After realizing that the Kujou Clan was beyond salvation, Kujou Sara quickly steadied her heart.
Though she was furious at her clan head for colluding with the Fatui and deceiving the Shogun, that was already over.
All that remained was the final judgment.
But what puzzled her was that, as a member of the Kujou Clan, she herself had not been condemned.
Even if she had known nothing of the matter, she was still their adopted daughter. She had expected scornful looks and suspicion.
Yet, to her surprise, no one treated her with resentment.
In fact, because most of the Kujou Clan had been arrested while she remained free, her presence reassured her troops.
If even Kujou Takayuki had been seized… if even the eldest son Kujou Kamaji had been imprisoned for failing to report—
Then Sara's freedom must mean she was truly innocent and upright.
This realization eased her heart.
So… the Shogun trusts me. That's why I alone of the Kujou Clan remain untouched.
Carrying this trust, Sara arrived at the site chosen for talks with the resistance army.
Sangonomiya Kokomi was already there, waiting with a heavy expression.
And beside her stood a woman in Liyue garb.
This caught Sara's attention.
As the Tenryou Commission's general, she had little to do with trade, but she still recognized this woman.
Why was she standing with the rebels?
"It has been some time, strategist of the resistance."
Both the Shogunate and Watatsumi had spent much effort preparing for this meeting.
Many within the resistance could not understand why peace was being sought now.
Even with Kokomi and Gorou's support, they remained dissatisfied.
"It has been a while, General Kujou," Kokomi replied, scanning Sara's entourage. She saw only soldiers—no figures of unusual presence.
"Tell me, General—did the Shogun not come with you?"
What Kokomi truly worried about was not the Vision Hunt Decree or the Sakoku Decree.
But the dream.
Thanks to Beidou, she already knew how terrifying it was—an inescapable prison for mortals.
"Of course not."
Sara's tone was matter-of-fact.
Kokomi's brow furrowed.
"My request was to meet the one who commands even the Shogun, was it not?"
Sara might be a general of the Shogunate, able to speak for them and even for the Shogun's will.
But in this moment, Kokomi sought only the one who truly ruled over Inazuma.
Talking to Sara would gain her nothing.
"I am but the Shogun's voice," Sara said firmly. "Remember this, strategist—you have no right to demand that the Shogun herself appear before you."
No matter how influential Kokomi was on Watatsumi, that island was still part of Inazuma.
Even with the autonomy the Shogun had granted them, they had no right to summon a god.
"Then General Kujou means…"
"If you wish to see the Shogun, you must go to Tenshukaku yourself—for an audience."
She bit hard on the final word, "audience."
At this, the resistance soldiers broke into an uproar.
"Then when may I seek such an audience?" Kokomi asked calmly.
It was not an unreasonable demand. In fact, if meeting a god were too easy, she would be more suspicious.
"When this negotiation is concluded peacefully. When you are no longer the Shogunate's enemy. Then—and only then—may you enter Tenshukaku."
But before Kokomi could press further, a rebel soldier burst out:
"No! Strategist! Too many brothers have died fighting the Shogunate. We cannot simply forgive them!"
The rebels raised their blades against Sara's soldiers, who in turn raised theirs.
Tension filled the air.
Beidou muttered inwardly that this was bad.
Even Kokomi herself found it troublesome.
But Sara sat calmly at the table, unruffled, untouched by the chaos around her.
"Strategist," she said coolly, "take this counsel. The god controls all things—birth, aging, sickness, death. You have no right to resist."
At that, Kokomi's heart sank.
Even life and death itself were bound?
The god who ruled the dream was far more troublesome than she had feared.
And from Sara's constant invocations of "the god," never once naming the Shogun—Kokomi deduced the dream was not of Ei's making.
"…And if these talks fail?" she asked cautiously.
"Then, until the god grows weary, you may keep your little war. But once his interest fades, you will be exiled."
Exiled?
Kokomi's face paled.
She knew that exile would not mean returning to reality.
It would be into something far darker.
Against gods, humans never had leverage.
Troubled to her core, Kokomi felt her spirit draining away.
"Soldiers," she said at last, rising to face her men.
"We have no choice."
The god now ruled all. If they resisted, the outcome could only be worse.
In the past, they could fight the Shogunate because the god had not intervened.
But now… with all Inazuma trapped in the dream, resistance was already lost.
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