The Almighty Ogosho wasn't known for acting on a whim, her every move otherwise calculated to perfection, each step ensuring that her promise might be fulfilled.
With her dying breath, the Kitsune Saiguu had told her not to waver, not to stray from her ideals. Those words became the foundation of her promise, and when Chiyo, her ally and confidant, was overcome by the darkness, it was those words alone that allowed her to cut down her former friend.
What followed were five hundred years of loneliness, her heart growing cold as stone. Change and ambition, she realized, were the cause of her suffering, and it was a fate she wished upon no other. With that, it became clear that only an unchanging eternity would spare the people of Inazuma her pain.
In hindsight, perhaps it had been fated for her coldness to become her undoing - punishment from on high as the gods of Celestia shared a laugh at her expense.
The Traveler's words shouldn't have struck her so.
Yet, in that one moment, emotion overcame her, and the person she once was desperately clamored for release. Underneath the weight of his gaze, bearing nothing but concern for her and her alone, centuries of dedication to stillness of mind crumbled into dust, scattering to the four winds.
He cared.
"You mean to say that you were worried about me?" she asked, as much a question as it was a plea for affirmation.
"Life is only as precious as our reasons for living it."
The thumping in Raiden's chest intensified, a sudden urge blossoming from within even as she pondered her reasons for living. Her eternity was but a memory of the past, the remnant of a dream she still clung to for the sake of her sanity.
Warmth radiated off the Traveler's cheek, her palm caressing the side of his face, and he remained still, neither recoiling nor leaning into her touch. She stared into his eyes, reminded of all that she'd lost, and yet Raiden couldn't tear her gaze away.
Primal instinct compelled her, urging her to act, and for the very first time, the Raiden Shogun shared a kiss.
Short and sweet, it left her lips tingling and her mind in a daze. The cup of tea she'd been holding dropped softly onto the grass, and in her bliss, nothing but herself and the Traveler mattered, all worries and lamentations disappearing into the ether.
When they were together, time felt as though it had come to a halt - the eternity she yearned for presenting itself at last.
"Aether…" she whispered. "Will you stay with me, forever?"
This time, there was only one answer she would accept.