Jisoo was not unused to cooler climates. She spent an extended period of time in Norwich where even in the summers the skies were typically overcast and for the rest of the year the snow was just as common as dirt. However, she had never known what true cold weather was until she felt the icy wind of the Himalayan mountaintops sting her skin like frigid needles. 

Every breath felt more difficult than the last, and even when she opened her mouth to suck in more air the tremendous altitude made her head feel faint. It didn’t help that their ride up the old rocky pathway up the mountain in Xizang was a creaky, beat up off-roader that reeked of stale cabbages and potatoes. Not exactly the rugged monster of an automobile Jisoo had expected.

I’m starting to wish we did bring that horse… I wouldn’t need to throw up as badly. Jisoo thought miserably and tried to focus on the natural beauty of the highest peaks in the world that encompassed them distantly. They were close to sixteen thousand feet above sea level, and the roads here that connected the sparse selection of Tibetan villages were few and far between. Suji knew this route by heart and stopped briefly to fill the gas tank, which had given Jisoo some time to recover.

The breathtaking scenery was occasionally interrupted by signs of detonated debris and chunks of the mountain which appeared to have been blown away. Jisoo observed one such remnant of a bygone conflict and frowned. “This damage is recent…” She mused as they passed by the fractured rock formation which she guessed must have been from a missile strike. “Way more recent than the war.”

“There are still numerous guerilla forces and remnants of the Indian Army entrenched in the mountains. Most of them are further south so we don’t need to be too concerned, but these villages we’ve passed are popular targets for attacks.”

“The people here have been through so much…” Jisoo murmured sadly as they passed a small few people making their way down the mountain in the opposite direction, accompanied by a yak heavily laden with various goods. 

The Second Sino-Indian War had occurred years before either of them were born, but the effects of the conflict were still felt decades later. Although most of what had once been the independent country of India was now under the Five-Starred Red Flag, the war had been brutal and devastated most of the Indian subcontinent.

Now what little remained of that lost nation dug deep into the mountains, where no army could root them out effectively. “Is the monastery safe?” Jisoo inquired. “This entire area is a hot bed for guerilla fighters.”

“It’s considered a sacred place, and fortunately strategically useless for both sides.” Suji replied. “So, we don’t need to worry too much, but keep your wits about you.” She suggested.

In a way it’s our fault that all of this happened. The Diminution threw the world into disarray and sparked countless conflicts. We wanted to alleviate human suffering and all we did was make it worse. Jisoo thought remorsefully and clenched her fists. The world that existed before The Diminution, I wonder how bad it was that me and Suji in our past-lives thought this was a better alternative.

Suji slowed the car as they veered around a tight bend. The rocky edge was at the precipice of a cliff face, which dropped off hundreds of feet into a gorge. “We’re almost there.” Her younger sister informed her as they continued up the road. “Maybe another five minutes.”

Five minutes away? …It still feels so surreal. 

“What will you say to her?” Suji asked curiously and glanced over at her older sister, who had taken an audible nervous deep breath as the realization dawned on her that the moment she had dreamed of for decades was now upon her. “For years you wanted nothing more than to kill her. Now you want our mother’s help.”

“...I honestly don’t really know. I have no idea what to expect from her.” Jisoo replied truthfully. “I don’t even know what she looks like. All the photos I’ve seen of her are from before either of us were born. And you haven’t exactly told me much.” She quipped as the car came to a halt. 

Suji parked the ancient truck next to a wooden gate that appeared to be less of a security measure and more of a dilapidated decoration. It hung slightly off the hinges and had seen better days, likely weathered from constant exposure to the cold winds. However, the current poor condition of the gate by no means detracted from the monastery beyond it.

In her dreams, Jisoo had seen the temple occasionally. It was an ancient monastery constructed high into the Himalayas and was already very old when the Shang Dynasty was in power. Historical records of the place were exceedingly rare, and even its name had been lost to time thousands of years ago. To think that people still called this place home was nothing short of miraculous.

No wonder the Amrita Corporation never found Keqing. This is the last place on earth they ever would have checked. Jisoo thought as she helped Suji with some of the luggage. Most of it was supplies they picked up en route further up the mountain. “Is it always this quiet?” Jisoo asked as her boots crunched the snow beneath her feet loudly. It almost felt improper to walk and make so much noise when everything else was so serene. “And where is everybody? I thought you said lots of people were here living under mother’s care.”

“The wind doesn’t exactly bother you or me much, but to normal people who aren’t more durable than diamond, it’s really fucking cold outside Jisoo.” Suji responded sarcastically and passed her older sister a bag filled with grains for her to carry. “Dinner isn’t for another couple of hours, so everybody is inside reading or meditating.”

“I guess the altitude is too high up for us to stream anything online…” Jisoo murmured, very much aware of how isolated she was for the first time in her life. 

Suji led the way through the gate and carefully closed it behind her as they passed by a few old houses that were at the base of a hill that led up to the monastery itself. The homes looked much newer and more recently built than the temple. With modern climate controllers and other technology common in colder parts of the world.

I… I’ve been here before. Jisoo realized as she walked through the small collection of homes. She peered through the windows to see if she could spot anybody, but only caught glimpses of warm lights within. I know the layout of this small village. I know the way up these steps to enter the monastery itself and which path to take through the halls. 

“This place seem familiar to you?” Suji asked knowingly as they began to walk up the stairs towards the temple, which despite how old it was still seemed to be in excellent condition. The walls were now a very dull painted red, but nothing looked unsafe or falling apart. Jisoo recognized much of it. “As if you’ve been here before?”

“It’s… Like revisiting an old home or something.” Jisoo replied honestly. “Daiyu and Baochai were here weren’t they? They came across this place in the Himalayas over a hundred years ago.”

“This temple is one of the last places in the world where what you and I might describe as ‘magic’ still exists, although it is nothing compared to what it once was.”

“The Amrita Corporation has no record of it?”

“We never made any note of this place when we returned from our little expedition to avoid allowing this place to ever be exploited by humans, like so many other bastions of wonder have been over time.” Suji explained. “However without this place, the Amrita Corporation would never be what it is today. It’s where Daiyu and Baochai first began to unravel the secrets of the world together… and where we nearly doomed humanity together in our past lives.”

Together they dropped off the supplies in a cellar, which was well stocked with several years worth of non-perishable foods. Down the hallway Jisoo could see even more rooms where she imagined more food was kept, which made sense since this high up odds were it would be impossible to grow much. 

Strangely she had not seen a single person just yet, or an animal for that matter. In all of the villages they had been to up until now they had come across numerous people mulling about their daily lives and also creatures such as yak which were common beasts of burden. Here there did not appear to be anything of the sort and as Suji had noted, everybody was inside. 

But still, shouldn’t I see some people around? Jisoo thought, but decided to concentrate on the path before her. 

She could remember in her past life walking through these very same halls. Even if Suji wasn’t with her as a guide, Jisoo felt fairly certain she could navigate through the dimly lit corridors and make her way to the central room in the temple where prayers were usually held by the highest ranked monks eons ago. That was where her mother was, she could almost sense her presence. 

I don’t feel anxious or nervous anymore. Even now as I’m thinking about it I don’t have any qualms about seeing her for the first time. Jisoo realized as she continued towards the end of a corridor lined with small torches that kept it warm inside. The pleasant aroma of incense wafted closer, which may have explained why she felt so at ease. Or was it something else?

Before she knew it, she was in front of a door that she remembered led directly into the central chamber where the monks would gather. This was where Daiyu and Baochai had spent so much time trying to reach and now she was here. She could almost feel herself beginning to walk through these halls again for the first time~

“Hey. Snap out of it.” Suji suddenly said from right next to her as Jisoo realized that she had been zoned out for quite some time, aimlessly staring at the door. Suddenly she no longer felt as nonchalant as she had moments prior. The bliss in place of anxiety had vanished, and she now felt nervous to confront her mother once again. “You were about to accidentally trigger another memory echo.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Jisoo replied and shook her head from side to side as she tried to make sense of her memories. It was hard to tell what was happening now and what had happened a century ago. 

She bit her lip. “M-Maybe I should go settle in for a bit and come back later…?” Jisoo suggested before Suji placed her hand on her shoulder and pulled her in close. 

“You’ve waited your whole life for this. Our mother loves you.” Suji stated firmly as they embraced. “It’s okay.” She said reassuringly and coaxed Jisoo to return to the door.

Don’t think about it. Just do it. Jisoo thought as she nodded slowly to her sister and looked back towards the door. The longer she tried to gather herself the worse this reunion would be. She came here for help and to see the woman she had always wanted to meet for her entire life. 

Don’t take a deep breath or talk to yourself… Just open the door and say hello to your mother for the first time in your entire life. 

Without another moment’s hesitation, Jisoo placed her hand on the door knob and turned it, then pulled it open to step inside.

Summer weather was always a refreshing change compared to the muggy humidity of spring, which seemed to fly by after the colder seasons ended. Although it was too hot to really be considered comfortable in Philadelphia, Ren imagined the specks of Jefferson Commune greatly preferred the scorching sun to the relentless winter snow. 

As per usual at around eight in the morning every other day, she took a detour from the jogging route popular with other early birds that visited the park and approached the fence that separated the smaller section of society from everybody else. Without missing a beat, she leapt over the obstacle and landed effortlessly on the other side. 

Once inside the Commune, Ren paused to take a sip of water from a bottle attached to her backpack. There was only a little bit left when she pulled it away from her lips, so she simply splashed the rest over her face to cool off then returned the bottle to the holster. As she did so, Ren also double checked the bag’s contents to make sure nothing was crushed or spilled. No matter how much foil or tupperware she and Maddie used, it seemed inevitable that by the end of the week at least one of her deliveries would manage to open partially and spill out some sauce or something. Not that anybody Ren delivered the supplies to really seemed to care how messy it was when it arrived. 

Maddie needs to start adding some healthier stuff into these… Would it kill her to let me pack a damn salad or something? Ren thought as she perused the different dishes she had brought. 

Fettuccine alfredo, six cheese lasagna, paella, mashed potatoes and brisket, some garlic knots and cheesy bread… It was all so heavy and fattening. Sure, Ren knew the specks before she had started to make frequent deliveries were in desperate need of calories, but some lighter fare would probably be a welcome addition. 

As usual whenever she arrived the community was abuzz was excitement, and she was greeted by several smiles and questions about how she had been since her last visit the day before yesterday. Even as the giantess loomed over the entire town, the kids continued to play with one another. 

It was a pretty good system they had worked out over the last three months. Ren would usually stop by in the morning every other day to drop off some goodies and collect the leftover dishes afterwards. Even though she insisted she could clean them on her own in the dishwasher back home, without exception the tupperware was always returned spotless by the specks out of gratitude. 

Aside from bringing them food, Ren had also made several improvements to the Commune that Maddie had always wanted to do but never got the chance to since she shrank. She rebuilt most of their homes to be sturdier, installed some air conditioning units, planted some seeds to help the Commune grow their own crops, and also brought an entire pharmacy's worth of medicine. 

It’s such a shame I can’t bring Maddie here to see everybody. There would be too many dangerous questions. Ren thought with a slight twinge of regret after she bid farewell to all her little friends around an hour later.

Maddie was a great person, a diamond in the rough that was humankind. She had a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong, and unlike most humans actually went out of her way to enact change regardless of personal inconveniences. It couldn’t exactly redeem the wretched nature of humankind, but it was nice to know that at least some of their ilk were exceptions to the rule. 

Fortunately times were changing quickly. The world was about to change again, and when it did specks like Maddie and all the others in Jefferson Commune would be the masters over the people that had oppressed them for generations. 

“I’m back.” Ren called out as she dropped off her bag and stepped into her apartment. Maddie was where she usually was right before afternoon, sitting on the couch half-asleep watching reruns of their favorite shows. One of the few house rules Ren cared to enforce was that her pet couldn’t watch anything new without her present, so they could enjoy them together. 

Maddie paused the show and lowered the music playing, yawning slightly as Ren grabbed a few things from the kitchen. “How was your run?”

“Set a new time. About thirty seconds faster than my previous time.” Ren replied and collected Maddie from the couch to place her on the kitchen counter as well next to a plastic bag filled with sliced frozen bananas. “Your lasagna recipe was a smash hit at the Commune by the way.”

“It’s the full fat ricotta that makes the difference.” Maddie replied as she rubbed her tired eyes. “You had a visitor earlier today by the way.”

“Oh?”

“Someone from the Amrita Corporation Office up north. Really nice lady, I think her name was Sarah Lin or something like that?” Maddie recalled.

Sarah Lin? What the hell would she be doing this far away from Vancouver just to see me in person? Ren thought as she blended the smoothie into a drinkable slushee then downed half of it in one gulp. The chalky taste of protein powder cloyed in her throat, which made her voice slightly hoarse as she responded. “Sarah Lin is the regional director for the Amrita Corporation in Canada.” Ren mused. “She was a chief executive in Amrita Pharmaceuticals when Baochai Fang took control of the company and went on to be a chief advisor to Baochai’s oldest daughter, Aunt Min.”

“So… She’s kinda a big deal then?”

“Mhm. And you had a friendly chat with her earlier? I hope you suggested I get a promotion or something for all my hard work sitting around waiting for orders here in Philly.” Ren quipped. 

Maddie nodded. “She wanted to speak with you in person rather than arrange a virtual meeting. I don’t think it was anything too serious, she seemed pretty casual about it but…” She paused. “I think it had to do with Eren and Jisoo. She wanted to know if we had been in contact with either of them recently.”

“Well, Eren is vacationing in Hawaii to take his mind off the break-up so pretty much nobody knows what he’s up to. And Jisoo is still missing, last I heard.” Ren replied with a shrug. “But I don’t get it. Why come all the way here just to ask about that?”

“...Can I be honest?” Maddie asked in a rather peculiar, quiet voice that Ren had not heard from her in months since they got on friendly terms with one another despite the circumstances. 

Ren frowned and crossed her arms. “Sure…? Why so serious all of a sudden?” She inquired. “Just a moment ago you were saying that it wasn’t anything too serious.”

“I don’t think Eren’s actually in Hawaii like Grace says. We never discussed anything about a vacation before he supposedly left, and he hasn’t even called once or tried to video chat in three months.” Maddie said. “Did he seem like the kind of person who would want to go galavant in Hawaii at a time like this when Jisoo just vanished?”

“He’s never had the opportunity to go and honestly he needed the break. I don’t see what’s so suspicious about it.” Ren replied. “Plus, don’t you two text all the time? If he was in trouble, then I think he would have let you or me know by now.”

“Y-Yeah but… I just have a bad feeling. The way Eren is texting me every day just doesn’t feel like him.”

“In what way?”

“I worked with him online extensively as part of Eureka. I got pretty used to his particular kind of texting. This just doesn't seem like him.” Maddie murmured. “I think something bad happened to him and Grace is hiding it for some reason. I’m really worried that he’s not actually at this resort.” She explained.

I think you’re just grasping at straws. Not that I can blame you, being all cooped up in here has probably made you lonely and desperate for some kind of interaction. Ren thought, but tried to keep the doubt off her face. “Try to keep in mind that he honestly shouldn’t even be texting you at all. He went to Hawaii as a way to destress, unwind and all that other bullshit. Using a phone so much seems counterintuitive.” Ren dismissed, but she felt a pang of sympathy when she saw the genuine disappointment in Maddie’s face. 

“...Look, I’ve missed chatting with him too. Maybe we can head to that resort and pay him a visit or something too? It would do you some good to get some fresh air and reconnect with a good friend in person.” Ren suggested as Maddie’s face brightened in delight to hear that. “I’ve never been to Hawaii. I know you’ve been all cooped up in here every day, it’ll be fun!”

Also it’s an excuse for me to get the fuck out of Philadelphia… Ren thought as Maddie’s face brightened in delight to hear that. We’ll probably have to keep this quiet that we’re leaving Philly though, mother was adamant about me remaining here until further notice. But it’s been months and nobody has told me anything, so at this point I’m beyond caring.

Three months spent with one of the most talented torturers in the entire company… and it still hasn’t broken either Eren Klein or Maeve Mauer. They even managed to fool her into thinking they were broken. Satsuki thought as she removed her glasses to polish the lenses against her handkerchief. They are both really quite impressive. It’s a shame there’s no way I could convince either of those two to work for me. Given enough time I could turn them into remarkable assets.

“…I apologize for my impudence in this matter, Satsuki-sama.” Keiko murmured quietly as their limousine crossed the threshold into the airport. “I failed you.”

Satsuki couldn’t be bothered to spend another minute at the lousy restaurant where they usually met, so opted instead to discuss the progress of their mission en route to catch her flight back to Tokyo. “Whether or not we managed to successfully break Klein is ultimately irrelevant.” She replied dismissively. “What’s more important is that Grace has destroyed her relationship with him as it was, and by extension has destroyed her relationship with Jisoo. Moreover this also means there’s no risk she, or any of the other Northern Chinese will look deeper into what Klein witnessed when Jisoo left.”

“I’ve made efforts to nullify the divine essence that surrounded the wooden statue in Jisoo’s home.” Keiko said reassuringly. “They tried to apply some of Jisoo’s blood to it as a test to recreate the awakening event but it appears I was successful in this regard at least.” She explained.

Good. Our plans would have been in jeopardy if they realized Klein wasn’t just seeing things. They may have discovered Jisoo’s power. Satsuki considered. “You did not do poorly.” She eventually proclaimed, which made Keiko breathe a sigh of relief. “We accomplished what the omikami directed us to do. Jisoo is now an enemy of the Amrita Corporation and we’ve deprived Min of one of her most powerful allies.” 

“…It’s coming soon then?” Keiko asked hopefully. “Project Amaterasu?”

“Possibly. The existence of Jisoo’s sister presents another set of challenges however, especially if she shares the same power.” Satsuki replied and scratched her chin. “The omikami has waited a long time already, she will wait longer if need be to ensure our plan goes smoothly.”

Still despite our success here, it almost felt too easy. There’s no way a woman like Min would have been completely ignorant to us, false-goddess or not. We already know she suspected duplicity that was tied to Jisoo, hence why she let her move so far away from our reach last year no doubt. Satsuki contemplated. Does she really expect for Jisoo to return and still be on her side even after all we’ve done to make sure that won’t happen? And did she really let Jisoo slip through her fingers so easily without even trying to pursue her?

None of Satsuki’s immediate contacts had any idea where Jisoo actually was. They were reasonably confident that nobody in the Amrita Corporation did, but then again it was completely possible the Northern Chinese had found a way to track Jisoo and simply not shared that information with anybody. 

If that was the case then it could prove problematic. Satsuki hated uncertainties, but when it was difficult to tell friend from foe such issues were simply a part of the job. Hopefully that was enough to satiate the omikami for now. Satsuki was admittedly nervous to return to confront her, but as always remained stone-faced even as she stepped onto her private plane. 

As a kitsune, Jisoo is extremely valuable to both sides. She’s not unlocked her full potential yet, but if she does manage to then nobody will be able to stop her. But if anybody, whether it be Min or the omikami can control Jisoo then it will break this thousand year long impasse.

The room was exactly as her memories recalled. A massive central chamber lit only by some small windows guarded by wooden shutters perhaps almost two hundred feet into the air. It was quite warm inside, and the scent of incense was especially strong here. Numerous candles were lit that cast long shadows across the walls, and each inch of the temple center was meticulously clean. 

In the center of the chamber was a woman, dressed simply in a silky yellow robe that billowed slightly as the figure moved. Her long hair was a shade or so lighter than either Jisoo’s or Suji’s, however was considerably longer and flowed freely past the woman’s waist as she sat in a relaxed cross-legged position. 

However it took Jisoo a few moments to locate her mother’s face. When she first entered the room her attention had been focused squarely on the beautiful but strangely placed silky yellow tapestry that extended for perhaps sixty or seventy feet and unfurled closer to the room’s entrance. It took a few moments for Jisoo to realize that the tapestry was indeed just part of her mother’s clothes, but the silks of her robe were so long and flowing like a river she initially had mistaken them for a curtain. 

Did… I shrink again somehow? Jisoo slowly looked upwards in befuddlement, her neck craned as if staring towards the ceiling when in reality it was a necessity to make eye contact with her own mother for the first time. Behind her she could hear Suji step forward as well into the room and let the door close behind her. No… Suji is still her normal size. So that means mother is…? 

The two hundred foot tall giantess smiled warmly at her two daughters that had entered her personal chambers, her eyes which had previously been closed as she meditated fluttered open to reveal that they were indeed bright golden and glowed like a pair of miniature suns. 

Her gorgeous face was illuminated by the radiant daylight which was cast down behind her from the uppermost windows of the central chamber, which to her was more like a very small room just hardly big enough for her to sit comfortably with her long legs crossed. 

When she spoke it was with an aura of divinity that shook the entire monastery, perhaps the entire mountain. “Jisoo… Oh look at how much you’ve grown!” 

“I…I…” Jisoo stammered before she and Suji were both in the air. 

With a tremendous amount of elegance and grace only achievable by a true goddess, Keqing swooped down with her enormous hand and collected both of her comparatively tiny daughters into her palm. Jisoo had no time to react before she found herself pressed against the firm warmth of her mother’s bosom as the giantess began to sob tears of joy and wrapped both of her children into a hug for the first time.