Rebirth

~~ Author Note ~~

https://discord.gg/6PBf4ccNCT

Hello, readers.

Another chapter is finally done.

As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

~~ End Author Note ~~

***

Dianthus had Kikyo follow him some distance until they reached a clearing within the forest. He proceeded to lay Kagome and the corpse upon the billowing grass gingerly.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes," Kikyo nodded.

Upon receiving her confirmation, Dianthus closed his eyes and focused. His body took on an iridescent blue sheen as mana, which generally goes unseen, converged with him as the focal point. The once empty land became infested with various flowers as his unique energy danced amongst the field.

Kikyo watched with awe as Dianthus surrounded them in a glorious painting depicting a rainbow of beautiful flora. Upon turning towards the man himself, she saw that his body had begun to deform within the blue veil. By the time she made this observation, more than one of Dianthus' limbs had twisted apart into a tangle of vines.

"Does it not hurt?"

Dianthus smiled and shook his head. "This body is just returning to what it was initially. While there is slight discomfort, it is nothing unbearable."

Once he said his piece, Dianthus' body began to break down faster. The ground underneath the group shuddered as the sea of flowers surrounding them pulled away from their immediate vicinity. When the flowers finished shifting positions, Dianthus's body had completed its deterioration. All that remained was a tangled mess of wilted vines.

The priestess was confused as to what would happen next. However, she soon had her question answered as small flower pods spread from the mass of dead vines. The pods spread, covering the empty area surrounding them. Once in position, every pod bloomed at once. Vibrant yellow daffodils sprouted from the many seedlings.

"What is happening?" Kikyo asked aloud to her surroundings. She didn't ask Dianthus directly as there was no physical body present to ask.

His familiar husky voice resounded throughout the clearing. "Daffodils are often associated with the concept of rebirth. Using my divinity as a true god, I can use that concept as a universal truth to stimulate your rebirth. There is no need to be wary. Simply lie down and close your eyes, and when you awaken, you'll be reborn anew."

His soft, dreamlike voice calmed her nerves, allowing her to relax and follow his directions. Drowsiness took hold of her mind as her head rested amongst the brilliant yellow flowers. Despite residing within a sleepless earthen husk, Kikyo completely drifted off to the land of dreams.

The daffodils' stems took on the same iridescent blue sheen that encompassed Dianthus earlier. The mana buildup in the flowers caused them to become a dazzling light show of blue and yellow. The lights gently caressed the three bodies resting in the field.

Slowly but surely, the energy pulled a tiny white wisp from both Kikyo's and Kagome's bodies. The mana guided the two wisps towards the corpse by gliding along the surface of the petals. Once situated above the body, the blue-yellow lights attached to the wisps and stitched the pieces together. After being joined together, the singular wisp was pulled by an invisible vacuum into the corpse below. Having nothing to maintain its state, the soil body Kikyo inhabited before broke down and mingled with the dirt below.

Dianthus' ethereal voice rang out from the roots of the daffodils. "I'm sorry, but I ask that you offer up your life force so that this young woman may once again walk amongst the living. I vow that your sacrifice will not be in vain."

The surrounding trees and flowers swayed and bent as if attempting to bow towards the specter. The plant life willingly forfeited their lives, seeing it as an honor to sacrifice themselves for the wishes of their god. As minute green orbs left, the plants wilted at an astonishingly fast rate. The spheres flowed forth into the woman's body, leaving behind an array of dead greenery.

Color returned to the body as the breath of life was restored. Both the soul and life force had been gathered and stored within the new container. The only thing Dianthus had left to do was build the optimal body for the priestess, Kikyo.

The plethora of daffodils ripped from their roots, allowing the flowers to flutter along the mana stream. Upon arriving at the body, the flowers surrounded the body, creating a shining yellow cocoon. The body within was slowly broken down and reformed, shaping into the form Kikyo once took when she was alive.

Once the process had finished, the daffodils wilted away into dust, leaving the new stunning priestess laying upon a patch of dead grass. Her silk-like black hair splayed across the dead gray plants. The beautiful woman rested as if lost in the most peaceful sleep of her life.

"I leave the rest to you, Semi..." Dianthus' voice trailed off as the last speck of his clone's life withered away.

A black tear in space opened as the ever-gorgeous goddess of death stepped into the field. She glanced around, taking in the sight of the wasteland left behind by her husband. The only remaining signs of life came from the two women sleeping on the ground.

Semiramis stretched her hand towards the unconscious Kagome, creating a rift beside her body. The girl was dragged inside by the vacuum created. Her destination was the same school Dianthus had taken her from before. Semiramis didn't bother with anything outside of sending the girl back to her last location. The neurotoxin Dianthus used before ensured that none of those inside the school, including Kagome, would remember the incident.

After taking care of the girl's return, Semiramis turned to the sleeping Kikyo. "I suppose you'll be pretty surprised with your surroundings upon waking up."

Both the goddess and priestess disappeared from the clearing into another rift, leaving behind a wasteland devoid of life. There would forever be a graveyard of plants, never sprouting and living again. The only sign of what used to be was a single yellow daffodil resting in the center, shining as brightly as the sun.