Honestly, if it wasn't for how Yae Miko and even Guizhong literally didn't believe me about Makoto, Ei's sister leaving behind a soul shard. I would have been a lot more smug, though then again Yae and Guizhong would have asked me about how I actually knew Makoto was there.
But instead, they were both just skeptical which worked out fine for me. "Miko, please unseal the back of the mountain," I asked as we reached the back after climbing down the remains of the derelict path down the mountain.
We were at the back minature shrine that would lead to the Plane of Euthyima or something I honestly wasn't sure. But regardless, the shard of Makato's soul was within her, and after Yae Miko opened up the seal Guizhong spoke from within my soul to me. "Oh? This reminds me of the Adepti seals put on the Yaksha to keep their Karma from wearing down their souls."
I nodded as I came closer to the portal and said. "Yes. This mirror leads to an alternate of the mental realm of the Plane of Euthymia, but instead... It's Makoto's soul and mind we will be entering."
Even as I spoke, I laid my hand on the portal and I shuddered as my aura was painfully sucked away in deep drowning gulps as the soul within feasted on my soul energy from where she failed to sup upon my energy from the Grand Sakura Tree in the back courtyard of the true Grand Narukami Shrine.
Then my vision went purple as a ghostly figure shot out from the small shrine I was pouring my aura into and Guizhong yelled out. "I got her!" And I felt her weak divinity lash out in tendrils of dust pulling the evaporating soul of Makoto into my body with my semblance caging her soul inside my own as a summon the same everything else I have killed in this new life.
I took a deep breath as I felt Yae instantly grab my arm to prevent me from falling face-first into the shrine she said with some annoyance. "And here I planned on using this Civil War as a lesson to make Ei come out of her deep meditation... Well having Makoto return in some manner will be even better." Yae spoke more to herself as I blinked thinking I was going insane as Yae Miko's eyes glowed as she shed her disguise as a kitsune with all nine of her large pink tails forming from behind her to help carry my limp body.
As Makoto was greedy and damn near emptied all my aura in that transfer. Maybe she thought in her deep coma that I was another god in the leylines or something and she wanted to drain my power. Or god knows what reason she took so much. But not even Guizhong and Beisht used that much aura put together to actually take them into my soul!
"I am pretty sure Ei would smack you for saying her sister is worth less than a life lesson... Even if the life lesson is very much needed." I said tiredly as I 'saw' into my soul where Ghuizong had made her own little mediation home using some Adepti magic sigils and laying in Ghuizhong's lap was the form of Makoto.
The first Electro Archon before Ei took up the mantle with Makoto's death in Khanreiah.
Literally, the only thing different between Makoto and Ei was that Makoto had a much lighter purple hair and as I took in her appearance clad in one of Ghuizong's blankets I realized the massive flood of my aura she devoured. Was used to give her soul a more physical form as she had lost it after dying unlike Beish and Guizhong had their own bodies, or new ones.
"Is Makoto capable of speaking now Jake?" Miko asked as she carefully leaned me against a flat stone so I could sit down.
I was about to shake my head but Ghuizong hearing Miko's words spoke out. "She can be woken up by an infusion of your aura Jake. But your soul needs to recover your 'aura' as you like to call it." She spoke and I relayed those words with Yae Miko making a face before nodding as she said firmly.
"Alright then. In that case, we are going to relax and eat then." She said and then my vision was completely enshrouded in lightning as Yae Miko did a lightning-based teleportation and with a crackle of lightning we came back into the physical realm by slamming into the ground beside the 'most important shop in all of the world'
At least according to Miko. As she was fucking obsessed with the fried tofu sold here for some reason. After ordering some food in myself I just got some ramen and takoyaki. I heard Guihzong making loud sniffing noises making my lips twitch as I rolled my eyes.
"Alright alright, you little munchkin," I muttered under my breath as I breathed deeply so I could concentrate and I heard Ghuizong moan with joy as our senses connected so she could share the sensations of eating the food with me. As she had no physical body unless she expended her lifeforce and divinity she was accumulating in my soul. So she couldn't eat at all beyond the energies of my soul.
Which apparently tasted like snow somehow... Don't know where that comes from though.
But as I was eating my admittedly delightful Ramen I had a thought strike me. 'It's been a couple weeks since I split up with Lumine and Eula. I wonder what they are up to now?' I thought as I tried to ignore Ghuizong's lewd noises as she enjoyed the sensation of eating good food entirely too much after her millennia of being dead.
-
Across the world in the frigid... Icy cold of the Dragonspine mountains Lumine was screaming as she was dragged under a sheet of ice and into the icy lake by Eula who had finally enough of Lumine's ice-cold hands wandering her form when they huddled up for warmth as they slept.
And even as the dark cold water stole up Lumine's abrupt screams, Eula's haunting words even as sound-filled bubbles echoed under the groaning ice rang out clear as day to Lumine's ears. "Vengeance will be mine!"
All in all... Besides being frigid cold, they were doing well. But they were done with dealing with the Dragonspine Mountains and were leaving the Dragonspine towards Liyue to charter a ship back to Inazuma. As all three of them missed Jake.
Not only for his warmth, his ability in a fight, and of course his kindness... But they were spoiled and hated walking dozens of miles a day when Jake could fly them several hundred miles in a single day!