Lu Chen awkwardly dodged the "Musou Isshin" aimed at him.
He had no choice but to dodge; even without touching it, the electric currents running along the blade made his skin tingle.
"Ei, calm down, let me explain..."
His strength clearly hadn't returned along with his memories—his power was still thoroughly sealed.
Otherwise, he would've already teleported behind her like he used to, pulled a dirty trick to trip her, and ended up wrestling with Ei in the mud, making Makoto and the others laugh like crazy...
But the Raiden standing in front of him now was no longer the one he remembered. Her face was blank, and she genuinely looked like she meant to kill him.
This oppressive aura overwhelmed everything—it was truly worthy of the Electro Archon.
But it was also foreign.
The storm was near. The window slammed open under the rain-laden wind, her violet hair flying wildly, and on her face—beautiful like the cherry blossoms of Narukami Island—finally appeared a swirl of complex emotions.
It happened the moment she saw Lu Chen again.
Her amethyst-clear eyes reflected Lu Chen's figure, rippling faintly.
The tear-shaped mole at the corner of her eye seemed to weep for their shared fate, a sorrowful beauty that defied words.
No matter how much Lu Chen admired her, Ei was like a flawless piece of art—even the way she tried to kill him was beautiful.
Of course, it would've been even better if she wasn't trying to kill him.
Lu Chen clumsily dodged a vertical slash, and behind him, a terrifying crack tore through the wall, shredding the poster of the sailor uniform girl beyond recognition.
The air crackled with electricity. Seeing that Ei was getting into it, Lu Chen grabbed a Gundam model from the table and hurled it at her.
The Gundam was split cleanly by a single strike, crumbling into black, charred fragments scattered through the air.
Lu Chen glanced at the mess and thought, Sorry, other Lu Chen... If I get the chance, I'll buy you a limited-edition original Gundam.
The debris clouded the air, momentarily obscuring Ei's vision, and the second blow was delayed.
Lu Chen retreated toward the window that had been blown open by the storm. Facing Ei's slow advance, he raised both hands harmlessly and spoke at the fastest speed of his life:
"Ei, calm down! I lost my memory! I didn't betray you! I just—"
He rushed to explain why he was standing against her, glossing over what had happened five hundred years ago.
Ei didn't swing a second time, and the crackle of electricity in the air weakened.
Even the storm outside seemed to settle slightly, rain hesitating at the edge of the night.
There was no clichéd melodrama like "Listen to me!" and "I won't listen!"—and after two thousand years together, Lu Chen knew his Ei better than anyone.
From the Vision Hunt Ceremony until now, Ei hadn't once truly struck to kill.
Even if she had blasted him back to the real world with a single blow.
Even if the poster of the sailor-suited girl had been shredded beyond saving.
Back then, she hadn't realized Lu Chen had lost his Inazuma-first-warrior status.
And even now...
If Ei really wanted to kill him, the floor of the apartment wouldn't have held up, and his bedroom would've turned into an open-air balcony long ago.
After all, Ei once killed the demon god Orobashi with a single strike—and reshaped Yashiori Island into what's now known as the Musoujin Gorge.
...
"You're talking faster than a rap song. Not afraid you'll bite your tongue?"
That unexpected line came from Ei's stunning lips.
Lu Chen blinked, then laughed.
Rap—he had taught her that word, back when he turned Inazuma's traditional haiku into makeshift rap songs for fun.
Ei, being the uptight one, had said it sounded like a street chant from Liyue—beggars banging bowls and rhyming for coins...
"Ei, you're finally acting normal."
"Normal?" Ei still hadn't lowered her sword. "This is who I am now. Don't treat me like the little girl who used to wrestle and roll around with you."
Lu Chen silently looked at her.
Her luxurious kimono sleeves were embroidered with patterns symbolizing thunder and nobility. Her long legs, poised in refined high heels, were the very ones that had clicked crisply against the tile just now.
Every movement she made exuded grace and majesty.
She was no longer the little girl who once played in the dirt with him.
Over the past five hundred years, Ei had succeeded her sister and become the deity of Inazuma.
She had shouldered all the burdens alone.
After the catastrophe of Khaenri'ah, Lu Chen could only imagine how devastating things had been.
She had endured it all.
No wonder she had changed so much.
Lu Chen sighed softly, a twinge of pain for his Ei stirring in his heart.
Ei's hand slowly lowered the sword.
She stared at Lu Chen, now only a few steps away.
Though her expression stayed unchanged, the cold sharpness had faded from her gaze.
Even softened a little.
"Don't think you've passed," she still said sternly.
"Huh?"
"You disappeared for five hundred years without looking for me. Then you show up standing against me? Things aren't that simple. I can't trust your side of the story alone."
Lu Chen spread his hands wide, a look of mock innocence—I'm innocent, General!
Her dazzling amethyst eyes softened a touch more.
But her words stayed harsh:
"This matter concerns Khaenri'ah and Celestia. I have to be cautious."
She stared at Lu Chen intently.
"Back then, I thought you and Sister had died in Khaenri'ah... I thought I was the only one left."
"Those were the darkest days of my life. I don't even know how I survived."
"Inazuma was on the brink of collapse. The people needed the Raiden Shogun to lead them, needed the protection of the Electro Archon... So I had no choice but to face everything alone."
In Lu Chen's mind, he saw a fragile girl—like a sheet of pure white paper, thin and stubborn—forced to face the darkest, most hopeless future alone.
It should've been him standing up to shield her.
"...It's my fault," Lu Chen whispered.
"It's your fault," Ei said quietly.
"Do you know how long five hundred years is? Long enough to go from despair to numbness. Long enough to wish time itself would stop forever."
"Ei..."
As Ei spoke, she frowned ever so slightly at Lu Chen.
"After five hundred years, we finally meet... and you're with them! And who was that blonde girl you were protecting with your life?!"
"You actually turned against me for her! Against Eternity!"
In Lu Chen's eyes, Ei finally shed her distant, divine shell.
The faster, increasingly emotional tone... She really sounded like she was jealous.
Wait—blonde girl?
Wasn't that Lumine?
The Traveler—the protagonist of the game—a mysterious girl from another world.
This was a massive misunderstanding.
"I told you, I lost my memory! I barely even know Lumine!" Lu Chen quickly waved his hands.
"Lumine?" Ei narrowed her eyes. "You're calling her by her name already?"
"No! That's just her name! Just Lumine!"
"Hmph!" Ei coldly snorted. Her "Musou Isshin" flashed again like a fully-charged glow stick.
Just as Lu Chen was realizing how tough jealous women were to deal with, a sound suddenly echoed from outside the bedroom.
Ding!
Ei sharply glanced over her shoulder.
"What was that sound!"
"Wait—"
Before Lu Chen could even finish saying "down," Ei moved like a blur, swinging her blade with blinding speed toward the sound.
The microwave sitting atop the cabinet was cut cleanly in half with a single slash.
Lu Chen could only watch helplessly as the metal casing melted like wax, twisting into scrap.
The wires sizzled and sparked wildly under the surge of electricity.
All the lights flickered once—then the entire apartment plunged into darkness.
Power outage.
Lu Chen silently pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
He had come home exhausted, only wanting to heat up his leftover hamburger...
But things just had to get complicated.
As the room plunged into darkness, Ei, unaware of the situation, immediately grabbed Lu Chen's wrist.
She yanked him behind her, standing protectively in front of him.
"Enemy attack!"
"Be careful!"
Lu Chen gazed at Ei's slender back—no longer frail—and gave a helpless yet moved smile.