Inside the Corpse Cathedral, Uchiha Sogetsu, who appeared to be resting, sensed something.
The moment he opened his eyes, his pupils turned vertical, taking on a golden hue that clearly reflected the image of a young girl.
"Oh, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of danger lurking within them. "I wasn't planning to seek you out, yet here you are, delivering yourself to my doorstep?"
Since the last encounter, when Uchiha Hikari was severely injured by Jigen, she had been in a coma.
Sogetsu had sensed something was off. Considering the Ōtsutsuki clan's habit of "leaving their seeds" everywhere, he had previously implanted a virtual personality within Hikari's mental world.
He didn't expect it to come in handy.
"In that case... let's meet."
With those words, Uchiha Sogetsu gripped the armrest of his chair and slowly stood up.
Multiple virtual personas were created within his mental world to stabilize his condition. They continuously layered "calming" and "psychological suggestions" to ensure everything remained under control.
In his mind, chaotic thoughts and ideas surged. A massive mental torrent swirled, with whispers that felt both real and illusory mixed in the roaring winds. Like crashing waves, they struck his resilient mental island, shattering it and sending ripples of consciousness splashing everywhere.
Boom!
Uchiha Sogetsu took a half-step forward, his spine slightly hunched, and his muscles visibly swelled.
His pupils became even more vertical, the golden color deepening, flowing like molten lava. An invisible aura, almost tangible, whipped up a visible storm, tearing dark cracks into the dream-constructed Corpse Cathedral.
His clothes and pants shredded apart, revealing skin covered in layers of grayish-white, rock-like scales.
In an instant, Uchiha Sogetsu had transformed into a massive, monstrous being.
"So, this is an incomplete Mythical Creature Form?"
The enormous entity stood within the Corpse Cathedral, its intense golden eyes inspecting its own condition.
Fortunately, with the pre-layered psychological suggestions and the virtual personas maintaining his state, he barely managed to control this incomplete Mythical Creature Form.
Yet even so, he could still feel the constant terror of teetering on the brink of madness and losing control.
Despite that, as long as he strictly controlled the duration, he didn't need to worry too much about going insane or losing control. After all, the "Spectator" pathway naturally had advantages in dealing with mental and spiritual aspects.
"Time is precious. Up next... it's punishment time!"
In his Mythical Creature Form, Uchiha Sogetsu quickly located Uchiha Hikari's "position" within the sea of subconsciousness.
Mental Stroll!
A colossal being with massive wings surged forward, diving into the ocean of the collective subconscious.
Each beat of its enormous, leathery wings stirred violent waves deep within the subconscious ocean, leaving a shimmering trail that carved a deep trench across the surface.
In an instant.
An island shrouded in a blood-red hue came into the view of the dragon's pale golden eyes.
"Heh, found you."
Uchiha Sogetsu sneered inwardly as he looked down at the mental island below.
"So that's how it is. The so-called 'Kāma' of the Ōtsutsuki clan is merely a crude application of mental power."
The blood-red canopy enveloping Uchiha Sogetsu's mental island was, at its core, a manifestation of mental energy—somewhat akin to the 'parasite' of the 'Error' pathway, though the two were worlds apart in terms of technique and power.
The Ōtsutsuki clan could use the 'Kāma' to replicate themselves, converting their essence into data and embedding it within others.
Those marked by the 'Kāma' would become vessels for the Ōtsutsuki's resurrection. As the Ōtsutsuki data awakened within them, they would eventually be entirely replaced, achieving a form of rebirth.
Unfortunately for them, they had encountered him.
Since it was a product of mental power, that made things easier!
Without hesitation, Uchiha Sogetsu controlled his Mythical Creature Form, and with the force of a meteor crashing into a planet, he charged forward, enveloped in an immense surge of mental energy, and smashed straight into the canopy.
A pitch-black rift tore through the space, resembling a jagged scar that stretched across the blood-red sky.
Through that massive tear, a cold, indifferent slit pupil of pale gold peered down, as if it were a terrifying entity from an unknown realm, casting its gaze from a higher dimension.
In the next moment, something even more horrifying occurred.
The owner of that eye seemed no longer content to merely peer through the fragile 'membrane' separating them from those inside.
RUMBLE——!
An invisible storm suddenly erupted, transforming into tangible lightning that rampaged through the blood-red world.
The special Reincarnation Space created by the Ōtsutsuki clan's unique abilities was on the brink of collapse under the fierce onslaught of a powerful Mental storm. Cracks spread across it, growing larger and more widespread, making the entire world seem like an eggshell being violently peeled away layer by layer.
Jigen let out a muffled groan, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as if he had suffered a severe blow.
The Reincarnation Space was essentially the core of the Ōtsutsuki clan, containing all of "his" data. If it sustained too much damage, reincarnation would become extremely difficult.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Deafening rumbles echoed, accompanied by the tremors shaking the entire space.
Each tremor widened the rifts in the sky even further.
As the cracks expanded, Jigen finally saw what was tearing apart his Reincarnation Space. A pair of pale golden, vertical pupils belonged to a massive gray-white dragon.
The dragon had two gray, leathery wings on its back. Its surface was covered in closely packed gray-white scales, etched with intricate and three-dimensional mysterious symbols.
Countless symbols formed a complex pattern, deeply embedded into its flesh and bones, extending outwards into the void. These patterns intertwined, radiating a faint glow, as if they constituted something not of the real world.
The dragon's two thick forelimbs braced against the edges of the fractured space.
Then, its enormous, menacing head slowly emerged through the tear in the void. The pale golden pupils lowered, gazing down at Jigen, who seemed as insignificant as dust.
"Are you looking for me?"
The ancient and desolate voice echoed, as if it exploded directly in the depths of the mind.
Like a clap of thunder, the voice shook Jigen, making him tremble. His eyes streamed with blood tears under the pressure of that overwhelming will.
"N-no, I wasn't looking for you!"
Inside Jigen's body, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki clearly sensed the threat of death.
The "monster" that had invaded the Reincarnation Space radiated an eerie, indescribable aura. Continuing to resist would likely cost them their lives.
Thus, Jigen decisively abandoned his previous plan to turn Uchiha Hikari into a "vessel."
"Spatial Transfer!"
A black and red vortex appeared, swallowing the terrified Jigen.
The blood-red barrier that had been covering the sky, filled with Uchiha Kōrei's spiritual presence, disappeared as Jigen gave up and attempted to escape, returning the surroundings to calm.
But could Jigen really get what he wanted?
Uchiha Sogetsu let out a cold smile. After going through so much effort to reveal his mythical creature form, how could he end things so easily?
Trying to run away?
No chance!
"Roar—!"
A massive dragon's roar echoed through the subconscious sea.
Uchiha Sogetsu controlled the massive gray-white dragon, its wings suddenly beating, stirring up endless waves of spiritual energy, and then, in a flash of light, it vanished.
"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, here I come!"
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