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The shogunate army moved quickly, dispatching soldiers to every corner of the city. Patrols throughout Inazuma intensified, and the three commissions set aside their longstanding grievances to focus entirely on calming the panicked populace. Everything they possessed had been granted by the Raiden Shogun, and with her currently in peril, their desperation far outweighed any political ambition.
The streets leading toward Tenshukaku were locked down tight under the iron grip of the Tenryou Commission. Tenshukaku itself, however, stood silent and deserted. Yae Miko, the pink-haired kitsune, stared up at the towering architecture with a heavy heart.
"Lady Guuji!"
As she steeled herself to enter the palace and confront the uninvited guest, a voice called out to stop her.
"Oh? If it isn't the little girl from the Kamisato clan."
The person who had stopped Yae Miko was none other than Kamisato Ayaka, the sister of the current head of the Yashiro Commission. This young lady, who had long worried over the fate of Inazuma and sought to resist the Vision Hunt Decree, had finally arrived in the city.
"Lady Guuji, are you heading to Tenshukaku?"
Kamisato Ayaka looked visibly shaken. She had not witnessed the moment the Raiden Shogun was struck down, but the heavy lockdown of the city forced her to accept the grim reality that the shogun had been defeated.
"Indeed. That individual who struck down a god is waiting inside."
The thunderstorms surrounding Inazuma had vanished. Under normal circumstances, this would have been cause for celebration. Instead, it filled Yae Miko with an even deeper sense of dread. The storms were manifestations of a deity's will and power, requiring nothing more than a mere whim or a flicker of divine intent to maintain. Yet, even that faint resonance had been wiped clean from existence.
Yae Miko trembled. She feared that her god might truly have perished. The entity capable of such a feat remained within Tenshukaku, and until she saw them for herself, the future of Inazuma remained a terrifying, blank void. Why would such a being suddenly appear, now that the Archon War had long since concluded?
"Lady Guuji, is the situation as dire as it seems?"
Kamisato Ayaka had never seen Yae Miko look like this before. Even though they rarely interacted, the woman who usually delighted in playing with people's hearts and pulling at their emotions seemed to have vanished. Ayaka saw only fear and confusion in the eyes of the second most powerful figure in Inazuma, a woman she had never truly been able to read.
"Dire?" Yae Miko offered a bitter, mirthless smile that tightened the knot in Ayaka's chest. "How would you describe the power of the Raiden Shogun?"
Invincible?
Ayaka could not bring herself to say it. The shogun, whom the people of Inazuma believed to be peerless, had been defeated only a short while ago. Though no one saw exactly what had happened, everyone understood that the loss had been swift and absolute. The battle had lasted mere moments before a flash of purple lightning plunged into the sea.
"Forget it. Come with me. We will face this strange god together."
Only a god could defeat a god. This visitor was surely a deity, perhaps even one descending from Celestia itself. Yae Miko took a heavy step forward, continuing toward Tenshukaku.
"I understand!"
Ayaka followed close behind. Whether for the sake of the people or the shogun herself, she had to see the truth of what had happened.
***
Outside Tenshukaku, the Tenryou Commission soldiers had surrounded the building, creating a wall of steel. Everyone knew that the one who had struck down their god was inside, yet not a single soul possessed the courage to step through the gates.
Kujou Sara stood before the tightly shut doors, the torment in her heart feeling like a thousand cuts. Entering might grant her a chance to see the one who had defeated the shogun, but did she dare? If she failed to return, what would become of the Tenryou Commission? What would become of the people of Inazuma? She did not fear death, but something far more terrifying had already come to pass: her invincible god had fallen, and perhaps, had even been slain.
"It is Lady Guuji!"
The cry from a shogunate soldier brought a flicker of hope to the disheartened crowd. Even Kujou Sara felt a glimmer of relief.
"Wait here," Yae Miko said, cutting off any further conversation. She had no interest in small talk; she felt the same heavy despair as the rest of them.
"But..." Kujou Sara glanced at Ayaka, who was following behind, clearly confused by the choice of companion.
"I understand," Sara added, bowing her head. She did not grasp Yae Miko's reasoning, but she would never defy her. The Kamisato estate lay at the foot of Mt. Yougou, and a close relationship between the two was not entirely unheard of.
Under the watch of the shogunate army, the two women pushed open the heavy doors of Tenshukaku. The moment they stepped inside, Yae Miko let out a long, weary breath, her expression shifting back to that of the playful, manipulative fox she had always been.
"Do you know why I brought you with me?" she asked with a smile.
Ayaka shook her head.
"I thought that if I am not coming back, at least I will have company," Yae Miko said, her smile faint. "Little Ayaka, we might die today."
"I do not fear death," Ayaka replied steadily. "I have already prepared myself since the moment I chose to follow you here."
Her response prompted a genuine, relieved laugh from Yae Miko. "You are more broad-minded than I am. I have lived for five hundred years, and I am still afraid of dying."
To be outdone by a human junior—Yae Miko scoffed inwardly at herself. When had she lost her edge? She was the one who had walked this earth for centuries, yet in this moment, she felt the weight of her own mortality.
"I just hope that god doesn't look too terrifying," she muttered. "Otherwise, I might be scared to death before I even have the chance to see them."