If s.h.i.+gure Tendo truly was the protagonist, then all that needed to be done was to leave him to his own devices.However, this evidently wouldn"t work.
A jinchuriki host seal… Even if this method seemed like the best out of the three so far, it was also a cruel one. Although this might require less of a sacrifice than expiation, it would still require a sacrifice. Also, this wouldn"t solve the foundational problem.
Would Soul Society be able to deal with the Catastrophe G.o.ddess if he gave the jinchuriki method to them? And even if Soul Society could deal with her, how many people would die before she was sealed?
What if he loaded again and gave Soul Society additional information? Would they be able to stop the Tendo Family this time? And if they successfully stopped the Tendo Family, would that prevent the appearance of the Catastrophe G.o.ddess?
Various questions swirled around in Seiji"s mind.
"There"s still one more method that you"ve probably thought of already, even though I don"t really want to say it." Sayaka looked directly at Seiji. "This method is to kill all members of the Tendo Family."
Seiji: "!?"
"Eliminating all members of the Tendo Family will cut off their sins and eliminate the source of the Catastrophe G.o.ddess"s power, causing her to collapse and vanish," Sayaka stated calmly. "However, this won"t be easy to accomplish. Besides, it might also take some time for the Catastrophe G.o.ddess to disappear. Unknowns might happen during that time. So, even though this is another method to foundationally deal with the problem, this might cause even greater sacrifices than expiation."
Without a doubt, this was the most terrible method of all.
Killing all members of the Tendo Family… seemed more difficult than even defeating the Catastrophe G.o.ddess. It would be almost impossible.
Seiji decided to forget that he had ever heard of such a method.
"That"s all I know," Sayaka finished as she then looked towards Kungo.
"I still have questions. Why did you manage to survive in such a form after your death? What exactly was that spirit town?" Seiji continued asking questions.
"I don"t know." Sayaka shook her head. "Even I don"t understand why that happened. Logically speaking, I should have vanished completely upon my death… While I was living in that spirit town and before I recovered my memories of life, I thought that it was all a G.o.d"s blessing. Now, it seems that I was correct. It had been created by the Catastrophe G.o.ddess. However, I have no idea why it happened."
A G.o.d"s blessing… Seiji suddenly thought about the White Sakura G.o.ddess!
The Catastrophe G.o.ddess was the physical materialization of the Tendo Family"s sins. However, the White Sakura G.o.ddess had also referred to the Catastrophe G.o.ddess as her evil counterpart, the Evil White Sakura G.o.ddess. In that case, what exactly was the White Sakura G.o.ddess?
Could she be the physical materialization of the Tendo Family"s good deeds?
At the exact same time that the Catastrophe G.o.ddess, who was the materialization of the Tendo Family"s sins, was created, the White Sakura G.o.ddess also appeared as a materialization of the Tendo Family"s good deeds. Maybe it was she who really protected the souls of Sayaka Tendo and the other victims of the experiment gone wrong. Perhaps it was the White Sakura G.o.ddess"s power that allowed them all to survive in such a state in the Realm of Cherry Blossoms…?
Something flashed in Seiji"s eyes as he came to this realization.
"Tendo-san, I"d also like to ask you about something. What relation do you think the Catastrophe G.o.ddess has to you?"
"Her relation to me?"
"The moment that the Catastrophe G.o.ddess was summoned was when she was born. You were the main person in charge of that experiment. You are the person with the most intimate relations.h.i.+p with the Catastrophe G.o.ddess!" Seiji looked directly at Sayaka. "Then could I interpret that to mean that you and the Catastrophe G.o.ddess have a relations.h.i.+p similar to that of the creator and the created? Just like your relations.h.i.+p with Kungo?"
Sayaka fell silent after hearing this question.
"I don"t think so… but, I can"t deny this possibility…" Sayaka muttered to herself.
Seiji"s heart started beating rapidly.
He felt like he had just found the true key to everything!
"Tendo-san, if the Catastrophe G.o.ddess"s appearance brings nothing but calamity, then you wouldn"t possibly still exist right now. You managed to survive in such a form, together with everyone else from the experiment! Although your existence might have become more ethereal, all of you truly survived and lived new lives in that spirit town until I arrived.
"That"s why, I think that the Catastrophe G.o.ddess"s appearance wasn"t only a calamity. A counterpart to her also appeared, a G.o.ddess of kindness. She was the one who protected you all, not the Catastrophe G.o.ddess. She must have used her power to prevent you all from truly dying. Of course, it might also be that the Catastrophe G.o.ddess spared you all. If my former theory is correct, then there"s nothing else to say. But if the latter is correct instead… if your survival is meaningful to the Catastrophe G.o.ddess, then what could this meaning be?
"My guess is that the meaning is this: you are the G.o.ddesses" closest relative! You are an existence that"s like their mother!!!"
Sayaka Tendo: "…"
"And in order to confirm what"s true or not, we can go visit her." Seiji"s mouth arced upward. "The Catastrophe G.o.ddess"s counterpart, the G.o.ddess of kindness—we call her the White Sakura G.o.ddess."
...
In the dream world, under a cherry blossom tree.
Seiji was slightly stunned to see Sayaka Tendo"s real appearance that manifested in the dream world.
She had long and silky black hair. She wore bright red extravagantly beautiful clothing. She was exquisitely beautiful, and had icy cold deep purple eyes… Her aura was n.o.ble and icy. Even though she was wearing brightly colored clothing, she gave an impression of holiness.
The wind caused cherry blossoms to blow past. This background only added to her incomparable beauty.
"This all feels so subtle…" Sayaka looked at the cherry blossom tree. "Is the G.o.ddess you mentioned in here?"
Seiji also looked at the cherry blossom tree. He was about to speak up when another voice spoke up first.
"I"m here… I was observing you."
This voice belonged to the White Sakura G.o.ddess.
"I can sense that I seem to be connected to you somehow," Sayaka talked to the cherry blossom tree. "You… what exactly are you?"
The White Sakura G.o.ddess fell silent.
Sayaka also remained silent.
Seiji silently observed from the side.
"I… am you," the White Sakura G.o.ddess spoke up again after a period of silence. "However, I am also not you."
"Yeah… I can understand." Sayaka nodded. "You seem to have formerly been part of myself, but you"re no longer me."
"This means…" Seiji opened up his paper fan which had the words "The truth has been revealed at last". "The White Sakura G.o.ddess is the other portion of your soul, Tendo-san?"
"I believe that she was formerly a part of my soul, combined with some other things," Sayaka agreed. "Your guess was correct. This G.o.ddess here was created from me, similar to my relations.h.i.+p with Kungo. Perhaps I only had the power to create Kungo because I had previously created this G.o.ddess… although I have forgotten about such an event completely."
"Could it be a technique of yours that you activated on the verge of death?" Seiji continued making inferences. "Maybe you created the White Sakura G.o.ddess while on the verge of death in order to protect your own and everyone else"s lives and allow all of you could survive?"
"I can"t deny the possibility… no, it seems likely that was what happened," Sayaka muttered as she looked directly at the cherry blossom tree. "I"m sorry… I only created you so that I could survive."
The White Sakura G.o.ddess remained silent for a moment before chuckling gently.
"No… It was I who chose to leave and become a G.o.ddess."
Sayaka instantly widened her eyes with a look of realization.
"I see… this is indeed me. Rather than dying just like that, I might as well instead struggle to become a G.o.ddess. And after becoming a G.o.ddess, I will no longer be myself. I… understand."
Sayaka then smiled faintly. "How should I address you?" she spoke to the cherry blossom tree.
"However you like." The White Sakura G.o.ddess chuckled.
"He"s already told me that you have a name of your own, so I won"t do anything unnecessary." Sayaka glanced at Seiji before looking back at the cherry blossom tree. "h.e.l.lo, White Sakura."
"h.e.l.lo, Sayaka."
This was the moment that a human and G.o.ddess met each other, recognized each other, and became independent from each other.