"How… how could this be?! Damn it!!"
Seeing his comrades slaughtered one after another by the woman before him, the Fatui Pyroslinger broke into a cold sweat. Trembling, he hastily reloaded his musket, aiming the barrel shakily at the Shogun's forehead only a few meters away.
"…"
The Raiden Shogun advanced toward him step by step, completely unfazed, her naginata in hand.
Tap, tap…
The crisp rhythm of her footsteps echoed through the air like the countdown to his execution.
Rumble!
A blinding flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the dim, rocky plateau. The woman's silhouette stretched long before him, her shadow engulfing his trembling form.
His finger twitched against the trigger.
Bang!
A Pyro-imbued bullet burst from the barrel, streaking toward her head.
Whoosh!
The Shogun tilted her head slightly, the bullet whizzing harmlessly past her. Her steps did not falter in the slightest.
"Ahhh!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! ×N
The man screamed, firing wildly as he staggered backward, frantically reloading and shooting again and again. But not a single shot struck her. Each bullet missed its mark as if guided away by unseen force, while she continued her approach, closing the distance inch by inch.
The figure before him flickered with lightning, moving like a phantom. In the blink of an eye, she vanished—and reappeared directly before him.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
Terror overwhelmed the Fatui soldier. The last shred of courage within him shattered completely. He threw his musket to the ground, scrambling backward on all fours through the wet mud before staggering to his feet, intent on fleeing.
His comrades were all dead—every one of them cut down. The stench of blood and the sight of corpses surrounding him made his mind collapse in panic.
To hell with the cargo! To hell with the Tsaritsa! None of it mattered anymore—only his life did. Now, at last, he understood the true terror of a god.
But before he could run, an invisible force seized his legs, yanking him violently to the ground.
Splash!
His body slammed into the mud face-first before being dragged backward by an immense strength.
"No!! Stop!!"
He screamed, twisting in horror to see a massive violet puppet arm extending from a Eye of Stormy Judgment—its hand gripping his legs like iron. Suspended upside down, he found himself face-to-face with the violet-haired beauty herself.
"No! Please!! Shogun-sama!! Don't kill me!!"
The man wailed, his tears and snot mixing as they dripped pitifully onto the ground.
"…"
The Shogun tilted her head slightly. The gesture, graceful and subtle, gave her stunning face a trace of dark allure. A strand of hair slipped down her cheek, revealing the small beauty mark beneath her eye.
"Shogun-sama, please… I'll tell you everything! Just spare my life!"
His inverted gaze met hers—and in that instant, he felt utterly exposed, as though she could see straight through his soul.
Thud!
The puppet hand released him. He dropped like a sack of sand, hitting the ground hard.
"Ughhh!!"
Groaning in pain, he looked up just in time to see the Shogun twirl her naginata lightly and thrust it into the soil beside her. The weapon dissolved into violet light, fading into the rain.
She turned, leaned casually against a nearby crate, folding her arms as she crossed one leg over the other. Her violet-black stockings gleamed faintly in the rain, her demeanor calm and composed—yet her eyes commanded obedience.
She tilted her chin toward him, signaling for him to approach.
"!"
He scrambled to his feet and stumbled forward, falling to his knees before her.
"Simple," she said coolly. "I ask. You answer."
"Y-yes! Whatever you want to know!"
"Why are the Fatui here? I want the truth."
"W-we… we were delivering supplies to the Resistance on Watatsumi Island," the man stammered, sweating profusely, unable to meet her gaze.
"Supplies… are these boxes?"
The Shogun glanced down at the crates she was seated upon, running her fingers lightly across their surface. The structure was clearly customized to contain something specific.
"Y-yes," the man stammered.
"What's inside?"
She asked calmly.
"…"
The man hesitated.
Crackle!
Rumble!
A streak of lightning flashed past his face, slicing open his cheek in an instant. Blood spattered across the wet earth, leaving a deep, charred groove in the ground beside him.
"Ahhhh!!!"
The Fatui soldier scrambled backward on his rear, his trousers soaked through, his face drained of all color. The rain and his sweat mixed together, dripping freely down his trembling face.
"The next strike will cut across your throat."
The Shogun hadn't moved at all—still resting her arm on one knee, sitting with composed leisure, her posture relaxed yet utterly commanding.
"I-I'll talk!! I'll talk—it's… it's the Delusions!"
Fear finally broke his will. The words tumbled out before he could think.
"Explain."
"They—they're artificial… artificial Visions! They give their users incredible power, unlike anything ordinary mortals could ever possess. But… uh…"
He trailed off abruptly.
The Shogun's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Ah! B-but the cost! It—it consumes the user's life force… ordinary people can't withstand it!"
Her gaze softened slightly, though her expression remained unreadable.
Ordinary people… cannot endure it.
Her eyes grew distant for a moment. The thought of those "supplies" being delivered to the Resistance—mortals unknowingly sealing their own fates—brought an ache to her chest.
"These Delusions… were meant for the Resistance?"
"Y-yes… it's part of our deal with Watatsumi Island."
"Do they know what they're receiving?"
"No… the agreement was to provide resources. The Delusions were hidden among them. Some of the soldiers… they crave power too much, so…"
He didn't finish, but she already understood. There were always those among men blinded by ambition—willing to grasp any weapon, no matter the cost.
"Does Sangonomiya Kokomi know of this?"
"S-she—"
"The truth."
Her gaze pierced through him like a blade, the weight of her will crushing his chest. One lie, and he would die before the next heartbeat.
"Ugh! She doesn't know! It—it's the others! They acted behind her back, I swear!!"
The Shogun said nothing, but a faint exhale escaped her lips. Strangely… she felt a subtle relief at that answer.
"This is the first shipment?"
"N-no… there have been… multiple already. The Resistance has been receiving these supplies for some time."
"…I see."
Her eyes closed briefly, letting her thoughts settle. When they opened again, her gaze carried a depth of emotion—sympathy, anger, and sorrow.
Sympathy for those who would die seeking strength. Anger for their recklessness. And sorrow—for Orobashi, whose people were being so cruelly deceived.
"What is your Harbinger's name?" she asked coldly.
"M-my lady… I can't say—"
Crackle!
"Ahhhh!!"
Without lifting a hand, a blade of lightning shot forth, stabbing clean through his thigh. The air filled with the smell of scorched flesh.
"Can't say?"
Her tone was mockingly soft.
"Ahhh!! I-it's… it's Lady Signora!!"
The man clutched his leg, trembling so violently that he nearly collapsed into the mud. The oppressive aura around her pressed down even harder, suffocating him.
Signora.
She remembered that name.
Her gaze lowered again, falling upon the trembling man as though he were already a corpse.
"Go. I'll let you leave here alive."
"Th-thank you, Shogun-sama!! Thank you…!"
Hope flickered across his face. He scrambled to his feet and staggered away as fast as his injured leg would allow, running toward the open plains beyond.
The Shogun didn't watch him go. She rose slowly, turning her gaze toward the thunderous sky above.
Rumble!!
A flash of white split the sky—a lightning bolt struck down upon the distant plain, precisely where the fleeing man had gone.
The air filled with the sharp scent of charred flesh.
—Alive, she thought coldly. Only from my sight.
Crack!
With a single hand, she shattered the iron lock on the crate and lifted the lid. Inside lay exactly what the Pyroslinger had mentioned earlier—the so-called "Delusions."
These items, resembling Visions, rested quietly within grooves lined with soft cushioning. Rainwater trickled through the open lid, dampening the padding until it turned a darker hue.
She counted—ten Delusions per crate. Over a dozen crates in total. They had hidden them among supplies, concealing them within layers of other cargo to avoid detection.
Reaching in, she picked up one of the Delusions and examined it closely in her palm. After a moment's thought, she took a spare Electro Vision from her pocket and compared the two.
"…"
Their shape was nearly identical, differing only in color. A true Vision radiated a vivid elemental glow, while the Delusion appeared dull and grayish-black, its gemstone core emanating a faint, eerie shimmer. In contrast, the Vision in her hand gleamed with a dreamlike violet light.
Visions could not be destroyed—whether crushed under weight, burned by fire, frozen solid, shattered by brute force, or corroded by acid, they remained unblemished.
But this one? She intended to find out.
The Vision in her other hand dissipated into light, leaving only the Delusion behind. Narrowing her gaze, she focused her power and infused it with Electro energy.
Buzz…!
The Delusion flickered, glowing faintly as a sigil appeared on its surface—a mark of Electro. It began to levitate slightly in her palm.
Crackle!
Arcs of lightning danced across its surface. The Shogun's eyes glowed faintly as she increased her output, flooding the object with greater power.
Crackle!!
The Delusion trembled violently. Cracks began to spider across its core, widening as her energy surged. The more she pressed, the more unstable it became.
Finally, as her fingers clenched tight, the energy reached its limit. A blinding flash erupted from its center.
Snap!
A sharp sound rang out as the Delusion shattered, fragments bursting outward like the remains of a creature torn apart from within.
"Hmph…"
She let out a faint, cold breath, brushing the dust from her palm. With a flick of her fingers, she disintegrated the fragments into nothingness.
"Mere imitations," she murmured.
Gathering the remaining crates, she stacked them together—but after a brief pause, she retrieved one Delusion and slipped it into her pocket. The rest, she would destroy.
Crackle!
The Eye of Stormy Judgment materialized above, its gaze fixed on the area below. Lightning spread outward in concentric circles, saturating the ground. Within seconds, all the crates and the Fatui corpses were reduced to ash—cleansed by thunder's fire.
Boom!
Once finished, she transformed into a streak of violet light, shooting skyward like a fired projectile, flying north toward the remains of the great serpent.
The air around her sliced like blades under her speed, sharp and cold. Yet to her, it was nothing. For she was not flesh and blood, but lightning incarnate—a being of pure energy, her puppet form driven by the true soul of thunder itself.
She had inherited Ei's very essence. In her flowed both the Shogun's and Ei's nature—two in one, a perfect creation. No wonder Ei sometimes treated her as a cherished daughter.
Whoosh!
The rainclouds around her blurred, retreating like scenery outside a speeding train. Bolts of lightning flashed nearby, bending around her path as if out of reverence. Wherever she passed, the clouds glowed faintly with amethyst light, her trail streaking across the sky like a falling star.
If any of Inazuma's children were to see it, they might make a wish without realizing who it truly was.
Boom!
Her eyes locked on the white skull of the giant serpent below. Tilting her trajectory, she dove from the sky in a perfect arc—breaking the sound barrier as she fell.
Buzz…
The lightning did not crash into the ground but instead slowed at the last moment, her form descending gracefully to the earth. Before her stood the colossal remains of the great serpent—its bones towering several times higher than she was. Yet this was not her destination. The reason she had altered her flight path was because she had caught sight of someone below.
Yes… it was that Traveler who had once escaped from her grasp—and the tiny floating creature beside him. They were on the shallow beach opposite the cliffside ruins of a god, seemingly preoccupied, unaware of her presence.
Meanwhile—
Crash!
Aether leapt back, narrowly avoiding the ground-smashing strike of a massive Thunderhelm Lawachurl. Golden Geo light flared in his palm.
"Return to dust!"
He slammed his hand down, sending a surge of jagged stone spikes erupting upward like a wave. The Lawachurl roared in agony as the Geo spikes pierced its body, pinning it in place.
Roarrr!
Even so, the hulking creature refused to die quietly. It let out one last furious bellow, shattering the surrounding rock before lunging at them once more.
"Wind Blade!!"
Switching instantly to Anemo, Aether's body shimmered with a soft green glow. He gathered a torrent of spiraling wind in his hand and hurled several blades toward the monster's head.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
The blades sliced through the air like whirling saws, cutting the massive creature apart—limbs and head severed cleanly in a flurry of wind.
Thud!
The Lawachurl collapsed, its heavy corpse slamming into the ground with enough force to make the very earth tremble. Blood splattered across the sand, mingling with seawater and rain.
"Phew… that was close. This guy was really tough," Paimon sighed in relief, still trembling slightly.
"Yeah… I didn't expect it to strike back even after all that," Aether replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. With a wave of his hand, his sword—the Dull Blade—dissolved into golden particles behind him.
The two of them glanced around.
This place was known as the Ruins of the Archon War—though the ruins themselves were buried underground. On the surface, the beach seemed ordinary, lying between Watatsumi Island and Yashiori Island, surrounded by the endless sea to the north and south.
The beach was crescent-shaped, with shallow and deep waters scattered along its edge. Stranded boats and broken stones lay across the shore. Hilichurls often patrolled the area, though this was the first time they had encountered a Lawachurl of such size.
Aether looked up at the sky. The rain had finally stopped. It was late into the night—perhaps around four in the morning. After days of storm, they had nearly lost track of time, but now, at last, the sky showed signs of clearing.
"But why would there be such a huge Lawachurl here?" Paimon asked curiously.
"Maybe the weather," Aether guessed casually, though he couldn't shake the strange feeling that lingered in the air. Something about this place was… off.
In truth, they were here under Sangonomiya Kokomi's orders—to investigate a reported issue at one of the Resistance's supply relay points.
One hour earlier—
Having recently been promoted to Captain of the Swordfish Unit No. 2, under the Watatsumi Island Resistance, Aether had just met his subordinates and completed the initiation ceremony. The so-called "ceremony" was meant to test his strength and earn their respect. He had expected a long speech or negotiation—but instead, all it required was that he defeat several rogue Treasure Hoarders in combat. Simple enough.
"How was it, Traveler? Did your promotion go smoothly?"
Standing in the courtyard of Sangonomiya, Kokomi folded her arms gently, smiling at him with quiet amusement.