Paimon asked in a skeptical tone, "Miko, are you reliable?"
Stepping through the portal once more, the space changed rapidly. Countless fragments flew past, each recording a moment in Inazuma's history. In the blink of an eye, ages passed.
Lumine held firm to her conviction and appeared once again in that space.
At that moment, Ei and the Shogun had just finished another duel.
Ei glanced at Lumine and asked, "Why are you able to appear here again? And why do you still look the same as you did back then?"
Lumine did not understand. "Back then? What do you mean?"
[Ningguang: Has time changed?]
[Yae Miko: This is the difference between Raiden Makoto's consciousness space and Ei's. In Makoto's space, the flow of time is unstable.]
[Lumine: Judging by Ei's reaction, it seems a very long time has already passed.]
Then the Raiden Shogun spoke. "This duel brings back memories."
"It feels like returning to the time when the rules of eternity were first established. Your will now rivals that of that era..."
"Through countless battles, you have never been defeated, never wavered. Even when I showed you all the enemies of eternity, you did not waver."
Ei replied softly, "To execute the rules with such a firm stance is also worthy of respect. You live up to the name of eternity."
[Paimon: Mutual admiration? But in the end, only one of them can remain.]
[Raiden Shogun: Are you feeling pity for me?]
[Lumine: The puppet Shogun!]
[Raiden Shogun: It is I. But do not call me 'puppet Shogun'.]
[Lumine: Can you also see the livestream?]
[Raiden Shogun: Of course. And now, I too am looking forward to the future outcome.]
[Ei: Shogun, having seen all this, will you choose to support me?]
[Raiden Shogun: You are the founder of eternity. I am its guardian. Yet now, the founder raises her blade against the guardian. I will leave my choice to the future. If the future you can defeat the future me, then the current me is willing to admit defeat.]
[Ei: I will win.]
[Shogun: I will win as well. I have inherited all your martial skills. I am not inferior to you.]
The Raiden Shogun continued, "Their return to this space feels like an inevitability of fate. Let this final battle draw a close to our five-hundred-year fate."
[Paimon: So fast! We were only outside for a moment, yet five hundred years have passed here...]
[Lumine: Does this mean they have been fighting continuously for five hundred years without stopping?]
[Furina: To persist in battle for five hundred years... such is the will of a deity. And like me, Ei could not see the end at that time either...]
[Ei: You endured for five hundred years with a mortal's will. That is more worthy of respect than me.]
[Furina: Is that so? Receiving praise from a deity makes me happy.]
[Paimon: Furina, you are a deity too.]
[Furina: I am not the deity. I am merely a human.]
[Navia: Yet for five hundred years, you have been fulfilling the duties of a deity.]
[Furina: I do not have great power. I cannot protect the nation.]
[Clorinde: But you have already saved this nation. In the future... hmm.]
Ei braced herself, raising the Musou Isshin high. "Step back, Lumine."
Lumine asked, "Are you going to end all of this?"
Ei nodded. "I will become the next beginning."
The Raiden Shogun transformed her form and declared loudly:
"The time required for this duel is enough to witness kingdoms rise and fall."
"The energy required for this duel is enough to overturn the seas and extinguish the heavens' light."
"The will required for this duel is enough to pierce through the heart and upend dreams. Yet you still remain."
Ei said, "I will exist forever..."
An endless flash of lightning blazed forth.