The Raiden Shogun's voice was exceptionally gentle, her words carrying a sense of guilt.
[Raiden Shogun: "I've always felt very guilty, suddenly entrusting Inazuma to you like that."]
["These truths should have been taught to you gradually by me, so that you would no longer be fixated on 'enlightenment'."]
It should have been like that... if the cataclysm of Khaenri'ah hadn't erupted.
The Raiden Shogun was still so gentle; she didn't know how much time had passed now, nor what Inazuma had gone through.
But she knew that her little sister, walking this path of 'eternity', must have suffered a great deal and shed many tears.
Seeing the Raiden Shogun say she had suffered and cried, Ei softly refuted.
["...Don't underestimate me."]
A little tsundere moment, which was essentially an admission.
[Raiden Shogun: "See, you admitted it."]
The voice emanated from the orb of thunder light; though the Raiden Shogun's face couldn't be seen, it felt as if her smile could be seen.
In reality, Ei had already been holding back tears in her eyes the moment her big sister appeared.
Seeing this now, she really couldn't hold back; in the blink of an eye, tears slid down her cheeks.
Sometimes, one could endure grievances, but once someone comforted them, they couldn't hold back anymore.
Ei-bao glanced at Lucian; the fact that she'd cried many times—you just wrote it so vividly for the whole world to see?
But Ei wasn't angry, because seeing her big sister made her too happy; she couldn't muster the energy to be angry anymore.
[Raiden Shogun continued: "Considering this possibility, I specially left a gift for you, to alleviate Inazuma's suffering."]
["Come, before my final consciousness fades, accept it."]
["However, the most important step still has to be done by your own hand..."]
With another page turn, Albedo's masterful drawing skills were on full display.
A cluster of purple light fell into Ei's hand, transforming into a seed.
[Shogun: "The miracle tree that shelters the myriad people is, at this moment, still an unseen and unfamiliar existence."]
["When it takes root, and where it sprouts, all depends on the heart and dreams of the one who brings it into being."]
The scene shifted to the Sacred Sakura, and the readers also realized a bold possibility.
This seed—couldn't be the seed of the Sacred Sakura, right? Planting the seed of the past in the future?
[Shogun: "Grant it life, Ei."]
Though Ei was a bit dazed, she wasn't foolish; from the Shogun's words, she had already realized what this seed was.
'Depends on the heart and dreams of the one who brings it into being'—thinking of this phrase, Ei slowly placed the seed into the 'ground'.
The moment it was most needed was undoubtedly hundreds of years ago in Inazuma, before my return; so it was big sister who had been protecting Inazuma for me all along...
I thought I was the protector, that I was the one saving big sister.
But in the end... it turned out I was the one always being protected, and the one saved in the end was me too.
The seed fell, like a water drop into the ocean, rippling layers of 'waves'.
The seed began to sprout, growing rapidly.
[Shogun: "Eternity extends time infinitely, while dreams make every tick of the clock shine brightly."]
Foxes came running, gathering around the Sacred Sakura, guarding it.
["The Sacred Sakura will ultimately break free from the shackles of Heavenly Principles, blooming from the darkness."]
In the scene, a translucent Grand Narukami Shrine appeared, seemingly building itself bit by bit.
["Thus, the nightmare dissipates, reality is fulfilled, and the scenery you and I both yearn for still lies ahead."]
At this time, the Sacred Sakura's form was not yet that of a fox, but an ordinary beautiful cherry tree.
The Grand Narukami Shrine in the scene dissipated, leaving only a single cherry tree.
Ei looked up at the cherry tree, just like that time hundreds of years ago when she had toured with her big sister.
[Shogun: "It's just a pity that I cannot witness Inazuma's future, nor travel with you anymore."]
["Do you know, Ei? I'm very happy right now, because my final wish has also been fulfilled."]
["Your naginata once shielded me from countless calamities; I've always felt that I owed you."]
Seeing this line, both the real Ei and the Ei in the illustration unconsciously shook their heads.
How could you possibly owe me anything? I'm your little sister; isn't that enough?
The one who truly owes something is actually me.
Protecting Inazuma, protecting you—but in reality, I couldn't protect anything properly, and in the end, I was only protecting my own emotions.
I 'protected' Inazuma according to my own ideas, straying onto the wrong path, letting my subjects endure needless suffering; it was all because of my 'selfishness'.
Yet the Raiden Shogun wouldn't think that way; she firmly believed her little sister would awaken.
In the Shogun's view, the calamities Inazuma endured weren't Ei's fault; that was my mistake, my failure to fulfill my duties as a god.
Even at the end, she had to shoulder this responsibility—my little sister, it is I who owes you.
["Though it's a meager repayment, before you truly awaken and we meet anew, this Sacred Sakura will buy you time."]
["How about it? It should have served its purpose by now, right?"]
The scene showed Ei's trembling hand; her hand shook slightly, as if sensing something, wanting to raise it to hold on, but she didn't.
Yes, she had grown; she couldn't worry her big sister at the very last moment.
["This time, it's truly goodbye—Ei."]
The thunder light turned into cherry blossoms, brushing past Ei, the dancing cherry blossoms in the air transforming into a starry river, piercing through the river of time, becoming 'eternity'.
Ei widened her eyes, unconsciously opening her mouth to gasp, wanting to speak, but stopping herself.
She raised her hand to catch the cherry blossoms, but they only slipped past her fingertips.
[Ei, looking up and closing her eyes: "Goodbye—Makoto."]
The illustration ended; for Ei and the Raiden Shogun, this parting was not a 'see you later', but an eternal farewell.
Was this a good ending? It should be, at least in the end, the two sisters had a farewell moment—but the readers' hearts were filled with regret.
Having learned the secret of the Sacred Sakura, yet unable to feel happy—why was that?
The readers didn't know, and neither did Ei herself.
She had always wondered why the Sacred Sakura existed, why others' memories were so strange.
Now that she knew the reason, there was no joy in uncovering the truth, only the tears at the corners of her eyes telling of her current emotions.
Kitsune Saiguu took out a small handkerchief to wipe Ei-bao's tears.
This familiar scene reminded Ei of Lucian, who hadn't wiped her tears clean for her, and she immediately took the handkerchief to wipe them herself.
The others also lost the mood for joking, merely silently reading the continuation of the story.
In the story, Ei and the Traveler left the Shogun's Plane of Euthymia, and the Raiden Shogun's body had also been tuned... adjusted properly, becoming honest.
Together with Yae Miko outside the Plane of Euthymia, the group returned to the shrine, and on the way, Paimon recounted to Miko what had happened inside the Plane of Euthymia.