Kikyo stepped forward toward the cave entrance,only to stop abruptly.
"There's… a barrier here."
A faint ripple shimmered in the air before her, subtle yet unmistakable.
"Yes," the Demon Slayer leader confirmed. "A powerful barrier prevents anyone from entering."
Myoga, perched on Kikyo's shoulder, leaned forward curiously. "Is there a chant or inherited incantation required to dispel it?"
"No," the leader shook his head. "There is no incantation."
He paused.
"This place is, in truth… a tomb."
"A tomb?!" Myoga blurted in shock.
"Yes. The one who created the Shikon Jewel did not wish for others to approach this place. However…" He looked at Kikyo. "Miss Kikyo, you should be able to pass."
Kikyo stepped forward again.
This time, she walked through the barrier as if passing through mist.
But Myoga,
"GYAAH!"
The flea demon was violently repelled, sent flying backward before landing unceremoniously on the ground.
"Why me?!" he cried indignantly, scrambling upright.
The Demon Slayer leader calmly explained, "The barrier does not obstruct those who possess pure intentions,those without greed or selfish desire for the Shikon Jewel."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and passed through effortlessly.
Kagetsu watched silently.
Pure intentions?
He had no particular attachment to the people of this era. Nor could he claim unblemished compassion.
Still, there was no harm in testing it.
He stepped forward.
To his mild surprise, the barrier did not resist him in the slightest.
He entered without obstruction.
Strange… but not worth overthinking.
He followed behind the leader and Kikyo as they descended into the limestone cave.
The air inside was damp and cold.
Aside from their footsteps, only the steady echo of dripping water broke the silence.
Drip… drip…
The cave floor was strewn with the remains of youkai. Old bones cracked underfoot with brittle snaps.
The deeper they ventured, the older the corpses appeared,some so ancient they had nearly fused with the stone itself.
Finally, they reached the innermost chamber.
A shaft of pale light pierced through a crack in the cave ceiling, illuminating a scene that stole even Kikyo's breath.
Before them rose a grotesque mountain of corpses.
Countless massive youkai,entwined, devouring one another even in death,formed a towering mound of flesh and bone.
And at its peak,
A woman in armor.
Only her upper body remained visible. Her lower half was swallowed and fused into the writhing mass of youkai remains.
Time had encased everything in thick layers of calcified stone and stalactite formations, turning the scene into something like a petrified monument to an ancient war.
Kagetsu's gaze sharpened.
Tsuiko.
The priestess who created the Shikon Jewel.
The Demon Slayer leader's voice echoed solemnly in the cavern.
"These are the remnants of a battle waged long ago. Oni. Dragons. Tsuchigumo. Countless powerful youkai united for a single purpose."
"To kill one human."
Kikyo's eyes remained fixed on the armored figure.
"That woman… the one devoured by the youkai?"
"Yes," the leader nodded. "A priestess from hundreds of years ago. The creator of the Shikon Jewel."
He continued slowly.
"In that era, the nobility ruled, and war and famine ravaged the land. Corpses lay unburied. Youkai fed upon them and multiplied."
"Monks, warriors, and exorcists fought constantly. Among them, one priestess stood above all others."
"Tsuiko possessed the ability to extract and purify the souls of youkai. She was the greatest exorcist of her time."
Kikyo's expression shifted slightly.
"A technique that extracts and purifies souls… Is that connected to the Four Souls?"
Seeing Kagetsu's faint curiosity, Kikyo explained softly:
"Legend says all things in this world,humans, animals, trees, even stones,are composed of four souls."
"Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama."
"When united within a body, they form the heart."
"Aramitama governs courage. Nigimitama governs compassion and familial love. Kushimitama governs wisdom. Sakimitama governs love and harmony."
Her eyes deepened.
"When the Four Souls incline toward righteousness, they become divine spirits. When they incline toward darkness, they become malevolent spirits."
"That duality… is the very nature of the Shikon Jewel."
The Demon Slayer leader nodded.
"To the youkai of that era, Tsuiko was a nightmare. She could strip them of their souls, robbing them of power."
"So they united against her," Kagetsu said calmly.
"Yes."
The leader raised his hand and pointed toward a gaping hole in Tsuiko's chest.
"She fought for seven days and seven nights."
"In the end, her strength failed her. The youkai began devouring her alive."
Myoga, listening from outside the barrier, shuddered faintly.
"But," the leader continued, voice heavy with reverence, "with her final strength, she extracted the souls of every youkai present,along with her own."
"She fused them together… and expelled them from her body."
Kikyo's gaze shifted to the hollow cavity in Tsuiko's chest.
"That expelled mass… became the Shikon Jewel."
"Yes."
"As her power was spent, she lacked the strength to purify the souls she had drawn out."
"Her body perished. But within the Shikon Jewel… her soul and the souls of those youkai remain locked in eternal combat."
Silence fell.
Kikyo clasped her hands gently before her chest.
"What an extraordinary priestess…"
There was no envy in her voice.
Only respect.
After learning the truth, the three quietly exited the cave.
Myoga immediately sprang back onto Kikyo's shoulder the moment they stepped beyond the barrier.
"Well? Miss Kikyo? What did you discover? What is the secret of the Shikon Jewel?" he asked anxiously.
"Yes," Kikyo replied calmly. "We understand it now."
And she said no more.
She turned and began walking back toward the village.
The Demon Slayer leader followed beside her.
Myoga waited.
Surely she would elaborate.
Surely she would,
…Nothing.
He glanced at her expressionless profile.
Cold. Distant. Unreadable.
He swallowed.
Though curiosity burned within him, he ultimately did not dare ask again.