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Her Excellency the Raiden Shogun, God of Eternity and Almighty Narukami Ōgosho of Inazuma, wriggled pitifully across a tree branch.
Miko stared at the creature with wide, incredulous eyes.
“What in the name of Celestia is going on?” she asked.
Beside her, the Shogun leaned in and prodded at the bug with a finger, peering intensely. It recoiled from the touch, moving in a way that made Miko’s skin crawl.
“It seems,” the puppet said, “as if Her Excellency is once more manifesting into this world physically.”
“Pardon?”
There was no way this was Ei. Clearly, it was just some random worm that had crawled onto the Sacred Sakura. A large, purple worm… with the mitsudomoe on its wormy back…
No.
“This is a joke, right?” Miko asked. “She’s hiding behind the shrine waiting to see my reaction, right?”
“I’m afraid not,” the Shogun said, shaking her head.
“You’re lying.”
“As per my programming, I am not capable of stating objective falsehoods.”
Miko’s eye twitched. “You expect me to believe that this bug is Ei?”
The worm ceased its wriggling and turned its… head, towards Miko, as if it heard the name that escaped her lips.
Was it responding to Ei’s name because… it was Ei?
No. She clenched her eyes shut. Absolutely not.
“Come on now,” she said, through gritted teeth, “why would she have even taken the form of a worm?”
The Shogun reached down and unsheated her blade about an inch. The same weapon that once belonged to Makoto in a bygone era.
“As you know, Ei rid herself of a physical form when she interred her consciousness into this sword, creating the plane of euthymia. However, it appears as if passage of time has allowed her to collect enough ambient electro energy from the surrounding atmosphere to recreate her body in the flesh.”
She held up a finger.
“That being said, hers is the noblest and most eminent form in the realm, and thus it will take time for the process of recreation to complete. I estimate than in about a year or so, she will begin to pupate.”
Miko blinked. “She will what?”
“Surely you are familiar with the biological process? She will be constantly feeding in order to amass energy, and will them form a cocoon within which her organs will liquify and reassemble. Soon after, Raiden Ei as you know her shall emerge.”
“In… a year?”
“Perhaps. Or it may take several.” The Shogun shrugged. “It is difficult to say with certainty.”
Miko took another look at the larva on the branch, writhing itself towards a pink sakura petal.
“And you are certain Ei is not just hiding in the plane of euthymia?”
“I do not detect her presence, no.”
Miko grimaced. Ei, what have you gotten yourself into? You look even more pitiful as a worm than you do on a regular, day-to-day basis.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” the Shogun asked, hand over her chest with a look of pride on her face.
“In what possible way could this be considered beautiful?”
“To continuously grasp life after death… to incarnate into this world over and over again… is that not a testament to her mastery over eternity?”
“Are you kidding me?“ Miko spat, leveling a finger at Ei, who was munching indifferently on her petal. “It’s a worm.”
“The most noble and eminent worm in the realm,” she said softly.
Miko rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling as if this situation was becoming too absurd even for her standards. “So, what? We just keep it in a garden somewhere?”
“Yes, preferentially away from rodents and birds of prey. Aside from food, it will also be paramount for you to socialize with her on a regular basis.”
“Why?”
“To bolster morale.” The Shogun blinked. “How can you expect her to pupate without the proper level of emotional support?”
“But why me?” Miko asked. “Why can’t you do that?”
“I am merely a kagemusha. You are her sweetheart.”
Ugh, please don’t say that now, she thought, looking at Ei.
“Surely,” the Shogun continued, “you still love her, yes?”
“Eh?”
“You’re not one of those people who would cease to love their partner simply because they transformed into a worm, are you?”
“That’s so specific,” she muttered. “Why are you saying it like it’s a commonplace occurrence?”
“Is it not? You yourself can take the form of a fox.”
“Entirely different.”
“How so?”
“Foxes are illustrious, wise, and elegant,” Miko said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Worms are disgusting.”
The Shogun frowned. “You’re going to hurt her feelings.”
“Oh please, no I wo—“
Ei coiled into a ring.
“What?” Miko furrowed her eyebrows. “Ei, I didn’t mean it…”
“Tch.” The Shogun clicked her tongue. “How rude. Now you’ll have to apologize.”
In her living space on the outskirts of Ghandarva Ville, Collei shut her light novel, set it aside, and buried her face into her hands.
“Oh my god,” she groaned, feeling a wave of second-hand embarrassment wash over her, “this is so cringe…”