Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2339: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [57]

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Yuki was confused.

"What’s going on? Should I just wait? But it feels wrong... Fuyu?"

"Mama?"

Yudra slowly opened her eyes and called for her mother. Yuki glanced back at her.

"Aw, my baby... Are you alright?"

Yuki sat down and hugged her daughter, kissing her forehead and holding her close.

"Uwuhh..."

Yudra’s eyes brimmed with tears, her lips trembling.

Yet she covered her face with her hands and shook her head, stopping herself from crying.

"Waauh!"

She furrowed her eyebrows. Though tears gathered in her eyes, she held them back.

"Yudra... You’re saying you’re okay? You’re a bit too brave. It’s okay to cry... you’re a baby..."

"Waaauh! Wawah?"

Yudra hugged her mother, feeling safer, and looked around, realizing her papa was missing.

"Your father is... I don’t know..."

Yuki glanced around, noticing a large temple in the distance glowing with a strange, mysterious light.

It felt like...

It was calling her.

"I think he’s fighting... outside..."

"Aaahh! Wuwah? Wauuh!"

Yudra stood up, startled, trying to tell her mother she wanted to help him.

"No! You can’t help your father! You almost died just now, Yudra! I can’t let you go through that again, dear!"

Yuki grew overprotective, hugging her daughter tightly.

"Mama..."

Yudra sighed, hugging her mama and rubbing her little nose against hers.

FLASH!

Then she freed herself from her mother’s arms with ease, flying toward the temple against her wishes.

"Wait! Yudra! Why are you going there?!"

Yuki followed, sensing a phantasmal presence behind her.

"Yuki! Are you awake?"

It was Andromeda.

"Andromeda! I thought Fuyu would greet me first..."

"Most of her soul is busy fighting elsewhere, so she seems absent here..."

"Alright then! What’s going on? Is Drake still fighting Susanoo?!"

"Yeah, he is. Susanoo’s a nasty fighter, possessed by a strange power. Though we thought he died, he somehow returned."

"What?! Damn it! He must have gained that power from Hajun, that demon... Does Drake need my help? I... I can help!"

"No, wait! Drake would be furious if I let you help. He just saved your life, and he’s still mad!"

"Don’t worry, you don’t need to tell me to help him. I’ve already decided!"

"Wait, Yuki! That’s the Archetype Awakening Temple..."

"Yudra’s going there for a reason. Perhaps she feels something calling her..."

Yuki caught up with her daughter as she saw her enter the temple.

She ran inside, finding Yudra floating in the middle, curiously looking around.

"Yudra! Why are you here? Wait..."

FLAAASH!

Yuki found herself caught in a large formation that activated automatically. Runes floated and spun beneath them.

"Mama!"

Yudra seemed happy, flying to her mother and hugging her.

"What’s gotten into you? This is... Woah!"

In that split second, Yuki and Yudra found themselves in a completely different place.

It was a black world of eternal darkness.

The floor beneath seemed made of water, reflecting them both.

"This place is... Ahhh!"

Yuki screamed, seeing not herself and her daughter in the reflection, but another person—a human woman.

This woman had a graceful, beautiful face, pale white skin, striking eyes, and long, silky black hair. She wore white, red, and gold robes with a large golden crown shaped like a rising sun, embedded with a red jewel in the center.

She looked entirely different from Yuki, yet Yuki felt deeply connected to her. The woman’s face seemed sorrowful, but she smiled warmly at Yuki and Yudra.

FLASH!

Sunlight surged from the reflection, pushing Yuki and Yudra back, nearly blinding them.

The sunlight spread into the black skies, revealing the Mindscape’s true appearance: a beautiful blue sky with a bright sun above.

"Wooow!"

Yudra smiled as Yuki gazed at the sky in awe.

The sky shifted, as clouds of nine colors spread everywhere.

The land expanded, with gigantic continents surging and vibrant life emerging from every corner.

Humans, Yokai, Oni, Tengu, and more...

Above the skies, the Kami.

All appeared as silhouettes of various colors.

This was...

"Zipangu’s creation?"

Yuki grew more confused as a silhouette of bright golden light approached her.

It spoke.

"You, oh great goddess of creation."

"Eh?"

"You, who created the nine heavens and the land of mortals."

"You, who created the Kami and the Demons below."

"Heaven and Hell, separated by the Mortal Plane."

"Great Architect of Zipangu, dear mother of all the living and the dead."

"Herald of the sun, oh brightest empress of the everlasting heavenly realm."

"Can you hear them?"

"Your people need you; they’re calling for you."

"W-Wha...?"

Yuki’s eyes widened as she heard voices from her own Divine Realm.

"Amaterasu-sama!"

"Please, save Zipangu..."

"Save my family..."

"Amaterasu-sama...!"

"Please... help us...!"

It was the dozens of Zipangu soldiers she had rescued, now residing in her Divine Realm.

They prayed for her, each prayer turning into a particle of light, gathering into her body.

"They’re calling for me..."

Yuki clenched her fists, realizing what this was...

A ritual of awakening.

"Will you answer the call and become the goddess they lost?"

"Answer me!"

Yuki gritted her teeth, overwhelmed by the responsibility this might bring.

But she had no real choice now.

"Will you embrace who you once were and do good for your people and your world?!"

"No."

"..."

Yuki responded coldly, stepping toward the silent silhouette.

"I cannot go back to who I was... it’s impossible."

"..."

"Amaterasu... she’s dead. Whoever I am, I will never be like she was... I am not her."

"I may have been her once, but now I’m someone completely different... and I plan to stay that way."

"However..."

"I can try. I can take her legacy and use it to save those I can. I can use it to help my husband defeat the demons of my past that still torment us."

"No promises, but if the opportunity arises... I will go to Zipangu to help my people. But I doubt I’ll ever become Amaterasu again or take the Heavenly Throne."

The silhouette stayed silent, then raised its hands. A bright sphere of light emerged.

"Your determination and honest words have tempered your fear, anxiety, and suffering. Your conviction is enough."

"Live the life you want, but never truly forget who you once were... And that is fine."

"Never forget your people or your world, oh great goddess."

"Rise now, awaken!"

Yuki and Yudra reached forward as the miniature sun landed in their hands and entered their hearts.

FLAAASH!

"Huh? Wait, my daughter too?"

Yuki felt confused. If Yudra was part of this ritual and its subject, then that meant...

Indeed.

It meant what she had suspected for a while.

The silhouette addressed not only Yuki but also Yudra.

After all, Yudra was the reincarnation of another of Amaterasu’s soul fragments.

The girl was reborn anew, with no memories of any past life, a clean slate.

But this was also their connection beyond mother and child.

It was a deeper bond between two souls originating from the same source.

They turned into light, fusing into a single, tall figure made of sunlight.

"I am the godly empress of heaven."

"I am the mother of both gods and mortals."

"And I am the disgraced goddess, beheaded, humiliated, and killed by my own creations."

"I am now flawless, yet not perfect..."

"But even now, I walk a thorny path toward salvation, seeking to avenge my death and liberate my people from the tyranny of the monsters I created."

"I am...!"

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