Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 48

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 48:

I had considered waiting for Sekiro to kill the Mist Noble hiding the Mibu Village before I showed myself, but the misty setting of the Hidden Forest area got on my nerves. 

Even with the falna, I can barely see more than a dozen meters… I guess the illusion effect trumps the enhancement of the falna. 

I exhaled through my nose, then sidestepped as a spectral blade swung through where I stood an instant ago. The ghostly warrior stumbled, before fading away as Murasame pierced his neck and sliced outwards in a spray of ectoplasm.

And then there’s these guys…

The spirits lurking around the place had a tendency to jumpscare with the way they faded in and out of sight, even if they were easily felled by my blade. I thought that I would need the divine confetti or something, but apparently they ‘died’ just like anything else when given a fatal wound. Even so, they contributed greatly to the whole horror-esque mood of the place.

Technically, I could still use my [Search] skill to navigate the way to the house where the Mist Noble was, but the creepy atmosphere was really getting to me. So I decided to wait at the cavern where the guardian ape was instead of going for the Mist Noble.

And it looks like my timing was spot on too. I observed Sekiro clashing against the two apes. As much as I feel like this is something he should overcome alone, I’d rather not have to wait for him to revive and try again. 

The stone beneath my feet cracked as I kicked off the ground, entering the battle just in time to prevent the headless ape from landing the fatal blow. 

Ohh! That’s quite a lot of force! This is good, I think I can grow a bit through this battle! Underneath my mask, my mouth was grinning. Normal humans just aren’t a challenge anymore. 

I turned slightly to look at Sekiro, who was still recovering from that last hit. 

“Kept you waiting, huh?”

“You…” He sounded slightly surprised.

“Thought you might need a hand, since it’s two against one.” I turned my head to focus on the charging beasts. “Heal up, I’ll buy you some time.”

With a wave of my hand, combined with Embodiment magic, multiple firecracker explosions went off, causing the living ape to recoil from the light and noise. As for the undead one, I parried its sword swing again, before dashing between its legs, my blade flashing repeatedly to slice up both thighs.

A powerful leap brought me near the head of the second ape, just as it was recovering from the stun. An instinctive flinch saved its eye from my slash, but Murasame’s enchanted water blade still left a deep gash in the forehead, causing blood to spill down into the ape’s eyes. In its flailing, a hammer-like arm came swinging towards me, but my body responded accordingly.

A foot here, delicately absorbing the force, letting it throw me into a spin. The other foot, right there. Push off-! 

Finishing the backflip to land on the ground, I could hear my blood pounding in my ears, even as the falna on my back began to heat up again.

Noticing that the headless ape was going for Sekiro again, I charged at it from behind. This time, with both hands on the handle of my sword, I slashed at its tendon, causing the beast to stumble and fall. Its position left it open in a way I recognized.

“The spear!” I snapped out.

Sekiro reacted instantly, his prosthetic arm releasing the popout weapon with its hooked spearhead. I turned away as he plunged it into the neck stump, choosing to focus on the mate instead. 

I’ve trained with these moves, but this is the first time I get to use them against a real enemy. First up… Ichimonji!

With the blade centered in front of me, I raised it up over my head, and brought it down with intense force, targeting the body part closest to me.

The ape howled in pain as I cleaved through its knee, and reflexively tried to swat me away.

Double! I brought Murasame back up and swung down a second time.

The second strike severed the arm at the wrist entirely, the appendage bouncing off the ground and into the air from the force.

Okay, Swordsman and Chain Attack are synergizing more than I expected, even with all the Bell Demon curses on me. I felt some sympathy when I saw the giant ape suffering, even though I knew it would kill me if given the chance. Best to finish it now.

A quick glance back saw Sekiro parrying the headless ape’s sword swings with a staunch determination, each clash slowly destabilizing its posture. It appeared that my help had given him the second wind he needed.

I sheathed Murasame, adjusting my grip on both sheath and handle. The heat from the falna’s Limit Off spread throughout my body, synchronizing every part of it together. It was a familiar sensation, one that I felt from Matsu’s tuning previously. Lungs, muscles, blade, all coming together as one.

For a moment, everything stopped. 

Then Murasame exploded out from its sheath, and like the breath escaping my mouth, a wind blew through the cavern, stealing away the breath of its victim. I didn’t have to look to see the result, but turned instead to the other fight, which was finishing up as well.

In a repeat of the last time, Sekiro had dragged out the centipede from the ape’s body, but this time, he dealt the final blow using the Mortal Blade. I could see the crimson katana draining the vitality of the bug, preventing it from reviving like it did from normal wounds. He ripped it out and leapt free of the collapsing body, landing on his feet near me, sheathing the weapon as death finally claimed his opponent.

“Well done. The memory of this battle should help to grow your strength further.”

He gave me an inscrutable look. “Why did you aid me?” 

“It was a whim, nothing more.” I changed the subject. “I see you’ve obtained the Mortal Blade. Was it a difficult task?”

“It was not. Your messages… helped.” 

Wow, way to sound like you didn’t want to admit it. Or maybe he’s afraid that my help might mean he doesn’t qualify for my standards.

“I see you have questions. Go ahead and ask.”

He stared at me silently for a few moments, collecting his thoughts before finally asking, “What other ways are there to sever the Dragon’s Heritage?”

Direct and to the point, I like it. 

And so, I told him about how instead of killing the Divine Heir, it was possible to sever the ties between the heir and the Dragon’s Heritage in another way, by using the power of the Everblossom tree. 

“Unfortunately,” I shrugged, “Someone stole a branch from the sakura tree a few years ago, causing it to wither and die.”

“So there’s no way then.”

“It would take something like going back in time to get it while it’s still fresh. You’re better off making an offering to Buddha and praying for one.”

My statement was a very blatant hint that Sekiro make use of the memory traveling effect from offering a bell charm at the abandoned temple, and though he didn’t reply, it looked like he understood my message.

“There might be a third way though.”

“Tell me.”

The Dragon Return ending was a tough one to achieve; it required several steps, going back and forth between Kuro and the Divine Child, before gathering some important items to deliver to the latter, all to be done before defeating the final boss. Of course, I couldn’t just tell Sekiro that he needed to do those steps. So what I did instead was to direct him to the texts describing the ritual involved, as well as the people who might be able to tell him more.

“So what will you do now?” I finally asked him, “Do you want to go back to consult with your lord first? Or go ahead to try and get another of the incense ingredients you need?”

Sekiro hesitated again, but eventually decided to advance first. I nodded to show my acceptance of his decision, and we agreed to go along together. It proved to be a good decision, because navigating the mist became more bearable with him as a companion.

Hm, [Event Predictor] is signaling. Owl is planning to make his move already, and its timing coincidentally matches up with Sekiro on an extended trip away. Oh well, nothing much we can do right now. Besides… being able to observe up close is quite educational.

I observed how Sekiro used his prosthetic to grapple across gaps, turning what would be an arduous ascent into a quick traverse. I could see him giving me envious looks as I did the same by using wallrunning tricks. With the two of us, we faced minimal opposition as we explored the place; even the big sumo wrestler guy went down easily, because I served as a big distraction to let Sekiro land the first deathblow, making the battle much easier than it could have been.

“There, that building. That must be the temple the monk mentioned.”

Sekiro tilted his head back to look up at the structure looming in the mist. “I see it. The hole on the second floor.”

I had no intention of going around the long way just to reach that opening, so while he was looking elsewhere, I used my magic to conjure up a ladder, which I pretended to have found. It was long enough to reach the roof, and we quickly climbed up to the second floor, crawling in through the hole to reach the rafters above the large room within.

Sitting in front of the Buddha statue, with several mummified monks sitting in lines on both sides, was the Mist Noble. With whitish scaly skin and a tail-like growth, it certainly stood out as something inhuman. It was playing on a flute, and I could sense the magic it was weaving through the sound. Not enough to trigger [Learning], so that meant I had to grab it directly.

Gesturing, I indicated to Sekiro that I would go first, and he would follow up next. He inclined his head in a terse nod, and I leapt. 

So caught up with its playing that the Mist Noble only noticed me when I struck, disrupting the effect it was sustaining.

YOINK

[Mist Illusion learned!]

Hmm, maybe Matsu might find some way to work it into the Songstress dressphere. I accompanied my theft with a stab through the torso. That was not fatal. The rejuvenating effect, perhaps?

As my blade pulled free of its body, the Noble began to turn, clutching at the wound I had left on its front. The next moment, Sekiro crashed into it, yanking its body into a dizzying tumble that left him on top, and he plunged his sword into its belly.

Oh! I squinted as the mist suddenly thickened out of nowhere. Some kind of life-enhanced effect, though it’s only for a moment.

The mist faded quickly afterwards, this time vanishing completely. The temple was revealed to be rotten and half-collapsed, and there was a clear route leading ahead, where previously lay a dead end against a rock wall.

“Let’s go then.” 

“Mm.”

We descended further into the depth, and finally arrived at the Mibu Village. There was a merchant near the sculptor’s idol, and while Sekiro communed with the latter, I bought the purple gourd from the man, taking a careful sip of it, swishing it around in my mouth.

Some kind of anti-anxiety effect… partially magical. Okay, got the effect analyzed to bring back to the shop. I had no further need for the gourd, so I generously donated it to Sekiro. Anyway, the next part of this… is gonna be a bit annoying.

My sense of hearing, enhanced by the falna, picked up the sharp sounds of a shamisen playing.

…

Wolf wasn’t sure what to think of the Mibu Village that he had stumbled upon, but more than once, he had to focus on the thought of carrying out his duty to his lord in order to continue on. The place was dark and creepy, its inhabitants twisted and hostile, and some of them were not even human. Their numbers made it hard to face them directly, so there was a lot of stealthy action.

It wasn’t the only mystery he was wondering about. The presence of Fox was quite helpful, with the other man’s skills making things much easier for him, but Wolf refused to relax with him around.

Not only was his bladework sharp and polished to an extreme degree, but the masked man somehow had the stealth skills of an expert shinobi as well. He almost thought Fox had vanished when he crouched down in the tall grass, his features practically blending into the surroundings with that action. If they ever came to blows…

Wolf snapped himself out of his thoughts, and focused on following Fox as they went past a water mill. He overheard the twanging sounds of a shamisen, which made him recall that samurai he met near the well who talked about hearing such things. They had barely exchanged any words, so he had forgotten about that meeting until now.

“That music sounds lonely,” Fox remarked, “I’d like to talk to the person who’s playing it.”

They turned a corner, entering a large space where a basket hat-wearing woman was playing the shamisen they heard. Beyond her, there was a small bridge leading further on.

“You should go ahead. I’ll join you after I’m done talking.”

Wolf could tell from the finality in Fox’s tone that it was useless to argue, so he continued on past the woman, whom he noticed was a little ethereal. She was another one of the various ghosts that lurked in this unholy place, but if she was focused on music instead of killing him, then that was better.

A short while later after he crossed the bridge, the sound of the shamisen stopped entirely. There were several more hostile villagers in the area, as well as one strange one that was obsessed with drinking water from the palace. Wolf just forged ahead as best as he could, finally reaching another large space, this one with stone lanterns around the perimeter. Across from where he entered, he could see a set of stone double doors. If the thing he was searching for was here, the most likely place was past those doors.

He advanced towards them, only to halt as a ghostly figure materialized in his way. 

Compared to the others he had seen before, this one had a unique appearance, towering over him. The ghost was dressed in monk robes, with a rosary of beads around one arm. It also wore a demonic mask, and wielded a large naginata. Its slow walk with its weapon held out in a forbidding stance made it clear that Wolf was not getting past without overcoming it.

Wolf readied his weapon, and lunged forward. 

The ghostly monk blocked a lot of his strikes with its thick sleeve, and attacked with sweeping, flowing strikes that forced him to defend more often than he wished to. Sometimes it went for powerful low swings to force him to jump, other times it mixed in feints that threw his rhythm off enough to wound him, but Wolf persevered. He began to recognize some of the tells, and the tide of battle slowly began to turn.

Stomping on the long weapon in a Mikiri Counter, Wolf sliced at the monk’s face, causing it to stagger back. It recovered quickly, crouching slightly before leaping up into the air for a heavy downward swing-

There was a loud snapping sound, and the monk flinched. Wolf didn’t miss that opening, landing several cuts before the monk leapt away. The shinobi glanced to the side to see Fox joining him, a green seed pod in his free hand.

“Apologies for being late. The shamisen player was… spirited, and our discussion took longer than I would have liked,” Fox explained.

“Snap seeds?” Wolf asked about the item the masked man was holding, his gaze locked on the monk.

“It doesn’t have the same presence as the others we’ve seen, so I thought it could be an illusion. I was right.”

Wolf couldn’t tell the difference at all, but didn’t say anything because the fight was still ongoing.

“However, I think I shouldn’t step in for this battle,” Fox said.

Wolf blinked in surprise.

“Prove your strength, shinobi of the Divine Heir. Or else your lack of it will see you fail your lord.”

Those words sent a freezing cold spear shooting down Wolf’s spine, and his living fingers tightened on Kusabimaru’s handle. 

“Prove your strength.” Fox repeated, and the feeling of the man’s presence distanced from Wolf.

And with the monk’s next attack, the battle resumed.

With the reveal of the ghostly monk’s vulnerability to snap seeds, Wolf didn’t hesitate to exploit that knowledge, disrupting his opponent’s rhythm and opening it up for attacks. As sturdy as the monk was, he eventually managed to stagger its poise enough to make it stumble, bringing its head within range.

With a leap, he landed on its shoulders and dragged the edge of his sword across its neck, releasing a spray of ghostly blood. It slumped down to its knees, and faded away, leaving Wolf breathing heavily but victorious. 

“Well done.” Fox complimented him, the masked man approaching now that the battle was over.

“That monk… it was a guard,” Wolf shared his suspicion.

“Yes, she was. A test of one’s qualifications, one could say.” 

With a start, Wolf realized that he now possessed knowledge of a breathing method, one that would allow him to traverse deep waters without having to surface for air. Clearing the trial somehow granted him that as a reward, and he could think of several places where it could come into good use, like the small lake near Mibu Village.

Fox indicated the now-open stone doors with a gesture of his hand. “Go ahead, you’ve earned it.”

Wolf didn’t hesitate this time, approaching the doorway, taking a quick moment to commune with the idol that had appeared next to one of the stone posts. There was a brief sensation like something was taken from him, but it appeared to be just his imagination. His rest concluded, Wolf proceeded to enter the passageway beyond the door. 

He could feel Fox following behind at a slower pace, but the bulk of his attention lay on what was before him. The passageway opened up into a large chamber, one that was brighter than any other he had seen in this place. The reason for that was the hole in the ceiling, which let in sunlight from somewhere far above. Illuminated at the center of the chamber was a palanquin, one that looked dilapidated from long neglect. 

More importantly though, was the small altar some distance from the palanquin, which was surrounded by tiny shrines bearing candles. On top of the altar was a pile of small stones, one of which was glowing and giving off a familiar scent. Wolf instantly knew that this was one of the things he needed for his lord to create the Fountainhead Incense. He scooped it up and tucked it away into his clothes, and turned to look at Fox.

“I must return to my lord,” He stated simply.

The fox-masked man inclined his head. “Go. If fate wills it, we shall meet again.”

Wolf returned to the idol outside the chamber, but found that for some reason, he was unable to travel to the idols in Ashina Castle. The closest one he could return to was the one near the abandoned dungeon, so he did so. He soon learned the reason for the severed connection.

In the time he was away collecting the ingredients, the Interior Ministry started to invade Ashina, and their troops were beginning to occupy the castle. His heart filled with worry, Wolf spilled a great deal of blood from both the invaders and the defenders as he strove to return to where his lord was. Yet when he reached the top, he was met with an unexpected sight. 

The shinobi Owl, the man who took him in and trained him in the first place, was well and alive. Wolf recalled the events of the Hirata Estate three years ago, in the memory of that time. He had assumed his adoptive father died that night, and yet there was no mistaking the familiar figure beseeching Lord Kuro to leave with him to prevent the Dragon’s Heritage from falling into the hands of others. The young lord refused and ordered Owl to leave, he himself going back down to the room beneath. 

Wolf approached the old man, and they talked, both having assumed the other had passed; Wolf only surviving because of the power of the Divine Heir, and Owl because that was his own design. The sense of unease inside Wolf grew as his father declared his desire to gain ownership of the Dragon’s blood.

“Remember the first rule of the code. As your father, I order you to forsake your master.” Owl commanded. “From this moment, he is your master no more.”

Wolf was torn with indecision, but only for a moment. Lord Kuro had given him life when he would have died, and after all his efforts to help his lord overturn the suffering caused by the Dragon’s Heritage, to turn his back on that now… The memory of what the Divine Child had told him about the heinous deeds committed by the Senpou monks rose up in his mind, and it affirmed his determination.

“...I cannot do as you ask.”

Owl tried to persuade him, but Wolf was adamant in following his own code. As he turned to leave the open hall, to go to his master’s side, he sensed an attack coming for his back, and quickly blocked it with his own sword.

“Hmm.” Owl murmured, his blade locked with his adoptive son’s. “Seems you’ve grown, if just a little.”

Wolf broke the blade lock and slashed at Owl, who leapt away, rising up to his full, towering height.

“Have it your way… Young Wolf.”

And so, Wolf prepared to slay the man who took him in and trained him, for the sake of his master.

…

Hmm, the smell’s not as strong as the one he took, but there are methods for extracting the stuff. I took a sniff of one of the other Shelter Stones I had picked up from the altar in the Wedding Cave. Then again, this is crystallized matter from a human body that has taken in fountainhead water over a long period of time… am I holding a kidney stone or something? Or is it poop like ambergris?

Deciding not to think about it any further, I tucked the stone away and returned my attention to the fight ongoing in the open room on the top of Ashina Castle.

While I couldn’t use the idols to travel the way Sekiro did, I still had [Warp] to fall back on, so I actually beat him here in the first place. Currently, I was perched on the roof, concealed from normal senses through magic supplementing normal stealth.

Owl’s fighting skills were fast and vicious, and he chained multiple attacks together, using things like poison, firecrackers and shurikens along with his blade. Yet he combined it with a strong defense as well, turning the battle into a fierce back-and-forth. The sound of clashing blades echoed loudly as the two combatants moved around the room in a deadly dance.

And the guy’s damn old too, not to mention that heavy braid of hair… I felt the itch to test my skills against him growing inside me, but resisted and just watched instead. Oh, that’s not a good move.

Sekiro went for a stab, only for Owl to perform the Mikiri Counter, stomping down on the blade to throw him off balance. The master shinobi didn’t hesitate to follow up, flipping over to land behind his student, and driving his sword straight through Sekiro’s back. He slid it back out, leaving the shinobi to slump to the ground dead.

“First! The parent is absolute! Their will must be obeyed.” The old shinobi recited loudly.

Of course, Sekiro didn’t stay dead, reviving in a burst of pink energy. He picked up his sword again, taking a defensive stance.

“...yet I’m sensing insubordination!” Owl finished, and attacked once more.

Sekiro’s getting the hang of it bit by bit. I did give him a little bonus when I returned the [Mibu Breathing] skill.

Back in the cave, I had been watching closely when Sekiro had beaten the ghost version of the Corrupted Monk. In the original game, he automatically gets the skill after beating it, just like some of the special ninjutsu skills. I was curious as to how it would manifest in this world, like whether the ghost would drop some manual or something.

Apparently it was something granted by the world’s system, similar to how the falna could manifest a whole skill based on a deed or lineage.

Whatever the reason, I acted the moment Sekiro dropped his guard. Using [Time Magic: Stop] to halt him while I worked, I stole that skill, and several others he managed to obtain, like the three ninjutsu techniques, and the prosthetic tool-based ones I still lacked. After analyzing them and copying the data for Sano, I returned the skills to their original owner, and lifted the time stop, with Sekiro none the wiser.

There’s not really much left to get from this world, is there? Let me think… Temporarily putting the ongoing battle out of my mind, I tried to recall what other skills were still available for me to plunder. I think there’s only those that need the defeat of the corresponding bosses to do.

A loud impact shook me out of my thoughts, and I saw Owl on all fours before Sekiro, having suffered a deep wound. After a brief pause, the younger man attacked again, which the older shinobi blocked, revealing it was just a ruse to get Sekiro to lower his guard. Owl started to pull out more tricks, but it was soon obvious that the injury was affecting the man, and that allowed Sekiro to eke out a narrow victory.

A stab, followed by a step up on the back of his opponent’s sword, turning it into a flip over to land behind Owl, slashing as he did, and ending with a deep stab to the back.

“Death of a shadow… you taught me well,” Sekiro muttered, slowly withdrawing his katana from his adoptive father’s body.

“That’s… my boy…” Owl croaked out as he collapsed.

Sekiro performed a one-handed prayer gesture, then began searching through the man’s clothes. There was an obvious pause as he pulled out a branch of dried wood, recognizing it as one of the ingredients he needed. There were some connotations to Owl’s possession of such a thing, but Sekiro didn’t care much for figuring them out. After he was done, he went downstairs to report to Kuro, while I quietly examined the corpse. There weren’t any skills to be taken from a dead body, but it still carried a few useful shinobi tools, and it wasn’t like Owl had any need for them now.

YOINK

Straightening up, I glanced at the open doorway leading to where Sekiro and Kuro were talking. Perhaps I could make things a little easier for Sekiro so that everything gets done faster…

[Warp]

Some time later, Sekiro met me at the cave in the depths of the Mibu Village. It wasn’t as long of a wait as I expected.

“You have a strange smell about you,” I remarked as he approached.

It really did smell like sakura and blood, but the mixture somehow evoked a sensation that reminded me of my visits to divine realms in other worlds. 

He nodded. “The Fountainhead Incense is complete. Now I just have to go to the divine realm to obtain the dragon’s tears.”

I made an obvious show of glancing at the waiting palanquin on the patch of raised ground. “I see. There is something you should know before you go.”

“What is it?”

I took out the small black book which I had braved a dark cave filled with Centipede enemies to obtain. “A clue about another way of severing the Dragon’s immortality.”

Sekiro took it and read it, his brows furrowing as he tried to understand its meaning. “This is…”

“If my suspicion is right, the Divine Child can cradle the Divine Heir, and bring the Dragon’s Heritage back to where it truly belongs, in the West,” I explained it to him. “But you should show the text to others who might understand it better than I do, just to check.”

He nodded, tucking the book away. “I will.”

“However, I recommend you do it soon, because the Interior Ministry’s forces are planning to attack soon, and who knows what might happen because of that.”

His head bobbed in an acknowledging nod.

“Good luck on your journey.”

I watched as he entered the palanquin, settling down into a sitting position. A short while later, the ground shook, as though something huge and heavy was approaching. As I watched, a giant end of a woven rope came down through the hole in the ceiling, and crushed the palanquin entirely.

Wow.

It began going back up the way it came, and I quickly made my move, jumping up to grab onto it. In my other hand, I brought out the camera and started taking pictures of the spectacle; a giant figure made of woven rope, walking across a misty forest beneath a full moon. As it passed near a cliff, the rope man froze, and fell to the side against it, leaving me to hang from the spot where I was grabbing on.

Let’s see… yep, I’m in the divine realm of this world, or at least, the outer layer of it. And now that I’m here, I can [Warp] in anytime I want. Anyway, back to watching from afar.

Following behind Sekiro at a good distance, I continued to take pictures of the fantastical scenery. An entire palace complex, built on the edge of a giant waterfall, with multiple giant sakura trees blooming all over the place. It was a sight I would have liked to show my girls for real instead of just as a scene within a game…

And yet despite its beautiful appearance, there was a danger as well. The dragon-ish inhabitants didn’t welcome visitors, responding to Sekiro with drawn blades and arrows, and sometimes using the power of lightning. The nobles themselves were greedy, eagerly draining away the youth to revitalize themselves like drug addicts unable to fight the addiction. I didn’t have any hesitation in taking them down when I saw them.

[Bio]! 

The noble, about to play its flute to steal my vitality, suddenly clutched its chest and writhed in pain as it suffered a poisoned status. Meanwhile, its guard had drawn its blade and was hopping from foot to foot, preparing to attack as well.

It didn’t expect me to close the distance in a flash, hooking one of its legs with my ankle in a leg sweep, sending it crashing onto its back. Before it could react or recover, my foot came crashing down onto its masked face, ending its life.

Without turning, my hand came up and caught the arrow that had been fired at me. That was the [Block Arrow] skill at work as usual, but I lacked the one to return the projectile.

So instead, I materialized a gun with my magic, and ended the would-be assassin's life with a long bang. Several more enemies, attracted by the noise, came as well, but I defeated all of them easily.

With no further enemies in the area, I ascended to the top of a roof in a leap, and looked in the direction of the giant tree across the large expanse of water. On one of the large limbs, there stood a figure, and it was kicking a ball up in the air.

Alright, now let’s play, shall we? I stretched out a hand and made a beckoning gesture.

The ball went up, and suddenly exploded in crackling electrical energy, before the figure leapt up and performed a bicycle kick, sending the dangerous projectile rocketing towards me.

I jumped as well, trapping the energy ball with one leg. I could feel that it wanted to explode, the rampaging energies within it making it fragile, but I didn’t let it. Instead, I released it into the air before me, and kicked it back. 

Landing on my feet, I made a face as I realized my shot had gone off course, hitting some of the people on the nearby pavilion. That definitely caused them to raise a fuss, but none of them had any hopes of reaching me with their arrows and unpowered balls, so the only one who had any hopes of hitting me was the lightning ball kicker.

That was fine though, because that person was preparing to shoot another one. Awfully nice of that person, to let me practice like this.

Let’s see… Trap the ball, release, and… “Skadoosh!” I couldn’t help quoting Kung Fu Panda, due to how similar this scene was to the second movie.

This time, my ball struck the tree, not close enough to damage the kicker, but enough to force it to dodge. It retaliated with another shot, this one going even faster than before. With a grin on my face, I leapt to intercept it.

With my actions serving as a good distraction, Sekiro was able to make his way through the place relatively unhindered. Eventually, he even reached the tree, and ended my game when he stabbed my partner in the back. I noticed him staring at me across the large expanse of water, but he made no move to approach, instead heading further inside.

Alright… guess I better go finish up. There’s still the Mushin stuff from Isshin to get…

…

Wolf was a little surprised to see Fox present in the Fountainhead Palace, before realizing that the masked man must have snuck along with the giant rope person, only showing himself now. Stoic as he was, the shinobi felt a bit of satisfaction at being able to overcome the enemies he met along the way, without any of the helpful notes. 

Part of the reason for his success could be attributed to his return to the other places he had been to before, which helped him hone his determination and strength even further. He had shown the text to the Divine Child, and she confirmed the truth of the Cradling Ritual. He returned to Senpou Temple, and was able to slay the giant serpent, obtaining the fresh viscera to match the dried one he obtained before. After giving them both to the Divine Child, Wolf returned to the Fountainhead Palace to continue his quest.

It was only later that he realized what the other man was up to, and quickly moved to help by slaying the enemy attacking him. Feeling like he had managed to repay the debt he owed the man, Wolf ventured deeper into the palace.

Using every tool at his disposal, he eventually encountered the divine dragon, and with the Mortal Blade, was blessed with its tears, the crucial ingredient needed to sever the Dragon’s Heritage.

As though sensing his purpose within the divine realm was over, darkness covered his vision, and when it faded, Wolf found himself back in Ashina Castle. 

But his return was to a tragic scene; Emma was kneeling over Lord Isshin’s body with a sorrowful expression.

She informed him that the man had succumbed to his illness and passed away, just as he was taking up his sword to face the invaders. As for Lord Kuro, he had already left, and was waiting near the secret escape passage for Wolf.

“And Fox… he was here earlier, talking to Lord Isshin,” Emma added, “I don’t know what they discussed, but afterwards… Lord Isshin said that the man took something important from him.”

“...”

“Go quickly. Lord Kuro is waiting for you.”

Wolf nodded, and departed to descend the castle. He faced several of the red-armored troops of the Interior Ministry, and though they were tougher foes than any of the normal soldiers and ninjas he had faced before, his determination saw them all fall before him.

Along the way, he made a detour to the Dilapidated Temple where Emma had brought him to after Genichiro severed his arm. There, the peddler told him that the sculptor had gone off somewhere, and passed him a note from Fox. It was one final request, to meet at an open area in the outskirts of Ashina. Curious, Wolf decided to go to the place indicated.

He didn’t expect to have to fight a giant demon wreathed in flames. 

Wolf had no idea how such a creature could have appeared out of nowhere, but he could tell from the number of Red Guard soldiers it killed that it was an extremely dangerous opponent. He used every tool at his disposal, the shield, the Mortal Blade, his sword skills, and even died and revived a few times, but in the end, he was able to defeat it. 

For some reason, the demon knew his name, but the shinobi was too exhausted to wonder why. He wanted to collapse, but his duty and the thought of Lord Kuro waiting for him kept Wolf on his feet.

“Oh, you defeated the demon. Well done.”

Wolf turned his head to see Fox standing there, the man’s clothes fluttering in the wind.

“But you don’t have time to stand around. Genichiro stands in your path still, and Kuro doesn’t know that. Do you have the frozen tears?” The masked man asked.

He shook his head.

“Then you better go get it. For now, here’s a little help.”

Fox held out a small golden lump that Wolf recognized as the Divine Grass medicine, something that completely replenished his vitality after taking it. Having regained his strength, Wolf straightened up, only to blink as he caught sight of what Fox was now holding. It was the aromatic flower branch that Wolf had obtained after defeating Owl in the memory of the Hirata Estate. Somehow, Fox had managed to steal it from Wolf without him noticing.

“I’ll be taking this as payment for my services,” Fox said, slightly gleeful as he examined the branch.

Wolf brandished his blade. “Return it.”

“Hmm… nah. You already have the cradling ritual, so you won’t need it.”

Similar to their meeting in the Gun Fort, a smoke bomb fell out of Fox’s sleeve, creating a concealing cloud of smoke. Wolf lunged forward with a horizontal slash, but his blade sliced only through empty air, and the smoke dispersed with no sign of Fox, other than a few parting words.

“We won’t ever meet again. Bye, Sekiro.”

Wolf grimaced, but he quickly recalled what Fox said about Genichiro, and quickly rushed off. It was only later that he realized that the branch was not the only thing Fox stole from him. Emma had been right to distrust that man after all.

…

“Welcome back, Rick-kun!” Uzume greeted me with a smile as I walked through the door, “How was the trip?”

“Pretty good, I’d say. I collected all the skills I was after, along with a few other things I think you all will like.” I twirled the ceremonial tanto in one hand. “I also got to witness one last amazing battle before I left.”

“Oh? Tell me about it?”

“Well, I feel like I got some inspiration from watching it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if my Swordsman Developmental Ability ranked up from it.”

Uzume blinked in surprise, then smiled wider. “It would be impressive if that actually happened. So, since you’re back, what would you like to have first? Dinner? A bath?”

I waited for her to finish, and she didn’t disappoint.

Uzume winked as she slid one of her dress straps off her shoulder. “Or me?”

Afterword: And that’s the Sekiro world done! Managed to get it out a bit faster than I expected, which is good, but work continues to be stressful! Also, I’m being bothered by a new idea, and I might try devoting some time to fleshing it out in the near future. So don’t be surprised if the next update takes a while.

As always, thanks for supporting me!