Silence returned to the chamber soon after. The last traces of energy that had filled the monolith began to fade gradually, turning the structure into a useless object cracked in places. Ren stood in the center of it all with the echo of the battle still ringing in his head.
As soon as the light dimmed completely, Kagami entered the chamber without hesitation. Her silhouette passed beneath the threshold, then slowed when she arrived underneath the big dome overhead, next to where Ren stood.
"Good," she said. "You passed."
Ren gave a low "mhm..." that barely registered as a reply. His body wasn't in any sort of pain as he had defeated the Pact Echo without acquiring too many bruises, but his mind was still replaying it all. Retracing his steps as if he wanted to make sure nothing would be missed from his inner thought process.
He exhaled, then opened his hand. The Pact Blade dissolved without a sound, trailing like smoke as it drew back into his arm. Behind him, the glowing symbol hovered for a few moments before dimming as well and then vanishing into thin air.
But then, without warning, the Akariwake stirred. Soft violet smoke trailed upward from the ring once again, accompanied by its usual cluster of glowing particles. They drifted in their looping patterns, pulled toward one of the chamber's hidden corners. The ring was pointing the way again.
Ren followed the trail as it curled toward a pair of tall sliding doors, traditional in shape but unusually wide. Their panels were made from what looked like aged paper mixed with some kind of translucent material, while the frame was made from dark wood.
As soon as the swirls of smoke and the first particles touched the frame, the doors opened on their own. Beyond, they revealed another set of corridors that appeared more luminous than any previous ones.
"I guess that's our cue," Kagami said lightly, sliding elegantly towards their next destination.
Ren lingered for a moment, glancing back at the monoliths behind him. He scanned the one that had spawned the Echo earlier as if he was at some level still unsure of whether it was truly over. But finally, he chose not to dwell. What mattered resided at the top of the Sanctum anyway. They needed to get there sooner rather than later.
He followed Kagami soon afterwards.
Silence returned to the chamber, and for a long moment, nothing moved. But then, a shape stepped through the open doorway Kagami and Ren had passed as they first arrived in the monoliths' room.
The figure was tall, wrapped in layered bandages that covered almost every feature. But the general silhouette was that of a man. He wore a dark kimono over the wrappings while a massive sword adorned with all sorts of symbols rested across his back.
The man approached the dimmed monolith and placed his hand against the glass. As he did, the circuits sparked to life beneath his palm once again. The monolith then restabilized and its surface soon cleared as if nothing had ever happened at all.
Once the restoration was complete, the man slowly turned his head to look toward the newly opened hallway. For a few moments, he just weighed in recent events, though his expression revealed nothing of what passed through his mind. Then he began to walk, following the same path Kagami and Ren had taken. He did so without rushing, as if the path ahead was unfolding exactly as expected, making any effort seem irrelevant.
----
The new corridor led Ren and Kagami forward, gradually revealing the next space. The floor was made of old wood, while the walls and ceilings were covered by traditional panels and wallpapers carved in places with all sorts of decorations, some floral, others geometric. But the overall feeling in that space leaned towards precision more than aesthetics.
The rooms were spacious, connected by wide hallways where silk curtains moved faintly in the breeze, instead of having typical sliding doors.
Ren could also see a few shrines raised in different parts of the area, each hosting statues of all sorts of deities and mystical creatures. He recognized none of them, but then again, he was never very knowledgeable of these things, as Haruki once was.
Outside, beyond the hallway Ren was passing through, there was a traditional garden. It was in ruins, of course, but traces of its original beauty still remained. Ren turned his gaze slowly in its general direction, admiring the beauty of it all, even in its ruined state.
"This place is surreal," he said quietly.
"Yeah," Kagami replied. "This place can be that way."
Suddenly, something moved somewhere. Ren looked more attentively, focusing his senses toward that one direction. He scanned the open chamber to his right, where the sound seemed to have come from. Between two columns, a shadow slipped away and darted as soon as its presence was noticed.
"Hey," he called out. "There's someone over there."
He moved instinctively. He crossed the threshold, passed a large circular area, then turned a corner where the shadow had last slipped to.
But there was no one there.
Ren stepped further in. The room was empty. The curtains weren't even disturbed.
"I'm sure of it," he said as he came back out. "There was someone here."
"I don't doubt you," Kagami said, standing casually on a low platform a few paces away, licking one of her paws. She didn't look concerned. "There is always someone here, so I wouldn't be surprised either way."
Ren lifted his hand and checked Akariwake. Nothing had changed. The smoke still drifted forward in the same direction as before.
Kagami then leaped onto a low roof above the garden, stepping across narrow tiles. From that vantage point, her eyes swept the gardens and chambers more effectively. Still, she could see nothing unusual, apart from the usual unusualness there in Naraku.
"You know," she said as she paused above him, "I wouldn't be surprised if the ring were the one playing tricks on you."
Ren glanced up, unsure what she was implying.
"Reiji had hallucinations, in the beginning, too," she continued.
"Reiji?" Ren went. "Why are you bringing him into this conversation?"
"The ring used to belong to him... once..." she said quietly.
"This was... Reiji's?"
"A long time ago... It was my gift to him when he first arrived in Naraku. It was a symbol of him being my right hand in ruling over this place."
Ren had no appropriate reply, but his hand moved instinctively to the ring, as if studying its shape might reveal something more about it.