A blinding flash of lightning split the air.
A blade streaked through space itself, carrying an unstoppable, divine force—bearing straight down on Xia Ci just as she turned away from the donation box.
Even before the blade struck, she felt the murderous intent lock onto her.
A sneak attack? Seriously?
That sister-obsessed freak Ei still couldn't stand anyone teasing Makoto, huh?
Good thing her divine power was fully restored—she could handle this.
Otherwise, this would've been bad.
Then again… even if Ei did cut her down, it probably wouldn't matter. Her cousin was a priest, after all.
---
Sumeru, House of Daena
Nahida was on a call with Collei.
She'd recently uncovered traces of The Doctor within Sumeru—records from the Akasha Terminal hinted he'd entered the region and was collaborating with the Akademiya on some secret research.
Though Nahida had regained her divine power, her cautious—no, "strategically careful"—nature hadn't changed. A Fatui Harbinger's presence was no small matter.
And Collei, with her personal grudge against The Doctor and newly attained Magical Girl powers, was Nahida's strongest Platinum-tier asset.
Sending her to investigate was the logical choice.
As Nahida relayed the details, a sudden chill gripped her heart.
An instinctive, gut-wrenching dread.
Like a weapon's edge pressed against her very soul.
But she was alone in her room—no enemies in sight.
Her eyes widened, then realization dawned.
"My sister's in danger!"
---
Xia Zhi felt the terrifying blade tearing through space before anyone else did.
That was power strong enough to kill an Archon.
But that was all it was.
No matter how powerful a blade was, if it couldn't hit its target—what was the point?
Time froze.
Everything in the Grand Narukami Shrine went still.
Except Xia Zhi, Xia Le beside him, and the pink storm of cherry blossoms dancing through the air.
He blinked, raised his hand, and a few delicate petals landed softly in his palm.
Xia Le stared at the petals—completely unaffected by the time stop—and blinked in surprise.
"Xia Le."
"It wasn't me, big brother."
"I know," he said calmly. "These sakura petals contain traces of temporal energy."
Fragments of memory stirred in his mind.
Last year, Zhu Zi's family had sent her a batch of salted sakura blossoms. When he'd touched them, he'd sensed a faint presence of time energy within.
What he was seeing now merely confirmed that the Sacred Sakura Tree truly did have some connection to time itself.
Xia Le stretched out a hand, catching a few petals. She popped them into her mouth and chewed.
A faint bitterness spread across her tongue—not exactly pleasant.
She frowned slightly but swallowed anyway, feeling the energy settle within her. "Big brother, I just absorbed a little bit of time energy from them."
Xia Zhi nodded. "Got it. You can stop eating now."
He turned—and there she was.
A familiar figure stood suspended midair at the shrine's entrance, wielding a long-bladed naginata.
A sparkling Diamond-tier Treasure Chest hung gleaming at her side.
Her face and figure were identical to his cousin Xia Zhen's—but the aura, the eyes, were different.
Xia Zhen's eyes were warm, carrying a quiet strength that made people trust her without question.
These eyes, though—cold, unfeeling, filled with killing intent and sharp-edged malice.
"So this is the real little sister... Raiden Ei, huh?"
Xia Zhi walked up to her, raising a hand to gently tap her cheek.
Her skin was cool to the touch.
He'd heard that Raiden Ei had abandoned her mortal body long ago, crafting a puppet—the Raiden Shogun—to serve in her stead.
So the body before him was, technically, an empty shell.
Curious, he brushed his fingers against her hand holding the naginata. The back of her hand was just as cold.
He didn't touch anywhere else, but he could guess the rest was the same.
Completely cold.
Kind of like Qiqi used to be.
Once he'd confirmed the puppet's condition, his interest quickly waned.
After all, her body was exactly the same as Makoto's—and he'd already seen Makoto's body plenty of times.
What he really wanted now was to max out that shining diamond progress bar hovering over her.
And the fastest way to do that was—direct physical contact.
A pat on the head, a poke on the cheek… that sort of thing.
Xia Le stood by, watching her big brother poke and prod the beautiful woman's face with keen fascination.
It reminded her of a novel she'd just read two nights ago—one of those "time-stop" stories.
Too bad her brother wasn't affected by time-stop himself. If he were, he'd be unbeatable.
"Big brother, what are you doing?"
"Giving this angry lady a little facial massage. Once time starts flowing again, her rage should fade away."
"Wow! Big brother, you're amazing!"
"I know."
Xia Zhi kept at it until the diamond progress bar finally filled.
A glittering Diamond-tier Treasure Chest materialized in his inventory.
Done.
He withdrew his hand, satisfied, then remembered there was still Yae Miko waiting in the back courtyard.
She had a Platinum progress bar of her own—ripe for the farming.
But with Xia Le watching him like a hawk, it'd be hard to explain that one away.
At least with Ei, he could pretend it was a "massage." But if he tried the same excuse with Yae Miko… yeah, he'd definitely look like a creep.
Sigh.
Forget it. There'd be time later. They were staying in Inazuma for a while anyway. A few more conversations with Miko every day, and that progress bar would fill itself.
He raised a hand, casting layers of blessing buffs over Xia Ci—shielding spells, barrier effects, every kind of protection he could think of—until he was absolutely sure his cousin was perfectly safe.
Then he snapped his fingers and released the time stop.
The sword flash continued its deadly arc.
Xia Ci had just been about to use one of her trump cards when she suddenly realized her whole body was covered in protective buffs.
The slash crashed into a soft Light Shield and fizzled harmlessly. Not even a crack.
Now that's a reliable cousin!
Ei, however, froze.
My "Musou no Hitotachi"?
That attack—her ultimate, the culmination of endless training—hadn't even broken through a single shield?
What kind of monster was this?!
And wait—why did that woman look so… familiar?
Ei stared at Xia Ci's face, mind racing.
Then her eyes widened.
Not because she recognized Xia Ci—but because she suddenly sensed her sister's presence.
There was no mistaking it.
The same face, the same origin of lightning power—they were one and the same.
But that couldn't be.
Her sister had died. She'd watched her die—five hundred years ago.
What was this?
It had to be an illusion.
No wonder that woman with the shield had looked familiar—this was all drawn from her own memories.
She clenched her jaw.
So that was it. Whoever the intruder was, they were strong enough to trap even her in an illusion.
She hadn't even noticed when it happened—probably when that woman's taunts got under her skin.
But she wasn't the same person she'd been before.
Her fight with the Traveler last year had taught her many things.
If this was an illusion, then she had one surefire countermeasure.
The Shogun.
A puppet couldn't be deceived by illusions.
Her expression shifted instantly—her eyes going still and flat, devoid of emotion.
The Shogun scanned the surroundings and said inwardly, "This isn't an illusion."
"…" Ei blinked.
What?
You mean I've been arguing with thin air this whole time?!
Her expression changed again as she reclaimed control of her body.
Facing her now were the woman who resembled her, and standing behind her—Yae Miko.
Makoto smiled softly. "Ei."
That voice. That warmth.
"...?"
Ei's throat tightened. "Sister?"
"It's me. I've come back."
"But how—when—?"
"Just today. I was planning to come find you at Tenshukaku later, but I didn't expect you to show up at the shrine first."
"..."
And just like that—the sisters were reunited.
Makoto introduced everyone to her younger sister.
When she got to Xia Ci, Ei finally realized who she was—the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata herself. No wonder that face seemed familiar.
Xia Ci sighed.
She pulled out her phone and saw dozens of frantic messages from her own little sister, Nahida, demanding to know what was happening.
It was rare to see Nahida this anxious.
Guess sister-complex runs in the family.
She sent back a short reply:
[I'm safe. Don't worry.]
Then added another:
[Good thing you're not the violent type.]
Nahida stared at the messages in utter confusion.
----
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