"We are the same, Terumichi," Kaoruko says, sliding a folder across the table. "I created you to break the women who looked like the one who stole my love. But you... you fell in love with them instead. You failed as a Genji. You succeeded as a human."
“You wanted a Genji,” he says. “But Genji died when he realized he loved his stepmother. I’m not Genji. I’m the demon he created in his shadow.” minamoto-kun monogatari 359
The Empty Vessel Pages: 24 (Standard monthly release) "We are the same, Terumichi," Kaoruko says, sliding
The final pages show Terumichi and Tsukasa embracing, but the background is filled with the ghostly silhouettes of every previous heroine: Asahi (the Fujitsubo ), Mayu (the Utsusemi ), and even the fragile Hanada. They are fading. The implication is heavy: Terumichi’s identity was built on these simulations. Without them, who is he? you fell in love with them instead