Before, when she was hit and sent crashing through eight walls, and her shell was nearly falling apart, she hadn't cried out in pain, shed a tear, or even changed her expression.
But now... "The sword..."
She opened her mouth, her voice incredibly dry:
"Give the sword... back to me."
King ignored her, preoccupied with examining the Teyvat-famous tachi in his hand.
The blade was slender with an elegant curve; even with the lightning dimmed, one could still feel the [Spirituality] contained within.
Hmm, it really is a good sword. No wonder this country girl treasures it so much.
"That's..." Seeing King handling her sword, Raiden Ei became even more anxious. She stepped forward, reaching out to grab it, "What Big Sister left for me... give it back!"
A hint of grievance entered her voice as she instinctively tried to reclaim her most important possession.
King casually hid the sword behind his back.
Raiden Ei grabbed at the air, stumbled, and nearly fell.
After steadying herself, she looked up and stared intently at King, her purple eyes actually welling up with a bit of moisture.
Though she didn't actually shed tears, the sadness and anxiety in her gaze were real.
"Give it back..." she repeated, her voice getting lower and lower, carrying a slight, aggrieved tremor, "That's what Big Sister... left for me..."
Looking at her like this, King suddenly felt a bit helpless.
"You want it?" King shook the sword in his hand.
Raiden Ei nodded vigorously, her eyes closely following the movement of the blade.
She even instinctively reached out her hand before timidly pulling it back, just watching expectantly.
King's mouth curled slightly.
He raised his arm high, holding the sword above his head.
"No."
Two words, crisp and direct.
"..."
Raiden Ei froze.
Raiden Ei tilted her head back, looking at the high-and-mighty sword that belonged to her sister, then looked down at her empty, slightly trembling hands.
A few seconds later, she seemed to fully understand that musou isshin no longer belonged to her.
In that instant, a pain far more intense than the shattering of her shell slammed hard against the mental defense she had maintained for five hundred years, known as "strength."
"Ugh..."
A very faint whimper escaped from between her tightly pressed lips.
Those purple eyes, which were always calm and rippleless or Burning with battle intent, were quickly covered by a layer of mist.
There was no loud wailing, no hysteria.
Raiden Ei was not a God who liked to cry.
When facing erosion and loss, she was used to using her sword to cut through her sorrows.
But now... the sword was gone.
Raiden Ei's knees buckled, and with a *thud*, she knelt directly onto the cold ground.
Then, slowly, bit by bit, she curled up her body.
She hugged her knees and buried her face deep inside.
Her damaged body trembled slightly with her faint sobs, and the cracks on her made the scene look even more desolate.
Grievance, indignation, sadness, utter despair... all sorts of complex emotions silently spread out through that curled-up, lonely figure.
musou isshin was the only memento her sister had left her.
While the sword was there, the soul of "Raiden Ei" still had a place to belong.
With the sword gone... she didn't know what to do anymore.
[Ding! Detected extreme indignation, ultimate grievance, and intense sorrow from Raiden Ei. Emotion Points +300,000!]
"Ei—!!!"
The moment Yae Miko saw Raiden Ei kneel and curl up, her heart felt as if it were being gripped hard by a cold hand, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe.
All calculations, all considerations, and all fears were thrown to the back of her mind at this moment.
Like a pink gale, she suddenly rushed out from the corner, stumbling to Raiden Ei's side, and without hesitation, opened her arms to tightly embrace that curled, trembling, and battered body.
"Ei... Ei! It's okay, it's okay! I'm here, I'm here!"
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