Chapter 8 – Judgment
He could barely process whatever had just happened.
Aether had done a lot today, and directly challenging the Electro Archon in a fight was by far the least sane course of action possible. In a sense, he'd kept Ayato and Ayaka out of danger by distracting the venue before they could relinquish their Visions. But now, he was the one about to face the wrath of violet thunder head-on. And his executioner stood right before him, her feet slowly touching the ground as her gaze remained fixated on the intruder.
He felt small.
Like last time, the memories flowed back into his mind when he left the material plane. The woman sitting on the throne within Tenshukaku. The woman meditating in a realm of pure silence and unfettered stillness. The woman who visited his dreams to provide him with guidance.
They were one and the same... Makoto, right? He ignored why she did not tell him about her position as the Archon he'd been trying to reach, and now he was too troubled to even formulate a proper sentence. It made no sense at all. If she had enacted the Vision Hunt Decree, then why was she-
"A threat to eternity." the goddess' voice cut his train of thought short. "This is what you were immediately labeled as upon entering this realm. Hm. I did not expect you to be Visionless, but your presence here means execution is now warranted." She briefly paused. "Very well. I shall deal with you myself."
A similar polearm materialized in her hand, signifying that the time for discussion was already over. Aether took a step forward. "Wait, what's the meani-"
…
He made the mistake of blinking as he spoke.
When his eyes opened again, he was flying backwards, blade drawn, and a purple gash torn open across his chest. He landed and tumbled on the coarse sand an arrowshot away. He leaned on his sword and tried to stand, coughing. The blond did not even see himself try to parry her strike – and fail. She was just there, and had slashed him faster than his mind could even fathom.
Thankfully, he was far enough now to ask his question-
She stood right in front of him as if she'd always been there, dominating, eyes glowing with lightning so bright the rest of her face was masked in shadow. A millisecond later, the staff of her polearm was swung against his ribcage, and he was sent flying once more.
This time however, he did not blink.
As she nimbly ran towards him, almost invisible, he preemptively parried. She took notice, and disappeared in a flash before reappearing in his blind spot. The Traveler felt pure lightning scorch his back, his opponent finally obtaining a hoarse groan out of him.
Contorting his body in mid-air, he landed on his feet and slid against the smooth sand as she blinked away. Aether tried to focus. She was quick to both strike and react, and having only access to a third of his original power made his own movements feel sluggish in comparison. If he kept trying to recklessly go on the attack or even match her pace, he would be overwhelmed in a matter of seconds.
He'd let her come to him first, then.
The sand beneath him rumbled and shook, shifting and rearranging at his command. Still trying to gauge the distance between his opponent and himself, he sent a pulse of Geo in her direction. The golden energy traveled underground at a staggering speed, but never seemed to reach her. The God of Thunder disappeared, only leaving behind a violet afterimage as she rushed towards him. Aether braced himself, anticipating the sudden strike before her reach even allowed a slash. Once again, she vanished, but he felt that the attack was imminent.
"If you keep reading my movements, then I'll just blindly predict how you'll try to counter."
Seven stone spears erupted in a circle around him, and he hurled them overhead. The prediction was risky, a real shot in the dark, but it paid off: she was indeed right above him, plummeting down to strike his head. And weapons crafted from pure elemental energy were flying straight her way too quickly for even someone like her to dodge.
She did not even try to move out of harm's way.
In a blur, she deflected all the oncoming strikes with perfect form and kept plunging, her blade right above his head. She crashed in an explosion of thunder and light, soon followed by an ear-shattering clamor. Yet amidst the chaos, the Electro Archon clicked her tongue. Dust and storm clouds dissipated, and her tassel had only pierced through sand and gravel. An inch to her right, was her intended target. Teeth gritted and guarding with his sword, the blond gripped an eighth lance with his left hand, and thrusted it towards her face. Fiery golden light reflected into deep purple, his opponent unflinching. He was so close to striking her, and she hadn't made a motion to react. He only needed half a second-
"Faced with an undefeatable opponent, and all you could do is become slightly faster? Pitiful." she uttered.
And he blinked.
The spear's tassel slowly crumbled in her grasp, and sparks gathered around her palm as she shattered it. Was the staff trembling because of the recoil from his own strike, or were his arms actually shaking? He could not tell. In a desperate motion, he formed a ball of wind and swung, but was immediately repelled by a burst of electricity channeled by her body.
When he landed, he found himself unable to get up. To his horror, his body was paralyzed all over, with incapacitating purple energy running beneath his skin. Small arcs of lightning escaped from his cuts and wounds as a strange power held him firmly in place. Aether grunted, and cursed himself internally. Nothing had gone as planned, and now he was at her complete mercy.
"The ability to wield elemental power without a Vision. Multiple elements at once, even." He heard her come up behind him, and though he couldn't look, he felt her piercing gaze that made his hair stand up on end. "Outlandish features, and sufficient battle experience to try and emulate the Geo Archon's fighting style. You are not just an exception, but an oddity as well. Had you not been such a threat to Eternity, I would have liked to discuss your origins and the source of your power. But this, is where it ends."
"This is actually insane..." he scowled. "What does eternity even mean to you?"
She did not answer. He only felt the ominous presence get closer, and the brand on his neck begin to act up. Loud buzzing and crackling rang in his ears, as her polearm was now ready to execute him in a flash of channeled lightning. It was over. The Traveler's tale would find its end at the hands of the Electro Archon. It was unacceptable. Dying in this foreign land now, when so much remained to be done, was not an option. He needed to stop this woman at any cost.
Aether finally snapped. "Why are you even doing this, Makoto?!"
And then... nothing. Pure silence, like the open sea before an imminent storm. But the storm never came, as her violet blade hung in the air and did not strike him.
During this entire battle, she had not shown even a hint of emotion. The Electro Archon had been fulfilling this role of an executioner, marching towards him like the unstoppable eternity she embodied. And yet in this moment, he heard a sound that differentiated her from a one-track-minded harbinger of death. A humanlike sound. A shuddered breath of surprise.
"Where," She spoke slowly, her tone wavering with disbelief and underlying anger. "Where did you hear that name?"
"What are you talking about? Are you actually going to pretend you're not yourself so you won't have to explain your motives to me?" he sneered. "That's low, but I should expect as much from the goddess who manipulated me for so long."
"I will only ask one more time." She dominated her own emotions in a second, but the pressing need to obtain answers from him remained. "This is not a name that many people know of, and it should remain as such. So now, tell me how you came across that information."
"This is the name you gave me! What are you on about?"
"I uttered no name in your presence, outander." The Archon's gaze suddenly hardened. "If this is an attempt at trickery, know that I will make your death even more painful if you deceive me. I am impartial in my judgment, but I take this particular matter to heart as Inazuma's Archon and ruler. If you wish to add another instance of blasphemy to your long list of crimes, simply ask to be executed this instant."
What was this? Why was she the one taking offense when he did not understand the situation? Had she fallen from the sky? Lost her divine strength when a god with power exceeding her own took away the only family she ever had? Had she woken up in a land with strange people and an even stranger language to be guided by a pixie through human nations? Was she trying to save these nations on her journey, hoping to get both her sibling and her power back?
Was she the one involved in a conflict she didn't understand? Was she the one trying to fix the mistakes of others?
Did she wake up every day with the feeling that this world wanted her gone?
Her opponent slowly rose to a crouching position, his back still facing her. "This is giving me a headache. I won't try to understand your reasons anymore, God of Eternity. You want an excuse to kill me this badly?" He looked over his shoulder, eye glinting violet with anger. "Have it your way, but I'm not going down that easily."
A burst of Electro came forth within his body, and he managed to shake off the paralysis. Aether leaped and turned around in mid-air, four spinning discs of electricity hovering around his body. He landed at dueling distance in front of her, his blade reconjured and the brand crackling. Aether felt no pain, no hindrance, or curse assail him. Only the rush caused by a power he'd finally managed to control, and burning anger directed at his opponent.
She frowned, not out of displeasure, but downright hatred. "I see. You were merely using a name you heard in some Archon-forsaken way to try and throw me off. Underhanded, but insects do what they must to survive against a predator that outmatches them in every conceivable way." She masterfully spun the polearm in her hand, before wielding it horizontally. Even from a distance, he could tell that it was right at the level of his throat. "You probably ignore the sheer gravity of your sin, but you shall die by my hand nonetheless. I am about to deliver judgment."
He heard the low hum of approaching thunder as she made that statement, but did not back down.
"By all means." He adopted an offensive stance, and the discs at his side began to spin even faster. "Let the execution begin."
She launched herself at him faster than his eyes could see, but he hurled the four lightning blades at the path he expected her to follow. None of the first three connected, but the flash of light emitted by the final disc briefly revealed the outline of her shadow. She had narrowly dodged this one. His aim was getting better - almost as if quick jolts of electricity resonated with her divine aura. Instinctively, he spun around and slashed the air behind him.
She was indeed there, and their steels clashed as they repelled one another. Her offensive was more relentless now, compared to the careful and precise moves she'd used a few moments ago. But even as she unleashed her fury on the Traveler, he refused to crumble under the endless assault. Blood splurted from his fresh wounds, he could barely dodge or parry, but he fought with a valor and grit no mortal heart could muster.
Under the fierce slashes that encompassed his view, Aether couldn't keep track of his own movements. A wild fighting spirit seemed to have taken hold of him, blocking curving purple slashes, yet still being cut through by others. He was running low on stamina, his vision dimming as he neared his limit, and yet here he stood. If he didn't know why this battle had begun, sheer arrogance was his sole driving force against a god's almighty power.
The Raiden Shogun moved back, a hint of surprise on her face. Her opponent was only throwing wild guesses at her attacks rather than carefully evading them like before, but that small change irked her. He could barely stand, and his breathing was ragged, but he was not dead yet. The desperation to live he showed was a power that coursed erratically through his body, as if he was being driven by-
"Do not believe for a moment that you can read me. I will not have you getting confident in this plane."
A thunderous blade arched upwards along the edge of her tassel, and cleaved right through him. Aether fell to his knees, gasping for air and watching drops of his blood trickle onto the sand. This time, he had not been able to even perceive a movement, or a single shift in the air. She blinked away. A mere instant later, the earth pulsed in a large radius around him. He'd missed her again.
He leaned on his sword and tried to stand, only for five bolts to strike him down repeatedly. His body was being tossed in between the strikes like a stringless puppet as he writhed in pain. His vision had gone fully violet, his senses clouded by the omnipresent boom of thunder in her voice.
"I ignore what you yearned for or what were your motives upon breaching this sanctum. But know this: none can defy the laws of eternity unpunished."
"That didn't stop me from trying, though." he thought. "And these laws won't stop your people either."
"Life is but a passing moment, and this world a fleeting shadow. Since you do not wish to bend to these fundamental rules, eternity itself shall break all resolve you previously had. Now, your defeat will be an example of foolishness for mortals, and my people's will shall be molded back into what eternity demands."
He screamed out at the all-encompassing storm in his agonizing pain, but his voice felt like a wilting speck of existence in the entirety of time. For the ever-stretching eternity, the dying screams of an outlander could have very well been a whisper. For the God of Thunder, it was just another execution she needed to carry out.
"Your verdict has been decided."
He couldn't tell if he had regained sight, but this image appeared in his mind, forever seared into his brain. The Electro Archon stood over him as he lay in the dust of an ethereal plane, defeated. His ambition crushed and obliterated. Her purple hair flowed along the winds of a raging storm, and the polearm in her hands glowed in a flash of lightning. She wielded it overhead, ready to reap him in a single, sweeping motion.
And thunder spoke thus:
"Guilty."
The Shogunate's army was quite vast, like the grains of sand on a beach.
In fact, they were so large in numbers that it was impossible to distinguish the beach they were stepping on. The soldiers marched like a human block past the darkened soil of Nazuchi; Shogunate banners flew high; blazing campfires produced thick lines of smoke on the horizon as they slowly rose into the cloudless sky.
This was a time of war. Inazuma's very culture being put to the test in the form of the Sangonomiya conflict. As expected, all men capable of fighting had taken up arms to go suppress any form of insurrection that could arise from the west. The families of Narukami were proud of their sons, and so this act of self-sacrifice for their nation came naturally to most.
Sara felt relief in knowing that the overwhelming majority was still willing to fight under the same banner, even in the midst of the controversial Vison Hunt Decree. Well, Vision-bearers made up less than a third of the adult population, and those not concerned with ambition loss had no qualms about it for the most part. Stamping out the rebellion was more important to them, and so the ongoing war had become a priority for her as well.
Her jet-black wings briefly stopped to take advantage of a sudden wind current, as she slightly picked up speed. Below her, the camps along the coast of Kannazuka passed by in a blur, all seeming so small from the skies above. Doing reconnaissance work was unbecoming of a general according to the lords of the Tenryou Commission, but Sara felt compelled to use her tengu lineage's gift of flight in order to grant their army an advantage. With most of her kind living in seclusion and seldom interacting with mankind, her abilities had no equal in the Commission or the military. Besides, it could barely be considered scouting in the strictest sense of the word: while she could not cover large distances between the islands in flight, confirming the enemy's exact position on the easternmost part of Yashiori was a precious morsel of intel she could provide to the lords. Her greatest strength still lay in commanding the armies on solid ground as they slowly advanced against the soldiers of Watatsumi.
The general's eyes narrowed, a hint of electricity in her breath as she flew slightly faster towards the Kujou encampment. The first tents appeared below her, gradually replaced by sturdier buildings as she progressed into Shogunate territory. Encampments made of leather and wood gave way to sturdier stone barracks lined with defensive artillery, and punctuated with open training grounds for the units on standby.
A few heads turned her way as her shadow sped above the military grounds. Deftly controlling her altitude, Sara let her body drop when she neared the main barrack. The winds supported her wings for another second, before she performed an expert landing through the drilling grounds, and just before the Shakkei Fortress. Upon her arrival, the sounds and shouts of training completely stopped. Soldiers and lieutenants that stood nearby saluted in the general's presence, while those farther away looked on in awe. The tengu sternly marched towards the keep's single gate, pushing her way into the Tenryou Commission's meeting room. Torches were fixed on the walls, emitting lights that danced on the ceiling and the round table at the room's center. The other generals of Tenryou sat in silence around it, looking up at the newcomer when she entered the room.
"General Kujou." one of the generals greeted. He was older than the others, with shades of gray hair framing a battle-bruised face. "We were not informed that you would be back from Tatarasuna so soon. Not exhausting your flight stamina, I hope?"
Though she was nearly out of breath, Sara stood naturally upright. "Not at all. I presume none of our sentinels were quick enough to reach the fortress when I landed. The Shogunate is in luck, the Watatsumii have no tengus or other creatures capable of flight among their ranks."
She met Kujou Masahito's gaze as she sat opposite to the elder. Her adoptive brother leaned over the table, an eyebrow raised. "Sister, is there a statement you wish to make before we begin? There seems to be something bothering you today."
How had he perceived that? Her emotions had been more visible lately, and the tengu wasn't fond of showing any form of weakness, even to fellow Shogunate generals or her adoptive sibling. She removed the mask from the side of her face, indigo bangs lightly swaying as she sighed and set it down in front of her.
"We are not winning this war, generals."
Unexpected silence engulfed the room whole. All the men sitting at this table exchanged brief glances, but she spoke again before either of them could formulate a proper response.
"The army is lacking in too many departments to handle this conflict effectively. The way things currently stand, the Sangonomiya soldiers cannot hope to defeat us, but we are also unable to claim a complete victory over them and put an end to this war." She sternly swept across the room, all the attention now on her. "What I have seen in Tatarasuna is deeply concerning, and what is more worrying is that none of you seem aware of it. We have currently no way of stopping the Watatsumii should they reach the island – which, given the power of their current navy, is only a matter of time. Our fortifications and defense lines are in ruins, and the farther away we get from the encampment, the less organized and battle-ready our troops are. We are at the complete mercy of a surprise attack coming from the beaches of Yashiori, and the crumbling state of our military is why we have not yet managed to fully take the island from them."
The final statement came down like a hammer, mostly because it was true. Yashiori Island was not only in a perpetual state of crisis due to the Tatarigami seeping into the land and forcing over half of its inhabitants to flee in the past years, but both sides had not made any progress in defeating the other during the many battles that were fought beneath the constant storm. The fighting had come to a standstill, but because the Shogunate could not repel the Sangonomiya soldiers, the latter's troops had established themselves on the northern side of the island. With no protection from the Balethunder churning within the Musoujin Gorge, they could not get very far. But this same gorge prevented the Narukami's infantry from pressing them from the south and driving them out of the island.
"Fort Fujitou has become virtually untouchable by the Shogunate, and in truth, the resistance could very well be planning a rapid offensive from Yashiori as we speak. With our current resources, we would not be capable of stopping them before they dealt us a critical blow."
Another general raised a hand. The upper side of his face was masked by a kabuto that fell on his eyes, but his large and veiny neck was framed by the ends of auburn bangs.
"General Kujou, you seem very keen on painting our troops in the most negative light possible. Is it on purpose that you attempt to break our spirit, when we need the morale of our men to be at its highest?" His chin rested on his hands, which were holding the hilt of a sword planted in the ground. "All of these concerns seem overinflated to me. I understand being cautious, but if I may, you are calling out non-issues for our military."
Sara slowly blinked, her tone even. "With all due respect, Lord Nanri, did you even listen to what I said? I fail to see how having no defense that can muster up a response to the threat posed by the resistance is a non-issue."
"What he is saying is that you only focus on our few potential failures, rather than trying to advance on our many victories." The elder cut in, two fingers on his temple. "The battle of south Kannazuka, where we outmaneuvered countless ambushes and struck their main force. The pushback of Nazuchi Beach! The lightning-strike of Mikage – successfully led by your own brother, might I add!" His clenched fist pounded on the table while mentioning Masahito. "It's like you are leaving out proof of our clear domination of this battlefield on purpose, and for what?"
"It is true that we have achieved a lot against our enemy, but now is absolutely not the time to get complacent." she argued, now standing over the table. "The Watatsumii are cunning, and have skilled leaders to manage their troops. They have nothing to lose by being bold, while we represent the Shogunate's authority. Each decision we make at this table and in battle must be carefully crafted without ever underestimating our opponent."
"And yet you have returned to the battlefield only less than a month ago." another general spoke with little conviction. "Perhaps enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree on the main island has made you wary of everything, including your own shadow, but we have maintained our advantage this entire time even without your alarms."
Baffling. And utterly disrespectful at that. Maybe the Vision Hunt Decree had indeed changed her, but Kujou Sara knew that her instincts hadn't dulled, quite the opposite. And yet these men sat here, refusing to heed any advice to prevent disaster from striking them. The Almighty Shogun's providence was truly what had kept this army functioning this entire time, because their troops could have fallen to Sangonomiya long ago. Well, she was here now, and refused to let the outcome of this war be solely decided by their Archon's benevolence. She had been sent to play her part.
Sara looked at her brother, her eyes clearly awaiting his support. But to her surprise, Kujou Masahito merely shifted in his seat.
"Our troops' defensive strategy is the same that has been used by the Shogunate for the past centuries. It has proved to be quite effective, but General Sara is not entirely wrong – our enemy is constantly evolving and adapting to our approach." She felt a tinge of nervousness emanate from him when their eyes met, yet she couldn't identify why. "But rest assured, my fellow generals, I have received special authorization from the Tenryou Commissioner himself to bring the capabilities of our military to the next level."
Where his sister's statement had brought forth a concerned silence among the attendees, Masahito's words immediately seemed to spark an interest within the military men. They instinctively leaned over the table in his direction, hanging onto the Kujou heir's breath. Taken aback by the sudden attention, he cleared his throat.
"The problems raised by my sister have already been found very sensible within the Commission. Thanks to his great foresight, Father has a concrete plan to reinforce our defensive measures against the rebels through the use of heavy artillery. Namely, the Kamuijima cannons."
Lord Nanri wheezed, unbothered by the disapproving glare his fellow generals sent his way. "Ah, yes, the Rusty Cannons of the Shogunate! This is undeniably the kind of archaic technology we need to win this war, am I right?" He pulled a bottle of sake from underneath his seat and drank from it, his ironic smile suddenly shifting into a sour scowl. "Tell your daddy Commissioner to keep his head in the Tri-Commission's papers, Masahito. He's either out of touch with the battlefield due to not fighting for so long, or has gone straight up senile-"
He didn't get to finish, as the tip of Masahito's blade was pressed under his chin. General Nanri, choked on his own breath, a drop of sake falling from his lips.
"You will not speak of neither my father nor the Tenryou Commissioner in my presence with such disrespect." Masahito growled. "You have a loud bark, my lord, but it seems your own instincts have been eroded as well. The man you call senile would have disarmed me with his bare hands in the blink of an eye. So tell me, how do you think you can compare to Kujou Takayuki?"
"Brother, enough!" Sara's palm slammed against the table.
The elder was about to unsheathe his own blade, when he froze. Silence returned to the meeting room just as suddenly as it had left, only cut up by a resounding, rhythmical sound. The five generals' heads simultaneously turned to the adjacent room, which was unlit. The slow clapping came from behind a curtain, and was now accompanied by haughty laughter.
"What an amazing performance by this country's best and brightest. How fitting, the incompetence of Inazuma's Archon is even reflected in their military. It checks out, I suppose. Eternity has been drilled into the spirit of these mindless sheep-soldiers, and now they willingly march straight into defeat."
A figure stepped into the room, wooden sandals clacking on the cold stone floor. He wore a large hat that covered the top half of his fair face, along with opulent Inazuman attire. The tengu noticed his clothes bore the mitsudomoe, a familiar sight on the encampment, but neither his words nor countenance belonged to someone who'd sworn allegiance to the Shogunate.
Quite the opposite.
A longbow slowly materialized in her hand. "You are... ?"
Her brother stood up in a panic, sheathing his sword and taking a bow as fast as he could. "L-Lord Harbinger! I didn't know you had arrived before us to this meeting. I was just about to explain why you were here, and-"
The Balladeer silenced him with a mere flick of the wrist. "Right, right. There is not much to explain anyway, General." He gestured at himself in faux modesty. "We are simply the reinforcements you've all been waiting for."
"Both this man and his colleague have made it possible to send engineers from Snezhnaya to our facilities." Masahito explained in a hurry, trying to get his sister's attention. "Their military technology is unsurpassed in all of Teyvat, and they will use this very expertise to completely rework our artillery from the ground up. Even the Kamuijima Cannons will soon be operational again, and with many upgrades to boot."
The elder regarded the Harbinger with awe upon hearing the delightful news. Yet one person could not even begin to trust the help he offered so easily. Sara spoke to her adoptive sibling in a hushed tone, her eyes not leaving Scaramouche. "Snezhnayan... brother, you have enlisted the help of Fatui engineers?"
"Well, yes, with the Shogunate's blessing, I-"
"Then I must veto it."
Once again, shouts of outrage rose at the generals' table. Scaramouche watched it all unfold, an unperturbed coy smile still drawn on his face.
The tengu general's voice rang above the uproar, as she pointed a finger at the Harbinger. "I will not have this army cooperating with the Fatui, much less with a man who spews such blasphemy about the Almighty Shogun!"
"General Kujou, this is far from being reasonable!" the elder shouted. "Not only are you outright rejecting an honored guest's assistance, you're also attempting to veto a decision that was taken by the Tenryou Commissioner himself!"
"We serve our Archon first, and win this war for the Shogunate after." Sara stood upright, meeting the generals' gazes one by one. "Perhaps devotion is indeed clouding my judgment, but refusing to trust diplomats who are infamous across the nations for being hostile towards other gods cannot be called unreasonable."
"You're right. What's unreasonable is thinking your insignificant beliefs can change something to the current situation." The Balladeer's gaze pierced her very soul, as he beheld her in unveiled contempt. "This is not your decision to make, youkai. And whatever you say, your god is not in control of this war either."
She snapped. A thunderous arrow was loosed at the taunting man, singing through the thick air as it flew directly towards his head. Yet rather than the sound of an arrowhead meeting his skin and lightning burning through the flesh that she expected, a sudden snapping of wood was heard. Her bowstring was still vibrating after being drawn, when she came to the realization that she wouldn't hit her target. The Fatui Harbinger had not moved, unperturbed as he'd seized the arrow in mid-air betwixt his fingers. He nonchalantly inspected the arrowhead that was still buzzing with electricity, and his gaze slightly hardened as he dismissed the elemental power from it. He flicked it around in his hand for a moment, before letting it fall at his feet. The arrow had been as effective as a child's toy sent with minimum velocity.
The generals were left speechless, looking at either side as Scaramouche pushed himself off the wall. He walked up to the tengu as her steely glare went way past him, the room still wrapped in a deathly silence, save for the humming of her bowstring and the clacking of his geta sandals. He stopped at her level, and Sara noticed that he was the one searching for her gaze.
Scaramouche spoke slowly, his tone filled with disdain. "That's it? The youkai general of Inazuma, Eternity's vanguard and first soldier, is only capable of this? Talk about an embarrassment – no wonder your Archon won't show herself to the public." His scoff turned into a chuckle, but it was cut too short to sound even remotely sincere. The glacial contempt soon came back. "Take yourself, as well as the soldiers who think like you, and go chase after one or two Watatsumi soldiers like dogs after a ball. Go blindly fight this war that your kind craves so, and if you die, well it won't really matter in the end. I will stay here, and gladly watch your downfall as we secure the actual victory. And when you look back at your efforts, at your blood and sweat that you will have sacrificed for these ideals, you will find that everything was worthless, a beautiful display of how foolish you are."
"I have not and will not ask for the Fatui's blessing to win this war, Harbinger." She upheld the gaze of not only him, but all the generals seated at the table. "I shall bring the resistance to his knees, and it will be done my way – as Her Excellency the Almighty Shogun desired. In the meantime, I will advise you all not to forget where your allegiance and your honor lie."
They remained silent. Kujou Sara spun on her heel, the garments of her uniform flapping as she pushed the keep's door open with a strong motion. Not even her brother tried to stop her as she stepped outside.
The Shogunate's army had made its choice, and it was to trust the Fatui. So she was allowed to make her own choice, to crush the Watatsumii who tried to oppose her god. With a Harbinger by their side or not, her own duty remained to strike down traitors and enemies, and it would be done. Blood would get on her hands, for the sake of the Almighty Shogun's design. She had chosen that life.
The General of the Tenryou Commission unfurled her wings, and looked at the skies above. Cloudy and holding back heavy rain – a storm was inevitable. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't perceive a single ray of sunlight.
Sara sighed as the first raindrops crashed on her face and hair, and decided to walk. No matter how hard she looked...
She didn't have a single ally.
And the first part comes to a close!
We'll be heading into the Resistance Arc starting next chapter, which was probably the part of the original quest that made me want to rewrite it so much. It's going to be interesting for sure, especially now that we know the entirety of Scaramouche's backstory and how it can be utilized in a main quest. Kujou Sara also got the somewhat short end of the stick, but I think her role as both a general and a devout to Eternity gives her potential as a character. I'm looking forward to what I'll get to do with them all.