Kagome slowly came back to herself and stopped laughing. There was more to discuss? What other craziness could possibly be added to her plate? She sat up straighter and slowly nodded to the legendary priestess to let her know she could continue.
"Now that we are caught up on what happened, we can focus on the future. As you pointed out, your body is currently in a state of suspended animation. It is dead but is not deteriorating. There is a reason for this- you have a choice to make regarding the Shikon no Tama-"
"Yeah, I know" Kagome said, cutting the other woman off from continuing. "I have to make a pure wish in order to destroy it"
"That's not all there is to it though," said Midoriko, glaring. "Yes, a pure wish is required to rid the world of the Jewel; however, part of the legend was forgotten in the telling. The Jewel is made up of two opposing forces: namely, good and evil. That is why youkai can use it as well as priests and priestesses. It can fall either way and that is the source of your choice. In the fight for the Shikon, you amassed many enemies and friends alike. Some of them had prior history with the Jewel and/or Naraku and others did not. None of them however, could stay neutral to the battle going on around them.
"Everyone involved was forced to make a choice: would they follow the path of light or the path of darkness? Would they join your quest to get rid of the Jewel or Naraku's quest to obtain and control it? In doing so, the forces of good and evil both grew to new heights. Now, at the end of it all, Naraku, the largest and by far the darkest, of evil's forces is vanquished with the Jewel purified and ready to be wished from existence.
"But what of the balance? You have done some of the greatest good the world will ever see and yet, for that, it is in bigger peril than ever before. There cannot be such a large gap between the forces of good and evil or the world will simply cease to exist. There has to be balance for the world to function. Therein lies your choice.
"You can wish the Jewel away with a truly pure wish. This would rid the world of it forever just as the story says and forever stop the fight for such magnificent power. This, again, is the good thing to do, but if you do that, there must also be a price. With the Jewel and Naraku both gone, there must be a replacement to even the odds again. In essence, you would be choosing to be rid of a known danger in order to gain a new, unknown evil for the world to fight.
"Or, you can take the easier, simpler way. You may simply wish yourself back to life or something equally selfish. It would cause the Jewel to leave you and reappear somewhere else"
Rolling her eyes slightly, Midoriko added, "It would probably end up in a youkai's lap since the world has a way of restoring it's own balance when given the chance"
Realizing that she had gotten a bit off topic, the warrior priestess sobered and looked Kagome dead in the eye. "That is your choice- the easier path or the harder. Which do you choose?"