Spptppprt!
The star-like lightning hound violently flared; it self-detonated with a blinding blue crackle that blasted a jagged hole clean through the barrier. Within that razor-thin window of opportunity, Yorimitsu leapt through the smoke, crossing the threshold into the adjacent chamber only to find himself standing precisely back inside the pristine, untouched hall where he had first started.
The space was completely identical. The walls were immaculate, the tatami mats unstained. It was as if the previous fight hadn't happened at all. Sitting calmly in the centre of the quiet room beside a low wooden table was Orochi, who was leisurely sipping a shallow dish of sake.
"They were breathtakingly beautiful women, all five of them," Orochi spoke smoothly, setting down the porcelain dish as he rose to his feet. He began to slowly pace the perimeter of the room, his long, layered robes trailing behind him. "And each one of them possessed a distinct aspect of... her."
He paused, a dark, mocking chuckle vibrating in his throat.
"Hehehe... but you see, that story is a complete lie as well. There were already other inhabitants wandering the void during that primordial age. Though they differed slightly from the first creations that descended from Amaterasu... they walked this world long before we... long before they ever came to be."
The moment those heavy words left his lips, the entire fabric of the space began to shake uncontrollably. The walls groaned under a sudden, staggering pressure, their jade-embedded surfaces cracking wildly.
"We?!" Yorimitsu instantly caught the slip, his grip tightening on Dōjigiri.
Orochi merely smiled. With a sudden, aggressive motion, he swept his open hand downward, a gesture identical to the spatial-tearing technique the pink-haired Tennin daughter had utilised earlier.
CRACK.
A deafening sound of shattering glass rang through the air. The massive, sky-scraping pavilion instantly gave way, folding and collapsing inward upon its own foundations like a house of sand.
"Sun of Winter! Show me the absolute pinnacle of your strength!" Orochi roared, his casual amusement instantly giving way to a terrifying, cold fury. "How much longer do you intend to play these pathetic games with me?!"
Before the debris of the ceiling could even touch the floor, Orochi materialised directly inside Yorimitsu's guard. His pale, iron-like hand snapped forward, clamping violently around Yorimitsu's throat. Orochi hoisted him off his feet and hurled both of them straight through the collapsing walls, dragging the fight out into the open sky of the ruined Sanctuary.
"Heeeee..."
Even as they plummeted from a staggering height through the fractured sky, a fierce, wild smile broke across Yorimitsu's face. In the span of a single heartbeat, his solid flesh dissolved into a fluid wreath of dark smoke, effortlessly slipping right through Orochi's iron grip.
An instant later, he rematerialized high above the demon. The intricate, sacred tattoos branded onto his skin fluttered upward like living shadows, aggressively spreading past his wrists and wrapping tightly around the hilt of his weapon.
Yorimitsu hoisted the blade high above his shoulders with both hands.
"Kakuen (Oblivion)," he whispered.
The roaring crimson fire of Dōjigiri instantly curdled, turning into a pitch-black, light-consuming flame. The dark energy violently extended the steel into a colossal, sky-cleaving phantom blade that came crashing down directly toward Orochi's skull.
Orochi's wide white smile only stretched further. Extending his bare hand forward, he intercepted the massive trajectory. Though he couldn't stop the sheer force, he masterfully deflected the path, guiding the black blade out to his side. The deflected strike sliced so deep into the bedrock of the Sanctuary Island that the very earth groaned, and a torrential geyser of pressurised water began to spew violently from the deep fissure beneath them. As Orochi touched down upon the ruined earth, the roaring fountain of water unnaturally bent, swirling upward to catch him safely like a liquid throne.
"Yes... that is it! I need more!" Orochi laughed, his voice echoing over the roar of the geyser. "Show me the absolute depths of that power, boy!"
He was in full view now. He possessed long, flowing black hair that whipped wildly in the wind, and he wore an elegant, sweeping azure robe. Yet, his face remained completely obscured by a seamless black mask that revealed nothing but his moving lips and teeth.
Standing amidst the rushing waters, Orochi whispered an ancient incantation then.
RUUUUUUUMBLE!
Far to the east of the Sanctuary, the sky fractured. A colossal, monolithic Shrine tore through the earth, rising rapidly toward the clouds. The entire structure was tightly bound and restricted by massive, rusted iron chains that groaned under the tension.
"The first seal falls," Orochi spoke smoothly.
He reached down, casually plucking a stray fragment of polished green jade that had broken off from the pavilion during Yorimitsu's earlier descent. Bringing the stone to his mouth, he blew a gentle stream of spiritual breath onto the mineral. The jade instantly elongated, sharpening and morphing into a pristine, crystalline sword.
"Remember, brat…" the voice of his old master rang. "Those who indulge themselves in the five emotions are very dangerous."
Thud!
Yorimitsu's sandals hit the pulverised earth, the black flame of his weapon rapidly dissipating as the blade retracted back to its usual, silver-gleaming size.
'I have been continuously gauging his strength, but it seems he hasn't even deployed anything substantial yet,' he thought, his eyes drawn instinctively to the colossal, chained monolithic structure that had just shattered the horizon. And that shrine... I am getting a thoroughly wretched feeling from its presence.'
Just then, the hilt of Dōjigiri began to violently vibrate against his palms.
"Mmmm... I can feel it too, ha." Yorimitsu murmured to his sword, his sharp glare locking onto the figure standing amidst the rushing geyser waters. He raised his voice, shouting over the wind, "You were telling me a story the first People."
"Ohhh, right... I was, wasn't I?" Orochi replied pleasantly, twirling the newly formed jade sword between his pale fingers. "Those primordial sisters observed one another through the eras. They grew in power until one fateful day, they too met their ultimate demise when they waged a war against the others. And from their spilt blood, the second people were born. Yet, as the aeons rolled by, that original, bloodline diluted... it thinned, and thinned, and thinned even further into the pathetic, fragile fluid that only appears in some today."
Prrrrrrrrr!
The three remaining lightning hounds shot out, lunging from the shadows in a coordinated, silent ambush against Orochi's blind spot.
Yet, moments before their jaws could make contact, the spectral beasts abruptly froze dead in mid-charge, completely paralysed by an invisible grip. In that frozen heartbeat, Orochi's shadow violently detached itself from his boots, splitting into three humanoid entities, each with an obsidian spear that impaled the hounds simultaneously. The lightning constructs shattered into useless sparks, and the shadow fluidly snapped back to rest beneath its master.
"What I am accomplishing here on this island is merely a grand restoration," Orochi continued smoothly, his mouth twisting into a wide, fanatical smile behind his black mask. "I am reclaiming that diluted blood and purifying it back to its absolute origin. Now that I finally possess the perfect vessels for the four people, the ritual can finally begin."
"Tch... the bastard truly loves the sound of his own voice, doesn't he?" Yorimitsu muttered to himself, dropping into a low, aggressive stance as his blade ignited once more.