Takachiho Sacred Peak—familiar yet unfamiliar halls, familiar yet unfamiliar air, hyacinths blooming in the courtyard, waiting for an old friend as they had for a thousand years.
The old friend would never return, but the two disciples into whom that old friend had poured a lifetime of effort had returned.
Though it was his first time here, Yu felt an overwhelming sense of closeness, not merely because this had once been Ubiji's residence.
It was also because every blade of grass, every brick and tile here displayed the former master's taste, revealing a noble sentiment utterly out of place among this cold and indifferent clan.
Yu was captivated at first glance. For a moment, he even forgot that he stood on the battlefield of a showdown between heaven and earth, forgotten too was the grave mission he carried.
"They say that after people die, their longing returns to the place most familiar to them in life."
"I was thinking... perhaps for Teacher Ubiji, the most familiar place was not Great Yamato Toyo-Akitsu in Yomi, but this High-Heaven Grain Spirit Peak—the only Pure Land in Takamagahara."
Yu did not know why he thought so. Perhaps it was merely for psychological comfort, hoping that his teacher's departed soul had somewhere to rest, even if it was here in Takamagahara.
Ryushiki found it even harder to let go.
Back then, Ubiji had held his little hand and taken him away from the cage known as the Branch Family beneath Mount Hiba, allowing him to see a far broader world.
The days of receiving teachings, learning, and having his doubts answered had been the most carefree days of his life.
If not for Ubiji, then even with Ryushiki's heaven-defying talent, he would have been buried beneath the suppression of divine authority, never seeing the