In Tokyo, the dungeon master

Donghai Yishi frowned, trying anxiously to recall what he had forgotten, attempting to grasp that fleeting sense of unease.

The harder I tried, the more blurred my memory became. The missing parts were like being shrouded in thick fog, impossible to clear away.

Even the vague figure that occasionally flashed through my dreams, resembling my ancestor, is now immediately forgotten, leaving only a trace of inexplicable melancholy.

Has the ancestor returned? Or has the ancestor not returned?

Tathagata...

It's as if her memory is being deliberately faded, deliberately made to forget that part of the information.

Or perhaps, those strange feelings were just me overthinking things.

After all, from childhood, everyone had told her that she was the heir of the Donghai family and was born extraordinary.

But aside from being stronger, better looking, smarter, having heterochromia, coming from a wealthier family, and having more connections... there's not much difference.

The extraordinary power is probably just a religious brainwashing rhetoric. The dreamlike, hazy feeling I've had these past few days is probably just a result of my overexertion from practicing swordsmanship, which has created this unrealistic and strange sensation.

But something just felt off. That emptiness, that obsession with "as if I've forgotten something," lingered in my mind and wouldn't go away.

Tokai Isshiki seemed to be suppressed by something, feeling sullen and indescribably uncomfortable.

Xiang was probably suppressing his emotions...

Take a good look at yourself in the mirror tonight.

Just then, a sound came from outside.

"My Lord, it's time."

The term "shrine priest" refers to the head priest who performs the rituals as the center of worship when offering sacrifices to the gods. He is the leader of the priests in a shrine and is now also called "priest".

Becoming a "shrine master" requires the Emperor's permission. In Japan, only grand shrines have "shrine masters." The title of "shrine master" is very sacred and cannot be used to address someone casually. However, the Tokai family was suppressed and was not recognized as a shrine master. This was one of the many humiliations inflicted upon the Tokai family.

Upon hearing this, Donghai Yishi naturally understood the situation. The visitor was the eldest elder of the Donghai family, her husband's grandfather. When he addressed himself as the God Lord, his title changed from eldest elder to high priest.

Always use your job title when you are at work.

So that's how it is. It's time to pay respects to our ancestors.

Donghai Yishi looked towards the door and subconsciously straightened her back. This was a habit she had developed since childhood; in front of others, she had to always maintain an upright posture and could not slack off in the slightest.

The high priest, separated by the door, spoke according to what seemed to be his usual routine, as it was during working hours and he didn't show the same intimacy with his granddaughter in private.

"The Great Darkness Festival is about to begin, Your Majesty should start preparing the Sun Saint Lord Kagura."

"The Great Dark Festival?"

Donghai Yishi paused for a moment, wondering what it meant.

Is it the annual ancestral worship ceremony?

No, the ancestral worship ceremony just ended. I even dreamt that my ancestors returned to the mortal world. How could there be another ceremony?

In that case, why did the Grand Priest of the Darkness seem so natural? As the God-King, he seemed to be born with the knowledge of ritual procedures, as well as the Sun Saint Lord's Kagura, the breath of the sun... He seemed to have suddenly received some incredible memories...

No... the more I think about it, the more my head hurts...

Because of excessive mental confusion, coupled with the lingering sense of unease and memory gaps in her heart, she was completely unable to distinguish whether the sense of incongruity she felt was real or an illusion, or whether she was dreaming or in reality.

"Grand Festival?"

"Yes, the Grand Festival."

The other side remained in a state of taking it all for granted.

Am I the only one who feels something is off? Although it seems like I know how to perform the ritual, it's already etched in my mind, why don't the others have any doubts?

For a moment, Donghai Yishi even wondered if she had entered the Truman Show and was being controlled by some mastermind behind the scenes.

But in the end, she forgot about that strange feeling.

That feeling of emptiness, of "forgetting something important," was obscured by the guidance of fate.

Everything was guided by our ancestors; this was the destiny that the Donghai family was destined to face.

Venture into the deepest, darkest dungeon and confront your inner fears... Go to the shrine.

It's time to dance.

…………

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On the other hand, there's the Donghai family, which is distinct from the Donghai family, whose existence has been concealed by the extremely dark power of the ancestral book.

Let's call that place and the shrine the inner world, and the outside world the outer world.

Beside the Bone-Eating Well on the edge of the town in the surface world.

After a day, Gu Meng, who had already used the power of extreme darkness to prepare for the ritual, arrived here with Kagamine and Keiji.

The well had long since dried up, its edges covered with dark green vines, and its opening was covered by a dilapidated stone slab with indistinct patterns, as if most of the marks had been worn away by time and the elements.

"Ancestor," Shirakawa Keiji reported on the intelligence he had gathered yesterday, "the old people in town all say that this Bone-Eating Well is an ominous place. It is rumored that those who fell in in the past were so badly lost that even their bones could not be found. You must be very careful..."

It's just a bit strange. I've never heard of this legend before when I came to Yixin Town, maybe because I'm an outsider... But why was I told this time... Why did I come here...?"

The sound grew fainter and fainter.

Old Deng's mind isn't very clear anymore; he sometimes remembers things about the Donghai family and sometimes he forgets them.

After all, he traveled with Gu Meng, and the paradox of his memories being obscured was casually covered, only occasionally awakened by Gu Meng's presence.

He's not a true seed, and he has the power of extreme darkness protecting him.

He might now suspect he has dementia, after all, he's reached that age.

"Don't overthink it, Keiji. Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

Gu Meng reached out and moved the well cover, a musty, earthy smell wafting out:

"However, one thing is certain: the birds here eat something extraordinary."

"Kagamine, let's go down and take a look."

Kagamine Shihōin nodded respectfully, and Gu Meng, in his ghost form, grabbed her waist and leaped down.

As for Old Deng, we can just use magic to support him from a distance.

There was a map on the well wall. The map had simple and powerful lines. Although some parts were mottled, the contents could still be vaguely made out.

"Ancestor, what is depicted in this catalog? Why is it somewhat blurry? It seems... getting increasingly blurry. I've already forgotten what I just saw."

Shirakawa Keiji bowed respectfully, his tone full of seeking advice.

"If you can't see it, then you don't need to look anymore. Kagamine, your Shihouin family also has a special constitution. Come and take a look. Due to Chihana's mistaken summoning, I have forgotten many things. Maybe you can help me remember them."

It would be strange if Old Deng could see it; he wasn't the observer this time. Kagamine was only able to see the scene Gu Meng wanted her to see because she had been brainwashed by Gu Meng beforehand.

"I... I think I saw it. There was an adult dressed in samurai clothes, holding a long sword, and there seemed to be some strange spirits around him."

Kagamine Shihouin stared at the catalog, then suddenly realized what was going on. She understood everything, her tone filled with certainty:

"Master, this gentleman in samurai attire must be you, Sword Saint Tokai Isshin."

"Okay, okay, I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Look at me again, what do I look like?"

If someone who didn't know the situation saw this, they might think Gu Meng was asking for a title.

It's not surprising that he asked for a title. Some unofficial histories say that even a certain five-meter-tall golden giant once asked others whether he looked like a human or a god. Gu Meng was just learning from his predecessors.

"I think you're like a god? No, you *are* a god! In the illustrations, Sword Saint Donghai Yixin is a god descended to earth, the embodiment of the sun, slaying demons and monsters, protecting the common people, quelling the chaos of war, ultimately building a nation and guarding his homeland..."

Shirakawa Keiji's expression grew increasingly solemn. Although he hadn't seen anything, Kagamine had already said so, which meant that he must be too incompetent to see this recorded historical text.

Only those with exceptional physical abilities and intelligence can see the catalogue, probably.

Gu Meng did not respond directly to Kagamine, but instead glanced at the rest of the well wall. "Look again, around this catalog, there are some scattered carvings, which are scenes of sacrifice. They were probably used by people at that time to commemorate me or to pray for my protection... It was a grand ceremony."

Jingzhi's eyes were filled with awe and curiosity as he sighed softly, "I never imagined that the Well of Bones would contain such a secret about the Ancestor... It's a pity I couldn't help the Ancestor."

"Wait a minute... who is the Ancestor?"

"Our ancestor is the sun, the holy savior of Japan..."

Shirakawa Keiji was hallucinating; Gu Meng before him seemed like a newly risen sun.

It's too bright! I can't open my eyes.

Keiji wanted to raise his hands, and he actually did—"Praise the sun."

Upon closer inspection, Jingzhi realized that the ancestor was clearly a human. Feeling puzzled, he lowered his hand again.

"I can't tell, I really can't tell."

"I think I really do have Alzheimer's."

……