She Who is All Knowing

General Summary

After the group convinced Tao-Ren that they were on her side, they were joined by Tamamo no Mae who revealed that she had no interest in releasing Izanami and had only been using Laxius and Nultial to achieve her goal of destroying Saiha's legacy.   Heeding Tao-Ren's order to leave her and assist the samurai in the Market District, the group battled their way through the Market streets knocking the affected civilians and samurai unconscious. Along the way Benkei was able to deduce that the flyers they had helped Rei put up contained glyphs of warding and were likely responsible for the explosions. However, they were once again accosted by Tamamo no Mae who had seemingly defeated Tao-Ren. After an incredibly close battle that ended with a severely wounded Tamamo retreating after leaving Genji and Conradus  on deaths door, the group found themselves in one the barracks being treated by the healers of the Temple District.     They learned from Kazuya, the samurai that had taken charge, that the fighting had simply stopped and that the affected civilians couldn't remember what they had been doing. Miraculously there were no casualties and damage to the city was minimal- but distrust and paranoia had now seeped into the city. One of the healers treating the group mentioned that Tao-Ren wanted to speak with them so Benkei and Conradus made their way to the palace. However, the samurai guarding it had no received no such notice and after Benkei attempted to force his way through the samurai shot him down.   After learning that Tao-Ren had not sent for them, they returned to the Barracks where Genji was resting to search for the healer that had given them that message but he was nowhere to be found. Once again, they returned to the palace and this time they were granted an audience with the wounded Saint. They discussed their recent trip to the Isle of Lost Things and their defeat of Nultial. They also told Tao-Ren about their interpretation of Mifune's Oracle and how they think Laxius might inadvertently free She who Invites. They also came clean about how they had been harboring Laxius in Tengoku for the past few months, to which Tao-Ren responded by stripping Genji and Benkei of their positions in the city and informing Conradus that he would be punished by the Church of Tyr once she notified them.   The following day the group, along with Sora, returned to the Isle of Lost Things to uncover the mystery of the sky emeralds. Deciding that they needed to at least try killing someone at twilight, Benkei volunteered to offer up his life. However when the moment came Sora threw herself on his blade in his place and sacrificed her life in place of his. Upon her death the group found themselves transported to a demiplane of endless cloud and a perpetual moonlit night. Before they could process what had just happened they were approached by a beautiful woman who addressed them as intruders. Conradus realized that she was Tsukuomi no Mikoto, the Moon Monarch and attempted to persuade her that they meant no harm.