Hiiragi Shinsuke's cries for help were heard by Yae Miko, but she had no intention of intervening.
This man had colluded with the Fatui, disrupted Inazuma's order, and harmed innocent civilians. His crimes were unforgivable. Letting him die under Ei's blade was already too lenient.
Moreover...
Yae Miko glanced at his soaked pants, a look of disgust flashing in her eyes. As the head of the Kanjou Commission, one of Inazuma's representatives, he had been reduced to such a pitiful state by mere divine pressure. It was a disgrace to Inazuma.
"Slash!" Ei's sharp cry echoed as a massive thunderblade, carrying an unstoppable force, descended toward Yun Fan, as if it could split the heavens and the earth.
"Haha, child's play." Yun Fan merely chuckled at Ei's attack. He had already unlocked two seals of the Jing Yuan character card, and his power had reached a level comparable to the Heavenly Principles.
Ei's strength was far inferior to his, and this attack wasn't even her most prideful "Musou no Hitotachi." How could it possibly harm him?
Yun Fan slowly extended his right hand, his golden pupils glowing faintly. In an instant, golden lightning surged forth, forming a thunderous arm that grasped the descending purple thunderblade.
"Hmph, is that all?" Yun Fan clenched his fist slightly, and the thunderblade in his grasp shattered like glass, crumbling into pieces.
"Ei, you can't defeat me. Let me ask you another question. Why do you pursue eternity?"
"You wouldn't understand." Ei paused her attack. "I once witnessed a nation that ran at full speed turn to ashes under the judgment of the Heavenly Principles. My sister died protecting me and Inazuma, and even my old friends are no longer in this world. Everything I had was lost to the flow of time. When I finally calmed down and reflected on the past, I realized..." Ei's voice grew melancholic.
"Everything before me is but a fragile bubble, a fleeting moment. To protect all that I cherish, only eternity can achieve that!"
"Only eternity can bring me closer to the Heavenly Principles!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Ei, your understanding of eternity is too shallow."
"What do you mean?" Ei's brows furrowed deeply. However, she didn't launch another attack, as she had already sensed through their brief exchange that this Divine Sovereign's power was unfathomable. In all of Teyvat, only the Heavenly Principles could rival him.
"The eternity you pursue is but a false one. True eternity represents agelessness, deathlessness, and indestructibility. Even if the heavens and earth were destroyed, this body would remain unscathed. Not even the passage of time could leave a trace on it."
"You pursue eternity, yet your heart yearns to approach the Heavenly Principles. Let me tell you this—even the Heavenly Principles themselves cannot achieve true eternity. So what does your so-called 'eternity close to the Heavenly Principles' amount to?"
Yun Fan spoke with disdain, his eyes filled with mockery. In his eyes, Ei was still, in a strict sense, just a child.
"I..." Yun Fan's words shook Ei to her core. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. Just as she was about to say something, her body stiffened, and the purple light in her eyes dimmed.
"Has the inner self been disturbed? Has your inner eternity been shaken?" After Ei's mental state became unstable, the Raiden Shogun's protective mechanism activated automatically. Ei was forcibly ejected, and the Raiden Shogun took control once more.
"Haha, indeed, it was me. But in my eyes, I didn't disturb her eternity. I merely used sharp words to shatter a little girl's dream."
"Arrogant fool!" The Raiden Shogun's expression turned icy. A vast, ocean-like surge of Electro energy erupted from her body, forming a giant purple cocoon around her.
"You are the enemy of eternity."
"My birth was to pursue the path of protecting eternity."
"I am the imprint of the inner self, the unchanging law of all ages, the guardian of eternity!"
A soft, murmuring voice emanated from within the cocoon, as if speaking to itself, confiding, or declaring.
Rip—
The cocoon was torn open from within, and the transformed Raiden Shogun stepped out. Her new form was adorned with even more magnificent attire.
The symbol of the Raiden Shogun's divine status, the Electro Mitsudomoe, appeared on her abdomen. Her flowing robes billowed in the wind, and her long purple hair swayed gently. Behind her, a vertical eye-shaped purple seal materialized in the void, with several mechanical arms wrapped in lightning extending from it.
The Eternal Guardian—Magatsu Mitake Narukami no Mikoto!
Seeing this, Yun Fan smiled and drew the long-handled glaive, "Stonefire Dream," from his back. Its sharp blade pointed directly at the Raiden Shogun.
"In that case, let me witness your resolve to protect eternity!"
---
"Huff, huff, huff... Finally, we made it out. Ayaka, are you alright?" Kamisato Ayato pulled Ayaka along as they ran, not stopping until they were about a kilometer away from Tenshukaku. Only then did they dare to pause and catch their breath.
"Brother, I'm fine," Ayaka shook her head, then turned her gaze back toward Tenshukaku.
"Strange, why is there no movement? Didn't the Shogun attack earlier?" Ayato followed Ayaka's gaze, only to see that Tenshukaku remained as peaceful as ever, with no signs of disturbance.
"It is indeed quite..."
Boom—!
Before Ayaka could finish, a deafening explosion shook the heavens and the earth. Looking back, they saw the once-majestic Tenshukaku reduced to rubble in an instant.
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
The sharp sound of something cutting through the air echoed as two streaks of light—one gold and one purple—shot out from the ruins and ascended into the sky.
"Eternal Guardian, you are no match for me." Yun Fan gazed at the Raiden Shogun standing opposite him in the air, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes. His current strength was overwhelmingly powerful. In all of Teyvat, only the Heavenly Principles could rival him.
The Raiden Shogun didn't respond to Yun Fan's words. Instead, she raised her long blade high. With a flash of lightning, she reappeared right in front of Yun Fan.
"I told you, it's useless."
Yun Fan didn't dodge or evade. He simply raised Stonefire Dream to block.
Clang! Clang! Clang!... As the Electro Archon, the Raiden Shogun's slashes were as swift and fierce as lightning itself. Her blade, wrapped in purple Electro energy, cut through the air. In just a few seconds, she had unleashed hundreds of strikes.
Yet, despite this overwhelming onslaught, Yun Fan's blade remained steady. Not a single ripple was caused, and his arm didn't tremble in the slightest.