"Who's there?"
Shido stopped in shock.
The mont that voice rang out, Tsukuyomi, which had been on the verge of shattering, beca whole again in an instant, allowing Shido to avoid what should have been certain death.
[This is our second conversation. But for you, who have lost your mories, perhaps it would be better to say—nice to et you.]
The voice spoke.
[My na is Tsukuyomi. I believe you already know that.]
"Yeah."
Shido nodded.
Tsukuyomi. That was the deity who, according to Mikoto, had caused her to cross over into this world.
"You're supposed to have already…"
According to Mikoto, Tsukuyomi had long since disappeared due to a lack of faith.
[You can ask Mikoto for the details after she wakes up. Right now, it seems we have no ti for idle chatter.]
"Yeah… you're right."
Shido looked toward Mikoto, who was still floating in the center of the divine realm, and nodded seriously.
"But… what should I do?"
Although he had charged into Takamagahara on sheer passion, Shido did not know how he was supposed to awaken the inversed Mikoto.
[If this were the sa situation as last ti, then nothing you did would matter. But this ti is different. Boy, have you noticed? This ti, she seems afraid of you approaching her.]
Tsukuyomi's words made Shido realize a faint sense of incongruity.
The "Shido" from the future had once said that at that ti, he had relied on Tsukuyomi and reached Mikoto's side without eting any real obstruction.
But this ti, "Mikoto" seed to be deliberately stopping him.
Almost as though—if he reached her side, sothing bad would happen.
[Well done, boy. Although she still escaped the change in history, as long as Mikoto has not fallen into despair, it is possible to seal her back inside!]
Tsukuyomi's voice said.
"Then what should I do?"
[Call Mikoto's na. Although the current you no longer has your previous mories, I believe your voice will certainly reach Mikoto.]
"Yeah… I'll definitely bring Yakumo-senpai back!"
Now that he knew the thod, there was only one thing to do.
Shido smiled firmly, then raised his foot and ran toward Mikoto, who floated in the distance, ignoring the tornt that continued use of the Angel was inflicting on his body.
Ti returned to several minutes earlier.
[Where… is this?]
Mikoto looked around.
As far as she could see, the entire world was pitch black.
It was as if she had been sealed inside so dark shrine by so kind of existence, unable to escape.
[That's right. Shido… and everyone else…]
But there was no ti right now.
No matter what this place was, she had to get out.
Mikoto tried to find a way out, but she beca lost in the darkness, as though this space had no end.
"This is inside the seal created after inversion. Even if you run until your legs break, it won't do any good."
A voice far too familiar—one she had believed she would never hear again—made Mikoto stop in her tracks.
"Tsu…kuyomi?"
The girl turned around in disbelief.
There, in the darkness, stood a girl with exactly the sa face as her, smiling at her.
"Yo. Long ti no see."
Tsukuyomi smiled and waved her hand.
"Tsukuyomi? Is it really you? Tsukuyomi—! Uu… uuu…"
And so Mikoto threw herself into the girl's arms, crying.
"Ara, ara."
Tsukuyomi happily stroked the girl's head, gently comforting her.
"But… what exactly is going on?"
After the joy of reunion ca a deep confusion.
Hadn't Tsukuyomi disappeared? Why was she here? And… what was this place?
"Well… where should I start? In any case, seeing is believing."
Tsukuyomi waved her hand.
The darkness dispersed, and Mikoto realized that she and Tsukuyomi were standing inside an ancient shrine.
"This is…"
The sound of explosions from outside the shrine drew Mikoto's attention.
She walked over and peered through the gap in the shrine doors. Outside, a fierce battle was taking place.
A platinum airship, the inversed Origami, and the Spirits were locked in intense combat.
And that scene looked as if it were being seen through the eyes of soone supporting a golden barrier—almost like the viewpoint in an FPS ga.
"Whose eyes are we seeing the scenery outside the shrine through?"
Mikoto asked in confusion.
"If I had to say, she is another ."
Tsukuyomi sighed, then said.
"Another Tsukuyomi?"
Mikoto was completely lost.
"You should know about the Four Souls of the divine1, shouldn't you, Mikoto?" (TL:dawg the amount of google searching I need for this arc is crazy!!!)
"Yeah."
Mikoto nodded.
Because she had inherited Tsukuyomi's mories, she knew quite a bit of religious knowledge.
For example—the soul was composed of four different spirits:
Ara-mitama, the wild soul.
Nigi-mitama, the gentle soul.
Saki-mitama, the fortunate soul.
Kushi-mitama, the wondrous soul.
"Ah! Don't tell …"
Mikoto suddenly realized sothing.
In ancient tis, Shinto regarded a deity's Nigi-mitama and Ara-mitama as independent existences.
Before the iji Restoration1, many shrines separately enshrined a deity's Ara-mitama and Nigi-mitama. Even Ise Grand Shrine2 had subordinate shrines dedicated specifically to worshiping Amaterasu's Ara-mitama. (TL:oh my godddddd..ughhhhh)
It was almost as if—they were worshiping two completely different gods.
"It seems you understand. That's right. The one outside, fighting everyone, is my Ara-mitama form."
Tsukuyomi nodded with satisfaction, then continued:
"When I created the Sephira Crystal, I sealed the side of myself that was Ara-mitama inside it."
"Sealed? Why?"
Mikoto did not understand.
It was also part of Tsukuyomi. Why did it have to be sealed away?
"It is a little embarrassing to say, but—because of the lack of faith, the Ara-mitama had begun to run wild."
Tsukuyomi sighed.
"You, who accepted my mories, should understand what a god who has lost faith will do."
"I see… so that's how it was…"
Mikoto nodded.
If a god lost faith, they would gradually lose power, and eventually disappear completely.
But… would a god willingly accept such an end?
The answer was no.
And so, when people no longer worshiped them, many gods would instead choose—to persecute humanity.
The reasoning was very simple.
"Either believe, or die."
That was a god's last desperate struggle before vanishing, and also the curse they left upon humanity.
"Exactly. Ara-mitama is the symbol of a god's power. It is also the part that remains most completely when a god loses faith, and the last part to disappear.
Often, when faith dwindles to a critical point, the god's Ara-mitama will begin to run wild, attacking humanity in madness and pouring out its wrath. Only when people perform rituals to appease and worship that god again will the Nigi-mitama side reappear."
Tsukuyomi sighed.
Because she loved humanity, she did not wish to beco like that in the end. That was why she desperately suppressed the Ara-mitama that was on the verge of running wild, and ultimately crossed over into this world.
In Japanese mythology and Shinto philosophy, the "Four Souls of the Divine" refers to the concept of Ichirei Shikon, which translates to "one spirit, four souls." It describes the belief that the soul (mitama) of every kami (god/spirit) and human is made up of one unified spirit and four distinct, complentary souls.
was the political process that laid the foundation for the institutions of the Empire of Japan
is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu
User Comments
0 comments from readers