第貳章、花散之祓舞
Chapter 2: The Purification Dance of Scattered Blossoms
儀式過後，第七日的黃昏。
一股污穢的氣息如同無形的薄紗，悄然籠罩了御神家世代守護的山林領地。棲息於枝頭的鳥兒早已驚惶飛散，林間一片死寂，連夏日的蟬鳴都噤了聲。空氣中飄蕩著腐葉與鐵鏽混合的淡淡腥臭，那是妖魔留下的瘴氣。
御神櫻獨自跪坐在本殿深處的神龕前。
夕陽的最後一抹餘暉透過高窗，將她純白的巫女裝染上一層血色。她剛剛結束每日例行的晚禱，體內的神櫻之力如同溫暖的泉眼，平靜地流淌著。然而，這份平靜被外界那股不斷增強的不祥波動打破了。
它來了。家族等待已久的試煉，也是她必須履行的職責。
她深吸一口氣，那雙如今愈顯深邃的眼眸中，緊張與決然交織閃過。
御神櫻起身，走到神龕正前方。龕內空無一物，但她知道，那至高無上的存在，正居於她的胸腔之內。
「神櫻大人，」她輕聲低語，聲音在空曠的殿內顯得格外清晰，「請賜予我力量，斬除邪穢，守護淨土。」
她開始吟唱。並非儀式時長老們那種鏗鏘古老的祝詞，而是更為空靈幽遠，接近於歌謠。每一個音節從她唇間溢出，都牽動著體內那股沉睡的力量。
隨著吟唱的進行，異變陡生。
首先是光。
溫潤強烈的櫻色光華自她胸口透出，瞬間照亮了整個昏暗的本殿。光芒純淨而神聖，與外界污濁的妖氣形成極致對比。光芒越來越盛，逐漸將她整個人都包裹其中。
接著是分離。
御神櫻感到一種奇妙的抽離感，彷彿靈魂正在從一間熟悉的房間裡搬出。她的視野陡然升高、開闊——
她的頭顱，連同修長的頸項，緩緩地與軀幹分離，懸浮於半空之中。
沒有鮮血，沒有創口。斷面處閃爍著柔和的光暈，數條由純粹靈魂之力凝聚而成的銀白色細絲，如同擁有生命的觸鬚，從頸下延伸而出，在她周圍輕柔地飄動。這些絲線，將成為她與「自己」連接的橋樑。
她的視角變得無比奇特。她（她的頭顱）漂浮在空中，向下俯視著那具失去了頭顱，卻依舊挺立的身軀——那已是神櫻的神體。它靜靜地站立在原地，周身沐浴在濃郁的櫻色神光之中，莊嚴、聖潔，如同最高明的匠人雕琢出的神像，成為了這臨時神龕的核心。
然後，是四肢的甦醒。
彷彿接收到無聲的指令，她的雙臂與雙腿也同時與軀幹分離。
右腿落地的瞬間，形態驟變。大腿的截面處，靈力瘋狂匯聚、實體化，延伸出一條宛若脊椎節節相連的慘白色長鞭，鞭身上佈滿了銳利猙獰的骨刺，鞭梢如同毒蛇的信子，微微顫動，發出令人牙酸的細微噝噝聲。
左腿則被流動的銀光覆蓋，靈力迅速塑形，凝聚成一柄弧度優美卻鋒芒逼人的太刀。刀身薄如蟬翼，其上流光溢彩，散發著能斬斷一切污穢的銳利氣息。
她的雙手則輕巧地探入巫女服的袖中，取出了預先備好的數枚符咒。手臂斷面處，兩顆璀璨的靈力寶珠如同眼睛般驟然亮起，嵌入其中，為符咒與後續戰鬥提供著源源不絕的能量。
所有的一切，都在數個呼吸間完成。
御神櫻（頭顱）懸浮於空，銀色的靈魂絲線輕柔地觸碰並連接上每一個武裝化的肢體。一種前所未有的感知網絡瞬間建成。她不再通過神經，而是透過這些靈魂的紐帶，「感覺」到右腿長鞭劃破空氣的阻力，「感覺」到左腿靈刀鋒刃的銳意，「感覺」到雙手符咒上躍動的靈力。
她成了指揮官，而她的肢體，成了最忠誠、最強大的士兵。
「走吧。」
心念一動，靈魂絲線便將指令精準傳達。
神體依舊留在原地，散發著穩定而浩瀚的神性光輝，如同燈塔，為所有分離的部件提供著力量的根源。
頭顱率先飄出本殿，四肢緊隨其後——右腿如獵豹般無聲奔行，骨鞭拖曳在地，劃出淺痕；左腿輕盈躍動，靈刀在暮色中劃出清冷光弧；雙手則漂浮在頭顱兩側，指間夾著的符咒已微微發亮，進入臨戰狀態。
這支由少女身體部件組成的奇異隊伍，迅捷地衝向妖氣最濃郁的後山「花散裏」。
在那裡，一頭龐然大物正匍匐於地，啃食著不幸野鹿的殘骸。它形似巨猿，卻渾身潰爛，腐肉下裸露著森白的骨架，肩背生出兩三根異樣的突骨，宛若未竟之翼。獨目血紅，黑濁的眼淚不斷自眼眶滑落，滴落在地面時化為細小的黑蟲竄動。口中涎水帶著酸腐氣息，滴落時發出刺耳的滋滋聲響。
感受到純淨神力逼近，它猛地抬頭，喉中同時響起咆哮與低沉的人聲嘶喊：「……滾……滾回去……」
那聲音沙啞破碎，卻帶著令人不安的熟悉感，彷彿曾是人類在臨死前的遺言。
御神櫻心頭一顫，眼底閃過一絲慄然。她幾乎要分心去思索——但來不及。妖魔已撲出。
戰鬥，瞬間爆發！
妖魔龐大的身軀帶著腥風猛撲而來，目標直指漂浮的頭顱——它本能地覺得那是核心。
「右，絞殺！」御神櫻心念一動，右腿猛地蹬地，藉力騰空。那條佈滿骨刺的長鞭如同擁有生命的兇惡巨蟒，撕裂空氣，發出刺耳的尖嘯，瞬間纏繞上妖魔撲來的粗壯手臂。
骨刺深深扎入潰爛血肉，妖魔慘嚎，但下一刻，它渾身的黑氣猛然鼓脹，開始沿著骨鞭逆流，攀附至銀白絲線！
「糟了！」御神櫻腦中一震，靈魂絲線傳來灼痛，如同神經被灼燒。她強行壓下驚慌，驅動左腿。
「左，劈斬！」
幾乎在指令下達的同時，左腿動了。它如同最頂尖的劍客，疾奔側移，靈刀劃出一道完美的銀色新月弧光。
唰——！妖魔那被纏住的手臂應聲而斷，污黑的血液噴濺而出。妖魔發出一聲痛嚎，奮力掙扎。但長鞭轉換目標，死死纏繞妖魔軀體，越收越緊。
妖魔痛吼，卻不退縮，反而將斷臂猛力砸地。落地瞬間，那斷裂的血肉蠕動，竟化為數隻手掌般大小的腐屍小妖，尖叫著撲向漂浮的雙手！
御神櫻心神同時被三股壓力拉扯：右腿鞭仍與妖魔對峙，左腿蓄力準備突擊，雙手卻被迫周旋於數個小妖。腦海中的指令如暴雨傾瀉，每一根絲線都在顫動，她的視野一度模糊，耳邊響起如千人低語的雜音。「冷靜……集中……」她咬緊牙關，額上滲出冷汗。胸口的神櫻之力自內而外湧出，為她撐起一層清明。
「符箭，連射！」雙手終於擺脫小妖糾纏，指尖的符咒化作數道灼目的金色光箭，精準地射向小妖，將它們逐一釘殺在地，化為黑灰。
光箭也在妖魔面部炸開，淨化的力量灼燒著它的皮肉，發出焦臭的氣味。妖魔陷入瘋狂，僅剩的獨臂胡亂揮舞，巨大的力量掃斷了周圍的樹木。
戰鬥陷入了短暫的僵持。妖魔的瘋狂反撲迫使御神櫻的四肢不斷閃避。御神櫻全神貫注，頭顱在空中飛速移動，以避開攻擊，同時靈魂絲線高速顫動，將一道道閃避、格擋、反擊的指令同時傳達給四個獨立作戰的單位。
她終於找到了一個破綻——在妖魔一次全力揮擊後的短暫僵直。
「右，拘束它的腳！」骨鞭閃電般纏上腳踝，猛地一拉。
「左，準備突刺！」靈刀閃耀如流星，蓄勢待發。
「符咒，壓制！」光之鎖鏈自半空墜下，鎖住妖魔剩下的唯一手臂。
巨猿般的妖魔轟然失衡，撲倒在地。它的獨目瘋狂閃動，口中再次溢出沙啞的人聲：「……救……我……」
御神櫻的心臟一緊，靈魂絲線險些遲疑。「不！」她在心底怒喝，將雜念斬斷。
就是現在！
左腿凝聚了所有的靈力，太刀變得無比璀璨，如同墜落的流星，以一往無前的氣勢，刺入了妖魔瘋狂閃動的猩紅獨目，從腦後貫出！
妖魔的動作驟然停頓，所有的瘋狂與暴戾瞬間凝固，隨後猛烈抽搐。黑色瘴氣從傷口與七竅狂湧而出，化作鬼影般的面孔嘶喊尖叫。御神櫻雙手迅速結印，吐出最後一聲低喝：
「淨！」
純淨的櫻色神光自神體所在的方向遙遙湧來，如同潮水般淹沒了妖魔的殘軀。龐大的腐屍身影在光中融解，崩解成無數黑煙，最終消散。
只剩一片焦黑土地，散發著尚未完全褪去的餘惡。
戰鬥結束。
花散裏重歸寂靜，只有晚風吹過樹葉的沙沙聲。
御神櫻的頭顱懸浮在半空，呼吸急促，腦中嗡鳴不止。剛才短短片刻，她彷彿分裂為五個人，同時作戰。那種撕裂般的負荷，讓她的靈魂就像被硬生生拉伸。
她「看」著自己的肢體：右腿的骨鞭緩緩收回，變回普通右腿的模樣，只是沾滿了污血，傷痕累累；左腿的靈刀消散，腿側有一道被妖氣劃出的醒目傷痕，滲著血珠；雙手握著的符咒也已耗盡靈力，化為灰燼飄散。
靈魂絲線顫抖著牽引肢體，回到本殿，回到那靜靜立起，散發著光輝的神體之旁。
沒有身軀的雙足虔誠地跪拜於神龕前。獨立飄蕩的雙手合十，向提供力量的神體表達感謝。
當神櫻之體發出柔和的光芒後，巫女的頭部和四肢才小心翼翼地與軀幹緩緩連接，再次回到歸屬的地方。
咔。
細微卻清晰的契合聲。
御神櫻的視野驟然回歸正常，各處感官的完整感知再次透過神經系統傳回大腦。卻在那一瞬間，不僅僅是力戰後的疲憊，她還感受到一股排斥感。彷彿那四肢並不屬於她，而是被硬生生裝回。短暫的違和在腦海中回蕩，讓她心底泛起陣陣眩暈。
她低頭望著自己的雙手，掌心仍殘留著符咒的餘溫。這些剛才還是獨立作戰的存在，如今卻回到「她的」身體。那份陌生與熟悉的混合感，讓她喉嚨發緊，卻無法言語。身體各處也傳來細微的痛感，提醒著她剛才戰鬥的激烈。
她成功了。履行了作為巫女的第一次職責，完成了第一次試煉；但在心靈深處，一股茫然與隱隱的不安，正無聲滋長。
御神櫻緩緩握緊手掌，感受著體內依舊澎湃、卻已恢復平靜的神櫻之力，以及心靈深處那絲悄然滋長，卻無法對人言說的茫然。
Dusk on the seventh day after the rite.
A foul presence, like an invisible veil, quietly shrouded the mountain forest that the Mikami family had protected for generations. The birds that nested on the branches had long since flown away in panic, leaving the woods in a dead silence; even the cicadas of summer had fallen quiet. The air was filled with the faint, fetid stench of decaying leaves and rust—the miasma left by a demon.
Mikami Sakura knelt alone before the shrine in the depths of the main hall.
The last rays of the setting sun shone through a high window, dyeing her pure white shrine maiden attire a shade of blood. She had just finished her routine evening prayers, the power of the Divine Cherry Blossom within her flowing calmly like a warm spring. However, this peace was shattered by the increasingly intense, ominous vibrations from the outside world.
It had come. The trial the family had long awaited, and the duty she was bound to fulfill.
She took a deep breath. In her eyes, now deeper than ever, tension and resolve flickered in equal measure.
Mikami Sakura rose and walked to the front of the shrine. The alcove within was empty, but she knew that the supreme presence resided within her own chest.
"Lady Shin-ou," she whispered, her voice exceptionally clear in the vast, empty hall, "grant me the strength to purge this wickedness and protect this sacred land."
She began to chant. It was not the resonant, archaic incantation of the elders from the rite, but something more ethereal and distant, closer to a song. With every syllable that escaped her lips, the dormant power within her stirred.
As the chant progressed, a strange transformation began.
First, there was light.
A warm, intense, cherry-blossom-colored radiance shone from her chest, instantly illuminating the entire dim hall. The light was pure and holy, a stark contrast to the corrupted demonic aura outside. The light grew brighter and brighter, gradually enveloping her entire being.
Then came the separation.
Mikami Sakura felt a peculiar sense of detachment, as if her soul were moving out of a familiar room. Her perspective abruptly rose and widened—
Her head, along with her long neck, slowly separated from her torso, hovering in mid-air.
There was no blood, no wound. A soft glow emanated from the point of separation, where several silvery-white threads, condensed from pure spiritual power, extended from below her neck like living tendrils, floating gently around her. These threads would be the bridge connecting her to "herself."
Her point of view became utterly unique. She (her head) floated in the air, looking down at the headless body that still stood erect—that was now the divine body of Shin-ou. It stood silently in place, bathed in the rich, sakura-colored divine light—solemn, sacred, like an idol carved by the most masterful artisan, becoming the core of this temporary shrine.
Then, the awakening of the limbs.
As if receiving a silent command, her arms and legs simultaneously detached from her torso.
The moment her right leg touched the ground, its form changed drastically. From the severed thigh, spiritual power gathered and materialized with frenzied speed, extending into a ghastly white whip that resembled a vertebral column. The whip was covered in sharp, menacing bone spurs, and its tip quivered like a viper's tongue, emitting a faint, grating hiss.
Her left leg was covered in a flowing silver light. Spiritual power rapidly took shape, coalescing into a tachi, a longsword with an elegant curve and a terrifyingly sharp edge. The blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, shimmering with an iridescent light that radiated an aura capable of severing all corruption.
Her hands, meanwhile, reached gracefully into the sleeves of her robes, retrieving several talismans she had prepared beforehand. From the severed ends of her arms, two brilliant orbs of spiritual power lit up like eyes and embedded themselves within, providing a ceaseless flow of energy for the talismans and the battle to come.
All of this was completed in the span of a few breaths.
Mikami Sakura (her head) hovered in the air, the silvery threads of her soul gently touching and connecting with each of her weaponized limbs. An unprecedented sensory network was established in an instant. She no longer felt through nerves, but through these spiritual tethers. She could "feel" the resistance of the air as the whip of her right leg cut through it, "feel" the sharp intent of the spiritual blade of her left leg, and "feel" the pulsating power in the talismans held by her hands.
She had become the commander, and her limbs, her most loyal and powerful soldiers.
"Let's go."
With a single thought, the command was transmitted precisely through the soul threads.
The divine body remained in place, emitting a stable and vast divine radiance, like a lighthouse providing the source of power for all the detached parts.
The head floated out of the main hall first, followed closely by the limbs. The right leg ran silently like a panther, the bone whip dragging on the ground and carving a shallow trench. The left leg leaped nimbly, its spiritual blade tracing a cold arc of light in the twilight. The hands floated on either side of her head, the talismans held between their fingers already glowing faintly, ready for battle.
This bizarre procession, formed from the parts of a single young woman, rushed swiftly towards the rear mountain, "the Glade of Scattered Blossoms," where the demonic aura was thickest.
There, a hulking beast was crouched on the ground, gnawing on the remains of an unfortunate deer. It resembled a giant ape, but its body was covered in festering sores, revealing a ghastly white skeleton beneath the rotting flesh. Two or three malformed bone spurs grew from its back, like unfinished wings. Its single eye was blood-red, from which black, viscous tears constantly fell, transforming into tiny squirming black insects upon hitting the ground. Its saliva carried a sour, corrosive stench, making a harsh sizzling sound as it dripped.
Sensing the approach of pure divine power, it raised its head abruptly. A roar mingled with a low, human-like scream erupted from its throat: "...Get... get back..."
The voice was hoarse and broken, yet carried a disturbing familiarity, as if they were the last words of a dying human.
Sakura's heart trembled, a flicker of horror in her eyes. She almost allowed herself to be distracted—but there was no time. The demon had already lunged.
The battle erupted in an instant!
The demon's massive body charged forward with a foul wind, aiming straight for the floating head—it instinctively knew that was the core.
"Right, constrict!" At Sakura's command, her right leg pushed off the ground, launching itself into the air. The bone-spurred whip, like a vicious, living python, tore through the air with a piercing shriek and instantly wrapped itself around the demon's thick, charging arm.
The bone spurs dug deep into the festering flesh. The demon howled in agony, but in the next moment, the black miasma around its body swelled and began to flow back along the whip, climbing towards the silvery-white threads!
"This is bad!" A jolt went through Sakura's mind as a searing pain traveled up the soul threads, like her very nerves were being burned. She fought down her panic and commanded her left leg.
"Left, cleave!"
Almost as the command was given, the left leg moved. Like a master swordsman, it dashed sideways, the spiritual blade tracing a perfect, silvery crescent arc.
Swish—!
The demon's entangled arm was severed at the shoulder, spewing black, viscous blood. The demon let out a pained roar and struggled violently. But the whip changed its target, coiling tightly around the demon's torso, squeezing ever tighter.
The demon roared in pain but did not retreat. Instead, it smashed its severed arm into the ground. The moment it hit, the mangled flesh writhed and transformed into several hand-sized, corrupted lesser demons, which shrieked as they lunged at her floating hands!
Sakura's mind was pulled in three directions at once: her right leg's whip was still locked in a struggle with the main demon, her left leg was gathering power for another strike, and her hands were forced to deal with the smaller fiends. Commands poured through her mind like a torrential downpour, every soul thread vibrating. Her vision blurred, and a cacophony of what sounded like a thousand whispers filled her ears. "Calm... focus..." She gritted her teeth, cold sweat beading on her forehead. The power of the Divine Cherry Blossom surged from within, granting her a moment of clarity.
"Talisman arrows, rapid fire!" Her hands finally broke free from the lesser demons. The talismans between her fingers transformed into several searing golden arrows of light, which shot out and precisely pinned the small fiends to the ground, turning them to black ash.
The light arrows also exploded on the demon's face, the purifying power searing its flesh and emitting a scorched stench. The demon went berserk, its remaining arm flailing wildly, the immense force snapping the surrounding trees.
The battle fell into a brief stalemate. The demon's frenzied counterattack forced Sakura's limbs to constantly evade. Sakura was fully focused, her head darting through the air to avoid attacks while her soul threads vibrated at high speed, simultaneously transmitting commands to dodge, parry, and counterattack to four independent units.
She finally found an opening—a brief moment of rigidity after one of the demon's full-powered swings.
"Right, bind its leg!" The bone whip shot out like lightning, coiling around the demon's ankle and pulling hard.
"Left, prepare to thrust!" The spiritual blade shone like a meteor, poised to strike.
"Talismans, suppress!" Chains of light fell from the air, locking down the demon's single remaining arm.
The ape-like demon lost its balance and crashed to the ground. Its single eye flashed madly, and once more, the hoarse human voice spilled from its mouth: "...Save... me..."
Sakura's heart clenched, and the soul threads almost hesitated. "No!" she screamed internally, severing the distracting thought.
Now!
Her left leg, condensing all its spiritual power, caused the tachi to become blindingly brilliant. Like a falling star, with unstoppable momentum, it pierced through the demon's wildly flashing crimson eye and exited out the back of its skull.
The demon's movements stopped abruptly. All its madness and ferocity froze for an instant, then it began to convulse violently. Black miasma erupted from the wound and its orifices, forming screaming, ghost-like faces. Sakura's hands quickly formed a seal as she uttered one final, low command:
"Purify!"
A pure, sakura-colored divine light surged from the direction of her divine body, engulfing the demon's remains like a tide. The massive, corrupted corpse dissolved in the light, disintegrating into countless wisps of black smoke that finally dissipated.
All that remained was a patch of scorched earth, still emitting a lingering evil that had not yet fully faded.
The battle was over.
The Glade of Scattered Blossoms returned to silence, save for the rustling of leaves in the evening wind.
Sakura's head hovered in mid-air, her breathing ragged, her mind buzzing. For those few short moments, it was as if she had been split into five people, all fighting at once. The tearing strain on her soul felt as if it had been stretched to its limit.
She "looked" at her limbs. The bone whip of her right leg slowly retracted, returning to its normal form, though it was now covered in foul blood and numerous wounds. The spiritual blade of her left leg dissipated; a noticeable gash from the miasma, oozing beads of blood, ran down its side. The talismans held by her hands had exhausted their power and fluttered away as ash.
The trembling soul threads guided her limbs back to the main hall, back to the side of the divine body that stood quietly, radiating light.
The body-less feet knelt piously before the shrine. The independently floating hands came together in a gesture of prayer, expressing gratitude to the divine body that had provided the power.
Only after the body of Shin-ou emitted a soft glow did the maiden's head and limbs carefully and slowly reconnect with the torso, returning to their rightful place.
Click.
A faint, yet clear, sound of realignment.
Sakura's vision snapped back to normal. The complete sensory input from all over her body once again traveled through her nervous system to her brain. But in that instant, it was not just the exhaustion from the fierce battle that she felt, but also a sense of rejection. It was as if her limbs did not belong to her but had been forcibly reattached. A brief sense of discord echoed in her mind, making her feel dizzy.
She looked down at her hands, the residual warmth of the talismans still on her palms. These parts of her, which had just been fighting as independent entities, were now back on "her" body. The mixture of familiarity and strangeness made her throat tighten, leaving her speechless. Faint pangs of pain also radiated from various parts of her body, reminders of the ferocity of the battle.
She had succeeded. She had fulfilled her first duty as a shrine maiden, completed her first trial. But deep within her soul, a sense of bewilderment and a subtle, growing unease were taking root in silence.
Mikami Sakura slowly clenched her fists, feeling the power of the Divine Cherry Blossom, still immense but now calm again within her, and that silent, growing bewilderment in the depths of her soul, of which she could never speak to anyone.
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