Crossing the Barrier of Time

Turning back the clock to several months ago, to the time when Miketsu sought out Suwako to head to the Lunar Capital and discuss countermeasures against the Great Snake and the Eternal Worm.

Inside a quiet meeting room within the workshop district of the Lunar Secret Realm, their meeting had reached its final moments. Their conversation focused on Suwako.

Among the four ancient gods, Suwako seemed to have absolutely zero probability of revival. The condition she lacked was not something that could be achieved through effort; it was a condition that could only be waited for.

"It just so happens that the condition I'm missing is a matter of pure chance. If it doesn't exist in this era, then there's no point even thinking about it. I have no idea how far into the distant future it will be before that one-in-a-million aptitude-holder is born within the Kochiya Clan." Leaning back in her chair and holding a cup of tea in both hands, Suwako sighed with a look of utter helplessness.

Although Suwako did not seek—and even loathed—revival, now that the resurrection of the Great Snake and the Eternal Worm was a certainty, it would be difficult to oppose them if she did not seek her own revival.

However, what Suwako lacked for her revival was a ritual priest. The birth of someone with the aptitude for a ritual priest among the ancient god's kin was completely uncontrollable, occurring perhaps once every few centuries or even a millennium. The probability was extremely low. With only four or five months left until the final battle, it was impossible for a qualified ritual priest to be born within the Kochiya Clan. Therefore, even if other conditions were met, without the key ritual priest to perform the ceremony, Suwako had no possibility of revival regardless.

For a moment, the entire room was filled with an air of anxiety and helplessness. In this atmosphere, Miketsu couldn't help but look through the window at the clouds within the Lunar Secret Realm.

"The future... is it?"

Staring at the sky, Miketsu murmured to herself. Beside her, Eirin also stroked her chin, lost in thought.

"If they are only to be born in the distant future, then there is nothing we can do. After all... the barrier of time cannot be crossed..."

Hearing Eirin's words, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Miketsu. Her entire demeanor shifted, her brows arched, and she began to murmur in a low voice.

"Time..."

As Miketsu murmured, she immediately turned to look at Suwako and Eirin behind her, raising her voice as she continued.

"No, time can be crossed. We might be able to cross through time and summon Suwako's ritual priest, born from the future!"

Hearing Miketsu's words, both Eirin and Suwako were stunned.

"Are you saying... time travel?"

"What are you saying... how could that possibly be done?"

Suwako spoke in shock, still holding her tea, while Miketsu spoke plainly.

"It can be done. Have you forgotten? My titles as an ancient god? You were the one who told me about them," Miketsu said with a smile, looking at Suwako. After a brief moment of daze, Suwako suddenly realized.

"Your titles? Fate Weaver... Lord of Causality... Wings of Time... Wings of Time... That's right, rumors say the Fate Weaver possesses abilities related to time. If we can cross time to summon my future ritual priest, then all the conditions for my revival will be gathered..." Hearing Miketsu's words, Suwako suddenly jumped up from her seat. However, her joyful expression quickly turned back into doubt as she continued to address Miketsu.

"But... you haven't been revived yet. Can you really interfere with time?"

"The current me cannot, but if I use this thing up directly, there might be a chance..." As Miketsu spoke, she pulled a crystal from her sleeve. Inside the crystal, profound black energy was constantly churning.

Miketsu and Suwako stared at the profound black energy within the crystal, momentarily lost in thought.

...

Several dozen days later, Earth, Japanese Archipelago.

Somewhere in the Kanto region, under a scorching sun, above a desolate and ancient forest, Miketsu was flying through the air holding a map, looking around as if she were trying to pinpoint a location.

"Hey~ are you sure yet? We've been searching for half the day."

In the forest below Miketsu, Suwako waved her arms and shouted while holding the brim of her hat. Miketsu nodded in response.

"Yeah, I'm almost certain now. It should be this position..." Miketsu said as she slowly descended from the sky.

"Are you sure it's really here? This is the middle of nowhere, full of yokai and wild beasts. There isn't a single person in sight. Is this really okay?" Suwako looked around at the dense forest, her voice tinged with uncertainty. Miketsu, however, nodded with considerable confidence.

"Don't worry. After so many rounds of divination, this has been confirmed as the optimal location. Also, don't underestimate the developmental potential of humans. Just because it's uninhabited now doesn't mean no one will live here in the future. Perhaps one day, this place will develop into a great city where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold."

Miketsu stood with her hands on her hips as she spoke to Suwako. Suwako was filled with doubt after hearing this.

"Every inch of land worth its weight in gold? No way. No matter how you look at it, there should be more land than people. Would humans really be that crazy?" Suwako said skeptically, but Miketsu wagged her finger.

"Trust me, the level of human madness is something you can never predict." After finishing her sentence, Miketsu activated her causality vision to scan the surroundings. Finally, her gaze fixed upon an ordinary-looking patch of grass.

"There. Please dig down about thirty feet at that spot. The optimal point is right under there." Miketsu pointed forward. Although Suwako still looked doubtful, she placed her hand on the ground and activated her power.

Immediately, the ground Miketsu had pointed to sank down, instantly forming a vertical pit about one meter wide and ten meters deep.

"Alright... everything is ready now. Let's begin..." Miketsu said as she took out the crystal housing her ancient god power. Then, with a slight application of force, cracks began to spiderweb across the crystal.

What Miketsu was about to do was the same thing Suwako had done when fighting Chang'e: sacrificing the vessel containing her ancient god power in exchange for a small-scale burst of that power.

Releasing her grip, Miketsu dropped the cracked crystal into the deep pit. The crystal struck the rock at the bottom, and instantly, profound black energy erupted. Under Miketsu's guidance, this energy formed a pitch-black, deep vortex at the bottom of the pit, spinning rapidly. At that moment, Miketsu spoke to Suwako beside her.

"Give me the item."

Hearing Miketsu's words, Suwako immediately handed her a small cloth bundle. Miketsu took it and opened it, revealing a small bone fragment. This was a small piece of Suwako's remains!

"I haven't been revived, so the temporal passage I can barely create right now isn't strong enough to allow a god-level existence to pass through. Therefore, rather than us going to the future to find your ritual priest, it's better to use the causality between you and the ritual priest as a guide and bring her here by weaving fate."

As Miketsu spoke, she tossed the fragment of the remains into the pitch-black vortex.

"Now, let's see if the bonds between you and your future ritual priest are strong enough to create a causality powerful enough for me to weave fate..."