Inazuma x Reader - Lost to Eternity

Chapter 18: Wife Beater

. . .

Well, I won't be getting answers to any of those questions for the time being, not without burning down one of the few bridges I still have left in this nation. So I might as well heed Natashka's advice and just make my way back to the camp for the night. It's not all that far anyways, I just need to—

???: "betrayyyyyyer... scoooooooourge of the vortex... i will fiiiiiiiiiind you..."

All of a sudden I found myself instinctually on high alert, most likely due to the weird whisper-like voice that seemed to call out to me... but it didn't sound like it came from a human mouth. It sounded like it came from something else entirely, something really quite far away...

Looking in the direction of which my best guess of the voice's origin, it led me to look out towards the sea. Could this be that voice that I heard back then? The voice of the sea that spoke out to me when I defeated Osial and found myself sent to this nation of treachery and war?

???: "murderrrrrrrrer... cooooooooooward... i will cruuuuuuuuush you..."

No... This voice is different. That other voice from before sounded much more serene, more tranquil. It felt warm and comforting, like I might imagine a mother's embrace to be, if I ever knew mine. But not this one, no, this voice... it sounds far more angry, and much more aggressive. Whoever this voice belonged to, they definitely didn't seem like they would make a great friend—

???: "my husband's killeeeeeeeer... there is only so faaaaaaaaaaar you can ruuuuuuuun..."

"My husband's killer...?" Being said by a voice from the ocean? No, it couldn't be, could it...? Is this the voice of Beisht? The wife of Osial that Xiao warned me of the impending arrival of? The wife of the Ancient God, that with my last act as a resident of Liyue, sealed away Osial from his renewed rampage?

But if that's the case... if I can hear her voice now, when I couldn't before... that must mean that she's much closer than she was before. That her bloodthirsty hunt for revenge has not been impeded by her defeat at Liyue Harbour, and that she was still on the prowl, looking to avenge her once again sealed partner. And if that's the case...

That means that she is definitely inbound to Inazuma...

* * *

After hearing the death wishes of an evil God, I immediately made my way back towards the Resistance Camp. Not to ask for their assistance, but rather to tell them why it was that I would be leaving their ranks, for the time being at least. For I dare not bring such people into the firing line of such a powerful threat, especially as they are already struggling to provide resources enough to deal with the Shogunate forces.

And the entire way back to the camp did I make sure to not step into any pools of water on the ground. As Xiao had told me about using a connection to the sea to detect Beisht, and whilst I never got around to really trying that, I have to imagine that it's a two-way system, and that she will also be able to sense me if I establish a connection. And doing that too soon would lose any potential prep time I still have...

It was really very late at night now, so I didn't expect for General Gorou to still be awake, so I made the decision to just head back to my quarters for now, and to write a letter for him that I would leave somewhere for them to find tomorrow, whether I post that into his test or just leave it on my desk. But what I didn't expect to see was when I opened the door to my quarters...