Looking at 'Dora-Lucian's' face, Ei now wanted nothing more than to strike him with lightning.
Her eyes slightly red—did you think it was from crying? No, it's the 'red-eye effect.'
Last time, she 'countered' Yae Miko; next, it's your turn, Lucian!
She regretted not beating him soundly in the Plane of Euthymia back then. If it were now, she'd never admit defeat until she made him cry, even if it took five hundred years of fighting!
Let this kid know—your 'blade' may be sharp, but my sword is no less keen!
"I didn't cry," Ei said flatly, her face still streaked with unwiped tears.
Lucian shrugged, saying nothing more, and took out a handkerchief to wipe Ei's tear marks.
There's still time to salvage this, right? Lucian thought, I'm just responsible for the drafts and storyboards—Albedo-sensei's detailed artwork is too good, blame him.
But Ei's stubbornness! Whether you're heartbroken or not, even if the Plane of Euthymia doesn't betray you, my system already told me.
Admit it, it's okay—women crying, crying isn't a crime.
Wait, this song's got something. Save it for later, sing it for Navia.
Speaking of Navia, let's talk about Fontaine.
Furina, as usual, was 'keeping up with the story' and had finished reading this segment.
"If you can see what I hold dear, then please spare those creatures." Furina wiped away the overflowing Hydro elemental tears.
"Sacrificing herself to save Inazuma…" Furina lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes.
She felt a deep connection with Hanachirusato. Hanachirusato's passing pained her, yet it also brought a sense of relief.
But when would her own 'pain' find release?
It's so similar—Kitsune Saiguu's obsession turned into a monster, sacrificing herself to save Inazuma.
Furina, too, was Focalors' human vessel, sacrificing herself to save Fontaine.
The difference was that Hanachirusato was prepared to die from the start, going to her death willingly.
Furina was different. She was sacrificing too, but not to die—she had to live on, undetected.
Furina didn't yet know she was a divine vessel. Lucian hadn't mentioned Focalors' identity to her yet.
After all, it was a plan to deceive Celestia—not something to casually reveal. Best wait until the plan was set in stone.
Furina only knew that the 'her' in the mirror told her that as long as she played the role of a god, 'she' could save Fontaine.
Sacrificing one person to save Fontaine—what was there to consider?
Leave the Hydro Archon crying alone on her high throne? No! Let those I cherish stand there, even if I remain in the water.
Surely, Hanachirusato, or rather Kitsune Saiguu, thought the same. She buried herself in darkness twice and saved Inazuma twice.
Like Furina, one side of the scale was Inazuma, the other herself, and she chose Inazuma both times.
Even in her second sacrifice, as a monster, she still chose Inazuma.
Because, as she said, her memories were forever bright, and she loved this land.
"So great. I wonder if she likes cake," Furina mused, thinking if they ever met, she'd treat her to some little cakes.
Tofu is soft, and cake is soft too—maybe there's a connection. She might like it.
Like Furina, Faruzan also empathized with Hanachirusato, but not over sacrifice.
She wondered: when Hanachirusato awoke centuries later, inheriting Kitsune Saiguu's memories and, to some extent, her relationships… how lonely must she have been?
No friends, no family, unable to see the friends in her memories. She walked Inazuma's land alone, feeling her friends' presence but forced to avoid them.
She loved this land, yet her existence tainted it.
Under such tangled emotions, how lonely must she have been?
Even until her disappearance, she never saw her friends again, always passing by, deliberately keeping her distance. Did she have regrets?
She returned, yet it felt so foreign, like being in a strange land.
No wonder her bond with the Traveler and Paimon was so strong—they were the only 'friends' she could talk to.
Faruzan understood Hanachirusato's emotions because she felt the same.
Her family and friends were all gone, and even the knowledge in her memories was gradually outdated by the times.
She read books in the library, trying to keep up with the era.
Calling herself 'senior' when talking to others was just a shield to protect herself.
With no close connections left, the title 'senior'—neither too close nor too distant—kept her from feeling so alone.
It wasn't just Furina and Faruzan. Other gods were deeply moved too. Every nation had people who made such great sacrifices.
In Mondstadt, not to mention distant history, Rosalyne, recently written about, sacrificed herself for Mondstadt, as did Rustan in her story.
In Liyue, no need to elaborate—Lucian had written about Guoba's sacrifice.
Guoba and Hanachirusato both 'sacrificed' themselves to pacify the 'ley lines.'
Ley lines are too vital. Xiao constantly clears monsters, wary of their numbers disturbing the ley lines.
Arataki Itto's earlier idea of single-handedly purging monsters was, in fact, what Xiao had been doing for centuries.
Many of those Xiao cherished were gone, making him feel he had no one left to cherish. Yet, unbeknownst to him, Liyue's people had long become his cherished ones.
At the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao was mourning again. Since Lucian started writing the prophecy book, her mourning sessions had grown frequent.
As the parlor's director, she rarely presided over funerals herself—her subordinates handled them.
After all, Wangsheng monopolized Liyue's funeral industry. If she alone presided, Liyue might as well stop having deaths.
Even if Hu Tao never took off her shoes to sleep and ran around daily, she couldn't manage it all.
"Alas, life and death are impermanent," Hu Tao recited the eulogy.
As she said, life and death are impermanent. This time, Hanachirusato might not have died, as the Traveler in reality was following the prophecy book's events.
At this moment, the Traveler had reached the base of Mt. Yougou, preparing for the final cleansing.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Traveler: About the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual
Paimon: "Ugh, Lucian is just too much!"
Traveler: "What's wrong? He didn't cause this story."
Paimon: "Because he told me this story has a happy ending, that all the filth would be smoothly cleansed."
Traveler: "…He's not wrong, but that's definitely too much."