Hearing Ei's words, everyone immediately retreated.
Kuki Shinobu, who had been kneeling before Yuna's spiritual form, wiped away her tears and stood up, moving behind Ei.
Ei extended her right hand, palm open, and a jade ring of verdant green appeared in her hand.
The moment the ring materialized, Lumine and Paimon's eyes were drawn to it.
This was the very jade ring that had once housed Rola's soul!
Ei nodded to Lumine. Venti had given her the ring during their earlier meeting as the four Archons, imbuing it with a portion of the Dendro Archon's Gnosis, capable of nurturing souls.
The ring itself originated from the Abyss. Its azure light represented the Anemo Archon's Authority, helping souls regain clarity, while the emerald light, a manifestation of the Dendro Gnosis's power, helped solidify souls, making them less prone to dissipation.
The Abyss's process for collecting Pure Souls had already been demonstrated in two previous cases. Anticipating that Yuna's emotionally fragmented soul might be rejected by the Abyss, Venti and Zhongli had prepared this long in advance.
After defeating the black-robed figure, the four Archons had searched extensively but failed to locate the Abyss's discarded emotional soul fragments.
As Ei produced the jade ring, it seemed to sense Yuna's presence, slowly levitating above her spiritual form.
Yuna, terrified once more, desperately scuttled into the corner, as if trying to melt into the icy wall.
With a swift motion, the Jade Ring absorbed Yuna's spiritual form and then flew back into Ei's hand.
Kuki Shinobu and the others immediately gathered around.
"Lady Shogun!"
"How is Yuna?"
Holding the Jade Ring, Ei replied, "Her rationality is completely gone. The situation is even worse than I anticipated. This mist has preserved her physical form, but her soul is in such a dire state. If we had arrived even a few days later, we might never have seen her again..."
As she spoke, Ei glanced at Lumine. If not for the Traveler, they might have been too late to investigate.
Kuki Shinobu offered a deep, formal bow. "Traveler, we owe you everything this time. On behalf of my sister, thank you!"
"Yuna is my friend," Lumine replied. "This is what friends do. No thanks are necessary."
Itto boomed, "Trusted Friend, whenever you need help with anything, just ask! I'll climb mountains of blades and plunge into seas of fire—without even a flinch!"
Itto's sincerity was palpable; no one doubted his sincerity.
Lumine nodded, accepting Itto's offer. Knowing this big-hearted boy, he would only feel better if she accepted his help.
Once the others had finished speaking, Ei said,
"I'll keep the Jade Ring here for now. That way, I can respond quickly to any emergencies. Come to Tenshukaku in three days; by then, the nurturing should be nearly complete... However, I can't guarantee that Yuna will regain her consciousness."
When the Jade Ring absorbed Yuna's spirit, it was already on the verge of dissipating entirely. The soul was incomplete to begin with, and now it was even weaker than before.
Everyone agreed. Leaving it in the Electro Archon's care was undoubtedly the best option.
As the group prepared to leave, they took a few steps and realized the mist hadn't dissipated at all; in fact, it had grown even denser. Paimon exclaimed in confusion:
"This mist appeared because of Yuna, right? Now that we've taken her away, why hasn't it vanished?"
Ei reached for her blade, but Yae Miko quickly stopped her.
Ei looked at Yae Miko in bewilderment. Earlier, she had refrained from acting out of concern for accidentally harming Yuna. Now that Yuna was safely within the Jade Ring, why was she being restrained?
Yae Miko pursed her lips before explaining, "This mist... it's also from the little one..."
"Huh?"
Not just Ei, but Itto, Kuki Shinobu, Lumine, and Paimon all turned their attention to her.
"Lady Guuji, what's going on?" Kuki Shinobu asked anxiously.
Yae Miko's expression turned sorrowful, her eyes drooping.
"When a person dies consumed by intense resentment, pain, and regret, these powerful emotions can solidify into tangible form, altering the surrounding landscape and preserving the deceased's final consciousness within a small, self-contained world."
"This is the deceased's ultimate defense mechanism. These mists are the solidified manifestation of Yuna's overwhelming emotions as she died."
The group fell silent as Yae Miko continued:
"The mists disorient intruders but do not harm them. For such potent negative emotions to merely trap people... Yuna is trying to keep others away from her. She's afraid, she's running away..."
Yae Miko raised her hand as if touching the mist.
"These are her strongest emotions. They're protecting her, though it's futile now..."
Suddenly, the mist swirling around Yae Miko ignited with a whoosh, burning away completely.
Before the others could react, their vision blurred, and they found themselves at the summit of Mt. Kanna.
Paimon asked nervously, "What happened? Why are we suddenly here?"
Kuki Shinobu's sharp eyes spotted the altar on one side of the summit.
The altar they had clearly destroyed was now completely intact, as if nothing had happened.
Yae Miko's pupils trembled as she grasped the meaning of this scene. Her breath coming in ragged gasps, she spoke with deliberate slowness:
"This is an illusion—everything that happened to your sister before she died!"
"What?!"
Everything that happened to her sister before she died?!
Kuki Shinobu stumbled back several steps, her heart pounding with terror. She couldn't bear to witness the brutal slaughter of her sister!
Her deepest instincts screamed that seeing it would shatter her completely. She would crumble.
Shinobu instinctively wanted to flee, but... it was already too late.
Boom!
A figure was hurled from the sky, crashing heavily before the group.
Gah!
The figure spat out a mouthful of blood, but quickly scrambled to its feet.
It was Yuna. Now battered and bruised, she raised her Claymore, glaring defiantly at the black-robed figure in the sky.
Yuna's hands trembled as she gripped the Claymore, and her bare feet were cut and bleeding profusely.
The moment Ei saw the black-robed figure again, Electro crackled wildly in her eyes. She unleashed a Musou no Hitotachi, slashing directly at the figure.
The blade flashed through the black-robed figure, but the attack had no effect whatsoever.
This has already happened. No matter how powerful Ei's strike, she couldn't change a thing.
-
Within the System Space, Jiang Mumu watched the scene unfold, her eyes fixed on every detail.
This scene had been generated using her Emotional Value, with the voices of the black-robed figure and Yuna's soul providing the dubbing.
The actual situation at the time had been far different: the black-robed figure had merely manipulated Yuna's body, without any confrontation between the two.
Yuna was also a part of her, and she could never be so cruel to herself.
Her Emotional Value was now just a sliver away from being full. One more such scene should be enough.
When the System inevitably reappeared, she would demand answers about its promise of a "perfectly happy ending."