Raiden Ei lay quietly amidst the ruins of the Tenshukaku, her long purple hair fanned out over the shattered bricks and stones.
Her eyes were closed, her chest rose and fell slightly, and there were still fresh bloodstains at the corners of her mouth.
"I lost..."
Her voice was very soft.
"Do as you wish with me."
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.
Only the distant sound of waves crashing on the shore could be faintly heard, and the mournful wail of the wind blowing through the ruins.
Raiden Ei waited.
She had experienced countless battles and knew what a loser should endure—being sealed, being slain, or being built into a statue... but the expected end never arrived.
"Pure Land... illusion shattered..."
She murmured to herself, her slender fingers unconsciously clutching the shattered stones beneath her.
The mental barrier she had constructed over five hundred years was brutally broken today by four Hilichurls.
After another moment, Raiden Ei finally couldn't help but open her eyes.
The sight that met her gaze caused her pupils to contract sharply, and her breathing even paused for an instant—
"One, two, three—pull!"
Jesse and Elliot's faces were flushed red, their hands gripping the hilt of the Musou no Hitotachi tightly.
The blade vibrated violently, emitting a piercing hum, as if resisting this 'delivery.'
"Why is this damn sword harder to pry open than a nailed coffin lid!"
Elliot gritted his teeth and cursed, the Electro element patterns on his body twisting and deforming from overexertion.
On the other side, Matt's seven-meter-tall body knelt on the ground, his huge palm carefully holding Raiden Makoto's slender arm: "No, no! It's going to break! It's going to break!"
He watched in horror as red marks appeared on Raiden Makoto's fair skin.
"Be gentle, all of you!"
Raiden Makoto was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes, her usually dignified face twisted.
"My waist! My waist is going to break!"
Lumine hung around Raiden Makoto's waist like a koala, her face flushed red: "Paimon! Push harder!"
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph!"
Paimon's small face was flushed red, her teeth clamped tightly onto Raiden Makoto's sash, making sounds like an angry squirrel.
Zane took out lubricant and poured entire bottles onto the Musou no Hitotachi.
Raiden Ei stood frozen in place, her purple pupils trembling violently.
Five hundred years of time collapsed into nothingness at this moment—she saw her sister's familiar eyebrows and eyes, heard her sister's tearful complaints, and could even smell the faint scent of camellia in her sister's hair.
"Sis... sis...?"
This call was as light as a dream, yet it instantly quieted the chaotic scene.
Raiden Makoto turned her head, her tear-filled eyes reflecting her sister's disheveled appearance.
"Ei..."
She suddenly broke into a tearful smile, like pear blossoms after rain.
"You've grown up..."
This most ordinary of homely remarks became the last straw that broke Raiden Ei.
Large drops of tears rolled down the Archon's eyes; she stumbled forward, her trembling hands gently covering her sister's hand.
"I'll... help you..."
The moment Raiden Ei touched her, an anomaly suddenly occurred!
The Musou no Hitotachi suddenly erupted with dazzling lightning, and countless memory fragments gushed out from the blade—
The Asase Shrine where the sisters stood side by side five hundred years ago, Raiden Makoto's gentle parting words before she left, the figure who fell into her sister's arms during the Khaenri'ah cataclysm... these memories materialized into luminous particles, weaving into a brilliant galaxy in the air.
"This is...!"
Yae Miko, who had just arrived, dropped her three-color dango with a plop.
She watched in shock as Raiden Makoto's previously translucent body solidified at a visible speed, blood returning to her pale cheeks, and even the folds of her kimono began to gently rise and fall with her breathing.
"Soul materialization..."
The Miko murmured to herself.
"True... resurrection!"
"Don't just stand there, fox!"
Elliot's veins bulged on his forehead.
"Come and lend a hand!"
The moment the Miko joined the pulling, a lightning pillar piercing the heavens suddenly shot up from the Musou no Hitotachi!
Everyone was thrown back by the intense energy fluctuations, but Raiden Ei clung tightly to her sister's body.
"Crack—"
A crisp shattering sound echoed through the sky.
When the lightning faded, everyone saw Raiden Ei kneeling on the ground, tightly embracing the now materialized Raiden Makoto.
And the Musou no Hitotachi, stuck nearby, was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
"Did... did it succeed?"
Paimon poked her head out from Lumine's hair.
Raiden Makoto slowly opened her eyes, her trembling fingers caressing her sister's face.
The warm touch made Raiden Ei tremble all over—this was not a ghost, not an illusion, but her real sister, with body temperature.
"Honestly..."
Raiden Makoto sighed helplessly, but her tears wouldn't stop flowing.
"How did you get yourself into such a state...?"
Yae Miko suddenly chuckled: "Well, this just got interesting."
She bent down and picked up the shattered Musou no Hitotachi; flowing starlight was faintly visible within the cracks of the blade.
"It seems a certain shut-in Shogun will have to re-learn how to be a younger sister~"
In the distance, the quartet lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily.
Jesse weakly raised his hand: "Um... overtime pay..."
"All of your actions in Inazuma will not be hindered in any way."
Raiden Ei said without turning her head, her voice softer than it had been in five hundred years.
"Thank you..."
Jesse patted the dust off himself and walked towards the Raiden Shogun lying on the ground: "Alright, we'll take care of the Raiden Shogun while we're at it."
Zane casually pulled out a book thicker than a brick from his 懷 and slapped it onto Raiden Makoto: "See how well your sister has governed Inazuma."
After speaking, he took out a wrench, a screwdriver, and a strange instrument sparking with electricity, then squatted beside the Raiden Shogun and began repairs.
Raiden Makoto opened the booklet in confusion; the first page read—
"Records of Inazuma's Governance Mistakes"
(Including detailed data on the Sakoku Decree, Vision Hunt Decree, isolation policy, economic collapse, and people's destitution)
"..."
Raiden Makoto's smile gradually vanished.
Turning to the second page—
"True Record of Shogunate Corruption"
(Kanjou Commission corruption, Tenryou Commission collusion with the Fatui, and collective dereliction of duty by the Three Commissions)
"..."
Raiden Makoto's fingers trembled slightly.
Turning to the third page—
"The Insurrection of the resistance: A Full Account"
(List of those whose families were broken due to the Vision Hunt Decree, and the live situation of widespread starvation on Watatsumi Island)
"..."
A vein throbbed on Raiden Makoto's forehead.
Turning to the fourth page—
"Inazuma's GDP Curve During the Raiden Shogun's Reign"
(Note: Has fallen to last place among Teyvat's Seven Nations)
"..."
Raiden Makoto clapped the booklet shut with a 'snap,' slowly looked up, narrowed her eyes at Raiden Ei, and a gentle smile played on her lips—
"Ei..."
Raiden Ei stiffened all over, and cold sweat instantly poured down her back.
"Is this how you've governed Inazuma?"
Raiden Makoto's voice was terrifyingly soft, like the calm before a storm.
Raiden Ei swallowed, immediately turned to Yae Miko, her eyes filled with—
"Save me!!!"
Yae Miko shrugged, smiling as she took a bite of a three-color dango: "Oh dear, General, this is a family matter~"
After saying that, she even took two steps back and casually pulled out a bag of melon seeds from her sleeve, clearly intending to watch the show.
Raiden Ei: "..."
(Betrayal! Naked betrayal!)
Raiden Makoto slowly stood up, stretched her wrists, and said gently: "Ei, it's been five hundred years, big sister has a lot to talk to you about."
Raiden Ei: "..."
(It's over, I'm going to get beaten.)
"First, let's talk about—"
Raiden Makoto grabbed Raiden Ei's ear—
"Why did you turn Inazuma into such a mess!!!"
"Ow ow ow ow—!"
The Raiden Shogun, once revered across Teyvat, was now being lectured by her older sister, held by the ear like a naughty little girl.
In the distance, the quartet repaired the Raiden Shogun's body while cracking melon seeds and watching the show.
Jesse: "Tsk tsk, a domestic violence scene."
Elliot: "I didn't expect the Electro Archon to be afraid of her older sister."
Zane: "Someone should have reined her in a long time ago."
Matt nodded honestly: "Mm, older sister hitting younger sister, it's only natural."
Lumine and Paimon silently pulled out their Kamera, recording this historic moment.
—Inazuma had finally ushered in true 'change.'