Morpheus, observing Raikou's confusion, spoke calmly. "There's nothing strange about it. Abe no Seimei becoming a Heroic Spirit is perfectly normal."
"Because he's already dead."
"The Nue you see is merely a fragment of his soul, painstakingly retrieved by Yoshihira."
"Over a millennium, it was nurtured into what it is now."
"In simple terms, someone used his remnant soul to create a new Abe no Seimei."
"That's all there is to it."
Seimei smiled faintly. "A fitting explanation."
Raikou's eyes widened in realization.
Yoshihira slumped, devastated. After a thousand years of effort, he'd revived not his true father but a copy. The blow was crushing.
"I'm sorry, Father, I…"
"Chin up, Yoshihira."
Seimei cut him off, smacking his son's head with his fan. "What father would blame a son who tried so hard to save him?"
"No need to apologize, Yoshihira."
"Let your father clean up the mess you've made."
He turned, his androgynous, breathtaking face taking on a cold edge. "Raikou, may I handle this imposter?"
"Of course, Seimei-dono."
With the true Seimei present, Raikou had no intention of overstepping. She stepped back decisively, letting him take the stage.
"Sorry for the wait, my other self," Seimei said.
He didn't deny that Nue was a counterfeit, as it was indeed a fragment of his soul grown into something new.
In a sense, it was him.
Both Seimei and Nue understood this.
They were two sides of the same coin.
Seimei represented humanity.
Nue embodied the yokai.
"I never imagined I'd face myself in the end," Nue said, expressionless. "But it's not a bad turn of events. Come at me, my other self."
"Domain Expansion: Thousand-Year Heian-kyo."
Seimei opened with his Domain Expansion, distinct from Nue's. Instead of Senji Ryakketsu, it was Thousand-Year Heian-kyo.
Though both were Seimei, their different paths led to different domains.
As the domain unfolded, an ancient, vibrant Heian-kyo materialized before the crowd.
Unlike the shrunken Heian-kyo within the barrier, this was the authentic city from a thousand years ago.
It wasn't a hollow shell—humans and yokai moved within it.
Morpheus saw clearly: these weren't real beings.
They were projections.
A recreation of Heian-kyo from a millennium past.
"What a nostalgic sight," Nue said with a hint of wistfulness, gazing at Seimei's domain. He raised a hand. "But I've grown tired of this view. Be destroyed."
Stars plummeted from the sky, radiating destructive force, as if to obliterate the ancient city.
Seimei waved his fan, speaking softly. "Revive, Heian-kyo."
In an instant, a volcanic surge of power erupted from the city.
Radiant as the sun, it shot skyward, shattering the falling stars and tearing Nue's domain to shreds.
The starry sky above vanished.
Seimei's domain faded as well—not from inability to maintain it, but because he'd unleashed its full power to crush his counterpart's.
The destruction of his domain left Nue reeling, his face paling from the backlash.
Yet he retained the strength to fight, forming seals to engage Seimei in a battle of Onmyodo.
Seimei met him head-on.
Both masters of Onmyodo, their clash rivaled the spectacle of Evangeline and Medea's earlier duel.
It was, if anything, even more breathtaking.
Hundreds of fiery shikigami summoned by Seimei were doused by a torrential rain conjured by Nue.
Nue summoned a phoenix; Seimei countered with an azure dragon.
Not true phoenix or dragon, but puppets crafted from magic.
Even so, their destructive power was immense.
The battle captivated the audience, leaving many entranced.
Such a high-level duel was rare.
The greatest beneficiaries were Yoshihira and Satoru Gojo.
Yoshihira, Seimei's son, had inherited his father's skills. Watching two versions of his father fight without restraint validated his own knowledge, yielding immense insight.
As for Gojo, a sorcerer descended from Onmyoji, he was no stranger to their arts. His Six Eyes granted him 360-degree vision and the ability to see through techniques, tracking cursed energy with precision for fine control.
The duel was like two masters imparting their knowledge to him.
Gojo's mastery of Onmyodo surged, surpassing most Onmyoji.
He was, by far, the greatest beneficiary—outstripping even Yoshihira.
Gojo could now claim to be Seimei's successor, a claim even Seimei couldn't refute.
Others gained less. Martial artists, unfamiliar with Onmyodo, could only watch the spectacle without grasping its depth.
To the uninitiated, it was just a show.
Boom!
A muffled explosion marked the duel's conclusion.
Seimei broke through Nue's defenses, summoning a firebird that pierced Nue's heart. The flames at the wound burned his soul visibly.
In the end, Nue was reduced to ash.
Before vanishing, Nue spat with bitter resentment, "If not for him, you couldn't have defeated me."
Seimei nodded. "Indeed. Without that lord's aid, I wouldn't have won."
The crowd was baffled.
What did he mean?
Why had Nue said that?
And who was the "lord" Seimei spoke of? Why couldn't they make sense of it?
***
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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