The Miko's Resentment

In Heian-kyo, at the end of Tsuchimikado Avenue, stood Seimei's residence.

Holding an umbrella, young Kagura stood on the path outside the estate. Her expression was somewhat wooden as she gazed up at the gloomy sky. At this moment, a strange, inexplicable throbbing pulsed within her heart.

"This feeling... what is it?"

"Little Kagura..." A hollow, ethereal voice drifted through the air. Startled, Kagura turned to look back. At the far end of the road, she saw a translucent figure that appeared to be a miko of about seventeen or eighteen, dressed in red and white. The miko was looking at Kagura with a kind expression, and as their eyes met, a sense of profound intimacy welled up from the depths of Kagura's heart.

"Who are you? Why do you feel so familiar?" Kagura tilted her head and asked slowly.

"Does little Kagura not recognize me anymore? What a pity... but it doesn't matter. I've come to get you. Let's go back together, little Kagura..." The miko spoke in a gentle, warm tone. Looking at her, Kagura couldn't help but daze for a moment.

Then, as if possessed by some unseen force, Kagura began to walk slowly toward the miko.

...

Meanwhile, in the woods behind Inari Mountain in Heian-kyo.

Kikyo gripped her bow tightly, her expression grim as she faced the pale-skinned, translucent, and eerie miko before her. She had seen this figure in her dreams before; the thing from her nightmares had truly manifested before her eyes. Kikyo could now tell exactly what the entity was.

"A ghost... no, a vengeful spirit... From where do you hail? What is it you want?" Kikyo asked sternly. The entity maintained its wooden expression and replied in a hollow voice.

"I... come from... the place where everyone should be... We have come here to get you... Sister..."

"To get me..." Hearing the miko's words, Kikyo's mind fell into a sudden trance. She felt an uncontrollable urge to walk toward the entity. However, relying on her iron willpower, she steadied her mind. After taking only a single step, she immediately clutched her head and stopped.

Kikyo realized instantly that this being harbored ill intent. Regardless of why it called her "Sister," whenever ghosts or spirits told a living person they were there to "get them," it never boded well. Furthermore, the entity was clearly exerting some form of mental influence over her!

Nocking an arrow and drawing her string, she pointed her weapon forward. In an instant, Kikyo settled into a combat stance. Her arrow was infused with cyan-blue spiritual power, ready to be loosed at any second. Facing this malevolent miko, Kikyo chose not to waste any more words.

However, just as she was about to release the string and fire the spiritual arrow, she suddenly felt her body stiffen. She was completely unable to move. Kikyo's eyes widened as the miko before her spoke again.

"Do you intend to be our enemy... How heartbreaking... Sister... In that case... we must take you back another way..."

As the miko's hollow, distant words echoed, several more vengeful spirits of miko with varying appearances manifested around the frozen Kikyo. They reached out, restraining different parts of her body, making it impossible for her to perform even the slightest movement.

There are so many of them... When did they surround me? During that moment of trance?

Filled with shock, Kikyo found herself ensnared by numerous vengeful spirits. Her entire body felt as though it had been plunged into a pit of ice, rendered immobile. The scene unfolding was an exact mirror of what she had seen in her dream.

Seeing the situation, Kikyo tried to open her mouth to recite a spell, but she found that even her jaw was locked. She was utterly incapable of incanting.

Finally, with all other methods failing, Kikyo began to pray silently to Miketsu in her heart. But as if seeing through her intentions, the many vengeful spirits clinging to her opened their mouths simultaneously, erupting into a cacophony of mad ravings.

"Why... why do you reject us... Sister... You were the first sacrifice... You rightfully belong with us..."

"Why is it that only you received salvation... Why only you received the god's grace... We suffered in agony, yet no one cared... We are so jealous of you... Sister..."

"We truly resent you... We resent everyone... Why did we have to encounter those things... Why..."

One voice after another, their words of resentment pierced Kikyo's mind with high-frequency intensity, causing her consciousness to scatter. She couldn't focus enough to pray.

Amidst the hateful ravings, the forms of the miko spirits began to warp, eventually transforming into terrifying skeletons clad in tattered miko robes. These skeletons gripped Kikyo's rigid body, forcing her to move against her will.

Kikyo's hand was forced to release the bowstring and let go of the bow's riser. She was made to pick up the arrow that had been nocked, gripping it with both hands. The arrowhead was turned downward, aimed directly at her own pale neck. Kikyo's eyes were wide with horror as she watched her own hands slowly drive the arrow toward her throat, while the ravings of the miko spirits continued to echo in her ears.

"Come... Sister... let us go back together..."

At that exact moment, a beam of golden light tore through the heavy, dark clouds above and shot down, illuminating Kikyo and the vengeful spirits clinging to her. The spirits shrieked as they were torn from her body, scattering in all directions to escape the light. Freed from the spirits, Kikyo let out a long, ragged breath within the golden radiance.

Having no time to recover, Kikyo immediately snatched up her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired in rapid succession. In an instant, arrows saturated with powerful spiritual power shot out, accurately piercing the screaming, floating spirits. Upon impact, the spirits were blown apart by the erupting spiritual power, dissolving into a mist that drifted into the air.

Then, with a final, frenzied howl, these dead soul entities scattered like the wind in one direction. The golden light from the heavens gradually faded, and the forest returned to its usual tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened.

"My thanks to Lady Uka..."

Kikyo took a moment to catch her breath, then immediately offered a prayer of gratitude to Miketsu.

...

On Suzaku Avenue, Miketsu, dressed in her kariginu, gazed toward Inari Mountain to the south with a heavy expression as she ended her remote projection of divine power.

Just moments ago, she had been organizing intelligence regarding the suicide incidents involving women in Heian-kyo. During this process, she suddenly remembered the increasingly frequent dreams Kikyo had been having—dreams where she saw a group of vengeful miko spirits.

Kikyo dreamed of vengeful spirits, and the entity inducing deaths in Heian-kyo was likely a vengeful spirit as well. Furthermore, Kikyo had reported more than once that after waking from these dreams, she would often find herself away from her bed, standing in the wilderness or a room, inexplicably holding a sharp object like an arrow. These suspicious points had caused Miketsu to worry about Kikyo.

Thus, while walking through the streets, Miketsu had sent a divine oracle to Kikyo to warn her to be careful. However, she received no reply.

Seeing this, Miketsu had concluded that something must have gone wrong on Kikyo's end.