Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

“I’m sorry, Miss Kamisato, I can’t grant your request. I can sense that the General has locked onto me. I went to great lengths to temporarily block his lock on me, but I can’t hide forever. If I keep hiding here, I’ll only implicate you sooner or later. Besides, I still have some things I need to discuss with the General back then.”

As Mei spoke, a gentle expression appeared on her face. At that moment, Ayaka Kamisato felt that Mei's aura had changed, becoming more sacred and gentler.

Ayaka Kamisato didn't understand what had happened to Mei, but she knew that perhaps what was written in that book was true.

And so Mei left, taking Kiana and the others with her. Soon after, they were discovered by the Tenryo magistrates, and Kujo Sara emerged from the crowd with a complex expression.

"The general has ordered that this gentleman be invited..."

"Mei, my name is Raiden Mei."

"Please come to the castle tower, Lady Mei. The Shogun has something to discuss with you."

Mei nodded to indicate that she understood, then turned to Kiana and said, "Miss Kiana, see you later."

Kiana nodded, watching as Mei was escorted by Kujo Sara all the way to the castle tower. Finally, Bronya couldn't help but ask a question.

"Is it really okay to let that real consciousness control Mei's body?"

"That consciousness was only a fragmented one, not enough to affect Mei's consciousness."

As the one who understands the power of consciousness best here, Fu Hua explained, "Let's go back to when Mei and the others had just retreated from the ritual site."

After evacuating to a safe location, Kiana keenly sensed that a fragment of consciousness was lurking within Mei's body.

"Don't ask anything later."

After saying that, Kiana led everyone present into the Imaginary Space and spoke to Mei.

Aren't you going to come out yet?

Just as Mei looked at Kiana with a puzzled expression, her mouth opened uncontrollably.

"I didn't expect that you were able to sense my presence."

"!"

Bronya and Fu Hua stared at Mei in surprise, and even Mei herself was shocked.

"Don't worry, it's just a fragment of consciousness, nothing to worry about," Kiana comforted her. "Besides, I have a feeling we're very close to the truth."

"My name is Raiden Shin, and I am the deceased older sister of the current Raiden God..."

With the explanation from the consciousness named Raiden Shin, everyone understood the whole story.

It turns out that Thor has been a twin Prime Evil since his birth, one named Baal and the other Balzebub.

They are one real and one shadow. The elder sister, who is not good at fighting, is in charge of the visible governance, while the younger sister is the elder sister's shadow, leading the soldiers to fight bravely against the enemy.

Thus, they emerged victorious in the war between demons and established a kingdom called Inazuma. Shin, originally a demon herself, had ample time to teach Kage, a skill she lacked, in case something happened to her and Inazuma was left without a ruler.

Unfortunately, fate is hard to defy. Five hundred years ago, a catastrophe forced Zhen to travel to a country called Kanria. He was worried that if Shadow went with him, something might happen to him, and he was also concerned that Inazuma would not be able to withstand the dark calamity without Shadow.

So Shin secretly went to Kanria without Kage's knowledge, and eventually died there. What Shin didn't expect was that Kage would abandon the entire Inazuma for her sake and appear before her. As Shin was about to die, Shin entrusted her weapon—Dream Heart—to Kage, and sealed her last remaining consciousness into that weapon, waiting for the right moment to be awakened by Kage.

What Shin really didn't expect was that the right opportunity didn't come; instead, he encountered Mei instead. During Mei's confrontation with Kage, Shin's consciousness unconsciously transferred to Mei's body through Dream Heart. Even his previously fragmented consciousness, which could only maintain a short period of awareness, has now become the state where he can wake up at any time.

However, it is still a truly incomplete consciousness, existing only as Mei's secondary consciousness within her body, unable to completely take over her physical body, although she certainly wouldn't do that.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Inazuma has deviated from my original plan. I want to find Kage and talk to her directly back then, but given her personality, I can't guarantee I can persuade her to change her mind. Anyway, according to Mei's memories, you need to be involved in Inazuma's reforms, right? Why not try my suggestion?"

Kiana lowered her head and pondered the pros and cons, and found that it was indeed worth a try, just as Zhen had said.

"Okay, but you must promise me that you won't reveal your true identity. After all, your body is now our friend's body. After this is done, we might leave Inazuma or even leave this world. If Kage finds out your identity, I think you know better than we do what will happen next."

Back to the present, Makoto looked at the familiar scene before him and couldn't help but show a nostalgic look. Then he looked at Kujo Sara, who was leading the way.

Is she one of the few remaining members of the Tengu clan in this world? I never imagined that those monsters from back then would have fallen to such a state. It seems that the disaster five hundred years ago was more serious than I imagined.

"The General's palace is just ahead. Please go in alone. We will take our leave now."

Before he knew it, he had arrived inside the castle tower. Looking at the familiar door in front of him, he was filled with emotion. After gathering his thoughts, he slowly pushed open the door.

As expected, the first thing I saw after opening the door was General Thunder, or rather, Thunder Movie's urgent expression.

"Is it really you?"

"real?"

Zhen looked at Ying with suspicion. Ying's breath caught in her throat when she saw Zhen's pure and unadulterated gaze. Then, Zhen's words shattered Ying's hope like a sharp sword.

"Is the general calling me? My name is Raiden Mei, not something real."

Yes! He died a long time ago! He died in her arms five hundred years ago, doesn't she know that better than anyone else?

However, she said her surname was Lei Dian (Thunder and Lightning), and upon thinking of this, a trace of delusion rekindled in Ying's heart.

"You mean your surname is Thunder and Lightning..."

How long has it been? Ying felt a surge of tension she hadn't felt in a long time. She subconsciously pursed her dry lips and opened them with difficulty. She could even feel her lips trembling uncontrollably!

Do you know what your surname means? Who gave you your surname?

"I was born into a very ordinary family. My mother died in childbirth, and I have been sickly since birth. My father, risking divine punishment, renamed me Raiden Mei so that I could have a healthy body. So, does the General consider me an old friend?"

"..."

Seeing Ying Luomo's appearance, Zhen felt heartbroken, but she knew that she was ultimately just a fragmented consciousness, and no one knew when she would completely dissipate.

After adjusting her state, Shadow faced True in front of her: "You are special, not only in your appearance, but also in your ability to use elemental power without the Eye of God. I don't need to explain further. I just want to know why you stopped me from performing the Eye Hunting Ritual for the Hundredth Eye of God?"

"Is it really a good idea for the General to issue an Eye Hunt Order?"

"Oh? Why do you have such doubts? I exchanged my noble body for that unchanging and eternal promise, and seizing the Eye of God is part of fulfilling that promise."

"But is it good if nothing changes? The Eye of God represents humanity's most sincere wish. Isn't the general depriving the people of their wish by confiscating the Eye of God?"

"Desire... In my view, desire is the greatest enemy of eternity. It is because people have desires that they move forward, and moving forward means loss, and loss means suffering. What is wrong with wishing that my people would not have to bear such suffering?"

"But then, wouldn't you have to bear all the pain alone?"

"It's alright, this is also my promise."

"General! I hope you can take a good look at Inazuma now. Is this really the Inazuma you expected?"

"...The Inazuma I see now is indeed not the Inazuma I envisioned, as you have said. But I believe that once I completely seize all the Eyes of God within Inazuma's territory, and my people no longer have any desires, Inazuma will naturally become the Inazuma I envision."

"It is impossible to achieve the eternity you (I) desire by merely depriving the people of their desires and by governing the country with an unchanging puppet!"

"It seems there's a natural divide between us. No matter how long we talk, you'll never agree with my views. In that case, stay."

A muffled rumble of thunder echoed in the sky. Realizing that he couldn't convince the actress without revealing his identity, he relinquished control of his body.

After taking over the body, Mei looked at Kage with a complicated expression, and finally left without saying anything, turning into a streak of crimson lightning.