Long ago, when Seino Sara was not yet called Seino Sara, when she was still a little girl, she lived in a quiet forest.
It was a beautiful birch forest.
A thin morning mist covered the woods, fine leaves cutting the sunlight, casting patches of light here and there on the earth.
In the sunlit forest, in the soft soil, various plants grew: ivy, foxtail grass, moss, small wild roses...
Sara lived in this forest.
Perhaps it was the nature of Tengu, to be far from the mundane world, to keep company with the spirits of mountains and wilderness, to sleep on the dew of three mountains, to rise with the first light of dawn. This life was indeed carefree and easy.
Until one day, everything changed.
Pollution of unknown origin descended upon this forest. The birch trees, spreading like fire, were tinged with withering yellow. The sky was covered with a leaden color. Plants withered and decayed, animal carcasses decomposed in the soil, emitting the damp and cold smell of humus.
It was from that day that the little Tengu realized how small her power was.
She could do nothing.
She fought the monsters to the last, her wings broken, her body covered in blood, forced down a cliff.
Falling through the sky, the girl's eyes only saw the leaden sky, the burning forest, her homeland... everything was being destroyed.
"It shouldn't be like this..."
She murmured in the air.
"It shouldn't be like this... I thought, with my abilities, I could protect this forest forever..."
Everything before her eyes was rapidly receding. The gray-black was dust, the inverted was sky, the blood-red was fire, and flashing among them... overwhelming everything...
Was a sky-splitting lightning strike!
There on the plains, in the forests, all the pollution, all the suffering, all the monsters, in that almost pure white world of blade light, were all cleared away! With one slash, in an instant, everything was annihilated, all things fell silent, leaving only Seino's thunder in her ears!
That was a world of beauty the girl had never seen before.
It was also the world she would pursue from then on.
The last thing the girl saw was that man standing at the zenith,
White breath escaping from between his teeth, silver-gray pupils flashing with lightning, his thin clothes rustling in the wind, slowly pushing a tachi still coursing with lightning snakes back into its scabbard — sheathing the sword.
The thunder subsided, the sky cleared, a gentle breeze blew.
"A Tengu, huh...?"
"An old friend of mine was also a Tengu... You've worked hard..."
"You've worked hard... little Tengu."
"You've worked hard."
In her dizzy state, she heard the man's voice, heard his laughter, hearty, unbridled, resounding in the clear sky. It was the laugh unique to the great Pillar General, giving endless courage to the timid.
"But my home has been destroyed..." the little Tengu mumbled. "I have nowhere to go now."
She felt herself being held in his arms. The man's chest was broad, with a faint smell of tobacco. The man gently stroked her broken wings, his large hands rough yet gentle.
He held her tenderly, saying nothing, just holding her as he walked out of the forest.
...
From then on, the Tengu whose home had been destroyed had a new name.
Seino Sara.
She joined the army, honing her martial skills day and night, just to catch up to that pure white world she had seen that day, just so she wouldn't be abandoned by the strong, magnificent him...
But it wasn't until now that Sara understood:
That single slash that day was the only one Seino Raiden had made in ten years.
It was also the last slash in his remaining life, or rather, in the 500 years of Seino Raiden's glorious life as the great Pillar General.
Gray hair gradually appeared, he often coughed, waking up at night from pain. The great Pillar General was slowly growing old.
That pure white world was born for her at the last,
And in her lifetime, she would never see that world again, never hear Seino's thunder again.
——
"Lady Sara, Lady Sara..."
A voice calling her name reached her ears.
Seino Sara was startled, slowly coming back to her senses.
The early morning sunlight, passing through the huge torii gate, shone on the steps. Following the long stairway upwards, at the end of the long path, appeared an ancient and solemn hall.
This was the dwelling place of the Raiden Shogun, the pinnacle of power in Inazuma — Tenshukaku.
"The Almighty Shogun has agreed to your audience," the soldier responsible for announcing reported respectfully.
Sara slowly exhaled, her golden eyes reflecting the hall at the summit. She slowly gripped the tachi in her hand — she could hear her own heartbeat.
She had been waiting at the bottom of the stairs for a long time.
Ascending with the dance of snowflakes, climbing the stairs step by step, passing through towers and jade pavilions, traversing one long corridor and bridge after another,
She reached the innermost part of Tenshukaku.
Vast and silent.
Accompanied by the sound of heavy, massive doors opening — the winter sunlight filled this deathly quiet hall.
The sunlight was faint, with particles of light floating in the air.
The Raiden Shogun sat cross-legged on a cushion, slowly opening her eyes.
Slender geta lightly tapped on the hall floor, dark purple braids hanging behind her, gently swaying in the wind.
She wore a purple kimono, with gentian flowers embroidered on the collar. The long sleeves on both sides were of uneven length, each hanging down, trailing behind her, with purple and gold tassels also falling.
In her beautiful light purple eyes, seemingly containing lightning, Sara's reflection was mirrored.
Majestic. Solitary.
Sara slowly bowed, placing her tachi on the ground, kneeling on one knee, and paying her respects.
"Seino... Sara. I remember you, you are a warrior of the Seino family," the Shogun slowly spoke, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes," Seino Sara raised her head, her golden eyes also reflecting the Shogun. She said earnestly,
"Yes, I have decided to do this."
"Is this his intention? Or your own will?"
The Shogun's voice was calm, without a ripple.
"This is Lord Pillar General's order. It is also my decision."
Silence.
In the almost suffocating quiet, time slowly passed. The sun slowly shifted, the shadows of the pines and cypresses outside the hall rotated, climbing along the palace walls, finally falling on the Raiden Shogun.
During this time, the Shogun lowered her head slightly. After a while, as if coming back to her senses, she finally said:
"...Tell him to come see me himself."
...
In a place that doesn't exist in the world, in the depths of eternity, in the boundless pure land, a desolate shrine, an inverted red sun, this was a realm where time had stopped.
The thunder that ruled Inazuma for eternity, the warrior who wielded the authority of roaring thunder, pursuing eternal solitude — Raiden Ei slowly opened her eyes.
For the first time in a long while, she felt a hint of confusion.
This was something that hadn't happened for many years.