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Even as he watched his younger sister resting against a stranger's lap, Kamisato Ayato did not break his composure. He had no energy left for that, especially now that a far more desperate reality had taken hold.
It was exactly as Ayaka had described in her dream. This eternal dream had truly manifested, and with terrifying speed. Despite all the preparations Kamisato Ayato had made, he never imagined that in just a single day, the dream of the Raiden Shogun would engulf the entirety of Inazuma. Even a man of his standing could not uproot his family and flee the nation in twenty-four hours.
"Good morning, Ayaka." Ayato offered his sister a smile, though the greeting tasted bitter on his tongue.
"Brother, this is..." Ayaka's gaze shifted from her brother to Su Ran. Her intuition told her something monumental had occurred, and judging by Ayato's expression, she began to form her own theories. Had Su Ran finally made a formal proposal?
Ayaka felt a flutter of nerves. While she was still young, in the circles of the great clans, she was already of age for marriage.
"It is nothing," Su Ran interjected, once again trampling over Ayato's boundaries. "I was just having a chat with my brother-in-law. It seems he isn't entirely satisfied with the current state of Inazuma."
Brother-in-law? Was he really being so brazen? Ayato's hands clenched into fists. Even if Su Ran possessed terrifying power, the Kamisato clan was not a soft target. If it came down to it, he would rather die standing before him than yield.
"Oh, so that was it..." Ayaka let out a sigh of relief. She had worried her brother was opposing her relationship with Su Ran. Collecting herself, she tapped her cheeks to clear her mind. She couldn't allow herself to look relieved when her brother was clearly in such low spirits. "Then what is bothering you, Brother? I trust that Su Ran and the Shogun will surely resolve Inazuma's predicament."
"Sigh... No, it doesn't matter anymore." Ayato no longer had the strength to resist. During the era of the Vision Hunt Decree, their rebellion was an attempt to correct a deity's mistake rather than a direct confrontation with the divine. But things were different now. To resist today was to challenge the gods directly, and with the dream realm held firmly in their grasp, wasn't fighting back a death sentence?
Ayato possessed no means to shatter this illusion. It was a realm woven by gods.
Su Ran watched Ayato's despondent display without wanting to push him further into despair. A god? There had once been mortals who dared to stare down the brilliance of lightning, but against the sheer, ingenious creation of a Genius, even a lifetime of mortal struggle would fall short. Will and faith might allow a human to stand against a god, but how could they break a reality they could not even comprehend?
Ayato could not see the cracks in the dream, and neither could anyone else. Even the Traveler, whom Su Ran was waiting for, remained in the dark. It would only be later, when Su Ran himself—as the creator—chose to provide guidance, that this dream could be shattered. Yet, in that process, they would have to face a true Archon.
Looking at the joy in Raiden Ei's heart, it was clear she would never abandon this dream, even if it meant forcing her will upon the people of Inazuma for eternity. With the return of Raiden Makoto, Ei had even less reason to let this dream go. After all, who could stand against a fully realized Electro Archon?
"Since you have feelings for my sister, Su Ran, when might we expect to drink to your marriage?" Ayato asked, changing the subject. Since resistance was impossible, he might as well immerse himself in it and see just how miraculous this divine creation truly was.
"Brother!" Ayaka flushed with shame. If it weren't for the presence of Su Ran and the outsider Kujou Sara, she would have given Ayato a piece of her mind. They hadn't even progressed that far yet; they hadn't even held hands!
"Ayaka, you are not a child anymore," Ayato continued, sounding increasingly stifled. "You must stop throwing tantrums when you are by Su Ran's side."
"I have never thrown a tantrum!" she protested.
Ayato sighed. Sneaking behind his back to contact the resistance—if that wasn't a tantrum, what was? If she had been caught, it would have spelled total ruin for the Kamisato clan. But now, none of that mattered.
"My Lord, I have an urgent report," Kujou Sara interjected, sensing that the conversation had veered into personal matters.
"What is it?" Su Ran looked at her, thoughtful. The head of the Kujou clan had been arrested, though Sara likely did not know yet, as it had only happened yesterday.
"The leader of the resistance on the front lines, the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, has requested a peace talk. She wishes to engage in a dialogue with... the Almighty Shogun."
Kokomi's request was so bizarre that Sara had been unable to make a decision on her own. That was why she had returned to Tenshukaku yesterday.
"Why didn't you say so yesterday?" Su Ran asked. A peace talk? What was there to negotiate? If even the resistance stopped fighting, wouldn't Inazuma just fall into a perfect, happy ending?
"Yesterday... you and Lady Ayaka left so quickly, I didn't have the chance. And by the time night fell... I felt so drowsy that I..."
Heaven knows how nervous Sara felt when she woke up to find she had been leaning against Su Ran. She was lucky not to have been reprimanded. Moreover, the look in Ayato's eyes had been piercing. She had even considered killing him to silence the secret. It was because of this encounter that when Ayaka opened her eyes, she was met with Sara's incredibly awkward expression.