Makoto's sword taunts her.
It's never weighed so heavy, neither in her hand nor her heart. Ei frowns as she regards it, her long fingers curled tightly around the leather-wrapped hilt. It feels wrong to hold it, like she's some strange interloper who's carrying a borrowed object.
Only it isn't borrowed, not anymore. Makoto's dead and nothing can change that. Ei is powerful but she can't turn back time. And so, the Musou Isshin is given to her, others citing that it's only her right.
At first, Ei thinks that she should lay it to rest, wanting nothing to do with it, wanting to never see it again. Then, Ei reconsiders.
If there's one that her sister ever taught her, it's that things aren't as eternal as she once thought. It's easy to talk about the neverending when you don't quite grasp it, but Ei's been forced to observe things from an entirely different perspective.
Strange, to think that a person's death can carry such meaning. Ei has truly come to terms with what exactly is the true nature of mortality.
And what is needed to conquer it.
Inazuma has much to learn and much to overcome, and it will never rise to the occasion if it's constantly switching between the hands of rulers. What is needed is stability, first and foremost. So, the solution is simple: Ei must become an Archon that never dies.
She isn't dumb. All things come to an end naturally. She knows of erosion and she's heard of the whispers of those who lose themselves- even mighty beings like Morax and Barbatos aren't entirely immune to the whims of time. But she isn't like the others; she can overcome anything. Ei just has to find a way.
There's time yet to figure it out. For now.
Until then, her attention is torn. Ei turns the blade over and lays it flat in her palm. Her other fingers smooth over the gentle curve of it as she thinks. It used to weigh nothing. Now it carries the heaviness of her broken heart.
Once upon a time, she'd think, What would Makoto do?
Such words mean so little now. Even though she wants to remain unchanged, time goes on, and with it, she must adapt. Ei wonders if that's the secret to Eternal life.
"Go with the flow," she murmurs, "Like a gentle reed in the wind, learn to bend with the others."
More phrases that only hurt now that the one beloved person who used to say them is gone. Ei feels nothing aside from her want for the neverending, much like the bright glow of the forge the blazes before her.
It's hot in the smithy. The ironworker is confused to see her, but she ignores him as she stands before the kiln. She looks over the anvils and tools and other weapons just waiting to be shaped.
And she hesitates.
Everything that she does is for her people, and Inazuma. All that she wants is for Eternity to root itself like the sacred Thunder Sakura, and for her lands to forever flourish.
And so, Ei draws the weapon from its sheath and regards it quietly. Watches the electricity that crackles from her fingertips dance along its blunted edge with a reflective glow. A dull knife has little use, but even useless things can be forged anew if given the proper treatment.
Once, it was a blade meant to be a symbol of peace, forever without an edge. These aren't peaceful times anymore, though, and everything is so different now.
Ei moves suddenly, tying her hair up and out of the way. Pulls her sleeves to her shoulders and pins them there, then she takes a seat at the grinding stone without asking. Who would tell her no? Certainly not the metalsmith who turns a blind eye towards her, as though she isn't there.
Her sister's blade finds itself held against the whetstone at a proper angle. Ei's practiced this before, and she sets about sharpening it to a fine edge.
It takes time. The fire boils. The smithy is oppressive in its heat. Sweat slicks down her forehead and drips into her eyes. Her throat is parched. But Ei grinds that dull edge down with fervent intent, sparks flying about her like the electricity she often throws from her fingertips.
To the future, she thinks as she works in silence, only the screeching sound of grinding metal making music in her ears. With every layer that Ei smooths away, she feels the stark-cold resolve in her bosom harden more and more.
A ruler who can't cut will never find Eternity.