Everything Returned to Its Original Course

"Sakura, the offering for this year's festival has been decided."

"It's Rin."

These are words that have echoed countless times in my memory. The man's cold, hard face, bathed in shadow, is indistinct in the candlelight.

His eyes seemed devoid of emotion, filled only with a matter-of-fact indifference.

In the past Yae Sakura would choose to remain silent afterward.

Because this is nothing but an illusion, investing emotions in an illusion will only hasten her defeat.

But defeat is unacceptable; Yae Sakura absolutely cannot lose before she gets the answer.

But things are different now; Yae Sakura can no longer remain silent.

The girl looked up at Yae High Priest, her father.

This is my father.

When exactly was it?

When exactly did the two of them drift apart to this extent?

That was a memory from far too distant, but the Miko still remembered that when her mother was still alive, the man wasn't such a cold and heartless person. He would often smile, and it wasn't the fake smile he had now, but a genuine smile with gentle eyes and brows.

That kind of smile was the kind of expression that only a young Miko would show to her beloved father.

After his mother's death, something seemed to have been permanently ripped from this man's body.

What could it be?

Is it emotion? Human nature? Or something even more inexplicable?

After that, his expression toward Yae Sakura and Yae Rin grew increasingly cold, and even the slight grief he felt because of their resemblance to his mother became increasingly invisible.

His own father, Yaehiko.

Perhaps he died the moment his mother died.

All that remained was a listless puppet, devoid of most of its soul.

With a complex expression, she asked Yaehiko the question she had never uttered in tens of thousands of reincarnations:

"Father, what exactly are Rin and I to you?"

The man paused for a moment.

Yae Sakura is a weak and indecisive girl. Although she is not lacking in courage and strength, in Yaehiko's eyes, the way she would resist might be by remaining silent or by shouting and refusing.

But this was the only question he hadn't expected.

Yaehiko remained silent.

"You are my daughters." These were the words that instinctively wanted to slip out, but at that moment, the man swallowed them back down.

I am no longer qualified to say that.

No matter how many rhetoric, excuses, or reasons are used.

The fact that he, as a father, had to sacrifice his daughter's life could not be changed.

The position of the ancestral tablet.

The responsibility of the village.

Numb emotions.

Awakening and reawakening under the girl's complex gaze, they then became entangled, transforming into a massive vortex that dragged the man into it.

After a long silence, Yaehiko looked directly into the Miko's eyes and said:

"Sakura, this is for the village. As a member of the Yae lineage and Miko, it is only natural that she should give everything for the village while accepting its offerings."

"And no matter what path lies ahead, whether I am condemned by myself or misunderstood by you and Rin, as the Yae High Priest, I can only make this decision."

The Yae lineage.

Offering sacrifices to deities.

As the Lord of the Yae High Priest, this was the only decision I could make.

That's ridiculous.

This was almost as if he were expecting her to carve a path with her sword and take Rin away from the village.

What were you expecting?

You severed Rin's Achilles tendon, grabbed my hand, and killed Rin with a knife. Did you ever expect anything?

The contradictions have reached such a despicable level that it's utterly ridiculous.

Overwhelmed by rage and sorrow, the Miko pondered the hidden meaning in the man's words, and suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

That smile contained extremely complex emotions; the girl raised the corners of her lips, and the upward curve had an eerie, captivating, and alluring quality.

Yaehiko was pulled into an even greater emotional tide by the Miko's laughter, and for a moment, he felt a sense of empathy for the overwhelming emotions.

She was very sad.

Even though she was laughing, the man understood that.

This Yae Sakura is completely different from the girl in my memory.

"My father, you are so weak! Hahaha, it turns out you're only a half-baked expert."

She suddenly roared in fury:

"Get it over with! What good is a half-baked person like you besides making people sad!"

The Miko drew her sword.

In that instant Yaehiko could only see a flash of light, and then the Spirit Blade passed down through generations of the Yae Shrine was placed against his neck.

Sakura Fubuki. Such a Spirit Blade can easily sever human bones; one's life is now in the opponent's hands.

Extremely fast, like light and shadow.

Such swift and skillful swordsmanship was something his wife could never achieve even when she was alive.

Sakura, when did you reach this level?

The Miko grabbed the man's collar with her left hand, and the Spirit Blade she was holding shakily, due to her emotions, cut the skin of his neck, and blood slowly seeped out, but Yaehiko continued to look at the girl's furious face as if he didn't notice.

"Didn't you already intend to go all the way?! Didn't you already intend to eliminate Rin's path to survival?!"

Yae Sakura's roar shook the man's soul. He couldn't understand the specific meaning of her words, but he knew she was blaming herself, she was angry, and she was sad.

But in the end, this was the only answer the man could give:

"I'm sorry, Sakura. But I am Yae High Priest."

Yes, so even with such vague expectations, men show no mercy in their actions.

In the man's eyes, before his identity as a father, he was the Yae High Priest.

Yae Sakura's emotions instantly subsided into a state of perfect tranquility. This was the self-control she had honed over five hundred years. Even now, with most of her body broken, she still possessed the ability to perfectly control her emotions for a short period of time.

She released her grip on the man's clothes.

The Spirit Blade was sheathed, a movement that was also difficult to discern.

The Miko left a message and then turned to leave.

"Father, so be it. We will draw our swords against each other."

Should they draw their swords against each other? The man touched the line of blood on his neck and smiled.

His cold, hard face seemed to soften for a moment, but then a dark red mist appeared in his pupils.

Just like countless previous cycles, the story's direction was forcibly steered in the right direction by the power of Hiyori.

This is a reflection of history, so naturally it must follow its original ending.

The compassion and expectations that Yae High Priest had when making his decision five hundred years ago are unnecessary to recreate; they are useless burdens.

He only needs to make the same choices as before; any changes caused by Yae Sakura's transformation are unnecessary variables.

The man is not as lofty and supreme as he appears on the surface. He is more like a puppet bound by the will of the villagers, and the more traditional the rules are, the harder it is for him to disobey them from his position.

Yaehiko had trusted confidants and possessed considerable martial prowess, but if he had chosen to refuse the ritual, the Yae family's fate would not have been good.

Yae Sakura understood this.

In the end, he weakly chose to sacrifice Rin, then coldly grasped Yae Sakura's hand and killed his own daughter.

The reason given was that only in this way could Yae Sakura Miko remain unshaken.

And in any future rituals Yae Sakura would never be mentioned.

Compromise, compromise, compromise.

This man ultimately chose this half-baked and despicable approach.

Such reasons don't even qualify as self-comfort or self-satisfaction.

Therefore, Yae Sakura will not forgive her, nor will Yae Rin.

He himself would not.

But it doesn't matter, Yaehiko is just a half-baked father.

Even from the perspective of a villain, he remains utterly pure.

Whether due to Hiyori's guidance or the man's own inherent flaws, the final result was that Yaehiko suppressed all his emotions and compassion.

The Yae High Priest muttered indifferently to himself:

"Sakura, you've become stronger than your mother. But it's all in vain. The power of the gods is a mysterious force that humans cannot contend with. Even powerful Demonic Beast can only tremble and prostrate themselves before the gods."

"In these mountains and forests, Yae Village can survive not only by relying on the sharpness of the Spirit Blade, but also by relying on the gods."

"Surrounded by Demonic Beast day and night, and facing an imminent drought, the lives of the village's hundred households were in my hands under such crisis."

"Therefore, from the perspective of the divine authority, I am not wrong."

But... as their father, he felt ashamed to face them.

So, draw your sword against me.

Your last look was very good; you've already become a qualified Miko.

You should take what you want yourself.

You won't hold back, will you? Neither will I.