Thinking of this, a smile reappeared on Tejima's face.
'Mr. Mikato, Mr. Mikato, you've won against me all your life, but now you've been defeated by my student. You didn't expect that, did you!'
Shiki found Tejima's face-changing act strange. He was melancholic one moment and laughing the next. Had he been stimulated somehow?
At the same time, on Yashiori Island, a conversation was also taking place.
After realizing they couldn't move in the Thunder calamity, the four-person Fatui squad immediately rushed to the Evil Eye Factory on Yashiori Island to report the situation to their Harbinger.
"Oh? You feel unwell when you enter the Thunder calamity?" A young man wearing a bamboo hat stood up from his chair upon hearing this.
"Yes, Balladeer. We had already ascended that barrier and entered, but after taking two steps, we felt dizzy and nauseous, and then we threw up last night's dinner," the Ice Bracer said, nodding with a respectful expression.
"You truly are a bunch of idiots. Never mind, I expected as much. I just wanted to see what methods you might have, but the result is merely this, which is truly disappointing."
As the first artificial puppet created by the Raiden Ei, would Balladeer not know the Thunder calamity's effect on the human body?
No, precisely because he knew it very well, he wanted to see what choices these Fatui soldiers would make. Yet, they merely scurried back to seek help.
Electrograna can temporarily resist the corrosion of Thunder calamity. He had also informed all the Fatui of this, but the result told him that these soldiers were just brainless.
"The logistics department has devices that can store Electrograna. Take them and get to Tatarasuna. I want to see the Mikage Furnace Core turn into fireworks within three days!"
Because of an incident centuries ago, Balladeer harbored extreme hatred for sword smiths, though he himself would not admit this point.
He was the first puppet crafted by Ei, but whether as a vessel or a person, he was too fragile.
Thus, the Kunikuzushi, awakened from his slumber, embarked on a journey to find a heart, but what he got in return was only ruthless betrayal.
Raging karmic flames swept through Tatarasuna, and both of his close friends perished within. Since then, he abandoned the search for a heart and instead embarked on a path of manipulating human hearts.
Because he enjoyed the change of expression from hope to despair.
The five great sword-forging schools, originally famous in Inazuma, now only had the Tenmoku school remaining due to his schemes.
After scheming against the sword smiths, naturally, it was the Mikage Furnace Core that produced jade steel. Of course, he would absolutely not admit that he held hatred towards the sword smiths.
According to Balladeer himself: This was merely an experiment concerning human nature.
He joined the Fatui simply because it was easy to cause trouble.
However, there was one point he had to admit, and that was that the Fatui indeed strengthened his power.
The technology used to create him originated from a certain lost ancient kingdom, and the Tsaritsa's subordinates also happened to have researchers from that ancient kingdom. Thus, with the help of the researchers, Balladeer not only broke Ei's seal but also made him even more powerful.
After dismissing the Fatui squad, Balladeer sat back down in his chair and picked up a photograph.
The picture showed a beautiful young girl, dressed in a pink-and-white furisode, with neat black short hair and somewhat unfocused brown eyes, though this did not affect her demeanor.
That's right, the person in the photo was Shiki. A powerful swordswoman appeared in Inazuma, and the Fatui would certainly investigate, but no matter how they investigated, the girl seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
Originally, Balladeer was not interested in this swordswoman famous in Inazuma, but upon learning that the electro she used was golden, he changed his mind.
"Shiki, Shiki, what exactly does your name mean?"
Balladeer felt that the girl was not that simple. First, a Vision cannot wield golden electro. This was an experience he had summarized from his over four hundred years of traveling Teyvat.
Over hundreds of years, he had seen countless wielders of the Raiden Ei's Vision, but not a single person had golden electro like the girl.
Second were her appearance and attire. This classical beauty always reminded him of the person who abandoned him, and those unfocused eyes were very similar to how he was when he first awakened centuries ago.
The last point was the name. Some might think a name is just a designation, but Balladeer did not think so.
A name, in a sense, represents a person's inner meaning and character. For example, the name he chose for himself, Kunikuzushi.
In traditional Inazuman theater, the term Kunikuzushi represents a villain who seeks to overthrow the nation. Balladeer chose this name for himself, intending to overthrow Inazuma.
As for the name Shiki, most people might just find it unusual, but Balladeer saw something different in it.
First is the surname. There is no Ryougi surname in Inazuma, which means the girl chose it herself.
Ryougi represents the duality of all things, such as male and female, yin and yang, light and dark.
But these seemingly extreme opposites also contain each other.
Males can have a gentle side, females can be strong, and light, no matter from what angle it shines, will cast a shadow.
Liyue even has the Yin-Yang Fish, so why Shiki chose such a surname for herself is worth pondering.
Then there is the given name Shiki. It's an easy word to understand; whether in its original or extended meaning, it represents a kind of rule, like a formula or a program.
A formula means rigidity, because it is itself a program, but why would a person name themselves Shiki?
Unless this person is a program.
Balladeer thought this way: Ryougi represents the duality of things, and Shiki is a program, an algorithm.
Then, combining the two, it becomes two completely different programs or formulas, namely Shiki.
"Heh hahaha, I never thought, I never thought that there would be an existence just like me in this world!" Balladeer laughed loudly.
"Shiki, the game of house should end. Let me awaken your true self!"
Balladeer deduced a perfect misunderstanding. Of course, with his line of reasoning, explaining the Shiki from Mifune City had no problems at all, and was even very accurate.
Because Shiki of Mifune was originally created by the Ryougi family through secret arts, but by a twist of fate, Shiki's origin awakened, thus bestowing intellect upon the Root.
And the Root, not wanting to face everything in the outside world, then created the two personalities, Shiki and Shiki.
But the Shiki of Teyvat is different; she is a normal person. Aside from having an equally omniscient and omnipotent personality within her, her situation is completely different from Shiki of Mifune.
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