"You… would stand as the enemy of eternity?"
Raiden Ei raised her blade, crackling with thunder, facing Nagami with a sharp, unwavering gaze.
"Enemy of eternity?" Nagami smiled faintly. "Didn't you once say that only eternity is closest to the divine order itself? Then tell me… do I look like the divine order to you?"
A surge of power erupted from him — the energy of a Herrscher roaring like a tidal wave.
Even the sly kitsune, Yae Miko, paled at the intensity.
Yet Nagami still smiled calmly.
"..." Ei wanted to argue back but found no words.
The power of a Herrscher… was indeed something akin to the Heavenly Principles themselves.
"You can't possibly be the divine order!"
Thunder gathered overhead in the plane of Euthymia, roaring like storms from a mythic age.
Ei released the full might of her lightning without restraint.
"No matter who you are—if you want to shake my resolve, then try!"
Her slender form burst into motion, surrounded by violet storms.
Ei streaked forward like a falling star, her blade slicing arcs of light through the air.
Each swing called down another bolt of thunder.
As the twin of Makoto — the twin gods of Inazuma — Ei embodied the art of war.
Every style of spear, sword, and smithing technique practiced across Inazuma could trace its origin back to her teachings.
Those arts had since evolved into countless schools, but their roots remained hers.
Dazzling bolts flashed around her, every slash splitting the air with divine precision. Her naginata danced like a tempest — graceful, destructive, perfect.
Her relentless flurry of strikes displayed the full mastery of a god's martial skill.
There was no doubt — purely in swordsmanship, Nagami couldn't hope to match her.
He was, after all, a mage trying to duel a warrior with a greatsword.
But unleashing full-scale destructive arts inside Ei's inner world would be disastrous.
This "shut-in Archon" was already mentally fragile enough — what if he accidentally nuked her soul and made her even worse?
Small-scale bombardment was out too; at her speed, even missiles wouldn't land.
If not for his still-unfinished Herrscher authority, Nagami could've shown her what a real Thunder God looked like.
He caught the strike with Musou Isshin, channeling every bit of wish-energy stored in his borrowed Gnosis.
His eyes sharpened.
"Magnetic Field — Heavensplit Blade!"
The ground trembled.
A blinding magnetic storm surged outward, swallowing the battlefield in thunder and plasma — like an apocalyptic downpour of lightning.
Sensing the deadly power, Ei's body blurred into streaks of violet light, moving at godlike speed.
Her eyes flared with divine electricity as her blade clashed with the magnetic wave, the air erupting in a thunderous explosion that shattered the void around them.
From the sidelines, Lumine folded her arms, watching with a smirk.
'Not bad for the Raiden Shogun… but honestly, 'I' should just turn on the cheats.'
If Nagami wanted to, he could defeat Ei instantly.
But his goal wasn't victory — it was to shake her belief.
In the game's story, after the Vision Hunt Decree, Ei had awakened her ultimate art.
Dreams into Reality, a secret sword technique that gathered countless wishes and shattered every curse in a single strike.
'Wishes, huh? Then let's try that… open a rift in my memory.'
Through his Void power, Nagami resonated with the divine eyes embedded in the statue of a thousand hands and eyes — linking with the countless wills within.
It wasn't difficult for him to do, but… unlike Lumine, he hadn't personally connected with the people of Inazuma.
He didn't know the owners of those Visions, nor the weight of their dreams.
Without that bond, what could he truly carry?
"Wait, are you serious? That's not going to work…"
Lumine could sense his plan through their shared thoughts — and she wasn't convinced at all.
'You'll never know unless you try.'
Nagami's expression turned solemn.
His hand brushed across the surface of Musou Isshin, eyes gleaming with determination.
[Reunion of Memory and Reality.]
The rift shimmered open.
Through it flickered scenes from Nagami's past life — the world before he ever crossed into Teyvat.
As Ei emerged from the storm of lightning, radiant and divine, Nagami drew in a slow breath.
Behind her, the violet halo of the Thunder God blazed like a rising sun.
And then—he stepped forward to face her once more.
"Though this blade is wielded by me alone, the weight and will it carries… Lord of Thunder, feel it for yourself!"
A surge of fierce energy exploded outward, shaking the air and space around them.
Nagami's entire being radiated an unshakable resolve — sharp, fearless, and unyielding.
Her words and the aura she released made Ei instinctively furrow her brows.
Nagami slowly closed his eyes.
The power of the Void connected him to that familiar small room — the desk, the old computer glowing faintly.
"Everyone's wishes… lend me your strength!"
The resonance of the Void ignited.
At first faint, then clearer and stronger — countless voices and desires echoed through Nagami's mind.
And then—light descended.
Golden motes of radiance drifted out from the rift, gathering under the guidance of the Void's power.
The light wrapped around Nagami's blade — Dreams United — until even the lightning began to glow with sacred brilliance.
"This… this is the power of human desire?" Ei's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible. How can mere mortals' wishes manifest with such intensity?"
All her will had been focused into her blade, Musou Isshin, yet the sheer pressure of those gathered dreams shook even her divine heart.
Of course, Nagami had deliberately filtered out the actual contents of those wishes.
If Ei had heard them in full, her faith in "eternity" might have shattered instantly.
The god of eternity's once-still heart trembled like a storm-tossed sea.
The world of the Plane of Euthymia shifted — its serene purple skies now lit with countless dazzling stars.
Lumine, standing beside a visibly stunned Yae Miko, couldn't help the strange look crossing her face.
Nagami grinned.
"That's the power of human dreams, Shogun. Are you ready to experience it for yourself?"
Ei's brows knitted tighter.
Her slender frame erupted in a flash of violent thunder, her divine halo burning brighter than ever.
She gripped her blade — the edge humming with boundless lightning, arcs of electricity dancing in the air like a storm given form.
"What a stubborn girl," Nagami murmured, his tone calm but tinged with the authority of a mentor lecturing an unruly student.
Objectively, calling a centuries-old god "girl" would've been absurdly arrogant — especially coming from someone whose combined lifetimes didn't even total thirty years.
"I've seen Inazuma's struggles through countless generations," Ei said solemnly. "Every step forward demands sacrifice. To move forward… is to lose."
"I've witnessed civilizations destroy themselves through endless advancement. Only 'Eternity' can preserve what exists — keep Inazuma from fading away."
She raised her slender hand, thunder gathering along her blade, as memories of a ruined Khaenri'ah and her dying sister flashed before her eyes.
"Khaenri'ah, huh?" Nagami's voice was calm.
In every world along the Imaginary Tree, when humanity advanced too fast, collapse inevitably followed. Ei's "eternity" was her attempt to freeze time — to hold civilization still before it could fall.
"But this kind of eternity," Nagami replied, "is just another form of escape. Like a turtle shell — it slows the erosion, but never stops it."
He lifted his sword — wrapped in the golden glow of countless wishes.
"Humans are strange creatures. They live short, fragile lives, yet they fight to make them meaningful — leaving behind their light for the next generation. It's in their very nature. No matter what they face, they refuse to back down."
"To maintain the status quo in the face of collapse… that's just a slow suicide."
Ei's voice trembled, barely a whisper. "To keep what's beautiful as it is — to make it eternal… what's so wrong with that!?"
A thunderclap roared through the plane as she swung her sword, a deafening storm ripping through the world.
"I just… don't want to lose anything anymore…"
That faint confession carried through the roar of lightning.
For an instant, her silhouette was reflected perfectly in Nagami's eyes.
"Untraceable, unpredictable, unstoppable… truly fitting for the Musou no Hitotachi," Nagami murmured.
Raiden Shogun, in full earnestness, unleashed her strongest technique — the embodiment of her creed.
"Impressive, God of Eternity… but in the end, you're still just a stubborn little girl chasing her one-sided dream."
Nagami raised his sword, channeling the combined faith and absurd wishes of humanity.
"Dreams United."
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