"Sister Makoto."
"Ei..."
"You brought her along too?" Yae Miko had long expected Raiden Makoto to return; she had told Raiden Makoto the news about Hanachirusato back then.
She knew that Kitsune Saiguu's memories had combined with filth to form a miko named Hanachirusato, and if the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual were to begin, Hanachirusato would completely disappear.
Kitsune Saiguu was the person closest to her besides Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei, a clan elder who often teased her.
Yae Miko was unwilling to see Hanachirusato, who carried Kitsune Saiguu's memories, vanish before her eyes. She had also long predicted that the Traveler, famous in Liyue, would come to Inazuma. From then on, she had been scheming to have Lumine help her complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual.
She didn't want to see Hanachirusato disappear, but the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual had to be performed, so Hanachirusato had to vanish.
What surprised Yae Miko somewhat was that Raiden Makoto had actually brought both Ei and Lumine. But one more or one less made no difference to her; either way, she wouldn't be the one to complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual.
Most importantly, because of Kitsune Saiguu's passing, the method for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual had been completely lost. She had no way to perform it. She had once gone to Konda Village but failed to find any trace of Hanachirusato, as if Hanachirusato were unwilling to see her.
She actually hoped that Raiden Makoto could resurrect Kitsune Saiguu.
"Mhm."
"I hope to resurrect her..." Raiden Makoto said earnestly. "I don't know why she, after my passing..."
"Sigh..."
Those who once walked with her had passed away one by one. Sasayuri died during the Orobashi eastward invasion during the Archon War, and Mishiro Chiyo was contaminated during the calamity, eventually disappearing completely.
And her closest companion and familiar, Kitsune Saiguu, also fell during the calamity after her passing.
"Where is she?"
"Konda Village..."
..."Is Miko not coming with us?" Raiden Ei was a bit puzzled. In fact, Raiden Ei was also somewhat lost; she wasn't quite sure what her sister was going to do.
The Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual had always been handled by the Grand Narukami Shrine. She had sealed herself within the Plane of Euthymia and knew nothing.
"Mhm."
Konda Village is located northwest of Inazuma City. One can reach Konda Village from Inazuma City by passing through the Byakko Plain.
To the east of Konda Village is Mt. Yougou.
"There's a fox statue here, it looks exactly like the ones on the sacred sakura tree!" Paimon discovered a fox sculpture outside Konda Village that was identical to those on the sacred sakura tree, and he was quite excited.
At this moment, in front of that fox statue, stood a miko wearing a miko outfit and a mask.
"Saiguu?"
"No... it's not Saiguu."
Raiden Makoto could tell at a glance that it was a figure formed from the filth and memories within the thunder sakura tree. Hanachirusato was neither a human nor a Fox Spirit.
Rather, she was a type of spirit formed from filth combined with Kitsune Saiguu's memories and lingering thoughts—a spirit that only possessed memories.
"Makoto?"
Hanachirusato, who carried Kitsune Saiguu's memories, couldn't be considered Kitsune Saiguu, but Kitsune Saiguu wasn't Hanachirusato either.
Because she was formed from the fusion of filth and Kitsune Saiguu's memories, Hanachirusato originally had her own self, but since her memories were entirely those of Kitsune Saiguu, she considered herself to be Kitsune Saiguu.
Yet she could also realize that she wasn't Kitsune Saiguu; it was a paradoxical situation.
"Are you Makoto? Is it really you... but haven't you already passed away in the calamity?" Thus, after seeing Raiden Makoto, Hanachirusato was only somewhat shocked and did not show any other emotion.
"It's me." Raiden Makoto sighed slightly. If the true spirit of Kitsune Saiguu could not be found, then it would be impossible to resurrect her, and the Hanachirusato before her was not Kitsune Saiguu.
She only fully carried Kitsune Saiguu's memories; in truth, Hanachirusato could be considered a completely new living being.
She could also have her younger sister create another puppet based on Kitsune Saiguu's model and then thoroughly merge the memories Hanachirusato carried into the puppet. But would a puppet merged with Hanachirusato's memories truly be Kitsune Saiguu?
She felt it would not be.
Hanachirusato then looked at Lumine and Paimon behind Raiden Makoto. She said in a heavy tone, "The filth within the thunder sakura tree has accumulated to a point that the tree can no longer bear. If the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual is not performed... the filth will completely break through the thunder sakura tree..."
"But if the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual is completed, you will also completely disappear..." Raiden Makoto sighed. Hanachirusato was the filth within the thunder sakura tree; once the ritual was finished, she would definitely dissipate entirely.
"I know."
"But the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual must be completed, otherwise the filth will completely burst out of the thunder sakura tree, and the consequences will be unimaginable..." Hanachirusato's tone was very heavy. "I remember, I must protect Narukami Island, protect Narukami Island from being tainted by filth..."
The Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual is an exorcism ceremony for the thunder sakura trees on Narukami Island, aimed at clearing the filth accumulated within them. It is precisely because of the thunder sakura trees that Inazuma does not need a Yaksha to clear filth like Liyue does.
It has always been performed by the Grand Narukami Shrine, and Kitsune Saiguu was the previous Head Miko of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"You have Kitsune Saiguu's memories, but you are not her. You are yourself, do you understand?" Hanachirusato's completely selfless tone moved Raiden Makoto. "After the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, you will no longer exist."
"I know..."
"Makoto, but that is a task I must complete." Hanachirusato wore a mask, so the others couldn't see her expression, but they could imagine that her face must be very solemn right now.
"I must complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, otherwise..." Hanachirusato said with particular seriousness.
"Sister... can we not keep her?" Raiden Ei felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. Looking at Hanachirusato, she recalled those scenes from the past—her dear friends Sasayuri, Mishiro Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and even her most important sister, leaving her one by one.
First Sasayuri, then her sister and Mishiro Chiyo, and finally Kitsune Saiguu... she no longer wanted to witness such departures.
"It's not that there's absolutely no way... but it won't be easy... still, we have to try regardless." Raiden Makoto's expression was somewhat grave. If she wanted to resurrect Kitsune Saiguu, she had to recover Kitsune Saiguu's true spirit.
After Kitsune Saiguu was swallowed by the darkness, her true spirit was very likely within Inazuma's Ley Lines, or even completely integrated into the sacred sakura tree.
But that was only a possibility; she was just making a reasonable judgment based on Hanachirusato's situation.
Kitsune Saiguu passed away in the calamity; the Abyss had eroded her. After she died, her true spirit flowed into Inazuma's Ley Lines. As time passed, her true spirit dissipated, and her memories combined with the filth in the Ley Lines to form Hanachirusato.
Hanachirusato carried Kitsune Saiguu's memories.
"Makoto, can you help me complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual? You know its importance. If..." Hanachirusato's tone was very heavy. If the ritual did not proceed normally and filth burst out, Inazuma would be completely overrun, and all life would suffer.
"Of course I know, but you must also protect yourself, mustn't you? Before protecting others, protect yourself first."
Hanachirusato was too obsessed now. Raiden Makoto's tone became a bit harsh as she spoke to her.
"Although you are not Kitsune Saiguu, you are still a spirit." Raiden Makoto would not let Hanachirusato dissipate; at the very least, she wouldn't watch Hanachirusato disappear after the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual.
Because she carried Kitsune Saiguu's memories, Hanachirusato's thoughts were also focused on completing the ritual, solving the problem, and protecting the people of Inazuma.
She had already heard from Yae Miko about how Kitsune Saiguu passed away, and even now, she felt a bit of sorrow.
Until the moment she was swallowed by the pitch-black calamity, Kitsune Saiguu's only thoughts were of protecting Inazuma and her people.
Precisely because Hanachirusato was a spirit formed from Kitsune Saiguu's memories, she was, to some extent, identical to Kitsune Saiguu.
In a sense, Hanachirusato was Kitsune Saiguu.
But because she was only a spirit born from those memories, she also couldn't quite be considered Kitsune Saiguu.
She didn't voice these thoughts because she knew that if she did, her silly younger sister wouldn't understand.
As for Lumine, he might understand a bit, but Paimon definitely wouldn't.
The lively fox-eared Lady from her memories overlapped with Hanachirusato's figure, and for a moment, Raiden Makoto sighed deeply.
She wasn't entirely sure if she could recover Kitsune Saiguu's true spirit; after all, five hundred years had passed since her death.
With her current power, it was impossible to recover a true spirit that had completely dissipated, but now that she was back, she had to try.
"I will help you complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual... but before that, you must stay here in Konda Village."
"Makoto, thank you."
Hanachirusato's gaze then turned to Raiden Ei. She nodded to Raiden Ei and said, "I hope you can also continue to walk the path you are determined upon."
"..."
If she dared to continue down that determined path, wouldn't her sister spank her until her bottom was raw? Because she had been too obsessed with eternity, Inazuma had become like this.
Now that her sister had returned, why should she pursue eternity?
She finally understood the words her sister had once said to her: just pursue the light of transience, even if only for a moment.
As long as she and her sister were together, enjoying the present time, as for eternity? That was entirely a matter for the future.
"Saiguu was always the one preparing for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, and I'm not very good at it. What needs to be done? Tell me directly." Raiden Makoto couldn't be all-knowing in Inazuma; she wasn't omnipotent. When she was alive, the ritual was always completed by Kitsune Saiguu.
She didn't know how to complete the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual. Using the power of the Electro Archon to disperse the filth? That simply wouldn't work.
"Mhm."
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