"So, a Liyue Adeptus. My apologies if I was discourteous."
Yae Miko looked Lora up and down. Liyue Adepti were no ordinary mortals and possessed formidable strength—but whatever stood before her felt far more complicated than that alone.
"However," Yae Miko continued lightly, "if you're after the Gnosis, shouldn't you be speaking to the Raiden Shogun? Why come to me?"
"I know the Gnosis is in your keeping. Five hundred years ago, Ei entrusted it to you."
Lora's voice remained calm and measured.
At that, Yae Miko's expression sharpened. She studied Lora for a long moment before turning to Ayaka.
"Miss Kamisato, would you mind waiting outside? I have something to discuss with this Liyue Adeptus."
"Of course."
Ayaka understood that what followed was not meant for the young lady of the Yashiro Commission to hear. Without protest, she rose and quietly left the room.
Once the door closed, the laziness in Yae Miko's tone vanished, replaced by quiet severity.
"Was it Rex Lapis who sent you for the Gnosis? Is he still alive? Or is this meant to provoke war between Inazuma and Liyue?"
Lora shook her head.
"I simply need the Gnosis."
"You need it?" Yae Miko frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping over Lora. "You carry a Hydro Vision. Your power should be aligned with water. Even if you sought ascension, your interest ought to lie with the Hydro Archon's Gnosis—not the Electro Archon's."
"How to put this…"
Lora paused, drawing a slow breath. When she raised her eyes again, something in her presence had shifted—cold, dignified, almost sacred.
"Yae Miko, the one standing before you is the Primordial Sea of Birth—the heart that ruled Fontaine for millennia. I am the Hydro Archon, Egeria."
As her words fell, power surged outward.
A vast blue-white domain unfolded, engulfing Yae Miko within it. Beneath her feet spread a mirror-smooth lake; above, an endless sky of pure azure, streaked with drifting white clouds. Sea and sky merged into a boundless horizon.
"You…"
Yae Miko stared in stunned disbelief.
The domain lasted only a heartbeat. When it receded, the shrine stood as before—but Yae Miko did not immediately recover.
"You're the former Hydro Archon of Fontaine… Egeria. But you were…"
"Dead?" Lora finished calmly.
"I was. And now I stand before you again. I need the Gnosis. Hand over the one you've been safeguarding."
Yae Miko fell silent.
Five hundred years ago, during the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm, she had been little more than a young fox, uninvolved in the war. She did not know the full truth of what had happened.
But she knew that gods had fallen—Egeria among them, as well as the previous Electro Archon, Raiden Makoto.
And yet…
Here she was.
A god who had died—returned.
Yae Miko did not doubt her. Even a Liyue Adeptus could not have manifested such a domain—one that left her utterly powerless within it. Inside that expanse, she had felt not only overwhelming Hydro, but her Vision falling completely silent, cut off from all response.
That was not mere elemental pressure.
That was divine authority overriding a Vision.
Lora watched her quietly, offering no further push.
After a long silence, Yae Miko finally spoke.
"I can give you the Gnosis. On one condition."
"Bargaining with a god—very on brand for Guuji Yae."
Lora's lips curved faintly. The request did not surprise her; it suited the fox perfectly.
"Let's hear it."
"Help me save Ei."
As expected.
"Didn't you already entrust Lumine and Paimon with that?"
"The Traveler is indeed extraordinary—someone who can stir even the threads of fate," Yae Miko replied, her tone uncharacteristically earnest. "But under the current circumstances, asking you is the wiser choice. Your presence may be exactly what it takes to bring Ei back to her senses."
"Back to her senses?"
Lora hesitated.
"Are you sure you don't mean pushing her further off the edge? I returned from death itself. If she sees me… do you truly believe she'll remain calm?"
"It doesn't matter," Yae Miko said with a firm shake of her head. "Whether she shatters further or finds her way back—anything is better than this."
"She's sealed herself inside the Plane of Euthymia for five hundred years. If this continues, Inazuma will cease to be Inazuma."
She let out a quiet sigh.
"I did not know Makoto for long. But I cannot believe she would ever wish to see her sister like this. Nor would she wish to see Inazuma become what it has."
Lora regarded her in silence.
"If I refuse, you won't hand over the Gnosis?"
Yae Miko smiled faintly.
"You know I'm a fox. In mortal stories, foxes are cunning creatures. Why would I agree to a bargain where I lose?"
Lora's lips curved.
"But you can't defeat me."
"But I have the Raiden Shogun."
Yae Miko's smile did not waver.
"If anything were to happen at the Grand Narukami Shrine, the Shogun would appear. With both the Shogun and Ei present, I would be quite safe. And if you chose to force the matter… it would mean war between Fontaine and Inazuma."
"Would it?"
Lora's smile turned faintly amused.
"Fontaine doesn't even know I'm alive. And the current Hydro Archon is Focalors—what does she have to do with me?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"A small reminder: the actions of a single god do not constitute the will of a nation."
Yae Miko went still for a brief moment.
Lora continued, her tone steady.
"And tell me—how old are you? Have you ever stood before the other original Archons? Do you truly understand the power they commanded?"
"What makes you so certain the Shogun and Ei would arrive before I finish with you?"
Her voice cooled.
"I am the Hydro Archon, Egeria. I am the heart of the Primordial Sea. The purest, most fundamental water in all of Teyvat—the sea from which all waters flow."
She took a single step forward.
"Are you certain you can hold me… long enough for them to arrive?"