Chapter 24: Look at the World Through My Eyes |
'He's already gone...' Shinobu thought, slowly coming back to her senses as she stared blankly at the spot where Yeruashi had just been standing.
She then shifted her gaze to Kanae, who stood beside her, only to find with surprise that her sister was still staring intently at the single strand of silver hair resting on the ground.
Ultimately, Shinobu looked away, her eyes drifting toward the distant horizon.
That young man...
Who exactly is he?
...
Without a single sound, Yeruashi materialized in the heart of a dense forest thicket, the young girl in tow.
Tsuyuri didn't even blink as the world around her shifted in an instant, as if by the snap of a finger. She remained as still as a statue, her large purple eyes vacant and lifeless, showing absolutely no interest in her new surroundings.
Yeruashi made a casual flick of his hand toward her.
Her miserable, tattered rags disintegrated into countless tiny fragments, swirling into the air along with every speck of dirt and lice they carried.
Then, with a simple snap of Yeruashi's fingers, Everything was instantly consumed by tongues of flame and vanished into nothingness.
He had no intention of hiding his true abilities from Tsuyuri, nor did he feel the need to ease her into his world as he had with Makomo.
He wasn't concerned about her reaction either; the girl's mind was seemingly walled off from the outside world entirely.
With that thought, Yeruashi gestured with a single finger.
A small clod of earth rose into the air before him and collapsed into nothingness, breaking down into its base particles. From those molecules, new elements began to take shape, weaving together until a set of children's clothes appeared. The black and white outfit formed directly onto Tsuyuri's motionless body.
The style was strikingly reminiscent of the haori worn by the Captains of the Gotei 13 from Bleach.
Children might not usually care for such aesthetics, but that was beside the point.
'A... God?'
The question didn't actually leave Tsuyuri's lips.
The girl showed no outward response, no matter how miraculous or even divine Yeruashi's powers seemed to be.
Her large eyes remained as empty and hollow as ever.
While the words hadn't been spoken, the question had flickered dimly in the deepest reaches of her soul. It was the only sign of mental activity she had shown, a brief ripple on a perfectly still lake before she returned to her state of vacancy.
Yeruashi never stopped sensing her, monitoring for any flicker of life in her mind or body, no matter how faint.
He cast a nonchalant glance at the girl.
'Can you understand even this?' Yeruashi's calm voice echoed in the deepest recesses of Tsuyuri's soul, causing a faint spark to finally appear in those violet eyes.
After a brief silence, The girl slowly shifted her gaze toward him.
But she still didn't say a word.
'Don't think, don't wonder, and don't doubt. Just look. See what I am showing you...' Yeruashi said softly, patting Tsuyuri on the shoulder to signal for her to sit. Once she did, he sat beside her and gently rested his hand on her head.
'Look at the world through my eyes!' As the command echoed within her, not only did her body freeze, but her mind—which had only just begun to show signs of life—went completely still.
Yeruashi shared a fragment of the world as he saw it, granting her access to his divine perspective.
He restricted this view strictly to the world of Demon Slayer and to this specific moment in time, excluding both the past and the future.
Even so, an incredible and unforgettable vision unfolded before Tsuyuri, as if the entire world had been placed in the palm of her hand.
Nothing escaped that divine sight. Life and death, joy and sorrow, the fluttering wings of a butterfly and the roar of a crashing tsunami... she saw everything through his eyes. A staggering, overwhelming tide of information slammed into Tsuyuri's consciousness.
Her fragile mind should have shattered instantly under the pressure, erasing what little remained of her personality forever.
But Yeruashi intervened.
He released a gentle pulse of his eternal Reiatsu.
Under its influence, Tsuyuri's weak soul underwent a series of rapid evolutions, anchoring her consciousness firmly. If she had been a small sprout swayed by every breeze before, she was now a great tree capable of weathering any hurricane.
The planned experiment was as simple as could be.
Currently, Tsuyuri was on the very edge of losing her identity.
Without the help of Shinobu, Kanae, and eventually Tanjiro, her personality would either stagnate in its current state or degrade into nothingness.
Yeruashi was attempting to mold her consciousness into something akin to a god's by feeding it a divine perspective of the world.
Then...
Would her personality vanish forever? Would she become a detached embodiment of the world's laws? Or would she evolve and become whole, built upon an infinite stream of knowledge?
Any outcome would provide him with the answers he sought.
Time passed unnoticed.
The entire world was reflected in Tsuyuri's large violet eyes.
She read existence like an open book. She witnessed the intricate texture of a butterfly's wing and the violent eruption of a volcano simultaneously. Every second, an unimaginable amount of data flowed into her mind.
Yeruashi watched in silence.
Soon, a small smile touched his lips.
Tsuyuri's personality had not been snuffed out, nor had she lost her remaining emotions. She was still who she was.
Her condition hadn't worsened, but it hadn't improved either.
Her sense of self had not become "whole."
From Yeruashi's perspective, maintaining her current state was far from a failure; it gave him plenty to ponder.
...
Meanwhile, On the other side of the forest, Kanae and Shinobu returned home, their minds in a state of complete disarray.
The events of the day were so bizarre and incredible that Shinobu still couldn't gather her thoughts.
"No more training for today. Go and get some sleep. You've overexerted yourself," Kanae said gently.
Shinobu looked at her with conflicting emotions.
She knew her sister well enough to see that Kanae was only maintaining a facade of calm. In reality...
It was impossible to remain composed after what had happened.
If anything, her sister had to be the one most affected—her ultimate attack hadn't even been able to sever a single hair!
Yet Kanae was still trying to comfort her...
"Alright..." Shinobu hesitated, but decided not to voice her concerns. She nodded softly, her heart heavy with complex feelings. "You should rest too, Sister."
With those words, she turned and headed to her room as Kanae watched her with a gentle smile.
As soon as Shinobu was gone, the smile faded from the Flower Hashira's face. She raised her hand and slowly opened her palm.
A single silver hair rested there.
'Could it really be... just a hair?' Kanae whispered, replaying the scene in her mind over and over—the way the young man had casually wrapped a lock around his finger and plucked a simple strand of hair.