-----
This was all an opportunity I couldn’t waste, to be honest. Even though it was very surprising and out of nowhere, I think Kaguya was trying to tell that this might happen. But I can’t help but wonder, how did this happen though?
As I sat down over a small cushion in front of a little wooden table, Abe no Seii simple moved his fingers around, as several little spirits resembling ghostly white foxes appeared, carrying everything for us.
"Oh wow…"
They served us green tea, then brought mochis of various colors and fillings, and lastly rice crackers, all typical Japanese snacks, how delightful!
Can I even eat in this mindscape though?
"Feel free to eat as much as you want," he said with a charming smile. "Oh, were you wondering what these little guys are?" Your next chapter is on .Côm
He giggled as the little fox spirits flew towards his hands, licking him.
"They are White Fox Shikigami, extensions of my familiar, my cute Tamamo-chan," said Abe no Seii with a giggle. "Aren’t they cute?"
"T-They kind of are, yes…" I nodded. "I thought they were Spirits."
"Shikigami are sothing similar to Spirits," he said. "But are also quite different, a mix between Spirits and Yokai. I would say an in-between maybe. They are usually created and don’t occur naturally in the wild most of the ti. They are perfect for familiars for us Onmyōji."
"I see…" I nodded. "So, um… I wanted to ask sothing first? If it’s not too much of a bother…"
"Go ahead," he nodded drinking so tea.
"How did I get here?!" I asked. "I an, I was going to go to my mindscape and get done with this but now I’m here… Is this so sort of divine realm? Spirit realm? Domain? What is this place?!"
"Pppffff…!" he ended laughing. "Hahaha! That was quite the change of deanor… I can see you’re very lost. I’m sorry for not telling you before. You are not trapped either. But this place is… well, we could say it is not exactly a Domain but it’s also a Mindscape, and at the sa ti a Realm that lies beyond the boundaries of the Mortal World."
"Mortal World?!" I asked. "W-What? I’m confused…"
"To explain things better, imagine there world as we know it is like a sandwich and…"
"Oh yes I’ve been told that example before…" I said. "The Mortal World is like a dinsion of its own right? And its in the middle, then above is the Heavenly Realm and below the Hell Realm, or sothing?"
"You got it!" he nodded. "Indeed, they’re more like layers of a dinsion than anything. So even if you go to the skies and then space you’re never going to find heaven, yet it still above us. This Realm, which is both of the Mind and Soul, is in between the Mortal World and the Heavenly World. Kind of like in between the two, get it? It was created upon my death."
"So you died…?" I asked. "I thought that you might’ve remained alive."
"Oh no, I died as an old grandpa. This youthful appearance is how I’ve looked after dying, this is my appearance when I was at my pinnacle," he said.
"So you’re a ghost?" I wondered.
"Oh my, of course not," he laughed. "That would be so creepy, right? I am not a ghost, my dear flower. I am sothing like… Hmm, like a Kami! No? Yeah."
"Kami… You an a god?!" I asked.
"Oh yes, "God" is what you call in the west to the Kamis?" he wondered. "Hmm, that doesn’t an I am all powerful or sothing though! But yes I have beco a Kami. Kamis aren’t just deities though, spirits that have attained divine power too, can be called Kami. But at the sa ti it seems we are quite unique? The word Kami has gained a certain weight within the Mortal World due to the belief of Japanese people and their desire of separation from the Western World. What could have once been very similar anings, now create completely different beings altogether."
"So Kami and Gods… are different now?" I asked.
"We could work the sa, but yes, there’s big differences," he said. "For example, Kami can only be born in Japan."
"I see…" I nodded. "Wait a minute! Weren’t you a normal human once? How did you…"
"Hmm, normal human? I wouldn’t say that’s the correct way to talk about …" he giggled. "I was definitely not your average human. Since birth that I was blessed by Heaven and Earth. Magic and Sorcery, Alchemy, Feng Shui, Astrology, I mastered all these fields seamlessly. My family, who were already a big, famous family of Onmyōji, taught all as I was born as a great genius! Well, my father married his Kitsune companion, so having a Kitsune mother helped too, perhaps, hahaha!"
Did he say his mother was a Kitsune?!
Suddenly, I noticed that there was a big, fluffy tail dangling behind him.
And beneath his Onmyōji hat, there was so fluffy… white fluff.
So he has ears and tail…
"A-Ahah…" I muttered. "If that were the case though, wouldn’t you have grown to be a very petty and egocentric person, sir? But you’re very humble and nice."
"Oh my, you’re so harsh, but yes I try to be humble and nice, hospitality has always been part of my culture," he giggled. "I’ve gone through… many challenges as well. So that had made shed a few tears, dare I say. Life was not easy, genius or not… Having to hide my identity as a Half-Kitsune while trying to survive and protect the people from the most dangerous Era of Japan, the Heian Era, was tough indeed."
"Okay, okay, I understand…"
He really loves talking about himself, doesn’t he? Maybe he has felt so lonely he really just wanted to talk with soone.
I kind of feel bad about him now…
"Um, so how did I end here?" I asked again. "Please answer my question now…"
"A-Ah! My bad, I kind of got myself too distracted talking about my sad past, sniff!" he said. "Now, um… Ah right, of course, it’s because of Kaguya! She made those Soul Orbs for you, no? Her Essence must still be mixed with mine, so the Soul Orbs possessed part of my leftover power she had within her. Hence, you ended here! Haha! Congrats!" he clapped.
"E-Eh?!"
-----
User Comments
0 comments from readers