"All this fuss… just over something so small? You made me embarrass myself that badly for this?"
Raiden Makoto almost laughed in anger.
She had naïvely thought her sister had married and had a child—only to discover it was all because Ei was too ashamed to admit the truth.
Was that really worth hiding?
She had watched Ei grow up; what was wrong with seeing her sister in a slightly silly light?
Others could see it, but she, as the elder sister, could not?
If not for the sudden arrival of a Fatui Harbinger, Makoto would still be unable to face Su Ran right now.
Ei had gone too far this time.
"…Say, about that dango milk," Ei muttered hesitantly.
Since the dango milk had originally been prepared as a gift for "little Ei"… now that she was her real self again, could she drink it herself?
"You still dare ask about dango milk?" Makoto's sharp gaze fell on her sister, and Ei immediately dropped the idea.
Makoto's strength might not surpass Ei's, but the authority she carried as an elder sister silenced Ei more effectively than any weapon.
A single glance, and Ei shut her mouth.
"Still… Su Ran already said he'd take care of you."
Makoto sighed, her head aching. Now that she'd even been called 'big sister,' what should she do about Ei?
Maybe she should say later that it was all a misunderstanding, that she couldn't possibly entrust Ei to him.
At most, adopt her as a goddaughter.
But at this moment, Makoto didn't even have the courage to look Su Ran in the eye.
"With you here, I don't need his care!" Ei huffed.
With her sister back, she wanted to cast aside everything—even the position of Inazuma's Archon.
Wouldn't living carefree as a simple warrior be far better?
"Ah… if only you could take care of yourself, I wouldn't be so worried," Makoto said helplessly. Ei had always been like this.
Makoto had thought that after five hundred years without her, Ei might have grown
. Yet here she was, unchanged.
"This is a dream," Ei argued, her eyes shining. "An eternal dream.
No one will ever leave or disappear—not even you, Makoto!"
Her faith in the eternal dream left her unafraid of losing her sister again.
And if someone tried to break it? She would never forgive them.
"Dottore… why are you everywhere I go?"
Su Ran frowned impatiently at the figure before him.
He had thought leaving Snezhnaya meant leaving this nuisance behind—yet here he was, in Inazuma as well?
Then again, it wasn't impossible. With so many clones, why would they all stick together?
"As colleagues, you cause such a stir in Inazuma and don't even notify us.
I feel quite hurt," Dottore said lightly, though he knew Su Ran despised him.
The truth was, he had nothing else to do.
This place was a dream, not reality.
No matter how close it resembled reality, it couldn't surpass it.
All his experiments were at a standstill.
A dream held no possibility of true innovation; nothing unproven in reality could exist here—unless the dream's master willed it.
"If you're so pained," Su Ran replied coldly, "I could end it for you.
Death doesn't exist in a dream, but I can create death."
As the one who had shaped this dream, Su Ran held absolute authority.
He could alter the environment, outcomes, even the consciousness of those trapped inside.
"Am I really that detestable to you?" Dottore asked quietly.
"Yes," Su Ran answered without hesitation. "I find you revolting—pretentious, desperate to prove your existence."
Su Ran's disgust was not at Dottore's pursuit of knowledge, but at the results of that pursuit.
"…And how am I to interpret this hatred?" Dottore asked, his composure fraying.
"It is the natural revulsion of the wise toward fools."
That answer only confused him further.
"If I'm a fool, then what are the rest of them?" Dottore demanded. He had once been a recognized genius, though branded a heretic.
No one had denied his ability—yet in this man's eyes, he was a fool?
The thought cracked his pride.
Criticism of his morals he could ignore; that was who he was. But to deny his intellect, his talent—that he could not accept.
"They're mortals," Su Ran said indifferently. "And perhaps this will hurt you, Dottore, but in my eyes you are worth less than a farmer tilling the fields.
At least their work yields positive results. Yours is nothing but loss."
Contempt. Scorn. Pure disdain. Dottore had never been looked at this way before—until today.
"I begin to question something else," Dottore said, voice trembling with suppressed fury. "In this dream, are you truly the strongest?"
His calm facade cracked. Rage surged.
"Oh? You'd dare raise your hand against a man of wisdom?"
Su Ran arched a brow, faintly amused.
Was it really this easy to push him over the edge?
In canon, Dottore had remained composed even against Nahida, everything seemingly under his control.
And now, just a few words from Su Ran broke him?
"Very well," Su Ran said, stretching. "Though I am a man of intellect, I also dabble in martial arts."
A resounding crash shook Tenshukaku. From the topmost floor, a figure tumbled down—a shadowy body slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.
Dottore gasped, struggling to breathe. "So… in this dream, not only is my power perfectly replicated, but even pain is as vivid?" His organs screamed with agony, his body battered.
The sensation was so overwhelming he might have fainted in reality.
"As expected," Su Ran said calmly above him. "This dream has no true death."
Dottore lifted his head to see Su Ran descending slowly.
Behind him, Fatui soldiers were rushing from the city.
Their Harbinger had fallen; they couldn't ignore it, even if he hadn't asked for help.
But when they saw who Dottore's opponent was, they froze.
Third Seat and Second Seat… were fighting each other?
Which side were they supposed to help?
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