Genshin Impact: Following the Winds

A few days later, as I was filling in the rest of the unexplored regions in my minimap, I decided to take a break by the beach. I sat down on the sands, brought out a pork bun from my Inventory, and snacked on it as I listened to the ocean's rhythm.

Once I'd finished my lunch, instead of immediately returning to my exploration, I decided to play around with [As Water Seeks Equilibrium] a little more. After all, I hadn't really used it much after that first time, and it wasn't as if I was under any time pressure or whatnot.

Taking off my stockings and shoes, I dipped my feet into the waters, letting the ocean's strength surge into me as I readied myself to call for the well of Hydro within me.

But as I was doing so, I caught something strange.

Through the water, I could feel something in the distance. A group of twelve or so objects, moving through the waters at nearly identical speed. They certainly weren't fish, nor could they be the dragons I fished up from time to time. No, if anything, their movements were too straight to be anything truly alive.

I frowned slightly as I further focused. My senses stretched further through the waters, and the blurry sensations sharpened. At that moment, it almost felt as if I was in the water, swimming right next to whatever it was that was heading this way. And as I turned towards the objects, they appeared almost like boats in my Elemental Sight.

Wait, boats?

My consciousness rushed back into my body, and I stepped out of the water in surprise. There was no doubt about it—there were 12 or so ships approaching this island. From what I could tell, they were a few days away before they'd reach Watatsumi. And while I couldn't be truly sure that Watatsumi was their target, my instincts told me so.

I frowned. Only the Shogunate had enough manpower to send 12 entire ships across the waters, but why were those ships heading this way? Watatsumi had little interaction with the mainland, and I was fairly sure the Saiguu's ship hadn't been followed by anyone. Lumine or I would've noticed otherwise.

The more I thought of it though, there was an event that could've drawn their attention, was there?

The Hydro Hypostasis, specifically the typhoon it created, and the explosive tornado I created to disperse it.

I held my forehead and groaned. Yeah, the more I thought about it, it would be suspicious if no one noticed such an event. The fact that the Shogunate had taken this long to even send a scouting party just showed how understaffed the Shogunate must be due to the end of the Archon War.

In that case, there was no time to dally.

I quickly dried my legs using a burst of Anemo, and after wearing my shoes and stockings, I began walking back to camp. 

It didn't take long before I made it back. There was a crowd surrounding the communal campfire, with Lumine and a few craftsmen standing in the middle of them. She was talking to them about their plans on constructing a village, and they were asking her for advice. Or they were about to, until they spotted me approaching.

""Wendy-sama!"" They greeted me, bowing deeply as I approached. The crowd turned my way as they heard the craftsmen, and soon the entire crowd was bowing as they greeted me.

I returned a polite smile. "Apologies for the interruption everyone, but I'm afraid I must talk with Lumine."

Lumine nodded as she handed the scrolls she held over to the craftsmen. And once she did, she and I walked just far enough for us not to be heard. "So, what's up?" She raised an eyebrow. "It's rare for you to return so early."

"Twelve ships are approaching Watatsumi Island." I explained simply. "They come from Narukami—likely part of the Shogunate. I can't be too sure, but I believe they're approaching to investigate the typhoon that construct caused."

Lumine frowned deeply. "Huh. Took them a while." She commented as she sighed. "Twelve ships. That can easily carry over a hundred men." She fell silent for a moment, before she turned back to me. "So, what do we do?"

"I am unsure." I admitted. "But I believe this should be shared with Saiguu and Orobashi. I am sure they would have a better grasp on what to do in this regard."

Lumine nodded in agreement.

With that, we went over to the secluded area Saiguu and Orobashi liked to convene at—a cave just east of the mountains at the island's center. We soon reached the cave's entrance, and we found Orobashi and Saiguu standing next to a giant slab of coral that acted as a makeshift table.

Orobashi was the first to notice our arrival, and he smiled slightly as we approached. "Wendy-san. Lumine-san."

Saiguu's ears twitched, and she grinned our way. "Welcome to our secret cove~"

"A good afternoon to you, Saiguu." My smile soon fell. "But alas, I'm afraid I come with news."

Orobashi frowned. "Speak." I nodded, and explained what I'd seen, though I made no mention of how I even noticed those ships in the first place. Orobashi hummed. "That is indeed worrying." He nodded, thankfully not doubting the validity of my observation. "Our plans have only begun."

"And by that he means we haven't even started~" Saiguu chimed in, shamelessly lying all across the makeshift table. "Aiya, Baal disappeared for months, and then suddenly she appears?" She playfully clicked her tongue. "Mm, and judging by how she unified Inazuma, I doubt our interactions will be purely cordial."

Lumine frowned slightly. "So she's the type to fire first and ask later." She whispered, smiling wryly. "Ugh, they're the worst."

I raised an eyebrow, smiling playfully. "Worried you'd lose?"

She returned a confident grin. "Nah, I'd win."

After all, sealed as she was, this was far from the first time she'd faced the divine. Hell, she and Aether had torn down more than a dozen 'heavens' during their travels across different worlds. The difference between humans and gods stopped mattering after she watched the hundredth god plead for their life.

Besides, seeing Venti absorb the energy from that construct had given her an idea.

"Whatever the case, it is imperative to move the people." Orobashi then said. "At the moment, their gathering remains too close to the shores. It would be to our benefit for them to come closer to the island's center."

"We can certainly aid in that regard." I smiled at Lumine, and she nodded back. "Shall we inform the people of the truth?"

Orobashi frowned for a moment, before he slowly nodded. "It is their right to know."

I smiled. "And that makes you better than many others." I said back. Orobashi smiled slightly.

Little else was said after that. We all began to move. Lumine and I returned to the camp and informed the people about what was happening. They were naturally shocked that they might come to blows with the Shogunate, but since Watatsumi was so far away from Narukami Island, the Shogunate held little weight here. They easily agreed to move closer to the island's center.

Meanwhile, Saiguu began working on a powerful array to shroud the new camp that the people would make. And by that she mostly meant copying the seals that were placed around the Grand Narukami Shrine that shielded it from prying eyes. 

She was not lazy. Trust.

The whole move didn't actually all that long, especially since I had my Inventory to seamlessly carry everything the people had. By the time night fell, the new camp had been made, and Saiguu's array had been implemented.

And from there, all they could do was wait.

.

.

.

Days later, a group of twelve ships arrived at the shores of Watatsumi Island. From them descended an army of samurai, easily numbering over a hundred men. And the last to descend was a woman garbed in a purple kimono, her eyes glowing a bright purple as arcs of Electro sparked around her.

This was Baal, the Archon of Electro. Or specifically, she was Raiden Ei, the sister of Raiden Makoto. Makoto had opted to stay back in Narukami Island, still doing all she could to adjust herself to the new authority granted by the Gnosis Celestia had given her. 

Ei frowned as she stepped onto the island. Though faint, she could feel the traces of something divine. A god had clearly been here not too long ago.

She narrowed her eyes. Another god remained alive? 

"Baal-sama!" A samurai came and knelt before her. She nodded silently, and he continued. "We have found tracks, heading further into the island."

"Refugees?"

The samurai hesitated for a moment, before he shook his head. "We don't believe so. The steps were calm, orderly even. They were not steps left behind by a group of panicked survivors."

Her frown deepened. That was certainly odd. The scouts had mentioned that they saw a great typhoon sweep across this island. If that was true, then it was unlikely mere peasants would have kept such orderly pace as they escaped the disaster.

Unless it wasn't a disaster.

"Keep vigilance." She told them, drawing out her favored blade from its sheath. "A god likely walks this island."

At her warning, the samurai quickly readied themselves. Katanas were drawn, bows were notched, and their advance slowed as they kept a careful eye on their surroundings. 

In truth, they had explored little of this island due to its distance from Narukami; they hadn't even named it. 

They found little on the island. There was little fauna or flora living on the island, likely due to the strange white soil that occasionally appeared across the earth. The island's stillness was concerning, almost eerie in its silence. It felt almost as if the wind itself had gone completely silent.

Then, on their trek towards the island's center, they finally found someone.

A young woman, sitting atop a small rock, a dull blade stuck into the dirt next to her. She was silently feasting on a skewer of meat, before her eyes turned their way as she noticed their approach.

However, faced with the threat of over a hundred samurai and Inazuma's Archon, the only thing the woman did was stare before she returned to eating her skewer.

The woman's lax attitude quickly drew ire from a few of her men. "Bow in reverence, stranger!" A samurai shouted. "For you now stand before Baal-sama's grace!"

The woman raised an eyebrow and stared at the man. And stared. And stared.

And then she returned to eating her skewer.

"The insolence-!"

"Can you shut up?" The woman finally spoke, her voice hard as steel. The moment she spoke, a cold chill crept up all their backs. She had done little but eat, but they instinctively knew that this woman was not one to be treated lightly. "I'm trying to eat my lunch here."

Ei nodded subtly, agreeing that being interrupted in the middle of a meal was the worst. She quickly caught herself however, and she frowned. "You." She said, her voice sharp. "Are you a god?"

It was a natural assumption. The woman's unnatural beauty, her foreign clothes, and the aura of divinity that clung around her like a cloak—there was certainly no doubt in Ei's mind that this was the god she'd been looking for.

Lumine raised an eyebrow. Ei couldn't have been more wrong. The only reason Lumine carried traces of divinity was because of her occasional meet-ups with Orobashi. She was only here because Orobashi was hiding, Saiguu was maintaining the array around the camp, and Venti was keeping watch from afar, his bow ready to fire.

Still, she was surprised how spot-on Saiguu's assumption was. She'd been surprised when she heard that Baal was actually two sister gods, but she'd heard weirder. And since Raiden Makoto wasn't one to throw herself into danger, it meant that the one who was likely to appear was Raiden Ei, the more hard-headed and violent sister. The very one who practically wiped out every other god in Inazuma.

As Saiguu said, diplomacy was practically impossible.

So Lumine swallowed the rest of the meat skewer, and smiled confidently. "And if I am?"

The moment she said so, a great burst of lightning shot forth from Ei, rising into the sky. Thundering clouds quickly began gathering, and soon the entire island was plunged into darkness. "Then you shall perish." She whispered, eyes glowing bright purple as Electro surged around her.

But what Ei didn't notice was the fact that the clouds seemed ungrouped, and the lightning that would've normally began to fall wasn't there. 

Lumine grinned as she looked up. It was clearly Venti's influence—unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless.

She yawned as she stood up. She stretched her arms and back, and then her eyes gleamed as she pulled her sword from the ground. She pulled at what power she still had, and motes of golden light gathered around her sword. Soon her blade began glowing so bright that the samurai had to look away.

It was as if Lumine was holding the sun in her hands.

Her grin grew wider. "Then let's dance."

The ground shattered as she leapt forward, her sword swung. Ei narrowed her eyes as she met Lumine's blade with her own.

And the world exploded in an explosion of gold and lightning.