A millennium ago, Abe no Yoshihira was born as the son of Abe no Seimei, raised under his father's meticulous guidance.
As a son, Yoshihira was exceptional, inheriting Seimei's prodigious talent.
Though he didn't surpass his father, in the eyes of outsiders, he was undeniably Seimei's heir.
A formidable onmyoji in his own right.
To Yoshihira, his father, Abe no Seimei, was the pinnacle of onmyoji—near omnipotent.
He was also a gentle figure, treating nobles and commoners alike with grace, never losing his temper.
Yoshihira had never once seen his father angry.
Such a radiant father should have shone forever, enduring through the ages.
Yet, he perished in a great upheaval.
This left Yoshihira devastated.
The one responsible for this chaos was none other than one of Japan's three legendary yokai.
The white-faced, golden-furred, nine-tailed fox, Tamamo-no-Mae.
This wretched fox transformed into a breathtaking beauty, infiltrating the imperial palace. Favored by the emperor, she relentlessly targeted Abe no Seimei, attempting to kill him.
But Seimei thwarted every attack.
Then, turning the tables, Seimei exposed Tamamo-no-Mae's true identity before an audience and moved to eliminate her.
No one could have predicted that Tamamo-no-Mae had siphoned the emperor's power, gaining the approval of the Three Sacred Treasures.
Japan's Three Sacred Treasures are the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Yasakani-no-Magatama, and the Yata-no-Kagami.
The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, also known as the Grass-Cutting Sword, is one of the three divine artifacts passed down since the age of the gods, said to have emerged from the tail of the Yamata-no-Orochi when Susanoo slew the serpent.
The Yasakani-no-Magatama houses the power of gods.
The Yata-no-Kagami, a powerful defensive treasure, renders its wearer impervious to evil.
Yet now, these three treasures had fallen into Tamamo-no-Mae's grasp, unleashing unprecedented power.
Empowered by the Sacred Treasures, Tamamo-no-Mae's strength soared to unimaginable heights, rivaling the Yamata-no-Orochi of old.
Even Abe no Seimei was overwhelmed, driven to the brink of defeat.
In the end, to save Japan, Seimei burned his power and soul, perishing alongside Tamamo-no-Mae.
Yoshihira couldn't believe his radiant father was gone.
He refused to accept it.
Thus, after Seimei's death, an obsession took root.
He would resurrect his father.
Yoshihira gathered fragments of Seimei's soul, nurturing them carefully. But the remnants were too frail.
With his power, protecting them was nearly impossible.
The soul continued to fade.
Then, Yoshihira devised a plan: nourish Seimei's soul with yokai energy.
As the son of a fox, Seimei was half-human, half-yokai, with yokai energy in his veins. Using it to sustain his soul wasn't unthinkable.
And indeed, Yoshihira's hypothesis proved correct. Under the nourishment of yokai energy, Seimei's soul ceased to deteriorate.
But it didn't grow stronger either.
To strengthen and fully restore it, Seimei's soul required even more potent yokai energy.
Thus, Yoshihira embarked on a quest to collect yokai, subduing one after another, using them as fuel for Seimei's soul.
He wasn't alone—his descendants in the Abe clan were given the same directive.
Naturally, this provoked retaliation from the yokai.
The Abe clan found themselves besieged.
Taking on all of Japan's yokai single-handedly was too much.
To prevent the clan's annihilation, Yoshihira had no choice but to divide it.
The Abe clan split in two.
The white-robed branch retained the Abe name, while the black-robed branch became the Gomon'in.
The two factions faded into the shadows of history, secretly hunting yokai to revive their ancestor.
Though they no longer stood in the spotlight, their strength was undeniable.
After all, they were Seimei's descendants.
During his life, Seimei had performed the Taizan Fukun Festival, granting eternal life to the clan's successive heads.
Over a thousand years, both factions grew immensely powerful.
The Abe clan didn't entirely withdraw from history.
As mentioned, only the heads of the clan gained immortality.
What of those who couldn't?
Yoshihira sent them out to remain active in history, but no longer under the Abe or Gomon'in names.
They adopted a new surname.
Tsuchimikado.
Though this family lacked immortals, it thrived, producing many brilliant talents.
Among them was Tsuchimikado Yakou.
His strength and talent rivaled even Seimei's.
Yoshihira was so impressed he considered bringing Yakou into the main Abe clan, granting him the Abe name and the position of head, along with immortality.
Unfortunately, Yakou was too brilliant—and too arrogant.
He believed he could achieve immortality without joining the Abe clan, by reenacting the Taizan Fukun Festival himself.
But he underestimated the ritual.
A small error occurred during the process.
It neither fully succeeded nor failed.
Instead, it granted Yakou the chance to reincarnate.
Yoshihira found this regrettable but not disheartening, as Yakou's reincarnation was successful.
He looked forward to what Yakou might achieve in his next life, perhaps surpassing his past self.
But that's beside the point.
In short, to resurrect Seimei, Yoshihira tried many methods.
Capturing yokai was the most critical.
Since the clan's division, both the Abe and Gomon'in branches operated in secret.
Through their efforts, Seimei's soul grew from a mere fragment, though it never regained consciousness.
Thus, they pressed on, capturing more yokai to nourish it.
Time marched on to the Sengoku period.
It was then that the origins of the Dark Tournament emerged.
A group of yokai held battles before the tomb of a so-called Goddess of Wisdom, catching the attention of a wandering Gomon'in head.
He noticed these yokai gathered annually to fight, including some powerful ones, and an idea sparked.
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Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
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