"Again and again, you take no responsibility for Inazuma, and no responsibility for yourself."
"The puppets you created, Kunikuzushi and the Shogun, are both your children. And yet you refuse to take responsibility even for your own children."
"Are you cold-blooded?"
"Did I ever teach you to become such a heartless, emotionless Archon?"
"Answer me!"
Even when Inazuma itself had fallen into chaos, Makoto had never been this angry.
But this time, her fury was truly boiling over.
What enraged her was Ei's attitude, one of complete irresponsibility.
As for the affairs of Inazuma, Makoto had already chosen to set them aside. She did not want to reopen that wound.
But Ei's refusal to take responsibility for herself, transforming her own body into a puppet, was something Makoto simply could not accept, no matter how much she thought about it.
Moreover, during this time, Makoto had also learned the truth behind the Raiden Gokaden.
As intelligent as she was, Makoto instantly realized that this tragedy was tied to Scaramouche, which meant that, at its core, it was once again the result of Ei's abandonment and irresponsibility.
Before coming here, Makoto had even gone to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
There, she had personally seen the Shogun's consciousness, sealed away in a pitch-dark, lightless mental space.
At that moment, Makoto's rage completely exploded.
She had never imagined that, while she was gone, Ei would commit so many reckless acts without considering their consequences.
No matter what, Scaramouche and the Shogun were born because of Ei. They were, in every sense, her children.
And yet Ei did not care in the slightest about their fate.
This attitude was something Makoto simply could not tolerate.
"I once told you, an Archon must love others, and love herself."
"You must always take responsibility for what you do."
"Every action must be taken with its consequences in mind. Whether right or wrong, you must have the courage to bear it."
"And yet, what about you?"
Makoto stared fixedly at Ei.
"You only know how to run away."
"You ran away from the truth of my death. You ran away from governing Inazuma."
"You even ran away from the children you created with your own hands. When did you become like this?"
"When did you become so cold, so selfish?"
"Do you know how many blood-soaked injustices I've uncovered, how many wrongful cases Inazuma has accumulated over the past five hundred years?"
"So many horrifying tragedies, all of them inseparably tied to you!"
"Why did the Raiden Gokaden disappear? What really happened at Tatarasuna?"
"I'll set Inazuma aside for now, but tell me, from beginning to end, did you ever truly care about Kunikuzushi and the Shogun you created?"
"Beelzebul, answer me!"
The moment Makoto spoke her divine name, Ei completely panicked.
"Sister, "
She reached out instinctively, trying to grab Makoto's hand, but Makoto coldly slapped it away.
"Don't call me sister."
"I don't have such an irresponsible, cold-blooded younger sister!"
Those words froze Ei in place.
She stared blankly at Makoto, her eyes reddening.
Seeing Ei like this, Makoto's heart softened instinctively, but when she remembered the Shogun's imprisoned consciousness, she forced herself to harden her heart once more.
"Beelzebul… when did you become like this?"
Makoto looked at Ei in pain.
Guizhong sensed that something was very wrong. She quietly pulled Klee and Nahida into her arms and retreated to the side, hardly daring to breathe.
Yae Miko pursed her lips and stepped forward, sitting beside Makoto as she spoke gently.
"Makoto, don't be so harsh on Ei. She only became like this because of your departure, "
Makoto cut her off decisively.
"So because I died, that gives her the right to be this irresponsible?"
"How many old friends has Morax lost? Did he ever behave this way?"
"The Shogun and Kunikuzushi are, in the end, your children."
"One you imprisoned in a consciousness space for countless years."
"The other you abandoned in Shakkei Pavilion, never even bothering to see him after he awakened, letting him fend for himself."
"If all you care about is me, and not Inazuma, not its people, then you are not my sister!"
"I don't need a sister so selfish, so indifferent to her people!"
"Yes, I died, but you're still alive. Inazuma still exists."
"And because of my death, you abandoned Inazuma completely, and abandoned your own children!"
"I'm just an Archon, not the Irminsul that collapses the world upon dying!"
Makoto was deep in her anger now, unwilling to listen to anything else.
She stared at Ei, disappointment filling her eyes.
"Again and again, Ei, you've done too much wrong, and you've failed to do far too much that you should have done."
"I thought the chaos in Inazuma was the greatest mistake you ever made."
"I never imagined you could become this cold."
"Do you even know that time flows differently inside a consciousness space than in Teyvat?"
"You think you sealed the Shogun away for decades, perhaps centuries, but for her, alone in that space, it was thousands… tens of thousands of years."
"How could you be so heartless?"
Ei's vision blurred. Gritting her teeth, she dropped to her knees in front of Makoto.
"Sister… I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
"You can hit me, scold me, but please don't abandon me…"
"I can't lose you again…"
Seeing Ei like this, the rage in Makoto's chest suddenly had nowhere to go.
A heavy silence fell over the space, making even Yae Miko uncomfortable.
She quickly turned and gave Guizhong a look.
Guizhong scratched her cheek, then cautiously stepped forward and whispered,
"Makoto… don't be angry. Ei made mistakes, yes, but it was also because losing you hurt her so deeply."
"If you treat her like this now, aren't you forcing her back into that same despair she felt when she lost you before?"
Makoto frowned deeply and replied in a low voice,
"Can a simple 'I'm sorry' erase what she's done?"
"Can her apology bring the Raiden Gokaden back?"
"And besides, did she wrong me?"
"The ones she truly wronged were all of Inazuma, Kunikuzushi, and the Shogun!"
Even so, her tone had softened considerably compared to before.
Guizhong quickly continued,
"Well… Kunikuzushi, he's called Scaramouche now, right? He's already joined the Fatui. Even if Ei realizes her mistakes, there's nothing she can do about him anymore."
"But isn't the Shogun still here?"
"Later, Ei can go back and properly resolve things with her."
"The dead can't be brought back. No matter how much you scold Ei now, it won't change the past."
"Wouldn't it be better to let her atone through her actions going forward?"
Makoto remained silent, yet she let out a deep sigh in her heart.
She truly had never expected that Ei would have made so many grave mistakes.
But the more she reviewed the records of Inazuma over the past five hundred years, the more horrifying they became.
One bloody case after another, each was either directly connected to Ei, or born entirely from her indifference.
Makoto's emotions were extraordinarily complicated.
Yet to truly abandon Ei as her sister, Makoto simply could not do it.
Ei was her only family.
She was just… too angry.
"Get up."
Makoto sighed and said weakly.
For a moment, Ei did not know what to do. She instinctively looked toward Yae Miko for help.
Miko quickly gave her a look, Makoto had not calmed down yet, so whatever she said now, Ei had to obey.
Ei immediately stood up, head lowered, standing before Makoto.
After a long silence, Makoto spoke softly.
"The matters of the Shogun and Kunikuzushi, and the debts you owe the Raiden Gokaden and Inazuma, you will resolve them yourself."
"I will give you no advice."
"When Ryen finishes arranging the new mod and everything else here…"
"You will return to Inazuma and resolve everything."
"You are not allowed to ask anyone for help. I want to see you act on your own."
"I want to see whether these five hundred years were nothing but a cold, heartless dream, or whether there is still even the slightest trace of remorse left in you."
Ei nodded, her voice low.
"I understand, sis, "
"Don't call me that until everything is resolved!"
Makoto glared at her sharply.
Ei immediately shut her mouth, looking pitifully aggrieved.
"Think carefully about who you owe, and how you will make amends. Think it through yourself."
Makoto said coldly, then spoke no more.
At the same time, the gunfire from the top of the Lich Tower finally ceased.
When Makoto's anger had eased somewhat, Ryen and the others finally came back down.
Before he could say anything, Ryen noticed Guizhong frantically shooting him meaningful looks.
He froze, then said suspiciously,
"Why are you winking at me? I'm not falling for that!"
"Go die already! Who's winking at you, you narcissistic jerk!"
Guizhong shouted in embarrassment and anger, puffing out her cheeks as she turned her face away, refusing to look at him anymore.
Only then did Ryen sense that the atmosphere felt… off.
Considering that Makoto had deliberately kept Ei behind, it was obvious that she must have said something to her.
He could guess what had happened without thinking too hard.
Most likely, Makoto had seen even more of what Ei had done over the past five hundred years.
To be honest, Inazuma's chaos was only one of Ei's most explosive mistakes.
If you asked whether there were others,
There were far too many.
If Makoto had seen all of them, her rage toward Ei was completely understandable.
Ryen wisely said nothing more. Makoto had barely calmed down, if he stirred things up again, she might start scolding Ei all over again.
That would be downright cruel.
Changing the subject, Ryen smiled and said,
"Care to guess what we found after taking down the Lich King?"
Guizhong immediately perked up and came over with a grin.
"If I guess right, can I have it?"
Ryen paused for a moment, then answered plainly,
"We found a Vampiric Scepter, an advanced fire-element staff, three spellbooks, and two spell scrolls."
"Unfortunately, the scrolls were all advanced-tier spells, and we already have those spellbooks."
"Oh, and we also found a new Peacock Feather Fan."
As Ryen listed off the spoils so casually, Guizhong's smile slowly stiffened.
After a long moment, she glared at him angrily.
"Unbelievable! You're completely lacking in romance, and you're stingy too!"
"No," Ryen replied calmly. "I was just saving you from wasting your breath. It was for your own good."
He glanced at Ganyu, who immediately understood and pointed in a new direction based on her intuition.
Ryen waved his hand.
"Let's move. We're continuing the speedrun."
With that, he led everyone straight ahead in the direction Ganyu indicated.
Guizhong pouted, staring at Ryen resentfully.
"Stingy! Boring! Miser!"
Ryen pretended not to hear.
With a snort, Guizhong stomped heavily as she passed him, rushing to the front.
It wasn't that she really needed any of those items, but still…
It was Ryen who brought it up, she happily played along, and he didn't even indulge her.
So petty!
So annoying!
She silently cursed him over and over in her heart.
Following behind her, Ryen couldn't help but smile wryly. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.
"You, "
Guizhong instinctively wanted to scold him, but Ryen shot her a look.
Avoiding everyone else's gaze, he quietly pressed the Vampiric Scepter into her hand.
Blinking, he whispered,
"Don't make a scene. The Vampiric Scepter is for you."
"Don't use it unless you really have to. It's too dangerous."
"Ping'er and the others don't feel safe letting you carry something like this."
Guizhong's heart softened instantly. Lowering her voice, she leaned close to his ear.
"Then… why are you still giving it to me?"
"Dummy."
Ryen ruffled her hair irritably.
"You put all your talent into flashy abilities, and you're not overwhelmingly strong like me."
"You need something to protect yourself, don't you?"
"The Vampiric Scepter is extremely effective in Teyvat. If you run into an enemy you can't beat, just drain their life."
"It won't kill a god, but it can buy time until we come save you."
"Not that I think you'll really be in danger in Teyvat, but better safe than sorry."
"Don't tell anyone, or Ping'er and the others will scold me."
Guizhong stared at him in silence.
After a moment, her voice softened.
"Ryen… why are you so good to me?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Ryen patted her head with a grin.
"We're like-minded comrades, aren't we? What do you think?"
"…Mm. I know."
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
[email protected] / Dreamer20