Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Ayato’s Broken Heart, Kokomi’s Panic

Inazuma had barely begun to recover from its former turmoil, and now it was sinking into an even deeper abyss.

No matter how much Kamisato Ayato revered the Raiden Shogun, her endless string of actions had left him utterly speechless.

“…But, Ayaka, why have you returned?”

Gods had their own ways of thinking—beyond mortal comprehension.

A human’s brief century of life could never rival the eternal gaze of a deity.

But why had Ayaka come back?

Wasn’t she meant to serve the Shogun?

“It was Lord Su Ran who sent me to visit my family. I must return to his side tomorrow.”

Even away from Tenshukaku, Kamisato Ayaka still addressed him with that respectful ’Lord.’

Not only had his boundless ideas left her awestruck, but his ability to recreate the Shogun’s puppet had also filled her with admiration.

Her shining eyes of worship, however, only made Ayato’s chest ache with unease.

That man… was a Fatui Harbinger.

He had openly admitted to colluding with the Tenryou Commission and the Kanjou Commission, manipulating the Shogun into enacting both the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree.

And now his sister gazed at him with admiration?

How could that not feel utterly wrong?

“Little sister… did this Su Ran… Lord… truly praise your beauty?”

Knowing the man’s true identity, Ayato could hardly bear it.

Yet with such divine strength, he dared not speak too loudly against him.

Still, the thought gnawed at him.

Had Yae Miko been right?

Did this man truly harbor intentions toward his sister?

“Th-That…”

Ayaka raised her fan to shield her face, unable to meet his serious gaze.

“…Yes. Lord Su Ran did praise me.”

Something inside Ayato cracked.

Ayaka, of course, understood what troubled him.

“But… he is a god.”

Whether the man had real designs on her or not, to Ayaka, the thought itself was already a blessing.

Gods were untouchable.

If one stood before you—close enough to touch— who would be willing to simply let go?

“And it’s not as if I fell in love with him at first sight…”

She lowered her head.

Her words sounded like denial, but the faint blush and clear fondness on her face only deepened Ayato’s despair.

His beloved sister—snatched away while he wasn’t watching.

The pain was sharper than any wound to himself.

She had been under his care since childhood, and yet in just a few short days apart, she had already drifted into another’s orbit.

Godlike strength or not, how could Ayaka have fallen so quickly?

If not love at first sight… then was it affection grown in just these fleeting days?

For one brief, dangerous moment, Ayato even considered fleeing Inazuma entirely.

The Kamisato clan was no longer as prosperous as before, but its wealth remained considerable.

Even a “starved camel” was larger than a horse.

If they fled to Liyue, they could still live comfortably.

They would escape the chaos, protect Ayaka, and even sidestep the Shogun’s looming dream of eternity.

The more he thought on it, the more tempting it became.

The storms around Inazuma had cleared.

If they didn’t leave now, then when?

Ayaka, meanwhile, still clung to her hopes of stopping the Shogun and Su Ran’s plan.

But Ayato had already seen the truth.

They had been powerless against the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree.

And now, this dream that promised eternity… what chance did they have of persuading a god to abandon it?

If they ran now, there was still time.

If they waited, there would be none.

Both siblings knew: once a god wove a dream, ordinary people would not wake from it at will.

At the Sangonomiya Shrine on Watatsumi Island, a young priestess with the beauty of a vision fish sat with a letter in trembling hands.

The more she read, the more her heart raced.

The more she read, the more absurd it felt.

The storms surrounding Inazuma had vanished— the resistance was caught off guard.

Rumors said the Shogun had been defeated.

The shogunate was in chaos.

Kokomi had suspected it was a trap.

So she had chosen to bide her time.

But now, it seemed the rumors were true.

The shogunate’s morale was rising again.

To dream of victory for Watatsumi now… was nothing but delusion.

And worse still, the Shogun intended to enact something more outrageous than the Sakoku and Vision Hunt Decrees.

Kokomi slumped onto her desk.

Her every nerve screamed despair.

One small misjudgment had snowballed into a catastrophe.

“Raiden Shogun… this is far too absurd!”

To drag all of Inazuma into a dream?

A dream none could ever awaken from?

That was her so-called “eternity”?

Kokomi’s hands shook violently as she clutched the letter.

Its truth was beyond doubt— for it bore the hand of Kamisato Ayaka, the White Heron Princess.

Since the war’s earliest days, Ayaka had shared intelligence with her.

Watatsumi’s survival owed much to her aid.

Kokomi trusted her word.

And yet, what good was forewarning, when they lacked the strength to resist?

The resistance could not even breach the gates of Inazuma City— how could they reach Tenshukaku?

How could they hope to dissuade the Shogun?

Nor could Watatsumi simply escape.

Unlike the Kamisato clan, they had no retreat.

“…No. Watatsumi must negotiate with the shogunate!”

Watatsumi was never meant to be under the Shogun’s rule.

Even her eternity should not touch the people who worshipped the great serpent.

That was a promise Narukami had once given Watatsumi.

And Kokomi would hold her to it.

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