Chapter 165: Kingyo
"Perhaps it happened even earlier."
Gin Tsumugi studied the bronze sphere in his hand. Contemplation and a faint trace of nostalgia surfaced in his eyes.
"It is possible that Kingyo's method of inheritance was already lost by the end of the Heian Period a thousand years ago."
"Otherwise, the Onmyōryō would never have declined into what it became, much less reached the point where even its final glimmer of light was on the verge of disappearing."
Kurahashi Miyoshi, Amami Daizen, and Otomo Jin fell silent.
Gin's words sounded less like a simple explanation and more like a lament carried across a thousand years.
The predecessors of the Onmyōryō had forged a path, established its glory, and left behind an inheritance meant to endure. Yet those who followed had failed to preserve it.
Gin did not continue explaining Kingyo's function.
Instead, he drew a talisman from his robes and pressed it against the bronze sphere.
Then he began chanting an ancient incantation.
"Nirīhāna, hūṃ, dhṛtsinīna. Bhayamāna. Svāhā, nirīhāna, bhaya, hūṃ, anaya..."
"Oṃ, śūrimari, mamamari mari..."
"Siddhigala, rāyakuyā, samamama śrī..."
The incantation was long and exceedingly obscure. Even the three experienced Onmyoji beside him could not understand its structure or origin.
When the final syllable fell, Kingyo floated out of Gin's palm.
He immediately began forming hand seals.
Click.
Click.
The bronze sphere resembled an intricate puzzle made from dozens of interlocking sections. As Gin's fingers moved through one seal after another, those sections began rotating independently.
Rows of Sanskrit characters shifted into new positions.
The artifact that had remained dormant for a thousand years was awakening.
"Open."
At Gin's command, Kingyo came apart.
Its individual bronze pieces separated in midair and spread outward in concentric rings, surrounding everyone within the warehouse.
Kurahashi Miyoshi's gaze sharpened.
"Those are... names?"
The outer faces of the bronze pieces were engraved with Sanskrit characters.
Their reverse sides, now exposed, bore names.
Many of them were immediately recognizable.
Kamo no Tadayuki.
Kamo no Yasunori.
Minamoto no Hiromasa.
Abe no Yoshihira.
Every one of them was a famous figure in the history of Onmyōdō.
"Lord Seimei, is this the inheritance you mentioned?"
Kurahashi Miyoshi stared at the names floating around them.
"Does Kingyo contain the Onmyōdō insights left behind by these predecessors, similar to the Senji Ryakketsu you wrote a thousand years ago?"
It was a reasonable conclusion.
Gin had described Kingyo as an inheritance treasure, and the artifact now displayed the names of legendary Onmyoji from the Heian Period.
Amami Daizen and Otomo Jin clearly shared her speculation.
"If it were that simple, Kingyo would not qualify as one of the Onmyōryō's foundational treasures."
Gin shook his head.
Simple?
The Senji Ryakketsu contained a vast collection of insights, techniques, and understandings related to Onmyōdō.
It was precisely because that work had survived that modern Onmyōdō had not declined even further. Without it, the current number of National Level Onmyoji might have been reduced by at least a quarter.
Yet Gin had dismissed such an inheritance as simple.
Amami Daizen and Otomo Jin exchanged thoughtful glances.
Then they remembered the true purpose for which the Senji Ryakketsu had originally been created.
Perhaps to the Onmyōryō at its peak, and to the man standing before them, written records of theories and personal insights were never considered a complete inheritance.
The Onmyoji of a thousand years ago understood Onmyōdō very differently from those of the modern era.
Naturally, their methods of passing it down would also be different.
Gin raised his index finger and lightly touched one of the floating bronze pieces.
The name engraved upon its reverse side was Kamo no Tadayuki.
He was a descendant of En no Ozunu, the legendary founder of Shugendō, and one of the most renowned Onmyoji in history.
More importantly, he had been Abe no Seimei's teacher.
Abundant spiritual power flowed from Gin's fingertip into the bronze piece.
The engraved name seemed to awaken.
A pale radiance spread across its surface.
Whoosh!
Spiritual light gathered before them.
A human silhouette emerged from the void, gradually gaining color and substance.
A middle-aged man appeared within the warehouse.
He wore an ancient white kariginu in the style of a Heian Period Onmyoji. His bearing was calm and dignified, and the spiritual presence surrounding him felt neither hollow nor lifeless.
It was as though he had crossed a thousand years to stand in the present age.
"This is... Kamo no Tadayuki?"
Amami Daizen's eyes widened.
The man's appearance perfectly matched the portraits passed down from the Heian Period.
"Is he merely a recorded phantom?"
Kurahashi Miyoshi watched the figure intently.
"Or is this something more?"
Otomo Jin said nothing, but his expression had become equally grave.
If the figure before them was only an illusion stored within Kingyo, the artifact would already be astonishing.
But if it possessed awareness...
Then Kingyo's return would cause an upheaval throughout modern Onmyōdō.
After all, Kamo no Tadayuki was far from the only name engraved upon its pieces.
"Such familiar spiritual power."
The middle-aged man spoke.
His voice immediately confirmed the possibility forming in their minds.
Kurahashi Miyoshi, Amami Daizen, and Otomo Jin looked at one another in shock.
This was no simple image.
The figure possessed thought, memory, and awareness.
Kamo no Tadayuki's gaze passed over the three strangers before settling upon Gin.
Recognition appeared in his eyes, followed by an easy smile.
"Seimei."
"So it was you who awakened my Soul Imprint again."
He glanced around curiously.
"Has something happened to the Onmyōryō?"
"Or have you and that troublesome fellow Yasunori devised another absurd plan you dare not tell me about, so you came to test my reaction first?"
Gin looked at the teacher he remembered.
For a moment, the warehouse, the present era, and the thousand years separating them all seemed to fade.
A surge of emotion rose from somewhere beyond his conscious control.
His eyes reddened slightly.
Kamo no Tadayuki's smile vanished.
"What is wrong?"
His expression immediately became serious.
"Did something happen? Has the Imperial Court caused trouble for you again?"
A dangerous chill flashed in his eyes at the mention of the Imperial Court.
Then he noticed the subtle disharmony in Gin's aura.
His gaze shifted toward Kurahashi Miyoshi, Amami Daizen, and Otomo Jin.
After a brief silence, understanding dawned on his face.
"I see."
His voice softened.
"The future must have become terribly difficult if even you were forced to reincarnate."
He looked at Gin again.
"What era is this?"
Gin forcibly suppressed the emotions surging within him.
"It has been a thousand years, Teacher."
"A full millennium has passed since your time."
"A thousand years..."
Kamo no Tadayuki repeated the words quietly.
Melancholy entered his expression.
He raised his head and looked at the bronze pieces floating around them, each bearing a familiar name.
"Our Kingyo was never properly inherited, was it?"
"The names are still the same."
"No later Onmyoji received what we left behind, and none qualified to add their own Soul Imprint to it."
His eyes returned to Gin.
"Tell me about the Onmyōdō of this era."
Gin lowered his head slightly.
"Yes, Teacher."
Within the forgotten warehouse of the Onmyō Academy, Gin began recounting the thousand years that had passed.
He spoke of the decline of Onmyōdō.
The fragmentation of the Onmyōryō.
And the final, fading glimmer of the institution they had once built together.
....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03].