Raiden Shogun tossed the Musou Isshin aside without a care.
Yae Miko darted forward in a flash, catching the blade before it hit the ground.
The next moment, Raiden Shogun's aura flared violently.
A storm of raw power erupted around her, knocking over tables and chairs, hurling them into the walls.
A naginata materialized in her hand, her gaze locked firmly on Lu Heng.
"Are you serious?" Yae Miko scoffed.
The Shogun wanted to attack Lu Heng?
That was laughable.
Her brows knitted as she snapped, "Stand down, that's enough!"
"You're the one who's out of line."
The Shogun's voice was cold, her eyes devoid of emotion.
"I am the true Shogun."
Hopeless.
Yae Miko sighed and turned to Lu Heng.
"If possible, try not to break her. After all… Ei still needs that body."
With a pitying glance at the puppet, she carried the Musou Isshin away and left.
The Shogun ignored her, focusing only on Lu Heng.
"This is your last chance. Leave Inazuma now."
Lu Heng chuckled.
Where did she get the confidence to warn him?
Then it hit him.
Raiden Shogun wasn't a person—she was nothing more than a program Ei had written.
A program had no emotions, no fear.
So no matter how strong Lu Heng was, she would still draw her blade against him.
Seeing him unmoved, the Shogun's tone hardened.
"Are you going to force my hand?"
"…What?" Lu Heng raised a brow.
"You're the one making this difficult."
He hesitated. His power was too overwhelming—if he struck, how could he avoid shattering her into dust?
"It seems you won't listen."
The Shogun raised her naginata.
"I am the past of Beelzebul, I am the unchanging law, I am the guardian of Eternity!"
Thunder roared.
The might of a supreme Archon surged through the skies.
Dark clouds rolled, lightning split the heavens, the weight of it pressing down upon every soul.
"This body carries the divine authority to rule a nation. It embodies all that Raiden Shogun is!"
The air warped, space itself twisting.
She rose above Tenshukaku, her body wreathed in blazing arcs of violet lightning.
Her garb shifted, armored plating spreading across her form, joints reinforced with intricate mechanical circles.
Behind her, an enormous right arm and three left arms unfurled, palms bearing eyes that glowed with ominous light.
Countless citizens of Inazuma looked up in shock at this unfamiliar form of their Shogun.
—Orochi-Slaying God of Calamity!
"Modifying her own body into this… only she would go this far," Yae Miko muttered with a shake of her head.
"Lady Guuji!" Kamisato Ayato rushed over, his face pale after one glance at the sky.
"What happened?!"
"Don't worry." Yae Miko waved a hand, unconcerned. "The Shogun just needs to be… put in her place."
"Put in her place?" Ayato was stunned.
Then his face grew grave. "Shouldn't we be doing something about this?"
"We've already seen it. Nothing more we can do. Issue a statement to the public. Protect the people first."
"…Understood." Ayato bowed and left.
High above, the God of Calamity raised a massive blade.
Power gathered at its edge—an attack on par with the Musou no Hitotachi that had once slain Orobashi.
"So, you transform?" Lu Heng tilted his head, intrigued.
"I suppose I can do that too."
You couldn't reason with a program.
There was only one solution left—
—fight.
He never liked fighting, but he wasn't a coward either.
"Very well…"
Before the words were finished, Lu Heng's body collapsed into a swarm of radiant fireflies, scattering into the storm, dissolving into the thunderclouds.
"Invisibility?"
The Calamity God frowned, lightning shrieking between her fingertips.
Her massive arm froze mid-swing, sigils spiraling beneath her feet before crystallizing in ice.
Then—
Crack.
The heavens split apart.
A deafening thunderclap boomed as if unseen claws had ripped open the sky, revealing a seething void beyond.
The entire firmament of Teyvat was torn asunder, as though the roof of the world had been ripped away.
Fontaine.
The central monitoring system erupted in alarms, screens flashing red.
"Warning! Unquantifiable high-intensity energy detected!"
In his office, Neuvillette looked up sharply.
The God of Wind raised his eyes as well.
Without a word, the gentle breezes across Mondstadt turned into raging gales, forming a shield across the skies.
"Futile… a mantis trying to stop a cart." Venti sighed.
Liyue.
Ningguang stepped out onto the Jade Chamber, staring at the torn heavens.
The blue sky had vanished, consumed by the void.
"Mora, the Jade Chamber, the Tianquan Star… what do they matter now?"
She laughed bitterly.
Before such power, everything was meaningless.
Even she was nothing more than a lone boat upon a stormy sea, moments from capsizing.
At Wangshu Inn, Xiao and the others were stunned.
"Lord Rex Lapis… this is…?"
Zhongli shook his head, calm though his heart trembled.
"Teyvat will not be destroyed."
A pause.
"At least… not yet."
Snezhnaya.
Tartaglia stared blankly at the sky.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
And far away in the wilderness, Lumine whispered the same words.
Sumeru.
In the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida stepped out, eyes wide as she gazed up.
She didn't know what it was—only that all of Teyvat lay helpless in the palm of another.
At the Akademiya, Azar's pupils contracted as he swallowed hard.
"If this is the end of the world… then what words could possibly suffice…"
"Magnificent," muttered Dottore beneath his mask, eyes gleaming with fanaticism.
His low chuckle grew into manic laughter.
"Such grandeur…! This power surpasses imagination itself!"
He spread his arms wide, staring at the void.
"This… this is what it means to be a god!"
"…Yes," Azar murmured, overcome with the same feverish awe.
"Even wisdom itself is nothing before such might. This… is true divinity."
The Calamity God looked into the endless void.
The sheer presence pressing down upon her threatened to crush her body to dust.
She saw that figure—eyes like sun and moon, holding all of Teyvat as if it were no more than a handful of sand.
Crack.
A fissure split across her face.
Her body was breaking, lines of fracture crawling across her form like spiderwebs.
"It is as they say… the mantis cannot stop the cart."
Her voice trembled.
"But at least… spare Inazuma's people."
A program created by Beelzebul—now trembling with fear.
Too powerful.
So powerful that with the slightest gesture, he could erase all of Teyvat.
Against that, she had no will left to fight.
Eternity… in his eyes, eternity was but a whim.
Bowing her head, the skies above healed, the void vanishing as blue returned to the heavens.
Lu Heng stepped out of the void, calm-faced, though exhilaration surged within him.
To hold an entire world in the palm of his hand—such power was intoxicating.
"Calmed down?" he asked lightly, staring at the cracked puppet.
"Yes."
The Calamity God lowered her head in submission.
"Good."
Lu Heng nodded. "Then follow me."
Back in the Tenshukaku, Yae Miko smirked at the obedient puppet.
So stubborn—yet look what happened?
He hadn't even fought seriously, and just a fraction of his presence had nearly crushed her.
If he had truly struck… Teyvat itself might have ended.
"Close the door."
"Got it."
When the doors shut, Lu Heng gestured at the table.
"You—lie down."
The puppet obeyed instantly, lying across the desk without resistance.
Lu Heng raised his hand.
Golden script blossomed in his palm before sinking into her chest, filling her body with a gentle yet overwhelming force.
Cracks healed.
Her pulse thundered like a war drum.
Such strength… yet so warm.
The Shogun felt herself drowning in it, entranced.
This was the power to achieve Eternity.
Her amethyst eyes flushed crimson as she gazed at Lu Heng with longing.
"…" Lu Heng froze.
Why was she looking at him like that?
Was this supposed to happen?
"You tamed the Shogun?" Yae Miko's tone was odd.
"…Maybe?" Lu Heng scratched his chin uncertainly, hand trembling.
Something was wrong.
Had he accidentally… given an AI feelings?
"Then congratulations," Yae Miko said with undisguised glee.
"…" Lu Heng had no words.
Was this good… or bad?
Inside the Plane of Euthymia, Ei could see everything, though only as an observer.
She tried desperately to seize control of her body back from the puppet.
But the puppet refused, clutching her authority tightly.
"Let me out!" Ei shouted in frustration.
"Stay where you belong."
The puppet's tone was frigid.
"You—!"
Unthinkable.
Her own creation was defying her.
Before, she could excuse it—wounded, stubborn, rigid.
But even healed, the puppet refused to yield.
Instead, she turned to Lu Heng, the icy mask on her face softening.
She smiled faintly.
"Mr. Lu~"
Lu Heng stiffened. "…What?"
"You're so strong~" she breathed, her hand reaching toward his chest.
"…Naturally." Lu Heng forced a calm nod, though inwardly rattled.
"?" Yae Miko blinked, watching the puppet's uncharacteristic display.
Oh, this was priceless.
Meanwhile, Ei nearly exploded with outrage.
"What are you doing, Shogun?! Have you lost your mind?!"
The puppet ignored her.
"Leave me be. This is my matter."
Ei was speechless.
Her creation was telling her to stay out of it?
"Enough," Lu Heng frowned, stepping back from her hand.
The puppet pouted, eyes misting with sorrow as though rejected love pierced her to the core.
"Don't be mad at me, Mr. Lu…" she whispered pitifully.
Her voice, once mechanical and cold, now trembled with human-like emotion.
"I'm not mad," Lu Heng said, utterly bewildered.
"Good~" She smiled, radiant.
Yae Miko arched a brow. "Looks like things just got a lot more complicated. Will Ei even be able to come out again?"
The puppet clutched her knees, gazing at Lu Heng with tearful eyes, fragile and pitiful.
"…Do you prefer her… and not me?"
Inwardly, she whispered coldly to Ei, "Do you even belong in this body anymore?"
"What?!" Ei was stunned.
"Maybe this body was mine from the very beginning—not yours."
"You're absurd!" Ei roared.
If words failed, then she would seize control with the blade itself!
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T/N:
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