From the western horizon came a dreadful pressure, the unmistakable sign of a battle between gods.
Raiden Makoto's heart tightened with worry.
She recalled Gu Chen's earlier divination — though Fox Saiguu had said her own misfortune was more likely than her sister's, Makoto couldn't help but worry. She was the elder sister, after all.
With an anxious heart, she stepped quickly into Tenshukaku's great hall.
The first thing she saw was Gu Chen setting down his brush.
"You can feel what's happening over there too, right?" Raiden Makoto asked, voice tinged with urgency.
"Mm."
Gu Chen nodded.
The paper on the desk ignited without flame, burning to ash in an instant.
Seeing how tense Makoto was, Gu Chen offered her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. She won't come to harm."
"Really?"
Makoto exhaled softly. She trusted Gu Chen deeply — his words alone were enough to steady her heart.
She knelt gracefully to the side, regaining her usual composure, and began to prepare tea with careful, deliberate movements.
As she poured, her curiosity got the better of her. "You went to meet Orobashi last time, didn't you?"
"I did."
Gu Chen didn't hide it. With a faintly apologetic look, he said, "I'm sorry, my Lady God — there are certain details I can't tell you. Curiosity can be deadly. Even gods have perished for knowing too much. Some truths are forbidden."
A strange light flickered in Makoto's violet eyes.
From his words, she could guess what Orobashi had sought…
Perhaps he had discovered one of those taboos.
But Makoto didn't dare to probe further — she feared that if her curiosity got the better of her, she might share Orobashi's fate.
When the tea was ready, she placed a cup before Gu Chen and clasped her hands together in prayer.
Gu Chen blew away the steam and took a small sip. Seeing her praying posture, he teased lightly,
"You yourself are a god — who are you praying to?"
"You don't understand!" Makoto narrowed her eyes, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "It's for Ei's victory."
"There's such a saying?" Gu Chen asked, amused.
"Nope." Makoto shook her head.
Gu Chen picked up a document from the side, scanning it as he replied, "I see — it works great for peace of mind."
"Well, what if it does work?" she countered, shuffling a little closer until she was right beside him. Peeking at the document over his shoulder, she murmured, "You're always this busy… I can't even remember the last time we went out to have fun."
Her proximity carried a faint fragrance of cherry blossoms. Gu Chen put the document down and turned his head toward her. His gaze lingered on her face — a visage so perfect it seemed handcrafted by the Creator Himself — before he said softly,
"The reason I work so hard is so that my Lady God can see a new Inazuma every day — a land that grows ever more beautiful."
"But… but still!"
He always had a way with words — even when she tried to argue, he'd turn her reasoning right back on her. He always had a perfectly sound justification.
Defeated, Makoto drooped her head slightly, looking downcast.
"I'll make some time to attend the youkai festival," Gu Chen said.
Her head immediately shot up, eyes brightening. "You promise?"
"Of course."
[Chat — Live Comment Feed]
Nilu: Aaaah, this couple is just too good!! (Klee: Yay!)
Collei: Raiden Makoto stock soaring!! (Klee: Let's go!)
Lisa: Sorry, little Honorary Knight — but this pair really does fit perfectly!
Lumine: I have to admit, they do look good together… but why Gu Chen?! Can they please break up already?! (Baron Bunny: Shoo!)
Kaeya: [Main Wife] emotionally destabilized. (Smirk)
Venti: Uh oh… man's heart just got split in two. (Hu Tao: mischievous grin)
Furina: Split in two? Lies! He's been completely stolen! (Sarcasm emoji)
Paimon: Poor Lumine… (Nahida: deep thought)
Sangonomiya Kokomi: So even with Gu Chen in that lifetime, the Great Watatsumi Omikami still couldn't avoid her fate… I still can't accept that ending, even knowing she must have learned some forbidden truth. (Kokomi: energy low)
In the video feed, a blinding slash crossed heaven and earth.
Everything in its path was annihilated.
The thunderous flash illuminated the sky — Raiden Ei's Shogunate soldiers roared in excitement.
— Musou no Hitotachi!
Her most powerful strike.
No matter how Orobashi twisted or fled, he couldn't escape that blade.
He was cleaved clean in half — and with him, the island itself was split asunder.
A colossal gorge tore through the land as seawater rushed inward, crackling with residual lightning. Beneath the waves, arcs of violet thunder danced eerily in the depths.
Orobashi's massive body collapsed, the vertical slit of his eye softening in relief as life faded from it.
Gods were the mightiest beings in the world — but even their deaths wrought calamity.
For when a god falls, their divine authority shatters with them.
Like a bucket split apart, the waters within spilled freely, flooding the world.
"Retreat!" Raiden Ei ordered — she had anticipated this.
Orobashi's consciousness was fading, thoughts growing dim.
He remembered his long journey — once he had fled from a greater god, and found refuge here.
He had known Ei was no foe he could best, so he had remained secluded.
Until curiosity led him to uncover forbidden truths… and now, his life was forfeit.
If only he hadn't… would things be different?
Would his people still have their god?
Regret filled his last breath.
Then — Boom!
A dreadful miasma burst outward.
The island's soil blackened instantly.
Grass and trees withered before the eye.
Thunder rolled endlessly as dark clouds devoured the sky.
Rain fell in sheets.
Animals screamed, dying in agony.
Even the sand at the shore seeped with dark violet hues. Fish and shrimp froze, lifeless, sinking to the depths.
"Divine Resentment…" Ei muttered coldly. "Regretting your invasion of Inazuma, are you?"
The curse spread — there was no easy way to contain it.
She could only wait until it weakened.
Then she turned and left the island.
[Chat — Continued]
Chongyun: So that's what happens when a god dies… terrifying! No wonder Liyue had such trouble when so many gods fell back then. (Paimon: shocked)
Hu Tao: PSA! Never go near a spot where a god's fallen! You might faint, get sick, or worse — get cursed! (Hu Tao: spooky grin)
Cloud Retainer: The karmic stains of divine death take millennia to purge. The Conqueror of Demons has long borne that burden. (Shenhe: sipping tea)
Chongyun: Thank you, Conqueror of Demons! (@Xiao)
Xiao: It is my duty. No need for thanks.
Amber: It took a thousand years to clean up?! (Paimon: gasps)
Xiao: Divine resentment manifests in many ways — corrupting the land, birthing monsters, warping leylines.
Amber: That sounds… hopeless. Good thing Mondstadt doesn't have that problem. Wait — didn't that "God of Storms" die ages ago?! (Paimon: startled)
Venti: How do you think the winds cleared it all away? (Paimon: smug hum)
Dvalin: Oh, please! Who do you think kept purifying the air from above?! (Nahida: pointing finger)
Kaeya: Liyue must have had it worse. Did Morax clean it all himself? (Curious)
Zhongli: Not entirely. An old friend of mine gave much of himself to aid that work.
Guoba: Lulu? (Guoba: cheerful)
Moon Carver: A millennium ago, the God of the Stove, Makosh, poured all his power into the land to soothe its sickness and plague. Though his wisdom waned, he lives on, well and happy.
Xiangling: The Stove God's okay?! That's great! (Xiangling: starry eyes)
Keqing: The fallout from godly deaths really is immense.
Hu Tao: Ehehe~ The Hall of Rebirth's ancestors purified those very miasmas with the Staff of Homa! (photo of the staff) So, want to book a service today~? (Hu Tao: winks)
Xingqiu: As expected of you… (Xingqiu: resigned)
Fischl: My Eye of the Storm sees a friend in peril!
Oz: The young miss means — @Hu Tao, one purification package please.
Hu Tao: On it! (cheery)
Bennett: …Wait, are you talking about me?! (Fischl: trembling in denial)
Half a month has passed since Orobashi's defeat. Watatsumi Island was now under Shogunate rule.
Its people still worshiped their fallen god — the Shogunate deemed it foolish, but Gu Chen allowed it for now.
His long-term plan, however, was clear: the faith would fade with time. Within three generations, the people of Watatsumi would be fully integrated into Inazuma's governance.
Night fell upon Mt. Yougou — the hour of the youkai.
The mountain thrummed with life as monsters gathered for their great festival.
Gu Chen and Raiden Makoto walked along the stone-paved path beneath the dark canopy.
The woods were thick with shadow, the air cool and eerie.
Makoto stayed close, clearly uneasy, never letting more than a step separate them.
Gu Chen glanced back, speechless.
[Nilu]: Miss Makoto's disguise is perfect! But Gu Chen still saw through her! (Paimon: easy win)
[Collei]: Gods aren't supposed to fear ghosts… but he didn't call her out! (Collei: admiring)
A cold wind swept through.
Suddenly — a pale, blood-streaked face popped up inches from Gu Chen's own.
He didn't even blink.
"M-My apologies, General!" squeaked a terrified tanuki, crouching by the path.
"Having fun?" Gu Chen asked flatly.
"N-No! Not at all!" the tanuki stammered, sweating.
"Really?"
A faint smile crossed Gu Chen's lips. His face began to distort like noodles twisting together — and in an instant, he wore the monstrous head of a catfish, mouth gaping wide, lined with rows of sharp teeth, a foul stench wafting out.
"GYAAAAH!!"
The tanuki screamed and bolted into the woods.
Makoto couldn't help but laugh.
Gu Chen tilted his head, his face returning to normal.
"I always thought you were a very proper man," Makoto said softly.
"It's not work time now." Gu Chen smiled faintly, then added, "Was that you or Fox Saiguu? Ordinary tanuki wouldn't dare prank me."
"Hehe, you caught me~ It was Fox Saiguu!" Makoto said, eyes darting away.
"Then let's say it was her." Gu Chen nodded 'reluctantly.'
[Furina]: Case closed! She planned to get scared and fall into his arms, but the tanuki got scared first — I call that divine backfire! (Clever smile)
[Heizou]: Detective-level deduction!
[Yae Miko]: Ah, the classic "As the God of Thunder, I Must Win My Mortal's Heart" plotline~ (Miko: teasing grin)
[Collei]: Makoto stock rising again! (Klee: cheering)
[Ayaka]: Continue buying Makoto shares! (Hopeful)
[Paimon]: Someone check on Lumine's mental health, please. (worried)
[Lumine]: ?
[Prince Aether]: Embrace the darkness, my sister!!
[Lumine]: They're only shipping his past self! It has nothing to do with my Gu Chen!
[Kaeya]: True… but you sound way too calm about it. (concerned)
[Lumine]: The moment I stepped back into this house, I understood. I am Mrs. Gu, mistress of this household! Even if Baal herself returns, she's still just the second wife at best. I hold the advantage! (Yae Miko: amused chuckle)
[Yae Miko]: Ahh, that's the confidence of a main wife~
[Lumine]: As long as I keep my cool, I have nothing to fear! (Paimon: leave it to me!)
At the Grand Narukami Shrine, Fox Saiguu awaited them at the gates, cradling something soft and pink in her arms.
"Your Highness," she said with a mischievous grin, "look what I've found~"
In her hands — a fluffy, dazed little pink fox.
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