"Since the god you mentioned isn't the Raiden Shogun," Yelan asked cautiously,
"then who exactly is he?"
If it had been the Shogun, she could've just gone straight to Tenshukaku, offered an apology, and at worst spent a few days locked up before being sent back home.
But an unknown god?
That was something she had no idea how to handle.
Three Shoguns were already absurd enough.
And now there was a fourth god in Inazuma?
Across all of Teyvat, there were only supposed to be seven Archons.
Yet Inazuma apparently had three more hidden behind the scenes.
What kind of insane chessboard was this nation playing?
The more Yelan thought about it, the more she realized — as loathsome as the Fatui were, at least they could be dealt with.
Even a local militia could suppress them if it came down to it.
If things really escalated, a single Archon descending would wipe them all out.
But multiple gods?
That was a different story entirely.
Once beings of that level started fighting, even the gods themselves would bleed.
Mortals had no right to intervene.
"I'm sorry," Ayaka said softly, "but I can't tell you."
Because Su Ran wasn't a native, and he had once been a Fatui Harbinger.
Only a few people were allowed to know of his existence.
If too many did, it might bring him unnecessary trouble.
Yelan's lips curved into a teasing smile.
"Miss Kamisato, you do realize you're in my hands right now? Aren't you afraid I might… do something unpleasant to you?"
"But aren't you," Ayaka replied calmly, "also in the hands of my lord god?"
Her tone was light, but her eyes were steady.
She didn't back down at all.
"And besides," Ayaka continued, "how can you be sure that whatever you do now… the Yae Miko-mam don't already know?"
Two sentences—two clean counterattacks.
Yelan was left speechless.
Right.
If this entire place was truly under that god's control, then she'd been in his grasp all along.
No wonder, no matter how hard she worked during the day, no matter how exhausted she felt at night, she always woke up perfectly refreshed.
She'd never actually woken up at all.
"You don't need to be afraid," Ayaka said with a gentle smile.
"Lord Su Ran is kind. When he returns, if you sincerely apologize, he may forgive you."
Yelan gave her a deadpan look.
"Thank you, Lady Kamisato," she said through gritted teeth.
She didn't even have the strength to get angry anymore.
She hadn't done much, yet she felt utterly drained— mentally, spiritually, completely.
"I'll take you back to Tenshukaku tomorrow morning," Yelan muttered wearily, "and I'll go apologize to those two Raiden Shoguns while I'm at it."
She untied the silken threads binding Ayaka.
"Um…"
"I've had enough bad news for one day," Yelan cut her off.
"You don't need to torture me any further."
Usually, she wasn't so easily flustered—
but today's revelations had completely overturned her understanding of the world.
For the first time in her career, she had well and truly crashed and burned.
"I just wanted to say… the Shogun is here."
"…What?"
Yelan froze mid-step.
A chill ran up her spine.
Slowly, she noticed it— a third shadow on the floor that didn't belong to either of them.
At that moment, Yelan's mind went blank.
Forget it. Just destroy everything already.
She raised both hands in surrender and turned around.
Cold violet eyes met hers.
"Infiltrating Tenshukaku and kidnapping someone… quite the courage you have."
The Raiden Shogun's voice was calm, yet heavy with divine pressure.
"No matter the punishment," Yelan said quickly, bowing low, "I'll bear it alone."
In front of a god, resistance was meaningless.
Even if this dream world didn't allow death, there were fates far worse than dying.
The Shogun could easily make her wish for it.
Moments later—
Yelan sat trembling in a corner, drenched in cold sweat.
Facing a god was even more terrifying than she had imagined.
But surprisingly, the Shogun didn't strike her down.
She didn't even bother to interrogate her— just took Kamisato Ayaka and left.
For hours afterward, Yelan kept expecting a thunderbolt to come crashing down from the heavens.
None came.
The next morning—
"Ah, my dear Editor Yelan, what's with that lifeless look?"
Yae Miko's lilting voice echoed through the publishing hall.
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
Yelan didn't even flinch.
Her exhaustion wasn't physical—it was existential.
"Don't worry, Chief Editor. It won't affect my work," she replied flatly.
How long would this last? She didn't know.
Maybe ten years.
Maybe fifty.
Maybe five hundred.
Living forever trapped inside a dream Inazuma.
There was no fighting against it.
A world where even death was taken away— was this heaven… or hell?
"That's good to hear."
Yae Miko pressed a hand dramatically to her chest.
"I'd be heartbroken if I lost such a talented editor."
Her over-the-top performance almost made Yelan laugh.
She knew perfectly well that the fox priestess was doing it on purpose— her acting was far too good when she actually tried.
"Oh, that reminds me," Yae Miko said suddenly, "about that Mister Zhongli who came looking for you some time ago—do you still keep in touch with him?"
"…Zhongli?"
Yelan frowned.
Why bring him up now?
Had something happened?
"He's been imprisoned recently," Miko said with a sly smile.
"Want to guess what for?"
"Debt?" Yelan asked instinctively.
After all, from her investigation, Zhongli didn't seem the type to commit crimes— unless it involved buying expensive things he couldn't pay for.
"Wrong~" Yae Miko sang.
"The charge… is impersonating Liyue's Archon."
Yelan's pupils shrank.
Her mind went blank.
That was… impossible.
Zhongli? Pretending to be the Geo Archon?
Even if he occasionally spoke irreverently about Morax, there was no way he'd do something like that.
Unless—
He wasn't pretending.
He really was the Geo Archon.
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