What qualities did one need in order to rule a country? To take into their hands the responsibility of the lives of an entire people? There was no correct answer; at least, there was none that the gods had yet discovered in their centuries and endless years of trials and errors. However, each had more or less settled on a virtue or two they chose to live by. To the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, this was freedom: guiding his people while granting them full control over their own lives and existences. To the Geo Archon of Liyue, this was contacts: maintaining fairness, equality, and honesty. Wisdom, love, war… it was different for all, but in every case, the same qualities each Archon instilled in their people tended to be reflected in themselves.
Raiden Ei, archon of the nation of Inazuma, prided herself on her prioritization of eternity. Above all, she would preserve the beauty and tranquility of her land; her people would never have to worry about change or loss. When everything stayed the same, nothing you cherished was lost and nothing undesirable would ever enter. There was nothing to mourn if nothing left; there was nothing to fear if nothing was to come.
That was why Ei had decided to lock herself away, serene and alone, in her Plane of Euthymia, entrusting her people to be cared for by trusted friends and a puppet of her own design and image. This in itself was a change, but it didn't much matter; the citizens didn't know that. They would never know anything different from what the earth and seas offered. With divine power came divine punishment; with it came power and training and a difference of perspective. In the mind of Ei's creation, the Raiden Shogun, this was why Visions had to be confiscated.
It had been a surprise to Ei to hear about that. It likely wasn't something she herself would have done, had she still been directly ruling. And that realization posed a question: had she changed, despite all her best efforts?
She had been left with much food for thought, more recent than she'd had in the many years she'd meditated in her mindscape, and it was leaving her restless. Ei allowed a soft puff of breath to slip past her lips and uncrossed her legs, rising from where she sat on the sandy floor. The flowing indigo robes of her getup remained unsullied; the sand existed solely in her imagination, after all.
Her mind was a home. It was peace, a still lake she could stay submerged in forever without having to take a breath of the outside world. It was undisturbed, so private and idyllic. She had never expected the surface to be broken with ripples and bubbles that now invaded her very core.
The Shogun. The Traveler. Miko. Ei's eyes fluttered closed. She had many thoughts on them.
The Raiden Shogun, a synthetic archon. Perhaps Ei should have realized it was a less-than-optimal idea to create such a thing after what happened with her initial prototype. She had allowed the puppet to take over, and it had torn her nation apart, the exact opposite of what the Shogun's purpose was. It alarmed Ei, so currently, she had the Shogun locked up in Tenshukaku while she sorted her thoughts. She could sense the Shogun's distress and anxiety at having her functions disabled, but Ei would soon edit her. She would… change her, so she'd be more suited to the times.
Wait.
In a sudden shift, Ei's eyes snapped open and she began to glance around at alert. Out of nowhere, it seemed, she had become aware of a new presence in her midst—no, the Shogun's midst, she realized; the presence could not be in her mindscape. That was impossible. Rather, someone had likely entered Tenshukaku, where the sword in which her consciousness was stored was now resting. Ei tuned into the area, letting her ears absorb the voice now speaking. Her heart lifted upon realizing she recognized it.
"I see, so she has disabled some of your abilities… The incident truly must have had an impact on her." There was a dainty, miniscule giggle.
"Miko," Ei said, and she had spoken without realizing, and although she could not see the room around, she could imagine the turn of the kitsune's head and the signature sly smile she always wore. "You have come to see me?"
"Perceptive," teased that lilting voice. "Would the Imperial Majesty care to grace me with her presence?"
Ei huffed, though it came out fonder and less exasperated than she intended. "Come in," she said, and concentrated on opening the doors of the vast Plane.
The air seemed to ripple and constrict, a briefly suffocating feeling before it gave way and a slender figure came into being before Ei. As she had predicted, a small, mysterious smile sat upon Yae Miko's lips. "It's a surprise to me you're letting me in so easily." She cocked her head, watching Ei thoughtfully.
"I have been thinking," answered Ei. "And there are none I know who are better to share my thoughts with than you."
Yae laughed, a sound like sakura petals in wistful wind, and the violet of her eyes twinkled. "Such a flatterer! Alright, I'll lend you an ear. Shall we sit?"
Thin fingers with rose-tipped nails took Ei's own smooth hand in their own and gently guided it down until both women's legs were crossed in front of them and they sat once again on the floor. It had been a long time since someone had held Ei's hand. In fact, the last one to do it very well might have been Yae herself, years and years in the past.
"Before that," the Archon said, "I am more interested in hearing why you are here. What is the purpose of your visit?"
"Exactly this: to talk," said the kitsune lightly. "Actually, it was that Traveler's idea. They came to me with their concerns and decided I would be the best candidate to pay you a visit. Inazuma is concerned for you, you see."
Ei sighed. "I suppose they must be. I have never had to shut the Shogun away before."
"Not very 'eternal and unchanging', hmm?" Yae peered at Ei from underneath her long eyelashes.
Ei narrowed her eyes in response. Though disguised as a joke, Yae's words held a pointed question underneath the surface, evident by the look she was now giving Ei.
"No," said Ei, "I suppose it is not."
"Perhaps that is the reason the thunderstorm surrounding Inazuma is now worsening."
That caused Ei's eyebrows to raise. "Has it? That is news to me; whatever has happened was not intentional on my part."
"I assumed as much," Yae agreed. "But yes, the tempest has become more turbulent as of late. Could it be, perhaps," she leaned forward, "that it is responding to the state of your thoughts?"
Ei sighed. "I see the point you are trying to make, and I know you are trying to provoke me. In fact, I have already begun to suspect that the inner workings of my mind have begun to change."
It was rare that anyone was able to get a reaction out of Yae; she took most absurd conversation topics in stride. This, however, brought a pleased sort of surprise to the kitsune's features, and she began to grin again. "My, my! It must be true, if you're admitting such a thing out loud. The true question is, however: are you okay with that?"
And this was where Ei herself faltered. "I… am not sure."
Yae's face softened. "Tell me more," she encouraged.
And so Ei explained her dissatisfaction with the actions of the Shogun, her plans to reform her and make her anew. She recognized that this meant her opinions on how Inazuma must be run had to have changed, and she didn't know if this was good or bad. She didn't know if she could figure it out on her own.
Yae was sympathetic to her struggles, but there was also a certain sternness accompanying the softness of her tone when she said, "You know I always support you in your endeavors. But when you made the decision all those years ago to confine yourself in your mind and leave a synthetic god in charge of the nation, I did have my disagreements I never voiced. My qualms still stand today, and I think they are more relevant now than they ever have been." She placed a hand on Ei's knee and gazed at her deeply.
The Archon was astonished and entranced by those amethyst depths, gazing intently, and realized she had missed them more than she'd thought. She'd missed Yae's gentle wisdom and offhand quips; she'd missed the sight and touch and smell of her. Yae had always been with her, through thick and thin, her closest companion in times of strife and peace. In her meditation, she had tried to squash her regrets about leaving her, but sometimes there would be a moment where her composure would break and a pang of loneliness would invade her being. She really had missed Yae.
"Ei," Yae said. "The people of this nation need you to lead them. You, not some fabrication you made to look like you as you hide away in your mind. Because there is a fundamental difference between you and the Raiden Shogun: you can change. You do change, whether you like it or not, and that is less of a bad thing than you may understand. And the only way to understand it, you know, is to experience it." She offered a small smile, and Ei knew that among her words was a call to action.
"You want me to leave my Plane of Euthymia and lead Inazuma directly," Ei realized.
"Yes." Yae watched her expectantly for an answer. "I think it would be better for you, and I know it would be better for the people."
"What difference would it make to the people?" Ei shook her head, not in dismissal, but in confusion, a small frown and furrow of the brow making themselves known on her face. "They do not know that the Raiden Shogun is not the true Electro Archon."
"But they will notice the difference in your actions," Yae pointed out. "Evidently, the Shogun and her modus operandi have become outdated. If she was to be reworked, the same thing would inevitably happen in the future. Additionally, you need to start becoming aware of your country's problems and how to solve them. Did you know that the three commissions are in turmoil right now?" she asked by way of making a point.
Another sigh escaped from Ei. "I would assume so, what with everything that happened."
"They need their Archon's counsel," Yae pressed. "They need you."
When Ei took a moment to respond, she added playfully, "And, if it's any incentive, I would find it quite nice to have you around again, even if you'd be busy with your duties most of the time." That was when Ei saw it in her face, saw past the facade of indifference and neutrality Yae always put on: emotions, lots of them. And it occurred to Ei that she wasn't the only one who hadn't seen her friend in years.
Finally, for the first time, Ei smiled at her. She grasped the hand on her knee lightly and said, "It's good to see you too, Miko."
Yae blinked, and Ei could see her composure breaking. "Come here," the Archon said softly, rising to a kneel and opening up her other arm. After a moment of hesitation, Yae was enveloping her in an embrace, and Ei could feel herself crumble in turn.
One of Yae's hands had gravitated to her braid and was now stroking it, fingers just brushing over the silky hair as she rested her cheek on Ei's shoulder.
"It's been a long time," she murmured. "I've missed you."
Ei savored the feel of the lady's body against hers, memorized the sound of her soft breaths. Gently, she fiddled with the earring hanging off of Yae's soft pink fox ear, passing her fingertips over the shining electro vision it contained. It was something Ei had always hoped reminded Yae of her, but now she realized the reminder that Ei was sealed away must only have hurt. The Archon turned her attention to the ear, petting it apologetically.
"I know," she soothed. "I'm sorry, Miko."
Yae took a deep breath, then leaned back again, a sad smile returning. "I forgive you," she said. "But isn't it just going to happen again?"
"No, I…" Ei faltered. Now that she had Yae back, she really didn't know if she could let her go again.
And then it hit her.
Sealing myself away has brought me just as much loss and grief as changing with the times would.
Which meant it wasn't the answer to eternity.
Eternity wasn't supposed to be lonely. Could eternity be… with Yae?
Yes, Ei found herself thinking, the voice in her head desperate. That was what she wanted.
Ei looked Yae in the eyes firmly with a newfound determination glittering in her eyes. "No," she said. "I have not given up on my pursuit of eternity, but it has become increasingly clear that it is not the right path. You've convinced me, Miko, and I am going to take another shot at ruling Inazuma myself."
Yae's pleasure was palpable, delight radiating from her form as her eyes widened. "Thank you, Ei," she breathed, the reverent words washing over the Archon, "for indulging me."
"Perhaps it is selfish of me," Ei said with an upturn of her lips, "but this decision comes partially from my desire to have you at my side once again. I assume it was a jest when you suggested that as an incentive for me, but it worked."
Yae laughed once more. "You flatter me, though I do truly believe that yourself and your people will also benefit from this decision. Our reunion is simply a convenient bonus." She winked in a way that unfairly made Ei's heart thump.
"Miko," Ei blurted without thinking. "I want to kiss you."
Yae paused, blinking. Then, she let out a long chuckle, pale pink dusting her cheeks into a pretty picture Ei took a moment to marvel at. "Always so blunt!" the kitsune said. "Even after hundreds of years. Come here, then," she said softly, and ran her fingertips along Ei's statuelike jawline. Ei leaned in, and Yae's lips were as soft as she remembered.
The way Yae's hand gravitated to the back of Ei's neck; the way she initially pulled away after the first brush of lips, teasing, before diving in for more; the look of pure bliss on her face when she pulled away. None of it had changed.
And in that moment, Ei knew something she should have realized sooner: there was nothing to fear about leading, as long as she had Yae next to her. She may still have a lot of thinking to do about eternity, but in the meantime, in the absence of it in her life, Yae's love and companionship would fill the hole. Her advice would help Ei lead her nation anew. Eternity didn't have to be lonely. Eternity was her love for Yae Miko.