In the end, Lumine did not accept Kamisato Ayaka's invitation. The latter did not force her, stating that she could help introduce the Raiden Shogun, asking them to help fulfill a few small wishes.
Her request was to visit several people whose Visions had been taken, to see their lives after their Visions were taken.
Other than that, no other actions were required. Of course, if Lumine was willing to help, she could, as those people probably needed some help now.
Miss Durandal was not interested in this matter. After leaving the Shuumatsuban, she parted ways with most of the group and headed towards something that interested her.
The target location was next to the Kamisato Estate. The mountain was called Mt. Yougou. Thoma had said that this was the territory of the Grand Narukami Shrine. On top of the Grand Narukami Shrine was a very large tree, and the cherry blossoms that occasionally drifted over came from that sacred sakura tree.
Miss Durandal did not go to the Grand Narukami Shrine to observe the sacred sakura tree up close, but instead came to the foot of the mountain. Even here, she could find branches of the sacred sakura tree.
Miss Durandal found a sparsely populated area and reached out to touch a visible branch of the sacred sakura tree. A vast amount of mental power began to enter the interior of the sacred sakura tree.
Sure enough, just as she had thought, this sacred sakura tree was not so simple.
Ley Lines, this is what Venti had told Miss Durandal. Ley Lines run through every part of the Teyvat continent, recording every event that happens on the Teyvat continent.
This sacred sakura tree also possessed similar abilities. Besides being able to record memories, it seemed to have other abilities as well.
None of this was important. Miss Durandal entered the consciousness space of the sacred sakura tree, arriving before the most prominent cherry blossom-filled tree in the consciousness space. She reached out to touch it, wanting to browse the memories stored within.
Logically speaking, the things stored within the sacred sakura tree should not be browsable, and ordinary people would not be able to enter this special space.
But Miss Durandal was no ordinary person. Her mental power was strong enough to enter the sacred sakura tree's interior and could forcibly extract its contents.
(Miss Durandal: Let me in!)
The sacred sakura tree struggled at first, but after a short struggle, it failed and could only allow Miss Durandal to further understand its interior.
However, the amount of information inside the sacred sakura tree was too vast. Even Miss Durandal, when she first encountered this information, was almost overwhelmed by the immense data contained within.
But she quickly recovered, slowly organizing the contents in her mind, trying to find what she needed from within.
But what exactly did she need? Miss Durandal herself wasn't sure. She was just curious about the existence of the sacred sakura tree and came to see what was happening.
Seeing that all this was useless information that she couldn't use, Miss Durandal simply broke free from the sea of countless information and returned to the illusory sacred sakura tree.
Just as she was about to leave, Miss Durandal suddenly noticed something different about the sacred sakura tree. It… seemed to contain something else.
She stretched out her hand, and after a short while, a small branch slowly grew from the end of the sacred sakura tree, wrapping around Miss Durandal's wrist.
Immediately after, Miss Durandal felt this branch absorbing the power from her body.
It absorbed very carefully, as if afraid that Miss Durandal would be displeased with its actions, absorbing intermittently, to the point where Miss Durandal herself found it a bit unbearable.
She was curious about what this unique branch wanted to do, so she actively injected her power into it.
The branch didn't expect Miss Durandal to be so proactive and twisted uneasily, but Miss Durandal grabbed it, not giving it a chance to escape.
Unexpectedly, the amount of power this branch absorbed was truly extraordinary. Although this amount was nothing to Miss Durandal, she was somewhat surprised that this branch could absorb so much power.
To what extent could it go?
With this question, Miss Durandal once again increased the intensity of the power transfer.
Miss Durandal could almost hear the branch saying things like, "Too much," "Can't hold anymore."
Soon, this branch detached from the sacred sakura tree. It wasn't Miss Durandal pulling it off the sacred sakura tree, but rather it falling off on its own.
As the branch fell, its surface emitted a soft glow. This glow gradually grew larger, until it reached the size of a normal person.
Soon, a purple-haired Damselette in a kimono appeared before Miss Durandal, her gentle gaze filled with gratitude.
"Thank you for your power. If it weren't for your power, I wouldn't be able to appear before you in this form."
"You… you are not the consciousness of the sacred sakura tree. You are a consciousness attached to the sacred sakura tree? Interesting. I suppose you are not a memory within the sacred sakura tree, right?"
The Damselette nodded: "Yes, a trace of my will remains on the sacred sakura tree. The sacred sakura is a divine tree that connects the past and the future. It has a very profound relationship with me and Ei. It is precisely because of this that I can reappear here with your power."
Speaking of which, she showed a look of emotion. She never expected such developments in the future. Who would have thought that besides her and her sister, others could come to this place?
"So… who are you? And what is your identity?"
The sacred sakura tree is related to her? Then she certainly isn't an ordinary person. Could she be a very powerful existence?
"I am Raiden Makoto. I… am the previous Electro God."
"…Hm?"
Miss Durandal frowned, looked at this gentle woman from side to side, and asked, "You are the former Electro God?"
"Yes, that's me. The current Electro God is my younger sister, Raiden Ei. We are twin Gods, and we look very similar."
Hiss~ In that case, Raiden Makoto's appearance is very similar to the Electro God statue she saw and the statue of the thousand armed, hundred-eyed god. She never expected that she would save such an extraordinary existence by coming here this time.
"Since the sacred sakura tree connects the past and the future, do you know what's happening in Inazuma now?"
"I don't know." Raiden Makoto shook her head. "Before I received your power, I couldn't even coalesce my own form. My consciousness was very blurry, let alone observe the outside world through the power of the sacred sakura."
If she could, she would of course want to see what the outside world was like, but that would consume her power. She wanted to reserve that consciousness for a critical moment, so she remained dormant until Miss Durandal arrived.
"Judging by your attire, you must have come from somewhere else, right? Can you tell me about the current situation in Inazuma? Ei, that Child's personality isn't suited for managing a country. I used to be in charge. Now that it's her turn to manage this country, I wonder what it has become."
"…This country has already entered a countdown to destruction."
Although it was cruel to say, Miss Durandal still had to say it: your sister is about to destroy this country, and from within.
Raiden Makoto was stunned for a moment, blinked, and asked, "A countdown to destruction?"
"Yes, the problem is especially big. At least, that's what I think, and I believe you would come to the same conclusion if you saw it."
"Is that so… Ah~ It's still a bit too difficult for Ei to manage the country, isn't it?"
Raiden Makoto smiled bitterly. She knew very well that her sister was merely a warrior, and liked to handle many things directly.
Presumably, the impact of her and other people's affairs on her was too great, which led to such a situation.
"What are you planning to do now? Having gained the powers I gave you, do you have a way to leave this area?"
"Hm~ Probably not. I already died hundreds of years ago, and my body no longer exists. Moreover, I can't leave the inside of the sacred sakura tree. If I leave, I might gradually dissipate."
If she could, she really wanted to meet Raiden Ei. From her understanding of her younger sister, she was probably very sad now.
Not only her, but even her other friends had left her. If she could meet her, she hoped to hold her in her arms like before and comfort her emotions properly.
Wait a minute, Raiden Makoto couldn't do this, so could Miss Durandal?
Miss Durandal, who was neither her nor Raiden Ei, could enter this space and possessed immense power. Such an existence should be able to help her.
"You… can you help me? That… this…"
"I am Miss Durandal."
"Miss Durandal, if possible, can you help me?"
Raiden Makoto looked at Miss Durandal nervously. Although she wasn't sure of Miss Durandal's true identity, she trusted her intuition. She believed Miss Durandal was definitely not an evil person, otherwise she wouldn't have given her so much energy for no reason.
"Yes, you're right, I can indeed help you."
Miss Durandal nodded, then the tone shifted: "But why should I help you? Whatever Inazuma eventually becomes has nothing to do with me. I don't live in Inazuma, so whatever happens to this country is irrelevant to me."
"Nor do I covet your things or power. Do you think you have anything that could move me, something that could sway me?"
Raiden Makoto's eyes lit up. Miss Durandal's attitude clearly meant there was room for negotiation. If she wasn't willing to help, she wouldn't have said these things.
As the former Electro God, her administrative ability was incomparable to that warrior, Raiden Ei.
But… she really seemed to have nothing that could move Miss Durandal. She was, so to speak, penniless. Miss Durandal was no ordinary person, and ordinary abilities or items wouldn't attract her.
No, it shouldn't be so vulgar. What Miss Durandal wanted was definitely not something on this material level. Was there anything else that could move her more?
"If you help me, you will gain… Inazuma's friendship?"
Raiden Makoto said tentatively.
As Raiden Ei's older sister, Raiden Makoto was confident she could achieve this. As long as her younger sister hadn't forgotten her, this matter would be very easy to accomplish.
Gaining the friendship of a God, so that in the future, whatever she encountered, Inazuma would unreservedly offer assistance. Could this move Miss Durandal?
Miss Durandal pondered for a long time before replying.
"I…"
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