Compared to the past, Ei's will had become stronger.
Now that her sister had returned, Ei couldn't bear the thought of losing her again.
The eternity she once pursued… now, in her heart, was something different—an eternity only for her sister and Yae Miko. She wanted to create a world where the three of them would never be separated again.
She could understand why her own will had grown stronger. But what about the Shogun puppet? On what grounds did that creation act with such force and conviction?
Even now, Ei could not fathom what the puppet was truly thinking.
The puppet was like a program—constantly throwing out errors, yet still running flawlessly. It couldn't stop, couldn't shut down, and had no power source to unplug.
That meant Ei had no way of controlling it.
"What exactly do you want?!" Ei's voice rose, unable to contain her frustration.
She couldn't endure her body being controlled by the puppet for so long. Her sister had returned after five hundred years—Ei wanted nothing more than to stay by her side every moment, guarding her, never letting her out of sight.
But she couldn't.
The more she thought about it, the more restless she became.
"Why should I tell you?" the puppet replied mockingly.
Even in the past, whenever Ei suggested something that went against the pursuit of eternity, the puppet would reject her outright. That had never changed.
And now?
Now that the puppet even possessed emotions, she could act on them.
"So you plan to occupy my body forever?" Ei's anger flared.
This wasn't just rebellion—this was complete insubordination!
"What do you mean, occupy your body?" The puppet sneered. "This body is mine as well, isn't it? Or have you forgotten—you created me out of this very foundation? So perhaps it's you who's occupying my body."
"You…!"
Ei took a deep breath, pacing back and forth, mind racing.
At last, she gave a cold laugh. "Fine. Sleep forever, then."
The puppet was surprised at first, then overjoyed.
Did it matter if Ei was serious or not?
The prospect of full, unchallenged control over the body was too tempting.
Her thoughts drifted immediately to Lu Heng. The puppet cupped her cheeks with both hands, eyes full of infatuation.
Disgusting.
Ei nearly gagged at the sight.
How could any sane person make such an expression?
Not her. Never her.
"Don't worry about me," Ei said coldly. "Just be ready to answer when my sister asks where I've gone. How will you explain yourself then?"
The puppet's smile froze.
Damn it.
Ei had gotten smarter.
Was this… a threat?
Her expression shifted uneasily.
It was true—she didn't care much about Ei's sister. But Lu Heng… if he were to ask questions, even in passing, the puppet knew she couldn't hide it from him.
Which meant Ei could still reappear at any time, openly and without resistance.
Worse yet—what if Lu Heng decided she was unnecessary? With his overwhelming power, erasing her would be effortless.
For the first time, the puppet felt fear. Fear of death.
Her gaze darkened. "So what if I am?"
But Ei had already caught the flaw.
"You're afraid of Lu Heng, aren't you?" she asked.
"I am not!" The puppet's sharp reaction only confirmed her suspicion.
Ei folded her arms, calm now. "I can wait. My sister, or Lu Heng—it doesn't matter. The moment they notice something's wrong with my body, they'll ask. That's when I'll return."
"You…"
The puppet grit her teeth. Ei had her cornered.
Still, she forced herself to breathe, to think. At length, a faint smile appeared.
"Congratulations. You win. You can come out now."
"I'm not going anywhere," Ei said coolly, her confidence unshaken.
"Oh? Then when they ask, I'll simply tell them the truth—that you didn't want to come out."
Ei blinked, then sneered. "A clumsy trick. Your lies will fall apart in seconds."
"Who will believe only your word?" the puppet countered carelessly. "Besides—can you handle your sister's political duties? Can you ease her burdens? What can you do, except cause trouble?"
"I can protect her!" Ei answered firmly.
"Protect?" The puppet laughed aloud, as if she'd heard the biggest joke in the world. "Now that cards exist, does your sister even need your protection anymore? Maybe your strength isn't so important after all."
Ei froze.
The puppet wasn't wrong. With cards, even her once fragile sister could wield immense power. Her own combat ability, once her greatest pride, suddenly seemed less vital.
"What do you want, then?" Ei asked, trying to keep her temper.
"You can't monopolize this body. But I won't either."
The puppet's voice was calm. "The best choice is to split time. A fair division, so everyone's satisfied."
"Why should I give you any?" Ei snapped.
"Because I can help your sister govern," the puppet said firmly. "I can shoulder the burden."
"You?" Ei scoffed. "We're two halves of the same coin. What makes you think you can help her more than I can?"
"Have you forgotten my essence?" the puppet said with confidence. "If I connect to Sumeru's information systems, the data I can process, the simulations I can run… I may not match your sister's wisdom, but I'll be ten, a hundred times more capable than you."
Ei was silent.
That argument, she couldn't dismiss.
The puppet really was like a crude artificial intelligence. With access to more advanced systems, who knew how capable she could become?
And she could indeed help her sister.
Ei's heart wavered.
She now faced two paths:
One, stay hidden in the Plane of Euthymia and wait for others to discover the truth, then expose the puppet and reclaim control.
Or two, compromise—share time in the body.
The first option gave her more leverage.
But the second… would help her sister.
Ei clenched her fists. She had already brought great harm to Inazuma with her past mistakes. Her sister was now working tirelessly to repair it, to guide the nation forward.
How exhausted must she be?
Though her sister never once blamed her, Ei felt the weight in her heart.
She wanted to help—but she lacked the skills to govern.
If the puppet could…
"…You've found my weakness," Ei admitted softly.
"And haven't you found mine?" the puppet replied evenly.
"If you insist on fighting me to the death, there's nothing I can do."
Ei exhaled. "How do we divide the time?"
"Free switching, of course. But when we see Mr. Lu…" The puppet's eyes gleamed. "That's my turn."
"…Are you insane?" Ei's voice was flat.
"You're not still frightened by him, are you?" the puppet teased.
"Frightened?!" Ei stared. "You're delusional if you think you can win his heart."
"If I can't win, I'll steal. If I can't steal, I'll seize by force!" the puppet's tone was sharp. "Where there's a will, there's a way."
"You can't even defeat him." Ei sneered. "You're nothing but a tragic fool in some cheap romance story."
"I will succeed," the puppet said simply, eyes burning with obsession.
Ei gave up trying to argue. What was the point? She would never understand such twisted thinking.
"Go get me some sweets," she muttered instead.
"Starve in the Plane of Euthymia." The puppet cut her off coldly, retreating into her own meditation.
Ei sighed. She had expected as much.
Controlling her body again, she returned to Tenshukaku, only to find her sister already asleep. She didn't want to disturb her. After a moment's thought, she decided to visit Miko instead.
But when she reached the Grand Shrine, Yae Miko wasn't there either—she had stayed overnight at the Yae Publishing House.
Ei sighed. She had wanted to vent her frustrations to her best friend, but with no one around, she settled on sweets and a light novel for company.
Midnight.
"Brother, this can't be right, can it?" Lumine slammed the table.
"What the hell is with this festival looping over and over again?!"
"This Flower God Festival keeps repeating itself—it's creeping me out. My fingers are sore from clicking already!"
She sucked in a sharp breath.
What the hell was this? The second act of Sumeru's main story dropped a huge bombshell.
A festival, endlessly repeating itself.
That couldn't be a good sign.
'From experience, this is big.'
'That little goddess, Nahida, she doesn't seem as strong as the others.'
'You can really feel the gap between gods. Mondstadt's Venti might be playful, but when he gets serious, his aura is overwhelming. Zhongli and Ei's power is crushing. Especially Ei—when the Shogun threatened to seal me into a statue, the pressure was suffocating. Compared to that, Sumeru feels… off.'
'Maybe her strength lies in wisdom, not combat.'
"Hey, that's a good point," Lumine nodded. "Sumeru is the land of wisdom. Maybe that's it."
"I'd better record this," she muttered.
Paimon squinted. "I have a feeling this recording is going to be comedy gold later."
"I'm just echoing the audience," Lumine insisted, straight-faced. "In truth, I feel nothing at all. Totally calm."
Sumeru.
In the Akademiya, the sages gathered.
"Everyone. Time waits for no one."
"The new era will be led by us."
"The ultimate ambition of this city of wisdom will be realized by our own hands!"
Grand Sage Azar's gaze swept across the room, filled with scholars and sages whose eyes burned with fanaticism.
"The plan begins now. May wisdom guide us!"
In the shadows, Dottore watched, lips curling.
At last, the experiment to defy the gods was underway.
"This time," he murmured with delight, "we are more prepared than ever before. Success is nearly certain."
The Akasha hummed to life, fueled by the power of a divine heart. Its signal reached only as far as Sumeru City—but for this experiment, every ounce of computing power had been concentrated there.
The outside world no longer mattered.
For the sages, once a new god was born, nothing else would matter.
Aaru Village.
"Greetings, Miss Candace, guardian of Aaru Village. I am Dori Sangemah Bay."
Candace tilted her head, wary but polite. "What brings the famous merchant here?"
Dori's eyes sparkled as she raised a phone in her hand.
"Tell me—are you interested in information about the future of Sumeru?"
Candace froze, suspicion rising. "The future?"
"Of course!" Dori leaned closer, smiling. "The Akademiya's schemes, the true power of the Dendro Archon, the coming turmoil of Sumeru… all of it. For just 200,000 mora, you'll know everything. A bargain, wouldn't you say?"
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T/N:
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