The video began to play.
Thunderclouds loomed over Inazuma City.
A large contingent of the Resistance had broken through the encirclement and now stood before Tenshukaku.
At the forefront were Kaedehara Kazuha and Gorou, gazing up at the long flight of stone steps leading to the palace above.
At the great doors of Tenshukaku, Paimon and Lumine stepped out together.
Both sides broke into relieved smiles. Paimon waved enthusiastically, greeting the soldiers of the Resistance.
BOOM——!
Suddenly, space itself tore open.
A rift yawned wide like a colossal violet eye, three concentric Electro crests spinning at blinding speed.
Just as Lumine and Paimon turned in shock—
The Raiden Shogun's forty-meter blade came crashing down from the heavens—Heaven and Earth, severed apart!
[Paimon: Traveler! Watch out!]
[Amber: Run!!]
[Lumine: Why am I in Inazuma… and why is the Shogun chasing me!?]
[Kaedehara Kazuha: W–wait, Gorou and I are attacking Tenshukaku together!? (shocked face)]
[Kujou Sara: How did the Resistance manage to breach Tenshukaku!? (slams table)]
[Kamisato Ayato: Indeed, that's… rather strange.]
[Albedo: Perhaps… it's an image from the future? (strokes chin thoughtfully)]
In the public livestream, viewers were equally stunned.
[Lord Maocai: Holy crap, that's one massive sword!]
[Ruhavi: Yeah! Huge and dazzling—truly worthy of the Raiden Shogun!]
[Hoffman: Are you people even looking at the sword? I'm embarrassed to point it out!]
The video continued.
Kazuha's eyes trembled as memories of his fallen friend surged like the tide.
A faint BGM began to play:
"That year, the wind brushed past the blooming crabapple trees, and your gaze—"
"Burned as bright as the daylight, softly calling me back to my senses~"
"The youth before me carried the spring breeze itself—never knowing how fleeting this world could be~"
The screen shifted.
A ukiyo-e panorama of Inazuma unfolded—verdant mountains and clear rivers.
Kazuha sat upon a hillside, his friend beside him, a stalk of foxtail grass between his lips as they looked toward Tenshukaku in the distance.
[He was once my dearest friend. That day, he asked me if I'd ever heard of the 'Musou no Hitotachi.']
[I said, naturally.]
[That sword strike could only be seen when divine punishment itself descended.]
The scene cut—Tenshukaku's ornate doors flung wide.
The Raiden Shogun, clad in magnificent raiment, drew her blade in one motion—countless arcs of violet light cleaving mountains and sky alike.
[That strike—was the Shogun's pinnacle, the ultimate symbol of power.]
[Yet he said, "That strike… may not be beyond reach."]
Back to the tranquil hills and streams.
His friend held a white kitten in his arms, that familiar foxtail still in his mouth, a confident smile playing on his lips.
His gaze toward Tenshukaku burned with conviction and fire.
But in the duel before the throne, he fell beneath the Musou no Hitotachi…
Kazuha seized his friend's fading Vision, its glow dimming, and fled from Tenshukaku.
The sorrowful BGM deepened:
"Later, the bone-deep fragrance bloomed in silence, from then on we lived worlds apart~"
"Drifting further and further, half a life gone—our secrets buried in the past~"
He wandered in exile, sorrow his only companion.
The scene shifted to the Liyue coast.
Kazuha spoke to Lumine and Paimon, telling them his story—and his doubts about the Vision Hunt Decree.
[If, in the beginning, each of the Seven granted Visions according to their own measure… then does the God of Thunder now question that very act?]
…
[Barbara: What a sad, beautiful song…]
[Nilou: "Later, the bone-deep fragrance bloomed in silence…" (softly hums)]
[Yun Jin: This song matches the story perfectly—was this video tailor-made? What a masterpiece of fan creation!]
The performers admired its artistry, but others focused on the message.
[Paimon: So, in the future, we'll meet Kazuha? (scratches head)]
[Xinyan: Kazuha's friend was so cool!]
[Kaeya: Indeed. To face the Shogun herself and challenge the Musou no Hitotachi… a true hero.]
[Chongyun: But he died, didn't he? What happened exactly?]
[Beidou: A year ago, Kazuha's friend challenged the executor of the Vision Hunt Decree—Kujou Sara herself—in a duel before the throne. He lost, and the Raiden Shogun struck him down with her Musou no Hitotachi! (serious face)]
[Barbara: That's so cruel…]
[Xiangling: Yeah! Losing a duel shouldn't mean death! That's way too harsh!]
[Kamisato Ayaka: 'Duel before the throne'—solemn, yet merciless. The loser faces divine punishment; the victor earns a chance at salvation.]
[Thoma: Both wager their lives. If Kujou Sara had lost, she too would have faced the Shogun's divine wrath. (shrugging bear.jpg)]
[Kaedehara Kazuha: Yes… perhaps he believed that only he could stand against the Decree. To face that blade was the goal of his life itself. (a bitter sigh)]
[Kujou Sara: Hmph. So what then? Because of your friend's death, you bear a grudge against Her Excellency and joined the Resistance, even fleeing overseas?]
Before Kazuha could respond, the video spoke for him.
[My friend died honorably on the dueling grounds.]
[The Shogun's blade was just.]
[My resentment lies not with her—but with the Vision Hunt Decree itself.]
The scene turned to Kazuha's flight through the crimson-lit bamboo forest, the moon casting pale light overhead.
Dozens of samurai surrounded him, blades drawn.
The song mourned softly:
"Too long this dream of golden fields, I raise my eyes to the same moonlight~"
Kazuha's gaze hardened. He drew his sword.
[No one has the right to strip another of their will—not even a god!]
The vision returned to Tenshukaku.
"When the past resurfaces, it feels just like a dream~"
Memories condensed in Kazuha's eyes, bursting forth with lightning and wind—
"There will always be mortal beings who dare to face the Thunder's Glory!"
His friend's deep, resolute voice echoed.
The empty shell of the Vision at Kazuha's waist began to spin with violet light—
Crack!
He drew his sword, crossed a hundred meters in a single step, and slashed at the Raiden Shogun.
CLANG——!!
The blades of mortal and deity collided.
The song swelled to its peak:
"Love and hate rise and fall in turn—stopping midstride, I turn to walk beside you~~~"
"Our bond never fades, even as the mortal world crumbles~~~"
"I'll soar to the heavens, fall a thousand fathoms—just to fight by your side~~~"
In that instant, lightning and wind became one—as if two souls together faced the Musou no Hitotachi once more.
"YAAAH——!!"
Kazuha roared and swung his sword, forcing the Shogun back with a thunderous blow!
At the video's end—
A broken blade was planted before a lonely grave.
Kazuha placed the Vision at its base, pressed his palms together in prayer, then turned to leave. Scarlet maple leaves whirled around him.
[One day, I too will seek the true meaning of eternity—from her own hands!]
The hollow Vision at his waist glowed faintly with pale thunderlight—
"If you remain afar… who will stand beside me to watch the sky?"
…
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