So this is the Watatsumi Resistance…
It was close to what Asmodeus had been expecting. The battle she intervened in showed that they were outmatched in pure power. That priestess Thoma and Ayaka mentioned had to be somewhat impressive to keep them afloat for so long.
"Welcome to Fort Mumei, Kaslana." Teppei dramatically spread his hands out to her, showing the encampment in all of its run-down glory before another soldier flicked him on the head with a finger.
He weakly laughed, "I've still got things to sort around here. I'll see you around." And with that, Teppei was off.
The fortress was in tatters, the telltale signs of a fierce battle having taken place were everywhere. The banner of the Raiden Shogun's army lay ruined in the dirt, nobody bothered to dispose of it or even acknowledge that it existed.
Asmodeus hummed in thought. This place hadn't even been theirs to begin with, go figure. Training dummies of straw were being used interchangeably for practice with all weapons, a stray arrow or two still stuck to a watchtower, and the only place with a roof to sleep under were tents that looked like a recent addition.
Before she left Narukami Island, Ayaka had instructed her to bring a letter to Watatsumi's Divine Priestess. The only problem was the slight detour she'd taken earlier on the shore. Her intention was to just speak to the head of the resistance as soon as possible, but fate had other plans.
After asking around for a bit, the Goddess learned of a transport that she could tag along with to get to Watatsumi Island. It would take off in about an hour, so there was plenty of time for her to roam around Fort Mumei and observe how the resistance held itself.
To be perfectly honest, seeing the Millelith–and the Fatui, as much as she hated to admit it– in action might have spoiled her a bit too much on her image of mortal soldiers.
Maybe its distance from the main headquarters of the resistance had an effect, but it was obvious that the majority of them had no actual training whatsoever. Believing that willpower alone was enough to win battles was a surefire way to be defeated.
Asmodeus sighed, the severity of the situation finally dawning on her. Using her ability earlier had given her quite the headache, so she'd rest until it was time to depart. Careful not to stray far from the fortress, she explored the rest of the island for a bit.
She spotted a couple of children running around on the fields of grass. After what happened in Mondstadt, the sight of kids being blissfully unaware of how much danger they were in wasn't longer surprising.
What did strike her fancy was the game they were playing. The children searched for something, turning rocks over and foraging through the tall grass to find it. About half a minute later, one of them emerged with a strange ball of sorts.
Her ears picked up the sounds of footsteps, it didn't take much of a guess to know who it was.
"There you are," Teppei panted heavily, "It's almost time to go."
She looked at him, confused, "You won't remain here?"
He laughed, "I'm just a logistics officer. It's not my duty to stay here."
Teppei noticed the children, "Oh, not again…"
He stood up and stomped toward the kids while Asmodeus watched in mild amusement and confusion. They looked to have gotten into a bit of a heated argument.
Then, the whole situation's tone shifted when Teppei played along with them. He scoured the place just like the children had done earlier, except he emerged victorious in what felt like a few seconds. After raising that ball into the sky, the brats seemed to get the message and leave.
Asmodeus stared at him in bewilderment as he came back, "What was that?"
Teppei grinned, "Impressed?"
"By what?" She shook her head, "I meant that entire debacle."
"They're playing a popular children's game, Temari," He scratched his head, embarrassed, "It involves hiding the Temari and having other people find it."
"It's supposed to just be done in a household, but they've gotten bored and brought it outside,"
He explained further, "Doing it on Watatsumi Island is quite difficult, so some of them go to Yashiori Island to play."
A sigh blew through his lips, "Each time they go here, I have to beat them at their own game to convince them to leave. I've gotten quite good at it."
Their conversation was cut short by hurried shouts calling for something. Upon hearing it, Teppei yelped and began sprinting. It took a second for her to get the memo and start running too.
Asmodeus' lacking physical capabilities came back to bite her, being just a step too late in reaching the now moving transport. In a last-ditch effort, she stretched out her hand, half-expecting her face to meet the sweet taste of the ground once she tripped.
To the Goddess' surprise, another hand took hold of her own.
Teppei grunted in exertion as he pulled her up, sitting back down and breathing heavily. She laid down beside him and stared, dumbfounded and somewhat embarrassed. On the one hand, this person she'd just met had helped her for no reason. On the other, she was not used to needing help.
"Pathetic, isn't it?" The man let out a hoarse laugh between his gasps, "I can find any ball the kids can hide, but I'm barely cut out to even be on the frontlines with my current role."
When she abstained from answering, he awkwardly squirmed in his current spot. Asmodeus groaned, rolling her eyes at what he'd expected to happen. If anything, she should feel insulted by this mortal thinking he knew her so well from just a few minutes of getting to know each other.
The Goddess chose to answer back with a deadpan stare, "What? Do you want me to blabber some words of encouragement?"
"It would be nice if you did…" Teppei admitted, each word coming out of her mouth making him physically recoil.
"Too bad," She snapped, "I'm not that kind of person."
He curled up into a little ball, and now she felt sort of like a villain for just exploding at him.
Asmodeus sighed, twirling a strand of hair to distract herself, "What makes you think you need to do more anyways?"
Teppei punched at the air, "I don't feel like I'm actually making a difference doing this, I want to…"
"Be a hero?" She was this close to laughing.
He shook his head, "I just want to feel like I'm actually making a difference."
Screw the headache using her ability gave her. The headache of talking with this stubborn mess of a man was tearing her skull into two.
"We're all cogs in a machine, you'll have to face it eventually." That much was the truth. The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles had no agency of her own in ensuring Celestia stayed as the dominant force in the world. The Archons weren't that much different, either.
Aether wanted to turn the gears himself, only for his idea of using the Abyss Order to do so to backfire, the lever that he was supposed to turn became the Tsaritsa's. Under the surface, the world was just as ruthless as it had always been, and she would be the same.
Teppei looked like he wanted to say more but ultimately wallowed in silence. The rest of the ride was uneventful, if not a bit unstable.
The Goddess was about to drift off into sleep when it happened. The differences between the various islands of Inazuma were weird, and she thought she'd seen it all. Her mind was jolted awake when a bubble just passed by her nose, any closer would have seen it pop right in her face.
A muffled laugh came from Teppei. Even her glare did nothing to stop the man from his amusement as he playfully popped another one that came their way. To her surprise, the bubble scattered into several smaller versions of itself instead of what it should have done.
Her feet met the strange, blue-hued grass a few minutes later. She quietly shuffled to a secluded part of the area and took the time to take in the scenery. Some of the people she'd been riding with rushed towards the waiting arms of their families back home while the others got straight to work. Try as she might, she couldn't quite get her eyes off the former.
Asmodeus didn't have to do it herself, thankfully. Someone came up to her and asked if she was the special guest the priestess was expecting. The title perturbed her a little, but she wasn't one to let that get in the way of her objective.
The messenger departed, leaving her all in her lonesome so quickly again. She could see what Teppei had meant. The children everywhere were running and laughing as they screamed about that Temari thing she'd seen earlier, and a deafening roar followed once they found it, followed by hoarse coughing as their throats couldn't handle the strain.
"I've returned!" The shout of the person she'd interacted with earlier came from the side, "General Gorou has come to see you."
Their surroundings grew silent as an authoritative presence came into the fray. The messenger gave the person approaching her a small bow before sprinting to somewhere else.
Asmodeus' new life was just full of surprises. It had been so long since she'd seen someone like Gorou that the existence of their kind had completely slipped her mind.
At first glance, the general's animal ears and fluffy tail would make anyone lower their guard, and to be honest, it had a similar effect on her, too. But looking past that, his ears were in a permanent state of alertness, and the tail was held low, like a predator searching for danger.
Gorou bowed, leaving her at a bit of a loss on how to proceed. Ayaka had offered to give the Goddess a crash course on Inazuman etiquette before she'd left the city, but the offer was declined since they didn't know how much time Aether could stall the Raiden Shogun. There was also the fact that she didn't want to go through a boring lesson, but that was irrelevant.
The Goddess was about to bow until the general simply gave her a nod of respect, "It's nice to meet you, Kaslana."
Secretly relieved, Asmodeus returned the nod before it dawned on her, "So you've already heard of me."
"For better or worse," A faint smile traced his lips, "You have my thanks for helping those who've had their ambition stolen from them."
She shrugged off the attempt at gratitude. Such things were mostly unknown to her, "Kamisato Ayaka sent me to bring a letter."
"So I've heard," He affirmed, "The Divine Priestess is currently busy with the ongoing war effort. I'm afraid she cannot spare an opportunity to see you personally."
The Goddess sighed, "That's alright, can I just bring it to her directly?"
"Certainly."
At General Gorou's beckon, he escorted her through Watatsumi Island. Creatures of all sorts floated about the sky, glowing like another sun illuminating the day, adding another layer of bizarreness that she couldn't properly understand.
The general caught Asmodeus staring, "Beautiful, is it not?"
"It's unique from the rest of Inazuma." She curtly replied, not peeling her eyes away.
Gorou smirked, "If It's unique you want, then Serai Island is otherworldly. Dangerous, too."
One of the bioluminescent creatures floated by his head. Upon closer inspection, it resembled the jellyfish that were said to live in the sea. It befuddled her, but then again, this entire island was like a thriving sea above the water.
He gave the creature a little pat, and it shone just the tiniest bit brighter and flew off, "Beauty comes in many forms. The waves crashing against the shore, the people's smiles, the change that time brings to the world. The Raiden Shogun's Decree seeks to forsake this beauty, so we fight."
What is he going on about? "That sounds too vague."
Beauty? The world was ugly and twisted, a tournament for power that no one knew what to do with. Both Aether and the Fatui were collecting the Gnoses across Teyvat, and even Celestia wasn't exempt from that same drive for power.
"It is," Gorou admitted, "But unpredictability is a part of life. Attempting to obtain complete control is futile."
"Unless you're a God." She pointed out. The Electro Archon created the Vision Hunt Decree for this exact purpose, and that was to obtain complete control over Inazuma.
The general shook his head, "Even Gods aren't infallible. I take it you've heard of Orobaxi?"
"I know the gist of it." Reading through the archives of the Abyss Order during her short stay there had brought her to read up on what had happened while she'd been gone. Orobaxi came up, largely in part of the Raiden Shogun splitting an entire island in half to slay the God. She knew Aether was strong, but that kind of strength was out of reach by any of them at the moment.
"Then I needn't explain it any further to you." Gorou stopped, "We're here."
Saying that Asmodeus was confused was putting it lightly. The almighty strategist of the Watatsumi Resistance, who was responsible for the entire movement's ability to last this long after all this time, lived in a cave.
The Goddess tried to look deeper inside, spotting a small light, presumably from a flame, "She lives in here?"
"It's less of a home and more of her private quarters." He answered.
"That's what a home is." She rolled her eyes, "Don't suppose I have to knock."
The general stepped into the cavern, "She should've already known we were here and called for us, odd."
"Then, excuse me for intruding." Much to his dismay, she went in.
The place was smaller and comfier than Asmodeus thought. An odd bookshelf adorned with seashells lined the wall, close to a grand table. It was there she found the person they'd been looking for, but…
"She's sound asleep." It didn't take a master tactician to notice it, but she had to be sure. Judging from Gorou's drooping ears and antsy feet, this wasn't the first time that this happened.
"...Do we wake her up?"
Gorou looked at the enticing rocks on the floor, "No need, she'll come to in a few minutes."
True to his word, Sangonomiya Kokomi began to stir soon enough. She was mumbling something about energy this and energy that, as well as some other incoherent ramblings that Asmodeus couldn't understand.
Just when the Goddess thought she'd finally wake up, the priestess flopped back to the land of dreams.
Gorou sighed, "Very well. Please wait outside so that she may retain her dignity."
Rolling her eyes at the dramatics, Asmodeus did as he said. The walls of the cavern did well to carry the sound all the way to the mouth, and she could hear a faint whisper followed by a bloodcurdling scream.
The sound was abruptly cut off, and a shout from Gorou signaled her turn to enter.
The Divine Priestess was waiting at her desk. Any signs that she'd been dozing off were gone, and there wasn't anything to be seen on her that suggested she'd had just gotten a rude awakening. Next to her, Gorou stood guard, ears fully perked up once more.
"Greetings, Kaslana. I am Sangonomiya Kokomi," Kokomi introduced herself, "I've heard much of you from Beidou and Kazuha, but I'd been expecting someone else to be here."
"Aether, I'm assuming." The priestess nodded, and she wasn't all that surprised, seeing her attitude towards Ayaka's original offer of helping in the fight against the Vision Hunt Decree.
"The letter Kamisato Ayaka wanted me to bring to you has something to do with him. See for yourself." Asmodeus pulled out a scroll, removing it from its leather wrappings and handing it to Kokomi.
The Sangonomiya's eyes grew wide, and the Goddess could see them rereading the message repeatedly, just to be sure of its contents, "I–Is this true?"
"Yes." The priestess put a finger on her lips in thought.
"Do you have a plan beyond this point?" Kokomi questioned, finally putting the letter down, her fingers having gripped the edges so hard it left marks on the astoundingly sturdy paper.
"Pretty much nothing." Asmodeus really didn't have much else in mind afterward, as combat was just not her specialty, and partaking in doing so would mean she'd just make the whole thing a mess.
"Then we shall continue this conversation at the shrine," The priestess nodded, standing up, "When the time comes, I shall send for you. Until then, please rest. You must have had an arduous journey here."
"Fancy seeing you here."
Kazuha's return to Inazuma had been celebrated by those who knew him well and those just looking for any sort of foothold in this conflict, namely, Vision bearers. While it didn't sit with him right that his gift was more important than him, the morale boost couldn't be ignored.
It also helped Captain Beidou and the rest of the Crux fit in with the Watatsumi Resistance quickly. It had only been a few days, but with a little coercion from his end, the mercenary group sparring and striking up conversations with the locals were now a common sight on the island.
"Pretty surprising for me as well." Kaslana shrugged at his question. The Kaedehara had been expecting to see Aether, judging from the outlander's open disdain for the Vision Hunt Decree while they'd been at the Alcor. The woman before him, not so much.
The Kaedehara shook those remarks away, any ally was welcome to their cause, "What brings you here?"
Kazuha had run into Kaslana by complete accident while rummaging through Watatsumi's Library, looking for any hints on what might have happened to cause the decline of his family, as well as the few records people have made on the Raiden Shogun's famed technique.
Kaslana shrugged, "Same as anyone else who comes here."
"Excuse my brashness, but I didn't think of you as a reader." Not after seeing her on the Alcor, at least.
"There's a lot I don't know, so I might as well catch up when I get the chance." After grabbing several books on what seemed to be Inazuma's history, she settled down on a vacant tatami mat, a brutal sound following as the books came beside her. Betraying their small size, the ones she'd grabbed were dense.
After Kazuha was satisfied with his own picks, he chose to place himself beside her, earning him a glance from the woman as she quickly returned to her own books. He did the same, burying his nose deep into the tome.
In reality, neither of them was really reading at the moment, he supposed he was to blame for that.
"Why are you here?" Kaslana dully asked, setting her book down and sighing as she looked at him.
He did the same, making prolonged eye contact with her, "I thought it would be best that we got to know each other better. We will be fighting soon, after all."
"I wouldn't count on that," She snorted, "I'm not much of a fighter."
"There are many things people are good at," Kazuha replied, "I'm sure you have something up your sleeve as well."
"I guess," Kaslana looked away, "I should introduce you to someone sometime. Maybe he'd be less annoying if you did."
"Might I know him?"
"Well, he's–"
"There you are!" A resounding roar came, its source being a man hailing from the resistance. The current inhabitants of the Library didn't receive it well, glaring at them from all directions, Kaslana included among them. Like an angry mob, the soldier was carried out of the library with haste.
"Out of all the people she had to send, why him?" She gazed outside with dread as she groaned, "Looks like that's my signal."
"I'll return the books," Kazuha offered, "It looks like he was in a bit of a rush to get to you."
"Alright." Without saying anything more, she got up and left the building.
The Kaedehara sighed, pulling her books a little closer to him and beginning his look at the past once more.
A faint glow came from Kazuha's pocket, his breath hitching. He pulled out the box inside and opened it, his wide-eyed face morphing into one of disappointment when he saw that the fallen Vision inside was still dormant.
Kazuha looked at the spot where Kaslana had been a minute ago, his mind no longer on the book.
"See you around, Kaslana."
"Why'd she have you fetch me?" She asked, biting back a grumble forming in her throat.
"I volunteered for it, actually. I know my way around the island pretty well." He answered, his eyes observant of their surroundings.
Asmodeus wasn't sure if Teppei was showing the island off to her or getting her to Sangonomiya Kokomi as fast as possible. They weren't exactly running, but they were going at a pace slightly faster than normal, all while he gave her an unnecessary lecture on the ecosystem of Watatsumi Island.
The Goddess didn't need to know that those insects were called Onikabuto, she didn't need to know that they pushed each other off trees to assert dominance, and she especially would prefer not to know of the dangerous amount of residual Electro they carry in their bodies.
He wasn't getting the message, so her mind just shut his voice out a minute later. This was the time that her stomach finally decided to make its presence known again, rumbling so loudly even Teppei stopped to look at her.
"Not a word," Asmodeus cut him off before he could even say anything, approaching a tree with low-hanging fruit, "It's fine if I just grab one, right?"
"Sort of," Teppei said, pointing at one that was a little brighter than the rest, "Get that one."
She plucked it off the branch, "What's the difference?" A fruit was just a fruit, and no amount of ripeness or fertilizers used when growing these would change a thing.
"You'll see." The Goddess bit into the strange purple fruit.
When he said that, Kaslana was expecting something that could absolutely blow her away. Maybe reinvigorate the dying stomach she currently had and give her an entirely new perspective on the taste of fruits.
What she got instead wasn't exactly much, but it satiated her hunger, at the very least, "It's serviceable."
Out of all of the things she'd said that seemed to actually get him angered, "Just serviceable? What do you eat out there?"
"As long as I get to eat, whatever is fine." So long as it left her on a full stomach and looked palatable, there was nothing safe from her appetite.
"I'll get you to regret those words. Just you wait."
Asmodeus let out a genuine, haughty laugh by complete mistake and chose to roll with it, "I'd like to see you try."
The rest of the walk to the shrine felt quite mute in comparison. Teppei had gone completely silent and seemed to be stuck in his own little world inside his head. So stuck, in fact, that he didn't notice Sangonomiya Kokomi until he was about to walk past her.
It was only when the Divine Priestess cleared her throat that the logistics officer noticed. Completely knocked out of his trance, he gave Kokomi a bow, briefly announced Asmodeus' arrival– using her alias, of course–l, and left the scene.
The two women looked at the retreating form of Teppei, flabbergasted.
"Let's pretend that never happened," The Goddess tried to push it past them, "What did you need me for?"
The priestess nodded in agreement, "I've been meaning to seek your participation in what is to come."
Asmodeus had an inkling of what it was, "It's not like I've got much else to do. What is it?"
The Goddess followed the Sangonomiya to a table. On it was a simplified map of Inazuma, as well as miniatures of stone painted blue and purple to represent the forces of the resistance and the army of the shogunate, respectively.
A large circle of red ink was drawn on one of the shores of Yashiori island, not too far from where she'd first met Teppei, in fact. The purple stones were positioned close to it, too many for it to be a coincidence.
"If what Kamisato Ayaka has said about the Raiden Shogun being absent is true…" Kokomi started, her finger tracing the edges of the circle.
"...They're getting desperate," Asmodeus finished, "A bit too obvious, don't you think?"
"I agree," The priestess nodded, "But we cannot ignore their approach."
"Captain Beidou has filled me in a bit of your capabilities as well," The pink-haired girl admitted, "Will you help me?"
"I've said it to many other people, and I'll say it again. I'm not a fighter." It looks like Ayaka was kind enough not to bring up the Goddess' failed attempt at battling the Archon. Maybe she should have altered the letter a bit, just so that the message that she wasn't here to fight a war could get through.
"That isn't a problem," Kokomi reassured her, "Each piece on the board has its uses. It is my duty to put you in the best position to do so."
"But first, I'll need to know the full extent of your ability." Kokomi said, her eyes piercing right through the Goddess, "I've heard it isn't the power of a Vision. If you want to hide its origins, it's alright, I just need to know what you can do."
Archons, each step Asmodeus took into this conflict was one she couldn't reverse. Her fear of getting too caught up in it all to turn back was starting to take shape, and the fact that it seemed to be unavoidable so long as she tried to avoid it was annoying.
Perhaps it would have always ended like this…
It didn't mean the Goddess had to like it. She would've preferred to just be back at the teahouse, sleeping on the counter and maybe playing a little game or two with Thoma and Ayaka again.
Instead, Asmodeus had to fill the shoes of a Traveller who was currently absent and had a fair chance of being permanently so if the bones of Orobaxi were an indicator. The chances of coming out of that had to be impossible.
The lines of impossibility tend to blur when Gods are involved.
"...Alright then."
"There they are."
Kujou Sara set down her spyglass and made a final check on her war bow. The tight response of the bowstring ensured that she wouldn't miss now, especially when so much was at stake.
The Tengu was seriously starting to regret letting the outlanders at the police station go. From what she'd gotten from eyewitness reports, the ceremony to celebrate the hundredth vision to be seized was interrupted when a blonde Traveller directly challenged the Raiden Shogun in front of everyone.
What Kujou Sara's men had told her of what happened afterward had been wildly inconsistent, with others claiming that the intruder was struck down instantly, while some stated that they had taken their battle somewhere else.
The only certainty was that the Raiden Shogun was now absent. With the war against the Watatsumi Resistance still ongoing, they lacked the manpower to conduct any search for their missing Archon, and a sense of unease filled the air.
The Tenryou and Kanjou commissions then ordered that the event be covered up as best as possible and promptly sent the Tengu general and her men on this pointless crusade. Just what was Takayuki thinking?
A cry came from the opposing side, leaving her no choice but to set that question aside for later. The resistance was meeting them head-on without so much as a sign of the presence of Sanganomiya Kokomi.
Kujou Sara allowed herself a moment of relief. If the resistance planned on beating them through sheer brute force, this battle would be over before anyone knew it. The sooner this war ends, the fewer lives will be lost to its grasp.
The armies collided on the beach, the battlefield quickly escalating into a whirlwind of steel, blood, and cries of the warriors. The pristine white sand they stood upon was quickly painted red in the blood of friend and foe alike.
The sight was appalling, even for those who had already seen it before. Steadying herself with a deep breath, the Tengu nocked an arrow, taking aim at an enemy distracted by one of her soldiers.
She let the arrow fly, embedding itself into the shoulder of her target as he fell down. She averted her eyes from what was about to happen next, setting her sights on the next one she would shoot down.
The tide of purple that was the shogunate's army soon pushed back against the red of the resistance. It was a painful reminder to the general that her opponents were nothing more than countrymen.
They chose this. She reasoned. Anyone with a weapon on the battlefield was a warrior, regardless of what their status may be or the cause they fought for, and that was why they were to be treated as such.
Darkness covered Kujou Sara's sight for a moment. She blinked, was it a bird? Her eyes scanned the sky, seeing no bird in flight.
She found something else instead.
It was like a star had come down from the skies, crashing down on the battle to exact judgment against those fighting. The Raiden Shogun's wave of violet that carried out her will faltered once they all noticed. Some started to run, others dropped their weapons and looked at the sky in helplessness, and a few started to fight wildly, without care for their lives.
The few who still fought did little to stop the Watatsumi Resistance, who fought as if overtaken by a second wind. The gears started to turn in Kujou Sara's head, and a horrible possibility dawned on her.
Have they gone mad? Ignoring how they had even managed to do this, everyone fighting would die the second the blast landed. The entire landscape would be reshaped anew, and both sides would suffer for it.
Channeling as much power the Tengu's vision could handle, she fired an arrow right at the incoming ball of energy. Her hopes that it was a mere illusion were dashed when the Electro energy dispersed and the arrow was burnt to a crisp.
Any attempts at retreat would be futile, and the looks plastered on their faces told Kujou Sara that her soldiers knew the same thing. Still, as the general of the Raiden Shogun's army, it was her duty to think of a way out of this until the bitter end.
…It disappeared? It was an illusion after all?
Realization struck her at what was about to happen, she shouted her orders at the top of her lungs, but that was soon drowned out by the rumbling of the opposing army.
From the wreckage of ships and the cover of the trees emerged warriors. Their attire gave nothing of their allegiance away, and their arrival was met with cheers from the resistance.
A bubble floated harmlessly across the edge of her sight.
She was here, after all.
"You did it!" Teppei cheered, his eyes wide in wonder at the sight.
It was like a portion of the day had become night, shrouding the land in darkness, wherein even the brightest lights couldn't shine. It was only the knowledge that it was on their side and the assurance of Sangonomiya Kokomi herself that the soldiers of the resistance could keep their composure.
"Kaslana?" The woman who had made it all possible was on one knee, clutching her head as sweat trailed down her brow.
"Just a minor headache…" She gritted her teeth, trying to stand up unsuccessfully, gracelessly hitting the ground with an undignified yelp.
He was by her side instantly, "Do you need anything?"
All his time spent pestering whoever he could about joining the frontlines had finally paid off, in a way. The Divine Priestess herself had come to tell him of the role he had to play!
His initial proud declaration only got a low groan out of Asmodeus, though. It probably had something to do with what it was. A decent distance from the battle, Kaslana had done as Kokomi instructed while Teppei was just there to watch over her.
"Just tell me how the battle's going." She mumbled, rubbing her temples.
He did as she asked, taking out a spyglass and peering through the lens, his mouth curved into a smile at what he saw, "We're winning!"
"Guess I shouldn't have expected something specific from you," Kaslana grumbled, "Help me up."
Using his shoulder as a support, she hoisted herself up, and he held onto her when she stumbled at the first attempt, only letting go once he was sure she could handle herself just fine.
Tepepi gave her his spyglass, and she had her eye out for key moments. Gusts of Anemo that knocked back enemy soldiers and sent a man into the sky, barriers of Electro that disabled any who dared challenge a greatsword in combat, and the ethereal form of their priestess taking the reigns of the battlefield.
A horn was sounded, and the army of the Raiden Shogun had begun their retreat. Kaslana breathed a sigh of relief, "Now we wait."
A familiar grumble broke the silence of their wait, he smirked. There it was.
Before she could berate him for getting to witness one of her mistakes a second time, he raised his hand, "Not to worry," Teppei brought out a pot, the rugged surface still warm, "I came prepared."
Kaslana wordlessly scarfed it all up. Teppei could swear that there were traces of genuine enjoyment under that stone-cold exterior. He could feel it!
"How is it?" He asked, perhaps a little too eager.
Kaslana shrugged, "Better than serviceable, at least."
"You're welcome, Kaslana."
"...Whatever."
Ei was relentless. In a battle of speed, Aether had always been confident that he'd be ahead thanks to the blessing of Starlight. Without it, he had to rely on pure instinct to ensure no part of the Kagemusha's weapon touched a hair on his body.
That first clash the Traveller had done with the use of this world's element was almost entirely by fluke. Replicating it consciously was still out of his ability, and thus, he had to make full use of his body to stand his ground against the more experienced duelist.
Each time their weapons met, the screeching of metal tore at Aether's ears while the vibrations of the clash set his arms on fire. He looked Raiden Ei in the eye to ascertain whether or not she felt it as well, but she was either really good at hiding it or not hindered by it at all. Both options didn't bode well for him.
That tiny opening he made was all it took for his first loss at the hands of Raiden Ei. Though it was nothing but a friendly spar, tasting defeat after losing Lumine felt bitter.
Raiden Makoto had been watching from the sidelines, kneeling beside him and giggling for a moment before looking fondly at where the Kagemusha had stood a minute ago.
"Your sister's ruthless…" Each word felt like he was trying to talk underwater, his vocal cords crying out silently with each word.
Aether's cheek came under assault of the Archon's index finger, "She's taken an interest in you."
…
Makoto hadn't been lying. The morning after, Ei had invited him to have another go at her, and he obliged. Day after day, the losses piled up, and the time it took for a victor to be decided grew longer until it reached the point where it took an entire hour for him to taste defeat.
The Calamity struck soon after, and those intense mornings were nothing more than echoes of a bygone era. The only escape Aether had was in his dreams. In those, he could relive them in detail over and over.
The Traveller had those long nights of analyzing his mistakes to thank for being alive today.
Ei noticed it too, "You've improved."
"I learned from the best," Aether forced a smile.
You're holding back. It looked like the Electro Archon herself didn't notice, but he did.
The Kagemusha he'd once fought was more sure of herself and forceful in her strikes. Leaving a single gap meant a swift fall.
Was it because of Asmodeus? "Why'd you let her go?"
The question struck a nerve. Ei's hand twitched for a fraction of a second, "I've longed to spar with you again. I will have no interruptions."
Her polearm met his sword, and both of them held steady in the clash. He looked Raiden Ei in the eyes, making sure not to give an opening this time. She noticed this and pulled away, a lightning bolt crashing down where they once stood. It would've hit him had he not evaded in time.
Even though Aether and Ei hadn't been able to land a blow on the other, they were both in pain.
…Then why are you crying?
"...Far from the world that still makes both of my eyes blurred…"
AN:
I've recently found that I've had something wrong this entire time. Ingame, it's spelled out as Traveler, with a single L instead of what I've been using this entire time. You'd think that constantly using the archives for reference would make me spot this kind of thing faster, but it didn't…