"They are not rebelling against the Raiden Shogun. They only hope you will abolish the Vision Hunt Decree."
Her voice softened. "The Tenryou Commission twisted its enforcement. The decree has brought immense suffering to Inazuma. What your people need is not distance… but your presence. As their god, your willingness to truly see them is the greatest gift you can offer."
As she looked up at the stars overhead—the radiant lights carrying her people's fervent wishes—a flicker of uncertainty passed through her eyes for the first time.
"But only eternity draws closest to the Heavenly Principles… You saw what became of the nation that pursued progress without restraint, didn't you? Even you… fell because of it. Just like my sister." Sorrow weighed heavily in her voice.
Lora exhaled slowly. "Then this is what you need to hear next."
She steadied herself.
"The war back then… you misunderstood it."
"…Misunderstood?" she echoed, caught off guard.
"The Cataclysm was not born from Khaenri'ah's pursuit of progress angering the heavens," Lora said quietly. "It was the Abyss."
"The Abyss…" Doubt flickered in her gaze.
"The Heavenly Principles do not oppose human advancement," Lora continued. "Khaenri'ah was a godless nation, yet it flourished for a thousand years without interference. Progress was never the crime. The war began when they reached for something else—when they turned to the Abyss."
She fell silent, absorbing every word.
"At the time, Khaenri'ah sought greater power and reached into the Abyss. What answered was something utterly alien to Teyvat—something that could erode the very lifeblood of this world. By the time its influence surfaced, Khaenri'ah was already crumbling, struggling to contain what it had unleashed."
"The corruption did not remain within its borders. It bled outward, spreading across the Seven Nations. Even if you never saw Khaenri'ah with your own eyes, you must remember what stained Inazuma in those days."
She drew a slow breath.
"That power was enough to threaten Teyvat itself. The Heavenly Principles called upon the Seven. The Dendro Archon stayed behind to guard Irminsul and stabilize the world. The rest answered the summons and went to Khaenri'ah to stop the spreading ruin."
She paused.
"Against such a force, even gods are not assured survival. That was true for me… for Greater Lord Rukkhadevata… and for your sister."
Her voice softened.
"That is why she did not allow you to follow."
Her gaze wavered.
"So Khaenri'ah's destruction had nothing to do with its pursuit of progress," she murmured.
"It was because they reached beyond this world," Lora replied quietly. "They grasped a power that did not belong here. Teyvat is not as unshakable as it seems. It cannot endure such forces without consequence."
The corruption had been unspeakable. Even Lumine's brother—Aether—had been touched by it, and now sought to overturn the very order of the heavens.
"So… that was the truth?"
Her voice fell to a whisper.
When she arrived at Khaenri'ah, only the Geo Archon and the Anemo Archon still stood in the sky, grief carved into their faces. Her sister—and Lora—had already fallen. The others were gone.
She remembered kneeling in the ruins, cradling her sister's body, watching as the sustainer of the Heavenly Principles descended and erased Khaenri'ah from the world.
Back then, she had believed its unchecked advancement had drawn divine wrath.
Had she misunderstood everything?
"Then what… have I been doing for the past five hundred years…?"
"You protected Inazuma in the only way you knew how," Lora said gently. "Without you, it might not have survived those days at all."
Slowly, she lifted her head again and looked toward the sea of stars overhead. For the first time, she truly listened—to the countless voices carried within that distant light.
And realized how little she had understood the hearts of her own people.
Perhaps… she truly had been wrong.
She drew a slow breath and lifted her eyes again. Admitting fault was no small thing—but once spoken, it could not be taken back.
"Perhaps I have overlooked much," she said at last. "I once believed that by stilling time, lightning would never fade. Yet in clinging to eternity, I turned away from the voices of my people."
Her tone was calm, unwavering.
"Thank you. I will reconsider what eternity truly means."
"Then shall we return?" Lora asked lightly. "There's no telling what's happened outside."
A small nod. "Very well."
The Plane of Euthymia dissolved.
They reappeared before Tenshukaku.
Near the Statue of the Omnipresent God, Yae Miko stood facing the resistance. Lumine and Sangonomiya Kokomi were at her side. The shogunate troops, leaderless after Takayuki had been struck down, faltered in confusion.
Only the Okuzumeshuu still held their ground, eyes fixed on the resistance.
She stepped forward and surveyed the turmoil.
"Stop."
The word was quiet.
It did not need to be louder.
Authority rippled outward, and the battlefield fell still.
Kokomi felt the pressure descend at once.
"…Raiden Shogun."
The Okuzumeshuu withdrew immediately, reforming around her.
"Shogun—!" Takayuki staggered forward. "These people—and Guuji Yae—they—"
"That is enough."
The words cut cleanly through his protest.
She turned to her retainers.
"Take Kujou Takayuki into custody. Strip him of his position within the Tenryou Commission. The Vision Hunt Decree is hereby abolished. All hostilities against the resistance are to cease at once."
"Raiden Shogun—"
Takayuki stared at her in disbelief. He had never imagined she would revoke the decree—let alone order his arrest.
"You have been deceived!" he shouted, glaring toward Lora. "She stands with the resistance! They oppose your will!"