Baal, whose real name is Makoto, was the original Electro Archon of Inazuma, and predecessor of her younger twin sister, Ei. Makoto's divine ideal was also "eternity", but instead of Ei's pursuit of solemn stillness, Makoto cherished every moment within time and space.
Makoto was one of the victims of the cataclysm 500 years ago. Ei has since taken over the Shogunate.
Makoto and Ei were two twin gods who lived during the time of the Archon War. Although Ei was a much more formidable warrior than the peaceful Makoto, Ei believed that Makoto was a better ruler for humanity. After prevailing and killing all his rivals, Ei willingly sacrificed his body so that Makoto could ascend to Celestia and become one of The Seven. After becoming the first Electro Archon, Makoto recreated Ei's body and turned her into his kagemusha (Japanese: 影武者 "shadow warrior"), or body double. As far as the world knew, there were not two, but one. They complemented each other and ruled Inazuma together; therefore, there was no need for the public to know the truth. The name "Baal" and the title of Shogun Raiden were understood to refer to both.
Along with her sister Ei, they both prevailed during the Archon War and ruled Inazuma with justice, and all who lived under their rule did so in peace. Makoto accepted Ei to serve as his kagemusha and met with the Original Seven from time to time in Liyue. When Inazuma ruled, Makoto was presumably in charge of general affairs, while Ei dealt with those requiring force.
The two would live in relative peace until the cataclysm that occurred 500 years before the start of the game, when monsters began appearing throughout Inazuma and leaving trails of mass destruction in their wake. Makoto headed to Khaenri'ah alone without informing Ei, as she felt obligated to do so. When Ei found Makoto in Khaenri'ah, she had already fallen unconscious in the ensuing battle and was dying; However, Ei was able to save part of his consciousness and transferred it to a torii gate located under the Narukami Grand Shrine. Before his physical death, Makoto had also imbued part of the Dream Mind with his consciousness, which would only awaken when Ei had used his full power, and also spawned the Sacred Cherry Tree at the top of Yougou Mountain. Ei would use the Sacred Cherry Tree to destroy the monsters that were terrorizing Inazuma.
After defeating The Shogun in a grueling duel, Makoto's consciousness emerged from the sword due to Ei using his full power. He apologized to Ei for abandoning her so suddenly, as he had intended to slowly convince her of his views over time, but could not, as he could not ignore Khaenri'ah. Before the last of his consciousness faded, he gave Ei a seed from the Sacred Cherry Tree and lamented that he couldn't see what Inazuma looked like today. Ei believed that Makoto had involved Astaroth in the creation of the Sacred Cherry Tree and that, without his intervention, Inazuma would have been consumed by darkness.