Capítulo 48: Chapter 48 The Puppet Named [Kunikuzushi]
Following the path east from Mondstadt City, exiting the city gate, walking along the trail through Whispering Woods, the secluded forest path was muddy and damp.
Billions of leaves gently rubbed against each other in the wind, making a sound like whispers. Passing through the forest and looking up, one could see a valley that the Mondstadt people called 'Stormbearer Mountains'.
At the border between Stormbearer Mountains and Whispering Woods, there was a natural lake. The azure lake surface reflected the white clouds and blue sky. If one didn't look closely, it would seem as if a piece of the sky was missing, falling onto this quiet and peaceful land.
At night, this lake would mirror Mondstadt's starry sky. The stars blended into the lake water, radiant and colorful—because of this beautiful scenery, this lake was named 'Starfell Lake'.
Eyes closed, leaning against a tree by the shore of Starfell Lake.
[Kunikuzushi] was the boy's real name, but few people knew it. People often called him by another alias: [Scaramouche].
Scaramouche, the sixth seat of the Fatui Harbingers.
He wore Inazuma-style clothing similar to a kabuki actor, a bamboo hat with a yokai mask embedded, a short-sleeved top with trailing sleeves and shorts. That mask covered the boy's face and concealed his presence.
Unlike La Signora who came as an envoy with great fanfare, no one knew that Kunikuzushi had come to Mondstadt—including the Fatui Harbingers.
He came privately, because of a secret letter.
The boy leaned against the tree, head raised, gazing at the sky above Starfell Lake.
His purple eyes, very rarely, showed a hint of blankness.
The Pillar General was gone.
When he first heard this news, Kunikuzushi had no extra reaction. The long passage of time had eroded his emotions. Moreover, as a heartless [puppet], he wouldn't shed tears.
All mortals die. He had long understood that.
It was no big deal.
From birth, Kunikuzushi was a calamity.
No one hoped for him, nor rejoiced at his birth. He was just abandoned as an eternal defective product. He was neither human nor object, with no past or future, not even a name, a boy like a blank sheet of paper. The Inazuma people didn't welcome him.
The boy wandered the world for several years. He didn't know what he was seeking either.
The first time he met the Pillar General was in Tatarasuna Village. Impurity had caused a disaster, so the villagers wanted to sacrifice him in exchange for the disaster to subside.
Countless pairs of eyes stared at him, fearful, wary, disgusted, chillingly cold. Countless pairs of hollow eyes. The boy heard their voices. Everyone's voice was very low, coming from deep in their lungs, so they sounded damp and sinister as they chanted in unison,
"Monster."
"Monster."
Then the Pillar General came.
That man was very powerful. With just one slash, thunder rolled, the wilderness roared. As the sky flashed white, all impurities were eradicated. He untied the ropes binding the boy, looked him up and down, grinned and said,
"From today on, your name is [Kunikuzushi]."
"...Kunikuzushi?"
"In Inazuma language, it means cannon."
The great Pillar General nodded in satisfaction, quite proud of his naming talent. He laughed heartily, "When the great wind rises, the clouds soar; when the great cannon fires, it blasts their asses."
"Boy, are you interested in joining the Pillar General's army?" He patted the puppet's shoulder. "From now on, you are the cannon of the Pillar General's army."
"Anyone who insults you, you blast their asses with a cannon! You will make the roar of a cannon. You will use your own voice to drown out all the noise, resounding through the heavens!"
The Pillar General's words were not elegant. His voice was loud, echoing in the sky. "You will eventually become a true person."
.
The past memories had become blurred. Until this moment, Kunikuzushi still couldn't understand what a 'true person' in the Pillar General's mouth meant.
But his days after that were not so confused.
Many years later, Kunikuzushi left Inazuma, walking the mortal world as a Wanderer. The Fatui was very interested in his identity. As things fell into place, he joined the Fatui.
Over the centuries, his status rose higher and higher, finally becoming the sixth seat of the Fatui Harbingers, codenamed 'Scaramouche'.
In the eyes of the Snezhnayan soldiers, Lord Scaramouche had an unpredictable temperament. His favorite thing was observing human terror and helplessness. For this, he specially selected an expressive and foolish subordinate to amuse himself. His nature was bizarre and absurd.
For the Fatui's benefit, he would resort to any means. He was a terrifying existence.
But what they didn't know was that Lord Scaramouche was still corresponding with an old man from a distant nation. They didn't write often, sometimes only one letter every few years, doing it very covertly.
Despite this, over the centuries, they had exchanged many letters.
The Fatui's movements, Snezhnaya's attitude, news of the Sakoku Decree... A lot of information was hidden in the letters, hidden in the code words they had set.
And the last letter Kunikuzushi received was a month ago.
It was the Pillar General's will.
Seino Raimei was dead.
Seino Raimei was dead.
He told others that their roars should resound through the heavens, but his own voice had stopped first.
From now on, he could no longer write letters.
Kunikuzushi was not loyal to Inazuma, nor to that woman in Tenshukaku. On the contrary, he deeply loathed her. After Seino's death, he had nothing to do with Inazuma anymore.
Seino Raimei was dead.
Keeping it from everyone, Kunikuzushi privately came to Mondstadt. According to the Pillar General's final instructions, he waited for someone by the shore of Starfell Lake.
[Seino Fugin], that was the person's name.
He had already waited by Starfell Lake for two weeks. The person named Seino Fugin still hadn't appeared. Kunikuzushi hated people who were not punctual. It made him irritated.
Being away from Snezhnaya for too long, the Fatui would also grow suspicious. If he still couldn't wait for that person today, Kunikuzushi would leave.
The sun slowly sank. The afternoon sunlight was lazy and languid. Kunikuzushi squinted slightly, observing the boy walking out from the forest.
He was sizing up the other party, or rather, scrutinizing him.
Since the other party bore the name 'Seino', he was surely no ordinary person.
The person walked lightly and loosely, his breath nimble and rapid. This was some special breathing technique (walking until out of breath from exhaustion).
The boy leaned on an ominous sword. He must be a swordsman who never left his blade (too tired to walk, using God Cutter as a cane).
Deep in his eyes was greed and hunger, like a vicious young wolf lurking (so hungry, should have eaten the fish before leaving).
He came with ill intent.
As expected of an elite cultivated by the Pillar General's Mansion.
Kunikuzushi inwardly grew wary, already thinking of how to deal with this fierce wolf.
After being a Harbinger for so many years, Kunikuzushi had seen countless people. He wouldn't misjudge.
He was aggressively approaching him. He reached out his hand. He grabbed towards Kunikuzushi's right hand with lightning speed. Kunikuzushi had heard of this move, the 'Capturing Hand' from Liyue. This boy was also testing him—
Seino Fugin tightly gripped Kunikuzushi's hand, with a relieved expression of seeing a comrade, using the tone of an underground party spy meeting, he said,
"Ya, Inazuma buddy?"
'Inazuma buddy'—this was their reunion and first meeting.
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