Chapter 33: A Priestess's Requiem and the Trail of Stones
Deep within the ravine, a cave mouth lay hidden from the world.
Its entrance was almost entirely obscured by a thick curtain of thorny weeds and tangled vines. Had Kobe Hikaru not seared the direction into his memory during his frantic flight that night, finding this place again would have been impossible.
"This is it."
He pushed aside the grasping thorns and stepped into the darkness. The air that greeted them was cold and damp, thick with the cloying scent of decay. Kikyo followed close behind, a globe of pure, white spiritual light coalescing in her palm to illuminate the path forward.
The cave was not deep. After a dozen paces, they reached its end.
Hikaru stopped.
A skeleton lay slumped against the far wall. The bones were a stark, bleached white, and what little remained of its clothing had long since rotted into brittle, tattered fragments that clung to the frame like dead leaves. The left arm was gone, severed cleanly at the shoulder.
"It's him," Hikaru confirmed, his voice low. He recognized the posture of the skeleton; it was exactly as he remembered from the night he had carried the old man.
Except now, all the flesh had melted away, leaving only bone.
'How many days has it been?' he wondered, a frown creasing his brow. It felt far too soon for such complete decomposition.
"Erosion by Yao Qi," Kikyo said, her voice soft but certain. She stepped forward and knelt, her gaze sweeping over the remains. "A large amount of demonic energy remained in his body before he died. He was likely wounded by demons on his way here. Combined with the heavy Yin energy in this cave, the corruption was accelerated, causing the body to decay much faster than normal."
Hikaru fell silent. This old man had paid the ultimate price to escort the Shikon Jewel to safety, yet his final resting place was this lonely, dark cave, his very bones being defiled by the lingering taint of the creatures he fought.
"He needs a proper send-off," Kikyo declared, rising to her feet. She drew a stack of pristine paper talismans from the wide sleeve of her robes. "He was a Demon Slayer who dedicated his life to purging evil. We cannot allow his remains to be desecrated by demonic energy."
Hikaru gave a firm nod. "What do you need me to do?"
"Guard the entrance. Don't let anything in."
As she spoke, Kikyo began to arrange the talismans around the skeleton. They flowed from her fingertips like living things, a flock of white butterflies that drifted down to settle on the ground, forming a perfect, complex array.
Hikaru retreated to the mouth of the cave. With his back to the sacred ritual unfolding within, he stood sentinel, his gaze methodically scanning the shadowed woods outside. He detected no fluctuations of Yao Qi, but he didn't lower his guard for an instant. In these wild mountains and remote valleys, anything could appear without warning.
From behind him, the low, resonant sound of Kikyo chanting a sutra began to fill the cavern. Her voice was quiet, yet it carried an indescribable weight and solemnity. Hikaru couldn't understand the ancient words, but the 'Inspiration' he had gained from the Naohi allowed him to feel the flow of spiritual power—a massive, surging tide of it.
He risked a glance over his shoulder.
Kikyo's hands were woven into a complex seal, her entire form radiating a dazzling white light. The holy luminescence enveloped the skeleton, purifying the residual Yao Qi one particle at a time. Wisps of black mist seeped from the cracks in the bones, hissing and turning to nothingness the moment they touched the white light.
Simultaneously, the skeleton itself began to grow translucent, as if it were being gently dissolved by the sacred radiance.
'So this is a send-off…'Hikaru thought, his eyes narrowed in appraisal.'Truly impressive.'
It was easy for him to recognize the sheer mastery Kikyo displayed so casually. An ordinary priest would need to exhaust themselves setting up a barrier, while Kikyo could sustain one for an entire village with her own spiritual power. Likewise, a lesser priest would need external aid—a physical pyre—to perform a requiem. Kikyo, however, could ignite a spiritual fire with her power alone to guide the soul of the deceased.
He watched as the skeleton gradually dissipated within the white light, until all that remained was a small pile of fine, grayish-white ash.
Kikyo released her hand seals, the light receding back into her. She then produced a simple cloth bag from her sleeve and carefully, reverently, gathered the ashes into it. Her movements were slow and deliberate, filled with respect.
She tied the bag securely and stood. "Let's go. I will personally deliver this to his family."
Hikaru nodded.
The two of them walked out of the cave. The sudden sunlight was piercing. Hikaru squinted, waiting a moment for his vision to adjust before he began surveying their surroundings.
"Next, we follow the path that old man came from," he said. "We need to find that Hiraikotsu."
Kikyo nodded in agreement, but then a flicker of confusion crossed her features. "You know the path he came from...?"
Halfway through her sentence, she stopped. The realization dawned on her. This Oni Samurai couldn't even remember the way back to this cave; how could he possibly know the winding, desperate route the Demon Slayer chief had taken from his village?
He was just going to use his old trick again.
Kikyo, of course, knew the way to the Demon Slayer Village, but the old man had been pursued the entire way. His path would have been anything but a straight line.
Sure enough, after they had walked a fair distance from the cave, Hikaru squatted down. He picked up a palm-sized stone and casually wiped the dirt from its surface with his sleeve.
Kikyo watched him, saying nothing. But her steady gaze clearly asked, 'You're doing this again?'
A faint smile touched Hikaru's lips. "Brother, sorry to bother you," he said to the stone, his tone polite. "A few days ago, an old man ran past here. Do you happen to know which direction he came from?"
The stone did not respond.
[Nameless Pebble: Favorability 0 (Stranger)]
[It doesn't want to talk to you.]
Hikaru didn't give up. He uncorked his water skin and poured a small amount over the stone, giving it a little bath. Then, he found a sunny patch of moss and placed it down carefully.
"That feels much better, right? If you have any news, let me know. I'll come see you again if I get the chance."
[Nameless Pebble: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 1 (Goodwill)]
[It thinks you're an okay person, but it really hasn't seen any big bones.]
[However, it tells you: That old man was running very fast at the time, coming from that mountain path to the east.]
Hikaru stood and clapped the dust from his hands. "East, down the mountain path. That's where he came from."
Kikyo looked at him, her expression unreadable. "The stone spoke again?"
"Yeah."
"..."
She was silent for a long moment. "This ability of yours," she finally said, her voice measured. "It is very strange." She paused. "But, it is also very useful."
'Does that count as a compliment?' Hikaru mused. He offered a small smile. "Then let's keep looking."
He set off toward the east. "Hiraikotsu is huge. It can't have just vanished into thin air. It must have been dropped somewhere along the road."
Kikyo followed a step behind him.
The two made their way down the winding mountain path. Along the way, Hikaru would stop from time to time to have a brief "chat" with a stone or an exposed tree root. He didn't farm much favorability, but he gathered a surprising amount of information.
[A stone indicates the old man ran that way.]
[A pine tree indicates a giant centipede demon was chasing him.]
[There was a fight over there; the ground is soaked in blood.]
A complete route gradually took shape in his mind. Although there was still no sign of Hiraikotsu's whereabouts, they at least had a clear direction to search.
"Could it have been picked up by a demon?" Hikaru asked, voicing a grim possibility.
Kikyo's brow furrowed. "It's possible," she conceded. "Hiraikotsu is a weapon forged from demon bones. To other demons, it is also a source of power. If a strong enough demon found it, it's very likely they would have swallowed it."
A knot of disappointment tightened in Hikaru's chest. If it had really been eaten, then their search was pointless.
"However," he said, unwilling to give up just yet. "Maybe it hasn't been eaten. After all, that thing sounds like it should be very hard. Digesting it would take some effort."
Kikyo glanced at him. "You are very interested in Hiraikotsu?"
"It's a good item," Hikaru answered honestly. "Who wouldn't be interested in a weapon that can slay demons?"
Kikyo didn't press the matter further.
The two continued onward as the sun began its slow descent toward the western horizon. They had finally walked out of the dense, mountainous forest, and before them stretched an open plain. Far in the distance, at the edge of the plain, a faint wisp of kitchen smoke could be seen rising into the evening air.
It was a human settlement.
"Let's find a place to stay there for the night," Kikyo suggested. "We can continue searching tomorrow."
Hikaru nodded in agreement.
They walked toward the column of smoke. After about half an hour, a village appeared before their eyes—one far more dilapidated than Hikaru had expected. The thatched roofs were patchy and incomplete, the earthen walls were riddled with cracks, and even the wooden fence at the village entrance was half-collapsed and splintered.
It looked as if something immense had trampled right through it.
"This place..." Hikaru murmured, his eyes narrowing.
Something was not quite right.
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