Minamoto Yorimitsu's words were like a fire, burning away all memories.

"No..." I wanted to deny what Minamoto norimitsu said, but my memories came flooding back.

"Azi, you..." It was the first time I went down the mountain. My father was standing in front of the village at the foot of the mountain, hesitating whether to stay there for the night or not.

"Father, what's wrong?" I asked.

At this moment, a boy about the same age as me ran past me, calling the word "Mom" in his mouth.

This is a word that is unfamiliar to me.

"Father, what does mom mean?" I asked.

My father touched my head, said nothing, and turned his head to the side. I didn't pay attention to my father, but watched the boy throw himself into the arms of a woman.

I half understood, then pointed at the woman and asked, "Father, is that mom?"

My father took my hand, left the village, and returned to the house on the mountain at night. My brother went to bed early, but I couldn't sleep. So, I came to Gu Huoniao's room.

"Miss Azi, are you still up so late?" When she saw me coming, she stopped what she was doing.

"Aunt, what is mother?" This was the first time I asked her such a question. Although I had asked questions before, I always felt that such a question was strange.

My aunt was stunned for a moment, and seemed to be in a dilemma as to how to explain it.

It turns out that at that time...

"Isn't Genjiya that kind of person? Ziji, do you really know your father? In my opinion, he is a person who is willing to get involved with himself for his own purpose." Minamoto Yorimitsu waved his sword,

The grass clippings around him were shaken by his actions, "Since I promised Genjimi, I won't let you live like this easily. But I also said that no matter whether you are a demon or a human, you can be useful to Genji.

, I will make use of it. You are still useful to me now, so Ziji, pick up the sword and fight for yourself."

...Is this my destiny?

I gritted my teeth and held back tears: "That's not the case."

I'm still deceiving myself. I don't want to believe that my father, who is gentle to me, only uses me as a tool in the end.

Minamoto Yorimitsu stopped talking. His sword skills were very sharp, but it took me a lot of effort just to avoid the wind blade swung by the sword.

not like this……

I want to keep rebutting. If I admit it like this, I am admitting that I am nothing more than a living being controlled by fate.

...unwilling to do so.

I’m really unwilling...

If this is my fate... I will not die like this. It is my choice who will die by my hands and how I will die...

The cruelty of the truth, the torment of hunger, and the reluctance in my heart made me touch the cold blade again. The heavy weight accumulated in my heart poured out on the tip of my tongue while I pulled out the sword that had been pierced into the ground.

A hoarse voice burst out of my mouth, with conscious and unconscious screams. The thought that I didn't want to die here no matter what, supported me to wield the sword and fight against Minamoto Yorimitsu.

Unlike previous exercises, Minamoto Yorimitsu seemed to be dealing with a real enemy. And under his pressure, I gradually woke up from the pain of hunger.

The battle with Minamoto no Yorimitsu lasted for an unknown amount of time. The light on the horizon gradually brightened, and the mournful screams from the distance seemed to pour directly into my head.

I no longer had the intention to fight with Minamoto no Yorimitsu. The sword in my hand was shaken by me, and a small opening in the barrier on the side was finally exposed.

"...Nothing will change if you go." Minamoto Norimitsu seemed to have seen through my little trick.

"...?" I just felt vaguely uneasy, but Minamoto no Yorimitsu seemed to already know something, "What do you know?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't answer, but instead swung his sword again. I barely escaped his attack, and I immediately escaped through the gap in the barrier.

If there is nothing wrong, it must be Aye...what did he do again.

What will he do? The false god should be almost there by now, and he can be defeated by relying on the Onmyoji and Seimei in Kyoto. Why am I still so uneasy?

The place where the false god descended was not too far away, but the hydrangea wood carvings that echoed Aye kept responding in the direction of the false god.

"Azi?" Qingming's voice interrupted my pursuit, "Why did you come to the illusion?"

The scene in front of me was a huge project that I had never seen before. Countless onmyoji and monsters were fighting against false gods. I couldn't answer Seimei's question for a moment.

Perhaps because he saw me panicking, Qingming also softened his voice: "It's too dangerous here, so let's leave it to us."

Only then did I look at Qingming. His elegant and noble appearance had long been wiped away by fatigue, and even his hair, which used to be very neat, now became messy.

"Brother..." I said this almost suppressed by sadness, "Aye...where is he?"

"Speaking of this..." Qingming was worried.

But the more this happens, the more scared I become.

"Tell me..." I said through gritted teeth.

Qingming lowered his head and extended his hand without saying a word. I knew what he would do, so I was wary from the beginning.

I casually pulled the onmyoji aside and pressed the sword against his neck: "Don't lie to me, even if Aye said it, it won't work."

"Azi, let him go first." Qingming still looked calm, "This matter is a bit complicated."

"...Is he dead?"

"No..." Qingming stepped forward and grabbed my hand, "It's better to say that we don't know either."

"He's still alive." The voice of eight hundred nuns came from behind Qingming.

"real?"

I chose to believe in the Eight Hundred Bhikshunis, but Qingming looked helpless: "The Eight Hundred Bhikshunis... this matter..."

Eight Hundred Bhikshunis walked to Qingming and looked at me and said: "Telling this child is the best way. Even if you want to hide it, this child can still sense the other person's existence."

I didn't wait for Qingming to speak again and asked hurriedly: "Where is Aye now?"

The eight hundred nuns did not answer me, but looked at Qingming.

"Qingming... just take sister Azi." Kagura didn't know when she appeared next to me, and she looked extremely tired.

"Kagura, why did you come here before you had a good rest?" Yuan Boya complained, but it was obvious that he was a little weak. "Seimei, you'd better take her with you quickly, otherwise it will definitely affect the decisive battle."

"I understand." Qingming could only nod in agreement, "Then I'll leave it to you."

Qingming walked over, her face softened: "Let's go."

"...Hmm." I nodded, looked at Kagura and the others again, and could only bow.

Seimei walked in front of me and led me directly towards the huge white object in front of me. When I looked up, I realized that the so-called huge white objects were eight giant white snakes. They were moving slowly, from Kyoto

The barrier formed by the onmyoji and their shikigami blocked the eight giant snakes.

"It is composed of the inner demons of the witches. What you saw in the narrow room is only a part of it." Qingming explained, and then told me about Aye.

It happened this morning. The cry of the false god kept coming. In order to find out what happened, and to prevent accidents during the decisive battle, Aye entered the influence of the shadow of the false god.

"I was careless about this matter. It's right for me to go find him with you now." Qingming said to me apologetically.

"Just...us?" I looked up at him in surprise.

"There is nothing we can do about it. After all, the people of Kyoto are the most important." Seimei answered me.

That's true, but why...why do you have to work so hard to protect Kyoto...

After walking along the white, unsullied road for a long time, I still couldn't find Aye. The connection between Aye and I was broken when we entered the realm of false gods. All we can do is to continue

Go forward and search.

But the further we move forward, the clearer the screams of the witches become, and the so-called god-like pressure gradually becomes heavier.

"Why? Why do you want to protect Kyoto? Although you said so when you were a child, but... I don't understand. Aye is just like you. Even though he has given his ideal to another self, he still feels uneasy..." I

Feeling anxious, uneasy, and confused.

All of this has never been explained.

"That's right, why?" Qingming looked forward, but it didn't seem like he was looking at anything. "Maybe he doesn't want to lose his "fate" with you. As long as Kyoto is still here, everyone will definitely get together. This is

The reason why I want to protect Kyoto. If Aye is like me, he must think so too."

..."Fate"?

But besides my brother, who else do I have a "destiny" with? Shiranui? That's just an onmyoji...it's not the so-called "fate"...

When I was thinking wildly, my vision suddenly went dark.

Qingming's gentle voice sounded above my head: "I saw Aye. I blocked your eyes with my hands because he..."

"What's wrong with him?" I grabbed Qingming's hand with both hands and tried to pull it away.

Anxiety, uneasiness, and a fear I had never experienced before welled up in my heart.

Qingming slowly took his hand away. In front of me was Aye, who had only half of his body left. He lowered his head, not knowing whether he was dead or alive. The lower part of his body was connected to the bottom of the big white snake.

It was as if the false god was constantly devouring him.

But my mind is blank. What should I do?

I took a step forward and wanted to check on him, but Qingming held me back.

"I'll go take a look first." Qingming said as if to comfort me.
To be continued...