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She sits at the center of the newly built pavilion and thinks.
She thinks about the problems Inazuma faces, about the repercussions of the Cataclysm on her nation, and about the new role that has fallen on her shoulders. She reflects, perhaps for the hundredth time, on what that role means for her.
Makoto is no longer here.
She quickly thinks about something else, about what she will do next.
The last prototype accompanies her at her side. They look at the surroundings of the still-empty pavilion with a flat expression, but Ei believes that what shines in their eyes is curiosity. She does not fully understand her own creation, but she does understand that it must be because they have a consciousness completely independent from her own and has not been awake and interacting for long.
Even so, she plans to leave them resting in this place when it is completely ready. The prototype fulfilled the purpose for which Ei created it, but she does not feel capable of dismantling them as Miko suggested.
Although the doll's body is perfectly durable and functional, it will only serve as a base example to create the final subject; she will not use them as Shogun, for she does not want to impose her consciousness onto theirs. Out of ideas or options, leaving it in a safe place is the option that Ei genuinely believes is the best for the doll.
But there is something… that she cannot fully identify. A strange sensation.
The overly bright star that crossed through the skies while she was heading to the pavilion, the small white bird with green wings that watched them enter the place, something in the walls of the domain. Small things around her that make her feel as if something were happening, as if the threads of something greater were moving before her eyes and she were not quite grasping it.
She thinks about it a little more and… a significant change in the world, is what she concludes, one that does not seem like it will be harmful to eternity, therefore, not her concern.
She feels relieved with that. She would not know what to do if the situation worsened significantly more, Teyvat has been devastated by a catastrophe and the nations are still recovering from it. It is because of this situation that Ei is taking every measure she can.
But the sensation remains, one that Ei associates with now feeling the breeze pull at her braid, an anomaly like the others she had noticed, for she could recognize that it was not Barbatos looking to bother her. This breeze does not carry his elemental mark, it is different and, unlike the annoyance she would feel if it were the god, this, instead, makes something in her chest feel hollow and heavy at the same time.
As if she were losing something that she had not even had the luxury of having.
She feels the breeze now pulling at her sleeves, and something in her stirs. She does not know what it means, but it reminds her of a few days ago, when the marionette did the same. And suddenly, with that memory, came the desire to do something she had not considered. Something that might change everything.
"You… what do you think of this place for resting?" she asks.
She asks the doll, which redirects its gaze to her with some confusion.
"For…resting?"
"Yes, this place could be your resting place, what do you think?"
The doll considers the hidden domain, in their words, efficient enough for rest but too lonely for it to be enjoyable. And Ei is a little alarmed; with this option discarded, she has no more places left.
Even so, she keeps asking her creation for their opinions.
"Can't I rest at your side?" asks the doll on one of those occasions.
She does not know how to answer, but she settles on something simple: that she will not be available. The marionette stays silent for a while after that, with its eyes fixed on her sleeves.
Ei tries again. "What would be a good place to rest for you?" she settles on saying this time, instead of only giving options that will be denied.
"I don't know many places. But the forest is interesting, although at the same time it is very somber, that doesn't…please me?" it says lost in thought, while the bird that Ei saw outside lands on their raised finger. The doll keeps watching the little bird while it hops on theirs finger, as if it wanted to call the doll's attention.
Ei thinks of more options that she really does not have. She thinks and thinks until suddenly an idea comes to her head. Of course, it will be riskier because of the distance, but at the same time she feels it will be safer because of the roots of that tree so close to the marionette.
She does not think much about what could go wrong due to the tree's illness, only about pleasing them in a strange way.
She only has to… ask many questions to spirits and present them her due respect; she does not want to invade a foreign place more than this outlandish idea already would.
"Forget me not" He says, in a final whisper, the doll, playing with some petals.
He does not look at the face her creator makes.
He recognizes his action as something called cowardice.
There are rumors created by the children of the forest of Sumeru. Something about forest creatures that watch over them and spend time with them. When asked about them, everyone falls silent as if they were keeping a millenary secret but their murmurs are sometimes too clear to not be able to hear what they say. Over time, the so-called Aranaras will become legends, waiting to be revealed as true or as the imaginative products of children. It is, however, something that, although still under investigation, the inhabitants of Sumeru consider natural, forest stories.
What was unusual, however, was when they began to talk about another presence in the forest. A sakura tree, only seen in Inazuma, appeared grown, strong,and notable overnight. No one knows how it grew so fast,and the anomaly of its existence in a place that is not considered its usual habitat generates even more questions.
As expected, the scholars show up, try to investigate, take samples, but every attempt to get close results in a burn from electricity. As if it were protecting itself,… or something else.
The children whisper again,and fall silent when they hear the presence of adults. This is a secret of their secrets, stories of their stories, they are very careful.
They say among themselves how the aranaras have a new friend, how they think it's cool that they talk with the roots of the big new pretty tree, although they don't know what that fully means.
The aranaras take them to introduce themselves, they communicate through humsand the children watch with excitement how the electricity hums back to then disappear. Then they play on the tree without any problem, talk with itand for some reason, they feel heard.
And so the years pass, the presence of the tree remains a mystery to everyone, but the children say there is nothing to fear while they laughand hide.
Until a traveler with a golden braid arrives to the area with a request from a person special in every sense. When he releases the seal of her request and the tree opens its giant trunk, he does not know what to expect, but it is not a person curled up deeply asleep in a bed of sakura flowers.
When the person, or doll, recognizes after a while, reacts from his sleep, the first thing he does is shed a tear, from it is born a small purple flower. One that he will take with fascination between his hands without plucking it while he whispers to himself "she did not forget me".
And the wind that enveloped her told him hat someone else besides himself had heard him.
The now wanderer tells him hundreds of childish stories with a barely concealed smile while they return to Inazuma. He never runs out of them.
When the golden traveler asks him where he gets them from, he answers that they were his friends who visited him.