Abyss Order.
Aether's expression had frozen solid.
He couldn't figure out why this was happening.
This was clearly something from his previous life!
With Lumine's calm personality, how could she possibly...?
Aether felt lost and dejected, unconsciously clenching his fists. He had this urge to vent his rage but nowhere to direct it.
After a long silence, Aether let out a quiet sigh.
"Forget it. My sister will grow up sooner or later... She'll mature eventually..."
Wangshu Inn.
Paimon cautiously glanced at Lumine.
Lumine's expression was terrifyingly grim.
Her golden eyes still held undisguised sorrow.
Paimon desperately wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say.
Truth be told, Lumine herself wasn't sure what was wrong with her.
The moment she saw Gu Chen die, it felt like her heart was crushed under immense pressure.
Her whole body seemed to sink into deep water, squeezed from all sides, threatening to compress her into a ball.
The wave of grief surging from the depths of her heart suddenly halted, leaving her frustrated with the urge to cry but unable to shed a tear.
She knew it was just something from her previous life. In this life, she and Gu Chen didn't even know each other.
But why? Why did seeing him die make her feel such sorrow?
Scenes of their past interactions kept flashing through her mind.
Why?!
Lumine didn't understand.
"Lumine..." Paimon ventured carefully.
Lumine's gaze swept over, fierce enough to devour someone, startling Paimon into hiding to the side.
"...I'm fine."
Lumine said flatly.
Was she really fine?
Paimon worried but kept it to herself.
She clearly looked like she wanted to cry but couldn't.
At a loss for how to comfort her, Paimon's eyes could only turn to the light screen.
[Extraordinary Group Chat]
After a moment of silence, people gradually began to speak up.
[Venti]: Gu Chen just... died like that?
[Kaeya]: Looks that way. He wasn't a match for the Raiden Shogun, but he probably foresaw Lumine coming back, so the Raiden Shogun has no energy left to kill her now. She's just barely holding off those Resistance fighters in exhaustion...
[Yae Miko]: Sigh.
[Raiden Ei]: My apologies. This was not my intention.
[Lumine]: ...
Did this have anything to do with Raiden Ei?
Strictly speaking, it was from her previous life and had nothing to do with this life's Raiden Ei.
But for some reason, Lumine felt deeply irritated.
[Kirara]: Wait, what is Miss Lumine doing?!
In the video.
After holding Gu Chen's lifeless body for a long time,
Lumine's gaze gradually hardened with resolve.
Her eyes fell to the ground—there lay a silver-white long spear.
Crafted from the spine of the corrupted dragon Durin in Dragonspine Snow Mountain's Dormant Dragon Valley.
Now, after the battle with the Raiden Shogun, the spear was on the verge of shattering. Its shaft was covered in dense cracks, and the tip was partially missing.
Lumine reached out and lifted the spear. Its weight felt as heavy as her heart at that moment.
"Lumine..." Paimon whispered.
"Raiden Shogun..."
Lumine raised the spear, three elemental powers swirling around her as a powerful aura emanated outward.
"Pathetic admiration."
"In eternity, it's just something that time can twist and corrupt."
After defeating Kaedehara Kazuha and Gorou, the Raiden Shogun looked up, her cold voice piercing Lumine's heart like steel needles.
"You're just a puppet. You'll never understand this feeling!"
The Raiden Shogun said indifferently, "It doesn't matter if you can't understand. What's the need to comprehend something useless to eternity? This is your chance to escape. Do you want to die here too?"
She was a puppet, devoid of emotions.
But she was also the embodiment of everything the Raiden Shogun represented.
In other words, she was the Electro Archon!
Her power was steadily recovering!
"Paimon, I'm sorry. We won't need you as our guide anymore." Lumine suddenly turned back to Paimon.
Paimon froze for a moment, then understood. Tears welling in her eyes, she shook her head frantically. "N-No way! How can a guide abandon you guys... I-I'm not leaving!"
Lumine gave a smile and didn't press further.
She turned and charged at the Raiden Shogun in a single stride.
Gorou and Kaedehara Kazuha, collapsed on the ground, struggled to rise and help.
But the Raiden Shogun slowly closed her eyes, and in an instant, light and shadow shattered chaotically.
They could only watch helplessly as Lumine was engulfed in endless darkness, seemingly teleported somewhere.
Plane of Euthymia—the space where Raiden Ei meditated was called this.
This was Lumine's second time here.
She gripped the spear tighter, feeling its lingering warmth, and her heart suddenly became calmer than ever before.
"Gu Chen said that a disordered heart leads to defeat in battle... I've learned to stay calm..."
Lumine stared at Raiden Ei as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Let me think—what is it that brings you before me again?" Raiden Ei seemed puzzled.
"Is your foolish courage to protect those people... or is it that seeking an audience with me is your true intent?"
"Wrong policies, a manipulated puppet, a fallen companion—these are all reasons I've come here." Lumine said calmly.
"Oh? Waking me from eternal meditation just to say this? Aren't you underestimating me a bit? Of course I know about the Vision Hunt Decree." Raiden Ei shook her head.
"You know everything happening outside?" Lumine's eyelids twitched slightly as she raised the spear's broken tip.
"Not entirely."
Raiden Ei shook her head. "I only know what pertains to eternity. The issuance of the Vision Hunt Decree was permitted by me, and the Fatui's actions haven't yet threatened eternity—otherwise, they would have been purged long ago."
"For your eternity, you've cost Inazuma's people so much... and cost me him. Is this your eternity?"
Lumine thrust the spear at Raiden Ei.
Raiden Ei dodged with a flash of her form, then said, "Wishes are inherently detrimental to eternity. You may not realize it yet, but pursuing wishes... often leads to greater losses... Just like with reclaiming Visions—no one dies from losing their Vision, but those who cling to their wishes end up losing their lives instead, don't they?"
Raiden Ei's gaze shifted downward to the spear. "The wish on this weapon is particularly strong..."
Lumine ignored her.
She knew her strength was vastly inferior to Raiden Ei's.
She desperately searched for an opening, but as a master martial artist, how could Raiden Ei have any obvious flaws?
"It seems you truly want to defeat me... even kill me. Very well, one who defies eternity—show me your resolve."
As her words fell, Lumine and Raiden Ei clashed, the sounds of weapons colliding ringing endlessly.
After a brief exchange, Lumine felt her strength waning.
The gap was still too vast!
"Little one, I'm late..."
Yae Miko's voice rang out.
"Miko... even you?" Raiden Ei sounded surprised.
"Shadow, you've disappointed me too much." Yae Miko shook her head lightly.
She looked at Lumine, irritation in her eyes. "Those Fatui maniacs have gone crazy and surrounded the Grand Narukami Shrine... Anyway, you can't beat Shadow on your own."
"Remember, Gu Chen's wish, the wishes of Inazuma's people—they're all on your shoulders now. Go defeat this stubborn god who's been stuck for five hundred years!"