Legacy | Genshin I. |

Chapter VII: Act XXVII

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Closure
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Ei released a sigh from her lips as she agreed with what Yae Miko said. "...Yes, I have," she retorted.

Yae Miko, (Y/n), and Aether walked up to Ei once they realized she calmed down and accepted defeat.

"Why can you not trust your people, and in the power of their ambitions? These ambitions have transcended space and time. They are something that no one can snuff out," Yae Miko questioned.

"When people move forward with all their might..." Aether trailed off.

(Y/n) smiled lightly as he decided to finish off Aether's sentence. "They can surpass the gods' expectations," he finished off.

Yae Miko glanced at the two males beside her. "Is this the lesson you two learned from your journey in Liyue?" She asked.

"Yep," (Y/n) simply answered.

Aether nodded his head. "Yes," he replied.

Yae Miko smiled in amusement. "There are nations where humans cast their gods aside and strife forward...?" She murmured before turning her attention back to Ei, "So, are we to just abandon the notion of progress... for the sake of wishful thinking?"

Ei frowned. "...You and I have both witnessed the great loss that progress can bring. Eternity... eternity is the only way," she answered.

Yae Miko sighed. "The Heavenly Principles... irrelevant nonsense as far as I am concerned. When all's said and done, all you really want is to protect your beloved Inazuma, forever and ever. Isn't that right?" She questioned.

(Y/n) and Aether shared a look as they both listened to the conversation between the two females, not wanting to seem rude and interrupt.

"That would be something of an oversimplification," Ei mumbled, but the trio could still hear what she said.

"But is this nation worth existing for eternity? Stripped of ambitions, stripped of the potential for change, it does nothing more than simply... exist. It is a hollow shell of a nation. Huh. I wonder what loss would it really be to anyone if such a nation were destroyed?" Yae Miko hummed with a thoughtful look on her face.

Ei furrowed her brows with a look of disbelief sketching onto her face. "Miko, retract your words. Never-changing eternity is the promise I made to my people," she scolded lightly.

Yae Miko shook her head. "But what your people need from you is not your promises. They want your attention... your divine gaze," she replied.

Ei crossed her arms over her chest, understanding what Yae Miko was hinting at.

"...You mean visions? Humans have a lifespan of barely a hundred years. They cannot afford to bear any extra losses. But I have experienced it all. That is why I have chosen to guide them along the correct path toward eternity," Ei explained.

Yae Miko shook her head in disappointment, "But eternity is far too cruel a fate for you, Ei. Not only have you stopped paying attention to the world, but you have stopped paying attention to yourself. It must have been terribly lonely here, all alone, for centuries on end. You will miss much by refusing progress... You seek to prevent loss, but have you considered all you are losing by remaining here in stasis for all eternity? You are obviously lonely, and yet for the sake of eternity, you choose to stretch your loneliness out to infinity... Tell me this. Why is the sky here which was once so dark, glowing again? Why now?"

Ei's eyes widened when she realized that her Plane of Euthymia was indeed brightened up.

"This is your Plane of Euthymia. It's your inner world. So it can only mean... that you are happy to see me and Asmodeus again, even if he doesn't remember us. You have found the loneliness here unbearable for a long time now, haven't you?" Yae Miko questioned.