Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Of course I want to, don't you? They are your parents too."

Kuroba Akira began to probe, trying to find out which side Ameha Hikari was on now—was she her younger sister, or Kushinada-hime, or perhaps... still in a state of fusion?

After a moment of silence, Tianyu Guang spoke.

"...Yes, they are also my parents, my parents in this life."

She said this lifetime!

In other words, she is still in charge of Kushinada-hime!

However, she was noticeably different from the one I had seen before.

"Um... I feel like you've gotten a little smarter, Hikaru?"

Although it's a bit impolite to say it like that, the impression that Ameha Hikaru gave Kuroba Akira before was that he was stupid. To put it nicely, he was emotionless, but in reality, he was more like a three-year-old child who couldn't even speak properly.

But now, Ame no Hikaru speaks much more fluently, and her expression is no longer blank, but rather carries a cold arrogance with a touch of awe.

"It was all because a certain human claimed to be my husband that I came to my senses, because I know I don't have a husband."

"Uh……"

When the person involved discovered the hypnotic manipulation, Akira Kuroba felt a little embarrassed.

But there's no husband? So it turns out that myths are all made up. That's ridiculous.

"Of course there is no such thing, nor do I need to rely on men, because I personally killed the giant serpent."

"Huh? Wait a minute, are you remembering your time as a god?"

"Perhaps it's because I remembered the memories that belonged to Ame no Hikaru that I also recovered some long-lost fragments of memories... However, you are wrong about one thing, which is that these are not memories from when I was a god, but memories from when I was the earliest human."

"Huh?! When you were still human... wait, were you also a human who ascended to become a god?!"

"I don't know. I haven't remembered that part of my memory yet, so from my perspective, the fact that I became a god is very inexplicable. My duty was to slay the 'Aragami'... but now I've become one of the Aragami. How ironic."

It seems that Ame no Hikaru has indeed regained her memories, but this return point is a bit too early!

It's like humans from a thousand years ago have traveled to the modern era!

"Uh, so what brings you here this time?"

"I'm here to retrieve my memories, and I also want to know what I went through to become the way I am now."

Tenyu Hikaru looked at Kuroba Akira in front of him and placed his hand on his chest as he spoke.

"Based on the memories I've seen, you seem to be my older brother in this life. I can feel her influence on me..."

She also felt a flutter in her heart, a feeling she had never experienced even when she was a priestess who slayed gods.

But she knew it didn't belong to her, but to the real Tenyu Hikaru.

"It seems that as long as I can recall her memories, I can also retrieve my own memories, which requires your cooperation as my older brother."

"From my perspective, it's impossible for me to help you."

"If you help me regain my full memories, I can return your sister to you."

"Are you serious?"

Kuroba Akira immediately realized that this was a great opportunity to free his sister from the constraints of the family.

“I am someone who has already passed away. It is the prayers of others that have extended my existence to this day, not my own wish.”

She had long since accepted her death with equanimity, demonstrating a remarkably open-minded personality.

"What if you change your mind after regaining your memories? And you said you'd give my sister back, but what exactly do you mean by that?"

“I can make a vow to give myself entirely to you, so that even if I go back on my word, you can still completely control me. As for the latter… when her memory fragments are also pieced together, her personality will be revived like mine. At that time, I will disappear after fulfilling my wish, and your sister will come back.”

"Great, deal!"

Kuroba Akira couldn't possibly let such a good opportunity slip by.

Although his younger sister might be a bit twisted, since it was confirmed that she could be turned back to normal, Kuroba Akira felt that he had to give it a try.

"So, what's next? Going back to my hometown would be the best way to regain my memories, but I'm restricted from doing so... How about we wander around this area for a while? From your perspective, the world must have changed a lot, right?"

For people in ancient times, the 21st century was probably similar to a science fiction world.

"Times have passed, and things have changed rapidly... Indeed, these are all things I don't recognize. A thousand years has changed too much."

"Let's go then. Although I haven't gone out much, there are still many places to visit in Tokyo and the surrounding area."

To be honest, going to popular tourist attractions is more about seeing people than seeing the sights themselves. It's not much different from the massive crowds in China, except that the former attracts tourists from all over the world, while the latter attracts tourists from all over China.

Kuroba Akira never really liked traveling. He felt that traveling was just about going from a place you're tired of to a place other people are tired of, looking for something new in different places, countries, and cultures to add some variation to your monotonous daily life and make it less boring.

However, the inability to integrate into local life means that at most, one can only take some photos and check in, and it is difficult to have any special feelings or insights. It is just a kind of "I was here" proof, like Sun Wukong's visit, which becomes a topic of conversation when bragging to others.

Moreover, the more famous a tourist attraction is, the more commercialized it becomes, and the less authentic the local atmosphere is.

Even so, everything was new and exciting for the girl whose understanding was still stuck a thousand years ago.

What interests her most is... otaku culture.

This is what is commonly known as the two-dimensional world.

Chapter 409 Connecting the Past and the Future

The amnesiac siblings' first stop was Senso-ji Temple.

The main reason was that after taking out a map of Tokyo, Hikaru Amane saw the name Senso-ji Temple and expressed her desire to see what it looked like now.

Although Akira Kuroba thought she would be disappointed, because the current Senso-ji Temple is a modern reconstruction and is not ancient at all. Its core function has been transformed into a popular spot for taking photos and a shopping street.

Compared to the major temples in Kyoto and Nara, it can be said to be a commercial temple with basically nothing to see, much like the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song today. It is the kind of attraction that most tourists who go there because of its reputation will be disappointed.

But since she herself said she wanted to go, then we should still fulfill her wish.

However, it's said that student couples in Tokyo still go to Asakusa for their first date to experience... well, the international atmosphere?

After all, there are a lot of foreigners, all year round, especially a few days ago during the Lunar New Year, when the crowds were so large it was like a zombie apocalypse.

This is mainly because when you look at all the famous tourist attractions in Tokyo, it seems like the only place that's somewhat worth mentioning is Senso-ji Temple.

After all, Tokyo is mostly shopping districts and exhibition halls. Although it has many famous scenes from anime, those places certainly can't be considered tourist attractions.

Only those who understand anime and manga can enjoy the pilgrimage to these holy sites, taking photos that can then be turned into memes. But for ordinary tourists, these are just corners of the city scenery that won't even leave an impression of passing by.

So, as a landmark building, it also has some historical and cultural attributes, and then it's a commercial street where you can shop, eat, drink, and buy things... Senso-ji Temple is a place where none of these aspects are particularly outstanding, but it has something in common to it. There's no need to spend time visiting it in detail, but it's still worth going.

This is also why couples often choose this place as a date location.

That being said, when Kuroba Akira brought Amehiro Hikaru to the entrance of Senso-ji Temple and saw the enormous lantern with the word "Kaminarimon" written on it hanging on the giant gate, and the huge crowd behind it, he still hesitated to go any further.

Should I really go in there? It's like being on a crowded subway during rush hour, the suffocating feeling... I honestly think I should pass.

That said, which deity owns a temple with such a huge number of people?

Generally speaking, Senso-ji Temple enshrines Kannon Bodhisattva, as well as the wind god and the thunder god.

The former probably doesn't lack this kind of faith, while the latter is a god that is well-known to every household in Japan.

Kuroba Akira covered his eyes and looked around, but he didn't see any light, which meant there were no gods around.

It seems that despite the large number of people, the gods don't consider Senso-ji Temple a worthwhile place to perform their duties, perhaps because their faith isn't particularly devout.

Anyway, Kuroba Akira had no intention of going in. He stood across the street, where the crowd hadn't yet gathered, gazing at the entrance of Senso-ji Temple, and asked Ame-no-Hikaru beside him.

"So? Did you remember anything?"

"Hmm... Although it's called Senso-ji Temple, it doesn't resemble the Senso-ji Temple I remember at all."

"Well, well, nowadays, only the name of Senso-ji Temple has been passed down for thousands of years. It has been destroyed more than twenty times in history. Not to mention the original temple, not even a trace remains. No one even remembers what the original Senso-ji Temple looked like."

"Am I also slowly losing my memories and sense of self over the course of a thousand years...?"

Surprisingly, it really did evoke memories for her.

But this kind of emo mood isn't good, so Akira Kuroba felt that she still needed to let her know that 'the present moment is the most important'.

Since they were already there, and also wanting to help her stop thinking negatively, Kuroba Akira took Amahiro Hikaru's hand and reluctantly joined the crowd at Senso-ji Temple.

I skipped the shopping street; it was full of food and souvenirs, and I had no desire to shop there.

Head straight to the incense burner in the middle, then turn left to get away from the crowd and reach the side. Then Kuroba Akira pointed to a tower-shaped building under construction outside the temple wall.

"Look over there, isn't there a tower under construction?"

"Yes, I see. It seems to be much higher than the temple we are in now."

"Of course, because that's Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo's new landmark."

Senso-ji Temple is only 1.5 kilometers away from Tokyo Skytree. What's even more remarkable is that the Skytree in this world is still under construction. It has been under construction for a year and will probably be completed in another three years.

The iconic tower in Tokyo today is still the Tokyo Tower.

"Then, since we already have Tokyo Tower, why build Tokyo Skytree?"

"..."

Hikari Ama couldn't answer, but she seemed to understand what Akira Kuroba was trying to say.

Kuroba Akira didn't intend to give any serious reasons, such as the upgrading of digital signal transmission, boosting the economic development of Sumida Ward, or the need for a global image... These were all irrelevant to the message Kuroba Akira wanted to convey to Amahiro Hikari.

"Because people will actively seek out 'difference'."

"Difference...does it mean change?"

"That's right. Tokyo Tower is a symbol of economic recovery, representing the nostalgia and romance of the Showa era, while Tokyo Skytree represents the technology and futurism of the Heisei and new eras... Of course, these are all meanings that people have given to it."

Kuroba Akira gave him the answer he had in mind.

"There are old things, and new things are created in order to connect the past and the future."

"Connecting the past and the future...?"

"Yes, it's not that once a new one is built, the old one becomes completely useless. The relationship between the two is not one of replacement, but more like 'iteration,' which means keeping some of the old one and then adding the new one. This process is what is called 'evolution.'"

While seemingly about architecture, it is actually a reinterpretation of the relationship between Amayu Hikari and Kushinada-hime, and between humans and gods.

"Iteration and evolution, huh...?"

"Although Senso-ji Temple is completely different from the Senso-ji Temple you remember from a thousand years ago, its location and name have not changed. And the construction of Tokyo Skytree is inseparable from the technological accumulation of Tokyo Tower... Although they are two different things, the 'foundation' is the same."

Memories are similar to these structures. Because humans cannot erase their memories like cleaning up hard drive space, residues remain. This is why Tianyu Guang exhibits a phenomenon similar to 'atavism'.