Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

He can now exist for up to two hours at a time.

"I'm leaving tonight. Everything's been arranged, so there's nothing to worry about."

-

It failed again.

Deep inside the castle tower.

Ying gently gritted her teeth.

There's still time, maybe there's still time.

She didn't know what to do now. Since Kiyono returned from Bayun Island, Ying hadn't stepped out of this hut. She dismissed all the guards and wouldn't allow anyone to see her. She only spoke a few words to Sara, who had been kneeling all night, this morning.

Because she needed to calm down, she tried her best not to think about or dwell on those messy things. Only with a focused and calm mind could she do well in a short time.

But the more she wanted peace, the more those distracting thoughts would resurface, clinging to her like a persistent, intractable disease.

It's strange and ironic that a state of mind that had been guarded for hundreds of years could crumble so easily in an instant.

It happened so suddenly.

"Shadow, something's wrong with you."

She suddenly stopped and spoke to herself, as if it were the general speaking:

"It's just a mortal dying, why are you so flustered? This contradicts your original pursuit of eternity."

"Mortals are merely fleeting beings. I thought you understood this, and you've said something similar: 'It's just for a while.'"

"..."

Ying remained silent. Perhaps the general was right. He was just an ordinary person. Over the years, she had witnessed too many deaths and too many people leaving her. Qingye Leiming was not special, so why should she care so much?

“But I still want to save him; he promised to be my attendant forever,” Shadow paused before answering.

"Then what were you doing all this time? You had a hundred years... or even more."

The general asked calmly, her tone utterly indifferent: "Ying, you are still very conflicted."

Ying was stunned.

She didn't know how to answer; she was somewhat lost and confused, staring at the doll in front of her.

The dolls were crudely made, even unfinished, completely unusable. Human consciousness isn't as powerful as that of their deities; rashly abandoning the physical body for a consciousness transfer would lead to unpredictable consequences, perhaps even more serious ones...

She needs plenty of time to experiment and make changes.

But as the general said, what was she doing a hundred years ago?

Shadow doesn't know.

She hadn't considered this matter at all; in her pure land of mind, the concept of time didn't exist—eternity was a moment, and a moment was eternity.

She sat listlessly in the castle tower, assuming that her daily life would never change. One hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years, four hundred years, five hundred years... She had lived through such a long period of time, and she mistakenly thought that it would continue like this forever.

We always think there will be a next time, we always think there will be another hundred years, but how many hundred years do ordinary people have?

Come to think of it, it has been a century since I last saw him.

Over the past century, his appearance has changed; has his hair turned white? Does he still enjoy baking? We have no idea about these things.

“You’re contradictory, Shadow,” the general said.

"I know, so I'll do my best." Ying looked at the failed prototype before her, placed her delicate hand on its cheek, and a flash of lightning turned it to ashes.

She wants to start all over again.

“There’s still time,” she said. “I gave the order; I told him to hold on, and he will listen to me.”

Volume 1: Chapter 25 Have you seen Lord Pillar of State?

Lord Pillar of State went to bed very early tonight.

The shogunate soldiers gazed into the distance at the darkened rooms.

That's right, adults need to rest and recuperate now.

They were soldiers who grew up listening to stories of the Pillar of the Nation. In their hearts, the Pillar of the Nation was second only to Inazuma Narukami, and countless good men joined the army hoping to one day become such a handsome man as the Pillar of the Nation.

A few days ago, the Pillar of State, all alone, in the snowy night, dressed in a kimono, raincoat, and katana, slew the remnant soul of the demonic serpent on Hachi-yeon Island. This truly earned the admiration and respect of countless Inazuma people. The curse of the worshiping god had been rooted in Inazuma for four hundred years, but today it was removed in one day. It was all thanks to the Pillar of State!

The Pillar of State is still vigorous despite his advanced age, and his charm remains undiminished.

Like many ordinary people, this young soldier still did not believe that the Pillar King would leave. In his view, the Pillar King was so powerful that he had only just been exhausted. After a few days of rest, he would be able to see the Pillar King's carefree and cheerful smile again.

It is his honor to be able to guard the Pillar of the State's rest here.

"Thanks a lot."

A young man stepped forward and said, "His Majesty the Pillar of State is very tired. Let's not let anyone disturb his sleep tonight."

"Okay, sir."

The soldier nodded; that was inevitable.

Lord Tenshu gave a strict order: the Pillar State must not be disturbed, nor be allowed to leave... Naturally, he obeyed the order.

He had seen the young man in front of him several times before; the Pillar of State often summoned him.

His origins are unclear, but he is likely a trusted confidant cultivated by the Pillar of State.

"That's good. You should also go home early to prepare for the New Year and meet your parents."

"My father is very proud to be able to protect Lord Pillar of State. He told me never to come back, or he'll beat me up!"

"Ok."

Qingye took one last look at the Pillar State Mansion. In the center of the magnificent mansion stood a vigorous pine tree, its branches spreading out and covering half of the courtyard. This tree was planted by Ying and him three hundred years ago, and it has grown so big over the years.

And his five hundred years of life are all here.

"Farewell." Qingye waved his hand, it was unclear whether he was addressing the soldiers, the Pillar State Mansion, or simply the old pine tree.

"He's really leaving this time."

He walked toward the ferry crossing, where a boat awaited him. He would leave Inazuma that night and die at dusk the next day.

-

The next day.

It snowed heavily last night, completely covering the entire Inazuma Castle. The steps were covered with thick frost. The weather has turned cold, which means the New Year is approaching.

Perhaps we're going to succeed.

Ying slowly exhaled, and a thin layer of moisture dispersed in the slightly cool air.

She gazed at the defeated doll before her.

—At least we've found the right direction.

Human consciousness is much weaker than that of gods, so this doll cannot have any independent consciousness, not even the ability to think. It is just an empty shell, like a piece of clothing.

Then, it must be a shape that can contain Kiyono's soul.

Having practiced swordsmanship for many years, Qingye's unwavering resolve gradually touched the edge of the eternal path. If only Ying Kai could open his heart to a pure land and share that world with him...

Perhaps we can keep him here.

But Ying needs time, lots and lots of time, and she believes she can do it.

Last night, she thought about many things and figured out many things. At least she wasn't as confused and helpless as she had been a few days ago.

Ying clearly understood her current state of mind:

—I want to keep him here.

A clear mind gives her inspiration, and a clear state of mind allows her to grasp that inspiration. The shadow is already close; it only takes a little time.

Two weeks, no, maybe one week

That's enough.

Thunder gathered in her palm, destroying the puppet in front of her and recreating it.

Beside her ankles, in the shadows where the sunlight couldn't reach, lay many 'corpses' lying haphazardly. These dolls were all failed products. Over the past few days, Ying had been constantly creating and destroying them, and slowly, the remains of these defective products piled up.

“This is so unlike you,” General Thunder said softly again. “This is not something you should be doing. You are tired and need to rest.”

"Five hundred years ago, my sister died."

Shadow reconstructed her form, as if talking to herself or to General Thunder, “In the war that destroyed Kanria, under the command of Heaven’s Law, her fate is unknown. At the same time, pollution also invaded Inazuma.”

As she recounted the past, her purple eyes trembled slightly.

“Back then, I still remember when Kiyono Raimei said to me, ‘Shadow, go find your sister. I will protect your country for you.’ It was a funny statement. He was just a mortal, right? But I went to Kanria without worry.”

“But when I found my sister, she was already dying. She lay in my arms, lifeless. I couldn’t do anything. I went back to Inazuma.”

Ying meticulously traced the patterns on the doll, her voice trembling slightly, "I discovered that my country still exists, and Qingye Leiming is covered in wounds—he's smiling at me."

"I don't want to go on like this anymore."

Ying said softly, her eyes still trembling: "So I began to pursue eternity, entered the Pure Land of One Heart, and promised the people an eternal paradise."

She stared at the doll before her, her fingers unconsciously clenching her sleeves.

"But now that I've left the Pure Land of One Heart, I've discovered that Kiyono Raimei is also leaving,"

Ying exhaled a thin layer of mist and asked, in fact, to herself, "...What do I have left?"

The general remained silent.

“So I must finish, I must make up for my mistakes,” Shadow said softly, gritting her teeth. “I will not be as powerless as I was five hundred years ago.”

"It will be finished soon."

Now that it was fully light, with pure white clouds covering the sky, hurried footsteps suddenly came from below the steps of the castle tower.

Shadow knew that it was Kiyono Sara, and he had warned her yesterday—why was she bothering him again today?

Before Ying could chase her away, Kiyono Sara called out through the heavy mansion gate, her voice frantic:

"Narukami-sama,"