"Become the leader of the resistance? Personally oppose the Archon?"
The startling proposition made Yae Miko clutch her forehead with a wry smile.
"Hydro Archon, may I raise a few concerns?"
"First, as Raiden Ei's retainer, under what banner would I lead an uprising against my own Archon?"
"Second, Raiden Shogun wields immense divine authority. Her Musou no Hitotachi is unparalleled in the world. How could I, or the resistance forces, possibly defeat her?"
"Third, even if we were to defeat Raiden Shogun, it would cement the notion that she ignored the wishes of her people. Once a god bears such a stain, how could she maintain her divine authority and command respect in the future?"
Yae Miko's words were succinct but sharp.
Her concerns were valid. First, as Raiden Ei's retainer and friend, openly rebelling against her would be tantamount to betraying the Archon.
While Felina's plan was ultimately for Raiden Ei's and Inazuma's benefit, Yae Miko deeply valued her relationship with Raiden Ei and didn't wish to become estranged from her.
Moreover, Raiden Ei's strength was undeniable. Inazuma's history attests to it.
Though Yae Miko herself was powerful, Raiden Ei's Musou no Hitotachi could slay gods. No matter how many troops she brought, they would fall with a single strike—or, at most, two.
Raiden Ei had triumphed in the Archon War over all of Inazuma's territory. What could Yae Miko possibly use to stand against her?
And even if they managed to win, what then?
A god who ignored the wishes of her people, defeated by her own retainer and citizens, would inevitably suffer a devastating blow to her reputation and faith. How could she command loyalty as a deity after that?
Thus, the difficulty of Felina's plan lay in crafting a legitimate pretext for the rebellion, ensuring Yae Miko and the resistance could defeat Raiden Ei while preserving Raiden Ei's dignity.
"Oh, that?"
Felina chuckled at Yae Miko's concerns. "If I'm proposing this plan, you can rest assured I've prepared thoroughly."
"I have a three-part strategy."
"First, your question: under what banner should you raise arms against Raiden Shogun."
Felina placed a book on the table before Yae Miko.
Yae Miko glanced at the cover, where six bold characters were inscribed: Inazuma: A Color Revolution.
"Second, your question: how can you and the resistance forces possibly defeat Raiden Shogun?"
Felina produced a second book, setting it beside the first.
This cover bore seven characters: Inazuma: A Proxy War.
"And finally, your question: how to maintain Raiden Shogun's dignity while orchestrating this rebellion."
Felina retrieved a third book and laid it down. Its cover contained just five characters: Inazuma: Purge the Court.
In the hidden room, Felina pushed the three books toward Yae Miko.
Her gaze locked onto Yae Miko's eyes, her expression calm but exuding quiet confidence.
"With these three plans, Inazuma can be secured."
Though Felina's smile was faint, it shimmered with a razor-sharp confidence. Yae Miko, with a hint of doubt, picked up the books and began to read.
As Yae Miko flipped through the pages of the plans, her expression shifted from skepticism to surprise, then to seriousness and astonishment.
She spent nearly an hour meticulously reviewing the three books, her expression growing more solemn with every page. When she finally set them down, the look of shock on her face had yet to fade.
The level of detail in the plans left her not only awestruck but deeply apprehensive.
The contents of the books were proof enough of Felina's capabilities.
If Yae Miko were not the one to execute this plan but Felina instead, there was no doubt in her mind that Felina could overthrow Raiden Ei's faith and establish herself as Inazuma's new deity.
That Felina had the ability but refrained from acting could only mean one thing—she truly respected Raiden Ei and upheld her principles.
"The plan is as presented. Do you have any objections or suggestions for improvement?" Felina asked.
"It's a perfect plan; I have no objections," Yae Miko nodded. "Thank you for your assistance. Once the plan is underway, I will hand over the Gnosis to you."
Felina nodded in return. "Good. That settles it."
Now that it was decided Yae Miko would lead the plan, Felina, as the Hydro Archon, knew she couldn't remain in Inazuma for long.
If she stayed, any future unrest would inevitably lead to accusations that the Hydro Archon had personally incited Inazuma's chaos and civil war.
To avoid giving others an excuse to point fingers, Felina left Inazuma shortly after outlining the plan. However, she left behind several Oceanids retainers to assist Yae Miko.
After Felina's departure, Yae Miko wasted no time setting things in motion.
Inazuma's government, known as the Shogunate, was structured with Raiden Shogun at its head, supported by three Commissions:
• Tenryou Commission – Responsible for military affairs and law enforcement.
• Kanjou Commission – In charge of taxes and fiscal management.
• Yashiro Commission – Oversees cultural affairs and public welfare.
Among them, the Yashiro Commission, led by the Kamisato family, was closely connected to the people due to their work in cultural and social matters.
The Kamisato siblings, Ayaka and Ayato, were known for their integrity and sense of duty. In the game's storyline, the two had often worked behind the scenes for the good of the people.
Since the Yashiro Commission was also responsible for cultural traditions, Yae Miko's Grand Narukami Shrine often collaborated with them for rituals and festivals.
Thus, Yae Miko was well-acquainted with the Kamisato siblings. After finalizing the plan, she went directly to the Kamisato estate.
Following a series of subtle tests and a five-hour-long private discussion, the Kamisato siblings agreed to join the plan and provide their full support.
The first step of any war is establishing legitimacy, especially when the people are to rise against their own deity. It required an unimpeachable justification.
Thus, Felina's first plan, Inazuma: A Color Revolution, was set in motion.
A Color Revolution is a method of destabilizing a nation by inciting its citizens to overthrow their government through emotional and ideological manipulation.
It often involves promoting foreign ideals like freedom, democracy, and human rights while simultaneously discrediting and undermining the target country's systems, economy, and culture.
To summarize it in the simplest terms: A Color Revolution seeks to convince a nation's citizens that their country is worthless, corrupt, and decaying, while foreign lands are thriving, democratic paradises.
This manipulation fosters dissatisfaction and frustration, particularly among students, intellectuals, and various professional groups, eventually driving them to take to the streets in protest. The ultimate goal is to topple the government.
What's tragic is that most participants in these movements genuinely believe they are fighting for their nation's future, unaware that they have been brainwashed and turned into pawns for foreign powers.
Worse, they fail to realize that their actions are not saving their nation but dragging it further into the abyss.
Felina's first move in Inazuma was indeed a textbook execution of a color revolution.
However, implementing such a strategy in Inazuma was notably easier.
A typical color revolution begins by discrediting the target nation, creating a narrative that "the country is utterly rotten," and fostering widespread disillusionment among its citizens about their government.
But Inazuma, given its current state and oppressive atmosphere, required no additional tarnishing—it was already in a dire condition.
Under the extreme and fabricated guise of "eternity," the nation was suffocating. Citizens struggled for basic necessities, their lives riddled with unrest and uncertainty.
The implementation of the Vision Hunt Decree had served as the final straw, igniting the pent-up grievances of Inazuma's people. A significant number of citizens had already flocked to Watatsumi Island to join the resistance army.
Even without Felina's intervention, Inazuma was already spiraling into chaos, teetering on the edge of civil war.
The purpose of the color revolution, therefore, was not merely to incite rebellion but to grant Yae Miko and the resistance forces the moral high ground in opposing Raiden Shogun. It also laid the groundwork for the subsequent phases of the plan.
And so, the color revolution began.
Yae Miko managed a publishing house called Yae Publishing House, responsible for printing, producing, and distributing novels across Inazuma.
In a land where "eternity" had stifled innovation and progress, novels were among the few forms of entertainment and escapism still accessible to the populace. Given Yae Publishing House's dominance in Inazuma's literary market, it effectively monopolized the publication of fiction.
Under Yae Miko's deliberate guidance, subtle ideological messages began to infiltrate the content of recently published novels.
Take, for instance, the immensely popular novel Chronicles of the Wandering Samurai.
This story followed the journey of a samurai from Inazuma who roamed the seven nations in search of the monster that had destroyed his family.
In its latest chapters, the protagonist conveniently found himself in Fontaine.
During this arc, the protagonist, while hunting clues about his nemesis, happened to rescue a young Fontaine girl. Enamored by the samurai's gallantry, the girl developed romantic feelings for him.
She invited the samurai to explore Fontaine with her, and during their outings, the narrative offered detailed descriptions of Fontaine's various wonders from the protagonist's perspective.
The latest chapters generated a massive buzz among Inazuma's citizens.
"Hey, do you think it's true? In the new chapter, the samurai and the girl traveled across half of Fontaine in just one day using something called a railboat. Is such a thing even possible?"
"Could there really be such a convenient and fast mode of transportation in the world?"
"Before the Sakoku Decree, my uncle visited Fontaine. He mentioned they had railboats, and they're as fast as described. If Inazuma had something like that, we could tour the entire nation in a single day!"
"Dear, is it true what the book says about movies? Do moving pictures with sound actually exist?"
"I heard from a merchant at Ritou that they do—it's all real."
Upon release, the new chapters shot to the top of the charts, becoming the best-selling release of the period.
Over tea and during idle moments, people couldn't stop talking about the book's content.
They envied Fontaine's railboats, which provided swift and efficient transportation.
They yearned for the opportunity to enjoy highbrow art like the cinema mentioned in the story.
They marveled at the notion of endless energy in Fontaine, lighting up every home with bulbs and banishing darkness from their lives.
They were also amazed by Fontaine's formidable combat machinery.
But after their amazement and admiration, they fell into deep reflection.
"If only we could have such convenient transportation."
"Movies are so magical. It would be wonderful if we had them in Inazuma."
"Every household enjoying light, how enviable. When will we stop relying on candles for illumination? Haha, forget it. My family can't even afford to buy candles."
"Fontaine's mechanical army is truly terrifying. Impenetrable iron hulks, samurai swords would break before they could defeat them. If such a mechanical army invaded Inazuma, how would we defend ourselves?"
After reflecting, the people of Inazuma, realizing they were lagging behind other nations in every way, fell into a profound sense of national inferiority.
Meanwhile, the Kamisato siblings also began their actions in secret.
They specifically sought out individuals from the middle class in Inazuma.
Why target these individuals?
Because this group has a distinctive characteristic: as members of the middle class, they enjoy better education and conditions than the lower classes but lack the status of the upper class.
Living in the middle tier, they are reluctant to associate with those below them, believing themselves more educated, yet they cannot ascend to the higher echelons.
They refuse to integrate downward but are rejected by those above them.
This high ambition yet low achievement often leaves them stuck in a mindset of frustration and cynicism.
They tend to feel a sense of superiority when facing those below them but are deeply self-conscious and powerless when facing those above.
When the Kamisato siblings discreetly reached out to them and introduced Fontaine's advanced civilization and Mondstadt's free winds, these individuals were ecstatic.
They transformed into public intellectuals, also known as "public thinkers," becoming mouthpieces for freedom, democracy, and human rights, and emerging as so-called opinion leaders.
Some of their essays included:
"Fontaine's Railboats: Traveling the Nation in a Day, Why Doesn't Inazuma Have This Level of Transportation?"
"A Century of Endurance: The Costs of Pursuing Eternity in Exchange for a Hundred Years of Stability?"
"Illuminated Nights and Invincible Machines: A Look at Fontaine's Technological Crowns of Glory!"
"Rejecting Tyranny: The Anemo Archon Abdicates for the People; Lessons from Mondstadt on Governance, Love, and True Freedom."
As these articles spread nationwide, Inazuma's situation grew increasingly turbulent.
Gradually, the voices of dissent grew louder.
"Fontaine already uses railboats, but we're still using animal-drawn carts!"
"Fontaine is advanced enough to have movies and homes lit by electricity, yet we can't even afford candles!"
"Fontaine's guns kill from afar, and their autonomous combat robots are mass-produced. If such enemies ever invade Inazuma, what could we use to fight back?"
"What has pursuing eternity brought us, apart from suffering and backwardness?"
"The protagonist in the book was amazed by Fontaine's civilization upon arriving, just like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time. At this moment, perhaps we are all those country bumpkins."
As the voices of opposition grew louder, a new announcement shook the nation: Yae Publishing House declared that The Wandering Samurai: Fontaine Arc would be permanently discontinued due to "unavoidable circumstances" and would no longer be published.
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