Tensai walked over to a small clothing rack in the corner of the room. He rummaged through the clothes while saying, "Perhaps the greatest aspect of my father's technique is that it is capable of resurrecting the dead from just a single remaining body part, like a finger. Truly magnificent."
Tensai threw on black trousers and a white dress shirt. He returned to his lab bench and pulled the earrings out of the pouch. All the while, Nezumi stayed knelt on the ground.
"Is there a problem, Nezumi?" Tensai asked as he inserted the time earring into his earlobe.
"Raijah and Teo. . .they said you were dead, and the earrings were destroyed along with you. But you're standing right here. Alive, well, and with the earrings intact. Tell me, how can that be?"
Tensai inserted the second earring. "Oh, Nezumi," he said. "Did you think I'd challenge a god and a devil without a contingency plan?"
Tensai removed his cigarette from the pouch and lit it as he continued, "Before my battle with them, I made mock earrings." He opened a cupboard above his lab bench and pulled out a set of earrings that were identical to the ones he had on.
"I crafted them out of a few scraps, so they don't have a particular function. But they look the part. I wore these to trick the enemy into thinking I was wearing the real ones and prevent them from using space-time related abilities.
"I knew they wouldn't test their space-time techniques on me because using them consumed too much energy and was a risk they weren't willing to take. Meanwhile, the real earrings were sitting comfortably in this pouch."
Nezumi replied, "But that doesn't explain how you came back to life. What did you do to my body? How did you regenerate from that finger?"
Nezumi's body tensed up.
"You're controlling me again," Nezumi noted. "But how?"
"Don't fret," Tensai replied. "I'll answer your questions soon enough. For now, just behave."
***
Tensai led Nezumi through his hideout, finally stopping before two vertical coffins.
The first was empty, but the other held Warui's recently revived corpse.
"Warui is still revived, but I'm keeping his body here because I have no use for him as of now," Tensai explained. "The other coffin held Saku. I had already resurrected her, but I kept her body stored away. However, when I died, nothing was keeping her confined.
"Fortunately, I planned ahead. If Saku's body ever escaped, I programmed my other Korosu puppets to go after her while Warui's body returned here."
"Anyway," Tensai turned to Nezumi. "Your final task is to awaken Warui's prana. Now that I've lost Saku, I'll need a replacement. A prana-enhanced Warui would be a perfect addition to my collection of puppets.
Nezumi mumbled something under his breath, to which Tensai chuckled, "You don't even have a choice."
Nezumi unwillingly placed his hand on Warui's corpse. After a few seconds, Warui's corpse shimmered purple. The outburst of power caused Tensai's hideout to rumble, causing huge chunks of earth and rock to crash down around them.
Nezumi dropped to his knees, visibly weakened. "Answer me, Tensai," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Tensai asked.
"I said answer me!" Nezumi shouted. "How are you alive? What did you do to my body?"
Tensai walked over to Nezumi and ran his finger over the stitches on his forehead. "My dear Nezumi," Tensai said. "Why do you think I put these stitches in your forehead after your neurosurgery?"
"I—I don't know."
"You do know," Tensai responded. "I'm sure of it. Didn't you ever think it was strange? That an elite shouldn't need stitches to heal a simple laceration?"
Nezumi lowered his head.
"You knew it was strange, but you didn't question me. The technicalities meant nothing to you because you had finally gained the power you wanted—the power you wanted for yourself.
"That is your fatal flaw Nezumi. You say everything you do is for your family, and while that may be somewhat true, it's far from the full story. Nezumi, deep down, you envy Raijah and the Shi family. You wanted that level of power all to yourself.
"Now look where it led you. An old friend of mine used to say that those born weak seek to become accursed. Now that you've gained power, do you believe he was right?
"Power is the cause of your grief. Power made you betray your comrades. Power cost you the lives of your family. And do you know what provoked your thirst for power?"
Nezumi stayed silent.
"Greed," Tensai said with a chuckle. "When you really think about it, we aren't as different as you may think. We're both greedy humans, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve our goals."
As Nezumi knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, he couldn't help but wonder if Tensai was right.
"No," Nezumi shook his head furiously. "I'm nothing like you."
His lip quivered. "You exploit others and use them for your benefit. I'd never stoop that low."
"I never claimed to be an angel," Tensai remarked. "From the beginning, I never acknowledged you, Kurome, nor anyone else as my equal. You were all simply stepping stones for me to achieve my goal."
Nezumi gritted his teeth.
"I sympathize with you." Tensai picked up Val's sheathed blade. "I've been plagued by greed all my life. That is why I will be setting you free."
In one swift motion, Tensai ripped the stitches from Nezumi's forehead. Nezumi's agonized screams filled the air as the intense pain took over. However, beneath his despair, Nezumi had regained control of his body.
"I rigged these stitches with one of my inventions," Tensai explained. "As you can see, I implanted these small vertical pins, which function as a medium to control electrical activity in one's brain circuits. They are also linked to my brain, allowing me to transmit electrical pulses into them and essentially granting me full control of your brain.
"As for how I came back to life, you already had access to my proficiency in doragonken which means that your prana manipulation skills were on par with mine. All I had to do was program your brain to resurrect me with my father's technique in case I perished. And I left my finger in that pouch for that very reason."
Too shocked to react, Nezumi simply watched his blood leak onto the floor.
Suddenly, Tensai crouched to Nezumi's level. "Remember this, Nezumi," he said. "I taught you everything you know, but I didn't teach you everything I know."
With that, Tensai turned to leave. His last words were, "I no longer need you, Nezumi. You're free to do as you please.
With Ame-no-Ohabari in tow, Tensai vanished into the depths of his hideout, leaving a broken Nezumi alone in the darkness, with only his thoughts to keep him company.
***
While constructing his underground bunker, Tensai deliberately connected it to the Dragon Cave, allowing for ease of access.
"Funny," Tensai said as he opened a door leading to a downwards winding staircase. "The Shi thought I was protecting them from Nezumi's attack." (Refer to chapter 57)
"They simply got lucky. I was merely defending the Dragon Cave because it sits directly under their village plateau."
Tensai descended the stairs, gripping Val's blade tightly. "I'm a step away from that world."
Finally, he reached the bottom and found himself in a massive cavern surrounded by towering walls of hewn stone. In the center of the cavern was a dark, still lake that reflected the faint light filtering from above.
Across the lake was a massive stone archway etched with strange symbols and depictions. The most noticeable of them was a large marking depicting a pink and a purple dragon, separated by an Om symbol.
As Tensai neared the archway, it creaked open of its own accord, revealing a long, narrow passageway. He stepped into the passage, reminiscing about the first time he stepped foot in the cave.
"It was all so long ago," Tensai said. "Fortunately, all that time is about to pay off."
Tensai eventually emerged in the Dragon Cave.
The air was thick, and a great warmth radiated from the ground. In addition, the carvings on the walls were even more intricate than those at the entrance.
They depicted countless dragons, and Tensai often caught a glimpse of unrecognizable creatures which he assumed hailed from the dragons' homeland.
Venturing deeper into the cave, Tensai came across an enormous chamber. The ceiling was impossibly high, and the walls stretched out in all directions, creating a feeling of ending space.
At the center of the chamber was a single flat stone platform. On this platform was a single groove running down the center, just the right size to securely hold Ame-no-Ohabari.
Tensai checked his ears once more to make sure the earrings were secure. He then lowered the blade to place it in its designated indention. But just before he could insert the katana, he dodged to the side as a bolt of crimson lightning crashed down from above, nearly striking him.
When the smoke cleared, Tensai saw Raijah and Teo standing between him and the stone platform.
"Why am I not surprised," Tensai said with a sneer.
"I was just about to say the same thing," Teo replied. "I sense Nezumi nearby. What are you two planning?"
Tensai said nothing.
Raijah assumed his stance. "You're stronger than we are," Raijah admitted. "I really didn't want to fight you again, but every time I look into your eyes, I'm reminded that Hashira is no longer with us. For that reason, I'll keep fighting no matter how unfavorable the odds are."
"You're too late," Tensai said.
Suddenly, a vortex of ash materialized, trapping Raijah and Teo. It lasted less than a second before dissipating, but Tensai had already vanished.
Raijah and Teo hurried after him. Tensai quickly shuffled through the cavern until he found himself back at the lake at the entrance, where he dove in without hesitation.
Raijah and Teo halted before the lake, hesitant to go in it. Raijah knelt to examine its content. He could feel an odd energy emanating from its waters but couldn't quite discern what it was.
"This isn't an ordinary lake," Raijah noted. "If there's anything I know about this Tensai guy, it's that he's cunning. We might be falling right into his trap."
Teo shrugged, "It's not like we have a choice. I'll go first."
Before diving into the water, Teo turned to Raijah. "And one more thing," Teo added. "You better not try to stop me from killing this guy."
With that, he dove into the water, leaving Raijah.
Raijah frowned.
"One day, I'm going to kick his ass," he sighed as he dove after Teo.
***
When Raijah opened his eyes, he was plummeting from the sky into an unknown world. From up there, he could see almost everything. Firstly, he noticed the sheer size of the realm.
Usually, from that height, Raijah could see some curvature in the planet, but this didn't seem to be the case in this world. The realm seemed to stretch out forever.
The landscape was beautiful. There were giant stone obelisks with large waterfalls and rivers running through the expansive mountains. But unfortunately for Raijah, he didn't have time to take it all in.
He slammed into the ground. Despite landing on his feet, he left a massive crater.
Teo stood next to him, readying his blade for battle.
There was a lake in front of them, identical to the one that transported them here.
"Diving in there probably takes us back," Raijah thought.
Tensai stood across the lake. For once, Raijah could see some emotion in Tensai's blank stare. It was minuscule, but he saw a hint of annoyance.
"Is this the world you told us about?" Raijah asked.
"No," Tensai answered. "Although this dimension resides in a higher plane, it is merely the main section of the Dragon Cave. You didn't think that tiny cavern was large enough to contain hundreds of enormous dragons, did you?"
"Anyway," Tensai pointed Val's sheathed blade at his opponents. "This is where you make your final stand. Raijah and Teo, welcome to your funeral site."
Teo lifted his own blade. "It's a shame we have to turn this place into a battlefield."
Tensai's lip curled. "I wanted to leave this world without having to do this. Not even I know the consequences. But you leave me no choice."
Tensai unsheathed Val's blade, "I shall now ascend into the unknown."
Raijah and Teo dashed forward to halt his transformation, but the outburst of energy sent them flying back.
"He's absorbing Val's blade," Raijah thought. "I've never felt an aura this powerful."
A vortex sprang up around Tensai, and prana spurted out from all over his body. He was slowly lifted into the air, and his hair flowed freely.
His body became vibrant and covered with radiating black markings that resembled dragon patterns. He grew short claws on his fingers and toes, and his canines grew, resembling fangs. Lastly, a halo appeared around his forehead.
"Behold," Tensai announced. "The true power of Ame-no-Ohabari!"