He changed Tiwat

Being able to keep this "Descendant" who twice saved Kage and Inazuma, and who might even change the world in the future, by Kage's side, Raiden, as his older sister, finally felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.

...If she had a body now, she would probably cook a bowl of red bean rice for her sister herself, right?

The ball of light spun around a few times, looking almost as if it were dancing with joy: "That's great, Aying!"

Seeing her sister's joyful expression, Ying couldn't bring herself to voice any of her complaints.

The priestess seized the opportunity to interject, "Hey, has Makoto forgotten about me? There's a priest here at Narukami Shrine, you know. I can't be absent from the ceremony, can I?"

"How could your sister forget the little fox? Come here, let your sister give you a hug."

The ball of light "whooshed" into the goddess's arms.

Saying she wanted "a hug from her older sister" was less accurate than saying she wanted the goddess to hug her...

The goddess gently reached out and stroked the ball of light as if stroking a little fox's fur—in truth, she knew that lightning was in a different dimension than the space she inhabited and could not be touched at all.

But even a fake touch can move her genuinely.

"The little fox that used to warm my hands and feet has grown up to the point where it can hug me now."

She laughed heartily, seemingly enjoying the goddess's touch.

The moment the divine child's hand touched the sphere of light, a tiny petal fell into her palm.

This is an incredibly peculiar petal.

Although it looked exactly like a regular cherry blossom petal and lay quietly in her palm like a normal object, she couldn't feel its weight or warmth.

Recalling the many scenes she had experienced before meeting Shin, the goddess couldn't help but have a guess: this cherry blossom petal must also be a so-called "high-dimensional object".

It exists, yet remains untouchable... just like Raiden Shin right now.

A faint sound entered her mind.

“Sakura, I know you sacrificed a lot for Inazuma, even offering your own ‘White Star Blood’... You don’t have much time left, do you? If you leave this space, you will disappear very soon.”

A hint of surprise appeared in the god's lowered eyes.

This is something she has never told anyone.

In that previous kiss, she gave her Bai Chen bloodline to Han Fulai, but the price was the loss of her cultivation and regression to "Spirit Fox".

The "Spirit Fox" is supposed to live for no more than a hundred years, but she is now over five hundred years old.

She can still appear in front of everyone now because the special spacetime flow of this consciousness space has preserved her physical form.

Once she leaves here, she will be immediately "corrected"—in everyone's memory, the young fox goddess did not become a "celestial fox" and returned to the earth's ley lines more than four hundred years ago.

...Perhaps only Ah Ying and him will remember her and be sad for her?

Leaving aside the crybaby Aying, will he... shed tears for himself?

He would travel across time and space to save her, he would forcibly take on responsibilities that were not his, and he would even take away the pain of being torn apart that should have been borne by her...

A man like him would definitely say something like "A man doesn't easily shed tears," stubbornly refusing to cry in front of others... and then cry his heart out in private.

Yes, it definitely will.

The divine child was certain.

Oh dear, she cried in front of him before, making him see how embarrassing she was. So this time, let him cry instead, and we'll call it even.

In light novels, the female protagonist who dies always becomes the male protagonist's eternal "white moonlight," and no one can replace her—so does that mean her status is higher than Aying's?

Miss Fox wins big!

"Wow, you can still laugh?" Makoto clearly had no idea about the thought process of the editor-in-chief of "Yaedo," after all, "light novels" hadn't even been born when she was alive.

However, no matter how peculiar the editor-in-chief's thought process is, it's destined to fail this time.

"Your sister won't allow you to come looking for me so early, okay?... Here, hold that petal tight."

Even without Raiden's prompting, the Divine Child had already grasped that petal.

These wondrous flower petals, which exist yet cannot be touched, would naturally tempt anyone to try and touch them.

At the same time, a wonderful warmth spread from her palm throughout her body—as if warm blood was flowing into her palm and slowly coursing through her veins.

"This is...?" The divine child was even more surprised.

The familiar throbbing in her blood made her realize the true nature of this "cherry petal".

“It was left to you by the Zhaigong.” Zhen’s voice was also somewhat emotional. “It’s as if she knew this day would come, so she left this ‘Dream Cherry Blossom’ for her most precious little fox in advance.”

"Although it's just a drop of 'Bai Chen's Blood,' little fox, you're so clever, you should be able to cultivate back into a powerful demon, right?"

The divine child suddenly remembered something—

When she made up her mind to cleanse the evil spirits from the "Pure Land of One Heart," she bid a final farewell to her soon-to-disappear teacher, Saigu-sensei, in the form of "Hana-sanri."

It was on that occasion that she heard "Hanasanori" recite a waka poem:

"The flowers will eventually fade, but the eternal cherry blossoms stand as before, and the old friends return to their hometown."

—That waka poem is not recorded in the Kokin Wakashū; it is merely a line from a poem that Hana-san-sato spontaneously recited.

The goddess didn't understand the deeper meaning then, but now she finally does.

"...It seems I still haven't been able to catch up with the teacher."

The youngest "Heavenly Fox" in Inazuma's history silently admitted his defeat—but this time there was no resentment in his defeat, only a warmth that filled his heart.

"Divine Child? Are you alright?" Han Fulai's voice rang in my ears.

She turned her head and saw him hesitantly raising his hand, as if he wanted to wipe away her tears, but dared not touch her in front of everyone.

Oh man.

The goddess chuckled softly and replied, "I'm just so happy... It's so good to see Shin-neechan again and to be able to talk to her like this again..."

"I'm so happy to see you again, little fox! I hope you live a happy life from now on!"

The ball of light flickered, like lightning actually blinking.

Then, the ball of light flew away from the Divine Child and returned to Ying and Paimon.

"My friends, may I know your names?"

"I am Ying, the 'General's Attendant'!" Ying proudly announced her new title—Linghua had told her that this was a super high-ranking official.

“And her best friend, Paimon!” Paimon proudly announced his name as well.

"Shadow, Paimon... Hmm, I'll remember that." Raiden's voice was full of joy. "Shadow has so many good friends now, and as her older sister, I'm really happy for her... Please continue to get along well with Shadow in the future, okay?"

"Of course!" Paimon patted his chest confidently. "We're best friends who go shopping together, drink dango milk together, and read light novels together!"

"They even took a picture together!" Ying added.

"Dumpling milk," "light novel," and "photo" were all new terms to Zhen. She didn't know their meanings, but from their lighthearted tone, she could tell that they must be wonderful things.

"That's wonderful. My sister also longs to see the streets and scenery of Inazuma like she used to... What a pity..."

"Your Highness..."

"elder sister……"

The two Thunder Generals stared at the ball of light in the sky.

They all understood the meaning behind Raiden's final "What a pity."

Raiden chuckled softly and said, "Shadow, we have one last thing to do."

“I know what you’re thinking, but I have to tell you—you can’t bring your sister back to life.”

Shadow's body trembled slightly.

Even if she didn't say it outright, she understood in her heart. If she changed Inazuma's history to a timeline where Raiden hadn't actually died, then the entire history of Teyvat, including the War of Kanria, would be drastically changed, affecting the fate of hundreds of years and millions of people.

That would absolutely enrage Sky Island.

Inazuma might become the next Canria.

...Moreover, even the power of "shared dreams" might not be able to achieve this level of modification.

Eliminating the influence of the evil star and replanting the divine cherry tree—that's the limit of what she can do for now.

Of course, even if she could do more... even if she could bring her sister, Saigu, and Chiyo back to life, she couldn't do it.

Because the people living in Inazuma now are also her subjects.

This is also why she, five hundred years ago, left the "power to decide history" to the present her.

She will never again have the thought of abandoning the present and embracing the past, never.

Although she didn't say anything, Raiden Shin already understood his sister's feelings.

“You’ve really grown up, Aying.”

"So... come on, the most important step is for you to do yourself."

She led Ying a few steps to the center of the crowd.

The ball of light slowly shrank, turning into a tiny seed, which fell into Shadow's hand.

"The miraculous tree that shelters all people remains a strange and unseen entity."

"When it lands and where it sprouts depends on the heart and dreams of the person who brings it into this world."

"Give it life, Shadow."

Chapter 262 I, Han Fulai, hereby propose marriage to General [4k5]

"Give it life, Shadow."

Lightning's gentle words echoed in Shadow's ears.

Guided by her sister, Lei clasped her hands together, as if in prayer, and wrapped the seed in her palm.

Her palms didn't give her any tactile feedback, as if the seed didn't exist.

But Lei Films knew it was right there, in his own hands.

"This tree actually exists in Inazuma, yet it does not exist in Inazuma. It is everywhere, yet it is nowhere."

—Ying finally understood what Han Fulai had said.

She couldn't touch the seed because it wasn't of this world; it belonged to a higher dimension, inaccessible to people of this world.

It exists, yet it doesn't exist... like the omnipresent "thousand winds of time".

To plant a "seed" that does not exist in this world, one needs to infuse it with her "will".

As my sister said, "When it lands and where it sprouts depends on the heart and dreams of the person who brings it into this world."

The appearance of the Divine Cherry Tree changes depending on the angle from which the "observer" observes it. The person who can determine its form is its only "observer" at this moment—that is, her, Lei Movie.

Therefore, she needs to instill her "dream" into that seed.

It's like planning a future growth blueprint for this tiny tree seed.

In her imagination, the sacred cherry tree still grows luxuriantly at the top of Narukami Shrine, and under the tree there are shrine maidens picking up the crimson cherry blossoms, children scrambling for temari balls, tourists admiring the flowers and taking photos... and of course, there are also dango milk and light novels.

This is the "eternity" she is pursuing at this moment—the "eternity" that represents the Inazuma people's pursuit and yearning for a better life.

A beam of warm light spilled out from between her fingers.

At the same time, a warm current flowed from the seed into her palm.

The seed solidified into a tangible object in her hands.

In a daze, she seemed to see her older sister—the gentle woman with morning glory hair ornaments—walking gracefully to her and leaving a kiss on her forehead.

She heard her sister whisper in her ear: "Bless you, Shadow. From this day forward, you will be Inazuma's 'Eternal God'."

"Could it be... this is...?"

Lei Yingdian stared blankly ahead, at Raiden Shin, who was invisible and untouchable to others.

My sister just transferred the power of the "God of Life" to her.

To give life to all things is the power of the "ruler of life" on Sky Island.

When the principles of Heaven descended, they were divided into four shadows, each in charge of "life, death, time, and space." The function of "governing life" was to bestow life upon this continent.

Following the laws of nature, she transformed the barbaric continent, which was originally unsuitable for human habitation, into the Teyvat we know today. The birds, beasts, and fish that people see today are all the work of that "ruler of life".

After that great war thousands of years ago, the "Living Ruler" unfortunately perished.