"Sister, do you still remember the days of old, when you held me under that sacred sakura tree, together with Ei?"
It was not that she had never seen Raiden Makoto, but she had not yet taken human form at that time. Moreover, too many years had passed, and her memories had long since blurred.
Yet, she still held onto memories of that afternoon.
"Hmm?" Because Yae Miko's voice was so soft, Raiden Makoto did not catch it clearly. She looked at Yae Miko with a hint of confusion, "Miko, what did you just say?"
"Ahem... I didn't say anything." Yae Miko's face flushed slightly. She seemed completely different in front of Makoto and Ei. Compared to Ei, who was more like a friend to tease, Makoto was more like...
A gentle big sister. She had loved the feeling of lying in Makoto's arms back then, but ever since Raiden Makoto passed away, she had never felt it again.
"You just said that I passed away in that catastrophe five hundred years ago... and then merged into the sacred sakura tree?" Raiden Makoto looked thoughtfully at the giant sacred sakura tree behind the shrine. She had always felt a sense of intimacy toward that tree, and now she finally understood where that feeling came from.
"Yes."
"Then, could you take me to see the sacred sakura tree? Miko." Raiden Makoto felt that she might be able to recall quite a bit under the sacred sakura tree—memories of the past.
"Okay."
The sacred sakura tree had existed ever since Inazuma was born, and it was equivalent to a symbol of Inazuma.
On the sacred sakura tree, there was the likeness of a fox formed by the tree, and there was a pale blue light in the fox's eyes.
"Sister..."
"We will be together forever, right... I will always protect you."
"Sister, do you think that after the little fox takes human form, she will be like Lady Saiguu?"
"Sister took Lady Saiguu as a familiar; if it were me, I think the little fox would be a good choice."
Those scenes flashed through her mind once more, but after they passed, they became increasingly blurred, like flowers seen from a galloping horse.
"Little fox." Raiden Makoto murmured, just a casual remark.
But that phrase made the normally composed Yae Miko tremble slightly. A flush appeared on her face; it was such a distant form of address.
Everything in her memories flooded into Yae Miko's mind like a tide. The care she had received from Raiden Makoto and Saiguu in the past was vivid, as if it were only yesterday.
The gentle maiden held her when she was still a young fox, and she stared at Raiden Makoto's back in a trance.
The Makoto who had passed away had reunited with her once again. She did not know if everything she was experiencing now was real. For a moment, tears streamed down Yae Miko's face.
"Miko?" When Raiden Makoto turned around and saw that Yae Miko had turned away, she was confused, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Yae Miko restrained her emotions. Centuries had passed, and she had long since grown up, but in front of Raiden Makoto, she was still the young fox in her arms.
"Makoto, have you recovered some of your memories?" Yae Miko regained her normal expression and looked at Raiden Makoto with slight curiosity. "After you passed away back then, you merged into the sacred sakura tree... so I think you can try to sense the sacred sakura tree."
"I suppose so, but those memories have become blurred again." Raiden Makoto could now confirm that those images were real. She knew what had happened, but the details were too blurry for her to recall.
"I don't know what happened at the time." Raiden Makoto sighed, "I don't know when I will be able to remember those things completely."
She no longer felt the discomfort of her initial transmigration. She now felt as if she had truly become Raiden Makoto; Raiden Makoto was her, and she was Raiden Makoto.
For a moment, Raiden Makoto did not know when she had become Raiden Makoto. Was it from the birth of the Twin Archons? Or from when she was awakened by Kamisato Ayaka on the seashore? She did not know.
She knew nothing.
"At that time... it was a nightmare." For her, and for Ei, it was a nightmare. She had completely awakened from that nightmare, but Ei remained immersed in it.
"Erosion has caused us to no longer be like our former selves, but you have returned... I think..." Yae Miko also sighed, "Everything can still return to how it was."
"I hope so."
Raiden Makoto walked slowly toward the sacred sakura tree. When she reached out to touch the sacred sakura tree, the previously normal tree suddenly burst into light.
"That is..."
As that light completely merged into Raiden Makoto's body, she felt a pure power surge into her, and accompanying that power were endless images.
However, those images were all blurry; she could not see them clearly through the hazy fog.
But that power told her that she was indeed the elder sister among the Twin Archons, Raiden Makoto.
She was indeed Raiden Makoto.
"Makoto, have you recovered your memories?" A hint of joy appeared on Yae Miko's face. If Raiden Makoto could fully recover her memories, that would be the best thing, and then she could also...
"I don't know... those images are too blurry." Raiden Makoto was not quite sure if she had recovered her memories, but the power from the sacred sakura tree had completely merged into her body.
The fox, which had been emitting a blue light, also dimmed.
"I probably won't be able to recover my memories for a while. I can only hope that by re-experiencing things, those memories will slowly return."
For some reason, hearing Raiden Makoto's answer, Yae Miko felt a bit disappointed, yet also somewhat joyful.
"I will accompany you to recover your lost memories."
The images in her memory slowly overlapped. The figure of Raiden Makoto and Raiden Makoto merged completely. She knew that Makoto had truly returned.
"The Erosion you mentioned earlier... what is that?" Raiden Makoto did not feel that there was anything wrong with Yae Miko; she was just puzzled by what Yae Miko had said earlier.
"Erosion... I will explain it to you slowly. For now, let's go back to the shrine, Makoto." Yae Miko smiled; she was very happy right now anyway.
"Okay."
...
At this moment, in the Plane of Euthymia.
The red moon hung in the sky, and the land was desolate. A purple-haired warrior was sitting in mid-air. She suddenly opened her eyes; the warrior had purple eyes, and a dazzling light shone from within them.
She stared blankly ahead.
"That is..."
"Sister?"
"Sister, have you returned?"
But her sister had long since passed away in the catastrophe. The fleeting aura made her somewhat uncertain whether that was just an illusion.
That aura vanished in an instant, and she could no longer find it at all.
"Sister..."
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