The Formless Shadow, Folklore of the Doppelganger Yokai (Complete)

Emperor Zhou of the Shang Dynasty was originally an intelligent and benevolent ruler. However, after meeting his consort Daji, he rapidly descended into depravity.

Enchanting Emperor Zhou with her words and beauty, Daji, who was not human but a fox yokai with multiple tails, caused loyal subjects like Jizi and Bigan to protest at the cost of their lives, petitioning the Emperor to distance himself from Daji the consort and take a proper empress.

Daji then told Emperor Zhou that ‘Jizi and Bigan, who spoke falsehoods with their treacherous mouths, should be severely punished.’

The Emperor heeded her words.

He intended to extract Jizi’s liver to make it into dried meat and present it to Daji, but the perceptive Jizi feigned being a slave to escape the Emperor’s grasp.

As for Bigan, Daji tore out his heart, killing him, before devouring his liver.

It is said that at this time, Daji, who initially had six tails, grew a seventh.

---

It dreamed of the golden blossom incense, hoping to be reborn as a noble being.

Born as a formless shadow living a shadowy existence,

The formless shadow could only gaze upon the magnificently sublime seven-tailed fox yokai emanating before its very eyes.

An exquisitely beautiful form.

It could state with certainty that never in its entire life had it seen such beauty.

The shadow had forever yearned for a true, meaningful form, yet

The weasel form it first acquired,

The forms of human men and women,

Even the goblin form – none could satisfy the shadow.

When it took the goblin form, it thought it had finally achieved its purpose.

Unlike human, animal, or yokai forms, assuming the goblin form instilled it with an inexplicable sense of exaltation.

It had even gained the enigmatic power known as ‘divine authority’.

Thud thwack.

Yet,

Thud thwack.

No matter how much it swung the goblin club,

Thud thwack.

Its yearning for a form remained unfulfilled.

What more did it want?

What more did it crave?

Just what form would it need to take to be satisfied?

The answer to its own question came from the Taejashingi.

The Taejashingi revealed the truth to it:

That at the moment it took the forms of 900 humans, it could attain ascension.

The Taejashingi demanded not the forms of beasts, goblins, or yokai,

But solely those of humans.

The shadow’s goal was a true, meaningful form that could fulfill its cravings, and

The Taejashingi stated

That by achieving ascension, it could take a form bountiful enough to thoroughly satisfy and surpass its yearnings.

To the shadow, ‘ascension’ was merely a means to acquire a form.

And now, at this very moment,

The shadow concluded that the truth the Taejashingi had revealed was mistaken.

The form of that seven-tailed fox yokai emanating a wondrous aura before it,

Kindling golden flames –

That was the true, meaningful form that could fulfill this endless craving.

The shadow swung the goblin club a total of seven times towards the seven-tailed fox yokai:

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

[May you kneel]

[May you be suppressed]

[May you be shaken]

[May you collide]

[May you be torn asunder]

[May you be distorted]

[May you be split apart]

One of the enigmatic goblin powers the shadow had attained:

The [Word Spirit].

The [Word Spirit] was the enigmatic power held by goblins.

If the opponent’s rank was lower than its own, resistance would be impossible.

Fortunately, the ‘shadow’ qualified for ascension held a higher rank than goblins, enabling it to devour the goblin.

It had also rendered the unconscious human Spell Master comatose using this [Word Spirit] power.

Though the Spell Master’s magic was certainly formidable enough to threaten even the shadow which had lived for centuries,

No matter how powerful, he was but a weak human in the end.

The ‘shadow’, understanding the human heart better than anyone, had slowly consumed the Spell Master’s mind before assuming the goblin form.

Modern Spell Masters unfamiliar with the existence of ‘goblins’ had no means to counter their powers.

The same applied to that fox yokai.

Long ago, the formless shadow had heard rumors about the ‘blue-furred demonic fox’ that competed for the position of ascension.

However, unlike this fox yokai, the blue-furred fox only had one tail,

And its form was not nearly as beautiful as hers.

This yokai was not the blue-furred demonic fox it knew of.

Perhaps

A newly born yokai.

She too must have never encountered a goblin before.

Therefore, this fox yokai would also be unable to resist the goblin’s [Word Spirit].

Three Word Spirits containing forceful commands,

And four more coupled with physical force –

A shockwave split the air.

Immense physical force capable of warping the ground flew towards the seven-tailed fox yokai and struck true.

Even if these seven Word Spirits killed the fox yokai, it did not matter –

It could still take her form, even from a corpse.

However,

The fox yokai did not die,

Rather, she merely looked down upon it with sublime grace.

---

“Oh…”

She did not die.

She did not die, indeed.

Far from dying, an overwhelming sense of exaltation surged forth, impossible to contain.

Its twisted right arm, both legs, and split torso had been flawlessly restored,

Even the sticky bloodstains on its tattered robe vanished without a trace.

Though the yokai in goblin form continued its assault,

I could nullify the goblin’s attacks without using any [Fox Spells].

Utterly bewildered, I surveyed my body once more to grasp the situation:

My height seemed to have increased slightly,

My breasts even plumper and fuller, straining my shoulders.

Another tail had

Sprouted.

Thud.

Thwack.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack, thud thwack, thud thwack.

The goblin-formed yokai began frantically swinging its club at me.

Those thud thwack sounds actually helped improve focus, quite pleasing to hear.

With the rhythmic thud thwack sounds as accompaniment, I fell deep in thought:

An immense amount of yogi was needed to manifest three tails, then four.

The same was true for four to five,

And five to six – a vast amount of yogi required.

In that sense,

I had assumed manifesting seven tails from six would also demand an immense amount of yogi.

In retrospect, it was an odd assumption.

Ever since absorbing the yogi from the blue-furred demonic fox, I had possessed an enormous reserve of yogi that would last me quite some time without worry.

I thought this amount would be sufficient to manifest seven tails, and

Actually attempted it numerous times, but

Could never manifest the seventh tail.

The condition for manifesting seven tails must not have been a vast yogi reserve after all,

As evidenced by me not emanating any yogi at present.

This power was fundamentally different from yogi.

I had felt it somewhere before…

Ah, yes.

San-gun.

The power I sensed from San-gun.

Spirit Power.

Why I had suddenly awakened Spirit Power, I still did not fully understand.

Was it because I escaped the jaws of death?

I was no blonde delinquent who grew stronger with each near-death experience.

Thud thwack.

Thud thwack.

In any case,

I should probably resolve this incident before people start gathering.

I looked down upon the goblin-formed yokai –

No, the shadow

That had donned that false form, its essence laid bare:

An essence tarnished with envy, cravings, greed, and desires.

“…How pitiful.”

[What did you say…]

My sincere feelings upon seeing through its essence:

Pitiful.

I could not comprehend the sorrow of a formless being.

None, including myself, could truly understand that shadow’s suffering.

Step.

Step, step.

I slowly approached the shadow.

The sudden weight of my fuller breasts was keenly apparent, inwardly distracting, but I persevered in ignoring it.

Swinging its club in a frenzied tantrum, the goblin-formed shadow shouted:

[A form… Give me a form!]

[This is the end of my long yearning.]

[Fox yokai, you are now my goal.]

[Ascension or whatever, I no longer care.]

[Please.]

[Please, grant me a form…!]

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a form. Also, this body? More cumbersome than it looks. You wouldn’t gain anything by taking it.”

The weight really was no joke.

I too intended to revert to six tails after this.

Soon, I began gathering Spirit Power in my hands.

I never expected Lee Ha-neul’s Martial Arts training to aid me here.

By treating Spirit Power as part of my body, it coalesced within me.

Not azure, but

A brilliant golden light.

Blinding, even.

Radiance dazzling enough to instantly obliterate the shadow.

[Ahh.]

[The golden blossom incense…]

[So warm…]

Fwoooooosh.

The shadow could not resist the light.

I expelled the shadow with this light called Spirit Power.

Where the formless shadow once stood

Only the goblin’s discarded club remained.