After some thought, Ei nodded slightly.
Although the duel before the Shogun hadn't required Koji to draw his blade, she could sense the calm precision of a true warrior in the way he commanded the battle.
This decision was different from the protocols that had been written into the Shogun's core.
"Your Highness Ei, come outside for a walk. You might see something you've long overlooked."
At the door, Kitsune Saiguu leaned lazily against the frame, smiling. Ei froze.
"Kitsune Saiguu?!"
White hair, fox ears, golden pupils…
"But… you're supposed to be—"
Ei's heart leapt with joy, but she remembered that Kitsune Saiguu had died five hundred years ago.
"I've been resurrected—and it's all thanks to Koji."
Saiguu stepped forward and hugged Ei tightly. Because of the force, there was a loud thud!
"Thank you…"
Raiden Ei returned the embrace, then looked up at Koji. "Truly, thank you."
"I can also let you meet your sister, Raiden Makoto," Koji said calmly.
"Really?!"
Ei instinctively released Saiguu and rushed to Koji, grabbing his hand.
Saiguu stood up, rubbing her sore backside. She looked helpless but couldn't hide her anticipation.
To see Makoto again—her old friend from the days when they picnicked beneath the Sacred Sakura—was something she deeply longed for.
"Lend me your Musou Isshin for a moment," Koji said.
The younger Raiden Ei placed her hands on the sword, and violet lightning began to gather. The moment felt strangely intimate—drawing the blade from its sheath carried a soft, faintly warm aura.
"Uh…"
Ei didn't know how to explain it. Koji began his work.
"Hey, Raiden Makoto. Wake up. You've been apart from this world long enough."
A small violet light orb rose from Musou Isshin. Ei's eyes widened; she hadn't realized such a thing slumbered within the blade.
"Makoto-sama! It's been so long!" Kitsune Saiguu exclaimed.
"Little Saiguu… You were once such an adorable little fox, and now you've grown into a beautiful woman," Makoto teased with a gentle smile.
Saiguu's face reddened. Why did everyone insist on bringing up her past fox form?
"Makoto-sama, it's been ages. When you left for Khaenri'ah, I had a feeling something terrible would happen," said Saiguu softly.
She suspected Makoto had gone alone because she foresaw the calamity that would strike Inazuma and wanted Ei to stay behind to protect their land.
Although Inazuma hadn't fallen, that gentle, kind first Raiden Shogun had perished on the battlefield.
"I should have been the one to go," Ei said solemnly. "You should've stayed in Inazuma. I'm not good at leading or commanding."
She meant it sincerely. She was no strategist—just a warrior. Khaenri'ah's battlefield demanded strength, not governance.
"It's all in the past now. Saying that changes nothing," Makoto said softly.
"Alright, Makoto. Hurry and enter this vessel."
Koji conjured a body dressed in a light violet kimono. Its face was nearly identical to Ei's, though it lacked the small beauty mark beneath the eye.
[Blessing of Fantasy: Your imagination can manifest reality.]
In simple terms, this was a power akin to Creation Force—turning imagination into tangible existence.
Koji mused that alchemy was cumbersome compared to this; perhaps it was time to make an even better blessing.
"This…"
Makoto gasped softly. She could feel her own essence resonating with the vessel.
"This is the power of a Blessing," Koji said calmly.
He grasped the violet orb and gently placed it into the body.
Thump—
Lightning rippled across the vessel's surface. The sound of a heartbeat filled the room as divine pressure slowly rose.
Makoto's eyes opened, bright with thunderlight. Though not as overwhelmingly strong as her peak, she was still a god of thunder, bearing the dignity of an Archon.
"Ei, I leave Inazuma to you. How have you governed all these years?"
Makoto flexed her new hands, her tone both gentle and commanding.
"Uh…"
Ei froze. The pressure from her elder sister was absolute. She could slay gods, yet before Makoto, she was just a nervous little sister.
Makoto took off her geta sandals and held them in her hand. Ei might have wielded the Musou no Hitotachi, but Makoto wielded the Musou Slipper.
And so, Makoto chased Ei through Tenshukaku, every swing landing squarely on Ei's backside, each strike rippling with divine lightning.
"Elder sister, I was wrong!"
Ei didn't dare fight back, forced to take her punishment honestly.
"Wrong about what?"
Makoto was genuinely angry—her sister had desecrated her own divine body, turning herself into a mechanical doll.
If outsiders saw this scene, they would be utterly speechless. The Thunder Archon herself, symbol of unshakable majesty, being scolded and smacked by her sister.
"Hehehe, what a nostalgic sight," Kitsune Saiguu said with a smile.
"Yes," Saiguu nodded, her tails swaying. "Ei looks miserable, but she must be overjoyed."
It had been so long since Saiguu saw such a bright expression on Ei's face.
"Looks like there's no need for me to interfere," Lumine said with mild disappointment. "And I'm a five-element wielder now."
"If you want a match with Ei, she wouldn't refuse," Koji said with a grin.
Even if Lumine couldn't duel Ei directly, she could still spar with the Raiden Shogun—essentially a duel against herself.
A classic: fighting one's own shadow.
(End of Chapter)
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