The Revival Ritual

The method for an Ancient God's revival was the information Miketsu wanted most from Suwako. Facing the Great Snake and Tokoyo-no-Kami, who were both one step closer to revival, she had to prepare for the worst.

In their previous correspondence, Suwako had mentioned that she knew the way to fully revive an Ancient God. Thus, Miketsu asked without hesitation.

"Revival? Heh... it seems you're thinking of using revival to counter revival, and an Ancient God to counter an Ancient God. But do you understand what a war between Ancient Gods means for this world?" Suwako asked with a light chuckle. Miketsu knew that based on Suwako's previous attitude, she was absolutely opposed to the revival of any Ancient God, including herself.

"I understand, of course. But you must also realize that, as it stands, we cannot kill that snake or that worm. We cannot guarantee that we will succeed in stopping them every single time. If there is even one accident, we will likely have to face them in their Ancient God forms," Miketsu said solemnly while looking at Suwako.

"Therefore, I believe we must prepare for the worst. If it comes to the absolute last resort, we can only use an Ancient God to counter an Ancient God. But this must be prepared for in advance. If we wait until the Great Snake and the others have already revived to think about these things, it will be too late."

After Miketsu finished speaking, she stood silently, her gaze focused intently on Suwako. Suwako remained silent for a moment, saying nothing.

Miketsu's meaning was clear: it was impossible to completely eradicate the consciousness of the Great Snake and the Eternal Worm. One would not die until it reached its complete form, and the other resided within the gaps of the Void. Through step-by-step attempts, they would eventually find a flaw in Miketsu and the others' defenses and succeed in reviving. In such a moment, Miketsu and her allies needed a way to respond.

Thus, Miketsu waited patiently for Suwako's response. After the silence between them persisted for quite a while, Suwako finally let out a sigh and spoke helplessly.

"Sigh... I admit, you have a point. If one day we have a lapse in judgment and allow those fellows to revive, we truly will have no way to deal with them. In such a case, the only option is to use an Ancient God to counter an Ancient God."

"Yes. That is why we must prepare for our own revival beforehand. We cannot wait until they are on the verge of reviving to act. By then, everything will be too late," Miketsu said, spreading her hands. Suwako nodded in agreement.

"True... the revival of an Ancient God is no simple matter. Although the various Ancient Gods of this world differ greatly, they also share commonalities. In the era when I fell, many Ancient Gods perished due to mutual slaughter. One of those Ancient Gods developed a method to allow an Ancient God whose body had perished but whose divine soul remained to revive once more," Suwako said slowly. Miketsu's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"What method?"

"A ritual. A type of ritual created by an Ancient God who presided over techniques. That god successfully revived through this ritual after their own fall. When they fell a second time, the secret of this ritual spread and became known to many other Ancient Gods. For a period of time, many Ancient Gods began preparing for how they would revive after their own demise," Suwako continued. Curiosity flickered in Miketsu's eyes as she listened.

"A ritual created by an Ancient God? What is this ritual like? How is it completed?" Miketsu asked further. Suwako answered directly.

"This ritual requires several prerequisites. The most critical is that the divine soul must not have been extinguished after death. This point alone can only be achieved by a few Ancient Gods with special traits or those supported by firm mortal faith. Those who are thoroughly dead have no possibility of revival—at least not through this ritual."

"An unextinguished divine soul is a prerequisite... and then?" Miketsu nodded as she listened, thinking that surviving in soul after the body's demise was not something every Ancient God could manage.

"Next, the Ancient God seeking revival needs their remaining divine remains. They don't have to be perfectly complete, as long as they can barely construct a main body," Suwako continued. Miketsu began to connect the dots.

Remains? The remains of the Great Snake, including its divine soul, could not be destroyed by the Yamato gods, so they were sealed within the gap between the Underworld and the mortal world using the Four Symbols Array provided by the White-robed Daoist. As for the Eternal Worm, its egg could be seen as its remains, and its own nature allowed its divine soul to persist.

"In addition to the remains, the revival ritual requires a massive amount of external energy as an activator. The type and form of the energy are quite broad, as long as it can be applied to the ritual."

Massive external energy? Hearing Suwako's words, Miketsu couldn't help but ponder. In her memory, both the partial revival of the Great Snake and the staged revival of the Eternal Worm had utilized large amounts of external energy. During the disaster in Heian-kyo, the Great Snake's Divine Messenger destroyed the Four Symbols Array and summoned part of the remains from the seal, then used the flesh and blood of the disaster's yokai to regenerate that part of the remains. In that sense, the Great Snake could use flesh and blood as the external energy for its revival.

As for the Eternal Worm, it went without saying. It used demonic power converted from the Black Tortoise Array's spiritual power. However, due to its characteristics, this only allowed it to revive into a larval form. It needed even more external energy to pupate, which was why it thought to feed on the ley lines.

"An unextinguished divine soul, remaining divine remains, and a massive amount of external energy as an activator... are these the necessary prerequisites for the revival ritual?" Miketsu muttered to Suwako. Suwako smiled slightly and continued her answer.

"Correct. However, that is not all. There is one more important condition."

"There's more? What is it?"

"The ritual conductor. The ritual for an Ancient God's revival must be presided over by a qualified individual from among the Ancient God's followers. A follower with a contract is the crucial link between the Ancient God's remnant soul and this world. Only under the leadership of a High Priest born from among the followers can the other elements of the ritual be combined, allowing the Ancient God to descend upon the world once more," Suwako continued. Miketsu's mind drifted into further thought.

A priest born from among the Ancient God's followers? Indeed... when the Eternal Worm revived, Shiranui Ali's divine dance was necessary. Ali was the Miko of the Eternal Worm and the key to its revival ritual being held.

On the other hand, the Great Snake's incomplete revival during the Heian-kyo disaster was presided over by its Divine Messenger, Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto, who held the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi! Because the Four Symbols Array was still in place, the Great Snake could only release a portion of its remains during that disaster, resulting in an incomplete revival.

It seemed that whether it was the Great Snake or the Eternal Worm, they were both using the same type of ritual for their revival, even if the specific components were completely different.