On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor Three Hundred And Twenty-Four / Side One Hundred And Ninetee

Three Hundred And Twenty-Four / Side One Hundred And Nineteen – The Diviner, Matsumuro Tsukiko

Daiyu surged into a new combat stance, one that looked strange to my eyes, after my training in the fundantals with Ulfuric. Her body was quite open, flexible, and looked as if it wouldn’t be well balanced or grounded, hardly able to take an attack.

“You should be paying attention to !” the ice-wielding, white-haired man shouted, seeing my attention was distracted, and a hail of large blue-white ice spears flew at .

Oh I am. With Split Thoughts, Body Enhancent and my vision widened by use of aether, sothing I was doing almost constantly in battle nowadays, my vulnerable back was no longer an issue, and I dodged smoothly, using the opportunity to counterattack, my lure complete. Light ford into a series of shimring beams, aid for his vulnerable points, hoping to disarm him.

“Whoa, that was close.” Light reflected from him in a shimring rainbow of colour, which would have been beautiful, if it wasn’t so frustrating. Holes had been pierced in his icy armour at the knees, wrists, ankles and elbows, but the light had rapidly been attenuated, and had done little than scorch his flesh with its remaining energies.

“You have a few tricks. Fire and light, huh? Well, this works for !” he grinned. “The bigger the al, the more satisfied it will be.”

Daiyu was having a similar issue. The first Cultivator hurled a paper talisman at her, making so strange hand-sign, and calling out a Technique. “Five Elent Talisman: Earth. Grasping Quagmire!”

Daiyu’s face hardened, but she reacted swiftly as the ground underneath her was infused with a surge of ruby energies from the vanishing talisman, becoming a sudden quicksand bog, hands of stone reaching from them. One grasped her ankle as she leapt, but it shattered, and my Eye picked up her chakra network, such as it was, was emitting the processed aether she was calling Qi from the smaller capillaries around her lower leg.

“Five Elent Talisman: Fire. Salamander Breath.”

“Five Elent Talisman: Wood. Weeping Thorns.”

Daiyu, still in the air, seed a little panicked at the third declaration, and as a gust of fla left one talisman, a rolling red and yellow tide, she braced herself, Qi emitted in precise ways within her, and she spun, arms deflecting as much of the fire as she could, while avoiding the more dangerous long thorns. Even so, despite her elegant and practised movents, which I now realised were so sort of combat style, she was burned down the side of her face, the flesh raw, her hair smouldering.

“Hey, just freeze, will you?” the white-haired man was crying, and the temperature around continued to drop, my underfooting treacherous as the ice spread. Worse, spikes were coming from the icy ground, cones like reverse icicles and as deadly as spears constantly harassing . He’s not just got a lot of power, he’s got good skills too. He uses an elent better than I do. Perhaps it’s because I’m a generalist, while he specialises? Well, it’s giving so ideas though…

My expanded vision was picking up a greater danger though, and I launched more attacks at the mirror-wielder, blades of jade air and explosions of earth showering her. Blood was running down her cheek, a rock narrowly missing her eyes, and my blades of wind had also gouged her body, one leg hanging limp, barely bearing her weight. Even so, her will hadn’t faltered, and her mirror shone, whatever ritual she was working complete.

Shit. My hand tightened on the hilt of Cutting Twilight. I had considered rushing her, but if I did so, then Daiyu would be killed by the ice-wielder. He was focused mostly on at the mont, but that was only because I was constantly harassing him, and moving myself into positions to cover Daiyu. Well, we have an idea of the power the mirror wields. It creates clones based on our sins, supposedly, but Yasaka-san couldn’t get much more than that, coughing up blood and complaining of a massive migraine.

“Jade Yang Stance. Light Flowing Blossoms!” Daiyu declared, and the small reserves of a type of elental light, different to what I or any of the others I knew possessed, were expelled from her, magnified by her Qi, pulling in the surrounding aether. A number of the Sect disciples who were preparing to attack her were caught unawares, and her ruthless petal-like blades pierced heads, throats and hearts, dropping them. She landed, springing into Crushing Palms despite her injuries, and the one who had spoken to her, the Patriarch of the Unconquered Heights, was forced onto the defensive, accumulating injuries by her ferocious, reckless attacks.

“Bitch! This is all your fault, you and those failures from Mountain Fang!” he grinned balefully, before spitting at her, a mist fortified by Qi forcing her to tilt her head to avoid suffering grave injury to her already vulnerable eyes. “Well, you may be a Heaven-sent prodigy, but this old man has many tricks. Now, suffer!” he hefted his bone blade, only to fall into pieces, an invisible sweeping of strings of fine vibrating air slicing him apart, and nicking the blade, which tumbled to the floor, whining.

“My thanks.” Daiyu muttered, ignoring the blood that splattered on her, red and silver dripping down her face and arms as she attacked another Cultivator, who was wielding a long rod with a bell on the end carved from a yellow jade. Hey, that looks a bit like… My thoughts were interrupted by gleeful laughter from the woman, her mirror lowered, two new figures standing in front of her.

“Well, I can hardly keep up.” She wiped blood that was leaking from where I had nearly taken her eye. “You’ve killed most of them already, so much for their boasting…” she watched as Daiyu powered through the rippling tide of spikes that erupted from the ground, ignoring her increasing injuries to crush the skull of the foe in front of her, snatching the bell, and repeating the incantation that her victim had used, “Turn, Earth, respond to your disciple. Huánglóng, hear the plea of those who venerate the land!” The bell rang, a rumbling chi, and most of the remaining Cultivators were pierced, the Brilliant Dawn Shield Sect Elders far enough away from the epicentre of the tide of earthen fangs to avoid death. Daiyu staggered, releasing the bell, her reserves of Qi running low, and then she was thrown backwards, an impact breaking many of her ribs.

“But… the tortoise wins while the hare thinks it has triumphed.” The woman barked. “King Yama has judged your sins. Now you have to face them.” Her dull smile was mocking. “Just know that you’ll never face that great being in person. No. Your fate is to be devoured by these hungry blades.”

“Shit, Daiyu’er!” I cried as she tumbled. Even so, her fluid stance allowed her to get to her feet, and her wounds were healing, the Divine Favour of Chang’e working, though as she suffered more injuries, the rate slowed noticeably, its strength exhausting.

The thing that struck her, it was… I leapt aside as a blade mirroring Cutting Twilight swept past , the speed of the strike vicious. … the sa as this. My feet slid along the ground, digging deep furrows into the frozen soil. My body was starting to slow from the ever-increasing chill, so I let the warmth of fla energy flow through , counteracting that. Raising my own blade, I parried the strike, muscles aching under the blow.

“Yeah, I do not look like that…” I muttered, disgusted and sickened by what was opposing . It was , but different. The figure had a lascivious expression on his face, licking his lips relentlessly, and he was thinner, less muscled, and looked rather foppish, with an open shirt and tight jeans, an attire completely unsuited to battle. The sword he carried was very real though. And though the blade was clean, his arms were red to the elbows, his hands and sleeves covered in gore. Worse, a number of shrunken heads were hanging from his belt, and while I didn’t recognise many of them, I did recognise Yamato-san, Kondou Kazuo, and the Candidate I had recently beheaded.

Yeah, I see. My sins, huh? Daiyu was likewise facing her duplicate, though this one was far more wild and animated, her lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing bony fangs, and her own bloodied hands were wielding an ornate fan. Following behind her was a trail of bleached, dead skeletons, crying and wailing, gnashing their teeth, all dressed in robes of identical colouration. Daiyu shook her head, as if unwilling to look at what confronted her, before letting out a shrill, pained scream and charging her twisted reflection.

“I’m exhausted.” The woman slumped to her knees, still holding her mirror. “He was strong. Without the boost from that other guy, and the energy that greedy beast gives us… no way I could have reflected him. The girl’s hardly weak either. Still, they’re done now. The weight of their sins will crush them. But if you want, feel free to kill them. I’m so over this. The outco is so boring, and I hurt so much.” She said to the young, white-haired man.

“I think I will.” He agreed sardonically. “Not that I don’t trust you, but I’m not a fool. I kill my enemies.” He let out a bitter sigh. “After all, it was killing that uppity Party boot-kisser that got into this ss. I an, fancy making a powerful, blessed Chosen of Tengliu, beautiful goddess of snow, ice and winter, labour for a pathetic clown like that? It’s not just an insult to , but the very Gods of China, no, the entire World, themselves…”

As he ranted on, I took my opportunity to attack my doppelgänger. He was already a pain to handle by himself, I can’t take on both at once, and Daiyu… she staggered, beset by a talisman cast by one of the few surviving Cultivators. This one was a tal talisman, and her body was pierced by needles, damaging so of her lesser chakra nodes, lowering her speed and strength. The twisted twin didn’t hesitate to use that to her advantage, and she unleashed her own version of Crushing Palms. Daiyu kicked out, and they clashed, but it was Daiyu who was pushed back, and the sound of cracking bone echoed throughout the Boundary.

A dull giggling rang in my ears as our blades clashed, and worse, I could see the train of figures behind my own opponent. These weren’t skeletons, no, but ghostly, transparent won, with shifting features, but I recognised Eri, Shaeula, Hinata, Motoko and even so I wasn’t involved with, like Tsukiko-san, Haru-san, Kana, and many more. They were whispering unintelligibly, but I could vaguely understand them, and they were wailing with sorrow and jealousy, tornted by my faithlessness.

“Fuck!” I roared, understanding why Daiyu was so angry at her own foe. “You don’t think I know my sins, you piece of shit?” My Resilience was struggling, and focussing my mind, I forced myself to remain if not calm, sowhat composed. “Well, no fake is going to beat !” Cutting Twilight activated, and Foehn roared. Though not at my foe, no, I need to help…

Hollow-point bullets of earth, filled with Foehn, roared out. The remaining Sect mbers were helplessly pierced, flas boiling from their bleeding bodies. As they perished, more heads appeared on the belt of my opponent, and the kneeling woman clapped her hands sarcastically. “Smart move there. Add more weight to your sins, why don’t you?”

“Sins? You ca here to… you know what, never mind, fuck off.” I snapped, rattled and angry, despite my efforts to calm myself. My Foehn bullets had also hit Daiyu’s opponent, and while I had feared it would have no effect, several of the skeletons following her suffered so damage. Capitalising on this, I dodged a burst of fla from my mirror, and started rushing towards Daiyu to support her. If we can take out hers, then team up on mine… no, that won’t work…

“Forgetting ?” the man laughed, a wall of ice rippling into existence in front of , protruding spikes ready to pierce my flesh. Not a chance. Switching Might of the Furious Earth to increase my Fortitude, I slamd through the ice. As the wall shattered, glittering spears rained down on , but I deflected them with air.

“So aggravating.” As the man rushed towards , sliding over the frozen ground, I ducked aside as threads of wind nearly wrapped around , my giggling double chasing down. Shit, the last bastard was so easy, why are we having so much trouble with this pair?

********

“You seem troubled, Tsukiko-sama. Why not speak your thoughts to over so tea?” Prince Shōtoku, the kami that dwelt within her shrine at Tsukuyomi-jinja offered her a steaming cup, which she took, her hands trembling, just a little.

“Troubled? How can I not be?” she took a sip, calming herself, though she felt naked without her veil. But if today was the day she perished, her duty to Tsukuyomi and Japan finally finished, she wished to face it as herself, Matsumuro Tsukiko, not as the Diviner. Besides, that is what he wished for. As my successor, I can surely grant him one final boon. “Look around us. The Spiritual Realm of Kyoto burns.”

Outside the protective shell of her Territory, such as it was, the power of it greatly diminished when she transferred her Divine Favour, was the Territory of another of the old Tsukuyomi faction, and beyond that, a new one, that of Akio-san’s vassal, the poor dead ghost girl, who she felt a great deal of sympathy with. It must be cruel, death. I have seen many futures, turned aside tis of destined ruin, only to weep at the definite that could not be changed. Now the hour is upon , I find my calm shattered, my fear growing. To… no longer exist. What will it be like?

“Yes, it does.” Prince Shōtoku agreed. “It has before, many tis, and it will again. New joys sprout from the ashes, and others take them into the future. Life and worship will continue, so long as those of you who venerate the Divine endure. I do grieve, however. Many will be lost, much destroyed.” He sighed. “But is it not because things are impermanent, fleeting, that they are beautiful?”

Looking around at the defenders who had been arrayed here, she marvelled at them. A giant badger-like man was directing a number of armoured animal-creatures, as well as a force of them in robes, while strange contraptions were being hauled about by others. A group of animal-person musicians were playing a relaxing tune, and with her keen spiritual senses, she could feel the flow of energy within herself and those nearby increase, the surrounding spiritual energy, the ether, stimulated. That wasn’t all, either. There were Kamaitachi too, standing and waiting, and she found it a little comforting to see Yokai, beings she understood. To think I welco the presence of Yokai, those who traditionally oppose all that I stood for. Here at the end, nothing makes sense. She shivered, taking another sip of the tea, as cherry blossoms fell down around her, perhaps mocking her, telling her that she too would be gone, after living just a re mont.

“Perhaps so.” she conceded. “Perhaps my beauty is all the more, for it having been seen only by the few, at the end. Even so…” she let out a long sigh, trying not to pity herself. I made my resolve. I will accept the definite, but… I will also pray for a miracle unprecedented, one that can change it. I am such a fool. “…I think that defiance, trying to fight for even a sliver more happiness, that is beautiful too. I see that now. Poor Yukiko. She was my friend. She would have wished to be here at the end, but…”

“She cannot be risked.” Prince Shōtoku soothed her, watching the great badger as he prepared a flawless defensive line. “The Shrine Maiden of Ise, blessed by Amaterasu, she has another purpose. The Princess cannot fall here.”

“I agree. Though my heart aches.” Tsukiko whispered, the barest exhalation of breath. “But…” her rare crimson eyes narrowed. “A Princess… no, two are being risked to save . It is dangerous folly. Akio-san knows that they must be safeguarded, yet he brings them here?” She was annoyed, outraged even, at the risk, yet also found her lips quirking up into a rare smile, a warm feeling lying heavy in her chest, one she found unfamiliar.

“Of course he does. Tsukiko-chan, noble Prince Shōtoku.” A familiar voice said, and she turned to see Yasuhide, her long-ti confidant, forr head of the Tsukuyomi faction. The old man was smiling like a child pulling a prank, and for a mont she felt relieved, before her nerves returned. Crossing her arms under her chest, she frowned.

“If you are here to talk to about returning to the mortal Kyoto again, I shall not. I will not budge on this.” She declared. “Here I will stand, at the shrine of Tsukuyomi, and should the definite future I saw co to pass, as it must, well… I will face it bravely. I wish to end as I have lived. With pride in myself and my gifts.”

“No, I’m done with that.” He flapped his hand dismissively. As the Prince started pouring another cup of tea, Yasuhide sat down beside her. “The situation in the Material is complicated. The Chinese forces have all been neutralised…” he frowned, grin vanishing. “They had zombies! From what we know, from what Akio-kun and the others have told us, to bring forth such in the Material should take an imnse amount of effort and aether… well, no matter. Hey, this is good, just like always. That’s another reason Tsukuyomi-jinja can’t fall. How will I get your tea then, Prince?”

As prince Shōtoku inclined his head in amused acknowledgent, Yasuhide continued. “Well, forget the walking dead. The Special Forces and our own Chosen handled them. But… there’s so sort of assassin out there. We’ve managed to avoid deaths so far, but there’s been a lot of injuries. And if you were back in Kyoto… well…” his gaze strayed to the forces Akio-san had provided. “… here at least we have more exotic defenders. To answer my question from before…” his eyes glead and his grin returned. “… didn’t Akio-kun declare in front of everyone that he would not let you die? To him, this Princess of the Six Paths matter is simply a nuisance to him. After all, hasn’t he changed the destiny of the so-called Hungry Ghost? Who even now is fighting on your behalf?”

“Yes, many fight for .” She agreed, pouting. “But only because they are compelled to, and I fear the weight of the needless deaths on my…” she trailed off, her pout growing fiercer, as Yasuhide burst out laughing, stroking his long beard with his free hand.

“Oh my, I needed that. Tonight has been grim. I hope Taishakama-san and the others are still fine. Well…” when his laughter was under control, he teased Tsukiko gently. “… fancy you admitting you wished they fought for love of you, rather than because Akio-kun asked them to. But… why does he fight? I hear…”

No, do not say it, I beg of you. She felt her face heating up, another unusual feeling. Her prayers went unanswered. “… that Akio-kun asked you to marry him. Damn, what a playboy. My Shiori had better watch out. Though I guess as a grandson, he’s acceptable, other than the womanising!”

“That was simply so he could use one of his skills! He assured of that! He said we would not have to consummate any wedding, and that we could divorce…” Tsukiko trailed off, realising how foolish she sounded, and she covered her face with her hands, wishing for her veil to hide her crimson cheeks and expression of sha.

“Yeah, sure. And knowing the kid, you’re probably right that he ant it. But if you seriously think he’d be happy to let a beauty like you go when he gets his claws into you… well, no man would.” He chuckled like a dirty old man. “Tsukiko-chan… calling you that seems very fresh to . But today, you’re my granddaughter too, so forgive an old man his informality. Well, that aside… you never asked to be saved, but you suffered. I heard what you said, Prince. I disagree. I think what is more beautiful is that which endures, despite all the slings and arrows of fate and destiny.”

“A novel idea, but one that appeals. Perhaps there are many kinds of beauty in this world.” The Prince agreed. “I confess, Tsukiko-sama, your soul will remain beautiful, whether you vanish like a fallen blossom, or remain, like a growing cherry tree. I would prefer the latter, but…”

“But nothing has changed.” Tsukiko sighed. “I know I am to die here, and I will be devoured, by the golden-eyed monster and his ants. Even now they crawl over Kyoto…” a massive plu of fire erupted in the distance, forming a thin towering tree-like pillar, which spread into branches which rained down like fallen leaves, vanishing, yet the glow remained, visible even at this distance.

“Well, even if you die, you die knowing that at least one person here is fighting purely for your sake. That’s so solace for the journey. But…” he put down his empty mug. “… imagine it. Imagine what it would be like to go beyond this point. What would you do, being free from all this?” his smile was kind, and she paused, seriously considering it.

What would I do? I… I would still serve Tsukuyomi, I know that. Else I would not be myself. Even without the Divine Favour, I still have my gifts. I can guide, save… but… her hands went to her bare face. No longer the Diviner, but plain Matsumuro Tsukiko once more. No, for the first ti. And as such a Tsukiko, I can have ti for my friend. Yukiko. No, friends. A face ca into her mind, surrounded by laughing, smiling people, before their expression changed, becoming stern and powerful, unwilling to back down. Her ruby eyes watered, tears obscuring her vision, yet even so, she could picture that person, declaring to her that she would live. Well… all will be answered soon. I put my faith in you, despite my doubts that you were the one who can save the Princesses, save Yukiko. But… just do not die here, not for . Whether you are he or not, you matter to so many others. I… do not wish you to throw your life away for mine, at the end. Even so, that strange feeling she felt in her chest wouldn’t go away, even as her cheeks grew damp, Yasuhide and the Prince tactfully looking away, pretending not to see as she sobbed, rising fear of her inevitable demise warring with the flickering embers of hope she had struggled to cultivate, the flaming pillar in the distance a mirror to the ignited coals in her heart…