Lilith Myra Genshin

Chapter 7: Home and Lighting

The pedestrians watch as the storm crackles and rages above them, while Thoma grits his teeth angrily. Cynthia must've been tricked by the Shogun.

"Oh my god," murmurs Yoimiya, looking at Lilith's body splayed out on the ground, while the Shogun smirks expectantly.

Slowly but surely, Lilith's body rises, crackling with ice blue energy. Her eyes shine a bright blue, and the Earth itself tremors under her power as she throws up her cryo vision. The crowd can only watch is stunned silence as she pulls out her polearm and cleanly slices the Shogun's body in half, causing the air to explode into a thousand little fragmented pieces.

From the remnants of the puppet appears Ei, appearing the same as the puppet save for the flicker of warmth dancing in her violet eyes. Her mouth forms a quiet oh shape as she looks around the plaza, eyes twinkling SS she takes in the city, her city, for the first time in years.

"Welcome home, Ei," whispers Lilith with an infectious smile painted upon her delicate yet sharp features, "you're finally here."

"It appears as if I am, Li-Cynthia," replies Ei, correcting herself as a true, honest smile tugs at her lips and pulls at the corners of her eyes. She supposes that a break in her peace may not be the opposite of eternity, rather the thing that allows eternity to persist. Occasionally, it is true that a life well spent is better than an endless suffering.

Lilith falls to her knees and hugs the younger woman, tears falling, staining her kimono as she pulls her close. Ei manages to awkwardly return the hug, placing her hands around Lilith and putting her head on her neck. She really is... home.

The crowd watched in blatant confusion, a murmuring running through the crowd that hasn't arisen in the Shogun's presence for quite sometime. It's not that people are upset per say, simply confused and uncertain.

Suddenly, a single streak of orange dashes through the crowds, gingerly making her way to the center of the plaza and untying Thoma's hands while the Shogun is distracted. Thoma boys his head in appreciation, standing up off of the grey brick pavement.

"Come on Thoma," whispers Yoimiya anxiously, "before the Shogun notices you. You don't have long, it's hard to keep such a person distracted."

"I appreciate the thought, Yoimiya," answers Thoma gently, "but I trust Cynthia so I'm sure I'll be quite alright."

Thoma walks over to Cynthia and kneels beside her, putting a hand around her shoulder in support as she cries. The three all stand up and Yoimiya practically jumps out of her skin when the Shogun faces the ground, eyes glittering a brighter fuschia shade then their usual violet. Her whole body visibly lights up, coursing with more power than ever before.

When Ei looks back to Lilith and Thoma, her eyes widen with a hint of guilt flickering within them, unrecognized by the bystanders, aside from Yoimiya that is, who caulks her head to the side in evident confusion.

"Citizens of Inazuma," Ei starts, surprising the citizens with how soft and human her voice sounds, all of the programming and robotic effect gone, "I would like to sincerely apologize for my actions, I have no excuse for the way in which I have conducted myself as of late. I promised all of you I would become a ruler to match the kindness of my late sister, but racked with the urge to pursue an unrealistic goal, I caused every last one of you to suffer due to my poor judgment. For that I have no excuse. From this moment on, I wish to become a ruler you can put your trust in."

A ripple of conflicted words run to the crowd, quickly turning into a cheer for the Shogun.

"Long live the shogun!" Screams a woman, eyes tainted with a piece of hope she lost long ago.