"Why..." Kokushibo sobbed, his voice breaking into a miserable wail. "Why did you have to be so kind? Why did you have to be so strong?"
He wept bitterly under the blood moon, mourning the brother he had hated, envied, and secretly loved.
Far away from the dirt road, far away from the crying demon and the world of the living, Yoriichi's soul opened its eyes.
There was no light here. There was no ground to stand on, and no sky to look at. It was an endless, velvety black Void. It was quiet, peaceful, and completely empty.
Yoriichi realized he was floating. He looked down at his hands. They were no longer the wrinkled, weak hands of an old man. They were semi-transparent and glowing slightly, but they felt young and strong again. He had no sword. He had no physical body. He was just pure spirit.
So, this is what happens after death, he thought.
He didn't feel scared. He just felt very tired. His entire life had been a series of tragic events. He remembered the thrill of his adventures—hunting powerful demons through dark forests, jumping across rooftops under the moonlight, saving terrified villagers from becoming food. He remembered the intense, high-speed battles where his blade clashed with demonic claws, sparks flying in the night.
But he also remembered his failures. He remembered the face of his beautiful wife, Uta, smiling at him before she was taken away. He remembered the terrifying aura of Muzan, the Demon King, and the bitter regret of letting him escape.
Suddenly, the dark Void around him began to shift.
It was as if the Void itself was a giant, invisible river, and Yoriichi was caught in the current. He started to drift forward, floating deeper into the endless darkness.
As he drifted, something strange began to happen.
A memory of his wife, Uta, played out in front of him like a floating picture. He reached out to touch her smiling face, but as his ghostly fingers brushed the image, it shattered like glass. The pieces turned into glowing dust and floated away into the dark.
Yoriichi blinked. He tried to remember the sound of her voice, but it was gone. He tried to remember the color of her kimono, but his mind drew a blank.
My memories... they are erasing, he realized.
Another picture appeared. It was the memory of his intense battle with the Demon King. He remembered the thrill of the fight, the way his heart pounded, the heat of his Sun Breathing. But just like the first one, this picture cracked and shattered into dust. The feeling of the battle faded away. The hatred he held for demons dissolved into nothingness.
He watched as his memories of his friends, his battles, and his regrets were slowly pulled out of his spirit. They were being washed away by the current of the Void, preparing his soul for a blank slate.
Yoriichi floated quietly. He could have panicked. A normal soul would have screamed and fought to hold onto their past. But Yoriichi just let out a soft, peaceful sigh.
Maybe this is the path to Heaven, he thought to himself. Or maybe it is the road to Hell. I killed many creatures in my life. I failed to protect the ones I loved. Whatever place is waiting for me at the end of this dark river, I will accept it.
He completely relaxed his spirit. He stopped trying to hold onto the past. He embraced the peaceful emptiness of the Void.
"No matter what comes next," he whispered to the silence, "I will be prepared."
One by one, the remaining pieces of his life vanished. The image of his brother's crying face faded. The memory of his own name slipped away from his grasp. The knowledge of who he was, where he came from, and what he had done completely scattered into the void.
Soon, there was nothing left but a pure, clean soul. All the human thoughts were gone.
However, deep inside the center of his spirit, one single thing refused to be erased. It wasn't a memory, and it wasn't a thought. It was an instinct. It was the warm, burning sensation of the Sun. The breathing technique that was carved so deeply into his soul that not even death could wash it away.
The Void river carried his blank soul faster and faster through the darkness.
Far in the distance, a small speck of light appeared. It wasn't the white light of Heaven, nor the red fire of Hell. It was a strange, mystical energy.
As Yoriichi's soul was sucked toward the light, he felt the presence of a new world. A world filled with ancient magic, flying swords, and a constant war between humans and demons.
His soul drifted out of the Void and entered a warm, comforting darkness. It felt like being wrapped in a soft blanket.
In a hidden cavern in a world he did not yet know, a powerful celestial beast lay sleeping. Deep inside her womb, a new spark of life ignited.
A new heartbeat began.
The Sun was ready to rise again.