This final moment should have been cherished.
Makoto truly had many, many things she wanted to say to her foolish younger sister.
However, after seeing the situation clearly, Makoto froze.
Those other unfamiliar faces were probably Ei's friends or something? But... it was hard not to stare—Makoto looked at the girl who bore an extremely high resemblance to herself and Ei, and possessed an aura remarkably similar to her own, somewhat dazed.
"Ei... is this your child?" she subconsciously blurted out.
It couldn't be helped. After all, with such an appearance—if you put the two sisters and [Mei] together, no one would believe they weren't related by blood.
Makoto was certain that she and Ei were twin Archons; there were no other sisters. Based on this, looking at [Mei], she could only assume this might be Ei's descendant or something.
"Sister, what are you saying?" Ei, however, didn't feel shy. After all, as an Archon, her views on such matters were different from ordinary people—and as the Raiden Shogun, she had never dabbled in those naive human emotions. Therefore, Makoto's words didn't make her blush; instead, they made her feel somewhat baffled and strange.
"You don't even recognize yourself?"
"?" Makoto was completely stumped by this sentence.
Fortunately, she was just a wisp of consciousness at this moment and couldn't show much expression. Otherwise, it would definitely be—What are you talking about, my foolish sister!
"You're saying this is me?"
"...Isn't it?" Ei still hadn't reacted.
"How does she look like..." Makoto wanted to retort—could her foolish sister have been deceived by someone?
That wasn't right either. Although Ei wasn't particularly smart, she wouldn't be unable to recognize her own sister.
But when Makoto carefully examined [Mei], the latter smiled and waved in response—looking at this girl's familiar aura, Makoto fell silent.
...She really did look quite similar.
"Are you my reincarnated self?" Makoto, influenced by Ei's words, also became uncertain, looking at [Mei] in a daze. She, of course, knew about 'reincarnation.'
After a being in Teyvat reincarnates, they forget their past life and become a completely new being. This special characteristic was difficult for even Archons to escape—as a fragmented will, Makoto was completely unsure.
"Reincarnation... Pfft." Furina, who was a bit confused about the situation, instantly understood everything upon hearing this word and covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
So, Inazuma's good-for-nothing Raiden Shogun had mistaken him for her sister's reincarnation.
And [Mei]—Jiang Qiao—also showed a helpless expression. "No."
"...Really not?"
"Do I look like her to you?"
"Quite similar," Makoto said very earnestly. This isn't me?—This clearly is me!
[Mei], feeling somewhat exasperated, could only say frankly, "...You've misunderstood. I borrowed this body from someone else."
"...Borrowed?"
"So, you're not the owner of this body?" Miss Ei, who was blushing with embarrassment, thinking she had made a fool of herself, seemed to grasp a new hope after noticing this crucial point.
If this body was borrowed from someone else, perhaps the true owner of the body was her sister?
"She's not your sister's reincarnation either... The reason we look so alike is merely a coincidence, a subtle coincidence."
"In fact, whether it's the owner of this body or me, we are merely passersby in this world—in your understanding, beings from outside this world, or 'Descenders'."
"I see."
"So... Ei, you mistook her for me?" Makoto was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
And Miss Ei was currently like a boiled shrimp.
Oh no, I really made a fool of myself! I mistook someone!
Of course, what was worse than mistaking someone was—not only mistaking someone but also being exposed in front of the real person, by her own sister!
"Ahem—I just thought she looked a lot like you, sister." Ei coughed twice, trying to use this excuse to cover her embarrassment. "That's all."
"You, you... you really make one worry."
"But, I can no longer continue to worry about you."
"The road ahead, you can only walk it alone."
Hearing this, Ei lowered her head.
"This lady..."
"Mei."
"...Mei, huh? That's a good name. No wonder Ei mistook you; it's indeed my style."
"Although you are not my reincarnation, and probably have no connection with me, Ei, or Inazuma, but... if possible, I still hope to ask you, after I leave, to look after my clumsy younger sister a little."
"I am not incapable of taking care of myself," Ei retorted.
"But when you get stubborn, you're truly terrifying," Miko couldn't help but interject—only to be glanced at by Ei, averting her gaze guiltily, afraid of being 'slashed.'
"Hehe, while I was away, thank you for taking care of Ei, Miko."
"It was nothing. After all, for the five hundred years since you left, she stayed cooped up in that small room, isolated from the world. I was quite idle," she said, covering her mouth and chuckling, her words hinting at something.
Ei looked displeased. "I was thinking!"
"Alas..."
"I have planted the seed of the Sacred Sakura here."
"In the hope that it can help you in the future."
"May you..." Makoto wanted to leave a blessing and bid farewell.
Ei, understanding this, was very sad.
But the next moment, [Mei]'s voice sounded. "I can't just let you leave like this."
"Didn't I say—I came to Inazuma with three purposes... Uh? Did I not say that? Well, it doesn't matter, we can start now."
"?"
"First, to return a sinner who left their homeland."
"I have achieved this."
"Second, to break the shackles of stagnation."
"This will be achieved by you all."
"And now, for the last one."
"Third—"
"To reunite loved ones."
The girl chuckled, saying so, and in her raised, slender palm, specks of starlight flickered.
Those scattered consciousness particles of Makoto, like young birds returning to their nest, fell into it.
"Inazuma's history should turn a new page."
"Take this as a gift..."
On her pretty face, a faint light shimmered, an indescribable feeling emanating—but the next moment, the air suddenly stagnated.
...Not just the air.
It should be said, everything at this very moment.
Another power appeared.
It came from the other end of time— "I wouldn't say you're a spoilsport, but,"
"For now." Speaking helplessly, [She] stated this fact.
"You're a bit in the way."
A gentle breeze blew through her hair, guiding her consciousness towards an unknown direction.
"You... cannot do this."
Within the faint ball of light, a gentle yet somewhat cold female voice carried a serious tone.
And [Mei], scrutinizing her, instantly understood her true identity.
—One of the Four Shades, the Ruler of Time, Istaroth.
Jiang Qiao could see through the state of this Primordial One at a glance—just like Raiden Ei, she had long lost her form.
Only a wisp of will remained, and power insignificant compared to her peak.
"With just this level of power, you can't stop me." Time was a profound existence—this destined that beings capable of wielding the power of time would be exceptionally strong. But... not to mention Istaroth was already a candle in the wind, even if she were at her peak, to him, this power was merely so-so.
"I cannot stop you, but... please do not do such a thing."
"If you insist on doing so, the 'shell' will shatter." Istaroth said sincerely—feeling quite helpless against this 'monster' that had appeared out of nowhere.
In fact, Makoto's actions were already a blatant violation.
However, it was within her control, and Istaroth, unwilling to see Inazuma suffer, turned a blind eye, even offering some help.
But this fellow actually wanted to directly ignore the limitations of time and space and pull Makoto back.
This was something she, as the Ruler of Time, wouldn't dare to do even at her peak.
And if he really succeeded, the already riddled 'eggshell' would probably collapse in an instant.
"As a Descender, you should know."
"If the shell breaks, it will benefit no one." Istaroth estimated that this monster before her was probably like Phanes, an existence driven by those things and accidentally arriving in Teyvat. Therefore, she would try to use those things that even Phanes found troublesome to try and dissuade the other.
What Teyvat's people called the False Sky was never a bad thing—at least, as far as Phanes' original intention was concerned, He hoped that humanity could live a happy life under His plan.
Although this manipulated people's destinies, it also protected them from the ravages of the Abyss.
"Is that so?"
"Then what if I do this?" [Mei] remained unmoved, instead smiling, crooking her slender index finger, and gently swiping—the next moment, in the unseen, something seemed to snap.
Istaroth, having already sensed what happened, was dumbfounded. "You..."
"Monster."
What did she see?
To use a common example—in that instant, the man before her had peeled an egg.
Without touching the shell or the membrane, he had separated the already wobbly yolk.
Of course—in reality, this was far more exaggerated than peeling an egg.
After all, from the level of time, to complete such a delicate operation... even if Phanes came, he could only say—You must be trying to make things difficult for me, Heavenly Principles!
"Now, it should be fine, right?"
Istaroth fell silent. You've already taken her 'household register' out, what else can I say?
Having resolved the obstacle of Istaroth, they returned to that space.
"...What did you do?" Time began to flow again, and Makoto (in spherical form), held in [Mei]'s hand, was also somewhat astonished.
"Nothing, just helped you sever your karmic ties with this world." [Mei] stated an extremely terrifying fact with utter nonchalance.
The more powerful and special an existence, the more traces they leave in the world—these traces become part of the world, the foundation of its evolution.
Like building blocks, once one is removed, it causes the stack to collapse.
And what he had done was to remove a block that could be called a 'main beam' from such a pile of blocks... no, not simply removing it. More accurately, it was directly stripping the traces of this block from this 'game of building blocks.'
As for whether doing so would cause bugs—anyway, this world's underlying code was already a mess beyond belief, and there was even Irminsul, a dedicated bug-running machine. It didn't matter anymore; just write a usable bug and patch it up to hold things together.
Makoto didn't know what to say for a moment.
There was disbelief—after all, such a thing was too incredible, even for her as an Archon, it was full of too many question marks. But after the shock, what remained was joy.
After all, although Makoto didn't fear death—otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago—but if she could really continue to live and accompany her foolish younger sister, she wouldn't want to receive her 'boxed lunch' (die) so early.
Things like her final words just now were filled with regret. She thought it was their last meeting.
Yet... Did I win the resurrection match?
"Don't get too happy too soon."
"Everything has a price."
"Now, you are no longer sisters," [Mei] said softly.
"?"
Bringing a dead person back to life, of course, couldn't be without a price.
Jiang Qiao could ignore this price, but that didn't mean the price would disappear—after all, the world is relative.
The so-called imbalance of yin and yang was a manifestation of this price.
Makoto's resurrection naturally also required a price—although due to someone's exquisite skills, this price wasn't borne by the world. But... being stripped from the world also meant she lost all the traces she had left in this world.
"Ei doesn't remember me?" Makoto was stunned.
"About that..." [Mei] scratched her cheek.
The next moment, Ei looked confused. "Sister... what happened?"
Makoto thought Ei was calling her and wanted to explain something, but then suddenly felt something was off. So, she observed carefully and then discovered that her foolish younger sister's gaze was actually on [Mei].
Could it be...
"Although digging you out wasn't difficult, finding something suitable to prop you up was a bit troublesome, so I took a shortcut."
"I just recorded myself in to make do."
"So..."
"Now, her sister is me."