On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Two Hundred And Seventy-Eight *contains map – Kyoto*

“… yes, the fastest helicopter we have. Fully fuelled. Yes, I know I don’t know how to fly it, arrange an instructor. I hear it takes a few hundred hours to learn how to fly a helicopter. I should be able to do it in a day.” I was discussing with the Major. Let’s see, it’s two hundred and thirty miles from Central Tokyo to Kyoto, I’m on the outskirts so call it two hundred and twenty… the absolute best speed a Japanese military helicopter can do is around two hundred and forty miles an hour so… Damn, it would still be around an hour to Kyoto.

“It would be faster if I could just run there…” I muttered, before quickly giving up on that idea. Sure, it was possible I could make it faster than an hour, as with burst speed using Body Enhancement I could exceed the speed of the helicopter, but sustaining it over more than two hundred miles would likely still elude me. There are other problems too… the Boundary was less restrictive about matters like this, and I still was struggling to fully understand the rules, such as why we still seemed to breathe there, but issues like air resistance seemed far less problematic. If I tried to run to Kyoto, I’d end up arriving exhausted and in no fit state to battle dangerous foes. And I’d be seen. I can’t afford to be the one who leaks the existence of Candidates to the world…

“You see, there is no way to turn aside the definite fate that is my immediate future.” The Diviner said sadly, seeing the look on my face as I was on the phone. “Something will always conspire to prevent your aid.”

“Well, if you are so certain then, what does it matter if I try? You don’t lose anything.” I retorted, rather annoyed at her fatalism. It isn’t like she doesn’t want to live, so why not struggle harder…

“He has you there.” Kudou-san agreed with a wry chuckle.

“I… I understand.” Matsumuro-san agreed, her head dipping under her veil, probably looking down.

“Okay, Major Sasaki, we have credible intelligence that someone or something is likely to attack Kyoto in the very near future. Do you think we can get some JSDF presence here?”

“Well, that’ll be something the top brass need to agree. We are stretched pretty thinly at the moment. What with the complicated situation with China, as well as training and other logistical issues.”

“I see. Yeah, can you let Tsumura-san know I’ll be needing a meeting with him on my return then? Oh, and…” I rattled off a few last instructions. Once I hung up, I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts.

“Right. So we know that an attack is coming in the next three months, if you are to be believed, Matsumuro-san, and I have no reason not to believe you.” I clarified. “It will strike Kyoto, and will envelop your shrine at Tsukuyomi-jinja. Am I clear so far?”

She nodded. “That is correct. And I shall perish there.”

“So you say.” I said, unwilling to concede. “Now, there can only be two attack vectors, right? Here in the Material, and the Boundary. So if we protect the Material, by stationing soldiers here…”

“But can the army stand up to whatever threat these ants are?” Kudou-san asked.

“If they are as strong as Akio or me, then surely not-not.” Shaeula shook her head. “However, I do not-not believe that there are many as strong as us. Could you-you survive engaging your mortal army, Gin, Yamato?” She asked pointedly.

“No, I doubt it. I could likely kill a fair few with Avalokitesvara’s Gaze, but I am hardly immune to bullets.” Saionji-san admitted.

“My Golden Warriors would reap a bloody toll.” Yamato-san said proudly. “I don’t fear them, as the chosen of Kannon, I will be victorious.”

“Okay…” I said, surprised at his vehemence. “It’s true your warriors would be excellent at surviving small-arms fire and tanking, but… well, my point stands. I think we can take precautions to secure the Material Kyoto. See, this is another reason the Ministry is needed. Coordinating various branches of government such as the Military is necessary.”

“So if the attack happens in the spiritual realm, then… that would be harder to defend against.” Kudou-san mused. “I haven’t been there, but Taishakama-san and the others talk. Kyoto is a very dangerous place.”

“It definitely is.” I didn’t disagree. “But we have advantages there. Don’t forget, the attack will end up striking Tsukuyomi-jinja, right? If we know that, we can prepare. But first, we need to take stock of our assets. Well, we have Prince Shōtoku there, right?” I said, surprising everyone, especially the Diviner.

“How do you know of the Prince?” she asked.

“Well, I met him when I was helping Kudou-san’s people secure their Territory. How else do you think I got your name, Matsumuro-san?”

She looked startled by my answer, so I carried on. “Saionji-san, you have Akai, right? She’s a Phoenix, so even as a chick, she must be pretty strong, right?”

Akai hissed at me, before realising who she was cursing at, shrinking down, eyes spinning wildly. I don’t get why she dislikes Shaeula and me so much. It can’t just be that we are strong, right? It isn’t like we threatened her or anything…

“I do, but, what’s your point?” he asked.

“Simple. Bodyguard work.” I grinned. “Also, the neutral shrines have their own spiritual being who walks the Material as well. Kofuku Jizo. I would have him also guard the Diviner.”

“Should you be spilling their secrets, Akio-kun?” Kudo-san asked.

“I think this is the time for it. Besides, I’m hoping the neutral shrines will decide like you did, Kudou-san, and support my aims. And right now, my aim is to not let the Diviner die. I hate all that fatalistic bullshit.” Ironically, my own Foresight was still ringing, which I would have to deal with as well, but one problem at a time. “We have an advantage, we know a target. Which means we can prepare.”

Pulling out the map of Kyoto I had, I started making some annotations to the map. “These are the Territories I know of, and their rough extent. As you can see, the Matsunoo-Taisha Grand Shrine Territory surrounds Tsukuyomi-jinja now, since our efforts. That allows us the opportunity to fortify, although there isn’t much time.” I also drew in the other nearby Territories. “I know that the neutral shrines have one around Kegon-ji, yet not the extent of it. So… am I missing any of your factions, Kudou-san, Uchida-san, Saionji-san?”

“Well, that information is rather… sensitive.” Saionji-san mused. “However… in light of your proposal that known Territories shouldn’t be infringed upon…” he gave me a smile then, sly and knowing. “There are some others. Like mine, here.” He drew in an area around Kinkaku-ji. “I’m right on your borders, old man.” He smiled at Kudou-san.

“You think I don’t know that? I have Chosen too.” Kudou-san scoffed.

Uchida-san, who was still weak from the Chirurgery, exchanged a look with his son and Hikawa-san. Hikawa-san nodded confidently, while Yamato-san looked troubled, but in the end conceded.

“We also have one here.” He pointed at a pair of temples towards northern Kyoto, near the sister temple to Kinkaku-ji. “Shisendo and Konpuki-ji are under our control.”

“Such a shame.” Saionji-san laughed. “It seems Amaterasu is far more favoured by the Gods. We have multiple other areas we control. Here at Kozan-ji, a minor shrine here…” he pointed to a small area in the south-west near the river. “… as well as Shimogamo-jinja by the botanical gardens, and…”! his face fell. “Well, we did have more, here and here…” he made two black marks, one near Tofuku-ji just south of Kiyomizu-dera, and another in a modest area of Kyoto. “… but unfortunately, they died. Fools.”

“We lost one as well.” Kudou-san fiddled with his voluminous white beard, an expression of grief on his features. “Not too far from Ryōan-ji.” He made another black mark. “Three who should be with us now lost. A tragedy.”

“I see. Well, large parts of Kyoto are undefended, but that’s to be expected.” I said, looking at the newly upgraded map. “Luckily, there is a concentration near Tsukuyomi-jinja.”

“There might still be others hiding from our scrutiny.” Kudou-san mused, but Saionji-san shook his head.

“I’m no fool, you old fence-sitter… no, I suppose you finally got off the fence, didn’t you?” he said, a touch bitterly. “It might not be possible to tell if just anyone has one of these… Territories, you called them?” he asked me, and I nodded. “I see. A Ministry-approved lexicon of terminology will make discussions so much easier.” Saionji-san muttered, before continuing. “But if one of the shrines and temples has a Chosen, since they are all owned by the relevant families, you can tell the difference. You can somehow feel them. So of course, I dispatched some of my own Chosen to comb Kyoto. I’m no fool.”

“Yes, if you have a Territory that you own in both the Material and Boundary worlds, then the ether density of the Material increases, and other Chosen are slightly inhibited. So it’s impossible to hide them. However, areas you don’t control in both remain unaffected.” I clarified.

“I see.” Yamato-san mused. “You do know a lot, don’t you?”

“He does. His depth of knowledge was part of what won me over.” Hikawa-san agreed. “You’d do well to trust him.”

Even so, you decided to stick with Susanoo… putting that aside, I agreed. “Right, well, it’s a shame that most of Kyoto is open, but in a way that’s not a bad thing. What is dangerous to us, might be dangerous to these ants. Hmm… Yasaka-san?” I asked suddenly.

“Yes?” he answered warily.

“You seem to get hurt asking questions about the future, which makes sense.” I nodded, understanding. “If divination does work as Matsumuro-san says, like a Laplace’s Demon, then you’d have to process a ton of data, which would surely be bad for your brain. But if it’s something in the present…”

“I’m getting a bad feeling right now…” he muttered.

“Can you ascertain where these ants are now?” I asked.

He swallowed nervously, looking at Saionji-san, who nodded.

“Do not-not be such a coward. Akio shall heal you should you suffer harm.” Shaeula chided him, and after a moment he queried his Book.

“They… ugh, I … think this question still… touches on the future.” He said, nose starting to bleed. “But… the ants are part of a hive of a billion, pursued, scattering, yet nearby… ouch…”

“You can stop now.” I said, applying more Ether Healing as the flow of aether dissipated. “… hive of a billion, nearby, huh?”

“And a Red Dragon…” Kudou-san mused.

“That sounds…” Princess Mikasa began, before shaking her head. “No, it couldn’t be. That would be insane…”

“Do not-not leave me as the only one who does not-not know.” Shaeula looked around sourly. ”I see you all have some-some idea.”

“It could be an attack from China. Though they are west of us, so Red Dragon of the East seems not to fit…”

“If it is in comparison to a White Dragon of the West…” Matsumuro-san finished, troubled. “… then it would fit. Visions are allegorical, seldom clear, but… it does fit. But why would China seek my life? And the cost would be…”

“Damn, yeah, it could start a world war easily, if Chinese forces were to attack Kyoto. Unless… well, if it happened in the Boundary, it isn’t like we could admit to it, could we? Not at this stage…” I considered it. “… I still think we should post military forces here just in case, and I wonder if we can increase naval patrols without stoking international tensions. Though with China making threatening moves recently… Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair, abashed. “This is why no matter how strong one person gets, they can’t do everything.”

Yamato-san looked sour at that, so I decided to explain further. “Look, you know I’m strong, right? But even so, I can’t be everywhere at once. I’d love nothing more than to remain here and make sure that Matsumuro-san gets safely through whatever trial she is facing, but I have my own Territory, the Seelie Court, commitments to the Ministry and more… this is why we need to come together. So… while we can’t be certain, thanks to the limitations of Yasaka-san’s abilities, it seems the attack is from people, likely other Candidates. But if that’s so, how can there be a swarm of them? There’s still a lot we don’t know…”

“If there are many, then we should not-not neglect caution.” Shaeula said, thinking. “We do not-not know what abilities they might have. Some may be powerful indeed.”

“Right. The aim is to buy enough time for me to arrive, with what reinforcements I can. I could try running through the Boundary to Kyoto, it’d be easier, but who knows what I’d run into on the way, and without GPS I’d likely get way off course… fine. Here’s what I suggest. Firstly, we pump resources into setting up Defensive Emplacements and Barracks around Tsukuyomi-jinja. I doubt that can hold off a swarm of Candidates, but it can definitely buy some time.”

“Defensive Emplacements?” The Diviner asked, and I realised that her Territory was fairly empty, and she likely knew little about the workings of it.

“Well, let me explain…” I went into some detail about how a Territory was developed, mentioning Yamato-san’s Hands of Forgiveness as an example of a decent defence. “… so in conclusion, we focus all our efforts into defending there. If it can take out the enemy, great. But all it has to do is buy enough time for us to be notified and bring aid.”

“You think you can take on a number of powerful enemies?” Saionji-san asked, and I grinned.

“I’m pretty certain. I struggled with Kondou Kazuo, true, but that was then. I’m many times stronger now. And if we are lucky, the Night Parade or the other denizens of Kyoto should thin them out as well.”

“But if we do that, then the rest of us will be vulnerable!” Yamato-san protested. “The attack will be on Kyoto, surely we can’t risk ourselves to save one person?”

Really? That’s the kind of man you are, Yamato-san? Before I could answer, Shaeula snorted with amusement, and his face went red with annoyance and embarrassment.

“Well, you do have a point, Yamato.” She said, shrugging. “Though what male would not-not be willing to impress a female, even at the risk of their own life? Akio would have no-no hesitation.”

“It isn’t about that!” Yamato-san spat, incensed by her mockery. “We’re talking about the safety of Kyoto, the centre of our faith! One life, even a noble one such as Lady Diviner, isn’t worth risking that!”

“I get what you mean, Yamato-sama…” Mine-san said, after having been silent for a while due to the tense and high-level conversations. “… but, like, if you say it that way, girls won’t be impressed.”

“I think we are all getting heated. We need to calm down.” Hikawa-san said calmly. “We still only have the barest idea of what will happen. This is why we are discussing it now.”

“Well, you aren’t prepared to leave your Territory and protect the Diviner, so why should we risk ourselves?” Yamato-san pressed, and I had to admit it was a fair point. Although if you’re a man the answer should be obvious…

“I’m also not telling you to risk your own Territory, only to spend time and effort protecting Matsumuro-san.” I shot back. “Look, we have one advantage. We may not know the enemy numbers or strengths, but we do know at some point they’ll attack Matsumuro-san at Tsukuyomi-jinja. That means we have the advantage, it’s easier to defend than attack. Even the relatively weak Territory there will have an effect, and we can use it to thin them out, slow them… as for me not being prepared… I’ve already said one man can’t do everything. But I’ll do what I can. After all…” I looked at the Diviner. “… you’ve given up a lot for the world, you shouldn’t have to give up your life as well.”

“Can I help? I don’t want Tsukiko-chan to suffer any more.” Princess Mikasa asked. As we looked at her in surprise she bowed her head. “Besides, if I too am to face this Red Dragon, I’d like to do all I can to learn about it. Maybe even weaken it here?”

“True. If it is China, well, based on population they should have a lot of Candidates. Obviously I’d hope to avoid war and work together with them, as we all share the same boat in the end. Hmm, the way Yasaka-san said pursued…” that gave me pause. I wonder if perhaps they are dissidents, something similar… no, I can’t get fixated on it being China. That’s only our guess…

“Well, my suggestion is… well, I promised my sister and the other girls that I would be attending some sort of concert tonight, so after that, how about we all gather and enter the Boundary together near Tsukuyomi-jinja. Yasaka-san, Matsumuro-san, getting you a few levels certainly can’t hurt, and we can start some construction. I have a few Etherites to spare.” I don’t want to use the blue one, I want to keep that for Ixitt, but even so, I gained plenty of others… “I can craft some gear too…” my mind was whirling with ideas.

“A concert? You never change, Oshiro-san.” Hikawa-san chuckled. “The world is falling to pieces and you are going on dates.”

“Hey, it’s not a date.” I sighed. “But yeah, I don‘t know how much longer I can enjoy myself. If we have between one and four years left to get prepared… time is obviously precious. But it’s like I said. Nine minutes to plan, one minute to spend time with those I love. That way works best for me.”

“Well said. That’s, like, touching!” Mine-san agreed. “So, you mean Red and White, right? The centre is a Shrine Maiden from Kanda-Myojin shrine, right?”

“That’s one of ours.” Kudou-san grinned. “Well, one of yours now, I guess, Akio-kun.” His smile broadened. “The head of the shrine was sitting on your chairs. Maybe you can even get her autograph.”

“My sis would like that, I’m sure.” I said, shrugging. “But anyway… after that, we can dive in. Any objections?”

“You do not have to go so far for me…” Matsumuro-san began, but surprisingly enough it was her friend the Princess who told her to shut up.

“Don’t be stupid, Tsukiko-chan! If someone wants to help, let them! Especially a capable man like Akio-san…”

Oh shit, an Imperial Princess of this country just called me by my first name. it shouldn’t bother me, as Shaeula’s a princess too, but it seems more real, somehow… no, no time for this.

“After all…” she continued. “You did say I should hope for that person carrying the light, the darkness and twilight to help save me. I don’t know if it’s him, but I don’t care. Tsukiko-chan… if you survive, we can… we can be real friends! You’ll have no reason to hide your name or face! And you’ll have fulfilled your purpose! You can be normal again!”

“No, I still have one final purpose, I must…” she began, only for the Princess to stamp her foot in annoyance.

“… listen to me! Kudou-san, please tell her!”

“Look.” I broke in. “Even when this is over and we’ve beaten off these ants, she’ll not be normal. Every Candidate is precious, and with her gift, she’s even more so. But Princess, you can still do normal things, go out, have fun. After all…” I turned back to the silent Diviner. “… that’s how I saved Shiro from her thirst, right? We aren’t machines. If all we do is train and fight and worry, we’ll break down. And if we know, feel, what we have to protect, then we can fight harder.”

“Indeed. We never-never would have been able to defeat Duke Myrcolaxriath unless we were together, fighting for each other.” Shaeula agreed.

“Damn, I like, want to know the story behind that. It’s been mentioned a few times. Is it, like, heroic and shit?” Mine-san asked, bright eyed.

“I don’t want to know, it’ll be scary.” Akai muttered.

“Well, those who are interested, do-do gather around.” Shaeula began, Mine-san and the Princess going to her. “… the Myconids are a terrible race…”

As we finalised the details, Yamato-san spoke up. “So, what about… well, this morning. Your sister, the others… they learned to control the light, didn’t they?”

“Yes. Your daughters too, Hikawa-san. They were very brave, and integral in smoothing the process. Ren-san helped a lot too.” I praised them, earning a proud, fatherly smile from him. “That was a good thought, Yamato-san. Matsumuro-san, why wait for someone who can wield light, darkness and twilight when you can learn it yourself? I’ll put it on the agenda…”

Yes, we should be able to set things up so that Matsumuro-san can buy enough time for reinforcements. Damn, If only we could set up Ring Gates between… huh… wait, is it that simple? It was like a bolt of lighting flashed through me. Faerie Ring Gates…