Reisen Riou's eyes glowed orange, piercing the Ley Lines to see a shade radiating stern aura.
No mistake—it was Anko Kanno. Besides Raiden Ei, only she had such a soul on Ritou.
Per Raiden Ei, few humans in Inazuma matched Anko's martial prowess and will, and those were at Kujou Encampment. This Ley Line held only one such soul.
He guided her soul into the amber-formed body.
Learning from his own botched rebirth—merging too late with an adult-sized shell, leaving lingering flaws—he acted differently for Anko. She only needed to merge; he'd handle the rest.
"She didn't say what age to revive her at," Reisen Riou said, meticulously shaping the body, turning to Raiden Ei.
"Fifteen or sixteen. Prime for restarting martial training," Raiden Ei replied, her eyes flickering.
"Hm, something's off. She's drawing Ley Line energy herself," Reisen Riou noted. "Makes sense—she's a miko, trained to sense and channel Ley Lines. Her martial streak made me forget she's a top-tier miko."
"With her pulling Ley Line power, success odds are up to thirty percent," he added. "Lady Ei, keep watch. Pushing her soul here scattered fragments. I'll grab the big ones—small ones are lost, but we need the major pieces to avoid memory gaps."
He sank into the Ley Lines, leaving, "Monsters might spawn. Handle them, Lady Ei."
In the familiar Ley Line flow, he sighed, "Having a body's nice."
Ability: Firewall LV6 (51.2/100)
Shaking off nostalgia, he closed his eyes, sensing Anko's scattered memory fragments.
Her soul shards, though dispersing, glowed purple, stark against the gray-black fragments around them.
He knew the soul-memory hierarchy, akin to Teyvat's weapon ranks, minus the divine tier:
Gray Dust: Worthless memories. Green: Mildly valuable. Blue: Highly valuable. Purple: Extremely valuable.
With Resin and Ley Line Blossoms, green, blue, and purple memories became absorbable experience. Sumeru could refine them into knowledge.
Under wisdom's glow, all but divine memories turned green, tied to wisdom and Dendro. Crimson memories were divine, black ones karmic burdens—equivalent to gold, god-tier gear.
…
While Reisen Riou hunted memories, Anko's soul, fueled by Ley Line energy, began recovering.
She was now a humanoid elemental being, choosing Electro like her mentor Raiden Ei, making her a pseudo-elemental creature, unlike Reisen Riou's Electro-Geo mix.
It suited her to better learn Raiden Ei's martial arts and mysteries.
Regaining intellect, Anko sensed Raiden Ei guarding the amber.
"Master," she called with her heart.
Normal ears couldn't hear, but a demon god like Raiden Ei caught the heart's voice.
"You're really back," Raiden Ei said, her mind a tangle, recalling old friends.
"Anko, how do you feel?"
"Weak, heavy, like something's pinning me. Can't do anything," Anko assessed.
"Normal," Raiden Ei said, planting her naginata and pulling out Reisen Riou's handbook. She flexed her chest, sighing—too large, it hindered reading.
"Master's… enviable," Anko couldn't help but say.
"Too big," Raiden Ei grumbled. "My sister's size suits martial arts better, but she shuns it."
"You'll have a healthy body soon," she added, flipping through the handbook. "It says Willpower can slightly tweak your form."
"How long will this take, Master?"
"No fixed time—depends on Ley Line energy."
"Got it."
"I can move a bit. I touched a weapon."
"Don't! It'll drain extra energy."
"Understood."
"Say, Master, anyone you fancy?"
"Hmph, teasing your master? I know you like Reisen Riou. He's decent, but…"
Days passed without Reisen Riou's return, so their talk grew bold, spilling private Narukami secrets.
"Ahem, am I back at a bad time?" Reisen Riou emerged awkwardly from the Ley Lines, holding seven or eight pearl-like purple glows that drifted to Anko. A dozen dust-like bits followed, some to her, others unmoving. He kneaded and swallowed them.
A few swordplay memories, likely from Ritou samurai. Mildly useful, they bumped his Swordsmanship Theory LV4 by a few points. His practical Swordsmanship LV3 stayed stuck, laughably.
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