repair. The shaft was webbed with cracks, and the spearhead was half shattered.
Lumine reached down and lifted it. Its weight felt like the weight of her own heart.
"Lumine…" Paimon whispered.
"Raiden Shogun…"
Three elemental forces began swirling around Lumine's body as she raised the spear. Her aura surged with a strength that made the air tremble.
"'Foolish love,' you call it."
"In Eternity's eyes, even love is something that time can twist and decay."
The Shogun, having defeated Kazuha and Gorou, lifted her cold gaze toward Lumine. Her voice was sharp as steel needles, piercing straight into Lumine's heart.
"You are a puppet. You will never understand such emotions."
Raiden Shogun spoke lightly, almost dispassionately.
"Understanding is unnecessary. That which serves no purpose to Eternity need not be understood. Now go—this is your chance to flee. Do you wish to be buried here as well?"
She was a puppet, yes.
But she was also the embodiment of the Raiden Shogun's power itself.
In other words—she was the Electro Archon.
And her strength was rapidly returning.
"Paimon," Lumine said suddenly, turning to her.
"I'm sorry. You won't need to guide us anymore."
Paimon blinked, confused for a second—then realized what Lumine meant. Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head violently.
"No! How could a guide just abandon you?! I—I'm not leaving!"
Lumine smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Then, without another word, she dashed toward the Raiden Shogun.
Kazuha and Gorou, both wounded, tried to rise and follow—but before they could move, the Shogun closed her eyes.
Light fractured and space twisted.
In an instant, Lumine was engulfed in darkness and vanished from sight.
Plane of Euthymia – The Realm of Stillness.
The place where Raiden Ei meditated.
This was Lumine's second time here.
She tightened her grip on the spear, still faintly warm to the touch, and her heart became unnaturally calm.
"Gu Chen once said… a restless heart leads to defeat in battle.
I've already learned how to be calm."
As Raiden Ei slowly opened her eyes, Lumine met her gaze head-on.
"Let me think…" Ei's voice was quiet, contemplative. "What is it that brings you before me once more? Is it reckless courage—to protect those people? Or was meeting me again your true purpose?"
"Wrong policies. A misguided puppet. And a lost companion," Lumine said steadily. "Those are why I'm here."
"Oh?" Ei tilted her head. "You woke me from my meditation just to say that? You underestimate me. The Vision Hunt Decree—of course I know about it."
"You… know what's happening outside?" Lumine's grip tightened, the broken spear tip glinting coldly.
"Not everything," Ei replied. "I know only what concerns Eternity. The Vision Hunt Decree was permitted by my will. As for the Fatui's schemes—they do not yet threaten Eternity. Otherwise, they would already have been purged."
"For your so-called Eternity, the people of Inazuma have lost so much… I've lost him. Is that your Eternity?"
Lumine thrust her spear forward.
Ei's figure blurred, evading easily.
"Wishes are incompatible with Eternity," Ei said, her tone as calm as still water. "You haven't realized it yet, but chasing after desires often leads to greater loss. Even taking away Visions—none died because they lost them. Those who perished were the ones who refused to give up their wishes. Isn't that so?"
Her eyes drifted down to Lumine's weapon. "The wish within that spear burns particularly bright…"
Lumine said nothing.
She knew the gap between their strength was immense.
Still, she searched desperately for an opening—any weakness.
But Raiden Ei, the warrior-god of lightning, had none.
"It seems you truly wish to defeat me," Ei murmured. "Perhaps even kill me. Very well, then. Defier of Eternity—show me your resolve."
The two figures crossed—blades and thunder colliding in a storm of sparks.
Within moments, Lumine was already struggling to keep up.
The difference in power was simply too vast.
Then—
"Little one… I'm late."
A familiar, teasing voice echoed across the void.
"Yae Miko…" Ei's eyes widened slightly. "Even you?"
"Ei, you've disappointed me," Miko said, shaking her head, her tone weary.
She turned to Lumine, her sharp eyes softening slightly. "The Fatui lunatics have surrounded the Grand Narukami Shrine. You can't defeat Ei alone."
Her lips curled into a small smile.
"Remember—Gu Chen's wish, and the wishes of the people of Inazuma—
all of them are with you now."
"Go.
Defeat the god who's been stubborn for five hundred years."
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