"Ei, come with me to the Grand Narukami Shrine! Today, I plan to revive Makoto. The shrine is already prepared," Akio said directly, looking at Raiden Ei without any preamble.
"Really?!" Raiden Ei didn't care about her image at all. She stood up excitedly, her eyes fixed on Akio.
"Yes," Akio nodded.
"Then let's go!" Raiden Ei grabbed Akio's hand and pulled him outside.
"Shogun! Lord Akio..." The Tenryou Commission guards saluted as the two walked out, but when they saw Akio and the Raiden Shogun holding hands, they were stunned. What was going on? The Shogun actually...
Raiden Ei didn't pay any attention to the guards. She flew toward the Grand Narukami Shrine, pulling Akio along with her.
Both of them were gods, and their speed was incredibly fast. In just a few minutes, they arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
At the shrine, aside from the observing shrine maidens, Yae Miko, and Kitsune Saiguu, there was no one else.
Raiden Ei and Akio descended from the sky.
"Shogun!" The shrine maidens immediately bowed respectfully.
"Akio! Ei!" Yae Miko and Kitsune Saiguu came forward to greet them.
"Let's have Akio revive Makoto quickly," Raiden Ei urged.
"Don't rush," Akio soothed Raiden Ei. "Ei, you should think about how you're going to explain the current state of Inazuma to Makoto after she's revived."
"Huh?" Raiden Ei was taken aback. She thought Inazuma was doing quite well.
"Mhm, you should really think about it," Yae Miko and Kitsune Saiguu looked at Raiden Ei with pitying eyes.
"Honestly, Ei, you've been holed up in Tenshukaku, receiving all your information through the filtered reports of the Commissions. You've never seen the true state of Inazuma with your own eyes," Yae Miko sighed. "You'd better prepare for Lady Makoto's wrath."
"..." Raiden Ei remained silent. As long as Makoto could be revived, nothing else mattered.
"Divine Key: Abyss Flower!" Akio thrust the Abyss Flower into the ground, and in an instant, a holy white light enveloped all of Mount Yougou. A rich life force washed over all the plants and animals.
Even the shrine maidens felt an immense sense of relief.
Akio walked forward to the Sacred Sakura Tree and placed his hand on it, allowing his consciousness to enter the tree.
"Who are you?" A weak consciousness reached out. Akio looked and saw a woman who looked strikingly similar to Raiden Ei, though she appeared gentler, and her voice was soft and warm.
"My name is Akio. I've come to revive you," Akio's consciousness said, looking at the gentle woman before him.
"Eh? Revive me?" Raiden Makoto was clearly surprised. "I'm just a fragment of a memory."
"That's enough," Akio said. "Come with me. See the Inazuma you love, and the friends who miss you. Don't you want to see them?"
"I..." Raiden Makoto hesitated.
"Ei, do you know how hard her life has been all these years?" Akio said softly. "You secretly went to the battlefield and returned severely injured. Do you know how much that devastated Ei?"
"Ei, she..." Raiden Makoto naturally knew.
"Kitsune Saiguu, Mikoshi Chiyo, and Sasayuri all died fighting for Inazuma," Akio said. "Do you know how lonely Ei has been?"
"What?" Raiden Makoto's expression changed drastically when she heard that the three had died. She walked over anxiously and asked, "Is that true?"
"Of course," Akio nodded. "I've already revived Kitsune Saiguu, but Mikoshi Chiyo's whereabouts are unknown, and we haven't found Sasayuri's consciousness yet, so we can't revive them for now."
"Ei has given everything she can to revive you," Akio said. "Do you really want to disappoint her? To let her remain lost in pain?"
"Do you know that after all of you left her, she turned her own body into a puppet and hid herself in the Plane of Euthymia, sealing herself away for hundreds of years?" Akio looked at Raiden Makoto.
"What!" Hearing that Raiden Ei had even altered her own body, Raiden Makoto couldn't hold back. She grabbed Akio and said urgently, "Then please revive me! I want to see Ei as she is now."
"Come, follow me," Akio took Raiden Makoto's hand, and they disappeared into the Sacred Sakura Tree.
Outside, Akio suddenly opened his eyes. Before him appeared a faint shadow of Makoto. After leaving the Sacred Sakura Tree, her consciousness grew even weaker.
"It's Makoto!" Raiden Ei was overjoyed. She wanted to step forward, but Yae Miko stopped her.
"Ei! Are you stupid? Akio hasn't revived Makoto yet! What are you interfering for?!" Yae Miko scolded harshly. "Can't you see how fragile Makoto's consciousness is? If you scatter what's left of her consciousness, what will you do if she can't be revived?"
"I'm... sorry," Raiden Ei realized she had been too hasty. After being scolded by Yae Miko, she lowered her head.
"Sigh... don't rush. Being impatient won't help," Yae Miko's heart softened as she saw Raiden Ei like this, and she spoke gently.
On the field, Akio looked at the faint shadow of Raiden Makoto and unleashed the full power of the SS-level Herrscher of Rebirth.
"Lost soul, hear once more the melody of life!"
"By the Authority of Life and Death, I grant you new life!"
The SS-level power of life and death was fully released. A powerful life force gathered and enveloped Raiden Makoto's fragile consciousness, gradually forming a massive, pure white cocoon.
As the power of life and death continued to pour in, thunder suddenly erupted in the sky above. Massive bolts of lightning churned within the clouds—the purest essence of lightning in this world.
Akio raised a hand, and the lightning from the heavens seemed to be drawn downward, striking the cocoon directly. In moments, the cocoon absorbed all of it.
Inside the cocoon, under the constant compression of lightning, a flawless, jade-like figure began to take shape, surrounded by purple lightning.
At the same time, within the roaring thunder in the sky, a lightning katana slowly formed. It flew toward the cocoon, carrying an immense divine aura.
"Is that... another Musou Isshin?" Raiden Ei exclaimed, looking at the katana. Her own Musou Isshin was still in the Plane of Euthymia! How could another one have appeared?
Just as the Musou Isshin reached the cocoon, a flawless, jade-like arm reached out from within and grasped the katana.
A massive burst of lightning erupted, and the cocoon dissolved into countless points of light, slowly disappearing into the sky.
At the same time, what appeared before everyone was a breathtaking figure, completely enveloped in lightning.