[Vol. 6] Chapter 259: Reversing Yin and Yang, Seizing Life and Death
The power of the zither's melody completely changed the battlefield, dealing an indiscriminate, high-level attack against all evil spirits across the entire continent. But this was not the full extent of [Bloodstained Horizon, Reversal of Yin and Yang].
There was a deeper reason why Violet chose to unleash this exclusive technique of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden at this exact moment.
The moment the strings were plucked, her consciousness soared into the heavens, or perhaps, sank deep into the earth. Guided by divine authority and the laws of the world, she arrived at a place that could not truly be called a world.
"So this is the true Underworld... the final destination where souls go after death. Or maybe ‘transit point’ would be more accurate?"
Floating in the sky of this dim, timeless realm, Violet glanced down at the winding river of emptiness beneath her feet, its waters flowing endlessly. Along its banks, countless blood-red flowers bloomed, their petals swaying in the eerie stillness.
She couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"This place feels... kind of creepy. There won’t be any ox-headed demons or ghostly wardens in black and white robes lurking around, right? That would be ridiculous."
Of course, nothing of the sort existed here.
For someone who had inherited all of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden's memories and experiences, Violet already knew the truth.
Still, it was her first time seeing this place from her own perspective as Violet. It was only natural to be curious. The Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden’s past was vast, and there was no way she could absorb every detail perfectly.
The Underworld was not a proper world, nor did it have a physical form. To be precise, it was somewhat similar to the "River of Time" that Violet had once traveled through in the Holy Empire, with the help of its three holy artifacts. It was a special realm, existing purely as a concept rather than an illusion or reality.
For this reason, no living being, no matter how powerful or skilled in space manipulation, could ever reach or interfere with this place.
The Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden was not the creator of the Underworld. She had simply been granted the authority to travel freely within it, manage its structure, and guide wandering souls.
As a result, she had established the Sea of Red Spider Lilies. A transitional resting place between life and death.
If one had to say, the true creator of the Underworld could only be the [Primordial Light]. The force that shaped the heavens and earth, giving meaning to all things.
In this purely void-like realm, there was no true concept of "life." Souls from various worlds would fall into the river upon death, carried by its currents until they returned to the cycle of existence. This was a fixed process, one that required no intervention and could not be disturbed.
But there was one exception.
The priestess descended gently from the sky, her feet landing on the edge of the Sea of Red Spider Lilies. The formless waters of the Sanzu River lapped against the shore in rhythmic waves, yet not a single drop touched the red and white robes of the girl standing there, as if it were nothing more than an illusion.
She waited.
For a long time.
Until, finally, a small boat drifted slowly from the far end of the river.
Although called a boat, it was actually closer to a skiff. It was no more than two or three meters long, looking like a raft simply pieced together from raw materials. It was flimsy and precarious, as if any moment a surging wave could completely capsize it.
And the only figure standing on this vessel was even more surreal. It was not human. It was not even a living being.
A simple, worn-out gray robe covered its form, loosely draped over a burning blue flame shaped vaguely like a head. Strands of fire-like hair cascaded down its back, yet strangely, they did not ignite the tattered fabric.
The hem of the robe extended unnaturally long, fusing seamlessly with the boat’s surface, as though its very existence was anchored to the vessel. Something indescribable filled the robe, creating the vague outline of a body, but its true form remained impossible to discern.
The unfathomable entity rowed the shuttle closer to the shore, but it did not step off.
It simply stood there, its hollow eye sockets, made entirely of flickering blue flames, locking onto the white fox-masked girl standing on the riverbank. Faint reflections of light danced within its empty gaze.
It showed no surprise at her presence.
Violet, on the other hand, simply tilted her head slightly, offering a small, amused smile as she greeted it.
"Long time no see, Ferryman."
[...It's 1043, if you use the calendar of your world.]
The entity called the Ferryman clearly did not have a mouth, but its solemn and heavy will was conveyed through the air, simpler and more direct than words.
"Oh, I thought you wouldn't care much about the concept of time~"
[......]
With a cheerful joke, not minding the other's silence, the priestess spoke casually, as if meeting an old friend again.
"Mm... Looks like you're doing well, you seem healthy."
[My duty is to guide the souls of the dead. What does it matter whether I’m doing well or not?]
"You can't say it like that! If it were me, being in the same place, doing the same thing for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, I'd probably get suffocated with boredom. And if I didn't even have anyone to talk to, that would just make it worse."
Hearing her playful teasing, the Ferryman's deep, ancient thoughts seemed to hold a slight trace of amusement.
[So, you've come back. That's good.]
"Can I take that as... you missed me?"
[As you wish.]
"Can't you be a little happier?"
After catching up for a moment, the priestess, of course, didn’t forget the real reason she came here.
"Alright, alright, we’ll catch up later. I actually came here to ask for your help."
Hearing the white fox girl shift the topic, the Ferryman's tone quickly grew a bit more serious.
[I noticed. The world you protect is undergoing a disaster, a recurrence of the catastrophe from a thousand years ago. So, are you planning to intervene personally this time?]
"Some things just have to be done by someone."
The blue flames that formed the Ferryman's head flickered for a moment, and it lightly tapped the edge of the small boat with its long pole, as if thinking.
[Have you made up your mind? This isn’t the same as before, just some small battles. Reviving hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives, will create a huge shift in the wheel of fate. The reversal of causality and backlash will be so strong that even you may not be able to bear it.]
"I thought you were sulking because it wasn’t the proper procedure. Turns out, you're just worried about this..."
The figure on the boat slowly shook its head.
[This body is only the Ferryman, not the ruler of the Underworld. I... only ferry the souls that are meant to be guided.]
Seeing the formal stance, the priestess fell silent for a moment and her tone became more serious.
"Alright, then. Next, I’m going to bring back all the souls of those who died in the Ancient Spirit Realm due to this chaos, and return them to the world of the living, restore their bodies, and let their spirits rest. I’ll be fine. The Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden isn’t so easy to defeat."
The Ferryman silently watched the girl and nodded, pushing the pole into the water.
[As you wish.]
With a soft motion of the pole, a series of blurred lights seemed to be pulled, suddenly flowing upward from the Sanzu River, rushing towards the dark sky of the Underworld!
They were like reversed meteor showers, bringing brief but lasting light to this world that didn’t have a real form.
These were souls that had already died, meant to dissolve and disappear under the Sanzu River, and blend into the cycle. Now, they were gathered and reunited through the reversed cycle, returning once again to the world of the living.
They would return to the homeland they had once protected with their blood, to the side of their loved ones.