I couldn't depict it clearly, but Byakuren has returned all the way to a fetus through magic. Miko saves her by carrying her in her womb and giving birth to her. Doesn't stuff like that happen a bunch in Chinese fantasy?

I still really like their back-and-forth dialogue here. The insult of "faithless dog" seems to strike especially true. I thought I wanted to put it in the announcement ever since I wrote it.

The first ones Byakuren met were Ichirin and Unzan, so she takes a form even younger than Ichirin at this point. The tree peony she brought into the dream is her image of Ichirin, and she acknowledges her crime of "picking her" somewhere. Miko seems more stable and is badmouthing Buddhism, but acknowledges its extraordinary value as an ideology to satisfy people in a world where happiness has its limits.

Year 2018 Self Fan-Art and