The news of his smuggled inventions sent a cascade of new, hopeful possibilities through Ren's mind. The most immediate, and most profoundly relieving, was a single, simple name: Teppei.
He remembered the heartbreaking story from the game, the tale of the enthusiastic, brave, and utterly normal resistance soldier who, in his desperate desire to be a hero, had eagerly accepted a Delusion from the Fatui, only to have it rapidly, tragically, and fatally age him, his life force burned away in a matter of days. It was one of the game's most poignant and tragic moments.
But now… if the resistance was using his safe, man-made Visions instead of the Fatui's poisonous gifts… then Teppei was probably, hopefully, still alive. Still healthy. Still dreaming of earning his own uniform without having to sacrifice his life for it. Ren's accidental, pirate-assisted intervention had not just changed a plot point; it had potentially saved a life. The thought filled him with a warmth and a joy that was purer and more profound than any he had ever felt.
He also understood Lumine's infiltration of the Delusion factory in a new light. It had not been a quest for vengeance for a fallen friend. It had simply been a coincidence, a mission of investigation. The Traveler, seeing these strange, new devices among the resistance, had likely become suspicious of the Fatui's "aid" and had gone to the source to find out what they were really up to, which had led her, inevitably, into the Balladeer's trap.
As Lumine recovered, the atmosphere at the Grand Narukami Shrine returned to a state of playful, if slightly chaotic, normality. Yae Miko, her brief, terrifying flash of protective fury now carefully tucked away, had reverted to her usual, teasing, and enigmatic self. It became clear to Ren that the raw, unguarded worry she had shown him was a privilege, a rare glimpse behind the foxy, five-hundred-year-old mask that was reserved only for a very, very, chosen few.
Miko's strategic, cunning mind, having been forced to abandon one plan (using Ren), had simply, seamlessly, moved on to the next.
"Lumine, my dear," she would purr, appearing with a tray of tea and a stack of ancient, dusty-looking scrolls. "Now that you are feeling better, I have devised a special… 'training regimen' for you. To help you better understand the nature of our dear Shogun, of course. It will involve a series of simple, spiritually enlightening tasks."
The "spiritually enlightening tasks," of course, were a series of increasingly bizarre and difficult errands, designed to subtly test Lumine's abilities and, more importantly, to position her as a public, heroic figure, a champion of the people who was acting in defiance of the Shogun's will. It was Miko's new, long-term gambit to force a confrontation, to create a hero strong enough to challenge Ei's stagnant Eternity.
It was a funny, almost farcical, situation. The most wanted fugitive in all of Inazuma was now secretly training under the direct, personal, and highly manipulative tutelage of the Raiden Shogun's oldest and closest friend. Lumine, the hero of the story, had once again, with a weary, resigned sigh, accepted her fate as Inazuma's most powerful, and now most illegal, errand girl.
The fact that she was a fugitive, however, was a constant, underlying tension. While she was safe within the sacred, protected grounds of the shrine, the moment she stepped off the mountain, she was a wanted criminal. Her movements were limited, her world had shrunk, and the grand, open journey she had envisioned had become a series of stealthy, clandestine missions.