Chapter Text
"Part of me cannot leave Inazuma, Miko."
Don't tell her. You know what she's capable of.
"Will you be alright by yourself, Ei? Won't you feel lonely?" Yae stroked the back of Ei's head, earning a timid smile. "I've made my choice." I've lied to you. Yae's slender fingers traced over the Shogun's hairpin, she clawed on its gilded base for good measure. "What an impressive dupe. Did you make this yourself?" She asked. Ei nodded in agreement and recalled the ardous smelting she had to process for that specific type of metal. After all, it had to be unchanging. As infallible as this eternal lie.
Miko departed shortly after, and Ei made some last-minute modifications to the Shogun. She held the ornament in her hand, and a steady flow of white light snaked across the surface before seeping into the metal. "This fragment of my being will help you govern Inazuma." The Shogun said nothing, opting to burrow the pin deeper into her mechanical skull. "Let's call her... The heart. After all, the heart is the bridge between body and mind."
A bridge Ei intended to burn. For the threat of erosion was creeping ever closer. Ei knew that one day, she could shatter into millions of unmendable pieces. Memories of her and her people would drift into the abyss, she would stand on the soil of her nation, as lifeless as the dirt below her. She needed to rise above the filth, above the despair, and find a guardian that could outdo a god. That way, Inazuma would be protected without her.
The Vision Hunt Decree, in the eyes of many, had no purpose. Why would you deprive someone of their ambition? Ei had hoped to unify the hopes of her people into a sentient barrier. But people's wishes and ambition are their own. And using those to fulfill a goal, however noble, is a doomed attempt even from the beginning.
After all these years, Ei. Only failure is what you have to show for the abandonment.
That same voice disturbed the sanctity of her Euthymia. And it continued to do so as Ei slept.
Eternity.
A different voice wormed itself into her brain.
To bring about Eternity for the Almighty Shogun.
Eternity.
No. After all, Eternity is what brought us together.
The heart was right. Instead of answers, she found herself with 500 years worth of questions. Why did Ei do this to herself? Was the mental isolation worth picking over missed experiences, even with the prospect of losing it all?
Ei needed something tangible. Something she could pry open for guidance. Her quickening breaths contrasted the dull afternoon breeze, and Ei's blurring vision obscured the storm that was coming her way.
One step. And then two. A surging wave of footsteps thundered across the sand. The Nobushi brandished their swords behind Ei.
Fortunately for her, Kujou Sara's arrows struck much faster.