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"So it was you, Barbatos!"
Signora clutched the Gnosis in her hand, her eyes filled with disdain as she looked down at the fallen Venti. The god of Mondstadt had become so weak that he required the help of a mere human just to protect his own kin.
After Su Ran had leaked clues regarding the Anemo Archon to her, Signora had taken a special interest in Mondstadt's two taverns. True enough, she had found someone who fit the description perfectly: Venti, the bard who seemed to have materialized in Mondstadt out of nowhere. With the city's defenses currently lax, she had not bothered to remain in the shadows for long. She had simply seized the first opportunity to intercept him, and to her surprise, she had actually retrieved the Gnosis from him.
Venti clutched his chest, rising slowly. Although Signora had taken his Gnosis, his physical form remained unharmed. The Gnosis itself was of little consequence; he had originally intended to hand it over to the Tsaritsa by way of the Fatui anyway. His only point of confusion was how this woman had identified him so early. It was suspicious. Even while being tailed, he had maintained the facade of an ordinary person. No matter how capable the Fatui were, there was no way they should have seen through his disguise.
"A Genius told me," Signora replied, putting the Gnosis away. She did not mind sparing a few words for this pathetic god.
"A Genius? That new Harbinger?" Venti mused. He had noticed both of them as soon as they entered Mondstadt, though the other one had eventually departed for Inazuma.
Signora had no intention of making small talk. She loathed the Anemo Archon, though it was not the kind of hatred that drove her to kill him. She simply resented Barbatos for being so weak and failing to return when Mondstadt was ravaged by disaster. She hated his frailty, but murder had never been the goal. Now that the Gnosis was in her possession, she had no further need to look at this infuriating creature.
"How strange. I never revealed my identity to any outsiders. How could that Harbinger have known?" Venti muttered to himself, stroking his chin in bewilderment. The Tsaritsa would not have been so bored as to reveal his identity herself, as she would have ended up with the Gnosis regardless. She had no reason to go to such lengths.
"That otherworldly traveler is truly extraordinary. I wonder if he will bring Snezhnaya any closer to victory." Venti knew well what the Cryo Archon was plotting, but he would never lead his own people into a rebellion against the Heavenly Principles. Failure would likely result in an outcome similar to the other fallen ancient nations. Still, that traveler was someone he needed to keep a close eye on.
***
"Lady Signora, the lightning storms in Inazuma have cleared."
Upon returning to the Fatui stronghold with the Gnosis, this was the news that greeted Rosalyne.
"And?"
Had that puppet, the Raiden Shogun, actually started thinking for herself? Otherwise, why would she lift the Sakoku Decree for no reason?
"The Raiden Shogun was defeated by an outsider. Her current status is unknown, and it seems the storms dissipated because of this."
The subordinate reporting the news looked as though he could not believe his own words. There was no need to question the strength of the Raiden Shogun; she was a victor who had carved a path through the carnage of the Archon War. To hear that she had been defeated so easily that her life hung in the balance sounded like a joke.
Even Signora was visibly stunned. To her knowledge, there was no one on the continent of Teyvat capable of easily crushing a ruling deity, unless it was a god from Celestia. Her mind immediately turned to Su Ran. His ability to kill Dottore had already proven his strength, but possessing the power of a god did not necessarily guarantee victory over the Raiden Shogun. The Electro Archon was one of the victors of the Archon War, and even as a puppet, her strength should have been far beyond that of an average deity. Unless the power of the Genius had transcended that of most gods, perhaps even reaching a level that could rival the Tsaritsa herself.
If the Genius truly possessed the strength to rival the Tsaritsa, why would he have joined the Fatui?
"I do not know what occurred, but if the Raiden Shogun has been defeated, then the Gnosis should be within reach." Signora did not care how the Genius had pulled it off; obtaining the Gnosis was all that mattered. The god of Inazuma was not as weak as Barbatos, nor had she signed a contract with the Tsaritsa like the Geo Archon. To obtain her Gnosis, the Fatui would have to face her head-on. With that realization, Signora felt significantly less bitter about the Genius going rogue. Even if he had not been the designated agent for the task, he was a hero of the cause the moment he secured that Gnosis.
***
Kamisato Ayato had waited outside Tenshukaku for quite some time before he finally caught sight of his younger sister. Before he could even speak, Kamisato Ayaka pulled him toward the Komore Teahouse. Some things could not be discussed out in the open.
Once they were back in the teahouse, safely tucked away in a private room with Thoma sent to keep watch outside, Ayaka finally set her mind at ease and relayed everything she had learned within the palace. Ayato, who had barely recovered from the relief of seeing his sister unharmed, was struck by the terrifying news.
"You mean to say... that Fatui Harbinger intends to trap the consciousness of every person in Inazuma within a dream?"
Ayato clenched his fists. The fallout from the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree paled in comparison to the consequences Ayaka described. While those previous mandates had plunged Inazuma into hardship, the people had at least been able to survive. But a dream that blanketed the entire nation? That was an attack on everyone, and that naturally included the Kamisato clan.
"We must stop this plan. We cannot let the Shogun be manipulated by the Fatui any longer!" Ayato pinched the bridge of his nose. Even as a subject of the Narukami and a believer in the Raiden Shogun, he could not help but feel that she was failing as a ruler.