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In the middle of the night at Tenshukaku, all of Inazuma had long drifted off to sleep. That is, except Her Excellency herself, Raiden Ei.
~
Little could be heard outside but the faint rustling of the wind and the sea meeting the shore is slow, solemn waves. Even the crystalflies had laid themselves to rest, and the usually bustling city of Inazuma was near silent. Following the end of the Vision Hunt Decree, it seemed that all of the nation of electro could experience peace at last.
The only exception to the perfect stillness of the night was Inazuma’s own divine ruler, the Raiden Shogun. Although these days she much preferred her subjects refer to her as Raiden Ei or even simply Ei, old habits died hard.
Despite the peace surrounding her, Ei could not manage to find that same peace. Instead, she tossed and turned for nearly the whole night before finally slipping into a deep sleep.
“Existence is fleeting as the dawn's dew, destined for oblivion.”
Ei awoke gasping for air. Picking her head up from where she lay, rain poured down on her mercilessly, quickly soaking her clothes and body.
“Where… am I? This certainly isn’t Tenshukaku, nor does it feel like anywhere in Inazuma… not even Yashinori Island has such terrible storms.”
She pushed her deep purple bangs out of her eyes and saw nothing but endless rain. The shore where she stood continued for what could have easily been an eternity. With not a clue where she was headed, the archon began to walk along the shore, hoping that there would be someone to answer her many questions. But it was no use.
Suddenly, amongst the sea of dull greenish-blue, there was a striking speck of red in the distance. That speck of red alongside Ei was the only thing that stood out against the dreary waters. She found herself running towards that ounce of crimson, not knowing what it could be or why she was running. Rain entered her eyes and sand slipped into her shoes, but she hardly noticed in her pursuit of something or someone who could give her an answer.
Alas, the deep red that she saw never came closer, no matter how much she chased this fleeting hope. Realizing this, she finally slowed to a stop, falling to her knees as the rain kept pouring.
“Looking for someone?”
Ei jumped up at the sudden voice, reaching for her naginata before realizing that it was missing. Panicked, she whipped her head around in search of this mysterious being, but the everlasting sea was all that she saw.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m right here.” Ei looked up again and saw a stranger, both familiar and unknown. In her hand was a tattered red parasol, barely shielding herself from the downpour.
Ei was transfixed. “Who… who are you?”
The stranger smiled faintly before replying. “I should be asking you the same thing.” She took a step closer, while Ei took a step back. “Have we met somewhere before?”
It was a simple question, but something about the way she said it struck the archon to the core of her being. Her life flashed before her eyes— but more than that, there were memories that she had never experienced for herself woven into this silent film of her life. There were familiar ones: her sister taking her last breaths in her arms, turning La Signora of the Fatui to ash. Others were certainly not hers: wielding her sword against a masked figure in black and green, a massive black hole in a monochrome plane, and a white haired girl laying in a strange bed connected to a machine.
“I… I don’t know,” was all Ei could say in that moment. She was never one to put blind faith in anyone, except perhaps her dearest Yae, but she couldn’t ignore the sense of familiarity washing over her. “But I feel as though we have, even though I don’t remember you.”
The stranger chuckled lightly. “As I suspected. I feel the same way.” She extended her hand. “You can call me Acheron.”
“Acheron… it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Raiden Ei.” Ei clasped her hand. “I’ll get to the point. Who are you, and what is this place?”
“I figured you would ask that.” She turned. “Come with me.”
The two of them walked along the shore in silence broken only by the pitter-patter of rain. Questions swirled about in Ei’s mind, which for whatever reason she had not been able to come up with before then.
Suddenly, Acheron stopped in her tracks.
“Ei… I have some questions for you. I’m sure you have some for me as well.”
The archon tilted her head in confusion. “As you wish… ask away.”
“What do you know of the world beyond the sky?”
Ei paused. “Beyond the sky? Whoever she is… she must not be from Teyvat as I know it.” Now on guard once again, she attempted to use the power of her gnosis before Acheron grabbed her hand.
“Relax, I have no intention of harming you or any of your companions. I’m just curious about your world, that is all.”
“I do not know how you know of the land of Teyvat, nor where you truly hail from… but I shall grant you the benefit of the doubt this once. I do not know as much as I would like about the world beyond Teyvat’s borders, hidden from the Heavenly Principles, but I do know that no ordinary person of Teyvat would even be aware of the realm beyond.”
Acheron nodded. “I see… Now, you can ask me a question in turn.”
“My question remains the same as before. Who are you really, Acheron?”
Acheron chuckled lightly, seemingly amused, before answering. “Amongst the stars, they call me a Galaxy Ranger.” She took a few steps towards the archon, examining her from head to toe. “You are right in that I am not from your world that you call Teyvat. Rather, I am from the cosmos beyond your planet’s borders.”
Suddenly, the rain began to pour harder. The water weighed down on Ei’s shoulders as the pressure pushed her down. As the water level rose and the wind howled, Acheron, familiar with this planet, had an idea of what was about to come.
“This world… it knows you belong somewhere else. As much as I’d like to stay and chat, it’s best for the both of us if you leave.”
An empty, black void tore open through the space between Ei and Acheron. The archon instinctively jumped back, only to feel Acheron’s hand on her shoulder.
“What is happening? What is this and where are you taking me?”
Acheron flashed what could almost be called a grin. “You can return to the waking world. That’s where we all find our answers.” With that, the emanator pushed the electro archon into the void and disappeared without a trace.
~
Ei woke from her dream, gasping for air. Frantically, she scanned the room for any sign of the mysterious so-called “galaxy ranger”, but to no avail. She was prepared to chalk it up as just a strange dream of the world beyond— nothing new to her— when she froze.
Her hair was still wet from the rain.