Thunderclouds once again gathered over Yashiori Island, blotting out the stars.
Purple lightning raged, illuminating the ruined earth below; deafening thunder rolled without pause.
At last—
as though the heavens themselves had exhausted their anger—
the storm ceased.
The sky opened.
Moonlight returned, cool and pale.
And beneath that moonlight—
Raiden Ei had slaughtered every last Fatui operative from the Delusion factory.
Her violet eyes swept across the scattered bodies—cold, emotionless.
With a flick of her sleeve, she turned away.
Temporary Dwelling
Ei stepped quietly through the doorway.
From within, she heard the faint sounds of water and steam.
She walked further, long legs moving with restrained grace, until she saw Su Xuan's back.
"You are…?" she asked.
A shallow pool had been formed at the center of the room.
A faint shimmer of telekinetic force coated the water's surface.
"I'm adjusting the air pressure to heat the water," Su Xuan replied lazily.
"In other words—taking a bath."
Ei: "…"
So the 'hot spring' was… boiling water.
Simply boiling the water.
But she could not deny it—
his telekinesis truly could manipulate pressure, heat, even the surrounding air.
"Remarkable," she murmured.
"I didn't expect your power to extend even to altering atmospheric conditions."
Su Xuan stretched, sounding entirely relaxed.
"That's minor. I've just never bothered to mention the bigger applications.
For example—telekinesis can also pull down meteors from the sky."
Ei froze.
He turned slightly, speaking casually—
as if describing something as ordinary as wind.
"You should know already. Teyvat's sky is false.
No matter whether one bears a Vision or not, every person has their own 'constellation' reflected upon that false sky."
Ei's fingers tightened.
She did not know.
She was not supposed to know.
"When a person dies, their star dims.
If their will is strong enough, it may even fall to the earth when they pass," Su Xuan continued.
"So imagine—if I fully unleashed my power and pulled someone's constellation down by force."
Ei inhaled sharply.
She did not answer.
She didn't need to.
The image was clear—
meteors falling like divine punishment.
"…Your abilities far exceed my imagination," she admitted.
Between his telekinesis and the mirror he had wielded earlier—
he had casually demonstrated power capable of challenging the laws set by Celestia itself.
Perhaps he had not "unlocked" his strength.
Perhaps he had arrived already standing far above the world.
Su Xuan, unaware of Ei's spiraling interpretation of him, extended a finger.
A sphere of water floated toward him; he tested the temperature and nodded.
"Perfect. Want to bathe together?"
He spoke it as casually as asking if she wanted tea.
Without waiting for an answer, he slipped into the water, letting steam rise around him.
"…Hah."
Ei couldn't help it—she laughed softly.
"What are you laughing at?" Su Xuan asked, eyes still closed.
Ei shook her head.
She knew—
he had noticed her anger earlier, and deliberately left the Fatui alive for her to vent it.
He didn't say it.
But she understood.
Warmth flickered in her chest—subtle, unfamiliar.
She stepped slowly to the pool's edge, fingers reaching toward her clothing—
—and her body locked rigidly.
A soft, involuntary sound slipped from her throat.
Su Xuan cracked one eye open.
"…Raiden Shogun is trying to seize the body back, isn't she?"
Ei's pupils tightened.
Of course he would see through it.
"Yes."
Her voice was calm, but her jaw tensed.
"She is summoning me back. She does not wish me to continue acting through this body."
"You've begun to think differently. That contradicts her foundational directive—'preserve eternity.'"
Su Xuan lifted his hand.
And in the air above them—the Mirror of Heaven and Earth appeared.
"If I remove your erosion—your accumulated wear over the centuries—
you should be able to resist her influence.
That way, your will stands equal to hers."
Ei stared at the mirror—then nodded.
A soft radiance washed over her.
Warmth spread through her limbs, seeping deep—
into memory, bone, and soul.
The exhaustion of centuries—the erosion of an Archon's existence—
fell away.
Power
clarity
and presence
returned to her body.
"…So it truly does cleanse erosion," she whispered—breath unsteady.
"It overturns the very laws of this world…"
"Can you move now?" Su Xuan asked.
Ei breathed once—and nodded.
"Good."
She let her clothing slip away and gathered her hair, twisting the violet braid up behind her head.
Su Xuan leaned forward slightly, eyes closing again.
"Then come down and scrub my back."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/lucarioTL