-"It would seem that we will be housed in the Sanjou family."-Kaguya looked out of the window of our carriage.
~"Anything I should keep in mind before we enter?"
-"Only that to a noble family, name, and profit matters more than anything else. While they won't do anything to you, Lord, they will still try to pit others to offend you."
~"Sigh. Why then call yourself family and not company if you do so?"
-"Even mafia had more love."-Cellinia showed disgust for such people.
-"There is a reason why Avarice is one of the Principles. That's why I have great respect for Ningguang. Despite her greed, she never put it before her family and her people."-Jingliu expressed her feelings.
~"Indeed. For a group to flourish, both idealists and materialists are needed. This is also why those families stagnated, as for them materialism became the ideal."
I commented as I could perceive parts of the mansion that were closed to outsiders. While not run down, those lacked the glamour and shine of the gate and mansion we were entering.
~"Jingliu, Cellinia, I leave to your discretion how to react to any ploys we might get involved in, but if at any point god gets involved, leave it to me. Same with you, Kaguya. Use my name as you wish, but the moment god tries to meddle, back off and wait for me."
-"Yes, Lord."-Kaguya bowed to me again.-"I'm thankful for your trust."
-"Master."-Jingliu looked at me with a seriousness I rarely see in her.-"If at any point a god acts, may I face him?"
~"Are you sure?"
-"Yes."
~"Good."
-"Thank you."
Moments later, the carriage stopped. After exiting, we were greeted by the head of the Sanjou family and led inside the mansion, where we were shown the place where we would stay before being invited for a feast. This was a typical political banquet where I met other noble families.
The adults present were typical politicians, hiding three meanings in every word while trying to trap you with every sentence. Ultimately, dealing with them was tiring but not hard. Far worse were the young ones.
Because this was an occasion to make connections, almost all the children of the main family lines were present, and after dealing with them, I felt older by a few decades.
Among the young ones, I could clearly differentiate between two types of people: canaries and snakes. The canaries were ones that surrendered to the reality of being members of the noble family, finding their lives to be comfortable golden cages. While I felt some pity for them, I also saw that many accepted their fate without ever trying to act against it.
The snakes, on the other hand, were those who assimilated into their environment, being able to sell their sister or brother for the benefit, and some even directly offered themself to warm my bed. By the end of this banquet, I was enormously thankful for Kaguya's presence, as if not for her dealing with more aggressive girls, I wouldn't be able to keep my 'dignified' appearance.
The fact that Kaguya came with me caused quite a stir among the people present. Many quickly recognized her and proceeded to give her awkward looks, not knowing how to treat the banished daughter who returned as representative of one equal to god.
There were some confrontational people questioning what right Kaguya had to show herself, but this was shut down quickly by mentioning Astraea's status as my wife, and as she vowed to serve her goddess for the rest of her life, she simply extended that servitude to me to explain her presence.
When the banquet finally ended, we returned to our living space and sat together to talk.
~"Thank you for your help there, Kaguya."
-"I'm happy to be of assistance, Lord."
~"What is your opinion of those nobles?"
-"Wastes."-Jingliu didn't mince her words.
-"They are the same as the corrupt politicians who would overlook the mafia killing civilians in the Siracusa."
-"Indeed. They forgot what it means to hold a noble title."
~"The duplicity is what sickens me the most. They praise Shinto gods every two words, but almost none of them has any faith in them. Some even have a breath of other gods on them."
-"What?! If that is true, that will amount to treason!"-Kaguya Looked shocked by my revelation.-"Lord, can you tell me who it is?"
~"Sure."~I listed some names that Kaguya quickly noted down.~"But be careful with digging around them. I can feel War on them."
-"War? Most likely, they joined Rakia. I'll be careful."
~"So what do you plan to do?"
-"I'll accompany you, Lord, until you go to Takamagahara, and after that, I'll contact a few of my friends and then decide what to do next."
~"As you wish. Tomorrow, I plan to visit the shrine."
-"Then I'll inform priestesses of your plans and prepare everything."-Kaguya stood up and started to walk outside.
~"Thank you."~I turned to Cellinia.~"Cellinia, can you keep the watch tonight?"
-"You think that someone will try to sneak here?"
~"Imagine a situation when a guest wakes up with a daughter of high standing in bed when a maid comes to the room with something."
-"Cliche, but I can see that happening. Sure, I'll keep all the rats away. Though, why don't you deal with it directly?"
~"I plan to go somewhere during the night. Jingliu, you want to stay or go with me?"
-"I'll stay this time."
~"So be it. I'll be back by sunrise."
-"Please be careful, Yue."
Smiling at Cellinia, I teleported away from the room.
I appeared before a cliff far away from any human settlement. Looking down, no matter what power one were to use, one would see only darkness that seemed to consume the world. From time to time, a howl would echo around, acting as a last warning for any travelers who mistakenly arrived here.
To my side, there was a Tori gate plastered with countless talismans carrying divine power, keeping the darkness at bay and acting as guideposts for a road leading down. Ignoring every warning, I started walking on that road.
-"Stop! You shouldn't be here. Leave before it's too late."-A woman who was as white as a newly fallen snow spoke to me, locking her bright sky-blue eyes with my purple ones.
~"Thank you for your warning, but this is the place where I want to go."
-"Why? Only death awaits you if you cross this road."
~"Why do you think so?"
-"I'm Magatsugami, goddess of disasters. I build my shrine here to ward off evil coming from within this cliff."
~"On whose orders did you do so?"
-"It's my duty. No one ordered me to do so."
~"Sigh. How about you accompany me? I won't leave, but you also can't let anyone disturb the 'evil' within, so this is the only method where both our purposes can be achieved."
-"Ehh?"-The goddess looked at me surprised.-"Why would you invite the goddess of disasters for your journey? Isn't this foolish?"
~"Will you curse me?"~I asked, amused by the naivete of the goddess.
-"No. Why would I?"
~"They what is there to be afraid?"
-"..."-She looked at me as if trying to understand what I meant.
~"Let's go. I can't waste too much time."
I started walking on the dirt road while the goddess looked at me stupidly before catching up to me. We walked in silence, passing through gate after gate, heading into the darkness.
The goddess continued to keep her eyes on me, not even blinking as if trying to see through me. Wanting to ease the awkward atmosphere, I decided to try talking with her.
~"Does something matter?"
-"..."
~"I see. How about I tell you a story about a lie?"
-"A lie?"
~"Yes, a lie. There was once a pair, perfect and brilliant. The woman possessed brilliance only Primordial Gods could bestow, while the man possessed power unrivaled among the seas. Together, they make mountains rise from the sea, creating land blessed with plenty."
I waved my hand, creating an illusion illustrating my story to make it more entertaining.
~"The two lived in peace, taking care of their duties, but one day, they encountered a problem that required their cooperation. The woman made careful consideration, but she lacked the power to act, while the man ignored her, using power as he wished. This angered her, and she demanded the man to heed her advice."
The darkness around us was coming closer to us with every gate we passed along the way.
~"The man rejected her. In his eyes, her place was to serve him. After all, she was without power. The woman was displeased by that but decided to endure it for the sale of land she loved. Sadly, after this, cracks in perfection portrayed by the two started to show."
Magatsugami was fully immersed in the story, not even noticing that we almost reached the end of the road.
~"Years passed until one day, a tragedy struck. What exactly took place was lost to time, covered with great care to never be revealed, but the results were still left. The woman died, being harmed by the very power she lacked."
When I mentioned death, the darkness around us stirred angrily.
~"The man, appalled by this, rushed to where the death existed to reclaim the woman, but when he arrived, what greeted him was not a perfect woman who accompanied him before, but a hideous monster that crawled from the earth."
With my every word, the darkness grew more hostile, trying to attack us, only to be stopped by the talismans.
~"To save the land from the abomination that emerged, he used his power, sealing the monster deep in the earth, from where she was never to see the light again. After which, he cleansed himself from any imperfections brought by the woman, becoming perfect once again."
We passed the last gate and slowly approached what was kept at the end of the road.
~"Or at least this is the story passed to descendants of that man."
-"Did he lie? Is that story fake, then?"
~"Yes and no. It's true, or at least it turned into truth, but a lie will always be a lie. If one were to uncover what was hidden, the lie would be revealed, and the new truth would take its righteous place until it also is revealed to be a lie."
-"What is true then? Or the whole story is a lie?"
~"The truth is the outcome. Every story has a teller, and this is why they are never true, only different degrees of lies. So that's why I came here. To see the outcome with my own eyes."
I smiled as I looked at the giant boulder blocking an entrance to a cave. I used the Path of Ordination to see the essence of that stone, touching it and allowing [Wyrd] to assist me. Around me, aurora started to appear, being the only thing that was visible aside from the darkness around.
-"This?"
I ignored Magatsugami for now, focusing on the task at hand. I slowly undid the countless restrictions placed upon the stone. The person who created this thin clearly never wanted it to be unsealed, as, despite my wealth of knowledge, I was struggling with the process.
Having no other way, I fully unleashed my Path, entering my Aeon form, shocking Magatsugami in the process. Even then, it took me a few hours to finally resolve all the restrictions that were placed on this stone, revealing the Karma for the world to see.
As the world was about to correct the history due to the reveal, I used illisions to once again cover the stone from the world, preventing that from happening. The darkness noticed my actions and once again stirred in anger.
~"Calm down. I want to make a deal with you."
-"Deal? To me, it looks like a threat."-A voice from behind the stone answered me.
~"You should know that if you return right now, what awaits you is a siege of those children. And while now you can slaughter many of them, war is not what you wish for, am I right."
-"Speak. What do you want?"
~"I will help you correct the history while preventing the conflicts from occurring. In exchange, I want the power."
-"..."
~"Is this agreeable?"
-"I will only agree if you promise me one more thing. Equality."
~"I can promise you respect and freedom, but not equality."
-"Hmm... I can settle for that, but you will never have any power over me."
~"Yes."
-"Good. How do you want to make vows?"
~"There will be no vows. The world will be our notary."
Turning to the side, I used my [Crown] to draw upon the [Duty], while calling for the Spirit of this world to appear. Soon, a presence appeared next to us. This True Spirit lacked any will, and thus, it didn't possess any sentience, but I could feel intent from it.
~"I, Yue, wish to establish a contract bound by [Duty]. I shall correct the past and rectify the future, allowing the truth to prevail."
The World Spirit agreed to this by using the power of the world to form the contract along with [Duty]. I looked at the stone, waiting for the other party to speak.
-"I, Izanami, agree to the contract. I shall give the Yomi, receiving freedom and truth."
As the world spirit filled all the details, the [Duty] started to manifest. Power beyond my understanding bound Izanami and me together, ensuring absolute fairness. What caught my eye was that the contract bound not only souls but even our selves and names, meaning that no matter the power one possesses, even End couldn't save them from the consequences of the contract.
After this was done, the Spirit of the World disappeared while I, still covering this place with illusions, undid the last seal, allowing Izanami to exit her prison.
When the rock disappeared, a woman dressed in an alluring black dress appeared before my eyes. Her shin was white like chalk, with only her lips, eyes, and hair roots being black like the dress that she wore. The ends of her hair were white, but she covered them with a black veil as if she were in mourning.
Next to her, a giant snake was slithering. Its black scales seemed to absorb any light aside from my aurora that was able to reflect on them, creating iridescence that added mystery to its horror.
-"My, it seems that not only are you better than that bastard in the brain aspect but also in strength and appearance. I'm starting to like you even more."-Izanami spoke as she approached me and took my Veil off.
~"Please, I'm married."
-"So what? I might have been sealed here, but death is everpresent. I know that having few wives is the norm in many places, and even so, just by looking at you, I know that you are not someone who will limit himself because of some norms."-She smiled while putting back my Veil.
~"Will you cooperate with me?"
-"Hmm... Before that, I need to hear your whole plan. If it's not up to my standard, I will act by myself."
~"Good."
After creating a table and chairs for us, we sat down and started talking about what will happen next.