Time began to blur for Ryoma after Ame escaped. In the moment, he held Tetsuo as the life faded from his eyes. If he were able to speak, the monk would have reassured them not to fret over his downfall. He remembered what the woman in the cave told him, how the gods were on their way, and he felt comfort as he drifted to the next world.
Next, Ryoma found himself holding Koichi’s corpse. This time, however, he realized there were no sentiments over the beast’s killing. Rather, he was searching the body looking for a key to unlock Miu from the water well. Meanwhile, most of the other villagers had recovered from their ailments and found the courage to emerge from their hiding places. Ryoma discovered the key and unlocked the poor woman to which her neighbors clothed her. Together, everyone mourned for and buried the village elder.
Then, before he knew they had moved on, Ryoma found himself, Himiko, and Yuki back at the shogunate. Makoto noted the missing monk and expressed his grievances for the group. Ryoma offered him Koichi’s head as proof of their accomplishment and, as promised, the shogun presented the samurai with the fire ofuda. Although still hazy on the events, Ryoma did distinctly remember the burning feeling of the talisman melting into the palm of his hand. He could track a tingling sensation move up his arm into his chest, and then, it was done; he had successfully merged with the ofuda. As a bonus, Makoto allotted a troop of samurai to escort them back to the palace and assist in the upcoming battle as well as a suit of armor for Ryoma. He didn’t remember changing into it, but felt relieved to finally be adorned in more than his simple underclothes.
Before long, the trio returned to Miu’s village. As thanks for fending off the threat to them all, they offered Ryoma a cart and horse attachment. He thanked them and wrangled his animal into the contraption while Yuki loaded Tetsuo’s body into the cart. Miu and Iori waved goodbye to them with tears in their eyes. Then, they were off.
The backtrack from Miu’s village did stretch on for a time Ryoma could take note of. He could notice the rain that came and went, coming down decently strong but never torrentially like the storm that ushered them into that cave where Himiko fused with her own talisman (it seemed as though the samurai could reflect on the past far easier than face the present). Also, when the clouds had cleared during the nights, Himiko kept track of the moon high above, moving toward, reaching, and passing the phase of waxing gibbous. She didn’t actually have names of each phase, but felt magnetized by the celestial body nonetheless.
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Later, Ryoma came across the blacksmith and headman from the week before. Together, they shared a meal of rice balls and, though enjoying themselves, lamented the loss of their friends and neighbors at the hands of Koichi and Ame. Everyone had someone to bury and, more importantly, someone to avenge. The borrowed samurai unit made quick work of carving any remaining graves from the earth, to which the blacksmith and headman held much gratitude. The blacksmith, as a parting gift, touched up Ryoma’s katana once more to add to its durability which the samurai thanked him greatly for.
After their stay, Ryoma was seemingly transported to Tetsuo’s temple in an instant. The silver-haired monk’s brothers had returned from their journeys to provide supplies to those afflicted by the invasion. They were shocked over his death, saddened over how young he was and how many good deeds he had left to perform. They took his body, stripped him down and washed him clean, and entombed him as Ryoma, Himiko, and Yuki said their goodbyes.
Himiko, at some point, asked for the group to take a detour closer to their goal, and so, Ryoma and the others returned to her shrine. She discovered that Sumire had been killed and began weeping. Ryoma held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder, a familiar feeling in a familiar place. Once she calmed herself, she visited Sumire’s grave behind the shrine and prayed that her soul would be at rest. Once done, they visited the makeshift graves of her parents as well and placed lilies on them again for beautification. And again, she prayed and hoped her pleas would be answered.
Finally, Ryoma’s clarity came back to him as the imperial palace appeared in view. “My home.” He said aloud. Himiko’s arms wrapped around him from behind and she placed the side of her head into his back. “I swear,” she said, “we will reclaim what you’ve lost, Ryoma. Orochi falls tonight.” He took note of the fact she said ‘tonight’ and looked to the sky. The sun had since vanished and twilight dimmed into darkness. Worse yet, a storm appeared to be brewing in the distance. None of that mattered to the ronin, however; it was time for him to claim his revenge.
