[Tenth Covenant]
[Proceed to Chinju Forest]
Kiyo Seigan was writing a letter.
He wrote while he thought, pausing every few lines to weigh his words with care.
A trace of moonlight still hung before the lattice window above his desk. Dawn had not yet broken. Thin clouds veiled the waning moon, laying a pale silver frost across the paper.
He wrote with a brush. Black ink mingled with the moonlight upon the page until it was difficult to tell where the words ended and the light began.
Kiyo Seigan did not know whether the letter would ever reach its destination.
People often said there was no feeling that could not be conveyed and no letter that could not be delivered. Kiyo did not entirely agree.
He was only an ordinary man—an ordinary fugitive from Liyue—while the person to whom he wrote was Narukami, enthroned high within Tenshukaku. How could a mortal exchange letters with a god?
Even if the letter reached her, Narukami would not care. The eyes of a god did not rest upon mortals.
Thousands of citizens wrote to Tenshukaku every day, as did high officials from the Commissions, yet Tenshukaku never answered. Kiyo knew that much.
He wrote only because he felt that he had to. Whether or not it succeeded, he had to try.
He could sense what Hanachirusato felt. She was a good person, and Kiyo Seigan wanted to help a good person. That was all.
When the last sakura fell and the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual was complete, she would disappear together with the filth.
If she could not see her old friend one final time before the end, that would be far too cruel.
There was nothing remarkable about the contents of the letter.
He simply told the truth, putting his most honest feelings and thoughts into words.
He hoped Narukami might leave Tenshukaku, even if only for a few moments. He hoped she might step outside that eternal tower and see her old friend one last time.
Though Kiyo Seigan knew it might be no more than wishful thinking.
By the time he set down the final character and signed the letter Respectfully, Kiyo Seigan, the moon had withdrawn its silver frost from the page and the sky was beginning to brighten.
The first pallor of dawn gleamed faintly with gold. Light and darkness slowly traded places. At the edge of the dark sea, an orange sun emerged by degrees. Konda Village was gradually covered in morning light, while late-blooming sakura rustled between the wooden houses.
Another day had begun.
"Finished?" Lia suddenly asked from within the Salt Ruler. "Let me see, let me see."
Great Saint Lia claimed not to care about Narukami, but her actions told a different story.
"Reading another person's private letter is impolite." Kiyo Seigan slipped the paper into an envelope and sealed it with wax. "Salty God."
What a strange nickname.
"...What the hell is a 'Salty God'?" Lia's voice darkened. "You show less respect for your god with every passing day. Stop inventing ridiculous nicknames, you stupid sardine."
No matter how one looked at it, sardine was much stranger than Salty God.
"But I think Salty God sounds cuter than God of Salt." Kiyo Seigan smiled.
"...A god does not need to be cute. Your god is very dignified."
"Cute gods attract more believers than dignified ones."
"Wah... I told you, I am very dignified!"
"Then, most dignified Saint Lia," Kiyo Seigan said with complete seriousness, "would Your Dignity please refrain from reading your believer's private correspondence? That would be very salty of you."
This was a matter of principle for Kiyo Seigan.
"Then, Mr. Sardine." Lia's voice lifted with open schadenfreude. "How do you plan to send that letter to her? Do not forget—you are only one useless little sardine."
"The fox lady might be able to help." Kiyo Seigan considered it. "She is Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. Sending a letter to Tenshukaku should not be difficult for her."
"She will deliver it for you?"
"She should... probably help."
"She should," the dignified Miss Lia repeated in a rising voice. "And when do you plan to send it?"
"Hmm." Kiyo Seigan thought for a moment. "Once I've found every old friend invited to the gathering and everyone is ready, I'll send Narukami the invitation. There's little point inviting her while the gathering itself is still only an idea."
"Then are you ready to find the first old friend, my dear Mr. Sardine?"
"I'm ready, my dignified Salty God."
"Phew. I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me when we arrive," Lia said lazily.
Kiyo Seigan put the letter away in the inner pocket of his shirt. Facing the rising sun beyond the lattice window, he stretched languidly.
A branch of sakura reached across the window. Its sparse shadows slanted over the sill, and its pure white blossoms drifted down like a thin fall of snow. Late-spring sakura truly did resemble the snow of late winter. Both slowly melted into the sunlight; both slowly withered away.
But today would bring fair weather, perfect for a reunion.
So Kiyo Seigan thought.
He went downstairs with light steps. The fox lady had not opened the shop yet. Dawn had only just begun, and the lazy fox was still fast asleep.
[Tenth Covenant]
[Proceed to Chinju Forest]
This was another strange Covenant.
It still did not say what he was supposed to do once he arrived. Mysterious as ever.
There was only one way to find out.
Miss Lumine and little Paimon had been waiting outside the tofu shop for some time. Lumine wore a pure white traveling dress today, the hem revealing two smooth, pale calves above her deerskin boots. She looked full of anticipation.
Of course Lumine was excited. This was their first journey in a long while. During their two months in Inazuma, they had hidden obediently inside the tofu shop to avoid the Fatui. For a traveler, the long confinement had become unbearably dull.
At last, a journey for two.
And it really was only two. Little Paimon was portable provisions.
Chinju Forest was also recommended in the Teyvat Travel Guide as one of Inazuma's essential destinations.
Beautiful scenery. A long history.
Lumine's eager anticipation lasted until she saw the Salt Ruler in Kiyo Seigan's hand.
Then it vanished.
"Why are you bringing her?" Lumine asked without expression. "Isn't she unnecessary?"
Such aggression first thing in the morning. Miss Lumine was bursting with energy today, Kiyo thought.
"If we encounter danger, we can ask Lia for help."
The God of Salt was a true god. With a deity's power behind them, there were few places in Inazuma where they could not walk unchallenged.
"I can protect you too."
Lumine was not persuaded. Her amber eyes remained fixed on Kiyo Seigan, yielding nothing.
"You said this would be a journey for two."
"Then why are you bringing Paimon?" Kiyo Seigan looked at the little creature snoring upon Lumine's shoulder.
"Paimon is Emergency Food."
"And Emergency Food needs Emergency Seasoning." Taking advantage of Lia's deep sleep, Kiyo continued joking. "How else are we supposed to eat it?"
"Mm..." Lumine blinked and considered the matter. To her surprise, Kiyo's reasoning seemed perfectly sound.
A certain sleeping Salty God remained unaware that she had fallen to the same food-grade classification as Paimon.
"Then let's go."
"Let's go."
"Mortal."
"How does one play karuta?"
Kiyono Raimei blinked in bewilderment.
Or rather, surprise.
Considerable surprise.
Before him stood the shadow general who wielded eternal solitude and thunder: Her Excellency Raiden Ei.
White tabi and wooden sandals stepped across the floor. The long hem of her kimono fell around her, a purple hydrangea tucked at her waist. Lavender hair streamed down in two loose lengths, and her clear eyes reflected the young man's astonished face.
"Kiyono Raimei," she said with complete seriousness. "How does one play karuta?"
Kiyono had served as her personal guard for several months by then and had gained a fair understanding of her temperament.
For this cold and single-minded woman, only the martial arts seemed capable of holding any interest.
Food, poetry, music, calligraphy, painting, games—none of them mattered to her. In the eyes of this obsessive warrior, they were all meaningless.
She was stubborn almost beyond reason.
Kiyono Raimei had never imagined that the austere Raiden Ei would one day earnestly ask him how to play karuta.
He studied her expression, wondering whether he had misheard.
"I lost at karuta during the gathering," Ei explained calmly. "Makoto told me you are skilled at it. Will you teach me?"
She admitted her defeat without the slightest hesitation.
The gathering she spoke of was held beneath the largest sakura at the Grand Narukami Shrine. Everyone abandoned their work and came together for amusement, even the Raiden sisters. Kiyono Raimei had attended many times. Kitsune Saiguu forced him to drink; he raced the great tengu; he fought Mikoshi Chiyo in earnest...
He loved those gatherings. They were genuinely fun, and he had always enjoyed himself.
Karuta was one of their games.
And Ei was terrible at it.
"Of course." Kiyono Raimei nodded. As her personal guard, he had no reason to refuse. "As Your Excellency wishes. I would be honored to help."
"You may call me Ei," Raiden Ei said earnestly. "I am no 'Your Excellency.'"
"For anyone else to address Narukami directly by name..." Kiyono Raimei hesitated. "It would be the height of disrespect in Inazuma."
"You are not anyone else," Ei replied as though it were self-evident. "You are my personal guard, Mortal."
"Then, in return, could Ei stop calling me 'Mortal'?"
"What would you have me call you?"
"Kiyono."
Kiyono Raimei looked earnestly at Ei. It was spring. Sunlight sifted through the sakura and scattered their shadows, layer upon layer of pure white petals drifting between them.
The young man made his request to that shadow.
"My name is Kiyono Raimei. If you can remember that name, I will be content."
"Kiyono." Ei nodded amid the shifting spring light. Her answer was equally solemn. "I will not forget. Then let that be our promise."
"Mm." Kiyono Raimei smiled. "I will teach Ei the secrets of karuta. At the next gathering, we will defeat every last one of them. We'll give them the shock of their lives."
...
A person's true death is when they are completely forgotten. If you can remember my name—if I can become a fleeting flash of lightning in your eternal life—then I'll be very happy.
...
Please don't forget me, because I will forget myself.
...
I'm sorry, Ei. I couldn't come to see you.
...
If I can't see you again, good morning, good afternoon, and good night.
...
Respectfully, Kiyono Raimei.
Lately, she often found herself remembering things from long ago.
So long ago that the memories had yellowed with age, yet whenever they returned, they seemed to have happened only yesterday.
Raiden Ei looked down at the slightly yellowed letter. She had read every word upon it many times.
She still remembered what the young woman of the Kamisato Clan had told her. Looking back now, there had indeed been truth in it.
Many feelings could pass through white envelopes and black ink. Across even the longest stretches of time, two people could still share the same emotion.
And so, nearly a year after Kiyono Raimei's departure, whenever Ei read this letter, memories from long ago returned to her.
Karuta.
How long had it been since she last played?
She was beginning to forget the rules.
She had always lost in the past, so she had asked Kiyono Raimei to teach her. Looking back, that might have been the first time they truly spent time together.
But the gathering was over now. Those who had left would never return.
She remained in the highest chamber of Tenshukaku, reading the letter and thinking of the past.
Nothing but a delusion.
Heavy clouds shrouded the sky in gloom. Dawn had barely begun, and Inazuma City was as dark as ever. Even the first pallor of morning lay beneath a thin shadow. The sunrise had appeared, staining the clouds, yet it looked as lonely as an old photograph faded by time.
Ei lowered her head. Her eyes fell upon the naginata resting across her knees.
"Ei, do you intend to continue?" the Raiden Shogun asked softly. "You have been strange since returning from Mt. Yougou. Have you wavered?"
Had something within her changed?
There was a faint, inexplicable feeling she could not name.
Ei gently shook her head.
"I have never wavered."
"Then do you still intend to continue?" the Raiden Shogun asked calmly. "You have already killed me millions of times."
"Yes." Ei looked one final time at the dim and oppressive light outside. "I will continue."
"How many centuries will it be this time?" the Raiden Shogun asked.
She drew the naginata that had rested before her knees. Cold light gleamed along its blade, reflecting Ei's face. Her clear eyes held no superfluous emotion, only an eternal solitude like the oppressive sky above Inazuma City.
"Until I defeat you," Ei said calmly. She folded the letter, her face expressionless. "I will not come out again."
"Kiyono Sara has submitted a great many documents. Will you not read them?"
"...There is no need."
Ei closed her eyes.
At the farthest edge of sight, thunder rolled faintly.