After leaving the village, Shinji headed north.
But he didn't actually go very far. He just crossed one mountain and sat down on a large boulder halfway up the slope, a few miles away.
From here, he could look down on the entire village, could see that red torii gate.
If the angle was right, and the timing was right, he could also see… that figure in white robes and red hakama.
Of course, now she had gone back into the shrine hall. He couldn't see her anymore.
Shinji leaned against the rock and closed his eyes.
But the image from earlier still lingered in his mind.
Even though he'd almost been turned into a pincushion, he had to admit, Kikyō herself was even more beautiful than in the anime.
The gap between 2D and 3D was just that direct.
"I guess this counts as 2.5D? Since I'm a yokai now…"
He shook his head, trying to shake these scattered thoughts out of his mind.
Shinji reached into his robe and took out the Shikon Jewel.
The pale purple bead lay in his palm. Its glow was much dimmer than before, but still soft and mysterious.
Shinji looked at the system panel.
Sure enough...
[Shikon no Tama]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[Current Status: Awakening]
[Affection: Unlocked]
[Current Affection: 0 (Stranger)]
His eyes lit up.
Success!
Getting close to Kikyō really worked!
But before he could celebrate, he saw the additional prompt below the panel.
[Please choose an unlocking direction:]
[Option One: Purify one demon. Unlocks the 'Righteous Spirit' affection route.]
[Option Two: Generate negative emotions in one human. Unlocks the 'Corrupted Spirit' affection route.]
[Note: The two routes are mutually exclusive. Once chosen, cannot be changed.]
Shinji stared at these two lines for several seconds.
Righteous Spirit? Corrupted Spirit?
He naturally hadn't forgotten the lore from the original work. He hadn't forgotten that the Shikon Jewel, formed from the souls of the strongest Miko, Midoriko, and several hundred powerful yokai after they perished together centuries ago, was itself composed of four souls – Aramitama, Nigitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama.
These four souls represented the four virtues: courage, amity, wisdom, and love.
But at the same time, the jewel also sealed the resentment of yokai.
That was also four souls.
Cowardice, estrangement, ignorance, indifference.
Good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, these two forces eternally confronted each other within the jewel.
If the holder's heart inclined towards good, the jewel would lean towards 'Righteous Spirit', unleashing its purifying power.
If the holder's heart inclined towards evil, the jewel would lean towards 'Corrupted Spirit', amplifying demonic power.
This was the essence of the Shikon Jewel,
Like a mirror, reflecting the true nature of the holder's heart.
"So this system… is asking me to choose a side?"
Shinji looked at the panel, lost in thought.
Option one, purify demons, take the Righteous Spirit route.
That meant he would increase affection by exterminating yokai.
Sounded a bit strange, since he himself was a yokai. Using a yokai's identity to purify his own kind… well, that was normal.
But even though he'd been killing yokai all along, pure killing didn't represent purification. After all, yokai corpses still pollute the surroundings. Purification would clearly require cleaning up the remaining corpses as well, not leaving pollution for the world that, he couldn't do.
Option two, generate negative emotions in humans, take the Corrupted Spirit route.
That meant he would increase affection through evil deeds.
Killing people, harming people, making people suffer and fear.
This option sounded more in line with a yokai's nature.
But…
Shinji frowned.
At his core, he was still human.
A person from the modern world who had transmigrated, with basic moral values.
He could kill, but it was for survival and self-defense. It wasn't ultimately his preference.
Making him harm people for no reason, he didn't want to do that.
And -
"Wait."
A thought suddenly struck him.
The system had just said 'generate negative emotions in one human'.
Not 'kill one human'.
Just make someone produce negative emotions?
Then that glance he'd just given Kikyō, did that count as making her produce negative emotions?
After all, being looked at by a yokai with that kind of strange gaze, anyone would feel uncomfortable, right?
He tried using this logic to trigger option two.
The system didn't respond.
The Shikon Jewel didn't respond either.
"…Guess not."
Shinji sighed.
Of course it wasn't that simple.
What the system meant by 'negative emotions' probably referred to something stronger.
Fear, anger, despair, that kind of thing.
That level of emotional fluctuation was needed for the Shikon Jewel to sense it.
"So it's still just a binary choice, huh…"
He looked down at the bead in his hand.
The pale purple light flowed between his fingers, as if it were alive.
[Shikon no Tama indicates it is waiting for your choice.]
[It conveys a vague message to you: 'No matter which path you choose, I will walk it with you.']
Shinji was momentarily stunned.
This prompt…
Was a bit off.
The messages from Muramasa before had been very straightforward, like 'want to eat', 'bring me another dozen', that kind of thing.
"You don't actually talk yourself, do you?"
Shinji asked the bead. In the original work, the Shikon Jewel did seem to have a consciousness, but that consciousness was usually chaotic and full of temptation. It wouldn't talk normally.
The Shikon Jewel didn't respond.
It just lay quietly in his palm, its glow still soft.
Shinji shook his head.
Whatever.
The most important thing now was making a choice.
Righteous Spirit or Corrupted Spirit.
Purify or generate.
Good or evil.
"…There's really no need to choose."
He thought to himself.
Ever since he transmigrated, he'd been doing one thing –
Killing yokai.
Using yokai blood to feed his weapons, increase affection, gain abilities.
This was already his way of surviving.
If he took the Righteous Spirit route, he just needed to keep doing what he'd been doing all along.
No need to change anything at all.
And the Corrupted Spirit route… even setting aside whether he could do it, just thinking about the conditions gave him a headache.
Which human would he target?
How would he create negative emotions?
What if he got targeted by an exorcist?
Too much trouble.
"So the answer's obvious."
Shinji tucked the Shikon Jewel back into his robe.
He'd made his decision.
Take the Righteous Spirit route.
Keep killing yokai, and 'purify' them.
It wasn't like he lacked opportunities to kill yokai anyway. As long as the Shikon Jewel was on him, it would keep attracting yokai from all sides and as for purification…
Boom——!
The thought barely settled when a huge crash came from the foot of the mountain.
Shinji snapped his head up, looking towards the village.
There, smoke was rising.
Demonic energy overflowed.
And countless figures were surging towards that small village from every direction.
Demons attacking.
This kind of scene was commonplace in this era.
For Shinji, who had already spent three months here, it wasn't unfamiliar either.
This really was…
"Perfect timing!"
Shinji stood up, his hand on the hilt of his blade.
[Cursed Blade Muramasa: Mood changed to 'Hyper'. It conveys a message to you: 'Dinner is here']