Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 132 The Legend of Thor Mission (3)

"Here we are."

"here it is…?"

Mei looked at Kage with some confusion and asked, "This is a cave located near the mountainside of Kage-no-Mt. It's a cave entrance near the road to Narukami Shrine. If you look up, you can even see that this place is directly below the sacred cherry tree."

Ying first raised his hand and summoned a torii gate before beginning to explain.

"This is the entrance to the consciousness space of Raiden, which I sealed away with my own hands. It seems that she no longer allows me to use this body recklessly."

As she spoke, Ying's body stiffened and she almost lost her balance and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Mei quickly stepped forward to support Ying, who was swaying precariously.

"Is she referring to the general?"

“Yes.” Kage released Mei’s hand and stepped forward to open the seal on the torii gate. “Come with me.”

Passing through the torii gate, Mei opened her eyes, which had been closed due to the purple light, and found herself in a place similar to Isshin Jodo.

Mei knew what Isshin no Jodo looked like entirely thanks to Kage. She had seen him once before, when she first met him at the castle tower after the Eye Hunt ended. At that time, the Shogun's behavior logic was bugged because some of his functions were disabled. After Mei entered the room, Kage pulled Mei into Isshin no Jodo to facilitate conversation.

It now appears that the space they are in is the consciousness space left behind by the true remnant that Ying sealed away back then. However, there is nothing in this space except for the two of them, provided that you ignore the person in front of them who looks exactly like Ying.

This person is the consciousness of the puppet created by Shadow—General Raiden. Because they are in the consciousness space, the consciousnesses of Shadow and General can appear in two different bodies. Shadow is finally able to have a body that does not restrict General in every way so that they can communicate with each other.

"Is this truly the space of consciousness? Then the person before me is the general?"

"We meet again, Mei."

The one who answered Mei's question was General Raiden, who was standing opposite her.

"This body is both an inner helper and a guardian of the laws. Since the battle with the traveler, the inner state has increasingly deviated from the laws she once set. If the inner self wants to deviate from the laws, then this body will transform into an Asura."

Unbeknownst to anyone, General Raiden was now holding a naginata, a weapon that had accompanied him through many years of battles.

"You travel the world in my body, seemingly grasping the truth of eternity. You believe you are more steadfast now than before, therefore you are right now. Is that so? Have you truly gained new insights, or have you suffered irresistible wear and tear?"

"What exactly is going on? Why is the general here? And it seems like he's planning to attack you?"

Mei could clearly sense the hostility emanating from General Raiden. There was no doubt that if Shadow's answer did not meet General Raiden's expectations, he would personally defeat him.

Shadow stepped forward to speak with General Raiden, while also explaining things to Mei.

"I came here to answer you. We are both alone, and at this moment, the only way to communicate is through battle."

"Ying, are you alright?"

"Yes, the discomfort I felt earlier was because the general was resisting my use of her body. Just as she said, once I had any thoughts of change, she would see me as an enemy. Once I enter the consciousness space, I can exist independently of her and will no longer be disturbed."

"Although the general is a puppet, she also has her own consciousness. If necessary, she will appear here to confront me."

"Is this the truth about the eternal defense mechanism? Aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Perhaps, but I certainly didn't expect things to turn out this way back then. After all, the rules I set for the General... no, the General is my ideal from the past, an eternal cornerstone, unshakable. I won't try to change her unless absolutely necessary."

Within Mei's consciousness space, Shin and Mei reached a consensus.

"Shadow, you really are that stubborn, foolish little sister who never leaves herself a way out!"

Upon hearing this, Ying's eyes widened, then she closed them again with joy. She knew that at this moment, she was invincible!

She took out the weapon that Shin had given her before his death, the weapon that symbolized Shin's will of lightning, the one that had never been sharpened before, Shin's companion weapon, a purple katana named Dream Isshin.

Stepping forward and pointing his sword at General Thunder, Shadow unleashed an astonishing aura at that moment.

Needless to say, both sides already knew what to do next.

With a light touch of the ground, General Thunder and Shadow transformed into afterimages, battling each other at a speed beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Yes, a bloodbath. Not a mere skirmish, nor a battle that ends once a victor is decided, but a bloodbath aimed directly at taking the opponent's life. However, General Raiden is ultimately still the shadow of the past; the shadow hasn't been doing nothing but sitting there meditating for the past five hundred years.

Meditation was just one of her ways of combating wear and tear, and it was only natural that she would also hone her martial arts skills on top of that.

Therefore, as the cornerstone of eternity, the Thunder General's power was eternally fixed from the moment she was created. It would neither progress nor regress. Within a few rounds, the Thunder General was destroyed by the Shadow, her body covered in countless irreparable wounds.

Even so, General Thunder's resolve remained firm. This was a space of consciousness; as long as consciousness remained intact, the body constructed from it would also be undamaged. With a soft shout, General Thunder's wounds healed at an astonishing speed and vanished completely.

It didn't take long for him to recover completely, something Shadow had already realized. Shaking General Raiden's will couldn't be decided in a single battle; it would inevitably become a protracted war measured in centuries.

But she wouldn't lose! Ying glanced back at Mei, who was inexplicably dressed in her usual clothes, and already knew the answer in her heart.

Yes! Her name, Raiden Mei, signifies the union of truth and shadow. From the very beginning, remnants of Shin's consciousness or memories existed within Mei's mind; in fact, during their initial confrontation, Mei faced Shin directly! She should have realized this sooner!

The situation is at a critical juncture, but I can't resolve it quickly in the short term. As a human, Mei absolutely cannot stay here any longer, whether for the sake of her lifespan or because I'm worried she might be affected by the battle.

After defeating General Raiden once again, Kage came to Mei's side.

"Mei, while I'm away, everything is in your hands and the Divine Child's care."

"Ying, what do you mean by this?"

"Five hundred years ago, humanity proved its strength through struggle. Now, they are eliminating old evils with their desires, just as an ancient cherry tree can grow new branches—I should learn to trust them. If dreams are truly eternal, then the momentary absence of the general is nothing to fear. For the sake of Inazuma's infinite future, no matter how long my battle is, it will be but a moment in eternity."

“I promised the people of Inazuma that I would return. I want you to witness this promise. So, it is time for you to leave.”

As he spoke, Shadow used his power to send Mei away from this space, but Mei did not want Shadow to do so.

"Wait, Shadow! There's something we can do together. I can't let you face the general alone for years, decades, centuries, or even millennia! So, please listen to your sister and let me stay!"

Shadow didn't stop what she was doing; she silently increased the output of her power, and Zhen's body left the space of consciousness that once belonged to her even faster. At the moment of departure, Shadow's unique voice rang in Zhen's ears.

"In the end... you admitted it, didn't you? I'm so happy you're back!"

Shin stretched out her hand, staring blankly at the long-closed torii gate, her heart filled with self-reproach. At that moment, all she could think about was whether she could have avoided this outcome if she had appeared sooner.

The Divine Child, that's right, there's still the Divine Child! The Divine Child once said that the Shadow's spell of projecting his consciousness into the consciousness space was taught by the Divine Child, so there's still a chance! As long as we find the Divine Child, everything will turn around!

Thinking of this, she got up to go to Narukami Shrine, but the moment she stood up, she lost control of her body and fell to the ground.

Damn it! Why now! With great difficulty, she managed to crawl towards the cave entrance. Just now, due to her excessive anxiety, the mental power she had unleashed was so strong that Mei's consciousness had temporarily lost control of her body.

Now, Makoto's consciousness is no longer sufficient to support her normal use of her body. As time passes, Mei gradually regains control of her body, but Makoto's consciousness is slowly dissipating. If Mei hadn't given most of her mental energy to Makoto, perhaps Makoto would have already vanished. Because of this, Mei's control over her body has been severed once again, leaving it entirely to the frail Makoto to operate.

Perhaps because of the unusual power that had erupted here earlier, Kiana appeared here. Seeing Shin struggling to climb, Kiana didn't ask any questions and temporarily stabilized Shin's consciousness through her power of consciousness, allowing Shin to control his body normally.

After a brief explanation, Kiana understood the situation. Although she could help Shin enter that consciousness space, she decided after much thought to leave it to Yae no Miko.

After all, the outcome of this trip is unknown. If Shadow fails, it's better to let Yae no Kamiko know about Shadow's death in advance so she can be mentally prepared than to let her suddenly find out.

Kiana closed her eyes and sensed the aura of Yae no Miko. Then she opened a portal and reached out to pull Yae no Miko from behind it.

Yae no Miko felt the pulling sensation of her collar being pulled, and the slight suffocating feeling caused by the collar pressing against her neck. She looked at the culprit with displeasure, hoping that Kiana could give her a reasonable explanation.

Then she saw Zhen standing weakly to the side, and her displeased expression immediately turned into a furrowed brow.

"Tell me, what exactly happened!"

"This is what happened..."

Shin told Yae no Miko everything that had happened after Mei and Kage met, as well as how Kage fought the Raiden General in his own consciousness space.

Hoping that Yae no Miko could help him, Yae no Miko showed a nonchalant expression after hearing the explanation.

"Honestly, Shadow has been doing this for a while now, why is Sister Shin making such a fuss? If you ask me, Shadow should just have a proper fight with the General by herself. Anyway, that puppet General is no match for Shadow. But..."

As she spoke, Yae no Miko turned to the side, closed one eye, and looked at Shin beside her, still speaking in a nonchalant tone: "But since it's Shin-neechan's request, I'll reluctantly help you out."

“But…” Yae no Miko changed the subject, “But I’m not comfortable with you going alone, Shin-neechan. Kiana must come along too, otherwise I won’t agree!”

"It's natural!"

After receiving Kiana's assurance, Yae no Miko cast a spell to open the entrance to the true consciousness space.

"It's open, but I must warn you before you go in. Although as a member of the Shadow's family, I can roughly sense the location of the Shadow's space, it is a chaotic place. Only by silently reciting your strongest wish can you reach it safely. Otherwise, you will easily get lost in the spacetime turbulence."

"At that time, forget about finding Shadow. You will also lose the chance to return to Teyvat. Even so, are you still willing to go with Shin?"

"Mei said she's willing."

Although weakened by the excessive mental exertion, Kiana still sensed Mei's wish from her consciousness. And since Mei agreed, Kiana naturally wouldn't give up halfway.

"Then I wish you a safe journey."

Just as Kiana was escorting Shin into the entrance, Yae no Miko's words rang in Kiana's ears.

"Kiana, my god and my truth are in your hands!"

Kiana didn't reply; she simply turned back and gave Yae no Miko a confident smile.

What would it be like to enter a tunnel of time-space turbulence?

Perhaps Kiana could provide the answer now: this is an extremely chaotic time tunnel. Images of the past, present, and future are intertwined in a chaotic way, appearing simultaneously in Kiana's mind. Kiana blocks out all these images, focusing solely on sensing the coordinates at the tunnel's end—that is their destination.

Perhaps their heartfelt wish was answered, or perhaps Kiana's efforts to stabilize the tunnel were effective; in any case, they arrived at Shadow's side without any major incident.

However, when Shadow saw them appear, he showed an extremely surprised expression, as if they were already dead to him.