Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

I also witnessed Mu Zi cleanly and efficiently kill the Black Sea ghosts into fragments, raising his level from 48 to 55, and obtaining 36 Insightful Salts.

“That’s enough. This much refined salt is enough for you to kill the Gray King five times,” the Shadow Girl said. “If you’d like, we can push through some other areas.”

"There's no need for this anymore. Continuing to drag it out will only lead to repeating the past," Mu Zi sighed softly.

In the end, the characters controlled by Muko and the Shadow Girl still entered the boss room. There was a mysterious tacit understanding between them. The Shadow Girl just stood guard in front of the boss's door, watching Muko challenge the boss alone, because it was Muko's wish.

The grey-white king sat enthroned on the throne at the bottom of the abyss, surrounded by thousands of moon-shaped patterns in full bloom. The king descended from the throne step by step, wearing a cold and tyrannical beast mask, and drew the terrifying, jagged greatsword, which shimmered with a light deeper than the universe.

"In the first phase of the Gray King, you need to be careful of his continuous flashes, fast and slow attacks, and long-range Rift Iaijutsu. Getting grazed by his blade will increase your berserk bar. If you don't use Salt in time, you will die instantly once the berserk bar is full..."

As soon as the Shadow Girl finished speaking, Mu Zi was hit by a triple aerial combo from the Gray King. Her berserk bar was full, and her character fell to his knees, piercing his own throat with a blade.

The shadow girl patiently waited for Muko, who was biting her lip, to die five times before finally reducing the Gray King's health to below half.

"The second phase of the Gray King will summon his familiar, the Time Whale. This is a full-screen water attack. You must use the Deep Sea Guardian in advance to survive this wave of attacks..." Just as he finished speaking, a blue whale fell from the sky and crashed to the ground. Under the full-screen attack, there was no time to use any items, and Mu Zi was instantly killed without any suspense.

Muko died twelve times in the second phase, finally grasping the Gray King's attack rhythm and enduring three waves of Time Whale's full-screen attacks. In the end, she emptied the Gray King's soul gauge and delivered a clean and swift execution, with Muko's Heroic Blade severing the Gray King's head.

"Traitor, you will suffer an eternal curse and fall into endless torment—" The Gray King shouted these words at the end. Mu Zi threw the Gray King's head into the Well of Souls, and an incomparably dazzling blue flame immediately ignited at the bottom of the well. The lingering darkness in the bottomless ocean finally receded a little.

"Want to keep playing? We still have one king to conquer before we reach the final boss," the shadow girl asked casually.

“There’s no need anymore. I’ve actually completed this game twelve times already… There’s really no point in continuing to repeat it.” Mu Zi shook her head.

"Huh? You've completed the game so many times, why do I feel like you're playing for the first time?" The shadow girl's face turned unusually red. Did Muko, in her twelfth playthrough, really need her to provide a walkthrough? Was Muko just playing along with her act?

“To keep the game fun, I erase all the memories from my mind after each playthrough,” Muko tapped her head. “But that’s just self-deception. I pretend to forget, but another version of me always remembers everything. The real me never forgets anything.”

"So, you don't want to play anymore, right?" the shadow girl asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Although I'm very reluctant to admit it, I'm really tired of it. I've played the same game countless times in a world that offers nothing new. It's time to finish this game." Muko lowered her head, and for the first time, Kurosawa Shizuki heard a suppressed...fear in her voice? As the "god" of the forest, she could actually feel fear?

“Well, the dream must eventually end. Whether it’s you or us, we’re all ready.” The shadow girl put down the controller and stood up.

“That’s right, this dream has been going on for far too long, but it’s ultimately just a false dream, and we must eventually face reality.” Mu Zi also stood up, snapped her fingers, and the dark room was instantly illuminated.

Directly opposite Muko and the Shadow Girl on the wall, there suddenly stands a large gray-white door. The door frame is shaped like two curved bull horns, which arch in the same direction. The point where the horns converge is the archway. Above the bull horn-shaped door hangs a series of chains and layers of rusty black locks.

“In the Aeneid, Virgil had Aeneas, who had seen all the histories, pass through the Gate of the Horns and return from the Underworld to reality. I never thought that today, we would also have the opportunity to cross the Gate of the Horns.” The shadow girl smiled happily.

“I haven’t read the Aeneid, and I probably won’t have the chance to. But this door seems to have been meant to be this way, because I’ve seen the same door in the Dark Realm.” Mu Zi walked toward the horn-shaped door without turning her head. She gently touched the dozen or so padlocks on the door with her small hand, and the padlocks broke open on their own with a crisp sound.

"How interesting. It seems that Mr. Virgil may have also ventured into the deepest parts of the Netherworld, just like Muko. After all, you are both maintainers of dreams, beings favored by the gods." The shadow girl seemed to be deep in thought.

“I don’t know any Mr. Virgil, sister. Before I regret it, go inside.” Muko’s gaze turned gloomy again, her messy black hair cascading down her back, like a reclusive girl reluctant to leave her bedroom.

"I'm taking them away." The shadow girl stood in front of the bull horn gate, pointing to the figurines that Shibasaki and Asakura had transformed into.

"Why? Sister, I can tell you don't like them. In your heart, they are even your enemies. You think you will inevitably get into conflict with them sooner or later. I'm just taking care of them for you in advance," Mu Zi asked in confusion.

"It's not time yet. They're still very useful to me. If they die here, it will be a real problem for me."

"Hmph, do as you please. I hope you won't regret it." Mu Zi snorted coldly and tossed two incredibly realistic figurines to the shadow girl, who caught them.

"Thank you, Muko. May you find true freedom in the world of clarity." The shadow girl, clutching two figurines, walked into the horn-shaped gate without looking back.

"Choosing self-destruction, is that a kind of freedom?" Mu Zi's voice faded behind her, the bull horn door closed, and she sat back down in front of the video game console.

With the eyes of the Shadow Girl, Kurosawa Shizuki saw a pure white "egg" shining brightly in the darkness at the deepest part of the Bull Horn Gate.

Inside the translucent egg, a girl with a face exactly like Muko, naked like an infant, hugged her knees, immersed in eternal slumber. Behind her head, long, silvery-white hair like seaweed flowed and danced. Between her eyebrows, a teardrop-like red mark was like a third eye. Obsidian-like crystals grew all over her body, and on her back, wing-like structures were vaguely growing.

The shadow girl placed her hand on the figurine that Asakura had transformed into, revealing a contemptuous smile: "Prince of the Sun, the Golden Branch is not a treasure that a 'noble' like you can control. Every Golden Branch has its proper place."

The shadow girl actually pulled out a golden branch the size of a toothpick from the body of the figure that Asakura had transformed into. The golden branch grew rapidly in her hand and eventually became a complete golden branch. Asakura, who was sealed by the power of Muko, had no chance to struggle.

"It's time to wake up from this dream. This flawed world should end." As soon as the shadow girl finished speaking, Kurosawa Shizuki suddenly realized that she had regained control of her body.

"I no longer have enough power to use the Golden Branch, so you shall use it to grant her a world of clarity." The shadow girl's increasingly weak voice echoed in Kurosawa Shizuki's heart.

Looking at the creature that resembled a slumbering child inside the egg, Shizuki Kurosawa felt a strange sense of guilt. Was this really okay?

[This is still humanity's last wish. If you want to defeat the other version of her who is becoming a god, this is your only chance.]

Kurosawa Shizuki understood that she had no choice. Of course she understood that the reason why the radiant golden branch appeared in the woods was for this purpose. Perhaps the girl named Theresa, when she was buried in the woods many years ago, foresaw this day. Theresa descended into the woods for this very purpose.

Kurosawa Shizuki's trembling left hand gripped the golden branch tightly. She was astonished to discover that the power previously suppressed by Muko had reignited behind the Gate of the Ox Horns, its strength even surpassing that in the hands of the Centipede Sage—

That is the secret to ending everything, like the death knell tolled by angels at the end of the world. Just by holding the golden branch in your hand, you can almost see the despairing end of the world in the near future.

Kurosawa Shizuki aimed the tip of the golden branch at "Muko" inside the egg. As if sensing an imminent threat, "Muko" frowned, her body trembled uneasily, and an expression of unease and fear appeared on her small face. She seemed ready to wake up at any moment. A faint white light flickered within this divine "egg." Kurosawa Shizuki realized that the being inside the egg was awakening, and she had no time to hesitate or dawdle.

Kurosawa Shizuki plunged the golden branch deep into the glowing egg, piercing through "Mureko's" heart and exiting from her back without any obstruction, as if passing through a bubble.

"Muzi" opened her eyes, her eyes were a bottomless darkness, deeper than the universe, and tears like oil flowed from the corners of her eyes. She let out an extremely miserable scream at Kurosawa Shizuki.

Kurosawa Shizuki heard the crisp sound of glass shattering, and countless cracks appeared rapidly before her eyes.

Mu Zi's body shattered into countless pieces, just like a fragile piece of porcelain.

P.S., I have no motivation to update. The more I update, the slower my subscriptions grow.

PS2, as I mentioned before, Muko has split into two, a human incarnation and a divine incarnation. The one killed here is the human incarnation; later, we'll have to deal with the divine incarnation outside. I think everyone can understand this?

Section 134, Chapter 133: Escape from the Woodland

Kurosawa Shizuki fell from an extremely high place. She saw the whole world collapsing, and the isolated island of the gods also perished in the flames of the cataclysm. Everything seemed like an inescapable apocalypse, with a sense of tragic destiny.

Pierced by the golden branch, "Muko's" body was constantly being torn apart, and she fell downwards with her amidst her mournful cries. Kurosawa Shizuki saw "Muko" making a crying sound, as if she was calling for something.

The forest was torn apart. Raging floods, raging fires that consumed everything, trembling earth, and raging winds—all the stable order vanished the moment Mu Zi was pierced by the golden branch. The forest, which had always been on the edge of a cliff, had finally reached its end. But no one would have any more attachment to this illusory kingdom.

Countless winged creatures gathered towards the sky like dark clouds. Responding to "Mu Zi's" call, the winged creatures frantically converged on "Mu Zi's" direction. They tore at her with their teeth, scratched with their claws, and cut with their wings... inflicting countless heinous acts on "Mu Zi's" petite body. In the blink of an eye, they completely engulfed "Mu Zi," as if they were rushing to a grand feast.

And the golden branch that killed "Muzi" was lost forever among the frenzied moths, destined never to be found.

Kurosawa Shizuki was falling downwards. In a daze, she wondered if it was just her imagination. She saw a blurry figure flash past her eyes. It was the back of a girl with sea-blue hair. She was carrying two dolls that looked similar. The girl also had a pair of purple wings growing from her back. Just as Kurosawa Shizuki looked closely, the figure had disappeared without a trace.

The overwhelming feeling of weightlessness then plunged Kurosawa Shizuki into another space. With practice comes familiarity, and Kurosawa Shizuki is now somewhat surprised to find that she has actually begun to adapt to this situation.

[Congratulations! You have destroyed the woodland and completed the side quest "Three Trials of the End of the World"]

To ascend to godhood, one must ultimately relinquish all human aspects, leading to an endless war between divinity and humanity. Yet, you've predetermined the fate of this mission for Muko.

[Congratulations! You have received a reward of 12000 Nightmare Points and Theresa's Open Skull]

Kurosawa Shizuki completed the system's side quest for the first time, but she didn't have time to check the newly acquired rewards because she found herself in a place that resembled a hospital ward.

She saw a young girl on the hospital bed in front of her, wearing a breathing mask and a thick hospital gown. She looked like a long-decaying corpse, her body covered in festering sores that emitted a nauseating stench. Black vines coiled around the cracked wounds, and the barbs on the vines cut new wounds into the girl's body. Countless wounds were left untreated, continuing to infect and rot...

Her entire body was covered in needle marks. For some reason, the girl, whose wounds had never been bandaged, was receiving a large number of IV drips filled with murky liquid. In addition to the stench of decay, the air was also filled with the pungent smell of medicine.

The girl, almost unrecognizable as human, closed her eyes and remained motionless, yet a serene smile graced her lips. She was undoubtedly dead, but for her, death seemed more like a release.

However, Shizuki Kurosawa felt as if she had only recently died, because her body still retained a fading life force. It was hard to imagine how a girl in such a terrible condition could have maintained a life that was on the verge of being extinguished until now.

Kurosawa Shizuki turned her head and saw a dim blue ceiling light illuminating a hazy oil painting on the wall opposite the girl's hospital bed. The painting depicted a dark, decaying forest, with a large, pale moth perched on a withered tree covered in pustules, sucking the tender sap from the cracked pustules with its long proboscis.

However, ominous black energy is now constantly emerging from this strange painting, and countless cracks are appearing on the exquisite oil painting at its edges, accompanied by a crisp, glass-like cracking sound.

This painting, in the end, inevitably "died".

Below the oil painting, the signature "Compiler" is also written in that swirling, distorted language. However, right before Kurosawa Shizuki's eyes, the meaning of the words that she could understand changed from "the place where moths hide" to "the place where moths are buried." This strange language seemed to change on its own like a living thing, and it exuded an ominous aura like an epitaph.

Kurosawa Shizuki heard another loud popping sound. Amidst the billowing black smoke, a flash of white light appeared, and Asakura Yuki tumbled out of the painting in an extremely disheveled state, landing face-first in the mud. Her once incredibly stylish royal robes were now covered in filth and emitted an unbearable odor. Asakura Yuki looked as if she had been through a gutter seven times.

"Cough, cough, cough—" As soon as Asakura Yuki came out, she covered her mouth and coughed repeatedly. She coughed up one black worm after another on the ground. The moment the worms landed, the glare ignited on them, burning the disgusting worms to ashes. Then the glare continued to burn on Asakura Yuki's body, burning away the remaining filth on her body.

"Are you alright?" Kurosawa Shizuki reached out to help Asakura Yuki, but Asakura Yuki waved her hand away. Asakura Yuki's gaze was gloomy, but there was an undeniable certainty in it.

Yuki Asakura stood up with some difficulty. In just a few breaths, all the filth on her body was burned away. Yuki Asakura regulated her breathing, brushed off non-existent dust, and without even glancing at Shizuki Kurosawa, her voice carried a threat, "You didn't see anything just now, did you?"

“But I saw everything! The dignified Princess of the Sun looks like she just crawled out of a sewer,” Kurosawa Shizuki said, not giving Asakura Yuki any face. Asakura Yuki, who always acted as if she had everything under control, rarely showed such a disheveled appearance in front of Kurosawa Shizuki, which inexplicably pleased Kurosawa Shizuki. “And this is the first time I’ve seen Asakura as a figure. She’s so cute.”

"Don't bring this up again! I admit that the operation to infiltrate the forest was a mistake. Under normal circumstances, the creatures in the forest are simply beyond our capabilities. But at least the result is not bad now, is it!" Asakura Yuki said angrily. "That damned Fujiwara no Kageko, she actually dared to throw me into the Ghost Realm. This is an unbearable humiliation for me!"

"Speaking of which, if I hadn't remembered that person who had become a figurine, that person would probably be forever just paint in this painting by now." Kurosawa Shizuki's smile was tinged with mockery.

"Considering you saved my life, I'll temporarily refrain from investigating your relationship with the liquidators, your shady dealings with the Anti-Suppression Bureau, and how you and Muko met..." Asakura Yuki's face flushed red.

"Oh dear, this is really a headache. But I've also heard that someone is a so-called 'noble' who can turn back time. Such a secret identity absolutely cannot be known to the Holy Master of the Black Sun Cult, right?" During this forest operation, both Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki had to reveal some of their own secrets, and they each had leverage over the other. Kurosawa Shizuki felt that she still had room to use Asakura.

Regarding the "Nobles," a hidden race in the original game, Kurosawa Shizuki only vaguely heard about their background during gameplay. It seems that this is a race capable of traversing multiple histories and even switching and jumping between timelines. To the gods, their threat may be no less than that of worms. The threat posed by worms is the devouring of all gods, but if too many "Nobles" roam freely between multiple histories and wantonly tamper with reality, the final result may be the collapse of the historical system established by the current gods.

Yuki Asakura was undoubtedly killed by the Golden Branch once when she faced the Centipede Sage. However, it seems that Asakura had to use some kind of "noble" power to bring herself back to life and reveal her "noble" identity to Shizuki Kurosawa. As a member of the nobility, she became the Prince of the Sun in the Black Sun Cult. Shizuki Kurosawa felt that the Prince of the Sun, who seemed to be loyal to the Holy Lord, probably had ulterior motives for joining the cult.

Could it be that the Black Sun Cult is also full of traitors, just like the Blacksmith? The future Yin Princess, the current Yang Princess, and the former Yin Princess all seem to have significant problems.

"Don't try to expose my secrets, and I have no interest in yours. We're all standing next to a powder keg; at worst, we'll both go down together!" Asakura Yuki crossed her arms and snorted coldly.

“Exchanging some of each other’s little secrets can help us further advance our cooperation, can’t it?” Kurosawa Shizuki felt that she might be able to gain greater benefits within the cult through Asakura Yuki.

"Heh, let's talk about exchanging secrets after we deal with Kirieko," Asakura Yuki said irritably. "Speaking of which, where's that dog?"

"It probably ran away before we fell here, probably to find its owner? After all, the real war has probably only just begun." Kurosawa Shizuki pointed to a series of canine footprints in front of the oil painting, which stretched all the way to the door of the ward.

“It’s really hard to understand. I never thought that the so-called ‘woodland’ that made us so miserable was just a false kingdom built on the dream of an innocent little girl and a painting,” Yuki Asakura said with a gloomy face as she walked toward the corpse that looked like “Mureko” lying on the hospital bed. “But at least I didn’t come for nothing. Although the other golden branch was inexplicably lost, I’ve managed to bring one out now.”

"I must ensure she is completely dead and the forest utterly destroyed before I can begin summoning the King of Sunfire." Yuki Asakura casually waved her hand, and light once again condensed into a golden branch at her fingertips. Standing before the bed of the dead "girl," she raised the golden branch high, her eyes devoid of any pity, like an executioner about to lay down her butcher's knife.

P.S., I feel like the quality of my recent updates is declining. Since I don't have any drafts saved up, I basically just write and post. The plot seems to be progressing too hastily, with obvious signs of rushing, which is probably one of the reasons for the drop in subscriptions.

Chapter 134, Section 135: The King of Kagerou VS Fujiwara no Kageko

Just as the golden branch was about to strike the unaccounted-for remains, it froze in mid-air, unable to move an inch.

Suddenly, a petite figure appeared beside the wreckage on the hospital bed, her appearance mirroring the figure on the bed like a reflection in a mirror.

The young girl wore a black dress with dark gold lace trim. The scars at the corners of her eyes shone brightly, like teardrops. A deep sadness that could not be dispelled welled up in her eyes. A few strands of white hair were mixed in with her black hair that was draped behind her head.

Thump, thump, thump. Kurosawa Shizuki felt as if her heart and lungs had stopped. The "Muko" in the woods and the Muko in front of them now looked almost identical, but their temperaments were completely different. If the Muko in the woods was just a child who was forever immersed in illusion and unwilling to grow up, then the Muko here was like a ghost from the past. Although she did not say a word, a wave of sorrow and despair almost overwhelmed everyone in the ward the moment she appeared.

Kurosawa Shizuki was certain that this was the "Kureko" she had seen in her vision through Yamauchi Yuki—the Kureko who was active in the mortal world, searching for the Chosen One, and who was about to become the vessel for Kirieko's descent.

So who was the recently killed Muko? Why were there two Mukos? Were they twins, or was there a more complex reason? For no apparent reason, Kurosawa Shizuki thought of her own relationship with the Shadow Girl…

Asakura Yuki's golden branch trembled incessantly, its radiance growing increasingly dim. No matter how much force was applied, the branch hovered a few inches from the second Muko's forehead, unable to advance further. Muko raised an incredibly delicate hand and casually grasped it. The golden branch, capable of severing all things, couldn't even leave a scratch on that pale, slender hand. An expression of utter fury appeared on Asakura Yuki's face.

"Damn it, I didn't expect to be stopped even after getting this far. It seems the plan has failed after all..."