there is NO WAY that thing at the end was any brand of hikaru or "hikaru"!!!!!! what the hell!!!!!
i wonder if that was the real hikaru showing up as an impurity
my thoughts exactly! and imagine if "hikaru" had already dispelled the actual hikaru...
it could also be possible that this "hikaru" is an impurity created by the death of the actual hikaru, lingering to life
i mean this not in the sense that we already know, that hikaru's body was taken over or still persists bc of his strong wish yoshikis side but that "hikaru" is LITERALLY created by hikaru's death rather than being something that found hikaru moments before he died
seeing as there seems to be multiple somethings in mountains its not unplausible they could go thru something like life and death, being reborn. this would also align with death as a change of form and our old lady friend here saying that things are reborn when they die. also unsure on why it would have a memory of existing before it found hikaru dying as something outside of him, but whatever!