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To worship a god is to sacrifice your own being to them. To be a familiar for a god is to be their constant companion, and to weather the storms of fate as they do.
However, to be anything more to a god is to accept death, as there are none more likely to die for a god than their friend or lover.
Yae Miko had accepted these truths long ago. She was aware that treading in the same footsteps left behind by the titans of the Inazuma of old was bound to end in death, in one way or another. Although the time of war had long since come to an end, Miko knew that the world was stirring towards another great conflict. Whether it would be between gods, or between the gods and their sins was anyone's guess. But Miko knew this outcome was an inevitability.
Still, Miko was grateful for this opportunity. Although she was little more than a tight-lipped scribe of the past and a troublesome Guuji for the majority of her time alive, she was grateful to be as close to her god as she was. If she needed to fulfill her other duties that accompanied her role, she would do so without hesitation.
But in the present, Ei's promise of ending the Sakoku decree fell on amused ears, and the departure of the Traveler and their little friend wove a blanket of silence over the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"Miko." the Archon whispered.
The woman in question quirked a brow, and redirected her gaze towards her god. Ei's triumphant demeanor from moments before had faded, and Miko found a marbled view of purple irises. The words left her lips before she even thought them through.
"Out, everyone. Now. I will call for your return." The Guuji bade, guiding Ei towards the steps closest to the Sacred Sakura.
A hushed series of footsteps and murmurs followed the stream of red and white-clad maidens departing. Miko paid them little mind, instead focusing on Ei. She was thankful that no one else was around them. To be frank, this was the first time in an excruciatingly long time that Miko had Ei in solitude. She no longer had to obfuscate her care for Ei, nor did her multitude of faces have to cover her feelings. Miko could just be herself, as she was in the forest centuries ago.
“I’m sorry.” Ei began, settling down on the top step. “I don’t understand what came over me. I was doing fine moments ago but seeing the tree again- ”
Miko watched as Ei cut herself off. “Of course. It is a lot to take in.”
“I said goodbye for the last time. I didn’t know I’d ever be able to hear her voice again, Miko.”
“You have now. Perhaps it was best this way, to speak with her as you embark on the path you were always meant to tread upon.”
Miko was usually one to honey her words with sweet half-truths in order to guide the partner in her conversations towards an outcome she sought. Yet when it came to Ei, who now shifted closer with each belabored breath broken by sobs, she only spoke the truth she believed in. For as much as she goaded Ei for her behavior and her rush towards escapism, Miko still loved her, and she never once doubted that Ei would return to do the right thing.
Whatever the “right thing” was.
If Ei wished to speak in kind, she didn’t make an effort to. Instead, the Archon wrapped her arms around Miko’s waist and buried her face into the Kitsune’s bare shoulder. Ei found warmth in the embrace, and she found the comforting scent of sakura blooms that were often born during karuta matches; these were echoed returns to old memories.
The pain of her past was far behind her now, but despite her acknowledgment of it and the closure of her suffering, her chest still heaved with the weight of grief. So she weeped into Miko, scarcely noticing how her Kitsune hugged her back just as tightly, and how Miko had a few of her own tears to bear. Ei didn’t need to ask who Miko wept for, as it was the same as those she grieved for, and so many more.
“We will serve Inazuma together, Miko.” Ei murmured, pressing a small kiss on bare skin. “And we will carry our people’s wishes to the heavens, and far beyond it.”
“Of course, Ei.”
Miko didn’t truly agree with what Ei said. As much as she loved Inazuma and its people, Miko loved Ei far more. She wanted to do as Ei wished, and she wanted to keep Ei away from the heavens whose flaws sowed the seeds that bloomed into the vile flora that harmed so many. Miko would prune the garden that Ei would tend to, but she refused to let its vines wrap Ei up in another conflict. Never again.
Ei pulled back, wiping her tears with a smile. “So…”
“So?” Miko questioned, quickly hiding her own shed tears.
“The Traveler mentioned that you called me your god.”
“They’re spouting nonsense. To get back at me.”
The Archon lifted a hand and pressed her palm against Miko’s cheek. Miko leaned into the touch, kissing Ei’s hand and touching it with her own. For as much that had happened, there was still a part of her that felt all of this was a cruel dream her yearning heart had come up with.
“Do you feel me?”
Miko rolled her eyes. “Of course I do.”
“No.” Ei chuckled. “I mean do you feel me? That I’m here, in the same plane as you, and in the same time and place?”
Instinctually, Miko felt Ei’s pulse of divine energy. Energy that was once snuffed out, returned, then locked away in a prison only to just now return. But now, as Miko breathed in the air, tainted with the smell of ozone, she felt Ei here . She felt Ei touching her, and she felt Ei mere inches away, her divine energy without any limitations. And most importantly, she felt the crackle of Electro energy surge through the Vision adorning her ear.
“Yes. I feel you.” Miko pressed another kiss into Ei’s palm. “And I’ve missed feeling you this close.”
“Then I don’t think there’s much of a reason to be embarrassed that you called me your god. If I wasn’t, I doubt you would’ve done half of what you did for me.”
“You mean giving you novels that hadn’t been released yet?”
A well-mannered scoff. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
“I do. But I waited five hundred years for you , Ei. You being a god was just more reason to.” Miko spoke, leaning back onto the dark Yumimeru wood of the shrine.
“Mm. Maybe.” Ei smiled. “But now all of the waiting we will have to do is for their dreams to come to fruition.”
Miko did not respond, outside of a small hum of acknowledgment. She simply leaned against Ei’s shoulder, shutting her eyes and letting herself enjoy the thrum of power that rested just below her god’s skin. The Kitsune was content on just having Ei here, after all this time. Dreams, ambitions, and nebulous ideas that Ei yearned to achieve would come later. And Miko and her duties had an eternity to spend, and an eternity to wait.
It seemed like the Inazuma of old had returned.
The haze of the sky hung low, oppressive and cage-like. Water seeped through the ground, not one inch of dry dirt present amidst the sea of mud and ichor. The sun had laid below the depths of the horizon, and it was unlikely it would ever rise again. Not unless miracles began to exist.
The Archon of Eternity, of Electro, and of Inazuma traveled between the clouds, leaving harsh claps of thunder in her wake. This familiar visage that the nation showed her would not slow her down. Not when she was set on preventing history from repeating itself.
Ei spotted her target, standing in the middle of where Seirai island gave way to the tomb its goddess carved out with her blade. Plunging down, another crack of lightning and its accompanying clap of thunder announced Ei’s arrival. The woman shrouded in the mist of corruption stood before her with a smile. Yet the smile Ei wanted to see, the one full of warmth and mischief, was void. The smile didn’t reach those lilac eyes. It was a mockery of the face that adorned the expression.
Yae Miko’s voice rang throughout the space, yet it was not Yae Miko.
“Nothing to say? Have you and I fallen out of love?”
“Silence.” Ei held her hand above her chest. “I have torn apart sinful beasts before. So I will rend you until you are nothing but ash. And then I will rip through time to make you suffer my blade again.”
Miko’s sclera darkened.
“Then let’s hope you’re skilled enough to take me out of her body first.”
Gathering the power of Electro in her palm, Ei forged the handle of her sister’s blade in her hand, opening up a chasm in her chest into the depths with which Musou Isshin was stored. Ei closed her eyes for a moment.
Perhaps it was silly to do so, but Ei sent a prayer that the gentleness Makoto was known for would be enough to stay her hand from doing Miko any actual harm.
“Die.”
Ei’s lids lifted, her eyes glowing bright enough to rival the sun. The once formless blade now shone just as brightly in her hand, and Ei fixated her gaze on Miko. Whatever controlled Miko’s body stood its ground, though Ei could see the quiver in its hands at the sight. Few rarely survived the initial strike of the Musou no Hitotachi. None ever survived what came after.
Drawing the blade out of her chest, Ei sent a strike in the sinful beasts’ direction. But her hand stayed just a centimeter or two from colliding with Miko herself. Instead, the force from the blade’s movement was enough to knock the creature back several feet, fear wide in Miko’s eyes.
An instinct within Ei caused her stomach to drop. Seeing Miko’s fear made questions surround her. If this was all a bad dream, then Ei had nearly killed the woman she loved. If this was erosion, then something had gone horribly wrong. The god paused for a moment, her grip on Musou Isshin weakening. She looked at Miko’s face once more, and found a twisted grin had replaced its fear, seemingly gloating with Ei’s weakness.
“What happened to that threat of yours?” a pause, and Miko’s body blinked next to Ei, a Kitsune tower appearing between them. “I’m still here.”
Ei steeled herself and sent a slash in Miko’s direction, which the creature dodged.
An exchange like this continued for the better part of an hour. Ei did not tire, which was to be expected of her. But neither did the beast that held Miko in its clutches, and puppeted her body. It was becoming increasingly frustrating for Ei.
Yet amidst the lightning, thunder, and now omnipresent rain, Ei remained silent while the creature goaded her to strike faster, to strike more recklessly. Ei knew that such an idea was an impossibility, not when Miko’s life was on the line.
“You should listen to me. Well, at least what my body's saying.” a familiar voice chided.
Ei, in the pause that arose, looked down at the golden ring on her finger.
“This can’t go on forever.” Miko’s uncorrupted voice sighed. “I’m not letting you stay here for an eternity, battling with my body. As much as I am flattered that you’d stay with me, I want you to uphold your duties that you always preached to me about.”
“Miko?”
“It’s scared of being hit. Get close, and drive your blade into my chest. End this.”
“No. I’m not losing you.”
Another sigh, tinged with sadness, covered up with false confidence. “Trust me.”
A lie. Miko’s two-word sentence was honeyed with a half-truth. She wanted Ei to trust her, one last time. Miko had no trump card this time, but if Ei believed she did have one, then this could end. This would be the last time Ei could be imprisoned by the past. Yae Miko was Ei’s shrine maiden, her familiar, and her lover. And that is why she must die.
Miko had learned to accept it long ago. Ei will too, in time.
The Archon shut her eyes.
Gathering her strength once more, Ei blinked away tears.
So be it.
Ei gripped Musou Isshin with new-found resolve, and through the augmentation of her speed, flashed into the space right in front of Miko. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Ei moved too quickly for the sinful beast to react. Ei dipped Miko down, as if in a dance, and drove her blade into her lover’s chest.
The beast did not bother to bear the pain, and left Miko’s body before the moment of impact.
A mirthless smile danced across Ei’s lips, and without looking, she grabbed its form, weak and impish in her hand. The wisps of its form tried to escape through her fingers, but Ei would not let go. Where Musou Isshin was in her hands was moments ago, now was the creature that caused Ei new grief.
“As I said.” Ei began. “Die.”
A wave of Electro poured from Ei’s hand, coursing through the beast’s body. The anger that fueled its death had not been used in five hundred years. Yet the anger from history was measly when held in comparison to the anger Ei felt now. Not even a scream could be heard before it perished from Teyvat, for its soul to rot in whatever afterlife existed.
Ei looked into Miko’s eyes, now returning to their beautiful hue.
“I wish I could’ve been selfish with you for a bit longer.” Miko confessed.
The lover shook her head. “Focus on me. Do you feel me?”
Ei’s hand, the one that had eradicated a creature moments before now caressed Miko’s cheek. The callouses of war and tragedy seemed to have faded all in that moment, and her hand served as a warm bed for the Kitsune’s cheek to rest in. Miko smiled weakly.
“I do. You’re here. Now.” Miko coughed up a chuckle. “With me.”
The lover smiled and shifted her hand to Miko’s chest, where the blade was. Or it should’ve been. After a moment, she raised her hand to Miko’s eyeline. The Guuji audibly scoffed at the lack of blood.
“I tried to stay my hand, but I think I may have broken a rib of yours due to the force.”
Miko groaned. “I can’t believe you’ve done something I would’ve.”
“Don’t they say that mimicry is a form of love?”
“A form of flattery.”
“Oh.” Ei turned red out of embarrassment.
Seeing this, Miko burst out into laughter. Moments ago, she was willing to give her god- no, her lover, the last moments of her life. She was willing to fulfill the last role that was needed of her. And now, she was in Ei’s arms with broken ribs, chastising her for getting a famous saying wrong. She winced in pain when her ribs reminded her of this fact.
“Kiss me.” Miko whispered.
Ei smiled down at her, holding Miko gently in her arms and pressing bloodied lips against bloodied lips. The taste of iron was far from sweet, but honeyed words had already long distracted from it.
Miko felt the thrum of her lover’s power beneath those lips, seemingly in an uptick after a won battle and a safe wife. It was embarrassing how easy it was to read Ei, even without the link the two shared. But Miko couldn’t truly complain, as Ei was her god after all. A stubborn and self-sacrificial god, but hers.
Ei stood up with Miko in her arms, pulling back from the kiss.
“Rest. I’ll get you healed.”
“You better stay with me for as long as it takes to heal.”
“Of course I will.” Ei smirked. “I love you.”
“I love you too…” Miko trailed.
The lover buried her face into Ei’s chest, finding sleep far easier than wakeful pain. But either way, she felt Ei close to her, never parting. Perhaps they were the only two people in all of Inazuma that could hope to understand each other’s pain and needs. But it was far from a worry for them, as they were here, together. No matter what storm fate would have them weather, neither would let it tear them apart for too long.
For Ei and Miko were a god and her familiar, but they too were lovers.