Deep within Whispering Forest.
Sunlight pierced through layers of leaves, scattering dappled patterns on the damp earth. The air was fresh, carrying the fragrance of soil and grass, occasionally joined by bird calls and the rustling of squirrels leaping across branches.
Orien leaned against a great oak, listening intently. After confirming it was only wind and nature's whispers around him, he finally exhaled in relief.
"Phew… finally shook them off. They didn't follow, right?"
That brief encounter with Eula had been as nerve-wracking as a rollercoaster. Her aura was overwhelming, her eyes sharp enough to strip away every layer of disguise and pierce straight into the heart. Without his passive "Silver Tongue" and Oscar-level improvisation, he'd probably be rotting in the Knights' confinement cell with Klee as his neighbor.
"The Knights of Favonius really move fast… patrols already outside the city. And Eula is just the face of it—there must be more eyes in the shadows." He clenched his jaw, firmer now on his decision to avoid Mondstadt.
The first task was to master his two new skills: [Mirror Flower, Water Moon] and [Shadowstep (Electro)]. In Teyvat, where dangers lurked everywhere—and after he'd just made a continent-shaking scene—true strength was the only guarantee.
He focused, guiding the faint but real energy granted by the system.
"Shadowstep!"
Bzzzt!
With a sharp crackle of lightning, Orien vanished, reappearing three meters ahead. His speed was blinding, nearly teleportation, leaving behind a faint afterimage of Electro sparks that fizzled away in seconds.
"Ugh…" He staggered at the landing, dizziness and sore muscles creeping up.
"Burden's heavy… range is shorter than I thought. Just entry-level." He analyzed calmly. "Good for dodging a hilichurl arrow or lunging in close. But long travel? Frequent use? I'd collapse in no time."
The cooldown was longer than expected. But still—this was a lifesaving skill. A chance to dodge a killing blow was priceless.
After a break, he turned to the other skill.
"Mirror Flower, Water Moon!"
This time the energy flowed differently. Not explosive like Electro, but tethered to spirit and the environment. He felt a sliver of his consciousness extend outward, resonating faintly with light, wind, and the scent of greenery.
The air rippled like water. Shapes bent and folded until a human outline took form.
Moments later, a perfect double stood before him—same ragged adventurer's outfit, same tense expression, every detail replicated flawlessly.
"Holy—this is insane!" Orien circled the clone in awe.
It was too real. Clothes, posture, even micro-expressions—it was uncanny.
He tried controlling it with his mind. The clone lifted its hand stiffly, walked clumsily forward. There was delay, like lag in a bad connection, but it moved.
"Duration: around five minutes. Range: ten meters before signal weakens, twenty at most. Past ten meters, delay skyrockets."
He tested carefully. Limitations were clear—but the potential was enormous.
An illusion clone that lasted minutes? Perfect for scouting, baiting, false alibis, or just taunting from afar.
He practiced combining the two. A clone running one way, his real body Shadowstepping another. The forest soon filled with two, three, four "Oriens," blinking in and out, moving in odd sync.
After nearly an hour, drained and weary, he collapsed on a dry tree root. He chewed rations, washed it down with water.
"Good progress. But energy's a bottleneck." He frowned. "The system uses some universal energy, not real elemental power. Supply's limited, recovery is slow. I need a Vision… or a way to raise my energy cap."
As he rested, the system kept feeding him tiny drips of Breakdown Value.
[Breakdown Value +2 from Sandra, Mondstadt resident!]
[Breakdown Value +5 from Mingbo, Liyue scholar!]
[Breakdown Value +1 from an Inazuman samurai!]
[Breakdown Value +3 from a Sumeru mercenary!]
Small gains, but steady. In just a short while, he had earned another hundred points. The first broadcast's ripples were still spreading.
"Good, good… steady growth." He grinned at the ticking numbers. "But when the next broadcast hits, it'll be a tidal wave."
And that thought sent his gaze eastward.
Inazuma.
The Sakoku Decree, the Vision Hunt Decree, the rebellion, the Raiden Shogun's eternity… A boiling cauldron of conflict. And with its closed borders, the shock from revealing its secrets would be colossal.
"System, pull material on Inazuma's decrees and the resistance."
The light screen unfolded. Titles flashed:
["Hundred Eyes, Hundred Hands: The Ceremony of the 100th Vision"]
["The Nameless Grave: Teppei and the Delusion"]
["Musou no Hitotachi: The Duel and the Flame Witch's Fall"]
["Dreams in Bloom: Five Hundred Years Beneath the Sacred Sakura"]
Every one a knife to the heart.
Orien lingered on Teppei's tale. Perfect for empathy and tears. But… not yet.
"That story needs buildup. Once people understand the decrees and resistance, then the tragedy of Teppei will hit hardest."
His finger tapped another.
"System, prepare a preview for Episode Two. Focus on the Vision Hunt and Sakoku. Show the oppression, the battles, the desperation. Tease the Delusion—but blur it, keep mystery. End with the title: 'Equivalent Exchange: Behind the Visions and Delusions Lies the Tragedy of Inazuma's Vision Hunt Decree!' Broadcast to the whole continent!"
[Command accepted. Deducting small Breakdown Value… Preview created. Publish now?]
"Publish!"
At once, the sky across Teyvat flared again. The curtain of light blazed alive.
Gasps. Screams.
"Again! The sky again!"
"What now?!"
Jean, just leaving a heated meeting, froze. Zhongli's teacup halted. Ei's eyes snapped open, lightning crackling.
The screen was no longer Mondstadt's starry sky, but a suffocating violet storm. Thunder split the heavens. The great serpent's bones lay scarred beneath bolts. Inazuma's gates slammed shut. Shogunate troops marched coldly.
The music was mournful, metal clashing underneath.
The camera cut: Visions being stripped and mounted into the statue of a thousand arms. Hopeless eyes watching as their dreams turned dark.
Another cut: banners of the resistance, soldiers wounded but unbroken, clashing against the shogunate.
Narration thundered:
[When lightning's eternity blinds the people's wishes.]
[When dreams are stripped by merciless decree.]
[Sakoku is not protection. Vision Hunt is a chain.]
A hand gripped a red-black Delusion, pulsing with corruption.
[When justice's cost is life itself…]
[Is such "equivalent exchange" truly worth it?]
A frail resistance soldier appeared, body drained, Delusion devouring him.
Inazuma boiled. Families of Vision-bearers clenched fists, anger and grief searing their eyes.
"That… that's a Delusion?!"
"Why would the resistance…?"
"This is… too cruel…"
At Sangonomiya, Kokomi turned pale. "How?! How does the curtain know about Delusions?! Who leaked this?!"
Her officers panicked.
The screen ended with blood-red words:
[Stay Tuned: "Equivalent Exchange" — Behind the Visions and Delusions Lies the Tragedy of Inazuma's Vision Hunt Decree!]
[Countdown: 23:59:59…]
The curtain dimmed again.
But the damage was done.
Inazuma was on fire.
The Shogunate seethed—believing this curtain was siding with rebels, mocking eternity. The resistance panicked—the exposure of Delusions threatened their credibility.
At Tenshukaku, lightning split the clouds. Ei's blade roared to the heavens, her fury cold and boundless.
"Disturbing eternity… spying upon Inazuma… Death."
Sara bowed, sweating. "Yes, Shogun-sama! We'll hunt the source at once!"
At Sangonomiya, Kokomi steadied herself. "Hide all Delusions. Guard against shogunate attacks. And… perhaps… try to contact the one behind this sky."
In Whispering Forest, Orien laughed as numbers rained down his system screen.
[Breakdown Value +20 from a Shogunate soldier!]
[Breakdown Value +25 from a resistance fighter!]
[Breakdown Value +999 from Raiden Shogun! (Extreme Rage!)]
[Breakdown Value +66 from Yae Miko! (Curiosity and amusement)]
[Breakdown Value +88 from Kokomi! (Anxiety and worry)]
[Breakdown Value +50 from Thoma! (Fear and relief)]
[Breakdown Value +40 from Ayaka! (Sympathy and helplessness)]
In seconds, he'd earned more than his entire first broadcast. Raiden Shogun's furious 999 was the cherry on top.
"Politics, war, gods—now this is power!" Orien cackled. "Inazuma, are you enjoying the preview?"
"Tomorrow's main show… will blow you apart."
He could already see it—the continent quaking. And all he had to do was sit in the forest, grinning, while the Breakdown Value rolled in.
For a trickster, joy was simple. Pure. And endless.
(End of Chapter)
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