Tokoyo-no-Kami

Inside a dark, vast seawater cavern, the seawater flowed with a gurgling sound. This was an underground lake within Nightless Island, directly connected to the outer sea. In this pitch-black darkness, the only light came from the lakeside, where a simple wooden pier was built. Lanterns hung from it for illumination, and on the pier stood three demon soldiers clad in Nightless Island's standard armor, idly chatting amongst themselves.

Suddenly, one of the demon soldiers felt a chill on his neck. Just as he reached to touch it, he found his hand was gone. Then, he realized he was uncontrollably falling downwards. As he fell, he saw a blade piercing out from a comrade's chest and another comrade's head tumbling. Then, his consciousness faded to black.

Shaking the blood from his sword, Slippery Nura, who had silently and easily dispatched the three guards, rested his blade on his shoulder. He turned to gaze into the deep darkness of the seawater and then shook a lantern hanging from the nearby pier. Soon after, a faint light also appeared from the dark water.

The old fisherman slowly rowed his boat, carrying Abe no Seimei, to the simple wooden pier. Seeing the fallen yokai guards before them, the old fisherman couldn't help but smile at Abe no Seimei.

"Heh... it seems your shikigami is quite capable."

"Slippery Nura isn't my shikigami, he's... um..."

"A friend... Abe no Seimei, my brother." Slippery Nura said with a smile, seeing Abe no Seimei's confusion. Hearing the word 'friend,' the old fisherman nodded thoughtfully. Just as they stepped onto the pier, the demon soldier who Slippery Nura had pierced through the chest suddenly stirred, gripping his spear and lunging at Abe no Seimei and the others in a counterattack.

"Watch out!" Slippery Nura cried, realizing the opponent wasn't fully dead. The demon soldier's desperate last stand was upon them, but at this moment, it was the old fisherman who made his move.

"Kotodama: Shield."

A transparent shield of spiritual power formed, blocking the demon soldier's attack. The old fisherman then threw another talisman, precisely hitting the ambushing demon soldier. The spot where the talisman struck the demon soldier caved in, and then he lifelessly collapsed again. Seeing this, Abe no Seimei beside him was slightly startled.

"Kotodama... This, this should be the Kamo Clan's Onmyojutsu! Old sir, just who are you...?" Abe no Seimei exclaimed in surprise. During this time, through Yura, he had regained many lost memories, including the origins of the Onmyojutsu he knew.

"Kamo... It's been a long time since I heard that surname. After decades as a commoner here, a surname isn't really necessary..." the old fisherman said, turning his head to look at Abe no Seimei.

"My name is Kamo Yoshin. I was once like you, an Onmyoji in the capital."

"Indeed... You are an Onmyoji, and from the Kamo Clan at that. Senior Yoshin, why have you lived under an assumed name for decades?" Listening to Kamo Yoshin's words, Abe no Seimei wasn't overly surprised, as the other party had already shown many signs of his identity.

"All of this is for Ali. I don't wish to say more about the rest. Let's go, we still have a ways to travel." Without further explanation to Abe no Seimei, Kamo Yoshin took the lead, lantern in hand, and walked deeper into the cavern. Abe no Seimei and Slippery Nura exchanged a glance and followed.

As the three continued onward, stone pillars began to appear sparsely along the dark path. These pillars bore clear signs of having been worked, with strange patterns carved upon them, though they were now blurred and indistinct due to the passage of time. These stone pillars clearly caught Abe no Seimei's attention.

"These pillars... were they made by the yokai of Nightless Island?"

"Hmph, how could those greedy yokai waste time on things so meaningless to them?" Kamo Yoshin scoffed dismissively at Abe no Seimei's words, which only deepened Abe no Seimei's confusion.

"Then what are these things..."

"These were left by humans."

"Humans? Could it be from Nightless Island during its human era fifty years ago?" Hearing Kamo Yoshin's words, Abe no Seimei recalled their previous conversation and asked directly. However, the other's reply made Abe no Seimei pause in surprise.

"No, these things were built much, much earlier than that. Back then, this place wasn't even called Nightless Island."

"Much earlier..."

Just as Abe no Seimei felt perplexed, Slippery Nura suddenly stopped. He looked up into the pitch-black darkness, as if staring at something.

Seeing this, Abe no Seimei suddenly remembered that Slippery Nura was a yokai with a certain degree of night vision. His action suggested he had seen something.

"Is there something over there?"

"There's a wall carving on that wall..." Slippery Nura said directly. Hearing Slippery Nura's words, Abe no Seimei frowned slightly. He then conjured a ball of spiritual power and sent it flying in the direction Slippery Nura was looking, illuminating the scene.

It was a cracked, man-made wall, adorned with primitive-looking carvings. Though most were blurred by the erosion of time, some details could still be vaguely discerned.

On this ancient wall carving were figures of humans and beasts. The depicted humans were all in a posture of reverence. In the center of the carving's composition was a massive butterfly with outstretched wings, its wings adorned with numerous intricate and mysterious markings.

"This is..." As Abe no Seimei looked at the carving, the confusion in his eyes deepened. Kamo Yoshin, standing beside him, calmly began to explain.

"This was left by the first humans who came to this island centuries ago. Like those stone pillars, it's an object used for rituals..."

"Rituals... rituals for what?"

"Hmph, naturally it's for worshiping gods. Didn't you see? It's that butterfly up there."

"A butterfly? This butterfly is a god?" Hearing Kamo Yoshin's words, Slippery Nura also began to feel a hint of disbelief.

"At least in the eyes of those who worshiped it, it was. Centuries ago, in this Eastern Country, many people believed in this deity with the form of a butterfly. Legend said it possessed the miraculous power to restore youth, and its followers called it... Tokoyo-no-Kami." Kamo Yoshin said slowly, gazing at the butterfly carving. His words left Abe no Seimei stunned; he hadn't imagined Nightless Island had such a history.

"Tokoyo-no-Kami... Are there still such deities in Kanto? According to what you just said, this deity should have had many followers, so why is there no trace of it now? Even its place of worship was once converted into a pleasure district, and now it's a yokai den?" Slippery Nura asked directly. He was also a yokai born in Kanto, yet he had never heard of any worship of Tokoyo-no-Kami there.

"Heh, it was naturally eradicated..." Kamo Yoshin chuckled lightly and continued.

"Eradicated? By whom?"

"Who else but the Yamato Court? Over three hundred years ago, Tokoyo-no-Kami was deemed an Evil Sacrificial Rite by the court. Prince Shotoku, the ruler at the time, dispatched his trusted minister Hata no Kawakatsu with troops to conquer the Eastern Provinces and suppress it. The altars were destroyed, the followers expelled, and the priestly families of Tokoyo-no-Kami were all slain. From then on, the worship of Tokoyo-no-Kami was completely lost to history."