The video began.
Thunderclouds churned above Inazuma City, smothering the sky in violet stormlight.
A large detachment of the Resistance had broken through the Shogunate encirclement and now stood at the foot of Tenshukaku.
At their forefront were Kaedehara Kazuha and Gorou, gazing up at the long stone staircase leading to the palace where the storm itself resided.
At the great doors, Paimon and Lumine stepped out at once.
Both sides froze for half a heartbeat—
Then Paimon waved both arms wildly, face lighting up with relief.
BOOOOOOM——!!
A violent tear ripped through space.
A rift yawned open like a colossal violet eye—three rotating Electro crests spinning within it at deafening speed.
Paimon and Lumine spun around—
Just in time to see the Raiden Shogun'sforty-meter blade descending from the heavens, splitting the world in two.
[Paimon: Traveler! Watch out!!]
[Amber: RUN! RUN RUN RUN—!!]
[Lumine: Why am I in Inazuma—!? And why is the Shogun CHASING ME?!]
[Kazuha: G–Gorou and I… attacking Tenshukaku together!? (shocked.jpg)]
[Kujou Sara: How did the Resistance bypass the entire capital's defenses!? Who leaked this!?]
[Ayato: This… doesn't line up with any present timeline.]
[Albedo: A future possibility, perhaps. Or a "what-if." (thoughtful)]
On the public stream, chaos erupted.
[Lord Maocai: BRO THAT SWORD IS HUGE—]
[Ruhavi: Beautiful! Terrifying! 10/10 Archon energy!]
[Hoffmann: Are you degenerates ogling the SWORD or the SHOGUN?!]
The video continued.
Kazuha's eyes flickered—
Memories rippled across his mind like a rising tide.
A soft BGM began.
"That year, the wind brushed past the blooming crabapple trees… and your gaze—
Burned bright as the spring sun, calling me back to myself…"
The scene shifted to a tranquil ukiyo-e panorama of Inazuma—
Deep forests, clear rivers, warm sunlight.
Kazuha sat on a hillside, his friend beside him, a stalk of foxtail grass between his teeth.
Both gazed toward Tenshukaku in the distance.
[He was once my dearest friend. One day, he asked me… if I had ever seen the 'Musou no Hitotachi.']
[I answered: Naturally.]
[That sword—can only be witnessed when divine punishment itself descends.]
The screen cut.
Tenshukaku's ornate doors blew open.
The Raiden Shogun stepped out, clad in ceremonial attire.
With a single smooth motion, she drew her blade—
And countless arcs of violet light tore through mountains and sky.
[That strike symbolizes the supreme power of the God of Thunder.]
[Yet he said: "Even that might not be beyond reach."]
Back to the gentle hills.
His friend held a white kitten in his arms, confidence shining in his eyes—
A smile bright, unbending.
But in the duel before the throne, he fell.
Struck down by the Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi.
Kazuha caught his friend's fading Vision, its glow dimming to nothing—
Then fled Tenshukaku under the weight of divine lightning.
The BGM grew heavier.
"Later, the bone-deep fragrance bloomed in silence…
From then on, we lived worlds apart…"
He wandered far from home—alone, grieving.
The scene changed to the Liyue coast.
Kazuha told Lumine and Paimon about his friend, about the Decree, and about his doubt.
[If the Seven granted Visions freely in the beginning…
Then why does the God of Thunder now deny that very act?]
…
[Barbara: This song… it's so sad, yet beautiful…]
[Nilou: "Later, the bone-deep fragrance bloomed…" (softly hums)]
[Yun Jin: The rhythm and imagery match perfectly. A masterful composition.]
Others focused not on the art—but on the truth behind it.
[Paimon: So… we meet Kazuha in the future?]
[Xinyan: Yo, his friend was COOL!]
[Kaeya: To stand before an Archon and challenge the Musou no Hitotachi… truly admirable.]
[Chongyun: But he… he really died, didn't he? Why?]
[Beidou: A year ago—Kazuha's friend challenged Kujou Sara in the "duel before the throne."
He lost. And the Shogun's strike brought divine judgment.]
[Barbara: That's horrible…!]
[Xiangling: That's way too harsh!! Losing shouldn't mean DIE!!]
[Ayaka: The duel is sacred—solemn but merciless.
Win, and your plea reaches the Shogun. Lose… and divine punishment follows.]
[Thoma: If Sara had lost, the Shogun would've struck her down too. That's just how it is.]
[Kazuha: Perhaps… he believed only he could face that blade.
For him, that strike was the summit of all existence.]
[Kujou Sara: So you fled like a coward, joined rebels, and now blame Her Excellency for your friend's choices?]
Before Kazuha could respond—
The video answered for him.
[My friend died with honor.]
[The Shogun's blade was righteous.]
[My resentment lies not with her—
But with the Vision Hunt Decree.]
The scene shifted again.
A crimson-lit bamboo forest.
Moonlight spilled between rustling leaves as Kazuha fled under pursuit.
Dozens of samurai closed in from all sides, blades glinting.
The music whispered:
"Too long this dream of golden fields…
I raise my eyes to the same moonlight…"
Kazuha's expression hardened.
He drew his sword.
[No one has the right to strip another of their will.
Not even a god.]
The scene returned to Tenshukaku.
"When the past resurfaces…
It feels just like a dream…"
Lightning and wind converged in Kazuha's eyes—
Memories of friendship, loss, and conviction blazing within him.
"There will always be mortal beings…
Who dare to face the Thunder's Glory!"
His friend's voice echoed from somewhere deep within.
The empty Vision at Kazuha's waist spun with pale thunderlight.
Crackling.
Alive, once more—
CRACK!!
In a single step, Kazuha crossed a hundred meters—
His blade flashing with wind and lightning—
CLANG————!!
Steel met divine steel.
Mortal will collided with godly judgment.
The song erupted:
"Love and hate rise and fall in turn—
Stopping midstride, I walk beside you~~~
Our bond never fades, though the world may crumble~~~
I'll soar to the heavens… fall a thousand fathoms…
Just to fight by your side~~~"
Wind and lightning intertwined as if two souls became one—
Facing Musou no Hitotachi once more.
"AAAAAAH——!!"
Kazuha roared, pushing the Shogun back with a thunderous blow!
At the video's end—
A broken sword stood planted before a lonely grave.
Kazuha placed his friend's Vision at its base, pressed his palms together, and bowed.
Scarlet maple leaves spiraled in the air.
[One day… I too will seek the meaning of eternity—
From her own hand.]
The once-dead Vision flickered with faint violet light.
"If you remain afar…
Who will stay by my side to watch the sky?"
…
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