Ancient Memories

Seeing a house that resembles his own yet differs in small ways, Tanjiro notices an axe in his hand and wonders whether he is watching his own life replay at its end. A child tugs his clothes and calls him father, pointing toward a tree where Yoriichi appears and bows respectfully, and Tanjiro understands he stands before the originator of the breathing techniques.

In the present, Murata tries to revive Tanjiro, who has no pulse or breath, though his own pounding heart masks it. Takeuchi calls out that Yushiro is trapped under rubble and needs aid; reluctant to abandon Tanjiro, Murata hesitates until Takeuchi promises that saving Yushiro will let him treat the boy afterward.

Yoriichi explains he needed someone to listen, and only the ancestor and his wife came to mind. Tanjiro wishes to ask about the thirteenth form but cannot speak or move, soon understanding that he merely relives a memory he cannot control. Yoriichi is glad to find the family well, calling the world a beautiful place anyone is fortunate to enter, and remembers his devout mother, who prayed for peace and for the sun deity to shine upon her son's ears, believing him then to be deaf.