In the Plane of Euthymia…
Sensing a familiar presence, Ei slowly put down the light novel she was reading.
In front of her, the Raiden Shogun—identical in appearance—approached, her gaze sweeping disdainfully over the fully packed bookshelves of light novels scattered around the floor.
“What is it?” the Raiden Shogun asked coolly.
Typically, as a puppet, she rarely projected her consciousness into the Plane of Euthymia unless the situation was crucial.
Ever since her growing fondness for Luo Qing, she and Ei had barely spoken, their interactions strained by jealousy and ideological differences.
But today, Ei had called her here, saying there was something important they needed to discuss.
“I think you realize it too. Luo Qing has used some kind of technique to manipulate our emotions, making us develop these feelings for him. Isn’t that right?”
“…”
“Is this what you called ‘important’?” The Raiden Shogun’s brows furrowed slightly.
“What if I told you… there’s a way to remove those feelings?” Ei’s voice was calm.
Ever since she discovered Luo Qing’s ability to manipulate emotions, she had been pondering how to break free.
But the feelings seemed to be genuinely hers, with no trace of external tampering. While her affection hadn’t reached the same level as the Raiden Shogun’s, she knew that if she couldn’t find a way to break free, there would come a day when even she would become Luo Qing’s puppet… no, his person.
To have feelings for Luo Qing meant her emotions would be influenced by his every move. If he were to vanish one day, she couldn’t bear to imagine what she might become.
She didn’t want to experience the pain of losing someone important ever again.
This was not the path of eternity she had sought.
And so, faced with a choice between Luo Qing and her pursuit of eternity, she chose eternity. Just as she once did with Yae Miko—severing emotional ties and sealing herself off.
For a while, she had no idea how to erase the emotions Luo Qing had planted within her. But then, this morning, she had sat on Luo Qing’s teleportation toilet.
When the spiritual entity residing in it denied her access, she suddenly understood.
In the Plane of Euthymia, she didn’t have a physical body.
Without the “hardware,” no matter how powerful the “software,” it couldn’t function. Human emotions are channeled through the body.
No matter what Luo Qing’s methods were, they must have used the puppet’s physical body as a medium to plant those emotions in both of them.
Why else would any increase in favorability affect them both simultaneously?
With this theory in mind, Ei had a bold idea.
If everything began with the puppet’s physical form, then perhaps resetting the puppet to its state before meeting Luo Qing would erase whatever he had planted within them.
In other words, Ei intended to “format” the puppet’s body, finding a restoration point from before they met Luo Qing and resetting it entirely.
Of course, if she went through with this, it meant both she and the Raiden Shogun would forget every moment they had spent with Luo Qing—even forgetting his very existence.
But if she left a mark for herself and the Raiden Shogun—a warning to eliminate him at first sight to prevent him from manipulating their emotions again—everything could return to its original state. They would no longer be swayed by Luo Qing.
“You want to sever all of this?” The Raiden Shogun’s brow furrowed.
A favorability rating of 60 was a threshold. Crossing it, either up or down, resulted in two completely different states of being.
Even knowing that her feelings for Luo Qing were the result of his manipulations, she found it difficult to extricate herself.
“His presence contradicts the pursuit of eternity. If we wish to continue along that path, he must be erased…” Ei’s voice was resolute.
Though she held considerable affection for Luo Qing herself, she had wrestled with this decision for a long time.
If they only erased their emotions, Luo Qing might simply use his abilities to ensnare them again.
Only by eliminating him completely could they cut off any future threats and fully commit to the pursuit of eternity!
“Eternity…” the Raiden Shogun whispered, her gaze drifting to the two massive shelves of light novels behind Ei.
“In this so-called eternity of yours, do those books have a place?”
“…”
Ei awkwardly looked away.
“Th-those… Those were also Luo Qing’s influence! I’ll remove them all too when the time comes!”
“I see…”
The Raiden Shogun hesitated.
She had been created to aid the woman before her in governing Inazuma and seeking eternity. As a puppet, she had felt nothing unnecessary before meeting Luo Qing—her resolve like a blade, fixed only on eternity.
If anything opposed that path, even if it were Ei herself, she would become a merciless executioner.
But now…
Choosing between eternity and Luo Qing, she couldn’t bring herself to decide.
“You’re hesitating,” Ei noted with a frown.
“Eternity was once my ultimate goal. You are my past self; you should not waver over something like this…”
Even after a long pause, the Raiden Shogun said nothing.
Seeing her silence, Ei was a little surprised. She sighed and shook her head gently.
“There’s no rush. I’ll give you time to prepare. When the moment comes, I will personally take control and enter our mindscape to erase every unnecessary emotion…”
“…”
The Raiden Shogun said nothing, only gazed at Ei before turning and vanishing from the Plane of Euthymia.
Returning to the physical world…
The Raiden Shogun replayed Ei’s words in her mind, still feeling as if a massive weight pressed upon her chest. It was the first time since her creation that she had ever felt such an emotion.
“Luo Qing…”
…
Meanwhile, at Tatarasuna.
With no ongoing battles and no new prisoners captured, Luo Qing had called Teresa over to join him for some fishing.
Chewing on a piece of grass, Luo Qing watched the bobber on the water, waiting for a bite.
Suddenly, a notification rang out in his mind.
[The up-pool has been updated. Host, please use it as soon as possible!]
“…”
Luo Qing glanced at the notification and brought up the system’s gacha screen.
He saw that the featured item had changed.
The golden item had shifted from the Guardian Angel to a new one:
[Seed of Rebirth]
[Seed of Rebirth: Repairs fragmented souls and reshapes the physical body. The restored body will not regain previous powers, with strength limited to that of an ordinary human.]
[PS: There is a one-year cooldown period after use.]
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