Lumine spoke immediately. "Thoma is my friend now. I'm going to save him."
Kamisato Ayaka hesitated briefly, but ultimately agreed. "I... will be here, waiting for your safe return."
Paimon said, "Don't worry. When it comes to a friend's life, we never fail."
Lumine swiftly arrived at the Statue of the Omnipresent God. There, Thoma was already bound tightly, forced to kneel before the statue.
Upon the statue, the Raiden Shogun raised her hand. Lightning flashed. Thoma's Vision was pulled by a powerful force of attraction, flying toward the Shogun.
[Paimon: To have his Vision taken personally by the Raiden Shogun... Thoma, that's kind of lucky, isn't it?]
[Thoma: I'd gladly give up this kind of luck...]
[Kujou Sara: Why? That is Her Excellency the Shogun.]
[Paimon: Maybe because Thoma doesn't worship the Raiden Shogun?]
[Thoma: Paimon, you can't just say things like that. We're an organization dedicated to protecting Visions, you know.]
[Ningguang: But... saving someone from a god's grasp. Can Lumine do it?]
[Zhongli: The Raiden Shogun pursues the pinnacle of martial arts. I wonder how much Ei has progressed in these centuries.]
[Paimon: The pinnacle of martial arts! Doesn't that mean the Raiden Shogun...]
[Kaedehara Kazuha: Her Excellency's Musou no Hitotachi once slew a god.]
[Paimon: The more I hear, the scarier it gets...]
In the video...
Lumine's body flickered with lightning. In an instant, she appeared mid-air, snatched Thoma's Vision, and stood below the statue, locking eyes with the Raiden Shogun.
Behind her, two Tenryou Commission soldiers thrust their spears at Lumine. With a single move, she struck them both down, then loosened some of Thoma's bindings.
Witnessing this, the Shogun stepped forward on a path of Electro, approaching Lumine.
"To wield the elements without a Vision... You are an exception. Exceptions are enemies of eternity."
With that, the Raiden Shogun erupted in brilliant Electro light. Surging lightning flooded the entire plaza. From her chest, she drew Musou Isshin.
[Kaedehara Kazuha: Musou no Hitotachi... Her Excellency has gone straight to Musou no Hitotachi.]
[Kamisato Ayaka: This is the Shogun's will in executing the Vision Hunt Decree? To wield her strongest strike and cut down all obstacles.]
[Paimon: Ahh... I wonder if Lumine can withstand it.]
[Nahida: A Descender is one whose stature rivals the world itself. Even if Lumine has lost most of her power, escaping from Musou Isshin should not be too difficult.]
[Zhongli: After her journey in Liyue, the Traveler's strength has grown even greater.]
"I will have you inlaid into the statue."
With the swing of Musou Isshin, raging lightning enveloped Lumine inch by inch. And then, Lumine was brought to another world.
A crimson sky. Surging air. And Raiden Ei, seated cross-legged in the void, slowly opened her eyes.
The great battle began. The two clashed for several exchanges, until finally, Lumine was struck down by a single slash. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
[Paimon: I never imagined Lumine could fight the Shogun for that long before losing. But... what was that strange space?]
[Yae Miko: That was the Plane of Euthymia. Ei's inner world. The one fighting Lumine... was Ei herself.]
[Paimon: The Plane of Euthymia? What's that?]
[Yae Miko: After Ei crafted her divine body into a puppet, she placed her consciousness within Musou Isshin. The Plane of Euthymia is the world Ei created inside that blade. Since then, Ei has ceased handling Inazuma's affairs entirely. Everything is left to the Shogun.]
[Paimon: That's such a lazy choice...]
[Ei: It was not laziness. It was fear of erosion. A puppet's intellect does not suffer erosion.]
The crimson sky faded inch by inch. Lumine returned to stand before the Statue of the Omnipresent God.