"So I used Big sis Amaterasu's Yasakani no Magatama to seal the Ara-mitama version of myself inside the Sephira Crystal. And Mikoto—you are the wedge of that seal."
Tsukuyomi said.
"… by wedge, you an?"
Mikoto tried her best to digest what Tsukuyomi was telling her, but even so, she still felt confused.
"To put it simply, you are like the anchor point of the seal. You are the center of the entire seal."
Tsukuyomi nodded, then continued explaining:
"However, although this seal is sturdy, it also has a flaw. Naly, the inversion of the Sephira Crystal."
If Mikoto fell into despair, the entire Sephira Crystal would inverse.
At that ti, Tsukuyomi as Ara-mitama would manifest.
"Inversion?"
"Well… as for inversion, once you get out of here, go ask that foolish boy's little sister. In any case, according to my plan, through you and Big sis Amaterasu's divine artifact, as long as my Ara-mitama self remained sealed, it would eventually disappear inside the Sephira Crystal as faith slowly drained away."
Tsukuyomi said.
"Then why…"
[Why is Tsukuyomi as Ara-mitama outside, rampaging so freely now?]
Mikoto could not understand.
"That is because of you, Mikoto."
Tsukuyomi saw through Mikoto's thoughts and spoke.
"?"
"To be honest, I never thought you would go to a shrine and beco a shrine maiden. And not only that, a shrine that, while small, had successfully gathered faith. As a result, you caused that shrine to beco distorted."
Tsukuyomi sighed.
"Distorted? Did I… did I do sothing wrong as a shrine maiden?"
Mikoto asked in shock.
"No. Quite the opposite. You did far too well. So well that quite a few believers began to develop the illusion that you were the deity."
Tsukuyomi looked at Mikoto seriously and said:
"Although you yourself never noticed, many believers have already begun to treat you as a living god."
Arahitogami.
That was the condition in which a human gathered faith in the flesh and beca a god.
It was not difficult to imagine how such a situation could arise.
Compared to an intangible god, humans were more willing to believe in a human being they could see, touch, and who could also perform miracles.
Mikoto's knowledge as a shrine maiden ca from Tsukuyomi. The rituals she perford had been passed down from the most ancient era.
On top of that, as a Spirit, she possessed spiritual power.
Whether purification, norito prayers, or kagura dance, it was hard not to make believers feel—
[Ah, perhaps the god truly dwells within that girl.]
As ti passed, more and more believers unconsciously shifted the center of their faith onto Mikoto herself.
"For a god, this is originally a double-edged sword. In my mories, over at Moriya, Yasaka-no-kami seems to have had her faith stolen away by a shrine maiden, and in the end she apparently… disappeared…"
The more miracles a shrine maiden displayed, the more believers she could attract. A large influx of believers was sothing a god would hope for.
But in exchange, there was also the possibility that the faith itself would be completely stolen by the shrine maiden.
"But by so strange coincidence, the faith you gathered was entirely received by my Ara-mitama self."
Tsukuyomi sighed.
Unlike the normal relationship between shrine maiden and deity, she and Mikoto originally shared the sa body. The faith gathered by the girl flowed effortlessly into the Ara-mitama.
"In other words…"
Mikoto's expression turned sowhat pale.
"Exactly. Not only did the Ara-mitama not disappear, it instead grew stronger after absorbing that faith."
Tsukuyomi sighed.
"I… what have I…"
Mikoto's voice sounded lost.
She had never imagined that her actions would render Tsukuyomi's plan useless.
"It isn't your fault, Mikoto. Rather, this turned out even better than I expected."
Tsukuyomi smiled.
"See? It is precisely because of this that I was able to et you again."
"Wait. Don't tell …"
Mikoto suddenly realized sothing.
Tsukuyomi as Nigi-mitama should have disappeared long ago after losing faith. Then why was she standing before her now?
"That's right. Because of the faith you gathered, the Ara-mitama's rage has begun to calm down, and I, as the Nigi-mitama, have manifested once more."
Tsukuyomi showed a gentle smile.
Although Ara-mitama and Nigi-mitama were independent entities, they were also mutually dependent.
As long as the Ara-mitama remained, the Nigi-mitama would not completely disappear.
It was like a seed buried in dried earth. As long as the rain of faith was poured down upon it, it would take root and sprout once more.
If one were to ask what caused the present situation, it was probably timing.
Right now, the Ara-mitama's rage had still not completely subsided, and although the Nigi-mitama had manifested, she still could not suppress the Ara-mitama.
At that very mont, Mikoto had inversed.
"What should I do, Tsukuyomi?"
Now that Mikoto understood what had happened, although there were still many things she wanted to say, this was not the ti for casual conversation.
She looked outside the shrine and asked seriously.
"What you need to do is push open the shrine doors and walk out."
Tsukuyomi smiled.
[Yakumo-senpai—!]
At that mont, a familiar voice ca in from outside.
"Shido?"
Mikoto looked outside the shrine in surprise and saw Shido standing in front of the Ara-mitama Tsukuyomi, desperately calling her na.
"See? Soone is waiting for you out there."
Tsukuyomi smiled and winked.
"I understand…"
Mikoto nodded.
She walked to the front of the shrine, mustered her courage, and placed both hands against the door before gently pushing.
This ti, no strength was needed.
The door opened.
"Um… will I be able to see you again, Tsukuyomi? If it's faith you need, I'll work hard, so… will I be able to see you again?"
Before leaving, Mikoto looked back at Tsukuyomi and asked.
"Mm. Definitely."
Tsukuyomi nodded.
"Then… I'm off!"
And so Mikoto looked at Tsukuyomi and smiled sweetly.
"Mm. Take care." (TL:peak)
The gentle deity returned an equally sweet smile and watched the girl leave the dark shrine, running toward the endless light ahead.
"Yakumo-senpai—!"
Along with Shido's repeated calls, the golden divine realm gradually dimd and turned into night, while the Astral Dress that had been like the night began to shine, transforming into the morning sun.
"Shi…do?"
Mikoto opened her eyes and found herself in Shido's embrace.
"Yeah… welco back, Yakumo-senpai."
Looking at the boy's gentle smile, Mikoto thought in a daze for quite so ti before finally understanding what had happened.
It seed she had escaped from the Sephira Crystal's seal and regained control of her body.
"Although there are so many things I want to say…"
Mikoto and Shido looked at each other for a while, as though both understood what the other was thinking.
"Yeah. First, we need to deal with the trouble in front of us."
Shido nodded.
Even though Mikoto had escaped from her inverted state, the airship in the sky and Origami still threatened them at every mont.
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