"…"
While chewing on the berries, Kagami Ren seemed to sense something. A trace of coldness flickered through his golden eyes.
"Hey, kid! Why are you eating our berries?" A teasing voice sounded from behind him.
Kagami Ren raised an eyebrow and calmly turned around. Several ronin stood there—it looked like they were the Nobushi from the game.
"Wild berries like these have owners?" Kagami Ren asked lightly as he looked at them.
"Of course," the leader of the group sneered. "Everyone knows this is our territory. Naturally, the berries belong to us."
As he spoke, he sized Kagami Ren up. White hair, golden eyes, and clothes in a style he had never seen before—but clearly made from high-quality materials.
Probably some rich young master. The leader's eyes lit up slightly. Looks like a fat sheep had wandered right into their hands.
Hmm… no Vision, soft skin… probably some pampered noble brat who got lost in the wild.
"…" Kagami Ren felt a bit disgusted by the way they were looking at him.
"Kid, you ate our food. You should pay for it, right?" the ronin said with a wicked grin, already imagining the money he was about to get.
"If you don't pay… don't blame us for getting rough."
"Getting rough?" Kagami Ren smiled faintly. "I'd like to see what that looks like."
"In a land under the Narukami's rule, there are still scum like you?"
"Narukami?" The ronin laughed mockingly. "I haven't heard of the Shogun appearing in a long time. Why would someone so high and mighty bother with people like us? The Inazuma she treasures can't even take care of itself anymore. Hahahahaha…"
"As subjects of the Narukami… you've already lost faith in your own nation?" Kagami Ren clicked his tongue, sensing both disdain and resentment toward Inazuma from them. Ei was a warrior, not a ruler fit to govern a nation.
"How pitiful," Kagami Ren murmured, then sighed. "But that's no excuse to bully ordinary people. I don't have any Mora."
"No Mora?" The ronin's expression darkened instantly. He drew his katana with a cold glare. "Then have your family send it over. Otherwise, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"
Feeling the killing intent radiating from them, Kagami Ren remained calm. "Insects… are you ready to face death?"
He hadn't intended to act, but the moment they showed killing intent, that changed everything. The real Teyvat wasn't some 12+ game—it was a world filled with death and decay.
Kagami Ren raised his hand slightly. The ronin suddenly felt an invisible force seize them, lifting them into the air and dragging them toward him before flinging them dozens of meters away.
With a slight clench of his hand, several violet energy barriers formed around them. The next instant, the walls slammed together, crushing them into pulp.
"Haa…"
Kagami Ren exhaled slowly. It was his first time killing someone, yet he felt no discomfort at all. Could it be that the Herrscher of the Void template was influencing him?
Suddenly, his expression changed. He instantly warped through space, reappearing over ten meters away.
"Lightning Purification!"
The moment he moved, a bolt of purple lightning struck the spot where he had just stood.
Kagami Ren frowned slightly. That voice felt familiar. So… a certain someone had arrived, hadn't she?
He looked over as a familiar figure slowly emerged—pink hair, long drooping fox ears.
Yae Miko.
"…Troublesome woman," Kagami Ren muttered helplessly. In his previous life, he had adored this pink-haired fox, calling her his wife every day. But now… she was easily one of the hardest people to deal with.
"Miss Fox, attacking from behind isn't a very good habit," Kagami Ren said, glancing at the five white fox tails that appeared behind her. The golden glow in his eyes intensified slightly.
Three Subspace Spears materialized behind him. The surrounding space warped faintly, and radiant golden wings floated beside him.
The Herrscher of the Void form.
Facing someone whose strength he couldn't fully gauge, Kagami Ren didn't dare relax.
Yae Miko's usual lazy, teasing expression vanished, replaced by a rare seriousness. As a great yokai and the second strongest in Inazuma, she could clearly sense just how terrifying the power of the man before her was.
It was a power she had never seen or heard of before. The faint distortions in space around him made her heart pound with unease.
What kind of force could twist space itself?
Yae Miko clenched her teeth slightly. This man was not someone she could handle alone. Would she need to awaken that one—the god of Inazuma?
"So this is the Herrscher of the Void's power… absolute control over space?" Feeling the boundless strength surging through him in this form, Kagami Ren finally understood just how terrifying it was.
Even if the S-rank Herrscher of the Void couldn't defeat top-tier gods like Raiden Ei, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him either.
"Who are you, and what business do you have in Inazuma?" Yae Miko asked in a low voice.
"I mean no harm," Kagami Ren said after a brief pause. "I don't belong to this world. Being here… wasn't my choice."
Might as well bluff her. She had no way of knowing his origins anyway. And with the authority of the Herrscher of the Void, calling himself a god wasn't exactly wrong.
"A god from beyond this world…" Yae Miko narrowed her eyes, clearly weighing the credibility of his words.
"For certain reasons, most of my power is sealed. I will remain in this world for some time until I recover," Kagami Ren added with a slight sigh.
"I can see the decline of this nation. You… are one of its leaders, aren't you?" Kagami Ren looked at her.
"You can see that?" Yae Miko's suspicion deepened. This man even understood the current state of Inazuma?
"One of my abilities allows me to glimpse parts of this world's trajectory," Kagami Ren said, pointing to his eyes.
"I see." Yae Miko nodded slightly and dispersed the lightning in her hand. "Since you bear no ill intent, I was the one who acted rashly. I hope you can forgive me."
"As an apology, I would like to invite you to visit the Grand Narukami Shrine," she said, looking at Kagami Ren. She needed to learn more about this so-called god from another world.
"That works for me." Kagami Ren nodded and dismissed his Herrscher form. He planned to stay in Inazuma for a while, and if he could get on good terms with Yae Miko, many things would become much easier.
"No need to call me 'sir.' My name is Kagami Ren. Just call me Kagami Ren."
"My name is Yae Miko, Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine," she replied with a nod, then stepped slightly to the side. "Kagami Ren, this way."