In Inazuma, inside Tenshukaku.
A faint trace of lightning flashed into being, so subtle it disturbed no one.
Makoto's figure appeared beneath the high platform, Muso Isshin held loosely in her hand, expression slightly dazed.
Everything before her eyes was exactly as it had been five hundred years ago when she left.
Every piece of furniture and decoration inside Tenshukaku seemed unchanged from the past.
"Ei~"
Makoto lowered her head, gazing at the sword in her hand.
"Alright, no more hiding. We're home now."
"Come out."
"…"
Ei was silent for a moment before speaking quietly:
"I can't come out, Sis."
"All of my outward form has been given to the Shogun. My godly body no longer exists."
"Right now, I can only dwell within the inner realm of Muso Isshin."
"Sigh…"
Makoto let out a soft sigh.
"These five hundred years… must have been very hard on you."
She truly had never imagined that Ei would, because everyone had died, abandon her Archon body and forge the puppet Shogun—
Then hide alone inside the pure land of Muso Isshin.
"It hasn't~"
Within that inner realm, Ei shook her head with a gentle smile.
"It was all worth it."
"As long as you can come back, that's enough."
"Now I can once again become your shadow."
"I'll still stand in front of you and take on every disaster that comes."
"We'll never be separated again."
"…"
The more Ei said, the more Makoto felt a crushing sense of guilt.
But the circumstances back then had given her no room for hesitation, no time to prepare.
In an instant, the entire burden of Inazuma had fallen on Ei's shoulders.
"You're my little sister."
"I'd much rather have you stand beside me… than be my shadow."
Her slender fingers slid along the blade as Makoto chuckled softly.
"Don't worry. I might not be very good at fighting, but preparing a new divine vessel for you is still well within my ability."
"Wait for me. And you're not allowed to refuse."
She had thought she'd never be able to return—
Leaving Ei alone to support Inazuma in solitude.
Now that a miracle had happened and she'd come back, there was no way she would continue dumping everything on her sister.
Of course, the most urgent task was to get Ei a new godly body.
"Right, Ei—tell me about Inazuma after I left."
"It's been five hundred years of silence. Inazuma must have changed a lot."
"…"
Inside the pure land of Muso Isshin, Ei's smile froze.
What replaced it was an expression of utter guilt.
Her sister had entrusted Inazuma to her.
And she… had handed Inazuma over to the Shogun instead.
Although the Shogun would ask her opinion on many matters, Ei had chosen to delegate everything fully, letting the Shogun make all the decisions.
Back then, to her, only "no-thought, no-desire eternity" came close to the Heavenly Principles.
Decree of the Sakoku.
Vision Hunt Decree.
Watatsumi Island's rebellion…
All of it—
To her, was just momentary illusions in the flow of eternity.
And now her sister was asking.
Could she really say any of this?
"What's wrong, Ei?"
Seeing her little sister remain silent for a long time, Makoto's sense of foreboding solidified in her chest.
Surely… Ei hadn't actually ruined Inazuma?
A vein bulged faintly on her forehead.
She'd always known her sister was unreliable.
But there had to be a limit to that, didn't there?
"Big Sis…"
Ei bit her lip, deciding to play the emotional card.
"After you all left five hundred years ago, I clung even more firmly to 'no-thought, no-desire eternity.'"
"So, once I'd cleared away the disasters plaguing Inazuma, I began forging the Shogun and put everything in Inazuma under her management."
"I then sealed myself inside Muso Isshin to resist erosion…"
"So…"
So… she wasn't all that familiar with present-day Inazuma.
The one who knew Inazuma best now was actually the Shogun.
Smack!
The vein on Makoto's forehead popped outright.
"Ei, I remember telling you—you must rule personally, didn't I?"
"And you went and hid, leaving everything to a Shogun who doesn't know a thing?"
Even if the Shogun had self-awareness…
She was still a newborn puppet. How deep could her experience and insight possibly be?
Could she truly handle the tangled mass of state affairs?
Could she fully comprehend the complexity of human society?
Did she even understand what dreams were?
"The Shogun is me…"
Ei tried to protest weakly.
"Is my ass!"
Even someone as gentle as Makoto couldn't hold back from swearing.
"How much do you understand?"
"And a Shogun who only inherited a part of your thoughts understands more than you?"
"…"
Ei fell completely silent.
Right. Her sister had always handled these political matters.
She'd only been responsible for going to war.
If that was all she knew, then of course the Shogun, who inherited her mindset, wouldn't be any better.
Worse, in fact.
The Shogun followed her internal directives to the letter—
Rigidly clinging to eternity above all else.
Everything else was dispensable.
No flexibility, no adaptability; in some ways, she was worse than Ei herself.
"Alright—tell me. What are the biggest policies in Inazuma now?"
Makoto had already steeled herself.
She was ready to start cleaning up the mess.
Her sister had made the mess, but she herself bore responsibility too.
What else could she do?
She could only hurry to fix it.
"Um…"
Ei shrank back a little.
"The most important decrees in Inazuma now…"
"…are the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree."
"???"
Makoto's eyes bulged; she felt her whole body go cold.
She didn't yet know the exact contents of the Vision Hunt Decree.
But the Sakoku Decree?
You could tell what that was just from the name.
Inazuma… closed to the world?
Makoto took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down for the moment.
"…I get what the Sakoku Decree is. What about the Vision Hunt Decree?"
"Well…"
Ei stammered, voice barely above a whisper.
"It's… the confiscation of Visions."
Crack.
Makoto's rational mind seemed to shatter at that exact moment.
Confiscating… Visions?
Visions might only be external magic organs, but they were also containers for dreams—
Rewards bestowed by the heavenly order in recognition of human desire.
Vision Hunt Decree = stripping her people of their dreams?
Makoto felt as though a massive blade had run straight through her heart.
And the one holding that blade—
Was her little sister.
Who stabbed their own sister like this?!
During Makoto's reign she had promoted the eternity of dreams.
And Ei had turned around and plunged a knife right into that ideal.
She suddenly felt like coughing blood.
Could she even keep this sister?
"Big Sis, I was wrong."
Ei dropped to her knees in a perfect slide, admitting fault at record speed.
After personally experiencing "eternity of dreams," she understood perfectly where she'd gone wrong.
There was no shame in admitting a mistake.
Refusing to admit it—that was shameful.
As a warrior, she could not live against her own heart.
"Phew…"
Makoto massaged her brow, suppressing the surge of violent emotion rising inside.
Honestly, if the person responsible hadn't been her sister—if it had been anyone else—
This would have been a grudge to the death.
An enmity for obstructing her path—
The kind of hatred that would not end until one side was dead.
Muso Isshin would have been unsheathed on the spot.
But… this time, the idiot responsible was her own sister.
Wait.
Something still didn't add up.
Ei's "no-thought, no-desire" might differ from her ideal of dreams, but it shouldn't be directly opposed.
There was a problem here.
"Ei~"
Makoto's tone dropped, icy calm.
"Tell me the truth."
"The Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree—who proposed them?"
"…"
Ei blinked, thinking for a couple of seconds.
"They were jointly proposed by the Tenryou Commission and the Kanjou Commission."
"The Shogun felt they would help uphold eternity, so both she and I… agreed."
"…"
Makoto suddenly felt her sister was even more foolish than she'd thought.
They had been played like idiots.
(End of Chapter)
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