Destiny's Threads

Facing this sudden encounter, Yura was clearly unprepared. She looked at Seimei in front of her, blushing and completely unsure what to do.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Seimei asked, looking at Yura with concern. His question only exacerbated Yura's condition.

"Eh... no, I'm not unwell... I'm fine... I'm fine..."

Eeeh! What do I do! What do I do? What should I say now? With her heart pounding, Yura frantically searched her mind for a reply, but couldn't think of a single word.

At this moment, she cast a pleading glance behind her, wanting to ask Miketsu, who had just arrived with her, for help. But when she turned her head, she found nothing there; Miketsu's figure had vanished at some unknown point.

Eh! Where did she go?!

Miketsu was currently hiding behind a distant corner, peeking out with half her head to secretly observe the situation. Naturally, she wasn't willing to stay there and be a third wheel.

"What are you looking at? Is there someone else over there?" Seimei asked, looking in the same direction as Yura, a little curious.

"No, no! You're... overthinking it... there's no one there..."

And so, Yura and Seimei stood there talking. Facing Seimei, Yura's words were clearly incoherent and illogical, making it difficult for the conversation to progress deeply. There were several awkward silences, and if not for Seimei's patience, the conversation would have ended much sooner.

Watching all this, Uka couldn't help but sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead. Peeking from behind the wall, she was full of complaints about Yura.

"Usually, you're so carefree and talkative, so why do you instantly turn into a shy monster at a time like this? I really don't understand you girls."

Finally, due to the repeated awkward silences, Yura couldn't bear it anymore and ran off, covering her face, leaving Seimei standing alone in a daze. Seeing this, Miketsu couldn't help but sigh.

"The gods gave you this chance, you know. Who's to blame if you don't seize it?"

However, they weren't entirely without progress. At the very least, Seimei agreed that if he had time, he could study Onmyojutsu with Yura. But the specific time and place were not discussed at all, meaning the matter was completely up in the air.

It seems I'll need to help her a few more times in the future. But before that, I need to trick her into going to the Inari shrine to pay my offerings. Asking a god for help isn't free, is it?

Thinking this, Miketsu left the spot and returned to Inari Mountain on her own.

During this time, she seriously reflected on the process of helping Yura form a connection. It was then that she realized the Thread of Causality could not only be used for divination but also for manipulation.

Manipulating the laws of causality, rewriting destiny, making people follow a script she designated through various coincidences—this should be a power only she, as a god, possessed.

From another perspective, if a god can bring good fortune, they can naturally also bring misfortune. If a sufficiently powerful god wanted a mortal to die, would that mortal then suffer various accidents and perish within a short time? Just like in Death Note.

Even Onmyoji like Seimei and Yura, who transcend ordinary mortals, cannot escape her grasp over their destinies. What about the vast multitude of other beings in this present world?

Perhaps for the gods and Buddhas high in the Celestial Realm, this present world is merely a playground, and mortals are nothing more than pawns, marionettes on strings.

With such thoughts, Miketsu felt a chill in her heart. For the first time, she genuinely rejoiced that her identity after transmigrating was that of a true god, and that she was a manipulator and weaver of the laws of causality.

It seems I'll have to thoroughly research this causality-manipulating ability after I go back. For now, it seems what just happened was purely accidental; understanding its principles will take time.

......

Inside a council hall at the Onmyoryo, the pale-faced Kamo no Yasunori entered the room. He saw Kamo no Tadayuki, Fujiwara no Saneyori, and Minamoto no Mitsunaka, the three most influential figures of the Onmyoryo, seated at the head.

Dragging his still somewhat weak body, Kamo no Yasunori quickly bowed.

"Sit and speak. You haven't fully recovered yet," Kamo no Tadayuki said with a hidden sigh, looking at his son.

After thanking him, Kamo no Yasunori sat upright in a lower seat. Once he was settled, Minamoto no Mitsunaka looked at him with a hint of ruthlessness and spoke.

"Have you fought that Owl?"

"Yes..."

"What are his characteristics?" Minamoto no Mitsunaka's words were somewhat urgent. After all, everyone now knew that Itsumaden had ultimately been abducted by Owl.

"His demonic energy is very strong... extremely strong... He can break the Three-Point Evil Dissolving Array with just his demonic energy release, has high resistance to sealing spells, and can also command ice and frost. Even I, along with Tsunehira and Masachika, were no match," Kamo no Yasunori said, relaying the information he knew with a tone of reluctance.

"Do you know his species? What is his true form?" This time, it was Fujiwara no Saneyori who spoke.

"I don't know... He was covered from head to toe in a black robe, making it impossible to see his true form inside. Aside from a single eye, no other features were discernible," Kamo no Yasunori continued. After he finished, silence fell upon the room. After a long moment, Kamo no Tadayuki finally spoke.

"What do you two gentlemen think?"

"According to this description, this Owl is at least a yokai general-level strong yokai, and possibly not an ordinary one. When did such a yokai appear in Heian-kyo?" Fujiwara no Saneyori said, deep in thought.

"His origins have been investigated before, but he rarely appears even in the demon realm, and we still haven't found any leads. He might also have been involved in the Vermilion Bird Seal incident earlier," Kamo no Tadayuki said after a moment's thought. The investigation into Owl had begun since the Vermilion Bird Seal incident.

"Hmph, there's no need to investigate his origins further. As long as we can ascertain his exact whereabouts, we should dispatch a subjugation team to deal with him. Heian-kyo's surroundings cannot tolerate such an unstable element," Minamoto no Mitsunaka continued. What he was thinking about now was getting Itsumaden's whereabouts from Owl.

"It hasn't reached that point yet, has it? I heard that although this Owl caused quite a stir, he only killed one person, and even whether that person was killed by Owl is still in doubt," Fujiwara no Saneyori said, recalling the intelligence from Fangshan Castle. The person he referred to was Gonnosuke.

"No matter how many people he killed, abducting and releasing transported yokai means being an enemy of the Onmyoryo and an enemy of the human realm. This Owl must be subjugated," Minamoto no Mitsunaka continued. Kamo no Tadayuki nodded slightly upon hearing his words.

"Lord Mitsunaka is right. This matter concerns our stance and cannot be conceded. Although this Owl hasn't done anything too outrageous yet, his intentions against the Onmyoryo and the human realm are very clear. He is a hidden danger. Once we can accurately ascertain his whereabouts and his lair, we will directly organize a subjugation team to jointly attack, eliminate evil, and subdue demons."