Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Phenomeno

2025-11-26T19:39:10Z

Pakkit: Reverted edits by 2400:ADC7:92E:1800:1CD4:C630:E5B9:9F04 (talk) to last revision by Pakkit

[[File:Phenomeno 1 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|Phenomeno Volume 1 Cover]]

"Phenomeno" (フェノメノ) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ninomae Hajime (一肇) and illustrated by Abe Yoshitoshi. The series is complete with 6 volumes. There is also a free visual novel based on the first chapter of the first volume in the series. The updated translation for the visual novel has a link below.

Other Languages:
[https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Phenomeno_-_Fran%C3%A7ais French]
[https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Phenomeno_~Russian~ Russian]

==Story Synopsis==
Nagito Yamada is a university student living away from home. Needing a cheap place to live, he finds out about a mysterious “House that grants wishes” on the market for a ridiculously low rent; he snaps up the house and starts living there. A few nights in he starts hearing strange creaking noises. Each and every night he’s assaulted by these torturous noises. The last straw is when he finds the number 7 carved into the wall, as if counting down to something. Having an interest in the occult, Nagito seeks help from a website he frequently visits: “Ikaigabuchi”, which specializes in occult topics.

==Translation==

===Feedback===

<s>Visit the [https://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10488 forums] to give your feedback or discuss this series.</s>

2021 Edit : Since the forums above are more or less defunct, use the following myanimelist Phenomeno forum thread to discuss and give feedback regarding the series. https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1786335

Or join the Baka-tsuki Discord.

==Updates==

* 2nd September 2012
** First two cases (chapters) of volume 1 translated.
*4th February 2014
** Extra story "Raven Notes" from volume 4 translated.
*3rd May 2014
** First third of Case 03 (last chapter of volume 1) translated.
*14th April 2020
** Bonus story translated.
*20 July 2020
**Translation of Case 03 resumes after six years.
*15 October 2020
**Translation of Case 03 complete.
*18 December 2020
**First part of Case 04 uploaded.
*29 March 2021
**Translation of Case 04 complete.
*29 May 2021
**Translation of Case 05 complete.
*27 July 2021
**Translation of Case 06 complete.
*19 September 2021
**Translation of Case 07 complete.
*21 June 2022
**Translation of Case 08 complete.
*15 February 2023
**Translation of Case 09 complete.
*9 March 2023
**Translation of Case 10 complete.
*22 March 2023
**Editing and correction of Case 01 complete.
*25 March 2023
**Editing and correction of Case 02 complete.
*30 March 2023
**Updated Translation for Visual Novel released.
*24 April 2023
**Translation of Case 11 complete.
*21 June 2023
**Translation of Case 12 complete.
*13 August 2023
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 1 complete.
*31 October 2023
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 2 complete.
*12 February 2024
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 3 complete.
*7 April 2024
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 4 complete.
*12 July 2024
**New afterwords from the digital volumes added, Raven notes split into two chapters as per digital volumes with translation edited and corrected, Translation of Case 00, Chapter 5 complete.
*25 August 2024
**Translation of Case 13 complete.
*12 October 2024
**Translation of Case 14 complete.
*12 November 2024
**Translation of Case 15 complete.
**All volumes translated, project complete.

==The ''Phenomeno'' series by Ninomae Hajime==

[[File:Phenomeno 1 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_1|Volume 1. Yoishi Mitsurugi Does Not Fear]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Prologue|Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 01|Case 01: The Wish-fulfilling House]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 02|Case 02: Self-responsibility]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 03|Case 03: Beyond the Fusuma]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 01, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 01, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
 

[[File:Phenomeno Volume 2 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_2|Volume 2. Melting Fafrotskies]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Case 04|Case 04: The hole in the clock tower]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 05|Case 05: The Cat Mystery]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 06|Case 06: Rororo]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 02, Afterword|Afterword]]
 
 

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_3_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_3|Volume 3. Shrinking Fafrotskies]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Case 07|Case 07: The Portrait of a Lily]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 08|Case 08: Does the Place Underground Exist, or not?]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 03, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 03, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
 
 
 

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_4_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_4|Volume 4. The Four Corridors Incident]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 4 Prologue|Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 09|Case 09: Dear Nostradamus-sama]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 10|Case 10: The Invisible Friend]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 11|Case 11: The Melancholy of the Planet]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 12|Case 12: The Gravestone of a Sixteen-Year-Old]]
*[[Volume 4: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Raven Notes: Part One|Raven Notes: Part One]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 04, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 04, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_5_Cover.png|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_5|Volume 5. A Person Who Is Nothing]]===
*[[Phenomeno: Volume 5 Prologue| Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 1|Case 00: Chapter 1]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 2|Case 00: Chapter 2]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 3|Case 00: Chapter 3]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 4|Case 00: Chapter 4]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 5|Case 00: Chapter 5]]
*[[Volume 5: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Raven Notes: Part Two|Raven Notes: Part Two]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 05, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 05, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_6_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_6|Volume 6. Yoishi Mitsurugi Does Not Smile]]===
*[[Phenomeno: Volume 6 Prologue| Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 13|Case 13: Spiritual Paths]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
*[[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
* [[Bonus story]]

==Epub collection of Translated works==
https://mega.nz/file/PdsB1YCK#C_VNQkJXrEwpyeIXOdRGsUE3jmAWaMc2bvSHhFzG3O4

==Visual novel translation link==
Guide on how to download:

Download and extract the game: https://mega.nz/file/zRU02SiZ#0gVLa-Fosdbh4Q-H1P68zHn8lPqTjTTEy2aKDSB41rI

Run using Phenomeno_en.exe

Japanese locale is required to start the game. The game will ask you to switch to full screen in the first pop up message. Please give feedback in my talk page if there is any issue.

Edit: Some people are reporting that Microsoft Defender is flagging it as a trojan/virus. This is a false positive and it needs to be added to your exceptions in order to work.

Credits:

Suiminchuudoku for the original translation.

Editing and Correction:

pakkit

4digitmen

Ax1m

Special Thanks to:

Mortelight for helping me translate the VN files.

Пони for his moral support in translation efforts.

The original team who translated the old version of the VN.

==Project Staff==

*Project Administrator: [[user:Pakkit|Pakkit]]
*Project Supervisor:

===Translators===

:*Suiminchuudoku (inactive)
:*[[user:Pakkit|Pakkit]]

===Editors===
:*[[user:4digitmen|4digitmen]](inactive)

==Project Status==

Project Status: '''Completed'''

==Series Overview==
:* 美鶴木夜石は怖がらない (フェノメノ, #1) - published 2012, ISBN13 9784061388291
:* 融解ファフロツキーズ (フェノメノ, #2) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388550
:* 収縮ファフロツキーズ (フェノメノ, #3) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388611
:* 四回廊事件 (フェノメノ, #4) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388826
:* ナニモナイ人間 (フェノメノ, #5) - published 2014, ISBN13 9784061388956
:* 美鶴木夜石は微笑まない (フェノメノ, #6) - published 2015, ISBN13 9784061399129

[[Category:Ninomae Hajime]]
[[Category:Genre - Horror]]
[[Category:Genre - Mystery]]
[[Category:Genre - Supernatural]]
[[Category:Light novel (English)]]
[[Category:Completed Project]]

Phenomeno:Case 14

2025-09-28T09:31:21Z

Pakkit:

==Case 14: In the Mirror==

Since the accident – I had forgotten something.

That memory slipped in and out of view at the back of my head. It was as if it had been crudely overwritten with a pen, rather than having been wiped clean by an eraser.

I believe it was a ‘person’.

I knew that person in the past. And I’m sure I met them in the hospital room.

They came to inquire about my health with flowers… but I screamed when I saw them, and lost consciousness.

Just what the hell had made me so afraid?

What was it about them that scared me to the point that I lost consciousness?

And why – did someone cross a line on my memories? And when?

That’s right… that was the starting point. Back then, who else was in the hospital room besides me? My sister flew in from Fujieda a little later…. To begin with, who was in the room when I first regained consciousness?

Krishna-san, and—

And the moment I recalled the foxlike grin on his face, everything seemed to click together.

….It was Sako.

Didn’t that rotten priest do something strange to me again?

I finally realized this in the university courtyard at the start of the new school semester--

And I immediately skipped my first period class of ‘Macroeconomics’ on the opening day. I ran out of there and hurried to the western club building.

My body was now physically fit. A scar remained on my right elbow, where the stitches and surrounding flesh had discolored, but it didn’t really hurt anymore.

I cut through the courtyard, passed through the gate of the western club building, jumped into the entrance by pushing my way through the packed bicycles, and ran up the stairs. I was headed to the third floor, to the liberal arts clubroom that was ostensibly known as the ‘Beatnik Research Society’.

And—

When I came up to the third floor, I quickly caught sight of that petite figure.

The head of the Beatnik Research Society, Shiina Kurimoto-san had closed the door to the clubroom and was about to lock it.

“Krishna-san!”

“….Hm?”

“Krishna-san! T, there’s something I want to ask!”

I rushed to her side, out of breath. Krishna-san was dressed in a spring-like outfit: a striped cut-and-sewn navy-blue spring coat, and she looked up at me about three heads below me with a puzzled expression on her face.

“What is it, Nagi-kun? What’s the hurry? I was just about to go somewhere.”

The baby face peeking behind those drooping red glasses, was as cute as always. I immediately felt relaxed and asked.

“Going somewhere? Don’t you have a lecture?”

Of course, you could say that question had the slightly ulterior motive of asking if I could go with her.

“Where are you going? You can’t possibly be going to investigate some haunted place?”

I unintentionally cracked that kind of joke, causing her to glare back at me instantly.

“’Ikaigabuchi’ has been disbanded. No more investigations, ever.”

“R…right.”

“The taxi will be here in a few minutes. If you have a question, then hurry up and ask.”

--A few minutes.

I wondered if I could explain such a vague and complicated story in just a few minutes.

I was in the middle of trying to arrange the information required to the bare minimum and arrange my tense feelings into logic, worrying about whether to tell her about the strange voice of the young girl I had heard in the abandoned house recently, but, that would be disobeying her order, even though she was drunk and sleepy back when she suddenly stood up and rebuked the tough guys of ‘Ikaigabuchi’ to stop—and as my thoughts swirled and swirled over such things,

“Oh, that’s right.”

I heard a clear voice.

“Would you like to come?”

“…Eh?”

“It’s a little far though. Let’s talk in the taxi on the way.”

◯

“There lives ‘An old man who became unable leave his mansion’ in the place we’re headed to now.”

Right around the time the taxi exited Itsukaichikaidō into Oumekaidō, Krishna-san said that.

“Became unable? Why? Is he really fat?”

“…That’s not it. It seems the old man saw something in the village he lived in long ago. The story is related to that.”

Things had suddenly taken on an occult air, so I straightened my posture. I was, of course, very welcome to it.

“The old man’s name is Ryouichi Mamiya. He is the chairman of ‘Mamiya Motors’, a company listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a sixty percent share of the domestic market. He built a fortune in his lifetime, and now, he doesn’t have long to live. He built a mansion in the suburbs and has kept himself confined inside for many years. There are people who take care of him, but he never goes outside the mansion.”

“Eh, wait a minute. He doesn’t go outside? By choice?”

“I’ll explain that in detail from now on, but in short, the people surrounding him think that it’s his choice, but the old man can’t leave even if he wanted to.”

“…….”

“And the person in question is half prepared to live out his life in that mansion. It seems he's already had a will prepared-- which was also controversial. 『After I die, half of my fortune will be donated to the syndicate, and the remaining half will be equally divided among my relatives. However -- if there is a person who takes me out of the mansion while I am still alive, my entire fortune will be handed over to them.』”

“Eh…?”

“That's right. From the relatives’ point of view, that is intolerable. If they wait until he died, they would receive a portion of the half, but if someone were to take the old man out of the mansion, their inheritance would become zero. Since that day, the relatives began to visit the old man. Everyone would invite him to a beautiful summer retreat, or they would invite him to come and see expensive art pieces they went to the trouble of borrowing from abroad. Among them was a fool who pretended to have caught a giraffe by having a deer go through orthopedic surgery, and got sued by animal rights activists.”

“…Hah.”

“Well, it's understandable, because when real estate and bonds are included, his total assets are said to easily exceed 700 billion.”

“So, why are you headed over there, Krishna-san?”

“Well, you see Mamiya-san has always endorsed the goal behind ‘Ikaigabuchi’. He kept donating money to me all these years. I was also asked by his family if ‘I could do something’ – so I thought I might be useful somehow.”

“Does that mean you'll bring that old man outside?”

“No, I'm just going to talk to him. Returning to the main point, it seems the reason the old man said something like that was because it stemmed from something he saw in the village a long time ago. The client said that if that were to be settled, then he would cancel that strange will, -- but well, I wonder if that's really true. At any rate, I thought it was the least I could do for everything he’s done for me.”

“I see.”

There are people in the world who are troubled by bizarre things -- but on the other hand, one doubt remained in my head.

“But, why did you bring me along?””

“…Eh?”

“I mean, you're always saying that I'm not allowed, that I'm absolutely not allowed to involve myself with the occult! You stop me a bit unreasonably, so I just thought it was strange.”

Krishna-san muttered slightly in response, “That’s true”, and then hung her head down, trying to arrange all her thoughts in that small brow of hers.

“Right… I’ve always stopped you from involving yourself with the occult.”

“Yes.”

“I thought it wasn’t good for you to be in contact with the people who were close to the occult…but actually, I’ve been in two minds about that recently.”

“In two minds? About what?

“No matter how much I tried to stop you, you would always end up barging into the occult. For a long time, I thought that was because of your simple and foolish nature, and I thought you were wrong, but—could it be your only…”

“My only?”

“…No, nothing.”

Thereupon, Krishna-san held her tongue and looked at the flowing scenery outside, “I still haven't figured it out.”

I, too, became lost in my thoughts. Come to think of it, how many times have we had the same conversation? A paranormal event occurs. I get excited. Krishna-san stops me. However, in the end, my curiosity wins out, and I barge into dangerous territory, and end up in tears-- It felt like that kind of thing had repeated all year long.

Wait—huh?

Thereupon I felt like a piece was missing.

The thing that had been crossed in my mind, appeared vaguely once more.

“Recently—I’ve been seeing a lot of articles on racial conflicts on international news websites.”

Suddenly, Krishna-san spoke of something I didn’t understand at all.

“Racial conflicts?”

“There are countless races living in this world, all with their own values, religions and cultures. The Middle East conflict, Cyprus, Kurds, Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan – Looking around Asia, it’s full of problems. And the end result is a cycle of abuse, leading to conflict. People instinctually fear those who are different from themselves. There are still only a few people who can accept different races and cultures universally. It is human nature to fear and defend oneself -- but when it goes too far, it may lead to persecution of those who are different..”

“...”

“Say, Nagi-kun. Why do you think wars happen?”

Thereupon, Krishna-san looked in my direction.

“Do they happen for territory? Are they economic activities resulting from the complexly intertwined interests of major powers? No, isn’t the real reason they happen, and the impetus behind them, a needless fear? And, in turn, didn’t that come from the abuse against those with different values. No matter how much we may think we are enlightened, we are still subjective creatures. Conversely, without subjectivity, it would be difficult to sustain life, and it is only with the assurance of escaping to a safe zone that we can be considerate of others. Words like maturity or moral standards only come about when people have enough food and clothing. When natural disasters that turn heaven and earth upside down occur, or when the myth of safety is shattered, how many people must have hurt others without any grounds simply on their emotions? Isn't the history of human conflict a history of abuse towards others?”

Having spoken that far in a single breath, Krishna-san took a short break, and hung her head down once more as if embarrassed of herself for raising her voice.

“That’s why-- when people start abusing others on a global scale, I always get anxious. It’s as if something terrible has quietly started somewhere... I end up feeling that the world is headed in an awful direction.”

“Um... How is that related to what we’re talking about here?

I asked, ‘Ah’, Krishna-san strangely got flustered and blushed.

“... I think I've reached a dead end in the way I do things.”

“…Eh?”

“I've been trying to keep you safe, to stop you from involving yourself in the occult this far… but that might have actually been the wrong thing to do. I think I ended up bringing you along because I’ve begun to doubt myself about that recently.”

◯

“Don’t you think that human society is slowly rotting away?”

The old man with the gleaming face of a wax doll asked gleefully.

Krishna-san and I looked at each other, and he continued.

“Awful things – truly awful things have started happening in every corner of the world. Don't you think that the balance that had been miraculously maintained until now has begun to decline far beyond the intelligence of the average human being? No, well, anyone with a modicum of knowledge could have seen this coming, but at long last, our foolish leaders have finally begun to realize and begun to panic.”

Right now, we were in an area of villas deep in Okutama.

It was the home of the aforementioned ‘Old man who became unable leave his mansion’. And the person before us was the old man in question.

Even though it was spring, it was still cold here. The cold air seeped in through the windows, as if the vestiges of winter had missed their chance to return and hung lazily over the house. Perhaps that was the reason why the fireplace of the living room of about 33 square meters in size still had a fire lit in it.

The old man who was sitting deep in a rocking chair in front of it was watching me and Krishna-san, who were sitting on the leather sofa, with great interest.

“Communication is important in order to get along well with others, but to achieve smooth communication, the same level of intellect is required. In short, it means that the smarter person has to match the stupid one in order for the conversation to take place. However, do you think that countries with high moral standards can conduct diplomacy with uncivilized nations on equal terms? Do you think there is a future of the world like that where the wise can get along with the fools? That will only give birth to stagnation. There is no progress in that. It’s impossible in the world of wild animals, where the weak are inevitably abandoned. Ethics, morality, morals—in the world of today, we say wonderful things, like ‘Let’s protect the weak’, or ‘Let’s create a world that’s good for the weak’. However, morals that go too far will threaten to turn the weak into the strong. Everyone pulls the legs of the exceedingly superior individual and drags them down to the ground and beats him with a stick. Isn’t that the rotten state the world finds itself in today?”

I was listening quietly—

I thought this might have been the ‘abuse’ Krishna-san spoke of.

“—Now then, it’s been a long time, Kurimoto-kun.”

--*Cough*, the old man’s wrinkled face contorted. Apparently, he laughed.

“It has been a long time since my last visit.”

Krishna-san too bowed her bobbed head down.

“I visited you in your home in Tokyo many times, but I wasn’t aware that you had moved here, my apologies.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure the people in the house must have been troubled about how to explain it. Ah…I heard that you closed down ‘Ikaigabuchi’.”

“Yes, I went too far and forgot my place.”

“…Is that so? I thought you had the right goal, and I don’t think there was anyone better qualified to do what you set out to do.”

“No…it’s truly shameful to abandon my goal with your contribution over many years—but I thought it was impossible for me to go any further.”

“…Hmm.”

The old man stopped moving like a broken doll, and then added, “Well, please relax and take your time.”

“No, actually, I can’t relax that much.”

Thereupon, she stopped speaking, and spoke again after having made up her mind.

“To tell you the truth, there's another reason I've come here today besides the matter of Ikaigabuchi’s closure. I've been asked by your family to get you out of this house.”

“I see.”

The old man looked at Krishna-san in amusement and gave a large nod.

“That’s why I gave that talk at the beginning.”

“…Eh?”

“The story where the weak being discarded in the world was ideal. In short, I, who am old, and sick, is to put it in clear terms, a weak creature, and it is right that I should be abandoned. I believe that it comes from animals originally. In the past, there used to be stories about mountains where old people were abandoned. Among wild animals, there are those with the nature of hiding themselves when they feel their death is near. I am merely imitating that; it seems my will to be left alone was not recognized.”

…This guy.

For the first time, I realized that this old man, who was like a withered tree, was not an ordinary old man. Ryouichi Mamiya had realized the reason we were here since the start – that’s why, he started off with that bewildering story.

“However.”

Krishna-san straightened her posture and spoke.

“From the conversation we’ve had up until now, I can say that you have intelligence, and judgement. I believe that long as a person is human and has intelligence and reason, they are human. And I believe people as people have a guarantee to a dignified life.”

“This is dignified. Staying shut in here, and dying quietly alone is the only thing dignified left for me.”

“By abandoning your family? Is it dignified to throw away everything in your life up until now and shut yourself in here? If that's the case, then at the risk of sounding quite presumptuous, I believe you should clearly make out your inheritance. It might be harsh to say-- but if you were to do that, then no one would complain about your actions. It seems to me that your strange will has on the contrary, created a lot of commotion around you.”

“...”

In response, the old man narrowed the countless wrinkles around his eyes, and gazed at Krishna-san.

“How much have you heard?”

“How much, you ask?”

“About my story.”

“I'll be honest with you.”

Krishna-san spoke as if accepting the old man's gaze.

“I heard that one day, you became afraid of mirrors. That's why you made this mansion with no mirrors anywhere and shut yourself in here. And soon after that you made that will -- and, that it all started with something you saw in a cave in a village long ago. I haven't heard anything besides that.”

“Do you want to hear the rest of it?”

“...”

“Will you learn the rest of it-- and solve the mystery that has plagued me for so many years?”

“I can't guarantee that I will solve it but, I'll help you as much as I can.”

“That's fine.”

The old man contorted his wrinkled face once more, sat back deeper in his chair, and slowly closed his eyes. The room fell into silence for a while after that. Birds were chirping outside the window, and the occasional crackling of firewood was all that could be heard.

“The thing…that I saw… in the darkness of the cave back then, were eyes.”

…Eh?

“They were beautiful eyes. They appeared in the darkness.”

“Sometimes the truly terrifying things are beautiful to the point where they feel out of this world.”

◯

“It happened shortly after the war, in a certain village, was a certain man.”

The old man began to narrate in pieces, Krishna-san and I became absorbed and bent ourselves forward before we’d realized.

“The man had a good friend. A childhood friend who would accompany him whenever he went hunting or to the fields. But one day, they ended up deep in the forest in pursuit of a beast, and arrived at a certain cave. They had been told that a beast of unknown origin dwelled inside since long ago, and that they should not go near it. It was said to be powerful, fast, and had a strong stink. Some said it had red eyes. That it had learned human speech, and was said to have devoured humans at times.”

A gulp rang in my throat.

“They were both still young, burning with ambition. Furthermore, they were both rivals in love over a young girl in the village, so they entered inside as if vying for the achievement. The entrance of the cave was dark and cramped. The two had a flame alight as they ventured ahead with hunting rifles in hand. They slowly made their way through a long, long, cold space of rock and earth. Eventually, they saw something white beyond the light. It was a shimenawa. A thick and ancient shimenawa rope that blocked their progress. Next to it stood a sign that read: 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their life』. They looked at each other and hesitated for a moment. But in the end, they cut through the shimenawa with the nata<ref> https://daitool.com/blogs/news/all-about-nata-the-japanese-axe-or-is-it-a-machete</ref> they had. It was a cliché at the entrance of forbidden places, but more than anything, the excitement that prey was near won out above all else. In those days, everyone was always hungry, and animals with protein were exceedingly valuable. They must have imagined the joy of the people of the village, and consequently, the joyous face of the girl they both favored. However, as they ventured further, they soon encountered a second shimenawa blocking the path. There was indeed another sign on a post that read: 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their friend.』”

“—Friend?”

Thereupon, Krishna-san interjected. The old man nodded in a relaxed manner.

“That's right, friend. The two looked at each other. And then nodded to one another. The two had fought and scuffled countless times since childhood, and had a strange mutual trust in each other. An overconfident trust in the other, thinking that this guy wouldn't be done in so easily. On those grounds, they cut the shimenawa once more. They continued further ahead, and eventually, beyond the darkness, they smelled a bloody smell together with the faint sense of something breathing. The man thought that it was the prey they had come chasing. Just when he thought he was almost there, the final shimenawa appeared. What was written on there was, 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their name.』”

“…Name?”

This time, I was the one who unintentionally ended up repeating it. In response, the old man creased the tree-like wrinkles around the edges of his mouth.

“Having already been threatened with their lives and their friend, would something like ‘name’ threaten them at this stage? The two enthusiastically cut through the shimenawa. Thinking about it now, the two being there together was the sin. If it had only been one of them, they might have returned to the village at the first shimenawa. No, they might have returned right from the entrance of the cave. The two continued further, relying indeed on their mutual trust and stubbornness.”

“......”

“The darkness -- thickened.”

The old man's voice seemed low, and even hoarser.

“No matter where he aimed the light from his torch, it was a strange darkness that seemed to coil around him, making him unable to see what lay ahead. Eventually the man realized that the earth was slanting down. Could this be the slope that led to the land of the dead? Wasn’t the land of the dead further ahead of here? Before he realized, the man's knees were shaking. He asked himself over and over if he could still go back. However, at that moment, someone's voice reached his ears. The man looked at his friend, who was supposed to be walking next to him. He couldn't see him clearly in the darkness, but he didn't seem to be talking to him or looking at him. The man wondered if he was imagining things, but as he continued, someone’s whispers did indeed reach his ears. The man tried to listen carefully to the voice. The voice spoke: 『You two have entered a place that you were not supposed to enter. You disregarded three warnings and stepped in. Therefore, I will take your life, your friend, and your name.』 It was the next moment that the man almost shouted out involuntarily. He saw eyes in the darkness. Clear, beautiful eyes were floating in the air. The man was drawn to those eyes – when suddenly, something violently covered him from behind. He ended up dropping the torch to the ground, and screamed out loud. A foul stench filled his surroundings. He did not know if it was the beast they had chased, or an ancient mountain god rumored from long ago-- But driven by terror, the man recklessly thrust the nata in his hand at the foul stench in the darkness.…”

Thereupon the old man stopped speaking, and in exchange the sound of my throat gulping rang out. Eventually Krishna-san asked him.

“So, what happened then?”

“…I don't know.”

“You don't know?”

“The smell of the beast, the smell of blood--when the man came to, he was collapsed at the entrance of the cave. The dried blood of something stuck to his face, his clothes, and the hunting rifle and nata he should have held were nowhere to be found. In their stead-- he was holding someone else's arm that was already drained of blood. A left arm.”

…Eek.

As I was flinching, I heard Krishna-san’s small throat gulp.

“I don't know who that arm belonged to. The man seemed to have come to his senses a few days after he left that cave. The arm was already in the process of decomposing, and in the end, his friend never returned. The man, who had broken out in a high fever, was somehow rescued by the villagers who had come to search for him, and he was exercised at the village temple. A funeral was held for the friend and the arm, whose owner was unknown, was buried. Time passed by, and with the death of his friend who was his rival in love, the man married the girl in due course. He took over the family and worked hard to forget the nightmare of that day. He survived the chaos of the post-war years, and before he realized, he had grown old, and amassed a considerable fortune -- until one day, he began to dream. Something was moving beyond the darkness that extended in all directions. Something without one arm shakes its head, searching for something. And when it notices the man’s presence, it comes toward him with great speed.”

“…”

“Was that his friend…or the thing that spoke to him in the back of the cave …. The man would always wake up drenched in sweat… and, only one sentence would always remain echoing in his ear.”

''“In the mirror.”''

“…Mirror.”

--Was that where the mirror came in?

“Yes, that’s why the man became afraid to look in the mirror. He had not seen his own reflection for decades. He even became afraid of seeing his own reflection in the window and such. At any rate, he built a mansion without mirrors and shut himself inside.”

I unconsciously looked around the room. I indeed saw no sign of anything that resembled a mirror in this room, or in any of the corridors I passed through when I came here. Looking carefully, I understood, but, the windows were also tightly bound with lace curtains so that they couldn’t be opened.

“Now then Kurimoto-kun, what do you think? Did you figure out what the thing inside the mirror is?”

“—No.”

Krishna-san bit her lip.

“Unfortunately, I still haven't.”

“…As expected. Well, it’s fine. To begin with, I would be troubled if I were to be given the answer so simply.”

The old man smiled again like a wrinkled tree.

“There are many guest rooms in this mansion. Please take your time.”

After saying that, he quietly closed his eyes as if drifting to sleep.

◯

As the servant prompted us out, and we entered the corridor, I was struck by the sensation that time had suddenly begun to move.

I was relieved to find that I was in Okutama, a world where time functioned properly, and that there was air here. I guess that’s how much I had been drawn into the strange story of the old man, Ryouichi Mamiya.

As I walked down the corridor, stepping firmly on the dark red carpet, Krishna-san stopped suddenly ahead of me. I looked to see that she had her face up to the wall of the corridor. I went up next to her, and saw several framed black-and-white photographs adorned alongside it.

“I guess it must be Mamiya-san and his friend who passed away.”

Krishna-san spoke.

Two men stood side-by-side as they smiled in the monochrome picture. They were both young and had nice smiles.

One of them was indeed the old man. I thought he must have been quite handsome when he was young, but-- this was amazing. I never thought I'd go so far as to say that a man was smoking hot, but I'll say it now. A bright young man who reminded me of a movie actor was smiling and showing his white teeth. And the other man projected in the photograph must have been the friend who disappeared in the cave. Compared to Mamiya-san, He didn't look as graceful, but he still had a beaming smile aimed towards us. And, seeing his left arm still attached to his body, something bitter rose up in me.

“What do you think?”

After being introduced to our respective guest rooms on the second floor, and as soon as the servant departed, I went to Krishna-san’s room and asked her.

The bobbed hair occult website manager was sitting in her bed with her fist to her lips, ‘Hmmm’.

“It feels like Mamiya-san’s sense of guilt of ‘Having abandoned his friend and coming this far’ has taken form. I think the guilt is too heavy for him to accept his current success as a reward for which he worked so hard to redeem himself. On the contrary, the more wealth he accumulated, the stronger it might have become.”

“... Ah, I see.”

“A cave that was deemed forbidden. The prey that took refuge within. The era where food was scarce, I don't think that is something to be persistently blamed for. However, what I don't understand is the voice he heard, the thing that assaulted him from the depths of the darkness. The possibility is high that it was an auditory hallucination, or a delusion borne from fear -- but, in the chance that it was neither of those, then I should have searched for the meaning behind it.”

“Should have…? Eh, do you mean to say that you already went to investigate that cave?”

“Yeah.”

Krishna-san simply nodded.

“It was about a week ago. I went to the cave in question. The entrance was still cordoned off with a new shimenawa, a small shrine had been erected, and it was sealed off so that no one could enter. I heard from the shrine that managed the small shrine that it had completely caved in only a few meters in its depths. According to the chief priest, a deity of unknown origin had originally been enshrined in the cave. There were also theories that it was dedicated to a fleeing samurai in the closing years of the Heian period or to a mountain god, but in the end the origin wasn't well understood. Even in the village, it is buried in the dark of history as something that was already over. I felt I was being indirectly pressured not to dig in too deeply into it.”

“Huh.”

All I could do was stroke my chin, and nod.

“But... This house, it's amazing, isn't it? Is he living alone in a place that's big enough for a family of ten? Was the Mamiya family rich to begin with?”

“He seemed to have been an influential person of the village, but even so, he must have been wealthy for a villager’s standard. That person built his fortune through hard work up until now. That earnest effort must have originated from the feeling of atonement towards his friend -- but perhaps it was also a kind of possession or curse.”

I nodded once more, ‘I see’ -- And asked.

“Then, what are you going to do, Krishna-san?”

“Hm?”

“When are we going back? It's already evening, even if we were to call a taxi….”

“…Ah. I think I'd like to stay for a few days here if I'm allowed to.”

“Eh?”

“It's fine if you go back. No, you should go back. Your lectures will have started already.”

“…No, well, that is the case, but what are you planning on doing by staying here for a few days?”

“I believe this is also a form of exorcism. I want to do something as thanks for all the years I've been supported for ‘Ikaigabuchi’.”

Krishna-san spoke as she bit her lips—

However, could she really do that? No, it might be possible that she could loosen the hardened guilty conscience of the old man by listening to his stories…but, could she really do that by staying here for only a few days.

I looked outside the window for some reason. The sun had already begun to set, and it was getting darker by the minute. There were hardly any houses or even power lines along the way, so the surroundings would completely sink into darkness.

Ugh… what should I do? Well, I could do something about university, but I still had my part-time job, and I didn’t even bring any spare clothes to begin with. There didn’t seem to be any convenience stores nearby, and in the first place, just how was I going to go back home alone from here by myself?

As I thought that,

“…Ah.”

A voice suddenly escaped Krishna-san.

“Why didn’t I realize it before—the warnings in the cave Mamiya-san saw.”

“Eh?”

“Listen, first it was 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their ‘life’』. Next was 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their ‘friend’』. And at the end it was 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their ‘name’』. If we take ‘life’ as his friend not returning, and if we take the ‘friend’ as the friend Mamiya-san lost —then what about the ‘name’ at the end?”

I suddenly felt a chill down my back as if something slithered through.

It was—about that. It appeared in my head because for the past few days, I’d been flooded with all kinds of strange talk about ‘names’.

‘Um’, I asked.

“Krishna-san, have you heard of ‘The Scholomance university of magic’?”

“…Hm?”

“It was said to have existed in the Balkan peninsula or something.”

That was the university of witches that the mysterious young girl whispered to me about. And originally, it was blurted out by the enigmatic Noh faced man I met in front of university that day.

“I heard that the disciples of the witch were made to dedicate themselves to researching the origins of names of things in that university.”

“Well, that’s very knowledgeable of you.”

I received a rare complement.

“The Scholomance university of magic is an ancient European legend of obscure origin that has passed down through the ages. It is said that the university has a large library where you could research the true names of every event and creature in this world. According to one theory, it might perhaps be another name for the Akashic Records, but there are still very few references to it in Japan… and I thought I would go research it in more detail once, and…huh? How did you find out about such an obscure story?”

“Well, ummm… I think it was on the net? I forgot, haha.”

In a panic, I made something up,

“Anyway, I recalled it with the word ‘name’. Why were the disciples of the witch made to only repeat the same thing – in short, why were they made to only research the origin of the names of things? Are things like names really that important?”

“They are. Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world. To wear the W in witch<ref>The kanji used here is魔, the ‘ma’ in ‘mahoutsukai’ which can mean witch, demon, evil spirit or evil influence.</ref>, would ultimately mean to forget who you are. Conversely, if one were to regain their ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ would be--”

Thereupon, Krishna-san suddenly sunk into silence. Her head was slung down, gesturing as if she were biting down her nails with her fingers to her lips.

“Krishna-san?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Saying that, Krishna-san gave a forced smile.

However, that smile illuminated by the sunset looked exceedingly fleeting—

I was suddenly seized with the illusion that she would end up disappearing.

Unconsciously, I was about to reach out my hand to her soft cheeks to keep her tied down to this world.

“Anyway, I’ll be staying here for a little longer.”

The bobbed haired former occult site manager declared to me in a mechanical voice.

“—You can do as you like.”

◯

At night, the chirping of the insects became even more terrible.

On top of that, the cries of some unknown mountain bird echoed from deep in the mountains.

Hyaeeeeee… it was a creepy voice, like that of an old woman crying out. I turned over in my sleep, thinking that if that was the type of sound heard by people in ancient times, then it’s no wonder that they thought that monsters lived in the mountains.

It was already half past one o'clock. In the end, I took the favor from the Mamiya household and stayed there. I was served a supper of wild vegetables in a hotpot, and I was even offered to take a bath which made it feel like I was at a resort, but it felt disgusting that I couldn’t change my underwear---well, that’s not it, these murky feelings weren’t because of underwear.

They arose from having completely deviated from my original objective. To begin with, I was going to ask Krishna-san to elaborate on what happened when I woke up in the hospital.

Who was it that came to visit me in the hospital room that day? The fact that I screamed when I saw them—and, why did I end up forgetting everything about them in the present? I went to the clubroom to ask her those things, but I, who have a reputation for being the best in the Kanto region at getting involved in the creepiest things there are, was as expected, being swept away once more. Before I realized, I ended up staying overnight at a mansion in the mountains. But—well, I’m together with Krishna-san this time, so I’m not too worried. That was fine, but the problem was the murky figure of someone who kept appearing and disappearing beyond the haze in my head.

They were slender and dark. I felt a chill and creepiness, but at the same time it was an awfully nostalgic, and loving feeling. The voice I heard the other day in ‘The Overlapping House’ felt the same. Was the person I ended up forgetting, the owner of that voice? I couldn’t help but feel -- that I had stepped foot into the depths of darkness countless times in the past together with that voice.

『…Hey, are you scared?』

Suddenly, that voice like a ringing bell passed through my ears once more.

It was accompanied by goosebumps and reminded me of a strange loneliness. And at the same time, an excitement of twisted delight. A floating feeling as if nothing lay beneath my feet--and paradoxically, an adventurous pleasure which made me strongly feel that I was alive.

That’s right, at any rate, my real feelings at this point were—

That I wanted to meet them once more. I absolutely hated the thought of never seeing them again.

Before I realized, I had sat up.

A mountain bird cried out again somewhere, and the pale blue moonlight peeked in through the window curtains.

“…Ah, I see.”

In the deep mountains, a mansion inhabited by an old man who could not leave the mansion. It was a situation that twisted just enough, and yet. Even though a ghost story that somehow didn’t add up was right there— but why aren’t you here anywhere?

That was the kind of loneliness I was feeling.

When—

Suddenly, I heard two knocks on the door.

I thought I might have misheard and merely stared at the door from my bed, when—

“…Nagi-kun, are you awake?”

I heard Krishna-san’s voice.

“I, I’m awake.”

I rushed to the door and placed my hand on the doorknob and opened it.

In the dark corridor, Krishna-san stood small and quiet dressed in strawberry pajamas.
[[File:Phenomeno-Vol6-case14-1.jpg|thumb]]

--Gwah—Cute, super cute.

Why was she clutching a pillow, is what I wanted to ask her until morning, but this was Krishna-san we’re talking about, it wasn’t because she wanted to sleep together in my room or something like that, but rather, she was just anxious about something and carried it with her. Then, the problem was, just what made her anxious enough to go running to a man’s room in the middle of the night?

“W-w-what’s wrong?”

I asked, and in reply, “Is it alright for a bit?” She apologetically pointed inside my room.

I vigorously nodded. I’ll say it once more, but this person’s maturity with regards to the subtleties between men and women stopped at the middle school level, so this was in no way a night crawl. It was not – but as expected, my heart which was in its springtime of life couldn’t help but throb rapidly to the point of bursting at the sight of her entering in a single thin pajama in in the middle of the night.

Krishna-san pitter-pattered into the room and sat down on a chair next to the table by the window, and while still clutching her pillow, breathed a sigh.

“…Ummm.”

I called out to her, respectfully keeping a little distance from her by sitting at the corner of the bed.

“It’s about Karasu-san, I couldn’t sleep because it’s bothering me.”

Ahh, I nodded. I didn’t say anything, not knowing how to respond immediately.

“Say, Nagi-kun. Didn’t Karasu-san die – because she threw away her name?”

“…Eh?”

“I realized it when you told me about the Scholomance university of magic. I knew the importance of names—and how dangerous it was to throw one’s name away—and yet…. I never pointed it out to Karasu-san.”

“Wa, wait a minute.”

I denied it as best I could.

“Karasu-san abandoned her name to get away from something, right? And rather than throwing it away, she took the new name of ‘Karasu’, and moreover, she seemed to like it a lot, didn't she? It’s not your fault, Krishna-san.”

It seemed like it still weighed on Krishna-san. She continued to blame herself, not that it was her fault, but that she could have done more. And I finally understood that this was the impetus for trying to do something on this occasion—here in this mansion.

“Nagi-kun, I relied on Karasu-san you see.”

“……….”

“I think I relied on her too much. I was only in charge of updating articles on Ikaigabuchi. Even if a lot of things happened, I thought it was all fine as long as Karasu-san laughed, and even when I stepped into really dangerous territory, a part of me would feel relieved when I saw her. I would be relieved thinking that this person had stepped into the world beyond far longer than I had, and despite that, she was smiling so joyfully like this, so I should still be okay too---”

“…Krishna-san.”

“Despite that….to die so suddenly like that…. It really was dangerous after all, that’s what it means, right? No, I’m not grieving over the fact that Karasu-san died – I'm afraid that I might be swallowed by the abyss next. That is---that is, just the worst, isn’t it?”

--That’s not it.

I wanted to say that that’s not it, but, I lacked the words to say what I wanted, and on top of that, I was lacking in knowledge and couldn’t find the right words to tell Krishna-san right now. Despite that, I clearly thought that that wasn’t it--- that’s it, I’ll use that. The words that helped me from the invisible someone in the ‘Overlapping house’.

『You are not broken.』

『Because – you can still ‘fear’.』

…That’s right, that was exactly it. Feeling fear was a normal human trait, and that’s how humans can distance themselves from danger—and the really dangerous individuals have had their ‘fear’ extinguished altogether and….

…Wait.

Thereupon, I recalled.

“…That’s right. There’s something I absolutely have to ask you, Kri--”

However, it happened at that moment.

From somewhere in the mansion, I heard the scream of a man.

In the darkness, Krishna-san too looked back.

“….Did you hear that?”

Krishna-san asked me, and I vaguely nodded. After that, we both held our breath. We strained our ears, but didn’t hear anything again.

“….Let’s go--- and check.”

Krishna-san withdrew the weak expression she had just been making. In its stead was the charismatic manager who formerly administered one of Japan’s largest occult websites.

We slowly opened the door, and peered down the corridor. The corridor was illuminated by auxiliary lights modeled after lanterns; We could easily see at our feet. Krishna-san took the lead, and slowly made her way forward, and I followed. We arrived at the stairs, and when she peeked at the bottom of the stairs, Krishna-san put her fingers to her lips. I, too, tried to hold my breath as I peered down below.

There was the old man.

He was walking unsteadily, and had a gown sloppily worn over his sleepwear. For some reason, he held a candlestick with a candle in hand, which gave him the appearance of a ghost.

Eventually, after confirming that the old man had returned to his room, I asked Krishna-san.

“That voice just now…was it his?”

The bobbed haired former manager shook her head and said, “I don’t know”. After that, we slowly began to descend the stairs, step-by-step.

As I checked the non-slip surface of the stairs with my bare feet, I began to feel as if the scene I had just witnessed had been a dream. His hair was grizzled and disheveled, and his eyes were hollow. His pale complexion looked even paler, yet his arms alone, which resembled withered branches, felt strangely darkened—

“Um, didn’t he just go to the toilet?”

I spoke as if to shake off the detestable chill, when Krishna-san stopped halfway down the stairs for a moment and asked me in return,

“Why did he need a candle when the lights in the corridor were switched on? Moreover, if the voice just now belonged to the old man…. Then I’m concerned as to why none of the servants came out. Could it be that this is a routine occurrence?”

“….”

“But if that's the case —I feel like there’s something there which can unravel the old man’s mystery.”

When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Krishna-san silently crouched down on the floor. She seemed to be clawing her fingers on the dark red carpet.

“…What’s wrong?”

“Look, Nagi-kun. There’s a trail of wax that dripped down.”

“Ah…”

“If we were to follow it--”

Krishna-san then proceeded down the corridor in a crouched position. I took a gulp and followed her cute looking behind as it swung from side to side. There was indeed a trail of dripped wax that continued every meter or so. And it continued down the corridor, but—

“…Unh.”

Krishna-san suddenly stopped, and my face almost came into contact with her behind.

“What happened?”

“It’s a dead end.”

“…Eh?”

I looked up and sure enough, at the end of the corridor was a wall. In front of the wall, there was only an ornamental plant, a low table, and an expensive-looking vase of flowers on it.

“Does the wax continue here? Did you make a mistake on the way?”

Krishna-san went back a few meters, and traced after the dripped wax once more before returning,

“No, without a doubt it’s leading this…”

As she declared that, she slowly raised her head. She then continued to gaze motionlessly at a part of the wall.

“…Nagi-kun?”

She suddenly lowered her voice even further and pointed somewhere.

“Isn’t this, a door…?”

“…………”

I, too, drew close and touched the wall with my fingertips.

--Aah, that’s right. It had been painted the same color as the wall, but the material was different.

“But, how is it opened…?”

I looked around as if to soothe my heart which had begun to throb violently once more.

And that’s when I noticed it. There was a spot under the wall that was slightly stained. A point that looked as if it had been touched by hand countless times. I managed to press it somehow, when—

I heard a clicking sound from somewhere, and one part of the wall simply flipped the other way.

However—beyond it was merely darkness. No—there was a path that continued endlessly, only a few meters wide.

“………”

“………”

--*Gulp* My throat sounded. I couldn’t help but feel a terrible premonition. I thought that this path was a truly unpleasant path. If you were to ask me why that was, I couldn’t answer well, but—there was a dampness, and a rotten smell that assailed my nostrils. I was hesitant to proceed further from here.

“—Nagi-kun.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s nervous voice reached my ears; I turned around and was startled.

There was a human there with an expression of shock who had seen something impossible. Even though it was such a familiar face, it had an expression so drained of blood that I had never seen before – my face.

That’s right, the other side of the wall door that had flipped open was covered… by a polished mirror.

“A m…mirror? In this mansion? And…why is it on the backside of the wall door?”

“I don’t know… but there’s something strange.”

“W-w-what’s that?”

“There is no light whatsoever in this corridor.”

“…Huh?”

“In short, it means that when this door is closed, it’s impossible to use this mirror.”

With a shiver, something cold crawled down my back.

“Then, why is this mirror set up here? In the first place, where does this path lead--”

Then, it happened as Krishna-san was muttering to herself.

From somewhere, a rustling sound rang out, as if something was being dragged.

With a start, Krishna-san and I looked at the end of the dark corridor. We strained our eyes beyond the darkness.

…Huh…did something, move….?

In the darkness, something even darker moved—like it was drawing closer to us.

The light in the corridor through the doorway was not enough to illuminate the far end of the passage.

However— I could vaguely make out the outline of the thing that moved.

The moment I realized that it was like that of a person—

“K-Krishna-san…!”

I recoiled backwards as if collapsing, and grabbed the edge of Krishna-san’s pajamas.

“Nagi-kun….W, we can’t stay here!”

Her voice was the signal to prompt us both to turn around and run away, when—

We bumped into something, the unexpected impact startled us, and we fell down on the spot. We raised our faces to check what was blocking our path—I let out an “Eek” involuntarily, and Krishna-san had her mouth agape on the spot without a word.

There was the pale face of this mansion’s proprietor.

His complexion was like a corpse, and he wore a smile on his wrinkled face.

“Get away as fast as you can.”

The old man spoke in a frolicking tone.

“Before that thing gets you.”

◯

“L-le-le-let’s…. go back already!”

The next day, after sunrise, I visited Krishna-san’s room and told her that.

“That proprietor is strange. And there’s also definitely something strange about this mansion.”

“I know already.”

Krishna-san was writing something indifferently on a table next to the window. Without even glancing in my direction, and without resting her hand, she ignored my desperate pleas.

Last night, after what happened, we returned to our separate rooms and went to bed, but in the end, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Just what was that path hidden in the wall? Why was there a mirror on the back of the wall door to the entrance of that path? And--- what was that shadow beyond the path that seemed to be drawing close?

Now as I recalled it once more, a cold shiver rose up from beneath my feet.

Wasn’t that a person? It felt as if it was hectically shaking its head from side to side, looking for something. And it was like that arm wasn't there, like it had fallen off…

No. No, that was because I heard that proprietor’s old story. I had known that information beforehand, so I mistook something like that—that’s right, in short was a ‘schema’. The thing where stains on the wall look like a person’s face.

As I was absorbed in driving away my fears,

“You need to get back to Musashino right away.”

Krishna-san told me with her back towards me.

“….Eh. What are you going to do, Krishna-san?”

“I’m, going to stay here for a little while longer.”

“Y…you’d better give up. Then, you should at least call those ghost specialists. You know, the people in charge of Ikaigabuchi investigations you always call for….”

“I can’t. They all have their own individual fields of expertise. I don’t know who to call unless we uncover the root of the misfortune that binds this mansion. At the very least, I must determine that root.”

Thereafter, Krishna-san stopped her writing hand, and muttered quietly, “Moreover, if I were to return now.”

“If you were to return?”

“I won’t make it up to Karasu-san.”

“Karasu-san has nothing to do with it, right? In the first place, would Karasu-san be happy if you stayed in a place like this?”

“Just a little bit more… I have a feeling something will pop up.”

Krishna-san turned back and handed to me what appeared to be a sealed letter.

“When you get back to Musashino, give this to Sako-san.”

“…To Sako?”

Krishna-san nodded, and her eyes shone with a glint suggesting that she wanted to say something—when I suddenly understood.

“Could it be that this is about my memories?”

“........”

“I’ve really forgotten someone, haven’t I? Did you and Sako do something to me? Why?”

However, Krishna-san kept silent, biting her lips.

We were getting nowhere, so I put my hand on her small shoulder.

“At any rate let’s go back together. Or maybe it would be better to call that bastard Sako.”

“I can’t do that.”

Krishna-san refused as if to brush off my hand.

“I’m always relying on other people. Even though I have no power to deal with ghosts, I thought I would do something outrageous like promote the segregation of ghosts and people, not knowing my place. And who knows how many people -- ended up dead because of me.”

“Krishna-san, that wasn’t your fau…”

“Is that really the case? Say, Nagi-kun. Can you say that with absolute certainty?”

My hand stopped at that desperate scream—at those tears that flowed from her large eyes.

“I can’t forgive myself…if I can’t at least fix this problem properly by myself.”

◯

“—Now then. Have you figured out the identity of the thing in the mirror?”

Beyond the deliciously steaming breakfast, the old man smiled.

“…No, not yet.”

Krishna-san hung her head down,

“It’s fine, we have an abundance of time. Please make yourselves comfortable.”

The old man kindly declared with a hoarse voice.

Outside the window, a slight drizzle had begun before I realized. Illuminated by the faint sunshine, the table was lined with grilled river fish, pickled vegetables, bamboo miso soup, and freshly cooked rice.

And in the end--- I ended up receiving that food together with Krishna-san and the old man.

As I listened to the birds chirping, I thought the food was delicious, while at the same time feeling that I was pathetic.

“It’s good to have someone to talk to.”

The old man spoke to Krishna-san after partaking in a small mouthful of food.

“You are still young, but we have always had smooth communication. There is progress there. Let us have a meaningful, quality debate, unencumbered by ethical excesses.”

“…Last night.”

“Hm?”

“Is it alright if I ask about the path at the end of the corridor?”

In response, the old man, whose face which was once handsome in the past, creased its wrinkles—and broadly grinned.

“Please forget about it.”

“………”

“It is something that is not supposed to exist. Our nature as human beings to make things exist that are not supposed to exist - isn't that the true nature of a ghost?”

“In all likelihood, you are correct.”

Krishna-san spoke.

“However, the thing we saw last night was real.”

“And what exactly… did you see?”

“….Eh?”

“I did not see anything—and yet you included me in the ‘we’ you spoke of?”

“No, I definitely-- in the end of that corridor—Hey, Nagi-kun, you saw it as well, right?”

She suddenly swung my way, and in a panic, I gulped down the grains of rice in my mouth.

“Ermmm, right, it was like… I saw something.”

“Right? There must have been something - or someone - at the end of the corridor.”

Krishna-san insisted stubbornly, but as for me, it was pathetic that I didn’t truly trust my own perceptions. Even though I was an occult enthusiast, I was even more of a wimp, and I thought that the possibility was high that it was a schema rather than a person, something I always thought when I cooled off. Looking at it now that it’s morning, I even ended up thinking that it must have all been my imagination.

“That was -- yes, I think it was a woman with long hair.”

…………….Eh?

Krishna-san muttered that as she tried unusually hard to compose herself…. No, but what I saw was more like a man, something that had no arm and was hectically shaking its head from side to side.

In response—the old man cackled in a creepy manner.

“That’s how human perception is, Kurimoto-kun. Things like memories can manufacture several things later on. As long as humans are subjective living things, all memories without exception, receive slight revision. And, the more people with power speak of that, the more their subjective, vague and uncertain memories are recorded as authentic history. They say that the history is written by the victors – but it sure is scary, isn’t it, this world?”

Those were—

The type of words Krishna-san would usually point out before anything else, I thought.

Krishna-san would always question herself first. She would question all the ghost stories of this world, and she would go to the limits to eliminate even the slightest possibility of misinformation being mixed in. She strongly believed that fear came from ignorance.

Right now, Krishna-san was biting her lips. It was probably the regret of having ended up uttering what she saw herself (or what she felt she saw).

…Ah, come to think of it.

She said something about ‘racial conflict’ in the taxi on the way here. She then moved to ‘A history of human conflict’, and ‘Terrible things having quietly started somewhere’. You often see this type of thinking on the internet where current events are interpreted as grand evil signs. What are commonly called ‘conspiracy theories’. Krishna-san knew better than anyone else about how dangerous it was to start believing in conspiracy theories, but she still ended up uttering them— she must be feeling a sense of danger about herself. Was….that the real reason she closed Ikaigabuchi?

I thought that far, when I finally realized.

If the one-armed man I saw (or I felt I saw) was the ‘deceased friend’ imagined from the story of the old man named Mamiya---then the long haired woman Krishna-san saw…could it be?

Karasu-san?

Feeling responsibility for the death of Karasu-san, could Krishna-san’s heart be—

Much, much thinner than I thought, on the verge of being worn out?

◯

--Krishna-san, was already in danger.

After I finished eating breakfast, I borrowed an umbrella and went outside to take a walk by myself in the garden, where I took out my phone.

I had not brought my charger along, so I couldn't rely on the remaining battery anymore. I thought it would indeed be best to call Sako before it went dead. It was infuriating that I had to rely on him, but the situation was so urgent that I couldn't afford to take my time. In the end, I called Sako’s number after looking him up in my contacts list.

The ringing tone rang from the other end of the line.

It continued to ring.

However, even after thirty or so rings, no one picked up. It didn’t even go to voicemail.

“…That bastard, he really is useless when it comes to the crux of things.”

I clicked my tongue as I cut the call.

As I listened to the raindrops bouncing on my umbrella, I glared at the ground as I thought to myself.

I didn’t think it would be useful for me if I stayed here. But on the other hand, I was worried about leaving Krishna-san here and going back to Musashino alone. I couldn’t help but feel a terrible premonition. I would try contacting Sako again after a while--- no, if my battery died before I could contact him, then—As I started thinking such things over and over again, a stinging pain struck my right elbow after a long time.

I pulled up my sleeves and checked the scar. As usual, the stitch marks were painful to look at. The discolored wound had considerably blended in color with the surrounding flesh, but it looked like a bruise that would stay with me for the rest of my life.

As I massaged it, I somehow felt as if Karasu-san were angry at me.

“…What am I doing, really?”

I muttered to myself, when I suddenly realized.

I hurriedly turned the phone on and looked at my call history.

--Ah, I knew it.

There were many names in the call history I was familiar with, but among them was a name I had no recollection of.

It was the peculiar name, ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’. Moreover, there were a considerable number of incoming and outgoing calls displayed in the call history. The calls were terribly short each time, but to have exchanged calls so many times with this person—I had no memories of that.

….Who…are you….?

I looked at the contact information once more. All that was there was the name, ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, with no address, the fact that they might be an associate from work, or that they may be someone related to Ikaigabuchi, there was no memo like that at all.

However, as I gazed at the name, a strange feeling of nostalgia filled my heart. When engulfed with an incomprehensible fear, there was no one more reliable than this person…. No, on the contrary, did they actually amplify the fear? I didn’t know which one it was, but at any rate, it was a name that gave me a hunch that it would give me a breakthrough when I didn’t know what to do.

“………”

After hesitating for several seconds – I looked at their phone number, and pressed the call button.

As I gulped, I heard the ringback tone several times.

Eventually, the call connected.

<…………………………….>

“…Ah, hello.”

For the time being, I muttered that, but afterwards, I didn’t know what to say.

Someone stayed silent on the other end of the line.

“…Ah, umm…. Sorry for calling you out of the blue. I’m the one who called, but I don’t know you. No, I probably don’t remember. That is, ah, I’m Nagito Yamada. I had an accident a little while ago. I think it’s because of that — my memory is scattered in places. That’s why I called this number from the call history of my phone. I have called you many times before. That’s why, I thought we might have been on close terms, but…sorry, I don’t remember you.”

<……………………………..>

“Sorry for this weird phone call, but I’m in a situation right now that’s even weirder. I need your help. Just a little--- just a little is fine, I want you to hear this story like this.”

At that moment, I heard a warning vibrate from my phone, *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*.

“Aw shit. My battery is low, so I’ll explain the situation from my side.”

I told everything that happened so far to someone I didn’t even remember.

That I was in the heart of Okutama, in the secondary residence of a rich man named Ryouichi Mamiya. The story about him having ventured into a forbidden cave ignoring three warnings and that a strange riddle had appeared here in a mansion where that old man lived. That I had seen a creepy path late at night. The fact that even though the house had no mirrors, that there was a mirror there. And above all, the strange state that Krishna-san was in. I don’t know what sequence of events I explained it all in, but I was incoherent without a doubt. I didn’t know if the person on the other end of the line understood me, but at any rate, I was in a hurry and desperately tried to explain everything that came to my head to the person on the other end of the line.

“….I mean, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and it’ll be dangerous if things keep going on like this.”

<………………………………>

Despite that, the so-called ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ remained silent.

It occurred to me that they might have been upset that I did not remember them.

“…I’m sorry for not remembering you.”

I spoke.

“It really is, a nonsensical phone call, isn’t it….but, I’m--”

When the phone went dead.

I looked to see that it had completely drained.

“….Ahh.”

“What’s wrong?”

I was suddenly called out to, and turned around to see Krishna-san standing there.

She had also borrowed an umbrella, and came out to the pouring garden, with a slight smile on her face. The color of her face seemed to have recovered a little since breakfast.

“I’m… still staying here.”

I answered and looked away from Krishna-san, who looked like she wanted to say something, and put my phone away.

◯

Thunder roared.

The rain had gotten heavier since last night, and had begun to violently thrash the ground.

I pushed past Krishna-san’s opposition, and in the end, ended up staying for the third consecutive night in that strange mansion.

“This house is basically quite cozy…”

I muttered to myself as I gazed out at the falling rain through the window of the guest room.

The library was lined with countless interesting books and had a sound facility that was somewhat old but seemed to have good sound. The mansion was surrounded by a fresh forest of maple trees and sawtooth oaks, with benches set up here and there. All the rooms had air conditioning, but it was neither hot nor cold in this mansion, which was surrounded by trees in early spring. It was the perfect place to stop and think at one’s leisure.

Even today, I woke up this morning to be served with a warm breakfast prepared by the servants, ate and engaged in some pleasant conversations and listened to the old man’s old stories, and ended up getting served lunch before I’d realized it. I thought I had to take Krishna-san back with me today, but when the old man and Krishna-san began some deep conversation, I lost my place and came up to the room prepared for me on the second floor to rethink my strategy, but before I realized, all I was doing was gazing out at the falling rain.

It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

If I were to go down now, I’d be served afternoon tea and cakes, then I’d be pushed along into dinner, and then I’d submerge myself in the spacious and comfortable bath and the day would be over. I’d be tempted to lie down on the soft bed and go straight into another overnight course. And I’d be wearing the same underpants for four days, a terrible sight to behold.

A comfort that’s like lukewarm water.

That was the root of my fear of this mansion.

In this mansion where time seems to have stopped, where only silence and thoughts remained, it became impossible to have an overhead view of where you were. The university lectures and part-time job that used to keep me busy day after day became unimportant, and I even ended up thinking that my missing memories were something trivial and not worth worrying about.

It was a dreadful feeling as if I was slowly dissolving. It was a lukewarm fear that If I didn’t make a determined decision to leave in some way, that I would become imprisoned in this mansion forever.

For example, I realized it when I saw Krishna-san in the garden this morning.

How should I say it, it felt as if color continued to disappear from Krishna-san. The thing she originally had, the vitality of a Bodhisattva that overflowed from her much more than a normal human, continued to go down, is how I might explain it. At any rate, everything was fleeting, and there was a fear there that she would become transparent and end up disappearing at this rate.

『…K, Krishna-san.』

At that time, I thought it was without a doubt dangerous and called out to her. But I didn't know what to say or do from there. With her bobbed hair and charming baby face in front of me, my body didn’t move, and no words came out. I just said, “Nothing”, and looked away with no plan of a breakthrough, and all I could say was. 『I’m still staying here.』

However, I was sure that nothing would change for the better if I just kept reminiscing and looking out of the window. So, I finally took action — I stood up from the chair by the window, and went downstairs.

In the living room with a hearth on the first floor, both Krishna-san and the proprietor were sitting opposite to each other on the sofa, and at times both were conversing with a smile on their faces.

“I believe that’s the first time I’ve heard of such an opinion regarding the true identity of Oshira-sama.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshira-sama</ref>”

“No, it's an unfounded fancy that just popped into my head.”

“No, no, I don't think this is an opinion that comes up unless you do a lot of fieldwork.”

Thereupon, I joined in.

“What is Oshira-sama?”

In response, Krishna-san blatantly scowled.

“Nagi-kun, you haven’t even read Tōno Monogatari yet?”

“…Ah, err, it’s written in a classic style that’s difficult to read, so.”

“There are modern translations as well now. I’m always telling you that you shouldn’t just read ghost stories on the internet.”

“S-sorry.”

“Well, let’s leave him be.”

With the proprietor’s words, the conversation between the two moved on to an incomprehensible direction once more. They talked about stuff like the earth’s axis, and Longmai<ref>(expl.) the air or energy flowing down from an undulating mountain range</ref>. I could sit down on the sofa next to Krishna-san, but I couldn't get into the conversation at all.

At that moment, a bright light shone outside the window.

After a moment’s delay, the terrifying sound of thunder reverberated in its stead.

“….Damn, that was close!”

I unconsciously shouted out loud, but the proprietor and Krishna-san continued their conversation as if they had gotten used to it. At that moment, lightning flashed again, illuminating the old man's profile. His wrinkled face, which was supposed to have been handsome in his youth, was dyed in a golden color for an instant--- and I shuddered.

In a panic, I rubbed my eyes.

Just now, in an instant, I felt like I saw a completely different face appear in the light—but, was it because of the light?

The proprietor was smiling as usual. But it felt as if the number of wrinkles were increasing day by day. Despite that, it felt as if rather than growing old, he continued to swell with vigor. It might have been because he gained a conversational partner in Krishna-san with whom he could talk to on an equal intellectual level (according to the proprietor). It might have been because his brain was being rapidly stimulated.

However, that was of course not a happy thing for me, it was something that made me feel a strange disgust. I couldn’t help but feel a slimy sense of corrosion, as if something precious to me were being devoured by an old, ravenous beast.

“Now then, have you figured out the answer yet, Kurimoto-kun?”

After a break in the conversation, the old man asked Krishna-san as he sipped his black tea.

The answer— It was about the incident he mentioned. The question:『What is the identity of the thing inside the mirror?』. As I looked at Krishna-san’s downcast profile from the side, I too desperately tried to think. In the past, this old man abandoned his best friend in the depths of a cave. Or he thought he had, and continued to feel guilty about it to this day. Krishna-san was of the same opinion up to that point. Which meant that in short, that thing he saw was his ‘best friend’ who supposedly died. But for me, there was another possibility that I couldn’t get rid of.

That was—

The ‘something’ that had been in the depths of the cave from the very beginning.

‘Something’ that had been called a ‘mountain god’ since ancient times, that issued three warnings to the young man and his best friend. Had it not possessed this old man? Wasn’t that the cause of this inhuman presence I felt from this old man?

I looked at Krishna-san, wondering how she would respond---

“…I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

The bobbed haired former occult site manager hung her head in regret.

“It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

And the old man nodded happily.

“We have all the time in the world.”

….Ah, dammit, what was it?

An intense feeling of disgust swelled up inside me, and I stood up from the sofa. With a feeling of frustration as if I had my foot caught in a bottomless marshland, and a mixture of anger at myself for being unable to help Krishna-san as my crutch, I got up and spoke.

“I got it.”

“Oh?”

The old man looked my way with zero sense of expectation.

“Please tell me.”

“You are… the ‘mountain god’.”

Lightning struck outside the window once more, and for an instant the lights in the room went out. Perhaps that’s why I ended up being convinced that my half-baked answer was correct, *Cough*, the old man’s laughter rang out together with the lights turning back on, making me feel somewhat embarrassed.

“I am honored to be thought of as a mountain god.”

“Y, you went to a forbidden cave with your best friend. You heard some kind of voice there. But, you lost your memories from there, and when you came to, your best friend didn’t return. In short--”

“Ah, I see. So you want to say that I’ve been possessed by a mountain god. Quite amusing.”

It felt as if something else inside the old man’s wrinkles sneered.

“Let’s talk by stepping down to your level. Then what do you think the mountain god is?”

“Eh….what do I think….ummm… god is god, right?”

“In this country, those who are considered as gods are deceased noblemen, something that percolated from the other world, or nature itself, which one of those I wonder?”

“H, how the hell am I supposed to know something like that?”

“Why was the cave forbidden to enter in the first place?”

“………….”

“Is God not the general term for the supernatural, that which is beyond human comprehension? Why do humans deem God as necessary? That is to escape from fear. When struck with a condition that far surpasses the capacity of human understanding, humans speak of God. Fear that flows from the depths of humans is called God. In short fear itself is the true form of God, so how can I be the god of the mountain since I felt fear of the other side of the mirror?”

“…….”

“Ahh, how exhausting.”

The old man sat deep back in his chair, and spoke in an exhausted tone of voice.

“I said it before. A world that caters to fools leads to a slow death. Listen, if you’ve learned your lesson, then don't even think about interfering in the conversation between Kurimoto-kun and myself. Fools should at least realize that they are being spoken to like fools.”

………Ungh.

I was humiliated, but I had no reply. Krishna-san too had her head downcast, and I too pathetically continued to look down on the ground, when--

“Master.”

The maid called out.

“Another guest has arrived, is it alright if I allow them in?”

However, before that voice could even finish,

“…Ah, please…wait, please wait in that room.”

I heard that voice and turned around, to see the maid in a panic restraining someone.

However, eventually, the maid staggered as if pushed aside; Something entered the room.

In the space absent of anyone—that voice echoed, like a ringing bell.

(Which one is the fool, I wonder?)

That voice--- that frigid voice in the darkness that echoed like a bell from the other world, reached my ears.

(If you were to define fools as those who don’t realize they are fools, then there are those who don’t even realize that it applies to them.)

However, that figure was nowhere to be seen.

All I could feel was long black hair swirling in a spiral.

And, the terrifying presence in that voice alone—was what I felt in that ‘Overlapping house’.

“…T…that voice… you are…”

My mutter overlapped with Krishna-san’s voice at the same time.

“Yo…Yoishi…? Why are you here….?”

--Yoishi…? My mouth was agape, as I looked in the direction the voice came from, then at the old man, and finally at Krishna-san.

Krishna-san had her head face down somewhat apologetically—

Could it be?

Could it be that the owner of that voice was ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’?

“Oh, what a cute young lady.”

The old man let out a merry voice.

“Welcome, to my mansion.”

In response, the young girl that was still only a voice to me whispered.

(Fools destroy this world--- I strongly agree with that theory. However, you don't know what a true fool is.)

“Interesting, please do explain.”

(Often in this world, the wise must go along and converse with fools. That is correct. The wise arrive at the truth of this world before the fools, and despair of their own inadequacies more often than the fool —that too is correct. However, you don’t realize that as long as humans are creatures who live by emotion, the aggregate amount of despair is the same.)

“…Oh?”

(Indeed, there might be fewer fools who may be aware of their stupidity in comparison to the wise. But, as long as the aggregate amount of emotion is the same, the wise experience the self-hate ten different times whereas the fool only experiences ten times all at once. When they realize and understand it, the despair they felt would be ten times greater. And, that which the exceedingly sensitive fool experiences is a hundred times more worthy than the insensitive wise man —That is this person. You could not withstand even a small portion of the pain this person has experienced thus far. As long as there are circumstances worth sympathizing in, this person is an extraordinary fool who will walk together with them be they the living or the dead—No matter how much someone tries to stop him, he still plunges into the abyss in tears, a person who endured it all.)

For some reason, the back of my nose prickled.

(The wise living by getting along with fools? You can talk from above and feel good about it all you want, but that is an exceedingly laughable thing. The fool who cannot see ahead is the first to realize what lies at their feet. They are diligently moving the pebbles at their feet, one by one, day by day, which the wise do not care about. That’s why, the self-proclaimed wisemen are able to look ahead without falling down.)

“How interesting.”

The old man cried out in excitement, and at the same time, another violent thunderbolt struck yet again.

And I noticed that the feet of the young girl, who was only a voice, were dripping wet. It seemed the so-called ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had come soaking wet in the rain, in response to my call for help.

“Krishna-san.”

I asked.

“…This girl with only a voice--- the girl everyone can see, why am I the only one who can’t see her?”

“……That’s.”

“But she’s Yoishi, isn’t she?”

“Nagi-kun…. You were shaken up pretty badly back then. You were lashing out, wailing and afraid. That’s why--”

“….Right. I ended up calling her a monster.”

“…………”

“I called her a monster, I feared her, and ended up crying and screaming.”

“…That’s right.”

“I still don’t know why that was. But, even if she was a monster---she answered my call, and came to help in the rain here in the mountains. I’ve never seen such a monster with a strong sense of duty.”

Thereupon, the voice echoed once more.

(The thing that gazes at you from inside the mirror--- If you really want to know its true identity, I’ll tell you.)

“Ho, ho.”

The old man sat back down happily.

“By all means, please, young lady.”

In response, I suddenly heard a *Shing*.

It seemed that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had flicked a glass on the table with her fingers.

(Venetian glass that’s more than five-hundred years old—moreover, this is not ‘Facon de Venise’, but rather, an original from the island of Murano.)

“Oh, so you know of Murano originals.”

(Originally, the exact origins of Venetian glass are shrouded in mystery. The method was said to have been established in the seventh or eighth century, and was considered top secret by the Republic of Venice at the time, with all craftsmen isolated on Murano Island.)

A nice sounding *shing* rang out once more.

The old man closed his eyes as if entranced by that tune. I, too, was caught up in it, and closed my eyes trying to imagine it as well.

(The small Murano Island is filled with workshops. As a result of the friendly competition between craftsmen called maestros, hard glass adorned with ornaments continues to be refined at a higher, more vivid quality.)

--*Shing* The sound of glass. Perhaps because I had closed my eyes, the sound was more vivid than before. And, when I heard it again with the added explanation, I felt that the vivid sound had a different experience.

(The almost legendary fame these craftsmen earned gave them unparalleled respect. Their fame reached its peak in the fifteenth century, and they were at last commissioned to create the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ in the Palace of Versailles.)

…Hall of mirrors?

--*Shing* The sound reverberated.

(The Palace of Versailles was said to be a castle of Louis XIV, a palace within a palace. It is a vast place installed with mirrors, enough for the Hall of mirrors to be referred to as the ‘Corridor of Mirrors’, and in the ceiling is a famous decorative ceiling painting by the famous Charles Le Brun. In the painting, which is said to be a declaration of the king's own rule and a departure from the aristocracy, Louis XIV, the Sun King, holds a rudder in his right hand, blessed by angels and surrounded by various gods. The god of ‘wisdom’ Minerva, Mars the god of ‘war’, and the personification of ‘time’, the god of agriculture Saturn—all of them extoll Louis XIV.)

“…Umhmm.”

Again, a *shing*, the sound of glass rang out once more, and the old man comfortably chuckled in this throat.

At that moment, Krishna-san’s silent murmur reached my ears.

“…..Hypnotherapy, is it?”

…Hypno, therapy?

I thought I heard it somewhere before… As the word ‘therapy’ suggested, the rhythm of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’s’ words was very relaxing. I was somehow convinced that the word therapy did apply, and I continued to keep my eyes shut as I listened in ecstasy—however, that was as far as it went for being enraptured.

(In the days of glory, a picture of glory—however, why is it I wonder?)

Suddenly, the tone of Yoishi’s voice dropped.

(There is one strange god in the painting. One god alone is illustrated with his back facing the king.)

“The god Pluto— Hades according to Greek mythology.”

The old man answered with eyes still closed.

(That’s exactly it. The sinister Pluto who holds dominion over death—That’s why he has his back towards you who are blessed.)

“…Hmm…”

(You are now more blessed than all of creation. You have attained the self you were meant to achieve.)

--*Shing* The clear sound rings perfectly clear as if it covered the entire world.

(The light floods in —the power slowly leaves your body---it falls deeper and deeper into the sky.)

--*Shiiiiiiiiiing*, the sound reverberates all around me.

(That’s right, before you know it, you are in a meadow.)

Together with her words—

My surroundings had somehow turned into a field thick with young fresh grass.

It was vast. A meadow that spread as far as I could see, as a gentle breeze blew past me.

(You proceed through the meadow. In the middle of the meadow, there is a large tree. An ancient, thick tree trunk that has experienced many years.)

(You put your hand on that trunk. You look at that hand. You realize who you are--)

(Are you a man, or a woman?)

“……A, a man.”

The old man's croaky voice responded.

(A man around what age?)

“….Twenty seven, thereabout.”

(You who are twenty-seven-years-old discover a large hole in the tree trunk. It’s a very large hole….what is inside?)

“…..I don’t know…it’s pitch black….”

(Then let’s slowly enter inside. It’s alright, because you have a light in your hand.)

“….Yes….”

(Try to illuminate your arm with the light. What do you recall?)

“…Arm…arm….I…wanted to bulk it… because it was slightly thinner as compared to his….It weighed on my mind that it was thin compared to my best friend…..”

(Where is that friend?)

“…..Where…next to me…he was always next to me….Aah…..”

(Please shine a light on your friend.)

“….He’s here….he’s laughing…. His face is handsome like an actor….The man who instilled an uncountable sense of inferiority in me…..And, the man who was always kind to me…. I thought I wanted to be like this man…..No…..that’s not it…..”

(What – is not it?)

“The person who’s there….is me….where did my friend go….?”

(……………….)

“This is….this is….a mirror isn’t it?! …..Eeek! My reflection….where did he go….?”

(No, that is not you.)

In the midst of the pitch-black darkness—the whispers of the young girl echoed.

“……What……?”

(That is because, you are not ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’. It is true that you are currently the chairman of the conglomerate ‘Mamiya Motors’ which boasts the largest market share of the Japanese market, but you are not the man who originally held the name of ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’.)

At that moment, something beyond the darkness that had its back turned moved sneakily.

With a forked shaku in hand<ref> https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9644</ref>, the indomitable brown colored back of Pluto, had turned around at some point.

And, at the same time, a sobbing scream that was enough to make you shudder rang out. That was, the voice of the old man.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…..I, I was……..No, I was…….that’s right, in the darkness--- I was told that one would be allowed to live. He said he would deliberately allow one of us to live. He said he would make me taste the sadness of having lost my friend until I died….It was no joke, I thought. It was no joke. I thought living my life being afraid of Mamiya’s shadow until my death was something I could never do. Even Fumiko, the one she really liked was Mamiya….I don’t think she would be swayed by me if Mamiya were to die…that’s why, I became Mamiya….because that was the best thing I could do.”

(No—that is how you justified it to yourself.)

‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ coldly condemned him.

(You stole a man’s name, and as a result, stole everything from him.)

However—the old man wasn’t listening anymore.

“No….I am the real…. Ryouichi Mamiya!”

As he shouted that, I heard the sound of something crashing down and falling somewhere.

Thereupon at long last, I opened my eyes.

I desperately looked around at the blurry world, as if a long dream still lingered, and realized that I was in the living room of that mansion, and that there were broken pieces of the so-called Venetian glass at my feet.

“….Forgive me. Mamiya, stop….”

I heard the scream of the old man at the end of the corridor, and Krishna-san and the maid broke off into a run.

I, too, got up, and tried to leave the room together with them, but—

I heard a *Shing* from somewhere once more.

With a start, I looked at the fragments of the broken glass lying scattered on the floor.

Once more, a clear, *Shing* reverberated.

It was in midair. Someone’s white hand was on that glass, and the glass sounded in a high-pitched tone once more— and I understood that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was still there.

Then I remembered. That’s right, I had read it once before on ‘Ikaigabuchi’. About hypnotherapy being called ‘Regression Hypnotherapy’.

You are made to hear a certain sound continuously. Words, the sound of glass, anything is fine. At any rate, under a certain rhythm, you are led to an altered state of consciousness. The manifestation of one’s inner child. The adult self going to meet the child self, where unfulfilled emotions or complaints are addressed. To listen to ‘The grievances you really wanted to vent’. And, what leads to that realization is—

A higher self. A self that is full of peace, faith, compassion and wisdom—Ah, in short, it was the decorative ceiling painting.

At that moment—the world was enveloped with an overwhelming light, and when I came to, I was in front of the university’s western club building. The building was surrounded by Zelkova trees, and I was riding in front of it on my worn-out mama bike. For a brief period, I was at my happiest here. At any rate, I had to meet her, as I pedaled my bike, my heart beat throbbed, and I was out of breath. The scenery flew past behind me, and eventually, I arrived at the library I had aimed for. I hurriedly locked my bike and parked it, and I saw her come out of the library. “Yoishi!”, I yelled. But, at the same time, I spotted a familiar shadow. It was Akane Nanamori. And I saw a long black shadow at her back---Is how I felt. After that….after that, ahh, I don’t really remember. Before I’d realized, I had jumped onto the road, and in an instant, my vision was turned upside down, filled with the blue sky. I was thrown up into the sky.

After that---what happened?

In an instant, an intense *GONG* reverberated from the entire sky—

And suddenly, an unfamiliar family appeared. A family of four, all smiling happily. A father, a mother, two daughters, and a small shaggy dog. No, it was not an unfamiliar family. I was very close, right besides this family--- and existed by receiving a share of their happiness—And.

I found out ''something''.

I found out that this family hid a secret you wouldn’t tell anyone.

『I couldn’t save them.』

Someone’s voice echoed in my head, a voice I didn’t know—

And then, I was thrown out into a world of darkness.

It was a graveyard. And, it was---that’s right. Last Christmas, I came here with her. It was almost midnight before Christmas, and here we were watching fireworks together. We were sitting on a bench, and I dearly hoped that I could see her smile, so I put my hands on her cheek—

However, there was no one there. Neither her long black hair, nor her beautiful face, transparent and white, was there by my side.

Or rather….there was, no one there.

I dizzily got up from the bench.

And I started walking in the dark cemetery, towards the row of countless gravestones.

Graves, Graves, Graves, Graves, Graves—the graves continued endlessly. Familiar names were inscribed on those graves. My mother’s name was there. My elder sister’s name was there. Friends from when I was a brat. My companions from my high school days. My acquaintances at university. Karasu-san’s name was there, as well as Sako’s. Krishna-san’s name was there as well---and my name was also there.

“What…is this place?”

A wind blew through the open hole in my chest.

A sad wind blew through me, as I looked alone at a world where everything had ended.

A world where everyone had once cried, lost their temper, and laughed together.

It was as if the world had ended, as if it were a world of darkness where everything from the air to the temperature, to the microbes, had all disappeared.

I alone wandered unsteadily in that cold, silent darkness, and then I realized.

Her name alone— was missing.

The grave with the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ alone was nowhere to be found.

---Are you, really…..called ‘Yoishi’?

At that moment, I…I finally reached the question I needed the answer to above all else.

‘Yoishi’—

One year ago, I found out about that ominous rumor,

And met her for the first time in a family restaurant late at night,

And, I began to wander around in the depths of countless paranormal phenomena, I ….that’s right, I started calling her ‘Yoishi’ before I realized….and ended up believing that ‘Yoishi’ itself was her name.

However, that wasn’t it—

Could it be that I, in fact, was not aware of her real name?

The next thing I knew—

I was in the living room of the mansion, standing stock still in a daze.

And before me, was a young girl all by herself.

She had long black hair, skin as white as porcelain, dressed in the Koumei school’s black blazer uniform.

There was a dark color in her large eyes, as she looked at me.

“…Yo….”

“…………”

“….Yo, Yoishi!”

What was her real name? Was it alright to call her by that name?

I still didn’t know the answer to that, but in the end, I shouted that out loud, and hugged her so tight her arms might have broken.

“……….Fuugh.”

Perhaps because she was surprised, Yoishi let out a strange voice like that of a mountain cat.

“Just for a bit. Call me a harasser or a pervert. Just let me stay like this, just for a little.”

I begged her, and Yoishi’s body, which stiffened for a moment, eventually relaxed little by little. I tenderly embraced that body once more. Thinking that it was thin and soft. She came all the way out here without an umbrella and was drenched in the rain, and some kind of strange scent prickled at my nose, but I couldn't help but feel nostalgic about all of that, so I held my cheeks against Yoishi’s wet black hair, and spoke in a snotty, gravelly voice.

“….I’m sorry…I’m sorry for having forgotten about you. I’m sorry I couldn’t….see you.”

“…………..”

“And, most of all—I’m sorry I called you a monster.”

“……………”

“You’re nothing at all like a monster. Definitely not.”

When I declared that—

“You can—see Yoishi…?”

I heard Krishna-san’s voice, and with a start, I raised my head.

It seemed she had returned to the room before I’d realized. There she was, flush red for some reason as she looked at me and Yoishi in an embrace. However, I didn’t care as I continued to embrace Yoishi and nodded.

“Krishna-san you---no, that bastard Sako made Yoishi invisible to me.”

“….That---couldn’t be helped. Back then, you were…”

…..Ah, I know already.

I remembered everything. Back then, in the hospital room, when I saw Yoishi, something about her scared me. I was helplessly afraid and delirious, I screamed, cried and lashed out. The doctors and nurses came one after the other and held me down---and I recalled the moment up until Sako touched my forehead. In all likelihood, that’s when that bastard Sako did something to me.

“I understand.”

Krishna-san looked at me with an expression distorted with worry, and I gently nodded.

“Hypnotherapy.”

“……….Ah.”

“I remembered thanks to that.”

After telling her this, I finally remembered what was happening in this mansion in the present.

“More importantly, Krishna-san, Mamiya san is--”

“Ah…….ahh, that’s right.”

Krishna-san immediately returned to a straight face, and spoke.

“I need you to come right away. And Yoishi as well.”

“What happened?”

In response, the former occult site manager gloomily hung her head down.

“He has passed away.”

◯

At the entrance to the path, the servants had all gathered, everyone was huddled close together, lost for words.

At the end of the path in the back of the corridor, Ryouichi Mamiya--- no, the old man whose name no one knew anymore, had breathed his last.

Together with Yoishi, I slipped past the servants and entered the path. It was the path where that strange guy had been that night. As I tried not to look at the creepy darkness in the back, I crouched down next to the corpse. And, when I looked at his face—I shuddered.

The face did not belong to the old man we had seen so much of over the past few days. It was not the handsome face of the man we had surmised from the picture of his youth, but that of an old man who was a complete stranger to me.

“….Th, this person is, that proprietor?”

I asked, and Krishna-san nodded in silence.

No, that was indeed the case. The gown he was wearing, the socks, and his gray hair, they all belonged to the owner of this mansion. But his face alone was different. It was not the face of the old man we had met and talked with up until now.

“…What does it mean?”

Krishna-san spoke in a daze.

“When someone dies, their face can change to some extent—but, I’ve never seen the skeletal structure change enough to alter the facial appearance entirely.”

“I wonder if that's so.”

Thereupon, Yoishi turned to look behind her.

“There’s a mirror installed at the back of the door at the entrance to this path. I believe because that old man had an interest in Venetian glass, it was probably elaborately made to pair with the mirror on the front.”

“Eh…….?”

Krishna-san asked in return, and I too cocked my head in puzzlement.

“What do you mean by the mirror on the front?”

“It’s that.”

Yoishi then moved towards the darkness at the end of the path.

There was where I saw the man with one arm, and where Krishna-san saw the woman with long hair.

“H….Hey.”

“It’s alright.”

Yoishi’s voice rang out beyond the darkness even as her figure had already become dim.

“As long as the entrance door is kept open, this will not become a spiritual path.”

Beyond the darkness, a *clink* sounded, and a penlight was turned on. Then it swung symmetrically in two. That’s right, as if to reflect off a mirror.

“…….I see.”

Krishna-san walked ahead, and I, too, followed.

The path came to a dead end around ten meters further ahead, and there was a mirror the full width of the passage.

“If you were to close that entrance, then this path becomes a ‘Corridor of Mirrors’. It becomes a perfect space of opposing mirrors, and it then becomes a perfect spiritual path.”

“Why did Mamiya—no, why did that old man make something like this? Wasn’t he afraid of mirrors?”

“In all likelihood, Ryouichi Mamiya switched places with that friend shortly after the war in the aforementioned cave. There were three warnings: those who continue further from here will 『have no guarantee of their ‘life’』『have no guarantee of their ‘friend’』『have no guarantee of their ‘name’』-- The life meant that one of them would lose their lives. Friend meant the death of their friendship. And the name referred to the fate of the man who must live for the rest of his life in the name of the friend he killed.”

“The proprietor of this mansion…really admired Ryouichi Mamiya.”

With her head cast down, Krishna-san spoke.

“He cared so much about him down to the thickness of his arms. ….Ah, so that's why. He cut off his friend’s arm because he was jealous.”

Yoishi nodded in agreement,

“However, to bear that darkness alone was far too heavy a burden to bear.”

I began to get a bad feeling from her somewhat joyful, peculiar tone of voice.

“This closed corridor, instead of being a space created by the conscience of the man who became Ryouichi Mamiya--”

“Instead of?”

I ended up asking unconsciously but regretted it the moment I saw that the depths of Yoishi’s large eyes were beginning to glow with a dark color.

With a chill, the overwhelming sense of helplessness I felt in that hospital room came to the fore once more.

“Aaah, wait, Yoishi, Let’s....”

Stop, I was about to say, when I suddenly made eye contact with Krishna-san. The former occult site manager who would always butt in between me and Yoishi and make a scene and panic and say something like, ‘You can’t, you can’t! Don’t get involved!’, was for some reason, looking at me with a confident look on her face.

--Huh?

My thoughts stopping was the end of my luck.

“That’s right— he built this mansion.”

“He happily had dinner with both of you.”

“He haughtily spoke of fools with you.”

Yoishi Mitsurugi was enthralled, her eyes enlivened, and she ended up mouthing the words in a whisper:

“What clung to the face of this mansion’s owner for a long time was the ''ghost of Ryouichi Mamiya''.”

◯

In the end, it seemed that the direct bloodline of Ryouichi Mamiya had been cut off.

Later, a DNA test was conducted albeit far too late, and it was established that the man was indeed not Ryouichi Mamiya.

Should the vast wealth and fortune built up using the land and connections of ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’ by the man who was not ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’ be inherited by the family of the real ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’? Or should it be inherited by the descendants of the man who falsified his name as ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’? There seemed to be a big uproar in the Mamiya family over that even now—but I didn’t care about any of that. It was a matter of no consequence to us.

One more important thing happened that day, which I will now narrate.

Krishna-san, Yoishi and I all arrived in the same taxi back to Musashino, Tokyo, but when we got out of the taxi, I recalled something important.

After taking out the luggage, I asked Yoishi, “Give me your phone for a second.”

She made an unwilling expression, so I clarified, “I don’t have any battery left, it’s something important”, and borrowed her unappealing black phone. I then took out that business card from my pocket and dialed the number that was written on there. That was something I had been thinking about all the way in the taxi. It was the answer I had come up with by thinking to the point of madness: Would I really do that with no regrets?

As Krishna-san and Yoishi looked at me suspiciously—

I heard a woman’s voice on the other end of the line after the second ringback tone.

<Cabinet Information Research Office, how may I help you?>

“…..Huh?”

I reflexively compared the number displayed on screen to the number on the business card, thinking I had made a mistake. It was not a mistake.

“C, cabinet…..Information research office?”

<Yes.>

“N, Nagi-kun….. who are you calling…..?”

Krishna-san started panicking, but *shhhh*, I put my index finger to my lips, and asked.

“I’m Yamada. I’d like to speak with Mitsurugi-san.”

<…And your business is?>

“I’d like to tell him directly.”

<My apologies, but there is no one here by the name of Mitsurugi.>

‘If that is all, then’, as the other party was about to cut the line, I spoke.

“Wait a second. He's supposed to be there, isn't he? He gave me a card with this number on it. That guy who has a face like a Noh mask. He’s emotionless, expressionless, with his hair swept back, an incredibly creepy guy. I have something very important to talk to him about. Put me through!”

In response—

<…………….Noh mask…..Creepy…..>

It felt as if the woman on the other end of the line snickered a laugh.

<Please wait a moment.>

I exhaled once, and looked at Yoishi.

She had an anxious expression I had never seen up until now, so I nodded and said, “It’s alright”, and I naturally grabbed her hand. I tightly clasped her soft hand.

<Hello.>

Eventually, the voice of that Noh faced man I had met in front of the university that time came from the other end of the line.

“Ah, it’s me, Nagito Yamada.”

<….I know.>

Something inside me was dislodged in reaction to his usual expressionless, unsympathetic manner of speaking.

After taking another deep breath, I stated my business in one fell swoop.

“Your daughter is in a terrible place.”

<…………………..>

“She’s in the worst possible place imaginable—no, she’s stepped into a place that’s a level above the worst. Do you know that?”

<……………………….>

“No, I’m sure you know a lot, but I’m sure you don’t understand properly. Maybe I'm the only person in the world who fully understands it, so....”

<….I’m busy. Please get to the point.>

“Give Yoishi to me.”

<……………………….>

“Even If you refuse, I’ll still take her. I’ll put my life on the line to make her happy.”

At that moment, Yoishi’s hand in the palm of my hand suddenly shuddered.

I clasped her hand once more as if to gently envelop it.

The man on the other end of the line went silent for a while, before eventually grumbling indifferently.

<You’ll end up dead.>

“I don’t care.”

I answered instantly.

I really didn’t care if I died. I came this far after experiencing countless scary life-and-death situations. And I realized. That there were things in this world far more horrifying than death. That there were still horrifying things even after death. If that was so, then wasn’t it all the same? I say that, but it was the conclusion I had come to after walking this far through many deep and grotesque abysses of the world beyond. To lose oneself. To deceive oneself. If you live with a tiny but painful thorn in your side, it will slowly kill your heart. And you would have to face it once more somewhere along the way. But I came this far by running from that. Even though the root of the problem was right there, I ran because I was afraid. I came this far by running from the fusuma, running from ghosts, and running from the emotion called fear. However, right now, there was a problem right here by my side I needed to resolve. The hand in my hand, was actually shaking. Even though it’s unbearably scary, she killed the emotion known as fear, and she was shaking. Even though she was a really good person, even though she has a cute smile, she always has her back hunched over, living life away from the bright light. But that was exactly why she alone understood my disposition. Back then, she stood by my side in the burning dream mansion. And— now it was my turn. It was my turn to confront her and the root of the darkness inside her.

<--You’ve been...>

The man spoke.

<Possessed by my daughter, haven’t you?>

The man who kept calling her ‘it’, called her ‘daughter’ for the first time.

<…Fine, do as you wish.>

Saying that, the man cut the line.

In a daze, I looked at the phone display after he cut the line, ‘Call time: 2 minutes and 47 seconds’ displayed on the screen, when I heard a sob from somewhere.

“I’ve never—this kind of ridiculous situation---it’s the first time.”

I turned around to see Krishna-san’s shoulders were shaking, and her nose was bright red.

“W-Why are you crying?”

I asked her and at the same time, I realized I was still holding hands with Yoishi, and hurriedly let go.

“It’s fine--- just keep it that way.”

Krishna-san once again took my hand and the hand of Yoishi, and spoke after firmly joining the two together.

“You have my blessing.”

With a smile on her snotty, tear-stained face—

The former manager of ‘Ikaigabuchi’, whom I respected from the bottom of my heart, loudly declared high up to the sky like a priest.

“You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness.”

--------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 13|Case 13: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 15

2025-08-20T20:41:43Z

Pakkit:

==Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two==

'''Everything in this world is like a ghost story. It is full of stories with no known sources or anything. Looking at an incident from the other side shows a different aspect. Each person involved has their own story. And yet we condemn them only from a certain point of view.

'''It’s foolish to do so, but I dare ask—'''

'''Are you gods?'''
'''

That happened three days ago.

I ran into Takako Takamura in front of the main university gate, and she handed me a piece of paper with those incomprehensible words written on it. “What the hell is this?” I asked her, and she cocked her head in reply, “Who knows?”

Incidentally, this girl named Takako Takamura, who stood with her hair was dancing in the wind and her tall body leaning to one side, was the half-sister of ‘Ayana Takamura’, a Koumei institute student who had mysteriously disappeared several years prior.

A super-extreme denpa(net slang referring to those who repeat occult-like words and actions without regard for their surroundings) who tried to incarnate with malicious intent by spreading taboo words all over the school. To me who knew about her in detail, Takako Takamura who had been called a ‘vessel’ by her half-sister and who bore a life-like resemblance to her despite only sharing half their blood, was a little creepy.

『It was there beside my pillow when I woke up this morning.』

『Huh?』

『I was the one who probably doth write it.』

『Doth write it?』

『And, they were probably the words doth by my sister.』

『Did…your way of speaking become abnormal?』

I asked her that, and in response, Takako Takamura distorted her well-shaped facial features into a grin.

『I’ve recently become addicted to classic literature. In summary, I think my sister is warning you of danger.』

『Danger?』

『I think something bad will happen to you from now on.』

『W…wait a second.』

『You’ll be forced to make the final choice very soon, and on top of that, you’ll be buried alive in the mountains.』

◯

--The final choice? Buried alive?

At the time I thought, are you kidding me? She went ahead and said something creepy again, but I let it slide.

Now that I think of it, Takako Takamura’s words turned out to be completely true.

That’s right, now--- I was in complete darkness, unable to move my arms or legs.

“…………..Ptch……..Hey, are you alive?”

I chocked out the dust I had inhaled and called out, and a familiar voice rang out beyond the darkness.

“….What…is this place? Hell? Kokytos….?”

“Ahhh, you’re alive. Thank goodness. ….Ummm, this isn’t hell, we’re in the mountains. We got buried in a lot of collapsed timber--”

I spoke that far, when an intense pain ran down my right leg.

It was in the area around my right knee. And, ahead of that--- I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even tell if I still had legs given that I couldn’t move my body. Even though my head already understood it, but my right leg was continuing to send signals of throbbing pain, as if to say, “It’s an emergency”. It hurt, and it was dark, I suddenly felt scared and was on the verge of panicking.

However, I took a deep breath and told myself, “Calm down”.

…How long, have we been here since then? In the darkness, I gently turned the watch on my left arm in the direction of my face while trying not to hurt my hand on the broken wood. Similarly, I slowly moved my right arm, and somehow managed to turn on the light of my watch.

Monday, 16 April 2012, 19:17.

…Ah, it’ll be almost a full day soon. Had I been in this condition for almost twenty-four hours? The moment I realized this, I remembered how intensely parched my throat was. A stinging pain stuck to the back of my throat. Water, water….isn’t there water somewhere?

“….I can’t move my body.”

At that moment, I heard her voice beyond the darkness.

“Yeah…my leg is trapped, and I can’t move either.”

“Why did something like this happen?”

“Why? --- You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember… coming here with you.”

“Can you stop being so informal. It’s like we’re married.”

I couldn't help but laugh as we ended up doing the usual back and forth with no regard for the location.

And, laughing calmed my heart down a little. I was able to ask, “You’re not injured, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

-- I was about to say that my legs were in a bit of bad shape, but I stopped myself. There was no use in saying it, and she might get a little worried.

“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. I’m sure help will come soon.”

“…When?”

“…How should I know? It’ll be here soon.”

“………..”

“………..”

But, I was at a loss for words when I realized that help would not come anytime soon.

My surroundings fell dead silent.

Without even the cries of mountain birds, it felt as if the world had ended.

“It’s emotionally taxing if it stays like this.”

I spoke, trying to rouse my dark, crushing heart.

“Let’s do something else…right, don’t you have some riddles in mind?”

After a moment's silence, she spoke.

“If it’s interesting stories you want to hear, then.”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered simply, when suddenly, I shuddered.

The things she thought of as ‘interesting’ were a little different than what one would ordinarily think of as interesting.

“….Never mind! It’s fine, don’t tell me. I can’t even run away if I listen to a scary story in this situation.”

I said that, but she had already begun to slowly narrate in a whisper.

“Why did ‘Gandame’ smile, I wonder?”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Being smiled at means you die— the lineage of mountain goddess ghost stories is found all over Japan, but why is smiling linked with death I wonder?”

“I told you! We’re in the middle of the mountain where that ‘Gandame’ is said to appear, so stop it. If a smiling woman with cloudy eyes appears in the darkness, I can’t run away even if I wanted to!”

I retorted sharply, and she fell silent.

My surroundings returned to dark silence once more, and somewhere beyond the dark mountains, I heard a crunching sound.

Was It an animal—or a monster from the mountain?

I didn’t know, but either one was fine, as long as it could me forget the pain in my right leg. As if to shake off the stinging pain, I thought back. Everything that led us here. Everything that led us to this point, to the dark abyss we passed through.

That’s right—that day, Friday the 13th of April.

I was in a hurry.

I had regained recognition of Yoishi Mitsurugi once more, and was told by Krishna-san.

『If you’ve decided to walk together with Yoishi, then go and meet Takita-san.』

I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as I finished my lectures, I ran out of the university. However, I ran into Takako Takamura at the front fate, and was given a strange message or prophecy, but I made light of it and ran off to the station.

It was all to uncover the truth behind the darkness that enveloped the girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi.

◯

“Hey, Sako! Come out!”

The door to Sako Takita’s antique store ‘Kouroudou’(Bone Tower Shrine) in Sotokanda, Tokyo, was locked.

I peeked in through a gap in the dark curtains behind the frosted glass, but as usual, objects I didn’t really understand were all crammed in a line. A headless Buddhist statue, a mummified Kappa, and a hanging scroll covered in what appeared to be blood stains. Beyond those suspicious items that he considered merchandise, I raised my voice towards the inner parlor.

“Hey, Sako! Are you asleep?!”

I wonder how long I kept knocking on the door and calling out to him like that.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I was called out to from behind and looked back to see a short old woman dressed in a kimono that was a light cherry color with a slight grayish tinge.

Although her back was rounded to a large degree, she was a small and cute old woman. Come to think if it, my deceased grandma was short as well. As I recalled those kinds of things, I bowed down to greet the old woman who looked up at me with an elegant face.

“Ah, sorry for being so noisy.”

In response, the old woman gave me a friendly grin and asked, “Do you have some business with the owner of that shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“That nice man who’s always wearing an indigo dyed kimono.”

“It’s doubtful whether he’s nice or not, but he is indeed always wearing a navy-blue kimono.”

“We’re always gossiping about whether he is still single.”

Saying that, the old woman giggled like a maiden.

“Um, that’s fine….but, do you know where he is now? I have some urgent business with him.”

“Isn’t it the 13th today?”

“…Yes?”

“That person goes to Myoujin-san on the 13th of each month.”

“Myoujin-san?”

“It’s Kanda Inari Gongen-sama.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sako’s day job was being the head priest of a shrine in Aomori— I think it was called ‘so-and-so Inari Shrine’.

“Myoujin-san is just ahead up the stairs from there.”

“Thank you so much.”

After thanking her, I broke into a run.

I climbed the long, narrow stairs, slipped through a narrow alley, and soon saw several red nobori<ref>long, narrow banner attached to a pole on one side and a horizontal rod along the top</ref>.

There were souvenir shops lined on the path to the shrine, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people. As a country boy who loved festivals, I ended up getting excited just by visiting these kinds of places.

I read the stone monument in a touristy mood, Kanda Myoujin was a shrine dedicate to Daikoku, the god of wealth, Ebisu the god of fishing and commerce, and ‘Taira No Masakado’, who was popular among us occult maniacs because of certain reasons.

“Hmmm.”

I looked up at the main shrine once more.

I had passed it once or twice before, but to tell the truth, it was my first time stepping foot inside.

“…Wait, no, no, I don't have time for this.”

Right away, I searched around the area for Sako. However, there was no sign of the man in the navy-blue kimono anywhere around the main shrine, or in any tea house or souvenir store. Having no choice, I went around the main shrine to look around the subordinate shrines. As I walked along, stepping on the gravel under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, I found that there were various subordinate shrines at the back of the main shrine. I was happy to see that each shrine was neatly swept with bamboo brooms, and was being properly looked after. It made me sad just seeing small shrines in disrepair—when, I spotted a familiar man in a kimono in front of one of the small shrines.

“—Sako?”

I called out to him, but Sako Takita remained seated directly on the ground in a daze with his back turned towards me.

I quietly approached his side and peeked at him from the front. And— noticed something. There were several empty sake bottles near his knees.

“Of all the…are you drunk?”

“…Hngh.”

Sako turned around at last, and greeted me, ‘Yoo’.

His complexion, which was normally pale, had a slight red tinge to it.

“Yo? really?”

“Haha…umm, you are—of course I remember. Ehhh, your name, it was that.”

“It’s Nagito Yamada. Come on, get up. You’ll get reported if you drink in a place like this.”

“…Erm, it’s alright, the chief priest here is an acquaintance.”

Sako Takita looked like a complete bum as he foolishly laughed. I tried to make him stand up, but his legs were unsteady having drunk so much, and on top of that he had no desire to stand up himself, so things didn’t go the way I wanted. Suddenly feeling foolish, I let go of his arm around mine.

He sloppily toppled on the gravel with his arms and legs outstretched.

“….Oooh. How cruel, what are you doing?”

“I just remembered what you did and let my anger take care of the rest. You had the nerve to make Yoishi imperceptible to me, didn’t you?”

I returned to the point of discussion.

“It’s already been undone. That’s why you came to me, right?”

Sako chuckled and started to laugh.

“I told her that it was merely a stopgap solution. You were out of control back then to the point where even Kurimoto-kun couldn’t handle. Please don’t hold it against her.”

“Yeah yeah, Krishna-san already gave me a rough rundown on what happened. That I was delirious and went berserk at the hospital. That was my fault--- but, there was no reason to make me unable to see her, was there? Or rather, why did I do that when I saw Yoishi…? Do you know why?”

In response, Sako fell silent.

He continued to look at midair in a daze with the occasional *hiccup*.

I continued to wait for him, but there was no sign that Sako would start talking, so I looked around to make sure no one was around. —and I, too, sat cross-legged on the spot.

“In the first place, this subordinate shrine is the home of some deity, isn't it? Why are you drinking at a place like this?”

“…Hm.”

Sako slowly looked up towards the shrine right in front of him, and grinned broadly.

“Today is the monthly anniversary of her death.<ref>Monthly death anniversaries of a death are known as tsuki meinichi in Japan</ref>”

“Anniversary? Whose?”

“My mother's.”

“..... Eh?”

Thereafter, I looked at the signpost next to the entrance of the supplementary shrine. On it was inscribed, ‘Ukanomitama (god of rice), and Suehiroinari (god of harvests, wealth, fertility) as well.

“My mother you see, was kind, courteous, and beautiful. Well, I can’t deny that I might be glorifying her because of her early passing. But, you understand, right? A mother who is the personification of affection is clearly different from a father. A unique existence to all children that shared her flesh and blood.”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, and Sako stayed silent for a while.

After staring vacantly at empty space as if chasing something invisible—

“My mother, she killed herself you see.”

“………….”

“Well, that’s what the world thinks.”

“…What the world thinks?”

“Right. She was thought to have severed her own life, but in reality… she was murdered.”

After that, Sako laughed: heh, heh, heh—he then picked up one of the sake bottles that had been lying around and brought it to his mouth. But it seemed its contents were already empty, so he carelessly threw it away.

“You know, you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things even if you’re drunk.”

“…Drunk? Yes, I might be drunk, but I only speak the truth.”

Then Sako gazed at me in a stance where he used his knees to support his arms,

“It happened before my very eyes—And, I could do nothing at all. There was no point in asking people about it, and there was no point in talking about it. It’s not something people should know about, and it’s definitely not a story that should be readily known by an ordinary person. But still, all stories are connected. In the end, it feels like all karma bounces from one place to the next. Now then—will you hear that kind of story?”

Suddenly—

The words that have been said countless times in countless situations came back to me.

A story that should not be heard. A story people should not know.

If you found out, you would become involved and entangled in them—a story woven with Kotodama.

If it had been me up until now, I might have shaken my head and said, “I’ll pass.”

However—

“That karma or whatever, is it connected to her—to Yoishi Mitsurugi?”

I asked.

“If it’s a story that has some power to clear away the darkness inside her….then let me hear it.”

I said that, and the smallest—the truly faintest of smiles appeared on Sako’s face.

And then, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before, an expression most transparent, and pure.

“It happened…back when I was still in high school.”

“I saw a monster—in broad daylight.”

◯

Monsters—now then, what is a monster?

Do they spit fire? Do they devour humans? Do they possess supernatural powers which ordinary humans can’t fight against? Well, those kinds of definitions vary from person to person, but there’s one thing that can be said with certainty. Once you encounter them, you can't escape their influence for the rest of your life —that exactly is what I believe monsters are.

With that meaning in mind, what I encountered could be called a monster.

It happened on a day when the sun was still high in the sky, and yet the moon’s pale light also loomed. Thinking back on it now, bad things have usually happened on days like that. Well although, I can only speak of my own life. On that day, I quickly left after my high school classes had ended, just like any other day. I was never the type of person to get along with my classmates, nor was I the type to rejoice in the springtime of youth by engaging in sweaty club activities. High school life to me was really nothing more than just a means to kill time. In other words, I was a gloomy high school student, the type that would go to a coffee shop after leaving school in violation of school regulations, and would set up camp at a seat in the back to read Chekhov, Ango and so on. I’ll explain later, but I had circumstances which made me not want to return home right away. What you might find laughable is that I had been given an unconditional command to return home as late as possible.

So, that day as well, I headed to the cafe named ‘Windmill’ with a book in my hand which I had almost finished reading -- but on that day alone, there was a noisy customer who had taken up camp at the seat at the back where I always sat. I, on the other hand, was the type who was unable to concentrate on books unless my surroundings were quiet. So, having no choice, I headed to the park.

Ahh, that’s right—my house at the time was not in Aomori where I currently reside. I was originally born in Kobe, moved to Kyoto afterward, and was living in Fukuoka at the time. The reason why was because my father was involved in the trading business, but it wasn’t a good thing for a child to move around so often in their childhood. Even now, I believe that was the reason I became shy and had problems making friends--- but I digress. Anyway, I lived in the east of Fukuoka. Well, you might know of it being an occult lover and all, but it was famous for the Jizo statue where the Kappas are sealed.<ref>https://kappapedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kappa-jizo.html</ref>

There was a vast, lush green place known as the T-park.

I headed there, but it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. There were a lot of mothers with their children. No matter how many times I looked around, I couldn’t find an empty bench anywhere. I walked all the way to the back of the park and found an empty bench at last, where I sat down, but I had lost all motivation to read, probably because it had taken me so long to get there. For a while, I merely sat there in a daze.

Before I knew it, I was biting my nails.

Well, I guess you could call it a psychological state you often see in high schoolers in puberty. I was strangely irritated. Perhaps it was because the plans I had made for the day didn’t go well, or perhaps it was the peaceful, warm scenery which made it appear as if time had stopped— I continued to sit on the old bench, and continued to chew my nails without changing places.

It was at that moment.

A toddler shakily walked toward me.

A boy—probably, I think it was a boy. I don’t remember exactly. An innocent-looking toddler approached me with some kind of toy in hand. He was a friendly child. He already trusted completely in someone like me. I, who was a stranger from who knows where, a high schooler with dark eyes and with a book like ‘Discourse on decadence’ in hand. He had a friendly grin on his face as he offered me the toy. I ignored that and merely looked around in dismay. I wondered where the mother went, taking her eyes off a child this young. However, there was no sign of a mother-like figure close by. That child sidled up to me alone. He held out his precious favorite toy to me, with a “Yes”. For a moment, I wondered if I was even pitied by such a young child, but that wasn’t the case. In all likelihood, the child was living a life filled with love. That must be why he didn’t even think of the possibility that some humans can be evil.

When I realized that, something like a thin mist rose somewhere in my heart.

--What would happen if a dark malice were unleashed upon this pure being?

I was surprised at myself for thinking something like that. I didn't think I was capable of such sadistic thoughts. And, it was an irresistibly bewitching idea. There was a defenseless creature in front of me; There was no one around. It was just me, him and the toy. For the time being, I picked up the toy the boy had placed at my feet and put it in my pocket. Eventually, that child came to pick up the toy that he had placed at my feet and stopped moving. He started looking around, behind my legs, as if searching for the toy, then looked up at me. I merely grinned at him. The child continued to search for the toy after that, but I couldn’t help but feel an irresistible rush of pleasure rising up my spine. I was getting an almost nauseating pleasure from the anxiety that was enveloping his tiny back.

What kind of face would he make if I were to pluck the toy’s head and throw it away? The plastic doll of some transforming hero. Would he start crying? What would happen if this pure creature were to be showered with malice?

As he had his back turned to me, I secretly took out the toy. I dangled it towards his back. He was anxiously digging up the sandpits close by. As if he thought he might have buried it somewhere. I put my hand on the doll’s neck. I put a little power and tried to twist its neck, when—

I finally noticed that gaze.

With a start, I looked diagonally to my right, to see a woman with a kind expression. She was sitting on a bench covered by ivy in the shade, staring at me and the child. In an instant, I understood that she was the mother of the child.

Sweat slowly formed on my hands, and I removed my hand from the doll’s neck.

--What was it? How long had she been there? Did this woman see everything I had done?

My heart was pounding violently, as if it was about to burst from my mouth.

Eventually, I called out “Boy”, in a shaky voice and handed the toy back to him. The boy’s face immediately lit up, and he took the toy in hand. And at the same time, he spotted his mother, and happily ran towards her. The mother slightly bowed to me and left, holding hands with the child.

--There was no way a mother would take her eyes off her young child.

I chided myself for my foolishness after all that time, but it was already too late.

It felt as if the daytime moon was smirking down at me, and I quickly left that park.

I was embarrassed that the mother had seen through me. It was most fortunate that I managed to notice her at the last moment and hadn’t plucked the doll's head off. Even though it was a provincial city, there was more regional unity there than in a place like Tokyo. I was patting myself on the chest, thinking that if I had done that, I might not be able to live in this city anymore.

However, as I left the park, I realized my heart continued to throb violently.

Yes— I was still excited.

I was excited at the thought of trampling that which was pure.

It was as if I had become something other than myself—no, as if the real me that kept itself hidden in my heart somewhere had revealed itself. It was also a sense of freedom at being my true self. The irritating feeling I had just thirty minutes ago was no longer there.

I wonder if that was the reason why.

Even though it was not yet time to go back home—I ended up getting ready to return home.

Now then, why didn’t I return home straight away after school?

It’s about time I explained that. What? It’s not something big. In short, it was because my mother's lover was at home. He was ostensibly the man my mother was learning to paint from. I told you my father was involved in the trading business, so he was often away from home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for weeks. And when he did come home, he would do so late at night. When my father was home, my mother was very diligent and devoted to him. She bathed him, cooked for him, and listened to his stories with a round of laughter. To an outsider, she must have looked like the ideal, wise housewife. And that's what I always thought too.

However, it was around the time I entered middle school. My mother said that she wanted to learn how to draw. My father agreed. My mother had a small interest in oil painting in her student days, and my father might have felt guilty for being away from home so often. And so, the one who eventually came was that man. I was able to hate him with just one glance. He must have been five or so years younger than my mother, but —ah, I just can't remember his face no matter what. I don't know why, but he always looked like he was wearing a fox's face. Not literally a fox’s face, but truly a fox mask. It didn't look like that to the people around me including my mother, probably because my strong rejection against that man made me feel that way. The fox masked man was polite, eloquent and graceful in his speech, and he often gave me gifts. But to me, it looked like a red tongue peeking out of a mouth with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear. My mother and the man were silently painting in her room. And before long I was told, “Play outside on the day sensei comes”, And I was made to realize that I was not allowed to stay at home.

That must have been like ink that dropped on the surface of water that was my family. When that man started coming in and out of my house, my family was stained with an indelible stain. My father not being home became the norm, and I too had come to think that I shouldn’t stay at home—and above all, the man started visiting my house not just once a week, but with one thing or another, he started visiting every day.

Every day.

In the afternoon.

A man who was not a member of our family would definitely be there.

I thought my family had been taken over by something suspicious.

My father died soon afterward.

He returned to Japan after going to Guangzhou for work and was on his way home when we lost contact with him, and he was found at Matsuyama harbor, Shikoku. It seems he was found floating in the sea by a couple on a date. Why did he go to Matsuyama from Fukuoka? Was it an accident, a suicide, or did he get involved in some trouble? We had no idea. The police visited my mother almost every day, but it appeared they eventually stopped investigating it as a murder case. That was because the body of another woman was found on the harbor. That woman was an office worker in my father's company. It seemed she had been going out with my father. The police tried to conclude the case by saying it was a double suicide spurred on by a lovers talk.

However, I can say it with almost complete certainty.

That my father was murdered.

And the culprit was that fox masked man.

After that, for the next three years of high school—a strange situation developed in which I, lived together with my mother and that fox masked man.

I stopped coming home.

I only returned home to sleep and spent the rest of the day killing time outside.

However, on that day—

On the day I felt delight in aiming malice towards a child.

I decided to return home after a long time while the sun was still high up in the sky.

I unlocked the door, entered inside, declared that I was home, and entered the tatami room.

The scene I saw there would perhaps never be erased from my memory for as long as I live.

On the tatami mats was my mother, naked and bound. The rope painfully bit into her flesh, but my mother sobbed with joy. Next to her was the fox masked man. He merely sat there quietly on his knees, staring motionlessly at my mother.

The man slowly turned towards me, who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tatami room.

The white, fox masked man with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear, sneered to me.

How long—

Just how long did I stand there, motionless?

How much time did it take for me to realize what was happening in the tatami room?

Before I realized, I was sneering as well.

And, I realized at last.

The man was ‘malice’. He was the ‘malice’ inside me.

I don’t recall the specifics of what happened after that.

All I remember is that I staggered out of the house, and continued around wandering the city—and when I came to, I was in Hakata station.

There, I bought a train ticket to the furthest place possible.

When I reached Aomori station, what I saw on the news was that my house had burned down completely, and that the corpse of a naked woman had been discovered inside. I didn’t even think about had happened. I had become numb to all emotions. I didn't know why I was in Aomori. Nor did I know what I should do from here. I was overwhelmed by the scenery of Tohoku that I was seeing for the first time, and collapsed in front of the station.

When I came to, I found myself riding in the car of a strange gray-haired man. The old man merely called himself the ‘Chief priest’. I had run out of money and had not eaten anything, so he said to me.

『You’re possessed by a terrible ghost.』

『It’s a very powerful ghost, and you might not be able to do anything about it yourself.』

『You may run out of strength midway through and die, but if left alone, you’ll die anyway.』

『I’m sure your stomach must be empty, but it would be better if you didn’t eat anything. Let’s begin right away.』

After that, I was taken to a shrine somewhere deep in the mountains, and made to change into a white kimono. I don’t know how much time passed after that. I was abandoned in a room that was like a dungeon, and was subjected to ritual prayer every day. There was nothing left for me to vomit, yet the intense feeling of wanting to throw up welled up inside me over and over again. Ahh-- Thinking back on it now, I had never been in so much pain. I would fall backwards and repeatedly slam my body against the hard floor. Having not even been given enough food for excrement, I realized at the depths of what little consciousness that remained that I was going to die. I felt the end of my life was right at hand. At that moment, I felt something leave my thin, frayed consciousness. It cried out loud in a high, frustrated whine, and disappeared as if it melted away.

『It’s over.』

At last, I heard the old man's voice near me.

I saw a light beyond my hazy vision.

Tears spilled from my eyes seeing the beauty of the grass and trees illuminated by the sun.

『You’re saved. However, you won't be able to lead a normal life from now on.』

The old man spoke as I greedily devoured the rice gruel I was eating after several days.

『If you don't retighten your body that an oversized ghost passed through every day, you'll quickly end up becoming an abode for countless ghosts.』

The old man didn't have to tell me that, I knew that it was just a short distance away.

I knew that it would quietly continue to stare at me from somewhere—until I died.

『Abandon everything, and spend the rest of your life here.』

That place was called ‘Okitachi Inari Shrine’—

I would later find out that it was a shrine that guarded one of the veins of this island country, that defended against the northern demon gate.<ref> https://donnykimball.com/kimon-7f7a28291d51</ref>

After that, I became a disciple of that old man, and began to study Shintoism. It was a little different, however, and in no way what you would generally define as ‘modern Shintoism’, it was a severe unrelenting study. Well, that's a long story, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was forced to abandon my name, my family name, my past, and completed my training to completely become ‘nothing’ all at once. I had to rearrange and fix the air ducts in my spine, and recompose all of my cells properly. I assimilated all of my thoughts with nature, and abandoned myself. I repeated that every day, every hour, every minute. I continued to adjust it as I ate, as I slept. I might have told you once before, but—if you’re not a great masochist, then it would have been a maddening day-to-day existence.

My master must not have thought I would be able to bear it all. Somewhere along the way, he probably concluded that I would run off some day and self-destruct by becoming a nest for the ghosts that would penetrate me through my turbulent air ducts. However, I somehow managed to hold my ground. I endured it all.

Say, you.

Why… do you think that was?

A few years after that, I asked my master.

About why ‘that’ had happened.

By ‘that’, I had meant ‘that thing’ which had destroyed me and my family, and I tried asking about it indifferently.

『No one really knows.』

My master answered.

『It was called ‘Nine tails’ in Nara period literature, and in the Edo period, it was referred to as the ‘everlasting night stone’—however, in all likelihood, it must have been present inside humans of every era. Yes, it is something that continues to move from person to person.』

『Is that so?』

I kept an expression as if I wasn't interested anymore, but I engraved that name deep at the back of my mind.

With a soft smile, I grit my teeth so hard they might have bled, and recalled my mother’s face from that day.

It possesses people.

It amplifies people’s negative emotions and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing.

It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves.

The first one in my family who it possessed was me.

My once warm family, had before I realized, turned into a reflection of what I considered to be the worst possible family.

As it made me believe that I was killing time outside, it toyed with my mother as it pleased on a daily basis.

It casually made my father realize this abnormal relationship, destroyed his heart, and drove him to his death.

--Unforgivable, unforgivable.

I could not forgive the wandering ghost known as the ‘everlasting night stone’, but above all, I could not forgive myself.

However, my own punishment would be held off until the very end.

Before that, I had to annihilate it. For that reason, I—

Would be as brave as Amitabha Tathagata, who stayed at the left of Amitabha Tathagata.

Would be as wise as Gabrielle, who stayed at the left of God’s throne.

And—I would transform into the sword that cut down demons, like Futsunushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsunushi</ref>, who stayed at the left of Okuninushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckuninushi</ref>.

That’s right, I decided to become a demon that would devour demons.

That was why I erased all emotions, and was able to endure everything.

With the deity Futsunushi, enshrined at Okitachi Inari Shrine as my guardian deity, I received the surname of my master.

And that is how from that day forth… Nagito Yamada-kun, I took the name of Sako Takita.<ref>The kanji for Sako’s first name is 左居, with the first kanji meaning left and the next one meaning to be or exist, so Sako means being at the left.</ref>

◯

“….Perhaps because of that you see. I feel as if my face is getting thinner like a fox each year.”

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?<ref>As explained in the previous volume, he is asking how the kanji is written here.</ref>”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A *brrrrrr* sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said, “Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”

◯

“Where are you headed?”

On the bus, an elderly grandfather with a bamboo basket on his back asked us.

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi fiddling with her phone without saying anything, so having no choice, I answered him.

“Ummm… we’re going to a friend’s house for a bit.”

“Ooh, is that right?”

The elderly gentleman nodded with a good-natured expression, as if he were about to puff a cigarette, and sat down in the seat next to us.

The bus rattled and swayed as it leisurely moved along the mountain road with several passengers on board. I somehow looked outside the window, and saw that the houses were steadily becoming sparser, and all that lay beyond them were magnificent undulating mountains.

And at my feet was a large rucksack I had borrowed from a friend in the mountaineering club. I didn’t know if we would easily be able to find accommodation, so I borrowed as much camping gear as I could cram into the rucksack and brought it along.

The address Sako had written, K city. Y-Prefecture—

Yoishi and I were on our way there, having switched trains, and rode the only bus that came only once every hour.

The sun would soon be setting in the area. The mountain ridges were dyed in a golden colored light. The scenery alone was quite beautiful and nostalgic, but when I thought about the building we were headed towards, my buoyant mood continued to sink.

“Something terrible inhabits these mountains.”

The old grandad from earlier blurted out.

“You can't look them in the eye because if you do, you'll end up dead.”

It must have been a legend you’d often find passed down in rural areas.

“Um, what is it called?”

I asked, and the grandad replied, “…It’s called,” before falling into silence for a while.

“It’s called… No, it’s better if you don’t know. Because you might end up summoning it if you know it.”

In response, Yoishi suddenly opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about 『Gandame』or 『Yousen boy』?”

“Y, young lady, you shouldn’t. Don’t say the names.”

The grandad hurriedly warned Yoishi, but as for me, I wanted to rebuke him, ‘Grandpa, you're wrong.’

You must not tell her the things ‘she shouldn’t do’. And as expected, Yoishi’s eyes glittered,

“…Gandame, Yousen boy, Gandame, Yousen boy.” She began to repeat it.

‘Eek’, as the grandad recoiled backwards, I bonked her on the head.

“…..My apologies, she’s, a little strange.”

I apologized profusely, and gazed at Yoishi who had fallen silent in discontent—

I let out a sigh in my heart by myself at the troubles that were to come.

I say troubles, but I wasn’t sure if I completely understood the details of those troubles.

Krishna-san’s sudden disappearance—I was unbearably worried about that, but I had left it to Sako who said he would meet up with Yukihito-kun and deal with it. Apparently, according to Sako, heading to this address together with Yoishi had priority above all else. Well, I had a feeling I could leave it to him since Sako seemed to act properly when it came to Krishna-san, but—the biggest problem of all was the weight of his words: 『Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story』.

The problem was whether I could really do something like that.

I came this far trying countless times to do something about the darkness ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ carried. Despite being repeatedly told by Krishna-san that it was impossible, I recklessly stepped foot into the abyss of the world beyond, and each time, I would retreat with tears in my eyes. And what could I do now that I came here with no trump card? What could I possibly do by brazenly going to the ‘place Yoishi Mitsurugi was born’? Sako also told me that 『The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun』, but I had no idea why there was a race against time at all. However, it was also true that after hearing the story of ‘Sako Takita’, my image of him had ended up changing quite dramatically, and for once I had a feeling that it would be better to believe him.

That’s why after I parted ways with Sako at Kanda Myoujin, I gathered the camping gear and headed to the library for the time being.

Fear comes from ignorance. Those were Krishna-san’s words, but there was nothing scarier than going to a place called ‘hell’ without knowing anything. I looked up any articles I could get my hands on in the library corresponding to the incidents in ‘K city, Y-Prefecture’ and ‘Hanging mansion’. And then, I finally called Yoishi, but—

“Hey, Yoishi.”

“……..What?”

“I told you we were going to Y prefecture, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“I told you we probably won’t return for a few days so come prepared, didn’t I?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“So, why are you here empty-handed in your school uniform?”

Around two hours ago, I arrived at the station we were supposed to meet up at, and was exasperated.

I didn’t expect her to bring a rucksack like me, but I thought she would at least bring a small bag. But it was as usual with ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, she hadn’t changed even the slightest.

Wearing a black blazer, black tie, black skirt. Navy blue socks, and black leather shoes.

Yoishi Mitsurugi stood there in her dazzling Koumei high school uniform. She didn’t look as if she had brought a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush or a towel. With only her mobile phone in hand, she had the same unfriendly, or rather blank expression with her excessively well-proportioned beauty looking at me, and her long black hair danced in the wind.

“Don’t you think you’re travelling a little too light?”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Well…that might be the case but…”

Come to think of it, I was beginning to like an idiot for bringing such a large backpack.

“Leaving that aside, where are we headed in Y prefecture?”

She suddenly asked, “Eh?” I was at a loss for words.

“You only said we were going to Y prefecture.”

“….Ah, ahhh….ermmm.”

No, I had to say it sooner or later, and she might figure it out along the way, but it was still difficult to say face to face, that the place we were headed towards was the birthplace of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

“I mean, really. I don't think it's right to accept an invitation to stay overnight without asking what kind of place you're going to. That’s no good for a girl before marriage.”

I pretended not to notice that I was the one who invited her,

“Didn’t I become your property?”

Yoishi retorted, and this time I was absolutely speechless.

And, I recalled once more.

The thing that happened recently—in short, when I ended up telling Yoishi’s father in front of her, ‘Give Yoishi to me’.

Somehow even Krishna-san was flushed bright red in her nose and said something like, ‘You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness’, but was that taken as a proposal or something? No, Krishna-san was weak to sake and that kind of talk to the extreme, but did Yoishi end up interpreting it as such?

As she looked at me with her large black eyes, my cheeks suddenly became hot.

My perception of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had been sealed away by Sako, and that was removed by Yoishi herself through regression hypnosis—and now that I took a long hard look at her once more, I saw that she was truly beautiful. Her pale translucent skin was unnatural for someone of Japanese descent with nary a single blemish, and her face was lined with fairy like features. Her eyes were a little dark, but on the contrary, they promoted her seducing harmony, and I think her appearance made any passerby look back at her.

That kind of girl—a possession? No, would she be my fiancée as per societal norms?

Ahh, but her father did indeed say…’Do as you like’.

Which meant that in short, he approved….?!

When I remembered that, my cheeks abruptly became flush hot, and a fluffy feeling rose up at the pit of my stomach.

I coughed once exaggeratedly and looked away.

And then I was startled.

Before I’d realized, the old grandad sitting in the seat next to me had vanished.

Or rather, it was only me, Yoishi and the driver on the bus.

“What happened to that grandad?”

“…Who knows?”

“When did they all get off? It didn’t feel like the bus had stopped.”

In response Yoishi muttered somewhat enjoyably.

“Perhaps—the elderly man might have been Gandame.”

A cold shiver ran round my back all at once in response to that cold, piercing whisper.

Immediately, it felt as if I was completely in a dream, having been in the hustle and bustle of the city merely a few hours ago, and was now, travelling left and right on a dark mountain road at dusk.

“…..We didn’t miss our stop, did we? Did you listen to the announcements carefully?”

Anxious, I took out the piece of paper in my pocket, and as I was confirming the address,

“That place.”

Yoishi merely muttered, having peeked at the piece of paper.

“Are we going to that place?”

I was speechless for a moment—before I made up my mind and nodded.

“…Ahh, that’s right. We’re headed to this place now.”

“………………..”

“…Is it a problem?”

Yoishi closed her phone, and fell into silence for a while as she looked at the darkness beyond the window.

“I’m sorry I brought you along without telling you—but, I thought it was time to settle things.”

I carefully chose my words as I spoke.

In response—

“It’s fine, but--”

As she continued to gaze out of the window, Yoishi spoke in a whisper.

“It’s just, I thought I would go there a little later.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mansion is the last place I ever intended to visit in my life.”

“………………….”

“If I don't feel fear there... it's impossible for me to feel fear again.”

Her words gave me strange goosebumps all over my body.

….Which meant that, what?

That the mansion we were headed to now, was something at a level far above just bringing me to tears as had been the case up until now?

“How did you find out about that place?”

“Ummm….I heard about it from Sako.”

“….Is that so?”

“….Um…was…”

I gulped once, and dared to ask.

“Did you know Sako?”

In response, Yoishi slowly turned towards me, and looked at me inquisitively.

“He said he met you a long time ago.”

“………………..”

Something at the back of Yoishi’s eyes flickered, as if she were trying to remember something.

Something she didn’t want to remember. Something she shouldn’t remember. Fragments of dark, sedimented memories appeared and disappeared beyond her eyes, and she eventually gave a small nod.

“………….Ahh……that person……”

However, Yoishi said nothing more from there. And I too, couldn’t ask any further.

Just what happened to you ten years and eight months ago—Why did you take on the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’? That’s not your real name, is it? Asking that simple question was unbearably heavy.

“I don’t know why we’re going to that mansion, and what you’re trying to do.”

Yoishi eventually murmured in a whisper.

“But that is without a doubt the worst place for me.”

“………..”

“There’s no guarantee that I will be myself. I might not be able to help you if something happens to you. Are you still alright with that?”

Ahhh, I know already.

…..I couldn’t say it being the weak coward that I was, but I still nodded with all the courage I could muster.

“Going around haunted places is just like life….at your own responsibility, right?”

At that moment—

I noticed that the bus driver had been gazing at us all this time through the back mirror.

The dark area around his eyes seemed to be contorted in a sneer.

And, I felt as if I shouldn’t make eye contact even if it was through the back mirror.

I didn’t know about 『Gandame』, or 『Yousen boy』, but—

I thought that we were already in the world beyond.

◯

The mansion, illuminated by the pocket light, was already in a state of decay.

After getting off the bus, we climbed up the dark mountain road for a long time, and the mansion we reached at last was the very definition of a haunted house.

The mansion merely loomed jet black beyond the white fence.

We were silent for a while, standing still with lights in one hand in front of the iron gate.

“…Shall we go?”

I called out to Yoishi, who unusually didn’t try to enter, and I pushed the creaking gate open.

The large garden was already rampant with weeds, with nary a place to plant my feet. I raised my legs in exaggerated movements as I continued, until I eventually arrived close to the front door of the mansion. However, the door was boarded shut to deter anyone from entering. I shone my light to see a sign that read, 『Unauthorized entry is forbidden』. There were many large spiders and spiderwebs that hung all over, something you would never see in the city.

I moved a little further away and aimed my light here and there. Beyond the window on the second floor was a curtain drawn halfway that looked eerily like someone’s head would peek out if I continued looking. Ivy ran along the wall of the mansion extending all the way up to the roof.

“….This mansion is way beyond what I expected.”

I said so, but there was no reply.

I turned around, to see that Yoishi was silently staring at a section in the garden.

I approached and stood next to her, and aimed my light in the direction of Yoishi’s gaze. What lay there was an old camping grill. It was already rusted and fallen over. A small camping chair was also lying there. They might have been used for barbecuing here once in the past. I crouched down to shine my light at them, and found several firework cinders on the ground as well. These symbols of a peaceful summer holiday were saddening to see in the garden of a decayed mansion.

“…Are you alright?”

Seeing her shoulders slowly move up and down, I called out to her.

Yoishi nodded without a word, but she indeed did not have her usual vigor when she faced the occult.

“It’s probably a little late to enter this mansion right now. Let’s pitch our tent here, shall we?”

I raised my voice as cheerfully as I could, and lowered the rucksack on my back.

“I have a friend in university named Yamaoka. He’s in the mountaineering club, extremely fit despite his small size, and he has a great sense of humor to boot. He let me borrow a lot of stuff. A tent for three. Two sleeping bags. I brought a lot of food as well, and even a burner. Let’s grill something for dinner, shall we? Ahh, or maybe you’d like me to make some coffee?”

“If it’s a bedroom you need then there’s one inside.”

“….Eh?”

“On the second floor, there’s a room that is safe to use.”

“No…the inside is, um, it’s quite dangerous right? This isn’t the usual haunted spot investigation. It’s better that we go in when it’s bright.”

I said that, but Yoishi had already set off for the front door, used her foot as a pivot and audaciously began to remove the planks that had been hammered into place. She removed the planks one-by-one, causing cracking and scraping noises to echo loudly in the mountain that was deathly silent at night.

“It’s not a problem if we put a tent out here though.”

With her back towards me, Yoishi spoke as she removed the planks.

“There’s a dead person in that garden as well.”

“……….Eh?”

“If that’s alright with you, then you can set up camp there.”

“……Say that from the start.”

Having no choice, I helped her.

The planks had rotted considerably, probably from the many years of wind and rain, and were removed fairly easily.

“The key?”

“A, ahh, here.”

I took the key Sako gave to me out of my pocket and handed it over to Yoishi.

Yoishi stared at the key for a while—before slowly placing it into the keyhole. A pleasant click rang out, and the lock was opened. As the creaking door slowly opened, I felt something rustling beyond the darkness—and I closed my eyes in an instant. After taking a single deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

A thick, incredibly heavy darkness leaked out from behind the half open door.

But, Yoishi remained there, standing still as a rock. Her back, which would never hesitate to step forth into any darkness, wasn’t there. All that was there was the back of a young high school girl, who was unable to take one step ahead in the face of overwhelming darkness.

“Could it be—that you’re…scared?”

“……..I don’t know.”

Yoishi answered silently.

“I don’t know if this is what it means to be afraid. But, my feet are…”

I looked to see that Yoishi’s feet in her black leather shoes were quivering slightly.

I went back to pick up my rucksack, put it on my back and silently gripped Yoishi’s hand. The moment I gripped her soft and cold hand---Ahh, I realized.

The reason why I came all the way out here. And, what needed to be done here.

Wasn’t that, to confront the past together with Yoishi—And, to hear her true name from her own mouth?

Krishna-san had said it before. 『Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world』.

That’s right. There was only one thing for the disciples of the witch to do. That was to research the real names of all events and creatures in the world and their history, and once you take back your ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ should disappear.

Alright, I said to myself, and put strength into my stomach—

“…Let’s go. Alright?”

I asked, and Yoishi gave a small nod without a word.

For the first time since I’d gone with her through numerous paranormal events—I took the lead.

With a dull thud, I threw the door open.

I was greeted with the smell of dust assailing my nostrils, and a damp atmosphere that coiled around my body. With my right hand gripping Yoishi’s hand, I illuminated the mansion with the light in my left hand, and slowly took a step forward.

In front of the wide entrance hallway was a corridor, and it was dark to the point where my mini light could barely illuminate it. Nevertheless, I could see that the stairs to the second floor were on my right-hand side, and the spacious living room lay beyond the door to my left-hand side. At any rate, I felt countless presences everywhere, and I asked as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my feet.

“Where is the bedroom you said we could use?”

“Upstairs, at the back.”

“…Got it.”

I tried not to look anywhere, as I barged inside while still wearing my shoes, which was, sorry to say, always the case with haunted spots.

The stairs creaked as I climbed them one-by-one. I aimed my light up to see that the second floor looked even darker. The light formed a ceiling shadow of the handrail that moved, which felt extremely unsettling.

“The back of the second floor—that way, huh?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were doors on each side of the second-floor corridor, and a door in the back. I quickened my steps as if I would be in a safe zone once I reached there, and pulled Yoishi with me towards that door. There, I opened it in a single breath.

Inside was a simple guest room with two beds, a small table, and a closet installed on the wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoishi inside, and closed the door.

“It sure is a nice room.”

As I said that, I tried to twiddle with the switch on the wall, but as expected there didn’t seem to be any electricity, and it remained completely dark.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

I suddenly remembered and took out a portable lantern from my rucksack. I clumsily fiddled it with my shaky hands. As taught by Yamaoka from the mountaineering club, I thrust a rechargeable lighter in the hole and ignited it. Soon, a warm flame flared up and eventually grew, dimly illuminating the interior of the room.

“……….Ohh.”

“………….”

Yoishi and I, merely gazed at that light in a daze.

I had thought countless times that light was truly grand —but this was the first time I had been moved to the point of tears. Yamaoka insisted it when I borrowed the camping equipment, 『Camping is a completely different experience without it』, and forcibly crammed it in the rucksack over my objections….but, If I safely make it back, I have to express my profound thanks. If I didn’t have this, then the strange intimidating air that enveloped this mansion might have continued to weaken my spirit.

“This sure is good. It’s somehow really encouraging.”

“…Yeah.”

Yoishi sat on the bed, and unusually agreed with me.

I looked at her for some reason—and after that, I looked at the other bed.

I just now realized that it was only me and Yoishi here; We had sneaked in at night in an uninhabited house commonly known as the 『Hanging mansion』.

“Ermm.”

I cleared my throat once and asked.

“Is it a problem If I use any of the other rooms?”

Yoishi slightly cocked her head to the side.

“You know, it’s problematic for the two of us to sleep in the same room. Just now you said that this room was not a problem, but what about the other rooms….or to be more precise, what exactly is the problem with them?”

“It’s fine if you don’t mind, but.”

Yoishi answered dispassionately.

“The people who used the other two rooms are dead.”

“……………..”

...... I can't do it. I absolutely cannot do it.

In addition, this place was incomparably heavier and darker than all the haunted places we had visited so far. I nodded silently and sat down on the vacant bed after wiping away the dust on it. From there, we were both silent for a while. She had lied down with her back towards me, and I was clearly getting an aura from her that a conversation was impossible.

It was still just a little past 8 pm.

It was a time when you’d normally be awake and doing activities, but the mountains at night were a different story altogether. When the moon hid behind the clouds, there was no light anywhere besides this lantern. Everything was painted pitch black, and it made you believe that you were in a completely different world, a world where human rules no longer applied.

It was just the two of us alone in the ruins of a building that was deathly silent— not an unusual situation for us, and yet, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Perhaps because Yoishi was not her usual self.

Her eyes always glimmered in the face of the paranormal.

The more grotesque the situation trended towards, the stronger that dark light would shine.

But, right now, I—

I knew that the dark colored light at the back of her eyes was the thing I had to face. That knowledge made me feel as if there was someone else here besides the two of us, one more opponent, of an unknown nature.

But I had come mentally prepared with that in mind.

Determined, I calmly opened my rucksack. I took out copies of old newspaper and magazine articles I had obtained from the library before coming here, and spread them out under the light of the lantern.

It was commonly known as, 『The Hanging Mansion Family Massacre Case』. The major newspapers referred to it as 『K Lakeside Mountain Retreat Murder Case』, but the former was how it was referred to by the weekly magazines. And the source of that name came from the fact that the head of a household was found hanged in this mansion.

It happened around eleven years ago--- in short, it occurred on the 31st of July 2001.

I continued to read in sequence from a newspaper article to a weekly magazine article.

『Yesterday, inside a certain building in a mountain forest in K city, Y prefecture, the bodies of an active duty police officer and a Tokyo family that was staying at the house for a short period of time were discovered. The Y prefectural police have set up an investigation headquarters and have begun an investigation into the possibility of it being a crime or an accident. The connection between the family and the police officer is uncertain, but there is a possibility that the family was involved in some kind of trouble. According to the police statement, the bodies of the father and mother were discovered inside, and the body of the police officer and the family pet were discovered outside the building. The bodies of the eldest and younger daughter were discovered in the nearby K lake.』

『The father was discovered hanging by his neck in the living room.』『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room.』『The head patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police department was discovered stabbed to death in the garden.』『Next to the head patrol officer was the body of a dog which is believed to be the family pet.』『Around 1 kilometer below at K Lakeshore, the body of the elder sister was discovered. With lacerations at the base of her throat.』『The body of the second daughter was also discovered at the same location. She drowned to death.』

As I continued to read, my feelings became heavier and heavier.

According to one expert's theory in a weekly magazine, this incident was a family suicide carried out by the father: he killed the mother, the officer, the dog, and when the sisters ran away, he followed them and killed them at the lake, and then returned to the mansion where he killed himself. I see, it more or less made sense. However, there were still mysteries that remained, such as why a police officer belonging to the Metropolitan Police department happened to be present in a mountain retreat at Y prefecture? And why did the father decide to commit a family suicide?

Above all, what I was most concerned about was how Yoishi and Sako were involved in this incident.

If it were eleven years ago, Yoishi would have been six or seven years old.

I could deduce that she must have been the elder or the younger sister, but—before, umm, I think it was in the Koumei Institute’s ‘Clock Tower Incident’? It felt as if she had talked about her elder sister. Which meant, that Yoishi must have been the younger daughter.

Having racked my brains on it thus far--I read through one of the articles once more, and found a mention of ‘serious condition’ with regards to the status of the younger daughter. I also found an article that said, ‘She was transported to the hospital unconscious’ and, ‘The younger daughter in serious condition also passed away’. In short, the life and death status of the younger daughter was not mentioned clearly. There was no news of her whereabouts thereafter, as if she had dissolved into the darkness of this world. However, whether the culprit was her father or an outsider, the fact that the younger daughter survived, meant that she had gone through extreme hell--She had witnessed the entirety of what occurred in this mansion from beginning to end, and was probably aware of the identity of the true culprit.

And, thereupon,

I suddenly felt a strange tug at my heart.

It was as if I had overlooked an important path hidden by the vegetation in the dark forest.

I rearranged the scattered articles I had copied in order of date published. And then, I remembered what I felt when I was copying the articles in the library.

Yes—around two weeks after the incident, the number of reports on the incident dropped dramatically. After a month had passed, the verified reports were nowhere to be found. It is true that a wonder lasts but nine days, and even if the Japanese people had a capricious nature-- but this was such a sensational incident. And on top of that, it was still unresolved to the present day. Wasn't it forgotten about a bit too quickly?

It was as if... they were trying to pretend it never have happened.

“... Press restrictions, huh?”

As I recall, if an incident fulfilled certain criteria, then in accordance with press agreements, the media may refrain from reporting it.

But I heard that it was only limited to kidnapping cases, or anything relating to the imperial household or political issues—

---No.

No…that wasn’t all it was limited to.

I recalled an article I had read on an occult website. If I recalled correctly, there was an incident in which police rushed to the scene of the crime where a mother had been murdered, they found her infant daughter sitting there in a state of insanity and muttered, ‘A demon appeared from the wall’. There was much debate as to the true identity of the ‘demon’, but news reporting of that incident suddenly ceased all at once.

There were a lot of occultic theories on the internet surrounding people who lived in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, but one day, the thread was locked with a message from someone believed to be an insider.

It was, ‘The culprit was the daughter’, ‘Because she is an infant, press restrictions would be imposed.’

Something cold began to rise beneath my feet.

I slowly turned my head towards Yoishi who was lying on her side on the bed.

It can’t be—

The first time I met Yoishi--- Yes, back in the ‘Wish-fulfilling House’.

When I introduced myself, she merely said, 『I’m Yoishi』. I asked her, 『Isn't that a handle?』, and she denied it, saying,『My surname is Mitsurugi. Not that it matters』. Back then, I wondered if she was fine with revealing her real name on the internet, but—was it because it wasn’t her real name?

Come to think of it, I found out that the Noh-faced man who called himself Yoishi’s father belonged to the ‘Cabinet Information Research Office’. That meant it could influence the media to a greater or lesser extent— and not just that, it was also possible for it to take custody of a girl whose whereabouts were unknown….? No, what reason would someone in a government organization have for adopting the younger daughter?

Sako had been chasing the ‘everlasting night stone’ which was written in kanji as 「常夜石」. And he said that it was something that, 『Amplifies people’s negative emotions, and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing』, and that 『It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves』.

If ‘Mitsurugi’ was that man’s surname, but then, why did her first name become ‘Yoishi’…..?

Before I’d realized it, my legs had started shaking. Right now, I thought the black-haired girl sleeping in the bed next to me was someone truly terrifying, and I felt fear to the point where my blood was being drained.

---It can’t be, the true culprit from ten years ago was…..

“………..That’s right.”

At that moment, I jumped up with a start when Yoishi whispered as if she had read my heart. Yoishi slowly got up, moved to the edge of the bed and sat there. And, she gazed for a while at the countless photocopies of articles scattered near my hands—

Eventually, she moved her pale face towards me. I trembled at the appearance of the dark light in her large eyes.

“……Hey, are you scared?”

“……….”

“Are you…. Scared of me right now?”

I couldn’t answer instantly—

But eventually, Ahh, I managed to squeeze a voice from my stinging, parched throat.

“………I’m scared. Of course I’m scared. To be honest, if we’d just met, I think I would have run away.”

“…………..”

“But….it’s strange ---right now, I don’t care anymore.”

I forcefully put on a smile on my face.

Then, for some reason, I felt the back of my heart quietening into silence.

“If you are a survivor of this incident….and, if you’ve now taken the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, as someone who really does have another name. Then I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can’t see ghosts. I want to believe that they’re there, but to be honest I still can’t say for sure that they’re there. Even after witnessing countless paranormal things, I still can’t tell at all. But, what I truly believe is that there are souls. Warm souls, terrifying souls……. There must be countless souls in this world. They might dwell in buildings, in paintings, in music---they might be the strength of people’s thoughts, but I feel their presence and I believe in their existence. And, the shape of your soul-- which I can feel, which has gone through so much pain and suffering, I believe that it’s beautiful despite everything. And I love that shape.”

“…………………….”

Yoishi remained frozen in place, as she continued to gaze at my face---

And her beautifully shaped lips were about to say, ‘You--’, when they stopped.

“…………You?”

“You….you truly are a fool.”

Yoishi’s voice had a tinge of embarrassment in it, when--

……….*Plop*………..

That sound echoed.

It sounded like water dripping somewhere.

That sound, which seemed as if it was right next to my ears, made me shudder for some reason.

“Is there… a water leak somewhere?”

I somehow managed to say that, and Yoishi shook her head.

“….It’s calling me.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s in the bathroom.”

Declaring that, something flickered beyond Yoishi’s eyes that was illuminated by the lantern. Dark colored eyes and something I arbitrarily named was wriggling. And, that itself was the moment ‘Yoishi’ turned into the ‘everlasting night stone’.

「Say, don’t you want to go and take a look?」

Yoishi would probably whisper that from here.

And that was where the other world would begin. With a jerk, the world would flip upside down, and what would appear there would be a world you shouldn’t see. The ground beneath my feet would tremble, creating a floating sensation as if I had lost everything. But, I would not be able to fight against it. It would be unbearably scary, but I would end up heading there as if being dragged by Yoishi---

And.

However, Yoishi didn’t say anything no matter how much time passed.

Even though there was terror right next to her, she remained motionless as she continued to listen closely to the sound of water.

“…Yoishi?”

“This place is the reason why-- I hate baths.”

“…………”

“I… ended up making a mistake here I could never take back.”

“….What, happened here?”

I asked her, but Yoishi remained silent and did not answer. Her face was contorted in pain, and she merely hung her head down.

If I continued to gaze at that face, an unbearable sadness would sweep over me as well, and before I’d realized, I stood up and said, “Okay”. I drew closer to Yoishi and sniffed at her neck.

Yup, she stinks.

“Shall we take it, together?”

“………Eh………..?”

“The bath. If you know that this place is the cause, then that’s even more of a reason.”

“I, I refuse.”

“Shut up, just come. You haven’t taken a bath since you left my home, right?”

I was fully aware that I was saying something outrageous, but I was desperate when I decided to confront her.

I pulled Yoishi’s hand and made her stand, and spoke as if to conceal my embarrassment.

“I’ll wash your head. And this time—we’ll overcome it all.”

◯

“It’s boiling over, nice hot water!”

I shouted through the glass door as I pulled my hand out of the bathtub in the pitch-black darkness.

Then, after a few moments, the glass door opened with a clank. Yoishi Mitsurugi appeared in the bathroom stark naked….or so I thought. In the darkness, I only caught a glimpse, but naturally, I immediately averted my eyes out of courtesy.

There was no electricity in the mansion, but it was most fortunate that the water was from a well and that propane gas was still available. Right now, the bathroom was filled with warm steam. Even though there must be plenty of occult fans all over the world, we were probably the only ones to take a bath in a haunted place. As I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t it a worthy achievement to have performed a reckless act so effortlessly?’, Yoishi quietly sat down on the seat next to me, holding what looked like a towel in hand. In the pitch-darkness of the bathroom, where only the steam gently enveloped our bodies, we continued to sit in silence, naked.

“Ermm… Wash your body first.”

I desperately tried not to be conscious of Yoishi next to me, filled the tub with hot water, and rubbed a soap that was there onto the towel and lathered it.

“Look, you wash yours. It’s alright. I don’t see anything. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“……………………….”

Eventually, Yoishi placed something she was holding on the wash basin without saying a word.

“Hm…….? Wasn’t that a towel?”

I asked as I was scrubbing my body clean, but Yoishi seemed to have shaken her head without a word.

“Can I have a look at that?”

I washed the bubbles off my hand with hot water, turned off the faucet and then picked it up.

Checking it with my fingertips, I saw that it was something soft--- some kind of stuffed toy.

“Ah….this, could it be the thing you always have attached to your bag? The stuffed frog?”

“….Yes.”

“Hmmm, is it your good luck charm?”

I asked as I touched the body of the stuffed frog with my fingertips. It was quite old and frayed in places, but—that touch made me feel strangely nostalgic.

“It’s not a good luck charm.”

After a while, Yoishi whispered.

“He’s, my only friend.”

For some reason, those words made my heart ache deep in my chest.

“In the past, he used to talk.”

“In the past…? He can’t do it now?”

“He doesn’t talk anymore.”

“…………….”

In a way, such a cute line from a girl was a problem because when Yoishi said it, it instantly became occultic in nature. And moreover, since we were in an abandoned building where no one lived and people had died, I had to be careful not to let the atmosphere go into a creepy direction as much as possible, or else my spirit couldn’t handle it.

When—suddenly, I heard a splash.

I looked to see that Yoishi had already entered the bathtub.

Apparently, after only a couple of splashes of hot water on her body, she had moved there with the stuffed frog in hand.

“Did you wash yourself properly?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t. The soap is still the same as it was in front of me.”

“…..I don’t want to use that soap.”

“Why?”

“Because it's still there, just as it was that day.”

I didn't know how to retort back to those words.

I quietly looked in the direction of the bathtub, to see that Yoishi was soaked in the hot water up to her chin, playing with the stuffed frog in hand.

She hadn’t tied her long hair, so it was scary to see her hair spread out on the surface of the water.

“….I ended up doubting her.”

“…….Eh?”

“Back then, mama asked me if she could join me—and I refused.”

“What do you mean, you refused?”

I asked, but Yoishi fell silent once more.

Eventually, she carefully chose each word as she spoke.

“It was mama… but I ended up doubting that it wasn’t mama.”

Not understanding it well, I listened silently as I continued to wash my body.

“…If I had opened the door for her back then…. A lot of things might have turned out differently.”

That must have been when Yoishi was probably six or seven years old—when she came to visit this mountain retreat with her family. Does that mean that Yoishi was alone in the bath when her mother came? Does that mean that her mother died the next day?

I recalled the article that said,『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room』, and at the moment when bitterness overflowed in my chest—

I realized after all this time. I…. Ended up calling this mansion a ‘haunted place’ without consideration, but wasn’t it extremely rude to call it that, since it was a place where her family was? Once more, the words Krishna-san always told me stabbed my chest, ‘Have respect for the dead’, and I clutched my head in the darkness.

“….Regrets really are a thing, huh?”

After a while, I muttered.

“I always wonder after everything is over if I could have done a little bit more. I mean, my life is a repetition of that. I overslept, missed an important lecture and almost cried before the exam, I couldn’t properly teach the newcomer at my part time job, and he suddenly stopped coming, I ended up eating an extra-large portion of gyudon even though I don’t have money—No, what I have is nothing compared to what you are burdened with.”

--*Splash* As I poured hot water on my shoulders to wash away the foam, I spoke, “Sorry”.

“I’m sorry I ended up calling this house a ‘haunted place’.”

“….I don’t really mind.”

“No….but….”

Then, Yoishi merely muttered in the bathtub.

“What are ''grudges'', exactly?”

“….Eh?”

“What do ghosts, bear a grudge against, exactly….? For example, what if you were to die a horrific death because of me? What if you still had so many things you wanted to do, but your life ended because of me? Would you too wander this world with a grudge….?”

I suddenly imagined ---myself as a ghost, just wandering this world endlessly. But at that moment, a strange loneliness swept over my chest. A world like ice, where no one could perceive me, where my words never reached anyone.

There, all I was, was confused.

I was befuddled, in agony, and wished to die quickly and properly. Even though I was already dead, I was impatient to die properly.

“……No.”

I shook my head once, turned on the shower and poured hot water on my head.

“Rather than bearing a grudge, I think I’d be troubled.”

“Troubled….?”

“I think that ghosts are probably just troubled. The moment they understand that they’re dead, they're upset because they don't know what to do, having experienced that for the first time. Ahh--- I can’t explain it well, but rather than asking questions about why they died or wanting to come back to life, they would be restless about what to do with themselves, and have no time to bear grudges against other people. ….Look, isn’t that why they draw close to you? They might be relying on you since they realize that you can see ghosts. Maybe they think you might believe in the myth that telling ghost stories attracts them.”

I excitedly talked as if I had accidentally touched on a secret—

“You—”

Yoishi coldly declared.

“Really are a fool.”

‘What the hell did you say?’, I was about to retort, when I stopped, thinking that it was inappropriate. I silently lathered up the shampoo that was there in my hands and started washing my hair feeling good.

It was my first time talking about ghosts and not being afraid. For the first time, I felt as if I understood the meaning of what Krishna-san always said, ‘Perhaps some ghosts play tricks on people, while other ghosts say, 'Come on, stop it,' and step in to intervene, yet no one ever thinks of the latter possibility’.

“Even if they're dead, ghosts aren’t different than people.”

I tried to sound as cool as I possibly could, when it happened.

As I was scrubbing my head with the shampoo, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

As if the lathering was strangely sluggish — or rather, as if the amount of hair had strangely increased.

At that moment, I realized that there were long strands of hair dropping on both sides of my face. It was as if someone had drawn their face close to the back of my head with their long black hair, and trirf to get me to wash their hair as well.

--It must be Yoishi.

You sure had the nerve to come up with a funny idea, as I quickly reached both hands to the back of my head. I was trying to take hold of that head: Yoishi’s head, however.

“…………Eh?”

There was nothing there, and my hands were wandering in empty air.

''“Get out.”''

At the same time, a voice like a ringing bell echoed in the bathroom.

I looked to see Yoishi still immersed in the bathtub, gazing in my direction.

Her eyes in the darkness, were darker than darkness—

Her following words, directed towards something, made goosebumps run all over my body.

“You are already dead.”

◯

I'll never speak sagely of ghosts before her ever again.

I firmly made up my mind to do as I chanted the nembutsu<ref>Buddhist prayer</ref> all night--And it was the following day.

Before I'd realized, I was sound asleep in the bed and woke up to find myself in heavenly sunshine. The chirping of the birds reverberated around me, and the branches of lush green trees peeked through the window.

Did I come to some hotel resort somewhere? I couldn’t judge the situation right away and really thought that was the case, but--

No..... No, that wasn't it.

This was the mountain retreat where a mysterious massacre occurred eleven years ago.

With a start I raised my head, and saw that Yoishi was already awake and sitting on top of her bed, fiddling with her phone.

“...Ah... Good morning.”

When I greeted her, she fleetingly glanced my way with her large eyes,

“My phone has a connection.”

She spoke.

“Well, that's what it’s supposed to do.”

“There was no connection eleven years ago.”

She stood up and pointed her phone here and there.

“Is there a problem if you have a connection?”

“……………………….”

However, without answering, Yoishi put her phone away in her pocket, and turned her white face at me.

“What are we going to do from now on?”

“Well….”

No, I had no concrete ideas in mind.

I was under the impression that just coming here would be enough to settle something. I was told by Sako that I had to complete ‘Yoishi’s story’, and I thought that must have been ‘to hear Yoishi’s true name from her own mouth’. But— after thinking about it long and hard, that doesn't really need to be in this place, does it?

Which means….huh?

Why did Sako tell me about this place?

I raised my head, looked at the mansion walls, and thought of the room that was supposed to exist beyond it. After that, I pictured downstairs which was filled with far more creepiness than the second floor.

….Could it be?

Did it mean that there was something in this mansion that could finish this case?

“Let’s go.”

I declared, and Yoishi tilted her head slightly.

“We have to search this mansion.”

Yoishi asked, ‘For what?’, and in response:

“Something important.”

Without pause, I opened the door to the room.

All that was there on the other side of the creaking door was a corridor---but it wasn’t as dark as last night.

It was already bright with the light of the sun pouring in.

The stairs creaked as Yoishi and I descended to the ground floor. It was a building with many windows, and the warm sunshine poured in through all of them. It had lost the appearance of a haunted house and was now just an old mansion. Even so, the building still felt like a ruin, full of spider webs and dust-- but, as I thought that, I spotted something on the corridor floor. It was a yellow police tape. Apparently, it had been placed in front of the door leading to the living room.

Something bitter instantly rose up inside me, as I realized that this was a murder scene, and that the victims were Yoishi’s relatives.

“Are you alright?”

I turned around and asked, and Yoishi nodded, looking paler than usual.

The living room was spacious. It was at the very least, around 32 square meters in size.

It had leather covered sofas, a fireplace, withered houseplants, and torn wallpaper.

But—

I thought once more. I didn’t know why it was, but I didn’t feel as if this was my first time in this mansion. Come to think of it, I felt that when I first looked up at this mansion from the garden last night. As if someone had said to me, “Welcome back”. I recalled that feeling now once more and shuddered.

No--- I shook my head. No matter how much I turned the drawers of my memory upside down, I had never come to this mansion before. I only felt like I had been here before because this was a typical resort construction, and they all had a similar layout.

I continued to convince myself in that way, as I scooped off the piled-up dust on the sofa with my hands.

On the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room were three cups, and the tea or whatever that had been inside had already dried up and turned light brown. The family must have been enjoying their time here together. They had no idea that a conclusion far terrible than they could have imagined awaited them….

I became strangely sentimental, maybe because I thought that it was Yoishi’s family.

I was a weakling from the start, but I thought I had endurance with regards to the dead after their funeral had been completed. Once you die, there’s no coming back. No matter how much I grieved and moaned, I could not overturn that rule of life. That’s why, I didn’t mourn more than necessary. After all, I too would die one day. At that time, I would meet them again. And, in order to have lots to talk about when I meet them again in that world, I would live a fruitful life, that’s how I thought of it. That might have been the psychological coping mechanism I learned after the bitter separation from my mother.

But---

Something about this mansion was different.

I ended up thinking that maybe there was still something I could do about it.

Even though everyone was already dead….. and were no longer a part of this world, the vividness of the family pressed at me, a family that was not my own, but one that I could not think of as a stranger’s.

Are…they still here?

Are Yoishi’s mother, father, sister, and the policeman, still here in this mansion--?

I end up feeling like…. they entrusted me with something important that was left undone.

“….Huh?”

As I thought such things, I noticed that Yoishi was staring at something.

It was a small space above the hearth.

“What’s wrong?”

I called out to her and stood next to her---where I noticed.

It was a single photograph. A brown wooden photo frame had collapsed, and a discolored photograph lay beside it.

My heart beat out loud seeing the figures of the people in the picture.

“…..This……”

“My… family.’

“Is it alright…. if I take a look?”

“It’s fine, but—”

Yoishi added in a tone of voice that lacked emotion.

“It’s not really something pleasant.”

Hearing those words, I gulped.

Why hadn’t the police taken this picture away, even though they must have investigated the scene countless times? Come to think of it, why were all the cups I saw earlier still here? Suddenly, all sorts of questions crossed my mind, but in the end, I picked up that photograph.

It was a family photograph taken in the garden. The father, the mother, the elder sister, the younger sister, and the family dog—everyone was looking at the camera, and probably smiling in the polaroid picture. However, the moment I saw it, an intense chill ran down my back, causing me to almost let go of it.

For some reason….in that photograph of the father, the mother, the elder sister, and the dog—their faces were discolored white and stretched out in the air as if twisted by an invisible force so strong that they were about to disappear. Among them, only the young girl was smiling kindly. She looked this way with her beautiful white face, and her pretty, long black hair that swayed slightly in the wind.

“……U…..umm, you sure were cute.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, really….”

“It becomes this type of photograph when that takes your life.”

“By t…that…could you possibly mean?”

…The ‘everlasting night stone’ that Sako mentioned?

The moment I was about to mention that name, Yoishi put her finger on my lips to stop me.

“It would be better not to say that name.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

“Because it’s everywhere at all times.”

“S…say, why…why did you take the name of Yoishi? If that name itself was ominous, and if you were aware of that, then why---?”

Without answering, Yoishi silently took the photograph from my hand and carefully placed it back in its original place.

“The police abandoned it.”

“Abandoned?”

“This photograph is as you can see. But, it wasn’t abandoned because of an exposure error. This entire mansion was abandoned, and the investigation itself was abandoned.”

“W, why?”

“Because the state unofficially recognized that long ago.”

Yoishi’s cold words left me aghast.

“It exists in every age, appears at whim, and consumes humans—stealing their lives. That’s why it has been recognized as a natural disaster that possesses this country, like typhoons and earthquakes.”

“No…that’s—if it were a natural disaster, then why did you need to take that name?”

“Because—”

Yoishi stood stock still like a broken doll, and whispered.

“Because I’m the cause of all this.”

“……….What?”

“Because I was an unwanted child that was never wished for.”

“….There’s no way that’s true? There’s no way a child is unloved by their parents.”

“Thinking straightforwardly like that is a trait of yours, but—then, why does infanticide not cease in this world? What about the abuse that increases even now? And, what if… it was an unwanted pregnancy?”

………………………..

“What if….it was a life born from the violation of the mother by a complete stranger?”

“….Hey…it can’t be….”

“If that were the case, I would erase myself.”

Yoishi’s large eyes harbored a pale blue flame as she spoke.

“That’s why my face is white. Because of foreign blood. I didn’t resemble anyone in my family. I was--”

“Cursed ''before I was even born.''”

“That’s exactly why I was chosen by that.”

I….could not utter even a single word.

But from somewhere in the mansion that was as silent as death—something echoed as a substitute.

A biological, disgusting, whipping sound.

“….It has begun.”

“…….Eh?”

“It’s already begun.”

Yoishi looked me in the eyes, and spoke in a whisper.

“It’s going to be hell from now on.”

“….What?”

“If you want to go back, this is your last chance.”

“……………”

“You’re free to do whatever you wish, but from here on, I’m not sure that I will continue to be myself. To run away from here, to forget everything, and to live a cheerful life would be without a doubt the right thing to do.”

Yoishi spoke that much forlornly, and turned away from me.

With a mechanical gait in her step, she walked straight out of the living room.

“W…. wait a minute!”

I was a step behind, and ran after her.

I caught up to Yoishi who was proceeding in the corridor, and grabbed her hand.

“I’m going as well.”

I declared, and Yoishi looked at me with lonely eyes.

I nodded strongly, and Yoishi silently looked down, and spoke.

“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

“……Eh?”

“I know that’s completely unforgivable, but I can’t help but rely on you.”

“No……”

I spoke flustered.

“I don’t mind if you rely on me, you know? Well, although, I might be quite unreliable, but…”

In response, Yoishi bit her lips in irritation---

“Please, forgive me.”

She whispered that.

I stopped moving, not knowing what she meant—when Yoishi looked up at me and gazed at me. That white, unworldly, beautiful face declared as if melting into the darkness of this world.

“No matter what happens, no matter what you see… stay as you are. Stay as Nagito Yamada. Continue to stay that way--- that might be our only chance to win at the very last moment.”

It was an expression Yoishi Mitsurugi had shown me for the first time.

The girl who had never asked me for a single favor up until now, who had gleefully moved forward no matter what paranormal events she faced, the young girl who was acted coolly like a grand witch from antiquity even when faced with reality that would make you want to avert your eyes, showed me for the first time--- a sorrowful expression.

Please, forgive me.

She declared once more in a hoarse voice, and abruptly turned heel with a knock of her leather shoes.

After that, she didn’t look back, as she continued into the darkness.

I fell behind for a moment—before following her.

The mansion corridor which had not been ventilated for a long time, creaked strangely, perhaps due to the humidity.

It wouldn’t be strange if the floors collapsed at any given moment, and that instability was the same sensation I had whenever my legs froze from the sign of the world beyond.

The very back of the corridor.

The closer I got to the inconspicuous wooden door, the louder the whipping sound became.

“T...this sound.”

I was about to ask what it was, but I couldn’t say the words. Being the weakling that I was, my legs had already begun to tremble, and the root of my teeth didn’t connect.

Yoishi made it that far without hesitation, placed her hand on the sliding door, and with a single breath, threw it open.

It was a storage room around 10 sqm in size.

There was a mop, a place for a large vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, an unused chair and such.

And, in the center, I saw a familiar childish face.

“—K…”

I was at a loss for words.

“…..Kri…shna-san?”

◯

A petite figure was crouching in a dark corner of the room, devouring something.

Her short hair was messy, as if she hadn’t returned home for many days—and her blue spring dress was torn in places and dirty with mud, as if she had tumbled down a mountain.

“Umm….Krishna-san….is that you….?”

In response, the girl looked in my direction, still clutching something with her hands.

She sneered in a satisfied smile with her white, cloudy eyes. I shuddered at the sight of the thing that protruded from her lips. From those cute lips which were always preaching to me with sermons of love, now protruded a large, wriggling centipede. She bit it off with those white teeth of hers, and chewed it crunchingly.

As I watched, unable to say anything —Krishna-san slowly stood up.

She then brought her hands, still covered with the remains of centipedes and other small animals, to her large breasts and grasped them violently. She then rubbed them vigorously. It made me feel a sense of unease, as if a different personality was using Krishna-san’s arms to toy with her body. But, there was no eroticism in it. It was merely revolting; I felt disgust as if something precious was being defiled. it reminded me of a coven of witches – a sabbath that I had once seen illustrated in a book. That vulgar behavior was in no way the behavior of the Krishna-san I knew. She was so cute in all her actions that even when she had to be strict, she still lacked a sense of tension.

“What are you trying to do by moving to that person?”

Yoishi spoke coldly as she fixed her gaze on Krishna-san.

“Your place is inside me, isn’t it?”

With those words, I realized with a start.

“….Hey, it can’t be….?”

‘That’s right’, Yoishi gave a small nod.

“That person is Shiina Kurimoto, but it’s not her personality right now. The one who stands there is the one destroyed everyone precious to me: my best friend, my mother, my father, my elder sister, Leo, the detective-- The one who stands there… is the ‘Everlasting night stone’.”

Together with her words… I saw it.

Right now, in Krishna-san’s eyes, a dark light glimmered that was like the bewitching glimmer in Yoishi’s eyes in the face of the paranormal. Exposed to that dark light, countless scenes revived and connected in my mind. The countless mysteries, paranormal phenomenon which defied explanation that I had witnessed so far. Yoishi’s eyes would begin to glitter before them. But when she saw malice in the truth, Yoishi would always vomit. She would vomit in pain, as if trying to wipe away something inside her.

Was that---

Because this thing was inside her?

Was it because this thing was wriggling in delight inside Yoishi?

The sneering laughter that sounded like a man echoed in the dimly lit storage room and corridor.

The bobbed haired, baby face, the cheeks that would be described as adorable by a hundred out of a hundred people, Krishna-san contorted those cheeks—

And made a smile that was both broken and complacent.

“It crossed over from continental Asia in the past, was called ‘Nine tails’ at times, and ‘Everlasting night stone’ at times…. It moves freely from people to people, a natural disaster of this country that destroyed countless people all over, a hidden natural disaster—the purest ‘malice’ in this world.”

Yoishi’s words coldly reverberated in the room—

The earth shook. No, my torso was shaking in the face of being overwhelmingly powerless, and my knees were already shaking to the point of collapse.

Krishna-san….no, Shiina Kurimoto-san was the most reliable person for me since I moved to Tokyo alone. Her words were harsh at times, but even they were filled with love, because she was worried about me from the bottom of her heart, and she was the person who was the furthest away from the word ‘corrupted’. She was my holy mother, just making eye contact with her was enough to relax me and give me fluffy feelings at the pit of my stomach. No matter how close I came to breaking down, this person alone would always stand firmly on the ground, support me, and return me to myself. Now, there were no traces of that to be found anywhere. In its stead was malice bare to see, and it was as if just seeing her lurching figure was enough to distort the world.

「I’ll be right back. After I’ve enjoyed this one.」

As if declaring that, Krishna-san took the rat carcass she still held in her left hand, and plunged it headfirst into her mouth.

“S--”

Stop it. I was about to shout, when—

“Yo, there you are.”

I heard an aloof voice behind me.

After a few seconds—I turned around dumbfounded, to see the thin figure of Sako Takita.

Sako slipped past me who couldn’t even move, and affectionately called out to Krishna-san.

“Kurimoto-kun, you shouldn’t eat something like that. You’ll end up getting diarrhea.”

He was not dressed in his usual blue kinagashi. On his head he wore an eboshi<ref>Black cap https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90</ref>. His long hair, which was always unkempt had been neatly slicked back, and he was formally dressed in a black hakama and tall wooden clogs—but his appearance conversely made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Now, let’s go back, shall we? This is no place for you.”

In response, the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside Krishna-san vibrated its throat. I couldn’t clearly make out what it was saying—but it was clearly a sneering voice that rejected, disdained, and ridiculed Sako’s suggestion.

“….Hm.”

However, it seemed it had gotten through to Sako. He nodded several times and spoke.

“……..Ah, you shouldn't. Don't make a young woman use such indecent language. She is still a popular girl you see. You mustn’t make light of Krishna fans all over the country…Eh? Mmhmm, you say you’re not a fan? You’re saying everyone uses the occult as a pretext to see Kurimoto-kun’s body, and that they must be stripping her naked in their head?”

Sako spoke as if he were a proxy of a beast, and then turned my way.

“Are you like that?”

“………..Eh?”

“Well, you can’t clearly deny it as a man—but that’s not quite right.”

Sako turned to face the front once more.

“Hey, listen up, will you? Those large, large attractive breasts of Kurimoto-kun are comforting, you see. They are a symbol of her love that gently envelop everything. It's true that large breasts on a petite body can give off an unbalanced appeal, but what all men of this world instinctually crave is, the motherly love she exudes. Don’t be mistaken, not everyone in this world is a dark, malicious and perverse insect like you.”

As Sako declared that, the ‘everlasting night stone’ vibrated the back of her throat once more, but—

Sako ignored it on purpose, and quietly turned to Yoishi this time.

“Now then—let me say it once more.”

For some reason he made sure to straighten his back and politely sent those words to Yoishi.

“You did well to survive.”

Yoishi gazed back at Sako’s face without a word.

Was it my imagination, or did it feel as if her eyes were gently narrowed.

“I apologize for not being aware of your existence sooner --- Well, it is as you can see. Please forgive me.”

To Sako who bowed down, Yoishi merely muttered, “I don’t really mind.”

“…I only just realized it yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I was told by that person.”

She pointed at me, ‘Hoho’, Sako happily swung his shoulders.

….I didn’t know what was going on. But from the way Sako was acting so relaxed—did that mean that we and Krishna-san were alright now? Yoishi said something about how it was going to be hell from now on….Does that mean it will be averted?

“Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

Sako then put a friendly smile on his face and declared.

“Please allow me to declare this in advance. In the unlikely event that you become the ‘everlasting night stone’—I will kill you here.”

…………Huh?

“You may or may not have already realized, but I managed to cling to this uninteresting world and lived thus far to dispose of this trash known as the ‘everlasting night stone’. I will make it regret it so much that it curses itself for appearing in this world and for its continuing meddling with human beings —and I will tear it to pieces.”

“….I know.”

“—H, hey, hey ,hey, wait a second!”

I unconsciously butted in their conversation, when Sako simply stopped me from interrupting with his hand, and spoke.

“Now, now, please calm down, this was a talk of the worst-case scenario. There will be no casualties if we can deal with it now.”

At that moment---a piercing, sneering laughter reverberated, as if pounding the mansion. I looked to see Krishna-san…no, what was now the ‘everlasting night stone’ bending its petite body with tears in its eyes as it laughed.

“Something, is strange.”

Saying that coldly, Sako held up the three-pronged Gokosho<ref>https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/collection/665-0.html</ref> in his hand—and made several signs in midair. Krishna-san instantly stopped laughing as she coughed and collapsed while still bent backwards. The way she fell didn’t look safe at all, and I was reflexively about to rush over, but—

“Next, I will tear you to pieces.”

Sako cleanly cut the Kuji<ref>(Buddh) nine-character charm chanted with ritual gestures to ward off evil (esp. by mountain ascetics and adherents of Esoteric Buddhism)</ref> with his fingertips, and began to speak words I had never heard before.

It must have been a sort of ritual prayer I had no knowledge of—

The clear, resonant Kotodama that flowed from his mouth made Krishna-san’s petite body arch backwards in a bind.

“This mansion is closed by a barrier on all four sides. I will first remove the original fox soul of the ‘everlasting night stone’. Furthermore, I will get rid of the countless deep-seated grudges that have combined--- and finally separate them, leaving only the personality situated at the highest order.”

Sako dispassionately explained after finishing his ritual prayer, and began to draw some kind of pattern at Krishna-san’s feet with unrefined salt.

However—the guffawing, sneering laughter continued.

Krishna-san, having collapsed on the ground, still had a painful smile contorted as the tears streamed down her face. It was if she were witnessing something truly foolish—as if there was a mistake in front of her eyes which only she had realized—she merely convulsed with laughter as she pointed at Sako.

“It must be painful.”

Sako on the other hand, showed pity.

“But there's not the slightest chance I'd want to help you.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s eyes distorted more fiendishly than I had never seen before.

As if in reply— Sako’s pale face muttered in a whisper that horrified me as I watched.

“—You, devoured my mother.”

“………………”

“And you devoured my father. However, failing to devour me was a lethal mistake on your part.”

“Kokoko.”

The ‘everlasting night stone’ let out a strange, trembling voice.

It appeared as if it were somewhat perplexed.

It looked perplexed as if it had devoured so much it couldn't remember ---And , I saw Sako’s eyebrows furrow slightly in response. It was the first time I saw the emotion of anger emanate from Sako.

As soon as the pattern was finished, Krishna-san’s body crumpled even further into the ground as if it was crushed by gravity. This time, she indeed sounded as if she was in pain. But—even though it might have been the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside, it still appeared as Krishna-san. I couldn't stand it any longer, and at some point, I slowly drew closer, when—

“You’ll get devoured.”

Sako’s words stopped my movements with a jerk.

Sako swept his hakama as he sat in the seiza position, and with his eyes half-closed, began a sonorous ritual prayer once more.

It was as if to tighten the air to make invisible signs, and rearrange the sounds of the world as if to make a hidden rhyme.

It made Krishna-san’s collapsed body writhe in pain and bounce up and down as if it were billowing.

--Amazing.

I didn’t quite know what was happening, but it was overwhelming, I thought.

--Just a little more… with just a little bit more, would things really turn out alright?

My heart began to throb with anticipation, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel safe just yet.

But—at that moment.

I suddenly noticed Yoishi, who had been silent all this time.

Yoishi’s cold gaze, her unresponsiveness after having coexisted together with the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body since that incident eleven years ago, made me feel a terrible premonition. I then recalled Sako’s words.

….Huh…just now, Sako said that this building was inside a barrier. Could it be that the so-called ‘everlasting night stone’ that was now possessing Krishna-san, would after being severed from her, simply return to Yoishi once more who was inside the barrier? Or was the pattern Sako drew just now at Krishna-san’s feet a new, different barrier altogether?

“Well, you see.”

As he continued making the signs with his fingers, Sako answered with his back still turned toward me, as if he had sensed my concern.

“In the unlikely chance the ‘everlasting night stone’ that detaches from Kurimoto-kun breaks this barrier and possesses you, I will kill you. If it possesses Yoishi-kun, I will kill her. If I fail to sever it, I will kill Kurimoto-kun. I would be deemed a murderer according to this country, but that is of no concern to me. The only way to teach it the concept of ‘death’ is to let it experience it while it is bound to some kind of body. Having said that, you all might be a bit reluctant—well do forgive me for that.”

….H, hey, you can’t be serious.

“But—you see. Don’t you think it strange?”

As I was dismayed, Sako declared to me amused.

“Why do you believe Yoishi-kun didn’t die even though eleven years have passed since that incident?”

“…………..Eh?”

“Why do you believe she used illogical methods to save you at times?”

“…………”

“That is because—”

Sako’s mouth twisted into a happy smile, and he spoke.

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ failed in its incarnation long ago.”

“……………………….”

“Eleven years ago, in this mansion, under a devilish plan, the heart of a child it believed it had completely destroyed was protected by a certain accident.”

“…….Accident? What do you mean accident?”

But without answering my question, Sako continued to speak.

“Call it an accident, inevitability, or you could even call it a miracle--- at any rate, it set up several atrocities to crush the young girl’s heart and create a hollow vessel, but it failed. But—this gives birth to a question. There was no need at all for Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun to be the only body the ‘everlasting night stone’ incarnated itself in.”

“………Eh?”

“There are probably a great many beautiful boys and girls in this world who have had a sorrowful upbringing, who excel at a spiritual disposition. The ‘everlasting night stone’ is pure malice boiled down to its essence, and its actions are always shaped by calculated malice, and if it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more. Its behavioral pattern is, if anything, almost refreshing. Despite that, on this occasion, it possessed ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ for eleven long years. Why do you think that is?”

I looked at Yoishi.

I looked at her pale, extremely well proportioned, calm face once more.

“That is because she dared to take the name of 『Yoishi』herself.”

“…………Ah.”

“’Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’. Despite failing to incarnate, the reason it clung to Yoishi was because she christened herself as 『Yoishi』, and stitched it into her own body to prevent it from escaping anywhere.”

Why did Yoishi need to use that name?

When I asked her that just a while ago—Yoishi answered that it was because she was the cause of all this. Because she was a life born from the violation of her mother by a complete stranger, and that was exactly why she was cursed before she was even born.

But…that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is true that it is far safer for everyone to know where the everlasting night stone is than not to know where it is.”

Sako spoke sadly.

“The young girl who willingly became the den for the ‘everlasting night stone’ was under the custody of the state for that very reason. She was implanted with a GPS tracker in her body, and was kept under surveillance twenty four hours a day: not allowed to die, and placed in a condition where she couldn’t have been said to be alive either.”

I recalled the face of that tall Noh-faced man.

Since I first met him, he kept referring to Yoishi as ‘that’— was that what he meant?

Did he only see her as a box of calamity that could not be opened?

“Y…you’ve gotta be kidding me….”

I looked at Yoishi in response to Sako’s words, who was listening with a vacant expression, and I shouted out loud unable to bear it anymore.

“That…that’s, absolutely wrong!”

“It’s not wrong. Everything has fallen into place in a very rational way, and a state of equilibrium has finally been achieved.”

“No… that’s completely wrong….what about her being left in a state of uncertainty where she’s nether dead or alive? Did a bunch of adults who should have known better not think of Yoishi’s feelings at all?”

“And by thinking---what would they achieve?”

At that moment, Yoishi’s whisper reached my ears.

“Could anyone do anything? No, there’s nothing that could be done. That’s why I decided not to feel anything. What I saw, the words I was exposed to, my changing environment — I decided to accept none of it, and just let it wash over me.”

“…That’s…”

I recalled her slender back, she walked alone as if she carried a heavy burden all by herself.

I recalled the way she lived her life, her head hung down with a stooped back, as she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

I recalled the way she stood still in the depths of eternal darkness all by herself, as her eyes coldly gazed at the paranormal of this world.

“At that time, at that age, under those circumstances--”

Sako spoke as he looked at Yoishi, narrowing his narrow eyes even further.

“It was a terrifyingly excellent decision to make. It would have been impossible for me to do the same. How painful must that have been?”

Suddenly, I realized Yoishi was gripping something tightly.

It was the stuffed frog Yoishi treasured as if it were a good luck charm.

Sako too, looked down towards the stuffed animal, and suddenly smiled. Then, for some reason, he looked at me, and this time, put on a smile of a wicked disposition.

“Well, thanks to several accidents—the life of a man who disgracefully ran away has also been rewarded.”

It was the moment he declared that.

--*Snap* *Crack*, I heard the sound of something splitting open here and there in the mansion.

I looked up, and it soon turned into a sound like a sharp, cracking sound of a dead tree snapping off—

And it felt, as if it changed to a high-pitched laugh.

As I thought about the thing I heard just now, and the meaning behind it, I shifted my gaze back at Sako in a daze.

……..Eh?

I saw scarlet at the center of Sako’s pale face. Before I realized, a streak of blood was trickling down Sako’s tall nose. Sako must have also noticed it, as he wiped the nosebleed with a vacant expression. However, the nosebleed that was trickling from Sako’s right nostril had now begun to trickle from his left nostril as well. The gooey blood started trickled down.

“….Hey, Sako….”

No, it wasn’t just through both nostrils. From his ears, his mouth, his eyes….at some point, blood had begun to drip through the holes in his hair follicles to the point where his entire hair was black and wet. Blood gushed from every orifice of his body without stopping, wetting his whole skin.

“Ah….”

Sako’s fingers were trembling and unable to form seals. Ony mere words of delirium were emitted from his lips that were poor in complexion.

“…..H…Hey, Sako………!”

I supported Sako’s body, which was on the verge of collapse. Sako’s body, which was violently shaking and about to fall, felt as light as air. And his white clothes were dyed deep red as if they had been crimson from the start.

“……..H, hey Sako! Stay with me!!”

“….Hu…..”

Those faint words that escaped Sako’s lips reached my ears.

“…….Humans…… can ne…ver…..win…..”

What the hell are you saying….?

I was about to say that, but that grumble did not become my voice.

Sako gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face, as he continued to speak with the utmost effort.

“…They just… do… lose...... Don’t...... even think...of winning….”

Are you complaining now of all times?

His abrupt proclamation of defeat made the pit of my stomach churn.

However, it was not so much that I was disgusted with him – but rather, it a feeling of regret for Sako who had hunted down the ‘everlasting night stone’ to this point. And, at the same time, I didn’t know what the meaning of simply spouting such words here. Did he already assess victory or defeat? Or was there some other meaning behind them?

“Hey, Sako!!”

Without knowing what to do, I foolishly kept screaming at Sako.

“…There’s… no chance you will win …. Who, or what…. Are you going to win against…?”

Sako tried to scratch at midair with no strength in his fingers.

I realized that his fingertips were aimed at Yoishi—

And, the moment I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi coldly fixated at Sako who was lying there covered in blood – Sako coughed a spurt of blood from his mouth, and his strength quietly disappeared in my arms.

“……..There’s no way—right?”

I looked at Sako’s face, who was stock still with his eyes slightly open—

And then, I turned to Yoishi.

“…..Y, Yoishi, do something! What should we do about Sako?”

She silently glimpsed at Sako’s immobile body,

“You can’t incarnate in me by destroying this person.”

Yoishi spun her words towards midair.

“Showing me people dying… doesn’t make me feel anything anymore.”

In response, the mansion creaked once more. *Crrrreeeak*

That strange sound—made Yoishi’s eyes slightly widen.

As if she had realized something, she suddenly turned to look in my direction.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak*

The old mansion was creaking.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaeak**Crrrreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeak*

The timber was chafing together, and it sounded like someone’s sneering laughter.

That’s right--- right now, someone was sneering somewhere.

In a loud shrill laugh, as if everything was going according to plan.

And I-- was merely standing in a daze in a world that was rapidly changing.

No, Sako’s words repeatedly swirled in my head, and I kept thinking about their meaning in a daze.

『The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’.』

『It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice.』

『Its actions are always shaped by calculated malice.』

『If it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more.』

…..Say.

''If''---that’s right, it was a question of ‘if’.

The fact that I met Yoishi Mitsurugi one year ago in that family restaurant.

The fact that I alone coincidentally happened to run into ‘Yoishi’ by accident after the ‘Ikaigabuchi’ offline meeting.

If, that wasn’t an accident….what would happen?

No, what if everything began long before that, the day I lost my mother? What if Yoishi becoming involved in the resolution, and even how Krishna-san linked it by saying, ‘From its start, it never had any malice’, was not an accident….?

Having met Yoishi, and feeling a debt of gratitude towards her—

Didn’t I end up feeling romance for ghosts? I became attracted to the scenery of the world beyond, and began to excitedly venture into the spirt world, and jumped into the flames of darkness with glee, like a moth that knows that it is not a place a living person can deal with, but jumps into the flames and gets burned. And, before I’d realized, that continued to chip away at the thread of my spirit, gradually thinning my connection to this world and leading me straight to hell. Meeting Krishna-san, meeting Sako, and even meeting Takamura--- What if all those encounters were calculated by someone else, and they transformed the unknown realm of the occult into something fascinating one step before I rejected it? And what if it that was something that foolishly made me think that I could, or rather, that I had to save the young girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi?

In the world that was being painted pitch black—I pictured her lonely face.

『Next time, if we meet again-- I’ll become your friend.』

『if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.』

『That person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.』

Eleven years ago, the ‘everlasting night stone’ failed to destroy Yoishi’s heart, Sako said that it had been stitched to Yoishi because she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ herself. But that wasn’t it--- not at all.

Wasn’t the ‘everlasting night stone’ patiently waiting for someone to appear for eleven years?

Could the occult loving university student: Nagito Yamada, possibly be—

An existence created only for the girl whose heart failed to be crushed, to grow in her the heart to ‘Trust people’ once more?

……..A………………

“ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I realized that thundering scream was my own.

Someone who Yoishi trusted.

Someone who Yoishi acknowledged as a ‘friend’.

Then, one after the other, it would sow the seeds that would lead to that someone and Yoishi deepening their connection, and when they mutually acknowledged each other as ‘war comrades’, it would destroy that someone.

Possessing Krishna-san, destroying Sako—was it all to destroy Nagito Yamada into smithereens in front of Yoishi? After she barely escaped being crushed eleven years ago, it planned to crush the faintest hope budding in her heart in the most ruthless way imaginable – and would finally be able to incarnate Yoishi’s body at long last?

A fear pierced through my entire being, as if I faced the thing that killed me in a past life—and I, pissed myself disgracefully.

“……Hey…. scared?”

At that moment—

A familiar voice like a ringing bell reached my ears.

--Everything… is in reverse.

Next to me, the young girl who had lost her emotions sneered.

With long black hair that gently waved, a monster was there with a pale face and dark colored eyes.

The scenery I once saw,

The ghost stories I had once read.

Among them must have been illusions in my mind created by fear.

Before I realized, there was a staircase behind me. On the landing of the staircase was a middle-aged man in a gray, worn suit, staring at me with a hollow expression. Under the bed was a woman with a white face, and a bluish-white hand that sprouted from the dark mud wall. An old woman with clouded white eyes was leaning against my back, and countless white faces floated in the sky. Sinister words scrawled in an old book pointed to a graveyard that spread out all over, while a corpse that stood on the sea was connected to a pair of high heels placed behind a guard rail left by a woman laughing in the mountains. A broken doll turns into a wriggling thing at the water’s edge, the wheelchair of an abandoned hospital squeaks and squeals as it swirls and disappears into the sky, and the shiny thing in the tornado is an alien vehicle.

You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well neither do I. I was merely describing what I saw with my eyes, as my brain felt it. Aa—Ahh, that’s right. My mind must have been on the verge of breaking down. My head must have exceeded its allowed tolerance of fear. Up until now, Krishna-san solved most things for me. More dangerous things were somehow managed by Sako. And Yoishi vaguely dealt with things I didn’t quite understand. But, those were all events on a rail laid by an ancient entity acting through malice, and I was, according to expectation, according to plan, completely afraid, and with my collapse, Yoishi too would collapse, auspiciously allowing Yoishi to transform into the ‘everlasting night stone’. The cackling and sneering black haired young girl next to me was that.

Which meant that, everything was already---

Over---

--When.

….No.

….Wait a minute…..

If Yoishi was already broken, and ended up turning into the ‘everlasting night stone’….then... What of me who was thinking right now? Did being broken mean only this much? Were these the last few normal thoughts that remined in my illogical self-consciousness? I didn’t know, but what were these thoughts that I was still thinking and feeling anyway?

Those vague doubts—

Changed the scenery in an instant.

They continued to clear away the darkness, and slowly returned my vision back to the original world.

I was still standing still in the storage room, and in front of me was Krishna-san who lay collapsed, and a bloodstained Sako. And next to me was Yoishi, dumbfounded, her empty gaze wandering at midair. There was no sign of the ‘everlasting night stone’ anywhere in the dim, dark and cramped room.

“…..Yoishi.”

I reached out my wobbly hand, gripped her hand, and spoke.

“….C, can you walk?”

Yoishi looked at me in a daze, and shook her head thereafter.

“….Come on, just walk. Let’s get out of here… let’s go outside, and call for help. If we call for an ambulance, Sako might still be--”

“—It’s impossible.”

Yoishi spoke with an expression that was clear, and heartrendingly painful.

At that moment, I noticed it.

Next to Yoishi, a white haze hung over.

There were four mists there, as if they enveloped Yoishi. And in my retinas, they gradually formed some kind of shape—and stood silently as if encompassing Yoishi. I quickly understood that it was people for some reason. And, I had an intuition that I knew these people. It felt as if I had once, somewhere, watched over them as if they were my real family…but, ahh, I knew it, I’ve started to collapse again. I realized that fact somewhere in my consciousness, but I still couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That was because—

I could now see a gentlemanly gray-haired man next to Yoishi. Next to him, I saw was a cheerful woman, a tomboyish girl with a smile on her face, and a cute brown dog at her feet. As they gradually took form, my vision gradually blurred. And those words spontaneously came from my mouth.

--I’m sorry……

I felt an overwhelming regret and fell to my knees on the spot. If I had only—if I had only been a little bit smarter. If I could have done something a little better. The feeling of cursing myself for my helplessness continued to well up inside me. I wiped away the tears that overflowed, and raised my head—

“……………”

I saw what looked like a straw rope fastened around the man’s neck. Looking closely at the mother, I saw that her body was dismembered. The girl had a knife still stuck at the base of her throat, and the small dog’s stomach was split open, its entrails fallen out. Yet despite that, the four hazy figures that had taken form remained standing, as if they enveloped Yoishi.

…..Are…. they ghosts?

At last, was I-- seeing the ghosts I had once longed to see so much?

And I realized what an unbelievably sad thing they were. Ghosts were in no way a thing to be feared. They were not something terrifying. They were completely and utterly heartbreaking things. Unable to be seen, unable to speak, they are just there. And, just seeing Yoishi Mitsurugi at ease surrounded by those ghosts evoked a pain that was enough to split my heart into two.

As the tears flowed without end from my eyes--my right elbow suddenly tinged in pain. And that ache seemed to ache in and out as it grew more painful. It became an unbearable pain, and I finally realized that it was a furious rebuke. It felt as if I heard Karasu-san’s voice right by my ear.

“….Don’t….give up yet… Think…”

I wiped away my tears, and at the same time I gritted my teeth, frantically encouraged my brain.

In the boundary between reality and fiction, between this world and the world beyond, I still mobilized my full consciousness to think.

The reason I came here…The meaning of why Sako made me come here.

Wasn’t I yet to find out why that was?

Think, think. Think until your mind is scorched, me. Sako said, 『‘Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’』, and Krishna-san had said, 『To wear the W in witch, would ultimately mean to forget who you are』. Which meant that regaining one’s original name was supposed to erase the worn ‘W’—no, was it the other way around….? That’s right….When she christened herself as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ and bound the ‘everlasting night stone’, wasn’t she herself was bound at the same time?

Didn’t she end up defined as a dweller of this world and the world beyond?

“So that means I need to find her real name after all--”

In my cloudy consciousness, I told Yoishi, “Stay there”, and ran out.

I mustered all my remaining strength, ran through the corridor, and jumped into the living room.

It was possible—that Yoishi’s true name was written down on something in this mansion.

I went to the kitchen and turned over the cups. For example, I thought that there would be cups for each of the family members, and a young Yoishi would have her name inscribed on that—but there was nothing there. ‘All that remains is’, I turned to face the hearth. On top of it was the polaroid photograph taken of the family. It was creepy that the other family members who died had their faces warped white somehow, but I slowly drew close to that photograph.

In old family photographs, there would be stuff like dates and names of the people in the photo written on the back. That was how it was for my family. So maybe this one was the same. That must have been the reason why Sako made me come all the way here. I’m sure Yoishi’s true name is there. It had to be. I would find that, and tell it to her; She, who ended up losing her place in the boundary between this world and the world beyond. I would declare to her with all my strength that she was a dweller of this world.

I placed my hand on the photograph, suppressing my throbbing heartbeat and rushing emotions.

But, as I was about to slowly lift it up—

I suddenly felt weak.

What if it wasn’t here…..? No, no, it had to be here.

After all, if it wasn’t here… then there would be nowhere else to search in this mansion. Believe it….it, must be there.

I took a deep breath.

And the moment I flipped over the photograph.

--*Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek*… The mansion rang.

The sneering laughter of a manly voice coldly pierced me, and flooded inside me.

Reflected in my eyes, there was nothing in the back of the photograph.

I couldn’t even see a stain in the blank space that had turned yellow—

And the world dyed in darkness in an instant.

◯

Dark.

Darkness.

A dark world—no matter where you looked.

How much darkness did this world have, and how many colors of ‘black’ did it have…?

It felt as if I had seen a lot of ‘black’ in this one year.

Enough ‘black’ to stop my thoughts.

Enough ‘black’ that seemed to suck me in forever.

And, enough ‘black’ that seemingly melted my body and thoughts in it.

But the ‘black’ that now spread before my eyes was different from all of them.

To put it ostentatiously, the ‘black’ that was the primordial of this world, where nothing else existed yet—that might have been how it felt. But, there was a strange calmness and tranquility. A boundless ‘black’, as if I was in space, in what must have once had countless planets. It truly made me feel at ease. I didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to think about anything anymore—

「Did you have fun?」

Suddenly, I heard a low voice from somewhere. I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t fun at all, I answered.

「Isn’t hiding behind people, and tricking them so much fun?」

I was asked that once again, and I answered that it was just you.

But the truth is—from somewhere in my heart, I ended up thinking that it might have been a bit fun. If you were to trick someone with ease, if you were to continue tricking them for the rest of my life, then that might have indeed been a bit necessary. For example, say there was someone not really blessed with singing skills, yet they can’t help but sing because they love it, and you’d tell them for the fun of it, “You’re really talented”. They would be so happy and delighted, innocently believe those words and keep on singing. People would laugh behind their back, but that person would still willingly believe it, and continue to willingly sing. They would willingly mistake people’s laughter as being happy at their singing. But here’s what I think. Is a song that continues to be willingly sung for the sake of others, even if it lacks talent, truly worthless? Does the pure feeling of love not reside in the song? Certainly, the first words may have been malicious. However, that which began as malice might be overturned by pure feelings, and might one day become the real thing?

「Then, let’s play a trick.」

The low voice spoke once more.

‘In this world, there are only those who dance and those who make others dance to their tune, and if one were to play the part of those who play the tune—if they were to learn the joy of playing the flute, then there would be no going back’, the voice spoke.

‘Ah, I see. That may be true’, I thought.

But, I---

I knew the joy of dancing, after all. I was always on the dancing side in the festivals in my hometown. I would empty my heart and match my movements with the people around me. The pleasure of synchronizing with others made me want to raise my voice in joy. When our eyes met, we would laugh at each other, and before I realized, I would be thankful for the friends I had. Under this vast, endless night sky, I would be thankful I had friends who laughed at the same things, and who were saddened at the same things. To trick such friends would surely pain my heart. I don’t think I would want to be on the side of those who play tricks, even if I were the one who was tricked.

‘Then I ask you’, the voice asked.

Do you think parents would happily give birth to a child, if they knew in advance that the child would be born handicapped? If they found out that the child was handicapped after birth, would the parents be able to love that child normally?

That was…

That was a difficult question.

Antitrypsin deficiency—I was born with that kind of body, and suffered from infantile asthma, and ended up causing a lot of trouble and worry to my parents and the people around me. Why was I alone born with such a body? When I was a child, I often wondered when I used to cry all by myself in the corner of the room. Knowing that pain, if I were asked whether I would give birth to a handicapped child… I think I would indeed hesitate to death.

In response, ‘Right?’, the voice said.

In times like that, to be completely tricked would be merciful. To abort the child, or to be told that it’s a lovely child even with the handicap. People do not act until there is a reward in front of them. They can’t even move their feet forward unless they have a feeling that there is something fun ahead. It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right? Or they’re narcissists who love themselves for trying.

Is that so….?

Was my mother like that as well….?

‘Obviously’, answers the voice.

「They really love themselves for trying. They are drunk on it. If that wasn’t the case, could she have taken care of your labored breathing be it mealtime or the middle of the night?」

….Is that so….? No…. That might have been the case.

‘Hey, tell me’, the voice said. ‘How many lives do you think are abandoned each year by those who are not ready to be parents? How many reported cases of parents killing their own children? A parent is nothing more than a title, a temporary designation. Everyone is just an animal that thinks first and foremost of their own happiness. Why should I have to raise a child I do not love? Why do I have to raise them even as they chip away against my time, my soul? Is it social responsibility? What you would call moral responsibility? Say, just what is society? Isn’t something like that nothing more than a system to reduce quarrels as much as possible? No matter how, and no matter how many lids you put on it, problems will always continue to happen. That is your history, problems happen by default. To accept that and to live, what is wrong with that? If that’s the case—wouldn’t it be smarter to be on the side that causes the problems?’

I…could understand that.

Human history is filled with problems, and even after all this time, the problems have only increased.

I know that there were as many definitions of parenthood as there were parents. And I know that there are broken parents in this world who have never even thought of the concept of parenthood. But—despite that, there is still one act that every parent definitely does for their child. That is: to give them a name filled with all their hopes and wishes, right? Isn’t that—why names are so precious?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha! The voice suddenly burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know. How many parents do you think are out there who give their children names that inspire neither hopes nor dreams? How many names do you think there are that have nothing but the malice of their parents? Hey, can you really turn a blind eye to that? You might say that it would be fine if you change your name once you become an adult? No, It’s useless. No matter how much you try to forget the name you’ve been christened with once, it will definitely be bound to you in some shape or form for the rest of your life. That is the curse of a name. You heard it too, didn’t you? She was cursed before she was born. A life born by the violation of her mother by brats abroad! She was never wanted, not in the least! Once born, the event they'd rather have forgotten takes a form that haunts them for the rest of their lives. There’s no way she would ever be wanted!’

I was-- at a loss of words in the end, with no rebuttal.

In this mansion….I thought I would try to learn her true name. I thought that if she were to at least reclaim her rightful name, the ‘W’ that coiled around her would be exorcised. But right now, to be honest….I was afraid. I was afraid to discover her true name.

If, by some chance, there was no feeling of hopes or dreams in it, and was instead a thing filled with malice, then what? What if her endless pain and torment continued the moment she took back her true name? There have been so many things done with good intentions that push people into distress. How could I say that I wasn’t making the same mistake right now? Moreover, Sako had said that she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ to bind the ‘everlasting night stone’, but….what if that wasn’t the case, and she instead took it because she actually detested her true name?

Thereupon…a thought suddenly came to mind.

Couldn’t she stay as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ as she had up until now?

That would mean she would still have that callous, Noh-faced father as a guardian in name only, not have a place at home where she belonged, would keep going around haunted places where her eyes would glow, would throw up at times, and would complicate complicated matters even further, but—even so, that wasn’t the worst outcome, right? I would be there, and Krishna-san too, as well as everybody in ‘Ikaigabuchi’. If she at least opened her heart properly, she could lead a fun occult life. There would be no need to remind her that she was born cursed and undesired—

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

Could it be, the thing Sako spoke of, 『You will be compelled to make a choice』…

And, the thing Takako Takamura spoke of, 『You’ll be forced to make the final choice』, it was—

About this…?

If she were to regain her true name, she would arrive in this world while still having the scent of the world beyond.

If she were to remain as Yoishi Mitsurugi, she would live in the world beyond while remaining in this world.

…What…should I do?

The world continued to grow darker. The darkness continued to silently spread out.

As if the ground beneath my feet were filled by dark colored water, I eventually came to believe that there was only one answer.

「I want… to stay with her like this forever.」

「I want to be together with Yoishi Mitsurugi.」

Right, I was about to say it out loud.

When the wound on my right elbow, throbbed with pain once more.

The pain kept repeating like a drum being beaten and became a rhythm as it throbbed and throbbed.

Definite sounds that formed words. They became a rhythm, and made me remember what Karasu-san had once said.

---Yes, deep breaths.

When I came to… I saw that Karasu-san was there, with that nostalgic smile of hers.

Her lustrous black hair dangled down to her cheeks, and she was leaning close to me crouched down, as if she were peering inside me.

--Take a dee—ep breath in, then hold. Yes, slowly let it out--- Repeat that three times.

My vision blurred with tears at those cheerful words that were out of place.

And, before long, I repeated my breathing as I was told. I breathed, and exhaled. I exhaled as much as I could, and inhaled as much as I could.

『You'd better remember.』

『Your fear most likely comes from forgetting to breathe.』

『If the fear inside you intensifies, then like now, make sure you're breathing properly.』

『No matter what kind of paranormal lies ahead of you, you’ll definitely make it through somehow.』

‘But’, I spoke. Despite that, I still don’t know if I’m supposed to find Yoishi’s true name. I end up thinking that it’s better not to find it.

—Eh? I think you already have the answer to that.

I was surprised I was somehow able to carry on a conversation with Karasu-san from my memories—

However, as if clinging to that, I added a question, “What do you mean?”

--After all, the two of us… in the world we peeked at in those hellish days. Didn’t you decide that you would bring that back with you? After having gone through so much, being unable to do anything but witness the cruel destruction of a family, there was still something you desperately brought back with you, right?

Brought back……? I did? What……?

--It should be firmly engraved on you, Nagi-kun.

--It should be engraved on your soul.

Despite that, I still didn’t know, and was in dismay, when….

Exasperated, Karasu-san’s voice echoed kindly for one last time.

---Then, I’ll do it one last time.

--''*Throb*''

My right elbow ached once more.

--*Throb*, *throb*, *throb*…. That throbbing continued to grow stronger.

It was as if— my adult-self was tired of searching, and my child-self pointed it out to me with a smile, and the warmth and stimulation grew.

“…Ah….ahhhhh.”

In an instant, I was struck by lightning together and a terrible sound rang inside me, with the light running through me.

Goosebumps ran through every cell in my body, an unspecialized base sequence in the genome that was called junk, awoke. As if guided by something, it synthesized in succession, and began to build that hidden meaning.

The hanging mansion that manifested in my vision.

The old and grubby living room. The dusty counter.

As I regained reality with my right eye, a different timeline of the same place was synchronized as white hazy scenery in my left eye.

Appearing hazily—as if gliding in midair, that scenery continued to flow through me.

Before I realized, I was running.

--It can’t be….it can’t be.

I ran to the front door with enough force that I almost fell down, and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that was there.

I rolled up my shirt, uncovered my right elbow, and—saw it through the mirror.

What I thought was an ugly scar that did not heal for a long time, was not a scar at all.

I thought it had ended up becoming a bruise, but it was not a bruise.

『Miko Hanamura』

The bruise that was inverted in the mirror—

Had been engraved on my skin, in letters.

In an instant, the scenery I had once seen somewhere with my left eye transformed into a torrent and rushed into my brain. The amount of information was so vast and extreme that it could not be processed by my brain specifications— it flowed past me from one scene to the next, with no time to recognize it. Even so, I was still able to burn several scenes in my mind. Among the endless flashes, a fatherly figure laughed as he held a baby in his arms. A motherly figure cried as she embraced a toddler. A tomboyish young girl who looked like a middle schooler laughed as she pulled the hand of a girl with black hair and fair skin. The baby, the toddler, the fair skinned young girl—I recognized all of them as 『Miko Hanamura』. Without a doubt, at every moment, 『Miko Hanamura』 was loved.

“…………….Ah.”

Before I realized, I was in the hanging mansion, but something was different.

It was not a dusty, cobwebbed ruin. It was a clean, brand new mountain retreat with the light of the sunlight shining in.

Feeling dazzled, I continued to the living room in a daze. I heard lots of laughter coming from the nearby garden. I opened the sash and stepped out to the garden—to see a family so happy they were clad in light. In front of the barbecue was a gentle looking man, a bright woman and a cheery young girl….and, Miko Hanamura who was a child. Miko had a kind, delighted smile on her face.

“—Miko.”

I called her name.

“You…were called Miko Hanamura?”

In response, the beautiful black haired young girl with fair skin looked in my direction. It felt like we met eye to eye after a long time, after a truly long time. I was so overjoyed, so relieved, that tears gradually swelled up and began to spill.

“Miko, let’s go back.”

I reached out my hand to her, and the young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She slowly took one look back, looked back at me and shook her head.

“Miko, listen to me. This place—it’s not here anymore. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

But, a young girl drew close next to Miko, and gripped her hand. For some reason, I knew that girl’s name was ‘Kii-chan’. She looked at me with a fierce expression, as if to say she wouldn’t let her precious best friend go anywhere.

Behind them, the father was smiling. The mother gently put her hand on Miko’s shoulder. The elder sister took one step ahead with her eyebrows raised as if to protect her younger sister from me. The dog at Miko’s feet growled at me.

Looking at that—

A gentle whisper escaped my lips, ‘I see.’

And, as I was tossed around mercilessly by the warm feelings that swept over, I declared.

“….I’m glad….You were really…loved after all.”

“…Yeah.”

“Miko—that’s a really nice name.”

The tears continued to spill.

“If I remember correctly... the word『Mi彌』 means the『light that shines universally』 in Buddhism.”

“…Is, that right?”

“Yeah. I know someone who knows a lot about that stuff, so there’s no doubt about it. That’s why…that’s why.”

My voice trembled with tears, but I desperately managed to squeeze it out.

“I’m sure that the person who gave you that name wished to maintain a relationship with you forever. Regardless of how you were born, they wished that connection would last for all of eternity.”

“…..Yeah.”

“…So, listen up.”

I wiped away the tears, and raised my voice as best as I could.

“You are in no way cursed. You’re not abhorred by anyone. Being cursed—is just being lost on the inside. So… let’s go back. This place is no longer here.”

“….But.”

Miko smiled once at Kii-chan, before letting go of her hand and took a step towards me, and spoke.

“I feel comfortable here; I think it’s the place I belong. Papa, mama, onee-chan, Kii-chan, Leo—and even Mr. Inspector is here.”

Hearing that, I looked towards the back, to see a somewhat nostalgic man with gray hair and a smile on his face.

Her father, mother, older sister, best friend and pet dog—everyone was smiling, and stood behind Miko as if protecting her. Then, I heard a click behind me. I turned around to see Sako in a gray, dull, worn-out suit, taking a picture with an old polaroid camera. He then took out the photo, and handed me the photograph that was exposed to the light.

The photograph must have been the original photograph placed atop the hearth in the real ‘hanging mansion’ earlier. However, the faces of the family had no longer disappeared. The faces that had been stretched and twisted in white in midair were now beautifully cropped, with the smiling faces in front of me.

“……..I see.”

I muttered once more.

It felt as if I had been listening to someone’s sneering laughter echo all this time—

I had even realized that it belonged to the ‘everlasting night stone’, but I thought there was nothing I could do.

I understood that Miko would be swallowed by the world beyond if this continued. But, there was nothing someone like me could do. To tear away Miko away from this warm world, was something—I couldn’t do.

And that's when it happened.

I noticed something emerging in the photograph.

The polaroid photograph still hadn’t been fully sensitized. Her father, mother, elder sister and Miko were smiling kindly, and the dog at their feet looked happy as well. But—there was something else there. On Miko’s left end, a white haze emerged, which should not have been in the picture. As if to embrace a young Miko, that white haze gradually continued exposing---and eventually, took on an impossible form.

….Ahh.

At that moment, I realized the true reason why I came here.

I realized the meaning of the vast swirl of information that came surging into my head.

I realized why Sako had called me to this mansion—and why he handed me this photograph just now.

In the picture that transcended generations—

Nagito Yamada stood there, as if protecting Miko Hanamura.

The figure that decided to stand by her side no matter what cruel reality he had to face, was as if looking in the mirror at a different me. For the first time, I felt pride at myself—it made me feel a sublime will. The answer to the question posed to me earlier in the darkness welled up in my chest as I saw my own face. An answer to the voice that said, ‘It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right?’ I lost sight of myself since I was asked that question, but--

No, there is one more impetus that drives people forward.

There was something else in this world that wasn’t just greed, reward, or narcissism.

“—I got it, Miko.”

The meaning of the scenery that swirled round and round my head, continued to dissolve. The me of eleven years ago and the me of the present dissolved and merged. I was thankful for that fate and spoke the answer that I extracted from my soul, without any doubts.

“Then, I’ll stay here as well.”

Miko looked at me again with a start.

“I will never leave you to die again. I won’t stand by and let you go through something like that again.”

“………”

“Why, you ask? Because you were the first person to call me a friend. Even when I was adrift in the sea of endless despair with nowhere to go, you gave me a place to stay.”

“………A.”

“Although my email got garbled midway through.”

“………A…aaaa…..”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely protect you.”

“Yes, I was Mr. Frog back then.”

The moment I declared those words.

The sky roared, and split apart.

Somewhere, it felt as if I heard an ear-splitting scream.

At the same time, a series of low rumbling sounds reverberated deep beneath my feet, and eventually turned into subterranean rumbling that overlapped with the beating of my heart. My teeth were rattling so hard I couldn’t breathe. And I understood that I had broken a rule established by a great, great being in a far higher dimension. This might be the end for me as well—but I was prepared for that.

Why was it….? Ah, dammit, I had tried to show off and ended up saying that, but as usual my teeth were clattering, and my legs were trembling on the verge of collapse. After all this time, I realized that I was the guy with the stinky pants who had pissed himself earlier. And, the place I stood was the ruins of a mountain retreat that was now called the hanging mansion—I was in front of the hearth, and I found that the one in front of me was the Yoishi Mitsurugi of the present---no, I knew she was Miko Hanamura.

The high school girl with porcelain-white skin, long black hair swaying in the air, and dressed in the funeral-like uniform of the Koumei Institute, was merely trembling.

In her vacant eyes, countless paranormal events were now swirling around. The hundreds, the thousands of paranormal events she had experienced in the past --- no, if you were to include the ones she had read on the internet or in books then it would be in the tens of thousands. Therein, was the horror she should have truly felt. Those emotions she had become numb to, which had been stored somewhere in her brain, were all surging into Miko’s small forehead all at once.

“…This…is the feeling of fear…..”

The irises of her eyes shook, welled up, and a trickle of tears spilled down.

“It’s disturbing… not knowing…. not being able to explain….it’s just…just….disturbing….”

I nodded.

“….I’m alive….I…am alive….”

Miko covered her face with both hands. At that moment, something she must have held back for a long, long, eternity, finally broke free.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, all her emotions broke free, and she cried out. Her voice was like that of a newborn, defenseless baby. I held her slender body close to me, as if to protect the pure soul that had just been born into this cruel world. I hugged her tightly, as if to show that to the pure malice that I could not see, which might have still been nearby. [[File:Phenomeno-vol6-3.jpg|thumb]]

“….I’m alive….I am… alive….”

“….Yes. You are truly alive. And you should keep on living step by step. Live as long as you can for the ones who have gone before you—”

And after that you can die in peace—I was about to say that.

“……..I’m scared.”

Miko whispered in my chest.

“I’m scared to go on living…the countless paranormal things are scary as well…the voice in the wall, the smiling dolls, shadows in the reflection, the person with only legs, the man in the gutter, the will -o’-the-wisp, the box in the storehouse, people disappearing in the sky—in this---in such a scary world….how did you live this far….how should I live…?”

“Hahaha.”

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like I could finally talk with her about the real paranormal things. It felt like I could teach her that while some ghost stories circulating this world were really dangerous, they were also full of romance and mysterious charm.

When—at that moment.

I thought the ground still felt like it was shaking because I was a coward, or because I was embracing a high school girl, but…. I realized that it was neither of those things.

“H….heyy, Yoi….no, Miko!”

I yelled seeing the creaking wall swell up and down.

“It’s an earthquake! Shit, it’s a big one.”

The building slowly swayed from side to side, and eventually began to rattle and shake little by little.

“Run away, Miko! This run-down building is dangerous. I’ll get Krishna-san.”

After saying that, I pushed Miko, whose face was still soggy in tears, toward the direction of the front door, and then staggered and swayed as I ran down the corridor. At the back of the corridor, the storage room floor was covered entirely with Sako’s blood. I bowed my head once to Sako who had already passed away, “I’m sorry”, and lifted Krishna-san’s body, who lay collapsed and unconscious, and carried her on my shoulder. I then furiously rushed toward the front door. The shaking quickly grew even more violent, and I staggered and hit the wall, but still clenched my teeth as I broke through the front door and jumped outside. I slowly laid Krishna-san a little further away from the building, and gasped.

There was no one in my surroundings.

Miko, who should have left the building before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey…Miko!”

I called out at the top of my voice, but there was no reply.

The shaking grew even more ferocious, and I understood that the building would completely flatten. I clicked my tongue once, left Krishna-san there and jumped back inside the building. “Miko!” As I yelled, I looked around and saw that she was in a daze in the living room.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get out of here!”

The moment I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, I realized that Miko was staring at that photograph in front of the hearth.

“The first picture… the two of us took together.”

“Well, that’s true but.”

“But…you were a ghost.”

“Shut it, let’s go, if you wanna take that photo then hurry up and do it!”

I called out to Miko who had been standing motionless in front of the photograph for who knows how long, when it happened.

A terrible *creeeeeak* rang out, and the building bent. It felt as if a giant hand grasped the building from the outside, and at the same time— a sound like a low male voice reverberated throughout the building.

--*Gigigigigigigigigigigigigi*

It was as if it were a sneering voice—as if it were a wailing voice.

Together with that detestable sound, the beams of the ceiling twisted to an absurd degree. Dust was rising and falling down like rain. There were five of them— they felt like giant fingers of something. From the depths of darkness—a malice-stained, corrupted hand reached out from the depths of this world called hell.

Give her back.

It reached straight for Miko—

“Don’t fucking mess with me.”

I howled.

“I will never let go again. She is a fragment of my soul. And, my--”

I yelled a scream that would not lose to the thunderous roar of the collapsing beams.

“My precious wife!”

In an instant—

My vision muddled white, and a sharp stinging pain ran down my shoulders. It was as if, I knew the building would collapse all at once, like in the Fafrotskies phenomenon. I instantly covered Miko’s body to protect her from the falling debris of the building. One after another, building material fell on my back, biting into my skin, and crushing my bones. In the midst of the sound that split my ears— it seemed to me as if I had been caught in the hand of the ‘everlasting night stone’.

“L-let go.”

The world continued to darken.

The faint hope was fading away.

The moment I screamed in the midst of overwhelming despair that filled my heart.

''“Ayana Takamura.”''

Under my arms, Miko Hanamura roared her last lines as “Yoishi Mitsurugi”.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

At that moment, somewhere far above in the sky, something opened its eyes.

“I’ll give you the best thing you wished for.”

“’Yoishi’ called out to those eyes.

“So-- don’t ever come close to this person, ever again.”

《OK》

That must have been the last illusion I saw in my fading consciousness.

Ayana Takamura’s giant head that appeared from the void—

--*Crunch*, it ate something.

And in the world that had grown dark once more, those clear, boyish words echoed through the air.

“The fear held by the root of fear or something ---it was truly a delicious meal.”

◯

In the silent, pitch-black rubble—

After finishing the long, endless story, she might have finally remembered everything.

Yoishi Mitsurugi, or rather, Miko Hanamura muttered, “…..Right….yeah…that’s right….”

“Did you remember?”

I managed to reply with that somehow as I put up with the pain in my immobile body.

But I felt somewhat embarrassed, even though I only talked about what happened just a while ago, about what might have been the biggest occultic thing to happen in my life, I ended up talking about it all the way to when I declared her my ‘wife’. For a while, we were both silent in the darkness.

“…You, really.”

“…….Hm?”

I thought she might have been embarrassed in her own way—

“….are a fool.”

She said so in his usual tone,

“S, shut up, jerk.”

I retorted in an instant, but I felt embarrassed once more, and was unable to say anything after that.

Darkness and silence fell once more, and I noticed that the pain was slowly getting worse. I slowly wiped the sweat off my forehead while trying to hide it from Miko, and clenched my teeth to endure the pain.

Thereupon, Miko muttered something to me.

“Back then—”

“…..Eh?”

“I understood how ghosts felt. When you were delirious in the hospital room, when you had your cognition of me sealed away.”

“….A, ahh.”

“To exist there and to not be recognized—it’s an unbelievable darkness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“….It was so dark. Pitch black darkness so awful… that it might be the most terrible darkness there is.”

“…I said I’m sorry.”

“……But.”

“……….”

“But if you hadn’t protected been in that way—you would have fallen apart. And perhaps my heart wouldn't have lasted either. In that sense…it might be something to be thankful for.”

“……….”

It was thanks to Krishna-san, and Sako. Come to think of it, Sako was…crushed underneath, huh? What about Krishna-san? I placed her a little further away from the building, but was she alright? As I thought such things, it suddenly felt like my head became misty white. I was still lying down, but I felt terribly dizzy as if had lost my sense of equilibrium.

--Damn, could this be….dehydration? Or an infection from the wounds in my legs, back or head. Dammit, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. In times like these, the worst thing to do would be to lose hope.

I thought that, but the only one who knew we were here was Sako, and unless Krishna-san, who was lying outside, didn’t regain consciousness safely and instantly grasp hold of the situation and call for help, then there was no hope for us. This was terrible. We finally managed to get rid of the ridiculously dangerous monster that scattered malice for so long, but our chances of survival were infinitesimally small.

“H-hey, Miko, try to smile.”

Impatient, I made that absurd request towards the other side of the darkness. And what came back to me in reply was a voice with a deep-seated reluctance, “Ehh?”

“Come on, I’m begging you.”

“Even if I were to smile in a place like this, you can't see it.”

“Well, that’s true, but—no, just try it! Smile for me. I’m scared. I'm so pathetic I can't help it, but I'm scared. If I were to be cheered up somehow…right, if I don’t see your smile, then I’m going to lose heart. Look, listen up. A smile is more precious than anything else in this world. Nothing bad happens to a person who is smiling happily. A nice smile is a present that will make everyone happy. So, please. My hopes are fading, so give me the best smile you can as a present! I’m begging you!”

In response, Miko kept silent for a while and spoke.

“………..Ah…..so that’s how it was….”

“……Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the same for ‘Gandame’.”

“…Ga, Gandame…?”

“’Gandame’ and ‘Yousen-boy’… they might have been trying to deliver us hope. Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.”

My impassioned speech took a strange turn, and I was about to give up.

“…..I’ll try to….smile.”

Suddenly, Miko agreed.

“…I don’t know if you’ll be happy though.”

“Ohh, really?”

“……….”

“…..Hey, did you smile already?”

“………”

“…Is it alright…if I can feel it?”

In my vague consciousness, I bumped my trembling hand against the wood here and there—and slowly reached out my hand. I reached out my arm in the direction of the voice, towards Miko’s cheeks. My fingertips touched something soft—

It happened at that moment.

Heeeeeeeey, I heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

For a moment, it was a voice so faint I thought it might have been an auditory hallucination—but, I definitely felt like I heard it.

I strained my ears,

“……Heyyyyyyyy, is anyone alive?!”

It was the voice of a man I didn’t recognize. And it was followed by the voice of a different man, “Make a voice, or even a sound! If you can make it, then do it!” I desperately twisted my head to face up, and I saw a flicker of light in between the gaps of the timber somewhere.

Ohh, my hopes skyrocketed in an instant.

“….Over here! We’re over here! We’re alive! We’re alive!!”

I desperately raised my voice, and instantly a huge amount of dust invaded my throat, and I coughed violently.

But, there were shouts of joy right near me, “Oooohh!”, “This way!”, it felt as if the sound of several footsteps drew closer.

In my fading consciousness—the roof and lumber were being moved aside one by one. The air suddenly began to move, and thick oxygen brushed against my nostrils. The light began to pour down on me, which must have been the flashlights of the rescue team. As I was illuminated by that light—I saw it. Just fifty centimeters or so away from me, I saw a face so beautiful and lovely that she felt out of this world.

Miko Hanamura was looking kindly at me with clear eyes that had lost their dark color.

“…Miko.”

The moment I spoke her name in embarrassment, the last piece of timber imprisoning us was removed. The rescue team clad in orange lifted it up with their thick arms.

“Are you alright? Are you conscious? Your wounds?”

I was asked in rapid succession, but I guess he knew right away.

“Lacerations on the left leg! This is terrible---Ah, large abrasions on the back and the arms …get a stretcher right away!”

--Hey, hey, don’t scare me now.

I mean, I'm going to cause my sister and the others to worry again, as I thought that, I spotted the adorable baby face beyond the rescue team. Her hair was a little disheveled, but the petite former occult site manager was looking my way with tears filled in her eyes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Foolish thought it might have been, that was all the greeting I could muster.

I then turned to look at Miko who was right below me. I was about to smile at her, to tell her that we had been saved, but-

Thereupon, I realized that Miko was slightly out of position from where I was. In her right hand, she clutched the stuffed frog as if to protect it, and in her left hand, she clutched that polaroid photograph. It seemed she had almost let go of them when the ceiling collapsed, but desperately shifted her body to take them back. No, I understood that much, but.

“…Hey, Miko, what is that?”

I asked, suddenly noticing a strange foreign object.

I stared at that strange object, and vaguely thought about its meaning.

It was—the sharp, pointed fragment of a broken pillar.

And, right now, it was growing like an object from Miko Hanamura’s chest.

“Hey…Miko….”

I asked her once more, when the rescue team pulled me out in a hurry, and shifted their attention to Miko.

“Wai…”

Wait a minute. Let me see her.

I wanted to say that, but my body ached all over, and no voice came out.

“CPR!! Hurry!!”

I heard that voice. Three members of the rescue party moved the timber, opened the hole even wider and pulled out Miko’s body. They then placed her in the stretcher meant for me, carried her to a level ground a short distance away, where the paramedics there began to perform CPR on her.

“It’s no good, Get the AED!”

Someone shouted that out loud, but an older paramedic stopped them.

With a somber look on his face, he gently shook his head and spoke.

“She—has already passed away.”

“…It must have been an instant death. Judging from the liver mortis that’s already set in, the time of death must have been around twenty-four hours ago….”

“….Inst….Twenty four hours….?”

I finally managed to let out a cry, and dragged my aching leg as I got up.

I dragged myself, and crawled towards Miko.

“Hey, there’s no need for that… doing something foolish like that….”

The rescue team were looking at me. The rescue team in orange rushed up to me. They didn’t know if they should help me, or stop me from walking, but I pushed back against them one after another, and reached Miko.

“What are you guys saying…. We were talking until just now. The two of us were trying our best not to lose against this darkness… We’ve been talking for the whole day, trying not to lose consciousness. Right?”

Before I’d realized, I was clutching the collar of the elder paramedic, when someone stopped me from behind.

“...Hey, I’m begging you, please…. Hurry up and help her! With that…with that machine right there! If you use that, then she’ll surely regain consciousness, right? She’ll be saved, right? If you can’t do it, then take her to a hospital right away! Hurry up, hey!!”

“Stop it, Nagi-kun!”

I turned around hearing that scream, to see that the tearful voice belonged to Krishna-san—

I realized that it was her who was desperately clinging to me to try and stop me.

“Ah…Krishna-san…After all, it’s strange, right? She…Miko was…until just now, telling me I was a fool, and she listened to me asking her to smile--”

I was about to say that.

I realized it for the first time.

Yoishi Mitsurugi—no, Miko Hanamura’s face, was curved in a faint smile.

To me, it was as if she desperately tried to remember and recreate the smile she had almost forgotten—

I screamed a voiceless scream, as I embraced her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 15

2025-08-20T20:36:39Z

Pakkit:

==Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two==

'''Everything in this world is like a ghost story. It is full of stories with no known sources or anything. Looking at an incident from the other side shows a different aspect. Each person involved has their own story. And yet we condemn them only from a certain point of view.

'''It’s foolish to do so, but I dare ask—'''

'''Are you gods?'''
'''

That happened three days ago.

I ran into Takako Takamura in front of the main university gate, and she handed me a piece of paper with those incomprehensible words written on it. “What the hell is this?” I asked her, and she cocked her head in reply, “Who knows?”

Incidentally, this girl named Takako Takamura, who stood with her hair was dancing in the wind and her tall body leaning to one side, was the half-sister of ‘Ayana Takamura’, a Koumei institute student who had mysteriously disappeared several years prior.

A super-extreme denpa(net slang referring to those who repeat occult-like words and actions without regard for their surroundings) who tried to incarnate with malicious intent by spreading taboo words all over the school. To me who knew about her in detail, Takako Takamura who had been called a ‘vessel’ by her half-sister and who bore a life-like resemblance to her despite only sharing half their blood, was a little creepy.

『It was there beside my pillow when I woke up this morning.』

『Huh?』

『I was the one who probably doth write it.』

『Doth write it?』

『And, they were probably the words doth by my sister.』

『Did…your way of speaking become abnormal?』

I asked her that, and in response, Takako Takamura distorted her well-shaped facial features into a grin.

『I’ve recently become addicted to classic literature. In summary, I think my sister is warning you of danger.』

『Danger?』

『I think something bad will happen to you from now on.』

『W…wait a second.』

『You’ll be forced to make the final choice very soon, and on top of that, you’ll be buried alive in the mountains.』

◯

--The final choice? Buried alive?

At the time I thought, are you kidding me? She went ahead and said something creepy again, but I let it slide.

Now that I think of it, Takako Takamura’s words turned out to be completely true.

That’s right, now--- I was in complete darkness, unable to move my arms or legs.

“…………..Ptch……..Hey, are you alive?”

I chocked out the dust I had inhaled and called out, and a familiar voice rang out beyond the darkness.

“….What…is this place? Hell? Kokytos….?”

“Ahhh, you’re alive. Thank goodness. ….Ummm, this isn’t hell, we’re in the mountains. We got buried in a lot of collapsed timber--”

I spoke that far, when an intense pain ran down my right leg.

It was in the area around my right knee. And, ahead of that--- I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even tell if I still had legs given that I couldn’t move my body. Even though my head already understood it, but my right leg was continuing to send signals of throbbing pain, as if to say, “It’s an emergency”. It hurt, and it was dark, I suddenly felt scared and was on the verge of panicking.

However, I took a deep breath and told myself, “Calm down”.

…How long, have we been here since then? In the darkness, I gently turned the watch on my left arm in the direction of my face while trying not to hurt my hand on the broken wood. Similarly, I slowly moved my right arm, and somehow managed to turn on the light of my watch.

Monday, 16 April 2012, 19:17.

…Ah, it’ll be almost a full day soon. Had I been in this condition for almost twenty-four hours? The moment I realized this, I remembered how intensely parched my throat was. A stinging pain stuck to the back of my throat. Water, water….isn’t there water somewhere?

“….I can’t move my body.”

At that moment, I heard her voice beyond the darkness.

“Yeah…my leg is trapped, and I can’t move either.”

“Why did something like this happen?”

“Why? --- You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember… coming here with you.”

“Can you stop being so informal. It’s like we’re married.”

I couldn't help but laugh as we ended up doing the usual back and forth with no regard for the location.

And, laughing calmed my heart down a little. I was able to ask, “You’re not injured, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

-- I was about to say that my legs were in a bit of bad shape, but I stopped myself. There was no use in saying it, and she might get a little worried.

“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. I’m sure help will come soon.”

“…When?”

“…How should I know? It’ll be here soon.”

“………..”

“………..”

But, I was at a loss for words when I realized that help would not come anytime soon.

My surroundings fell dead silent.

Without even the cries of mountain birds, it felt as if the world had ended.

“It’s emotionally taxing if it stays like this.”

I spoke, trying to rouse my dark, crushing heart.

“Let’s do something else…right, don’t you have some riddles in mind?”

After a moment's silence, she spoke.

“If it’s interesting stories you want to hear, then.”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered simply, when suddenly, I shuddered.

The things she thought of as ‘interesting’ were a little different than what one would ordinarily think of as interesting.

“….Never mind! It’s fine, don’t tell me. I can’t even run away if I listen to a scary story in this situation.”

I said that, but she had already begun to slowly narrate in a whisper.

“Why did ‘Gandame’ smile, I wonder?”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Being smiled at means you die— the lineage of mountain goddess ghost stories is found all over Japan, but why is smiling linked with death I wonder?”

“I told you! We’re in the middle of the mountain where that ‘Gandame’ is said to appear, so stop it. If a smiling woman with cloudy eyes appears in the darkness, I can’t run away even if I wanted to!”

I retorted sharply, and she fell silent.

My surroundings returned to dark silence once more, and somewhere beyond the dark mountains, I heard a crunching sound.

Was It an animal—or a monster from the mountain?

I didn’t know, but either one was fine, as long as it could me forget the pain in my right leg. As if to shake off the stinging pain, I thought back. Everything that led us here. Everything that led us to this point, to the dark abyss we passed through.

That’s right—that day, Friday the 13th of April.

I was in a hurry.

I had regained recognition of Yoishi Mitsurugi once more, and was told by Krishna-san.

『If you’ve decided to walk together with Yoishi, then go and meet Takita-san.』

I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as I finished my lectures, I ran out of the university. However, I ran into Takako Takamura at the front fate, and was given a strange message or prophecy, but I made light of it and ran off to the station.

It was all to uncover the truth behind the darkness that enveloped the girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi.

◯

“Hey, Sako! Come out!”

The door to Sako Takita’s antique store ‘Kouroudou’(Bone Tower Shrine) in Sotokanda, Tokyo, was locked.

I peeked in through a gap in the dark curtains behind the frosted glass, but as usual, objects I didn’t really understand were all crammed in a line. A headless Buddhist statue, a mummified Kappa, and a hanging scroll covered in what appeared to be blood stains. Beyond those suspicious items that he considered merchandise, I raised my voice towards the inner parlor.

“Hey, Sako! Are you asleep?!”

I wonder how long I kept knocking on the door and calling out to him like that.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I was called out to from behind and looked back to see a short old woman dressed in a kimono that was a light cherry color with a slight grayish tinge.

Although her back was rounded to a large degree, she was a small and cute old woman. Come to think if it, my deceased grandma was short as well. As I recalled those kinds of things, I bowed down to greet the old woman who looked up at me with an elegant face.

“Ah, sorry for being so noisy.”

In response, the old woman gave me a friendly grin and asked, “Do you have some business with the owner of that shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“That nice man who’s always wearing an indigo dyed kimono.”

“It’s doubtful whether he’s nice or not, but he is indeed always wearing a navy-blue kimono.”

“We’re always gossiping about whether he is still single.”

Saying that, the old woman giggled like a maiden.

“Um, that’s fine….but, do you know where he is now? I have some urgent business with him.”

“Isn’t it the 13th today?”

“…Yes?”

“That person goes to Myoujin-san on the 13th of each month.”

“Myoujin-san?”

“It’s Kanda Inari Gongen-sama.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sako’s day job was being the head priest of a shrine in Aomori— I think it was called ‘so-and-so Inari Shrine’.

“Myoujin-san is just ahead up the stairs from there.”

“Thank you so much.”

After thanking her, I broke into a run.

I climbed the long, narrow stairs, slipped through a narrow alley, and soon saw several red nobori<ref>long, narrow banner attached to a pole on one side and a horizontal rod along the top</ref>.

There were souvenir shops lined on the path to the shrine, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people. As a country boy who loved festivals, I ended up getting excited just by visiting these kinds of places.

I read the stone monument in a touristy mood, Kanda Myoujin was a shrine dedicate to Daikoku, the god of wealth, Ebisu the god of fishing and commerce, and ‘Taira No Masakado’, who was popular among us occult maniacs because of certain reasons.

“Hmmm.”

I looked up at the main shrine once more.

I had passed it once or twice before, but to tell the truth, it was my first time stepping foot inside.

“…Wait, no, no, I don't have time for this.”

Right away, I searched around the area for Sako. However, there was no sign of the man in the navy-blue kimono anywhere around the main shrine, or in any tea house or souvenir store. Having no choice, I went around the main shrine to look around the subordinate shrines. As I walked along, stepping on the gravel under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, I found that there were various subordinate shrines at the back of the main shrine. I was happy to see that each shrine was neatly swept with bamboo brooms, and was being properly looked after. It made me sad just seeing small shrines in disrepair—when, I spotted a familiar man in a kimono in front of one of the small shrines.

“—Sako?”

I called out to him, but Sako Takita remained seated directly on the ground in a daze with his back turned towards me.

I quietly approached his side and peeked at him from the front. And— noticed something. There were several empty sake bottles near his knees.

“Of all the…are you drunk?”

“…Hngh.”

Sako turned around at last, and greeted me, ‘Yoo’.

His complexion, which was normally pale, had a slight red tinge to it.

“Yo? really?”

“Haha…umm, you are—of course I remember. Ehhh, your name, it was that.”

“It’s Nagito Yamada. Come on, get up. You’ll get reported if you drink in a place like this.”

“…Erm, it’s alright, the chief priest here is an acquaintance.”

Sako Takita looked like a complete bum as he foolishly laughed. I tried to make him stand up, but his legs were unsteady having drunk so much, and on top of that he had no desire to stand up himself, so things didn’t go the way I wanted. Suddenly feeling foolish, I let go of his arm around mine.

He sloppily toppled on the gravel with his arms and legs outstretched.

“….Oooh. How cruel, what are you doing?”

“I just remembered what you did and let my anger take care of the rest. You had the nerve to make Yoishi imperceptible to me, didn’t you?”

I returned to the point of discussion.

“It’s already been undone. That’s why you came to me, right?”

Sako chuckled and started to laugh.

“I told her that it was merely a stopgap solution. You were out of control back then to the point where even Kurimoto-kun couldn’t handle. Please don’t hold it against her.”

“Yeah yeah, Krishna-san already gave me a rough rundown on what happened. That I was delirious and went berserk at the hospital. That was my fault--- but, there was no reason to make me unable to see her, was there? Or rather, why did I do that when I saw Yoishi…? Do you know why?”

In response, Sako fell silent.

He continued to look at midair in a daze with the occasional *hiccup*.

I continued to wait for him, but there was no sign that Sako would start talking, so I looked around to make sure no one was around. —and I, too, sat cross-legged on the spot.

“In the first place, this subordinate shrine is the home of some deity, isn't it? Why are you drinking at a place like this?”

“…Hm.”

Sako slowly looked up towards the shrine right in front of him, and grinned broadly.

“Today is the monthly anniversary of her death.<ref>Monthly death anniversaries of a death are known as tsuki meinichi in Japan</ref>”

“Anniversary? Whose?”

“My mother's.”

“..... Eh?”

Thereafter, I looked at the signpost next to the entrance of the supplementary shrine. On it was inscribed, ‘Ukanomitama (god of rice), and Suehiroinari (god of harvests, wealth, fertility) as well.

“My mother you see, was kind, courteous, and beautiful. Well, I can’t deny that I might be glorifying her because of her early passing. But, you understand, right? A mother who is the personification of affection is clearly different from a father. A unique existence to all children that shared her flesh and blood.”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, and Sako stayed silent for a while.

After staring vacantly at empty space as if chasing something invisible—

“My mother, she killed herself you see.”

“………….”

“Well, that’s what the world thinks.”

“…What the world thinks?”

“Right. She was thought to have severed her own life, but in reality… she was murdered.”

After that, Sako laughed: heh, heh, heh—he then picked up one of the sake bottles that had been lying around and brought it to his mouth. But it seemed its contents were already empty, so he carelessly threw it away.

“You know, you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things even if you’re drunk.”

“…Drunk? Yes, I might be drunk, but I only speak the truth.”

Then Sako gazed at me in a stance where he used his knees to support his arms,

“It happened before my very eyes—And, I could do nothing at all. There was no point in asking people about it, and there was no point in talking about it. It’s not something people should know about, and it’s definitely not a story that should be readily known by an ordinary person. But still, all stories are connected. In the end, it feels like all karma bounces from one place to the next. Now then—will you hear that kind of story?”

Suddenly—

The words that have been said countless times in countless situations came back to me.

A story that should not be heard. A story people should not know.

If you found out, you would become involved and entangled in them—a story woven with Kotodama.

If it had been me up until now, I might have shaken my head and said, “I’ll pass.”

However—

“That karma or whatever, is it connected to her—to Yoishi Mitsurugi?”

I asked.

“If it’s a story that has some power to clear away the darkness inside her….then let me hear it.”

I said that, and the smallest—the truly faintest of smiles appeared on Sako’s face.

And then, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before, an expression most transparent, and pure.

“It happened…back when I was still in high school.”

“I saw a monster—in broad daylight.”

◯

Monsters—now then, what is a monster?

Do they spit fire? Do they devour humans? Do they possess supernatural powers which ordinary humans can’t fight against? Well, those kinds of definitions vary from person to person, but there’s one thing that can be said with certainty. Once you encounter them, you can't escape their influence for the rest of your life —that exactly is what I believe monsters are.

With that meaning in mind, what I encountered could be called a monster.

It happened on a day when the sun was still high in the sky, and yet the moon’s pale light also loomed. Thinking back on it now, bad things have usually happened on days like that. Well although, I can only speak of my own life. On that day, I quickly left after my high school classes had ended, just like any other day. I was never the type of person to get along with my classmates, nor was I the type to rejoice in the springtime of youth by engaging in sweaty club activities. High school life to me was really nothing more than just a means to kill time. In other words, I was a gloomy high school student, the type that would go to a coffee shop after leaving school in violation of school regulations, and would set up camp at a seat in the back to read Chekhov, Ango and so on. I’ll explain later, but I had circumstances which made me not want to return home right away. What you might find laughable is that I had been given an unconditional command to return home as late as possible.

So, that day as well, I headed to the cafe named ‘Windmill’ with a book in my hand which I had almost finished reading -- but on that day alone, there was a noisy customer who had taken up camp at the seat at the back where I always sat. I, on the other hand, was the type who was unable to concentrate on books unless my surroundings were quiet. So, having no choice, I headed to the park.

Ahh, that’s right—my house at the time was not in Aomori where I currently reside. I was originally born in Kobe, moved to Kyoto afterward, and was living in Fukuoka at the time. The reason why was because my father was involved in the trading business, but it wasn’t a good thing for a child to move around so often in their childhood. Even now, I believe that was the reason I became shy and had problems making friends--- but I digress. Anyway, I lived in the east of Fukuoka. Well, you might know of it being an occult lover and all, but it was famous for the Jizo statue where the Kappas are sealed.<ref>https://kappapedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kappa-jizo.html</ref>

There was a vast, lush green place known as the T-park.

I headed there, but it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. There were a lot of mothers with their children. No matter how many times I looked around, I couldn’t find an empty bench anywhere. I walked all the way to the back of the park and found an empty bench at last, where I sat down, but I had lost all motivation to read, probably because it had taken me so long to get there. For a while, I merely sat there in a daze.

Before I knew it, I was biting my nails.

Well, I guess you could call it a psychological state you often see in high schoolers in puberty. I was strangely irritated. Perhaps it was because the plans I had made for the day didn’t go well, or perhaps it was the peaceful, warm scenery which made it appear as if time had stopped— I continued to sit on the old bench, and continued to chew my nails without changing places.

It was at that moment.

A toddler shakily walked toward me.

A boy—probably, I think it was a boy. I don’t remember exactly. An innocent-looking toddler approached me with some kind of toy in hand. He was a friendly child. He already trusted completely in someone like me. I, who was a stranger from who knows where, a high schooler with dark eyes and with a book like ‘Discourse on decadence’ in hand. He had a friendly grin on his face as he offered me the toy. I ignored that and merely looked around in dismay. I wondered where the mother went, taking her eyes off a child this young. However, there was no sign of a mother-like figure close by. That child sidled up to me alone. He held out his precious favorite toy to me, with a “Yes”. For a moment, I wondered if I was even pitied by such a young child, but that wasn’t the case. In all likelihood, the child was living a life filled with love. That must be why he didn’t even think of the possibility that some humans can be evil.

When I realized that, something like a thin mist rose somewhere in my heart.

--What would happen if a dark malice were unleashed upon this pure being?

I was surprised at myself for thinking something like that. I didn't think I was capable of such sadistic thoughts. And, it was an irresistibly bewitching idea. There was a defenseless creature in front of me; There was no one around. It was just me, him and the toy. For the time being, I picked up the toy the boy had placed at my feet and put it in my pocket. Eventually, that child came to pick up the toy that he had placed at my feet and stopped moving. He started looking around, behind my legs, as if searching for the toy, then looked up at me. I merely grinned at him. The child continued to search for the toy after that, but I couldn’t help but feel an irresistible rush of pleasure rising up my spine. I was getting an almost nauseating pleasure from the anxiety that was enveloping his tiny back.

What kind of face would he make if I were to pluck the toy’s head and throw it away? The plastic doll of some transforming hero. Would he start crying? What would happen if this pure creature were to be showered with malice?

As he had his back turned to me, I secretly took out the toy. I dangled it towards his back. He was anxiously digging up the sandpits close by. As if he thought he might have buried it somewhere. I put my hand on the doll’s neck. I put a little power and tried to twist its neck, when—

I finally noticed that gaze.

With a start, I looked diagonally to my right, to see a woman with a kind expression. She was sitting on a bench covered by ivy in the shade, staring at me and the child. In an instant, I understood that she was the mother of the child.

Sweat slowly formed on my hands, and I removed my hand from the doll’s neck.

--What was it? How long had she been there? Did this woman see everything I had done?

My heart was pounding violently, as if it was about to burst from my mouth.

Eventually, I called out “Boy”, in a shaky voice and handed the toy back to him. The boy’s face immediately lit up, and he took the toy in hand. And at the same time, he spotted his mother, and happily ran towards her. The mother slightly bowed to me and left, holding hands with the child.

--There was no way a mother would take her eyes off her young child.

I chided myself for my foolishness after all that time, but it was already too late.

It felt as if the daytime moon was smirking down at me, and I quickly left that park.

I was embarrassed that the mother had seen through me. It was most fortunate that I managed to notice her at the last moment and hadn’t plucked the doll's head off. Even though it was a provincial city, there was more regional unity there than in a place like Tokyo. I was patting myself on the chest, thinking that if I had done that, I might not be able to live in this city anymore.

However, as I left the park, I realized my heart continued to throb violently.

Yes— I was still excited.

I was excited at the thought of trampling that which was pure.

It was as if I had become something other than myself—no, as if the real me that kept itself hidden in my heart somewhere had revealed itself. It was also a sense of freedom at being my true self. The irritating feeling I had just thirty minutes ago was no longer there.

I wonder if that was the reason why.

Even though it was not yet time to go back home—I ended up getting ready to return home.

Now then, why didn’t I return home straight away after school?

It’s about time I explained that. What? It’s not something big. In short, it was because my mother's lover was at home. He was ostensibly the man my mother was learning to paint from. I told you my father was involved in the trading business, so he was often away from home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for weeks. And when he did come home, he would do so late at night. When my father was home, my mother was very diligent and devoted to him. She bathed him, cooked for him, and listened to his stories with a round of laughter. To an outsider, she must have looked like the ideal, wise housewife. And that's what I always thought too.

However, it was around the time I entered middle school. My mother said that she wanted to learn how to draw. My father agreed. My mother had a small interest in oil painting in her student days, and my father might have felt guilty for being away from home so often. And so, the one who eventually came was that man. I was able to hate him with just one glance. He must have been five or so years younger than my mother, but —ah, I just can't remember his face no matter what. I don't know why, but he always looked like he was wearing a fox's face. Not literally a fox’s face, but truly a fox mask. It didn't look like that to the people around me including my mother, probably because my strong rejection against that man made me feel that way. The fox masked man was polite, eloquent and graceful in his speech, and he often gave me gifts. But to me, it looked like a red tongue peeking out of a mouth with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear. My mother and the man were silently painting in her room. And before long I was told, “Play outside on the day sensei comes”, And I was made to realize that I was not allowed to stay at home.

That must have been like ink that dropped on the surface of water that was my family. When that man started coming in and out of my house, my family was stained with an indelible stain. My father not being home became the norm, and I too had come to think that I shouldn’t stay at home—and above all, the man started visiting my house not just once a week, but with one thing or another, he started visiting every day.

Every day.

In the afternoon.

A man who was not a member of our family would definitely be there.

I thought my family had been taken over by something suspicious.

My father died soon afterward.

He returned to Japan after going to Guangzhou for work and was on his way home when we lost contact with him, and he was found at Matsuyama harbor, Shikoku. It seems he was found floating in the sea by a couple on a date. Why did he go to Matsuyama from Fukuoka? Was it an accident, a suicide, or did he get involved in some trouble? We had no idea. The police visited my mother almost every day, but it appeared they eventually stopped investigating it as a murder case. That was because the body of another woman was found on the harbor. That woman was an office worker in my father's company. It seemed she had been going out with my father. The police tried to conclude the case by saying it was a double suicide spurred on by a lovers talk.

However, I can say it with almost complete certainty.

That my father was murdered.

And the culprit was that fox masked man.

After that, for the next three years of high school—a strange situation developed in which I, lived together with my mother and that fox masked man.

I stopped coming home.

I only returned home to sleep and spent the rest of the day killing time outside.

However, on that day—

On the day I felt delight in aiming malice towards a child.

I decided to return home after a long time while the sun was still high up in the sky.

I unlocked the door, entered inside, declared that I was home, and entered the tatami room.

The scene I saw there would perhaps never be erased from my memory for as long as I live.

On the tatami mats was my mother, naked and bound. The rope painfully bit into her flesh, but my mother sobbed with joy. Next to her was the fox masked man. He merely sat there quietly on his knees, staring motionlessly at my mother.

The man slowly turned towards me, who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tatami room.

The white, fox masked man with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear, sneered to me.

How long—

Just how long did I stand there, motionless?

How much time did it take for me to realize what was happening in the tatami room?

Before I realized, I was sneering as well.

And, I realized at last.

The man was ‘malice’. He was the ‘malice’ inside me.

I don’t recall the specifics of what happened after that.

All I remember is that I staggered out of the house, and continued around wandering the city—and when I came to, I was in Hakata station.

There, I bought a train ticket to the furthest place possible.

When I reached Aomori station, what I saw on the news was that my house had burned down completely, and that the corpse of a naked woman had been discovered inside. I didn’t even think about had happened. I had become numb to all emotions. I didn't know why I was in Aomori. Nor did I know what I should do from here. I was overwhelmed by the scenery of Tohoku that I was seeing for the first time, and collapsed in front of the station.

When I came to, I found myself riding in the car of a strange gray-haired man. The old man merely called himself the ‘Chief priest’. I had run out of money and had not eaten anything, so he said to me.

『You’re possessed by a terrible ghost.』

『It’s a very powerful ghost, and you might not be able to do anything about it yourself.』

『You may run out of strength midway through and die, but if left alone, you’ll die anyway.』

『I’m sure your stomach must be empty, but it would be better if you didn’t eat anything. Let’s begin right away.』

After that, I was taken to a shrine somewhere deep in the mountains, and made to change into a white kimono. I don’t know how much time passed after that. I was abandoned in a room that was like a dungeon, and was subjected to ritual prayer every day. There was nothing left for me to vomit, yet the intense feeling of wanting to throw up welled up inside me over and over again. Ahh-- Thinking back on it now, I had never been in so much pain. I would fall backwards and repeatedly slam my body against the hard floor. Having not even been given enough food for excrement, I realized at the depths of what little consciousness that remained that I was going to die. I felt the end of my life was right at hand. At that moment, I felt something leave my thin, frayed consciousness. It cried out loud in a high, frustrated whine, and disappeared as if it melted away.

『It’s over.』

At last, I heard the old man's voice near me.

I saw a light beyond my hazy vision.

Tears spilled from my eyes seeing the beauty of the grass and trees illuminated by the sun.

『You’re saved. However, you won't be able to lead a normal life from now on.』

The old man spoke as I greedily devoured the rice gruel I was eating after several days.

『If you don't retighten your body that an oversized ghost passed through every day, you'll quickly end up becoming an abode for countless ghosts.』

The old man didn't have to tell me that, I knew that it was just a short distance away.

I knew that it would quietly continue to stare at me from somewhere—until I died.

『Abandon everything, and spend the rest of your life here.』

That place was called ‘Okitachi Inari Shrine’—

I would later find out that it was a shrine that guarded one of the veins of this island country, that defended against the northern demon gate.<ref> https://donnykimball.com/kimon-7f7a28291d51</ref>

After that, I became a disciple of that old man, and began to study Shintoism. It was a little different, however, and in no way what you would generally define as ‘modern Shintoism’, it was a severe unrelenting study. Well, that's a long story, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was forced to abandon my name, my family name, my past, and completed my training to completely become ‘nothing’ all at once. I had to rearrange and fix the air ducts in my spine, and recompose all of my cells properly. I assimilated all of my thoughts with nature, and abandoned myself. I repeated that every day, every hour, every minute. I continued to adjust it as I ate, as I slept. I might have told you once before, but—if you’re not a great masochist, then it would have been a maddening day-to-day existence.

My master must not have thought I would be able to bear it all. Somewhere along the way, he probably concluded that I would run off some day and self-destruct by becoming a nest for the ghosts that would penetrate me through my turbulent air ducts. However, I somehow managed to hold my ground. I endured it all.

Say, you.

Why… do you think that was?

A few years after that, I asked my master.

About why ‘that’ had happened.

By ‘that’, I had meant ‘that thing’ which had destroyed me and my family, and I tried asking about it indifferently.

『No one really knows.』

My master answered.

『It was called ‘Nine tails’ in Nara period literature, and in the Edo period, it was referred to as the ‘everlasting night stone’—however, in all likelihood, it must have been present inside humans of every era. Yes, it is something that continues to move from person to person.』

『Is that so?』

I kept an expression as if I wasn't interested anymore, but I engraved that name deep at the back of my mind.

With a soft smile, I grit my teeth so hard they might have bled, and recalled my mother’s face from that day.

It possesses people.

It amplifies people’s negative emotions and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing.

It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves.

The first one in my family who it possessed was me.

My once warm family, had before I realized, turned into a reflection of what I considered to be the worst possible family.

As it made me believe that I was killing time outside, it toyed with my mother as it pleased on a daily basis.

It casually made my father realize this abnormal relationship, destroyed his heart, and drove him to his death.

--Unforgivable, unforgivable.

I could not forgive the wandering ghost known as the ‘everlasting night stone’, but above all, I could not forgive myself.

However, my own punishment would be held off until the very end.

Before that, I had to annihilate it. For that reason, I—

Would be as brave as Amitabha Tathagata, who stayed at the left of Amitabha Tathagata.

Would be as wise as Gabrielle, who stayed at the left of God’s throne.

And—I would transform into the sword that cut down demons, like Futsunushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsunushi</ref>, who stayed at the left of Okuninushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckuninushi</ref>.

That’s right, I decided to become a demon that would devour demons.

That was why I erased all emotions, and was able to endure everything.

With the deity Futsunushi, enshrined at Okitachi Inari Shrine as my guardian deity, I received the surname of my master.

And that is how from that day forth… Nagito Yamada-kun, I took the name of Sako Takita.<ref>The kanji for Sako’s first name is 左居, with the first kanji meaning left and the next one meaning to be or exist, so Sako means being at the left.</ref>

◯

“….Perhaps because of that you see. I feel as if my face is getting thinner like a fox each year.”

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?<ref>As explained in the previous volume, he is asking how the kanji is written here.</ref>”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A *brrrrrr* sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said, “Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”

◯

“Where are you headed?”

On the bus, an elderly grandfather with a bamboo basket on his back asked us.

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi fiddling with her phone without saying anything, so having no choice, I answered him.

“Ummm… we’re going to a friend’s house for a bit.”

“Ooh, is that right?”

The elderly gentleman nodded with a good-natured expression, as if he were about to puff a cigarette, and sat down in the seat next to us.

The bus rattled and swayed as it leisurely moved along the mountain road with several passengers on board. I somehow looked outside the window, and saw that the houses were steadily becoming sparser, and all that lay beyond them were magnificent undulating mountains.

And at my feet was a large rucksack I had borrowed from a friend in the mountaineering club. I didn’t know if we would easily be able to find accommodation, so I borrowed as much camping gear as I could cram into the rucksack and brought it along.

The address Sako had written, K city. Y-Prefecture—

Yoishi and I were on our way there, having switched trains, and rode the only bus that came only once every hour.

The sun would soon be setting in the area. The mountain ridges were dyed in a golden colored light. The scenery alone was quite beautiful and nostalgic, but when I thought about the building we were headed towards, my buoyant mood continued to sink.

“Something terrible inhabits these mountains.”

The old grandad from earlier blurted out.

“You can't look them in the eye because if you do, you'll end up dead.”

It must have been a legend you’d often find passed down in rural areas.

“Um, what is it called?”

I asked, and the grandad replied, “…It’s called,” before falling into silence for a while.

“It’s called… No, it’s better if you don’t know. Because you might end up summoning it if you know it.”

In response, Yoishi suddenly opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about 『Gandame』or 『Yousen boy』?”

“Y, young lady, you shouldn’t. Don’t say the names.”

The grandad hurriedly warned Yoishi, but as for me, I wanted to rebuke him, ‘Grandpa, you're wrong.’

You must not tell her the things ‘she shouldn’t do’. And as expected, Yoishi’s eyes glittered,

“…Gandame, Yousen boy, Gandame, Yousen boy.” She began to repeat it.

‘Eek’, as the grandad recoiled backwards, I bonked her on the head.

“…..My apologies, she’s, a little strange.”

I apologized profusely, and gazed at Yoishi who had fallen silent in discontent—

I let out a sigh in my heart by myself at the troubles that were to come.

I say troubles, but I wasn’t sure if I completely understood the details of those troubles.

Krishna-san’s sudden disappearance—I was unbearably worried about that, but I had left it to Sako who said he would meet up with Yukihito-kun and deal with it. Apparently, according to Sako, heading to this address together with Yoishi had priority above all else. Well, I had a feeling I could leave it to him since Sako seemed to act properly when it came to Krishna-san, but—the biggest problem of all was the weight of his words: 『Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story』.

The problem was whether I could really do something like that.

I came this far trying countless times to do something about the darkness ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ carried. Despite being repeatedly told by Krishna-san that it was impossible, I recklessly stepped foot into the abyss of the world beyond, and each time, I would retreat with tears in my eyes. And what could I do now that I came here with no trump card? What could I possibly do by brazenly going to the ‘place Yoishi Mitsurugi was born’? Sako also told me that 『The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun』, but I had no idea why there was a race against time at all. However, it was also true that after hearing the story of ‘Sako Takita’, my image of him had ended up changing quite dramatically, and for once I had a feeling that it would be better to believe him.

That’s why after I parted ways with Sako at Kanda Myoujin, I gathered the camping gear and headed to the library for the time being.

Fear comes from ignorance. Those were Krishna-san’s words, but there was nothing scarier than going to a place called ‘hell’ without knowing anything. I looked up any articles I could get my hands on in the library corresponding to the incidents in ‘K city, Y-Prefecture’ and ‘Hanging mansion’. And then, I finally called Yoishi, but—

“Hey, Yoishi.”

“……..What?”

“I told you we were going to Y prefecture, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“I told you we probably won’t return for a few days so come prepared, didn’t I?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“So, why are you here empty-handed in your school uniform?”

Around two hours ago, I arrived at the station we were supposed to meet up at, and was exasperated.

I didn’t expect her to bring a rucksack like me, but I thought she would at least bring a small bag. But it was as usual with ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, she hadn’t changed even the slightest.

Wearing a black blazer, black tie, black skirt. Navy blue socks, and black leather shoes.

Yoishi Mitsurugi stood there in her dazzling Koumei high school uniform. She didn’t look as if she had brought a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush or a towel. With only her mobile phone in hand, she had the same unfriendly, or rather blank expression with her excessively well-proportioned beauty looking at me, and her long black hair danced in the wind.

“Don’t you think you’re travelling a little too light?”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Well…that might be the case but…”

Come to think of it, I was beginning to like an idiot for bringing such a large backpack.

“Leaving that aside, where are we headed in Y prefecture?”

She suddenly asked, “Eh?” I was at a loss for words.

“You only said we were going to Y prefecture.”

“….Ah, ahhh….ermmm.”

No, I had to say it sooner or later, and she might figure it out along the way, but it was still difficult to say face to face, that the place we were headed towards was the birthplace of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

“I mean, really. I don't think it's right to accept an invitation to stay overnight without asking what kind of place you're going to. That’s no good for a girl before marriage.”

I pretended not to notice that I was the one who invited her,

“Didn’t I become your property?”

Yoishi retorted, and this time I was absolutely speechless.

And, I recalled once more.

The thing that happened recently—in short, when I ended up telling Yoishi’s father in front of her, ‘Give Yoishi to me’.

Somehow even Krishna-san was flushed bright red in her nose and said something like, ‘You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness’, but was that taken as a proposal or something? No, Krishna-san was weak to sake and that kind of talk to the extreme, but did Yoishi end up interpreting it as such?

As she looked at me with her large black eyes, my cheeks suddenly became hot.

My perception of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had been sealed away by Sako, and that was removed by Yoishi herself through regression hypnosis—and now that I took a long hard look at her once more, I saw that she was truly beautiful. Her pale translucent skin was unnatural for someone of Japanese descent with nary a single blemish, and her face was lined with fairy like features. Her eyes were a little dark, but on the contrary, they promoted her seducing harmony, and I think her appearance made any passerby look back at her.

That kind of girl—a possession? No, would she be my fiancée as per societal norms?

Ahh, but her father did indeed say…’Do as you like’.

Which meant that in short, he approved….?!

When I remembered that, my cheeks abruptly became flush hot, and a fluffy feeling rose up at the pit of my stomach.

I coughed once exaggeratedly and looked away.

And then I was startled.

Before I’d realized, the old grandad sitting in the seat next to me had vanished.

Or rather, it was only me, Yoishi and the driver on the bus.

“What happened to that grandad?”

“…Who knows?”

“When did they all get off? It didn’t feel like the bus had stopped.”

In response Yoishi muttered somewhat enjoyably.

“Perhaps—the elderly man might have been Gandame.”

A cold shiver ran round my back all at once in response to that cold, piercing whisper.

Immediately, it felt as if I was completely in a dream, having been in the hustle and bustle of the city merely a few hours ago, and was now, travelling left and right on a dark mountain road at dusk.

“…..We didn’t miss our stop, did we? Did you listen to the announcements carefully?”

Anxious, I took out the piece of paper in my pocket, and as I was confirming the address,

“That place.”

Yoishi merely muttered, having peeked at the piece of paper.

“Are we going to that place?”

I was speechless for a moment—before I made up my mind and nodded.

“…Ahh, that’s right. We’re headed to this place now.”

“………………..”

“…Is it a problem?”

Yoishi closed her phone, and fell into silence for a while as she looked at the darkness beyond the window.

“I’m sorry I brought you along without telling you—but, I thought it was time to settle things.”

I carefully chose my words as I spoke.

In response—

“It’s fine, but--”

As she continued to gaze out of the window, Yoishi spoke in a whisper.

“It’s just, I thought I would go there a little later.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mansion is the last place I ever intended to visit in my life.”

“………………….”

“If I don't feel fear there... it's impossible for me to feel fear again.”

Her words gave me strange goosebumps all over my body.

….Which meant that, what?

That the mansion we were headed to now, was something at a level far above just bringing me to tears as had been the case up until now?

“How did you find out about that place?”

“Ummm….I heard about it from Sako.”

“….Is that so?”

“….Um…was…”

I gulped once, and dared to ask.

“Did you know Sako?”

In response, Yoishi slowly turned towards me, and looked at me inquisitively.

“He said he met you a long time ago.”

“………………..”

Something at the back of Yoishi’s eyes flickered, as if she were trying to remember something.

Something she didn’t want to remember. Something she shouldn’t remember. Fragments of dark, sedimented memories appeared and disappeared beyond her eyes, and she eventually gave a small nod.

“………….Ahh……that person……”

However, Yoishi said nothing more from there. And I too, couldn’t ask any further.

Just what happened to you ten years and eight months ago—Why did you take on the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’? That’s not your real name, is it? Asking that simple question was unbearably heavy.

“I don’t know why we’re going to that mansion, and what you’re trying to do.”

Yoishi eventually murmured in a whisper.

“But that is without a doubt the worst place for me.”

“………..”

“There’s no guarantee that I will be myself. I might not be able to help you if something happens to you. Are you still alright with that?”

Ahhh, I know already.

…..I couldn’t say it being the weak coward that I was, but I still nodded with all the courage I could muster.

“Going around haunted places is just like life….at your own responsibility, right?”

At that moment—

I noticed that the bus driver had been gazing at us all this time through the back mirror.

The dark area around his eyes seemed to be contorted in a sneer.

And, I felt as if I shouldn’t make eye contact even if it was through the back mirror.

I didn’t know about 『Gandame』, or 『Yousen boy』, but—

I thought that we were already in the world beyond.

◯

The mansion, illuminated by the pocket light, was already in a state of decay.

After getting off the bus, we climbed up the dark mountain road for a long time, and the mansion we reached at last was the very definition of a haunted house.

The mansion merely loomed jet black beyond the white fence.

We were silent for a while, standing still with lights in one hand in front of the iron gate.

“…Shall we go?”

I called out to Yoishi, who unusually didn’t try to enter, and I pushed the creaking gate open.

The large garden was already rampant with weeds, with nary a place to plant my feet. I raised my legs in exaggerated movements as I continued, until I eventually arrived close to the front door of the mansion. However, the door was boarded shut to deter anyone from entering. I shone my light to see a sign that read, 『Unauthorized entry is forbidden』. There were many large spiders and spiderwebs that hung all over, something you would never see in the city.

I moved a little further away and aimed my light here and there. Beyond the window on the second floor was a curtain drawn halfway that looked eerily like someone’s head would peek out if I continued looking. Ivy ran along the wall of the mansion extending all the way up to the roof.

“….This mansion is way beyond what I expected.”

I said so, but there was no reply.

I turned around, to see that Yoishi was silently staring at a section in the garden.

I approached and stood next to her, and aimed my light in the direction of Yoishi’s gaze. What lay there was an old camping grill. It was already rusted and fallen over. A small camping chair was also lying there. They might have been used for barbecuing here once in the past. I crouched down to shine my light at them, and found several firework cinders on the ground as well. These symbols of a peaceful summer holiday were saddening to see in the garden of a decayed mansion.

“…Are you alright?”

Seeing her shoulders slowly move up and down, I called out to her.

Yoishi nodded without a word, but she indeed did not have her usual vigor when she faced the occult.

“It’s probably a little late to enter this mansion right now. Let’s pitch our tent here, shall we?”

I raised my voice as cheerfully as I could, and lowered the rucksack on my back.

“I have a friend in university named Yamaoka. He’s in the mountaineering club, extremely fit despite his small size, and he has a great sense of humor to boot. He let me borrow a lot of stuff. A tent for three. Two sleeping bags. I brought a lot of food as well, and even a burner. Let’s grill something for dinner, shall we? Ahh, or maybe you’d like me to make some coffee?”

“If it’s a bedroom you need then there’s one inside.”

“….Eh?”

“On the second floor, there’s a room that is safe to use.”

“No…the inside is, um, it’s quite dangerous right? This isn’t the usual haunted spot investigation. It’s better that we go in when it’s bright.”

I said that, but Yoishi had already set off for the front door, used her foot as a pivot and audaciously began to remove the planks that had been hammered into place. She removed the planks one-by-one, causing cracking and scraping noises to echo loudly in the mountain that was deathly silent at night.

“It’s not a problem if we put a tent out here though.”

With her back towards me, Yoishi spoke as she removed the planks.

“There’s a dead person in that garden as well.”

“……….Eh?”

“If that’s alright with you, then you can set up camp there.”

“……Say that from the start.”

Having no choice, I helped her.

The planks had rotted considerably, probably from the many years of wind and rain, and were removed fairly easily.

“The key?”

“A, ahh, here.”

I took the key Sako gave to me out of my pocket and handed it over to Yoishi.

Yoishi stared at the key for a while—before slowly placing it into the keyhole. A pleasant click rang out, and the lock was opened. As the creaking door slowly opened, I felt something rustling beyond the darkness—and I closed my eyes in an instant. After taking a single deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

A thick, incredibly heavy darkness leaked out from behind the half open door.

But, Yoishi remained there, standing still as a rock. Her back, which would never hesitate to step forth into any darkness, wasn’t there. All that was there was the back of a young high school girl, who was unable to take one step ahead in the face of overwhelming darkness.

“Could it be—that you’re…scared?”

“……..I don’t know.”

Yoishi answered silently.

“I don’t know if this is what it means to be afraid. But, my feet are…”

I looked to see that Yoishi’s feet in her black leather shoes were quivering slightly.

I went back to pick up my rucksack, put it on my back and silently gripped Yoishi’s hand. The moment I gripped her soft and cold hand---Ahh, I realized.

The reason why I came all the way out here. And, what needed to be done here.

Wasn’t that, to confront the past together with Yoishi—And, to hear her true name from her own mouth?

Krishna-san had said it before. 『Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world』.

That’s right. There was only one thing for the disciples of the witch to do. That was to research the real names of all events and creatures in the world and their history, and once you take back your ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ should disappear.

Alright, I said to myself, and put strength into my stomach—

“…Let’s go. Alright?”

I asked, and Yoishi gave a small nod without a word.

For the first time since I’d gone with her through numerous paranormal events—I took the lead.

With a dull thud, I threw the door open.

I was greeted with the smell of dust assailing my nostrils, and a damp atmosphere that coiled around my body. With my right hand gripping Yoishi’s hand, I illuminated the mansion with the light in my left hand, and slowly took a step forward.

In front of the wide entrance hallway was a corridor, and it was dark to the point where my mini light could barely illuminate it. Nevertheless, I could see that the stairs to the second floor were on my right-hand side, and the spacious living room lay beyond the door to my left-hand side. At any rate, I felt countless presences everywhere, and I asked as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my feet.

“Where is the bedroom you said we could use?”

“Upstairs, at the back.”

“…Got it.”

I tried not to look anywhere, as I barged inside while still wearing my shoes, which was, sorry to say, always the case with haunted spots.

The stairs creaked as I climbed them one-by-one. I aimed my light up to see that the second floor looked even darker. The light formed a ceiling shadow of the handrail that moved, which felt extremely unsettling.

“The back of the second floor—that way, huh?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were doors on each side of the second-floor corridor, and a door in the back. I quickened my steps as if I would be in a safe zone once I reached there, and pulled Yoishi with me towards that door. There, I opened it in a single breath.

Inside was a simple guest room with two beds, a small table, and a closet installed on the wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoishi inside, and closed the door.

“It sure is a nice room.”

As I said that, I tried to twiddle with the switch on the wall, but as expected there didn’t seem to be any electricity, and it remained completely dark.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

I suddenly remembered and took out a portable lantern from my rucksack. I clumsily fiddled it with my shaky hands. As taught by Yamaoka from the mountaineering club, I thrust a rechargeable lighter in the hole and ignited it. Soon, a warm flame flared up and eventually grew, dimly illuminating the interior of the room.

“……….Ohh.”

“………….”

Yoishi and I, merely gazed at that light in a daze.

I had thought countless times that light was truly grand —but this was the first time I had been moved to the point of tears. Yamaoka insisted it when I borrowed the camping equipment, 『Camping is a completely different experience without it』, and forcibly crammed it in the rucksack over my objections….but, If I safely make it back, I have to express my profound thanks. If I didn’t have this, then the strange intimidating air that enveloped this mansion might have continued to weaken my spirit.

“This sure is good. It’s somehow really encouraging.”

“…Yeah.”

Yoishi sat on the bed, and unusually agreed with me.

I looked at her for some reason—and after that, I looked at the other bed.

I just now realized that it was only me and Yoishi here; We had sneaked in at night in an uninhabited house commonly known as the 『Hanging mansion』.

“Ermm.”

I cleared my throat once and asked.

“Is it a problem If I use any of the other rooms?”

Yoishi slightly cocked her head to the side.

“You know, it’s problematic for the two of us to sleep in the same room. Just now you said that this room was not a problem, but what about the other rooms….or to be more precise, what exactly is the problem with them?”

“It’s fine if you don’t mind, but.”

Yoishi answered dispassionately.

“The people who used the other two rooms are dead.”

“……………..”

...... I can't do it. I absolutely cannot do it.

In addition, this place was incomparably heavier and darker than all the haunted places we had visited so far. I nodded silently and sat down on the vacant bed after wiping away the dust on it. From there, we were both silent for a while. She had lied down with her back towards me, and I was clearly getting an aura from her that a conversation was impossible.

It was still just a little past 8 pm.

It was a time when you’d normally be awake and doing activities, but the mountains at night were a different story altogether. When the moon hid behind the clouds, there was no light anywhere besides this lantern. Everything was painted pitch black, and it made you believe that you were in a completely different world, a world where human rules no longer applied.

It was just the two of us alone in the ruins of a building that was deathly silent— not an unusual situation for us, and yet, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Perhaps because Yoishi was not her usual self.

Her eyes always glimmered in the face of the paranormal.

The more grotesque the situation trended towards, the stronger that dark light would shine.

But, right now, I—

I knew that the dark colored light at the back of her eyes was the thing I had to face. That knowledge made me feel as if there was someone else here besides the two of us, one more opponent, of an unknown nature.

But I had come mentally prepared with that in mind.

Determined, I calmly opened my rucksack. I took out copies of old newspaper and magazine articles I had obtained from the library before coming here, and spread them out under the light of the lantern.

It was commonly known as, 『The Hanging Mansion Family Massacre Case』. The major newspapers referred to it as 『K Lakeside Mountain Retreat Murder Case』, but the former was how it was referred to by the weekly magazines. And the source of that name came from the fact that the head of a household was found hanged in this mansion.

It happened around eleven years ago--- in short, it occurred on the 31st of July 2001.

I continued to read in sequence from a newspaper article to a weekly magazine article.

『Yesterday, inside a certain building in a mountain forest in K city, Y prefecture, the bodies of an active duty police officer and a Tokyo family that was staying at the house for a short period of time were discovered. The Y prefectural police have set up an investigation headquarters and have begun an investigation into the possibility of it being a crime or an accident. The connection between the family and the police officer is uncertain, but there is a possibility that the family was involved in some kind of trouble. According to the police statement, the bodies of the father and mother were discovered inside, and the body of the police officer and the family pet were discovered outside the building. The bodies of the eldest and younger daughter were discovered in the nearby K lake.』

『The father was discovered hanging by his neck in the living room.』『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room.』『The head patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police department was discovered stabbed to death in the garden.』『Next to the head patrol officer was the body of a dog which is believed to be the family pet.』『Around 1 kilometer below at K Lakeshore, the body of the elder sister was discovered. With lacerations at the base of her throat.』『The body of the second daughter was also discovered at the same location. She drowned to death.』

As I continued to read, my feelings became heavier and heavier.

According to one expert's theory in a weekly magazine, this incident was a family suicide carried out by the father: he killed the mother, the officer, the dog, and when the sisters ran away, he followed them and killed them at the lake, and then returned to the mansion where he killed himself. I see, it more or less made sense. However, there were still mysteries that remained, such as why a police officer belonging to the Metropolitan Police department happened to be present in a mountain retreat at Y prefecture? And why did the father decide to commit a family suicide?

Above all, what I was most concerned about was how Yoishi and Sako were involved in this incident.

If it were eleven years ago, Yoishi would have been six or seven years old.

I could deduce that she must have been the elder or the younger sister, but—before, umm, I think it was in the Koumei Institute’s ‘Clock Tower Incident’? It felt as if she had talked about her elder sister. Which meant, that Yoishi must have been the younger daughter.

Having racked my brains on it thus far--I read through one of the articles once more, and found a mention of ‘serious condition’ with regards to the status of the younger daughter. I also found an article that said, ‘She was transported to the hospital unconscious’ and, ‘The younger daughter in serious condition also passed away’. In short, the life and death status of the younger daughter was not mentioned clearly. There was no news of her whereabouts thereafter, as if she had dissolved into the darkness of this world. However, whether the culprit was her father or an outsider, the fact that the younger daughter survived, meant that she had gone through extreme hell--She had witnessed the entirety of what occurred in this mansion from beginning to end, and was probably aware of the identity of the true culprit.

And, thereupon,

I suddenly felt a strange tug at my heart.

It was as if I had overlooked an important path hidden by the vegetation in the dark forest.

I rearranged the scattered articles I had copied in order of date published. And then, I remembered what I felt when I was copying the articles in the library.

Yes—around two weeks after the incident, the number of reports on the incident dropped dramatically. After a month had passed, the verified reports were nowhere to be found. It is true that a wonder lasts but nine days, and even if the Japanese people had a capricious nature-- but this was such a sensational incident. And on top of that, it was still unresolved to the present day. Wasn't it forgotten about a bit too quickly?

It was as if... they were trying to pretend it never have happened.

“... Press restrictions, huh?”

As I recall, if an incident fulfilled certain criteria, then in accordance with press agreements, the media may refrain from reporting it.

But I heard that it was only limited to kidnapping cases, or anything relating to the imperial household or political issues—

---No.

No…that wasn’t all it was limited to.

I recalled an article I had read on an occult website. If I recalled correctly, there was an incident in which police rushed to the scene of the crime where a mother had been murdered, they found her infant daughter sitting there in a state of insanity and muttered, ‘A demon appeared from the wall’. There was much debate as to the true identity of the ‘demon’, but news reporting of that incident suddenly ceased all at once.

There were a lot of occultic theories on the internet surrounding people who lived in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, but one day, the thread was locked with a message from someone believed to be an insider.

It was, ‘The culprit was the daughter’, ‘Because she is an infant, press restrictions would be imposed.’

Something cold began to rise beneath my feet.

I slowly turned my head towards Yoishi who was lying on her side on the bed.

It can’t be—

The first time I met Yoishi--- Yes, back in the ‘Wish-fulfilling House’.

When I introduced myself, she merely said, 『I’m Yoishi』. I asked her, 『Isn't that a handle?』, and she denied it, saying,『My surname is Mitsurugi. Not that it matters』. Back then, I wondered if she was fine with revealing her real name on the internet, but—was it because it wasn’t her real name?

Come to think of it, I found out that the Noh-faced man who called himself Yoishi’s father belonged to the ‘Cabinet Information Research Office’. That meant it could influence the media to a greater or lesser extent— and not just that, it was also possible for it to take custody of a girl whose whereabouts were unknown….? No, what reason would someone in a government organization have for adopting the younger daughter?

Sako had been chasing the ‘everlasting night stone’ which was written in kanji as 「常夜石」. And he said that it was something that, 『Amplifies people’s negative emotions, and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing』, and that 『It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves』.

If ‘Mitsurugi’ was that man’s surname, but then, why did her first name become ‘Yoishi’…..?

Before I’d realized it, my legs had started shaking. Right now, I thought the black-haired girl sleeping in the bed next to me was someone truly terrifying, and I felt fear to the point where my blood was being drained.

---It can’t be, the true culprit from ten years ago was…..

“………..That’s right.”

At that moment, I jumped up with a start when Yoishi whispered as if she had read my heart. Yoishi slowly got up, moved to the edge of the bed and sat there. And, she gazed for a while at the countless photocopies of articles scattered near my hands—

Eventually, she moved her pale face towards me. I trembled at the appearance of the dark light in her large eyes.

“……Hey, are you scared?”

“……….”

“Are you…. Scared of me right now?”

I couldn’t answer instantly—

But eventually, Ahh, I managed to squeeze a voice from my stinging, parched throat.

“………I’m scared. Of course I’m scared. To be honest, if we’d just met, I think I would have run away.”

“…………..”

“But….it’s strange ---right now, I don’t care anymore.”

I forcefully put on a smile on my face.

Then, for some reason, I felt the back of my heart quietening into silence.

“If you are a survivor of this incident….and, if you’ve now taken the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, as someone who really does have another name. Then I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can’t see ghosts. I want to believe that they’re there, but to be honest I still can’t say for sure that they’re there. Even after witnessing countless paranormal things, I still can’t tell at all. But, what I truly believe is that there are souls. Warm souls, terrifying souls……. There must be countless souls in this world. They might dwell in buildings, in paintings, in music---they might be the strength of people’s thoughts, but I feel their presence and I believe in their existence. And, the shape of your soul-- which I can feel, which has gone through so much pain and suffering, I believe that it’s beautiful despite everything. And I love that shape.”

“…………………….”

Yoishi remained frozen in place, as she continued to gaze at my face---

And her beautifully shaped lips were about to say, ‘You--’, when they stopped.

“…………You?”

“You….you truly are a fool.”

Yoishi’s voice had a tinge of embarrassment in it, when--

……….*Plop*………..

That sound echoed.

It sounded like water dripping somewhere.

That sound, which seemed as if it was right next to my ears, made me shudder for some reason.

“Is there… a water leak somewhere?”

I somehow managed to say that, and Yoishi shook her head.

“….It’s calling me.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s in the bathroom.”

Declaring that, something flickered beyond Yoishi’s eyes that was illuminated by the lantern. Dark colored eyes and something I arbitrarily named was wriggling. And, that itself was the moment ‘Yoishi’ turned into the ‘everlasting night stone’.

「Say, don’t you want to go and take a look?」

Yoishi would probably whisper that from here.

And that was where the other world would begin. With a jerk, the world would flip upside down, and what would appear there would be a world you shouldn’t see. The ground beneath my feet would tremble, creating a floating sensation as if I had lost everything. But, I would not be able to fight against it. It would be unbearably scary, but I would end up heading there as if being dragged by Yoishi---

And.

However, Yoishi didn’t say anything no matter how much time passed.

Even though there was terror right next to her, she remained motionless as she continued to listen closely to the sound of water.

“…Yoishi?”

“This place is the reason why-- I hate baths.”

“…………”

“I… ended up making a mistake here I could never take back.”

“….What, happened here?”

I asked her, but Yoishi remained silent and did not answer. Her face was contorted in pain, and she merely hung her head down.

If I continued to gaze at that face, an unbearable sadness would sweep over me as well, and before I’d realized, I stood up and said, “Okay”. I drew closer to Yoishi and sniffed at her neck.

Yup, she stinks.

“Shall we take it, together?”

“………Eh………..?”

“The bath. If you know that this place is the cause, then that’s even more of a reason.”

“I, I refuse.”

“Shut up, just come. You haven’t taken a bath since you left my home, right?”

I was fully aware that I was saying something outrageous, but I was desperate when I decided to confront her.

I pulled Yoishi’s hand and made her stand, and spoke as if to conceal my embarrassment.

“I’ll wash your head. And this time—we’ll overcome it all.”

◯

“It’s boiling over, nice hot water!”

I shouted through the glass door as I pulled my hand out of the bathtub in the pitch-black darkness.

Then, after a few moments, the glass door opened with a clank. Yoishi Mitsurugi appeared in the bathroom stark naked….or so I thought. In the darkness, I only caught a glimpse, but naturally, I immediately averted my eyes out of courtesy.

There was no electricity in the mansion, but it was most fortunate that the water was from a well and that propane gas was still available. Right now, the bathroom was filled with warm steam. Even though there must be plenty of occult fans all over the world, we were probably the only ones to take a bath in a haunted place. As I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t it a worthy achievement to have performed a reckless act so effortlessly?’, Yoishi quietly sat down on the seat next to me, holding what looked like a towel in hand. In the pitch-darkness of the bathroom, where only the steam gently enveloped our bodies, we continued to sit in silence, naked.

“Ermm… Wash your body first.”

I desperately tried not to be conscious of Yoishi next to me, filled the tub with hot water, and rubbed a soap that was there onto the towel and lathered it.

“Look, you wash yours. It’s alright. I don’t see anything. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“……………………….”

Eventually, Yoishi placed something she was holding on the wash basin without saying a word.

“Hm…….? Wasn’t that a towel?”

I asked as I was scrubbing my body clean, but Yoishi seemed to have shaken her head without a word.

“Can I have a look at that?”

I washed the bubbles off my hand with hot water, turned off the faucet and then picked it up.

Checking it with my fingertips, I saw that it was something soft--- some kind of stuffed toy.

“Ah….this, could it be the thing you always have attached to your bag? The stuffed frog?”

“….Yes.”

“Hmmm, is it your good luck charm?”

I asked as I touched the body of the stuffed frog with my fingertips. It was quite old and frayed in places, but—that touch made me feel strangely nostalgic.

“It’s not a good luck charm.”

After a while, Yoishi whispered.

“He’s, my only friend.”

For some reason, those words made my heart ache deep in my chest.

“In the past, he used to talk.”

“In the past…? He can’t do it now?”

“He doesn’t talk anymore.”

“…………….”

In a way, such a cute line from a girl was a problem because when Yoishi said it, it instantly became occultic in nature. And moreover, since we were in an abandoned building where no one lived and people had died, I had to be careful not to let the atmosphere go into a creepy direction as much as possible, or else my spirit couldn’t handle it.

When—suddenly, I heard a splash.

I looked to see that Yoishi had already entered the bathtub.

Apparently, after only a couple of splashes of hot water on her body, she had moved there with the stuffed frog in hand.

“Did you wash yourself properly?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t. The soap is still the same as it was in front of me.”

“…..I don’t want to use that soap.”

“Why?”

“Because it's still there, just as it was that day.”

I didn't know how to retort back to those words.

I quietly looked in the direction of the bathtub, to see that Yoishi was soaked in the hot water up to her chin, playing with the stuffed frog in hand.

She hadn’t tied her long hair, so it was scary to see her hair spread out on the surface of the water.

“….I ended up doubting her.”

“…….Eh?”

“Back then, mama asked me if she could join me—and I refused.”

“What do you mean, you refused?”

I asked, but Yoishi fell silent once more.

Eventually, she carefully chose each word as she spoke.

“It was mama… but I ended up doubting that it wasn’t mama.”

Not understanding it well, I listened silently as I continued to wash my body.

“…If I had opened the door for her back then…. A lot of things might have turned out differently.”

That must have been when Yoishi was probably six or seven years old—when she came to visit this mountain retreat with her family. Does that mean that Yoishi was alone in the bath when her mother came? Does that mean that her mother died the next day?

I recalled the article that said,『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room』, and at the moment when bitterness overflowed in my chest—

I realized after all this time. I…. Ended up calling this mansion a ‘haunted place’ without consideration, but wasn’t it extremely rude to call it that, since it was a place where her family was? Once more, the words Krishna-san always told me stabbed my chest, ‘Have respect for the dead’, and I clutched my head in the darkness.

“….Regrets really are a thing, huh?”

After a while, I muttered.

“I always wonder after everything is over if I could have done a little bit more. I mean, my life is a repetition of that. I overslept, missed an important lecture and almost cried before the exam, I couldn’t properly teach the newcomer at my part time job, and he suddenly stopped coming, I ended up eating an extra-large portion of gyudon even though I don’t have money—No, what I have is nothing compared to what you are burdened with.”

--*Splash* As I poured hot water on my shoulders to wash away the foam, I spoke, “Sorry”.

“I’m sorry I ended up calling this house a ‘haunted place’.”

“….I don’t really mind.”

“No….but….”

Then, Yoishi merely muttered in the bathtub.

“What are ''grudges'', exactly?”

“….Eh?”

“What do ghosts, bear a grudge against, exactly….? For example, what if you were to die a horrific death because of me? What if you still had so many things you wanted to do, but your life ended because of me? Would you too wander this world with a grudge….?”

I suddenly imagined ---myself as a ghost, just wandering this world endlessly. But at that moment, a strange loneliness swept over my chest. A world like ice, where no one could perceive me, where my words never reached anyone.

There, all I was, was confused.

I was befuddled, in agony, and wished to die quickly and properly. Even though I was already dead, I was impatient to die properly.

“……No.”

I shook my head once, turned on the shower and poured hot water on my head.

“Rather than bearing a grudge, I think I’d be troubled.”

“Troubled….?”

“I think that ghosts are probably just troubled. The moment they understand that they’re dead, they're upset because they don't know what to do, having experienced that for the first time. Ahh--- I can’t explain it well, but rather than asking questions about why they died or wanting to come back to life, they would be restless about what to do with themselves, and have no time to bear grudges against other people. ….Look, isn’t that why they draw close to you? They might be relying on you since they realize that you can see ghosts. Maybe they think you might believe in the myth that telling ghost stories attracts them.”

I excitedly talked as if I had accidentally touched on a secret—

“You—”

Yoishi coldly declared.

“Really are a fool.”

‘What the hell did you say?’, I was about to retort, when I stopped, thinking that it was inappropriate. I silently lathered up the shampoo that was there in my hands and started washing my hair feeling good.

It was my first time talking about ghosts and not being afraid. For the first time, I felt as if I understood the meaning of what Krishna-san always said, ‘Perhaps some ghosts play tricks on people, while other ghosts say, 'Come on, stop it,' and step in to intervene, yet no one ever thinks of the latter possibility’.

“Even if they're dead, ghosts aren’t different than people.”

I tried to sound as cool as I possibly could, when it happened.

As I was scrubbing my head with the shampoo, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

As if the lathering was strangely sluggish — or rather, as if the amount of hair had strangely increased.

At that moment, I realized that there were long strands of hair dropping on both sides of my face. It was as if someone had drawn their face close to the back of my head with their long black hair, and trirf to get me to wash their hair as well.

--It must be Yoishi.

You sure had the nerve to come up with a funny idea, as I quickly reached both hands to the back of my head. I was trying to take hold of that head: Yoishi’s head, however.

“…………Eh?”

There was nothing there, and my hands were wandering in empty air.

''“Get out.”''

At the same time, a voice like a ringing bell echoed in the bathroom.

I looked to see Yoishi still immersed in the bathtub, gazing in my direction.

Her eyes in the darkness, were darker than darkness—

Her following words, directed towards something, made goosebumps run all over my body.

“You are already dead.”

◯

I'll never speak sagely of ghosts before her ever again.

I firmly made up my mind to do as I chanted the nembutsu<ref>Buddhist prayer</ref> all night--And it was the following day.

Before I'd realized, I was sound asleep in the bed and woke up to find myself in heavenly sunshine. The chirping of the birds reverberated around me, and the branches of lush green trees peeked through the window.

Did I come to some hotel resort somewhere? I couldn’t judge the situation right away and really thought that was the case, but--

No..... No, that wasn't it.

This was the mountain retreat where a mysterious massacre occurred eleven years ago.

With a start I raised my head, and saw that Yoishi was already awake and sitting on top of her bed, fiddling with her phone.

“...Ah... Good morning.”

When I greeted her, she fleetingly glanced my way with her large eyes,

“My phone has a connection.”

She spoke.

“Well, that's what it’s supposed to do.”

“There was no connection eleven years ago.”

She stood up and pointed her phone here and there.

“Is there a problem if you have a connection?”

“……………………….”

However, without answering, Yoishi put her phone away in her pocket, and turned her white face at me.

“What are we going to do from now on?”

“Well….”

No, I had no concrete ideas in mind.

I was under the impression that just coming here would be enough to settle something. I was told by Sako that I had to complete ‘Yoishi’s story’, and I thought that must have been ‘to hear Yoishi’s true name from her own mouth’. But— after thinking about it long and hard, that doesn't really need to be in this place, does it?

Which means….huh?

Why did Sako tell me about this place?

I raised my head, looked at the mansion walls, and thought of the room that was supposed to exist beyond it. After that, I pictured downstairs which was filled with far more creepiness than the second floor.

….Could it be?

Did it mean that there was something in this mansion that could finish this case?

“Let’s go.”

I declared, and Yoishi tilted her head slightly.

“We have to search this mansion.”

Yoishi asked, ‘For what?’, and in response:

“Something important.”

Without pause, I opened the door to the room.

All that was there on the other side of the creaking door was a corridor---but it wasn’t as dark as last night.

It was already bright with the light of the sun pouring in.

The stairs creaked as Yoishi and I descended to the ground floor. It was a building with many windows, and the warm sunshine poured in through all of them. It had lost the appearance of a haunted house and was now just an old mansion. Even so, the building still felt like a ruin, full of spider webs and dust-- but, as I thought that, I spotted something on the corridor floor. It was a yellow police tape. Apparently, it had been placed in front of the door leading to the living room.

Something bitter instantly rose up inside me, as I realized that this was a murder scene, and that the victims were Yoishi’s relatives.

“Are you alright?”

I turned around and asked, and Yoishi nodded, looking paler than usual.

The living room was spacious. It was at the very least, around 32 square meters in size.

It had leather covered sofas, a fireplace, withered houseplants, and torn wallpaper.

But—

I thought once more. I didn’t know why it was, but I didn’t feel as if this was my first time in this mansion. Come to think of it, I felt that when I first looked up at this mansion from the garden last night. As if someone had said to me, “Welcome back”. I recalled that feeling now once more and shuddered.

No--- I shook my head. No matter how much I turned the drawers of my memory upside down, I had never come to this mansion before. I only felt like I had been here before because this was a typical resort construction, and they all had a similar layout.

I continued to convince myself in that way, as I scooped off the piled-up dust on the sofa with my hands.

On the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room were three cups, and the tea or whatever that had been inside had already dried up and turned light brown. The family must have been enjoying their time here together. They had no idea that a conclusion far terrible than they could have imagined awaited them….

I became strangely sentimental, maybe because I thought that it was Yoishi’s family.

I was a weakling from the start, but I thought I had endurance with regards to the dead after their funeral had been completed. Once you die, there’s no coming back. No matter how much I grieved and moaned, I could not overturn that rule of life. That’s why, I didn’t mourn more than necessary. After all, I too would die one day. At that time, I would meet them again. And, in order to have lots to talk about when I meet them again in that world, I would live a fruitful life, that’s how I thought of it. That might have been the psychological coping mechanism I learned after the bitter separation from my mother.

But---

Something about this mansion was different.

I ended up thinking that maybe there was still something I could do about it.

Even though everyone was already dead….. and were no longer a part of this world, the vividness of the family pressed at me, a family that was not my own, but one that I could not think of as a stranger’s.

Are…they still here?

Are Yoishi’s mother, father, sister, and the policeman, still here in this mansion--?

I end up feeling like…. they entrusted me with something important that was left undone.

“….Huh?”

As I thought such things, I noticed that Yoishi was staring at something.

It was a small space above the hearth.

“What’s wrong?”

I called out to her and stood next to her---where I noticed.

It was a single photograph. A brown wooden photo frame had collapsed, and a discolored photograph lay beside it.

My heart beat out loud seeing the figures of the people in the picture.

“…..This……”

“My… family.’

“Is it alright…. if I take a look?”

“It’s fine, but—”

Yoishi added in a tone of voice that lacked emotion.

“It’s not really something pleasant.”

Hearing those words, I gulped.

Why hadn’t the police taken this picture away, even though they must have investigated the scene countless times? Come to think of it, why were all the cups I saw earlier still here? Suddenly, all sorts of questions crossed my mind, but in the end, I picked up that photograph.

It was a family photograph taken in the garden. The father, the mother, the elder sister, the younger sister, and the family dog—everyone was looking at the camera, and probably smiling in the polaroid picture. However, the moment I saw it, an intense chill ran down my back, causing me to almost let go of it.

For some reason….in that photograph of the father, the mother, the elder sister, and the dog—their faces were discolored white and stretched out in the air as if twisted by an invisible force so strong that they were about to disappear. Among them, only the young girl was smiling kindly. She looked this way with her beautiful white face, and her pretty, long black hair that swayed slightly in the wind.

“……U…..umm, you sure were cute.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, really….”

“It becomes this type of photograph when that takes your life.”

“By t…that…could you possibly mean?”

…The ‘everlasting night stone’ that Sako mentioned?

The moment I was about to mention that name, Yoishi put her finger on my lips to stop me.

“It would be better not to say that name.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

“Because it’s everywhere at all times.”

“S…say, why…why did you take the name of Yoishi? If that name itself was ominous, and if you were aware of that, then why---?”

Without answering, Yoishi silently took the photograph from my hand and carefully placed it back in its original place.

“The police abandoned it.”

“Abandoned?”

“This photograph is as you can see. But, it wasn’t abandoned because of an exposure error. This entire mansion was abandoned, and the investigation itself was abandoned.”

“W, why?”

“Because the state unofficially recognized that long ago.”

Yoishi’s cold words left me aghast.

“It exists in every age, appears at whim, and consumes humans—stealing their lives. That’s why it has been recognized as a natural disaster that possesses this country, like typhoons and earthquakes.”

“No…that’s—if it were a natural disaster, then why did you need to take that name?”

“Because—”

Yoishi stood stock still like a broken doll, and whispered.

“Because I’m the cause of all this.”

“……….What?”

“Because I was an unwanted child that was never wished for.”

“….There’s no way that’s true? There’s no way a child is unloved by their parents.”

“Thinking straightforwardly like that is a trait of yours, but—then, why does infanticide not cease in this world? What about the abuse that increases even now? And, what if… it was an unwanted pregnancy?”

………………………..

“What if….it was a life born from the violation of the mother by a complete stranger?”

“….Hey…it can’t be….”

“If that were the case, I would erase myself.”

Yoishi’s large eyes harbored a pale blue flame as she spoke.

“That’s why my face is white. Because of foreign blood. I didn’t resemble anyone in my family. I was--”

“Cursed ''before I was even born.''”

“That’s exactly why I was chosen by that.”

I….could not utter even a single word.

But from somewhere in the mansion that was as silent as death—something echoed as a substitute.

A biological, disgusting, whipping sound.

“….It has begun.”

“…….Eh?”

“It’s already begun.”

Yoishi looked me in the eyes, and spoke in a whisper.

“It’s going to be hell from now on.”

“….What?”

“If you want to go back, this is your last chance.”

“……………”

“You’re free to do whatever you wish, but from here on, I’m not sure that I will continue to be myself. To run away from here, to forget everything, and to live a cheerful life would be without a doubt the right thing to do.”

Yoishi spoke that much forlornly, and turned away from me.

With a mechanical gait in her step, she walked straight out of the living room.

“W…. wait a minute!”

I was a step behind, and ran after her.

I caught up to Yoishi who was proceeding in the corridor, and grabbed her hand.

“I’m going as well.”

I declared, and Yoishi looked at me with lonely eyes.

I nodded strongly, and Yoishi silently looked down, and spoke.

“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

“……Eh?”

“I know that’s completely unforgivable, but I can’t help but rely on you.”

“No……”

I spoke flustered.

“I don’t mind if you rely on me, you know? Well, although, I might be quite unreliable, but…”

In response, Yoishi bit her lips in irritation---

“Please, forgive me.”

She whispered that.

I stopped moving, not knowing what she meant—when Yoishi looked up at me and gazed at me. That white, unworldly, beautiful face declared as if melting into the darkness of this world.

“No matter what happens, no matter what you see… stay as you are. Stay as Nagito Yamada. Continue to stay that way--- that might be our only chance to win at the very last moment.”

It was an expression Yoishi Mitsurugi had shown me for the first time.

The girl who had never asked me for a single favor up until now, who had gleefully moved forward no matter what paranormal events she faced, the young girl who was acted coolly like a grand witch from antiquity even when faced with reality that would make you want to avert your eyes, showed me for the first time--- a sorrowful expression.

Please, forgive me.

She declared once more in a hoarse voice, and abruptly turned heel with a knock of her leather shoes.

After that, she didn’t look back, as she continued into the darkness.

I fell behind for a moment—before following her.

The mansion corridor which had not been ventilated for a long time, creaked strangely, perhaps due to the humidity.

It wouldn’t be strange if the floors collapsed at any given moment, and that instability was the same sensation I had whenever my legs froze from the sign of the world beyond.

The very back of the corridor.

The closer I got to the inconspicuous wooden door, the louder the whipping sound became.

“T...this sound.”

I was about to ask what it was, but I couldn’t say the words. Being the weakling that I was, my legs had already begun to tremble, and the root of my teeth didn’t connect.

Yoishi made it that far without hesitation, placed her hand on the sliding door, and with a single breath, threw it open.

It was a storage room around 10 sqm in size.

There was a mop, a place for a large vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, an unused chair and such.

And, in the center, I saw a familiar childish face.

“—K…”

I was at a loss for words.

“…..Kri…shna-san?”

◯

A petite figure was crouching in a dark corner of the room, devouring something.

Her short hair was messy, as if she hadn’t returned home for many days—and her blue spring dress was torn in places and dirty with mud, as if she had tumbled down a mountain.

“Umm….Krishna-san….is that you….?”

In response, the girl looked in my direction, still clutching something with her hands.

She sneered in a satisfied smile with her white, cloudy eyes. I shuddered at the sight of the thing that protruded from her lips. From those cute lips which were always preaching to me with sermons of love, now protruded a large, wriggling centipede. She bit it off with those white teeth of hers, and chewed it crunchingly.

As I watched, unable to say anything —Krishna-san slowly stood up.

She then brought her hands, still covered with the remains of centipedes and other small animals, to her large breasts and grasped them violently. She then rubbed them vigorously. It made me feel a sense of unease, as if a different personality was using Krishna-san’s arms to toy with her body. But, there was no eroticism in it. It was merely revolting; I felt disgust as if something precious was being defiled. it reminded me of a coven of witches – a sabbath that I had once seen illustrated in a book. That vulgar behavior was in no way the behavior of the Krishna-san I knew. She was so cute in all her actions that even when she had to be strict, she still lacked a sense of tension.

“What are you trying to do by moving to that person?”

Yoishi spoke coldly as she fixed her gaze on Krishna-san.

“Your place is inside me, isn’t it?”

With those words, I realized with a start.

“….Hey, it can’t be….?”

‘That’s right’, Yoishi gave a small nod.

“That person is Shiina Kurimoto, but it’s not her personality right now. The one who stands there is the one destroyed everyone precious to me: my best friend, my mother, my father, my elder sister, Leo, the detective-- The one who stands there… is the ‘Everlasting night stone’.”

Together with her words… I saw it.

Right now, in Krishna-san’s eyes, a dark light glimmered that was like the bewitching glimmer in Yoishi’s eyes in the face of the paranormal. Exposed to that dark light, countless scenes revived and connected in my mind. The countless mysteries, paranormal phenomenon which defied explanation that I had witnessed so far. Yoishi’s eyes would begin to glitter before them. But when she saw malice in the truth, Yoishi would always vomit. She would vomit in pain, as if trying to wipe away something inside her.

Was that---

Because this thing was inside her?

Was it because this thing was wriggling in delight inside Yoishi?

The sneering laughter that sounded like a man echoed in the dimly lit storage room and corridor.

The bobbed haired, baby face, the cheeks that would be described as adorable by a hundred out of a hundred people, Krishna-san contorted those cheeks—

And made a smile that was both broken and complacent.

“It crossed over from continental Asia in the past, was called ‘Nine tails’ at times, and ‘Everlasting night stone’ at times…. It moves freely from people to people, a natural disaster of this country that destroyed countless people all over, a hidden natural disaster—the purest ‘malice’ in this world.”

Yoishi’s words coldly reverberated in the room—

The earth shook. No, my torso was shaking in the face of being overwhelmingly powerless, and my knees were already shaking to the point of collapse.

Krishna-san….no, Shiina Kurimoto-san was the most reliable person for me since I moved to Tokyo alone. Her words were harsh at times, but even they were filled with love, because she was worried about me from the bottom of her heart, and she was the person who was the furthest away from the word ‘corrupted’. She was my holy mother, just making eye contact with her was enough to relax me and give me fluffy feelings at the pit of my stomach. No matter how close I came to breaking down, this person alone would always stand firmly on the ground, support me, and return me to myself. Now, there were no traces of that to be found anywhere. In its stead was malice bare to see, and it was as if just seeing her lurching figure was enough to distort the world.

「I’ll be right back. After I’ve enjoyed this one.」

As if declaring that, Krishna-san took the rat carcass she still held in her left hand, and plunged it headfirst into her mouth.

“S--”

Stop it. I was about to shout, when—

“Yo, there you are.”

I heard an aloof voice behind me.

After a few seconds—I turned around dumbfounded, to see the thin figure of Sako Takita.

Sako slipped past me who couldn’t even move, and affectionately called out to Krishna-san.

“Kurimoto-kun, you shouldn’t eat something like that. You’ll end up getting diarrhea.”

He was not dressed in his usual blue kinagashi. On his head he wore an eboshi<ref>Black cap https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90</ref>. His long hair, which was always unkempt had been neatly slicked back, and he was formally dressed in a black hakama and tall wooden clogs—but his appearance conversely made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Now, let’s go back, shall we? This is no place for you.”

In response, the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside Krishna-san vibrated its throat. I couldn’t clearly make out what it was saying—but it was clearly a sneering voice that rejected, disdained, and ridiculed Sako’s suggestion.

“….Hm.”

However, it seemed it had gotten through to Sako. He nodded several times and spoke.

“……..Ah, you shouldn't. Don't make a young woman use such indecent language. She is still a popular girl you see. You mustn’t make light of Krishna fans all over the country…Eh? Mmhmm, you say you’re not a fan? You’re saying everyone uses the occult as a pretext to see Kurimoto-kun’s body, and that they must be stripping her naked in their head?”

Sako spoke as if he were a proxy of a beast, and then turned my way.

“Are you like that?”

“………..Eh?”

“Well, you can’t clearly deny it as a man—but that’s not quite right.”

Sako turned to face the front once more.

“Hey, listen up, will you? Those large, large attractive breasts of Kurimoto-kun are comforting, you see. They are a symbol of her love that gently envelop everything. It's true that large breasts on a petite body can give off an unbalanced appeal, but what all men of this world instinctually crave is, the motherly love she exudes. Don’t be mistaken, not everyone in this world is a dark, malicious and perverse insect like you.”

As Sako declared that, the ‘everlasting night stone’ vibrated the back of her throat once more, but—

Sako ignored it on purpose, and quietly turned to Yoishi this time.

“Now then—let me say it once more.”

For some reason he made sure to straighten his back and politely sent those words to Yoishi.

“You did well to survive.”

Yoishi gazed back at Sako’s face without a word.

Was it my imagination, or did it feel as if her eyes were gently narrowed.

“I apologize for not being aware of your existence sooner --- Well, it is as you can see. Please forgive me.”

To Sako who bowed down, Yoishi merely muttered, “I don’t really mind.”

“…I only just realized it yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I was told by that person.”

She pointed at me, ‘Hoho’, Sako happily swung his shoulders.

….I didn’t know what was going on. But from the way Sako was acting so relaxed—did that mean that we and Krishna-san were alright now? Yoishi said something about how it was going to be hell from now on….Does that mean it will be averted?

“Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

Sako then put a friendly smile on his face and declared.

“Please allow me to declare this in advance. In the unlikely event that you become the ‘everlasting night stone’—I will kill you here.”

…………Huh?

“You may or may not have already realized, but I managed to cling to this uninteresting world and lived thus far to dispose of this trash known as the ‘everlasting night stone’. I will make it regret it so much that it curses itself for appearing in this world and for its continuing meddling with human beings —and I will tear it to pieces.”

“….I know.”

“—H, hey, hey ,hey, wait a second!”

I unconsciously butted in their conversation, when Sako simply stopped me from interrupting with his hand, and spoke.

“Now, now, please calm down, this was a talk of the worst-case scenario. There will be no casualties if we can deal with it now.”

At that moment---a piercing, sneering laughter reverberated, as if pounding the mansion. I looked to see Krishna-san…no, what was now the ‘everlasting night stone’ bending its petite body with tears in its eyes as it laughed.

“Something, is strange.”

Saying that coldly, Sako held up the three-pronged Gokosho<ref>https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/collection/665-0.html</ref> in his hand—and made several signs in midair. Krishna-san instantly stopped laughing as she coughed and collapsed while still bent backwards. The way she fell didn’t look safe at all, and I was reflexively about to rush over, but—

“Next, I will tear you to pieces.”

Sako cleanly cut the Kuji<ref>(Buddh) nine-character charm chanted with ritual gestures to ward off evil (esp. by mountain ascetics and adherents of Esoteric Buddhism)</ref> with his fingertips, and began to speak words I had never heard before.

It must have been a sort of ritual prayer I had no knowledge of—

The clear, resonant Kotodama that flowed from his mouth made Krishna-san’s petite body arch backwards in a bind.

“This mansion is closed by a barrier on all four sides. I will first remove the original fox soul of the ‘everlasting night stone’. Furthermore, I will get rid of the countless deep-seated grudges that have combined--- and finally separate them, leaving only the personality situated at the highest order.”

Sako dispassionately explained after finishing his ritual prayer, and began to draw some kind of pattern at Krishna-san’s feet with unrefined salt.

However—the guffawing, sneering laughter continued.

Krishna-san, having collapsed on the ground, still had a painful smile contorted as the tears streamed down her face. It was if she were witnessing something truly foolish—as if there was a mistake in front of her eyes which only she had realized—she merely convulsed with laughter as she pointed at Sako.

“It must be painful.”

Sako on the other hand, showed pity.

“But there's not the slightest chance I'd want to help you.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s eyes distorted more fiendishly than I had never seen before.

As if in reply— Sako’s pale face muttered in a whisper that horrified me as I watched.

“—You, devoured my mother.”

“………………”

“And you devoured my father. However, failing to devour me was a lethal mistake on your part.”

“Kokoko.”

The ‘everlasting night stone’ let out a strange, trembling voice.

It appeared as if it were somewhat perplexed.

It looked perplexed as if it had devoured so much it couldn't remember ---And , I saw Sako’s eyebrows furrow slightly in response. It was the first time I saw the emotion of anger emanate from Sako.

As soon as the pattern was finished, Krishna-san’s body crumpled even further into the ground as if it was crushed by gravity. This time, she indeed sounded as if she was in pain. But—even though it might have been the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside, it still appeared as Krishna-san. I couldn't stand it any longer, and at some point, I slowly drew closer, when—

“You’ll get devoured.”

Sako’s words stopped my movements with a jerk.

Sako swept his hakama as he sat in the seiza position, and with his eyes half-closed, began a sonorous ritual prayer once more.

It was as if to tighten the air to make invisible signs, and rearrange the sounds of the world as if to make a hidden rhyme.

It made Krishna-san’s collapsed body writhe in pain and bounce up and down as if it were billowing.

--Amazing.

I didn’t quite know what was happening, but it was overwhelming, I thought.

--Just a little more… with just a little bit more, would things really turn out alright?

My heart began to throb with anticipation, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel safe just yet.

But—at that moment.

I suddenly noticed Yoishi, who had been silent all this time.

Yoishi’s cold gaze, her unresponsiveness after having coexisted together with the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body since that incident eleven years ago, made me feel a terrible premonition. I then recalled Sako’s words.

….Huh…just now, Sako said that this building was inside a barrier. Could it be that the so-called ‘everlasting night stone’ that was now possessing Krishna-san, would after being severed from her, simply return to Yoishi once more who was inside the barrier? Or was the pattern Sako drew just now at Krishna-san’s feet a new, different barrier altogether?

“Well, you see.”

As he continued making the signs with his fingers, Sako answered with his back still turned toward me, as if he had sensed my concern.

“In the unlikely chance the ‘everlasting night stone’ that detaches from Kurimoto-kun breaks this barrier and possesses you, I will kill you. If it possesses Yoishi-kun, I will kill her. If I fail to sever it, I will kill Kurimoto-kun. I would be deemed a murderer according to this country, but that is of no concern to me. The only way to teach it the concept of ‘death’ is to let it experience it while it is bound to some kind of body. Having said that, you all might be a bit reluctant—well do forgive me for that.”

….H, hey, you can’t be serious.

“But—you see. Don’t you think it strange?”

As I was dismayed, Sako declared to me amused.

“Why do you believe Yoishi-kun didn’t die even though eleven years have passed since that incident?”

“…………..Eh?”

“Why do you believe she used illogical methods to save you at times?”

“…………”

“That is because—”

Sako’s mouth twisted into a happy smile, and he spoke.

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ failed in its incarnation long ago.”

“……………………….”

“Eleven years ago, in this mansion, under a devilish plan, the heart of a child it believed it had completely destroyed was protected by a certain accident.”

“…….Accident? What do you mean accident?”

But without answering my question, Sako continued to speak.

“Call it an accident, inevitability, or you could even call it a miracle--- at any rate, it set up several atrocities to crush the young girl’s heart and create a hollow vessel, but it failed. But—this gives birth to a question. There was no need at all for Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun to be the only body the ‘everlasting night stone’ incarnated itself in.”

“………Eh?”

“There are probably a great many beautiful boys and girls in this world who have had a sorrowful upbringing, who excel at a spiritual disposition. The ‘everlasting night stone’ is pure malice boiled down to its essence, and its actions are always shaped by calculated malice, and if it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more. Its behavioral pattern is, if anything, almost refreshing. Despite that, on this occasion, it possessed ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ for eleven long years. Why do you think that is?”

I looked at Yoishi.

I looked at her pale, extremely well proportioned, calm face once more.

“That is because she dared to take the name of 『Yoishi』herself.”

“…………Ah.”

“’Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’. Despite failing to incarnate, the reason it clung to Yoishi was because she christened herself as 『Yoishi』, and stitched it into her own body to prevent it from escaping anywhere.”

Why did Yoishi need to use that name?

When I asked her that just a while ago—Yoishi answered that it was because she was the cause of all this. Because she was a life born from the violation of her mother by a complete stranger, and that was exactly why she was cursed before she was even born.

But…that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is true that it is far safer for everyone to know where the everlasting night stone is than not to know where it is.”

Sako spoke sadly.

“The young girl who willingly became the den for the ‘everlasting night stone’ was under the custody of the state for that very reason. She was implanted with a GPS tracker in her body, and was kept under surveillance twenty four hours a day: not allowed to die, and placed in a condition where she couldn’t have been said to be alive either.”

I recalled the face of that tall Noh-faced man.

Since I first met him, he kept referring to Yoishi as ‘that’— was that what he meant?

Did he only see her as a box of calamity that could not be opened?

“Y…you’ve gotta be kidding me….”

I looked at Yoishi in response to Sako’s words, who was listening with a vacant expression, and I shouted out loud unable to bear it anymore.

“That…that’s, absolutely wrong!”

“It’s not wrong. Everything has fallen into place in a very rational way, and a state of equilibrium has finally been achieved.”

“No… that’s completely wrong….what about her being left in a state of uncertainty where she’s nether dead or alive? Did a bunch of adults who should have known better not think of Yoishi’s feelings at all?”

“And by thinking---what would they achieve?”

At that moment, Yoishi’s whisper reached my ears.

“Could anyone do anything? No, there’s nothing that could be done. That’s why I decided not to feel anything. What I saw, the words I was exposed to, my changing environment — I decided to accept none of it, and just let it wash over me.”

“…That’s…”

I recalled her slender back, she walked alone as if she carried a heavy burden all by herself.

I recalled the way she lived her life, her head hung down with a stooped back, as she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

I recalled the way she stood still in the depths of eternal darkness all by herself, as her eyes coldly gazed at the paranormal of this world.

“At that time, at that age, under those circumstances--”

Sako spoke as he looked at Yoishi, narrowing his narrow eyes even further.

“It was a terrifyingly excellent decision to make. It would have been impossible for me to do the same. How painful must that have been?”

Suddenly, I realized Yoishi was gripping something tightly.

It was the stuffed frog Yoishi treasured as if it were a good luck charm.

Sako too, looked down towards the stuffed animal, and suddenly smiled. Then, for some reason, he looked at me, and this time, put on a smile of a wicked disposition.

“Well, thanks to several accidents—the life of a man who disgracefully ran away has also been rewarded.”

It was the moment he declared that.

--*Snap* *Crack*, I heard the sound of something splitting open here and there in the mansion.

I looked up, and it soon turned into a sound like a sharp, cracking sound of a dead tree snapping off—

And it felt, as if it changed to a high-pitched laugh.

As I thought about the thing I heard just now, and the meaning behind it, I shifted my gaze back at Sako in a daze.

……..Eh?

I saw scarlet at the center of Sako’s pale face. Before I realized, a streak of blood was trickling down Sako’s tall nose. Sako must have also noticed it, as he wiped the nosebleed with a vacant expression. However, the nosebleed that was trickling from Sako’s right nostril had now begun to trickle from his left nostril as well. The gooey blood started trickled down.

“….Hey, Sako….”

No, it wasn’t just through both nostrils. From his ears, his mouth, his eyes….at some point, blood had begun to drip through the holes in his hair follicles to the point where his entire hair was black and wet. Blood gushed from every orifice of his body without stopping, wetting his whole skin.

“Ah….”

Sako’s fingers were trembling and unable to form seals. Ony mere words of delirium were emitted from his lips that were poor in complexion.

“…..H…Hey, Sako………!”

I supported Sako’s body, which was on the verge of collapse. Sako’s body, which was violently shaking and about to fall, felt as light as air. And his white clothes were dyed deep red as if they had been crimson from the start.

“……..H, hey Sako! Stay with me!!”

“….Hu…..”

Those faint words that escaped Sako’s lips reached my ears.

“…….Humans…… can ne…ver…..win…..”

What the hell are you saying….?

I was about to say that, but that grumble did not become my voice.

Sako gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face, as he continued to speak with the utmost effort.

“…They just… do… lose...... Don’t...... even think...of winning….”

Are you complaining now of all times?

His abrupt proclamation of defeat made the pit of my stomach churn.

However, it was not so much that I was disgusted with him – but rather, it a feeling of regret for Sako who had hunted down the ‘everlasting night stone’ to this point. And, at the same time, I didn’t know what the meaning of simply spouting such words here. Did he already assess victory or defeat? Or was there some other meaning behind them?

“Hey, Sako!!”

Without knowing what to do, I foolishly kept screaming at Sako.

“…There’s… no chance you will win …. Who, or what…. Are you going to win against…?”

Sako tried to scratch at midair with no strength in his fingers.

I realized that his fingertips were aimed at Yoishi—

And, the moment I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi coldly fixated at Sako who was lying there covered in blood – Sako coughed a spurt of blood from his mouth, and his strength quietly disappeared in my arms.

“……..There’s no way—right?”

I looked at Sako’s face, who was stock still with his eyes slightly open—

And then, I turned to Yoishi.

“…..Y, Yoishi, do something! What should we do about Sako?”

She silently glimpsed at Sako’s immobile body,

“You can’t incarnate in me by destroying this person.”

Yoishi spun her words towards midair.

“Showing me people dying… doesn’t make me feel anything anymore.”

In response, the mansion creaked once more. *Crrrreeeak*

That strange sound—made Yoishi’s eyes slightly widen.

As if she had realized something, she suddenly turned to look in my direction.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak*

The old mansion was creaking.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaeak**Crrrreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeak*

The timber was chafing together, and it sounded like someone’s sneering laughter.

That’s right--- right now, someone was sneering somewhere.

In a loud shrill laugh, as if everything was going according to plan.

And I-- was merely standing in a daze in a world that was rapidly changing.

No, Sako’s words repeatedly swirled in my head, and I kept thinking about their meaning in a daze.

『The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’.』

『It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice.』

『Its actions are always shaped by calculated malice.』

『If it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more.』

…..Say.

''If''---that’s right, it was a question of ‘if’.

The fact that I met Yoishi Mitsurugi one year ago in that family restaurant.

The fact that I alone coincidentally happened to run into ‘Yoishi’ by accident after the ‘Ikaigabuchi’ offline meeting.

If, that wasn’t an accident….what would happen?

No, what if everything began long before that, the day I lost my mother? What if Yoishi becoming involved in the resolution, and even how Krishna-san linked it by saying, ‘From its start, it never had any malice’, was not an accident….?

Having met Yoishi, and feeling a debt of gratitude towards her—

Didn’t I end up feeling romance for ghosts? I became attracted to the scenery of the world beyond, and began to excitedly venture into the spirt world, and jumped into the flames of darkness with glee, like a moth that knows that it is not a place a living person can deal with, but jumps into the flames and gets burned. And, before I’d realized, that continued to chip away at the thread of my spirit, gradually thinning my connection to this world and leading me straight to hell. Meeting Krishna-san, meeting Sako, and even meeting Takamura--- What if all those encounters were calculated by someone else, and they transformed the unknown realm of the occult into something fascinating one step before I rejected it? And what if it that was something that foolishly made me think that I could, or rather, that I had to save the young girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi?

In the world that was being painted pitch black—I pictured her lonely face.

『Next time, if we meet again-- I’ll become your friend.』

『if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.』

『That person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.』

Eleven years ago, the ‘everlasting night stone’ failed to destroy Yoishi’s heart, Sako said that it had been stitched to Yoishi because she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ herself. But that wasn’t it--- not at all.

Wasn’t the ‘everlasting night stone’ patiently waiting for someone to appear for eleven years?

Could the occult loving university student: Nagito Yamada, possibly be—

An existence created only for the girl whose heart failed to be crushed, to grow in her the heart to ‘Trust people’ once more?

……..A………………

“ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I realized that thundering scream was my own.

Someone who Yoishi trusted.

Someone who Yoishi acknowledged as a ‘friend’.

Then, one after the other, it would sow the seeds that would lead to that someone and Yoishi deepening their connection, and when they mutually acknowledged each other as ‘war comrades’, it would destroy that someone.

Possessing Krishna-san, destroying Sako—was it all to destroy Nagito Yamada into smithereens in front of Yoishi? After she barely escaped being crushed eleven years ago, it planned to crush the faintest hope budding in her heart in the most ruthless way imaginable – and would finally be able to incarnate Yoishi’s body at long last?

A fear pierced through my entire being, as if I faced the thing that killed me in a past life—and I, pissed myself disgracefully.

“……Hey…. scared?”

At that moment—

A familiar voice like a ringing bell reached my ears.

--Everything… is in reverse.

Next to me, the young girl who had lost her emotions sneered.

With long black hair that gently waved, a monster was there with a pale face and dark colored eyes.

The scenery I once saw,

The ghost stories I had once read.

Among them must have been illusions in my mind created by fear.

Before I realized, there was a staircase behind me. On the landing of the staircase was a middle-aged man in a gray, worn suit, staring at me with a hollow expression. Under the bed was a woman with a white face, and a bluish-white hand that sprouted from the dark mud wall. An old woman with clouded white eyes was leaning against my back, and countless white faces floated in the sky. Sinister words scrawled in an old book pointed to a graveyard that spread out all over, while a corpse that stood on the sea was connected to a pair of high heels placed behind a guard rail left by a woman laughing in the mountains. A broken doll turns into a wriggling thing at the water’s edge, the wheelchair of an abandoned hospital squeaks and squeals as it swirls and disappears into the sky, and the shiny thing in the tornado is an alien vehicle.

You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well neither do I. I was merely describing what I saw with my eyes, as my brain felt it. Aa—Ahh, that’s right. My mind must have been on the verge of breaking down. My head must have exceeded its allowed tolerance of fear. Up until now, Krishna-san solved most things for me. More dangerous things were somehow managed by Sako. And Yoishi vaguely dealt with things I didn’t quite understand. But, those were all events on a rail laid by an ancient entity acting through malice, and I was, according to expectation, according to plan, completely afraid, and with my collapse, Yoishi too would collapse, auspiciously allowing Yoishi to transform into the ‘everlasting night stone’. The cackling and sneering black haired young girl next to me was that.

Which meant that, everything was already---

Over---

--When.

….No.

….Wait a minute…..

If Yoishi was already broken, and ended up turning into the ‘everlasting night stone’….then... What of me who was thinking right now? Did being broken mean only this much? Were these the last few normal thoughts that remined in my illogical self-consciousness? I didn’t know, but what were these thoughts that I was still thinking and feeling anyway?

Those vague doubts—

Changed the scenery in an instant.

They continued to clear away the darkness, and slowly returned my vision back to the original world.

I was still standing still in the storage room, and in front of me was Krishna-san who lay collapsed, and a bloodstained Sako. And next to me was Yoishi, dumbfounded, her empty gaze wandering at midair. There was no sign of the ‘everlasting night stone’ anywhere in the dim, dark and cramped room.

“…..Yoishi.”

I reached out my wobbly hand, gripped her hand, and spoke.

“….C, can you walk?”

Yoishi looked at me in a daze, and shook her head thereafter.

“….Come on, just walk. Let’s get out of here… let’s go outside, and call for help. If we call for an ambulance, Sako might still be--”

“—It’s impossible.”

Yoishi spoke with an expression that was clear, and heartrendingly painful.

At that moment, I noticed it.

Next to Yoishi, a white haze hung over.

There were four mists there, as if they enveloped Yoishi. And in my retinas, they gradually formed some kind of shape—and stood silently as if encompassing Yoishi. I quickly understood that it was people for some reason. And, I had an intuition that I knew these people. It felt as if I had once, somewhere, watched over them as if they were my real family…but, ahh, I knew it, I’ve started to collapse again. I realized that fact somewhere in my consciousness, but I still couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That was because—

I could now see a gentlemanly gray-haired man next to Yoishi. Next to him, I saw was a cheerful woman, a tomboyish girl with a smile on her face, and a cute brown dog at her feet. As they gradually took form, my vision gradually blurred. And those words spontaneously came from my mouth.

--I’m sorry……

I felt an overwhelming regret and fell to my knees on the spot. If I had only—if I had only been a little bit smarter. If I could have done something a little better. The feeling of cursing myself for my helplessness continued to well up inside me. I wiped away the tears that overflowed, and raised my head—

“……………”

I saw what looked like a straw rope fastened around the man’s neck. Looking closely at the mother, I saw that her body was dismembered. The girl had a knife still stuck at the base of her throat, and the small dog’s stomach was split open, its entrails fallen out. Yet despite that, the four hazy figures that had taken form remained standing, as if they enveloped Yoishi.

…..Are…. they ghosts?

At last, was I-- seeing the ghosts I had once longed to see so much?

And I realized what an unbelievably sad thing they were. Ghosts were in no way a thing to be feared. They were not something terrifying. They were completely and utterly heartbreaking things. Unable to be seen, unable to speak, they are just there. And, just seeing Yoishi Mitsurugi at ease surrounded by those ghosts evoked a pain that was enough to split my heart into two.

As the tears flowed without end from my eyes--my right elbow suddenly tinged in pain. And that ache seemed to ache in and out as it grew more painful. It became an unbearable pain, and I finally realized that it was a furious rebuke. It felt as if I heard Karasu-san’s voice right by my ear.

“….Don’t….give up yet… Think…”

I wiped away my tears, and at the same time I gritted my teeth, frantically encouraged my brain.

In the boundary between reality and fiction, between this world and the world beyond, I still mobilized my full consciousness to think.

The reason I came here…The meaning of why Sako made me come here.

Wasn’t I yet to find out why that was?

Think, think. Think until your mind is scorched, me. Sako said, 『‘Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’』, and Krishna-san had said, 『To wear the W in witch, would ultimately mean to forget who you are』. Which meant that regaining one’s original name was supposed to erase the worn ‘W’—no, was it the other way around….? That’s right….When she christened herself as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ and bound the ‘everlasting night stone’, wasn’t she herself was bound at the same time?

Didn’t she end up defined as a dweller of this world and the world beyond?

“So that means I need to find her real name after all--”

In my cloudy consciousness, I told Yoishi, “Stay there”, and ran out.

I mustered all my remaining strength, ran through the corridor, and jumped into the living room.

It was possible—that Yoishi’s true name was written down on something in this mansion.

I went to the kitchen and turned over the cups. For example, I thought that there would be cups for each of the family members, and a young Yoishi would have her name inscribed on that—but there was nothing there. ‘All that remains is’, I turned to face the hearth. On top of it was the polaroid photograph taken of the family. It was creepy that the other family members who died had their faces warped white somehow, but I slowly drew close to that photograph.

In old family photographs, there would be stuff like dates and names of the people in the photo written on the back. That was how it was for my family. So maybe this one was the same. That must have been the reason why Sako made me come all the way here. I’m sure Yoishi’s true name is there. It had to be. I would find that, and tell it to her; She, who ended up losing her place in the boundary between this world and the world beyond. I would declare to her with all my strength that she was a dweller of this world.

I placed my hand on the photograph, suppressing my throbbing heartbeat and rushing emotions.

But, as I was about to slowly lift it up—

I suddenly felt weak.

What if it wasn’t here…..? No, no, it had to be here.

After all, if it wasn’t here… then there would be nowhere else to search in this mansion. Believe it….it, must be there.

I took a deep breath.

And the moment I flipped over the photograph.

--*Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek*… The mansion rang.

The sneering laughter of a manly voice coldly pierced me, and flooded inside me.

Reflected in my eyes, there was nothing in the back of the photograph.

I couldn’t even see a stain in the blank space that had turned yellow—

And the world dyed in darkness in an instant.

◯

Dark.

Darkness.

A dark world—no matter where you looked.

How much darkness did this world have, and how many colors of ‘black’ did it have…?

It felt as if I had seen a lot of ‘black’ in this one year.

Enough ‘black’ to stop my thoughts.

Enough ‘black’ that seemed to suck me in forever.

And, enough ‘black’ that seemingly melted my body and thoughts in it.

But the ‘black’ that now spread before my eyes was different from all of them.

To put it ostentatiously, the ‘black’ that was the primordial of this world, where nothing else existed yet—that might have been how it felt. But, there was a strange calmness and tranquility. A boundless ‘black’, as if I was in space, in what must have once had countless planets. It truly made me feel at ease. I didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to think about anything anymore—

「Did you have fun?」

Suddenly, I heard a low voice from somewhere. I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t fun at all, I answered.

「Isn’t hiding behind people, and tricking them so much fun?」

I was asked that once again, and I answered that it was just you.

But the truth is—from somewhere in my heart, I ended up thinking that it might have been a bit fun. If you were to trick someone with ease, if you were to continue tricking them for the rest of my life, then that might have indeed been a bit necessary. For example, say there was someone not really blessed with singing skills, yet they can’t help but sing because they love it, and you’d tell them for the fun of it, “You’re really talented”. They would be so happy and delighted, innocently believe those words and keeps on singing. People would laugh behind their back, but still that person would willingly believe it, and continue to sing willingly. They would willingly mistake people’s laughter as being happy at their singing. But here’s what I think. Is a song that continues to be willingly sung for the sake of others, even if it lacks talent, truly worthless? Does the pure feeling of love not reside in the song? Certainly, the first words may have been malicious. However, that which began as malice might be overturned by pure feelings, and might one day become the real thing?

「Then, let’s play a trick.」

The low voice spoke once more.

‘In this world, there are only those who dance and those who make others dance to their tune, and if one were to play the part of those who play the tune—if they were to learn the joy of playing the flute, then there would be no going back’, the voice spoke.

‘Ah, I see. That may be true’, I thought.

But, I---

I knew the joy of dancing, after all. I was always on the dancing side in the festivals in my hometown. I would empty my heart and match my movements with the people around me. The pleasure of synchronizing with others made me want to raise my voice in joy. When our eyes met, we would laugh at each other, and before I realized, I would be thankful for the friends I had. Under this vast, endless night sky, I would be thankful I had friends who laughed at the same things, and who were saddened at the same things. To trick such friends would surely pain my heart. I don’t think I would want to be on the side of those who play tricks, even if I were the one who was tricked.

‘Then I ask you’, the voice asked.

Do you think parents would happily give birth to a child, if they knew in advance that the child would be born handicapped? If they found out that the child was handicapped after birth, would the parents be able to love that child normally?

That was…

That was a difficult question.

Antitrypsin deficiency—I was born with that kind of body, and suffered from infantile asthma, and ended up causing a lot of trouble and worry to my parents and the people around me. Why was I alone born with such a body? When I was a child, I often wondered when I used to cry all by myself in the corner of the room. Knowing that pain, if I were asked whether I would give birth to a handicapped child… I think I would indeed hesitate to death.

In response, ‘Right?’, the voice said.

In times like that, to be completely tricked would be merciful. To abort the child, or to be told that it’s a lovely child even with the handicap. People do not act until there is a reward in front of them. They can’t even move their feet forward unless they have a feeling that there is something fun ahead. It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right? Or they’re narcissists who love themselves for trying.

Is that so….?

Was my mother like that as well….?

‘Obviously’, answers the voice.

「They really love themselves for trying. They are drunk on it. If that wasn’t the case, could she have taken care of your labored breathing be it mealtime or the middle of the night?」

….Is that so….? No…. That might have been the case.

‘Hey, tell me’, the voice said. ‘How many lives do you think are abandoned each year by those who are not ready to be parents? How many reported cases of parents killing their own children? A parent is nothing more than a title, a temporary designation. Everyone is just an animal that thinks first and foremost of their own happiness. Why should I have to raise a child I do not love? Why do I have to raise them even as they chip away against my time, my soul? Is it social responsibility? What you would call moral responsibility? Say, just what is society? Isn’t something like that nothing more than a system to reduce quarrels as much as possible? No matter how, and no matter how many lids you put on it, problems will always continue to happen. That is your history, problems happen by default. To accept that and to live, what is wrong with that? If that’s the case—wouldn’t it be smarter to be on the side that causes the problems?’

I…could understand that.

Human history is filled with problems, and even after all this time, the problems have only increased.

I know that there were as many definitions of parenthood as there were parents. And I know that there are broken parents in this world who have never even thought of the concept of parenthood. But—despite that, there is still one act that every parent definitely does for their child. That is: to give them a name filled with all their hopes and wishes, right? Isn’t that—why names are so precious?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha! The voice suddenly burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know. How many parents do you think are out there who give their children names that inspire neither hopes nor dreams? How many names do you think there are that have nothing but the malice of their parents? Hey, can you really turn a blind eye to that? You might say that it would be fine if you change your name once you become an adult? No, It’s useless. No matter how much you try to forget the name you’ve been christened with once, it will definitely be bound to you in some shape or form for the rest of your life. That is the curse of a name. You heard it too, didn’t you? She was cursed before she was born. A life born by the violation of her mother by brats abroad! She was never wanted, not in the least! Once born, the event they'd rather have forgotten takes a form that haunts them for the rest of their lives. There’s no way she would ever be wanted!’

I was-- at a loss of words in the end, with no rebuttal.

In this mansion….I thought I would try to learn her true name. I thought that if she were to at least reclaim her rightful name, the ‘W’ that coiled around her would be exorcised. But right now, to be honest….I was afraid. I was afraid to discover her true name.

If, by some chance, there was no feeling of hopes or dreams in it, and was instead a thing filled with malice, then what? What if her endless pain and torment continued the moment she took back her true name? There have been so many things done with good intentions that push people into distress. How could I say that I wasn’t making the same mistake right now? Moreover, Sako had said that she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ to bind the ‘everlasting night stone’, but….what if that wasn’t the case, and she instead took it because she actually detested her true name?

Thereupon…a thought suddenly came to mind.

Couldn’t she stay as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ as she had up until now?

That would mean she would still have that callous, Noh-faced father as a guardian in name only, not have a place at home where she belonged, would keep going around haunted places where her eyes would glow, would throw up at times, and would complicate complicated matters even further, but—even so, that wasn’t the worst outcome, right? I would be there, and Krishna-san too, as well as everybody in ‘Ikaigabuchi’. If she at least opened her heart properly, she could lead a fun occult life. There would be no need to remind her that she was born cursed and undesired—

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

Could it be, the thing Sako spoke of, 『You will be compelled to make a choice』…

And, the thing Takako Takamura spoke of, 『You’ll be forced to make the final choice』, it was—

About this…?

If she were to regain her true name, she would arrive in this world while still having the scent of the world beyond.

If she were to remain as Yoishi Mitsurugi, she would live in the world beyond while remaining in this world.

…What…should I do?

The world continued to grow darker. The darkness continued to silently spread out.

As if the ground beneath my feet were filled by dark colored water, I eventually came to believe that there was only one answer.

「I want… to stay with her like this forever.」

「I want to be together with Yoishi Mitsurugi.」

Right, I was about to say it out loud.

When the wound on my right elbow, throbbed with pain once more.

The pain kept repeating like a drum being beaten and became a rhythm as it throbbed and throbbed.

Definite sounds that formed words. They became a rhythm, and made me remember what Karasu-san had once said.

---Yes, deep breaths.

When I came to… I saw that Karasu-san was there, with that nostalgic smile of hers.

Her lustrous black hair dangled down to her cheeks, and she was leaning close to me crouched down, as if she were peering inside me.

--Take a dee—ep breath in, then hold. Yes, slowly let it out--- Repeat that three times.

My vision blurred with tears at those cheerful words that were out of place.

And, before long, I repeated my breathing as I was told. I breathed, and exhaled. I exhaled as much as I could, and inhaled as much as I could.

『You'd better remember.』

『Your fear most likely comes from forgetting to breathe.』

『If the fear inside you intensifies, then like now, make sure you're breathing properly.』

『No matter what kind of paranormal lies ahead of you, you’ll definitely make it through somehow.』

‘But’, I spoke. Despite that, I still don’t know if I’m supposed to find Yoishi’s true name. I end up thinking that it’s better not to find it.

—Eh? I think you already have the answer to that.

I was surprised I was somehow able to carry on a conversation with Karasu-san from my memories—

However, as if clinging to that, I added a question, “What do you mean?”

--After all, the two of us… in the world we peeked at in those hellish days. Didn’t you decide that you would bring that back with you? After having gone through so much, being unable to do anything but witness the cruel destruction of a family, there was still something you desperately brought back with you, right?

Brought back……? I did? What……?

--It should be firmly engraved on you, Nagi-kun.

--It should be engraved on your soul.

Despite that, I still didn’t know, and was in dismay, when….

Exasperated, Karasu-san’s voice echoed kindly for one last time.

---Then, I’ll do it one last time.

--''*Throb*''

My right elbow ached once more.

--*Throb*, *throb*, *throb*…. That throbbing continued to grow stronger.

It was as if— my adult-self was tired of searching, and my child-self pointed it out to me with a smile, and the warmth and stimulation grew.

“…Ah….ahhhhh.”

In an instant, I was struck by lightning together and a terrible sound rang inside me, with the light running through me.

Goosebumps ran through every cell in my body, an unspecialized base sequence in the genome that was called junk, awoke. As if guided by something, it synthesized in succession, and began to build that hidden meaning.

The hanging mansion that manifested in my vision.

The old and grubby living room. The dusty counter.

As I regained reality with my right eye, a different timeline of the same place was synchronized as white hazy scenery in my left eye.

Appearing hazily—as if gliding in midair, that scenery continued to flow through me.

Before I realized, I was running.

--It can’t be….it can’t be.

I ran to the front door with enough force that I almost fell down, and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that was there.

I rolled up my shirt, uncovered my right elbow, and—saw it through the mirror.

What I thought was an ugly scar that did not heal for a long time, was not a scar at all.

I thought it had ended up becoming a bruise, but it was not a bruise.

『Miko Hanamura』

The bruise that was inverted in the mirror—

Had been engraved on my skin, in letters.

In an instant, the scenery I had once seen somewhere with my left eye transformed into a torrent and rushed into my brain. The amount of information was so vast and extreme that it could not be processed by my brain specifications— it flowed past me from one scene to the next, with no time to recognize it. Even so, I was still able to burn several scenes in my mind. Among the endless flashes, a fatherly figure laughed as he held a baby in his arms. A motherly figure cried as she embraced a toddler. A tomboyish young girl who looked like a middle schooler laughed as she pulled the hand of a girl with black hair and fair skin. The baby, the toddler, the fair skinned young girl—I recognized all of them as 『Miko Hanamura』. Without a doubt, at every moment, 『Miko Hanamura』 was loved.

“…………….Ah.”

Before I realized, I was in the hanging mansion, but something was different.

It was not a dusty, cobwebbed ruin. It was a clean, brand new mountain retreat with the light of the sunlight shining in.

Feeling dazzled, I continued to the living room in a daze. I heard lots of laughter coming from the nearby garden. I opened the sash and stepped out to the garden—to see a family so happy they were clad in light. In front of the barbecue was a gentle looking man, a bright woman and a cheery young girl….and, Miko Hanamura who was a child. Miko had a kind, delighted smile on her face.

“—Miko.”

I called her name.

“You…were called Miko Hanamura?”

In response, the beautiful black haired young girl with fair skin looked in my direction. It felt like we met eye to eye after a long time, after a truly long time. I was so overjoyed, so relieved, that tears gradually swelled up and began to spill.

“Miko, let’s go back.”

I reached out my hand to her, and the young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She slowly took one look back, looked back at me and shook her head.

“Miko, listen to me. This place—it’s not here anymore. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

But, a young girl drew close next to Miko, and gripped her hand. For some reason, I knew that girl’s name was ‘Kii-chan’. She looked at me with a fierce expression, as if to say she wouldn’t let her precious best friend go anywhere.

Behind them, the father was smiling. The mother gently put her hand on Miko’s shoulder. The elder sister took one step ahead with her eyebrows raised as if to protect her younger sister from me. The dog at Miko’s feet growled at me.

Looking at that—

A gentle whisper escaped my lips, ‘I see.’

And, as I was tossed around mercilessly by the warm feelings that swept over, I declared.

“….I’m glad….You were really…loved after all.”

“…Yeah.”

“Miko—that’s a really nice name.”

The tears continued to spill.

“If I remember correctly... the word『Mi彌』 means the『light that shines universally』 in Buddhism.”

“…Is, that right?”

“Yeah. I know someone who knows a lot about that stuff, so there’s no doubt about it. That’s why…that’s why.”

My voice trembled with tears, but I desperately managed to squeeze it out.

“I’m sure that the person who gave you that name wished to maintain a relationship with you forever. Regardless of how you were born, they wished that connection would last for all of eternity.”

“…..Yeah.”

“…So, listen up.”

I wiped away the tears, and raised my voice as best as I could.

“You are in no way cursed. You’re not abhorred by anyone. Being cursed—is just being lost on the inside. So… let’s go back. This place is no longer here.”

“….But.”

Miko smiled once at Kii-chan, before letting go of her hand and took a step towards me, and spoke.

“I feel comfortable here; I think it’s the place I belong. Papa, mama, onee-chan, Kii-chan, Leo—and even Mr. Inspector is here.”

Hearing that, I looked towards the back, to see a somewhat nostalgic man with gray hair and a smile on his face.

Her father, mother, older sister, best friend and pet dog—everyone was smiling, and stood behind Miko as if protecting her. Then, I heard a click behind me. I turned around to see Sako in a gray, dull, worn-out suit, taking a picture with an old polaroid camera. He then took out the photo, and handed me the photograph that was exposed to the light.

The photograph must have been the original photograph placed atop the hearth in the real ‘hanging mansion’ earlier. However, the faces of the family had no longer disappeared. The faces that had been stretched and twisted in white in midair were now beautifully cropped, with the smiling faces in front of me.

“……..I see.”

I muttered once more.

It felt as if I had been listening to someone’s sneering laughter echo all this time—

I had even realized that it belonged to the ‘everlasting night stone’, but I thought there was nothing I could do.

I understood that Miko would be swallowed by the world beyond if this continued. But, there was nothing someone like me could do. To tear away Miko away from this warm world, was something—I couldn’t do.

And that's when it happened.

I noticed something emerging in the photograph.

The polaroid photograph still hadn’t been fully sensitized. Her father, mother, elder sister and Miko were smiling kindly, and the dog at their feet looked happy as well. But—there was something else there. On Miko’s left end, a white haze emerged, which should not have been in the picture. As if to embrace a young Miko, that white haze gradually continued exposing---and eventually, took on an impossible form.

….Ahh.

At that moment, I realized the true reason why I came here.

I realized the meaning of the vast swirl of information that came surging into my head.

I realized why Sako had called me to this mansion—and why he handed me this photograph just now.

In the picture that transcended generations—

Nagito Yamada stood there, as if protecting Miko Hanamura.

The figure that decided to stand by her side no matter what cruel reality he had to face, was as if looking in the mirror at a different me. For the first time, I felt pride at myself—it made me feel a sublime will. The answer to the question posed to me earlier in the darkness welled up in my chest as I saw my own face. An answer to the voice that said, ‘It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right?’ I lost sight of myself since I was asked that question, but--

No, there is one more impetus that drives people forward.

There was something else in this world that wasn’t just greed, reward, or narcissism.

“—I got it, Miko.”

The meaning of the scenery that swirled round and round my head, continued to dissolve. The me of eleven years ago and the me of the present dissolved and merged. I was thankful for that fate and spoke the answer that I extracted from my soul, without any doubts.

“Then, I’ll stay here as well.”

Miko looked at me again with a start.

“I will never leave you to die again. I won’t stand by and let you go through something like that again.”

“………”

“Why, you ask? Because you were the first person to call me a friend. Even when I was adrift in the sea of endless despair with nowhere to go, you gave me a place to stay.”

“………A.”

“Although my email got garbled midway through.”

“………A…aaaa…..”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely protect you.”

“Yes, I was Mr. Frog back then.”

The moment I declared those words.

The sky roared, and split apart.

Somewhere, it felt as if I heard an ear-splitting scream.

At the same time, a series of low rumbling sounds reverberated deep beneath my feet, and eventually turned into subterranean rumbling that overlapped with the beating of my heart. My teeth were rattling so hard I couldn’t breathe. And I understood that I had broken a rule established by a great, great being in a far higher dimension. This might be the end for me as well—but I was prepared for that.

Why was it….? Ah, dammit, I had tried to show off and ended up saying that, but as usual my teeth were clattering, and my legs were trembling on the verge of collapse. After all this time, I realized that I was the guy with the stinky pants who had pissed himself earlier. And, the place I stood was the ruins of a mountain retreat that was now called the hanging mansion—I was in front of the hearth, and I found that the one in front of me was the Yoishi Mitsurugi of the present---no, I knew she was Miko Hanamura.

The high school girl with porcelain-white skin, long black hair swaying in the air, and dressed in the funeral-like uniform of the Koumei Institute, was merely trembling.

In her vacant eyes, countless paranormal events were now swirling around. The hundreds, the thousands of paranormal events she had experienced in the past --- no, if you were to include the ones she had read on the internet or in books then it would be in the tens of thousands. Therein, was the horror she should have truly felt. Those emotions she had become numb to, which had been stored somewhere in her brain, were all surging into Miko’s small forehead all at once.

“…This…is the feeling of fear…..”

The irises of her eyes shook, welled up, and a trickle of tears spilled down.

“It’s disturbing… not knowing…. not being able to explain….it’s just…just….disturbing….”

I nodded.

“….I’m alive….I…am alive….”

Miko covered her face with both hands. At that moment, something she must have held back for a long, long, eternity, finally broke free.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, all her emotions broke free, and she cried out. Her voice was like that of a newborn, defenseless baby. I held her slender body close to me, as if to protect the pure soul that had just been born into this cruel world. I hugged her tightly, as if to show that to the pure malice that I could not see, which might have still been nearby. [[File:Phenomeno-vol6-3.jpg|thumb]]

“….I’m alive….I am… alive….”

“….Yes. You are truly alive. And you should keep on living step by step. Live as long as you can for the ones who have gone before you—”

And after that you can die in peace—I was about to say that.

“……..I’m scared.”

Miko whispered in my chest.

“I’m scared to go on living…the countless paranormal things are scary as well…the voice in the wall, the smiling dolls, shadows in the reflection, the person with only legs, the man in the gutter, the will -o’-the-wisp, the box in the storehouse, people disappearing in the sky—in this---in such a scary world….how did you live this far….how should I live…?”

“Hahaha.”

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like I could finally talk with her about the real paranormal things. It felt like I could teach her that while some ghost stories circulating this world were really dangerous, they were also full of romance and mysterious charm.

When—at that moment.

I thought the ground still felt like it was shaking because I was a coward, or because I was embracing a high school girl, but…. I realized that it was neither of those things.

“H….heyy, Yoi….no, Miko!”

I yelled seeing the creaking wall swell up and down.

“It’s an earthquake! Shit, it’s a big one.”

The building slowly swayed from side to side, and eventually began to rattle and shake little by little.

“Run away, Miko! This run-down building is dangerous. I’ll get Krishna-san.”

After saying that, I pushed Miko, whose face was still soggy in tears, toward the direction of the front door, and then staggered and swayed as I ran down the corridor. At the back of the corridor, the storage room floor was covered entirely with Sako’s blood. I bowed my head once to Sako who had already passed away, “I’m sorry”, and lifted Krishna-san’s body, who lay collapsed and unconscious, and carried her on my shoulder. I then furiously rushed toward the front door. The shaking quickly grew even more violent, and I staggered and hit the wall, but still clenched my teeth as I broke through the front door and jumped outside. I slowly laid Krishna-san a little further away from the building, and gasped.

There was no one in my surroundings.

Miko, who should have left the building before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey…Miko!”

I called out at the top of my voice, but there was no reply.

The shaking grew even more ferocious, and I understood that the building would completely flatten. I clicked my tongue once, left Krishna-san there and jumped back inside the building. “Miko!” As I yelled, I looked around and saw that she was in a daze in the living room.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get out of here!”

The moment I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, I realized that Miko was staring at that photograph in front of the hearth.

“The first picture… the two of us took together.”

“Well, that’s true but.”

“But…you were a ghost.”

“Shut it, let’s go, if you wanna take that photo then hurry up and do it!”

I called out to Miko who had been standing motionless in front of the photograph for who knows how long, when it happened.

A terrible *creeeeeak* rang out, and the building bent. It felt as if a giant hand grasped the building from the outside, and at the same time— a sound like a low male voice reverberated throughout the building.

--*Gigigigigigigigigigigigigi*

It was as if it were a sneering voice—as if it were a wailing voice.

Together with that detestable sound, the beams of the ceiling twisted to an absurd degree. Dust was rising and falling down like rain. There were five of them— they felt like giant fingers of something. From the depths of darkness—a malice-stained, corrupted hand reached out from the depths of this world called hell.

Give her back.

It reached straight for Miko—

“Don’t fucking mess with me.”

I howled.

“I will never let go again. She is a fragment of my soul. And, my--”

I yelled a scream that would not lose to the thunderous roar of the collapsing beams.

“My precious wife!”

In an instant—

My vision muddled white, and a sharp stinging pain ran down my shoulders. It was as if, I knew the building would collapse all at once, like in the Fafrotskies phenomenon. I instantly covered Miko’s body to protect her from the falling debris of the building. One after another, building material fell on my back, biting into my skin, and crushing my bones. In the midst of the sound that split my ears— it seemed to me as if I had been caught in the hand of the ‘everlasting night stone’.

“L-let go.”

The world continued to darken.

The faint hope was fading away.

The moment I screamed in the midst of overwhelming despair that filled my heart.

''“Ayana Takamura.”''

Under my arms, Miko Hanamura roared her last lines as “Yoishi Mitsurugi”.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

At that moment, somewhere far above in the sky, something opened its eyes.

“I’ll give you the best thing you wished for.”

“’Yoishi’ called out to those eyes.

“So-- don’t ever come close to this person, ever again.”

《OK》

That must have been the last illusion I saw in my fading consciousness.

Ayana Takamura’s giant head that appeared from the void—

--*Crunch*, it ate something.

And in the world that had grown dark once more, those clear, boyish words echoed through the air.

“The fear held by the root of fear or something ---it was truly a delicious meal.”

◯

In the silent, pitch-black rubble—

After finishing the long, endless story, she might have finally remembered everything.

Yoishi Mitsurugi, or rather, Miko Hanamura muttered, “…..Right….yeah…that’s right….”

“Did you remember?”

I managed to reply with that somehow as I put up with the pain in my immobile body.

But I felt somewhat embarrassed, even though I only talked about what happened just a while ago, about what might have been the biggest occultic thing to happen in my life, I ended up talking about it all the way to when I declared her my ‘wife’. For a while, we were both silent in the darkness.

“…You, really.”

“…….Hm?”

I thought she might have been embarrassed in her own way—

“….are a fool.”

She said so in his usual tone,

“S, shut up, jerk.”

I retorted in an instant, but I felt embarrassed once more, and was unable to say anything after that.

Darkness and silence fell once more, and I noticed that the pain was slowly getting worse. I slowly wiped the sweat off my forehead while trying to hide it from Miko, and clenched my teeth to endure the pain.

Thereupon, Miko muttered something to me.

“Back then—”

“…..Eh?”

“I understood how ghosts felt. When you were delirious in the hospital room, when you had your cognition of me sealed away.”

“….A, ahh.”

“To exist there and to not be recognized—it’s an unbelievable darkness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“….It was so dark. Pitch black darkness so awful… that it might be the most terrible darkness there is.”

“…I said I’m sorry.”

“……But.”

“……….”

“But if you hadn’t protected been in that way—you would have fallen apart. And perhaps my heart wouldn't have lasted either. In that sense…it might be something to be thankful for.”

“……….”

It was thanks to Krishna-san, and Sako. Come to think of it, Sako was…crushed underneath, huh? What about Krishna-san? I placed her a little further away from the building, but was she alright? As I thought such things, it suddenly felt like my head became misty white. I was still lying down, but I felt terribly dizzy as if had lost my sense of equilibrium.

--Damn, could this be….dehydration? Or an infection from the wounds in my legs, back or head. Dammit, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. In times like these, the worst thing to do would be to lose hope.

I thought that, but the only one who knew we were here was Sako, and unless Krishna-san, who was lying outside, didn’t regain consciousness safely and instantly grasp hold of the situation and call for help, then there was no hope for us. This was terrible. We finally managed to get rid of the ridiculously dangerous monster that scattered malice for so long, but our chances of survival were infinitesimally small.

“H-hey, Miko, try to smile.”

Impatient, I made that absurd request towards the other side of the darkness. And what came back to me in reply was a voice with a deep-seated reluctance, “Ehh?”

“Come on, I’m begging you.”

“Even if I were to smile in a place like this, you can't see it.”

“Well, that’s true, but—no, just try it! Smile for me. I’m scared. I'm so pathetic I can't help it, but I'm scared. If I were to be cheered up somehow…right, if I don’t see your smile, then I’m going to lose heart. Look, listen up. A smile is more precious than anything else in this world. Nothing bad happens to a person who is smiling happily. A nice smile is a present that will make everyone happy. So, please. My hopes are fading, so give me the best smile you can as a present! I’m begging you!”

In response, Miko kept silent for a while and spoke.

“………..Ah…..so that’s how it was….”

“……Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the same for ‘Gandame’.”

“…Ga, Gandame…?”

“’Gandame’ and ‘Yousen-boy’… they might have been trying to deliver us hope. Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.”

My impassioned speech took a strange turn, and I was about to give up.

“…..I’ll try to….smile.”

Suddenly, Miko agreed.

“…I don’t know if you’ll be happy though.”

“Ohh, really?”

“……….”

“…..Hey, did you smile already?”

“………”

“…Is it alright…if I can feel it?”

In my vague consciousness, I bumped my trembling hand against the wood here and there—and slowly reached out my hand. I reached out my arm in the direction of the voice, towards Miko’s cheeks. My fingertips touched something soft—

It happened at that moment.

Heeeeeeeey, I heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

For a moment, it was a voice so faint I thought it might have been an auditory hallucination—but, I definitely felt like I heard it.

I strained my ears,

“……Heyyyyyyyy, is anyone alive?!”

It was the voice of a man I didn’t recognize. And it was followed by the voice of a different man, “Make a voice, or even a sound! If you can make it, then do it!” I desperately twisted my head to face up, and I saw a flicker of light in between the gaps of the timber somewhere.

Ohh, my hopes skyrocketed in an instant.

“….Over here! We’re over here! We’re alive! We’re alive!!”

I desperately raised my voice, and instantly a huge amount of dust invaded my throat, and I coughed violently.

But, there were shouts of joy right near me, “Oooohh!”, “This way!”, it felt as if the sound of several footsteps drew closer.

In my fading consciousness—the roof and lumber were being moved aside one by one. The air suddenly began to move, and thick oxygen brushed against my nostrils. The light began to pour down on me, which must have been the flashlights of the rescue team. As I was illuminated by that light—I saw it. Just fifty centimeters or so away from me, I saw a face so beautiful and lovely that she felt out of this world.

Miko Hanamura was looking kindly at me with clear eyes that had lost their dark color.

“…Miko.”

The moment I spoke her name in embarrassment, the last piece of timber imprisoning us was removed. The rescue team clad in orange lifted it up with their thick arms.

“Are you alright? Are you conscious? Your wounds?”

I was asked in rapid succession, but I guess he knew right away.

“Lacerations on the left leg! This is terrible---Ah, large abrasions on the back and the arms …get a stretcher right away!”

--Hey, hey, don’t scare me now.

I mean, I'm going to cause my sister and the others to worry again, as I thought that, I spotted the adorable baby face beyond the rescue team. Her hair was a little disheveled, but the petite former occult site manager was looking my way with tears filled in her eyes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Foolish thought it might have been, that was all the greeting I could muster.

I then turned to look at Miko who was right below me. I was about to smile at her, to tell her that we had been saved, but-

Thereupon, I realized that Miko was slightly out of position from where I was. In her right hand, she clutched the stuffed frog as if to protect it, and in her left hand, she clutched that polaroid photograph. It seemed she had almost let go of them when the ceiling collapsed, but desperately shifted her body to take them back. No, I understood that much, but.

“…Hey, Miko, what is that?”

I asked, suddenly noticing a strange foreign object.

I stared at that strange object, and vaguely thought about its meaning.

It was—the sharp, pointed fragment of a broken pillar.

And, right now, it was growing like an object from Miko Hanamura’s chest.

“Hey…Miko….”

I asked her once more, when the rescue team pulled me out in a hurry, and shifted their attention to Miko.

“Wai…”

Wait a minute. Let me see her.

I wanted to say that, but my body ached all over, and no voice came out.

“CPR!! Hurry!!”

I heard that voice. Three members of the rescue party moved the timber, opened the hole even wider and pulled out Miko’s body. They then placed her in the stretcher meant for me, carried her to a level ground a short distance away, where the paramedics there began to perform CPR on her.

“It’s no good, Get the AED!”

Someone shouted that out loud, but an older paramedic stopped them.

With a somber look on his face, he gently shook his head and spoke.

“She—has already passed away.”

“…It must have been an instant death. Judging from the liver mortis that’s already set in, the time of death must have been around twenty-four hours ago….”

“….Inst….Twenty four hours….?”

I finally managed to let out a cry, and dragged my aching leg as I got up.

I dragged myself, and crawled towards Miko.

“Hey, there’s no need for that… doing something foolish like that….”

The rescue team were looking at me. The rescue team in orange rushed up to me. They didn’t know if they should help me, or stop me from walking, but I pushed back against them one after another, and reached Miko.

“What are you guys saying…. We were talking until just now. The two of us were trying our best not to lose against this darkness… We’ve been talking for the whole day, trying not to lose consciousness. Right?”

Before I’d realized, I was clutching the collar of the elder paramedic, when someone stopped me from behind.

“...Hey, I’m begging you, please…. Hurry up and help her! With that…with that machine right there! If you use that, then she’ll surely regain consciousness, right? She’ll be saved, right? If you can’t do it, then take her to a hospital right away! Hurry up, hey!!”

“Stop it, Nagi-kun!”

I turned around hearing that scream, to see that the tearful voice belonged to Krishna-san—

I realized that it was her who was desperately clinging to me to try and stop me.

“Ah…Krishna-san…After all, it’s strange, right? She…Miko was…until just now, telling me I was a fool, and she listened to me asking her to smile--”

I was about to say that.

I realized it for the first time.

Yoishi Mitsurugi—no, Miko Hanamura’s face, was curved in a faint smile.

To me, it was as if she desperately tried to remember and recreate the smile she had almost forgotten—

I screamed a voiceless scream, as I embraced her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 14

2025-08-19T18:24:15Z

Pakkit:

==Case 14: In the Mirror==

Since the accident – I had forgotten something.

That memory slipped in and out of view at the back of my head. It was as if it had been crudely overwritten with a pen, rather than having been wiped clean by an eraser.

I believe it was a ‘person’.

I knew that person in the past. And I’m sure I met them in the hospital room.

They came to inquire about my health with flowers… but I screamed when I saw them, and lost consciousness.

Just what the hell had made me so afraid?

What was it about them that scared me to the point that I lost consciousness?

And why – did someone cross a line on my memories? And when?

That’s right… that was the starting point. Back then, who else was in the hospital room besides me? My sister flew in from Fujieda a little later…. To begin with, who was in the room when I first regained consciousness?

Krishna-san, and—

And the moment I recalled the foxlike grin on his face, everything seemed to click together.

….It was Sako.

Didn’t that rotten priest do something strange to me again?

I finally realized this in the university courtyard at the start of the new school semester--

And I immediately skipped my first period class of ‘Macroeconomics’ on the opening day. I ran out of there and hurried to the western club building.

My body was now physically fit. A scar remained on my right elbow, where the stitches and surrounding flesh had discolored, but it didn’t really hurt anymore.

I cut through the courtyard, passed through the gate of the western club building, jumped into the entrance by pushing my way through the packed bicycles, and ran up the stairs. I was headed to the third floor, to the liberal arts clubroom that was ostensibly known as the ‘Beatnik Research Society’.

And—

When I came up to the third floor, I quickly caught sight of that petite figure.

The head of the Beatnik Research Society, Shiina Kurimoto-san had closed the door to the clubroom and was about to lock it.

“Krishna-san!”

“….Hm?”

“Krishna-san! T, there’s something I want to ask!”

I rushed to her side, out of breath. Krishna-san was dressed in a spring-like outfit: a striped cut-and-sewn navy-blue spring coat, and she looked up at me about three heads below me with a puzzled expression on her face.

“What is it, Nagi-kun? What’s the hurry? I was just about to go somewhere.”

The baby face peeking behind those drooping red glasses, was as cute as always. I immediately felt relaxed and asked.

“Going somewhere? Don’t you have a lecture?”

Of course, you could say that question had the slightly ulterior motive of asking if I could go with her.

“Where are you going? You can’t possibly be going to investigate some haunted place?”

I unintentionally cracked that kind of joke, causing her to glare back at me instantly.

“’Ikaigabuchi’ has been disbanded. No more investigations, ever.”

“R…right.”

“The taxi will be here in a few minutes. If you have a question, then hurry up and ask.”

--A few minutes.

I wondered if I could explain such a vague and complicated story in just a few minutes.

I was in the middle of trying to arrange the information required to the bare minimum and arrange my tense feelings into logic, worrying about whether to tell her about the strange voice of the young girl I had heard in the abandoned house recently, but, that would be disobeying her order, even though she was drunk and sleepy back when she suddenly stood up and rebuked the tough guys of ‘Ikaigabuchi’ to stop—and as my thoughts swirled and swirled over such things,

“Oh, that’s right.”

I heard a clear voice.

“Would you like to come?”

“…Eh?”

“It’s a little far though. Let’s talk in the taxi on the way.”

◯

“There lives ‘An old man who became unable leave his mansion’ in the place we’re headed to now.”

Right around the time the taxi exited Itsukaichikaidō into Oumekaidō, Krishna-san said that.

“Became unable? Why? Is he really fat?”

“…That’s not it. It seems the old man saw something in the village he lived in long ago. The story is related to that.”

Things had suddenly taken on an occult air, so I straightened my posture. I was, of course, very welcome to it.

“The old man’s name is Ryouichi Mamiya. He is the chairman of ‘Mamiya Motors’, a company listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a sixty percent share of the domestic market. He built a fortune in his lifetime, and now, he doesn’t have long to live. He built a mansion in the suburbs and has kept himself confined inside for many years. There are people who take care of him, but he never goes outside the mansion.”

“Eh, wait a minute. He doesn’t go outside? By choice?”

“I’ll explain that in detail from now on, but in short, the people surrounding him think that it’s his choice, but the old man can’t leave even if he wanted to.”

“…….”

“And the person in question is half prepared to live out his life in that mansion. It seems he's already had a will prepared-- which was also controversial. 『After I die, half of my fortune will be donated to the syndicate, and the remaining half will be equally divided among my relatives. However -- if there is a person who takes me out of the mansion while I am still alive, my entire fortune will be handed over to them.』”

“Eh…?”

“That's right. From the relatives’ point of view, that is intolerable. If they wait until he died, they would receive a portion of the half, but if someone were to take the old man out of the mansion, their inheritance would become zero. Since that day, the relatives began to visit the old man. Everyone would invite him to a beautiful summer retreat, or they would invite him to come and see expensive art pieces they went to the trouble of borrowing from abroad. Among them was a fool who pretended to have caught a giraffe by having a deer go through orthopedic surgery, and got sued by animal rights activists.”

“…Hah.”

“Well, it's understandable, because when real estate and bonds are included, his total assets are said to easily exceed 700 billion.”

“So, why are you headed over there, Krishna-san?”

“Well, you see Mamiya-san has always endorsed the goal behind ‘Ikaigabuchi’. He kept donating money to me all these years. I was also asked by his family if ‘I could do something’ – so I thought I might be useful somehow.”

“Does that mean you'll bring that old man outside?”

“No, I'm just going to talk to him. Returning to the main point, it seems the reason the old man said something like that was because it stemmed from something he saw in the village a long time ago. The client said that if that were to be settled, then he would cancel that strange will, -- but well, I wonder if that's really true. At any rate, I thought it was the least I could do for everything he’s done for me.”

“I see.”

There are people in the world who are troubled by bizarre things -- but on the other hand, one doubt remained in my head.

“But, why did you bring me along?””

“…Eh?”

“I mean, you're always saying that I'm not allowed, that I'm absolutely not allowed to involve myself with the occult! You stop me a bit unreasonably, so I just thought it was strange.”

Krishna-san muttered slightly in response, “That’s true”, and then hung her head down, trying to arrange all her thoughts in that small brow of hers.

“Right… I’ve always stopped you from involving yourself with the occult.”

“Yes.”

“I thought it wasn’t good for you to be in contact with the people who were close to the occult…but actually, I’ve been in two minds about that recently.”

“In two minds? About what?

“No matter how much I tried to stop you, you would always end up barging into the occult. For a long time, I thought that was because of your simple and foolish nature, and I thought you were wrong, but—could it be your only…”

“My only?”

“…No, nothing.”

Thereupon, Krishna-san held her tongue and looked at the flowing scenery outside, “I still haven't figured it out.”

I, too, became lost in my thoughts. Come to think of it, how many times have we had the same conversation? A paranormal event occurs. I get excited. Krishna-san stops me. However, in the end, my curiosity wins out, and I barge into dangerous territory, and end up in tears-- It felt like that kind of thing had repeated all year long.

Wait—huh?

Thereupon I felt like a piece was missing.

The thing that had been crossed in my mind, appeared vaguely once more.

“Recently—I’ve been seeing a lot of articles on racial conflicts on international news websites.”

Suddenly, Krishna-san spoke of something I didn’t understand at all.

“Racial conflicts?”

“There are countless races living in this world, all with their own values, religions and cultures. The Middle East conflict, Cyprus, Kurds, Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan – Looking around Asia, it’s full of problems. And the end result is a cycle of abuse, leading to conflict. People instinctually fear those who are different from themselves. There are still only a few people who can accept different races and cultures universally. It is human nature to fear and defend oneself -- but when it goes too far, it may lead to persecution of those who are different..”

“...”

“Say, Nagi-kun. Why do you think wars happen?”

Thereupon, Krishna-san looked in my direction.

“Do they happen for territory? Are they economic activities resulting from the complexly intertwined interests of major powers? No, isn’t the real reason they happen, and the impetus behind them, a needless fear? And, in turn, didn’t that come from the abuse against those with different values. No matter how much we may think we are enlightened, we are still subjective creatures. Conversely, without subjectivity, it would be difficult to sustain life, and it is only with the assurance of escaping to a safe zone that we can be considerate of others. Words like maturity or moral standards only come about when people have enough food and clothing. When natural disasters that turn heaven and earth upside down occur, or when the myth of safety is shattered, how many people must have hurt others without any grounds simply on their emotions? Isn't the history of human conflict a history of abuse towards others?”

Having spoken that far in a single breath, Krishna-san took a short break, and hung her head down once more as if embarrassed of herself for raising her voice.

“That’s why-- when people start abusing others on a global scale, I always get anxious. It’s as if something terrible has quietly started somewhere... I end up feeling that the world is headed in an awful direction.”

“Um... How is that related to what we’re talking about here?

I asked, ‘Ah’, Krishna-san strangely got flustered and blushed.

“... I think I've reached a dead end in the way I do things.”

“…Eh?”

“I've been trying to keep you safe, to stop you from involving yourself in the occult this far… but that might have actually been the wrong thing to do. I think I ended up bringing you along because I’ve begun to doubt myself about that recently.”

◯

“Don’t you think that human society is slowly rotting away?”

The old man with the gleaming face of a wax doll asked gleefully.

Krishna-san and I looked at each other, and he continued.

“Awful things – truly awful things have started happening in every corner of the world. Don't you think that the balance that had been miraculously maintained until now has begun to decline far beyond the intelligence of the average human being? No, well, anyone with a modicum of knowledge could have seen this coming, but at long last, our foolish leaders have finally begun to realize and begun to panic.”

Right now, we were in an area of villas deep in Okutama.

It was the home of the aforementioned ‘Old man who became unable leave his mansion’. And the person before us was the old man in question.

Even though it was spring, it was still cold here. The cold air seeped in through the windows, as if the vestiges of winter had missed their chance to return and hung lazily over the house. Perhaps that was the reason why the fireplace of the living room of about 33 square meters in size still had a fire lit in it.

The old man who was sitting deep in a rocking chair in front of it was watching me and Krishna-san, who were sitting on the leather sofa, with great interest.

“Communication is important in order to get along well with others, but to achieve smooth communication, the same level of intellect is required. In short, it means that the smarter person has to match the stupid one in order for the conversation to take place. However, do you think that countries with high moral standards can conduct diplomacy with uncivilized nations on equal terms? Do you think there is a future of the world like that where the wise can get along with the fools? That will only give birth to stagnation. There is no progress in that. It’s impossible in the world of wild animals, where the weak are inevitably abandoned. Ethics, morality, morals—in the world of today, we say wonderful things, like ‘Let’s protect the weak’, or ‘Let’s create a world that’s good for the weak’. However, morals that go too far will threaten to turn the weak into the strong. Everyone pulls the legs of the exceedingly superior individual and drags them down to the ground and beats him with a stick. Isn’t that the rotten state the world finds itself in today?”

I was listening quietly—

I thought this might have been the ‘abuse’ Krishna-san spoke of.

“—Now then, it’s been a long time, Kurimoto-kun.”

--*Cough*, the old man’s wrinkled face contorted. Apparently, he laughed.

“It has been a long time since my last visit.”

Krishna-san too bowed her bobbed head down.

“I visited you in your home in Tokyo many times, but I wasn’t aware that you had moved here, my apologies.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure the people in the house must have been troubled about how to explain it. Ah…I heard that you closed down ‘Ikaigabuchi’.”

“Yes, I went too far and forgot my place.”

“…Is that so? I thought you had the right goal, and I don’t think there was anyone better qualified to do what you set out to do.”

“No…it’s truly shameful to abandon my goal with your contribution over many years—but I thought it was impossible for me to go any further.”

“…Hmm.”

The old man stopped moving like a broken doll, and then added, “Well, please relax and take your time.”

“No, actually, I can’t relax that much.”

Thereupon, she stopped speaking, and spoke again after having made up her mind.

“To tell you the truth, there's another reason I've come here today besides the matter of Ikaigabuchi’s closure. I've been asked by your family to get you out of this house.”

“I see.”

The old man looked at Krishna-san in amusement and gave a large nod.

“That’s why I gave that talk at the beginning.”

“…Eh?”

“The story where the weak being discarded in the world was ideal. In short, I, who am old, and sick, is to put it in clear terms, a weak creature, and it is right that I should be abandoned. I believe that it comes from animals originally. In the past, there used to be stories about mountains where old people were abandoned. Among wild animals, there are those with the nature of hiding themselves when they feel their death is near. I am merely imitating that; it seems my will to be left alone was not recognized.”

…This guy.

For the first time, I realized that this old man, who was like a withered tree, was not an ordinary old man. Ryouichi Mamiya had realized the reason we were here since the start – that’s why, he started off with that bewildering story.

“However.”

Krishna-san straightened her posture and spoke.

“From the conversation we’ve had up until now, I can say that you have intelligence, and judgement. I believe that long as a person is human and has intelligence and reason, they are human. And I believe people as people have a guarantee to a dignified life.”

“This is dignified. Staying shut in here, and dying quietly alone is the only thing dignified left for me.”

“By abandoning your family? Is it dignified to throw away everything in your life up until now and shut yourself in here? If that's the case, then at the risk of sounding quite presumptuous, I believe you should clearly make out your inheritance. It might be harsh to say-- but if you were to do that, then no one would complain about your actions. It seems to me that your strange will has on the contrary, created a lot of commotion around you.”

“...”

In response, the old man narrowed the countless wrinkles around his eyes, and gazed at Krishna-san.

“How much have you heard?”

“How much, you ask?”

“About my story.”

“I'll be honest with you.”

Krishna-san spoke as if accepting the old man's gaze.

“I heard that one day, you became afraid of mirrors. That's why you made this mansion with no mirrors anywhere and shut yourself in here. And soon after that you made that will -- and, that it all started with something you saw in a cave in a village long ago. I haven't heard anything besides that.”

“Do you want to hear the rest of it?”

“...”

“Will you learn the rest of it-- and solve the mystery that has plagued me for so many years?”

“I can't guarantee that I will solve it but, I'll help you as much as I can.”

“That's fine.”

The old man contorted his wrinkled face once more, sat back deeper in his chair, and slowly closed his eyes. The room fell into silence for a while after that. Birds were chirping outside the window, and the occasional crackling of firewood was all that could be heard.

“The thing…that I saw… in the darkness of the cave back then, were eyes.”

…Eh?

“They were beautiful eyes. They appeared in the darkness.”

“Sometimes the truly terrifying things are beautiful to the point where they feel out of this world.”

◯

“It happened shortly after the war, in a certain village, was a certain man.”

The old man began to narrate in pieces, Krishna-san and I became absorbed and bent ourselves forward before we’d realized.

“The man had a good friend. A childhood friend who would accompany him whenever he went hunting or to the fields. But one day, they ended up deep in the forest in pursuit of a beast, and arrived at a certain cave. They had been told that a beast of unknown origin dwelled inside since long ago, and that they should not go near it. It was said to be powerful, fast, and had a strong stink. Some said it had red eyes. That it had learned human speech, and was said to have devoured humans at times.”

A gulp rang in my throat.

“They were both still young, burning with ambition. Furthermore, they were both rivals in love over a young girl in the village, so they entered inside as if vying for the achievement. The entrance of the cave was dark and cramped. The two had a flame alight as they ventured ahead with hunting rifles in hand. They slowly made their way through a long, long, cold space of rock and earth. Eventually, they saw something white beyond the light. It was a shimenawa. A thick and ancient shimenawa rope that blocked their progress. Next to it stood a sign that read: 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their life』. They looked at each other and hesitated for a moment. But in the end, they cut through the shimenawa with the nata<ref> https://daitool.com/blogs/news/all-about-nata-the-japanese-axe-or-is-it-a-machete</ref> they had. It was a cliché at the entrance of forbidden places, but more than anything, the excitement that prey was near won out above all else. In those days, everyone was always hungry, and animals with protein were exceedingly valuable. They must have imagined the joy of the people of the village, and consequently, the joyous face of the girl they both favored. However, as they ventured further, they soon encountered a second shimenawa blocking the path. There was indeed another sign on a post that read: 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their friend.』”

“—Friend?”

Thereupon, Krishna-san interjected. The old man nodded in a relaxed manner.

“That's right, friend. The two looked at each other. And then nodded to one another. The two had fought and scuffled countless times since childhood, and had a strange mutual trust in each other. An overconfident trust in the other, thinking that this guy wouldn't be done in so easily. On those grounds, they cut the shimenawa once more. They continued further ahead, and eventually, beyond the darkness, they smelled a bloody smell together with the faint sense of something breathing. The man thought that it was the prey they had come chasing. Just when he thought he was almost there, the final shimenawa appeared. What was written on there was, 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their name.』”

“…Name?”

This time, I was the one who unintentionally ended up repeating it. In response, the old man creased the tree-like wrinkles around the edges of his mouth.

“Having already been threatened with their lives and their friend, would something like ‘name’ threaten them at this stage? The two enthusiastically cut through the shimenawa. Thinking about it now, the two being there together was the sin. If it had only been one of them, they might have returned to the village at the first shimenawa. No, they might have returned right from the entrance of the cave. The two continued further, relying indeed on their mutual trust and stubbornness.”

“......”

“The darkness -- thickened.”

The old man's voice seemed low, and even hoarser.

“No matter where he aimed the light from his torch, it was a strange darkness that seemed to coil around him, making him unable to see what lay ahead. Eventually the man realized that the earth was slanting down. Could this be the slope that led to the land of the dead? Wasn’t the land of the dead further ahead of here? Before he realized, the man's knees were shaking. He asked himself over and over if he could still go back. However, at that moment, someone's voice reached his ears. The man looked at his friend, who was supposed to be walking next to him. He couldn't see him clearly in the darkness, but he didn't seem to be talking to him or looking at him. The man wondered if he was imagining things, but as he continued, someone’s whispers did indeed reach his ears. The man tried to listen carefully to the voice. The voice spoke: 『You two have entered a place that you were not supposed to enter. You disregarded three warnings and stepped in. Therefore, I will take your life, your friend, and your name.』 It was the next moment that the man almost shouted out involuntarily. He saw eyes in the darkness. Clear, beautiful eyes were floating in the air. The man was drawn to those eyes – when suddenly, something violently covered him from behind. He ended up dropping the torch to the ground, and screamed out loud. A foul stench filled his surroundings. He did not know if it was the beast they had chased, or an ancient mountain god rumored from long ago-- But driven by terror, the man recklessly thrust the nata in his hand at the foul stench in the darkness.…”

Thereupon the old man stopped speaking, and in exchange the sound of my throat gulping rang out. Eventually Krishna-san asked him.

“So, what happened then?”

“…I don't know.”

“You don't know?”

“The smell of the beast, the smell of blood--when the man came to, he was collapsed at the entrance of the cave. The dried blood of something stuck to his face, his clothes, and the hunting rifle and nata he should have held were nowhere to be found. In their stead-- he was holding someone else's arm that was already drained of blood. A left arm.”

…Eek.

As I was flinching, I heard Krishna-san’s small throat gulp.

“I don't know who that arm belonged to. The man seemed to have come to his senses a few days after he left that cave. The arm was already in the process of decomposing, and in the end, his friend never returned. The man, who had broken out in a high fever, was somehow rescued by the villagers who had come to search for him, and he was exercised at the village temple. A funeral was held for the friend and the arm, whose owner was unknown, was buried. Time passed by, and with the death of his friend who was his rival in love, the man married the girl in due course. He took over the family and worked hard to forget the nightmare of that day. He survived the chaos of the post-war years, and before he realized, he had grown old, and amassed a considerable fortune -- until one day, he began to dream. Something was moving beyond the darkness that extended in all directions. Something without one arm shakes its head, searching for something. And when it notices the man’s presence, it comes toward him with great speed.”

“…”

“Was that his friend…or the thing that spoke to him in the back of the cave …. The man would always wake up drenched in sweat… and, only one sentence would always remain echoing in his ear.”

''“In the mirror.”''

“…Mirror.”

--Was that where the mirror came in?

“Yes, that’s why the man became afraid to look in the mirror. He had not seen his own reflection for decades. He even became afraid of seeing his own reflection in the window and such. At any rate, he built a mansion without mirrors and shut himself inside.”

I unconsciously looked around the room. I indeed saw no sign of anything that resembled a mirror in this room, or in any of the corridors I passed through when I came here. Looking carefully, I understood, but, the windows were also tightly bound with lace curtains so that they couldn’t be opened.

“Now then Kurimoto-kun, what do you think? Did you figure out what the thing inside the mirror is?”

“—No.”

Krishna-san bit her lip.

“Unfortunately, I still haven't.”

“…As expected. Well, it’s fine. To begin with, I would be troubled if I were to be given the answer so simply.”

The old man smiled again like a wrinkled tree.

“There are many guest rooms in this mansion. Please take your time.”

After saying that, he quietly closed his eyes as if drifting to sleep.

◯

As the servant prompted us out, and we entered the corridor, I was struck by the sensation that time had suddenly begun to move.

I was relieved to find that I was in Okutama, a world where time functioned properly, and that there was air here. I guess that’s how much I had been drawn into the strange story of the old man, Ryouichi Mamiya.

As I walked down the corridor, stepping firmly on the dark red carpet, Krishna-san stopped suddenly ahead of me. I looked to see that she had her face up to the wall of the corridor. I went up next to her, and saw several framed black-and-white photographs adorned alongside it.

“I guess it must be Mamiya-san and his friend who passed away.”

Krishna-san spoke.

Two men stood side-by-side as they smiled in the monochrome picture. They were both young and had nice smiles.

One of them was indeed the old man. I thought he must have been quite handsome when he was young, but-- this was amazing. I never thought I'd go so far as to say that a man was smoking hot, but I'll say it now. A bright young man who reminded me of a movie actor was smiling and showing his white teeth. And the other man projected in the photograph must have been the friend who disappeared in the cave. Compared to Mamiya-san, He didn't look as graceful, but he still had a beaming smile aimed towards us. And, seeing his left arm still attached to his body, something bitter rose up in me.

“What do you think?”

After being introduced to our respective guest rooms on the second floor, and as soon as the servant departed, I went to Krishna-san’s room and asked her.

The bobbed hair occult website manager was sitting in her bed with her fist to her lips, ‘Hmmm’.

“It feels like Mamiya-san’s sense of guilt of ‘Having abandoned his friend and coming this far’ has taken form. I think the guilt is too heavy for him to accept his current success as a reward for which he worked so hard to redeem himself. On the contrary, the more wealth he accumulated, the stronger it might have become.”

“... Ah, I see.”

“A cave that was deemed forbidden. The prey that took refuge within. The era where food was scarce, I don't think that is something to be persistently blamed for. However, what I don't understand is the voice he heard, the thing that assaulted him from the depths of the darkness. The possibility is high that it was an auditory hallucination, or a delusion borne from fear -- but, in the chance that it was neither of those, then I should have searched for the meaning behind it.”

“Should have…? Eh, do you mean to say that you already went to investigate that cave?”

“Yeah.”

Krishna-san simply nodded.

“It was about a week ago. I went to the cave in question. The entrance was still cordoned off with a new shimenawa, a small shrine had been erected, and it was sealed off so that no one could enter. I heard from the shrine that managed the small shrine that it had completely caved in only a few meters in its depths. According to the chief priest, a deity of unknown origin had originally been enshrined in the cave. There were also theories that it was dedicated to a fleeing samurai in the closing years of the Heian period or to a mountain god, but in the end the origin wasn't well understood. Even in the village, it is buried in the dark of history as something that was already over. I felt I was being indirectly pressured not to dig in too deeply into it.”

“Huh.”

All I could do was stroke my chin, and nod.

“But... This house, it's amazing, isn't it? Is he living alone in a place that's big enough for a family of ten? Was the Mamiya family rich to begin with?”

“He seemed to have been an influential person of the village, but even so, he must have been wealthy for a villager’s standard. That person built his fortune through hard work up until now. That earnest effort must have originated from the feeling of atonement towards his friend -- but perhaps it was also a kind of possession or curse.”

I nodded once more, ‘I see’ -- And asked.

“Then, what are you going to do, Krishna-san?”

“Hm?”

“When are we going back? It's already evening, even if we were to call a taxi….”

“…Ah. I think I'd like to stay for a few days here if I'm allowed to.”

“Eh?”

“It's fine if you go back. No, you should go back. Your lectures will have started already.”

“…No, well, that is the case, but what are you planning on doing by staying here for a few days?”

“I believe this is also a form of exorcism. I want to do something as thanks for all the years I've been supported for ‘Ikaigabuchi’.”

Krishna-san spoke as she bit her lips—

However, could she really do that? No, it might be possible that she could loosen the hardened guilty conscience of the old man by listening to his stories…but, could she really do that by staying here for only a few days.

I looked outside the window for some reason. The sun had already begun to set, and it was getting darker by the minute. There were hardly any houses or even power lines along the way, so the surroundings would completely sink into darkness.

Ugh… what should I do? Well, I could do something about university, but I still had my part-time job, and I didn’t even bring any spare clothes to begin with. There didn’t seem to be any convenience stores nearby, and in the first place, just how was I going to go back home alone from here by myself?

As I thought that,

“…Ah.”

A voice suddenly escaped Krishna-san.

“Why didn’t I realize it before—the warnings in the cave Mamiya-san saw.”

“Eh?”

“Listen, first it was 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their ‘life’』. Next was 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their ‘friend’』. And at the end it was 『Those who continue ahead from here will have no guarantee of their ‘name’』. If we take ‘life’ as his friend not returning, and if we take the ‘friend’ as the friend Mamiya-san lost —then what about the ‘name’ at the end?”

I suddenly felt a chill down my back as if something slithered through.

It was—about that. It appeared in my head because for the past few days, I’d been flooded with all kinds of strange talk about ‘names’.

‘Um’, I asked.

“Krishna-san, have you heard of ‘The Scholomance university of magic’?”

“…Hm?”

“It was said to have existed in the Balkan peninsula or something.”

That was the university of witches that the mysterious young girl whispered to me about. And originally, it was blurted out by the enigmatic Noh faced man I met in front of university that day.

“I heard that the disciples of the witch were made to dedicate themselves to researching the origins of names of things in that university.”

“Well, that’s very knowledgeable of you.”

I received a rare complement.

“The Scholomance university of magic is an ancient European legend of obscure origin that has passed down through the ages. It is said that the university has a large library where you could research the true names of every event and creature in this world. According to one theory, it might perhaps be another name for the Akashic Records, but there are still very few references to it in Japan… and I thought I would go research it in more detail once, and…huh? How did you find out about such an obscure story?”

“Well, ummm… I think it was on the net? I forgot, haha.”

In a panic, I made something up,

“Anyway, I recalled it with the word ‘name’. Why were the disciples of the witch made to only repeat the same thing – in short, why were they made to only research the origin of the names of things? Are things like names really that important?”

“They are. Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world. To wear the W in witch<ref>The kanji used here is魔, the ‘ma’ in ‘mahoutsukai’ which can mean witch, demon, evil spirit or evil influence.</ref>, would ultimately mean to forget who you are. Conversely, if one were to regain their ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ would be--”

Thereupon, Krishna-san suddenly sunk into silence. Her head was slung down, gesturing as if she were biting down her nails with her fingers to her lips.

“Krishna-san?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Saying that, Krishna-san gave a forced smile.

However, that smile illuminated by the sunset looked exceedingly fleeting—

I was suddenly seized with the illusion that she would end up disappearing.

Unconsciously, I was about to reach out my hand to her soft cheeks to keep her tied down to this world.

“Anyway, I’ll be staying here for a little longer.”

The bobbed haired former occult site manager declared to me in a mechanical voice.

“—You can do as you like.”

◯

At night, the chirping of the insects became even more terrible.

On top of that, the cries of some unknown mountain bird echoed from deep in the mountains.

Hyaeeeeee… it was a creepy voice, like that of an old woman crying out. I turned over in my sleep, thinking that if that was the type of sound heard by people in ancient times, then it’s no wonder that they thought that monsters lived in the mountains.

It was already half past one o'clock. In the end, I took the favor from the Mamiya household and stayed there. I was served a supper of wild vegetables in a hotpot, and I was even offered to take a bath which made it feel like I was at a resort, but it felt disgusting that I couldn’t change my underwear---well, that’s not it, these murky feelings weren’t because of underwear.

They arose from having completely deviated from my original objective. To begin with, I was going to ask Krishna-san to elaborate on what happened when I woke up in the hospital.

Who was it that came to visit me in the hospital room that day? The fact that I screamed when I saw them—and, why did I end up forgetting everything about them in the present? I went to the clubroom to ask her those things, but I, who have a reputation for being the best in the Kanto region at getting involved in the creepiest things there are, was as expected, being swept away once more. Before I realized, I ended up staying overnight at a mansion in the mountains. But—well, I’m together with Krishna-san this time, so I’m not too worried. That was fine, but the problem was the murky figure of someone who kept appearing and disappearing beyond the haze in my head.

They were slender and dark. I felt a chill and creepiness, but at the same time it was an awfully nostalgic, and loving feeling. The voice I heard the other day in ‘The Overlapping House’ felt the same. Was the person I ended up forgetting, the owner of that voice? I couldn’t help but feel -- that I had stepped foot into the depths of darkness countless times in the past together with that voice.

『…Hey, are you scared?』

Suddenly, that voice like a ringing bell passed through my ears once more.

It was accompanied by goosebumps and reminded me of a strange loneliness. And at the same time, an excitement of twisted delight. A floating feeling as if nothing lay beneath my feet--and paradoxically, an adventurous pleasure which made me strongly feel that I was alive.

That’s right, at any rate, my real feelings at this point were—

That I wanted to meet them once more. I absolutely hated the thought of never seeing them again.

Before I realized, I had sat up.

A mountain bird cried out again somewhere, and the pale blue moonlight peeked in through the window curtains.

“…Ah, I see.”

In the deep mountains, a mansion inhabited by an old man who could not leave the mansion. It was a situation that twisted just enough, and yet. Even though a ghost story that somehow didn’t add up was right there— but why aren’t you here anywhere?

That was the kind of loneliness I was feeling.

When—

Suddenly, I heard two knocks on the door.

I thought I might have misheard and merely stared at the door from my bed, when—

“…Nagi-kun, are you awake?”

I heard Krishna-san’s voice.

“I, I’m awake.”

I rushed to the door and placed my hand on the doorknob and opened it.

In the dark corridor, Krishna-san stood small and quiet dressed in strawberry pajamas.
[[File:Phenomeno-Vol6-case14-1.jpg|thumb]]

--Gwah—Cute, super cute.

Why was she clutching a pillow, is what I wanted to ask her until morning, but this was Krishna-san we’re talking about, it wasn’t because she wanted to sleep together in my room or something like that, but rather, she was just anxious about something and carried it with her. Then, the problem was, just what made her anxious enough to go running to a man’s room in the middle of the night?

“W-w-what’s wrong?”

I asked, and in reply, “Is it alright for a bit?” She apologetically pointed inside my room.

I vigorously nodded. I’ll say it once more, but this person’s maturity with regards to the subtleties between men and women stopped at the middle school level, so this was in no way a night crawl. It was not – but as expected, my heart which was in its springtime of life couldn’t help but throb rapidly to the point of bursting at the sight of her entering in a single thin pajama in in the middle of the night.

Krishna-san pitter-pattered into the room and sat down on a chair next to the table by the window, and while still clutching her pillow, breathed a sigh.

“…Ummm.”

I called out to her, respectfully keeping a little distance from her by sitting at the corner of the bed.

“It’s about Karasu-san, I couldn’t sleep because it’s bothering me.”

Ahh, I nodded. I didn’t say anything, not knowing how to respond immediately.

“Say, Nagi-kun. Didn’t Karasu-san die – because she threw away her name?”

“…Eh?”

“I realized it when you told me about the Scholomance university of magic. I knew the importance of names—and how dangerous it was to throw one’s name away—and yet…. I never pointed it out to Karasu-san.”

“Wa, wait a minute.”

I denied it as best I could.

“Karasu-san abandoned her name to get away from something, right? And rather than throwing it away, she took the new name of ‘Karasu’, and moreover, she seemed to like it a lot, didn't she? It’s not your fault, Krishna-san.”

It seemed like it still weighed on Krishna-san. She continued to blame herself, not that it was her fault, but that she could have done more. And I finally understood that this was the impetus for trying to do something on this occasion—here in this mansion.

“Nagi-kun, I relied on Karasu-san you see.”

“……….”

“I think I relied on her too much. I was only in charge of updating articles on Ikaigabuchi. Even if a lot of things happened, I thought it was all fine as long as Karasu-san laughed, and even when I stepped into really dangerous territory, a part of me would feel relieved when I saw her. I would be relieved thinking that this person had stepped into the world beyond far longer than I had, and despite that, she was smiling so joyfully like this, so I should still be okay too---”

“…Krishna-san.”

“Despite that….to die so suddenly like that…. It really was dangerous after all, that’s what it means, right? No, I’m not grieving over the fact that Karasu-san died – I'm afraid that I might be swallowed by the abyss next. That is---that is, just the worst, isn’t it?”

--That’s not it.

I wanted to say that that’s not it, but, I lacked the words to say what I wanted, and on top of that, I was lacking in knowledge and couldn’t find the right words to tell Krishna-san right now. Despite that, I clearly thought that that wasn’t it--- that’s it, I’ll use that. The words that helped me from the invisible someone in the ‘Overlapping house’.

『You are not broken.』

『Because – you can still ‘fear’.』

…That’s right, that was exactly it. Feeling fear was a normal human trait, and that’s how humans can distance themselves from danger—and the really dangerous individuals have had their ‘fear’ extinguished altogether and….

…Wait.

Thereupon, I recalled.

“…That’s right. There’s something I absolutely have to ask you, Kri--”

However, it happened at that moment.

From somewhere in the mansion, I heard the scream of a man.

In the darkness, Krishna-san too looked back.

“….Did you hear that?”

Krishna-san asked me, and I vaguely nodded. After that, we both held our breath. We strained our ears, but didn’t hear anything again.

“….Let’s go--- and check.”

Krishna-san withdrew the weak expression she had just been making. In its stead was the charismatic manager who formerly administered one of Japan’s largest occult websites.

We slowly opened the door, and peered down the corridor. The corridor was illuminated by auxiliary lights modeled after lanterns; We could easily see at our feet. Krishna-san took the lead, and slowly made her way forward, and I followed. We arrived at the stairs, and when she peeked at the bottom of the stairs, Krishna-san put her fingers to her lips. I, too, tried to hold my breath as I peered down below.

There was the old man.

He was walking unsteadily, and had a gown sloppily worn over his sleepwear. For some reason, he held a candlestick with a candle in hand, which gave him the appearance of a ghost.

Eventually, after confirming that the old man had returned to his room, I asked Krishna-san.

“That voice just now…was it his?”

The bobbed haired former manager shook her head and said, “I don’t know”. After that, we slowly began to descend the stairs, step-by-step.

As I checked the non-slip surface of the stairs with my bare feet, I began to feel as if the scene I had just witnessed had been a dream. His hair was grizzled and disheveled, and his eyes were hollow. His pale complexion looked even paler, yet his arms alone, which resembled withered branches, felt strangely darkened—

“Um, didn’t he just go to the toilet?”

I spoke as if to shake off the detestable chill, when Krishna-san stopped halfway down the stairs for a moment and asked me in return,

“Why did he need a candle when the lights in the corridor were switched on? Moreover, if the voice just now belonged to the old man…. Then I’m concerned as to why none of the servants came out. Could it be that this is a routine occurrence?”

“….”

“But if that's the case —I feel like there’s something there which can unravel the old man’s mystery.”

When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Krishna-san silently crouched down on the floor. She seemed to be clawing her fingers on the dark red carpet.

“…What’s wrong?”

“Look, Nagi-kun. There’s a trail of wax that dripped down.”

“Ah…”

“If we were to follow it--”

Krishna-san then proceeded down the corridor in a crouched position. I took a gulp and followed her cute looking behind as it swung from side to side. There was indeed a trail of dripped wax that continued every meter or so. And it continued down the corridor, but—

“…Unh.”

Krishna-san suddenly stopped, and my face almost came into contact with her behind.

“What happened?”

“It’s a dead end.”

“…Eh?”

I looked up and sure enough, at the end of the corridor was a wall. In front of the wall, there was only an ornamental plant, a low table, and an expensive-looking vase of flowers on it.

“Does the wax continue here? Did you make a mistake on the way?”

Krishna-san went back a few meters, and traced after the dripped wax once more before returning,

“No, without a doubt it’s leading this…”

As she declared that, she slowly raised her head. She then continued to gaze motionlessly at a part of the wall.

“…Nagi-kun?”

She suddenly lowered her voice even further and pointed somewhere.

“Isn’t this, a door…?”

“…………”

I, too, drew close and touched the wall with my fingertips.

--Aah, that’s right. It had been painted the same color as the wall, but the material was different.

“But, how is it opened…?”

I looked around as if to soothe my heart which had begun to throb violently once more.

And that’s when I noticed it. There was a spot under the wall that was slightly stained. A point that looked as if it had been touched by hand countless times. I managed to press it somehow, when—

I heard a clicking sound from somewhere, and one part of the wall simply flipped the other way.

However—beyond it was merely darkness. No—there was a path that continued endlessly, only a few meters wide.

“………”

“………”

--*Gulp* My throat sounded. I couldn’t help but feel a terrible premonition. I thought that this path was a truly unpleasant path. If you were to ask me why that was, I couldn’t answer well, but—there was a dampness, and a rotten smell that assailed my nostrils. I was hesitant to proceed further from here.

“—Nagi-kun.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s nervous voice reached my ears; I turned around and was startled.

There was a human there with an expression of shock who had seen something impossible. Even though it was such a familiar face, it had an expression so drained of blood that I had never seen before – my face.

That’s right, the other side of the wall door that had flipped open was covered… by a polished mirror.

“A m…mirror? In this mansion? And…why is it on the backside of the wall door?”

“I don’t know… but there’s something strange.”

“W-w-what’s that?”

“There is no light whatsoever in this corridor.”

“…Huh?”

“In short, it means that when this door is closed, it’s impossible to use this mirror.”

With a shiver, something cold crawled down my back.

“Then, why is this mirror set up here? In the first place, where does this path lead--”

Then, it happened as Krishna-san was muttering to herself.

From somewhere, a rustling sound rang out, as if something was being dragged.

With a start, Krishna-san and I looked at the end of the dark corridor. We strained our eyes beyond the darkness.

…Huh…did something, move….?

In the darkness, something even darker moved—like it was drawing closer to us.

The light in the corridor through the doorway was not enough to illuminate the far end of the passage.

However— I could vaguely make out the outline of the thing that moved.

The moment I realized that it was like that of a person—

“K-Krishna-san…!”

I recoiled backwards as if collapsing, and grabbed the edge of Krishna-san’s pajamas.

“Nagi-kun….W, we can’t stay here!”

Her voice was the signal to prompt us both to turn around and run away, when—

We bumped into something, the unexpected impact startled us, and we fell down on the spot. We raised our faces to check what was blocking our path—I let out an “Eek” involuntarily, and Krishna-san had her mouth agape on the spot without a word.

There was the pale face of this mansion’s proprietor.

His complexion was like a corpse, and he wore a smile on his wrinkled face.

“Get away as fast as you can.”

The old man spoke in a frolicking tone.

“Before that thing gets you.”

◯

“L-le-le-let’s…. go back already!”

The next day, after sunrise, I visited Krishna-san’s room and told her that.

“That proprietor is strange. And there’s also definitely something strange about this mansion.”

“I know already.”

Krishna-san was writing something indifferently on a table next to the window. Without even glancing in my direction, and without resting her hand, she ignored my desperate pleas.

Last night, after what happened, we returned to our separate rooms and went to bed, but in the end, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Just what was that path hidden in the wall? Why was there a mirror on the back of the wall door to the entrance of that path? And--- what was that shadow beyond the path that seemed to be drawing close?

Now as I recalled it once more, a cold shiver rose up from beneath my feet.

Wasn’t that a person? It felt as if it was hectically shaking its head from side to side, looking for something. And it was like that arm wasn't there, like it had fallen off…

No. No, that was because I heard that proprietor’s old story. I had known that information beforehand, so I mistook something like that—that’s right, in short was a ‘schema’. The thing where stains on the wall look like a person’s face.

As I was absorbed in driving away my fears,

“You need to get back to Musashino right away.”

Krishna-san told me with her back towards me.

“….Eh. What are you going to do, Krishna-san?”

“I’m, going to stay here for a little while longer.”

“Y…you’d better give up. Then, you should at least call those ghost specialists. You know, the people in charge of Ikaigabuchi investigations you always call for….”

“I can’t. They all have their own individual fields of expertise. I don’t know who to call unless we uncover the root of the misfortune that binds this mansion. At the very least, I must determine that root.”

Thereafter, Krishna-san stopped her writing hand, and muttered quietly, “Moreover, if I were to return now.”

“If you were to return?”

“I won’t make it up to Karasu-san.”

“Karasu-san has nothing to do with it, right? In the first place, would Karasu-san be happy if you stayed in a place like this?”

“Just a little bit more… I have a feeling something will pop up.”

Krishna-san turned back and handed to me what appeared to be a sealed letter.

“When you get back to Musashino, give this to Sako-san.”

“…To Sako?”

Krishna-san nodded, and her eyes shone with a glint suggesting that she wanted to say something—when I suddenly understood.

“Could it be that this is about my memories?”

“........”

“I’ve really forgotten someone, haven’t I? Did you and Sako do something to me? Why?”

However, Krishna-san kept silent, biting her lips.

We were getting nowhere, so I put my hand on her small shoulder.

“At any rate let’s go back together. Or maybe it would be better to call that bastard Sako.”

“I can’t do that.”

Krishna-san refused as if to brush off my hand.

“I’m always relying on other people. Even though I have no power to deal with ghosts, I thought I would do something outrageous like promote the segregation of ghosts and people, not knowing my place. And who knows how many people -- ended up dead because of me.”

“Krishna-san, that wasn’t your fau…”

“Is that really the case? Say, Nagi-kun. Can you say that with absolute certainty?”

My hand stopped at that desperate scream—at those tears that flowed from her large eyes.

“I can’t forgive myself…if I can’t at least fix this problem properly by myself.”

◯

“—Now then. Have you figured out the identity of the thing in the mirror?”

Beyond the deliciously steaming breakfast, the old man smiled.

“…No, not yet.”

Krishna-san hung her head down,

“It’s fine, we have an abundance of time. Please make yourselves comfortable.”

The old man kindly declared with a hoarse voice.

Outside the window, a slight drizzle had begun before I realized. Illuminated by the faint sunshine, the table was lined with grilled river fish, pickled vegetables, bamboo miso soup, and freshly cooked rice.

And in the end--- I ended up receiving that food together with Krishna-san and the old man.

As I listened to the birds chirping, I thought the food was delicious, while at the same time feeling that I was pathetic.

“It’s good to have someone to talk to.”

The old man spoke to Krishna-san after partaking in a small mouthful of food.

“You are still young, but we have always had smooth communication. There is progress there. Let us have a meaningful, quality debate, unencumbered by ethical excesses.”

“…Last night.”

“Hm?”

“Is it alright if I ask about the path at the end of the corridor?”

In response, the old man, whose face which was once handsome in the past, creased its wrinkles—and broadly grinned.

“Please forget about it.”

“………”

“It is something that is not supposed to exist. Our nature as human beings to make things exist that are not supposed to exist - isn't that the true nature of a ghost?”

“In all likelihood, you are correct.”

Krishna-san spoke.

“However, the thing we saw last night was real.”

“And what exactly… did you see?”

“….Eh?”

“I did not see anything—and yet you included me in the ‘we’ you spoke of?”

“No, I definitely-- in the end of that corridor—Hey, Nagi-kun, you saw it as well, right?”

She suddenly swung my way, and in a panic, I gulped down the grains of rice in my mouth.

“Ermmm, right, it was like… I saw something.”

“Right? There must have been something - or someone - at the end of the corridor.”

Krishna-san insisted stubbornly, but as for me, it was pathetic that I didn’t truly trust my own perceptions. Even though I was an occult enthusiast, I was even more of a wimp, and I thought that the possibility was high that it was a schema rather than a person, something I always thought when I cooled off. Looking at it now that it’s morning, I even ended up thinking that it must have all been my imagination.

“That was -- yes, I think it was a woman with long hair.”

…………….Eh?

Krishna-san muttered that as she tried unusually hard to compose herself…. No, but what I saw was more like a man, something that had no arm and was hectically shaking its head from side to side.

In response—the old man cackled in a creepy manner.

“That’s how human perception is, Kurimoto-kun. Things like memories can manufacture several things later on. As long as humans are subjective living things, all memories without exception, receive slight revision. And, the more people with power speak of that, the more their subjective, vague and uncertain memories are recorded as authentic history. They say that the history is written by the victors – but it sure is scary, isn’t it, this world?”

Those were—

The type of words Krishna-san would usually point out before anything else, I thought.

Krishna-san would always question herself first. She would question all the ghost stories of this world, and she would go to the limits to eliminate even the slightest possibility of misinformation being mixed in. She strongly believed that fear came from ignorance.

Right now, Krishna-san was biting her lips. It was probably the regret of having ended up uttering what she saw herself (or what she felt she saw).

…Ah, come to think of it.

She said something about ‘racial conflict’ in the taxi on the way here. She then moved to ‘A history of human conflict’, and ‘Terrible things having quietly started somewhere’. You often see this type of thinking on the internet where current events are interpreted as grand evil signs. What are commonly called ‘conspiracy theories’. Krishna-san knew better than anyone else about how dangerous it was to start believing in conspiracy theories, but she still ended up uttering them— she must be feeling a sense of danger about herself. Was….that the real reason she closed Ikaigabuchi?

I thought that far, when I finally realized.

If the one-armed man I saw (or I felt I saw) was the ‘deceased friend’ imagined from the story of the old man named Mamiya---then the long haired woman Krishna-san saw…could it be?

Karasu-san?

Feeling responsibility for the death of Karasu-san, could Krishna-san’s heart be—

Much, much thinner than I thought, on the verge of being worn out?

◯

--Krishna-san, was already in danger.

After I finished eating breakfast, I borrowed an umbrella and went outside to take a walk by myself in the garden, where I took out my phone.

I had not brought my charger along, so I couldn't rely on the remaining battery anymore. I thought it would indeed be best to call Sako before it went dead. It was infuriating that I had to rely on him, but the situation was so urgent that I couldn't afford to take my time. In the end, I called Sako’s number after looking him up in my contacts list.

The ringing tone rang from the other end of the line.

It continued to ring.

However, even after thirty or so rings, no one picked up. It didn’t even go to voicemail.

“…That bastard, he really is useless when it comes to the crux of things.”

I clicked my tongue as I cut the call.

As I listened to the raindrops bouncing on my umbrella, I glared at the ground as I thought to myself.

I didn’t think it would be useful for me if I stayed here. But on the other hand, I was worried about leaving Krishna-san here and going back to Musashino alone. I couldn’t help but feel a terrible premonition. I would try contacting Sako again after a while--- no, if my battery died before I could contact him, then—As I started thinking such things over and over again, a stinging pain struck my right elbow after a long time.

I pulled up my sleeves and checked the scar. As usual, the stitch marks were painful to look at. The discolored wound had considerably blended in color with the surrounding flesh, but it looked like a bruise that would stay with me for the rest of my life.

As I massaged it, I somehow felt as if Karasu-san were angry at me.

“…What am I doing, really?”

I muttered to myself, when I suddenly realized.

I hurriedly turned the phone on and looked at my call history.

--Ah, I knew it.

There were many names in the call history I was familiar with, but among them was a name I had no recollection of.

It was the peculiar name, ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’. Moreover, there were a considerable number of incoming and outgoing calls displayed in the call history. The calls were terribly short each time, but to have exchanged calls so many times with this person—I had no memories of that.

….Who…are you….?

I looked at the contact information once more. All that was there was the name, ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, with no address, the fact that they might be an associate from work, or that they may be someone related to Ikaigabuchi, there was no memo like that at all.

However, as I gazed at the name, a strange feeling of nostalgia filled my heart. When engulfed with an incomprehensible fear, there was no one more reliable than this person…. No, on the contrary, did they actually amplify the fear? I didn’t know which one it was, but at any rate, it was a name that gave me a hunch that it would give me a breakthrough when I didn’t know what to do.

“………”

After hesitating for several seconds – I looked at their phone number, and pressed the call button.

As I gulped, I heard the ringback tone several times.

Eventually, the call connected.

<…………………………….>

“…Ah, hello.”

For the time being, I muttered that, but afterwards, I didn’t know what to say.

Someone stayed silent on the other end of the line.

“…Ah, umm…. Sorry for calling you out of the blue. I’m the one who called, but I don’t know you. No, I probably don’t remember. That is, ah, I’m Nagito Yamada. I had an accident a little while ago. I think it’s because of that — my memory is scattered in places. That’s why I called this number from the call history of my phone. I have called you many times before. That’s why, I thought we might have been on close terms, but…sorry, I don’t remember you.”

<……………………………..>

“Sorry for this weird phone call, but I’m in a situation right now that’s even weirder. I need your help. Just a little--- just a little is fine, I want you to hear this story like this.”

At that moment, I heard a warning vibrate from my phone, *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*.

“Aw shit. My battery is low, so I’ll explain the situation from my side.”

I told everything that happened so far to someone I didn’t even remember.

That I was in the heart of Okutama, in the secondary residence of a rich man named Ryouichi Mamiya. The story about him having ventured into a forbidden cave ignoring three warnings and that a strange riddle had appeared here in a mansion where that old man lived. That I had seen a creepy path late at night. The fact that even though the house had no mirrors, that there was a mirror there. And above all, the strange state that Krishna-san was in. I don’t know what sequence of events I explained it all in, but I was incoherent without a doubt. I didn’t know if the person on the other end of the line understood me, but at any rate, I was in a hurry and desperately tried to explain everything that came to my head to the person on the other end of the line.

“….I mean, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and it’ll be dangerous if things keep going on like this.”

<………………………………>

Despite that, the so-called ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ remained silent.

It occurred to me that they might have been upset that I did not remember them.

“…I’m sorry for not remembering you.”

I spoke.

“It really is, a nonsensical phone call, isn’t it….but, I’m--”

When the phone went dead.

I looked to see that it had completely drained.

“….Ahh.”

“What’s wrong?”

I was suddenly called out to, and turned around to see Krishna-san standing there.

She had also borrowed an umbrella, and came out to the pouring garden, with a slight smile on her face. The color of her face seemed to have recovered a little since breakfast.

“I’m… still staying here.”

I answered and looked away from Krishna-san, who looked like she wanted to say something, and put my phone away.

◯

Thunder roared.

The rain had gotten heavier since last night, and had begun to violently thrash the ground.

I pushed past Krishna-san’s opposition, and in the end, ended up staying for the third consecutive night in that strange mansion.

“This house is basically quite cozy…”

I muttered to myself as I gazed out at the falling rain through the window of the guest room.

The library was lined with countless interesting books and had a sound facility that was somewhat old but seemed to have good sound. The mansion was surrounded by a fresh forest of maple trees and sawtooth oaks, with benches set up here and there. All the rooms had air conditioning, but it was neither hot nor cold in this mansion, which was surrounded by trees in early spring. It was the perfect place to stop and think at one’s leisure.

Even today, I woke up this morning to be served with a warm breakfast prepared by the servants, ate and engaged in some pleasant conversations and listened to the old man’s old stories, and ended up getting served lunch before I’d realized it. I thought I had to take Krishna-san back with me today, but when the old man and Krishna-san began some deep conversation, I lost my place and came up to the room prepared for me on the second floor to rethink my strategy, but before I realized, all I was doing was gazing out at the falling rain.

It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

If I were to go down now, I’d be served afternoon tea and cakes, then I’d be pushed along into dinner, and then I’d submerge myself in the spacious and comfortable bath and the day would be over. I’d be tempted to lie down on the soft bed and go straight into another overnight course. And I’d be wearing the same underpants for four days, a terrible sight to behold.

A comfort that’s like lukewarm water.

That was the root of my fear of this mansion.

In this mansion where time seems to have stopped, where only silence and thoughts remained, it became impossible to have an overhead view of where you were. The university lectures and part-time job that used to keep me busy day after day became unimportant, and I even ended up thinking that my missing memories were something trivial and not worth worrying about.

It was a dreadful feeling as if I was slowly dissolving. It was a lukewarm fear that If I didn’t make a determined decision to leave in some way, that I would become imprisoned in this mansion forever.

For example, I realized it when I saw Krishna-san in the garden this morning.

How should I say it, it felt as if color continued to disappear from Krishna-san. The thing she originally had, the vitality of a Bodhisattva that overflowed from her much more than a normal human, continued to go down, is how I might explain it. At any rate, everything was fleeting, and there was a fear there that she would become transparent and end up disappearing at this rate.

『…K, Krishna-san.』

At that time, I thought it was without a doubt dangerous and called out to her. But I didn't know what to say or do from there. With her bobbed hair and charming baby face in front of me, my body didn’t move, and no words came out. I just said, “Nothing”, and looked away with no plan of a breakthrough, and all I could say was. 『I’m still staying here.』

However, I was sure that nothing would change for the better if I just kept reminiscing and looking out of the window. So, I finally took action — I stood up from the chair by the window, and went downstairs.

In the living room with a hearth on the first floor, both Krishna-san and the proprietor were sitting opposite to each other on the sofa, and at times both were conversing with a smile on their faces.

“I believe that’s the first time I’ve heard of such an opinion regarding the true identity of Oshira-sama.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshira-sama</ref>”

“No, it's an unfounded fancy that just popped into my head.”

“No, no, I don't think this is an opinion that comes up unless you do a lot of fieldwork.”

Thereupon, I joined in.

“What is Oshira-sama?”

In response, Krishna-san blatantly scowled.

“Nagi-kun, you haven’t even read Tōno Monogatari yet?”

“…Ah, err, it’s written in a classic style that’s difficult to read, so.”

“There are modern translations as well now. I’m always telling you that you shouldn’t just read ghost stories on the internet.”

“S-sorry.”

“Well, let’s leave him be.”

With the proprietor’s words, the conversation between the two moved on to an incomprehensible direction once more. They talked about stuff like the earth’s axis, and Longmai<ref>(expl.) the air or energy flowing down from an undulating mountain range</ref>. I could sit down on the sofa next to Krishna-san, but I couldn't get into the conversation at all.

At that moment, a bright light shone outside the window.

After a moment’s delay, the terrifying sound of thunder reverberated in its stead.

“….Damn, that was close!”

I unconsciously shouted out loud, but the proprietor and Krishna-san continued their conversation as if they had gotten used to it. At that moment, lightning flashed again, illuminating the old man's profile. His wrinkled face, which was supposed to have been handsome in his youth, was dyed in a golden color for an instant--- and I shuddered.

In a panic, I rubbed my eyes.

Just now, in an instant, I felt like I saw a completely different face appear in the light—but, was it because of the light?

The proprietor was smiling as usual. But it felt as if the number of wrinkles were increasing day by day. Despite that, it felt as if rather than growing old, he continued to swell with vigor. It might have been because he gained a conversational partner in Krishna-san with whom he could talk to on an equal intellectual level (according to the proprietor). It might have been because his brain was being rapidly stimulated.

However, that was of course not a happy thing for me, it was something that made me feel a strange disgust. I couldn’t help but feel a slimy sense of corrosion, as if something precious to me were being devoured by an old, ravenous beast.

“Now then, have you figured out the answer yet, Kurimoto-kun?”

After a break in the conversation, the old man asked Krishna-san as he sipped his black tea.

The answer— It was about the incident he mentioned. The question:『What is the identity of the thing inside the mirror?』. As I looked at Krishna-san’s downcast profile from the side, I too desperately tried to think. In the past, this old man abandoned his best friend in the depths of a cave. Or he thought he had, and continued to feel guilty about it to this day. Krishna-san was of the same opinion up to that point. Which meant that in short, that thing he saw was his ‘best friend’ who supposedly died. But for me, there was another possibility that I couldn’t get rid of.

That was—

The ‘something’ that had been in the depths of the cave from the very beginning.

‘Something’ that had been called a ‘mountain god’ since ancient times, that issued three warnings to the young man and his best friend. Had it not possessed this old man? Wasn’t that the cause of this inhuman presence I felt from this old man?

I looked at Krishna-san, wondering how she would respond---

“…I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

The bobbed haired former occult site manager hung her head in regret.

“It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

And the old man nodded happily.

“We have all the time in the world.”

….Ah, dammit, what was it?

An intense feeling of disgust swelled up inside me, and I stood up from the sofa. With a feeling of frustration as if I had my foot caught in a bottomless marshland, and a mixture of anger at myself for being unable to help Krishna-san as my crutch, I got up and spoke.

“I got it.”

“Oh?”

The old man looked my way with zero sense of expectation.

“Please tell me.”

“You are… the ‘mountain god’.”

Lightning struck outside the window once more, and for an instant the lights in the room went out. Perhaps that’s why I ended up being convinced that my half-baked answer was correct, *Cough*, the old man’s laughter rang out together with the lights turning back on, making me feel somewhat embarrassed.

“I am honored to be thought of as a mountain god.”

“Y, you went to a forbidden cave with your best friend. You heard some kind of voice there. But, you lost your memories from there, and when you came to, your best friend didn’t return. In short--”

“Ah, I see. So you want to say that I’ve been possessed by a mountain god. Quite amusing.”

It felt as if something else inside the old man’s wrinkles sneered.

“Let’s talk by stepping down to your level. Then what do you think the mountain god is?”

“Eh….what do I think….ummm… god is god, right?”

“In this country, those who are considered as gods are deceased noblemen, something that percolated from the other world, or nature itself, which one of those I wonder?”

“H, how the hell am I supposed to know something like that?”

“Why was the cave forbidden to enter in the first place?”

“………….”

“Is God not the general term for the supernatural, that which is beyond human comprehension? Why do humans deem God as necessary? That is to escape from fear. When struck with a condition that far surpasses the capacity of human understanding, humans speak of God. Fear that flows from the depths of humans is called God. In short fear itself is the true form of God, so how can I be the god of the mountain since I felt fear of the other side of the mirror?”

“…….”

“Ahh, how exhausting.”

The old man sat deep back in his chair, and spoke in an exhausted tone of voice.

“I said it before. A world that caters to fools leads to a slow death. Listen, if you’ve learned your lesson, then don't even think about interfering in the conversation between Kurimoto-kun and myself. Fools should at least realize that they are being spoken to like fools.”

………Ungh.

I was humiliated, but I had no reply. Krishna-san too had her head downcast, and I too pathetically continued to look down on the ground, when--

“Master.”

The maid called out.

“Another guest has arrived, is it alright if I allow them in?”

However, before that voice could even finish,

“…Ah, please…wait, please wait in that room.”

I heard that voice and turned around, to see the maid in a panic restraining someone.

However, eventually, the maid staggered as if pushed aside; Something entered the room.

In the space absent of anyone—that voice echoed, like a ringing bell.

(Which one is the fool, I wonder?)

That voice--- that frigid voice in the darkness that echoed like a bell from the other world, reached my ears.

(If you were to define fools as those who don’t realize they are fools, then there are those who don’t even realize that it applies to them.)

However, that figure was nowhere to be seen.

All I could feel was long black hair swirling in a spiral.

And, the terrifying presence in that voice alone—was what I felt in that ‘Overlapping house’.

“…T…that voice… you are…”

My mutter overlapped with Krishna-san’s voice at the same time.

“Yo…Yoishi…? Why are you here….?”

--Yoishi…? My mouth was agape, as I looked in the direction the voice came from, then at the old man, and finally at Krishna-san.

Krishna-san had her head face down somewhat apologetically—

Could it be?

Could it be that the owner of that voice was ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’?

“Oh, what a cute young lady.”

The old man let out a merry voice.

“Welcome, to my mansion.”

In response, the young girl that was still only a voice to me whispered.

(Fools destroy this world--- I strongly agree with that theory. However, you don't know what a true fool is.)

“Interesting, please do explain.”

(Often in this world, the wise must go along and converse with fools. That is correct. The wise arrive at the truth of this world before the fools, and despair of their own inadequacies more often than the fool —that too is correct. However, you don’t realize that as long as humans are creatures who live by emotion, the aggregate amount of despair is the same.)

“…Oh?”

(Indeed, there might be fewer fools who may be aware of their stupidity in comparison to the wise. But, as long as the aggregate amount of emotion is the same, the wise experience the self-hate ten different times whereas the fool only experiences ten times all at once. When they realize and understand it, the despair they felt would be ten times greater. And, that which the exceedingly sensitive fool experiences is a hundred times more worthy than the insensitive wise man —That is this person. You could not withstand even a small portion of the pain this person has experienced thus far. As long as there are circumstances worth sympathizing in, this person is an extraordinary fool who will walk together with them be they the living or the dead—No matter how much someone tries to stop him, he still plunges into the abyss in tears, a person who endured it all.)

For some reason, the back of my nose prickled.

(The wise living by getting along with fools? You can talk from above and feel good about it all you want, but that is an exceedingly laughable thing. The fool who cannot see ahead is the first to realize what lies at their feet. They are diligently moving the pebbles at their feet, one by one, day by day, which the wise do not care about. That’s why, the self-proclaimed wisemen are able to look ahead without falling down.)

“How interesting.”

The old man cried out in excitement, and at the same time, another violent thunderbolt struck yet again.

And I noticed that the feet of the young girl, who was only a voice, were dripping wet. It seemed the so-called ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had come soaking wet in the rain, in response to my call for help.

“Krishna-san.”

I asked.

“…This girl with only a voice--- the girl everyone can see, why am I the only one who can’t see her?”

“……That’s.”

“But she’s Yoishi, isn’t she?”

“Nagi-kun…. You were shaken up pretty badly back then. You were lashing out, wailing and afraid. That’s why--”

“….Right. I ended up calling her a monster.”

“…………”

“I called her a monster, I feared her, and ended up crying and screaming.”

“…That’s right.”

“I still don’t know why that was. But, even if she was a monster---she answered my call, and came to help in the rain here in the mountains. I’ve never seen such a monster with a strong sense of duty.”

Thereupon, the voice echoed once more.

(The thing that gazes at you from inside the mirror--- If you really want to know its true identity, I’ll tell you.)

“Ho, ho.”

The old man sat back down happily.

“By all means, please, young lady.”

In response, I suddenly heard a *Shing*.

It seemed that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had flicked a glass on the table with her fingers.

(Venetian glass that’s more than five-hundred years old—moreover, this is not ‘Facon de Venise’, but rather, an original from the island of Murano.)

“Oh, so you know of Murano originals.”

(Originally, the exact origins of Venetian glass are shrouded in mystery. The method was said to have been established in the seventh or eighth century, and was considered top secret by the Republic of Venice at the time, with all craftsmen isolated on Murano Island.)

A nice sounding *shing* rang out once more.

The old man closed his eyes as if entranced by that tune. I, too, was caught up in it, and closed my eyes trying to imagine it as well.

(The small Murano Island is filled with workshops. As a result of the friendly competition between craftsmen called maestros, hard glass adorned with ornaments continues to be refined at a higher, more vivid quality.)

--*Shing* The sound of glass. Perhaps because I had closed my eyes, the sound was more vivid than before. And, when I heard it again with the added explanation, I felt that the vivid sound had a different experience.

(The almost legendary fame these craftsmen earned gave them unparalleled respect. Their fame reached its peak in the fifteenth century, and they were at last commissioned to create the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ in the Palace of Versailles.)

…Hall of mirrors?

--*Shing* The sound reverberated.

(The Palace of Versailles was said to be a castle of Louis XIV, a palace within a palace. It is a vast place installed with mirrors, enough for the Hall of mirrors to be referred to as the ‘Corridor of Mirrors’, and in the ceiling is a famous decorative ceiling painting by the famous Charles Le Brun. In the painting, which is said to be a declaration of the king's own rule and a departure from the aristocracy, Louis XIV, the Sun King, holds a rudder in his right hand, blessed by angels and surrounded by various gods. The god of ‘wisdom’ Minerva, Mars the god of ‘war’, and the personification of ‘time’, the god of agriculture Saturn—all of them extoll Louis XIV.)

“…Umhmm.”

Again, a *shing*, the sound of glass rang out once more, and the old man comfortably chuckled in this throat.

At that moment, Krushna-san’s silent murmur reached my ears.

“…..Hypnotherapy, is it?”

…Hypno, therapy?

I thought I heard it somewhere before… As the word ‘therapy’ suggested, the rhythm of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’s’ words was very relaxing. I was somehow convinced that the word therapy did apply, and I continued to keep my eyes shut as I listened in ecstasy—however, that was as far as it went for being enraptured.

(In the days of glory, a picture of glory—however, why is it I wonder?)

Suddenly, the tone of Yoishi’s voice dropped.

(There is one strange god in the painting. One god alone is illustrated with his back facing the king.)

“The god Pluto— Hades according to Greek mythology.”

The old man answered with eyes still closed.

(That’s exactly it. The sinister Pluto who holds dominion over death—That’s why he has his back towards you who are blessed.)

“…Hmm…”

(You are now more blessed than all of creation. You have attained the self you were meant to achieve.)

--*Shing* The clear sound rings perfectly clear as if it covered the entire world.

(The light floods in —the power slowly leaves your body---it falls deeper and deeper into the sky.)

--*Shiiiiiiiiiing*, the sound reverberates all around me.

(That’s right, before you know it, you are in a meadow.)

Together with her words—

My surroundings had somehow turned into a field thick with young fresh grass.

It was vast. A meadow that spread as far as I could see, as a gentle breeze blew past me.

(You proceed through the meadow. In the middle of the meadow, there is a large tree. An ancient, thick tree trunk that has experienced many years.)

(You put your hand on that trunk. You look at that hand. You realize who you are--)

(Are you a man, or a woman?)

“……A, a man.”

The old man's croaky voice responded.

(A man around what age?)

“….Twenty seven, thereabout.”

(You who are twenty-seven-years-old discover a large hole in the tree trunk. It’s a very large hole….what is inside?)

“…..I don’t know…it’s pitch black….”

(Then let’s slowly enter inside. It’s alright, because you have a light in your hand.)

“….Yes….”

(Try to illuminate your arm with the light. What do you recall?)

“…Arm…arm….I…wanted to bulk it… because it was slightly thinner as compared to his….It weighed on my mind that it was thin compared to my best friend…..”

(Where is that friend?)

“…..Where…next to me…he was always next to me….Aah…..”

(Please shine a light on your friend.)

“….He’s here….he’s laughing…. His face is handsome like an actor….The man who instilled an uncountable sense of inferiority in me…..And, the man who was always kind to me…. I thought I wanted to be like this man…..No…..that’s not it…..”

(What – is not it?)

“The person who’s there….is me….where did my friend go….?”

(……………….)

“This is….this is….a mirror isn’t it?! …..Eeek! My reflection….where did he go….?”

(No, that is not you.)

In the midst of the pitch-black darkness—the whispers of the young girl echoed.

“……What……?”

(That is because, you are not ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’. It is true that you are currently the chairman of the conglomerate ‘Mamiya Motors’ which boasts the largest market share of the Japanese market, but you are not the man who originally held the name of ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’.)

At that moment, something beyond the darkness that had its back turned moved sneakily.

With a forked shaku in hand<ref> https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9644</ref>, the indomitable brown colored back of Pluto, had turned around at some point.

And, at the same time, a sobbing scream that was enough to make you shudder rang out. That was, the voice of the old man.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…..I, I was……..No, I was…….that’s right, in the darkness--- I was told that one would be allowed to live. He said he would deliberately allow one of us to live. He said he would make me taste the sadness of having lost my friend until I died….It was no joke, I thought. It was no joke. I thought living my life being afraid of Mamiya’s shadow until my death was something I could never do. Even Fumiko, the one she really liked was Mamiya….I don’t think she would be swayed by me if Mamiya were to die…that’s why, I became Mamiya….because that was the best thing I could do.”

(No—that is how you justified it to yourself.)

‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ coldly condemned him.

(You stole a man’s name, and as a result, stole everything from him.)

However—the old man wasn’t listening anymore.

“No….I am the real…. Ryouichi Mamiya!”

As he shouted that, I heard the sound of something crashing down and falling somewhere.

Thereupon at long last, I opened my eyes.

I desperately looked around at the blurry world, as if a long dream still lingered, and realized that I was in the living room of that mansion, and that there were broken pieces of the so-called Venetian glass at my feet.

“….Forgive me. Mamiya, stop….”

I heard the scream of the old man at the end of the corridor, and Krishna-san and the maid broke off into a run.

I, too, got up, and tried to leave the room together with them, but—

I heard a *Shing* from somewhere once more.

With a start, I looked at the fragments of the broken glass lying scattered on the floor.

Once more, a clear, *Shing* reverberated.

It was in midair. Someone’s white hand was on that glass, and the glass sounded in a high-pitched tone once more— and I understood that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was still there.

Then I remembered. That’s right, I had read it once before on ‘Ikaigabuchi’. About hypnotherapy being called ‘Regression Hypnotherapy’.

You are made to hear a certain sound continuously. Words, the sound of glass, anything is fine. At any rate, under a certain rhythm, you are led to an altered state of consciousness. The manifestation of one’s inner child. The adult self going to meet the child self, where unfulfilled emotions or complaints are addressed. To listen to ‘The grievances you really wanted to vent’. And, what leads to that realization is—

A higher self. A self that is full of peace, faith, compassion and wisdom—Ah, in short, it was the decorative ceiling painting.

At that moment—the world was enveloped with an overwhelming light, and when I came to, I was in front of the university’s western club building. The building was surrounded by Zelkova trees, and I was riding in front of it on my worn-out mama bike. For a brief period, I was at my happiest here. At any rate, I had to meet her, as I pedaled my bike, my heart beat throbbed, and I was out of breath. The scenery flew past behind me, and eventually, I arrived at the library I had aimed for. I hurriedly locked my bike and parked it, and I saw her come out of the library. “Yoishi!”, I yelled. But, at the same time, I spotted a familiar shadow. It was Akane Nanamori. And I saw a long black shadow at her back---Is how I felt. After that….after that, ahh, I don’t really remember. Before I’d realized, I had jumped onto the road, and in an instant, my vision was turned upside down, filled with the blue sky. I was thrown up into the sky.

After that---what happened?

In an instant, an intense *GONG* reverberated from the entire sky—

And suddenly, an unfamiliar family appeared. A family of four, all smiling happily. A father, a mother, two daughters, and a small shaggy dog. No, it was not an unfamiliar family. I was very close, right besides this family--- and existed by receiving a share of their happiness—And.

I found out ''something''.

I found out that this family hid a secret you wouldn’t tell anyone.

『I couldn’t save them.』

Someone’s voice echoed in my head, a voice I didn’t know—

And then, I was thrown out into a world of darkness.

It was a graveyard. And, it was---that’s right. Last Christmas, I came here with her. It was almost midnight before Christmas, and here we were watching fireworks together. We were sitting on a bench, and I dearly hoped that I could see her smile, so I put my hands on her cheek—

However, there was no one there. Neither her long black hair, nor her beautiful face, transparent and white, was there by my side.

Or rather….there was, no one there.

I dizzily got up from the bench.

And I started walking in the dark cemetery, towards the row of countless gravestones.

Graves, Graves, Graves, Graves, Graves—the graves continued endlessly. Familiar names were inscribed on those graves. My mother’s name was there. My elder sister’s name was there. Friends from when I was a brat. My companions from my high school days. My acquaintances at university. Karasu-san’s name was there, as well as Sako’s. Krishna-san’s name was there as well---and my name was also there.

“What…is this place?”

A wind blew through the open hole in my chest.

A sad wind blew through me, as I looked alone at a world where everything had ended.

A world where everyone had once cried, lost their temper, and laughed together.

It was as if the world had ended, as if it were a world of darkness where everything from the air to the temperature, to the microbes, had all disappeared.

I alone wandered unsteadily in that cold, silent darkness, and then I realized.

Her name alone— was missing.

The grave with the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ alone was nowhere to be found.

---Are you, really…..called ‘Yoishi’?

At that moment, I…I finally reached the question I needed the answer to above all else.

‘Yoishi’—

One year ago, I found out about that ominous rumor,

And met her for the first time in a family restaurant late at night,

And, I began to wander around in the depths of countless paranormal phenomena, I ….that’s right, I started calling her ‘Yoishi’ before I realized….and ended up believing that ‘Yoishi’ itself was her name.

However, that wasn’t it—

Could it be that I, in fact, was not aware of her real name?

The next thing I knew—

I was in the living room of the mansion, standing stock still in a daze.

And before me, was a young girl all by herself.

She had long black hair, skin as white as porcelain, dressed in the Koumei school’s black blazer uniform.

There was a dark color in her large eyes, as she looked at me.

“…Yo….”

“…………”

“….Yo, Yoishi!”

What was her real name? Was it alright to call her by that name?

I still didn’t know the answer to that, but in the end, I shouted that out loud, and hugged her so tight her arms might have broken.

“……….Fuugh.”

Perhaps because she was surprised, Yoishi let out a strange voice like that of a mountain cat.

“Just for a bit. Call me a harasser or a pervert. Just let me stay like this, just for a little.”

I begged her, and Yoishi’s body, which stiffened for a moment, eventually relaxed little by little. I tenderly embraced that body once more. Thinking that it was thin and soft. She came all the way out here without an umbrella and was drenched in the rain, and some kind of strange scent prickled at my nose, but I couldn't help but feel nostalgic about all of that, so I held my cheeks against Yoishi’s wet black hair, and spoke in a snotty, gravelly voice.

“….I’m sorry…I’m sorry for having forgotten about you. I’m sorry I couldn’t….see you.”

“…………..”

“And, most of all—I’m sorry I called you a monster.”

“……………”

“You’re nothing at all like a monster. Definitely not.”

When I declared that—

“You can—see Yoishi…?”

I heard Krishna-san’s voice, and with a start, I raised my head.

It seemed she had returned to the room before I’d realized. There she was, flush red for some reason as she looked at me and Yoishi in an embrace. However, I didn’t care as I continued to embrace Yoishi and nodded.

“Krishna-san you---no, that bastard Sako made Yoishi invisible to me.”

“….That---couldn’t be helped. Back then, you were…”

…..Ah, I know already.

I remembered everything. Back then, in the hospital room, when I saw Yoishi, something about her scared me. I was helplessly afraid and delirious, I screamed, cried and lashed out. The doctors and nurses came one after the other and held me down---and I recalled the moment up until Sako touched my forehead. In all likelihood, that’s when that bastard Sako did something to me.

“I understand.”

Krishna-san looked at me with an expression distorted with worry, and I gently nodded.

“Hypnotherapy.”

“……….Ah.”

“I remembered thanks to that.”

After telling her this, I finally remembered what was happening in this mansion in the present.

“More importantly, Krishna-san, Mamiya san is--”

“Ah…….ahh, that’s right.”

Krishna-san immediately returned to a straight face, and spoke.

“I need you to come right away. And Yoishi as well.”

“What happened?”

In response, the former occult site manager gloomily hung her head down.

“He has passed away.”

◯

At the entrance to the path, the servants had all gathered, everyone was huddled close together, lost for words.

At the end of the path in the back of the corridor, Ryouichi Mamiya--- no, the old man whose name no one knew anymore, had breathed his last.

Together with Yoishi, I slipped past the servants and entered the path. It was the path where that strange guy had been that night. As I tried not to look at the creepy darkness in the back, I crouched down next to the corpse. And, when I looked at his face—I shuddered.

The face did not belong to the old man we had seen so much of over the past few days. It was not the handsome face of the man we had surmised from the picture of his youth, but that of an old man who was a complete stranger to me.

“….Th, this person is, that proprietor?”

I asked, and Krishna-san nodded in silence.

No, that was indeed the case. The gown he was wearing, the socks, and his gray hair, they all belonged to the owner of this mansion. But his face alone was different. It was not the face of the old man we had met and talked with up until now.

“…What does it mean?”

Krishna-san spoke in a daze.

“When someone dies, their face can change to some extent—but, I’ve never seen the skeletal structure change enough to alter the facial appearance entirely.”

“I wonder if that's so.”

Thereupon, Yoishi turned to look behind her.

“There’s a mirror installed at the back of the door at the entrance to this path. I believe because that old man had an interest in Venetian glass, it was probably elaborately made to pair with the mirror on the front.”

“Eh…….?”

Krishna-san asked in return, and I too cocked my head in puzzlement.

“What do you mean by the mirror on the front?”

“It’s that.”

Yoishi then moved towards the darkness at the end of the path.

There was where I saw the man with one arm, and where Krishna-san saw the woman with long hair.

“H….Hey.”

“It’s alright.”

Yoishi’s voice rang out beyond the darkness even as her figure had already become dim.

“As long as the entrance door is kept open, this will not become a spiritual path.”

Beyond the darkness, a *clink* sounded, and a penlight was turned on. Then it swung symmetrically in two. That’s right, as if to reflect off a mirror.

“…….I see.”

Krishna-san walked ahead, and I, too, followed.

The path came to a dead end around ten meters further ahead, and there was a mirror the full width of the passage.

“If you were to close that entrance, then this path becomes a ‘Corridor of Mirrors’. It becomes a perfect space of opposing mirrors, and it then becomes a perfect spiritual path.”

“Why did Mamiya—no, why did that old man make something like this? Wasn’t he afraid of mirrors?”

“In all likelihood, Ryouichi Mamiya switched places with that friend shortly after the war in the aforementioned cave. There were three warnings: those who continue further from here will 『have no guarantee of their ‘life’』『have no guarantee of their ‘friend’』『have no guarantee of their ‘name’』-- The life meant that one of them would lose their lives. Friend meant the death of their friendship. And the name referred to the fate of the man who must live for the rest of his life in the name of the friend he killed.”

“The proprietor of this mansion…really admired Ryouichi Mamiya.”

With her head cast down, Krishna-san spoke.

“He cared so much about him down to the thickness of his arms. ….Ah, so that's why. He cut off his friend’s arm because he was jealous.”

Yoishi nodded in agreement,

“However, to bear that darkness alone was far too heavy a burden to bear.”

I began to get a bad feeling from her somewhat joyful, peculiar tone of voice.

“This closed corridor, instead of being a space created by the conscience of the man who became Ryouichi Mamiya--”

“Instead of?”

I ended up asking unconsciously but regretted it the moment I saw that the depths of Yoishi’s large eyes were beginning to glow with a dark color.

With a chill, the overwhelming sense of helplessness I felt in that hospital room came to the fore once more.

“Aaah, wait, Yoishi, Let’s....”

Stop, I was about to say, when I suddenly made eye contact with Krishna-san. The former occult site manager who would always butt in between me and Yoishi and make a scene and panic and say something like, ‘You can’t, you can’t! Don’t get involved!’, was for some reason, looking at me with a confident look on her face.

--Huh?

My thoughts stopping was the end of my luck.

“That’s right— he built this mansion.”

“He happily had dinner with both of you.”

“He haughtily spoke of fools with you.”

Yoishi Mitsurugi was enthralled, her eyes enlivened, and she ended up mouthing the words in a whisper:

“What clung to the face of this mansion’s owner for a long time was the ''ghost of Ryouichi Mamiya''.”

◯

In the end, it seemed that the direct bloodline of Ryouichi Mamiya had been cut off.

Later, a DNA test was conducted albeit far too late, and it was established that the man was indeed not Ryouichi Mamiya.

Should the vast wealth and fortune built up using the land and connections of ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’ by the man who was not ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’ be inherited by the family of the real ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’? Or should it be inherited by the descendants of the man who falsified his name as ‘Ryouichi Mamiya’? There seemed to be a big uproar in the Mamiya family over that even now—but I didn’t care about any of that. It was a matter of no consequence to us.

One more important thing happened that day, which I will now narrate.

Krishna-san, Yoishi and I all arrived in the same taxi back to Musashino, Tokyo, but when we got out of the taxi, I recalled something important.

After taking out the luggage, I asked Yoishi, “Give me your phone for a second.”

She made an unwilling expression, so I clarified, “I don’t have any battery left, it’s something important”, and borrowed her unappealing black phone. I then took out that business card from my pocket and dialed the number that was written on there. That was something I had been thinking about all the way in the taxi. It was the answer I had come up with by thinking to the point of madness: Would I really do that with no regrets?

As Krishna-san and Yoishi looked at me suspiciously—

I heard a woman’s voice on the other end of the line after the second ringback tone.

<Cabinet Information Research Office, how may I help you?>

“…..Huh?”

I reflexively compared the number displayed on screen to the number on the business card, thinking I had made a mistake. It was not a mistake.

“C, cabinet…..Information research office?”

<Yes.>

“N, Nagi-kun….. who are you calling…..?”

Krishna-san started panicking, but *shhhh*, I put my index finger to my lips, and asked.

“I’m Yamada. I’d like to speak with Mitsurugi-san.”

<…And your business is?>

“I’d like to tell him directly.”

<My apologies, but there is no one here by the name of Mitsurugi.>

‘If that is all, then’, as the other party was about to cut the line, I spoke.

“Wait a second. He's supposed to be there, isn't he? He gave me a card with this number on it. That guy who has a face like a Noh mask. He’s emotionless, expressionless, with his hair swept back, an incredibly creepy guy. I have something very important to talk to him about. Put me through!”

In response—

<…………….Noh mask…..Creepy…..>

It felt as if the woman on the other end of the line snickered a laugh.

<Please wait a moment.>

I exhaled once, and looked at Yoishi.

She had an anxious expression I had never seen up until now, so I nodded and said, “It’s alright”, and I naturally grabbed her hand. I tightly clasped her soft hand.

<Hello.>

Eventually, the voice of that Noh faced man I had met in front of the university that time came from the other end of the line.

“Ah, it’s me, Nagito Yamada.”

<….I know.>

Something inside me was dislodged in reaction to his usual expressionless, unsympathetic manner of speaking.

After taking another deep breath, I stated my business in one fell swoop.

“Your daughter is in a terrible place.”

<…………………..>

“She’s in the worst possible place imaginable—no, she’s stepped into a place that’s a level above the worst. Do you know that?”

<……………………….>

“No, I’m sure you know a lot, but I’m sure you don’t understand properly. Maybe I'm the only person in the world who fully understands it, so....”

<….I’m busy. Please get to the point.>

“Give Yoishi to me.”

<……………………….>

“Even If you refuse, I’ll still take her. I’ll put my life on the line to make her happy.”

At that moment, Yoishi’s hand in the palm of my hand suddenly shuddered.

I clasped her hand once more as if to gently envelop it.

The man on the other end of the line went silent for a while, before eventually grumbling indifferently.

<You’ll end up dead.>

“I don’t care.”

I answered instantly.

I really didn’t care if I died. I came this far after experiencing countless scary life-and-death situations. And I realized. That there were things in this world far more horrifying than death. That there were still horrifying things even after death. If that was so, then wasn’t it all the same? I say that, but it was the conclusion I had come to after walking this far through many deep and grotesque abysses of the world beyond. To lose oneself. To deceive oneself. If you live with a tiny but painful thorn in your side, it will slowly kill your heart. And you would have to face it once more somewhere along the way. But I came this far by running from that. Even though the root of the problem was right there, I ran because I was afraid. I came this far by running from the fusuma, running from ghosts, and running from the emotion called fear. However, right now, there was a problem right here by my side I needed to resolve. The hand in my hand, was actually shaking. Even though it’s unbearably scary, she killed the emotion known as fear, and she was shaking. Even though she was a really good person, even though she has a cute smile, she always has her back hunched over, living life away from the bright light. But that was exactly why she alone understood my disposition. Back then, she stood by my side in the burning dream mansion. And— now it was my turn. It was my turn to confront her and the root of the darkness inside her.

<--You’ve been...>

The man spoke.

<Possessed by my daughter, haven’t you?>

The man who kept calling her ‘it’, called her ‘daughter’ for the first time.

<…Fine, do as you wish.>

Saying that, the man cut the line.

In a daze, I looked at the phone display after he cut the line, ‘Call time: 2 minutes and 47 seconds’ displayed on the screen, when I heard a sob from somewhere.

“I’ve never—this kind of ridiculous situation---it’s the first time.”

I turned around to see Krishna-san’s shoulders were shaking, and her nose was bright red.

“W-Why are you crying?”

I asked her and at the same time, I realized I was still holding hands with Yoishi, and hurriedly let go.

“It’s fine--- just keep it that way.”

Krishna-san once again took my hand and the hand of Yoishi, and spoke after firmly joining the two together.

“You have my blessing.”

With a smile on her snotty, tear-stained face—

The former manager of ‘Ikaigabuchi’, whom I respected from the bottom of my heart, loudly declared high up to the sky like a priest.

“You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness.”

--------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 13|Case 13: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Volume 6: Epilogue

2025-06-11T08:23:14Z

Pakkit:

==Epilogue==

It was a long tale—

This is the end of my recollections.

There might have been several things I might have forgotten to talk about, but at any rate, I tried to remember as much as I could in sequence, but—as expected, I end up thinking that it might have all been a dream.

The countless stories of wandering around the depths of the world beyond that began since encountering her—A world that shouldn’t be seen.

“There are some things that are better not to know if you don't have to know them.”

I was told that by a lot of people in the past. The story revolving the young girl known as ‘Miko Hanamura’, might have also been similar to that, but…in the end, I ended up knowing all of it. And, if you were to ask me if I regretted it, I would say no. She did her best to live at any moment, and I, who was close enough to catch her breath, was the same. Those countless strange, grotesque and hopeless adventures, even if you were to call them a taboo, the days in which I took them on, were even now—merely nostalgic.

The occult.

The realm of the inexplicable that’s called a pseudoscience, and is mostly lies, delusions or misunderstandings. The world that would at times, fill you with romance, and at times strike you down to the depths of fear.

I would probably never step foot into its threshold ever again. Ah, it’s not because I’m afraid. And it’s also not because I no longer feel fear. It’s just—at the moment when this world and the world beyond intersect, when heaven and earth flip upside down, I will surely feel an overwhelming sense of loss at the absence of her whisper that was like a ringing bell.

Three months had already gone by—

Since the collapse of that mansion, and since Miko Hanamura’s funeral.

The contents of the plastic tea bottle placed on the window danced to match the swaying of the train.

I gazed beyond the tea that glittered in the sunlight, towards the Pacific Ocean that dazzled even brighter in the sunlight—

“Just a little further to Fujieda.”

I addressed the backpack placed on my knee, and then shifted my eyes once more to the scenery flowing outside the window.

I was now headed to my hometown of Fujieda by myself for summer vacation. My father, whom I had not seen for quite some time, had threatened to cut off the parent-child relationship if I did not return this summer, and for some reason, that miserly former delinquent of an older sister bore the full costs of my trip back to Fujieda, so as expected, I couldn’t help but go back.

But, for me, going back to my parents’ home was always a secondary thing, and my main purpose was something else.

『Are you going to do that no matter what?』

A few days ago, during lunch break—

Krishna-san asked me in the Beatnik Research Society Room in the western club building of the Koumei Institute.

『Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.』

I nodded, and Krishna-san merely hung her head in response, “I see.”

She then walked towards the bookshelf and turned around in front of the neatly arranged collection.

『Say, Nagi-kun. Do you know the origin of the word ‘Demon’?』

『…Origin?』

‘No’, I shook my head, and Krishna-san began to narrate.

『I learned from my research on the Scholomance university of magic that the original word for ‘demon’ apparently comes from the Greek verb for ‘abuse’. In other words, when people looked down on other people, the existence known as ‘demons’ must have been born into this world. It wasn’t that there was an existence somewhere that transcended humanity… nor was it something born to worship God or as an antithesis to God. What I’ve recently come to think… is that they might just have been born purely from within humans.』

『Could that possibly be—?』

I asked.

『The case with the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

In response, Krishna-san tightly pursed her lips, and gave a slight nod thereafter.

『There is nothing in the laws of human thought that goes beyond the principles of life preservation.』

『…Eh?』

『I am not Dr. Freud, but in cases of split personalities, the first personality that manifests: the ‘Id’, is generally held to be a savagely aggressive and an exclusionary personality. The Id is more likely to emerge the more oppressive the environment one finds themselves in, and once it manifests, the Id always unconsciously rejects others— I once wondered if it might be a pure manifestation of life preservation, originally a personality-less ‘superego’. Well, Dr. Jung's theory of the collective unconscious -- in short, the collective consciousness of an ethnic or religious group that transcends the individual - explains areas that cannot be explained by that theory alone, but when I found about the existence of the ‘everlasting night stone’, I began to feel that the two did not contradict each other. So, returning to my original point… As long as people do not cease abusing other people, then surely, there will always be a possibility that ‘demons’ will be born.』

I couldn’t understand.

But, if Krishna-san’s theory was correct—

Then it meant that as long as people existed, that there would be no salvation?

『Ummm…no, of course, the living are far stronger than the dead.』

Krishna-san raised the tone of her voice to brighten the darkening club room.

『There are countless people who live their lives honestly and sincerely every day, without aiming to become saints or religious people. Which way the future of humanity will turn out depends on those of us living in the present.』

『Yes —you’re right.』

I smiled.

As if induced by my smile, Krishna-san too broke into a smile—

After that she folded her arms behind her back, and closed her eyes if reflecting on that smile.

At that moment—

It felt as if the lights in the clubroom dimmed for an instant, and I looked up at the ceiling. The fluorescent light bulb of the clubroom was working properly, and there seemed to be nothing wrong, so I returned my gaze and saw—

『In summary, aren’t humans themselves the ‘demons’?』

There stood Ayana Takamura.

『…Is what Kurimoto-kun probably wanted to say. You seemed to have noticed it as well.』

Before I’d realized, Ayana Takamura was wearing Krishna-san’s summer checked shirt, but her face, height, and body was her own, and she had a complacent smile on her face.

I merely nodded. I listened carefully to the words that came from her red mouth without being perturbed as to what was happening and without asking for an explanation.

『Have you heard ever of the ‘Qumran sect’? They have an interesting contradiction in that they believe that Jesus Christ himself was not a Christian, but a Jew, among other things, they also believe that he was a part of the Jewish Essenes—in short, it is a doctrine that believes he was a part of the ‘Qumran sect’. Their teachings are quite unusual. In that Book of Genesis, it is written, ‘In the beginning there was darkness’ which is the opposite of countless religions. Then, God created light. If darkness was the origin, and chaos was the beginning of this world, doesn't that mean that God is in no way an ally of humanity, nor a guide, but exists to weed out the ‘demons’ of man? If that’s the case, then you can understand why Jesus died on the cross as a symbol of humanity, and why natural disasters have not disappeared from the world.』

Takamura immediately sat directly on top of the work desk, and happily crossed her long legs.

I gazed at her—and after a while, I asked.

『Did you, understand everything?』

『By everything, you mean?』

『The current situation, all of it.』

Ayana Takamura let out a giggle, and she spoke with a smile, ‘Well yeah’.

『Do you plan on becoming a bigger monster than the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

When I asked her that, Takamura’s large eyes widened, and she looked at me in exasperation.

『Monster? Ha—do you think I would aim for something so small time?』

『…Small time?』

『That thing was never an ancient thing to begin with, Nagito Yamada. It was something that merely professed to be ancient—a ghost that must have been born somewhere in the closing years of the Taishō era <ref>Taishō era (1912.7.30-1926.12.25)</ref> at best. In every age, the smaller they are, the larger they will try to portray themselves as. But you see, ghosts merge with other ghosts. And in the end, they turn into something so large that they become unable to remember who they originally were. Darkness, abyss, chaos—it was certainly something that could no longer be called a person when it merged with them. It was merely something that called itself that delusional memory of the past. In that sense—that child was at a much higher level. To think that she made me devour that strange thing.』

Thereafter, Takamura narrowed her eyes nostalgically.

『Yoishi Mitsurugi a.k.a Miko Hanamura must have taken a gamble. Perhaps she had a plan in mind when she once declared that I would devour your fears. She would draw the ‘everlasting night stone’ to the limits of her heart and your heart, and the moment it was convinced of victory, she would turn the tables. She showed it something it itself did not understand, put fear in it, and made me devour it---a truly terrifying child.』

Takamura smiled happily, as if boasting about a lost friend.

『But you see Nagito Yamada. It was not something that child could have done had she not truly believed in you. That person won’t betray me to a fearsome degree- was it? Fufufu, I saw all of it. Those words, which you might not receive even if you were to live for thousands of years, there are truly no higher words of praise, right?』

Yeah, I nodded, and at the same time—

The tears that gathered in my eyes were about to spill, but I somehow managed to endure it.

Did she try not to look at me while I was that way?

『But—‘incarnation’, was it?』

Takamura spoke as she chuckled.

『I’m not one to speak having tried it once in the past—but, I can’t say I didn’t understand how it felt. It longed for ‘death’. You humans are nothing but afraid of your limited lives, but to something that walked in everlasting darkness, it is a word filled with endless comfort.』

『To die?』

『Ahh, that’s right. Well, to all of you who are trying your best to live now, that might be something difficult to comprehend.』

Takamura, looked up as if seeing through the ceiling, the sky above it—no, even higher, into space.

『The structure of this vast cosmos you see, is far more profound than you all believe, and frighteningly simple. In all probability, the first ones who will realize the truth behind that structure will not be physicists or mathematicians, but humans who are called imprudent phenomenologists. There lies the potential of humanity. That is what I felt when I met that child.』

I had no idea what she meant.

I didn’t understand, but—it was as if it was fine that I didn’t understand. The moment you to try and unravel the mysteries of this world, something would end up shifting slightly out of place. It felt if I were to continue my thoughts in the direction of that deviation, then the world would branch off at that moment. It was probably a world of multidimensions and parallel universes—My thoughts wouldn’t be able to keep up with that, they would get punctured to begin with.

『Now then.』

Thereupon, Takamura leapt off the work desk and stood on the ground.

『Let’s finish things there. Since I’ve been forbidden from following you around. I keep my promises.』

And after saying that,

『It’s been fun, Nagito Yamada.』

And she held out her long white fingers towards me.

After thinking it through—I shook my head, and declined to shake her hand.

『Don’t want to get along--? Fufufu, that’s just like you.』

The moment her red lips opened in a grin, and I felt I was being swallowed by that mouth—

I suddenly came back to my senses.

『…Say, are you listening to me, Nagi-kun?』

There stood Krishna-san, with her smooth bobbed hair, and she held her finger pointed towards me.

『Eh………Aah…..yes, of course.』

I didn’t immediately grasp hold of the situation, but--

Nevertheless, I was in the clubroom. Takamura’s presence was nowhere to be found.

『In short, humans are all driven by monsters in our unconscious.』

I nodded for the time being, as I wondered what she was talking about.

『Looking at this letter I received, Takita-san probably foresaw that he wouldn’t return alive. He had written in detail about the bitter trials experienced by Miko Hanamura over the past eleven years, but that’s fine. Read it later if you feel like it. It’s also a letter of apology. He truly apologizes for that day in the mansion, for being prepared to do the worst possible thing: using our bodies to make the ‘everlasting night stone’ feel the concept of death, but—Hm? But if we had died, then we wouldn’t have received it, right?』

『Ah, sure.』

I suddenly became nostalgic upon remembering the face of that that careless, aloof man.

『He is truly, loose in the head somewhere.』

I unintentionally ended up referring to him in the present tense, maybe because Sako still lived inside me.

Krishna-san too smiled seeming somewhat lonely, and, continued as if a bit perplexed.

『But you know, here’s what I don’t quite understand. The reason why he concluded the letter with this…Well, okay, I’ll read it from there anyway so listen.』

--*Cough*, Krishna-san cleared her throat once, and began to read aloud.

『’To not lose, is to fight. There is no contest without it. If you fight, you will not lose. You will never win. Humans can never win. They just don’t lose.’ ….Wait, I think… I know this from somewhere.』

…….Hm?

I thought I heard it somewhere before as well.

『Sorry, it goes on. ‘Don't even think about winning. There’s no chance you will win. Who, or what are you trying to win against?’ – Ah, I remember! Isn’t this Ango?!』

Krishna-san suddenly yelled as if a weight were lifted off her shoulders.

『--Ango?』

『That’s right, It’s a passage from Sakaguchi Ango’s 『The delinquent boy and Christ』.』

Sakaguchi Ango—ahh, now I remember. If I recall correctly, he was Sako’s favorite author in his high school days—and, the words at the end Krishna-san read just now were also his last words.

『Krishna-san, that… was something Sako muttered in the mansion.』

I talked about the last moments of his life,

『Only the part at the end--? Ahh…I see.』

Krishna-san spoke after biting her lips once.

『Maybe he was trying to anger you.』

…Eh?

『Back then, if your heart were to collapse, and Miko Hanamura’s heart were to collapse, then the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have won. He played the part of the clown on purpose in order to encourage your spirit. If you were to think that he shamefully ‘ran away’, you would get angry. You, the simpleton would be outraged, thinking that you were not like him, and that alone would prevent the ‘everlasting night stone’ from interfering—That’s what he might have thought.』

『…That’s.』

Back then, I had no time to be angry or sad.

I was merely flailing around in a miserable state of confusion over Sako’s death.

『Nagi-kun, you might not believe it, but Takita-san really thought highly of you.』

Krishna-san spoke as if appealing to the depths of my eyes.

『Humans are weak—extraordinarily weak. That was Takita-san’s pet theory, but that was the reason why he liked Ango so much. In the ‘Discourse on decadence’, it is written as such if I remember correctly: – ‘Humans will always fall, but they will never be able to fall completely. It is because humans are not strong enough to fall completely.’ Your tendency to be attentive to other people’s hearts to a foolish degree was highly appreciated by Takita-san. I think he believed that this quality, which worried me so much, was the only thing that could save those who were falling. Even though you can never win, you never lose—he saw the true nature of a struggling human being within you.』

『…I』

Thereupon, I managed to put it into words at last.

『Despite that, I—let Miko die.』

Anger had been smoldering deep in my heart since that incident. Anger at myself that was so intense that when I started to think about it, it drove me crazy and burned my stomach. Anger at my own incompetence. It made me raise my head once more— only to hang it back down and clench my teeth.

『Nagi-kun.』

Thereupon, Krishna-san spoke.

『I believe you might be mistaken, that is why I explained this story.』

『…Eh?』

『I want you to calm yourself and listen to me. Miko Hanamura, died eleven years ago.』

『…….』

『The moment she became Yoishi Mitsurugi, Miko Hanamura had already died.』

『…..No…..but……』

『She had already been deprived of the people precious to her, and was made to believe she was born cursed—her spirit had died. Her body lived on, but from that day on, she merely lived as if she were dead. Even so, the only reason she remained in this world was to seal the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body so that it would not spread any further. Just thinking about how painful and lonely that path must have been is enough to clog up your chest—but, even so, there was still one hope for such a girl. In the hellish days eleven years ago, there was only one thing that continued to snuggle close to her: a stuffed frog—the soul that resided within it. In Takito-san’s letter, he said that it might have been you, but…. I don’t know. I don’t know how such a thing would even be possible, and no matter how far one goes, one could never know. It’s just that-- 』

Thereupon, Krishna-san grasped my arm with her soft hands, and declared while massaging it.

『There’s one thing I can say with certainty. It’s that if the thing that existed inside the stuffed eleven years ago—and you, in the present, had abandoned her even once, the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have incarnated itself in this world.』

『……….』

『This photograph you brought back from that mansion.』

Krishna-san picked up the polaroid photograph of Miko Hanamura in the past that was placed on the work desk.

『I’ve seen a lot of ghost photography up until now, but I’ve never seen once that gives me so much courage. You who are projected on the edge—It’s not desire, reward, or narcissism that can make a face like this. It’s a face that can only be made by someone with a sense of duty, a face that says that you were born for that very reason.』

Finally, the tear glands of Krishna-san burst open.

As large tear drops flowed down her soggy face, she desperately continued to speak without even trying to wipe them away.

『I was always afraid of you getting involved with Yoishi. I always thought that Yoishi Mitsurugi’s darkness was too huge for anyone to face. But, you were different. The inclination in you was growing, and even though the paranormal events kept increasing in purity, you somehow continued to associate with Yoishi. I thought it wasn’t good for you—but it felt as if two souls that had split apart had a chance encounter once more, cuddling close to each other. I lost track of many things, and that was my hesitation, and because of that hesitation, I was taken advantage of—but, now that it’s all over, I am convinced that my premonition was correct. Miko Hanamura had died once and transformed into a living dead person named Yoishi Mitsurugi who wandered this world. But having met you, having regained the name of Miko Hanamura, wasn’t she finally able to rest at peace? Didn’t she see that life, and that humans, weren’t so bad? You never betrayed Yoishi Mitsurugi. You never ran away. That’s why, you don’t need to blame yourself. No more…』

Having desperately expressed herself that far,

『There was nothing more you could have done.』

Krishna-san finished speaking, and covered her face with both hands as she broke down in tears.

I was—

Merely repeating the words Krishna-san had said in my foggy head.

I certainly wavered in the face of two choices at that time. If ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ were to stay as she were, we could stay together. But I felt that if I returned her to ‘Miko Hanamura’, she would disappear. I didn’t know which was right. But I indeed ended up making the choice that kept her smiling. And, the words Krishna-san was trying so hard tried to tell me was -- The wind that blows through your chest is making you lonely, and you’re sad that you lost her, but isn’t it alright since you made her happy—? I finally understood what she was trying to tell me.

And as I looked at the petite, former occult site manager who was crying like a child in front of me—

The words she had said just now, 『There was nothing more you could have done.』, felt similar to the words Takamura spoke, 『There are truly no higher, words of praise, right?』. At the same time, I finally realized after all this time where Krishna-san got her boyish way of speaking from.

--Ayana Takamura is still alive and well in this person.

At the same time, I felt something cold go down my spine.

Takamura’s ‘vessel’ which ‘Yoishi’ once spoke of.

Could it be that it wasn’t ‘Takako Takamura’ she was speaking of—

『………….』

Thereupon, I shook my head.

No—that’s not it. Under the rubble, Miko imparted it to me.

「Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.」

If I were to explain that conversation in medical terms, it must have been an auditory hallucination in my half-conscious state, but even so, they were precious words given to me by Miko.

All things circle around. They circle around, and are simply there.

Even Takamura, Krishna-san and Sako.

Yes— everyone, including me, is simply part of that flow.

『--That’s right, Miko.』

『……Eh?』

I ended up muttering unintentionally, and Krishna-san turned to me with a face messed up with tears and snot.

I handed her the box of tissues that was there, and smiled, “It’s nothing.”

『By the way, Krishna-san.』

『….Hm?』

She took a deep sniff, as the former occult site manager looked up at me.

『When are you coming back as an occult site manager? Everyone is waiting, you know.』

『………』

『The living—are far stronger-- right?』

Krishna-san glared at me annoyed, and spoke.

『When it feels that way, that’s when. I need to be ready.』

I was satisfied with her answer.

『Nagi-kun.』

It was Krishna-san’s turn to ask me as I put my backpack on my shoulder.

『You’ll come back… won’t you?』

Those words stabbed my chest.

Come back—where?

Where was I supposed to come back to….?

I was suddenly enveloped with a feeling of loneliness as if I didn’t know where I was, but—

However, I deliberately smiled, and spoke, 『Of course.』

『Alright—okay. I’ll be waiting.』

Krishna-san smiled happily like a child.

◯

Once I arrived in Fujieda, I proceeded to my house, greeted my father and elder sister, was mobbed by the people in the neighborhood who had taken care of me since I was a child, shook off my friends who had begun to crowd around me, and got on the bus.

It wasn’t that far. The mountain was around fifteen minutes to the north.

It was a small mountain about a hundred meters above sea level that had long been known and loved by the people of Fujieda as Mount Eboshi.

I had promised Miko when she was still Yoishi that I would show it to her one day.

The sun was hotter than usual this year. As soon as I got off the bus, I walked under a myriad of trees. As a cool breeze blew down from the foot of the mountain, I pushed my way into the entrance of the mountain. I continued to climb up the narrow game trail that was around less than a meter wide as I wiped the sweat off my face.

I didn't look back on the way up. To really enjoy it you needed to see it when you reached the summit—I replenished myself with the plastic bottle at times as I continued to climb. I used to come here when I was a kid quite often and had always underestimated it, but visiting it now, I found it to be quite steep. I put my feet on the roots of the trees peeking out from the soil, and made my way steadily up the slope, step by step.

And, in less than twenty minutes—I finally reached the summit.

I lowered my backpack, and took out a small cremation urn and that stuffed frog. It was one part of the cremated ashes I had received of Miko Hanamura, and her precious ‘friend’.

“Look, see? This is Mount Eboshi. Amazing, isn’t it?”

I somehow managed to wring out my voice, and swung around at once.

It was—a scene far more spectacular than the one in my memory.

Mount Fuji soared over at the eastern side, and Fujieda city looked small in the bird’s-eye view down below. Beyond that, the ocean spread out, and the curve of the hazy Suruga Bay covered everything in a haze. On the horizon, gigantic columns of clouds billowed. To the trained eye, it might have been seen as nothing more than an insignificant little mountain in the sticks. But it had everything. The sky, the sea, the greenery, Mt. Fuji, and the city— all of these elements were indispensable to each other, miraculously forming a single landscape.

“My mother taught me about this place. Whenever I come here, I feel that everyone is not alone.”

Saying that, I placed the funerary urn gently on the ground, and propped the stuffed frog next to it.

And, I too, sat down next to them.

I thought I would talk about a lot of things with Miko here, but— nothing came out.

The view was far more eloquent than my boring speeches. I felt like Miko was telling me countless precious things that were unspoken.

“It’s nice to be under the sun, isn’t it?”

Despite that, I still tried to speak to her at times.

“Somehow, I feel like I only ever went to dark places with you, huh?”

The wind blew through me, but no answer came.

It was only in times like this that I thought I knew what I would say to Miko.

But, strangely enough, nothing came out. Telling her I missed her would be uncool, apologizing felt wrong as well, and thanking her felt a little out of place as well. There were just… too many different kinds of emotions that came pouring out, and I couldn't translate them into words.

I merely stayed silent—and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Although it was still hot, the strength of the sunlight had diminished.

I got up and pulled out a small shovel from the bottom of the backpack. I then thrust it at the base of a large camphor tree that my mother loved so dearly. I dug a hole as deep as I could there so as to not damage the roots. When my surroundings began to turn orange, I managed to dig a hole around a meter deep, and I softly placed the funerary urn and the stuffed frog in it. I thought I should say something, but I could not. All I could do was hold back the tears that were threatening to overflow the best I could.

After I carefully finished covering the hole with soil, I poured the remaining water from the plastic bottle on it.

I then closed my eyes, and clasped my hands toward the trunk of the camphor tree.

Countless memories drew themselves in the back of my eyelids. I engraved them all with none to spare into my chest, and simply declared as if to escape, “I’ll be back”, and took a few steps down the path—

That wind blew through me.

'''You are strong.'''

I picked up a nostalgic voice in the wind, stopping my breath, stopping my feet.

'''I understand.'''

'''The reason you came here.'''

'''How much your mother must have loved you.'''

'''Nagito(凪人) means'''

'''A person who is calm at all times.'''

'''A person who can treat everyone equally.'''

'''That was the name she wished for you.'''

The wind blows across me.

Under my feet, towards the sky, scattering the voice as it continues to rise.

'''To bear a child.'''

'''Was to live life anew.'''

'''Your mother lived once more through your eyes.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright to keep on living.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright that I had been born.'''

'''It was a question I kept asking myself.'''

'''And yet.'''

'''I was named Miko.'''

'''It was a name I was christened with.'''

'''You helped me find the meaning of that.'''

'''The moment I met Mr. Frog.'''

'''I felt relieved somehow.'''

'''I only thought that invisible things were simply something to be afraid of.'''

'''If you hadn't been the first ghost I saw.'''

'''I’m sure I would have given up on everything much sooner.'''

'''Even if I were to suddenly throw up.'''

'''Even if I didn’t take a bath.'''

'''You always tried to see the shape of my heart.'''

'''That was not easy.'''

'''Not something anyone could do.'''

'''To bear children.'''

'''And to pour your love into them.'''

'''Was truly a wonderful thing.'''

'''「Thank you.」'''

'''Now.'''

'''At this moment where my existence fades away.'''

'''Those words are all I can think of.'''

'''The words I wanted to say for a long long time.'''

'''The words I should have said far sooner.'''

'''I loved you.'''

'''That’s why, from now on.'''

'''Like your mother.'''

'''I’ll become a being that prays for your happiness.'''

I was at the end of my patience.

I was about to turn around, about to answer that voice, when—

'''「It’s ‘forbidden’ to look.」'''

A shiver ran down my spine, as a nostalgic whisper reached my ears.

'''You shouldn’t involve yourself in the world beyond any further.'''

However, I turned around.

I had no regrets.

Even if the chapter of my life were to close here--- even if the darkness of the world beyond were to spread before my eyes once more.

I silently turned my body around, and faced the owner of that voice.

In an instant, her face, like a weeping smile, fills my retinas.

The wind swept through me.

A magnificent blue peeked through the rift between the golden clouds.

'''You.'''

'''Really are.'''

With those words as her last--

She melted away into the blue sky on the other side.

Goodbye, Thank you.

The next time we meet --- will be in the world beyond.

And, when I join hands with her, I will tell all of you.

With everything I have in my heart, I will say it to you:

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-4.jpg]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Volume 6: Epilogue

2025-06-11T08:19:41Z

Pakkit: /* Epilogue */

==Epilogue==

It was a long tale—

This is the end of my recollections.

There might have been several things I might have forgotten to talk about, but at any rate, I tried to remember as much as I could in sequence, but—as expected, I end up thinking that it might have all been a dream.

The countless stories of wandering around the depths of the world beyond that began since encountering her—A world that shouldn’t be seen.

“There are some things that are better not to know if you don't have to know them.”

I was told that by a lot of people in the past. The story revolving the young girl known as ‘Miko Hanamura’, might have also been similar to that, but…in the end, I ended up knowing all of it. And, if you were to ask me if I regretted it, I would say no. She did her best to live at any moment, and I, who was close enough to catch her breath, was the same. Those countless strange, grotesque and hopeless adventures, even if you were to call them a taboo, the days in which I took them on, were even now—merely nostalgic.

The occult.

The realm of the inexplicable that’s called a pseudoscience, and is mostly lies, delusions or misunderstandings. The world that would at times, fill you with romance, and at times strike you down to the depths of fear.

I would probably never step foot into its threshold ever again. Ah, it’s not because I’m afraid. And it’s also not because I no longer feel fear. It’s just—at the moment when this world and the world beyond intersect, when heaven and earth flip upside down, I will surely feel an overwhelming sense of loss at the absence of her whisper that was like a ringing bell.

Three months had already gone by—

Since the collapse of that mansion, and since Miko Hanamura’s funeral.

The contents of the plastic tea bottle placed on the window danced to match the swaying of the train.

I gazed beyond the tea that glittered in the sunlight, towards the Pacific Ocean that dazzled even brighter in the sunlight—

“Just a little further to Fujieda.”

I addressed the backpack placed on my knee, and then shifted my eyes once more to the scenery flowing outside the window.

I was now headed to my hometown of Fujieda by myself for summer vacation. My father, whom I had not seen for quite some time, had threatened to cut off the parent-child relationship if I did not return this summer, and for some reason, that miserly former delinquent of an older sister bore the full costs of my trip back to Fujieda, so as expected, I couldn’t help but go back.

But, for me, going back to my parents’ home was always a secondary thing, and my main purpose was something else.

『Are you going to do that no matter what?』

A few days ago, during lunch break—

Krishna-san asked me in the Beatnik Research Society Room in the western club building of the Koumei Institute.

『Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.』

I nodded, and Krishna-san merely hung her head in response, “I see.”

She then walked towards the bookshelf and turned around in front of the neatly arranged collection.

『Say, Nagi-kun. Do you know the origin of the word ‘Demon’?』

『…Origin?』

‘No’, I shook my head, and Krishna-san began to narrate.

『I learned from my research on the Scholomance university of magic that the original word for ‘demon’ apparently comes from the Greek verb for ‘abuse’. In other words, when people looked down on other people, the existence known as ‘demons’ must have been born into this world. It wasn’t that there was an existence somewhere that transcended humanity… nor was it something born to worship God or as an antithesis to God. What I’ve recently come to think… is that they might just have been born purely from within humans.』

『Could that possibly be—?』

I asked.

『The case with the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

In response, Krishna-san tightly pursed her lips, and gave a slight nod thereafter.

『There is nothing in the laws of human thought that goes beyond the principles of life preservation.』

『…Eh?』

『I am not Dr. Freud, but in cases of split personalities, the first personality that manifests: the ‘Id’, is generally held to be a savagely aggressive and an exclusionary personality. The Id is more likely to emerge the more oppressive the environment one finds themselves in, and once it manifests, the Id always unconsciously rejects others— I once wondered if it might be a pure manifestation of life preservation, originally a personality-less ‘superego’. Well, Dr. Jung's theory of the collective unconscious -- in short, the collective consciousness of an ethnic or religious group that transcends the individual - explains areas that cannot be explained by that theory alone, but when I found about the existence of the ‘everlasting night stone’, I began to feel that the two did not contradict each other. So, returning to my original point… As long as people do not cease abusing other people, then surely, there will always be a possibility that ‘demons’ will be born.』

I couldn’t understand.

But, if Krishna-san’s theory was correct—

Then it meant that as long as people existed, that there would be no salvation?

『Ummm…no, of course, the living are far stronger than the dead.』

Krishna-san raised the tone of her voice to brighten the darkening club room.

『There are countless people who live their lives honestly and sincerely every day, without aiming to become saints or religious people. Which way the future of humanity will turn out depends on those of us living in the present.』

『Yes —you’re right.』

I smiled.

As if induced by my smile, Krishna-san too broke into a smile—

After that she folded her arms behind her back, and closed her eyes if reflecting on that smile.

At that moment—

It felt as if the lights in the clubroom dimmed for an instant, and I looked up at the ceiling. The fluorescent light bulb of the clubroom was working properly, and there seemed to be nothing wrong, so I returned my gaze and saw—

『In summary, aren’t humans themselves the ‘demons’?』

There stood Ayana Takamura.

『…Is what Kurimoto-kun probably wanted to say. You seemed to have noticed it as well.』

Before I’d realized, Ayana Takamura was wearing Krishna-san’s summer checked shirt, but her face, height, and body was her own, and she had a complacent smile on her face.

I merely nodded. I listened carefully to the words that came from her red mouth without being perturbed as to what was happening and without asking for an explanation.

『Have you heard ever of the ‘Qumran sect’? They have an interesting contradiction in that they believe that Jesus Christ himself was not a Christian, but a Jew, among other things, they also believe that he was a part of the Jewish Essenes—in short, it is a doctrine that believes he was a part of the ‘Qumran sect’. Their teachings are quite unusual. In that Book of Genesis, it is written, ‘In the beginning there was darkness’ which is the opposite of countless religions. Then, God created light. If darkness was the origin, and chaos was the beginning of this world, doesn't that mean that God is in no way an ally of humanity, nor a guide, but exists to weed out the ‘demons’ of man? If that’s the case, then you can understand why Jesus died on the cross as a symbol of humanity, and why natural disasters have not disappeared from the world.』

Takamura immediately sat directly on top of the work desk, and happily crossed her long legs.

I gazed at her—and after a while, I asked.

『Did you, understand everything?』

『By everything, you mean?』

『The current situation, all of it.』

Ayana Takamura let out a giggle, and she spoke with a smile, ‘Well yeah’.

『Do you plan on becoming a bigger monster than the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

When I asked her that, Takamura’s large eyes widened, and she looked at me in exasperation.

『Monster? Ha—do you think I would aim for something so small time?』

『…Small time?』

『That thing was never an ancient thing to begin with, Nagito Yamada. It was something that merely professed to be ancient—a ghost that must have been born somewhere in the closing years of the Taishō era <ref>Taishō era (1912.7.30-1926.12.25)</ref> at best. In every age, the smaller they are, the larger they will try to portray themselves as. But you see, ghosts merge with other ghosts. And in the end, they turn into something so large that they become unable to remember who they originally were. Darkness, abyss, chaos—it was certainly something that could no longer be called a person when it merged with them. It was merely something that called itself that delusional memory of the past. In that sense—that child was at a much higher level. To think that she made me devour that strange thing.』

Thereafter, Takamura narrowed her eyes nostalgically.

『Yoishi Mitsurugi a.k.a Miko Hanamura must have taken a gamble. Perhaps she had a plan in mind when she once declared that I would devour your fears. She would draw the ‘everlasting night stone’ to the limits of her heart and your heart, and the moment it was convinced of victory, she would turn the tables. She showed it something it itself did not understand, put fear in it, and made me devour it---a truly terrifying child.』

Takamura smiled happily, as if boasting about a lost friend.

『But you see Nagito Yamada. It was not something that child could have done had she not truly believed in you. That person won’t betray me to a fearsome degree- was it? Fufufu, I saw all of it. Those words, which you might not receive even if you were to live for thousands of years, there are truly no higher words of praise, right?』

Yeah, I nodded, and at the same time—

The tears that gathered in my eyes were about to spill, but I somehow managed to endure it.

Did she try not to look at me while I was that way?

『But—‘incarnation’, was it?』

Takamura spoke as she chuckled.

『I’m not one to speak having tried it once in the past—but, I can’t say I didn’t understand how it felt. It longed for ‘death’. You humans are nothing but afraid of your limited lives, but to something that walked in everlasting darkness, it is a word filled with endless comfort.』

『To die?』

『Ahh, that’s right. Well, to all of you who are trying your best to live now, that might be something difficult to comprehend.』

Takamura, looked up as if seeing through the ceiling, the sky above it—no, even higher, into space.

『The structure of this vast cosmos you see, is far more profound than you all believe, and frighteningly simple. In all probability, the first ones who will realize the truth behind that structure will not be physicists or mathematicians, but humans who are called imprudent phenomenologists. There lies the potential of humanity. That is what I felt when I met that child.』

I had no idea what she meant.

I didn’t understand, but—it was as if it was fine that I didn’t understand. The moment you to try and unravel the mysteries of this world, something would end up shifting slightly out of place. It felt if I were to continue my thoughts in the direction of that deviation, then the world would branch off at that moment. It was probably a world of multidimensions and parallel universes—My thoughts wouldn’t be able to keep up with that, they would get punctured to begin with.

『Now then.』

Thereupon, Takamura leapt off the work desk and stood on the ground.

『Let’s finish things there. Since I’ve been forbidden from following you around. I keep my promises.』

And after saying that,

『It’s been fun, Nagito Yamada.』

And she held out her long white fingers towards me.

After thinking it through—I shook my head, and declined to shake her hand.

『Don’t want to get along--? Fufufu, that’s just like you.』

The moment her red lips opened in a grin, and I felt I was being swallowed by that mouth—

I suddenly came back to my senses.

『…Say, are you listening to me, Nagi-kun?』

There stood Krishna-san, with her smooth bobbed hair, and she held her finger pointed towards me.

『Eh………Aah…..yes, of course.』

I didn’t immediately grasp hold of the situation, but--

Nevertheless, I was in the clubroom. Takamura’s presence was nowhere to be found.

『In short, humans are all driven by monsters in our unconscious.』

I nodded for the time being, as I wondered what she was talking about.

『Looking at this letter I received, Takita-san probably foresaw that he wouldn’t return alive. He had written in detail about the bitter trials experienced by Miko Hanamura over the past eleven years, but that’s fine. Read it later if you feel like it. It’s also a letter of apology. He truly apologizes for that day in the mansion, for being prepared to do the worst possible thing: using our bodies to make the ‘everlasting night stone’ feel the concept of death, but—Hm? But if we had died, then we wouldn’t have received it, right?』

『Ah, sure.』

I suddenly became nostalgic upon remembering the face of that that careless, aloof man.

『He is truly, loose in the head somewhere.』

I unintentionally ended up referring to him in the present tense, maybe because Sako still lived inside me.

Krishna-san too smiled seeming somewhat lonely, and, continued as if a bit perplexed.

『But you know, here’s what I don’t quite understand. The reason why he concluded the letter with this…Well, okay, I’ll read it from there anyway so listen.』

--*Cough*, Krishna-san cleared her throat once, and began to read aloud.

『’To not lose, is to fight. There is no contest without it. If you fight, you will not lose. You will never win. Humans can never win. They just don’t lose.’ ….Wait, I think… I know this from somewhere.』

…….Hm?

I thought I heard it somewhere before as well.

『Sorry, it goes on. ‘Don't even think about winning. There’s no chance you will win. Who, or what are you trying to win against?’ – Ah, I remember! Isn’t this Ango?!』

Krishna-san suddenly yelled as if a weight were lifted off her shoulders.

『--Ango?』

『That’s right, It’s a passage from Sakaguchi Ango’s 『The delinquent boy and Christ』.』

Sakaguchi Ango—ahh, now I remember. If I recall correctly, he was Sako’s favorite author in his high school days—and, the words at the end Krishna-san read just now were also his last words.

『Krishna-san, that… was something Sako muttered in the mansion.』

I talked about the last moments of his life,

『Only the part at the end--? Ahh…I see.』

Krishna-san spoke after biting her lips once.

『Maybe he was trying to anger you.』

…Eh?

『Back then, if your heart were to collapse, and Miko Hanamura’s heart were to collapse, then the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have won. He played the part of the clown on purpose in order to encourage your spirit. If you were to think that he shamefully ‘ran away’, you would get angry. You, the simpleton would be outraged, thinking that you were not like him, and that alone would prevent the ‘everlasting night stone’ from interfering—That’s what he might have thought.』

『…That’s.』

Back then, I had no time to be angry or sad.

I was merely flailing around in a miserable state of confusion over Sako’s death.

『Nagi-kun, you might not believe it, but Takita-san really thought highly of you.』

Krishna-san spoke as if appealing to the depths of my eyes.

『Humans are weak—extraordinarily weak. That was Takita-san’s pet theory, but that was the reason why he liked Ango so much. In the ‘Discourse on decadence’, it is written as such if I remember correctly: – ‘Humans will always fall, but they will never be able to fall completely. It is because humans are not strong enough to fall completely.’ Your tendency to be attentive to other people’s hearts to a foolish degree was highly appreciated by Takita-san. I think he believed that this quality, which worried me so much, was the only thing that could save those who were falling. Even though you can never win, you never lose—he saw the true nature of a struggling human being within you.』

『…I』

Thereupon, I managed to put it into words at last.

『Despite that, I—let Miko die.』

Anger had been smoldering deep in my heart since that incident. Anger at myself that was so intense that when I started to think about it, it drove me crazy and burned my stomach. Anger at my own incompetence. It made me raise my head once more— only to hang it back down and clench my teeth.

『Nagi-kun.』

Thereupon, Krishna-san spoke.

『I believe you might be mistaken, that is why I explained this story.』

『…Eh?』

『I want you to calm yourself and listen to me. Miko Hanamura, died eleven years ago.』

『…….』

『The moment she became Yoishi Mitsurugi, Miko Hanamura had already died.』

『…..No…..but……』

『She had already been deprived of the people precious to her, and was made to believe she was born cursed—her spirit had died. Her body lived on, but from that day on, she merely lived as if she were dead. Even so, the only reason she remained in this world was to seal the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body so that it would not spread any further. Just thinking about how painful and lonely that path must have been is enough to clog up your chest—but, even so, there was still one hope for such a girl. In the hellish days eleven years ago, there was only one thing that continued to snuggle close to her: a stuffed frog—the soul that resided within it. In Takito-san’s letter, he said that it might have been you, but…. I don’t know. I don’t know how such a thing would even be possible, and no matter how far one goes, one could never know. It’s just that-- 』

Thereupon, Krishna-san grasped my arm with her soft hands, and declared while massaging it.

『There’s one thing I can say with certainty. It’s that if the thing that existed inside the stuffed eleven years ago—and you, in the present, had abandoned her even once, the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have incarnated itself in this world.』

『……….』

『This photograph you brought back from that mansion.』

Krishna-san picked up the polaroid photograph of Miko Hanamura in the past that was placed on the work desk.

『I’ve seen a lot of ghost photography up until now, but I’ve never seen once that gives me so much courage. You who are projected on the edge—It’s not desire, reward, or narcissism that can make a face like this. It’s a face that can only be made by someone with a sense of duty, a face that says that you were born for that very reason.』

Finally, the tear glands of Krishna-san burst open.

As large tear drops flowed down her soggy face, she desperately continued to speak without even trying to wipe them away.

『I was always afraid of you getting involved with Yoishi. I always thought that Yoishi Mitsurugi’s darkness was too huge for anyone to face. But, you were different. The inclination in you was growing, and even though the paranormal events kept increasing in purity, you somehow continued to associate with Yoishi. I thought it wasn’t good for you—but it felt as if two souls that had split apart had a chance encounter once more, cuddling close to each other. I lost track of many things, and that was my hesitation, and because of that hesitation, I was taken advantage of—but, now that it’s all over, I am convinced that my premonition was correct. Miko Hanamura had died once and transformed into a living dead person named Yoishi Mitsurugi who wandered this world. But having met you, having regained the name of Miko Hanamura, wasn’t she finally able to rest at peace? Didn’t she see that life, and that humans, weren’t so bad? You never betrayed Yoishi Mitsurugi. You never ran away. That’s why, you don’t need to blame yourself. No more…』

Having desperately expressed herself that far,

『There was nothing more you could have done.』

Krishna-san finished speaking, and covered her face with both hands as she broke down in tears.

I was—

Merely repeating the words Krishna-san had said in my foggy head.

I certainly wavered in the face of two choices at that time. If ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ were to stay as she were, we could stay together. But I felt that if I returned her to ‘Miko Hanamura’, she would disappear. I didn’t know which was right. But I indeed ended up making the choice that kept her smiling. And, the words Krishna-san was trying so hard tried to tell me was -- The wind that blows through your chest is making you lonely, and you’re sad that you lost her, but isn’t it alright since you made her happy—? I finally understood what she was trying to tell me.

And as I looked at the petite, former occult site manager who was crying like a child in front of me—

The words she had said just now, 『There was nothing more you could have done.』, felt similar to the words Takamura spoke, 『There are truly no higher, words of praise, right?』. At the same time, I finally realized after all this time where Krishna-san got her boyish way of speaking from.

--Ayana Takamura is still alive and well in this person.

At the same time, I felt something cold go down my spine.

Takamura’s ‘vessel’ which ‘Yoishi’ once spoke of.

Could it be that it wasn’t ‘Takako Takamura’ she was speaking of—

『………….』

Thereupon, I shook my head.

No—that’s not it. Under the rubble, Miko imparted it to me.

「Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.」

If I were to explain that conversation in medical terms, it must have been an auditory hallucination in my half-conscious state, but even so, they were precious words given to me by Miko.

All things circle around. They circle around, and are simply there.

Even Takamura, Krishna-san and Sako.

Yes— everyone, including me, is simply part of that flow.

『--That’s right, Miko.』

『……Eh?』

I ended up muttering unintentionally, and Krishna-san turned to me with a face messed up with tears and snot.

I handed her the box of tissues that was there, and smiled, “It’s nothing.”

『By the way, Krishna-san.』

『….Hm?』

She took a deep sniff, as the former occult site manager looked up at me.

『When are you coming back as an occult site manager? Everyone is waiting, you know.』

『………』

『The living—are far stronger-- right?』

Krishna-san glared at me annoyed, and spoke.

『When it feels that way, that’s when. I need to be ready.』

I was satisfied with her answer.

『Nagi-kun.』

It was Krishna-san’s turn to ask me as I put my backpack on my shoulder.

『You’ll come back… won’t you?』

Those words stabbed my chest.

Come back—where?

Where was I supposed to come back to….?

I was suddenly enveloped with a feeling of loneliness as if I didn’t know where I was, but—

However, I deliberately smiled, and spoke, 『Of course.』

『Alright—okay. I’ll be waiting.』

Krishna-san smiled happily like a child.

◯

Once I arrived in Fujieda, I proceeded to my house, greeted my father and elder sister, was mobbed by the people in the neighborhood who had taken care of me since I was a child, shook off my friends who had begun to crowd around me, and got on the bus.

It wasn’t that far. The mountain was around fifteen minutes to the north.

It was a small mountain about a hundred meters above sea level that had long been known and loved by the people of Fujieda as Mount Eboshi.

I had promised Miko when she was still Yoishi that I would show it to her one day.

The sun was hotter than usual this year. As soon as I got off the bus, I walked under a myriad of trees. As a cool breeze blew down from the foot of the mountain, I pushed my way into the entrance of the mountain. I continued to climb up the narrow game trail that was around less than a meter wide as I wiped the sweat off my face.

I didn't look back on the way up. To really enjoy it you needed to see it when you reached the summit—I replenished myself with the plastic bottle at times as I continued to climb. I used to come here when I was a kid quite often and had always underestimated it, but visiting it now, I found it to be quite steep. I put my feet on the roots of the trees peeking out from the soil, and made my way steadily up the slope, step by step.

And, in less than twenty minutes—I finally reached the summit.

I lowered my backpack, and took out a small cremation urn and that stuffed frog. It was one part of the cremated ashes I had received of Miko Hanamura, and her precious ‘friend’.

“Look, see? This is Mount Eboshi. Amazing, isn’t it?”

I somehow managed to wring out my voice, and swung around at once.

It was—a scene far more spectacular than the one in my memory.

Mount Fuji soared over at the eastern side, and Fujieda city looked small in the bird’s-eye view down below. Beyond that, the ocean spread out, and the curve of the hazy Suruga Bay covered everything in a haze. On the horizon, gigantic columns of clouds billowed. To the trained eye, it might have been seen as nothing more than an insignificant little mountain in the sticks. But it had everything. The sky, the sea, the greenery, Mt. Fuji, and the city— all of these elements were indispensable to each other, miraculously forming a single landscape.

“My mother taught me about this place. Whenever I come here, I feel that everyone is not alone.”

Saying that, I placed the funerary urn gently on the ground, and propped the stuffed frog next to it.

And, I too, sat down next to them.

I thought I would talk about a lot of things with Miko here, but— nothing came out.

The view was far more eloquent than my boring speeches. I felt like Miko was telling me countless precious things that were unspoken.

“It’s nice to be under the sun, isn’t it?”

Despite that, I still tried to speak to her at times.

“Somehow, I feel like I only ever went to dark places with you, huh?”

The wind blew through me, but no answer came.

It was only in times like this that I thought I knew what I would say to Miko.

But, strangely enough, nothing came out. Telling her I missed her would be uncool, apologizing felt wrong as well, and thanking her felt a little out of place as well. There were just… too many different kinds of emotions that came pouring out, and I couldn't translate them into words.

I merely stayed silent—and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Although it was still hot, the strength of the sunlight had diminished.

I got up and pulled out a small shovel from the bottom of the backpack. I then thrust it at the base of a large camphor tree that my mother loved so dearly. I dug a hole as deep as I could there so as to not damage the roots. When my surroundings began to turn orange, I managed to dig a hole around a meter deep, and I softly placed the funerary urn and the stuffed frog in it. I thought I should say something, but I could not. All I could do was hold back the tears that were threatening to overflow the best I could.

After I carefully finished covering the hole with soil, I poured the remaining water from the plastic bottle on it.

I then closed my eyes, and clasped my hands toward the trunk of the camphor tree.

Countless memories drew themselves in the back of my eyelids. I engraved them all with none to spare into my chest, and simply declared as if to escape, “I’ll be back”, and took a few steps down the path—

That wind blew through me.

'''You are strong.'''

I picked up a nostalgic voice in the wind, stopping my breath, stopping my feet.

'''I understand.'''

'''The reason you came here.'''

'''How much your mother must have loved you.'''

'''Nagito(凪人) means'''

'''A person who is calm at all times.'''

'''A person who can treat everyone equally.'''

'''That was the name she wished for you.'''

The wind blows across me.

Under my feet, towards the sky, scattering the voice as it continues to rise.

'''To bear a child.'''

'''Was to live life anew.'''

'''Your mother lived once more through your eyes.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright to keep on living.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright that I had been born.'''

'''It was a question I kept asking myself.'''

'''And yet.'''

'''I was named Miko.'''

'''It was a name I was christened with.'''

'''You helped me find the meaning of that.'''

'''The moment I met Mr. Frog.'''

'''I felt relieved somehow.'''

'''I only thought that invisible things were simply something to be afraid of.'''

'''If you hadn't been the first ghost I saw.'''

'''I’m sure I would have given up on everything much sooner.'''

'''Even if I were to suddenly throw up.'''

'''Even if I didn’t take a bath.'''

'''You always tried to see the shape of my heart.'''

'''That was not easy.'''

'''Not something anyone could do.'''

'''To bear children.'''

'''And to pour your love into them.'''

'''Was truly a wonderful thing.'''

'''「Thank you.」'''

'''Now.'''

'''At this moment where my existence fades away.'''

'''That's all I can think to say.'''

'''The words I wanted to say for a long long time'''

'''The words I should have said far sooner.'''

'''I loved you.'''

'''That’s why, from now on.'''

'''Like your mother.'''

'''I’ll become a being that prays for your happiness.'''

I was at the end of my patience.

I was about to turn around, about to answer that voice, when—

'''「It’s ‘forbidden’ to look.」'''

A shiver ran down my spine, as a nostalgic whisper reached my ears.

'''You shouldn’t involve yourself in the world beyond any further.'''

However, I turned around.

I had no regrets.

Even if the chapter of my life were to close here--- even if the darkness of the world beyond were to spread before my eyes once more.

I silently turned my body around, and faced the owner of that voice.

In an instant, her face, like a weeping smile, fills my retinas.

The wind swept through me.

A magnificent blue peeked through the rift between the golden clouds.

'''You.'''

'''Really are.'''

With those words as her last--

She melted away into the blue sky on the other side.

Goodbye, Thank you.

The next time we meet --- will be in the world beyond.

And, when I join hands with her, I will tell all of you.

With everything I have in my heart, I will say it to you:

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-4.jpg]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 12

2024-11-18T20:54:10Z

Pakkit:

==Case 12: The Gravestone of a Sixteen-Year-Old==

When I suddenly aimed my light towards the darkness—

The pale face of a woman appeared there.

The woman, her hair half white, stared motionlessly at me with a hollow expression on her face. I could hear my heartbeat race a mile a minute. My repeated gasps echoed and melted away in the dark room. The woman’s face looked seemed to float in the air, and her eyes, which were slightly out of focus, looked as though they were seeing right through me at something unknown.

Even after I finally realized that the woman was a portrait hanging on a wall, my knees continued to tremble – and from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to cry as I thought about it every time: Why the heck am I doing something like this again? ‘Give me a break’, I groaned, turned the light behind me, and another pale face appeared in the pitch-black darkness.

“Eeeek……!”

When I unintentionally shrieked—

“It’s too bright.” I heard a voice so calm that I froze.

Yoishi Mitsurugi moved her beautiful face away from my light, and then silently passed me by without a word. The sound of her footsteps on the floor rang out in a creepy, creaking noise.

“H…hey, Yoishi. Wait for me.”

Yoishi was in her high school uniform today as well. I don’t know if you’d call it traditional or gothic, but it’s a uniform entirely in black with a black blazer and a black skirt, so when we come to search a vacant house late at night with no electricity, she would always completely blend in with the darkness.

“That was the first one.” Yoishi spoke somewhat happily. “And this is the second one.”

On the corridor wall where she aimed her light, was a painting. It was indeed a portrait. The same woman from before was depicted on it. The same clothes, the same hair, the same expression. Her creepy, somewhat out of focus gaze looking off somewhere was also the same, and the composition of the painting, which drew her from the top of her head down to her breasts was very much the same – but, something felt slightly off. Well, I guess that was to be expected given that they were two different drawings of the same woman.

I tried not to think too deeply about it, and followed Yoishi as she ventured further into the manor.

As I recall, no one lived in this abandoned mansion for about seven years now. A middle-aged woman who was a painter is said to have lived here. That being said, I felt that there were an unusually large number of abandoned furnishings you wouldn’t find in a normal household. Vases of a strange shape, animal shaped plates, carpets with bizarre patterns– in short, the things scattered here and there were things that only a person of a particular sensibility would enjoy.

“Where is the sixth portrait, I wonder?”

Muttering that, Yoishi crossed the hall with no hesitation in her step whatsoever.

“Why do people who see that portrait go missing? And does the sixth portrait truly exist?”

Her words, spun like a whisper, reverberated in the darkness, like a craftsman’s fingers had flicked a narrow and hard wine glass. At that moment I heard a snap from somewhere. It could have been from outside the house, or it could have echoed from the darkness right next to me. Either way, it seemed to me like someone invisible was rejoicing. And as always, I regretted my actions.

--Dammit, I shouldn’t have come here.

◯

It was a cold December afternoon -- the day before Christmas.

On that day, I had something on my mind, so I asked for the day off from my part-time job at the Italian restaurant. My boss and colleagues were half cold and half sarcastic, asking me If I had a date, but I still felt really sorry towards them. For some reason, the Japanese enjoy Christmas with great enthusiasm, even though the vast majority don’t believe in Christianity. Moreover, tonight was Christmas Eve, a time more exciting than the day itself. For couples in society, it seemed to be customary to have dinner at a fancy restaurant on Christmas Eve, and the Italian restaurant I worked at was coincidentally very well known in the neighborhood as one such place. Understandably, the reservations were jam packed, and the restaurant employees were probably about to be in for a world of pain from here on.

I easily imagined that would be the case when I submitted my shift, but – I had suddenly realized something. At a time like Christmas Eve, I imagined Yoishi Mitsurugi’s sad figure alone in the loft of my apartment, browsing occult websites. Wouldn’t it at least be better to buy a cheap cake, pop some party poppers and say, ‘Merry Christmas!’ with some stacked cups? She might not have any interest at all in the birthday of a saint who died two-thousand years ago, but even so, a sound high school girl wouldn’t be browsing occult websites on Christmas Eve. At least, not one I’d seen or heard of. And if I went to my part-time job, she would end up being reduced to one of those rare high school girls. That was far and away from the ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi Rehabilitation Plan’ I had aimed for. Feeling that strange sense of duty, I took the day off, despite feeling sorry about it. After my supplementary lectures at university, I headed straight back to my apartment, when I realized – I didn’t exactly know what we should do on Christmas that would be enjoyable?

Should we have dinner at a fancy restaurant?

Or should we go to an area of dazzling lights filled with couples?

--It happened at that moment.

My apartment door suddenly burst open without even as much as a knock.

“Nagito, I’m glad you’re here.”

“…Oh, Ooki?”

The person grinning at the entrance of my door was my university batchmate from the art department, Mitsuru Ooki. He wore a worn-out T-shirt, a wrinkled thin jumper over it, and jeans with holes in them, his usual attire which looked to be quite cold.

“As expected, you’re at home even though it’s Christmas Eve.”

Saying that, Mitsuru Ooki shamelessly barged in without even waiting for an invitation.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

“I keep telling you, I’m not psychic. Why are you here?”

“You’re an expert on scary stories, right?”

“No, I’m not an expert.”

“Really? Aren’t you always reading creepy books in the clubroom?”

Those would be the basic occult-related material that Kirshna-san gave me. But I didn’t feel they were scary or creepy at all, probably because those research materials were academic or folkloristic in nature.

“Listen, Ooki.”

I began to explain to Ooki, who had sat down next to me with a thud before I’d realized.

“As far as the occult is concerned, liking it and being good at it are two very different things. It’s true that I do quite love to read and hear scary stories. But if you were to ask me if I was an expert, then my answer would have to be a hard no. In fact, I’d say I’m a coward compared to the countless occult maniacs on ‘Ikaigabuchi’, I’m a gutless person who’s especially scared of paranormal phenomenon and have no tolerance for it whatsoever, just by talking to me about a bloody woman who has a hollow gaze is enough to burn the image into my brain and make me have sleepless nights.”

“I know quite well that you’re a coward. But still, you have more tolerance than the average person, right? You know a lot of stuff, right?”

“I don’t have tolerance, nor do I know stuff, but I still end up getting involved in the occult, that’s the problem.”

“Well, that’s fine. I want to hear your opinion on something.”

Ooki then pulled the electric heater I was using close to him and began to speak.

“There is – or, I should say, there was -- a female painter by the name of Shizue Namikawa. She’s generally unknown, but from time to time, when her works are exhibited, they have a unique style, attracting interest and admiration from many experts.”

“By ’was’ – you mean to say she’s dead?”

“Yes. She’s been dead for a long time now.”

I felt something strange in the way he said it, and I too sat down on the floor. It seemed like it was going to be an interesting story.

“She was a strange one, for sure. I mean, artists are known to be strange in general, but she was especially strange. She learned how to draw oil paintings by herself after crossing the age of 30, never had any solo exhibitions, and only rarely ever entered competitions around the country. However, even if she won, she’d never appear in person. Eventually, there were over a dozen uncollected prizes to her name. Then, the other day, a person in charge of the competitions really wanted to hand her the prize in person, so he sent over someone to the address where the paintings came from. That house was close to here – but, it seemed no one had lived there for almost seven years.”

“…Huh? What does that mean?”

“It means that the painter known as Shizue Namikawa wasn’t in this world anymore.”

“Uh huh...”

A shudder crawled up from under my feet, and I repositioned my cross-legged legs.

“The organizers checked it with the city and found her death certificate had been submitted seven years ago in August when she was 41 years of age. She was married once in her 20s, but her husband passed away. She had no other relatives and it seems she lived alone for the rest of her life. The place of her death was inside that mansion. One morning, a neighbor called the police and reported her mailbox being full of circulars and mail, and her body was discovered inside. The cause of death seemed to be heart failure, as there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Since she didn’t have any relatives, she was cremated by the city, and her cremated remains are still kept in the city’s ossuary.”

“So that means that the person who sent the picture was someone who pretended to be Shizue Namikawa – Or does that mean it was Shizue Namikawa herself, who was supposed to be dead?”

I connected the story in an unscrupulous, yet exciting way, and in reply:

“Well, the latter possibility isn’t obvious to normal people.”

Ooki tilted his hand to his mouth, seemingly gesturing for something to drink. I reluctantly reached out for the electric water boiler, brewed a pot of tea, and handed it over to him. He took a loud sip and grunted, “Delicious,” before continuing his story.

“So that’s where the official story ends, but the problem comes after that. I was working part-time with the competition organizers the other day and heard it from them directly, it seems there were a lot of strange things about that house.”

“A lot, you say?”

“There are rumors that suggest someone might still be living there.”

“…Hm.”

In short, I guess they want to say that it’s Shizue Namikawa’s ghost.

But recently, I found that I was no longer afraid of the formulaic ghost stories. Was it because I became involved in ‘Ikaigabuchi’ and faced real ghosts? So I arrogantly put on an air of seniority as someone experienced in the path of the occult, and spoke:

“You see, Ooki. This something a person I respect said: ninety-nine percent of the ghost stories in this world are in this world are lies, delusions, and misunderstandings. Isn't there a hobo inhabiting that place or something?"

But Ooki went “Well, hear me out,” and began to narrate.

“You see, it happened just last month. All the competition organizers consulted together, and decided together with the city officials to enter that house. She was a local artist, and they thought that if she still had other paintings, they could hold a private exhibition as a memorial to her. So, as expected, they found quite a few intact paintings in the house. Among them was a quintet of paintings that were thought to be self-portraits were especially wonderful, so they were catalogued along with other conspicuous paintings, and arranged to be taken out at a later date. However, this is where things start to get strange. When the transporter came to pick up the paintings and entered the manor, he found six self-portraits instead of five.”

“Huh? Couldn’t it be a simple mistake?”

“Of course, he thought that was the case at first. But not only he was a transporter, he specialized in paintings. He had an eye for aesthetics far beyond that of an average person. He compared it to the catalogue, and as a result – determined that there really was one more painting after all, so he contacted the organizers to have them check again. Thereupon, the organizer’s appraiser visited the house once more, and confirmed that there was indeed one more self-portrait with the same composition as that of the original quintet. Having no other choice, he seemed to have rewritten the catalogue, however, one day, the appraiser went missing.”

“…..”

“Furthermore, the transporter who first discovered the sixth portrait is now missing too. He didn’t come to work for a while, and a missing person report was filed by his family. After that, the selection of the next person in charge became difficult, so the talk of the solo exhibition died down. Well, I guess everyone felt something creepy about the whole thing. The painter passed away seven years ago. Despite that, her works continue to be sent into competitions. The self-portraits that increased in number at the house. And before you knew it, people began to whisper. Isn’t Shizue Namikawa still inside that house?”

I unintentionally took a gulp, when—

“--How wonderful.”

I suddenly heard a voice, and looked up to see a white face peering in from the loft.

“A….AGGHHHHH….!!”

Ooki, who usually moves so boldly, or what could be called a dull dragging motion, immediately flipped over, and I panicked when I saw him.

“It's here! It's here! A ghost!”

“No, calm down Ooki.”

“AGHH, how can I stay calm? Can’t you see it? Or are you already possessed?”

“I can see her. I can see and hear her. It’s hard to deny that she’s ‘possessed’, but she’s not a ghost or anything. She has legs, eats, sleeps, and browses the internet, a flesh and blood human. Although she doesn’t take baths.”

“…What?”

Ooki, who had his face covered in a cushion, finally raised his head. Thereupon, the pure white, long haired high school girl with miraculous facial features slowly descended the ladder from the loft. No, describing her appearance too positively will lead to misunderstandings, so I should mention that she slept in the loft since she came back from her high school’s end-of-term ceremony today. Her black blouse was wrinkled, and her hair was disheveled in a shaggy way.

“She’s Yoishi Mitsurugi, my flat mate.”

“F-flat mate?”

Yoishi bowed her head ever so slightly. But it was so slight you wouldn’t notice it unless you were used to it, and Ooki surely didn’t notice.

“Why? Since when have you – Is she your girlfriend? And moreover, she’s a high schooler? Dammit, you cunning bastard, you've been enjoying Christmas Eve, haven’t you?”

He turned blue, and then red in a jiffy, what a busy guy.

“That’s not it. Even though me may look like we’re living together, to be honest, she’s parasitizing in the loft portion of my apartment. But anyway, forget about Yoishi and please continue.”

Ooki sat in the formal position for a while as he stared blankly at Yoishi, before eventually clearing his throat once, and drank the last drop of the now lukewarm tea.

“Umm, now where was I… actually, that’s as far as the story goes. In short, that’s how the story of Shizue Namikawa’s solo exhibition was put to rest, and all that’s left is a creepy rumor. Did the self-portraits that were supposed to be a quintet, really increase? What would happen if you were to see the sixth one? The person who told me was scared, saying they didn’t know. So, I came all the way out here to let you know, since you really love scary stories. If you’re thankful, then treat me to something. I haven’t eaten well in the past two days, so a beef bowl would be fine.”

--This bastard, he really did come to scrounge some free food out of me.

As I glared at Ooki’s sloppy face—

“Say, is it alright if I ask you something?”

Yoishi suddenly interjected.

“Does that self-portrait only have a face? Or is it from chest up or a full body portrait?”

Ooki answered, somewhat taken aback by the sudden question.

“Umm…. No, sorry, I didn’t ask that much.”

“Did anyone else see it? Are the appraiser and the transporter the only ones missing?”

“There were probably more people who entered the Namikawa residence, but those two were the only ones who appraised the painting… the others probably didn’t see the sixth self-portrait. I didn’t hear about anyone else disappearing.”

“—Hmm.”

Yoishi whispered that much as she fell silent. Eventually, she staggered up and went back into the loft. As she was climbing the ladder, I was worried her pants would be exposed through her short skirt, but Ooki too was an innocent guy who intentionally averted his eyes.

“…I know I’m late to say it, but she sure is beautiful.”

“Well, her appearance anyway.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“Where? There’s no other answer besides her springing out from an occult site, is there?”

“Springing out from?”

While we were talking in hushed tones, I heard the laptop computer being booted up in the loft, and the sound of vigorous keystrokes eventually started to emanate. Apparently, she was searching for something. And that clacking noise made me recall something.

It was the strange website Sako had told me about in exchange for the job I did. The shadily titled, ‘Heaven on earth’, was a website of negative people devoted to propagating negative words and deeds, in short, it was a site for assembling those who wished to commit suicide. And the person with the handle ‘Lost child’, who was treated as their queen – seemed to have been Yoishi. How I surmised ‘Lost child’ to be Yoishi was due to her deep spiritual knowledge, and her peculiar manner of speech. Words like “It’s strange,” and her unique way of ending sentences, which doesn’t conform to the speech patterns of girls in this day and age, and which was definitely not used in writing.<ref>Yoishi’s unique speech patterns throughout the series include adding the particle ‘Wa’ at the end of her sentences, which is what’s being referred to here. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%82%8F#Particle </ref> And even there, Yoishi a.k.a ‘Lost child’, spoke indifferently of death. And her unique views on life and death, as well as her spiritual knowledge were popular with those netizens who excessively glorified death. When ‘Lost child’ logged in, they started posting ‘Descent’ like a cult, as if some god had descended.

--What the hell was she was doing at a place like this?

At the time, I was shocked, disgusted, and a little aggravated. I didn’t know why I felt aggravated at the time, but for the time being, I read all past posts from ‘Lost child’ related to death on the website. And – what I found out, was that this site was a little different from the suicide websites that were currently popular. Rather than being a place to gather a suicide buddy or to encourage suicide, the atmosphere was more like that of a university seminar in a sense, with everyone discussing the afterlife and those who had found the answer left (or perhaps committed suicide?). And instead of a professor, the person leading the discussion was ‘Lost child’, a.k.a Yoishi.

To those who longed for death, ‘Lost child’ did not praise suicide, nor did she denounce it, she merely continued posting her views on life and death with indifference. But at times, her words had a strange gravity about them. As a result, the number of people like me who had been caught up in them had multiplied, and the site thrived as a result.

What will you do if someone triggered by your words really did commit suicide?

Or was that not a problem since the site was only for people who were suicidal to begin with?

I didn’t know. Anyway, taking a glance at her old posts, the feeling I got was that Lost child’s occultic posts were interesting for the moment, and that there was a strange equilibrium there, as if someone who came here to commit suicide was discouraged from doing so.

As I drew that memory in my mind—

I heard Yoishi’s voice saying, ‘hmm’, up from the loft.

“—Did you figure something out?”

“The name of the atelier is ‘Grave keeper’.”

“Grave keeper?”

“I found out when I saw the address, it’s a solitary place behind the Tokyo Metropolitan cemetery. Maybe that’s why.”

After that, Yoishi’s face suddenly peeked out from the loft, and I realized. Her eyes had that bewitching glow about them. The hollow glass bead-look in her eyes was absent, and instead, a dark colored light shone within.

…Oh shit.

What was I gonna do if she asked me to go there? Until now, I had thought that Yoishi was pushing ahead to the world beyond to regain the feeling of ‘fear’ she had lost for some reason or other. And I thought I’d sort of accompany her in this rescue operation. However, now that I had found out about that site – what if Yoishi yearned for death itself? Wouldn’t that change the meaning of the haunted spot investigations?

Yoishi then asked me something incomprehensible:

“Say, have you heard of Hilbert’s infinite hotel paradox?”

“Hilbe…what?”

“David Hilbert. A German mathematician who died seventy years ago. The twenty-three Hilbert problems he presented in 1900 led to the Riemann hypothesis, a theory that stands unsolved to this day in the world of mathematics – but leaving that aside. The problem is the theory of infinity he proposed.”

“…I don’t know what you mean, but, say, could you come down here to talk. My neck hurts like this.”

Me and Ooki still had our heads looking up at the ceiling. However, Yoishi ignored me and continued speaking while looking down on us.

“To explain it in simple terms, it’s a though experiment which states that there exists an infinity larger than any infinity. For example, say there was a hotel with an infinite number of guest rooms. But all the rooms are full. At certain times, a new guest will arrive. Because of the rooms being full, the hotel shouldn’t be able to accept any new guests, but the guest insists on staying. What would you do if you were the manager of that hotel?”

“…”

I looked sideways at Ooki who had a foolish look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders in silence, so it couldn’t be helped, I answered after putting my fist to my lips and thinking it through.

“What to do, you ask… but there really is no other choice here.”

“No, you can still allow them in.”

“Allow them in? But the rooms are full, right?”

I rebutted while raising my head, and Yoishi spoke while looking down at me.

“The answer is to move the guests to the adjacent room in order. If you did that, the first room will become empty, allowing a guest to enter.”

“…Hey, that’s cheating.”

I said something like that – when I realized.

“Ah…I see, so it’s a paradox because the number of rooms is supposedly infinite?”

“That’s right. You must be relieved after listening to the solution now. A hotel like that can’t exist in reality, it’s simply a thought experiment. it’s definitely never the case, but--”

Yoishi’s voice abruptly turned to a whisper, and a sudden chill came over me. It was as if the strong cold outside blew into my room alone. It felt as if something would once again shake the earth I stood on.

“But what if something similar to that did occur in reality? Right, for instance, in the atelier with the title of ‘Grave keeper’.”

“……”

“Say, do you want to know?”

I took a gulp and shook my head.

“I don’t want to know.”

◯

But -- in the end, Yoishi and I were once again at a place like this late at night.

Soon after that, Ooki left with a dumbfounded look on his face. Well, if somethings impossible for you, then it's best to give it up right then and there. A normal person would shake their head when asked something like "Would you like to visit the rumored artist’s mansion when the streets are dead late at night?". So, the abnormal Yoishi and I, barged into the creepy mansion late at night on Christmas eve with pocket lights in hand. We were wandering around the large mansion with the smell of old wood and a lot of dust.

“Brr…it’s freezing.”

The house was strangely cold, maybe because of a draft coming in from somewhere, or maybe because it had the creepy characteristic of a haunted place. It’s true that temperatures in Tokyo had dropped dramatically at the end of December, but it was so cold that even the tips of my toes were painful and numb.

As I looked at Yoishi’s slender figure moving ahead of me without even a coat–

I breathed into my hands while the floor creaked as I went. However, I couldn’t really concentrate on the haunted spot investigation today. That was surely because the suicide applicant website I learnt of from Sako weighed heavily on my mind.

--Why was Yoishi on that site?

Was she, too, drawn to the other world? Did it mean that she was more interested in the world beyond rather than just the paranormal? However, up until this point, it felt like she had many chances to die. And in those chances, she wouldn’t have to physically stop any of her biological functions. For example, in that dream mansion of mine, or in the underground labyrinth of the Koumei institute – I had thought that far, when it suddenly occurred to me. Huh…wait a second? Was I the one who destroyed all those chances? She had wanted to fall into the world of the abyss, and yet, was I the one who ended up pulling her back into this world? Was she actually unhappy at my actions?

As I ruminated on such things—

I heard a crack ringing out beneath my feet, causing me to raise one foot with an eeek.

A broken flower vase lay there. It seemed I had trampled on it with my sneakers.

I felt ashamed about mindlessly barging into someone’s home every time, but that’s how it was with searching abandoned places. There may be broken glass scattered about in the dark, and if by some chance that you were discovered, you’d have to make a run for it. That’s why I always apologize internally, “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” as I move ahead while wearing my shoes. Krishna-san always told me to have respect for the deceased – and though it was true that no one had lived here for a long time, this was once a treasured place where someone lived and spent their days.

I gently moved the broken pieces of the vase to the corner and bowed.

And at that moment—

I suddenly felt someone’s gaze behind me.

I turned around and aimed my light, to see the swaying shadow of ornaments. I felt like the shadows were one too many when compared to the number of furnishings. Suddenly, I felt a dull pain in the back of my ears, and a cold chill ran through my back and transmitted through the rest of my body.

“—S, say, Yoishi.”

I took a gulp and called out to Yoishi, who had already moved further down the hallway.

“I know it’s too late to ask now. But do you know of the Youth Protection Ordinance?”

However, Yoishi neither stopped in her tracks nor looked back.

“In short, society isn’t so lenient as to let a high school girl live together with a university student. You living together with me makes me culpable to a crime, and I’d lose the trust of society which I could never regain. In the first place, that apartment is for bachelors only, and it’s forbidden for two people to live there together.”

I regularly said that kind of thing to Yoishi, to the point where it was something she was fed up of hearing. It had already been three months since we started living together, and even though it was forbidden to get used to this type of life, the simple reason I purposefully talked about it in this pitch-dark place was because I was afraid. If I kept talking for now, my fear would diminish.

“You’re trying to look for a new room, right? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but I’m only letting you stay at my place because you don’t have anywhere to go. You know we can’t continue living together forever, right?”

However, Yoishi continued walking without looking back, so I stomped past her down the creaking hallway, aimed the light at her face, and spoke:

“Hey, wait! Even if, hypothetically speaking, we must live together, there would still have to be manners and rules.”

“…..”

“You should properly dispose the bags of snacks and plastic bottles that you finish eating and drinking. Also, it's time to get those uniforms cleaned. I'm lending you my jersey to sleep in, so don't sleep in your uniform.”

“Ah, how annoying.”

“W-what did you just say?”

“Why must you always annoy me about it?”

Yoishi spoke as she focused her light at my face in opposition.

“Why…that’s, you….?”

I was about to say that it was a part of the ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi plan’ – before I held my tongue.

The plan was already in shambles, and now that I had seen that website, I didn’t see the point in what I was doing. That’s right – the reason I was feeling dissatisfied and irritated with that site was because of Yoishi’s handle, ‘Lost child’. She had used her real name, even on Ikaigabuchi up till now, yet why would she choose a handle name now? It was because she didn’t want the people she associated with in her daily life – being me in this case, to not know, and she wanted to be able to express her true feelings without reservation to anyone. Furthermore, did that mean that she didn’t want to tell me her true thoughts? That was too cold towards me, who had thought of her as a ‘war comrade’.

Even so, was there any meaning in me accompanying Yoishi to yet another haunted spot? And how much longer should I keep doing it for? Was I afraid that she would die? Was I afraid she would end up broken? Was it a sense of responsibility of not being able to abandon her after getting to know her?

Once I think I’ve abandoned something, it leaves an extremely bitter aftertaste. Even now, I was still worried about Akane Nanamori. Yoishi had said that the girl selling ghost photographs didn’t have long to live. It might be true because she said it, but Akane Nanamori was still just a young kid, who should enjoy a long, long life from now on. Even now, it weighed heavily on my mind, wondering if there was still a way to save her.

--As I thought such thoughts, Yoishi muttered.

“You’re surely the clingy type.”

“…Eh?”

“As soon as you become someone’s boyfriend, you’d be the type to spend twenty-four hours a day asking where did you go? Who did you meet? What are you doing tomorrow? What are you thinking? And so on. The clingy annoying type that interrogates and pries through each and every detail. As a result, the type who’d make things worse by depending too much on your girlfriend, who starts stalking her, and resorts to violence in the end.”

“….Y,y,y,you bitch.”

Without even knowing what others are thinking – that’s really all you have to say? You’d really say that to someone who’s in tears and accompanying you to a haunted spot? Without care for the place or the situation, I shouted:

“You! Don’t you think you’re a waste? You really are a fine person. Aren’t you really pretty? Isn’t the reason you stand out at school because you throw up and scatter a sour smell everywhere without care for your surroundings? If you took a bathed properly and acted normally – you’d be beautiful enough make ten out of ten heads turn in a crowd.”

“There’s no meaning to appearances. In the first place, isn’t the only reason you’re associating with me is because you think I’m so damn pretty? Isn’t the reason you go to haunted places with me is because you think I'm breathtakingly beautiful?”

…You, would go that far?

I was flabbergasted with my mouth open — when Yoishi suddenly stopped moving.

She looked my way, as her large eyes opened even wider.

“W-what’s wrong?”

I called out to her, when I realized. I noticed a shift in Yoishi’s gaze. I thought her large eyes were staring at me, but they were instead pointed at the side of my face – in short, they were looking right behind me.

“Wa—you, where are you looking….?”

I felt a chill down my spine as if I had been doused with cold water, and reflexively crouched, when—

“There it is.”

Yoishi aimed the penlight behind me. Having ended up crouching down, I timidly turned around –

That woman was there.

There, perhaps, was the self-portrait of Shizue Namikawa hanging on the corridor wall.

“This is the third one.”

After exhaling a deep breath, I too aimed my light there.

It was a framed self-portrait about 700 x 600 cm in size. Inside the wooden frame, that middle-aged woman was there. Her pale face was filled with what could be called a hollow expression, and both of her eyes were strangely slightly out of focus as she stared at me.

“The style of painting is changing.”

“…Style of painting?”

“The self-portrait in the drawing room right by the entrance had a somewhat realistic style. However, beginning with the second portrait, the emphasis was put on colors, and the primary colors are even more striking in this third one. The Fauvism-like uninhibitedness strongly permeates this work.”

As I cocked my head in puzzlement, Yoishi started walking ahead. Her footsteps creaked the floorboards of the dark, narrow corridor as she moved her feet towards the darker depths of the mansion.

Having no choice, I made to follow her, but the further I went, the less I understood the structure of this mansion. From the outside, it didn’t look like a large mansion, but instead seemed to be a long and narrow arrangement of rooms in the back. It was connected with the forest at the back of the cemetery, and the mansion was surrounded by thick and tall zelkova trees. That might have made it hard to get a full picture of the mansion. The ceiling was high, and it might have had an attic, but it was a single-story house in the style of a western mansion.

“This is the fourth.”

Eventually, Yoishi spoke at the center of the slightly open living room at the end of the hallway. At the end of her aimed pen light, was indeed a similar self-portrait in a frame. However, when I saw that picture, I gulped. This time, even as someone ignorant about art, I could tell. The style of painting was definitely different. The subject was drawn in a somewhat more distorted style, making it look like it was the work of a different artist altogether.

“I don’t understand it well, but it’s like that, right? The series of self-portraits are intentionally drawn in the same composition, but in different styles.”

“Right, intentionally done.”

Yoishi then repeated in whisper.

“And how much of it was intentionally done, I wonder?”

--How much? What did she mean?

Most of the things she spoke of were cryptic, but she then said something even stranger.

“Why did Shizue Namikawa name this place ‘Grave keeper’?”

“Huh?”

“To begin with, no one knows when and how the occupation of a grave keeper first arose. The most common theory is that it was created to protect the bodies buried in the ground from dogs and crows, but there are also other theories that it was created to protect the relics buried with the dead in the coffin - necklaces, rings, and other precious metal items. However, the commonality in those myriad theories is that the grave keeper is an existence that is the antithesis of a grave robber.”

Saying that, Yoishi turned back to me.

“Say, don’t you think it’s strange? In the age of burials, a hole was dug in the ground, and the body was buried in a wooden coffin. The wood would eventually rot and turn to dust. The same went for corpses. If that’s the case, a strange thing happens. Where did the space they had secured go when they disappeared with the earth?”

“No, where you ask – but the body and the coffin turned to dust, right? In short there’s no such thing as a space. It turned into dust as is, right? It all comes out even.”

“Maybe so.”

Yoishi answered somewhat happily, as if she had already guessed my answer.

“There must always have been a cavity between the corpse and the coffin so that precious metals and other relics could be placed in it. So, the total volume of the coffin crate and the body is definitely smaller than the total volume originally secured by the coffin's outer crate. In other words, after a certain amount of time has passed, the grave should be hollow underneath.”

No, but that’s…

Still, I thought. The grave might have indeed collapsed with the passage of time. It may have been the grave-keeper's job to pour earth over it again and stamp it back into place.

I was about to object with that argument – but stopped at the last moment when a thought struck me. Right now, I had that original thought inside me. I felt like it was the reason I stood her now. But what if I were to say it out loud and Yoishi would deny it all again completely with the theory of the world beyond? At that moment, the place I stood would surely collapse. Something would end up tumbling and flipping over. Not to mention the fact that this was a place the supposedly dead artist lived, and it was close to midnight. I should keep the last thoughts to myself and keep my mind safe—

That was the answer I had reached after wandering with Yoishi many times in the depths of the world beyond.

When I looked up, Yoishi wasn’t there anymore. I raised my light in a panic and moved ahead. She was standing in front of a door a little further ahead. She stopped while clutching the brass doorknob, which gave off a dull light.

“Is something wrong?”

I called out to her, and Yoishi turned her pale face towards me. And after that, she silently aimed the light at my back – at the path I had come from.

“…W,what is it? Was something there?”

Yoishi continued to stare at the darkness beyond with those dark eyes of hers, but—

“…It’s nothing.”

She shook her head in the end. And in a single breath, flung open the door.

--*Creaaaaak* -- An unpleasant wooden creaking sound rang out in the surroundings, and I involuntarily shut my eyes. It was because I sensed something oozing out together with the dust from behind the door. However, I sensed Yoishi had moved ahead, so I slowly opened my eyes and took deep breaths as I followed her.

The moment I entered the room, an acrid smell pricked at my nose.

This… was that. The smell of turpentine oil used in oil paintings.

“It seems this was the real atelier all along.”

As Yoishi said, it was a space around 24 square meters in size. Illuminated by the light, an easel and a wooden stool stood out at the center of the room. There was a single window on the right side of the room, covered with thick, sooty curtains. On the wall to the left were several works of art, some completed, others that were obviously abandoned. And on top of those large and small canvases laid out on the floor – the painting was in the center of the white, plaster wall.

“This is the fifth portrait.”

Yoishi stated indifferently – but I didn’t know anymore. It was blended with countless colors to the point where it was only consistent with previous paintings in Shizue Namikawa’s outline, her hairstyle, and the strange look in her eyes.

“…Say, Yoishi. Just what was Shizue Namikawa trying to do? Why did she go to the trouble of drawing these paintings in a different art style?”

Yoishi responded in a whisper:

“Just as writing has an aspect of organizing thoughts, so does painting. Shizue Namikawa might have been trying to extract something by repeating the same motif again and again. If I had to say, I’d say that this is an abstract painting, but they are far from the cubism and expressionism of Picasso and others.”

With that somewhat difficult reply, Yoishi focused her light elsewhere.

“And from here on, if we were to find a self-portrait, it would be the sixth one in question, but—”

Yoishi then spoke in a whisper, ‘It’s strange’.

“…W, what is?”

“There are no other doors in this room.”

“Huh?”

“The rooms end here.”

Hearing that, I, too, aimed my light at the surroundings to confirm.

Sure enough, I didn’t see any other door besides the one we entered through. Which meant that this canvas hanging on the wall right might have been the sixth painting. Saying that, I crouched down, aimed my light, and checked the discarded pictures one by one. Yoishi soon crouched down next to me, and we both checked all the paintings together, but in the end, none of them were portraits, but rather, landscapes and pointillism.

“…It’s not here. So, isn’t that all there is to it? The rooms end here, and the sixth painting never existed in the first place, right?”

I spoke praying somewhat that that was the case – however, Yoishi had her arms crossed, and her fingers on her lips as she thought about something.

“It's not like those two disappeared because they found the sixth painting, it might have just been coincidences piled together. Those kinds of countless misunderstandings often accumulate and circulate in the form of a ghost story--”

“Wind.”

However, Yoishi suddenly announced that as she began to survey her surroundings.

“The air in this room is moving.”

She muttered, and began to walk around the creaking floor, eventually she moved one easel out of the way and crouched before the wall. She then began to feel around the wall here and there.

“Here – these boards are different from the wall. They’ve been painted with the same color so it’s hard to tell, but this might be a sliding door.”

She declared, and without waiting for my answer, she quickly began to move the stuff on the other side of the easel.

“See, there are signs that the floor has been cleaned of dust. It means that someone other than us has opened it recently.”

“Was it the people who disappeared?”

I asked with a gulp, and Yoishi replied:

“Say, did you feel a sense of discomfort when you heard your friend’s story?”

“…Eh?”

“For example – the fact that the transporter was the one who discovered the sixth portrait before the appraiser.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine.

The words Yoishi Mitsurugi always spoke. 『The real ghost stories had a sense of discomfort about them.』『A sense of discomfort as if something important has been skipped over.』

“How could the transporter find the sixth portrait even though the appraiser only counted five? Perhaps that was because he was a specialist in transporting paintings, so he persistently checked that painting in comparison with the others. In short, he felt the need to check the other paintings to make sure there wasn’t another self-portrait among them. Was that all the paintings there were? Were there any other rooms? And that is when he found this – and entered. And, without a doubt, it was the same for the appraiser who learned of the existence of the sixth portrait.”

As her words reached my ears, a terrible sweat broke out all over my body.

The cold air was rising, and a chill ran through my back – Yoishi traced her hand along the wall, found a small hole, put her finger in it and dragged it sideways. A terrible *screech* sound rang out, and beyond the darkness, an even darker darkness appeared.

It reminded me of the black of the black sea I had once seen.

And, in front of that pitch black darkness that was seemed to pull me in, I suddenly remembered.

Come to think of it, that time we played ‘Dear Nostradamus-sama’ in the club room, I – That’s right.

Didn’t I inadvertently take my hand off the ten-yen coin? It’s far too late now, but that didn’t cause any problems, did it? If something terrible were to happen from here on – no, wasn’t I already in the ‘abyss’ as Yoishi put it…?

“Say…Let’s stop.” I spoke at last as my voice trembled.

The portraits, which looked like pictures at first were taking a bizarre turn. As I checked them one by one in this dark house, I began to be seized with strange thoughts. It was as if this house was inside the mind of the painter – no, it was as if I was engulfed in the whirlpool of thoughts left behind by the painter.

The fifth painting was strange in the first place. If I were to end up seeing the rumored sixth one, I felt like something would end up happening.

“Well, it’s fine if you want to stay here.”

“….”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything.”

Yoishi spoke in the same snide manner as earlier, stooped over somewhat happily and ventured deeper into the darkness.

--Ah, that’s right.

I muttered somewhat desperately to myself.

It’s just like you said, one’s life and wandering around haunted places are all one’s own responsibility. I wish I could do the same. It’s something I think about every time, I always want to turn back one step short of the breaking point of my limits. If I don’t do that, then one day, my mind will surely collapse. I would someday be swallowed by the darkness of the world beyond.

--And yet – why do I always fail to do that? Why do I keep following the girl who’s entranced with the world beyond, who searches for the true face of fear?

That was surely because I thought of her as a war comrade. She came to help me in that dream mansion, the source of my greatest fear. I’m still here thanks to that. And – I realized something there. Something had happened in Yoishi’s past. Something so terrifying that the feeling of ‘fear’ itself was snatched up from its roots. That’s why I had made the decision to stand by Yoishi’s side, just like how she had done for me. Even if I couldn’t help her solve the fundamental problem, I promised myself that I would at least share half the burden she carried. Even though my commitment wavered at times, I still wanted to protect that much somehow, for as long as I existed. That’s what I always thought.

However—that was dependent on a condition.

That she, herself, treated it as a problem to be solved.

That’s why I was irritated when I learned she was hanging around that suicide website as a ‘Lost child’. I had been working hard for her rehabilitation, and yet, if she herself yearned for death, it would all amount to nothing. My actions, my resolve, my determination, would be nothing more than tilting at windmills, and moreover, Krishna-san’s words would turn out to be true: 「Those who are entranced by the depths of the darkness cannot be saved.」

I suddenly recalled the negative thoughts plastered over a portion of the suicide website.

Of course… there had been many times when I wanted to throw my life away. But there were just as many times I was thankful to be alive. I am sure that both feelings would come alternately in equal proportions in the future. I live my life with the hopeful expectation that If I could get over the tough times now, then better times would surely be waiting ahead for me.

But, seeing the countless words posted on that site, I realized how naïve I was. On that site were endless stories of parental abuse, the cold betrayal of close friends, and the relentless abuse of teachers. A feeling of loneliness as if the world was telling you that you are nothing, and filled with an emptiness that took away the color of this world. I, too, might one day end up envisioning death as a sweet fantasy when thrown into that whirlpool of despair. I, too, might end up wanting to run away from everything.

There is an argument in this world that people who commit suicide are weak. Even I think that sometimes. But the basic premise that all humans should know is—

That no one chooses death by nature.

There is a harsh reality in which people are driven to the point where they can only choose ‘death’. They stand on the edge. The slightest push would be enough for them to choose death.

And strangely enough, 'Lost child' was the bulwark keeping them at bay. No, they themselves were acting as a bulwark against each other. That might look like licking each other's wounds to an outsider who has never thought of dying. But still, they're keeping a balance at the edge. And that balance is in no danger of collapsing. For them, the collapse of the balance might be the push on the back they need to change their fate to death.

That's right -- could it be that they are... Always giving it a try?

Aren't they constantly ‘testing’ their fate in some way?

They always want to ask someone whether they're better off alive or not, whether it was alright that they were born or not, isn’t that why suicide applicant websites keep popping up?

Come to think of it, Akane Nanamori also said it when I asked her about Yoishi. That "She might simply be giving it a try." And "Because I'm the same."

That means that, in short…

"I want to get to know you a little better from up close."

At that moment, I finally recalled the line Yoishi spoke when she came to my apartment.

Those were the words she spoke. Was she ‘testing’ me by stepping deeper into the abyss, where there is no help? How far could I follow her -- How much of her darkness I could be exposed to before I would let go? Was that the thing she was desperately ‘testing’ up until now?

"—Dammit!"

I took a gulp and then – I shouted, “Dammit,” out loud, once more.

“This…goddamn idiot was…”

I cursed out loud and plunged into the mouth of darkness that lay in front of me.

“Hey, Yoishi, wait. I’m coming.”

However, I stopped in my tracks the moment I jumped in.

I thought Yoishi might have moved further ahead already, but there she was. It really seemed as if she had melted into the darkness with her penlight turned off.

….Heeey, don’t scare me like that!

I was about to say out loud, when–

“--Why?”

With her head hung down, Yoishi asked me.

“Aren’t you afraid right now?”

“…Eh?”

“You’re scared out of your mind, aren't you? And being scared is something that should be quite painful for a normal human. Why do you move forward in the face of that pain?”

That was—

Because I couldn’t leave you alone, or because I didn’t want to end up hating myself, or maybe because I was really interested in the occult. I could think of countless reasons, but I felt none of them were appropriate, so I said, “Shut up.”

“Waiting alone in a place like that is way scarier. I mean, telling me you’re not forcing me to do anything -- so you're saying that your occupation of my loft is not forcing me to do anything? With the words you utter by calculating the endurance of my occult-loving nature, aren’t you the one who always forces me in tears at the end?”

Giving those absurd arguments, I aimed my light at the darkness.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

I grabbed Yoishi’s hand, and continued forward.

To a somewhat hesitant Yoishi, I declared:

“Give up already.”

“…..”

“I might be annoying, and I might have the temperament of a stalker. But I’ll always be by your side.”

“…..”

“If you don’t want that, then work hard. The day you can smile cheerfully is the day I’ll stop being annoying.”

With those words, Yoishi gently gripped my hand in return.

And in the darkness-- we began to walk.

We began to walk towards the darkness, one that we might have to face in the near future.

“In all likelihood, I believe it leads to a barn.”

Yoishi eventually muttered and passed me by to lead the way into the darkness.

A moldy odor prickled my nostrils.

Something soft caught my face.

I realized it was a spider web and hurriedly brushed it off with my hand.

The darkness was immensely dense. A hole that seemed to lead to hell – no, it was the slope that connected this world to the next, Yomotsu Hirasaka.<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yomotsu_Hirasaka</ref> I felt as if I was descending down that slope. Although I'm ashamed to say this so soon after speaking with such bravado, but I was already regretting it. …Ah. Just recently, I had managed to get through a situation like this. In the basement of the Koumei Institute, that infinite corridor where this world and the other world seemed to merge. Why was I wandering in such a place again after throwing snot everywhere and escaping death from the scruff of my neck? It was hard to believe that this place was in Musashino or Tokyo. I don’t think It was a place where people would live anymore.

“If there is a sixth portrait, it should be close by.”

As Yoishi finished speaking, the ceiling suddenly got taller. I felt the intimidating air around me suddenly decrease. When I aimed my light, I saw a space of around 13 sqm.

The floor was bare earth, and a worn-out spade leaned against the rough wooden planks that made up the wall. There was also a dirty stepladder. It was indeed a barn just like Yoishi had said, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing traces of a place once inhabited by humans.

But--

I turned my face where Yoishi silently aimed her light, and my body froze.

There was a forehead there. A frame in the same shape as the previous five portraits.

And in the center of it – on a white canvas, was that woman.

Drawn in the same position, she looked at me with her distorted gaze. She looked at me, as if pleading something directly to my brain.

This was, in short—

“The sixth one.”

Yoishi declared with an ecstatic expression.

But – but, I didn’t know anymore. I don’t know if it could be called a painting. I never saw a painting in such a style. The outlines were so blotchy and crumbled that you couldn’t tell if it was a painting by Shizue Namikawa without prior knowledge. The area around her eyes was dark. It was so dark I didn’t know what kind of pigment was used to express such a black color, but her gaze was clearly directed at me. There was a passionate will pleading to me for something, with a darkness that was enough to pull me in.

“…How wonderful.”

Yoishi spoke with an ecstatic expression, however, I was, as expected, in tears.

The earth was shaking.

My knees were trembling to the point of making a sound.

--I didn’t want to be here anymore. Not for a second longer. That was the warning sound blaring inside me. I shouldn’t look at this picture anymore – and that it didn’t belong in this world.

Did she sense my body shivering relentlessly?

“Let’s leave.”

Saying that, Yoishi pulled my hand.

And then, as if to lead me above water from the deep ocean depths where I was about to drown, she pulled me, and ran.

And as if entrusting everything to the feeling of her cold, soft hand – I ran as well.

◯

The shadows of the tall zelkova trees stood in a row, the clear night sky spreading out above them.

I didn’t remember how far or where we had run to.

Before I realized, I was in a dense covering of grass thick enough to make me choke.

The chirping of insects reverberated around me. There, I repeated breaths deep enough to monopolize all the oxygen around me. I inhaled oxygen as if it were such a delicious thing, and I spat out all the ominous things trapped inside my lungs. I was freed from the feeling of being trapped, of something hanging right above my head, and the feeling of pressure as if my body was being twisted into something, a hollow smile soon appeared on my face, and I even let out a laugh.

“We can leave from here.”

I raised my head to see Yoishi standing in front of me, staring off into a dark thicket. It seemed that barn had an exit, and instead of going back all the way through the house, we exited straight out.

“---Where…is this place?”

I looked around once more as I asked, but Yoishi began to walk without saying a word; Flustered, I followed her.

Yoishi Mitsurugi bravely straddled ahead through the thicket. Even though it was a moonlit night, we continued on a path so rough I could only find it by shining a light at my feet.

The path gently sloped down.

How far are we going? I was about to ask, when my vision abruptly widened.

For a moment, I thought I had come to the sea.

However, when I looked closely, there were countless gravestones silently lined up.

Ah, this place is…

it seemed to be the southern end of the K cemetery managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan government, which had over 40,000 gravestones, and covered an area of around 650,000 sqm. <ref>Kodaira cemetery: http://www.city.kodaira.tokyo.jp.e.fj.hp.transer.com/kurashi/000/000127.html </ref>

Yoishi and I stood motionlessly under the dark sky facing the gravestones that stretched to the horizon.

The clouds moved in the pitch-dark sky.

The moon and stars peeked out.

Only a cold wind blew through them.

A winter wind blew across, as if raining down from the clear starry sky.

And it was faintly permeated with the aroma of incense permeated into the ground.

Right now, in front of our eyes, was an ending of one side.

Someone’s life. Someone’s conclusion. A tiny trace of someone once having lived in this world.

And – why was it, I wonder? I was standing right in the midst of countless graves, and yet, strangely enough, I felt no fear. All the people here, were dead. I was comfortable with death, and to die was to finally be at rest.

Eventually Yoishi slowly began to walk again, and I followed.

On both sides of the path were tall, overgrown weeds that had been untouched for many years – Suddenly, I saw many stones lined up in one direction.

“Ah…”

“It’s the section for those who have no one to mourn their death.”

Yoishi’s whisper unintentionally startled me.

Right, those were certainly graves – or what used to be graves. Some of them had already toppled over. Some had already decayed to the point where the epitaph couldn’t be deciphered. There were withered flowers in vases that had already broken down since who knows how long, and muddy cups of sake also lay scattered about.

“—Say, Yoishi.”

Trying my best not to look at the mass of graves with no one left to tend to them, I asked.

“Did you figure out that what happened in that house? Who was sending Shizue Namikawa’s paintings to the competition and for what purpose? And why was the sixth portrait in a place like that?”

“If you were to ask me who it was, there’s no answer other than Shizue Namikawa herself.”

“No…but Shizue Namikawa died seven years ago, right? That’s why it became a ghost story, right?”

“That’s not it.”

Yoishi declared without looking back.

“That was… future mail.”

“…Eh?”

“A system where you can post something to someone many years in the future. If you were aware of a system like that, you could send a mail to a competition after your death. The question is, why would Shizue Namikawa do that – and why did the sixth self-portrait originally not exist? There were only five self-portraits in the beginning, as had been originally appraised.”

“Wai--”

With a cold feeling as if something rubbed my neck, I asked.

“Wa-- wait a second. Didn’t we see it? There was definitely a sixth painting. It was hidden in some obscure place like the barn. It was so creepy that the people who found it got scared and disappeared--”

As I said the words out loud, a terrible premonition quickly began to grow inside me. The hill road we were walking on became markedly steeper.

Yoishi broke the branches that extended to her face, flung them at her feet and spoke:

“We proceeded to the back of that house from the entrance. We thought that the style of the paintings changed from the entrance as we moved from the entrance to the interior. But that wasn’t the case. Everything was in reverse; the barn was the entrance.”

“…The barn was the entrance?”

“I didn’t call that painting we found in the barn a portrait. I only called it the sixth one. And that was not even a canvas. When I looked at it closely, I understood – it was merely a window frame designed to fit the same frame as the other five self-portraits.”

“…No, wait a second… then, what? Are you saying that when I was there… I was only looking outside the window?”

“Yes. The only thing we saw outside that frame-like window was the scenery we see here now. And, if you saw something else besides this scenery--”

''“Then that, was something not of this world.”''

I suddenly felt something rear its head from one of the graves in my surroundings.

The sixth self-portrait—no, the window frame made to look like a canvas I had seen earlier, was drawn in my mind once more. The moment I recalled the hollow depths of those eyes, that gaze that pierced through my back – the air rang in my earlobes.

Just as my legs were about to wobble, the path abruptly ended.

It was – the main street that ran through the center of the cemetery. We were thrown out on the paved road wide enough for large vehicles to pass each other. I saw a sidewalk lined with black cherry tree trunks.

Yoishi silently continued on that sidewalk. A little further away, I saw a tower that looked like a memorial monument. It seemed to be the center square of the cemetery, and we proceeded to it. Eventually, we reached a fountain without running water, and Yoishi sat down at a nearby bench.

From there, I looked back on the road we made our way from. I could barely make out the roof of that house beyond the dark copse we had just passed through. If you saw it from here, you could tell. That house was located on top of a hill, overlooking the cemetery.

“Why did Shizue Namikawa call that atelier ‘grave keeper’? It probably stemmed from her life.”

As Yoishi quietly began to narrate, I sat down beside her.

“She didn’t have single relative. She was married once, but death parted her from her husband. She lost the family she had finally gained. I don’t know where her husband is buried, but the possibility is high that he is here close to her home in the K cemetery. Although I heard that this cemetery was popular and booked several decades in advance. That means she might have waited for a vacancy in the community cemetery. No, Shizue Namikawa must have been waiting for a grave to open up day after day.”

“No… I mean, you’re just guessing, right…?”

When I asked her, Yoishi slowly turned to face me. Her face, illuminated by the moonlit night, was pure white, and her eyes were filled with emptiness. However, there was a definite sadness in them.

“She learned to draw by herself around that time – which proves everything. She continued to paint and wait day after day for a grave to become vacant. However, she finally realized. Having no relatives, if she were to die – she would not be able to protect her husband's grave, even if she got one. Even though they met through a fated encounter, they would end up sealed in tombs that no one would care for. The tombs with no one to care for them should have been infinitely filled must have been nothing but emptiness for her.

Infinitely… filled---?

Thereupon, I finally realized.

“I see… you said it in the apartment. Some story about some hotel…”

“That’s right, Hilbert’s infinite hotel paradox – the thought experiment that there is an infinity greater than any infinity - applies precisely to this cemetery. Every day, someone dies. And they go to their graves. However, the land is finite, and the number of graves will one day be insufficient. When a grave has no left to care for it, it indeed becomes empty, but even if you stop thinking of the person in that grave, it doesn’t erase the existence of those within. They've been relegated to a realm beyond the reach of thought, but they definitely exist. And – perhaps, in her mind, graves with no relatives to tend to them were not infinite, but merely infinite because they were displaced.”

“Then… why did she use a future postal service to get her paintings in the competition?”

I tried to ask –

But somehow, I had already realized it. Even so, I wanted to hear Yoishi confirm it with her words. Yoishi gazed at me with a sad look, exhaled a white breath up into the night sky, and spoke the words.

“She allowed the dead to soar back into the world of the living as paintings.”

“……..”

“She lived as a grave keeper, and continues to be one even after death.”

Those words—

Endlessly echoed inside my ears.

“I don’t know whether Shizue Namikawa decided to protect the grave as a painter or became a painter to protect the grave. However, if she continued to send her paintings through the future postal service to competitions, whether or not they won prizes, the existence of the sender would be sure to be noticed. If a painting were to gain a bit of recognition, someone would one day visit her house. And her thinking probably was – that If there were many paintings left inside, then they might be kept for safekeeping somewhere. If they were kept by an appropriate organization, then as long as society existed, the safety of the paintings would be assured. And the longer it took for the paintings to be discovered and stored, the better. After all, the more pictures of the dead that are transcribed, the better. Because that’s the only way to return someone without any relatives back to this world. To gain time – that’s why she used the future postal service.”

No—that was madness.

It was a concept and action outside the bounds of common sense.

But—

I don’t know why, but now, here in the middle of this vast cemetery late at night, I understood her feelings painfully well.

Right, she was just doing what she had to do as a ‘grave keeper’.

“The idea of transcribing infinitely increasing number of dead on a limited canvas would indeed fail. However, we as humans are doing it, we bury an ever-increasing number of dead into limited graves and have yet to fail.”

“……..”

…I didn’t know. I had no idea. I never thought about it before. I had a vague idea that I would obviously be buried after I passed away – but, if I never got married, if all my relatives passed away, and in the instance of not having even a single friend who cared for me… my life might be labelled as one with no connection whatsoever.

I suddenly felt a fear different from that of ghosts, and let out a deep breath.

And then looked up at the jet-black sky.

Tokyo’s skyline had few stars in it, but—

In them, it felt like me and Yoishi were alone right now.

In the endless darkness that was ahead and behind, it felt like we walked together hand-in-hand.

“When I go to an art museum, I sometimes see a painting I can’t help but be fascinated by.”

“…Eh?”

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi swinging her legs back and forth, as she looked up at the monument.

“From time to time, it would make anyone halt in their tracks, and it’s not a famous painting. The colors aren’t gaudy, and the composition isn’t extraordinary – but still, it’s a completely fascinating painting. I thought it was because the feelings of the artist and my feelings matched… but could it be that the painting was not drawn by human hands?”

“…Hey, stop it.”

In a large quiet art museum with no one around--

The image of Yoishi from behind, standing face to face with a single painting, drew itself in the back of my mind.

The painting, with the dead seared into it, merely stares at Yoishi, and Yoishi stares back at it with an entranced expression.

“But – even so, I’m still fascinated with the possibilities of the painting that can be created in such a way. A painting is a true representation of one’s humanity on a canvas.”

With those words—

What Yoishi was about to say inside the mansion finally sunk into me.

Buried flesh would one day return to dust. And Yoishi said that there should be a space left behind. I thought it was the job of the grave keeper to fill that space, but – that wasn’t it. They were already there. No matter what the physical condition may be, the dead are still lying there, just not visible.

『The grave keeper is an existence that is the antithesis of a grave robber.』

Those words vividly came back to me.

And those grave robbers were—

All of us living humans, wasn’t it?

Finally arriving at that answer, I sank down deep into the bench.

I looked up at the black sky, so wide and so black that I felt faint – and took a deep, deep breath. I realized how small the field of vision a human like me had in the face of a universe large enough to swallow me.

…That’s right. The night skyline of Tokyo that looked to be painted black at first glance, actually had a lot of stars if you looked closely. They were always there, just not immediately visible. And the story of that something hotel was surely applicable to this universe as well. As long as the end of the universe could not be confirmed, its mass could be said to be infinite – and as long as there were stars that humans didn’t know of, they too could be called infinite. That was the exact opposite of Schrodinger’s cat, there could be infinite possibilities in this world; ghosts exist, as do UFOs, there might be ancient earthlings still dwelling on the surface of the moon, Nessie might exist on Loch Ness, Ogopogo in Okanagan lake, even father time, and even Hitogata<ref> https://pif.fandom.com/wiki/Hitogata</ref> might be real – Ahhh, to sum it all up.

“Well… it might be good if there’s one painting drawn by a dead person in this world.”

Yoishi nodded in response.

“Of course, everything is my guess, but…but if such a painting were to exist – no, if it were to exist for me, then…”

As I looked at her from the side – Yoishi spoke with an innocent face, as if an evil spirit had been removed from her.

“For the first time in my sixteen-year life, I have a feeling I would find meaning in this endless corridor-like world.”

“…Corridor?”

Her words were the final piece of the puzzle.

…Ah, so that’s why… you were using the name ‘Lost child’?”<ref>The pun here is that corridor is Kairou, and lost child is Maigo in Japanese.</ref>

The moment I asked her that—

“…………………”

“…………………”

After a long silence, Yoishi finally said, “Eh?” and she looked at me.

And in response I too said, “Ah,” as I realized.

…Damn it.

“W, why do you know that name…?”

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Umm, I heard it from Sako – no, I asked him, um, in short…”

I answered Incoherently, but Yoishi turned bright red for some reason.

“T, that handle was a mistake. Before I’d realized, I ended up with that handle, and started talking with it, and it would have been weird to change it after so long.”

“Well, if it’s a site like that, it’s not a particularly weird handle or anything.”

I consoled her for the time being, and then gently asked her.

As naturally as possible, trying my best not to sound reproachful.

“Say, Yoishi… Do you want to die?”

“…Eh?”

“I mean, that website – it’s for people looking to commit suicide, right?”

In response, Yoishi stared at me unblinkingly and said, “That’s not it,” and shook her head.

“No? Then what were you doing there?”

When I asked her that, Yoishi put her finger on her chin for a while as if lost in thought – and spoke:

“You could say -- it was for persuasion.”

“Persuasion? Who were you trying to persuade?”

“Someone who was already long dead, but didn’t realize it.”

“…Huh?”

After a while, when I understood the meaning of those words—

*Thump**Thump**Thump* I got goosebumps all at once.

“I found that site by accident. I was browsing it somewhat for a while, but there were posts on there that were obviously strange. A person who had left the words ‘goodbye’ a few weeks ago and disappeared began to talk about death again. Their expressions were somewhat distorted and inconsistent. At first, I thought it was another person pretending to be them -- but I suddenly realized. Ah, this person already ended up killing themselves.”

“H..Hey hey hey!”

“But it seemed the person in question hadn’t realized it. They spoke of ‘that world’ with the same enthusiasm as always. That’s why I tried to talk to them. And I was leading them to realize that they were already dead.”

“…No, leading them? You…”

“That’s right, I shouldn’t have gotten involved. They kept gathering one after another. Most of the time, half of the replies I had were from the dead. As I thoroughly defeated their arguments, the gallery ended up getting bigger, and yet those in the gallery would have no idea of the fact that I was trying to drive the dead away, and the handle of ‘lost child’ I had intended to use as a throwaway ended up completely set in place…”

As I looked at Yoishi pouting with dissatisfaction—

I felt my insides churn. Unable to bear it, I ended up bursting into laughter. Uhahahahaha, with my mouth wide open, I roared with laughter in the cemetery at night.

--That’s right. She was always like that. She would chase the paranormal, had her feet in the world beyond, peered into the abyss, and at the same time, she would help those who could be helped. If she met someone who was about to be swallowed by a world without hope, she would, in her own way, hold out a helping hand. Because she herself was a ‘lost child’. A ‘lost child’ who wandered this endless corridor, a ‘lost child’ that knew the pain of continuing to search for something to believe in.

And—

She wasn’t the type to use a handle name when talking seriously to someone.

She always spoke with her own name, even on the Internet.

And – Thereupon, I finally realized.

The reason Sako had told me about that site was… to inform me of Yoishi’s state as a bulwark on the site? That she had strangely taken on the burden on a site where suicidal people had made the decision to die?

Was he trying to tell me she wasn’t there because she wanted to die? And, that she herself was just a ‘Lost child’?

“Damn it… that bastard, making things hard to understand!”

Yoishi cocked her head in puzzlement, when--

I suddenly heard a gut-wrenching thud echo through the night sky.

When I looked up, I saw that the night sky was dyed with multicolored fireworks, as they scattered in a brilliant display.

I looked at the watch to see it was exactly midnight. In short -- this moment – was the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, Christmas had begun.

From there, the sound of fireworks went off one after another, *Bang* *Boom*. The sky in the direction of the station twinkled brightly, as if there was a countdown event going on somewhere. I heard boisterous cheers as well. And the fireworks that shot up to the sky in succession dyed the night sky in a colorful way, and scattered. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

“…Ugh, I can’t believe we’re in a cemetery late at night on Christmas.”

I muttered in disgust, but – well, I guess that was typical of us.

As I looked at the blazing petals spread out in the holy night – I thought I’d say ‘Merry Christmas’ for the time being, so I turned to face Yoishi besides me, however, I froze on the spot.

She was merely swinging her legs back and forth, as she stared up at the fireworks.

Her white, beautiful face, dyed in the light of the fireworks, still had the youthfulness of a sixteen-year-old. Her eyes under her long eyelashes began to show a faint glint of will, and her straggling hair blowing in the wind caught her small nose rather than her large eyes, and she brushed it off with her pinky finger.

As I looked at her in fascination—

Yoishi suddenly turned around to face me, and tilted her head curiously.

That surprisingly cute gesture made my heart skip a beat.

At that moment, an unknown passion boiled up inside me. Oh shit, I thought to myself, as I laughed in order to brush it off, scrambled my hair, and after hesitating for a moment – reached out towards Yoishi.

I wrapped my hands around her soft cheeks.

And, as I looked directly at Yoishi who had a blank expression as she gazed at me –

I pinched the flesh of both cheeks and pulled them to the left and right.

So soft.

“Un…”

The corner of Yoishi’s mouth opened.

Her white teeth peeked out. It was an artificial thing, but it was definitely her smile.

“….pu”

“T...this is humiliating.”

“…Ah, emm, sorry. I just wanted to know what kind of face you’d make when you smiled.”

She brushed off my hand in response, and complained about something or other, but—

That kind smile that appeared for a moment made me feel like I was rewarded for everything.

--Ah, that’s it. The ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi Rehabilitation Plan’ was a long way off, and it might not be possible for me alone to see through the goal, but – despite that, she was still only sixteen. If it took her sixteen years to become like this, it would be fine if it took her another sixteen years to get back on track. Life still goes on. There was no need whatsoever to be impatient.

Illuminated by the light of the fireworks in the middle of the cemetery –

I put these thoughts in my hand as I gently patted Yoishi on the head.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case_11|Case 11]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 4: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 02, Afterword

2024-11-17T12:01:53Z

Pakkit:

== Afterword ==
Around the time I was writing this afterword, a heavy snowstorm hit the Kanto area. The trains stopped, the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway was closed, and the capital was harshly criticized for being weak and not used to snow by many people, and in a panic, I too rushed out to buy a shovel to shovel the snow! However, it had been a long time since we've had snow, so snow shovels were sold out of everywhere.

By the time they finally filled up the stock a few days later, both my appetite for buying them, as well as the snow, disappeared. But I realized an obvious fact: The value of an item comes from the fact that it is there in a time of need.

I first learned about the mysterious ‘Fafrotskies’ phenomenon from the movie ‘Magnolia’. The first time I saw that famous last scene, I felt physical disgust and a strange sense of relief at the same time, the reason for which was that the impossible phenomenon was the rain of salvation that was needed by many characters to wash away their hopeless conflicts in life. And, once again, I felt as if I had been taught a lesson by the snow. Of course, this is my own subjective view.

Now, this volume, "Melting Fafrotskies" is the first volume of two volumes, and will be followed by the second volume, "Shrinking Fafrotskies" which will be released soon. This story was supposed to be a one-volume story, but it ended up being expanded entirely because of my lack of skill, However, the editor in charge, Katsushi Ota-san was very helpful:

“You can take your time! Let's go for two volumes!”

It is also true that those words helped me. Thank you very much! If I may say so, there is a certain secret connected in both volumes, so I would be delighted if you could remember the story of "Melting" until the release of the second volume. And once again, Yoshitoshi Abe-san provided us with wonderfully painted illustrations. I can't tell you how much power the illustrations gave me in these short paragraphs, but please let me treat you to another delicious cup of coffee! Thank you very much! And to everyone who has read this far. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. There would be no greater happiness than to meet you again in “Shrinking Fafrotskies”.

January 2013

Ninomae Hajime

<noinclude>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case_06|Case 06]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Case_07|Case 07]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 06

2024-11-17T12:00:55Z

Pakkit:

==Case 06: Rororo==

 
 

『Am I the one reading the book? Or am I the one being read by the book?』

It was on a Monday afternoon in October when I picked up a piece of paper with these words written on it. It was lying in front of the student bulletin board; I had gone there to get information about class cancellations and noticed a piece of paper lying on the ground.

“The hell is this?”

If you look at the text alone, it seems somewhat philosophical, like a poem of an excessively self-conscious student. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time, and I quickly tucked it into my pocket as an acquaintance approached me. I wasn’t particularly interested in it or anything, thinking I’d just throw it away in a trash bag later. However, a few days after that, I was in the main auditorium during a lecture on Introduction to Political Science, when I noticed that something was stuck on the edge of the compartment of my desk. It was a page of a notebook that seemed to have been torn out, and when I picked it up and unfolded it, I found the following:

『I see, The book was the origin.』

I remembered the meticulous handwriting. Coincidentally, I was wearing the same jeans that day, so I felt around in my pockets and found the piece of paper that I had picked up in front of the bulletin board. I compared the two, and it was exactly as I thought. It felt like a continuation of the note I had found earlier.

But is that really possible?

The possibility that the same person will pick up two scraps of paper that some student randomly threw away, Am I too much of a romantic to believe that it was more than mere coincidence and instead, a fateful event? The thought briefly flashed across my mind, but I still didn’t pay it too much heed at the time.

The moment I started paying it heed, was when I was headed to the western club building, and bumped into Yoishi Mitsurugi , who was heading home from school -- somehow or another we ended up going to a coffee shop where we talked about it.

“This person is no longer alive.”

“Huh?”

“Yes, I believe they’re dead.”

Startled, I stared at Yoishi’s pale face, she was taking a sip of milk tea as if she had said something trivial. I then asked:

“H-hold on a second. You’re saying a dead person wrote this?”

“That’s not it, I’m just saying there’s a chance they died after they wrote it.”

“Even if that’s the case, that’s damn creepy.”

I said so, but Yoishi looked more vacant than ever.

A black blazer and a black skirt. A black tie on a white blouse. Navy blue socks and black leather shoes. In the beginning of October, the Koumei affiliated high school changed to winter clothes, and I didn’t know whether to call her winter uniform stylish or funeral attire; Her dark eyes shined as she gave a vacant look. Her black hair, which was originally beautiful, was somewhat unkempt, and her eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn't slept at all.

That’s right, the reason why I invited her to this coffee shop was because I saw her wandering around like a ghost as usual. I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask her, about the clock tower and about Miiko, but they were all thrown away to the wayside the moment I saw the way she walked out of the main high school gate, it was as if she were drifting in the sky. So, I called out to her, "Hey, I'll buy you a cup of coffee," grabbed her by the arm and dragged her here. Anyway, I was worried because it felt like she didn’t care if she disappeared from this world.

“You still haven't solved your problem, have you?”

“I don’t think it can ever be solved.” Yoishi muttered as she rested her chin on hands to cover her mouth.

I shrugged my shoulders, and for some reason, looked around the coffee shop.

The coffee shop was in front of the station on the second floor, and although it was my first time coming here, it was a quiet store with a relaxing atmosphere. A modern bossa nova was playing in the background, and all the interior decorations, such as lights, tables, and clown figurines, were all antiques.

Maybe I’ll come back here to read a book next time, I thought to myself.

“But, it’s strange.”

Suddenly hearing that voice, I turned to face Yoishi who was looking down at the two scraps of paper I had handed her.

“If this note is a memo to oneself, then there's no need to cut it off, and if it's a message to someone else, it's too all-encompassing.”

“Well, that’s true.” I nodded.

“Look, isn’t it by some kind of poet? Lately, I've been hanging out a lot in the western club building, and there are countless guys composing their own poetry. Especially in the A wing of the Humanities Club, there are a lot of aspiring creators who have a creative fever that can’t be stopped.”

“Did any of them die recently?”

“You’re gonna stay obsessed about the dead guys to the very end, huh?”

I asked humorously, yet Yoishi nodded with a blank expression.

“After all, Kotodama are words packed with feeling.”

I felt a hint of something cold in her words.

“…Kotodama,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotodama</ref> you say?”

“That’s right --- The words we normally use without concern also have the characteristics of a curse. Have you ever heard of taboo words? Like Kameari was originally called Kamenashi,<ref> A place in Tokyo that had its name changed for being unlucky hundreds of years ago. For more details: https://japanthis.com/2014/04/07/what-does-kameari-mean/) </ref> or how parking numbers and room numbers in hospitals avoid using the numbers four and nine – Originally, the people of this country were prudent in the words they used, and the sounds they produced. They feared that anything spoken out loud would one day come to pass. Compared to that, contemporary people are rather callous in the words they use.”

“Well, let’s leave aside the problem of contemporary people.”

After rebuking Yoishi, who had suddenly started to get fired up, I asked her once again.

“How do you connect that with this note? And the guy writing it being dead?”

“After all, these words are trembling with power.”

Those words gave me goosebumps, completely filling me with horror.

“Trembling --- what?”

“They’re trembling. The letters themselves are shaking. They are shaking as if wandering around for a way out, as if searching for a destination. The more a person's soul is put into a text, the more it trembles with power as a kotodama.”

“No -- but this could have just been written by a living person with a tremendous amount of emotions put into it, right?”

“No…”

Thereupon, Yoishi suddenly looked behind me.

“Over there.”

“—Huh?”

“A man around your age. I don’t think he’s a vengeful ghost.”

“W-what are you saying?”

Flustered, I turned around.

But there was no one there. Just two old ladies sitting in a seat behind me, chatting happily. ‘Hey, don’t scare me like that’, I was about to say, when Yoishi quietly continued.

“A striped T-shirt and jeans. A grave look on his face. Short hair. He appeared there ever since you started talking about the string of words on that piece of paper. He’s been staring at the paper for a long time.”

Yoishi’s eyes shone with amusement as she looked over my shoulder.

--Hey, are you serious?

Immediately, I began to feel the raw presence of someone behind my back, and I sat up. You gotta be kidding me. I don't want to get possessed just because I happened to pick up a piece of paper.

“Yoishi, I’m leaving.”

I picked up the receipt and said that, but Yoishi was still calm as ever sitting back in her chair as she spoke:

“There might be something he wants to tell us.”

“Don’t drag me into it. You’re the one who can see him, so you go ahead and ask.”

“I’ve rarely been able to talk to ghosts. Mostly, they’re just there.”

Yoishi continued to stare behind me while she spoke. She’s probably trying to read the ghosts’ facial expressions and gestures, but it’s downright creepy because I’m right in her line of sight. I couldn’t stand to keep sitting in that seat anymore, so I moved next to Yoishi. In short, we were both facing that striped shirt guy. I slowly traced my eyes to where Yoishi was looking at. I thought I might be able to see something vaguely, but I couldn't see anything. The only thing that happened was that the two old ladies turned to look at us, startled by the suspicious pairs of eyes gazing at them. This is bad. They’re gonna complain if we don’t stop.

“H-hey Yoishi, let’s just go.”

“Wait, he’s saying something.” Yoishi abruptly stopped me.

“…Eh?”

“He keeps muttering something…repeating the same words with his mouth.”

However, Yoishi's gaze was now completely focused on the two ladies who had been sitting behind me earlier, and they were giving us a very dangerous look. A fearsome gaze, as if to say, ‘You wanna fight? Bring it on.’

“S-sorry. We’ll leave right away.”

Right away, I preemptively apologized to the two ladies. When –

“---Ro, ro , ro.”

Yoishi uttered the bizarre words with a look of delight.

“He's repeating, ‘Rororo.’”

◯

In the end, what did the note mean?

What the hell is that ghost with the striped shirt?

And what did he mean when he muttered the word ‘Rororo’?

All of this remained a mystery, and several days passed.

I haven’t met Yoishi since then. As always, she left me with nothing but cryptic and creepy information. And of course, she didn’t even say a word of thanks for the treat. No, that would have been fine, but what about this unconvinced, hazy feeling I'm left with? To keep that note with the strange words written on it, or to throw it away, either choice is terrifying.

However, that afternoon – this time, I ended up finding a notebook.

The place I discovered it was in a large common room on the second floor of the university's student hall. It was placed on a round table by the window, sitting there all by itself. I was helping with posting updates on "Ikaigabuchi" at the Beatnik lab during my lunch break, and missed lunch as a result. I had free time right around third period when class got cancelled, and was washing down some Anpan with milk – when that notebook strangely allured me.

I looked around in all directions. The common room was exceptionally large. It was so large that many of the clubs that didn’t have their own club rooms used it as a gathering spot. But at that time, perhaps because it was the middle of third period, there were only a few groups of students huddled together in sparse numbers. No one was near that table by the window side.

After thinking about it, I stood up and moved my chair next to the table. And I took the notebook in hand. It was an elegantly looking, dark-red colored notebook. It was sold for around 300 yen at the campus store. But when I opened it and saw the first page, I was horrified. It was written in the same meticulous handwriting.

“…Damn it, stop messing with me!”

Getting flustered, I threw away the notebook, and looked behind me.

Of course, there was no one there, that guy wearing the striped shirt Yoishi spoke of might have been there, but I couldn’t sense his presence. And yet, even if he keeps placing creepy things everywhere I go, there’s nothing I can do for him.

“Hey, if you have something to say, go to Yoishi. I can't hear or see what you're saying.”

I must have looked like some kind of lunatic to the other students, muttering such things by myself. But I couldn’t help it -- what scares you, scares you. I was about to get up and leave – when I caught a glimpse of it.

On the last page of the notebook I threw away, there was a name – ‘Kouhei Niijima’.

Yoishi was right.

After that I proceeded to the student affairs office, informed them about the notebook I had picked up and tried inquiring about the guy called ‘Kouhei Niijima’. The staff member who dealt with me was a man over forty, who gave me a strange look at first, then changed to a somber one, and informed me. That student is no longer with us, he spoke in a hushed tone of voice. “Because he passed away last month.”

Judging from his manner of speaking, Kouhei Niijima apparently committed suicide. Of course, he didn't give me any details as to why or where. I had no way to ask any more questions. I said a word of thanks and left the student affairs office at a loss.

That note really had been written by a person who had died.

There were signs that a few pages inside the notebook had been ripped out, and that matched with the first note I had found. The question was, why did it manifest in front of me in its entirety? And the words Yoishi had mentioned: ‘Rororo’, what did they mean?

In the early afternoon, I sat down on the bench in the courtyard. There, I opened the weathered, dark-red notebook. Rather than using it as a schedule notebook, Kouhei Niijima seemed to be have been using it more to write casual notes. Passing my eyes over the descriptions on the first page, I found out that he was a freshman like me, belonging to the Japanese Literature Department. His hometown was Hirosaki in Aomori, and on the first few pages, he laments endlessly about being homesick and how he couldn’t make any friends.

Before I realized, I had become absorbed in reading the notebook.

Kouhei Niijima was working part-time at a convenience store. He couldn’t hide his peculiar Aomori accent, which often made the customers laugh, but troubled him. He seemed to be somewhat introverted, and didn’t hang out with any of his colleagues from work. Even in the university’s linguistic class, he didn’t have any people he was close to, and was always hanging out at the library. The books he had read and his brief impressions on them were jotted down. I knew about Osamu Dazai and Shuji Terayama, but when it came to Yojiro Ishizaka, Ujaku Akita, and Zenzo Kasai, well, I wasn’t particularly a literary enthusiast so I didn’t know those names. According to the description, apparently all the authors were from Aomori. As if he were nostalgic for his hometown, Kouhei Niijima seemed to have collected and read their writings.

His day was almost entirely made up of waking up at the boarding house, going to university, and either going to his part-time job, or spending time in the library. There was no account of him going anywhere for fun, or talking with anyone. Just the things he ate, and the books he read, that was all. With the impressions I got from his meticulous handwriting, the loneliness of his life was vividly depicted in my mind. I myself felt anxious the first few weeks after I moved out of Shizuoka. There were so many people in the city, and I didn't know any of them. I was always threatened that Tokyo would be a scary place to live, and in fact, looking at the unending crowds in front of the station even at night, I felt that time passed differently than back home. However, I had ‘Ikaigabuchi’. A group of like-minded people who spent twenty-four hours gleefully discussing some paranormal thing or another. Even if I didn’t get along well with anyone in my class, and even if I didn’t belong to any club, as long as I could read the bizarre stories there, my loneliness would be alleviated. But Kouhei Niijima didn’t seem to use the internet, and although he had a cell phone, he hardly ever seemed to use it. I guess books were his only friend -- I sighed. Well, I guess there is meaningfulness in spending the first period of your life with nothing but solitude and literature as your friend, but I don’t think I could do it. If you kill yourself after all, that meaningfulness will never flourish.

As I continued flipping through the pages, feeling somewhat depressed, in the middle of the notebook, I found a page with a single line written.

『I met her today.』

There was just one line on that page.

In the dull accounts of the notebook, that line out stood out.

Hey, hey, hey, is it suddenly turning into a love story?

Even if that’s the case, these notes are from someone who committed suicide. I thought it would continue to get darker and increasingly depressing, but that line captivated my interest. However, mentions of the ‘girl’ didn’t increase from there on. There were only occasional mentions of greeting her, or making eye contact. I found myself rooting for Kouhei Niijima the more and more I read. Like, ‘Hey, hurry up and talk to her already!’ Even in his somewhat detached writings, I felt that Kouhei Niijima was taken in by that ‘girl’. Finally, after a few pages, I saw an account that said that the girl had an interesting way of thinking. Then it concludes by saying that she is indeed an extremely interesting girl. I was already skimming vigorously ahead, chasing mentions of the ‘girl’. At any rate, she seemed to be a slender, beautiful girl, and she seems to be intelligent -- but the whole picture is a bit vague. It was hard to infer whether Kouhei Niijima was indifferent or whether the girl had no distinctive features. Then, without any particular event happening with her, the accounts continued in a matter-of-fact manner, until I finally landed on a blank page. When I turned the page, I found that one had been torn out.

“…What the hell is this?”

I uttered, and then remembered: ‘Oh, right’, I took out the two scraps of paper from the notebook I had picked up earlier.

I matched the torn parts to the notebook, and it looked like that the latter scrap I picked up with 『I see, The book was the origin.』had been written first. But when I compared the contents of that scrap of paper to the contents of the previous page, it was quite incomprehensible. I mean, the notebook is like a bunch of random memos jotted down, so it’s filled with parts which don’t make much sense, but I felt that the appearance of that ‘book’, was too sudden. Continuing a few pages after that, the book didn’t make an appearance again, it just alternated between the girl, his part-time job, and the food he ate. And then, another ripped page appeared. I matched the remaining note, 『Am I the one reading the book?』It matched perfectly. However, that too was incomprehensible. Neither the book’s title nor his impressions were written down. And that was Kouhei Niijima’s last entry. Only about a third of the notebook remained, the rest of which was blank.

“The book is the origin… the origin of what?”

I closed the notebook, and looked up.

Before I had realized, the palm of my hand had gotten sweaty, I wiped it on my jeans.

I was so immersed in the world of the notebook to the point where I had forgotten where I was for a moment.

Nearby, on the lawn of the campus courtyard, a group of students were laughing loudly. They had a lot of tennis bags next to them, so I surmised that they belonged to a tennis group. The bitterness etched in the notebook, and the cheerful laughter of the group members was in complete contrast to each other.

And -- that just made Kouhei Niijima's loneliness all the more apparent.

What lay in the palm of my hand, was the life of a man who was already dead. It was the fragment of a man who, until a month ago, was living, worrying, eating, and reading.

Kotodama – why did Yoishi say those things? But she was right. There was still a hint of him in here. If you’d open the notebook, his presence would linger in the air. But Kouhei Niijima, there might be something you want to say, but, It’s impossible for me. I’m a special kind of coward. I've had this happen to me before, and I suffered greatly for getting too emotionally involved.

“…I’m sorry.”

Apologizing, I softly put down the notebook on the bench.

Immediately, I stood up and walked away without looking back. I shoved my hands in my pockets, and took a few steps as I were running away, and then – a voice called out to me.

“Hey, you there.”

It was an overly-familiar voice, one I‘d heard somewhere before.

“You forgot your notebook.”

…Damn it. I was found out.

With those sorts of regrets, I turned around--

And there was a somewhat familiar figure of a tall and lanky man. He was dressed in a cool, indigo-dyed kinagashi, and with a smile on his white, smooth face, he was looking at me.

“Ah, you’re—”

“Yo, it’s been a while.”

The man approached me with a grin, picked up the dark-red notebook I'd intentionally left behind on the bench, and held it out to me.

“What a coincidence to see you again.”

His white face was set like a kabuki stage actors’, and he was stroking his thin, shallow beard. And his seemingly friendly smile reminded me of something akin to physiological disgust. I felt a chill, as if I had seen a fox in human form during broad daylight.

That’s right, it was the man who had once guided Yoishi and me to the world of dreams. He seemed to be Krishna-san’s teacher, a dweller of the world beyond.

“W-what are you doing in my university?”

The man in Japanese clothing replied with a grin as he kept his hands in his pockets.

“What? I'm just here looking for something.”

“Something?”

“A book.”

My heart thudded painfully at those words.

“I’m searching for a mysterious book in this school. It’s called ‘Rororo’ -- and it seems, if you read it, you’ll die.”

His words -- caused my vision to go blurry.

◯

“Long story short, this school is distorted.”

The man wearing a kinagashi peered at me with fox-like eyes and declared.

“It’s hopelessly distorted. I don’t know if everyone is aware of it, but it was probably that way since its foundation. Well, I guess it’s not fair to blame such old distortions on you students here in the present...”

The man, who had been yammering on and on to that point, suddenly stopped speaking.

“But hey, this sure is some good coffee jelly!”

We were in the university coffee shop on the second floor of the students’ hall.

I couldn't say no to the man's pushy invitation, so the both of us came here.

“I mean, for a coffee shop in a university, this is first-class. Not only are the fresh cream and ice cream perfectly proportioned, but what’s more, you can really taste the flavor of the coffee in the jelly. I mean, as long as there’s ‘coffee’ in the name, it's the least you can do, but how many coffee shops just ignore that?”

It was already his third coffee jelly. He complimented her so many times, that the old lady from the coffee shop wearing the white, triangle bandana kept blushing like a schoolgirl.

“You're a nice man, but you're also a smooth talker.”

“No, no, not at all, this really is delicious.”

The man smiled at the old lady amiably and continued by adding:

“To do what is obvious and to do it well. It may not stand out, and it’s not something that’s instantly appreciated, but I think that’s where the foundation of human beauty lies. To think that there are women in this university who do such a great job. It's truly a wonderful thing.”

“Would you like one more? It’s on the house.”

“Oh, thank you, so very much.”

“Hey!”

That's right when I butted in.

“Enough with the coffee jelly already. Tell me, why is our school distorted? What the hell is up with that book called ‘Rororo’?”

“Now, now, please just calm down.”

He then took a last sip of the coffee jelly somewhat regretfully, and took out something from his pocket.

“I still haven’t introduced myself properly, yet.”

He presented me with a pure white business card. In black letters, what lay printed there was:

【Sako Takita, Chief Priest of Okitachi Inari Shrine】

I flipped it over to see that there was no address, nor phone number. It was all very suspicious.

“Okifuto…Katana? Sakyo?”<ref>Reading some Japanese places and names in kanji can be difficult which is why he is confused here.</ref>

“Sako Takita, Okitachi Inari Shrine.”

Saying that, the man ---- Sako Takita, took out another business card and handed it over to me.

【The owner of the antique store: Kouroudou, Sako Takito】

This one had the store’s phone number and address written on it.

“This one is another title. I guess it works better in Tokyo.”

“Hold on a second. You’re a chief priest, but you’re also a businessman?”

“Well, there’s no reason why a chief priest can’t run a business. It’s tough running a religious group these days. Especially shrines with no parishioners, they’re barely scraping by. Some of them have even opened up fancy sweet cafes on temple grounds.”

With a look of contentment, Sako then took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He let out a carefree puff of smoke and I panicked.

“Hey! Smoking isn’t allowed here.”

“Ah, is that so? Then is there a place where it is allowed?”

The old lady in the coffee shop, who seemed to have taken a liking to Sako, said the veranda would be fine, and pointed to a seat at the back of the room.

Sako stood up, took the ashtray the old lady handed out to him, and quickly moved to a seat in the veranda. It couldn’t be helped, I sighed, as I followed suit.

“Hmm, this is a pretty good university.”

While gazing at the rear garden, bristled with tall trees, Sako leisurely smoked his cigarette.

“As expected of a historical school building in Musashino. The greenery of the zelkova trees dazzles in your eyes, and the serene construction of the school buildings all give me a sense of gravity and history. And aren’t all the female students so lovely? I’m quite jealous.”

A few female students were sitting at the edge of the balcony, all staring at Sako’s kinagashi dress in amazement. Moreover, being praised face to face by a cunning fox-like smile was doubly effective. The female students exchanged glances with each other, whispering in glee.

“Look, just get to the point.” I sat in the chair in front of him and grumbled.

“You’re a hasty one, aren’t you?”

Sako gave an exaggerated sigh.

“As I said before, It’s a distortion. This school has been messed up since its foundation. It was incorporated through conglomerate funds, and a Christian religious organization was also involved in its founding, so it may be difficult for many issues to come to the surface, but – don’t you see? It's unstable, isn't it? It’s a building built up with the wrong foundation which was then continually expanded. That's why the atmosphere here is so grim and why there are so many suicides.”

My heart raced at those words. The word ‘suicide’ was bitter to swallow, as I was immersed in reading about the fragments of Kouhei Niijima's life just a little while ago.

“For example… Can you see that?”

Sako suddenly leaned over the railing and pointed somewhere. It was a bushy area at the back of the library. A dimly lit place of evergreen trees about the height of a man’s waist.

“What’s wrong with that place?”

“Look carefully, can’t you see anything in the hedge?”

I squinted my eyes, and sure enough, there was something in the bushes: whitish, and stone like – what is that?

“Not many students or even faculty members here know about it, but that’s a memorial tower.”

“M-memorial tower?”

“I believe it’s from around sixty years ago, just after the end of the Pacific War. It was built to memorialize a boy who died at this school. But look at it now. It’s wrapped in such thick bushes that I can’t even get close to it. Anyway, I don’t like this kind of thing. If you build a memorial, you should honor it, and if you don't want to honor it, you shouldn't build it in the first place. Surrounding the cenotaph with a hedge, it’s like you’re sealing up the past.”

…That’s right. I mean, I didn’t even know there was a memorial tower there, and if I hadn’t been told, I wouldn’t have noticed it even if I were here till graduation.

“Anyway, I don't want to speak ill of this school in front of the current students, but this school does not properly treat the dead. Instead of directly confronting what happened, they just pretend it never happened, and repeatedly try to cover it up. Even if you put a lid on it, the truth doesn’t disappear.”

With a gulp -- I asked:

“So then, what exactly is that dangerous book called ‘Rororo’?”

“Hmm...”

Thereupon, Sako leaned back deeply in his chair. He took a puff from his cigarette, then smothered it out in the ashtray, then intently fixed his eyes on me.

“Have you heard about taboo words?”

“…Eh?”

“Judging from your expression, I can tell you have. That’s right, there are words in this world that drive a deep wedge into people's thoughts and unconsciously control their actions. If words that empower people are the yang, then taboo words are the yin.”

“No… It was about that, wasn’t it? Like Kameari being called Kamenashi, or the numbers nine or four not being used by hospitals, because they were bad luck or something, right?”

When I conveyed Yoishi’s words to him, Sako gave a faint smile.

“That’s right. There are simple ones like that, and then there are more sophisticated ones. The ones that you can recognize just by looking at them or hearing them aren’t as threatening as taboo words. The ones that pose a problem are those that you don't even perceive as taboo words when you see or hear them.”

“Don't even perceive...?”

“It unwittingly traps us in a maze of thoughts and amplifies the negative thoughts within us. It is a word that is best not to know. And I believe that ‘Rororo’ is probably a book that particularly consists of dangerous taboo words. Words that are better left unknown.”

“W-what the hell is such a book doing in this university?”

I asked in a voice that was beginning to tremble, and Sako just shook his head, ‘Who knows’.

“Someone must have put it here. At first glance, it’s indistinguishable from other books, but it was secretly mixed in among the ordinary books in this university’s library. However, if you were to read it once, you’d be bound by the taboo words. You wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off the writing, and end up being dragged inside the world of the story. In the end, you’d lose sight of the border between reality and fantasy, and be taken to the world beyond.”

Sako’s low voice seemed to drift in the air, and I grabbed my knees firmly. I felt If I didn’t keep a tight grasp on my spirit, I would be taken somewhere bizarre.

“That book has a certain peculiarity. The person who reads it would continue to repeat a single thing until their demise: ‘Rororo’. That's why the book was conveniently named ‘Rororo’. It’s strange, isn’t it? What does ‘Rororo’ indicate, exactly? Why do you end up muttering ‘Rororo’? You have to read it to find out, but if you do, you'll die.”

He then chuckled, took out another cigarette and lit it with a match.

The scent of the ignited cigarette, together with a strong, sweet aroma drifted on the wind.

“…So?”

“Hmm?”

“So why are you telling me all this?”

“I’d like you to help me. That book is in this school’s library. I know where it is, and I just need you to bring it to me.”

“…What the hell are you saying?”

“The school administrators knew about the existence of that book. Well, they might have been skeptical, but they were trying to pretend it didn't happen every time. However, there have been so many suspicious deaths at this school that they finally decided to do something about it. In other words, I was called here by someone at the top; my task being to retrieve the book.”

“W-why does it have to be me? I mean, does Krishna-san know about this?”

“If it's about 'Rororo,' then she doesn't know. The fact that there are so many suicides - well, I don't know what she knows because I'm not her, but she's smart. I'm sure she's sensed it.”

Thereupon, Sako brought his face towards me and spoke in hushed tone:

“But you know, I don't want her to be involved this time. Because she's been on the verge of breaking down over something like this once...”

“Huh?”

“Five years ago, you see. She got too involved, and it nearly destroyed her. That was the first time I met her.”

--Nearly destroyed?

--A person like Krishna-san?

“T-time out. Having me do something dangerous like that is impossible!”

“What? It’s no problem. You just have to avoid reading it.”

Sako spat out such irresponsible bullshit.

“For better or worse, I'm deeply involved in the Shinto priesthood, and everything I wear, the words I say, and the way I behave is heavily tinged with the influence of the divine. There’s a high possibility that just getting close to it will purify the spirituality of the book. This time, I merely wish to retrieve it. The book as it is. Who placed such troubling taboo words in the book, and why? Everything needs to rectified from the source.”

“No, I refuse. There’s no way I can do it. In the first place, My –”

In a trembling voice, I shouted without care for my surroundings.

“My mind is still in the rehab phase!”

No, it was a little too late to say that. Up to this point, I'd been involved with the Clock Tower and the Miiko Incident, two incidents that were related to the world beyond. Before I realized, I’d been associating with Yoishi as if it were completely normal. And If I were to go and get this book that ‘If you read, you’ll die’, I’m sure I’ll exceed some kind of limit.

And in response –

“Did Kurimoto-kun tell you that?”

Sako gave a pleasant smile.

“Rehabilitation of the mind, huh? Yeah, that sounds like something she would say. Kurimoto-kun seems to be very protective of you.”

I don't know if she’s protective of me or not, but at any rate, I was the completely wrong person for the job, so I firmly shook my head and refused.

“You’re going to refuse no matter what?”

“Yes, there’s no way I’m gonna do it.”

I nodded vigorously, and then Sako eventually spoke, as if he recalled something.

“Well, it can’t be helped, I guess I’ll just have to ask that girl.”

“That girl?”

“Hmm, what was her name again? That pale young lady with the dark hair, who looks like a medieval bisque doll?”

“Hey…wait a minute. Are you talking about Yoishi?”

“That’s right, Mitsurugi Yoishi-kun. How nostalgic. I wonder if you still have the pleasure of meeting her.”

I silently glared at Sako, who quickly corrected himself.

“Or in your case, should I say…displeasure…?”

“The hell did you say?”

“She’s interesting. Truly interesting. I don’t hold that much interest in people, but she's the most interesting person I've met in the past six months. I guess you could compare it to the mystique of holding an old and used… religious magic item ---Ah, that was rude. I don't know how to say it, but due to my profession, I have a bad habit of looking at things in terms of whether they can be used as a catalyst or not.”

With eyes resembling a thousand-year-old fox, Sako gazed at me and then spoke:

“Say, could you ask her to do a favor for me?”

◯

“Screw that bastard!”

In the coffee shop on the second floor in front of the station, I fumed to myself as I poured in a large amount of milk and sugar into my coffee.

After what happened, I had stood up and stormed out of there and headed straight for the station. I still had some time before my part-time job started, so I decided to head to that coffee shop again. It was only after I had entered inside was when I remembered that this was the place where that ghost in the striped shirt -- Kouhei Niijima had been, but it was too late to go back out now. However, I was relieved to see that the atmosphere in the store was as calm as ever and there were quite a few customers. For the time being, I took a seat by the window, far away from the seat I had taken the other day, and was fuming by myself after I recalled Sako’s words.

To begin with, it’s just wrong to ask Yoishi to collect that book. If she knew there was a book that would kill her if she read it, her eyes would light up, and she’d declare something like: ‘Oh, how wonderful’, and end up insatiably reading it to the last line in no time. In the end, what if she ends up dead like Kouhei Niijima? Will that bastard Sako take responsibility? Already, Yoishi is standing out even less than usual. She’s always brooding by herself, and it felt like if I were to take my eyes of her, she could disappear from this world.

“But you know…”

I looked down on the palm of my hand holding piece of paper, and sighed.

It was handed to me by Sako. In it were written instructions on how to ascertain which book is ‘Rororo’ in the library and such. According to him, the book is on a unique spiritual level and can thus be recognized.

“It's surely not a good thing to have a book like that in the library forever.”

I muttered to myself and held my head in my hands.

Kouhei Niijima, a student from the country-side like me, committed suicide on a certain day.

Kouhei Niijima, who had few friends, who was fond of spending time in the library, died after leaving a description about a certain book. In short, Kouhei Niijima, who committed suicide, found the book that Sako’s looking for: ‘Rororo,’ the book that kills anyone who reads it. Thus, he got bound by some sort of taboo words and ended up killing himself, is how it all happened, right?

Words that bind people --- I'm not sure if that's possible, but I don't have enough arguments to deny it at this point. The ghost Yoishi saw was muttering ‘Rororo’ with its mouth. Supposing the two of them didn’t conspire to scare me beforehand, there was no way it was a coincidence.

Unable to think straight, I sighed and gazed out of the window.

The weather had become worse while I was on the way here, and it was raining already.

On the arcade street in front of the station, a lot of shoppers were drenched from the sudden downpour. In the eaves of a commercial building, a few people were taking shelter from the rain, looking up at the sky. And among them, I suddenly caught sight of a girl, wearing the uniform of our affiliated high school. She was a tall and slender, a beautiful girl with a somewhat dignified look. I checked my watch. It was still 2 pm. Aren’t high school classes still on? I wondered, but oh well, I looked away. In the first place, my institute is distorted. I'm going through a lot, and everyone is going through a lot. If I intervene in other people's affairs every single time, it’ll be too much for me to bear.

But speaking of distortions, Sako also mentioned that there were many suicides. I’d heard a couple of rumors about that, too. The first one happened while I was back in Fujieda for my summer vacation. A girl from our university killed herself in a boy’s bathroom somewhere. Another incident that supposedly happened a few years ago, was when a housewife from a neighboring town came all the way to our university grounds and burned herself to death. But I didn’t witness either of those incidents, and neither did any acquaintance of mine. It's just one of the rumors floating around within the school. But if what Sako said is true, and the school culture is one where everything is swept under the rug, then few students would have heard about it.

"This school is distorted."

Sako's words seemed to express what I had vaguely felt about this university. Everything ended before it even began. I can't help but feel that same sense of isolation. Then there's some person who deliberately created a book that would kill you if you read it, and placed it in the school's library. For me, that's the kind of crazy behavior that’s enough to make my heart turn cold.

"It seems... I ended up entering an unpleasant university."

Before I realized it, those bitter emotions had once again surged up inside me. Thanks to Krishna-san, I had begun to believe that this university was a place where people were responsible for themselves, and I could enjoy myself any way I wanted as long as I kept myself together -- all that had transformed into bitterness, as if I had just discovered that someone had kicked over a new bike I had just bought.

I recalled the emotion that Yoishi detested enough to make her vomit: the 'malice' that humans carry.

That dark feeling, which once killed the heart of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

"Because she's been on the verge of breaking down over something like this once...”

And I recalled Sako's words at the same time.

Does that mean that like Yoishi, something terrible happened to Krishna-san in the past? Does it mean that there was an incident that would have caused her heart to collapse? Sako had mentioned that it happened five years ago. And that that was the time when he and Krishna-san first met.

Let's see, Krishna-san is twenty years old right now -- so it would have been around her third year of junior high school or first year of high school. About the same age as Yoishi is now. What the hell could have happened back then? I hate to imagine that Krishna-san, who's so wise and strong, could be so easily broken. To me, she's like a Bodhisattva<ref> (Buddhist term) bodhisattva; one who has reached enlightenment but vows to save all beings before becoming a buddha</ref>, a Mary, a guardian angel. Just knowing something once existed that was enough to drive her to the verge of collapse, it makes my stomach feel as heavy as if I'd swallowed concrete.

I shook my head, and then…

I felt someone’s gaze upon me, and when I looked up, I noticed a high school girl sitting directly across from me in the seat where Yoishi and I had sat on the other day. Even though she was sitting down, she looked as slender as a model. Her shoulder-length, short haircut looked very appealing.

“…Huh?”

I looked outside the window once more.

Wasn’t she the girl who was just outside taking shelter from the rain? I wonder if she came inside this coffee shop because the rain didn't look like it was gonna stop. I stole a glance at her once more; she looked out the window as if to turn her eyes away from me. There’s no doubt about it. It’s the same girl with the Koumei school uniform. Her white blouse and black tie were slightly wet, and her bangs were still sticking to her forehead.

The young girl ordered something from the store employees, and then silently took out a book. After that she quietly kept looking down at the book. I also took out my textbook on Introduction to Economics, which I hadn't even read, from my bag and opened it. I felt like if I didn't open a book in response, I wouldn't know what to do with my time.

In fact, for some reason, I kept stealing glances at her.

How can I explain it? --- I thought she was really beautiful. It was partially that, but also because I felt that this slow passage of time was beautiful. Outside, the filth of the city was gently being washed away by the rain, and inside the store, the sound of mellow piano music drifted in the air. The image of a young girl looking down at a book with an intelligent gaze was very picturesque.

Whether she was skipping school or not, I concluded that it was the proper thing to do. It’s fine if it’s only once a week, and maybe I need to have this kind of time too. And then, all of a sudden, the thought came crashing down on me.

The reason why Kouhei Niijima couldn’t speak to the ‘girl’ in the library.

Perhaps he was in the same state of mind as I am now.

Kouhei Niijima must have seen a certain girl in the library. That girl was also always in the library, and she might have been somewhat lonely. And a library is a place that carries a unique atmosphere. The scent given off by countless books. Books that had been carefully read for a long period of time, and the quiet fervor given off by the people who concentrate on the words within. In this world, vivid romantic fantasies are just a hindrance. However, they do notice each other. They notice each other, but they don’t want to destroy that beautiful, harmonious world. That border that lies between the two, how should I say it? I feel like it’s a sparkling jewel in the crown of life.

In fact, if you were to ask me if I could talk to the beautiful girl who was so focused on her book in front of me, I would say that it was quite impossible. It was like a fear at the idea of mixing a foreign substance like myself into something that was already perfect.

--So that’s how it was.

I finally realized.

Kouhei Niijima wasn’t cowardly, or introverted -- he was undoubtedly, more sensitive than most people. The moment I realized that, the tip of my nose twitched. I felt the clumsy and sincere nature of the deceased Kohei Niijima, I felt we could have been friends, and although it was too late now, I regretted his death.

“You left too soon…”

I muttered in a tone that was a mixture of sorrow and affection. When –

Some kind of words, reached my ear.

When I checked, it was the young girl, muttering something with her lips. It could be that she was so engrossed in the book that she was unconsciously mouthing the lines of the characters in the story. Or, it could be that she found a phrase in the book that struck a chord in her heart.

I just gazed at her with a pleasant feeling.

I admired the movement of her lips, her long eyelashes that were cast down.

Eventually, she looked up. Her eyes met mine head-on. It was so natural, though, that I didn't feel the need to look away. I ended up staring back at her as if I was entangled in her eyes. Her eyes… were exceedingly black, and in the depths of those black eyes, I felt there was another, deeper color. How many shades did black have? I wondered, when I suddenly noticed.

Her lips moved. She kept murmuring something slowly. And then, the words reached me.

What were those words? I couldn't remember anymore.

And I would later find out that around this time –

A large number of tadpoles had rained down on Kichijouji station.

◯

"What are you smiling about, Nagi-kun?"

The next day, during lunch break, Krishna-san looked at me and asked.

"Eh? Is that so...?"

Stroking my own face, I realized I was in a pleasant mood. Why was it, though? I wondered, and it came down to the beautiful girl in the coffee shop yesterday. 'Oh, it's nothing', I muttered in embarrassment. Krishna-san didn't care for the subject anymore and was already taking out a lot of materials from the cabinet. For some reason, there was a tremendous amount of clutter in the usually neat and tidy club room.

"Did something happen?"

I asked, and Krishna-san replied with a disgruntled look.

"Well, a lot of things. But the main problem is the incident in Kichijouji yesterday."

"...Incident?"

"You didn't hear? It happened again, this time in the north entrance of Kichijouji station, a large number of tadpoles were seen hopping on the street."

"R-really? Is it the strange rain again?"

"We won't know if it's the real thing until we investigate. At any rate, be it a harbinger of a natural disaster, or an omen signaling the end of the earth, this kind of situation has brought out the trolls en masse on the message boards. The server is overloaded with all these mixtures of fact and fiction being posted. I can't even finish updating the damn site with the article you translated for me."

Continually grumbling about such things, 'Ah, where was it?' Krisna-san now began to rummage through the shelves.

"What are you looking for? I'll help."

"No, it's fine. This is a personal thing."

While saying that, 'But it's been so hot recently', Krishna-san wiped the sweat off her face with the towel around her neck. Her faintly flushed face was still childish, healthy, and cute as ever. The light blue checkered short-sleeved dress also looked really good on her. I guess I was relieved to see Krishna-san looking the same as always. I decided to casually broach the subject that was weighing on my mind.

"Um, is it ok if you ask you something?"

"...Hm?"

"It's about your master, the guy who came to my house before -- the one who lives in Aomori, is always wearing a Kinagashi, and is always acting smug with a smooth face."

"Oh, you mean Sako. What about him?"

"Is he someone you can trust?"

Krishna-san pushed up her slipping red glasses with her middle finger, and chuckled.

"Well, he's quite an odd one, but he's trustworthy."

"Which part, exactly?"

"Hmmm..."

The petite occult site manager folded her arms and pondered.

"When I think about it, yeah... There were many times when he offered me a treat but I ended up paying up instead, there were many books I lent him that he never returned, and there have been times when I was peeked at while in the bath."

"Wai--Peeked at? What do you mean?"

"Ah, it's not like that. See, I sometimes stay at Takita-san's shrine for spine correction. They have an open-air style bath over there."

In a panic, Krishna-san tried explain things, but jealousy flared up inside me in the face of her petite, yet voluptuous body.

"I-Isn't that completely untrustworthy?! Krishna-san, are you sure you're not being deceived? Aren't you being targeted as a woman?"

“No, you can trust that person when it comes to ghost related matters. The Okitachi Inari Shrine, where Takita-san is the chief priest, has been famous since ancient times for its ability to ward off evil spirits, but he himself is not from the original family of priests. In addition, he not only studies Shintoism, but all kinds of exorcism methods from all kinds of sects. In other words, um ...... The reason why he's so odd is probably due to his strict training."

"So, he's just a twisted man, after all."

"Well, I guess you could say that... but why are you asking about Takita-san, anyway?"

"E....Eh, That's--"

Being asked in reverse, I hesitated. And I remembered that bastard Sako not wanting to involve Krishna-san in this matter. I suppose it would be better to keep the fact that we met on campus yesterday a secret.

"Well... You see, now that I've become a member of 'Ikaigabuchi', I ought to know what kind of person the website's boss calls master."

"Ah, I see."

Krishna-san nodded, and then cast her eyes downwards.

Her face seen from the side, staring silently off into the distance, was seemingly sad, gentle, and wore a somewhat strange feeling of transparency. I wondered if I had asked something wrong, but at the same time, behind those eyes, I felt I caught a glimpse of Krishna-san that I didn't know, and I almost moved my hand to reach for her shoulder. I was about to shake her slender shoulders and blurt out something inappropriate like, 'Please don't keep secrets from me.'

However--

"A long time ago, another personality almost took over my body."

Eventually, Krishna-san muttered in a slightly trembling tone.

".....Huh?"

"That personality was extremely overpowering, to the point where I almost lost my true self. That person helped me back then -- well, at any rate, if he wasn't there for me back then, I'm sure I wouldn't be here talking to you like this. And then, I regularly have the airways in my spine adjusted. It's said that that's where the ghosts come in through.”

"What..."

What --- kind of incident was that?

I was about to ask, but those words failed to leave my mouth. That's just how dark and somber Krishna-san's face looked right now. For some reason, it reminded me of the remains of a fruit that had completely dried up into a crumbly heap. What was once a juicy, ripe fruit will always rot away once it leaves its roots and becomes abandoned. Right now, Krishna-san was perfectly healthy, but even this person was a living being, and her health was maintained by a precipitous balance -- such strange, tearful thoughts welled up inside me.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

She must have noticed the worried look on my face, as she smiled.

"I'm fine now. The only problems I have now are eating too much in my three meals a day, and when I feel ghosts close by, my heart is strong knowing that the living are much stronger. I'm no longer so weak as to be deceived by them anymore."

Then she patted me on the shoulder.

"You're the one I'm worried about."

"...Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. You seem to have adjusted to the university quite well, but keep in mind that you're still in the process of rehabilitation. You need to look at the world more broadly, not just the occult. Make friends, find a girlfriend, indulge in food, scenery, movies, books and music. Anything is fine. Move your heart with emotion."

"Move... my heart?"

"That's exactly right."

Krishna-san gave a broad grin.

"Everything that adds flair to your life will definitely strengthen your heart and make it stronger,"

Her soft smile filled my heart as if it were spreading throughout.

◯

When I left the club room, I was filled with courage.

After receiving Krishna-san's words – coupled together with a feeling similar to enlightenment I received at the coffee shop yesterday finally took shape in my heart. I felt as if I had peeked into a part of Kouhei Niijima’s heart, and with resolve, I had finally decided to help Sako out. Help him in retrieving the book that would kill you if you read it – ‘Rororo’. But that definitely wasn’t for Sako’s sake. It was more of a feeling of wanting revenge.

Kouhei Niijima.

A first-year university student like me, who came alone from Aomori, lived his life earnestly without the support of any friends, with the books in the library his only friends, and in his last days, ended up encountering some kind of cursed book. If things had been slightly different, I might have ended up just like him. But, despite both of us having come from the countryside, I had the occult by my side. I had ‘Ikaigabuchi’, And even when I found myself in the depths of the other world, I met Krishna-san, who was always strong. It was something I couldn’t help but love, and I met a good person along the way. That’s why, I was able to crawl up from the bottom of the deep darkness that time.

I don’t know what Kouhei Niijima wants to tell me, but being linked by fate, I ended up picking up his note. Shouldn't I at least accept that? Shouldn’t I at least lend a helping hand in finishing off that book once and for all? As for ‘Rororo,’ Sako said it wouldn’t be a problem as long as you didn’t read it. I don’t quite trust him, but he knows how to remove the book from the library, and right now, I’m the only one in this university who can do it. If I just let it be, that book might kill someone else again. With those kind of fired up emotions serving as my motivation, I had finally arrived here, but –

“Man… I’m just an idiot.”

I muttered to myself as I wriggled in the pitch-dark space where it was impossible to even twist my body.

It was almost 10 pm.

In this dark and narrow space, my determination quickly began to waver. I was at the Koumei institute library, inside a locker in reading room number four, and I was desperately holding in my urge to pee.

What the hell was I doing in such a place?

Okay, let me answer that.

I arrived at the library feeling a strong sense of duty, and that's when I took my first proper look at the paper Sako had given me. And therein, I found a sentence, telling me to perform the ritual at night. Apparently, for a novice like me, it would be half as effective if I did it in the daytime. I should have looked through it earlier, but I originally had no intention of going through with it so please let's not get into that.

However, sneaking into the library late at night was not such a trifling matter. The security guards would be roaming about, and on top of that, at the entrance of the library, there's a machine which checks you in with your student ID. It was made so that anyone affiliated with the institute, whether they were university students or high school students, could enter the library, but in my case, it was very troublesome. Even if you go inside and hide somewhere to wait for the library to close, you'll be found out since there's a record of your entry.

Well then, what should I do? After racking my brain, I carried out the plan. Just before closing time, I used my student ID to enter and break into the number four reading room where the guard had just finished checking the door. There, I unlocked the window, left and held up my student ID to the machine at the entrance, and left the building. That's how I cleared my entry record. That made it as if I wasn't inside. After that I waited for the library to close, and clambered up the window to sneak back into the number four reading room.

Well, so far, so good. But even though I had taken the day off from my part-time job and snuck in after nine o'clock, there were still people in the library. The super-serious librarians were working overtime for some reason. So, I had no choice but to kill time by hiding in a locker in the number four reading room– but, I made the bitter mistake of not using the toilet beforehand.

“Arghhh…”

It was past ten o’clock, my urge to pee was already at its limit.

I slowly opened the door of the locker. I held my breath and peeked at my surroundings; all I could hear was a pin drop silence. It seemed the librarians had already gone home. I proceeded to open the door of the number four reading room as well, after confirming once again that there was no sign of anyone inside the library, I rushed across the corridor towards the toilet at the back of the entrance.

“…Ahhh.”

My mind felt at peace for a while as I listened to the raw sound of my urine trickling down.

I finally felt comfortable and was in a daze, but then I finally realized the reality of the situation I was in.

I was without a doubt, in a toilet, late at night.

What’s alarming was the fact that I was most creeped out by ghost stories set in a toilet late at night.

Ghosts are said to gather around watering places. Also known as a bathrooms. The famous ghost stories like Hanako-san<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanako-san</ref>, Aka Manto<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aka_Manto</ref> and Kashima san<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teke_Teke</ref> are all set in the toilet. I don't know if that's the reason why, but toilets at the dead of night are exceptionally terrifying. The sound of water always dripping down from somewhere, and the light blue wall tiles along with the mirror next to the washstand scare me for no reason. But what scared me most of all --- were the three toilet stalls in the back. Their doors were all open, but I absolutely did not want to look inside.

As my thoughts drifted on such things, I started to worry about what was behind me. Delusions ran through my mind about a blue face staring at me from the toilet stall.

With tears in my eyes, I vehemently did my best to shake off the thought,

Emptying my mind, I desperately tried to think happy thoughts -- however, I still ended up recalling it. I recalled the story of a female student killing herself in a men's restroom during the summer vacation.

--Hey, that surely didn't happen here, right?

To begin with, the mysteriousness of a female student dying in the men's bathroom is eerie. It strangely stimulates my imagination about the darkness of the dead person's mind. Yoishi once said it as well. That the real ghost stories have a subtle lack of cohesion. There is a sense of discomfort in them, as if the important parts have been skipped, and the only thing that makes up for it is a theory based on the other side.

...You've gotta be kidding me.

Doesn't that mean it has all the ingredients for being the real deal?

I felt impatient at how long it was taking me to pee, and then proceeded to run out of the bathroom without even washing my hands. I ran straight down the corridor to reading room number one without looking back, relying on the light from my cell phone to guide me.

"Let's just hurry up and get this over with."

However, in front of reading room number one, when I thrust my hand in my pockets to take out the piece of paper Sako had given me, I realized. It was gone. The paper was gone.

"Dude, are you serious?"

Without that paper, what did I struggle all this way for?

Even when I turned both my pockets inside out, I found nothing. I checked every part my wallet. Nothing. Neither was it stuck anywhere in Kouhei Niijima's notebook. The only thing I could think of was that I dropped it somewhere. In the locker, or in the toilet. And I really didn't wanna go back to the toilet.

I was alone and teary-eyed as I thought about it, when --

"I never get tired of watching you."

Hearing a sudden voice from behind me, I jumped.

"At that rate, you'll never have a boring life."

As I fell down, I looked behind me and saw -- Sako Takita.

His indigo blue kinagashi melded into the darkness, and his white face alone remained eerily visible. I don't know where he came from, but there he was, his smooth face had a smile of satisfaction as he held small penlight.

"W...why, are you...?"

"Why? I came because you refused, after all. Ahh, that window from reading room number four really helped, by the way. So that was thanks to you."

He spoke in in a relaxed manner, and held his hand out to me. I stood up to brush his hand away and yelled at him in a low-key manner, taking into consideration the fact that it was late at night, and we were trespassing.

"...W, what the hell?! If you could have done it yourself then why didn't you do it from the start?!"

"It's no joke, it would be best if you were the one to do it. Didn't I say it? I carry a heavy trace of the divine. There’s a high possibility I might end up purifying that important book."

"Oh, and about that. I wanted to ask you about that. Why is it a problem if the book is purified? Wouldn't it be better if that kind of dangerous book were to be purged from the earth?"

In reply, Sako looked at me with a look of disbelief.

"Wouldn't that be a complete waste?"

"Huh?"

"A book that kills you just by reading it, that's not a book that's created with ease. You need to have extensive knowledge and overflowing love for the curse of taboo words to be able to create it. It's in the highest order of magical artifacts, and it's a precious thing that the creator himself risked being affected by. Well, in fact, it might well mean that the creator is no longer alive.”

…No longer… alive?

“Someone who used to be in this school. Someone of very intelligence, whose sense of right and wrong was distinctly different from that of normal humans. There’s a psychiatric condition known as antisocial personality disorder, and the author of the book ‘Rororo’ is definitely someone who fits that description. Sometimes called predators, they appear in the world as lust killers, but you can never identify them by their appearance. In fact, they appear more normal than your average joe, and they blend in with their surroundings. As a general rule, they are very intelligent. They can be people of high social status who have attained respect in the world.”

After all that rambling, Sako spoke in a hushed tone of voice:

“They have excessive self-esteem, and are self-centered. No remorse, no feelings of guilt, apathetic, no empathy. They are talkative and friendly at first glance, but they cannot take responsibility for their actions.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“A certain scholar proposed that these are all common statistical characteristics of people who have antisocial personality disorder. But well, after all, that's just their narrow definition.”

Or rather, doesn’t that description fit you to a T?

I thought I’d say that out loud, but thought better of it. But you know... if you were to remove the friendly part, I feel that Yoishi also fits that description. She was definitely not normal, but I didn't feel comfortable in calling her abnormal.

In any case, Sako put one hand in his pocket and started walking away.

“This school is distorted. Did that person create the book because it was distorted? Or did it become distorted with the appearance of that person? In all probability, I think it’s the former, but whatever the case may be, that book is dangerous. It's not something that should be kept in a library used by countless students for any length of time."

Saying that, he quickly disappeared inside reading room number one.

The university library was one of Koumei institutes’ oldest buildings, a massive stone structure with one basement and three floors above ground. Reading room number one was the largest reading room in the library, and according to Sako, the book made up of taboo words known as ‘Rororo’ was hidden in with the other books here somewhere.

I opened the wooden sliding door and entered inside to find the vast room dimly lit.

The eastern side was lined with windows, the curtains were all drawn, as was expected now that the building was closed. The center of the room was lined with long wooden tables, and the west and north sides were covered with high bookshelves that extended all the way to the ceiling. Fluorescent lamps hung from the tall ceilings, but if I had to guess, it was probably a dimly lit place even during the day. However, the reading tables had a warm light for each seat, which made it easier to concentrate on reading books.

"It seems like a pretty good place, doesn't it?"

Sako spoke in a carefree tone as he stroked his thin beard.

"Hey, let’s hurry up and get this over with!" I called out to Sako from behind, 'Please just wait', he replied. The somewhat unreliable priest and antiques dealer was excitedly shining his light on the bookshelves here and there.

"Oooh, they have 'The Hundred Headless Woman' by Ernst. There's also ' A compendium of bizzare ghost literature from the Edo era' <ref>https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%88%9D%E6%9C%9F%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E8%AA%AD%E6%9C%AC%E6%80%AA%E8%AB%87%E9%9B%86-%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E6%80%AA%E7%95%B0%E7%B6%BA%E6%83%B3%E6%96%87%E8%8A%B8%E5%A4%A7%E7%B3%BB-%E9%AB%98%E7%94%B0-%E8%A1%9B/dp/4336042713</ref> by the national publication society. They even have 'The 120 Days of Sodom' by Sade. I wonder if there's anyone who understands the value of having such a collection in a private university. Say, would it be a bad idea if I quietly took a few of them after we've finished?"

"Don't ask me." I retorted, as I once again looked around at the giant stacks of bookshelves.

I took a deep breath. To tell the truth, I didn't dislike the atmosphere of the library. I don't read as many books as a bookworm might, but even so, I find my heart strangely calm when I'm surrounded by the scent of countless books. I was filled with emotion, a feeling of respect I had for the ocean of knowledge that stood neatly lined before me. Of course, there were many, many more books that existed in the world. And it was an amount that no human could ever read through in a lifetime. It was similar to the feeling I got when I thought about the universe. A feeling that reminded me of how utterly finite the nature of my existence was. And 'Rororo' was somewhere in this universe of books. A dangerous book, with dangerous taboo words planted all over its text, that would kill you if you read them. Some kind of psycho<ref>Word used here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denpa</ref> purposely mixed in that cursed book with the other books in the library.

"---Well then."

I turned around hearing that to find Sako had shifted the table at the center of the room to make a space a few meters square. He was squatting there, taking out what looked like a small water bottle from his pocket and proceeded to gently sprinkle the place with water.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a barrier, for now."

He spoke as he switched to a seiza<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiza</ref> posture, and moved his fingers in a practiced manner. As I watched his flowing gestures, I finally got the sense that he was indeed a priest. I couldn't help but feel the 'divinity' the guy spoke of.

Before long, his resonant words began to echo quietly in the reading room.

They were ritual incantations<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norito</ref>. As I listened to them, even my spine straightened, and the atmosphere around me turned somewhat solemn.

"Please take it."

After he finished his ritual incantations, Sako handed me another piece of paper. I took out my cellphone, switched on the flashlight and focused it on the paper to see: "Agyousansagyougo", words I couldn't make heads or tails out of.

"This sutra is one of the mantras of the Shingi Shingon sect<ref>Buddhist sect, https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/Buddhism/Shingi%20Shingon%20sect.html; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingon_Buddhism</ref> and is said to make it possible to see the strange and mysterious."

"You're a Shinto priest and yet, you're using sutras of the Shingon sect?"

Sako smirked at my sarcastic comment.

"Being bound to one religion is foolishness. If you were to ask me, religion is a form of science, the fruit of mankind's wisdom. I humbly bow down to what is effective, and I am not afraid to adopt it without restraint."

Ah, now I understand.

This guys' insincere nature seems to be borne from that.

"Now, come over here. Spread your legs as wide as your shoulders, relax, and please recite the words three times with your eyes slightly open. Eventually, you should be able to discern the wondrous 'Rororo' in your vision. In this dim forest of countless books, only that book should stand out as a white one."

Sako then took out a small black bag out from his pocket.

"Once you find the book, please place it inside this bag."

"Say...Does it really have to be me...?

"Of course. Didn't you hear me before?" Sako clicked his tongue, narrowed his eyes slightly and added: "Do you get it? When you find the book, you must absolutely not open it. You must not read even a single letter. If you do, it's because you're extremely weak-minded, and the taboo words will instantly take hold over you."

"Hey, don't scare me!"

"Well, even if anything happens, I'm right here. I'll deal with it right away, so please don't worry about it."

Sako smiled broadly as he spoke -- but I mean, this guy was completely untrustworthy.

That's what I thought, but I had originally sneaked into the library late at night to do it alone. I had no choice, so I strengthened my resolve and stood at the place Sako was pointing at. I stretched out my legs as I was told, took a deep breath and relaxed my body.

"It was three times, right?"

"Three times. Do it slowly… draw the letters in your mind one by one."

I took a deep breath once again, and spoke out those words three times. "Agyousansagyougo, Agyousansagyougo, Agyousansagyougo." After that I took a gulp, and examined my surroundings.

The deathly silence inside the room was deafening. Somewhere in the dimly lit room, I thought I heard a cracking sound, but it might have just been my imagination. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. However, no matter how long I waited, and no matter how many bookshelves I looked around at, I couldn't see any white book standing out.

"Please recite it once more."

Being urged on by Sako, I recited it three times once more, 'Agyousansagyougo'.

But as before, I saw no change in my surroundings. The area remained as dark as if ink was dissolved in water, with only the occasional sound of a car passing by echoing from somewhere in the distance.

Still, -- This unpleasant feeling, what is it...? It's as if I've somehow gotten lost on a different road. Like I've stepped into someone else's shoes without knowing -- and it was as if someone, somewhere was laughing at my actions. Thereupon, a giggling voice behind me literally did reach my ears.

I turned around to see it was Sako. His white face was becoming eerily distorted by the light of the penlight he had left on the desk.

"...Hey, what the hell are you laughing about?"

However, Sako's skinny body merely continued to shake slightly. The muffled laughter that echoed through the dimly lit reading room was both eerie and upsetting.

"Hey! Stop fucking kidding me!"

Sako spoke at long last.

"Why, you really are a nice person after all."

"The hell are you talking about?"

“Fujieda’s clean nature has produced an infinitely simple soul like yourself – Ah, please take it as a compliment. In the near future, I'll have to put together a study on the influence of climate and nature on the mind --- Ohh, we’re getting a good crowd.”

…Getting a good crowd – of what?

“For some reason, they gather here late at night.”

His voice had turned cold.

I could feel the muddy, stagnant air hanging over the area.

"To tell you the truth, I had another job here besides retrieving 'Rororo'."

Smiling like a puppet who had abandoned his emotions somewhere, Sako spoke:

"The job in question being... to exorcise them."

...To exorcise--Hey, it can't be!

There was something there at the place Sako was pointing at.

"...The students that killed themselves in this school."

At the same time he uttered those words --

I noticed the presence of countless people in the surrounding air.

The two of us should have been the only ones in the reading room, but now the presence of countless people could be felt.

The number of people were ten, twelve -- no, it was much more. About as many as there would be packed here during daytime. I couldn't see anyone, but what felt like countless sounds of breathing hung in the air.

"Well, would you look at that? I wonder if that hideously burnt woman committed self-immolation. That one drooling over there must have hanged himself. The girl with the wide cut in her neck there, she must have slit her neck with a knife -- hmmm, were you the one who died in the men's bathroom? Getting caught up in a love affair, you threw away your life; what a complete waste. Even though you had such a lovely face. Even though you had your whole life ahead of you."

As if he were addressing each of the dead individually, Sako's words unavoidably made them manifest inside my mind. All of them were wandering around me in a dense atmosphere, as if they were sorrowful, empty, and in general, painfully appealing for something.

"H-hey....What the hell did you do to me...?" My voice shook as I asked.

"In the first place, you shouldn't go around chanting words you don't know the meaning of."

Sako sneers with a smile. I glared back at him as if to say that he was the one who told me to do it -- when I saw that Sako's eyes were now shining bewitchingly. It was different from the faintly glowing eyes of Yoishi. It wasn't a ghost or something vague, but something clearly ominous -- That's right, it was like a fox spirit that lived on a different plane of this world.

"Regrettably, the number of ghosts here is just too great. That's why it would be quicker just to gather and exorcise them all in one go. Say, don't your shoulders feel better now? The feeling of something heavy being lifted off your neck? Doesn't your body feel slightly lighter now?"

I put my hand on my shoulder as he continued to ask me this.

At the same time, a deep regret took hold of me. Why the hell did I come to such a place this late at night? In spite of Krishna-san warning me that my mind was still in a period of rehabilitation, I was here with this guy who I trusted much lesser than Yoishi.

“To tell you the truth, the phrase is one of the mantras of the Mikkyo<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana</ref> lineage, it’s a sutra that unties the bond between a person and their guardian spirit. Look at the old man standing behind you right now. He’s your guardian spirit, the one that's been protecting you for so long.”

In a panic, I looked at the place Sako’s gaze landed at. However, I couldn’t see anything. I desperately strained my eyes, but all I could see was a stack of inconspicuous books appear in the dim darkness.

“You can’t see him? Well then, let me explain. He’s probably your ancestor from several generations ago. A man with very genteel wrinkles reflecting a life lived on the straight and narrow. But now, his wrinkles are contorted in sadness. He laments, ‘Why did you chant such a sutra?’ Regardless however, his figure is slowly fading away.”

“…H-hey!"

"Most ghosts aren't actually aware that they're dead, but they're aware of the fact that they've lost something very important. This feeling of loss creates a void inside them. And thus, they try to fill that void with something. That is, in short: a physical body, and that's why they possess people who are on the same wavelength. However, the living have reliable guardian spirits by their side to protect them, so they can't possess anyone they wish. That's why, I apologize -- but I had to prepare a mere vessel with no guardian."

My breathing was becoming ragged. I couldn't clench my teeth.

So that's it. The vessel he's talking about -- is me.

"You end up sympathizing with everyone, that's why you fulfill the requirements of a high-quality vessel."

I tightly closed my tear-filled eyes.

Losing my guardian spirit, I had no one to blame but myself, as I gritted my teeth in desperation.

More so than the fact that I had been deceived by him, I hated myself for trusting him. With all my heart, I felt sorry towards my ancestor who had protected me for so long. It was the same terrible thing I did to Miiko. Without realizing I was receiving someone's kindness, I ended up repaying their kindness with ingratitude. I didn't change. I never learned from my mistakes. Yoishi said it in the coffee shop. The people of this country were originally prudent in their use of words. That the people in the present day used words too callously. And yet, I had ended up chanting words I didn't know the meaning of, just doing what I'd been told, an irredeemable goddamn idiot.

And yet still, Sako's cheerful voice reached me.

"Oh, so many have gathered already. I understand, you all want a body. You think you'll be able to escape the suffering if you only had a living body. Well, please don't be so hasty. Normally, one body per person would be preferable, but fortunately, the vessel present here is a truly outstanding one that once managed to call down wandering ghosts that filled the sky."

Dredging up my past wounds, Sako turned to face me once more, his lips contorted in a sneer.

"That's right, be it once or twice...It's all the same, isn't it?"

As that terrifyingly gentle voice was about to snap something inside me --

"So noisy."

In the dark world, that somewhat irritated voice echoed.

"The library is supposed to be a quiet place for reading."

That voice is...

The voice that sounds like a wind chime on a windless summer night...

--Yoishi.

I recalled her pale face in a strangely nostalgic way, but I just couldn't open my eyes right away. My knees were shaking with fear, and I was doing my best just to breathe. I couldn't even muster up the courage to move a single fingertip or eyelid. To begin with, what if I opened my eyes, and instead of Yoishi, I end up seeing something I shouldn't? Something creepy? It would definitely be all over for me then. That's when my mind, which had been muddy and in rehabilitation to begin with, would collapse.

"I've been listening to the conversation about mid-way through, and I'm wondering if you're really that stupid."

"....What?"

"It's troublesome, so I'll only say it once."

But in my dark world, where I had shut my eyes tightly--

That voice sounded somewhat kind.

"You being you, means your guardian spirit won't abandon you so easily."

"No...but... I'd already chanted that thing that was like an incantation."

"That, was a lie."

"...A lie?"

"Everything's in reverse. That kind of sutra does not exist. 'Agyousansagyougo' is just a series of phonetic characters – without doubt, they were used as taboo words to destabilize your mind.”

Hearing those words spoken in indifference, I slowly managed to open my tear-stained eyes.

Beyond the hazy darkness, her figure emerged.

Yoishi Mitsurugi… was there. With her long black hair, and doll-like beauty. Dressed in the dark uniform of the attached high school, she sat on the edge of a table, her pale face gazing quietly at me.

“Y…Yoishii…”

My voice was already a snotty, teary mess.

“B-by lie, do you mean…? Is my guardian spirit still there? I didn’t commit a dishonor?”

Yoishi silently nodded in response.

“What do you mean by phonetic characters? What was it all about?”

Yoishi looked at me somewhat annoyed, and said:

“You still don’t get it? 'Agyousan-sagyougo' simply means the third syllable of agyou and the fifth syllable of sagyou.” <ref>A little difficult to explain and translate. The Agyou and sagyou part of 'Agyousan-sagyougo' refer to syllabary columns of the Japanese syllabary table. The two being used here are ‘agyou’ which is the "a" column of the Japanese syllabary table (a, i, u, e, o), and ‘sagyou’ is the “sa” column of the Japanese syllabary table (sa, shi, su, se, so). The ‘san’ at the end of 'Agyousan’ means the third syllable and ‘go’ at the end of sagyougo' means the fifth syllable. So it literally means the third syllable of agyou and the fifth syllable of sagyou. if you see what word comes up when you add the third and fifth syllables, you get ‘uso’, which means lie in Japanese. And exactly how Yoishi refers to it when she first calls it a lie. Pretty clever wordplay. </ref>

…Huh?

The third syllable of ‘agyou’, and the fifth syllable of ‘sagyou’…Huh?

“…Lies(uso)?”

I turned my gaze back towards Sako as I held my trembling knees, he was merely concerned with stifling his laughter.

“It’s what they call a nocebo effect.”

Yoishi stood up, and walked up to me.

“For example, being made to believe that a non-existent fire is burning your hand, resulting in a burn scar, or if you're blindfolded and given a light pain at the tip of your feet while being made to hear the sound of dripping water, you'll be made to think you're bleeding and you'll really die. It's a psychological phenomenon where the body manifests what the mind believes -- an elaborately constructed 'taboo word'."

"Just as I expected."

Sako's voice was mixed in with laughter as he spoke:

"I was so close."

I was completely befuddled. I mean, how much of it all was a lie? I understood that the story about the incantation making my guardian spirit leaving me was a lie, but was the ominous presence that hung over the reading room just my imagination? No, more so than that, what about the book that kills you if you read it: 'Rororo'? And what about the guy who killed himself, Kouhei Niijima? Was it all, just a part of Sako's lie?

I asked in a trembling voice to Yoishi, who was staring at her surroundings -- and then her eyes began to shine, as if she had just noticed it for the first time.

"There's a lot of them. So many."

That somewhat happy look on her face -- it made me shudder in horror.

"...H-hey, Yoishi. I don't get it. Explain it to me properly."

I took out the notebook I had stuffed in my back pocket and held it out. I opened the notebook Kouhei Niijima had left behind in front of Yoishi.

"It was just like you said. The guy who wrote that memo -- Kouhei Niijima, he was dead. He was just...interested in this girl here in the library. He was just in love. Why did he end up killing himself? Isn't the cause this 'Rororo' book this asshole's been talking about? Isn't that why there are so many suicides in this school?"

Taking in the torrent of questions with her dark eyes, Yoishi opened the pages of Kouhei Niijima's notebook that I held out to her, starting from the beginning. Tucked inside were the two notes that I had first found torn up. While Yoishi read them with the light from her phone, I scowled at Sako's white face as much as humanly possible. It’s scary that there are ghosts here, but it's even scarier that this guy was trying to bring them all down on me. I mean, is this guy a sociopath? Or a living demon? I glared at his white face with such thoughts, but Sako merely wore a thin smile on his white face and waited patiently for Yoishi to finish reading the note.

"...Hmmm."

Eventually, Yoishi muttered out loud, so I quickly asked her:

"Look, I need an explanation that makes sense. Did you get it? Why did Kouhei Niijima die? And what the hell was he trying to tell me? That 'Rororo' thing he muttered about, that's the 'Rororo' book, right?"

Yoishi stared at Sako. Sako shrugged his shoulders slightly, and after that, she stared at me. Finally, she spoke in a voice that sounded like she was making fun of me.

"You really are so naive."

"...What the hell are you saying?"

"That's why you were conveniently used as a catalyst."

"T-this bastard!"

--Yeah, I know already. I know it so well it makes me sick to my stomach. And I'm sorry for my stupidity. Even a fool like me finally understood that this bastard Sako was trying to bring out the countless things here by using me as bait. However, the problem was the original reason for the sticky air in the reading room, which was making it hard to breath even for someone like me, who couldn't see ghosts. Why does this school have such a closed-off air about it? How did a guy like Kouhei Niijima end up committing suicide? Was it all because of the book called 'Rororo'? And like Sako said, was there really some sort of crazy psychopath who wrote that book?

When I asked, Yoishi silently shook her head.

"That's not it."

"...What?"

"What you don't seem to realize is that this person was, after all, the second one to use you."

--Huh?

"Well, that's true." Sako gave a complacent smile once again.

"I said it, didn't I? Being possessed once or twice, It's all the same."

...Huh? Hey! What the hell are these two maniacs talking about? Once or twice is the same? I don't get any of it. Or should I say... I'd always assumed Yoishi was my ally, but was that really the case? Isn't she herself, like Sako, a walker in the depths of darkness? Wasn't she the type of person who never read the situation and would expose everything, no matter how cruel the truth might be? In the midst of this darkness being surrounded by the presence of countless creepy presences, isn't it just that the number of demons that I thought was only one has now grown to two? Ah -- that's what it looks like. The glow in Yoishi's dark eyes is growing. From now on, she's going to spout some decisive words. And those words will undoubtedly crush the foundation of the reality I believe in. They'll turn everything upside down.

"Y-Yoishi, wai--"

Wait, wait a second.

I was about to say -- but...

Yoishi's large eyes widened, and with an expression of ecstasy, and one without mercy, she declared it out loud:

"You've already been possessed for a long time."

"...Ugh."

I groaned out loud. Yoishi's words caused an intense surge of vomit to rise from the pit of my stomach. Now I became aware of a heaviness in my body that I hadn't noticed for a long time.

"It's... It's really him then? Kouhei Niijima?"

"No."

With a bewitching light in her eyes, Yoishi shook her head.

"A far, far more wicked ghost than him."

The reading room, which was already dimly lit, seemed to grow even darker.

The ground shook violently. My footing suddenly became unsteady. I desperately put strength into my lower body to cling to the world of the living. I grit my teeth, trying not to get caught up in the rapidly intensifying atmosphere of the world beyond.

"Just now, you said that the deceased Kouhei Niijima was in love."

"....W-what about that?"

"What kind of person was she?"

"What kind -- It's written right there, isn't it? She was tall, intellectual, shoulder-length hair, a bookworm --"

"Where does it say that?"

"..."

"This notebook has no description of any woman."

I felt a rush of goosebumps at her words. I recalled the uncontrollable presence inside me that had once thrust me down into the depths of terror.

"What...are you saying...?"

"The depiction of the girl that took shape inside your mind unnoticed -- that is the real form of 'Rororo'."

All of a sudden--

口口口口口口口口口口口口......

I definitely heard those voices. A series of countless, muffled human voices. And, I already knew what they were saying. It was – ‘Rororo’. Each and every one of them were muttering in unison with their mouths: ‘Rorororororororororororo’, like a prayer to Buddha<ref>The word used here is Nenbutsu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nianfo </ref>.

Someone – somewhere, was laughing.

It was the thing clinging to the old woman in the clock tower, the one that took the name of Miiko and lived with me, the one that stared at me through the frosted glass in the club building, and the one who jumped off the school building and disappeared -- Those countless fuzzy fragments of memory melted at that moment, and were reconstructed into the coffee shop on that rainy day, with the tall girl quietly reading a book.

Now, in this microcosm of the library, it was just me and the slender girl. In a space surrounded by bookshelves, the girl was sitting a little further away, simply staring at me. Her shoulder-length hair swayed slightly. Her white face, devoid of any expression. And her eyes, which had seemed so intelligent, looked like mere holes. She continued to stare at me with those eyes that were like dark, bottomless wells.

Those eyes were nothing but darkness.

An entrance to a world that, once peeked into, could never be left again. And the second I felt as if I saw something beyond the darkness ---

“Hey, are you feeling scared right now?"

Yoishi asked me.

“Is this scary?”

Yoishi asked with her pale, shapely face drawn so close to mine that our noses were almost touching.

The expression on her face - her eyes – she was in pure ecstasy. I'm sure this is how excited Schliemann must have felt when he finally found the ruins of Troy, which had never left the realm of legend.

With that monstrous look on her face, as if she was about to eat me --- I finally became convinced.

I can't do it. I can't stay with her. To be near the girl named Yoishi Mitsurugi, is to stand face to face against the world beyond.

However, Yoishi looked around and shouted with glee.

“It’s all going crazy! Everything in this school is going perfectly, completely, 100% crazy!”

With eyes wide open and an ecstatic look on her face, she declared to no one in particular.

“J-just stop it already!”

I shouted and tried to push her away, when –

Something began to fall down.

The universe collapses, the bookshelves collapse, and a terrific amounts of books collapse. Works of Stendhal, Shakespeare, Ozaki Kōyō and Maeterlinck, dance in the air – Les Miserables, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, Iliad and The Gold-Bug, all dance. The mushy dogma in countless other books I'd never read was raining down incessantly like a stream of internal organs. The ceiling collapsed, giving way to an open gray sky, but even that sky ruptured. Countless books, a rain of words, poured down in a torrent aimed right at me. However, the polished, well-crafted words of those countless authors were somehow distorted. As soon as I noticed that the polished words had lost their original luster, had turned reddish-black and reeked of decay, I felt a surge of gastric juices well up inside my stomach. In this world where I couldn’t tell night from day, nor which planet I was on, I perceived the truth of the things that kept falling to and rebounding from the ground in succession. They weren’t books. They weren’t words. They were countless fish. They were frogs, nails, and pieces of meat. They were old coins, and birds with whitish feathers. All of them were squashed by the impact of the fall, staining the ground in red. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses – Only corpses that had finished their lives rained down to fill the entire horizon. Decomposing into blood, flesh, and bodily fluids, all signs of life had disappeared. One after another, they continued to explode at my feet, as if to declare that living things are nothing but sacks of blood. That graphic and thunderous sound continued to ring out.

In that nightmarish world on the verge of collapse – someone’s mere laughter continued to echo.

Did that laughter belong to the person who had set up ‘Rororo’ in this room? Was it Yoishi? I didn’t know anymore. In this warped world, countless voices kept reverberating. I heard someone’s scream from somewhere, and the moment I realized it was my voice –

"Shall we leave?”

A sharp voice rang out, and my arm was grabbed by Sako’s cold hand.

At the same time, I started running like crazy. I had no idea where I was running to. At any rate, I must have gone back the way I came, running out of reading room number one onto the floor and down the corridor. But I'd like to think that the thing I saw when I ran out of the reading room number one was a hallucination caused by my clouded consciousness. In Yoishi’s hands, running right behind me, was an old black book. And, as if trying to snatch back that book, a long white arm stretched out from the darkness.

◯

The next thing I knew, I was in the courtyard of the university, beneath the radiant moonlight.

I was standing there, pumping oxygen into my lungs as hard as I could. My knees hurt like hell, probably because I hit them hard on the corner of the table when I left. While rubbing my knee, I continued to repeat the process of filling my lungs with fresh oxygen and expelling it. I felt as if I had just completed an underwater dive, probably because I had been unconsciously holding my breath the whole time. I think that was because I felt like I was letting something nasty into my body just by breathing while in the library.

“…”

I thought I heard a muffled voice close to me, and when I slowly turned around, there was something there. At first, I thought it was a black garbage bag, but it was a human being. Sitting on the bare ground, looking miserable with their head dropped down.

“Y—Yoishi…?”

The figure looked up slightly at my voice.

Her long hair moved smoothly, and her pale face stood out under the moonlight. Yoishi Mitsurugi looked absentminded, as she turned her beautiful, cold face like that of a western doll towards me. And then, moving her lips slightly, she said:

“It got taken.”

“…Huh?”

“That book. Even though I was the one who found it.”

Those words finally brought me back to my senses, and I looked around in a panic.

In the pitch-dark university courtyard, there was only silence; Not a single person in sight. Besides the sound of insects chirping from somewhere, it was intensely quiet.

“What happened to that kinagashi wearing bastard?”

Yoishi looked at me as if she were clicking her tongue.

“He vanished.”

“Vanished?”

“Like I told you, he stole the black book from me and left somewhere.”

…T-T-that foxy bastard.

He's the type of guy who scares people to death, and when he gets what he wants, he says goodbye with no explanation. Isn’t he an adult? Isn’t he supposed to be a fully-fledged member of society? Is he really worthy enough to be Krishna-san’s mentor? I was shaking my dizzy head and moaning bitterly out loud at the same time, “That’s right”, Yoishi said, agreeing with me.

“It's so deplorable to rob a girl of a book she hasn't read. He should have at least asked if he could borrow it after I’d finished reading it. It's really irritating when he said, ‘Adieu’, and left."

“No, about that...”

I interjected, being as fed up as I was.

“You’d die if you read it, okay? Even If you've already got one foot in the world beyond, you'd get dragged there in the blink of an eye.”

Yoishi silently turned her dark eyes to me. As expected, her expression seemed to be saying, ‘What's the problem with that?’ I sighed and asked her once again:

“Well anyway, you helped me out back there – but, why were you there in the first place?”

“Why, you ask? I was reading, of course.”

“No, it was dark. I mean, the library was already closed.”

Yoishi stood up unsteadily. She lightly brushed the dust off her skirt and walked feebly through the dimly lit courtyard toward the main gate.

“I was in there since lunchtime, trying to read a book.... When I finally opened the book, I couldn't concentrate. The thoughts that were stuck in my head were interfering with my thinking, and each letter in the book looked like nothing more than a pattern. I had no choice but to continue reading, and before I knew it - I fell asleep.”

“Y-you fell asleep?”

“It was quite a deep sleep, actually.”

“No…just wait a minute. You were asleep all that time? From noon till now -- in there?”

Yoishi nodded in silence.

…No, ughh. What’s up with the security in this library? You mean to tell me they just locked up the facility even when there was a person asleep on the reading chair? What about the entry record? What was the point of me going to all the trouble of sneaking in without leaving a trace? And having to endure the urge to urinate for so long in the locker?

“I woke up a few times, but I hadn't been sleeping well lately, so I figured it was fine. But then, just as I was getting the deepest sleep I'd had in a long time, you guys started making a racket.”

Yoishi muttered somewhat resentfully, but there was still something persistent that was bothering this girl. So that’s why she didn't notice anything when I was having such a scary time? Oh, that’s right. After all, ghosts being everywhere is normal for this girl’s world, and I don't know what it is, but her problems are probably all that matter to her in that world. Other problems are just trivial to her. I guess she just happened to wake up and saw me there, teary-eyed and upset.

I thought that as I glared at the back of Yoishi, who was walking ahead of me in a daze.

It’s a characteristic of the antisocial personality disorder Sako spoke of. I think it was about having excessive self-esteem, being self-centered and a lack of empathy, or something like that. It's a trait that fits perfectly with the psycho that went to the trouble of putting a book in the library that was made up of those taboo words, and it's a trait that’s terribly true of Sako himself -- But still, in some respects it reminds me of this black-haired girl walking right in front of me.

“That’s the definition espoused by Robert D. Hare, isn’t it?”

Yoishi suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked back.

Damn it. It seems I unconsciously muttered it out loud. Slightly embarrassed, I asked: “You know about it?”

Yoishi nodded, and added:

“Indeed, every single aspect of that definition applies to me.”

I was at a loss for words when she easily admitted it to me.

“I’ve always felt constantly inconvenienced by the insular atmosphere of this school.”

“No…you see...”

I cleared my throat and tried to change the subject.

“I don't know if it was a sociopath or what, but is it true that there was such a dangerous person in this school after all? And did they put a strange book in our library? Why did they do that? What was their objective?”

Yoishi looked at me closely and then… asked me:

“Do you really want to know?”

Her pale face stood out under the pouring moonlight, and it terrified me—

Behind Yoishi, I watched the night sea spread out endlessly.

The boundary between the sky and the horizon is unclear, an infinite world spreads out in darkness.

And somewhere in that limitless expanse, an unfathomable presence lay hidden.

The incomprehensible - people sometimes call it the occult. I've always been thrilled by the transcendental atmosphere of ghosts, UMAs<ref>Unidentified mysterious animal</ref>, and out of place artifacts<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-of-place_artifact</ref>, but this time, for the first time, I had terrible goosebumps at the very thought of human beings. It was fear of an act more twisted than what the word "prank" could even begin to cover: Mixing in a book that would kill you if you read it amongst ordinary books.

For example, digging a small pit on a snowy day to lure your friends in. I used to do that when I was a kid. It was fun, and I used to roar with laughter when my friends fell in. But that didn’t have an iota of murderous intent. It's because I wanted to see my fallen friend jump out with a smile on his face. I couldn’t possibly imagine it my heart pounding in excitement at the possibility of someone dying.

That's what I was thinking, when –

“Predator, serial killer, antisocial personality disorder. Those words are just labels.” Yoishi muttered in a whisper.

“It's easy to dismiss them as abnormal but, statistically speaking, in every age, there's always been at least one person in every class who has a desire to destroy the status quo. The fact that the probability of their appearance does not decrease in any era has even led to a belief among some who think it is a manifestation of population control genes. People who hold thoughts beyond comprehension are simply classified and tagged as such by those around them."

"No, I don't know about tags and labels, but that's still not normal. Laughing at other people's misery, doing all that just for the fun of it, that's--"

Suddenly, it hit me.

No...no. Isn't that the true nature of human beings?

Haven't humans always been irredeemable, self-righteous creatures filled with malice? I recalled the arrogance of the human species in removing the reproductive functions from their pets for their own convenience, something I had thought about during the Miiko incident. At the same time, my conscience began to denounce me for my own past mistake. The mistake of abandoning the proposal I had made after being broken hearten, 'Look who's talking', it mocked.

"That's right."

Yoishi nodded slightly.

"People are selfish, but they also have a hypocritical mental circuit known as a conscience, which subconsciously creates a sense of atonement for the things they have trampled upon. It can be said that this creates ghosts in the minds of people in every generation. And perhaps the taboo words embedded in the book 'Rororo' have the function of raising that negative circuit to the extreme. Those who read it would be caught unaware and endlessly be made to believe that their lives have no worth, and finally, their own conscience would kill them."

Yoishi kept muttering such things in a detached manner, but --

I realized, after all this time...

"Huh--Wait a second! What, what about me? Is that thing gone? You said I'd been possessed for a long time, right? It's gone already, right?"

Yoishi just stared at me with her emotionless eyes--

And abruptly turned away and started walking again.

"...Hey. Just wait a second. You're not going to deny it?"

As I stared at Yoishi's distant figure, I realized something even more important.

Come to think of it, I had, without warning, ended up seeing that girl in that coffee shop, and without being dragged into something by Yoishi. Even now, if I close my eyes, I can clearly imagine the entire shape of her face behind my eyelids. If she was a ghost, then that means... it can't be--

"It can't be…"

My feet stopped moving then and there. I desperately clapped my knees, which were about to collapse, but I couldn't take one more step. The dark sea of night behind Yoishi immersed my feet. The rough sound of the waves enveloped me from somewhere.

"It can't be, does that mean... that I've been able to see ghosts for some time now...?"

If you hang out with a psychic, your ability to sense the supernatural will strengthen. Krishna-san once said that the ill-natured feeling of 'knowing' makes people connect with the world beyond. So, does that mean that since I arrived to Tokyo and went to places with Yoishi Mitsurugi, that I've become tinged with her strong magnetism relating to ghosts, is that what it means?

"There's one thing I forgot to mention."

From the darkness beyond, came Yoishi's voice.

Looking up wearily, in the dim darkness up ahead, the unearthly shadow spoke in a voice that sounded like a wind chime.

"There's something I misunderstood."

"...Huh?"

"Their world always surpasses my imagination, and the more I peek into it, the more I realize the depth of its darkness. Their words are muffled and incoherent, and I couldn't understand them no matter how many times I heard them."

--So, what does that mean?

"Now that I know, it doesn't make things any better, but - the word that dead young man was muttering was not 'Rororo'."

--Stop it! Don't listen to her anymore! Cover your ears and get away from this girl right now! Before I could even react to the warning coming from the back of my mind, her voice filled with ecstasy reached my ears.

"It wasn't 'Rororo', it was --- 'Run away'."<ref>Word used here is nigero which is telling someone to run away and also a similar sounding word in this context.</ref>

With those words spoken with joy—

Yoishi walked off into the darkness. My feet were stuck as if sewn to the ground, and I stared at her disappearing figure for what seemed like forever. For an instant, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was the emaciated dead clinging to Yoishi’s back with their thin hands -- I quickly rubbed my eyes.

Alone, I stood there, petrified, even as the darkened university building came back into view.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of relief as the strength drained from my body. I knew the truth behind this numbing feeling of pleasure, it was as if I had finally overcome a deadly threat to my life.

“How absurd…”

I whispered, my voice quivering.

The idea that she and I were war comrades was downright absurd.

Right now, from the bottom of my heart, I was... truly relieved that Yoishi had disappeared from my sight.

But the ground I was standing on was a gentle slope. And I knew was that if I made any mistakes from here on, the slope would become irreversibly steep.

“I can’t… do this anymore.”

I tell myself, wiping the tears from my eyes with both hands.

She and I were confronting completely different things. I selfishly believed I had finally understood her, but I had completely failed to grasp her true nature. After all is said and done, Yoishi and I were two beings who lived in worlds that could never intersect. I still had my feet firmly planted in this world, and even if I plant one foot in the other side, she already stands with both feet there.

It’s not… too late.

If I continue walking with her, the path ahead will surely lead to the world beyond. I'm not prepared for that yet. I still want to live in the warmth of this world.

I turned to face the direction opposite from where Yoishi had disappeared, and kept on running without looking back.

==Epilogue==

“…………..Huh?”

I opened the door to the club room and saw—

Krishna-san and Sako were locked in an embrace. The two of them were huddled together in the middle of the club room, with the tall Sako completely wrapped around the smaller Krishna.

For a moment I was at a loss of words, moreover, I felt so agitated that I even lost myself.

“…S, s, sorry for intruding!”

Flustered, I closed the door and leaned against the concrete wall of the hallway, repeatedly pumping oxygen into my lungs. Shaking my burning head, I tried to shake off the sight I had just witnessed, but it wasn't going to happen.

--Why is Krishna-san and that guy…?

The reason I came here was to once again declare my intention to part ways with Yoishi to Krishna-san. I was there to say that I finally understood that it was like playing an impossibly hard video game for me to get involved with her. And I would also take the opportunity to report Sako’s actions: how that bastard tricked me into going to the library late at night, and at the end, how he tried to turn me into some kind of vessel for countless somethings.

However, all such feelings ended up vanishing in an instant.

That's how confused I was by what I just saw. Two people hugging in a club room in broad daylight…that means, it’s that sort of thing? Did they cross the line between teacher and student? Oh my god, I’m such an ignorant dullard. When I think about it, it's pretty remarkable that Krishna-san, who’s extremely weak at dirty talk, would go to Aomori for an overnight stay. She even told me that she had been peeked on in the bath, that means it was that sort of relationship all along. In fact, Krishna-san is an unmarried, fully-fledged woman who will turn twenty-one this year. It's not surprising that she might have a boyfriend or two. But – despite all that, be it the benefactor who saved her life -- of all people, it had to be that guy?

I slumped down in the hallway, dumbfounded, unable to think of anything else.

What is this feeling of emptiness?

Where was the wind that blew through my chest coming from? And where was it headed?

No, the problem was not the wind. It was the hole the wind was blowing through. What was it, I wondered, that had gouged out my chest? In my mind, Yoishi had gone over to the darkness. She had a certain cuteness about her despite that, but still, I couldn't follow her to the other side. I didn’t have that resolve. I managed to fill that void by thinking of Krishna-san's smile.

I could immediately imagine her as a child, with that immature, lovely and innocent face. Her big eyes and the sparkling light of innocence within. Whenever she got angry or upset, her smooth hair would bob up and down and a nice scent would always tickle my nose. Ah… she was always an angel. She was my guardian angel. That she should fall into the hands of that demonic, monstrous fox-like guy-- is this the bitterness of life? Is this what you would call absurdity? At that moment, I thought I heard a voice saying, ‘Hey, you there,’ but I must have been imagining it.

“…I guess I’ll quit.”

I mutter to myself, and finally make up my mind.

"That's right, I was only let into the Beatnik research society when I forcefully tried to get in, I wasn't admitted as a staff member of Ikaigabuchi. That was, after all, because Krishna-san didn't wholeheartedly agree with me joining. My fervent speech back then inadvertently influenced that kind person, and that's how things ended up this way. I'm a heavy burden to her, and hardly any help. Even though she told me to stay away from Yoishi, I totally ended up getting involved with her anyway, three incidents in a row, starting from the 'The Clock Tower', 'The Cat Monster', and 'Rororo'. And on top of that, I've been targeted by some kind of troublesome ghost that I don't understand. I... really am an irredeemable..."

"Hey, you there."

I thought I heard that voice again, but I failed to recognize anything with my ears as well as my eyes. I was so devastated by the enormity of what I had lost, and furthermore, I even lost sight of the path that should have been right in front of me, but regardless, the voice continued.

"Hey, I'm speaking to you, the one wearing the misspelled English T-shirt slumped in the hallway. I don't know what happened, but please cheer up. I've been there, too. At your age, you've probably got more problems than you can handle, but they're usually not a big deal when you look at them with a calm head. Why don't you try and act a little more dignified?"

"............."

I vacantly raise my face to see that the door to the Beatnik research room was open, and there, holding a drooping Krishna-san in his left hand looking down on me with a grin was Sako Takita.

"Y-you..."

"Save the greetings for later, Yamada Nagito-kun. Say, could you rearrange those chairs over there for a minute? Kurimoto-kun needs to be laid down."

"L-laid down? What are you going to do after laying her down? What kind of nerve do you have to make me help you with something like that right now?"

Sako gave me a cold gaze, and then breathed a deep sigh.

"You really are a fool. Can't you tell just by looking? Or are you someone so heartless without even a shred of compassion to help out someone who's done so much for you? Kurimoto-kun is unconscious. Can't you see that I'm asking for your help?"

At those words--

I stood up in a panic. And finally understood the situation.

"K-Kishna-san!? You lost consciousness? Wai--What happened? Please, stay with us!"

"Oh, she'll be fine. She just got a little shocked and will probably wake up soon. More importantly, you'd better set up some chairs over there, so she can have a place to lie down."

I did as I was told and ran into the club room, setting up a simple bed-like space by lining up a pipe chair and some other chairs. Sako easily carried Krishna-san in his arms and gently laid her down there.

"Sako, What the hell happened?"

"Well, it's a long story -- but I guess it's because she saw something unbelievable."

"Something...unbelievable?"

With those words--

In the humid club room where the cicadas were still chirping noisily, something chilly rose up.

"It's this."

In Sako's hands, there was an old, worn out photograph.

Was it possibly some kind of creepy ghost photograph? I braced myself -- but, what Sako was holding out was a perfectly normal photograph. A scene cut out from somewhere on campus. A picture of two high school girls huddled close together in front of a large tree. A petite girl and a long, slender girl are smiling as they stand shoulder to shoulder. I don't have to strain my eyes to see it. The petite girl was Krishna-san. A shy smile peeked out from behind her red glasses, dressed in the Koumei high school uniform, she was looking this way.

But, the other girl.

The moment I saw her, my blood froze.

--It's her.

The girl I had seen in the coffee shop -- tall, intelligent, with the beautiful face. Her hair around shoulder-length, her eyes had a strong light in them, and her lips were shaped in a mature smile.

"Hey, hey, hey, Sako! It's her. She's the one I saw!"

I excitedly pointed at the picture.

"You and Yoishi both scared me into thinking that this girl was a ghost that only existed in my mind -- but look! She really does exist. Hahahaha. I knew it. The girl I met at the coffee shop didn't look like a ghost at all. She has legs, and a shadow....Just like in this picture, she was wearing the Koumei school uniform, and quietly reading a book in the coffee shop, and--"

"N-no way!"

At that moment, a nostalgic angry voice sounded directly below me.

“T…There’s no way you could have met her! There’s no way… you could have met that person—"

Startled, I looked down to see the petite occult website manager feebly glaring at me.

“Krishna-san! You regained consciousness?”

“---I’m fine. More importantly, did you really see that person?”

Looking pale as she dragged half of her body up to the chair, Krishna-san asked me as I reached out to her.

“….U..Uhhh. I’m sure of it.”

“--What about Yoishi? Was she nearby?”

“U…ummmm…”

Letting out a deep breath at the sight of me, Krishna-san laid back down again with a heave and folded her hands over her face.

“Even after I told you not to get involved with Yoishi Mitsurugi, yet you…”

“Actually, I came here today to tell you that. From now on, I’m never gonna meet Yoishi—"

“It's already too late.”

She spoke plainly and dismissively, then proceeded to ask Sako while peeking through her fingers.

“Takita-san, what should be done now?”

“Well then…”

Saying that, Sako turned to me with a faint smile on his face.

“First of all, Let's start with a very fundamental contradiction that it seems you haven't noticed. Listen here, Yamada Nagito-kun. Take a good look at this picture once again, and see if you notice anything.”

“…Huh?”

“In this photo, the two high school girls look to be on good terms. And as you can see, on the left is Kurimoto-kun. She is now a university student, and she is wearing a high school uniform in this photo. Unless your shrewd understanding leads you to believe that Kurimoto-kun has a hobby of cosplaying, you would know that this photo is from the past, right? Yes, to be precise, this photo was taken five years ago, right here within the Koumei educational institution.”

“…Five years ago?”

That number brought back an unpleasant memory.

As I recall, five years ago—

Didn't this bastard once say that Krishna almost broke down once?

“That’s right.”

Sako smiled, his long, slitted eyes narrowing like a thread.

“And this tall girl smiling next to Kurimoto-kun… immediately after this picture was taken, she ended up mysteriously disappearing from this school.”

“…Huh?”

“She disappeared without a trace. Without even leaving a body behind, her bag was left in the classroom, and she never even went home. School officials, friends, neighbors, police, and the mass media all tried desperately to find her at the time, but there was still no sign of whether she was alive or dead. That’s right, she literally vanished from the face of the earth, as if she had been spirited away by the gods<ref>Kamikakushi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_away </ref>. Even now, after five years, she still falls in the category of ‘being actively searched for’ -- but if we think about it realistically, it would be more natural to assume that she is already dead.”

Those words made me feel a nebulous chill, like something cold was creeping at my feet.

“But, I mean, uh, look – there’s all sorts of high school students, right?”

I spoke, trying to chase away the creeping feeling.

“Maybe there was some guy she was going out with and she ran away with him or something, or maybe some bad guy tricked her or--”

“Of course, such a possibility was taken into account at the beginning of the search. But she didn't have any boyfriends at the time, and her purse, pencil case and other stationery were not missing. Even the shoes she used to go to school with still remained in the shoe rack at the entrance.”

“Then she must still be somewhere in this school, right? Maybe she's locked up somewhere that's hard to find, and is still waiting for hel—”

I was about to say that much, when I finally realized. Five years. Five years have already passed. If this girl was looking for help somewhere – then it was unlikely that she would be still be alive.

“It seems you finally understand. Every inch of this school has already been searched, and even the police dogs failed to find anything. To sum it all up, realistically and scientifically speaking, her physical body doesn’t exist here anymore.”

Sako’s words–

And that seemingly happy, warped, white face of his - reminded me of something. Words that distort my stance, the darkness that spreads behind those eyes and shakes the foundations of what I believe.

Yes – it reminded me of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

It was the same feeling of something shaking and slipping away, just like when that black-haired girl talked about ghosts.

“A girl that shouldn’t be here anymore, and you…where did you meet, I wonder? Even If the girl who disappeared five years ago is still alive somewhere, what are the chances that she's still wearing the uniform she wore back then? How likely is it that a girl of this generation, growing mature every day, would still look exactly the same as she did back then?”

Aah, it’s getting darker.

The world, now, is becoming ever darker. Sako’s words, and his empty eyes, gripped my heart coldly, and his thin, smiling face appeared like a monster fox on a moonless night.

--Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Suddenly, the word comes up in my mind again.

I don’t know if that word is correct or not. But right now, the person called Sako Takita, was an inexplicable existence to me. He was well versed in all kinds of mantras, an advanced user of taboo words, a half-hearted guy, a liar, and yet, he was also a calculating man who worked everything to his advantage. And despite all of this, I never felt any sense of responsibility from the man himself. He was an incomprehensible monster that I sincerely hoped to never see again.

“I don't really want to push you too hard right now, but...”

[[Image:Phenomeno-vol2-case06.jpg|Height in pixel|thumb|]]

Sako waved the photo in his hand and spoke:

“For the record, this photo was supposed to have been burnt up five years ago.”

“……”

“I was sure Kurimoto-kun had properly extinguished it from the world. But for some reason, it was once again discovered in the club room. I believe that Kurimoto-kun's mind, which is stronger and more graceful than most people's, couldn't stand to do it, because this slender girl and Kurimoto-kun had a rather special relationship.”

He spoke happily, and then:

“Say, Yamada-kun… Yamada Nagito-kun.”

Sako handed me the photo.

“What happened to this girl five years ago -- and where is she right now?”

In a world where I slowly bleed away.

The mature girl in the photo smiles quietly.

In the clock tower. In the eyes of the cat. In the club room at dawn. And, in the coffee shop –

That hazy figure, standing lurched over, was right now… in front of me.

The girl sneers. She turns her deep hollow eyes towards me and moves her red mouth.

Enshrouded in the scent of the world beyond—

She declares:

--A t l a s t, w e m e e t…

-----------------

<noinclude>
==Translator's notes and references==
<references />

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case_05|Case 05]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 02, Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 05

2024-11-17T12:00:33Z

Pakkit:

==Case 05: The Cat Mystery==

As a stereotypical student living in poverty, I’ve developed several cost-effective dishes, but the one I’ve taken the most liking to is the Hundred-yen ramen. Made from cheap noodles, cheap eggs and cheap bean sprouts at the cost of a hundred yen; the aroma of pepper and sesame oil was really appetizing. It was my specialty. It's a little tricky to make in my single room apartment with a single burner stove, but once you get used to it, anyone can make it while everything is still piping hot.

I was following my usual routine that day: I did my work translating research materials on the Fafrotskies phenomenon, then I returned to my apartment to prepare a meal before leaving for my part-time job in the evening. I was sitting in front of my dining table with a steamy hot bowl, put my palms together in thanks, and was just about to take a bite when I heard a knock on the door.

I looked towards the door, and it burst open by itself, revealing the grinning face of Mitsuru Ooki.

“Yo, Nagito! There you are.”

“Oh, if it isn’t Ooki. What brings you here?”

“That looks delicious.”

“Well, I ain’t sharing.”

“That’s alright, I’ve eaten already.”

Saying that, Ooki brazenly took off his shoes and entered inside. Taking the large bag off his shoulders, he flapped the T-shirt around his neck, causing his pungent body odor to waft throughout the room.

I frowned in the middle of my dinner, and glared at Ooki’s blood-red face.

Mitsuru Ooki was a freshman like me, an acquaintance who I met in the western club building of the university.

It was mid-September and the university was still on summer break, but I was extremely busy spending my days in the western building translating English research materials. One day, when Krishna-san wasn’t around, I had left the door fully open to allow the fresh air in, and this guy, dripping in sweat staggered in. My first impression was that he was a weirdo, but after talking to him I found out that he was also a scholarship student, and like me, one of the few poor students from the countryside at our campus, who also lived alone – From then on – the conversation went well. During the summer vacation, this guy was drawing paintings silently alone in the art club room, and when he’d get lonely, he’d come to where I was, and then I started going to the art club room as well. Soon after that he started showing up to my apartment uninvited.

Mitsuru Ooki certainly had the personality of an insolent and rude guy who was used to scrounging off of others – but this guy still had a dream of becoming an artist. Whenever I would ask him about Housui Yamamoto or Johannes Vermeer he would get so fired up that I’d get fed up listening to him. And I liked this kind of guy. In fact, I would say that meeting people like this was what I was looking for.

“So, what brings you here?” I asked him while sipping the ramen.

“You sure have a nice room, as always.” Ooki spoke as he took a scrutinizing look around at my empty room.

“Is that supposed to be sarcasm?”

“No, I really do think that. The best part of this room is that there’s nothing in it. Not even a TV or a computer. Just a dining table and a few books. Young men should hold pride in their poverty.”

Ooki said that with a happy tone. Certainly, when I visited his apartment, it was a 7.5 sqm tatami room with nothing but oil paints.

“Well, that’s all fine and good, but do you already get why I’m here?”

Ooki smiled complacently as he asked me that. It’s annoying that this guy believes I’ll understand what he wants to say just with a smile. I’m not psychic, I won’t know unless you tell me directly.

“I’m not lending you any money.”

“I’m not so feeble minded as to ask money from you.”

Ooki then grabbed his bag, unzipped and opened it. A meow sound suddenly emanated from the inside, and I braced myself.

“I want you to take care of her for a few days.” He took out a cat as he spoke.

Moreover, it was a white cat with quite an adorable face.

“You were keeping a cat?”

“Actually, I found her about two weeks ago. Her name is Miiko.”

“What’s with that name? Anyway, It’s a problem for me. Pets aren’t allowed here.”

“It’ll be alright, it’s just for a few days. She’s well behaved and barely ever makes a sound.”

“Didn’t she meow just now?”

“It almost never happens. It was just because I’d kept her in my bag for so long, it was a meow of relief.”

“No, I can’t do it. Cats aren’t allowed.”

I spoke firmly, but the white cat had already left Ooki’s grasp, sniffed the aroma of its surroundings, before eventually her nose twitched at the bowl of ramen I was holding. After that it scrambled up to my lap in a friendly manner.

“See? She likes you already.”

Ooki spoke with a complacent smile as always. It's been a long time since I'd felt the soft touch of a cat, and the faintly sweet smell of a beast stirred my heart.

“It’s a problem. I can’t keep a cat.”

But Ooki was acting as if he didn’t hear me.

“Actually, one of my relatives from my mother’s side passed away, so I have to go back home. I’ll probably return in two days, so I want you to take care of Miiko while I’m gone.”

Then he patted the white cat's head and smiled contently once again.

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

“Got it, Miiko? Remember to behave, and take good care of the house.”

The cat meowed in a quiet and lovely way at Ooki’s remarks. That face was really quite lovely. After that, I couldn’t really say anything anymore.

◯

Cats.

Their bodies are soft and warm, and they’re so cute that you want to rub their cheeks when they purr in your arms. In the modern world, everyone recognizes that they are a rival for dogs as two of the most popular pet animals in the world. I'd always been a fan of animals in general, so I'm more than willing to take care of my friends' pets. I wouldn't usually mind, but there's a reason I'm a little daunted by cats.

It was back when I was in the sixth grade at primary school.

We had a female cat called Momo.

Momo was originally a cat that my older sister, who was in her third year of junior high school at the time, had found; she was a pretty smart and friendly cat that got along well with humans. She was already an adult cat by the time she came to our house, but she learned where her litter tray was at once, and quickly learned what not to do – If you’d get mad at her once, she would never do it again. She would rarely ever meow, and she’d humbly appeal for food with her eyes whenever she wanted to eat. My sister, the one who found her, got busy around those days -- dying her hair red, forming a gang of ladies that would later terrorize the Fujieda area, so in the end it was mostly up to me to take care of Momo. Out of everyone in my family, I think Momo felt the most attached to me.

And in those days, there was a girl in my primary school that I liked.

Her name was Saki-chan; she wasn’t particularly beautiful or anything, but she was kind to everyone, and she was always smiling. You could say she was my first love. The first thing I’d end up doing in the morning when I’d get to class was to look for her, no matter how far away she was, I could recognize her laughing voice. In those days, I naturally didn't understand what love was, and I agonized over why I was suffering so much. Anyway, all I knew was that it was not something I could discuss with my sister or any other family member. That’s why, I felt I had no choice and started talking to Momo about it.

After I came back from school I’d straight away go and lie down on the balcony with Momo, I started by telling her “There’s a girl called Saki-chan”, and “It’s painful in my chest”, “I wonder if she hates me?”, those sort of things, When I thought about it now, I must have been a pathetic sight talking so devotedly about such embarrassing things, yet Momo gazed at me kindly and silently.

And then on a certain day – I ran across Saki-chan while going home from school, we both swung our school bags, talked about childish things as we walked the path alongside the paddy fields. And that's when I suddenly saw Saki-chan’s hair glittering golden in the setting sun. Isn’t she actually very beautiful? And then, the fool that I was, said it out loud.

“Saki-chan is beautiful!” I shouted that out loud -- what were my feelings back then? How should I describe it? I felt that the profile of Saki-chan’s face that I saw from the side was miraculously beautiful, but it wouldn’t last for forever. For this one moment, many things meshed together perfectly to show the world the true value she possessed. And if I didn’t scoop it up now, it would disappear. That’s right, wistful—was a perfect match for how I felt in that moment.

However, in society that would normally be interpreted as a love confession, and girls in the sixth grade were much more mature than boys.

“What do you mean?”

She asked me in a somewhat troubled tone, and I had nowhere to run to after that. That’s why I answered her honestly even as my voice shook.

I liked Saki-chan, I’d liked her so long, and so much so that I couldn’t sleep at night.

There is nothing more painful than the feelings of love held by a primary school kid. I wondered what would happen after I confessed. Even if she shared my feelings, we weren’t allowed to marry by law, and there would be a long, long path to adulthood from here. In that process one would gain, and lose various things as well. There would be all sorts of joys and sadness, and many changes one would go through. At the end of what seems like an infinite amount of time for a child, will that innocent love remain unchanged? Even primary school students have some sense of the difficulties that lie ahead. No, it’s because they are primary school students, that they feel it even more so. That’s why, I don’t know. After hearing my confession, Saki-chan spoke.

“I am normal.”

After that, she hung her head down, and restated in a small voice.

“From here onwards… being normal would be for the best.”

“Yeah, Hahaha”, I laughed in response, despite the sharp wound I received from her words.

Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Those words were all I could muster, and I ran home from there.

Even as I ran, the tears never stopped flowing. The only thing I was sure of was that tomorrow would never be the same as today. A gap that could never be bridged had been created between me and Saki-chan; we would never be able to talk normally again, thanks to my foolish confession. Only a feeling of despair remained, as if the only girl that I had felt closest to in the world had moved to the furthest place.

I barged in to my home crying my eye’s out, and immediately ran to my room and started cowering and crying again; before I had realized it, Momo was there, by my side. She kept staring at me with an affectionate gaze. Suddenly I realized that Momo was a female. Just with that alone, I was saved from the feeling that there wouldn’t be any females appearing around me anymore besides my family.

“Hey, Momo.”

My face soggy with tears, I reached out and stroked Momo’s chin and spoke.

“Marry me someday.”

For a moment, Momo stared motionlessly at me, then suddenly let out a cry.

A meow.

That was an extremely rare thing to happen.

For this reason, I thought Momo had accepted my stupid proposal.

I got happy, hugged her tightly, and smiled through my tear-stained face.

...Ugh, embarrassing. Just by recalling this much makes me so embarrassed it makes me want to jump off a cliff and spill my spinal fluid on the jagged rocks below. But there is an even worse ending to this embarrassing story.

In my second year of high school, I finally got a girlfriend.

She was a first-year junior, a girl who had joined the basketball club as a manager. She was somewhat blunt and had a tendency to speak out boldly, even to her male seniors, but I think that quirk of hers was liked by everyone. She would speak to me frankly: “You’re an idiot”, or “You need to practice cutting in more”, she would arrogantly point out. That's why, unlike the other girls, I was able to say things like, "Shut up!” and “You just stick to your own damn job”.

And on a day like that, I stayed behind in the gym to practice my three-point shot, she came by and suddenly spoke “Your hand placement is bad.” We had just lost a practice game, and one of the reasons for our loss was that I missed a three-point shot at a crucial moment, so I was feeling deeply responsible. That’s why I unintentionally ended up yelling out in anger, “Shut up.”

However, she didn’t stop.

“You only need to shoot it with one hand, but you keep using both hands most of the time.”

“I know that, dammit.”

“I already told you that in spring, but you still didn’t fix your game.”

“If I could have fixed it sooner, I would have done it a long time ago.”

“You don’t seem like you want to fix it.”

“The hell did you say?”

I dropped the ball down and glared at her; without backing down she glared back at me in defiance.

“How would someone like you know that?”

She pursed her lips tightly as she replied:

“I know it because I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

‘Watching you for a long time’, Feeling a strange indication in those words, I got flustered.

After that I ignored her, and began to practice my shooting once more.

“You really are an idiot.”

Leaving me with those words, she ran off.

Well, I’ll leave out the details --- but after that, we started to become aware of each other’s feelings, and we started dating. I was the one who confessed to her. All she did was nod her head in a shy way; then when I realized that for the first time in my life, I had made a "girlfriend," I hopped back home and reported it to Momo straight away.

“I made a girlfriend.”

Momo merely raised her eyes.

“She’s a little arrogant, but she’s not a bad girl.”

I spoke somewhat embarrassed, but I was grinning broadly as I said it.

In fact, I kept bragging on about her after that. That part of her is cute, and such; when she smiles, the pit of my stomach feels all warm and fuzzy, and such. All those foolish words of mine, Momo kept listening to them in silence. At this time, I had completely forgotten. The fact that I had once proposed to Momo. And that on that day, at the end of my absolute loneliness, I had been saved by Momo's consent to marry me.

Most people would agree that the early period of a relationship is like heaven on earth. I was one of them as well. Every day was fun, it was like I was slightly floating about thirty centimeters above the ground, frolicking around like a fool. I kept reporting about those days to Momo. Momo looked up at me with her clear, slightly orange eyes and listened intently to what I had to say.

And then finally, it was less than a week later.

I felt Momo’s cry from somewhere while I was asleep and woke up. In the dark room, Momo wasn’t present. I thought she had gone off to drink some water, so I dozed off again.

The next morning, I discovered Momo’s body getting cold in the kitchen. I took her to the vet in a panic, but he told me that it was probably just her life expectancy.

According to the vet, Momo looked to be around twenty years old. I didn’t know anything. Without ever getting ill, Momo already had a previous owner and was surgically sterilized, never having copulated. In any case, she was a cat that didn’t cause trouble for others, and I never worried about how old she was, or what kind of disease she might have. I felt she would keep on living forever.

And finally, when I was burying Momo in the yard – I suddenly remembered.

I had proposed to Momo.

And she had accepted.

Didn’t Momo -- live this long as though she were my wife?

Momo -- who would refuse to eat anything until I had eaten, who would come up into my futon when I went to bed, and purr happily. Whenever I called out to her, she’d immediately come running from anywhere, and would hear out any story to the very end.

I was…I was…I was—
So boastful in telling her that I had a girlfriend.

I was going on about it almost every day. And that’s why, Momo lost the place she belonged, and died, right? Of course, she’s just a cat, right? A person would naturally laugh, it was just simply her lifespan. However, despite being saved once by her in the past, I had forgotten that and kept saying things that betrayed her every day – then, I cried and cried and apologized.

After that, I began to avoid cats, even stray ones on the street. It was a mixed feeling of nostalgia, guilt and fear, and I was too scared to even look them in the eye. The reason being that sometimes cats would look at you as if they are thinking deeply. They would seem to be walking much closer to the truth of the world than I was. The look that says, "I know exactly what you're thinking”.

Whenever I saw a cat in town, or at someone’s house, I’d think to myself…

Momo must have resented me, right?

Did she think I betrayed her?

I’d always thought that if she did, I couldn’t blame her.

That’s why –

To this day, I'd never kept a cat after Momo, and I thought I'd never keep another one in my life.

◯

Miiko was actually, a pretty adorable cat.

Like Ooki had said, she rarely made a fuss, would only ever meow while eating, expressing her happiness. She was pure white, her long tail was always pointing up towards the sky, and was quite thin. However, she wasn’t thin because of poor health, but being well-knit gave her that sort of nice physique. And, you couldn’t really tell from her name, but Miiko was indeed a female. Momo was brown with a white streak, so she didn’t resemble this pure white cat in any way -- but still, the sensation of having a female cat near me reluctantly reminded me of Momo's existence. However, Miiko was quite good at keeping my attention, which helped dispel my past trauma.

If I held out my finger, she’d come over and sniff it. And just like that, she’d rub her face on it. No matter where I’d be sitting, she’d come over and get on my lap; Forcefully curling up just after. She’d always sleep with some part of her body in contact with me, and when I stroked her, she’d purr happily. When I’d be leaving for university or my part-time job, she’d follow me up to the door seeming lonely as she’d look up to me, but she wouldn’t make a sound. When I’d return, she’d welcome me happily in an adorable way, and I gave all her all the love I could.

I got fussy about the nutrition and taste of her foods, I got her a litter box, and I even ended up buying her one of those cat teaser toys. My already meager spending money just about disappeared, but that was okay. I’d just ask Ooki to pay for everything when he returned. In the end, my life started revolving around Miiko, but—

But the promised two, three days passed, and Ooki didn’t show his face.

◯

At the end of September, my second semester had started, my daily life became even more hectic than usual. I had wholeheartedly swallowed my senior's advice to take as many credits as I could in my first year and ended up taking a boatload of classes. I was doing my part-time job at the Italian restaurant in order to pay for my living expenses and fulfill my debts. The formality of having to attend beatnik society meetings, and in the shadows of that, posting articles for the occult site Ikaigabuchi. In particular, more than half of the Fafrotskies literature was yet to be translated, I felt I had become a staff member of the English literature club rather than an occult website.

“Hey, Nagi-kun. Don’t push yourself too much.”

Unable to see me suffer, Krishna-san said that to me every time we met.

‘I’m fine’, I’d reply with a laugh as I shrugged off her concern. It was definitely tough on my body, but my heart felt fulfilled. I took heart in the fact that my life had finally truly begun. No, maybe it's more like a sense of relief that I finally have a foothold in Tokyo, a place where I didn't know a single person. In any case, a person is able to breathe deeply only after they have a place where they belong.

There was no development regarding the Strange rain in Musashino, and there weren’t any new stories about anything raining down. In the end, we still didn’t find a solid reason for that occurrence. Though I could surmise a somewhat sinister guess as to the reason the blood was falling around the clock tower, but –

Anyway, my everyday life was so busy, I didn’t even have time to think about that.

And then, on a certain day…

I was dragging along my mama-bike towards the school gate as I was about to leave, and I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi in her school uniform. I checked my watch and saw that it was apparently end of the school day at the high school as well.

Yo -- I thought I’d call out to her – but my feet stopped. Come to think of it, Krishna-san had made me vow not to associate with Yoishi. That was the condition she put forth for letting me join the Beatnik research society, but despite that, I ended up exploring the clock tower with Yoishi just the other day. And at the end, it leaned violently towards the terrifying world beyond, whose presence I ended up feeling right next to me. No matter how you put it, it’s not good to learn even a little bit about that. Shouldn’t I take care of myself just a little bit more?

Thinking that, I watched Yoishi as she kept her distance from the group of high school students leaving the school.

Ugh—She was walking along gloomily as always. Her shoulders drooped down, she kept staring at the ground as she walked. She’s like a human black hole that drags you to a world of darkness when you look at her.

---Come to think of it, could something be troubling her?

That day, I did end up telling her that I would speak to her in a bright place somewhere in the daytime. As I stared at her lonely figure, which stood out from the countless high school students laughing and acting cheerfully, I remembered that, clicked my tongue, and ran.

“Hey, Yoishi!” I called out to her.

“…Oh”, She turned her pale face towards me and gave a small nod in acknowledgement.

“Hey, how have you been?”

“…”

“…Well, I guess you’re not doing so well.”

That day, on that night -- the thing I saw in the gym storehouse.

The moment I looked back at the end, the feeling of something peeking out at me from the hole in the clock face.

And Yoishi’s words, “After all, there were two people inside.”

When I recalled those words, I could feel something cold crawling up my back once again.

There were many things I wanted to ask her, but even so, when I looked at Yoishi’s dark and gloomy figure, I couldn’t bring myself to say them.

In the late summer’s sweltering heat, I was rendered speechless as I got swallowed up by the atmosphere around her, as if she was trudging through a world of absolute zero.

Then –

“You have the stink of an animal.” She spoke abruptly.

Is that so? Flustered, I sniffed my clothes.

Out of all things, it was completely unexpected of her to be complaining about someone’s smell.

“I’m taking care of someone’s cat.”

“Cat?”

“Yeah, she’s white and pretty cute. Do you wanna come see it?”

If a cat were to snuggle up to her lap she might feel better. Thinking that, I had unintendedly said that out loud, but – when I think about it, she’s a high school girl. Inviting a girl her age to my apartment alone is problematic. I thought that, but Yoishi nodded silently in agreement, and began to follow me. She might actually be a cat lover; I assumed that and spoke.

“Miiko is actually a medium-sized cat, but she gets along great with people.”

“Hmm.”

“Have you ever kept a cat before?”

“I haven’t.”

“Do you have an interest in cats?”

“I'm not interested in animals in general, humans included.”

With that flat retort, I was about to say, ‘Oh, that’s right, your specialty is ghosts, after all’, but I gulped down those words.

“Well, just try stroking her. She’s soft and cute.”

After I told her that, Yoishi and I rode together on my mama-bike and reached my apartment.

Whereupon we arrived at my apartment and I opened the front door with my key. But Miiko, who usually dashed up to me the moment I arrived, was nowhere to be seen. Huh? I wondered as I took off my shoes and entered inside my room to find her rounded up into a ball in the back of the room.

“Miiko, I’m home?”

I called out to her but she was acting different than her usual self.

Rather than being afraid of something, she stiffened her body as if on guard against something.

“Sorry for intruding.”

Yoishi muttered politely as she entered my room, at the same time, Miiko growled as her fur stood on end.

“Whoa… Whoa, Miiko… It’s alright. This girl is named Yoishi.”

I tried to hold her up in my arms, but she offered unusual resistance and darted off to a corner of the room.

“Are you being haunted by something?” I looked at Yoishi and joked.

“Perhaps.” She nodded without much emotion in her voice.

I thought I’d comment – but, for the time being I boiled some water. After serving tea to Yoishi, there was nothing more to do but sit under the same roof in silence – just me, Miiko and Yoishi. Miiko kept staring at Yoishi from the corner of the room. I too was starting to feel a little creeped out by how frightened she was. I mean, what the hell is she dragging around?

“Don't you think you should at least get an exorcism or something?”

I couldn't bear the silence any further and said so, but Yoishi just sipped her cup of tea in silence.

“I mean look, you’ve been hanging out a lot at haunted and other dangerous places, after all. And on top of that, you’ve been seeing things, right?”

“There are some I can and can’t see.”

After muttering something like that... Yoishi suddenly gazed at me.

“Say, I wonder if cats really can shapeshift.”

These words pierced deep into my heart.

“Cats just open the door, but the monster cat<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakeneko </ref> closes the door at the end – that legend is often spoken of, but to begin with, why did they start saying that cats transform into monsters in the first place?”

Yoishi kept speaking with indifference.

“Is it their fickle nature? Or their uncanny eyes that shine in the dark? Or is there another reason altogether? In China it was said that if a cat was kept for three years, it would transform into a monster, and in some regions of Japan, it was decided that a pet cat would be killed after seven years. There’s a famous legend that says that older cats start to speak in human tongues, and in the illustrated Sino-Japanese encyclopedia from 1712<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakan_Sansai_Zue</ref>, it is said that when a cat starts to lick oil, a strange phenomenon begins. But in any of the anecdotes, there is no basis for a cat to be able to transform into a monster. Not even in "Saga no Yozakura" or "Saga Kaineko Den,"<ref>:https://books.google.com.sa/books?id=9pk-CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=Saga+no+yozakura&source=bl&ots=MkQu2mo0OB&sig=ACfU3U36iiCDjGQcC2sUokt2IEc2XWoikQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUtrmvyvPvAhV6WxUIHazXD2wQ6AEwEHoECBUQAw#v=onepage&q=Saga%20no%20yozakura&f=false</ref> which caused an uproar and were famous as cat monster media. Cats are described as being able to transform from the start. Strangely enough, this is the case all over the world.
The more Yoishi spoke, the more Miiko growled from the corner of the room.

Well, certainly, there are a lot of cat related legends and ghost tales around the world.

Bakeneko<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakeneko)</ref>, Nekomata<ref>(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekomata)</ref>, Cat Sith<ref>(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat-s%C3%ACth)</ref>, Kasha<ref>(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasha_(folklore)</ref>, Gotokuneko <ref>(https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Gotokuneko)</ref>, Kinkabyou<ref>Kinkabyou(Golden flower cat)</ref> – Those were all the ones I could remember for the time being, however, I suppose those legends came to be because cats have been around humans for a long time. They've shared so many stories with us that they've become a part of our folklore.

I spoke those thoughts to Yoishi -- That’s right, she nodded.

“However --- for this reason, cats are full of features that can inhabit the human heart.”

After chatting about such things for a while –

Yoishi stuck out her finger towards Miiko, who was cowering in a small corner of the room, but Miiko didn’t sniff it. Poor thing, she's scared out of her mind.

To even scare cats, she’s the real deal when it comes to being a walker in the world beyond.

As I began to think about such ominous things again, Yoishi suddenly looked towards the corner of the room.

From there on she abruptly began crawling on all fours and moved closer to the wall.

“Say, what is this?”

What Yoishi was pointing to curiously was a hot water dispenser.

“What do you mean? The hot water dispenser? It’s to keep the boiled water from getting cold.”

Hmm, replied Yoishi as she then pointed to the stand type vacuum cleaner I had just bought.

“And what is this?”

“It’s a vacuum cleaner.”

“And these?”

“Those are all purpose hangers used to hang laundry with – wait, don’t you know what these things are? What kind of house do you live in, anyway?”

“What kind? An average one room apartment.”

“Huh…wait a minute.”

I stared at Yoishi’s face as I asked.

“Is it possible… that you live by yourself?”

Yoishi silently nodded.

What about your parents, I was about to ask, but, I desisted from doing so.

And the scene drew itself in my mind quite spontaneously.

No desk.

No clothes.

No cooking utensils, not even a curtain.

The view of an empty room, as if someone had just moved in. Yoishi lay coldly on the floor, illuminated by the moonlight. The image of Yoishi, living such a daily life as if it was normal, without feeling any pain – or rather, by cutting off all her emotions -- spread in my mind as if it was almost certainly true; I hesitated to inquire any more about Yoishi’s personal life.

--Something’s been troubling you; did you manage to take care of it?

Maybe if I had asked cheerfully, everything would have been solved easily.

But the person I was at this moment, just couldn't do it.

This girl has some kind of unique – extremely unique, family environment.

For some reason or other, I had a feeling about that. In the past, something happened to her -- Fear, the organ that’s supposed to feel it, died somehow. And in search of that lost forgotten emotion, she abandoned herself to the mysteries of the occult. That's what I learned in the depths of my warped dream. What in the world was it, that robbed you of the feeling known as ‘fear’? But I couldn’t inquire that from Yoishi, who was right in front of me. I was hopelessly afraid to step into it. It was almost like it was as close to the word forbidden as you can get, something impossible for a person like me to get involved in, an absolute barrier that I would never be able to overcome.

‘To save a girl like her, a half-hearted resolve won’t do’, I recalled Krishna-san’s words.

And yet, here I was, having brought Yoishi over to my apartment. Even though I was told not to associate with her, I ended up doing it anyway.

I suddenly realized that Yoishi had finished her tea and was idly staring at her cup.

I took the empty cup from her hands, stood up, washed and cleaned it, put in a tea bag, and poured in some more hot water from the dispenser.

After I handed it to her, Yoishi quickly took a sip and simply muttered, “Delicious”.

◯

Yoishi Mitsurugi went back home right away after finishing her second cup of tea.

I'll get ready for my 5 o'clock job, prepare food for Miiko, and clean the bathroom. When I patted her head, Miiko had started to be coy and sweet to me again, probably because Yoishi was gone.

“She’s always difficult to deal with, so please forgive me.”

Miiko just raised her eyes in response.

I patted her on the head once more and left for work.

At any rate, I'm still a struggling student, and I still have to earn my keep.

I was working at the Italian restaurant part-time at an hourly wage of 870 yen, five hours a day, and about five times a week. Even after doing that much, I only managed to make around 100,000 yen per month. But despite all that, this job was fun in its own way. At first, I had applied for the position to help with living expenses and to get some free food, but now I was quite fond of the time I spent there. The restaurant was just under a ten minute bike ride from my house, located just a ways off from Kichijouji station. My main task was to assist in food preparation, doing everything from peeling garlic, chopping tomatoes, preparing herbs, replenishing all sorts of seasonings and washing dishes. Well, long story short, I’m doing various chores in the kitchen, but if I’m late, I get shouted at, and if you slack off, you’re likely to get your ass kicked. When it gets busy, I have to go out to the dining area. That’s how I learned about the history and taste characteristics of Italian wine and how to skillfully use a sommelier knife to pop the cork. The manager was tough on the part-timers, but he was much tougher on himself, he fervently researched on Italian food every day and the restaurant flourished as a result. Particularly around early evening time, the restaurant was a veritable battlefield. There was no time to relax, and I had to move fast, almost by conditioned reflexes or else I wouldn’t be able to handle things. The high school girl who was a senior to me at work would often insult me, saying I was in the way, and there was a lot of incomprehensible Italian being spoken in the kitchen.

But I got used it by now --- I think. It’s way better than a part time job with a lot of free time. Anyway, time passes by in the blink of an eye as ‘It’s closing time, thanks for your hard work!’ rings out from within the store, I can’t help but feel a little moved whenever that happens. In the dimly lit restaurant with all the lights off except for the spotlights, I see the cooks opening a bottle of wine for tasting and saying, "Good work!”, it makes me really think, Dammit! Chefs are so damn cool. I often end up wondering I should just quit university and aim to be a chef, but, I think of my parent who paid a high cost for my university fees, and it would be bad if I didn’t at least graduate.

Well, anyway, after finishing an exhausting day of fulfilling work, I was going back to my apartment late at night as usual. And then, as always, while enjoying the pleasant night breeze pedaling back home on my mama bike –

Was when I noticed.

Someone’s cold, emotionless gaze.

I stopped my bike, and looked around.

I was in the middle of a residential area; it was late at night so there were only a few houses that still had their lights on. The street lights are bright, the moon beautiful and there’s no creepy atmosphere. But I could feel someone’s gaze clinging to me from somewhere.

“Is it just my imagination?” I wondered. I’m sure I must be feeling that way because I ended up meeting with Yoishi in the afternoon. Her creepy presence is still lingering somewhere within my unconscious. After the recent incident, I mostly stopped using the shortcut to my apartment that was next to the sports ground. I hated seeing that clock tower aka earthen storehouse even from a distance, so I did my best to return through a well-lit street. I knew I definitely had to stay away from dangerous places. I had learned my lesson on how to deal with the occult.

When I returned to my apartment and opened the front door, Miiko quickly came running to my feet. She snuggled her face up against my jeans and continued purring.

“Hey, you seem to be in a better mood now.”

I stroked her face, then took off my shoes and changed into more comfortable clothes.

As I washed my hands and face, I heard Miiko starting to eat her food. Waiting to eat after I return, she’s just like Momo from back then -- I thought to myself, as I watched her continue to eat in delight. Suddenly I realized, the area around where Yoishi had been sitting in the evening was faintly wet. When I crouched to confirm, a stripe of water remained, as if it had been wiped with a cloth whose water hadn’t been wrung out properly.

“What the heck is this?”

Could it be that Yoishi, had once again been dripping wet like that one time? Or could Miiko had drunk some water, and slept here with her jaw wet? In any case, I didn’t pay it too much attention at the time, gently wiped it off with a cloth and went off to take a shower. I dried my hair, and my eyelids soon became heavy, without eating dinner, I went and lied down.

When I got in my futon, Miiko also joined me. Even though it isn’t cold at this time of year, she was like Momo in that she liked the warmth of a human. I tucked Miiko inside the futon and opened the mystery book I had borrowed from the library -- when I noticed something. The bookmark I had stuck inside had changed its position. It had moved further ahead from where I had left off, I had almost read a spoiler.

“I guess I forgot to put the bookmark back.”

I returned it to the point I had read up to, when my eyes fell on the page but—

I felt extremely exhausted.

Without even turning off the lights, I fell into a deep sleep.

Outside my apartment, I thought I heard the sounds of cats moaning together in heat.

◯

“Did you go off to a strange place again?”

It was when I showed up at the beatnik research lab after my lectures were finished the next day. As soon as I saw her face Krishna-san said that to me, and I vigorously shook my head in response.

“No, I haven’t been anywhere.”

“Is that the truth?”

Krishna-san’s big round eyes glittered behind her red glasses as she glared at me with suspicion. For a moment, I thought, “Oh shit”, to myself as I panicked.

Huh…? Is it about the clock tower?

I thought so, but I’ve met up with Krishna-san many times since then. If she was talking to me about that, she would have told me much sooner.

“I don't like it. Am I being possessed by something?”

I daringly spoke out in a cheerful tone, Krishna-san pushed up her glasses, and stared at me with a serious expression.

“No, it’s a somewhat strange sensation – Different from being possessed directly. It's like you're alone in the middle of an abandoned building, and I'm staring at you from a distance, and then I find someone else staring at you from the top of an old building.

Those words filled me with horror. Her words kind of described the clinging gaze I had felt last night.

“D-don’t scare me like that. You certainly can’t see ghosts, right?”

“That’s true.”

Krishna-san gave a deeply regrettable shake of the head.

“Biophotons, at best. I’ve seen things that resemble ghosts a few times, but you could call it something else entirely, and as someone who runs an occult website, it’s certainly shameful, but I’m not someone who sees ghosts everywhere.”

She then took off her red glasses, and began to wipe off the dirt with a cloth and added.

“But recently, I’ve begun to think of it as a blessing in disguise. If I could see them all the time, I might end up turning out to be like Yoishi. Well, I don’t know if she turned out to be that way because she could see them, or if she’s able to see them because of how she turned out to be.”

“But can you tell if someone’s possessed?”

Krishna-san nodded with a very serious look on her face as she replied.

“I think I can sense it. And right now, I don’t think you’re being possessed by anything. I know that, but…. Ummm… I wonder what this feeling is?”

“I don’t really feel like my shoulders are heavy or anything, and I haven’t been having any strange dreams.”

“Is that so? Well, I guess it’s fine then.”

She said somewhat unconvinced.

“It’s not really nice to pry, sorry about that.”

Krishna-san put her glasses back on and gave a sweet smile.

After that she said, ‘well then’, as she puffed up with pride and changed the subject.

“The second half of semester classes are about to begin, and it's a critical time for the Beatnik research society as well.”

“…Huh?”

“Next month, during the Koumei institute school festival, there’s going to be a Mary festival. We have to organize it as part of the Beatnik society, and on the other hand, we can’t take a break in posting updates on Ikaigabuchi. In short, we have to finish translating the Fafrotskies research material within two to three days.”

“T-Two to three days?”

“I’m very sorry to ask you to work even harder after everything you’ve done so far, but it’s a reality of the schedule.”

Well, even if you say that –

Right now, no matter how hard I work, I can only manage to translate a page per day. There are still dozens of pages left. Moreover, the mystery of the Fafrotskies phenomenon has only deepened even after I’ve been working so tirelessly on the translation, making me question if it’s even worth it, and slowing down the pace of translation lately.

“Well, you know, the occult is the occult precisely because of its incomprehensible nature, that’s the fascination around it.”

Krishna-san spoke as if she read my expression.

“I still don’t have a complete picture of the Strange rain phenomenon --- but somehow, I do know one thing.”

“…Huh?”

“The Fafrotskies phenomenon, which has been documented countless time since before the common era – a phenomenon in which something impossible suddenly falls in an unlikely place. Those falling objects include small animals such as fish and frogs, large animals like alligators, and even giant creatures like whales have been reported. Not only that, but there are also reported precedents for blood, nails, mere meat, coins and hair. It's hard to see the truth that should be at the center of the story because it's an extremely wide range --- but, isn’t there a truth hidden somewhere that we’re overlooking in between the seemingly vast variety of falling objects?”

“Which is?”

“According to those who follow conventional wisdom, the Fafrotskies phenomenon can be explained scientifically through the mass outbreak theory and the tornado theory among other things, but the mass outbreak theory is based on the natural condition that the life form cannot occur in the vicinity of the site - and the tornado theory is based on the assumption that the falling objects will be of the same kind.”

“…Oh.”

“In short, even within the cases we’ve been translating, if the falling objects are not of the same type and if the site fulfils the condition for having an outbreak of the life form, in that case the possibilities of it being a paranormal event is low.”

I understand. Of course, it’s a conversation to be had after finishing all the translations, but if we statistically leave out all the cases that have even the slightest scientific explanation, we would only need to research the ones that can’t be explained.

Thereupon, I decided to ask Krishna-san something I had been curious about.

It was about that story Yoishi had muttered in front of the clock tower.

“Krishna-san, what do you think about ghost stories with the warps in space-time?”

“…Warps in space time?”

“You see many of them on the net, right? You pass through some place and when you come back, you’re in a different world. Multidimensions and parallel worlds, you think those sorts of things really exist? And if they do --- could a hole to one of those multidimensions open in the sky, and strange rain fall from there?”

“I see.”

Krishna-san put her finger on her small chin as she pondered.

“The pioneer in the study of the Faftrotskies phenomenon, Charles Fort advocated a similar a theory as well, that a ‘Super Sargasso Sea’ exists above the sky. The possibility of parallel words is certainly an interesting theory that has not been ruled out by modern physics, but, there’s not enough evidence to connect it to the Strange Rain phenomenon.”

Krishna-san then muttered with a look of nostalgia on her face.

“Now that you mention it, didn’t that person also mention something similar once…?”

“….Huh?”

“No, never mind.”

Krishna-san cleared her throat and smiled again.

“At any rate, isn’t it just fascinating? There are certain areas and ideas we can only hit on because we researched such a vast number of cases. A journey to the unknown begins from a single step, as they say.”

...Wait, wasn't that 'a journey of a thousand miles'?

That said, part of me feels like "journey to the unknown" actually fits her better.

The reason why this petite occult website administrator named Shiina Kurimoto does not seem to be gloomy in her research of ghosts is probably because she continues to hold fascination in this unknown. And that's exactly what I was trying to do. I also wanted to keep feeling something akin to excitement and hope in the occult. There was a part of me that would rather have things left ambiguous. If a day might come where science advanced to a stage where things like the composition of ghosts and their origin would be revealed, I’d end up thinking of them as completely boring. Isn’t it good that they’re so vague? I’d end up thinking to myself.

And—

And in that respect, me and Krishna-san are distinctly different from her.

Yoishi Mitsurugi would dig up and expose everything. Even if there was a reason for something to be sealed, she’d end up exposing it in broad daylight. No matter how brutal the truth would be, she’d step into any forbidden territory with her dark, shining eyes, and as long as we are attracted by the unknown, we can’t help but feel an irresistible gravity in her words and deeds. That’s why Krishna-san told me not to associate with Yoishi. I’m sure that Krishna-san herself must have felt drawn to the presence of the world beyond that clings to Yoishi. But it's a ticket to a deeper world where you can't come back if you go too deep, and you have to put a stop to it somewhere.

“It’s fascinating, is it? I understand.”

Well, if it’s just that, I’m convinced. I felt as if I had realized the basic attitude I would need to take toward the occult from now on.

“I got it now! Then let’s finish it in two days! I’m gonna stay overnight in the club room today!”

Krishna-san became flustered at my enthusiasm.

“Wait, I mean, it’s good to be enthusiastic and try to do it faster, but you don’t have to go that---”

“No, just leave it to me. It’s fascination, after all!”

Completely regaining my motivation, I slapped my chest.

Being a woman, Krishna-san had a curfew, commuting to school from her home. It seemed her father was strict in such matters, unless it was a something serious, he wouldn’t let her stay overnight somewhere else. So, if I, as a man living alone, doesn’t persist here, then who else is gonna do it?

“Ugh…In that respect, I’m really jealous of you being a guy who lives alone. I've always wished I was a guy myself.”

“It’s fine. I mean, even after you’ve returned home, you’re still working on updates for ‘Ikaigabuchi’, after all.”

“Well, that’s true, but...”

“Besides that, if you were a guy, I’m sure that would make Ikaigabuchi fans all over the country weep in sorrow.”

“…Eh? No… I don’t think that’s true…”

I laughed as I patted the shoulders of Krishna-san as she squirmed in a small voice.

That part of her was quite cute, but above all else, I was happy that my stance towards the occult had been clarified. I was feeling quite ecstatic.

That’s why, I ended up overlooking it.

That night --- That strange ‘gaze’ I had felt.

And even now, I could still feel that dark gaze staring at me from somewhere.

I wish I could have at least discussed it properly with her back then, but –

It was already too late.

◯

The western building was crowded as ever late at night.

I returned once to my apartment after my part-time job to look after Miiko, and returned to the club room once again.

In the three-story concrete building, I could see the windows of the club rooms, most of the lights were turned on. Originally, the club building in my university was supposed to close at 10 pm but, that rule was difficult to enforce. In particular, Building A, where all the club rooms for the humanities department are located -- a place where idiots with inexplicable dogmas belonging to the drama, film, newspaper, art, radio, and other clubs would spend their days discussing theories of culture and art.

Mitsuru Ooki, who had entrusted me with Miiko, was also of course, one of them. Culture is born at midnight, he would always say.

“...In the end, I guess I ended up joining those idiots.”

As expected, my body felt heavy after working for so many hours.

I muttered to myself as I parked my mama-bike in the bike parking, but that feeling somehow went away when I saw how lively the club building was. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to continue translating without sleeping, and that I won't be able to continue with lectures, my part-time job, and translation the next day. But, once a man says something, he has to go through with it. I recalled my father’s favorite pet phrase as I entered the club building in a light mood.

I bought a canned coffee on the ground floor and went up the stairs. Crossing the noisy corridors, I unlocked the doors to the empty beatnik club room and entered. With the late-night radio as my companion, I was going to devote my full time to translation work from then on.

With powers of concentration I wasn’t even able to display during my exams, hours passed by in the blink of an eye—

At the break of dawn, I thought I heard a cat’s voice, and I looked up.

Light had begun to seep in from beyond the window. wherein I heard what felt like a cat fight. Loud Meows, and growls; ah, what the hell? Are they mating? I laughed to myself. Momo, who I kept in the past was castrated, so I never saw it first-hand, but I heard seeing two cats mating is a pitiful site to see. My high school teacher, who was a cat lover, told me, "You can't let children see that.”

--I guess I’ll have to get Miiko castrated someday too.

I suddenly thought that to myself. And, I wondered, if I had kept Momo from when she was a kitten, would I actually have chosen to castrate her? I stopped my hand for a moment and thought about it while listening to the dreadful cat growls coming from outside the window - but I couldn’t come up with an answer.

Castration is an act of selfish convenience for humans. It’s such a cruel thing for the creatures living in this world to be deprived of their right to bear and raise children. It’s true that modern society cannot afford to let cats do that every day in residential areas in their season of heat. But that is for the convenience of humans, not for the happiness of cats. We love cats, but we are cruel to them. No, it’s just not only cats, it’s the same for dogs and other animals as well. We exterminate them to the point of extinction, and when it gets to the point where they’re in danger of extinction, we start their conservation. From their point of view, they would probably say that it’s all for the convenience of humans.

Sometimes, when I see a gruesome incident on the news, I suddenly feel like quitting humanity. And that bitterness develops into aimless self-questioning, eventually leading to dark and gloomy criticism of humanity. Even so, a half-hearted person like me can never figure out what should be done. Just being depressed means you won’t ever be able to move forward. That’s why, for the time being, I guess I’ll just have to be as sincere as I can to the ones I met through fate, which is Miiko for me right now.

“After a while, I have to go back home and feed her.” I squinted my eyes at the morning sun as I muttered to myself.

Ooki didn’t show up on that day as well.

He might be relaxing at his parents’ home after a long time or something. What was he going to do about Miiko? I wondered, but it was true that I was able to concentrate on translation thanks to her.

However --- two, three days later, the translation was yet to be finished, and there was no contact at all from Ooki.

“The hell is up with that guy?”

His absence had been pushed to the back of my mind since I’d made a big deal of finishing the translation work that I had yet to finish, but it’s been a week already. I got worried, and visited the art club at lunch break on the very same day.

“Is that guy Ooki around here?”

I tried asking but, all the club members there just shook their heads.

“Now that you mention it, we haven’t seen him around for a while now.” Was all that they said.

Could he have possibly decided to drop out of university altogether? I worried, but he was an artist by nature. That was impossible to deny.

Even though I carried reservations about his disappearance, I was busy with my own life.

I was going to my classes, my part-time job, helping out with posting regular updates on Ikaigabuchi. And I was staying overnight in the club room almost every day, I would often doze off on the beatnik study’s table, then Krishna-san would come and wake me in the morning.

“That’s enough. I’ll do the rest.”

Unable to just stand by and watch, Krishna-san said that, but I insisted.

“Just let me finish it to the end, please. I’m fine.”

“But if you keep going like this, you won’t be able to attend classes anymore. That was never my intention, it would be inexcusable to your family,.”

“I’m fine, I can keep attending class.”

“But you don’t look fine.”

“I’m alright.”

I put on a brave front, but I was dozing off during lectures, continuously making mistakes in my part-time job and earning recrimination as a result. But despite that, I was making good progress with the translation, and work on posting updates was going smoothly as well, and in between, I’d return back tot the apartment and take care of Miiko. I’d try to return to my apartment at least three times a day to check on Miiko, and every time I did, she would happily jump up to me each time, and that was the only thing that kept me going.

When I hugged her, she would lick my face, and her sweet smell soothed me to the point where I almost swooned. It’s like we’re a married couple. I imagine her as a devoted wife who married into poverty – We are poor, and love is the only thing we have.

No, no, no—

What the hell am I thinking?? She’s a cat. It’s not a good thing for Miiko to be treated like a human.

[[Image:Phenomeno-vol2-case05.jpg|Height in pixel|thumb|]]

“I still can’t get in touch with Ooki at all.”

Returning to my apartment between classes and work, I lay sprawled out alongside Miiko as I told her that. Miiko stared at me as if she understood what I was saying,

“Well, it’s because he’s a careless guy, he’s probably slagging off somewhere, but just wait a while longer.”

I informed her as I played with her through a cat teaser toy.

However, I was beginning to have a feeling that I would continue living with Miiko like this.

Life at university is like that. Unlike middle school or high school, everyone suddenly finds their own path to follow one day and ends up disappearing.

Mamiya from the linguistics department got crazy about surfing before summer vacation, in the morning. If he knew there was gonna be a good wave coming in, he’d leave for the sea clutching his surfboard in hand, before long he quit university and ended up working at a surf board shop along the seashore. Okamura from the film studies department seemed to have gotten a part time job at a movie set, he slowly stopped coming to university, last time I heard he dropped out during the summer vacation.

“He’s an artist, so I dunno.” I muttered as I turned to face up at the ceiling.

If Ooki doesn’t come back to university, will I have to keep her?

Well, I guess that’s not such a bad thing after all, I thought to myself. Reflected in my tired, weary eyes, was Miiko staring back at me with kindness, like Momo had once done. I was experiencing that after a long time, the tranquility of someone’s protective gaze watching over me as I slept.

That’s why, I thought it was probably a dream.

Sleeping next to me was, a woman. Dressed in white, watching over me quietly as I slept as she were my wife. I’d never married before, and it wasn’t something I could Imagine, but it felt like the oft-reported happiness of a newly married couple.

--Eventually…

*Diiiiiiiiiiiiing* *Diiiiiiiiiiiiing* I suddenly woke up hearing the alarm ringing from my phone.

“…Damn it.”

In a panic, I washed my face, cleaned Miiko’s litter box and prepared her food, and stroked her face.

“I’ll see you later. Sorry, Momo.” Saying that, I left for my part-time job.

“Yamada, you don’t look so good.”

Even the manager even said that to me but I replied with, “I’m A-okay”, as I gave a bright smile, and went off to change into my uniform.

It was the second opening of the day in the evening as it suddenly started to get crowded. From there, it's just the tension of the job that gets me through it. “What is your recommended wine?” “We have some excellent Barolo available today.” “Hey Yamada, we’re almost out of garlic.” “Yes, On it right away!” “This spaghetti aglio is too spicy.” “I’m deeply sorry, we’ll make it again for you right away, sir.” “This isn’t the dish I ordered.” “I'm sorry, sir. I'll be right with you.” “It was delicious.” “Thank you very much, I’ll be sure to convey that to the chef!” Voices flying around, voices, voices. Mixed in with the aroma of olive oil were emotions, excitement, angry voices, echoes of laughter. All I could do was desperately keep up with them, and before I knew it, closing time had arrived.

In the night breeze, I ride my mama bike back to my apartment with a pleasant sense of fatigue.

When I opened the front door, Miiko ran up to me and started clinging to me.

As I picked her up and stroked her, I suddenly felt something strange about the room. What was it? I thought but couldn’t come up with anything. It seemed like nothing had changed, but something felt slightly different since the time I left. While Miiko was eating her cat food, I went close to the wall to change the sand in the litter box, when I finally noticed it. The peeled off poster on the wall which I had been neglecting due to my busy schedule had been fixed.

“Huh….? Err, the pin on the corner did fall off, and I picked it up, but I didn’t… stick it back in…right?”

I tilted my head in puzzlement, wondering if I had fixed it unconsciously. I had no clue.

For the time being I spent another thirty minutes with Miiko, and stood up again. One way or another, I want to finish the translation work by today. If I could finish that, I’d be able to free up a lot of time in my life.

Under the moonlight, I pedaled my bike towards the club building.

The lights were on in western club building as usual. I climbed the stairs up to my club room. I unlocked the door and turned on the lights inside, On the top of a neatly organized table, I found Krishna-san’s personal laptop, which could be called the data bank of ‘Ikaigabuchi’, and a bundle of manuscript copies on top of it.

“…Huh?”

I noticed. There were a lot less manuscript copies than when I had left the club room in the evening. There were only about five pages left. And, there was a small note there.
{To Nagi-kun.
There were only a few pages left but I couldn’t finish them! I’m really sorry, I’ll leave it up to you!
--Shiina Kurimoto.”}

While reading that memo, I wondered…

Krishna-san had been undoubtedly working hard because she was worried about my health. Moreover, she translated the Fafrtoskies case from the 1600s, which was the hardest in terms of English literature used. What remained was a comparatively easy present-day document. If it’s just this much, I could finish it by the morning if I work hard enough.

“Didn’t she leave it to me on purpose, though?”

The thought occurred to me. To let me taste the feeling of completion, of having made it through all the way to the end, Krishna-san must have intentionally left me with the easy part - the most appetizing part of the work. She’s capable of doing anything, after all, the thought of that moved me to tears. But, well, it was still pretty hard with my English skills - though it was true that I felt pretty encouraged.

“Alright.”

Flexing my neck, I sat down on the desk and began to work on the last part. I opened the text editor on the computer, and with a dictionary in one hand, translated sentence by sentence, and typed it. English is not my forte or anything, but I have learned a lot from translating so far. Even in long, incomprehensible sentences, if you can find the subject and verb you can somehow manage it. I also learned that words that are not in the dictionary are often adjectives made up by the author. Morning is ‘Morning’, but when I saw it written as ‘morn’, it confused the heck out of me -- but apparently, it seemed to be used in the context of ‘Morning like’. I got the hang of it in this place as I diligently struggled with English. Maybe human beings really do make an effort when they can envision things. I didn’t even turn on the late-night radio which I usually listened to, and absorbed myself in work. I diligently identified the subjects and verbs, and then translated them as if I were expanding my world from there. And then finally, as the sun had begun to rise – I finished translating everything.

As I typed the last sentence and saved, I leaned back against the chair, extended my elbows and exclaimed:

“…I’m dooooooooone.”

The sunlight pouring in from the window, felt like heaven. Where was the feeling of sleepiness I had been feeling lately? My body, which had been as heavy as iron, was feeling so light that I could go out to play right away. I stood up and turned on the radio to hear an unfamiliar western song play. It was a country-style song with a guitar as the main instrument, and had a steady and distinctly cool bass sound. And in order to further savor my feeling of fulfillment, I headed outside to buy a canned coffee. Leaving the radio turned on, I locked the door and trotted down the hallway. The lights still shined through about half of the club rooms on both sides of the hallway. I would occasionally hear laughter from within. Some of them were playing instruments. Some of them were washing their faces in the bathroom, probably after an all-nighter. Seeing those kinds of sights absent-mindedly, I arrived at the lobby on the ground floor, I bought a canned coffee from the vending machine, and sat down on the bench.

Why is it that the air in the morning feels so clear? There’s a saying that it purges the darkness, but I once again keenly felt how great the strength of the sun’s light was. In an instant, the traces of yesterday are painted over. It washes away all the impurities and makes me feel like I can step into a new day.

“I guess this university isn’t so bad.”

I muttered to myself as I let the bitter sweetness of the coffee soak into my tired body.

A somewhat closed-off university for the elite. A place filled with the same kind of people. With a prejudiced attitude, I had labeled this university as such; now I saw a different side to it. But that’s not it. There are as many truths as there are people, and the world is always multifaceted, that’s why it’s supposed to be interesting. I’d been looking down on this place based on one aspect alone.

Maybe it was because I was from the countryside; I think I felt lonely in the city’s university, where it’s difficult to form a small and tight-knit community. Superficial associations, superficial smiles. I felt disgust at such things. But that's not the case. Nothing in university, nor in a city filled with good and bad people, is prepared from the start. Anything and everything has to be chosen by your own self. The place you belong, your job, your friends, your way of life.

And right now, I'm sure I'm feeling this way because of this western club room building. This concrete building, where you can devote yourself to something. People who are into painting, people striving to train their guitar skills, people devoting themselves to editing movies. People who are just drinking sake while debating art and their world views – and probably some couples flirting in a club room somewhere.

Still, there are only people here who do what they love.

Liable to themselves, they do what they like.

I was never even able to notice such things when I was just taking lectures, leaving the university immediately afterwards, and going to my part-time job. In that sense, it was all thanks to Krishna-san and the occult. I’ve been through a lot since I came to Tokyo, but thanks to ‘Ikaigabuchi’, I’ve been able to live without boredom. People everywhere, their futures broaden when they have things they like. Bonding over shared interests, it really gives people's lives something precious... Yeah, that already sounded like amateur philosophy drivel, so I just brought the canned coffee to my lips once more.

“…Huh?”

I suddenly felt as if I heard Miiko’s fawning voice from somewhere, and stood up.

No, that can’t be. Miiko is in the apartment. The sound just now must have been from a stray cat somewhere.

And, I heard it again.

This time it was screams, as if two cats were violently fighting each other.

Come to think of it, I've been hearing a lot of cats in heat, fighting with each other lately. I guess that’s how things are at the end of summer? Thinking that, I stood up. And then, was immediately startled.

--There is, no sound...

The silence was deafening around me. I went outside through the ground floor, and looked around the entire club building. All signs of human life had completely disappeared from the club building. As if someone had pressed the mute button on a TV remote, sound had disappeared from the world all together.

Shaking off the bad feeling, I walked back inside the club building. Immediately afterwards, I climbed up the stairs. Before reaching the Beatnik club room on the third floor, I was sure of it.

I was the only one in the building.

The club building, which had been so noisy a few moments ago, now just felt like an empty concrete box. Unknowingly, I began to run. I was running up the stairs to the third floor and then in the corridor. I tried to knock on the clubrooms with the lights still on. But there was no reply from anywhere.

My heart started to beat faster, and in the terrible silence, my ears were ringing.

“…Calm down, calm down and just breathe.” I told myself, catching my ragged breath.

And I continued forward in the corridor with no one present.

All the club rooms still had their lights turned on.

The only thing that remained was the feeling that people were making noise until just now, but there was no one in sight.

It was like – just like, the Mary Celeste incident. The mysterious incident that occurred in the Atlantic sea had been recreated in the western club building. Unbearable fear engulfed me, and I stopped in my tracks to think. Is this a dream? Night after night, I’d been fatigued doing translation work, and did I start dreaming in the club room unawares?

As someone who had once experienced an extremely realistic lucid dream, that was my first suspicion.

Once again, I’d lost sight of the boundary between dreams and reality—

No.

No, no, no--

I frantically brushed off the thought that popped in my head. Acknowledging that would be dangerous. The moment I would acknowledge that, everything would begin to collapse. I'd finally started to stand and walk on my own, but my life itself would no longer carry on. I'm supposed to be cured by now. I’m supposed to firmly stand tall on my own two feet. The childhood curse was lifted, and I was sure that I had already firmly grasped reality, a reality that I could walk towards. All my instability was born from that inconsistency in my memory, the thing that was messed up from the start, and which was supposed to have been fixed properly. But in the darkness inside my head, which was so dark that made me want to look away, that had begun to glow dimly. No matter where I looked, it was the only thing that seemed to be true, and its presence grew heavily.

That was, in short –

The doubt, that I had not yet been cured.

But to acknowledge that, would be unbearably scary. The fear of being uncertain about your own existence. An absolute fear of there being a domain inside me that I couldn’t control, of an unknown darkness squirming inside me.

That moment – I heard something.

It was a western song. It was coming from the club room. From the Beatnik research society – that’s right, it was the song from the radio I had left turned on. Suddenly, my spirit, which was on the verge of collapse, rapidly regained its strength.

Get yourself together, man. So what if everyone had disappeared? That’s a possibility that could always happen, right? It could just be that they all went back home at the same time.

Finally regaining my composure, I ran to the front of the club room. Then, at the door, I took the key out of my pocket, with my trembling hands, I was about to insert it into the keyhole, when I realized.

Behind the frosted glass of the yellow door, the shadow of a person flickered and swayed.

“…Krishna-san?”

I unconsciously muttered that, but my hand on the doorknob stopped as the alarm signal inside me reverberated loudly.

--No, it’s not her.

This figure does not belong to Krishna-san. It was someone a little taller, and thinner. Awfully thin. In the first place, Krishna-san doesn’t come to the club room at this time.

Then…who is it?

A gulp of saliva falls down my esophagus, and a nasty sweat runs down my armpit.

I felt helplessly afraid, but I couldn’t avert my eyes away from there.

My eyes naturally drew themselves to the figure behind the frosted glass.

I knew it was the figure of a woman. Her clothes were white. She stood in a very peculiar manner, leaning at a slight angle, swaying slowly. It felt as if she were a paper doll, flowing in the wind. Her eyes were unnaturally hollowed out, as if an empty hole stared at me.

---It’s her.
---She’s the one… who’s been watching me all this time.

I became convinced of this, as tears welled up in my eyes.

Only the sounds of the song from the club room, and my heartbeat, echoed in the corridor.

It’s slipping away. Something is noisily slipping away.

And I knew this feeling all too well.

In that house that made me anxious. In the abandoned hospital in Hachiouji. And – in that clock tower.

The feeling I felt in all of them, the feeling of the world slipping away, drifted from behind the door.

---The real thing makes you feel uncomfortable.

Yoishi’s Mitsurugi’s oft repeated words.

It felt like they were seeping in.

That’s right, I couldn’t feel any life from the one behind the frosted glass.

“…W-who is it…?”

It was the moment I whispered in a shaky voice. The shadow suddenly moved. It approached me, and then it put its hand on the frosted glass and peered intently at me through the glass. The area around her eyes were truly dark and hollow.

As I recoiled backwards, the girl spoke:

“Meow.”

◯

The sound of someone’s footsteps.

Breathing. A noisy conversation.

The hustle and bustle reverberated in my whole skull, waking me from my slumber.

It seemed I had lost consciousness. I was slumped over in the corridor, my body lying spread-eagled.

A couple of female students with badminton rackets in hand were looking at me with disgust. I could feel the cold, hard concrete floor on my back. Slowly getting up, I could feel the gritty dust clinging to my hands.

I grunted and stood up, and the female students moved away.

I checked the time on my wrist-watch, it was still seven in the morning. Those girls likely came to the club room for morning training. They probably thought I had passed out drunk in front of the club room or something.

The noise had returned in the club room building.

I could hear the chirping of the birds outside, and from a far-off distance, I could hear the enthusiastic shouts from the members of the sports club being zealous in their morning training. For the time being, I brushed off the dirt clinging to my T-shirt and jeans, and turned around to face the Beatnik research club room. I unlocked the door and checked inside. The place looked exactly the same as before. The lights were still turned on, and the computer had switched to sleep mode. A cheerful pop song was playing on the radio.

There was no one inside.

The woman resembling a paper doll was nowhere to be seen. I shut down the computer, grabbed my bag and staggered out of the club room.

Pedaling in a meandering manner, I quickly biked back to my apartment.

I opened the door; without a moment’s delay, Miiko coiled around me.

I hear her small meow, and I bury my face in her warmth and sweet scent. I savor the feel of her fur as it calms my anxious mind. But at the same time, I remembered. I was reminded of the paper doll-like woman from this morning, didn’t she also ‘Meow’? And before that as well. Didn’t I hear something that sounded like a cat’s voice when everyone’s presence disappeared?

An uneasiness assailed me as I looked around the room.

I felt something in the room had changed once again since I left.

I entered the room just as Miiko began to eat her food, looked around at everything from the low dining table to the small bookshelf -- and then I realized. The position of the books had changed. I'm not a particularly meticulous person, but I’ve been arranging my magazines in order of size. That's simply for appearance’s sake, not classified by type. Instead, they were now arranged according to publisher type. Is it a coincidence? Did I just half-mindedly cram them in there and they turned out to be like that?

From then on, I opened a drawer in a cabinet next to the kitchen.

Inside, there were supposed to be just disposable chopsticks and seasonings, but the disposable chopsticks were grouped together and the seasonings were organized by type.

My head started to feel dizzy, and I opened the door of the modular bathroom to wash my face anyway.

And there, I saw it.

There were signs that someone had taken a bath.

Shampoos, conditioners, and other products that I only remember placing haphazardly had been neatly arranged. A towel that was messily hung on the towel rack was now hanging in a tidy manner. The hair that should have been clogged up in the drainage was now gone.

It was as if -- someone else besides me lived here, and everything was different.

In a daze, I stepped out of the modular bathroom.

And I stared at Miiko, grooming herself after she had finished eating.

Perhaps feeling my gaze, Miiko also looked up at me.

Then, with gentle eyes reminiscent of a new wife --

She gave a complacent smile.

◯

I took the day off from class.

I pedaled my bike as fast as I could towards Ooki’s apartment.

It’s already been more than ten days since he entrusted me with Miiko. No matter how you look at it, it’s been way too long since I’ve had contact with him, and there were a lot of things weighing on my mind.

What’s been happening to me lately?

A sense of uneasiness, as if I’d ended up in an ominous series of events. I thought it was all just my imagination, and that I’d get through it, if I just let it be, but it really does seem like I’m caught up in some deep shit after all.

Someone’s traces in my room. And the figure of the paper doll like woman in the club room. And what Krishna-san spoke of, the presence of a gaze staring at me from afar. Somewhere along the line, I had felt that feeling too, but I tried to ignore it. Because I thought it was the same thing I felt whenever I would read a scary story. But did it all have something to do with it? Did everything connect to a root cause?

No – no, I should have realized it by now. And even when I admitted it to myself, I knew that I couldn’t solve it on my own.

All of the strange things that have been happening to me lately. They all started with a cat’s voice. The cat in question being, Miiko. Everything began after I started taking care of Miiko.

“Say, I wonder if cats really can shapeshift.”

Yoishi’s words sprang to mind.

Did that mean she figured it out from the start?

The fact that Miiko was an existence that brought about some strange phenomenon.

No – no, that’s not true.

That’s not true, I can say it with certainty.

Even if Miiko’s not a normal cat, she’s definitely not a monster cat. She holds no malice towards me. Because, she’s the reincarnation of Momo. Because this time, she was born again to be my wife.

Now I was on my way to Ooki’s apartment, and in my bag, Momo -- no, Miiko, was crammed inside.

If Ooki was in his apartment, I’d give her back to him.

I wasn’t giving her back because of fear. If she inherited Momo’s memories after being reborn, there are lots of things I want to say to her. There are things I have to apologize for. But regardless of that, in this life right now, she is Ooki’s cat. If he doesn’t feel like keeping her anymore, then I’ll think about it, but if he still wants to keep her, then there’s nothing more I can do.

I can’t make anymore mistakes. She’s a cat, not a person. I had once ended up making a promise to give a cat a human’s happiness. That can’t happen. A cat deserves happiness as a cat. I failed to make that distinction, and that’s where everything went wrong.

Eventually, I arrived at an old apartment constructed from wood that was on the verge of falling down.

It was Ooki’s boarding house. I had visited him only once before, so I only had a faint memory of the address, but I somehow managed to make it. I walked into the common entrance of the building which was way older than my apartment building. Good afternoon, I greeted from outside. There seemed to be a few signs of life in the apartment, but no one came out.

“Sorry for intruding.”

I humbly call out, and take off my sneakers before entering. Stepping on the creaking floor, I head towards the stairs in the back. The interior was dim even though it was the afternoon. The narrow corridor is only wide enough for one person, just like an old-fashioned boarding house. I could hear the cicadas cry from outside. It was the only thing that reassured me that there was a connection between here and the outside.

As I examined the door to Ooki’s room on the second floor, I heard a sound from the inside.

“What? He’s here, after all.”

With a sigh of relief, I moved to knock on the door, when…

--You’re going to throw me away?

I heard a woman’s voice from somewhere.

In a panic, I frantically checked my surroundings.

--Are you going to throw me away again?

I shook my head at the voice.

“…No. That’s not it.”

I looked around once again, but there really was no one in sight.

I was alone in the dark corridor. And right now – my feet were trembling. They trembled enough to make the floor creak. Inside the bag I was holding, it felt like the weight had increased tremendously.

With my shaking fingers – I motioned to open the zipper – but then, I stopped myself.

--I shouldn’t look at the thing inside my bag.

It was the voice of my instincts warning me.

Without knowing why, something told me that what was inside the bag was neither Momo, nor Miiko—but the woman I had seen in the club room -- the one with warped, black eyes.

◯

In the end, I couldn’t even knock on Ooki’s door.

I staggered back to the university carrying the bag with Miiko inside.

The sun was already high in the sky. I chose a less crowded part of campus and sat alone on the edge of the lawn.

I put my fingers in my hair, and tore my hair out. Not knowing what to do from now on, I unconsciously took out my phone. There was a message on my phone. It was from Krishna-san.

《Congratulations on finishing your work. You’ve done well.》

I should have felt jubilant at being praised, but my heart remained still and heavy as iron.

My dead cat has returned to me.

I thought about replying that way, but decided not to.

I don't know where to begin the story, and Krishna-san might recognize Miiko as a monster cat and start working to exorcise her. But I felt that wasn’t true. She hasn't done anything wrong. She simply returned to be by my side, to fulfill the promise she kept with me.

A light breeze blows past me.

I guess summer has ended, I surmise as I look up to the sky.

In front of the main school building, lots of students were laughing as usual. They were all dressed in clean, trendy clothes, laughing happily together and having fun as if they alone exemplified youth. It really wasn’t the kind of atmosphere I could join in straight away, but even just being around so many students, I felt the fear clinging to my body slowly dissipate. After watching them for some time – I finally gathered the courage to open my bag.

I took a single breath, and outstretched my trembling fingers – towards the zipper.

And in a single breath, I opened the bag.

There was no such thing as a monster inside.

Nor was there any sign of the slanted woman.

There was only Miiko, who pushed her face out of the bag with a small meow.

Miiko wasn’t smiling anymore.

She merely looked up to me with a single-minded look of trust on her face.

With a sigh of relief – I stroked Miiko as I inquired.

“Are you… Momo’s reincarnation?”

I felt like an idiot. If she were to answer ‘That’s right’, what would I do then?

But I couldn’t help but ask.

Miiko merely looked up to me with clear eyes. She neither made a sound, nor spoke.

It really must have been an auditory hallucination back then. I had half-heartedly tried to return Miiko to Ooki, and my reluctant heart had ended up hearing that auditory hallucination.

But --- all of a sudden, I felt it again, a gaze.

It was that gaze. The gaze that had been haunting me lately, as if I were confronting an unfathomably deep hole.

--Where is it? Where is it… coming from…?

I tried to trace that presence as I looked around me, and… I noticed it.

On rooftop of the building of the main school building, someone was there.

It was a thin, young girl. She was tall, wearing white clothes. Her shoulder-length hair danced in the wind. She was swaying like a paper doll. Her face was too far away to make out, but --- but the edges of her eyes were dark and hollow. Only the area around her eyes remained unnaturally dark. But I knew that those hollow eyes were fixed on me.

“…Ah.”

Suddenly, I felt as if the girl smiled – and it was the next moment.

Without warning, the girl… jumped.

Gradually, As if in slow motion.

Like a dream, she falls down to the ground from the roof.

As I reflexively flinched and looked away -- I heard a crunching sound.

I couldn’t move from that spot.

It was as if I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened in front of me.

Someone had jumped. From the roof. I heard a crunching sound. The sound of something being crushed. The sound of something bursting. However --- no one made a commotion. The students continued to laugh, as if nothing happened. They were laughing and murmuring, as if there was something fun going on. Apathy. Indifference. Insouciance. Even though someone fell. They paid no attention to events that didn’t concern them. To the very end, they shut themselves in their community. A community that I, and only I, could not enter. That's not true, is it? Even though someone fell down, why isn’t anyone coming to help?

Feeling a cold isolation -- I timidly turned my eyes to face the spot where the girl had fallen.

However, there was no one there. There was no body. There was no blood. That spot was just a stone floor with not a single piece of trash on it.

“…What…?”

The scenery blurred. I stared at the crowd of students, feeling like I wanted to cry.

--Something… was wrong with me.

It's not that they're coldhearted, it was I who was messed up.

It’s all because I’m not normal. It’s because I still haven’t been cured. That’s why, I couldn’t associate with those guys over there. It wasn't their fault, it wasn't that they were bullying me, it was just me who was broken.

I heard a voice say, ‘Meow.’

As if to gently comfort me, by saying, "It's okay.”

And then, I finally realized.

“So that’s why, huh?”

I spoke to Miiko – or rather, to the white cat reincarnation of Momo.

“So that’s the reason you are white?”

--A garment with a Saiwaibishi pattern. <ref> Traditional Japanese pattern. http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hanabishimonyou.htm_)</ref> A white short sleeved kimono. <ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosode</ref> The Uchikake that was worn-- <ref> https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Uchikake.html </ref>

It reminded me of the only wedding I’d ever attended, the traditional Japanese wedding<ref>https://www.toki.tokyo/blogt/2015/8/17/traditional-japanese-style-weddings</ref> of my paternal cousin.

My cousin was so beautiful, with a silent joy and a trace of nervousness on her white face.

Momo’s pure white fur, served as a white kimono.

To become my wife. To be my bride. To be my companion for life. And thenceforth, share in all my hardships. And if that wish couldn’t come true – she had demonstrated that she would simply die again.

Something inside me, something that was barely holding me together, broke away.

“Alright, I get it.”

I declared to that white kimono wearing woman.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I remember my promise.
I was about to say those words – when...

“Momo-chan isn’t thinking that at all.”

Hearing that familiar voice – I looked up, and saw -- Yoishi Mitsurugi.

In her usual Koumei school uniform, her black tie was swaying in the wind.

With her usually sickly pale face, her dark eyes shined, as she quietly started at me.

Miiko immediately began to growl as she leaned out of the bag.

But Yoishi didn’t care, as she bent forward.

“Get out.”

She brought her face right in front of Miiko’s, and asked.

“Who are you? What are you trying to do?”

With each word, Miiko growls became louder and angrier.

“You seem to be interested enough to live together and observe him – but why is that?”

However, I perceived it. Miiko wasn’t making a voice out of precaution or fear. Miiko was…laughing. She opened her red mouth in delight, as if she had found a being of her own kind. Yoishi continued to speak as if they had known each other for many years.

“Yes, that’s true. This person will certainly join his heart with anyone. Be it the living or the dead, as long as there's room for compassion, he'll do it. He can’t abandon others to their pain. Even if it has nothing to do with him, he can’t use that as a justification. That’s why he gets involved. That's the interesting thing about this person, he's helplessly foolish.”

I didn’t know if I was being praised or disparaged harshly -- but I continued to stare at Yoishi.

“However, if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.”

Yoishi paused for a moment, gave Miiko a cold stare, and said:

“This person is a friend candidate of mine.”

---Friend… candidate…?

The hell is that? I wondered, as Yoishi suddenly outstretched her hands.

In the next moment, *Slap*, Yoishi slapped her hands in front of Miiko’s eyes with great force.

In an instant –

I felt something break. As if time quickly began to move again, a feeling of warm air seeping out of a crack in the ice. And then the strange air cleared up. Somewhere along the way, I realized that something heavy must have wrapped itself around me. Even Miiko gave a blank stare, and stopped growling.

“It seems that Nekodamashi<ref>This is a sumo term meaning to slap your hands in front of your opponent's face to confuse him. In this case it’s also a pun because neko actually means cat in Japanese.</ref> is really effective.”

“…Nekodamashi?”

I remained dumbfounded at Yoishi’s words – before long, Miiko began to look around her surroundings restlessly, and started struggling to get out of my bag.

“H-hey, Miiko!”

However, it seemed like Miiko didn’t recognize me at all. As if she were surrounded by strangers she’d never seen before, she couldn’t understand why she was shoved into a bag. She squirmed and wriggled, eventually slipping out of my arms, and ran off somewhere at breakneck speed.

““H…hey, Miiko!”

In a panic I stood up, and Yoishi spoke to me.

“That cat’s probably not named Miiko.”

“Huh?”

“I think it’s just a stray cat.”

“No, what are you saying? That’s Ooki’s cat I was taking care of…”

“That’s not it.”

“I shouldn’t have kept ignoring her, that’s why the girl ended up turning her eyes to you.”

“…Huh?”

--A girl? Turning her eyes to me?

“Something resembling a stain that remained in this school. And the other ghost inside the clock tower.”

With those words, I recalled the thing I'd seen that night when I'd left the clock tower -- something clinging to the old woman's leg. ‘Because it’s fun, after all’, The whisper reverberated in my ears once more.

“It certainly is a slightly troublesome ghost.”

Yoishi spoke with a sigh and turned back. Just like that, she put her hands in her pockets and walked away, looking somewhat pained.

◯

It was a few days afterwards.

I couldn't find Miiko no matter how hard I looked for her. Afterwards, I went to visit Ooki’s apartment again. I had lost the cat he had asked me to take care of. I was going to get down on my knees and apologize. As a token of my apology, I had even bought an expensive package of sweets with my full allowance this month. However, when he opened the door and came out, Ooki said something unexpected.

“Hey Nagito, it’s been a long time.”

“…Huh?”

“Well, I’ve been cooped up in here for a while now. I've been working hard on finishing my artwork for the school festival in the fall.”

I looked inside, the small room had an easel with an incomplete painting, countless art supplies on the side table, and it was filled with the pungent smell of turpentine and painting oil.

“Look at this. It’s gonna be a masterpiece, don’t you think? It's been a while since I've been on a roll like this.”

“Uh…Yeah it’s good, but… I wanted to talk about Miiko.”

“What the heck is Miiko?”

“…”

The conversation didn't go well, and I somehow took the long way around to find out that Ooki hadn't been to my house that day. In fact, he bluntly stated:

“I didn't leave my cat with you, and I never had a cat in the first place.”

…No, wait a minute.

Then who was the Mitsuru Ooki who came that day?

And worse yet, what was the Miiko he gave to me on that day?

“Do you think I even have the composure to take care of a cat? I might end up eating it if I get careless.”

He laughed at me with a dumbfounded look on his face; I tilted my head in contemplation and left Ooki’s place.

I returned to my university right away, and encamped outside of the affiliated school’s gate.

If I didn’t get an explanation from Yoishi, I’d be having nightmares about cats in my dreams.

Eventually the high school classes ended, and I found Yoishi coming out with her head dropped down, as always, she had the aura of death around her. I rushed over to her and started interrogating her.

“What the hell was that all about? Do you even know?”

With a vacant gaze Yoishi looked at me and spoke.

“Oh, it’s you.” She muttered her usual line.

"Don't 'it's you' me. And at least tell me your phone number for once. Why do I have to wait outside the school gates every time I want to meet you like some kind of flunkey?"
Yoishi silently took out her black phone in response and displayed her phone number on the screen. Ohhh, I hurriedly typed it into my own phone and rang her number once.

“That’s my contact number.”

I told her, and then I felt pathetic, wondering why I finally did it after all this time.

“Anyway…that’s all and good. But about that cat. That white cat named Miiko. Ooki told me he never owned it, but what does it all mean?”

Yoishi then replied in a bothered tone of voice:

“Didn’t I tell you? That was just a stray cat.”

“No…surely, that’s not true. That cat was named Miiko, or rather, it was really Momo…”

I was mid-sentence when I suddenly realized.

That time – she definitely said: “Momo-chan isn’t thinking that at all.”

“Y-you, how did you know that name….? I mean, how did you know the name of the cat I had when I was a kid?”

“Because, you’ve always had a brown cat with a white streak by your side.”

“Huh?”

“I saw most of her memories: That she was called ‘Momo,’ that she often used to sleep by your side, and how much you cherished her.”

“I…is she here, now?”

When I asked her that, Yoishi shook her head quietly.

“She disappeared to try and get rid of the girl inside that cat. The Nekodamashi was certainly effective, but Momo’s help from the inside was essential.”

Saying that, Yoishi began to walk away.

--Wait a minute.

To get rid of? What do you mean she disappeared to get rid of the girl?

Confused, I ran ahead of Yoishi and turned around to ask:

“Hey, what are you saying? You mean to tell me that Momo’s been next to me ever since she died?”

Yoishi gave a small nod.

I --- I….

I never even… had the faintest clue. Why couldn’t I notice her existence in the least? Shaking my head in complete disgust at my own insensitivity, I once again asked:

“Say, Yoishi. Tell me…”

There were many things I didn’t know, like the troublesome ghost inside of Miiko, and why she was gazing at me. But right now, there was one thing I wanted to know far longer than anything else. No, it was something I needed to know.

“Didn’t Momo… didn’t she resent me?”

Yoishi stopped in her tracks. Then, after looking me straight in the eyes, narrowed her eyes slightly and said:

“The only thing in Momo-chan’s mind, were treasured memories.”

“…”

“She said that she loved you. That you always treated her like a person, not a cat. From the bottom of her heart, she was happy to disappear for your sake.”

…Damn it all, it’s no use.

The moment those words reached my heart, I forgot that I was standing in front of Yoishi, and... I burst into tears.

--------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references />

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case_04|Case 04]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Case 06|Case 06]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 04

2024-11-17T11:59:45Z

Pakkit:

==Case 04: The hole in the clock tower==

It’s dark. The air I breathe in stabs at my nostrils. I don’t know if my surroundings are narrow or spacious. In any case, I’m inside a room. It’s an ancient room that hasn’t been ventilated in years; stagnated air drifted all around me. And if you were to ask me where I was, all I could say was that I didn’t have a clue. At any rate, all of this is a blur, a vague impenetrable space where the inorganic and organic are directly connected; in other words, it's probably a dream I'm having.

That summer – even though I recall it like that, it’s barely been a month since then, we’re still in the middle of summer now, and my memories from childhood had been restored properly. You could say it was a curse, a distortion of memory that was hard to believe if you heard about it. I became aware of that thanks to the help and kindness of many people, and after straddling the line between this world and that world, I returned alive. I managed to retrieve my correct memories. Since then, I've been able to get a good night’s sleep, and I stopped dreaming - or so I thought.

“So, after a long time, it’s this kind of dream.”

I raised my voice in a whine inside the dream. I've heard that people usually dream, no matter how many times they say they don't dream. It’s just that they don’t remember, which could mean that I might have been dreaming as usual all this time. It had been a long time since I felt this feeling: the realization that I was inside a dream.

It was cold and pitch dark; I couldn’t see anything at all. I felt I was enclosed by ancient wood and a large amount of dust. I touched the floor with my hands and felt a rough and stone-built texture. And, this dream was filled to the brim with a nightmare characteristic --- There was no doubt about it. Something terrible is going to happen from now on.

“….Hey, give me a break.”

I couldn’t help but raise such a feeble point of view.

Dreams – they themselves have already become a trauma for me.

“When you dive into the world of the deep subconscious, it’s basically impossible to conclude if it’s a dream or not.”

I recalled the words of Krishna-san. But, the dream I’m having right now, was not a melding of reality and dream like the one before. My consciousness was much clearer than before. I obviously understood that this was a dream. However, even if this was just a one-off nightmare, I didn’t want to dream anymore if possible. Having to once again taste that feeling of not being able to return is so terrifying that I feel like my knees are going to collapse.

It was that moment.

From one part of the dark room, I heard a cracking sound. At the same time, I noticed it… the smell of mothballs, similar to the smell when you open an old chest of drawers, wafting through the air. I slowly turned my head, and faced that direction. Two meters ahead of me to the right side. In that darkness, someone was there.

“W….Who is it?”

I strained my eyes but, it was too dark to make out anything. That slender figure was facing away from me. They were standing stock still with their face turned towards the wall. That person wouldn’t move at all. They didn’t reply. Was it a woman, or a man? Was it a young person, or an older person? I didn’t know. Something in the shape of a human being, which could not convey any emotion, stood still.

Once more, I heard a sound.

This time, it was a heavy clanking sound, as if two metals were bashing against each other.

That moment, a light shined in from somewhere. A few meters ahead of me, I saw a light similar to that of a full moon. I felt fresh air pumping in from there. I ran. For the time being, I’d had enough of this darkness. With those thoughts, I stumbled forward and desperately moved my legs.

---What is that person standing close to the wall?

---Why am I in this kind of dream?

Even though I knew it was a dream, but the events of the past amplified the fear in me. At any rate, my mind was blank -- without thinking anything, I ran towards that light. Beyond the hole, I saw a blue sky. The air was so clear and thick with oxygen that it was hard to believe how good it was, and as I drew closer, it was like I had just finished an underwater dive. In spite of all that, I took a glance behind me.

Before I knew it, the person close to the wall was looking my way.

That face was contorted with delight, and there was a pleasure in it, like things were going the way they planned. It was, maybe, a fraction of a second. The moment I perceived that distorted emotion, I was attacked with an incomprehensibly deep regret. But that didn't stop my body from moving, and I kept rushing ahead into that round hole that gave me a glimpse of fresh air and the outside world. If I shouted there, I could call someone, I thought to myself. I could call someone who could help me get out of here. I rushed ahead with that hope.

The moment I felt the hard, cold feel of the mud wall around my neck --- I knew what the true nature of that regret was.

I heard something sliding down with a vigorous crunching sound.

My head was chopped clean off, together with my consciousness.

“…Ughoooooh!!!!”

I woke up from my dream with a groan.

I took a deep, long breath, realizing my body was soaking wet. My heart was still beating so hard, I could hear it clearly. Repeating my deep breaths, I removed the vestiges of the dream still clinging to my consciousness. Then, the carefree announcement of the train conductor reached my ears. He repeated in a nasal voice, "Arriving at Odawara soon”.

In my ears, in my consciousness, the hustle and bustle returned. It was the middle of the summer, the merry voices of children, and a salary man-like voice brazenly using his cell-phone inside the train. I opened and closed my sweaty palms a few times, and looked around. I was on a bullet-train bound for Tokyo.

“Calm down, It was a dream… Just a nightmare. It was different from that dream.” Shaking my head, I muttered to myself.

The glistening sun poured into the landscape flowing outside the window. In the distant horizon, a giant column of clouds rose up. Even though the air conditioner was working inside the train, the unrelenting heat from outside the window kept pouring inside.

It was the last half of August.

I was on the bullet train headed back towards Tokyo.

“I guess I read a little too much of ‘Ikaigabuchi’ yesterday.”

I had decided to return to Tokyo yesterday morning.

It was in the morning after I had finished eating breakfast with my father and sister; I was drinking barley tea and watching TV. When the newscaster announced with a frown:

“In Musashino district, Tokyo, the phenomenon of fish falling from the sky has once again occurred.”

---What? Surprised, I turned up the volume of the television; it seemed a large number of sardines had fallen down in Inokashira park this time. Last time it was Isaki fish in Musashisakai station if I recall correctly. I heard that was only juvenile fish. They didn't say if the sardines were juvenile fish or not, but the news was accompanied by an expert who said it may have been because of a local tornado caused by extreme weather. Well, that makes sense from a common sense point of view, but the occult fans around the nation have a different perspective.

Impossible things falling down from the sky --- That is, what has been observed since ancient times: the supernatural phenomenon known as『Strange Rain』<ref> Whirlwinds accompanied by rain which also drops strange objects such as fish</ref>. Known as an omen of a natural disaster, it was actually a famous supernatural phenomenon among us.

A few days ago, when I heard the news of the Isaki fish falling down, I thought:

---Isn’t something intriguing about to begin?

Since that incident, after my memories had been changed fully, I had been keeping my distance from occult topics, but then decided to access Ikaigabuchi after a long time. The forum thread on the board that was at the top had quickly reached over a hundred replies; there was a tumultuous uproar and a heated debate over the strange rain phenomenon that had occurred in Musashino.

Ah, isn’t this great? Joining an occult discussion after a long time, my heart was feeling excited. At first, I thought it was dangerous and I should cut off my access to the site, but my mind had recovered more so than I thought. I wasn’t feeling that wobbly shaking in the place I stood. I didn’t feel that sense of hopelessness, as if the world I believed in was falling apart. It was just a doorway to an exciting adventure into unknown territory. Hadn’t I already gotten better? Didn’t the foundation of my soul harden well enough already? From that point on, I started reading articles on Ikaigabuchi everyday as usual. I burned every corner of the articles in my retinas to make up for time lost. Krishna-san had been diligently updating the site every day. When I was reminded of her petite body and lovely face, my love of the occult filled my heart even more.

When I was at my parent’s home, I was definitely at harmony. My old friends are kindred spirits, and even when I'm asleep, I’m served with food. But unfortunately, it's just not exciting enough. Time there just moves too slowly. Above all, I’m missing that dazzling ghost factor that I was basked in with my move to Tokyo. In the first place, it was problematic that I was taking time off my part-time job; even if I wasn’t living there my apartment still cost rent. And on top of that, I still owed my sister the rent money.

I should return to Tokyo soon.

I kept thinking that, but, it was still me after everything that had happened. I had been dithering about and not making a decision, and then this incident literally fell down again.

The Tokyo Musashino incident was a continuation of the strange rain phenomenon. I couldn’t stand still any longer. In the first place, summer is supposed to be all about ghost stories. In the time I’ve spent here in Fujieda, there were exciting ghost stories happening on Ikaigabuchi every day. This is painful. I want to be involved. Something exciting should happen to me!

….So, I packed my bags at a speed that would have stunned my family, and the next day I jumped on the bullet train.

I arrived at Tokyo station, going straight to Mitaka. I got off and, without even stopping by at my apartment, I headed straight towards Koumei university with a souvenir in my hand, and barged into the building on the western side.

“I’m back!” With a big smile on my face, I opened the iron door; at the same time, I heard a cute scream from the inside, and saw Krishna-san fall off from her chair.

When I looked, next to the fallen Krishna-san, were two chairs; on one of them was a washtub, next to that was a side table with several empty ice cups. There were several drinks lying on the working table, besides that there were several handheld fans, and some water balloons lying on the floor.

“Huh? What were you doing, Krishna-san?”

“T-that’s what I should be asking you, what are you doing here?!” Krishna-san pushed up her trademark red glasses that were about to slip off, then hastily adjusted the bottom part of her exposed one piece dress. If I were to guess from that red face—Aha! Apparently, she was enjoying the summer in a very informal outfit.

“I see, you were lying back on the chair, with your legs on the back of the other chair, and your feet soaked in the washtub?"

“S-s-shut up! Why are you here? Did you already return from Fujieda?”

“I had too much free time.” I replied with a smile and dropped the large quantity of luggage on the floor.

“F-free time?”

“Ah, this is a souvenir for you, It’s from my sister and father.” I took out the packed souvenir, before Krishna-san quickly began to spit out a torrent of abuse.

“No, I don’t need something like a souvenir. Besides that, what do you mean you had free time? Didn’t I already tell you that the free time, was meant to be extremely important for you? Altering your out of sync childhood memories is a lot more serious than you think!”

“No, I’m fine now. I can properly open the fusuma, and I also went to visit her grave, all the distortions have been completely fixed in order and taken root in my heart.”

Saying that, I stood up straight, and once again bowed to Krishna-san.

“Everything is thanks to you and the others. You have my deepest thanks.”

I really, really thought that from the bottom of my heart. Now when I think on it, for a long, long time, I felt as if I'd been dreaming about it. And because of the discrepancies in my memory, I realized I had somehow raised a ghost inside me, and became drawn to the world of the occult.

“No-no, it’s not like I really did anything.” Krishna-san was caught off guard at my deepest thanks and stammered her words.

“I only ascertained the line; there is a line in this world that people mustn’t cross. I only warned you because were about to cross it.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“Eh?”

“About that, I decided to write this.” Saying that, I took a letter out of my bag. Written in a word processor, It was my application for joining the club.

“A-application?”

“Yes, it has my proper signature and has a seal attached. As of today, I’m joining the Bee research lab. No, rather than Beetnik research – I’m becoming a staff member of Ikaigabuchi!”

“N-no…. wait a minute.”

“No, I’ve already thought about it thoroughly. Even after all that, I'm still drawn to the occult. I'm fascinated by not only ghosts, but also UFOs, UMAs<ref> Unidentified mysterious animal</ref>, perpetual motion machines, cursed artifacts sent through time travel, and all sorts of other wonders – Or should I say, I've come to realize that I love these mysterious phenomena.”

“Oi, Nagi-kun. You’re not liste--”

“No, please just listen to me. I don't want to be scared like that anymore either. I know what happened probably pushed my mind to its limit. No, I think it did go over the limit. I’m saying that because I understand that fear very well. But even after all that, after my mind has been properly arranged, I’m still drawn to the paranormal. I found myself trying to peer into the deep and unfathomable world. And that scares me. I know that there is a part of this world that I shouldn't be involved in, and yet the fool in me still tries to get involved. They say that you have to die to be cured of stupidity, but if that's really the case, then I'm going to have to die. But, my life is a precious thing given to me by my parents, so I can’t die that easily. Then, what should I do? I thought desperately and found this answer.”

Saying that, I handed Krishna-san the white piece of paper.

“In short, It would be best for me to be next to Krishna-san!”

“….”

“For example, you know that occult topic about the moon being artificially built, right? About the moon being in fact, built by aliens as a monitoring satellite for earth, its insides being hollow, the dark side of the moon hidden from earth’s view having a landing base for UFOs -- that kind of exciting rumor. Now, I know you're raising your eyebrows in disapproval at me, but just listen to me for a second. There's no way for us ordinary people to verify that no matter what we do, right? That’s right. We can’t verify it, and that’s why our imaginations are stimulated, and we get excited. But say, I win some kind of fortune and gain some authority, and I charter a rocket to go to the moon. Then I’d look around every nook and cranny. As a result, what if it turns out that the moon was not actually created by aliens, but was a relic of a very advanced civilization of prehistoric humans? Yes, it’s 65.5 million years in the past. If I found out that the descendants of a small number of moon-dwelling, super-ancient humans who survived that "K-T boundary", where an asteroid struck the Yucatan peninsula in the Cretaceous period and wiped out nearly all life, the descendants of the super-ancient humans who live on the moon are the ones in the UFOs that are often spotted around the world. I’d probably shout in surprise, but at the same time, I’d certainly feel lonely. The hope that there may be intelligent life beyond this distant, vast universe, and the idea that they might have come all the way to earth, overcoming the dizzying infinity of space, would be shattered. I think I’d also feel disappointed, knowing that it’s impossible to go to the outer galaxy, after all. Ah, if that's all there was to it, it would have been okay. But say, you’re at your home, and before you knew it, there would be foreigners dressed in black wandering around your house, and the next thing you knew, you’d be kidnapped, and those people would be Americans or Russian agents in collusion with these super-ancient humans, and then they’d be like ‘hahaha, you’ve learned a bit too much’, and then you'd be brainwashed, or secretly buried somewhere deep in the ground, or electronically disassembled by some bizarre device, what would you do? I'm sure my final thoughts before death would be: Ah, how lucky I was to be able to fantasize about the mysteries of this world! Why didn’t I realize the greatness of having the courage to stop there? As the scenery would fade in front of my eyes, I’d surely lament that. And then surely….surely at the end I’d recall Krishna-san’s face. That person warned me of all sorts of things. If you peek from this side, you will end up being seen from the other side -- I was admonished over and over again. That was correct, I’d say with a single tear dropping down --- Ah, I’m sorry, I got a bit too empathetic with myself and shed a tear ---- uhhh, in short, that’s how it is. Krishna-san knows that the world of the dead is always around the corner. Even though you’re concerned about that, you’re still probing the boundary line as a living person while also maintaining control of yourself. You make sure not to step into a place that shouldn’t be stepped into. Didn't you once tell me that it couldn't be helped that I had an interest? That wanting to know is one of the best qualities of a person. But for me, that quality was dangerous, and yet I still wanted to know, and I don't know why anymore. That’s why… I thought I would try to be by your side. I will stay away from anything you deem as dangerous. I won’t look at the things you say not to look at; I won’t read the things you tell me not to read. So, it’s fine if you just let me help you with whatever I can. If I leave your side, I’d end up messing with things I shouldn’t have messed with. In order to not do that --- this is the only thing I can do!”

The next thing I knew, the petite occult manager’s face lay near before my eyes. With our noses almost touching, Krishna was just staring at me with her cute, half-open mouth.

--Am I, an idiot?

I suppose so, but these thoughts were also words that I had already asked myself time and time again in my head. When I lived in Fujieda for a month, when I became determined to return to Tokyo and left my home, when I was headed to Shizouka station, when I was riding the bullet train, when I was headed to Mitaka from Tokyo station, and finally, the twenty minutes I spent walking from the station to this club room. So I thought, and thought, and thought, and finally spat out these words. Certainly, my fervent speech was hotter than the air coming in from the window, though, they might also have been fervent enough to melt iron.

After a while--

Krishna-san cleared her throat, and silently whispered:

“In the first place, do you have an interest in Beatnik literature?”

“What?”

“Ostensibly, this is a place to research Beatnik literature. After mastering that topic, I run Ikaigabuchi as a hobby. If you're going to join this club, you're still going to have to learn about beatnik.”

Krishna-san then started shoving old books in my hand from a cabinet.

“I'd tell you to read from Herbert Hankle first of all, but you should read these before next week.”

It was the collected works from authors who represented the Beatnik generation: Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac.

“I…I have to read all of these?”

“That’s obvious, there’s more material to read as well.”

I flipped through the flimsy, yellowed pages, and felt dejected. They were all really thick and the letters were small.

Damn --- I saw Krishna-san’s slender figure rummaging through the cabinets looking for more books to give me.

“W…Wait a minute? In other words, are you giving me permission to join?”

Krishna-san pushed up her glasses with her middle finger as she replied.

“It can’t be helped, right? The director doesn’t have the authority to turn down someone who wants to join the club, and I know well enough that the people who like this genre aren’t the type who would listen.”

She looks at me coldly and adds:

“That’s right, a fool like you who excels at delusions without knowing your place, it’s better for you to remain within my sight, or else I’d be troubled.”

“Then, then – does that mean I can help you with posting updates on Ikaigabuchi?”

I asked with my eyes glittering excitedly.

“No, there’s a condition for that.” Krishna-san abruptly raised one finger. “You must never look at anything unless I tell you it’s ok to look at.”

“Of course.”

“You must immediately inform me if you notice anything remotely strange.”

“That helps me too.”

“And – this one is the problem.”

Krishna-san looked at me after a pause. She glared at me with her big eyes, and opened her mouth as if she had decided.

“Don’t associate with Yoishi Mitsurugi anymore.”

“…With Yoishi?”

“That’s right; you’re not in contact with her, right?”

“No, no… not since then.”

It was that day, when I said farewell to her at Tokyo station. I didn’t know any way to contact her in the first place. I didn’t know her phone number, or her email, or her address. The only thing I remember is, her being a first-year in high school.

“Then it’s fine. Before, I irresponsibly told you that if you wanted to associate with her, you should put your whole life into it -- I take that back. When you officially become a member of the club, the safety of the club member will be the responsible of the club director.”

“Yes.”

“There’s no doubt about it, she sees ghosts. We stand in a different place than her. When you associate with her, you are inevitably involved with the affairs of the world beyond. And that is definitely---“

With her large eyes, Krishna-san looked at me and declared.

“---Not a world you or I can deal with.”

◯

Yoishi Mitsurugi, the high school girl with long jet black hair, skin as white as pottery, possessing beauty akin to a western doll. A girl with the bizarre quality of responding to all kinds of monstrosities and amplifying their horror. What you would call a denpa<ref>Japanese slang which means psychic receiver of signals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denpa</ref> in terms of internet slang. Suddenly spreading her crazy occult delusions into the world, causing problems for those around her -- she’s that kind of denpa.

I associated with her, I tasted bottomless fear, but as a result, I was able to confirm the correct place where I should stand. Her powers of concentration are not normal when it comes to the occult, to the point of being left speechless, however, if she hadn’t been close to me at that time, I would have stayed held down, swallowed by that deep darkness, unable to return back.

At the same time, I could understand Krishna-san’s concerns.

She is, in one way or the other, extraordinary in many terms. She doesn’t know how to adjust; neither can she read the situation like a normal person could. Generally speaking, her own curiosity is the foremost priority, and she holds no care nor concern for other people’s feelings. Things like taboos hold the same meaning as broken down doors in front of her.

However, it was a fact that Yoishi and I hadn’t contacted each other even once since then, Come to think of it, her writings had disappeared from the bulletin board of Ikaigabuchi, which I had started browsing again recently. I went back and read all the posts from quite a while ago, so I'm sure of it. It was as if she had sunk into the sea of the internet, and all traces of her had vanished.

“She might have stopped posting, but maybe she’s still looking at logs.” I muttered.

For the time being, I decided to return back to my apartment.

Speaking of Yoishi, I recalled her last words when I reached Tokyo station.

“Next time, if we meet again...”

She had said with a somewhat tense expression.

“I’ll become your friend.”

Those were the words spoken after the train door had closed, so I’m not sure if that’s what it was. But I really feel that those were the words she frantically uttered with her lip movements. I mean, what did she mean when she said we would become friends. You don’t become friends after declaring it out loud like that, right? Usually, you’d end up hanging out with someone after getting along with them, you go through various things with them, you feel a sense of respect for their values and spirituality, and before you know it, you’d become friends -- No, it's not even worth talking about such things so seriously. Put simply, just hanging out with someone is enough to be able to call them your friend.

Whatever it is, she’s eccentric in all sorts of ways, and she’s beyond compare in terms of her peculiarities.

After all I(without holding any grudges towards Yoishi), was fed up of the feeling of the world beyond she was dragging me into. After all, only gazing at the occult from a slight distance away was enough excitement for me.

I kept thinking thoughts like that alone as I walked, before long I was in front of my apartment building in Tokyo. The scorching sun had completely drenched my T-shirt in sweat. For the time being, I should put away my luggage, change my clothes and head over to my part-time work place for greetings – it was the moment I was at my front door.

“Hey- Nagi-kun”

I turned to face the seemingly happy face, in front of the corridor was a glamorous beauty dressed in a black camisole.

“Ah, Karasu-san. Long time no see.”

It was the self-proclaimed fortune teller, one of the seniors of Ikaigabuchi, Karasu was her handle name. Of course, I still didn’t know her real name.

“You’re back then? You seemed to have tanned pretty well.”

“Oh, the reason I’m tanned is because I’ve been helping with all sorts of things: like weeding, washing the car, wholesaling lumber. In other words, I was worked hard by my father and sister, and ended up running away.”

That's what I said, but Karasu-san wasn't even looking at me anymore. I found her crouched at my feet, she started tearing the wrapping off the paper bag containing the souvenir.

“Ah, that souvenir was for my boss….”

“Wow—this is a green tea rice dumpling with chocolate paste! Super, super, super delicious! So soft and moist! I'm so happy--! It's true what they say: the friend to have is a neighbor who has a warm countryside home.” Saying things like that, Karasu-san threw a bite in her mouth. That’s right -- this person was my neighbor, my benefactor who introduced this cheap apartment to me. With pretty black hair, age unknown, a nostalgic beauty but, she also had other peculiar idiosyncrasies; even Krishna-san couldn’t control her words or actions.

“It’s so delicious – I can’t stop – “

“Hey – Karasu-san! You’re probably way richer than me, so stop leeching off of poor students like me already.”

“So cruel! I’m not leeching! It’s so sad to see a guy eating alone, so I’m going through all the trouble of eating with you!”

“Then, at least prepare your own meals. Isn’t coming to a person’s house with just a bowl strange enough? In the first place, your house isn’t here, isn’t it located in the high-rise apartment complex with a huge terrace in front of the station? The apartment next door is nothing more than a meaningless storage space for you, so please don't come to my place this often. Besides that, it’s a nuisance for you to be wandering around this neighborhood in that getup of yours.”

I said, pointing to the camisole that was revealing part of her plump white breasts.

“Oh? So you’re embarrassed? There’s no need for that, don’t act no reserved. It’s not as if I want to fool around with a fresh bumpkin boy who ran away from the sticks.” Karasu-san laughed in a foolish way as she clapped me on the shoulders.

“But you know—“, the black haired fortune teller spoke, as soon as she had finished gobbling down three more dumplings. “Even though I said you ran away from there, the real reason is that, right? You got curious about the strange rain and rushed back here, right?”

“…….”

I became silent after being seen through so easily; Karasu-san smirked.

“We have similar interests, after all; you don't have to be a fortune teller to know that. Say—that is quite interesting, isn’t it? Right now Ikaigabuchi is in an uproar. Me too, If I knew the place where it’s going to happen next, I’d rush right over there.”

Come to think of it, I had been so occupied with getting Krishna-san’s permission for joining the club, I forgot to ask her about the important ‘Mushashino’s consecutive strange rain incident’. I asked unintentionally, “About that strange rain incident, is there anyone who saw it happen? The scene of the fish raining down?”

“No, there was someone who uploaded a picture taken in front of the station crammed with fish, but that was after everything was over. I want to see the moment everything was raining down.”

“Eh, so there isn’t any new information or anything?”

“Presently, we don’t know anything beyond what was reported in the news. There’s very little info on the net as well, Krishna-chan might have some ideas, but, that girl doesn’t speak out until everything is clear.”

“…That’s true.”

So I guess I'll have to wait until the manager of Ikaigabuchi makes an official comment about it. Well, as I’ve officially became a staff member of the Ikaigabuchi today, I’ll be able to get the information a little sooner. As I once again recall the important position I gained today my expression loosened.

As I grinned, thinking of bragging about it to Karasu-san, she quickly gulped down her fourth dumpling and spoke:

“But, there’s a similar story at your school.”

“Huh?”

“You see, strange rain is famous for raining mummified fish and a large number of frogs, but it can also rain blood, right? So, a while ago on Ikaigabuchi, I read that that there’s a place like that in Koumei institute. Ehh... If I remember correctly… it was near the clock tower.”

--Clock tower?

--A rain of blood?

That sounds like an interesting story.

“W-where is that? That clock tower?”

“I don’t know, I’m not a student. Isn’t there one? A clock tower?”

“I’ve never seen it before. Or rather, this is the first time I'm hearing about the existence of a clock tower.”

“Hmmm…? Well, I really did read about it.”

As I looked at Karasu-san, who was tilting her head in contemplation, I once again pictured the inside of the university.

The university I was attending: Koumei private university.

Established originally as a girl’s school, incorporated as a missionary school. It has a long history, dating back to the Meiji era. It’s famous for the beautiful zelkova trees that lead to the main gate, and I learned after I entered the university that it was known to the public as a university for the prestigious class. All the faculties are located side by side on the campus, and with the high school attached to it, it is quite a large institute. The buildings are arranged around the old main building, with the student’s hall on the east side. On the west side are the buildings of the arts and sciences faculty. Beyond that, sandwiched in between the zelkova trees, is the clubhouse building. To the north are the library, the science department building, and the multi-purpose hall. And on the far side of that is supposed to be the school sports grounds, But –

No, there’s no such thing as a clock tower anywhere.

“Hmm...... Was it the clock tower that you can't open? Or maybe it was a sealed clock tower? Anyway, there's a hidden room there, and there was a creepy incident there a long time ago, so there's blood raining around the clock tower.”

“Come on, try and remember it properly, Karasu-san.” I urged excitedly.

"Ah---perhaps," spoke Karasu-san while licking her Daifuku-dusted fingertips. “That place, has already been classified as an S rank.”

--

An S rank classified haunted place.

It's a haunted place that is said to be especially dangerous on the occult website Ikaigabuchi. On Ikaigabuchi, there are usually four ranks classified from rank A to D; In fact, the S ranking does not officially exist. The rankings themselves are investigated and determined by Krishna-san and the spiritually trained experts on a daily basis, with the main purpose of the site being to promote the separation of people and spirits, but if a place is currently dangerous, the article itself is deleted from the site as it’s a place that people shouldn’t know about.

--The rumored S-rank haunted place… in my university?

The information I gained from Karasu-san, greatly excited me. A huge event was happening right when I returned to Tokyo. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to become a staff member in the first place, so I could encounter such spots that I would never have known about if I had only been a lurker on the website.

But-- when I went to the club room the next day and asked Krishna-san about it, she stared at me with the most horrible look in the world, “I don't know who told you that story, but…” she said, glaring at me with a terrifying look. “There's no such thing as a clock tower on the campus, and no such article about a rain of blood that was ever published in Ikaigabuchi.”

“…Ugh.”

“You may get all excited by yourself, but you should know better, Nagi-kun.”

Her words were cold enough to freeze a laughing baby’s face; I nodded in panic.

“Generally speaking, the Fafrotskies phenomenon is not that rare and has sufficient scientific explanations to not be classified as an occult occurrence.”

“Faf…What is that?

“Fall from the skies, abbreviated as the Fafrotskies phenomenon. In short, it’s about the strange rain; the paranormal phenomenon in which fish, frogs, and other impossible things suddenly fall from the sky to a point on the earth's surface.

“Ah…the scientific explanation is like that, right? The tornado theory, or that one about abnormal increase in animal reproduction rates?

“You seem to know about it already. The Musashino incident is the same, if you roughly take a look at past cases worldwide; there are actually very few people who witnessed the rainfall directly. In short, it's mostly an accumulation of post-event phenomena, where there were supposedly a lot of impossible creatures in an impossible place. I said it before, didn’t I? Ninety-nine percent of ghost stories out there in the world are lies, delusions, or misunderstandings.”

“So, the cases of strange rain near Musashino are in that category?

”The temperature of the sea surface has been rising due to the abnormal weather in the past few years. The shift of the earth's axis caused by frequent earthquakes may be affecting the ecosystem. It wouldn't be surprising if there was an abnormal increase of a particular type of life in a particular place, or if it was simply a truckload of fish that collapsed.”

…Oof.

“But even so, the situation has caused such a big uproar that we can't rule out the possibility that some real ghosts might be involved – So we need to start gathering as much material as we can and investigate.”

With a thud, she handed me a large amount of A4 papers. It was so much that even as a man, I staggered when holding them - but when I looked up, there was more on the worktable in the back.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s material from the middle ages about the Fafrotskies phenomenon that was in the British Library. I asked an acquaintance over there if he could send me some materials, and this arrived today. I thought it had been digitized, but here it is. We have to translate all of this as soon as possible.”

“Translate…all of it?”

“Of course, and we can’t just upload it to Ikaigabuchi like that, we also need to add the summary, analysis and give our own opinion on it.”

“T-thanks for the hard work.” I blurted out without thinking; Krishna-san raised her eyes in disgust.

“Why are you acting like it’s somebody else’s problem? You said you would become a member of Ikaigabuchi, right? From now on, you and I are going to do it together.”

“Ehhhh?”

“Go all out, Nagi-kun. Go at it like crazy.”

As expected, Krishna said this without much effort - but when I thought of the endless work involved, I practically fainted right there.

◯

My life in Tokyo suddenly got a whole lot busier. Half of it was having all my free time consumed with doing translation work in my room, and the other half was my part time job. As soon as I gave my greetings at my workplace, I was told to go straight in and start my shift right away, as if I were making up for lost time. Basically, from the time I woke up in the morning until evening, I was face to face with Krishna-san, grappling with a mountain of research materials in the scorching hot club room without air conditioning, and from the time the sun went down until after midnight, I was at a stone-built Italian restaurant, smiling laboriously.

Day after day, I wiped the sweat from my face with the towel hanging around my neck, and with a thick dictionary in one hand, we both worked hard to translate the English documents. It was the first time since I studied for my entrance exams that I had to deal with such a huge number of English letters. Or rather, that time was still way easier compared to this. Roughly speaking, most of these documents were written in a literary style, occasionally the meaning of the English words used from the Middle Ages wasn’t even written in the dictionary. Some of the phrases are uniquely British, and every time I read them, my hand stopped. The bulky English-English dictionary was handier than the internet or the library. It was so difficult that even Krishna-san, a literature major, groaned, and my willpower, as an economics major, had already broken down a while ago.

--This is just impossible.

I don’t know how many times I uttered that line. It was still only around August; the summer vacation was still on. Outside the window, gigantic columns of clouds rose up in a nice pattern, and the sun shone in brightly. The city was full of girls in light dresses, and it was unbearable to spend time indoors, passing up the chance to experience all the youthful events like the beach, pools, and fireworks displays.

I thought that, but I naturally swallowed those words when I saw Krishna-san in front of me, her lovely eyebrows twisted into a frown as she scratched her head. If a girl was working this hard, a guy like me couldn’t give up so easily.

And, at the same time -- I finally realized something.

Up until now, this person has been doing all this work, all by herself. All of the extensive and in-depth articles in "Ikaigabuchi," which we, as occult fans all over the country, used to just read and enjoy, were surely the very fruit of this girl’s blood, sweat and tears.

Anyway, seeing Krishna-san raised my dipping morale, and I continued to frenetically go through the research materials. Waking up, I’d head to the club room straight away, translating diligently until evening. After that, I’d work at the Italian restaurant until late at night. I’d peel the garlic, wash the dishes and also serve as a waiter. I’d stagger home at closing time, sleep like a log, and go to the club room straight again the next day. The next day, and the day after that, repeating the same thing over and over again.

The only saving grace in all that was when I’d return home to my apartment after work, plop down on my futon, and take a peek at Ikaigabuchi on my phone. As usual, everyone there was chatting cheerfully about ghosts.

--God damn it, it's so comfortable not knowing the hardships of others.

That's what I thought, but that reflected me until now. Just a few months ago, I was just a user of the site like the rest of them. Even though Krishna-san is busy doing translation work with me, but she still never misses posting daily updates on Ikaigabuchi. Knowing firsthand how hard it is to do, I can only groan.

As always, Yoishi’s whereabouts were unknown. I had a quick look around the busy forums, but I still couldn't find her posts anywhere.

“…I probably won’t meet her again, will I?”

I felt lonely as if a wind was blowing through my chest somewhere.

My summer vacation passed by in a flash.

◯

It was quite dark in there.

Was it cramped or spacious around me? I couldn’t tell. However, my consciousness was unusually clear, It’s a dream again, I thought. I could smell the dust and the staleness in the air. A closed space with no exit. This was the dream from the other day. I softly strained my eyes to my right side, and sensed someone standing over there facing the wall. I still had no idea who it was.

What was this dream anyway? Dreams are more or less a fragment of the scenery that you viewed sometime in reality. But I don’t remember ever visiting such a place in my reality.

The moment I thought that, I suddenly felt something foreign on my shoe. I jumped back as I stepped on something squishy on the sole of my foot. However, the place I moved to also had the same squishy stuff. It was everywhere I moved my foot to. What the hell is this?

Crouching in fear, I touched that strange material with my hand and shuddered, it was the carcass of a fish. The floor was covered with countless fish carcasses, and at the same time, the rotten smell of fish decay struck my nose, making me cough violently.

---W-Why fish?

Did they appear in my dream because I was researching Fafrotskies phenomenon?

While I was in a panic, I heard another clattering sound somewhere. A few meters ahead of me, Light like a full moon peeked out. Anyway, I don't care where, as long as I can get away from this rotten air. Anywhere is fine as long as I can get away from this creepy place. With that thought in mind, I stumbled through the fish carcasses, covering my mouth and nose, and I started running again. The moment I poked my face out of that round hole, I breathed fresh air into the bottom of my lungs as much as I could, and felt relieved – then I suddenly remembered.

Back then, there was someone alongside the wall, laughing.

Laughing, as if things were happening exactly how they expected, and that delight showed in that laughter, I heard a swishing sound.

--Ah, it’s happening again.

My head was chopped off at full force.

I'm told that a severed head remains conscious for only a few seconds before oxygen runs out from the brain.

Maybe that's why - I saw it. The vision from my falling head, I saw countless somethings, and heard countless somethings.

But-

The moment I woke from the dream, I forgot most of them.

The only thing that remained with me, along with the disgusting sweat that soaked my body, was –

Someone's shrill laughter. The voice was full of malice, hearing it felt as if something disgusting was crawling up from the bottom of my stomach.

◯

With the advent of September, the number of students in the school increased by a lot. The university is on a long summer vacation until the end of this month, and whether they are bored or not, the campus is filled with happy students who are enjoying their summer vacation and are tanned quite well. In the lawn, in the courtyard, in the cafeteria, everyone was dressed fashionably and laughing like they were enjoying their youth.

On the other hand, my life didn’t really change. More than half the research materials still needed to be translated. I honestly don't care about Fafrotskies anymore when I see the crowd of healthy students laughing and acting boisterously. I felt miserable staying in the hot club room translating creepy events of past.

Looking up at the glittering sky, I thought to myself:

--Ah, I’m already eighteen.

When I was a kid, I thought being eighteen would be a lot different. I feel like I'm not quite the university student I imagined back then. I feel like I'm being crushed by a nagging conflict: the impatient feeling of not being sure if I should keep going the way I am now, and on the other hand, not knowing what else to do.

On one hand, I’m not sure if I want to become a fashionable student enjoying life. From the time I entered the school, I had the impression that everyone was indistinguishable from each other. It’s ridiculed as a "rich kid’s university" in the public, this may be because our university is a place where children from well-off families gather. And mixed within them was me, a bumpkin boy with a supposed inferiority complex. Anyway, I felt that something in this university felt strangely closed.

The students here try way too hard to be efficient. They don’t try to work too hard. Anyone who tries to stand out too much is avoided. They introduce good part-time jobs to each other, enjoy mixed parties in moderation, and teach each other how to take exams for each professor based off of information passed down from the seniors.

--Ugh, What is a university supposed to be, anyway?

A place you’re supposed to study, right? It's a place where you can envision what you want to be in the future and accumulate the knowledge and skills to achieve it. Just going with the flow will mean you end up becoming nothing, you guys.

I muttered those kinds of warped thoughts to myself, even though I’m not a particularly studious student myself. In actuality, if I keep going on like this, I'm the one who's going to end up just going with the flow. They’re not bad people or anything. They just generally don’t try hard. They know their place well. They’re enjoying their days while still being responsible in acceptable limits.

But – but, isn’t that just boring? is what I end up thinking. I still don't know what the kind of person I’ll be in the future. That’s why, I have to be reckless. And like that, I’ll go through bitter experiences, and find out what my limits are, and to sometimes go beyond those limits. I end up thinking: Is there any meaning to living a life without adventure?

--Everything ended before it even began.

Before I realized it, I had termed this university’s culture like that.

And as such, the thing that was now supporting me was ‘Ikaigabuchi’.

Countless fans of the occult gathered there, and countless paranormal events were recorded there. Sure, you didn’t really feel that you were a part of youthful events of any kind, but even as I continue my days of frantically translating English research materials with the respectably petite administrator, I feel like I’m moving forward. Like I’m part of something – like I have something to dedicate myself to, and I guess that was the peace of mind I could escape to now.

That’s why -- I didn’t notice that the defensive instinct inside me had kicked in already. I had ignored the dangerous fact that I had been having a series of similar dreams in a short period of time – That night, that fact came home to roost.

◯

It happened late at night, when I was on the way home back from my part-time job.

In the flow of the lukewarm wind, I was pedaling my granny bike silently past a store in front of a certain train station, leaving the residential area behind me. My apartment is located behind the university, further along the park, and that day I was going along the narrow path between the university and the auxiliary high school—

--When I suddenly felt something on my cheek.

--It’s raining, is it?

I stopped my bike, and looked up. There were no stars in the sky, but there were a few clouds and the sky was mostly clear.

It was a dark street sandwiched between two fences. Beyond the fence on the right-side wall was the sports ground of the university’s affiliated school. On the other side of the left side wall was building number seven of the university. Building number seven belonged to the department of science; they were different from us humanities majors and had to stay late doing experiments almost every day. Even though it was so late, the school building was still lit in places.

That’s why -- I thought it might have been water from the air conditioner.

A drop of water might have been carried over by the wind from an outdoor air conditioning unit from building seven somewhere.

But, I wiped my cheeks, and checked the palm of my head, and thought: ‘Huh?’ It was dark, so I couldn’t be certain but, I felt there was some color tinged to it. I took out my phone, pointed the light at it, and at that moment – I shook in fear.

It was blood; the scarlet liquid stuck to my palm, appearing slightly diluted as it mixed in with the sweat on my face.

--W--what the hell?

Flustered, I wiped my hand on the back of my jeans and checked my surroundings once more. I looked up in all directions.

--Why did something like blood rain down?

I rubbed my face once again. It really was blood on the palm of my hand. The blood feels light, even sticky, like it's pulling a string. It definitely wasn’t paint or something like that.

With bated breath, I looked up once again at the university building. There was no one in the brightly lit window of building number seven. There was no trace of anyone on the rooftop. Even if it was somebody’s prank, I couldn’t see any sign of the person who executed it.

On that hot, sultry summer night, something cold slipped under my feet.

It was then, that I remembered the story Karasu-san had mentioned, the story I had almost forgotten.

In Koumei institute, there’s a place where it rains blood.

There’s a clock tower there, and it is said to have been sealed up due to something creepy that happened in the past.

Where the hell is that?

Does it have anything to do with the ‘strange rain’ incident at Musashino?

But I never saw anything resembling a clock tower in this university anywhere, and Krishna-san had denied that rumor from the start. And right now, there was nothing resembling a clock tower anywhere around h—

It was at that moment.

I caught a glimpse of something behind the wall that blocked the space between the second sports ground and the road.

--What is that?

Was something like that at the sports ground before?

It was the top part of a long, narrow structure that resembled a tower.

The next thing I knew, I parked my bike there and unconsciously wandered near the fence, and outstretched my hands. I crawled up the wall and sat down, examining the structure.

“…Hah”

Feeling relieved, I let out a sigh of relief.

It was the reddish-brown roof of the gym storehouse. I'd been inside that thing before during gym class. Inside, it was just a dusty place where soccer balls, mats, and gymnastic vaulting horses are crammed together. I was only surprised because I saw only the roof part, which I was not used to seeing.

“I guess things aren’t as scary as they seem.” <ref>The Japanese expression used here literally means ‘the ghost, when examined closely, is withered silver grass'</ref>

But when I took another look at the building from bottom to the top, I shuddered.

“…Eh?”

I hadn't noticed it up until now, but there was a withered old clock in the upper middle part of the building. A large sooty dial which was almost the same color as the wall, it had a minute hand and an hour hand. The second hand was missing, so I couldn’t immediately tell if it was working or not.

No way, it can’t be –

But, doesn't that look like a clock tower?

My blood froze in my veins, as I gazed at the long, narrow building standing deserted in semi darkness; this time another suspicion sprang to mind.

Come to think of it, didn’t Karasu-san mention something about a hidden room present in the clock tower…? Something about a creepy incident happening there in the past?

That gym storage room building was pretty long and narrow. It's as high as a two story – no, you could say, a three story building. But I already know as I’ve been there. There is no second floor. The ceiling inside was definitely high – but still, the ceiling wasn’t as tall as the height of the building. In short, there could be an entrance to a second floor somewhere. As I started to think about things like that, I began to feel that the warehouse inside was smaller than the impression I got from the outside. You could just say the outer walls were thick but, I began to increasingly feel that the gym storehouse was a creepy place.

Suddenly…

Feeling a strange gaze on me, I looked up… and noticed it.

The dial of the clock tower.

Around the number four.

There was something dark and hollow there.

At first, I thought there was something stuck to it, but it seemed to be a hole. Right between the middle of numbers three and four, there was a dark hole around the size of a human head. Seeing it sent a chill down my spine. Like I shouldn’t keep looking at it, as if something was peeking out from the other side.

Could that be the fabled clock tower in the rumors? And if so, Krishna-san saying ‘No such thing exists’, could that have simply been because she didn’t want me to get involved?

--My mind was still in rehabilitation, I had ended up coming to an extremely dangerous place.

“…This is dangerous.”

The moment I had finished warning myself-

“Why is that clock always late?”

Unexpectedly hearing that voice again, I almost fell off the fence.

“In a closed space where students are supposed to be under control, there's not a single good thing about being late.”

The voice was coming from just below.

On the other side of the fence, from the darkness facing the sports ground.

When I looked -- someone was there, leaning against the wall.

Wearing a white blouse, black tie—the uniform belonging to the Koumei institute. And that long dark hair, she seemed to meld in perfectly with the darkness. Her pale face was illuminated by the moonlight.

“Y-you, Are you?”

I asked timidly from the top of the fence.

“--Yoishi?”

The girl turned her pale face towards me, with an artificially cheerful expression.

There’s no doubt about it. Emotionless, bisque doll-like beauty; Eyes like glass beads. Is it just my imagination? She seems like she’s lost some weight. Or should I say, that person who has refined her gloomy aura is without a doubt -- Yoishi Mitsurugi.

Yoishi stayed silent in the darkness as she gazed her eyes toward me, eventually letting out a grunt. “It’s been twenty days, seven hours and forty-two minutes.” She muttered.

◯

“W…what are you doing in a place like this?”

This, is really Yoishi. Or should I say, is she alive? No, she just spouted something about it being twenty days and something in hours so she must be alive. But then, what’s up with this rotting look? Has she finally lost her mind completely? In the first place, with time and place being what they are. And on top of all that, I had just been showered in some creepy blood. Generally speaking, I was unsure if what I was seeing was of this world. That’s why, I asked her again.

“Hey, do you hear me? I asked you a question, what are you doing here at a time like this?”

Below me, Yoishi muttered a few words in response. “I’ve been thinking.”

“….Huh?”

“I knew I couldn’t find the answer no matter how much I thought about it. But even so, I had no other choice, so I kept thinking about it. But then, someone spoke to me…. I ignored them at first. But they were persistent. I replied to them. But they were still bothering me. So, I walked away to be alone--.”

Yoishi then looked up to me with intense curiosity.

“So, what exactly are you doing here?”

“I was the one asking you.”

Ah-Is that so, she nodded with a vacant look in her eyes as if she understood.

“The person I spoke to, was already dead.”

That low whisper instantly made me cower and sent goose bumps up my spine.

“Hey! What are you going on about?”

Still feeling shocked, I jumped down to the sports ground, and stood up again, staring once again at her pale, gloomy face.

It was without a doubt, Yoishi Mitsurugi.

Her pale white face with its too-perfect proportions was frightening in its sculpted beauty, all wasted on her, and her ever so slender frame had slender arms joined to it.

The warm summer night breeze blowing across the sports ground ruffled her black hair. Without even trying to hold it down as much, she intently stayed dark, gloomy and silent. It was as if, at this very moment, summer had ended, autumn had been skipped over and the ice age had arrived. Her frozen beauty was still the same, but her uniform was so wrinkled; I imagined she had slept with it on, and her long, supposedly beautiful black hair was so coarse that I wondered how many days she hadn't washed it. Riding on the wind, a slight acrid odor drifted my way.

In short,

Yoishi Mitsurugi hadn’t changed at all. She doesn’t take baths. She was still living with one foot planted firmly in the world beyond. Or should I say, she’s become even more ragged -- as pitiful as a stuffed doll abandoned at the wayside for many years.

“….Y-You, That’s enough already!”

Maybe it was a reaction to the fact that I was scared out of my mind, or maybe I was just angry that I'd been startled suddenly in an unusual way. Even though it’s our first meeting after so long, all I could feel was an irritating anger.

“Have you been eating properly at all? Did you take a bath? Have you just been wandering around creepy places since then? Around graveyards or haunted places?”

During my successive questioning, I realized something.

Come to think of it, this place itself fit the bill of a creepy place. There’s a clock attached to the gym storehouse – and didn’t she say something about a clock earlier?

“So, what were you going on about earlier? What were you saying about the clock being late?”

When I asked her that, she nodded in reply.

“Is that about the clock on the gym storehouse?”

“The gym storehouse?”

“That one over there.” I pointed to the old, long and narrow building I'd been staring at.

Yoishi nodded once and simply restated.

“You mean the clock tower.”

“….And?”

“That building is curious. The structure itself is strange but, the strangest thing of all is that the clock there is always late.”

“W-wait a second.”

I stopped Yoishi from rambling on endlessly and asked her.

“You -- just now, you called it a clock tower.”

“No matter how you look at it, it’s a clock tower.” Yoishi looked at me with curiosity and nodded.

Oh my God. She was dead on. The clock tower Karasu-san mentioned actually existed. And the phenomenon of blood raining down, as I just experienced earlier, was probably real too!

I spoke, “Yoishi, it’s over. Let’s just stop. Or rather, for one reason or another, it’s now forbidden for me to meet you. I can't just keep waltzing off to some creepy place with you anymore.”

“Well, it’s not as if we arranged this meeting beforehand.”

“Er, that might be true, but…”

“I was here first, and you arrived afterwards. I can't be blamed for that.”

--Ahhh! She has a comeback ready for anything I say.

“Anyway, I’m leaving. I don't know what's bothering you and I don't know how long you've been standing there, but I can give you some advice somewhere where there’s daylight. Now you go home, too.”

But it was as if Yoishi wasn’t listening to anything I was saying.

“Say, did you read the ghost story about the warp in space time?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s a story you hear often, people who go into a manhole, walk a while and exit from another place, only to find that the world slightly differs from the one they came from, or about elevators that stop by themselves on an unlit floor in the middle of the night and take you to a slightly different world when you get off. In that world, you might have a younger sister who is not supposed to exist, or a close friend who now acts like a complete stranger.”

Of course, I'm a bit of an occult enthusiast myself. I’ve read lots of stories of that kind. They’re very entertaining, I would even go far to say they’re my favorite kind. But, what does that have to do with the situation right now?

“Many of those space-time warp stories are often dismissed as discrepancies in memory ---but what if multiple worlds did in fact exist. And, if that doorway were to open somewhere in this world for some reason. It wouldn’t be strange to think that they could open in the sky.”

“C-could you be possibly talking about the strange rain phenomenon?”

Yoishi nodded in agreement.

“…No, be it multidimensions or whatever. Then, what about area around that gym storehouse…or should I say, the clock tower; what about blood raining there? Are you saying there’s a door to a multidimensional world there?”

Yoishi stared at me for a while before asking me:

“….Blood?”

“Oh, that’s right. It fell on my face a while ago. It already faded a bit, but here.”

I thrust out the palm of my hand before Yoishi. And then explained Karasu-san’s rumor to her about blood raining around a clock tower somewhere in Koumei institute, and I told her about this blood falling down on my cheeks a little while ago. There wasn’t really much trace of blood left on the palm of my hand, but a black stripe was still perceivable if you looked closely. Yoishi silently drew her face near my hand, and sniffed the scent. Is she a dog? I thought, as she finally nodded and spoke.

“I can certainly smell hemoglobins and sodium chloride.”

“R-right? Why did something like blood fall down? Where did it fall down from? And—”

I looked up and froze, just as I was about to ask about the hole in the clock face I had discovered.

The hole in the clock tower dial had disappeared. Only a white board remained between the numbers three and four.

“Huh…? There was definitely a hole there just now—”. The moment I said those words…

“Did you see that hole as well?”

Goosebumps crawled on my skin, at the sound of her somewhat happy voice.

When I saw, Yoishi Mitsurugi’s eyes had suddenly begun to shine.

“The Fafrotskies phenomenon, the blood rain around the clock tower, the clock being late – there’s an origin behind all these phenomena. But the primary factor may not be necessarily understood by humans.”

While being horrified by that dark shine which had already become nostalgic, at the same time it also brought back the days of cruising the depths of the underworld with her that had already faded into the deep recesses of my memory. For the first time in a while, my whole being was now enveloped in a sense that something was slipping away. This world and the world beyond are becoming connected, a feeling I could never cope with, a feeling of despair that death was creeping in–

This was bad.

Everything would simply slip away from this point on.

No—w-wait a minute, time out! Time out!!

But…Yoishi already had her face so close to mine that I could practically feel her breath on my face.

“Say…”

“…..”

“Wouldn’t you like to go there? To the clock tower?”　

◯

--Damn it, why do things always end up like this?

Regardless of Krishna-san emphasizing the fact that I shouldn’t associate with Yoishi, yet here I am, at the dead of night, going out on another strange adventure with Yoishi.

The two of us headed towards the clock tower, the sports ground was as dark as the night sea. However, to be honest, I would strongly argue that this was out of my hands. Just like Yoishi said, we didn’t really plan to meet or anything. It was an accidental encounter, so to speak.

--I can still…turn back.

I should still be able to return to my usual peaceful world. All I had to do was immediately turn on my heels, tell Yoishi I’m really quitting, see you later, ciao, and then hop on my bike and race back to my cheap apartment. I’d forget Yoishi’s mutterings, crawl under my futon and forget everything. However, despite my internal conflict, my feet continued to simply follow in Yoishi's footsteps. At this very moment, there's some kind of creeping chill in my body that refused to disappear, but it still didn’t stop my feet.

“I've heard that building’s history dates back to before this school was founded.” Without turning back, Yoishi continued to narrate.

“Originally, this land seems to have been donated to the school by an influential local. And that building continued to be used by the school since then.”

“So, was it originally a clock tower?”

“The students in the affiliated school seemed to have called it as such.”

So that means – Krishna-san, who I’m sure graduated from the affiliated school, knew about it. Which means, that I was indirectly kept away from the paranormal. In short, that is an S-ranked haunted place that I shouldn’t be looking at.

As if to affirm that fact, Yoishi’s eyes were shining.

“That place is quite dangerous.”

…..I’m sorry, I’ll be leaving after all. By the time I had finally made up my mind to speak those words, we had already reached the clock tower.

On the front of the building was a sign that said ‘Koumei Institute Athletic Equipment Storage Area,’ and next to it, was a brightly colored cone. Dirty rugby shirts lay scattered about, there was also a cooler box forgotten by some club. However, the original foundation of the building was built from stone, on top of that was wooden construction. The wall coated with old plaster stretched out. It’s pretty worn out, yet when you look at it carefully, it’s a blending of Japanese and Western Styles, reminiscent of the early Meiji era buildings that you see in books- indeed, the outward appearance of the old clock attached to it makes it befitting enough to be called a clock tower.

While Yoishi was wandering about tampering with the edges of the foundation, I kept staring at the old worn-out clock. If you look at it from here, it’s actually attached quite high up. It was stained in white, and looked as if it had assimilated with the surrounding walls. You wouldn’t even notice the clock with just a quick glance.

Moreover, looking at it again from up close, there surely didn’t seem to be any hole in the clock face.

I could have misjudged it from back then, but Yoishi did ask, ‘Did you see that hole as well?’ That means, Yoishi must have seen it as well… In short, what does it all mean?

“Move.”

Being ordered so suddenly, I looked to my side and there was Yoishi Mitsurugi, brandishing an iron rake used for sports ground maintenance like a great sword from a fantasy world.

“…W-woahhh!!”

As soon as I jumped out of the way in a panic, Yoishi swung downward with great force.

A sharp sound rang across the silent sports ground, and the old door bolt was easily smashed into pieces. While I stood there dumbfounded, Yoishi opened the door, and boldly entered inside. A guard might have heard that noise, I wondered as I followed fearfully. It was dark inside. Without saying a word, Yoishi took out her phone and turned on the flashlight. The light from her phone dimly illuminated the surroundings and the familiar room came into view; it was a dusty place about 27 sqm in size. Covered with mud walls, rotten air clung to the place. I don't know if it's from used gym equipment or something specific to the building. Maybe it's both.

Yoishi randomly moved aside mats and portable basketball hoops out of the way so she could see the mud walls. She muttered ‘Hmm’ as she pointed the light towards them. I don't know what it was, but I was already scared out of my mind. It wasn't so much from this place, but rather my thoughts were dominated by that idea that I had just had a while ago. The ceiling of this room was way too low compared to the height of the building.

Maybe it was because I had confirmed from close up, but that thought had begun to fill me with more and more anxiety.

“…Say, Yoishi.”

I made up my mind ask the question.

“Could this place have a second floor?”

“Of course, there is.”

“Eh?”

“Because it’s a clock tower, after all.”

Yoishi posited that because it’s a clock tower, there’s a clock, so there must be a room for its maintenance. But, the creepy feeling nesting inside me was about something else. There are no stairs leading up to that maintenance room or whatever in this building. Even if there was a second floor, the entrance itself being sealed was what scared me. But Yoishi spoke in an exasperated tone.

“That’s what we’re here to find, after all.”

After that, she stared at a thick beam about three meters above…

“There must be a way up somewhere.”

Saying those kinds of things, she began knocking here and there on the wall.

It couldn’t be helped, I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight, and started walking around, knocking on the walls nearby. When I looked at it again, the walls, the floor, just about everything was pretty antiquated. It wasn’t at the level of being completely worn-out and filthy. But still, It's such an old building that it makes me feel uneasy to be here, making me wonder if it’s used up all its years of durability. There were several layers of cobwebs in the corners, and the wooden frames of the pillars smelled as if they were rotting.

“Here.”

Eventually, I heard such a voice and turned my head to see Yoishi, without even trying to keep herself free from the dust, she moved a worn-out, crumbling vaulting box out of the way and was tapping on the back wall.

“It's blocked in here.”

Indeed, it was the only part of the old wall that was made of brand-new mud wall. Yoishi looked over her shoulder, without hesitation, she lifted the top of the vaulting box and threw it against the wall with all her strength.

“H-hey…”

Before I could even stop her, she slammed the vaulting box against the mud wall again and again, until a crevice appeared. Furthermore, she once again brandished the iron rake she had used to break down the door from earlier and drove it into the wall, using it to forcibly widen the crevice.

“That hurt.”

Saying that, Yoishi passed under the gaping wide hole to somewhere else.

Preparing myself for the worst, I followed her. I passed under the crumbling wooden frame, when I focused the light from my cellphone, I saw a staircase spiraling upwards along the outer wall.

“Say, why do you think the entrance was sealed?” Yoishi muttered as she steadily ascended the stairs.

“To keep people like you out, obviously.” I retorted, ‘That’s not it’, replied Yoishi.

“There’s another purpose in keeping the entrance sealed. It’s to keep whatever is present inside from getting out.”

I shuddered at those words, and then I remembered.

When was it exactly? I fervently rummaged through the recesses of my memory – and I remembered.

That’s right, it was back when I was in elementary school.

One of my classmates lived in a temple, and we were all sneaking into his house at the time.

“Behind our main temple, there’s a storehouse that we’re not allowed to open. I’m sure it’s because a monster lives there.”

That kid used to brag about that in class at every opportunity, and there were no such elementary school kids who didn’t have an interest in that kind of thing. So, one day after school, we all decided to meet up around midnight and explore that storehouse. I brought my bat, that kid brought his air gun. Other guys with more extensive knowledge brought things like salt, and for some reason, one guy brought his deceased grandmother’s memorial tablet. Each of us carried our preferred protective equipment, and we snuck into the temple at night.

In the midst of the darkness, the dark storehouse stood eerily, I don’t know how many times I was about to suggest we return home. However, no one said anything, perhaps because of our pride as men. At last, the kid from the temple brought a crowbar from his house, and began to break down the sturdy padlock to the storehouse.

Eventually, the padlock fell down to the ground with a thud, and we timidly opened the door.

Taking a peep, it was pitch dark inside. Rotten air oozed out from inside. But I think all of us felt it. More so than the rotten air, there was something invisible, something evil -- it felt as if it was stroking our hands and necks. We got scared and decided to first send in a stray cat that stuck around the temple. Just bringing the cat close to that place caused it to let out a tremendous wailing sound. That sound made us lose our nerve, and eventually the kid’s father heard the commotion and came running.

It was the first time I was scolded by another person’s father.

“Things that are sealed, are sealed for a reason.”

We were scolded severely, and the kid’s father, who was the head priest of the temple, lectured us about it and chanted sutras at us in the main hall until morning. Now when I think about it, it’s a good thing we were stopped back then. The memory of that time, the feeling of something seeping out of the storehouse, was rapidly coming back to me here on the stairs of this clock tower.

Certainly, it’s just as Yoishi said, those wooden frames were just too thick to only be blocking the stairs. What would they do when they needed to repair the clock tower if it was sealed up so tightly? It was too exaggerated to just be protecting against intrusions from pranksters and the like. Every time the old wooden stairs creaked, my hunch of something bad happening worsened.

“It’s here.”

In the dim light up ahead, I heard Yoishi, in a somewhat lively tone of voice. Sure enough, as I reached the top of the stairs, she was waiting for me, in front of a wooden door.

“I’m going to open it, but is it alright?”

I looked at Yoishi, wondering why she would ask a question like that at this stage.

“Would you stop if I asked you to?” I retorted while forcing a smile.

“Why is the clock late? The answer to that question is probably not very pleasant.” Yoishi muttered.

“Huh?”

“It’s quite dangerous from this point on.”

Yoishi chewed on the nails of her left hand. That seemed to be a habit of hers whenever she got excited.

“What exactly is dangerous?”

“Malice itself lies within.”

Her eyes shone as she finished speaking those words.

Before I could even say, "Let's not do that then", Yoishi opened the door without hesitation, as expected.

The interior was even darker yet, filled with the pungent smell of dust.

I directed my flashlight inside: it was even smaller than the storage room below, a vacant space about 18 sqm in size. The ceiling is shaped in the same way as the conical roof, and there were old wooden chairs and an old blackboard on the wooden floor. However – there was something in that room that was creeping me out.

It was as if something was coiling around the back of my neck.

Like a creepy, slimy arm was grabbing my ankle.

This feeling, I felt like I'd experienced it somewhere very recently.

--And I suddenly remembered.

It’s that dream. I had been confined in a dark, narrow place somewhere, and when I tried to escape, my neck got chopped off. The moment I recalled that, I remembered the voice of the person laughing in the dream, which I had forgotten up until now. A voice filled with joy, uttered as if everything was going according to their expectations.

Yoishi had said that malice itself lies in here.

What exactly is malice?

Why is it necessary for something like malice to reside in the clock tower in the first place?

I noticed my knees had begun to tremble, I felt like I could sense the presence of that someone from my dream, standing still right next to the wall beside me. Was that dream a premonition of the future? Was that dream about right now? Here in this room? Something would call out to me, and then just like my dream, my neck would be chopped clean off?

--Y-you’ve gotta be kidding me.

The moment I got cold feet and reflexively moved to run –

It was slightly two meters right of me.

I felt someone’s presence, and was slowly turning my face in that direction—

“Don’t look.” Yoishi whispered in a silent, sharp tone. “Pretend not to notice.”

Thanks to that voice, I barely managed to stop the movement of my neck.

However, at the periphery of my vision, I ended up seeing it.

Japanese clothes, I thought. A glimpse of the arms – thin, as withered branches. I knew it was looking my way. I desperately turned my face away. Then I stopped my breathing, pacified my heartbeat which was racing like it was about to explode, and I tell myself, as hard as I can:

--There’s nothing there, it’s just my imagination. I didn’t see anything at all.

But my knees were trembling with fear. Sweat trickled down my back and under my arms.

Yoishi proceeded to the back of the room as if nothing had happened.

There, she pushed and banged on the wall.

“The clock is on the backside of this part.” She muttered.

“….I-is that right?”

I’ll join in the conversation. I squeezed out a shaky voice as if to show that we were the only ones present.

Soon, a metallic clanking noise echoed inside the room.

At the same time, I felt the air stream out of the room, and I saw some kind of light above Yoishi’s knee. It was the light of a house far away in the distance. Right next to Yoishi, there was a hole cut out in a circle about the size of a person's face, just like the one I had just seen in that dream.

“This was the hole you saw earlier.”

Yoishi crouched down and put her hand on a rim, which was drawn back so close to the floor that I could barely see it.

“You can close it, and open it, with the lever here.”

“W-why is there such a thing there?”

Yoishi slightly tilted her neck quizzingly in response to the question.

“Maybe it’s used to adjust the hour or minute hands. Or perhaps there’s a different reason altogether. However—”

Yoishi questioned me as if she was peering into my eyes.

“Can you, look out from here?”

---Look out, from there?

No, that is…

“It’s strange, isn’t it? There’s no other place to check if the hands of the clock are moving. Having said that, it takes a lot of courage to check the minute hand from here. I mean, if you were to do it carelessly...”

Yoishi made a cutthroat gesture as she drew her fingers across her neck.

“The moment you look out, your neck might get chopped off by the clock outside.”

--Ah! Isn’t that…what happened in my dream? Didn’t my head already get chopped off twice in the dreams?

“That’s right.”

Rather than a reply to my thoughts, Yoishi said that as if she was announcing it to the entire room.

“If an ordinary person saw this hole open within this hermetically sealed, stifling room, they would generally end up looking outside. After all, the only other window in the room lies in the ceiling far above us: a skylight that can’t be opened. In short, the structure was made so that fresh air could only come through from here.”

It’s just as Yoishi said.

It was of a nature that I would like to call the architect’s malice.

“Anyone would stick their head out of this hole, and it would always get caught by the minute hand, slowing down the clock.”

Huh…?

“W…wait a minute. Whose neck got—”

“What time is it, according to your watch?”

I looked down to check my wristwatch on Yoishi’s query.

It was 12:51 am.

Yoishi checked her own watch in reply and nodded.

“Mine is the same. So, the clock outside is five minutes late, which means that the minute hand is at 45 minutes or so.”

I had no idea what she was going on about.

“The hole we saw outside was located between three and four. In short, if one were to look out from here right now, the minute hand wouldn’t be falling down on one’s neck.”

“…No.”

“Let’s take a look.”

Before I could even tell her to stop, Yoishi went down on all fours, with her back towards me, she pushed her face outside the hole towards the light.

That's when I definitely heard it.

A sound like "drrng!", seeming to ring out from the whole room, something neatly clicked in place. For a moment, the back of her body twitched, and then eventually, Yoishi stopped moving.

“Y—Yoishi?”

Even though Yoishi’s body was there, her presence had disappeared.
[[Image:Phenomeno vol2-1 case 04.jpg|Height in pixel|thumb|]]
It can’t be.

If the minute hand, had fallen down just now…

Then that sound just now, was Yoishi’s head being chopped off by the minute hand outside.

I checked the time once more.

It was 12:52 am right now. That means there’s no way the minute hand would had fallen down on Yoishi’s neck.

Even though there was no way for that to happen—

I was too afraid to touch Yoishi’s body, which was right there in front of me.

What if I pull her out and she has no head?

What if her decapitated head fell down on the sports ground?

In the dimness, her pale arms and ankles were covered with dust, and stretched out on the floor, like a puppet with its strings cut off.

There I was, about to scream… Doing my best to catch my breath.

Because of Yoshi... Because she was here, I was able to endure the frustration of wanting to run away up until this point.

It was because of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, the guide who formed an ambiguous connection between the spirit world and reality, that I was able to make it this far—

I felt as if I heard someone laughter, and just when my fragile, delicate, and meager spirit was finally stretched to its very limit.

“That felt good.”

I was trying my best to keep my mouth shut, and that voice reached me.

At the same time -- Yoishi Mitsurugi , who had been as motionless as a corpse, pulled her face out of the hole and stood up.

“…Y-you’re..”

I couldn’t speak straight away.

Yoishi slightly tidied herself up and spoke, “Let’s go.”

With the same calm gait she displayed when we arrived, she moved towards the stairs. I rushed behind her.

Closing the door, we descended the creaky steps.

Without looking back, I arrived at the bottom as if nothing had happened, just like Yoishi.

We slipped through the broken wooden frame back to the gym storehouse. And then, we arrived outside.

I was so used to the darkness that even the dim light of the sports ground seemed bright to my eyes.

The outside was like a different world. The sky, the clouds, the greenery around the sports ground; it was like it was overflowing with a surging life force. The air felt amazingly good. I inhaled it to my lung’s full capacity, and took several deep breaths. At some point, I wiped the sweat from my brows, put my hands on my knees, and exhaled deeply on the spot.

“—What…the hell was that all about?”

After getting far enough away from the clock tower, I was finally able to speak.

“What?”

Yoishi’s white blouse dazzled as she walked in front of me.

Was the second sports ground this big? I wondered as I was suddenly attacked by dizziness.

“That second floor…no, the thing you called malice, what the hell was it?”

“For more details, I guess you'll have to ask your teacher, but I’ll say this much: That building is neither a gym storehouse, nor a clock tower – originally, it was an earthen storehouse.”

“A-an earthen storehouse?”

“That’s right, the clock was installed later… it was unmistakably added after the school was built, I think.”

Yoishi stopped walking around the middle of the sports ground, and turned to look back. I stopped in my tracks, but didn’t dare to look back. I couldn’t bring myself to look at that building again right now.

“When I was young – it was around this time of year. I visited my grandmother in the countryside, and played with my elder sister until the evening.”

...What is she talking about?

Holding down her hair which fluttered in the wind, Yoishi spoke to no one in particular.

“It gets dark quickly in the countryside, and the people quickly disappear, so we took a shortcut to get back to my grandmother’s house. We weaved our way through the path between people’s houses.”

Rather than speaking with me, Yoishi continued to whisper as if she was gazing somewhere far away.

“It was as if we’d become lost in a world of cicadas, their cries filled the air everywhere. I remember it was so loud it was almost deafening. And when we passed by the back of one of the biggest houses in the area—I heard a voice, as if mixed in with the cries of the cicadas. It was from the storehouse of that large house. A terrible scream with words that didn't form any meaning – A string of miserable, resentful, aberrant words -- I Immediately clung to my elder sister. It was an elderly voice, that of a woman. After that, a hand touched the skylight of that storehouse. A thin, pale arm. That arm suddenly grabbed the iron grill of the skylight. It was probably the hand of that old woman. After that, we heard a voice once again. Putting your mother in a place like this. I’ll curse you, I’ll curse you all. It was as if – that arm itself was speaking.”

A pale, thin arm.

A trail along the countryside at sunset.

And horrible words from a curse.

If you experienced it when you were young, it would be intense.

“I can kind of understand now. An old woman with dementia must have lived there. The man from the house must have locked his mother up. That's the nature of an earthen storehouse. You could call it an Edo era prison cell. I've heard that noble families and wealthy merchants around the Meiji era had them. Whenever a delinquent or mentally ill member of the family appeared, they would be confined inside it. And --- that was…” Yoishi pointed towards the soaring building tower behind me. “That was originally an earthen storehouse with the characteristics of an Edo era prison cell.”<ref>For more info: https://japanthis.com/2017/11/30/kura-japanese-storehouse/</ref>

I finally understood it. The thing that was standing besides me back then. The glimpse I had caught at the edge of my periphery, someone who wore an old, weathered kimono. I wondered if it was an old woman.

“That hole was likely used to insert food through, and it might have also been used to retrieve excrement. However, when I peered out of that hole, I realized… A room you could never leave. You could never leave it, and yet, you could breathe in as much fresh air as you wanted. A hole you could use to experience the air of the outside world to the point where it would drive you insane.”

“So, that’s the malice…”

I barely managed to speak out in a hoarse voice, and Yoishi nodded.

“It might have been set up by a family member to deal with an older relative who had lost their mind. They didn’t want to take care of the old person, and they don’t want them to live however long they please. It would be better off if they had died sooner in an accident – the building was filled with such thoughts.”

My God. How sad would it be? What kind of curse is a life wishing for the death of one's parent as they break down?

There’s the legend of a mountain where old women are abandoned<ref>: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubasute)</ref>. As long as people are growing old -- be it the present or the past -- I'm sure there have always been problems relating to an aging society. My grandfather and grandmother both died one day suddenly; we were all shocked, and very saddened. But I suddenly thought: Wasn’t that actually a blessing-in-disguise? To be able to depart this life while still bearing the love of one’s family, isn’t that the greatest happiness? I reflected on such unbearable thoughts.

Presently used as a gym storehouse, referred to a clock tower, and used as an earthen storehouse in the past --- that long and narrow, dark shape. I found myself staring at it with complex feelings.

“…Huh?”

I felt a strange feeling of discomfort.

I was still overlooking something important.

“That’s right.” Yoishi whispered in response.

“That explanation is insufficient to explain everything about that building.”

When I looked, Yoishi’s eyes were wide open, and behind those glittering eyes, I thought I saw a glimpse of someone.

“The explanation for why the hole keeps opening up is insufficient. Even if you were to say it’s because someone is confided there, normally, it should stay open after being opened once, there’s no reason it should close again.”

“Oh….”

As sweat dripped down from my cheeks to the bottom of my chin, Yoishi continued to speak.

“Malice accumulates, and becomes a contagion. A place tied down by malice, becomes a habitat for those who hold malice.”

--That’s right.

The first time I noticed there was a hole in the clock face, it was in the place of the number 4. Now, there’s no hole there because Yoishi operated the lever when she stuck out her head. However, if that were the case – a contradiction arises.

“I wonder what you're expecting."

Leaving me with those words, Yoishi turned back, and began to walk away.

“W-wait a minute, Yoishi!”

Flustered, I chased after her, and in a trembling voice, asked her:

“A while ago, we entered the clock tower and for the first time, used the lever to open the hole, right?”

“Yes.”

“Which means, there was no hole before we entered.”

“True.”

“Then, in the beginning, the hole in the clock face we saw from the fence…. who--?”

“That’s why I told you, pretend not to notice.”

Yoishi simply shrugged her shoulders.

“After all, there were two people inside.”

With those words, a spectacle that I shouldn’t have seen unfolded in every corner in my head.

An old woman with disheveled hair. A cloudy, unfocused gaze and a seemingly sad expression.

And, someone clinging to those thin, wire-like legs of hers. It had hollow, empty eyes; its red mouth twisted into a broad sneer. It displayed an expression of pure delight on its face, as if everything was going well.

--Because it’s fun, after all.

I thought I heard someone’s voice in the midst of the night wind.

As I stared at Yoishi’s form fading away in the distance, I became unable to move.

I forced down my saliva, deeply regretting that I didn’t stop when I should have. And then, I heard a voice — you better stop while you can.

The world beyond had manifested right beside me. The entrance to the afterlife had opened its mouth before me, not knowing the existence of which would have let me lead a much, much happier life. I was painfully aware of that. However, I ended up aware of the fact that the entrance was there, So what should I possibly do now? Once you end up becoming aware of it, you’ll become involved. From here on – and for the rest of my life. That’s what it means to associate with Yoishi. As long as she stands in the world beyond, associating with her means getting involved with the world beyond. You'll end up knowing things you don't need to know. I should have known all these things, and yet—

I’d been through hellfire and brimstone, and I was finally able to stand on my own two feet, and yet—

The magma that made me want to cry out broke through the bottom of my heart – but, I turned to look back.

It stood still as a long and narrow shape on the sports ground.

It existed as a gym storehouse for me, a clock tower for Yoishi, and was an earthen storehouse in the past.

And, situated at number 4 of the clock face.

A hole had appeared there before I had even noticed – and something… was peeking out.

------------

<noinclude>
==Translator's notes and references==
<references />

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case_03|Case 03]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Case 05|Case 05]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno

2024-11-15T16:23:45Z

Pakkit:

Phenomeno:Case 15

2024-11-13T16:36:58Z

Pakkit:

==Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two==

'''Everything in this world is like a ghost story. It is full of stories with no known sources or anything. Looking at an incident from the other side shows a different aspect. Each person involved has their own story. And yet we condemn them only from a certain point of view.

'''It’s foolish to do so, but I dare ask—'''

'''Are you gods?'''
'''

That happened three days ago.

I ran into Takako Takamura in front of the main university gate, and she handed me a piece of paper with those incomprehensible words written on it. “What the hell is this?” I asked her, and she cocked her head in reply, “Who knows?”

Incidentally, this girl named Takako Takamura, who stood with her hair was dancing in the wind and her tall body leaning to one side, was the half-sister of ‘Ayana Takamura’, a Koumei institute student who had mysteriously disappeared several years prior.

A super-extreme denpa(net slang referring to those who repeat occult-like words and actions without regard for their surroundings) who tried to incarnate with malicious intent by spreading taboo words all over the school. To me who knew about her in detail, Takako Takamura who had been called a ‘vessel’ by her half-sister and who bore a life-like resemblance to her despite only sharing half their blood, was a little creepy.

『It was there beside my pillow when I woke up this morning.』

『Huh?』

『I was the one who probably doth write it.』

『Doth write it?』

『And, they were probably the words doth by my sister.』

『Did…your way of speaking become abnormal?』

I asked her that, and in response, Takako Takamura distorted her well-shaped facial features into a grin.

『I’ve recently become addicted to classic literature. In summary, I think my sister is warning you of danger.』

『Danger?』

『I think something bad will happen to you from now on.』

『W…wait a second.』

『You’ll be forced to make the final choice very soon, and on top of that, you’ll be buried alive in the mountains.』

◯

--The final choice? Buried alive?

At the time I thought, are you kidding me? She went ahead and said something creepy again, but I let it slide.

Now that I think of it, Takako Takamura’s words turned out to be completely true.

That’s right, now--- I was in complete darkness, unable to move my arms or legs.

“…………..Ptch……..Hey, are you alive?”

I chocked out the dust I had inhaled and called out, and a familiar voice rang out beyond the darkness.

“….What…is this place? Hell? Kokytos….?”

“Ahhh, you’re alive. Thank goodness. ….Ummm, this isn’t hell, we’re in the mountains. We got buried in a lot of collapsed timber--”

I spoke that far, when an intense pain ran down my right leg.

It was in the area around my right knee. And, ahead of that--- I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even tell if I still had legs given that I couldn’t move my body. Even though my head already understood it, but my right leg was continuing to send signals of throbbing pain, as if to say, “It’s an emergency”. It hurt, and it was dark, I suddenly felt scared and was on the verge of panicking.

However, I took a deep breath and told myself, “Calm down”.

…How long, have we been here since then? In the darkness, I gently turned the watch on my left arm in the direction of my face while trying not to hurt my hand on the broken wood. Similarly, I slowly moved my right arm, and somehow managed to turn on the light of my watch.

Monday, 16 April 2012, 19:17.

…Ah, it’ll be almost a full day soon. Had I been in this condition for almost twenty-four hours? The moment I realized this, I remembered how intensely parched my throat was. A stinging pain stuck to the back of my throat. Water, water….isn’t there water somewhere?

“….I can’t move my body.”

At that moment, I heard her voice beyond the darkness.

“Yeah…my leg is trapped, and I can’t move either.”

“Why did something like this happen?”

“Why? --- You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember… coming here with you.”

“Can you stop being so informal. It’s like we’re married.”

I couldn't help but laugh as we ended up doing the usual back and forth with no regard for the location.

And, laughing calmed my heart down a little. I was able to ask, “You’re not injured, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

-- I was about to say that my legs were in a bit of bad shape, but I stopped myself. There was no use in saying it, and she might get a little worried.

“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. I’m sure help will come soon.”

“…When?”

“…How should I know? It’ll be here soon.”

“………..”

“………..”

But, I was at a loss for words when I realized that help would not come anytime soon.

My surroundings fell dead silent.

Without even the cries of mountain birds, it felt as if the world had ended.

“It’s emotionally taxing if it stays like this.”

I spoke, trying to rouse my dark, crushing heart.

“Let’s do something else…right, don’t you have some riddles in mind?”

After a moment's silence, she spoke.

“If it’s interesting stories you want to hear, then.”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered simply, when suddenly, I shuddered.

The things she thought of as ‘interesting’ were a little different than what one would ordinarily think of as interesting.

“….Never mind! It’s fine, don’t tell me. I can’t even run away if I listen to a scary story in this situation.”

I said that, but she had already begun to slowly narrate in a whisper.

“Why did ‘Gandame’ smile, I wonder?”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Being smiled at means you die— the lineage of mountain goddess ghost stories is found all over Japan, but why is smiling linked with death I wonder?”

“I told you! We’re in the middle of the mountain where that ‘Gandame’ is said to appear, so stop it. If a smiling woman with cloudy eyes appears in the darkness, I can’t run away even if I wanted to!”

I retorted sharply, and she fell silent.

My surroundings returned to dark silence once more, and somewhere beyond the dark mountains, I heard a crunching sound.

Was It an animal—or a monster from the mountain?

I didn’t know, but either one was fine, as long as it could me forget the pain in my right leg. As if to shake off the stinging pain, I thought back. Everything that led us here. Everything that led us to this point, to the dark abyss we passed through.

That’s right—that day, Friday the 13th of April.

I was in a hurry.

I had regained recognition of Yoishi Mitsurugi once more, and was told by Krishna-san.

『If you’ve decided to walk together with Yoishi, then go and meet Takita-san.』

I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as I finished my lectures, I ran out of the university. However, I ran into Takako Takamura at the front fate, and was given a strange message or prophecy, but I made light of it and ran off to the station.

It was all to uncover the truth behind the darkness that enveloped the girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi.

◯

“Hey, Sako! Come out!”

The door to Sako Takita’s antique store ‘Kouroudou’(Bone Tower Shrine) in Sotokanda, Tokyo, was locked.

I peeked in through a gap in the dark curtains behind the frosted glass, but as usual, objects I didn’t really understand were all crammed in a line. A headless Buddhist statue, a mummified Kappa, and a hanging scroll covered in what appeared to be blood stains. Beyond those suspicious items that he considered merchandise, I raised my voice towards the inner parlor.

“Hey, Sako! Are you asleep?!”

I wonder how long I kept knocking on the door and calling out to him like that.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I was called out to from behind and looked back to see a short old woman dressed in a kimono that was a light cherry color with a slight grayish tinge.

Although her back was rounded to a large degree, she was a small and cute old woman. Come to think if it, my deceased grandma was short as well. As I recalled those kinds of things, I bowed down to greet the old woman who looked up at me with an elegant face.

“Ah, sorry for being so noisy.”

In response, the old woman gave me a friendly grin and asked, “Do you have some business with the owner of that shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“That nice man who’s always wearing an indigo dyed kimono.”

“It’s doubtful whether he’s nice or not, but he is indeed always wearing a navy-blue kimono.”

“We’re always gossiping about whether he is still single.”

Saying that, the old woman giggled like a maiden.

“Um, that’s fine….but, do you know where he is now? I have some urgent business with him.”

“Isn’t it the 13th today?”

“…Yes?”

“That person goes to Myoujin-san on the 13th of each month.”

“Myoujin-san?”

“It’s Kanda Inari Gongen-sama.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sako’s day job was being the head priest of a shrine in Aomori— I think it was called ‘so-and-so Inari Shrine’.

“Myoujin-san is just ahead up the stairs from there.”

“Thank you so much.”

After thanking her, I broke into a run.

I climbed the long, narrow stairs, slipped through a narrow alley, and soon saw several red nobori<ref>long, narrow banner attached to a pole on one side and a horizontal rod along the top</ref>.

There were souvenir shops lined on the path to the shrine, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people. As a country boy who loved festivals, I ended up getting excited just by visiting these kinds of places.

I read the stone monument in a touristy mood, Kanda Myoujin was a shrine dedicate to Daikoku, the god of wealth, Ebisu the god of fishing and commerce, and ‘Taira No Masakado’, who was popular among us occult maniacs because of certain reasons.

“Hmmm.”

I looked up at the main shrine once more.

I had passed it once or twice before, but to tell the truth, it was my first time stepping foot inside.

“…Wait, no, no, I don't have time for this.”

Right away, I searched around the area for Sako. However, there was no sign of the man in the navy-blue kimono anywhere around the main shrine, or in any tea house or souvenir store. Having no choice, I went around the main shrine to look around the subordinate shrines. As I walked along, stepping on the gravel under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, I found that there were various subordinate shrines at the back of the main shrine. I was happy to see that each shrine was neatly swept with bamboo brooms, and was being properly looked after. It made me sad just seeing small shrines in disrepair—when, I spotted a familiar man in a kimono in front of one of the small shrines.

“—Sako?”

I called out to him, but Sako Takita remained seated directly on the ground in a daze with his back turned towards me.

I quietly approached his side and peeked at him from the front. And— noticed something. There were several empty sake bottles near his knees.

“Of all the…are you drunk?”

“…Hngh.”

Sako turned around at last, and greeted me, ‘Yoo’.

His complexion, which was normally pale, had a slight red tinge to it.

“Yo? really?”

“Haha…umm, you are—of course I remember. Ehhh, your name, it was that.”

“It’s Nagito Yamada. Come on, get up. You’ll get reported if you drink in a place like this.”

“…Erm, it’s alright, the chief priest here is an acquaintance.”

Sako Takita looked like a complete bum as he foolishly laughed. I tried to make him stand up, but his legs were unsteady having drunk so much, and on top of that he had no desire to stand up himself, so things didn’t go the way I wanted. Suddenly feeling foolish, I let go of his arm around mine.

He sloppily toppled on the gravel with his arms and legs outstretched.

“….Oooh. How cruel, what are you doing?”

“I just remembered what you did and let my anger take care of the rest. You had the nerve to make Yoishi imperceptible to me, didn’t you?”

I returned to the point of discussion.

“It’s already been undone. That’s why you came to me, right?”

Sako chuckled and started to laugh.

“I told her that it was merely a stopgap solution. You were out of control back then to the point where even Kurimoto-kun couldn’t handle. Please don’t hold it against her.”

“Yeah yeah, Krishna-san already gave me a rough rundown on what happened. That I was delirious and went berserk at the hospital. That was my fault--- but, there was no reason to make me unable to see her, was there? Or rather, why did I do that when I saw Yoishi…? Do you know why?”

In response, Sako fell silent.

He continued to look at midair in a daze with the occasional *hiccup*.

I continued to wait for him, but there was no sign that Sako would start talking, so I looked around to make sure no one was around. —and I, too, sat cross-legged on the spot.

“In the first place, this subordinate shrine is the home of some deity, isn't it? Why are you drinking at a place like this?”

“…Hm.”

Sako slowly looked up towards the shrine right in front of him, and grinned broadly.

“Today is the monthly anniversary of her death.<ref>Monthly death anniversaries of a death are known as tsuki meinichi in Japan</ref>”

“Anniversary? Whose?”

“My mother's.”

“..... Eh?”

Thereafter, I looked at the signpost next to the entrance of the supplementary shrine. On it was inscribed, ‘Ukanomitama (god of rice), and Suehiroinari (god of harvests, wealth, fertility) as well.

“My mother you see, was kind, courteous, and beautiful. Well, I can’t deny that I might be glorifying her because of her early passing. But, you understand, right? A mother who is the personification of affection is clearly different from a father. A unique existence to all children that shared her flesh and blood.”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, and Sako stayed silent for a while.

After staring vacantly at empty space as if chasing something invisible—

“My mother, she killed herself you see.”

“………….”

“Well, that’s what the world thinks.”

“…What the world thinks?”

“Right. She was thought to have severed her own life, but in reality… she was murdered.”

After that, Sako laughed: heh, heh, heh—he then picked up one of the sake bottles that had been lying around and brought it to his mouth. But it seemed its contents were already empty, so he carelessly threw it away.

“You know, you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things even if you’re drunk.”

“…Drunk? Yes, I might be drunk, but I only speak the truth.”

Then Sako gazed at me in a stance where he used his knees to support his arms,

“It happened before my very eyes—And, I could do nothing at all. There was no point in asking people about it, and there was no point in talking about it. It’s not something people should know about, and it’s definitely not a story that should be readily known by an ordinary person. But still, all stories are connected. In the end, it feels like all karma bounces from one place to the next. Now then—will you hear that kind of story?”

Suddenly—

The words that have been said countless times in countless situations came back to me.

A story that should not be heard. A story people should not know.

If you found out, you would become involved and entangled in them—a story woven with Kotodama.

If it had been me up until now, I might have shaken my head and said, “I’ll pass.”

However—

“That karma or whatever, is it connected to her—to Yoishi Mitsurugi?”

I asked.

“If it’s a story that has some power to clear away the darkness inside her….then let me hear it.”

I said that, and the smallest—the truly faintest of smiles appeared on Sako’s face.

And then, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before, an expression most transparent, and pure.

“It happened…back when I was still in high school.”

“I saw a monster—in broad daylight.”

◯

Monsters—now then, what is a monster?

Do they spit fire? Do they devour humans? Do they possess supernatural powers which ordinary humans can’t fight against? Well, those kinds of definitions vary from person to person, but there’s one thing that can be said with certainty. Once you encounter them, you can't escape their influence for the rest of your life —that exactly is what I believe monsters are.

With that meaning in mind, what I encountered could be called a monster.

It happened on a day when the sun was still high in the sky, and yet the moon’s pale light also loomed. Thinking back on it now, bad things have usually happened on days like that. Well although, I can only speak of my own life. On that day, I quickly left after my high school classes had ended, just like any other day. I was never the type of person to get along with my classmates, nor was I the type to rejoice in the springtime of youth by engaging in sweaty club activities. High school life to me was really nothing more than just a means to kill time. In other words, I was a gloomy high school student, the type that would go to a coffee shop after leaving school in violation of school regulations, and would set up camp at a seat in the back to read Chekhov, Ango and so on. I’ll explain later, but I had circumstances which made me not want to return home right away. What you might find laughable is that I had been given an unconditional command to return home as late as possible.

So, that day as well, I headed to the cafe named ‘Windmill’ with a book in my hand which I had almost finished reading -- but on that day alone, there was a noisy customer who had taken up camp at the seat at the back where I always sat. I, on the other hand, was the type who was unable to concentrate on books unless my surroundings were quiet. So, having no choice, I headed to the park.

Ahh, that’s right—my house at the time was not in Aomori where I currently reside. I was originally born in Kobe, moved to Kyoto afterward, and was living in Fukuoka at the time. The reason why was because my father was involved in the trading business, but it wasn’t a good thing for a child to move around so often in their childhood. Even now, I believe that was the reason I became shy and had problems making friends--- but I digress. Anyway, I lived in the east of Fukuoka. Well, you might know of it being an occult lover and all, but it was famous for the Jizo statue where the Kappas are sealed.<ref>https://kappapedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kappa-jizo.html</ref>

There was a vast, lush green place known as the T-park.

I headed there, but it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. There were a lot of mothers with their children. No matter how many times I looked around, I couldn’t find an empty bench anywhere. I walked all the way to the back of the park and found an empty bench at last, where I sat down, but I had lost all motivation to read, probably because it had taken me so long to get there. For a while, I merely sat there in a daze.

Before I knew it, I was biting my nails.

Well, I guess you could call it a psychological state you often see in high schoolers in puberty. I was strangely irritated. Perhaps it was because the plans I had made for the day didn’t go well, or perhaps it was the peaceful, warm scenery which made it appear as if time had stopped— I continued to sit on the old bench, and continued to chew my nails without changing places.

It was at that moment.

A toddler shakily walked toward me.

A boy—probably, I think it was a boy. I don’t remember exactly. An innocent-looking toddler approached me with some kind of toy in hand. He was a friendly child. He already trusted completely in someone like me. I, who was a stranger from who knows where, a high schooler with dark eyes and with a book like ‘Discourse on decadence’ in hand. He had a friendly grin on his face as he offered me the toy. I ignored that and merely looked around in dismay. I wondered where the mother went, taking her eyes off a child this young. However, there was no sign of a mother-like figure close by. That child sidled up to me alone. He held out his precious favorite toy to me, with a “Yes”. For a moment, I wondered if I was even pitied by such a young child, but that wasn’t the case. In all likelihood, the child was living a life filled with love. That must be why he didn’t even think of the possibility that some humans can be evil.

When I realized that, something like a thin mist rose somewhere in my heart.

--What would happen if a dark malice were unleashed upon this pure being?

I was surprised at myself for thinking something like that. I didn't think I was capable of such sadistic thoughts. And, it was an irresistibly bewitching idea. There was a defenseless creature in front of me; There was no one around. It was just me, him and the toy. For the time being, I picked up the toy the boy had placed at my feet and put it in my pocket. Eventually, that child came to pick up the toy that he had placed at my feet and stopped moving. He started looking around, behind my legs, as if searching for the toy, then looked up at me. I merely grinned at him. The child continued to search for the toy after that, but I couldn’t help but feel an irresistible rush of pleasure rising up my spine. I was getting an almost nauseating pleasure from the anxiety that was enveloping his tiny back.

What kind of face would he make if I were to pluck the toy’s head and throw it away? The plastic doll of some transforming hero. Would he start crying? What would happen if this pure creature were to be showered with malice?

As he had his back turned to me, I secretly took out the toy. I dangled it towards his back. He was anxiously digging up the sandpits close by. As if he thought he might have buried it somewhere. I put my hand on the doll’s neck. I put a little power and tried to twist its neck, when—

I finally noticed that gaze.

With a start, I looked diagonally to my right, to see a woman with a kind expression. She was sitting on a bench covered by ivy in the shade, staring at me and the child. In an instant, I understood that she was the mother of the child.

Sweat slowly formed on my hands, and I removed my hand from the doll’s neck.

--What was it? How long had she been there? Did this woman see everything I had done?

My heart was pounding violently, as if it was about to burst from my mouth.

Eventually, I called out “Boy”, in a shaky voice and handed the toy back to him. The boy’s face immediately lit up, and he took the toy in hand. And at the same time, he spotted his mother, and happily ran towards her. The mother slightly bowed to me and left, holding hands with the child.

--There was no way a mother would take her eyes off her young child.

I chided myself for my foolishness after all that time, but it was already too late.

It felt as if the daytime moon was smirking down at me, and I quickly left that park.

I was embarrassed that the mother had seen through me. It was most fortunate that I managed to notice her at the last moment and hadn’t plucked the doll's head off. Even though it was a provincial city, there was more regional unity there than in a place like Tokyo. I was patting myself on the chest, thinking that if I had done that, I might not be able to live in this city anymore.

However, as I left the park, I realized my heart continued to throb violently.

Yes— I was still excited.

I was excited at the thought of trampling that which was pure.

It was as if I had become something other than myself—no, as if the real me that kept itself hidden in my heart somewhere had revealed itself. It was also a sense of freedom at being my true self. The irritating feeling I had just thirty minutes ago was no longer there.

I wonder if that was the reason why.

Even though it was not yet time to go back home—I ended up getting ready to return home.

Now then, why didn’t I return home straight away after school?

It’s about time I explained that. What? It’s not something big. In short, it was because my mother's lover was at home. He was ostensibly the man my mother was learning to paint from. I told you my father was involved in the trading business, so he was often away from home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for weeks. And when he did come home, he would do so late at night. When my father was home, my mother was very diligent and devoted to him. She bathed him, cooked for him, and listened to his stories with a round of laughter. To an outsider, she must have looked like the ideal, wise housewife. And that's what I always thought too.

However, it was around the time I entered middle school. My mother said that she wanted to learn how to draw. My father agreed. My mother had a small interest in oil painting in her student days, and my father might have felt guilty for being away from home so often. And so, the one who eventually came was that man. I was able to hate him with just one glance. He must have been five or so years younger than my mother, but —ah, I just can't remember his face no matter what. I don't know why, but he always looked like he was wearing a fox's face. Not literally a fox’s face, but truly a fox mask. It didn't look like that to the people around me including my mother, probably because my strong rejection against that man made me feel that way. The fox masked man was polite, eloquent and graceful in his speech, and he often gave me gifts. But to me, it looked like a red tongue peeking out of a mouth with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear. My mother and the man were silently painting in her room. And before long I was told, “Play outside on the day sensei comes”, And I was made to realize that I was not allowed to stay at home.

That must have been like ink that dropped on the surface of water that was my family. When that man started coming in and out of my house, my family was stained with an indelible stain. My father not being home became the norm, and I too had come to think that I shouldn’t stay at home—and above all, the man started visiting my house not just once a week, but with one thing or another, he started visiting every day.

Every day.

In the afternoon.

A man who was not a member of our family would definitely be there.

I thought my family had been taken over by something suspicious.

My father died soon afterward.

He returned to Japan after going to Guangzhou for work and was on his way home when we lost contact with him, and he was found at Matsuyama harbor, Shikoku. It seems he was found floating in the sea by a couple on a date. Why did he go to Matsuyama from Fukuoka? Was it an accident, a suicide, or did he get involved in some trouble? We had no idea. The police visited my mother almost every day, but it appeared they eventually stopped investigating it as a murder case. That was because the body of another woman was found on the harbor. That woman was an office worker in my father's company. It seemed she had been going out with my father. The police tried to conclude the case by saying it was a double suicide spurred on by a lovers talk.

However, I can say it with almost complete certainty.

That my father was murdered.

And the culprit was that fox masked man.

After that, for the next three years of high school—a strange situation developed in which I, lived together with my mother and that fox masked man.

I stopped coming home.

I only returned home to sleep and spent the rest of the day killing time outside.

However, on that day—

On the day I felt delight in aiming malice towards a child.

I decided to return home after a long time while the sun was still high up in the sky.

I unlocked the door, entered inside, declared that I was home, and entered the tatami room.

The scene I saw there would perhaps never be erased from my memory for as long as I live.

On the tatami mats was my mother, naked and bound. The rope painfully bit into her flesh, but my mother sobbed with joy. Next to her was the fox masked man. He merely sat there quietly on his knees, staring motionlessly at my mother.

The man slowly turned towards me, who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tatami room.

The white, fox masked man with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear, sneered to me.

How long—

Just how long did I stand there, motionless?

How much time did it take for me to realize what was happening in the tatami room?

Before I realized, I was sneering as well.

And, I realized at last.

The man was ‘malice’. He was the ‘malice’ inside me.

I don’t recall the specifics of what happened after that.

All I remember is that I staggered out of the house, and continued around wandering the city—and when I came to, I was in Hakata station.

There, I bought a train ticket to the furthest place possible.

When I reached Aomori station, what I saw on the news was that my house had burned down completely, and that the corpse of a naked woman had been discovered inside. I didn’t even think about had happened. I had become numb to all emotions. I didn't know why I was in Aomori. Nor did I know what I should do from here. I was overwhelmed by the scenery of Tohoku that I was seeing for the first time, and collapsed in front of the station.

When I came to, I found myself riding in the car of a strange gray-haired man. The old man merely called himself the ‘Chief priest’. I had run out of money and had not eaten anything, so he said to me.

『You’re possessed by a terrible ghost.』

『It’s a very powerful ghost, and you might not be able to do anything about it yourself.』

『You may run out of strength midway through and die, but if left alone, you’ll die anyway.』

『I’m sure your stomach must be empty, but it would be better if you didn’t eat anything. Let’s begin right away.』

After that, I was taken to a shrine somewhere deep in the mountains, and made to change into a white kimono. I don’t know how much time passed after that. I was abandoned in a room that was like a dungeon, and was subjected to ritual prayer every day. There was nothing left for me to vomit, yet the intense feeling of wanting to throw up welled up inside me over and over again. Ahh-- Thinking back on it now, I had never been in so much pain. I would fall backwards and repeatedly slam my body against the hard floor. Having not even been given enough food for excrement, I realized at the depths of what little consciousness that remained that I was going to die. I felt the end of my life was right at hand. At that moment, I felt something leave my thin, frayed consciousness. It cried out loud in a high, frustrated whine, and disappeared as if it melted away.

『It’s over.』

At last, I heard the old man's voice near me.

I saw a light beyond my hazy vision.

Tears spilled from my eyes seeing the beauty of the grass and trees illuminated by the sun.

『You’re saved. However, you won't be able to lead a normal life from now on.』

The old man spoke as I greedily devoured the rice gruel I was eating after several days.

『If you don't retighten your body that an oversized ghost passed through every day, you'll quickly end up becoming an abode for countless ghosts.』

The old man didn't have to tell me that, I knew that it was just a short distance away.

I knew that it would quietly continue to stare at me from somewhere—until I died.

『Abandon everything, and spend the rest of your life here.』

That place was called ‘Okitachi Inari Shrine’—

I would later find out that it was a shrine that guarded one of the veins of this island country, that defended against the northern demon gate.<ref> https://donnykimball.com/kimon-7f7a28291d51</ref>

After that, I became a disciple of that old man, and began to study Shintoism. It was a little different, however, and in no way what you would generally define as ‘modern Shintoism’, it was a severe unrelenting study. Well, that's a long story, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was forced to abandon my name, my family name, my past, and completed my training to completely become ‘nothing’ all at once. I had to rearrange and fix the air ducts in my spine, and recompose all of my cells properly. I assimilated all of my thoughts with nature, and abandoned myself. I repeated that every day, every hour, every minute. I continued to adjust it as I ate, as I slept. I might have told you once before, but—if you’re not a great masochist, then it would have been a maddening day-to-day existence.

My master must not have thought I would be able to bear it all. Somewhere along the way, he probably concluded that I would run off some day and self-destruct by becoming a nest for the ghosts that would penetrate me through my turbulent air ducts. However, I somehow managed to hold my ground. I endured it all.

Say, you.

Why… do you think that was?

A few years after that, I asked my master.

About why ‘that’ had happened.

By ‘that’, I had meant ‘that thing’ which had destroyed me and my family, and I tried asking about it indifferently.

『No one really knows.』

My master answered.

『It was called ‘Nine tails’ in Nara period literature, and in the Edo period, it was referred to as the ‘everlasting night stone’—however, in all likelihood, it must have been present inside humans of every era. Yes, it is something that continues to move from person to person.』

『Is that so?』

I kept an expression as if I wasn't interested anymore, but I engraved that name deep at the back of my mind.

With a soft smile, I grit my teeth so hard they might have bled, and recalled my mother’s face from that day.

It possesses people.

It amplifies people’s negative emotions and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing.

It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves.

The first one in my family who it possessed was me.

My once warm family, had before I realized, turned into a reflection of what I considered to be the worst possible family.

As it made me believe that I was killing time outside, it toyed with my mother as it pleased on a daily basis.

It casually made my father realize this abnormal relationship, destroyed his heart, and drove him to his death.

--Unforgivable, unforgivable.

I could not forgive the wandering ghost known as the ‘everlasting night stone’, but above all, I could not forgive myself.

However, my own punishment would be held off until the very end.

Before that, I had to annihilate it. For that reason, I—

Would be as brave as Amitabha Tathagata, who stayed at the left of Amitabha Tathagata.

Would be as wise as Gabrielle, who stayed at the left of God’s throne.

And—I would transform into the sword that cut down demons, like Futsunushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsunushi</ref>, who stayed at the left of Okuninushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckuninushi</ref>.

That’s right, I decided to become a demon that would devour demons.

That was why I erased all emotions, and was able to endure everything.

With the deity Futsunushi, enshrined at Okitachi Inari Shrine as my guardian deity, I received the surname of my master.

And that is how from that day forth… Nagito Yamada-kun, I took the name of Sako Takita.<ref>The kanji for Sako’s first name is 左居, with the first kanji meaning left and the next one meaning to be or exist, so Sako means being at the left.</ref>

◯

“….Perhaps because of that you see. I feel as if my face is getting thinner like a fox each year.”

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?<ref>As explained in the previous volume, he is asking how the kanji is written here.</ref>”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A *brrrrrr* sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said, “Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”

◯

“Where are you headed?”

On the bus, an elderly grandfather with a bamboo basket on his back asked us.

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi fiddling with her phone without saying anything, so having no choice, I answered him.

“Ummm… we’re going to a friend’s house for a bit.”

“Ooh, is that right?”

The elderly gentleman nodded with a good-natured expression, as if he were about to puff a cigarette, and sat down in the seat next to us.

The bus rattled and swayed as it leisurely moved along the mountain road with several passengers on board. I somehow looked outside the window, and saw that the houses were steadily becoming sparser, and all that lay beyond them were magnificent undulating mountains.

And at my feet was a large rucksack I had borrowed from a friend in the mountaineering club. I didn’t know if we would easily be able to find accommodation, so I borrowed as much camping gear as I could cram into the rucksack and brought it along.

The address Sako had written, K city. Y-Prefecture—

Yoishi and I were on our way there, having switched trains, and rode the only bus that came only once every hour.

The sun would soon be setting in the area. The mountain ridges were dyed in a golden colored light. The scenery alone was quite beautiful and nostalgic, but when I thought about the building we were headed towards, my buoyant mood continued to sink.

“Something terrible inhabits these mountains.”

The old grandad from earlier blurted out.

“You can't look them in the eye because if you do, you'll end up dead.”

It must have been a legend you’d often find passed down in rural areas.

“Um, what is it called?”

I asked, and the grandad replied, “…It’s called,” before falling into silence for a while.

“It’s called… No, it’s better if you don’t know. Because you might end up summoning it if you know it.”

In response, Yoishi suddenly opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about 『Gandame』or 『Yousen boy』?”

“Y, young lady, you shouldn’t. Don’t say the names.”

The grandad hurriedly warned Yoishi, but as for me, I wanted to rebuke him, ‘Grandpa, you're wrong.’

You must not tell her the things ‘she shouldn’t do’. And as expected, Yoishi’s eyes glittered,

“…Gandame, Yousen boy, Gandame, Yousen boy.” She began to repeat it.

‘Eek’, as the grandad recoiled backwards, I bonked her on the head.

“…..My apologies, she’s, a little strange.”

I apologized profusely, and gazed at Yoishi who had fallen silent in discontent—

I let out a sigh in my heart by myself at the troubles that were to come.

I say troubles, but I wasn’t sure if I completely understood the details of those troubles.

Krishna-san’s sudden disappearance—I was unbearably worried about that, but I had left it to Sako who said he would meet up with Yukihito-kun and deal with it. Apparently, according to Sako, heading to this address together with Yoishi had priority above all else. Well, I had a feeling I could leave it to him since Sako seemed to act properly when it came to Krishna-san, but—the biggest problem of all was the weight of his words: 『Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story』.

The problem was whether I could really do something like that.

I came this far trying countless times to do something about the darkness ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ carried. Despite being repeatedly told by Krishna-san that it was impossible, I recklessly stepped foot into the abyss of the world beyond, and each time, I would retreat with tears in my eyes. And what could I do now that I came here with no trump card? What could I possibly do by brazenly going to the ‘place Yoishi Mitsurugi was born’? Sako also told me that 『The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun』, but I had no idea why there was a race against time at all. However, it was also true that after hearing the story of ‘Sako Takita’, my image of him had ended up changing quite dramatically, and for once I had a feeling that it would be better to believe him.

That’s why after I parted ways with Sako at Kanda Myoujin, I gathered the camping gear and headed to the library for the time being.

Fear comes from ignorance. Those were Krishna-san’s words, but there was nothing scarier than going to a place called ‘hell’ without knowing anything. I looked up any articles I could get my hands on in the library corresponding to the incidents in ‘K city, Y-Prefecture’ and ‘Hanging mansion’. And then, I finally called Yoishi, but—

“Hey, Yoishi.”

“……..What?”

“I told you we were going to Y prefecture, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“I told you we probably won’t return for a few days so come prepared, didn’t I?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“So, why are you here empty-handed in your school uniform?”

Around two hours ago, I arrived at the station we were supposed to meet up at, and was exasperated.

I didn’t expect her to bring a rucksack like me, but I thought she would at least bring a small bag. But it was as usual with ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, she hadn’t changed even the slightest.

Wearing a black blazer, black tie, black skirt. Navy blue socks, and black leather shoes.

Yoishi Mitsurugi stood there in her dazzling Koumei high school uniform. She didn’t look as if she had brought a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush or a towel. With only her mobile phone in hand, she had the same unfriendly, or rather blank expression with her excessively well-proportioned beauty looking at me, and her long black hair danced in the wind.

“Don’t you think you’re travelling a little too light?”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Well…that might be the case but…”

Come to think of it, I was beginning to like an idiot for bringing such a large backpack.

“Leaving that aside, where are we headed in Y prefecture?”

She suddenly asked, “Eh?” I was at a loss for words.

“You only said we were going to Y prefecture.”

“….Ah, ahhh….ermmm.”

No, I had to say it sooner or later, and she might figure it out along the way, but it was still difficult to say face to face, that the place we were headed towards was the birthplace of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

“I mean, really. I don't think it's right to accept an invitation to stay overnight without asking what kind of place you're going to. That’s no good for a girl before marriage.”

I pretended not to notice that I was the one who invited her,

“Didn’t I become your property?”

Yoishi retorted, and this time I was absolutely speechless.

And, I recalled once more.

The thing that happened recently—in short, when I ended up telling Yoishi’s father in front of her, ‘Give Yoishi to me’.

Somehow even Krishna-san was flushed bright red in her nose and said something like, ‘You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness’, but was that taken as a proposal or something? No, Krishna-san was weak to sake and that kind of talk to the extreme, but did Yoishi end up interpreting it as such?

As she looked at me with her large black eyes, my cheeks suddenly became hot.

My perception of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had been sealed away by Sako, and that was removed by Yoishi herself through regression hypnosis—and now that I took a long hard look at her once more, I saw that she was truly beautiful. Her pale translucent skin was unnatural for someone of Japanese descent with nary a single blemish, and her face was lined with fairy like features. Her eyes were a little dark, but on the contrary, they promoted her seducing harmony, and I think her appearance made any passerby look back at her.

That kind of girl—a possession? No, would she be my fiancée as per societal norms?

Ahh, but her father did indeed say…’Do as you like’.

Which meant that in short, he approved….?!

When I remembered that, my cheeks abruptly became flush hot, and a fluffy feeling rose up at the pit of my stomach.

I coughed once exaggeratedly and looked away.

And then I was startled.

Before I’d realized, the old grandad sitting in the seat next to me had vanished.

Or rather, it was only me, Yoishi and the driver on the bus.

“What happened to that grandad?”

“…Who knows?”

“When did they all get off? It didn’t feel like the bus had stopped.”

In response Yoishi muttered somewhat enjoyably.

“Perhaps—the elderly man might have been Gandame.”

A cold shiver ran round my back all at once in response to that cold, piercing whisper.

Immediately, it felt as if I was completely in a dream, having been in the hustle and bustle of the city merely a few hours ago, and was now, travelling left and right on a dark mountain road at dusk.

“…..We didn’t miss our stop, did we? Did you listen to the announcements carefully?”

Anxious, I took out the piece of paper in my pocket, and as I was confirming the address,

“That place.”

Yoishi merely muttered, having peeked at the piece of paper.

“Are we going to that place?”

I was speechless for a moment—before I made up my mind and nodded.

“…Ahh, that’s right. We’re headed to this place now.”

“………………..”

“…Is it a problem?”

Yoishi closed her phone, and fell into silence for a while as she looked at the darkness beyond the window.

“I’m sorry I brought you along without telling you—but, I thought it was time to settle things.”

I carefully chose my words as I spoke.

In response—

“It’s fine, but--”

As she continued to gaze out of the window, Yoishi spoke in a whisper.

“It’s just, I thought I would go there a little later.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mansion is the last place I ever intended to visit in my life.”

“………………….”

“If I don't feel fear there... it's impossible for me to feel fear again.”

Her words gave me strange goosebumps all over my body.

….Which meant that, what?

That the mansion we were headed to now, was something at a level far above just bringing me to tears as had been the case up until now?

“How did you find out about that place?”

“Ummm….I heard about it from Sako.”

“….Is that so?”

“….Um…was…”

I gulped once, and dared to ask.

“Did you know Sako?”

In response, Yoishi slowly turned towards me, and looked at me inquisitively.

“He said he met you a long time ago.”

“………………..”

Something at the back of Yoishi’s eyes flickered, as if she were trying to remember something.

Something she didn’t want to remember. Something she shouldn’t remember. Fragments of dark, sedimented memories appeared and disappeared beyond her eyes, and she eventually gave a small nod.

“………….Ahh……that person……”

However, Yoishi said nothing more from there. And I too, couldn’t ask any further.

Just what happened to you ten years and eight months ago—Why did you take on the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’? That’s not your real name, is it? Asking that simple question was unbearably heavy.

“I don’t know why we’re going to that mansion, and what you’re trying to do.”

Yoishi eventually murmured in a whisper.

“But that is without a doubt the worst place for me.”

“………..”

“There’s no guarantee that I will be myself. I might not be able to help you if something happens to you. Are you still alright with that?”

Ahhh, I know already.

…..I couldn’t say it being the weak coward that I was, but I still nodded with all the courage I could muster.

“Going around haunted places is just like life….at your own responsibility, right?”

At that moment—

I noticed that the bus driver had been gazing at us all this time through the back mirror.

The dark area around his eyes seemed to be contorted in a sneer.

And, I felt as if I shouldn’t make eye contact even if it was through the back mirror.

I didn’t know about 『Gandame』, or 『Yousen boy』, but—

I thought that we were already in the world beyond.

◯

The mansion, illuminated by the pocket light, was already in a state of decay.

After getting off the bus, we climbed up the dark mountain road for a long time, and the mansion we reached at last was the very definition of a haunted house.

The mansion merely loomed jet black beyond the white fence.

We were silent for a while, standing still with lights in one hand in front of the iron gate.

“…Shall we go?”

I called out to Yoishi, who unusually didn’t try to enter, and I pushed the creaking gate open.

The large garden was already rampant with weeds, with nary a place to plant my feet. I raised my legs in exaggerated movements as I continued, until I eventually arrived close to the front door of the mansion. However, the door was boarded shut to deter anyone from entering. I shone my light to see a sign that read, 『Unauthorized entry is forbidden』. There were many large spiders and spiderwebs that hung all over, something you would never see in the city.

I moved a little further away and aimed my light here and there. Beyond the window on the second floor was a curtain drawn halfway that looked eerily like someone’s head would peek out if I continued looking. Ivy ran along the wall of the mansion extending all the way up to the roof.

“….This mansion is way beyond what I expected.”

I said so, but there was no reply.

I turned around, to see that Yoishi was silently staring at a section in the garden.

I approached and stood next to her, and aimed my light in the direction of Yoishi’s gaze. What lay there was an old camping grill. It was already rusted and fallen over. A small camping chair was also lying there. They might have been used for barbecuing here once in the past. I crouched down to shine my light at them, and found several firework cinders on the ground as well. These symbols of a peaceful summer holiday were saddening to see in the garden of a decayed mansion.

“…Are you alright?”

Seeing her shoulders slowly move up and down, I called out to her.

Yoishi nodded without a word, but she indeed did not have her usual vigor when she faced the occult.

“It’s probably a little late to enter this mansion right now. Let’s pitch our tent here, shall we?”

I raised my voice as cheerfully as I could, and lowered the rucksack on my back.

“I have a friend in university named Yamaoka. He’s in the mountaineering club, extremely fit despite his small size, and he has a great sense of humor to boot. He let me borrow a lot of stuff. A tent for three. Two sleeping bags. I brought a lot of food as well, and even a burner. Let’s grill something for dinner, shall we? Ahh, or maybe you’d like me to make some coffee?”

“If it’s a bedroom you need then there’s one inside.”

“….Eh?”

“On the second floor, there’s a room that is safe to use.”

“No…the inside is, um, it’s quite dangerous right? This isn’t the usual haunted spot investigation. It’s better that we go in when it’s bright.”

I said that, but Yoishi had already set off for the front door, used her foot as a pivot and audaciously began to remove the planks that had been hammered into place. She removed the planks one-by-one, causing cracking and scraping noises to echo loudly in the mountain that was deathly silent at night.

“It’s not a problem if we put a tent out here though.”

With her back towards me, Yoishi spoke as she removed the planks.

“There’s a dead person in that garden as well.”

“……….Eh?”

“If that’s alright with you, then you can set up camp there.”

“……Say that from the start.”

Having no choice, I helped her.

The planks had rotted considerably, probably from the many years of wind and rain, and were removed fairly easily.

“The key?”

“A, ahh, here.”

I took the key Sako gave to me out of my pocket and handed it over to Yoishi.

Yoishi stared at the key for a while—before slowly placing it into the keyhole. A pleasant click rang out, and the lock was opened. As the creaking door slowly opened, I felt something rustling beyond the darkness—and I closed my eyes in an instant. After taking a single deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

A thick, incredibly heavy darkness leaked out from behind the half open door.

But, Yoishi remained there, standing still as a rock. Her back, which would never hesitate to step forth into any darkness, wasn’t there. All that was there was the back of a young high school girl, who was unable to take one step ahead in the face of overwhelming darkness.

“Could it be—that you’re…scared?”

“……..I don’t know.”

Yoishi answered silently.

“I don’t know if this is what it means to be afraid. But, my feet are…”

I looked to see that Yoishi’s feet in her black leather shoes were quivering slightly.

I went back to pick up my rucksack, put it on my back and silently gripped Yoishi’s hand. The moment I gripped her soft and cold hand---Ahh, I realized.

The reason why I came all the way out here. And, what needed to be done here.

Wasn’t that, to confront the past together with Yoishi—And, to hear her true name from her own mouth?

Krishna-san had said it before. 『Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world』.

That’s right. There was only one thing for the disciples of the witch to do. That was to research the real names of all events and creatures in the world and their history, and once you take back your ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ should disappear.

Alright, I said to myself, and put strength into my stomach—

“…Let’s go. Alright?”

I asked, and Yoishi gave a small nod without a word.

For the first time since I’d gone with her through numerous paranormal events—I took the lead.

With a dull thud, I threw the door open.

I was greeted with the smell of dust assailing my nostrils, and a damp atmosphere that coiled around my body. With my right hand gripping Yoishi’s hand, I illuminated the mansion with the light in my left hand, and slowly took a step forward.

In front of the wide entrance hallway was a corridor, and it was dark to the point where my mini light could barely illuminate it. Nevertheless, I could see that the stairs to the second floor were on my right-hand side, and the spacious living room lay beyond the door to my left-hand side. At any rate, I felt countless presences everywhere, and I asked as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my feet.

“Where is the bedroom you said we could use?”

“Upstairs, at the back.”

“…Got it.”

I tried not to look anywhere, as I barged inside while still wearing my shoes, which was, sorry to say, always the case with haunted spots.

The stairs creaked as I climbed them one-by-one. I aimed my light up to see that the second floor looked even darker. The light formed a ceiling shadow of the handrail that moved, which felt extremely unsettling.

“The back of the second floor—that way, huh?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were doors on each side of the second-floor corridor, and a door in the back. I quickened my steps as if I would be in a safe zone once I reached there, and pulled Yoishi with me towards that door. There, I opened it in a single breath.

Inside was a simple guest room with two beds, a small table, and a closet installed on the wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoishi inside, and closed the door.

“It sure is a nice room.”

As I said that, I tried to twiddle with the switch on the wall, but as expected there didn’t seem to be any electricity, and it remained completely dark.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

I suddenly remembered and took out a portable lantern from my rucksack. I clumsily fiddled it with my shaky hands. As taught by Yamaoka from the mountaineering club, I thrust a rechargeable lighter in the hole and ignited it. Soon, a warm flame flared up and eventually grew, dimly illuminating the interior of the room.

“……….Ohh.”

“………….”

Yoishi and I, merely gazed at that light in a daze.

I had thought countless times that light was truly grand —but this was the first time I had been moved to the point of tears. Yamaoka insisted it when I borrowed the camping equipment, 『Camping is a completely different experience without it』, and forcibly crammed it in the rucksack over my objections….but, If I safely make it back, I have to express my profound thanks. If I didn’t have this, then the strange intimidating air that enveloped this mansion might have continued to weaken my spirit.

“This sure is good. It’s somehow really encouraging.”

“…Yeah.”

Yoishi sat on the bed, and unusually agreed with me.

I looked at her for some reason—and after that, I looked at the other bed.

I just now realized that it was only me and Yoishi here; We had sneaked in at night in an uninhabited house commonly known as the 『Hanging mansion』.

“Ermm.”

I cleared my throat once and asked.

“Is it a problem If I use any of the other rooms?”

Yoishi slightly cocked her head to the side.

“You know, it’s problematic for the two of us to sleep in the same room. Just now you said that this room was not a problem, but what about the other rooms….or to be more precise, what exactly is the problem with them?”

“It’s fine if you don’t mind, but.”

Yoishi answered dispassionately.

“The people who used the other two rooms are dead.”

“……………..”

...... I can't do it. I absolutely cannot do it.

In addition, this place was incomparably heavier and darker than all the haunted places we had visited so far. I nodded silently and sat down on the vacant bed after wiping away the dust on it. From there, we were both silent for a while. She had lied down with her back towards me, and I was clearly getting an aura from her that a conversation was impossible.

It was still just a little past 8 pm.

It was a time when you’d normally be awake and doing activities, but the mountains at night were a different story altogether. When the moon hid behind the clouds, there was no light anywhere besides this lantern. Everything was painted pitch black, and it made you believe that you were in a completely different world, a world where human rules no longer applied.

It was just the two of us alone in the ruins of a building that was deathly silent— not an unusual situation for us, and yet, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Perhaps because Yoishi was not her usual self.

Her eyes always glimmered in the face of the paranormal.

The more grotesque the situation trended towards, the stronger that dark light would shine.

But, right now, I—

I knew that the dark colored light at the back of her eyes was the thing I had to face. That knowledge made me feel as if there was someone else here besides the two of us, one more opponent, of an unknown nature.

But I had come mentally prepared with that in mind.

Determined, I calmly opened my rucksack. I took out copies of old newspaper and magazine articles I had obtained from the library before coming here, and spread them out under the light of the lantern.

It was commonly known as, 『The Hanging Mansion Family Massacre Case』. The major newspapers referred to it as 『K Lakeside Mountain Retreat Murder Case』, but the former was how it was referred to by the weekly magazines. And the source of that name came from the fact that the head of a household was found hanged in this mansion.

It happened around eleven years ago--- in short, it occurred on the 31st of July 2001.

I continued to read in sequence from a newspaper article to a weekly magazine article.

『Yesterday, inside a certain building in a mountain forest in K city, Y prefecture, the bodies of an active duty police officer and a Tokyo family that was staying at the house for a short period of time were discovered. The Y prefectural police have set up an investigation headquarters and have begun an investigation into the possibility of it being a crime or an accident. The connection between the family and the police officer is uncertain, but there is a possibility that the family was involved in some kind of trouble. According to the police statement, the bodies of the father and mother were discovered inside, and the body of the police officer and the family pet were discovered outside the building. The bodies of the eldest and younger daughter were discovered in the nearby K lake.』

『The father was discovered hanging by his neck in the living room.』『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room.』『The head patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police department was discovered stabbed to death in the garden.』『Next to the head patrol officer was the body of a dog which is believed to be the family pet.』『Around 1 kilometer below at K Lakeshore, the body of the elder sister was discovered. With lacerations at the base of her throat.』『The body of the second daughter was also discovered at the same location. She drowned to death.』

As I continued to read, my feelings became heavier and heavier.

According to one expert's theory in a weekly magazine, this incident was a family suicide carried out by the father: he killed the mother, the officer, the dog, and when the sisters ran away, he followed them and killed them at the lake, and then returned to the mansion where he killed himself. I see, it more or less made sense. However, there were still mysteries that remained, such as why a police officer belonging to the Metropolitan Police department happened to be present in a mountain retreat at Y prefecture? And why did the father decide to commit a family suicide?

Above all, what I was most concerned about was how Yoishi and Sako were involved in this incident.

If it were eleven years ago, Yoishi would have been six or seven years old.

I could deduce that she must have been the elder or the younger sister, but—before, umm, I think it was in the Koumei Institute’s ‘Clock Tower Incident’? It felt as if she had talked about her elder sister. Which meant, that Yoishi must have been the younger daughter.

Having racked my brains on it thus far--I read through one of the articles once more, and found a mention of ‘serious condition’ with regards to the status of the younger daughter. I also found an article that said, ‘She was transported to the hospital unconscious’ and, ‘The younger daughter in serious condition also passed away’. In short, the life and death status of the younger daughter was not mentioned clearly. There was no news of her whereabouts thereafter, as if she had dissolved into the darkness of this world. However, whether the culprit was her father or an outsider, the fact that the younger daughter survived, meant that she had gone through extreme hell--She had witnessed the entirety of what occurred in this mansion from beginning to end, and was probably aware of the identity of the true culprit.

And, thereupon,

I suddenly felt a strange tug at my heart.

It was as if I had overlooked an important path hidden by the vegetation in the dark forest.

I rearranged the scattered articles I had copied in order of date published. And then, I remembered what I felt when I was copying the articles in the library.

Yes—around two weeks after the incident, the number of reports on the incident dropped dramatically. After a month had passed, the verified reports were nowhere to be found. It is true that a wonder lasts but nine days, and even if the Japanese people had a capricious nature-- but this was such a sensational incident. And on top of that, it was still unresolved to the present day. Wasn't it forgotten about a bit too quickly?

It was as if... they were trying to pretend it never have happened.

“... Press restrictions, huh?”

As I recall, if an incident fulfilled certain criteria, then in accordance with press agreements, the media may refrain from reporting it.

But I heard that it was only limited to kidnapping cases, or anything relating to the imperial household or political issues—

---No.

No…that wasn’t all it was limited to.

I recalled an article I had read on an occult website. If I recalled correctly, there was an incident in which police rushed to the scene of the crime where a mother had been murdered, they found her infant daughter sitting there in a state of insanity and muttered, ‘A demon appeared from the wall’. There was much debate as to the true identity of the ‘demon’, but news reporting of that incident suddenly ceased all at once.

There were a lot of occultic theories on the internet surrounding people who lived in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, but one day, the thread was locked with a message from someone believed to be an insider.

It was, ‘The culprit was the daughter’, ‘Because she is an infant, press restrictions would be imposed.’

Something cold began to rise beneath my feet.

I slowly turned my head towards Yoishi who was lying on her side on the bed.

It can’t be—

The first time I met Yoishi--- Yes, back in the ‘Wish-fulfilling House’.

When I introduced myself, she merely said, 『I’m Yoishi』. I asked her, 『Isn't that a handle?』, and she denied it, saying,『My surname is Mitsurugi. Not that it matters』. Back then, I wondered if she was fine with revealing her real name on the internet, but—was it because it wasn’t her real name?

Come to think of it, I found out that the Noh-faced man who called himself Yoishi’s father belonged to the ‘Cabinet Information Research Office’. That meant it could influence the media to a greater or lesser extent— and not just that, it was also possible for it to take custody of a girl whose whereabouts were unknown….? No, what reason would someone in a government organization have for adopting the younger daughter?

Sako had been chasing the ‘everlasting night stone’ which was written in kanji as 「常夜石」. And he said that it was something that, 『Amplifies people’s negative emotions, and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing』, and that 『It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves』.

If ‘Mitsurugi’ was that man’s surname, but then, why did her first name become ‘Yoishi’…..?

Before I’d realized it, my legs had started shaking. Right now, I thought the black-haired girl sleeping in the bed next to me was someone truly terrifying, and I felt fear to the point where my blood was being drained.

---It can’t be, the true culprit from ten years ago was…..

“………..That’s right.”

At that moment, I jumped up with a start when Yoishi whispered as if she had read my heart. Yoishi slowly got up, moved to the edge of the bed and sat there. And, she gazed for a while at the countless photocopies of articles scattered near my hands—

Eventually, she moved her pale face towards me. I trembled at the appearance of the dark light in her large eyes.

“……Hey, are you scared?”

“……….”

“Are you…. Scared of me right now?”

I couldn’t answer instantly—

But eventually, Ahh, I managed to squeeze a voice from my stinging, parched throat.

“………I’m scared. Of course I’m scared. To be honest, if we’d just met, I think I would have run away.”

“…………..”

“But….it’s strange ---right now, I don’t care anymore.”

I forcefully put on a smile on my face.

Then, for some reason, I felt the back of my heart quietening into silence.

“If you are a survivor of this incident….and, if you’ve now taken the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, as someone who really does have another name. Then I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can’t see ghosts. I want to believe that they’re there, but to be honest I still can’t say for sure that they’re there. Even after witnessing countless paranormal things, I still can’t tell at all. But, what I truly believe is that there are souls. Warm souls, terrifying souls……. There must be countless souls in this world. They might dwell in buildings, in paintings, in music---they might be the strength of people’s thoughts, but I feel their presence and I believe in their existence. And, the shape of your soul-- which I can feel, which has gone through so much pain and suffering, I believe that it’s beautiful despite everything. And I love that shape.”

“…………………….”

Yoishi remained frozen in place, as she continued to gaze at my face---

And her beautifully shaped lips were about to say, ‘You--’, when they stopped.

“…………You?”

“You….you truly are a fool.”

Yoishi’s voice had a tinge of embarrassment in it, when--

……….*Plop*………..

That sound echoed.

It sounded like water dripping somewhere.

That sound, which seemed as if it was right next to my ears, made me shudder for some reason.

“Is there… a water leak somewhere?”

I somehow managed to say that, and Yoishi shook her head.

“….It’s calling me.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s in the bathroom.”

Declaring that, something flickered beyond Yoishi’s eyes that was illuminated by the lantern. Dark colored eyes and something I arbitrarily named was wriggling. And, that itself was the moment ‘Yoishi’ turned into the ‘everlasting night stone’.

「Say, don’t you want to go and take a look?」

Yoishi would probably whisper that from here.

And that was where the other world would begin. With a jerk, the world would flip upside down, and what would appear there would be a world you shouldn’t see. The ground beneath my feet would tremble, creating a floating sensation as if I had lost everything. But, I would not be able to fight against it. It would be unbearably scary, but I would end up heading there as if being dragged by Yoishi---

And.

However, Yoishi didn’t say anything no matter how much time passed.

Even though there was terror right next to her, she remained motionless as she continued to listen closely to the sound of water.

“…Yoishi?”

“This place is the reason why-- I hate baths.”

“…………”

“I… ended up making a mistake here I could never take back.”

“….What, happened here?”

I asked her, but Yoishi remained silent and did not answer. Her face was contorted in pain, and she merely hung her head down.

If I continued to gaze at that face, an unbearable sadness would sweep over me as well, and before I’d realized, I stood up and said, “Okay”. I drew closer to Yoishi and sniffed at her neck.

Yup, she stinks.

“Shall we take it, together?”

“………Eh………..?”

“The bath. If you know that this place is the cause, then that’s even more of a reason.”

“I, I refuse.”

“Shut up, just come. You haven’t taken a bath since you left my home, right?”

I was fully aware that I was saying something outrageous, but I was desperate when I decided to confront her.

I pulled Yoishi’s hand and made her stand, and spoke as if to conceal my embarrassment.

“I’ll wash your head. And this time—we’ll overcome it all.”

◯

“It’s boiling over, nice hot water!”

I shouted through the glass door as I pulled my hand out of the bathtub in the pitch-black darkness.

Then, after a few moments, the glass door opened with a clank. Yoishi Mitsurugi appeared in the bathroom stark naked….or so I thought. In the darkness, I only caught a glimpse, but naturally, I immediately averted my eyes out of courtesy.

There was no electricity in the mansion, but it was most fortunate that the water was from a well and that propane gas was still available. Right now, the bathroom was filled with warm steam. Even though there must be plenty of occult fans all over the world, we were probably the only ones to take a bath in a haunted place. As I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t it a worthy achievement to have performed a reckless act so effortlessly?’, Yoishi quietly sat down on the seat next to me, holding what looked like a towel in hand. In the pitch-darkness of the bathroom, where only the steam gently enveloped our bodies, we continued to sit in silence, naked.

“Ermm… Wash your body first.”

I desperately tried not to be conscious of Yoishi next to me, filled the tub with hot water, and rubbed a soap that was there onto the towel and lathered it.

“Look, you wash yours. It’s alright. I don’t see anything. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“……………………….”

Eventually, Yoishi placed something she was holding on the wash basin without saying a word.

“Hm…….? Wasn’t that a towel?”

I asked as I was scrubbing my body clean, but Yoishi seemed to have shaken her head without a word.

“Can I have a look at that?”

I washed the bubbles off my hand with hot water, turned off the faucet and then picked it up.

Checking it with my fingertips, I saw that it was something soft--- some kind of stuffed toy.

“Ah….this, could it be the thing you always have attached to your bag? The stuffed frog?”

“….Yes.”

“Hmmm, is it your good luck charm?”

I asked as I touched the body of the stuffed frog with my fingertips. It was quite old and frayed in places, but—that touch made me feel strangely nostalgic.

“It’s not a good luck charm.”

After a while, Yoishi whispered.

“He’s, my only friend.”

For some reason, those words made my heart ache deep in my chest.

“In the past, he used to talk.”

“In the past…? He can’t do it now?”

“He doesn’t talk anymore.”

“…………….”

In a way, such a cute line from a girl was a problem because when Yoishi said it, it instantly became occultic in nature. And moreover, since we were in an abandoned building where no one lived and people had died, I had to be careful not to let the atmosphere go into a creepy direction as much as possible, or else my spirit couldn’t handle it.

When—suddenly, I heard a splash.

I looked to see that Yoishi had already entered the bathtub.

Apparently, after only a couple of splashes of hot water on her body, she had moved there with the stuffed frog in hand.

“Did you wash yourself properly?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t. The soap is still the same as it was in front of me.”

“…..I don’t want to use that soap.”

“Why?”

“Because it's still there, just as it was that day.”

I didn't know how to retort back to those words.

I quietly looked in the direction of the bathtub, to see that Yoishi was soaked in the hot water up to her chin, playing with the stuffed frog in hand.

She hadn’t tied her long hair, so it was scary to see her hair spread out on the surface of the water.

“….I ended up doubting her.”

“…….Eh?”

“Back then, mama asked me if she could join me—and I refused.”

“What do you mean, you refused?”

I asked, but Yoishi fell silent once more.

Eventually, she carefully chose each word as she spoke.

“It was mama… but I ended up doubting that it wasn’t mama.”

Not understanding it well, I listened silently as I continued to wash my body.

“…If I had opened the door for her back then…. A lot of things might have turned out differently.”

That must have been when Yoishi was probably six or seven years old—when she came to visit this mountain retreat with her family. Does that mean that Yoishi was alone in the bath when her mother came? Does that mean that her mother died the next day?

I recalled the article that said,『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room』, and at the moment when bitterness overflowed in my chest—

I realized after all this time. I…. Ended up calling this mansion a ‘haunted place’ without consideration, but wasn’t it extremely rude to call it that, since it was a place where her family was? Once more, the words Krishna-san always told me stabbed my chest, ‘Have respect for the dead’, and I clutched my head in the darkness.

“….Regrets really are a thing, huh?”

After a while, I muttered.

“I always wonder after everything is over if I could have done a little bit more. I mean, my life is a repetition of that. I overslept, missed an important lecture and almost cried before the exam, I couldn’t properly teach the newcomer at my part time job, and he suddenly stopped coming, I ended up eating an extra-large portion of gyudon even though I don’t have money—No, what I have is nothing compared to what you are burdened with.”

--*Splash* As I poured hot water on my shoulders to wash away the foam, I spoke, “Sorry”.

“I’m sorry I ended up calling this house a ‘haunted place’.”

“….I don’t really mind.”

“No….but….”

Then, Yoishi merely muttered in the bathtub.

“What are ''grudges'', exactly?”

“….Eh?”

“What do ghosts, bear a grudge against, exactly….? For example, what if you were to die a horrific death because of me? What if you still had so many things you wanted to do, but your life ended because of me? Would you too wander this world with a grudge….?”

I suddenly imagined ---myself as a ghost, just wandering this world endlessly. But at that moment, a strange loneliness swept over my chest. A world like ice, where no one could perceive me, where my words never reached anyone.

There, all I was, was confused.

I was befuddled, in agony, and wished to die quickly and properly. Even though I was already dead, I was impatient to die properly.

“……No.”

I shook my head once, turned on the shower and poured hot water on my head.

“Rather than bearing a grudge, I think I’d be troubled.”

“Troubled….?”

“I think that ghosts are probably just troubled. The moment they understand that they’re dead, they're upset because they don't know what to do, having experienced that for the first time. Ahh--- I can’t explain it well, but rather than asking questions about why they died or wanting to come back to life, they would be restless about what to do with themselves, and have no time to bear grudges against other people. ….Look, isn’t that why they draw close to you? They might be relying on you since they realize that you can see ghosts. Maybe they think you might believe in the myth that telling ghost stories attracts them.”

I excitedly talked as if I had accidentally touched on a secret—

“You—”

Yoishi coldly declared.

“Really are a fool.”

‘What the hell did you say?’, I was about to retort, when I stopped, thinking that it was inappropriate. I silently lathered up the shampoo that was there in my hands and started washing my hair feeling good.

It was my first time talking about ghosts and not being afraid. For the first time, I felt as if I understood the meaning of what Krishna-san always said, ‘Perhaps some ghosts play tricks on people, while other ghosts say, 'Come on, stop it,' and step in to intervene, yet no one ever thinks of the latter possibility’.

“Even if they're dead, ghosts aren’t different than people.”

I tried to sound as cool as I possibly could, when it happened.

As I was scrubbing my head with the shampoo, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

As if the lathering was strangely sluggish — or rather, as if the amount of hair had strangely increased.

At that moment, I realized that there were long strands of hair dropping on both sides of my face. It was as if someone had drawn their face close to the back of my head with their long black hair, and trirf to get me to wash their hair as well.

--It must be Yoishi.

You sure had the nerve to come up with a funny idea, as I quickly reached both hands to the back of my head. I was trying to take hold of that head: Yoishi’s head, however.

“…………Eh?”

There was nothing there, and my hands were wandering in empty air.

''“Get out.”''

At the same time, a voice like a ringing bell echoed in the bathroom.

I looked to see Yoishi still immersed in the bathtub, gazing in my direction.

Her eyes in the darkness, were darker than darkness—

Her following words, directed towards something, made goosebumps run all over my body.

“You are already dead.”

◯

I'll never speak sagely of ghosts before her ever again.

I firmly made up my mind to do as I chanted the nembutsu<ref>Buddhist prayer</ref> all night--And it was the following day.

Before I'd realized, I was sound asleep in the bed and woke up to find myself in heavenly sunshine. The chirping of the birds reverberated around me, and the branches of lush green trees peeked through the window.

Did I come to some hotel resort somewhere? I couldn’t judge the situation right away and really thought that was the case, but--

No..... No, that wasn't it.

This was the mountain retreat where a mysterious massacre occurred eleven years ago.

With a start I raised my head, and saw that Yoishi was already awake and sitting on top of her bed, fiddling with her phone.

“...Ah... Good morning.”

When I greeted her, she fleetingly glanced my way with her large eyes,

“My phone has a connection.”

She spoke.

“Well, that's what it’s supposed to do.”

“There was no connection eleven years ago.”

She stood up and pointed her phone here and there.

“Is there a problem if you have a connection?”

“……………………….”

However, without answering, Yoishi put her phone away in her pocket, and turned her white face at me.

“What are we going to do from now on?”

“Well….”

No, I had no concrete ideas in mind.

I was under the impression that just coming here would be enough to settle something. I was told by Sako that I had to complete ‘Yoishi’s story’, and I thought that must have been ‘to hear Yoishi’s true name from her own mouth’. But— after thinking about it long and hard, that doesn't really need to be in this place, does it?

Which means….huh?

Why did Sako tell me about this place?

I raised my head, looked at the mansion walls, and thought of the room that was supposed to exist beyond it. After that, I pictured downstairs which was filled with far more creepiness than the second floor.

….Could it be?

Did it mean that there was something in this mansion that could finish this case?

“Let’s go.”

I declared, and Yoishi tilted her head slightly.

“We have to search this mansion.”

Yoishi asked, ‘For what?’, and in response:

“Something important.”

Without pause, I opened the door to the room.

All that was there on the other side of the creaking door was a corridor---but it wasn’t as dark as last night.

It was already bright with the light of the sun pouring in.

The stairs creaked as Yoishi and I descended to the ground floor. It was a building with many windows, and the warm sunshine poured in through all of them. It had lost the appearance of a haunted house and was now just an old mansion. Even so, the building still felt like a ruin, full of spider webs and dust-- but, as I thought that, I spotted something on the corridor floor. It was a yellow police tape. Apparently, it had been placed in front of the door leading to the living room.

Something bitter instantly rose up inside me, as I realized that this was a murder scene, and that the victims were Yoishi’s relatives.

“Are you alright?”

I turned around and asked, and Yoishi nodded, looking paler than usual.

The living room was spacious. It was at the very least, around 32 square meters in size.

It had leather covered sofas, a fireplace, withered houseplants, and torn wallpaper.

But—

I thought once more. I didn’t know why it was, but I didn’t feel as if this was my first time in this mansion. Come to think of it, I felt that when I first looked up at this mansion from the garden last night. As if someone had said to me, “Welcome back”. I recalled that feeling now once more and shuddered.

No--- I shook my head. No matter how much I turned the drawers of my memory upside down, I had never come to this mansion before. I only felt like I had been here before because this was a typical resort construction, and they all had a similar layout.

I continued to convince myself in that way, as I scooped off the piled-up dust on the sofa with my hands.

On the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room were three cups, and the tea or whatever that had been inside had already dried up and turned light brown. The family must have been enjoying their time here together. They had no idea that a conclusion far terrible than they could have imagined awaited them….

I became strangely sentimental, maybe because I thought that it was Yoishi’s family.

I was a weakling from the start, but I thought I had endurance with regards to the dead after their funeral had been completed. Once you die, there’s no coming back. No matter how much I grieved and moaned, I could not overturn that rule of life. That’s why, I didn’t mourn more than necessary. After all, I too would die one day. At that time, I would meet them again. And, in order to have lots to talk about when I meet them again in that world, I would live a fruitful life, that’s how I thought of it. That might have been the psychological coping mechanism I learned after the bitter separation from my mother.

But---

Something about this mansion was different.

I ended up thinking that maybe there was still something I could do about it.

Even though everyone was already dead….. and were no longer a part of this world, the vividness of the family pressed at me, a family that was not my own, but one that I could not think of as a stranger’s.

Are…they still here?

Are Yoishi’s mother, father, sister, and the policeman, still here in this mansion--?

I end up feeling like…. they entrusted me with something important that was left undone.

“….Huh?”

As I thought such things, I noticed that Yoishi was staring at something.

It was a small space above the hearth.

“What’s wrong?”

I called out to her and stood next to her---where I noticed.

It was a single photograph. A brown wooden photo frame had collapsed, and a discolored photograph lay beside it.

My heart beat out loud seeing the figures of the people in the picture.

“…..This……”

“My… family.’

“Is it alright…. if I take a look?”

“It’s fine, but—”

Yoishi added in a tone of voice that lacked emotion.

“It’s not really something pleasant.”

Hearing those words, I gulped.

Why hadn’t the police taken this picture away, even though they must have investigated the scene countless times? Come to think of it, why were all the cups I saw earlier still here? Suddenly, all sorts of questions crossed my mind, but in the end, I picked up that photograph.

It was a family photograph taken in the garden. The father, the mother, the elder sister, the younger sister, and the family dog—everyone was looking at the camera, and probably smiling in the polaroid picture. However, the moment I saw it, an intense chill ran down my back, causing me to almost let go of it.

For some reason….in that photograph of the father, the mother, the elder sister, and the dog—their faces were discolored white and stretched out in the air as if twisted by an invisible force so strong that they were about to disappear. Among them, only the young girl was smiling kindly. She looked this way with her beautiful white face, and her pretty, long black hair that swayed slightly in the wind.

“……U…..umm, you sure were cute.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, really….”

“It becomes this type of photograph when that takes your life.”

“By t…that…could you possibly mean?”

…The ‘everlasting night stone’ that Sako mentioned?

The moment I was about to mention that name, Yoishi put her finger on my lips to stop me.

“It would be better not to say that name.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

“Because it’s everywhere at all times.”

“S…say, why…why did you take the name of Yoishi? If that name itself was ominous, and if you were aware of that, then why---?”

Without answering, Yoishi silently took the photograph from my hand and carefully placed it back in its original place.

“The police abandoned it.”

“Abandoned?”

“This photograph is as you can see. But, it wasn’t abandoned because of an exposure error. This entire mansion was abandoned, and the investigation itself was abandoned.”

“W, why?”

“Because the state unofficially recognized that long ago.”

Yoishi’s cold words left me aghast.

“It exists in every age, appears at whim, and consumes humans—stealing their lives. That’s why it has been recognized as a natural disaster that possesses this country, like typhoons and earthquakes.”

“No…that’s—if it were a natural disaster, then why did you need to take that name?”

“Because—”

Yoishi stood stock still like a broken doll, and whispered.

“Because I’m the cause of all this.”

“……….What?”

“Because I was an unwanted child that was never wished for.”

“….There’s no way that’s true? There’s no way a child is unloved by their parents.”

“Thinking straightforwardly like that is a trait of yours, but—then, why does infanticide not cease in this world? What about the abuse that increases even now? And, what if… it was an unwanted pregnancy?”

………………………..

“What if….it was a life born from the violation of the mother by a complete stranger?”

“….Hey…it can’t be….”

“If that were the case, I would erase myself.”

Yoishi’s large eyes harbored a pale blue flame as she spoke.

“That’s why my face is white. Because of foreign blood. I didn’t resemble anyone in my family. I was--”

“Cursed ''before I was even born.''”

“That’s exactly why I was chosen by that.”

I….could not utter even a single word.

But from somewhere in the mansion that was as silent as death—something echoed as a substitute.

A biological, disgusting, whipping sound.

“….It has begun.”

“…….Eh?”

“It’s already begun.”

Yoishi looked me in the eyes, and spoke in a whisper.

“It’s going to be hell from now on.”

“….What?”

“If you want to go back, this is your last chance.”

“……………”

“You’re free to do whatever you wish, but from here on, I’m not sure that I will continue to be myself. To run away from here, to forget everything, and to live a cheerful life would be without a doubt the right thing to do.”

Yoishi spoke that much forlornly, and turned away from me.

With a mechanical gait in her step, she walked straight out of the living room.

“W…. wait a minute!”

I was a step behind, and ran after her.

I caught up to Yoishi who was proceeding in the corridor, and grabbed her hand.

“I’m going as well.”

I declared, and Yoishi looked at me with lonely eyes.

I nodded strongly, and Yoishi silently looked down, and spoke.

“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

“……Eh?”

“I know that’s completely unforgivable, but I can’t help but rely on you.”

“No……”

I spoke flustered.

“I don’t mind if you rely on me, you know? Well, although, I might be quite unreliable, but…”

In response, Yoishi bit her lips in irritation---

“Please, forgive me.”

She whispered that.

I stopped moving, not knowing what she meant—when Yoishi looked up at me and gazed at me. That white, unworldly, beautiful face declared as if melting into the darkness of this world.

“No matter what happens, no matter what you see… stay as you are. Stay as Nagito Yamada. Continue to stay that way--- that might be our only chance to win at the very last moment.”

It was an expression Yoishi Mitsurugi had shown me for the first time.

The girl who had never asked me for a single favor up until now, who had gleefully moved forward no matter what paranormal events she faced, the young girl who was acted coolly like a grand witch from antiquity even when faced with reality that would make you want to avert your eyes, showed me for the first time--- a sorrowful expression.

Please, forgive me.

She declared once more in a hoarse voice, and abruptly turned heel with a knock of her leather shoes.

After that, she didn’t look back, as she continued into the darkness.

I fell behind for a moment—before following her.

The mansion corridor which had not been ventilated for a long time, creaked strangely, perhaps due to the humidity.

It wouldn’t be strange if the floors collapsed at any given moment, and that instability was the same sensation I had whenever my legs froze from the sign of the world beyond.

The very back of the corridor.

The closer I got to the inconspicuous wooden door, the louder the whipping sound became.

“T...this sound.”

I was about to ask what it was, but I couldn’t say the words. Being the weakling that I was, my legs had already begun to tremble, and the root of my teeth didn’t connect.

Yoishi made it that far without hesitation, placed her hand on the sliding door, and with a single breath, threw it open.

It was a storage room around 10 sqm in size.

There was a mop, a place for a large vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, an unused chair and such.

And, in the center, I saw a familiar childish face.

“—K…”

I was at a loss for words.

“…..Kri…shna-san?”

◯

A petite figure was crouching in a dark corner of the room, devouring something.

Her short hair was messy, as if she hadn’t returned home for many days—and her blue spring dress was torn in places and dirty with mud, as if she had tumbled down a mountain.

“Umm….Krishna-san….is that you….?”

In response, the girl looked in my direction, still clutching something with her hands.

She sneered in a satisfied smile with her white, cloudy eyes. I shuddered at the sight of the thing that protruded from her lips. From those cute lips which were always preaching to me with sermons of love, now protruded a large, wriggling centipede. She bit it off with those white teeth of hers, and chewed it crunchingly.

As I watched, unable to say anything —Krishna-san slowly stood up.

She then brought her hands, still covered with the remains of centipedes and other small animals, to her large breasts and grasped them violently. She then rubbed them vigorously. It made me feel a sense of unease, as if a different personality was using Krishna-san’s arms to toy with her body. But, there was no eroticism in it. It was merely revolting; I felt disgust as if something precious was being defiled. it reminded me of a coven of witches – a sabbath that I had once seen illustrated in a book. That vulgar behavior was in no way the behavior of the Krishna-san I knew. She was so cute in all her actions that even when she had to be strict, she still lacked a sense of tension.

“What are you trying to do by moving to that person?”

Yoishi spoke coldly as she fixed her gaze on Krishna-san.

“Your place is inside me, isn’t it?”

With those words, I realized with a start.

“….Hey, it can’t be….?”

‘That’s right’, Yoishi gave a small nod.

“That person is Shiina Kurimoto, but it’s not her personality right now. The one who stands there is the one destroyed everyone precious to me: my best friend, my mother, my father, my elder sister, Leo, the detective-- The one who stands there… is the ‘Everlasting night stone’.”

Together with her words… I saw it.

Right now, in Krishna-san’s eyes, a dark light glimmered that was like the bewitching glimmer in Yoishi’s eyes in the face of the paranormal. Exposed to that dark light, countless scenes revived and connected in my mind. The countless mysteries, paranormal phenomenon which defied explanation that I had witnessed so far. Yoishi’s eyes would begin to glitter before them. But when she saw malice in the truth, Yoishi would always vomit. She would vomit in pain, as if trying to wipe away something inside her.

Was that---

Because this thing was inside her?

Was it because this thing was wriggling in delight inside Yoishi?

The sneering laughter that sounded like a man echoed in the dimly lit storage room and corridor.

The bobbed haired, baby face, the cheeks that would be described as adorable by a hundred out of a hundred people, Krishna-san contorted those cheeks—

And made a smile that was both broken and complacent.

“It crossed over from continental Asia in the past, was called ‘Nine tails’ at times, and ‘Everlasting night stone’ at times…. It moves freely from people to people, a natural disaster of this country that destroyed countless people all over, a hidden natural disaster—the purest ‘malice’ in this world.”

Yoishi’s words coldly reverberated in the room—

The earth shook. No, my torso was shaking in the face of being overwhelmingly powerless, and my knees were already shaking to the point of collapse.

Krishna-san….no, Shiina Kurimoto-san was the most reliable person for me since I moved to Tokyo alone. Her words were harsh at times, but even they were filled with love, because she was worried about me from the bottom of her heart, and she was the person who was the furthest away from the word ‘corrupted’. She was my holy mother, just making eye contact with her was enough to relax me and give me fluffy feelings at the pit of my stomach. No matter how close I came to breaking down, this person alone would always stand firmly on the ground, support me, and return me to myself. Now, there were no traces of that to be found anywhere. In its stead was malice bare to see, and it was as if just seeing her lurching figure was enough to distort the world.

「I’ll be right back. After I’ve enjoyed this one.」

As if declaring that, Krishna-san took the rat carcass she still held in her left hand, and plunged it headfirst into her mouth.

“S--”

Stop it. I was about to shout, when—

“Yo, there you are.”

I heard an aloof voice behind me.

After a few seconds—I turned around dumbfounded, to see the thin figure of Sako Takita.

Sako slipped past me who couldn’t even move, and affectionately called out to Krishna-san.

“Kurimoto-kun, you shouldn’t eat something like that. You’ll end up getting diarrhea.”

He was not dressed in his usual blue kinagashi. On his head he wore an eboshi<ref>Black cap https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90</ref>. His long hair, which was always unkempt had been neatly slicked back, and he was formally dressed in a black hakama and tall wooden clogs—but his appearance conversely made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Now, let’s go back, shall we? This is no place for you.”

In response, the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside Krishna-san vibrated its throat. I couldn’t clearly make out what it was saying—but it was clearly a sneering voice that rejected, disdained, and ridiculed Sako’s suggestion.

“….Hm.”

However, it seemed it had gotten through to Sako. He nodded several times and spoke.

“……..Ah, you shouldn't. Don't make a young woman use such indecent language. She is still a popular girl you see. You mustn’t make light of Krishna fans all over the country…Eh? Mmhmm, you say you’re not a fan? You’re saying everyone uses the occult as a pretext to see Kurimoto-kun’s body, and that they must be stripping her naked in their head?”

Sako spoke as if he were a proxy of a beast, and then turned my way.

“Are you like that?”

“………..Eh?”

“Well, you can’t clearly deny it as a man—but that’s not quite right.”

Sako turned to face the front once more.

“Hey, listen up, will you? Those large, large attractive breasts of Kurimoto-kun are comforting, you see. They are a symbol of her love that gently envelop everything. It's true that large breasts on a petite body can give off an unbalanced appeal, but what all men of this world instinctually crave is, the motherly love she exudes. Don’t be mistaken, not everyone in this world is a dark, malicious and perverse insect like you.”

As Sako declared that, the ‘everlasting night stone’ vibrated the back of her throat once more, but—

Sako ignored it on purpose, and quietly turned to Yoishi this time.

“Now then—let me say it once more.”

For some reason he made sure to straighten his back and politely sent those words to Yoishi.

“You did well to survive.”

Yoishi gazed back at Sako’s face without a word.

Was it my imagination, or did it feel as if her eyes were gently narrowed.

“I apologize for not being aware of your existence sooner --- Well, it is as you can see. Please forgive me.”

To Sako who bowed down, Yoishi merely muttered, “I don’t really mind.”

“…I only just realized it yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I was told by that person.”

She pointed at me, ‘Hoho’, Sako happily swung his shoulders.

….I didn’t know what was going on. But from the way Sako was acting so relaxed—did that mean that we and Krishna-san were alright now? Yoishi said something about how it was going to be hell from now on….Does that mean it will be averted?

“Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

Sako then put a friendly smile on his face and declared.

“Please allow me to declare this in advance. In the unlikely event that you become the ‘everlasting night stone’—I will kill you here.”

…………Huh?

“You may or may not have already realized, but I managed to cling to this uninteresting world and lived thus far to dispose of this trash known as the ‘everlasting night stone’. I will make it regret it so much that it curses itself for appearing in this world and for its continuing meddling with human beings —and I will tear it to pieces.”

“….I know.”

“—H, hey, hey ,hey, wait a second!”

I unconsciously butted in their conversation, when Sako simply stopped me from interrupting with his hand, and spoke.

“Now, now, please calm down, this was a talk of the worst-case scenario. There will be no casualties if we can deal with it now.”

At that moment---a piercing, sneering laughter reverberated, as if pounding the mansion. I looked to see Krishna-san…no, what was now the ‘everlasting night stone’ bending its petite body with tears in its eyes as it laughed.

“Something, is strange.”

Saying that coldly, Sako held up the three-pronged Gokosho<ref>https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/collection/665-0.html</ref> in his hand—and made several signs in midair. Krishna-san instantly stopped laughing as she coughed and collapsed while still bent backwards. The way she fell didn’t look safe at all, and I was reflexively about to rush over, but—

“Next, I will tear you to pieces.”

Sako cleanly cut the Kuji<ref>(Buddh) nine-character charm chanted with ritual gestures to ward off evil (esp. by mountain ascetics and adherents of Esoteric Buddhism)</ref> with his fingertips, and began to speak words I had never heard before.

It must have been a sort of ritual prayer I had no knowledge of—

The clear, resonant Kotodama that flowed from his mouth made Krishna-san’s petite body arch backwards in a bind.

“This mansion is closed by a barrier on all four sides. I will first remove the original fox soul of the ‘everlasting night stone’. Furthermore, I will get rid of the countless deep-seated grudges that have combined--- and finally separate them, leaving only the personality situated at the highest order.”

Sako dispassionately explained after finishing his ritual prayer, and began to draw some kind of pattern at Krishna-san’s feet with unrefined salt.

However—the guffawing, sneering laughter continued.

Krishna-san, having collapsed on the ground, still had a painful smile contorted as the tears streamed down her face. It was if she were witnessing something truly foolish—as if there was a mistake in front of her eyes which only she had realized—she merely convulsed with laughter as she pointed at Sako.

“It must be painful.”

Sako on the other hand, showed pity.

“But there's not the slightest chance I'd want to help you.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s eyes distorted more fiendishly than I had never seen before.

As if in reply— Sako’s pale face muttered in a whisper that horrified me as I watched.

“—You, devoured my mother.”

“………………”

“And you devoured my father. However, failing to devour me was a lethal mistake on your part.”

“Kokoko.”

The ‘everlasting night stone’ let out a strange, trembling voice.

It appeared as if it were somewhat perplexed.

It looked perplexed as if it had devoured so much it couldn't remember ---And , I saw Sako’s eyebrows furrow slightly in response. It was the first time I saw the emotion of anger emanate from Sako.

As soon as the pattern was finished, Krishna-san’s body crumpled even further into the ground as if it was crushed by gravity. This time, she indeed sounded as if she was in pain. But—even though it might have been the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside, it still appeared as Krishna-san. I couldn't stand it any longer, and at some point, I slowly drew closer, when—

“You’ll get devoured.”

Sako’s words stopped my movements with a jerk.

Sako swept his hakama as he sat in the seiza position, and with his eyes half-closed, began a sonorous ritual prayer once more.

It was as if to tighten the air to make invisible signs, and rearrange the sounds of the world as if to make a hidden rhyme.

It made Krishna-san’s collapsed body writhe in pain and bounce up and down as if it were billowing.

--Amazing.

I didn’t quite know what was happening, but it was overwhelming, I thought.

--Just a little more… with just a little bit more, would things really turn out alright?

My heart began to throb with anticipation, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel safe just yet.

But—at that moment.

I suddenly noticed Yoishi, who had been silent all this time.

Yoishi’s cold gaze, her unresponsiveness after having coexisted together with the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body since that incident eleven years ago, made me feel a terrible premonition. I then recalled Sako’s words.

….Huh…just now, Sako said that this building was inside a barrier. Could it be that the so-called ‘everlasting night stone’ that was now possessing Krishna-san, would after being severed from her, simply return to Yoishi once more who was inside the barrier? Or was the pattern Sako drew just now at Krishna-san’s feet a new, different barrier altogether?

“Well, you see.”

As he continued making the signs with his fingers, Sako answered with his back still turned toward me, as if he had sensed my concern.

“In the unlikely chance the ‘everlasting night stone’ that detaches from Kurimoto-kun breaks this barrier and possesses you, I will kill you. If it possesses Yoishi-kun, I will kill her. If I fail to sever it, I will kill Kurimoto-kun. I would be deemed a murderer according to this country, but that is of no concern to me. The only way to teach it the concept of ‘death’ is to let it experience it while it is bound to some kind of body. Having said that, you all might be a bit reluctant—well do forgive me for that.”

….H, hey, you can’t be serious.

“But—you see. Don’t you think it strange?”

As I was dismayed, Sako declared to me amused.

“Why do you believe Yoishi-kun didn’t die even though eleven years have passed since that incident?”

“…………..Eh?”

“Why do you believe she used illogical methods to save you at times?”

“…………”

“That is because—”

Sako’s mouth twisted into a happy smile, and he spoke.

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ failed in its incarnation long ago.”

“……………………….”

“Eleven years ago, in this mansion, under a devilish plan, the heart of a child it believed it had completely destroyed was protected by a certain accident.”

“…….Accident? What do you mean accident?”

But without answering my question, Sako continued to speak.

“Call it an accident, inevitability, or you could even call it a miracle--- at any rate, it set up several atrocities to crush the young girl’s heart and create a hollow vessel, but it failed. But—this gives birth to a question. There was no need at all for Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun to be the only body the ‘everlasting night stone’ incarnated itself in.”

“………Eh?”

“There are probably a great many beautiful boys and girls in this world who have had a sorrowful upbringing, who excel at a spiritual disposition. The ‘everlasting night stone’ is pure malice boiled down to its essence, and its actions are always shaped by calculated malice, and if it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more. Its behavioral pattern is, if anything, almost refreshing. Despite that, on this occasion, it possessed ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ for eleven long years. Why do you think that is?”

I looked at Yoishi.

I looked at her pale, extremely well proportioned, calm face once more.

“That is because she dared to take the name of 『Yoishi』herself.”

“…………Ah.”

“’Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’. Despite failing to incarnate, the reason it clung to Yoishi was because she christened herself as 『Yoishi』, and stitched it into her own body to prevent it from escaping anywhere.”

Why did Yoishi need to use that name?

When I asked her that just a while ago—Yoishi answered that it was because she was the cause of all this. Because she was a life born from the violation of her mother by a complete stranger, and that was exactly why she was cursed before she was even born.

But…that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is true that it is far safer for everyone to know where the everlasting night stone is than not to know where it is.”

Sako spoke sadly.

“The young girl who willingly became the den for the ‘everlasting night stone’ was under the custody of the state for that very reason. She was implanted with a GPS tracker in her body, and was kept under surveillance twenty four hours a day: not allowed to die, and placed in a condition where she couldn’t have been said to be alive either.”

I recalled the face of that tall Noh-faced man.

Since I first met him, he kept referring to Yoishi as ‘that’— was that what he meant?

Did he only see her as a box of calamity that could not be opened?

“Y…you’ve gotta be kidding me….”

I looked at Yoishi in response to Sako’s words, who was listening with a vacant expression, and I shouted out loud unable to bear it anymore.

“That…that’s, absolutely wrong!”

“It’s not wrong. Everything has fallen into place in a very rational way, and a state of equilibrium has finally been achieved.”

“No… that’s completely wrong….what about her being left in a state of uncertainty where she’s nether dead or alive? Did a bunch of adults who should have known better not think of Yoishi’s feelings at all?”

“And by thinking---what would they achieve?”

At that moment, Yoishi’s whisper reached my ears.

“Could anyone do anything? No, there’s nothing that could be done. That’s why I decided not to feel anything. What I saw, the words I was exposed to, my changing environment — I decided to accept none of it, and just let it wash over me.”

“…That’s…”

I recalled her slender back, she walked alone as if she carried a heavy burden all by herself.

I recalled the way she lived her life, her head hung down with a stooped back, as she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

I recalled the way she stood still in the depths of eternal darkness all by herself, as her eyes coldly gazed at the paranormal of this world.

“At that time, at that age, under those circumstances--”

Sako spoke as he looked at Yoishi, narrowing his narrow eyes even further.

“It was a terrifyingly excellent decision to make. It would have been impossible for me to do the same. How painful must that have been?”

Suddenly, I realized Yoishi was gripping something tightly.

It was the stuffed frog Yoishi treasured as if it were a good luck charm.

Sako too, looked down towards the stuffed animal, and suddenly smiled. Then, for some reason, he looked at me, and this time, put on a smile of a wicked disposition.

“Well, thanks to several accidents—the life of a man who disgracefully ran away has also been rewarded.”

It was the moment he declared that.

--*Snap* *Crack*, I heard the sound of something splitting open here and there in the mansion.

I looked up, and it soon turned into a sound like a sharp, cracking sound of a dead tree snapping off—

And it felt, as if it changed to a high-pitched laugh.

As I thought about the thing I heard just now, and the meaning behind it, I shifted my gaze back at Sako in a daze.

……..Eh?

I saw scarlet at the center of Sako’s pale face. Before I realized, a streak of blood was trickling down Sako’s tall nose. Sako must have also noticed it, as he wiped the nosebleed with a vacant expression. However, the nosebleed that was trickling from Sako’s right nostril had now begun to trickle from his left nostril as well. The gooey blood started trickled down.

“….Hey, Sako….”

No, it wasn’t just through both nostrils. From his ears, his mouth, his eyes….at some point, blood had begun to drip through the holes in his hair follicles to the point where his entire hair was black and wet. Blood gushed from every orifice of his body without stopping, wetting his whole skin.

“Ah….”

Sako’s fingers were trembling and unable to form seals. Ony mere words of delirium were emitted from his lips that were poor in complexion.

“…..H…Hey, Sako………!”

I supported Sako’s body, which was on the verge of collapse. Sako’s body, which was violently shaking and about to fall, felt as light as air. And his white clothes were dyed deep red as if they had been crimson from the start.

“……..H, hey Sako! Stay with me!!”

“….Hu…..”

Those faint words that escaped Sako’s lips reached my ears.

“…….Humans…… can ne…ver…..win…..”

What the hell are you saying….?

I was about to say that, but that grumble did not become my voice.

Sako gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face, as he continued to speak with the utmost effort.

“…They just… do… lose...... Don’t...... even think...of winning….”

Are you complaining now of all times?

His abrupt proclamation of defeat made the pit of my stomach churn.

However, it was not so much that I was disgusted with him – but rather, it a feeling of regret for Sako who had hunted down the ‘everlasting night stone’ to this point. And, at the same time, I didn’t know what the meaning of simply spouting such words here. Did he already assess victory or defeat? Or was there some other meaning behind them?

“Hey, Sako!!”

Without knowing what to do, I foolishly kept screaming at Sako.

“…There’s… no chance you will win …. Who, or what…. Are you going to win against…?”

Sako tried to scratch at midair with no strength in his fingers.

I realized that his fingertips were aimed at Yoishi—

And, the moment I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi coldly fixated at Sako who was lying there covered in blood – Sako coughed a spurt of blood from his mouth, and his strength quietly disappeared in my arms.

“……..There’s no way—right?”

I looked at Sako’s face, who was stock still with his eyes slightly open—

And then, I turned to Yoishi.

“…..Y, Yoishi, do something! What should we do about Sako?”

She silently glimpsed at Sako’s immobile body,

“You can’t incarnate in me by destroying this person.”

Yoishi spun her words towards midair.

“Showing me people dying… doesn’t make me feel anything anymore.”

In response, the mansion creaked once more. *Crrrreeeak*

That strange sound—made Yoishi’s eyes slightly widen.

As if she had realized something, she suddenly turned to look in my direction.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak*

The old mansion was creaking.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaeak**Crrrreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeak*

The timber was chafing together, and it sounded like someone’s sneering laughter.

That’s right--- right now, someone was sneering somewhere.

In a loud shrill laugh, as if everything was going according to plan.

And I-- was merely standing in a daze in a world that was rapidly changing.

No, Sako’s words repeatedly swirled in my head, and I kept thinking about their meaning in a daze.

『The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’.』

『It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice.』

『Its actions are always shaped by calculated malice.』

『If it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more.』

…..Say.

''If''---that’s right, it was a question of ‘if’.

The fact that I met Yoishi Mitsurugi one year ago in that family restaurant.

The fact that I alone coincidentally happened to run into ‘Yoishi’ by accident after the ‘Ikaigabuchi’ offline meeting.

If, that wasn’t an accident….what would happen?

No, what if everything began long before that, the day I lost my mother? What if Yoishi becoming involved in the resolution, and even how Krishna-san linked it by saying, ‘From its start, it never had any malice’, was not an accident….?

Having met Yoishi, and feeling a debt of gratitude towards her—

Didn’t I end up feeling romance for ghosts? I became attracted to the scenery of the world beyond, and began to excitedly venture into the spirt world, and jumped into the flames of darkness with glee, like a moth that knows that it is not a place a living person can deal with, but jumps into the flames and gets burned. And, before I’d realized, that continued to chip away at the thread of my spirit, gradually thinning my connection to this world and leading me straight to hell. Meeting Krishna-san, meeting Sako, and even meeting Takamura--- What if all those encounters were calculated by someone else, and they transformed the unknown realm of the occult into something fascinating one step before I rejected it? And what if it that was something that foolishly made me think that I could, or rather, that I had to save the young girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi?

In the world that was being painted pitch black—I pictured her lonely face.

『Next time, if we meet again-- I’ll become your friend.』

『if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.』

『That person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.』

Eleven years ago, the ‘everlasting night stone’ failed to destroy Yoishi’s heart, Sako said that it had been stitched to Yoishi because she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ herself. But that wasn’t it--- not at all.

Wasn’t the ‘everlasting night stone’ patiently waiting for someone to appear for eleven years?

Could the occult loving university student: Nagito Yamada, possibly be—

An existence created only for the girl whose heart failed to be crushed, to grow in her the heart to ‘Trust people’ once more?

……..A………………

“ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I realized that thundering scream was my own.

Someone who Yoishi trusted.

Someone who Yoishi acknowledged as a ‘friend’.

Then, one after the other, it would sow the seeds that would lead to that someone and Yoishi deepening their connection, and when they mutually acknowledged each other as ‘war comrades’, it would destroy that someone.

Possessing Krishna-san, destroying Sako—was it all to destroy Nagito Yamada into smithereens in front of Yoishi? After she barely escaped being crushed eleven years ago, it planned to crush the faintest hope budding in her heart in the most ruthless way imaginable – and would finally be able to incarnate Yoishi’s body at long last?

A fear pierced through my entire being, as if I faced the thing that killed me in a past life—and I, pissed myself disgracefully.

“……Hey…. scared?”

At that moment—

A familiar voice like a ringing bell reached my ears.

--Everything… is in reverse.

Next to me, the young girl who had lost her emotions sneered.

With long black hair that gently waved, a monster was there with a pale face and dark colored eyes.

The scenery I once saw,

The ghost stories I had once read.

Among them must have been illusions in my mind created by fear.

Before I realized, there was a staircase behind me. On the landing of the staircase was a middle-aged man in a gray, worn suit, staring at me with a hollow expression. Under the bed was a woman with a white face, and a bluish-white hand that sprouted from the dark mud wall. An old woman with clouded white eyes was leaning against my back, and countless white faces floated in the sky. Sinister words scrawled in an old book pointed to a graveyard that spread out all over, while a corpse that stood on the sea was connected to a pair of high heels placed behind a guard rail left by a woman laughing in the mountains. A broken doll turns into a wriggling thing at the water’s edge, the wheelchair of an abandoned hospital squeaks and squeals as it swirls and disappears into the sky, and the shiny thing in the tornado is an alien vehicle.

You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well neither do I. I was merely describing what I saw with my eyes, as my brain felt it. Aa—Ahh, that’s right. My mind must have been on the verge of breaking down. My head must have exceeded its allowed tolerance of fear. Up until now, Krishna-san solved most things for me. More dangerous things were somehow managed by Sako. And Yoishi vaguely dealt with things I didn’t quite understand. But, those were all events on a rail laid by an ancient entity acting through malice, and I was, according to expectation, according to plan, completely afraid, and with my collapse, Yoishi too would collapse, auspiciously allowing Yoishi to transform into the ‘everlasting night stone’. The cackling and sneering black haired young girl next to me was that.

Which meant that, everything was already---

Over---

--When.

….No.

….Wait a minute…..

If Yoishi was already broken, and ended up turning into the ‘everlasting night stone’….then... What of me who was thinking right now? Did being broken mean only this much? Were these the last few normal thoughts that remined in my illogical self-consciousness? I didn’t know, but what were these thoughts that I was still thinking and feeling anyway?

Those vague doubts—

Changed the scenery in an instant.

They continued to clear away the darkness, and slowly returned my vision back to the original world.

I was still standing still in the storage room, and in front of me was Krishna-san who lay collapsed, and a bloodstained Sako. And next to me was Yoishi, dumbfounded, her empty gaze wandering at midair. There was no sign of the ‘everlasting night stone’ anywhere in the dim, dark and cramped room.

“…..Yoishi.”

I reached out my wobbly hand, gripped her hand, and spoke.

“….C, can you walk?”

Yoishi looked at me in a daze, and shook her head thereafter.

“….Come on, just walk. Let’s get out of here… let’s go outside, and call for help. If we call for an ambulance, Sako might still be--”

“—It’s impossible.”

Yoishi spoke with an expression that was clear, and heartrendingly painful.

At that moment, I noticed it.

Next to Yoishi, a white haze hung over.

There were four mists there, as if they enveloped Yoishi. And in my retinas, they gradually formed some kind of shape—and stood silently as if encompassing Yoishi. I quickly understood that it was people for some reason. And, I had an intuition that I knew these people. It felt as if I had once, somewhere, watched over them as if they were my real family…but, ahh, I knew it, I’ve started to collapse again. I realized that fact somewhere in my consciousness, but I still couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That was because—

I could now see a gentlemanly gray-haired man next to Yoishi. Next to him, I saw was a cheerful woman, a tomboyish girl with a smile on her face, and a cute brown dog at her feet. As they gradually took form, my vision gradually blurred. And those words spontaneously came from my mouth.

--I’m sorry……

I felt an overwhelming regret and fell to my knees on the spot. If I had only—if I had only been a little bit smarter. If I could have done something a little better. The feeling of cursing myself for my helplessness continued to well up inside me. I wiped away the tears that overflowed, and raised my head—

“……………”

I saw what looked like a straw rope fastened around the man’s neck. Looking closely at the mother, I saw that her body was dismembered. The girl had a knife still stuck at the base of her throat, and the small dog’s stomach was split open, its entrails fallen out. Yet despite that, the four hazy figures that had taken form remained standing, as if they enveloped Yoishi.

…..Are…. they ghosts?

At last, was I-- seeing the ghosts I had once longed to see so much?

And I realized what an unbelievably sad thing they were. Ghosts were in no way a thing to be feared. They were not something terrifying. They were completely and utterly heartbreaking things. Unable to be seen, unable to speak, they are just there. And, just seeing Yoishi Mitsurugi at ease surrounded by those ghosts evoked a pain that was enough to split my heart into two.

As the tears flowed without end from my eyes--my right elbow suddenly tinged in pain. And that ache seemed to ache in and out as it grew more painful. It became an unbearable pain, and I finally realized that it was a furious rebuke. It felt as if I heard Karasu-san’s voice right by my ear.

“….Don’t….give up yet… Think…”

I wiped away my tears, and at the same time I gritted my teeth, frantically encouraged my brain.

In the boundary between reality and fiction, between this world and the world beyond, I still mobilized my full consciousness to think.

The reason I came here…The meaning of why Sako made me come here.

Wasn’t I yet to find out why that was?

Think, think. Think until your mind is scorched, me. Sako said, 『‘Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’』, and Krishna-san had said, 『To wear the W in witch, would ultimately mean to forget who you are』. Which meant that regaining one’s original name was supposed to erase the worn ‘W’—no, was it the other way around….? That’s right….When she christened herself as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ and bound the ‘everlasting night stone’, wasn’t she herself was bound at the same time?

Didn’t she end up defined as a dweller of this world and the world beyond?

“So that means I need to find her real name after all--”

In my cloudy consciousness, I told Yoishi, “Stay there”, and ran out.

I mustered all my remaining strength, ran through the corridor, and jumped into the living room.

It was possible—that Yoishi’s true name was written down on something in this mansion.

I went to the kitchen and turned over the cups. For example, I thought that there would be cups for each of the family members, and a young Yoishi would have her name inscribed on that—but there was nothing there. ‘All that remains is’, I turned to face the hearth. On top of it was the polaroid photograph taken of the family. It was creepy that the other family members who died had their faces warped white somehow, but I slowly drew close to that photograph.

In old family photographs, there would be stuff like dates and names of the people in the photo written on the back. That was how it was for my family. So maybe this one was the same. That must have been the reason why Sako made me come all the way here. I’m sure Yoishi’s true name is there. It had to be. I would find that, and tell it to her; She, who ended up losing her place in the boundary between this world and the world beyond. I would declare to her with all my strength that she was a dweller of this world.

I placed my hand on the photograph, suppressing my throbbing heartbeat and rushing emotions.

But, as I was about to slowly lift it up—

I suddenly felt weak.

What if it wasn’t here…..? No, no, it had to be here.

After all, if it wasn’t here… then there would be nowhere else to search in this mansion. Believe it….it, must be there.

I took a deep breath.

And the moment I flipped over the photograph.

--*Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek*… The mansion rang.

The sneering laughter of a manly voice coldly pierced me, and flooded inside me.

Reflected in my eyes, there was nothing in the back of the photograph.

I couldn’t even see a stain in the blank space that had turned yellow—

And the world dyed in darkness in an instant.

◯

Dark.

Darkness.

A dark world—no matter where you looked.

How much darkness did this world have, and how many colors of ‘black’ did it have…?

It felt as if I had seen a lot of ‘black’ in this one year.

Enough ‘black’ to stop my thoughts.

Enough ‘black’ that seemed to suck me in forever.

And, enough ‘black’ that seemingly melted my body and thoughts in it.

But the ‘black’ that now spread before my eyes was different from all of them.

To put it ostentatiously, the ‘black’ that was the primordial of this world, where nothing else existed yet—that might have been how it felt. But, there was a strange calmness and tranquility. A boundless ‘black’, as if I was in space, in what must have once had countless planets. It truly made me feel at ease. I didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to think about anything anymore—

「Did you have fun?」

Suddenly, I heard a low voice from somewhere. I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t fun at all, I answered.

「Isn’t hiding behind people, and tricking people so much fun?」

I was asked that once again, and I answered that it was just you.

But the truth is—from somewhere in my heart, I ended up thinking that it might have been a bit fun. If you were to trick someone with ease, if you were to continue tricking them for the rest of my life, then that might have indeed been a bit necessary. For example, say there was someone not really blessed with singing skills, yet they can’t help but sing because they love it, and you’d tell them for the fun of it, “You’re really talented”. They would be so happy and delighted, innocently believe those words and keeps on singing. People would laugh behind their back, but still that person would willingly believe it, and continue to sing willingly. They would willingly mistake people’s laughter as being happy at their singing. But here’s what I think. Is a song that continues to be willingly sung for the sake of others, even if it lacks talent, truly worthless? Does the pure feeling of love not reside in the song? Certainly, the first words may have been malicious. However, that which began as malice might be overturned by pure feelings, and might one day become the real thing?

「Then, let’s play a trick.」

The low voice spoke once more.

‘In this world, there are only those who dance and those who make others dance to their tune, and if one were to play the part of those who play the tune—if they were to learn the joy of playing the flute, then there would be no going back’, the voice spoke.

‘Ah, I see. That may be true’, I thought.

But, I---

I knew the joy of dancing, after all. I was always on the dancing side in the festivals in my hometown. I would empty my heart and match my movements with the people around me. The pleasure of synchronizing with others made me want to raise my voice in joy. When our eyes met, we would laugh at each other, and before I realized, I would be thankful for the friends I had. Under this vast, endless night sky, I would be thankful I had friends who laughed at the same things, and who were saddened at the same things. To trick such friends would surely pain my heart. I don’t think I would want to be on the side of those who play tricks, even if I were the one who was tricked.

‘Then I ask you’, the voice asked.

Do you think parents would happily give birth to a child, if they knew in advance that the child would be born handicapped? If they found out that the child was handicapped after birth, would the parents be able to love that child normally?

That was…

That was a difficult question.

Antitrypsin deficiency—I was born with that kind of body, and suffered from infantile asthma, and ended up causing a lot of trouble and worry to my parents and the people around me. Why was I alone born with such a body? When I was a child, I often wondered when I used to cry all by myself in the corner of the room. Knowing that pain, if I were asked whether I would give birth to a handicapped child… I think I would indeed hesitate to death.

In response, ‘Right?’, the voice said.

In times like that, to be completely tricked would be merciful. To abort the child, or to be told that it’s a lovely child even with the handicap. People do not act until there is a reward in front of them. They can’t even move their feet forward unless they have a feeling that there is something fun ahead. It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right? Or they’re narcissists who love themselves for trying.

Is that so….?

Was my mother like that as well….?

‘Obviously’, answers the voice.

「They really love themselves for trying. They are drunk on it. If that wasn’t the case, could she have taken care of your labored breathing be it mealtime or the middle of the night?」

….Is that so….? No…. That might have been the case.

‘Hey, tell me’, the voice said. ‘How many lives do you think are abandoned each year by those who are not ready to be parents? How many reported cases of parents killing their own children? A parent is nothing more than a title, a temporary designation. Everyone is just an animal that thinks first and foremost of their own happiness. Why should I have to raise a child I do not love? Why do I have to raise them even as they chip away against my time, my soul? Is it social responsibility? What you would call moral responsibility? Say, just what is society? Isn’t something like that nothing more than a system to reduce quarrels as much as possible? No matter how, and no matter how many lids you put on it, problems will always continue to happen. That is your history, problems happen by default. To accept that and to live, what is wrong with that? If that’s the case—wouldn’t it be smarter to be on the side that causes the problems?’

I…could understand that.

Human history is filled with problems, and even after all this time, the problems have only increased.

I know that there were as many definitions of parenthood as there were parents. And I know that there are broken parents in this world who have never even thought of the concept of parenthood. But—despite that, there is still one act that every parent definitely does for their child. That is: to give them a name filled with all their hopes and wishes, right? Isn’t that—why names are so precious?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha! The voice suddenly burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know. How many parents do you think are out there who give their children names that inspire neither hopes nor dreams? How many names do you think there are that have nothing but the malice of their parents? Hey, can you really turn a blind eye to that? You might say that it would be fine if you change your name once you become an adult? No, It’s useless. No matter how much you try to forget the name you’ve been christened with once, it will definitely be bound to you in some shape or form for the rest of your life. That is the curse of a name. You heard it too, didn’t you? She was cursed before she was born. A life born by the violation of her mother by brats abroad! She was never wanted, not in the least! Once born, the event they'd rather have forgotten takes a form that haunts them for the rest of their lives. There’s no way she would ever be wanted!’

I was-- at a loss of words in the end, with no rebuttal.

In this mansion….I thought I would try to learn her true name. I thought that if she were to at least reclaim her rightful name, the ‘W’ that coiled around her would be exorcised. But right now, to be honest….I was afraid. I was afraid to discover her true name.

If, by some chance, there was no feeling of hopes or dreams in it, and was instead a thing filled with malice, then what? What if her endless pain and torment continued the moment she took back her true name? There have been so many things done with good intentions that push people into distress. How could I say that I wasn’t making the same mistake right now? Moreover, Sako had said that she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ to bind the ‘everlasting night stone’, but….what if that wasn’t the case, and she instead took it because she actually detested her true name?

Thereupon…a thought suddenly came to mind.

Couldn’t she stay as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ as she had up until now?

That would mean she would still have that callous, Noh-faced father as a guardian in name only, not have a place at home where she belonged, would keep going around haunted places where her eyes would glow, would throw up at times, and would complicate complicated matters even further, but—even so, that wasn’t the worst outcome, right? I would be there, and Krishna-san too, as well as everybody in ‘Ikaigabuchi’. If she at least opened her heart properly, she could lead a fun occult life. There would be no need to remind her that she was born cursed and undesired—

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

Could it be, the thing Sako spoke of, 『You will be compelled to make a choice』…

And, the thing Takako Takamura spoke of, 『You’ll be forced to make the final choice』, it was—

About this…?

If she were to regain her true name, she would arrive in this world while still having the scent of the world beyond.

If she were to remain as Yoishi Mitsurugi, she would live in the world beyond while remaining in this world.

…What…should I do?

The world continued to grow darker. The darkness continued to silently spread out.

As if the ground beneath my feet were filled by dark colored water, I eventually came to believe that there was only one answer.

「I want… to stay with her like this forever.」

「I want to be together with Yoishi Mitsurugi.」

Right, I was about to say it out loud.

When the wound on my right elbow, throbbed with pain once more.

The pain kept repeating like a drum being beaten and became a rhythm as it throbbed and throbbed.

Definite sounds that formed words. They became a rhythm, and made me remember what Karasu-san had once said.

---Yes, deep breaths.

When I came to… I saw that Karasu-san was there, with that nostalgic smile of hers.

Her lustrous black hair dangled down to her cheeks, and she was leaning close to me crouched down, as if she were peering inside me.

--Take a dee—ep breath in, then hold. Yes, slowly let it out--- Repeat that three times.

My vision blurred with tears at those cheerful words that were out of place.

And, before long, I repeated my breathing as I was told. I breathed, and exhaled. I exhaled as much as I could, and inhaled as much as I could.

『You'd better remember.』

『Your fear most likely comes from forgetting to breathe.』

『If the fear inside you intensifies, then like now, make sure you're breathing properly.』

『No matter what kind of paranormal lies ahead of you, you’ll definitely make it through somehow.』

‘But’, I spoke. Despite that, I still don’t know if I’m supposed to find Yoishi’s true name. I end up thinking that it’s better not to find it.

—Eh? I think you already have the answer to that.

I was surprised I was somehow able to carry on a conversation with Karasu-san from my memories—

However, as if clinging to that, I added a question, “What do you mean?”

--After all, the two of us… in the world we peeked at in those hellish days. Didn’t you decide that you would bring that back with you? After having gone through so much, being unable to do anything but witness the cruel destruction of a family, there was still something you desperately brought back with you, right?

Brought back……? I did? What……?

--It should be firmly engraved on you, Nagi-kun.

--It should be engraved on your soul.

Despite that, I still didn’t know, and was in dismay, when….

Exasperated, Karasu-san’s voice echoed kindly for one last time.

---Then, I’ll do it one last time.

--''*Throb*''

My right elbow ached once more.

--*Throb*, *throb*, *throb*…. That throbbing continued to grow stronger.

It was as if— my adult-self was tired of searching, and my child-self pointed it out to me with a smile, and the warmth and stimulation grew.

“…Ah….ahhhhh.”

In an instant, I was struck by lightning together and a terrible sound rang inside me, with the light running through me.

Goosebumps ran through every cell in my body, an unspecialized base sequence in the genome that was called junk, awoke. As if guided by something, it synthesized in succession, and began to build that hidden meaning.

The hanging mansion that manifested in my vision.

The old and grubby living room. The dusty counter.

As I regained reality with my right eye, a different timeline of the same place was synchronized as white hazy scenery in my left eye.

Appearing hazily—as if gliding in midair, that scenery continued to flow through me.

Before I realized, I was running.

--It can’t be….it can’t be.

I ran to the front door with enough force that I almost fell down, and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that was there.

I rolled up my shirt, uncovered my right elbow, and—saw it through the mirror.

What I thought was an ugly scar that did not heal for a long time, was not a scar at all.

I thought it had ended up becoming a bruise, but it was not a bruise.

『Miko Hanamura』

The bruise that was inverted in the mirror—

Had been engraved on my skin, in letters.

In an instant, the scenery I had once seen somewhere with my left eye transformed into a torrent and rushed into my brain. The amount of information was so vast and extreme that it could not be processed by my brain specifications— it flowed past me from one scene to the next, with no time to recognize it. Even so, I was still able to burn several scenes in my mind. Among the endless flashes, a fatherly figure laughed as he held a baby in his arms. A motherly figure cried as she embraced a toddler. A tomboyish young girl who looked like a middle schooler laughed as she pulled the hand of a girl with black hair and fair skin. The baby, the toddler, the fair skinned young girl—I recognized all of them as 『Miko Hanamura』. Without a doubt, at every moment, 『Miko Hanamura』 was loved.

“…………….Ah.”

Before I realized, I was in the hanging mansion, but something was different.

It was not a dusty, cobwebbed ruin. It was a clean, brand new mountain retreat with the light of the sunlight shining in.

Feeling dazzled, I continued to the living room in a daze. I heard lots of laughter coming from the nearby garden. I opened the sash and stepped out to the garden—to see a family so happy they were clad in light. In front of the barbecue was a gentle looking man, a bright woman and a cheery young girl….and, Miko Hanamura who was a child. Miko had a kind, delighted smile on her face.

“—Miko.”

I called her name.

“You…were called Miko Hanamura?”

In response, the beautiful black haired young girl with fair skin looked in my direction. It felt like we met eye to eye after a long time, after a truly long time. I was so overjoyed, so relieved, that tears gradually swelled up and began to spill.

“Miko, let’s go back.”

I reached out my hand to her, and the young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She slowly took one look back, looked back at me and shook her head.

“Miko, listen to me. This place—it’s not here anymore. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

But, a young girl drew close next to Miko, and gripped her hand. For some reason, I knew that girl’s name was ‘Kii-chan’. She looked at me with a fierce expression, as if to say she wouldn’t let her precious best friend go anywhere.

Behind them, the father was smiling. The mother gently put her hand on Miko’s shoulder. The elder sister took one step ahead with her eyebrows raised as if to protect her younger sister from me. The dog at Miko’s feet growled at me.

Looking at that—

A gentle whisper escaped my lips, ‘I see.’

And, as I was tossed around mercilessly by the warm feelings that swept over, I declared.

“….I’m glad….You were really…loved after all.”

“…Yeah.”

“Miko—that’s a really nice name.”

The tears continued to spill.

“If I remember correctly... the word『Mi彌』 means the『light that shines universally』 in Buddhism.”

“…Is, that right?”

“Yeah. I know someone who knows a lot about that stuff, so there’s no doubt about it. That’s why…that’s why.”

My voice trembled with tears, but I desperately managed to squeeze it out.

“I’m sure that the person who gave you that name wished to maintain a relationship with you forever. Regardless of how you were born, they wished that connection would last for all of eternity.”

“…..Yeah.”

“…So, listen up.”

I wiped away the tears, and raised my voice as best as I could.

“You are in no way cursed. You’re not abhorred by anyone. Being cursed—is just being lost on the inside. So… let’s go back. This place is no longer here.”

“….But.”

Miko smiled once at Kii-chan, before letting go of her hand and took a step towards me, and spoke.

“I feel comfortable here; I think it’s the place I belong. Papa, mama, onee-chan, Kii-chan, Leo—and even Mr. Inspector is here.”

Hearing that, I looked towards the back, to see a somewhat nostalgic man with gray hair and a smile on his face.

Her father, mother, older sister, best friend and pet dog—everyone was smiling, and stood behind Miko as if protecting her. Then, I heard a click behind me. I turned around to see Sako in a gray, dull, worn-out suit, taking a picture with an old polaroid camera. He then took out the photo, and handed me the photograph that was exposed to the light.

The photograph must have been the original photograph placed atop the hearth in the real ‘hanging mansion’ earlier. However, the faces of the family had no longer disappeared. The faces that had been stretched and twisted in white in midair were now beautifully cropped, with the smiling faces in front of me.

“……..I see.”

I muttered once more.

It felt as if I had been listening to someone’s sneering laughter echo all this time—

I had even realized that it belonged to the ‘everlasting night stone’, but I thought there was nothing I could do.

I understood that Miko would be swallowed by the world beyond if this continued. But, there was nothing someone like me could do. To tear away Miko away from this warm world, was something—I couldn’t do.

And that's when it happened.

I noticed something emerging in the photograph.

The polaroid photograph still hadn’t been fully sensitized. Her father, mother, elder sister and Miko were smiling kindly, and the dog at their feet looked happy as well. But—there was something else there. On Miko’s left end, a white haze emerged, which should not have been in the picture. As if to embrace a young Miko, that white haze gradually continued exposing---and eventually, took on an impossible form.

….Ahh.

At that moment, I realized the true reason why I came here.

I realized the meaning of the vast swirl of information that came surging into my head.

I realized why Sako had called me to this mansion—and why he handed me this photograph just now.

In the picture that transcended generations—

Nagito Yamada stood there, as if protecting Miko Hanamura.

The figure that decided to stand by her side no matter what cruel reality he had to face, was as if looking in the mirror at a different me. For the first time, I felt pride at myself—it made me feel a sublime will. The answer to the question posed to me earlier in the darkness welled up in my chest as I saw my own face. An answer to the voice that said, ‘It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right?’ I lost sight of myself since I was asked that question, but--

No, there is one more impetus that drives people forward.

There was something else in this world that wasn’t just greed, reward, or narcissism.

“—I got it, Miko.”

The meaning of the scenery that swirled round and round my head, continued to dissolve. The me of eleven years ago and the me of the present dissolved and merged. I was thankful for that fate and spoke the answer that I extracted from my soul, without any doubts.

“Then, I’ll stay here as well.”

Miko looked at me again with a start.

“I will never leave you to die again. I won’t stand by and let you go through something like that again.”

“………”

“Why, you ask? Because you were the first person to call me a friend. Even when I was adrift in the sea of endless despair with nowhere to go, you gave me a place to stay.”

“………A.”

“Although my email got garbled midway through.”

“………A…aaaa…..”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely protect you.”

“Yes, I was Mr. Frog back then.”

The moment I declared those words.

The sky roared, and split apart.

Somewhere, it felt as if I heard an ear-splitting scream.

At the same time, a series of low rumbling sounds reverberated deep beneath my feet, and eventually turned into subterranean rumbling that overlapped with the beating of my heart. My teeth were rattling so hard I couldn’t breathe. And I understood that I had broken a rule established by a great, great being in a far higher dimension. This might be the end for me as well—but I was prepared for that.

Why was it….? Ah, dammit, I had tried to show off and ended up saying that, but as usual my teeth were clattering, and my legs were trembling on the verge of collapse. After all this time, I realized that I was the guy with the stinky pants who had pissed himself earlier. And, the place I stood was the ruins of a mountain retreat that was now called the hanging mansion—I was in front of the hearth, and I found that the one in front of me was the Yoishi Mitsurugi of the present---no, I knew she was Miko Hanamura.

The high school girl with porcelain-white skin, long black hair swaying in the air, and dressed in the funeral-like uniform of the Koumei Institute, was merely trembling.

In her vacant eyes, countless paranormal events were now swirling around. The hundreds, the thousands of paranormal events she had experienced in the past --- no, if you were to include the ones she had read on the internet or in books then it would be in the tens of thousands. Therein, was the horror she should have truly felt. Those emotions she had become numb to, which had been stored somewhere in her brain, were all surging into Miko’s small forehead all at once.

“…This…is the feeling of fear…..”

The irises of her eyes shook, welled up, and a trickle of tears spilled down.

“It’s disturbing… not knowing…. not being able to explain….it’s just…just….disturbing….”

I nodded.

“….I’m alive….I…am alive….”

Miko covered her face with both hands. At that moment, something she must have held back for a long, long, eternity, finally broke free.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, all her emotions broke free, and she cried out. Her voice was like that of a newborn, defenseless baby. I held her slender body close to me, as if to protect the pure soul that had just been born into this cruel world. I hugged her tightly, as if to show that to the pure malice that I could not see, which might have still been nearby. [[File:Phenomeno-vol6-3.jpg|thumb]]

“….I’m alive….I am… alive….”

“….Yes. You are truly alive. And you should keep on living step by step. Live as long as you can for the ones who have gone before you—”

And after that you can die in peace—I was about to say that.

“……..I’m scared.”

Miko whispered in my chest.

“I’m scared to go on living…the countless paranormal things are scary as well…the voice in the wall, the smiling dolls, shadows in the reflection, the person with only legs, the man in the gutter, the will -o’-the-wisp, the box in the storehouse, people disappearing in the sky—in this---in such a scary world….how did you live this far….how should I live…?”

“Hahaha.”

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like I could finally talk with her about the real paranormal things. It felt like I could teach her that while some ghost stories circulating this world were really dangerous, they were also full of romance and mysterious charm.

When—at that moment.

I thought the ground still felt like it was shaking because I was a coward, or because I was embracing a high school girl, but…. I realized that it was neither of those things.

“H….heyy, Yoi….no, Miko!”

I yelled seeing the creaking wall swell up and down.

“It’s an earthquake! Shit, it’s a big one.”

The building slowly swayed from side to side, and eventually began to rattle and shake little by little.

“Run away, Miko! This run-down building is dangerous. I’ll get Krishna-san.”

After saying that, I pushed Miko, whose face was still soggy in tears, toward the direction of the front door, and then staggered and swayed as I ran down the corridor. At the back of the corridor, the storage room floor was covered entirely with Sako’s blood. I bowed my head once to Sako who had already passed away, “I’m sorry”, and lifted Krishna-san’s body, who lay collapsed and unconscious, and carried her on my shoulder. I then furiously rushed toward the front door. The shaking quickly grew even more violent, and I staggered and hit the wall, but still clenched my teeth as I broke through the front door and jumped outside. I slowly laid Krishna-san a little further away from the building, and gasped.

There was no one in my surroundings.

Miko, who should have left the building before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey…Miko!”

I called out at the top of my voice, but there was no reply.

The shaking grew even more ferocious, and I understood that the building would completely flatten. I clicked my tongue once, left Krishna-san there and jumped back inside the building. “Miko!” As I yelled, I looked around and saw that she was in a daze in the living room.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get out of here!”

The moment I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, I realized that Miko was staring at that photograph in front of the hearth.

“The first picture… the two of us took together.”

“Well, that’s true but.”

“But…you were a ghost.”

“Shut it, let’s go, if you wanna take that photo then hurry up and do it!”

I called out to Miko who had been standing motionless in front of the photograph for who knows how long, when it happened.

A terrible *creeeeeak* rang out, and the building bent. It felt as if a giant hand grasped the building from the outside, and at the same time— a sound like a low male voice reverberated throughout the building.

--*Gigigigigigigigigigigigigi*

It was as if it were a sneering voice—as if it were a wailing voice.

Together with that detestable sound, the beams of the ceiling twisted to an absurd degree. Dust was rising and falling down like rain. There were five of them— they felt like giant fingers of something. From the depths of darkness—a malice-stained, corrupted hand reached out from the depths of this world called hell.

Give her back.

It reached straight for Miko—

“Don’t fucking mess with me.”

I howled.

“I will never let go again. She is a fragment of my soul. And, my--”

I yelled a scream that would not lose to the thunderous roar of the collapsing beams.

“My precious wife!”

In an instant—

My vision muddled white, and a sharp stinging pain ran down my shoulders. It was as if, I knew the building would collapse all at once, like in the Fafrotskies phenomenon. I instantly covered Miko’s body to protect her from the falling debris of the building. One after another, building material fell on my back, biting into my skin, and crushing my bones. In the midst of the sound that split my ears— it seemed to me as if I had been caught in the hand of the ‘everlasting night stone’.

“L-let go.”

The world continued to darken.

The faint hope was fading away.

The moment I screamed in the midst of overwhelming despair that filled my heart.

''“Ayana Takamura.”''

Under my arms, Miko Hanamura roared her last lines as “Yoishi Mitsurugi”.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

At that moment, somewhere far above in the sky, something opened its eyes.

“I’ll give you the best thing you wished for.”

“’Yoishi’ called out to those eyes.

“So-- don’t ever come close to this person, ever again.”

《OK》

That must have been the last illusion I saw in my fading consciousness.

Ayana Takamura’s giant head that appeared from the void—

--*Crunch*, it ate something.

And in the world that had grown dark once more, those clear, boyish words echoed through the air.

“The fear held by the root of fear or something ---it was truly a delicious meal.”

◯

In the silent, pitch-black rubble—

After finishing the long, endless story, she might have finally remembered everything.

Yoishi Mitsurugi, or rather, Miko Hanamura muttered, “…..Right….yeah…that’s right….”

“Did you remember?”

I managed to reply with that somehow as I put up with the pain in my immobile body.

But I felt somewhat embarrassed, even though I only talked about what happened just a while ago, about what might have been the biggest occultic thing to happen in my life, I ended up talking about it all the way to when I declared her my ‘wife’. For a while, we were both silent in the darkness.

“…You, really.”

“…….Hm?”

I thought she might have been embarrassed in her own way—

“….are a fool.”

She said so in his usual tone,

“S, shut up, jerk.”

I retorted in an instant, but I felt embarrassed once more, and was unable to say anything after that.

Darkness and silence fell once more, and I noticed that the pain was slowly getting worse. I slowly wiped the sweat off my forehead while trying to hide it from Miko, and clenched my teeth to endure the pain.

Thereupon, Miko muttered something to me.

“Back then—”

“…..Eh?”

“I understood how ghosts felt. When you were delirious in the hospital room, when you had your cognition of me sealed away.”

“….A, ahh.”

“To exist there and to not be recognized—it’s an unbelievable darkness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“….It was so dark. Pitch black darkness so awful… that it might be the most terrible darkness there is.”

“…I said I’m sorry.”

“……But.”

“……….”

“But if you hadn’t protected been in that way—you would have fallen apart. And perhaps my heart wouldn't have lasted either. In that sense…it might be something to be thankful for.”

“……….”

It was thanks to Krishna-san, and Sako. Come to think of it, Sako was…crushed underneath, huh? What about Krishna-san? I placed her a little further away from the building, but was she alright? As I thought such things, it suddenly felt like my head became misty white. I was still lying down, but I felt terribly dizzy as if had lost my sense of equilibrium.

--Damn, could this be….dehydration? Or an infection from the wounds in my legs, back or head. Dammit, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. In times like these, the worst thing to do would be to lose hope.

I thought that, but the only one who knew we were here was Sako, and unless Krishna-san, who was lying outside, didn’t regain consciousness safely and instantly grasp hold of the situation and call for help, then there was no hope for us. This was terrible. We finally managed to get rid of the ridiculously dangerous monster that scattered malice for so long, but our chances of survival were infinitesimally small.

“H-hey, Miko, try to smile.”

Impatient, I made that absurd request towards the other side of the darkness. And what came back to me in reply was a voice with a deep-seated reluctance, “Ehh?”

“Come on, I’m begging you.”

“Even if I were to smile in a place like this, you can't see it.”

“Well, that’s true, but—no, just try it! Smile for me. I’m scared. I'm so pathetic I can't help it, but I'm scared. If I were to be cheered up somehow…right, if I don’t see your smile, then I’m going to lose heart. Look, listen up. A smile is more precious than anything else in this world. Nothing bad happens to a person who is smiling happily. A nice smile is a present that will make everyone happy. So, please. My hopes are fading, so give me the best smile you can as a present! I’m begging you!”

In response, Miko kept silent for a while and spoke.

“………..Ah…..so that’s how it was….”

“……Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the same for ‘Gandame’.”

“…Ga, Gandame…?”

“’Gandame’ and ‘Yousen-boy’… they might have been trying to deliver us hope. Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.”

My impassioned speech took a strange turn, and I was about to give up.

“…..I’ll try to….smile.”

Suddenly, Miko agreed.

“…I don’t know if you’ll be happy though.”

“Ohh, really?”

“……….”

“…..Hey, did you smile already?”

“………”

“…Is it alright…if I can feel it?”

In my vague consciousness, I bumped my trembling hand against the wood here and there—and slowly reached out my hand. I reached out my arm in the direction of the voice, towards Miko’s cheeks. My fingertips touched something soft—

It happened at that moment.

Heeeeeeeey, I heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

For a moment, it was a voice so faint I thought it might have been an auditory hallucination—but, I definitely felt like I heard it.

I strained my ears,

“……Heyyyyyyyy, is anyone alive?!”

It was the voice of a man I didn’t recognize. And it was followed by the voice of a different man, “Make a voice, or even a sound! If you can make it, then do it!” I desperately twisted my head to face up, and I saw a flicker of light in between the gaps of the timber somewhere.

Ohh, my hopes skyrocketed in an instant.

“….Over here! We’re over here! We’re alive! We’re alive!!”

I desperately raised my voice, and instantly a huge amount of dust invaded my throat, and I coughed violently.

But, there were shouts of joy right near me, “Oooohh!”, “This way!”, it felt as if the sound of several footsteps drew closer.

In my fading consciousness—the roof and lumber were being moved aside one by one. The air suddenly began to move, and thick oxygen brushed against my nostrils. The light began to pour down on me, which must have been the flashlights of the rescue team. As I was illuminated by that light—I saw it. Just fifty centimeters or so away from me, I saw a face so beautiful and lovely that she felt out of this world.

Miko Hanamura was looking kindly at me with clear eyes that had lost their dark color.

“…Miko.”

The moment I spoke her name in embarrassment, the last piece of timber imprisoning us was removed. The rescue team clad in orange lifted it up with their thick arms.

“Are you alright? Are you conscious? Your wounds?”

I was asked in rapid succession, but I guess he knew right away.

“Lacerations on the left leg! This is terrible---Ah, large abrasions on the back and the arms …get a stretcher right away!”

--Hey, hey, don’t scare me now.

I mean, I'm going to cause my sister and the others to worry again, as I thought that, I spotted the adorable baby face beyond the rescue team. Her hair was a little disheveled, but the petite former occult site manager was looking my way with tears filled in her eyes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Foolish thought it might have been, that was all the greeting I could muster.

I then turned to look at Miko who was right below me. I was about to smile at her, to tell her that we had been saved, but-

Thereupon, I realized that Miko was slightly out of position from where I was. In her right hand, she clutched the stuffed frog as if to protect it, and in her left hand, she clutched that polaroid photograph. It seemed she had almost let go of them when the ceiling collapsed, but desperately shifted her body to take them back. No, I understood that much, but.

“…Hey, Miko, what is that?”

I asked, suddenly noticing a strange foreign object.

I stared at that strange object, and vaguely thought about its meaning.

It was—the sharp, pointed fragment of a broken pillar.

And, right now, it was growing like an object from Miko Hanamura’s chest.

“Hey…Miko….”

I asked her once more, when the rescue team pulled me out in a hurry, and shifted their attention to Miko.

“Wai…”

Wait a minute. Let me see her.

I wanted to say that, but my body ached all over, and no voice came out.

“CPR!! Hurry!!”

I heard that voice. Three members of the rescue party moved the timber, opened the hole even wider and pulled out Miko’s body. They then placed her in the stretcher meant for me, carried her to a level ground a short distance away, where the paramedics there began to perform CPR on her.

“It’s no good, Get the AED!”

Someone shouted that out loud, but an older paramedic stopped them.

With a somber look on his face, he gently shook his head and spoke.

“She—has already passed away.”

“…It must have been an instant death. Judging from the liver mortis that’s already set in, the time of death must have been around twenty-four hours ago….”

“….Inst….Twenty four hours….?”

I finally managed to let out a cry, and dragged my aching leg as I got up.

I dragged myself, and crawled towards Miko.

“Hey, there’s no need for that… doing something foolish like that….”

The rescue team were looking at me. The rescue team in orange rushed up to me. They didn’t know if they should help me, or stop me from walking, but I pushed back against them one after another, and reached Miko.

“What are you guys saying…. We were talking until just now. The two of us were trying our best not to lose against this darkness… We’ve been talking for the whole day, trying not to lose consciousness. Right?”

Before I’d realized, I was clutching the collar of the elder paramedic, when someone stopped me from behind.

“...Hey, I’m begging you, please…. Hurry up and help her! With that…with that machine right there! If you use that, then she’ll surely regain consciousness, right? She’ll be saved, right? If you can’t do it, then take her to a hospital right away! Hurry up, hey!!”

“Stop it, Nagi-kun!”

I turned around hearing that scream, to see that the tearful voice belonged to Krishna-san—

I realized that it was her who was desperately clinging to me to try and stop me.

“Ah…Krishna-san…After all, it’s strange, right? She…Miko was…until just now, telling me I was a fool, and she listened to me asking her to smile--”

I was about to say that.

I realized it for the first time.

Yoishi Mitsurugi—no, Miko Hanamura’s face, was curved in a faint smile.

To me, it was as if she desperately tried to remember and recreate the smile she had almost forgotten—

I screamed a voiceless scream, as I embraced her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno

2024-11-13T15:27:46Z

Pakkit:

{{Status|Active}}

[[File:Phenomeno 1 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|Phenomeno Volume 1 Cover]]

"Phenomeno" (フェノメノ) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ninomae Hajime (一肇) and illustrated by Abe Yoshitoshi. The series is complete with 6 volumes. There is also a free visual novel based on the first chapter of the first volume in the series. The updated translation for the visual novel has a link below.

Other Languages:
[https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Phenomeno_-_Fran%C3%A7ais French]
[https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Phenomeno_~Russian~ Russian]

==Story Synopsis==
Nagito Yamada is a university student living away from home. Needing a cheap place to live, he finds out about a mysterious “House that grants wishes” on the market for a ridiculously low rent; he snaps up the house and starts living there. A few nights in he starts hearing strange creaking noises. Each and every night he’s assaulted by these torturous noises. The last straw is when he finds the number 7 carved into the wall, as if counting down to something. Having an interest in the occult, Nagito seeks help from a website he frequently visits: “Ikaigabuchi”, which specializes in occult topics.

==Translation==

===Feedback===

<s>Visit the [https://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10488 forums] to give your feedback or discuss this series.</s>

2021 Edit : Since the forums above are more or less defunct, use the following myanimelist Phenomeno forum thread to discuss and give feedback regarding the series. https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1786335

Or join the Baka-tsuki Discord.

==Updates==

* 2nd September 2012
** First two cases (chapters) of volume 1 translated.
*4th February 2014
** Extra story "Raven Notes" from volume 4 translated.
*3rd May 2014
** First third of Case 03 (last chapter of volume 1) translated.
*14th April 2020
** Bonus story translated.
*20 July 2020
**Translation of Case 03 resumes after six years.
*15 October 2020
**Translation of Case 03 complete.
*18 December 2020
**First part of Case 04 uploaded.
*29 March 2021
**Translation of Case 04 complete.
*29 May 2021
**Translation of Case 05 complete.
*27 July 2021
**Translation of Case 06 complete.
*19 September 2021
**Translation of Case 07 complete.
*21 June 2022
**Translation of Case 08 complete.
*15 February 2023
**Translation of Case 09 complete.
*9 March 2023
**Translation of Case 10 complete.
*22 March 2023
**Editing and correction of Case 01 complete.
*25 March 2023
**Editing and correction of Case 02 complete.
*30 March 2023
**Updated Translation for Visual Novel released.
*24 April 2023
**Translation of Case 11 complete.
*21 June 2023
**Translation of Case 12 complete.
*13 August 2023
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 1 complete.
*31 October 2023
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 2 complete.
*12 February 2024
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 3 complete.
*7 April 2024
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 4 complete.
*12 July 2024
**New afterwords from the digital volumes added, Raven notes split into two chapters as per digital volumes with translation edited and corrected, Translation of Case 00, Chapter 5 complete.
*25 August 2024
**Translation of Case 13 complete.
*12 October 2024
**Translation of Case 14 complete.
*12 November 2024
**Translation of Case 15 complete.
==The ''Phenomeno'' series by Ninomae Hajime==

[[File:Phenomeno 1 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_1|Volume 1. Yoishi Mitsurugi Does Not Fear]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Prologue|Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 01|Case 01: The Wish-fulfilling House]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 02|Case 02: Self-responsibility]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 03|Case 03: Beyond the Fusuma]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 01, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 01, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
 

[[File:Phenomeno Volume 2 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_2|Volume 2. Melting Fafrotskies]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Case 04|Case 04: The hole in the clock tower]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 05|Case 05: The Cat Mystery]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 06|Case 06: Rororo]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 02, Afterword|Afterword]]
 
 

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_3_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_3|Volume 3. Shrinking Fafrotskies]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Case 07|Case 07: The Portrait of a Lily]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 08|Case 08: Does the Place Underground Exist, or not?]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 03, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 03, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
 
 
 

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_4_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_4|Volume 4. The Four Corridors Incident]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 4 Prologue|Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 09|Case 09: Dear Nostradamus-sama]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 10|Case 10: The Invisible Friend]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 11|Case 11: The Melancholy of the Planet]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 12|Case 12: The Gravestone of a Sixteen-Year-Old]]
*[[Volume 4: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Raven Notes: Part One|Raven Notes: Part One]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 04, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 04, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_5_Cover.png|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_5|Volume 5. A Person Who Is Nothing]]===
*[[Phenomeno: Volume 5 Prologue| Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 1|Case 00: Chapter 1]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 2|Case 00: Chapter 2]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 3|Case 00: Chapter 3]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 4|Case 00: Chapter 4]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 5|Case 00: Chapter 5]]
*[[Volume 5: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Raven Notes: Part Two|Raven Notes: Part Two]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 05, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 05, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_6_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_6|Volume 6. Yoishi Mitsurugi Does Not Smile]]===
*[[Phenomeno: Volume 6 Prologue| Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 13|Case 13: Spiritual Paths]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
*[[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
* [[Bonus story]]

==Epub collection of Translated works==
https://mega.nz/file/PdsB1YCK#C_VNQkJXrEwpyeIXOdRGsUE3jmAWaMc2bvSHhFzG3O4

==Visual novel translation link==
Guide on how to download:

Download and extract the game: https://mega.nz/file/zRU02SiZ#0gVLa-Fosdbh4Q-H1P68zHn8lPqTjTTEy2aKDSB41rI

Run using Phenomeno_en.exe

Japanese locale is required to start the game. The game will ask you to switch to full screen in the first pop up message. Please give feedback in my talk page if there is any issue.

Edit: Some people are reporting that Microsoft Defender is flagging it as a trojan/virus. This is a false positive and it needs to be added to your exceptions in order to work.

Credits:

Suiminchuudoku for the original translation.

Editing and Correction:

pakkit

4digitmen

Ax1m

Special Thanks to:

Mortelight for helping me translate the VN files.

Пони for his moral support in translation efforts.

The original team who translated the old version of the VN.

==Project Staff==

*Project Administrator: [[user:Pakkit|Pakkit]]
*Project Supervisor:

===Translators===

:*Suiminchuudoku (inactive)
:*[[user:Pakkit|Pakkit]]

===Editors===
:*[[user:4digitmen|4digitmen]](inactive)

==Project Status==

Project Status: '''Completed'''

==Series Overview==
:* 美鶴木夜石は怖がらない (フェノメノ, #1) - published 2012, ISBN13 9784061388291
:* 融解ファフロツキーズ (フェノメノ, #2) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388550
:* 収縮ファフロツキーズ (フェノメノ, #3) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388611
:* 四回廊事件 (フェノメノ, #4) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388826
:* ナニモナイ人間 (フェノメノ, #5) - published 2014, ISBN13 9784061388956
:* 美鶴木夜石は微笑まない (フェノメノ, #6) - published 2015, ISBN13 9784061399129

[[Category:Ninomae Hajime]]
[[Category:Genre - Horror]]
[[Category:Genre - Mystery]]
[[Category:Genre - Supernatural]]
[[Category:Light novel (English)]]
[[Category:Completed Project]]

Phenomeno:Case 15

2024-11-12T19:47:12Z

Pakkit:

==Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two==

'''Everything in this world is like a ghost story. It is full of stories with no known sources or anything. Looking at an incident from the other side shows a different aspect. Each person involved has their own story. And yet we condemn them only from a certain point of view.

'''It’s foolish to do so, but I dare ask—'''

'''Are you gods?'''
'''

That happened three days ago.

I ran into Takako Takamura in front of the main university gate, and she handed me a piece of paper with those incomprehensible words written on it. “What the hell is this?” I asked her, and she cocked her head in reply, “Who knows?”

Incidentally, this girl named Takako Takamura, who stood with her hair was dancing in the wind and her tall body leaning to one side, was the half-sister of ‘Ayana Takamura’, a Koumei institute student who had mysteriously disappeared several years prior.

A super-extreme denpa(net slang referring to those who repeat occult-like words and actions without regard for their surroundings) who tried to incarnate with malicious intent by spreading taboo words all over the school. To me who knew about her in detail, Takako Takamura who had been called a ‘vessel’ by her half-sister and who bore a life-like resemblance to her despite only sharing half their blood, was a little creepy.

『It was there beside my pillow when I woke up this morning.』

『Huh?』

『I was the one who probably doth write it.』

『Doth write it?』

『And, they were probably the words doth by my sister.』

『Did…your way of speaking become abnormal?』

I asked her that, and in response, Takako Takamura distorted her well-shaped facial features into a grin.

『I’ve recently become addicted to classic literature. In summary, I think my sister is warning you of danger.』

『Danger?』

『I think something bad will happen to you from now on.』

『W…wait a second.』

『You’ll be forced to make the final choice very soon, and on top of that, you’ll be buried alive in the mountains.』

◯

--The final choice? Buried alive?

At the time I thought, are you kidding me? She went ahead and said something creepy again, but I let it slide.

Now that I think of it, Takako Takamura’s words turned out to be completely true.

That’s right, now--- I was in complete darkness, unable to move my arms or legs.

“…………..Ptch……..Hey, are you alive?”

I chocked out the dust I had inhaled and called out, and a familiar voice rang out beyond the darkness.

“….What…is this place? Hell? Kokytos….?”

“Ahhh, you’re alive. Thank goodness. ….Ummm, this isn’t hell, we’re in the mountains. We got buried in a lot of collapsed timber--”

I spoke that far, when an intense pain ran down my right leg.

It was in the area around my right knee. And, ahead of that--- I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even tell if I still had legs given that I couldn’t move my body. Even though my head already understood it, but my right leg was continuing to send signals of throbbing pain, as if to say, “It’s an emergency”. It hurt, and it was dark, I suddenly felt scared and was on the verge of panicking.

However, I took a deep breath and told myself, “Calm down”.

…How long, have we been here since then? In the darkness, I gently turned the watch on my left arm in the direction of my face while trying not to hurt my hand on the broken wood. Similarly, I slowly moved my right arm, and somehow managed to turn on the light of my watch.

Monday, 16 April 2012, 19:17.

…Ah, it’ll be almost a full day soon. Had I been in this condition for almost twenty-four hours? The moment I realized this, I remembered how intensely parched my throat was. A stinging pain stuck to the back of my throat. Water, water….isn’t there water somewhere?

“….I can’t move my body.”

At that moment, I heard her voice beyond the darkness.

“Yeah…my leg is trapped, and I can’t move either.”

“Why did something like this happen?”

“Why? --- You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember… coming here with you.”

“Can you stop being so informal. It’s like we’re married.”

I couldn't help but laugh as we ended up doing the usual back and forth with no regard for the location.

And, laughing calmed my heart down a little. I was able to ask, “You’re not injured, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

-- I was about to say that my legs were in a bit of bad shape, but I stopped myself. There was no use in saying it, and she might get a little worried.

“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. I’m sure help will come soon.”

“…When?”

“…How should I know? It’ll be here soon.”

“………..”

“………..”

But, I was at a loss for words when I realized that help would not come anytime soon.

My surroundings fell dead silent.

Without even the cries of mountain birds, it felt as if the world had ended.

“It’s emotionally taxing if it stays like this.”

I spoke, trying to rouse my dark, crushing heart.

“Let’s do something else…right, don’t you have some riddles in mind?”

After a moment's silence, she spoke.

“If it’s interesting stories you want to hear, then.”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered simply, when suddenly, I shuddered.

The things she thought of as ‘interesting’ were a little different than what one would ordinarily think of as interesting.

“….Never mind! It’s fine, don’t tell me. I can’t even run away if I listen to a scary story in this situation.”

I said that, but she had already begun to slowly narrate in a whisper.

“Why did ‘Gandame’ smile, I wonder?”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Being smiled at means you die— the lineage of mountain goddess ghost stories is found all over Japan, but why is smiling linked with death I wonder?”

“I told you! We’re in the middle of the mountain where that ‘Gandame’ is said to appear, so stop it. If a smiling woman with cloudy eyes appears in the darkness, I can’t run away even if I wanted to!”

I retorted sharply, and she fell silent.

My surroundings returned to dark silence once more, and somewhere beyond the dark mountains, I heard a crunching sound.

Was It an animal—or a monster from the mountain?

I didn’t know, but either one was fine, as long as it could me forget the pain in my right leg. As if to shake off the stinging pain, I thought back. Everything that led us here. Everything that led us to this point, to the dark abyss we passed through.

That’s right—that day, Friday the 13th of April.

I was in a hurry.

I had regained recognition of Yoishi Mitsurugi once more, and was told by Krishna-san.

『If you’ve decided to walk together with Yoishi, then go and meet Takita-san.』

I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as I finished my lectures, I ran out of the university. However, I ran into Takako Takamura at the front fate, and was given a strange message or prophecy, but I made light of it and ran off to the station.

It was all to uncover the truth behind the darkness that enveloped the girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi.

◯

“Hey, Sako! Come out!”

The door to Sako Takita’s antique store ‘Kouroudou’(Bone Tower Shrine) in Sotokanda, Tokyo, was locked.

I peeked in through a gap in the dark curtains behind the frosted glass, but as usual, objects I didn’t really understand were all crammed in a line. A headless Buddhist statue, a mummified Kappa, and a hanging scroll covered in what appeared to be blood stains. Beyond those suspicious items that he considered merchandise, I raised my voice towards the inner parlor.

“Hey, Sako! Are you asleep?!”

I wonder how long I kept knocking on the door and calling out to him like that.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I was called out to from behind and looked back to see a short old woman dressed in a kimono that was a light cherry color with a slight grayish tinge.

Although her back was rounded to a large degree, she was a small and cute old woman. Come to think if it, my deceased grandma was short as well. As I recalled those kinds of things, I bowed down to greet the old woman who looked up at me with an elegant face.

“Ah, sorry for being so noisy.”

In response, the old woman gave me a friendly grin and asked, “Do you have some business with the owner of that shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“That nice man who’s always wearing an indigo dyed kimono.”

“It’s doubtful whether he’s nice or not, but he is indeed always wearing a navy-blue kimono.”

“We’re always gossiping about whether he is still single.”

Saying that, the old woman giggled like a maiden.

“Um, that’s fine….but, do you know where he is now? I have some urgent business with him.”

“Isn’t it the 13th today?”

“…Yes?”

“That person goes to Myoujin-san on the 13th of each month.”

“Myoujin-san?”

“It’s Kanda Inari Gongen-sama.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sako’s day job was being the head priest of a shrine in Aomori— I think it was called ‘so-and-so Inari Shrine’.

“Myoujin-san is just ahead up the stairs from there.”

“Thank you so much.”

After thanking her, I broke into a run.

I climbed the long, narrow stairs, slipped through a narrow alley, and soon saw several red nobori<ref>long, narrow banner attached to a pole on one side and a horizontal rod along the top</ref>.

There were souvenir shops lined on the path to the shrine, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people. As a country boy who loved festivals, I ended up getting excited just by visiting these kinds of places.

I read the stone monument in a touristy mood, Kanda Myoujin was a shrine dedicate to Daikoku, the god of wealth, Ebisu the god of fishing and commerce, and ‘Taira No Masakado’, who was popular among us occult maniacs because of certain reasons.

“Hmmm.”

I looked up at the main shrine once more.

I had passed it once or twice before, but to tell the truth, it was my first time stepping foot inside.

“…Wait, no, no, I don't have time for this.”

Right away, I searched around the area for Sako. However, there was no sign of the man in the navy-blue kimono anywhere around the main shrine, or in any tea house or souvenir store. Having no choice, I went around the main shrine to look around the subordinate shrines. As I walked along, stepping on the gravel under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, I found that there were various subordinate shrines at the back of the main shrine. I was happy to see that each shrine was neatly swept with bamboo brooms, and was being properly looked after. It made me sad just seeing small shrines in disrepair—when, I spotted a familiar man in a kimono in front of one of the small shrines.

“—Sako?”

I called out to him, but Sako Takita remained seated directly on the ground in a daze with his back turned towards me.

I quietly approached his side and peeked at him from the front. And— noticed something. There were several empty sake bottles near his knees.

“Of all the…are you drunk?”

“…Hngh.”

Sako turned around at last, and greeted me, ‘Yoo’.

His complexion, which was normally pale, had a slight red tinge to it.

“Yo? really?”

“Haha…umm, you are—of course I remember. Ehhh, your name, it was that.”

“It’s Nagito Yamada. Come on, get up. You’ll get reported if you drink in a place like this.”

“…Erm, it’s alright, the chief priest here is an acquaintance.”

Sako Takita looked like a complete bum as he foolishly laughed. I tried to make him stand up, but his legs were unsteady having drunk so much, and on top of that he had no desire to stand up himself, so things didn’t go the way I wanted. Suddenly feeling foolish, I let go of his arm around mine.

He sloppily toppled on the gravel with his arms and legs outstretched.

“….Oooh. How cruel, what are you doing?”

“I just remembered what you did and let my anger take care of the rest. You had the nerve to make Yoishi imperceptible to me, didn’t you?”

I returned to the point of discussion.

“It’s already been undone. That’s why you came to me, right?”

Sako chuckled and started to laugh.

“I told her that it was merely a stopgap solution. You were out of control back then to the point where even Kurimoto-kun couldn’t handle. Please don’t hold it against her.”

“Yeah yeah, Krishna-san already gave me a rough rundown on what happened. That I was delirious and went berserk at the hospital. That was my fault--- but, there was no reason to make me unable to see her, was there? Or rather, why did I do that when I saw Yoishi…? Do you know why?”

In response, Sako fell silent.

He continued to look at midair in a daze with the occasional *hiccup*.

I continued to wait for him, but there was no sign that Sako would start talking, so I looked around to make sure no one was around. —and I, too, sat cross-legged on the spot.

“In the first place, this subordinate shrine is the home of some deity, isn't it? Why are you drinking at a place like this?”

“…Hm.”

Sako slowly looked up towards the shrine right in front of him, and grinned broadly.

“Today is the monthly anniversary of her death.<ref>Monthly death anniversaries of a death are known as tsuki meinichi in Japan</ref>”

“Anniversary? Whose?”

“My mother's.”

“..... Eh?”

Thereafter, I looked at the signpost next to the entrance of the supplementary shrine. On it was inscribed, ‘Ukanomitama (god of rice), and Suehiroinari (god of harvests, wealth, fertility) as well.

“My mother you see, was kind, courteous, and beautiful. Well, I can’t deny that I might be glorifying her because of her early passing. But, you understand, right? A mother who is the personification of affection is clearly different from a father. A unique existence to all children that shared her flesh and blood.”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, and Sako stayed silent for a while.

After staring vacantly at empty space as if chasing something invisible—

“My mother, she killed herself you see.”

“………….”

“Well, that’s what the world thinks.”

“…What the world thinks?”

“Right. She was thought to have severed her own life, but in reality… she was murdered.”

After that, Sako laughed: heh, heh, heh—he then picked up one of the sake bottles that had been lying around and brought it to his mouth. But it seemed its contents were already empty, so he carelessly threw it away.

“You know, you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things even if you’re drunk.”

“…Drunk? Yes, I might be drunk, but I only speak the truth.”

Then Sako gazed at me in a stance where he used his knees to support his arms,

“It happened before my very eyes—And, I could do nothing at all. There was no point in asking people about it, and there was no point in talking about it. It’s not something people should know about, and it’s definitely not a story that should be readily known by an ordinary person. But still, all stories are connected. In the end, it feels like all karma bounces from one place to the next. Now then—will you hear that kind of story?”

Suddenly—

The words that have been said countless times in countless situations came back to me.

A story that should not be heard. A story people should not know.

If you found out, you would become involved and entangled in them—a story woven with Kotodama.

If it had been me up until now, I might have shaken my head and said, “I’ll pass.”

However—

“That karma or whatever, is it connected to her—to Yoishi Mitsurugi?”

I asked.

“If it’s a story that has some power to clear away the darkness inside her….then let me hear it.”

I said that, and the smallest—the truly faintest of smiles appeared on Sako’s face.

And then, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before, an expression most transparent, and pure.

“It happened…back when I was still in high school.”

“I saw a monster—in broad daylight.”

◯

Monsters—now then, what is a monster?

Do they spit fire? Do they devour humans? Do they possess supernatural powers which ordinary humans can’t fight against? Well, those kinds of definitions vary from person to person, but there’s one thing that can be said with certainty. Once you encounter them, you can't escape their influence for the rest of your life —that exactly is what I believe monsters are.

With that meaning in mind, what I encountered could be called a monster.

It happened on a day when the sun was still high in the sky, and yet the moon’s pale light also loomed. Thinking back on it now, bad things have usually happened on days like that. Well although, I can only speak of my own life. On that day, I quickly left after my high school classes had ended, just like any other day. I was never the type of person to get along with my classmates, nor was I the type to rejoice in the springtime of youth by engaging in sweaty club activities. High school life to me was really nothing more than just a means to kill time. In other words, I was a gloomy high school student, the type that would go to a coffee shop after leaving school in violation of school regulations, and would set up camp at a seat in the back to read Chekhov, Ango and so on. I’ll explain later, but I had circumstances which made me not want to return home right away. What you might find laughable is that I had been given an unconditional command to return home as late as possible.

So, that day as well, I headed to the cafe named ‘Windmill’ with a book in my hand which I had almost finished reading -- but on that day alone, there was a noisy customer who had taken up camp at the seat at the back where I always sat. I, on the other hand, was the type who was unable to concentrate on books unless my surroundings were quiet. So, having no choice, I headed to the park.

Ahh, that’s right—my house at the time was not in Aomori where I currently reside. I was originally born in Kobe, moved to Kyoto afterward, and was living in Fukuoka at the time. The reason why was because my father was involved in the trading business, but it wasn’t a good thing for a child to move around so often in their childhood. Even now, I believe that was the reason I became shy and had problems making friends--- but I digress. Anyway, I lived in the east of Fukuoka. Well, you might know of it being an occult lover and all, but it was famous for the Jizo statue where the Kappas are sealed.<ref>https://kappapedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kappa-jizo.html</ref>

There was a vast, lush green place known as the T-park.

I headed there, but it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. There were a lot of mothers with their children. No matter how many times I looked around, I couldn’t find an empty bench anywhere. I walked all the way to the back of the park and found an empty bench at last, where I sat down, but I had lost all motivation to read, probably because it had taken me so long to get there. For a while, I merely sat there in a daze.

Before I knew it, I was biting my nails.

Well, I guess you could call it a psychological state you often see in high schoolers in puberty. I was strangely irritated. Perhaps it was because the plans I had made for the day didn’t go well, or perhaps it was the peaceful, warm scenery which made it appear as if time had stopped— I continued to sit on the old bench, and continued to chew my nails without changing places.

It was at that moment.

A toddler shakily walked toward me.

A boy—probably, I think it was a boy. I don’t remember exactly. An innocent-looking toddler approached me with some kind of toy in hand. He was a friendly child. He already trusted completely in someone like me. I, who was a stranger from who knows where, a high schooler with dark eyes and with a book like ‘Discourse on decadence’ in hand. He had a friendly grin on his face as he offered me the toy. I ignored that and merely looked around in dismay. I wondered where the mother went, taking her eyes off a child this young. However, there was no sign of a mother-like figure close by. That child sidled up to me alone. He held out his precious favorite toy to me, with a “Yes”. For a moment, I wondered if I was even pitied by such a young child, but that wasn’t the case. In all likelihood, the child was living a life filled with love. That must be why he didn’t even think of the possibility that some humans can be evil.

When I realized that, something like a thin mist rose somewhere in my heart.

--What would happen if a dark malice were unleashed upon this pure being?

I was surprised at myself for thinking something like that. I didn't think I was capable of such sadistic thoughts. And, it was an irresistibly bewitching idea. There was a defenseless creature in front of me; There was no one around. It was just me, him and the toy. For the time being, I picked up the toy the boy had placed at my feet and put it in my pocket. Eventually, that child came to pick up the toy that he had placed at my feet and stopped moving. He started looking around, behind my legs, as if searching for the toy, then looked up at me. I merely grinned at him. The child continued to search for the toy after that, but I couldn’t help but feel an irresistible rush of pleasure rising up my spine. I was getting an almost nauseating pleasure from the anxiety that was enveloping his tiny back.

What kind of face would he make if I were to pluck the toy’s head and throw it away? The plastic doll of some transforming hero. Would he start crying? What would happen if this pure creature were to be showered with malice?

As he had his back turned to me, I secretly took out the toy. I dangled it towards his back. He was anxiously digging up the sandpits close by. As if he thought he might have buried it somewhere. I put my hand on the doll’s neck. I put a little power and tried to twist its neck, when—

I finally noticed that gaze.

With a start, I looked diagonally to my right, to see a woman with a kind expression. She was sitting on a bench covered by ivy in the shade, staring at me and the child. In an instant, I understood that she was the mother of the child.

Sweat slowly formed on my hands, and I removed my hand from the doll’s neck.

--What was it? How long had she been there? Did this woman see everything I had done?

My heart was pounding violently, as if it was about to burst from my mouth.

Eventually, I called out “Boy”, in a shaky voice and handed the toy back to him. The boy’s face immediately lit up, and he took the toy in hand. And at the same time, he spotted his mother, and happily ran towards her. The mother slightly bowed to me and left, holding hands with the child.

--There was no way a mother would take her eyes off her young child.

I chided myself for my foolishness after all that time, but it was already too late.

It felt as if the daytime moon was smirking down at me, and I quickly left that park.

I was embarrassed that the mother had seen through me. It was most fortunate that I managed to notice her at the last moment and hadn’t plucked the doll's head off. Even though it was a provincial city, there was more regional unity there than in a place like Tokyo. I was patting myself on the chest, thinking that if I had done that, I might not be able to live in this city anymore.

However, as I left the park, I realized my heart continued to throb violently.

Yes— I was still excited.

I was excited at the thought of trampling that which was pure.

It was as if I had become something other than myself—no, as if the real me that kept itself hidden in my heart somewhere had revealed itself. It was also a sense of freedom at being my true self. The irritating feeling I had just thirty minutes ago was no longer there.

I wonder if that was the reason why.

Even though it was not yet time to go back home—I ended up getting ready to return home.

Now then, why didn’t I return home straight away after school?

It’s about time I explained that. What? It’s not something big. In short, it was because my mother's lover was at home. He was ostensibly the man my mother was learning to paint from. I told you my father was involved in the trading business, so he was often away from home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for weeks. And when he did come home, he would do so late at night. When my father was home, my mother was very diligent and devoted to him. She bathed him, cooked for him, and listened to his stories with a round of laughter. To an outsider, she must have looked like the ideal, wise housewife. And that's what I always thought too.

However, it was around the time I entered middle school. My mother said that she wanted to learn how to draw. My father agreed. My mother had a small interest in oil painting in her student days, and my father might have felt guilty for being away from home so often. And so, the one who eventually came was that man. I was able to hate him with just one glance. He must have been five or so years younger than my mother, but —ah, I just can't remember his face no matter what. I don't know why, but he always looked like he was wearing a fox's face. Not literally a fox’s face, but truly a fox mask. It didn't look like that to the people around me including my mother, probably because my strong rejection against that man made me feel that way. The fox masked man was polite, eloquent and graceful in his speech, and he often gave me gifts. But to me, it looked like a red tongue peeking out of a mouth with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear. My mother and the man were silently painting in her room. And before long I was told, “Play outside on the day sensei comes”, And I was made to realize that I was not allowed to stay at home.

That must have been like ink that dropped on the surface of water that was my family. When that man started coming in and out of my house, my family was stained with an indelible stain. My father not being home became the norm, and I too had come to think that I shouldn’t stay at home—and above all, the man started visiting my house not just once a week, but with one thing or another, he started visiting every day.

Every day.

In the afternoon.

A man who was not a member of our family would definitely be there.

I thought my family had been taken over by something suspicious.

My father died soon afterward.

He returned to Japan after going to Guangzhou for work and was on his way home when we lost contact with him, and he was found at Matsuyama harbor, Shikoku. It seems he was found floating in the sea by a couple on a date. Why did he go to Matsuyama from Fukuoka? Was it an accident, a suicide, or did he get involved in some trouble? We had no idea. The police visited my mother almost every day, but it appeared they eventually stopped investigating it as a murder case. That was because the body of another woman was found on the harbor. That woman was an office worker in my father's company. It seemed she had been going out with my father. The police tried to conclude the case by saying it was a double suicide spurred on by a lovers talk.

However, I can say it with almost complete certainty.

That my father was murdered.

And the culprit was that fox masked man.

After that, for the next three years of high school—a strange situation developed in which I, lived together with my mother and that fox masked man.

I stopped coming home.

I only returned home to sleep and spent the rest of the day killing time outside.

However, on that day—

On the day I felt delight in aiming malice towards a child.

I decided to return home after a long time while the sun was still high up in the sky.

I unlocked the door, entered inside, declared that I was home, and entered the tatami room.

The scene I saw there would perhaps never be erased from my memory for as long as I live.

On the tatami mats was my mother, naked and bound. The rope painfully bit into her flesh, but my mother sobbed with joy. Next to her was the fox masked man. He merely sat there quietly on his knees, staring motionlessly at my mother.

The man slowly turned towards me, who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tatami room.

The white, fox masked man with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear, sneered to me.

How long—

Just how long did I stand there, motionless?

How much time did it take for me to realize what was happening in the tatami room?

Before I realized, I was sneering as well.

And, I realized at last.

The man was ‘malice’. He was the ‘malice’ inside me.

I don’t recall the specifics of what happened after that.

All I remember is that I staggered out of the house, and continued around wandering the city—and when I came to, I was in Hakata station.

There, I bought a train ticket to the furthest place possible.

When I reached Aomori station, what I saw on the news was that my house had burned down completely, and that the corpse of a naked woman had been discovered inside. I didn’t even think about had happened. I had become numb to all emotions. I didn't know why I was in Aomori. Nor did I know what I should do from here. I was overwhelmed by the scenery of Tohoku that I was seeing for the first time, and collapsed in front of the station.

When I came to, I found myself riding in the car of a strange gray-haired man. The old man merely called himself the ‘Chief priest’. I had run out of money and had not eaten anything, so he said to me.

『You’re possessed by a terrible ghost.』

『It’s a very powerful ghost, and you might not be able to do anything about it yourself.』

『You may run out of strength midway through and die, but if left alone, you’ll die anyway.』

『I’m sure your stomach must be empty, but it would be better if you didn’t eat anything. Let’s begin right away.』

After that, I was taken to a shrine somewhere deep in the mountains, and made to change into a white kimono. I don’t know how much time passed after that. I was abandoned in a room that was like a dungeon, and was subjected to ritual prayer every day. There was nothing left for me to vomit, yet the intense feeling of wanting to throw up welled up inside me over and over again. Ahh-- Thinking back on it now, I had never been in so much pain. I would fall backwards and repeatedly slam my body against the hard floor. Having not even been given enough food for excrement, I realized at the depths of what little consciousness that remained that I was going to die. I felt the end of my life was right at hand. At that moment, I felt something leave my thin, frayed consciousness. It cried out loud in a high, frustrated whine, and disappeared as if it melted away.

『It’s over.』

At last, I heard the old man's voice near me.

I saw a light beyond my hazy vision.

Tears spilled from my eyes seeing the beauty of the grass and trees illuminated by the sun.

『You’re saved. However, you won't be able to lead a normal life from now on.』

The old man spoke as I greedily devoured the rice gruel I was eating after several days.

『If you don't retighten your body that an oversized ghost passed through every day, you'll quickly end up becoming an abode for countless ghosts.』

The old man didn't have to tell me that, I knew that it was just a short distance away.

I knew that it would quietly continue to stare at me from somewhere—until I died.

『Abandon everything, and spend the rest of your life here.』

That place was called ‘Okitachi Inari Shrine’—

I would later find out that it was a shrine that guarded one of the veins of this island country, that defended against the northern demon gate.<ref> https://donnykimball.com/kimon-7f7a28291d51</ref>

After that, I became a disciple of that old man, and began to study Shintoism. It was a little different, however, and in no way what you would generally define as ‘modern Shintoism’, it was a severe unrelenting study. Well, that's a long story, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was forced to abandon my name, my family name, my past, and completed my training to completely become ‘nothing’ all at once. I had to rearrange and fix the air ducts in my spine, and recompose all of my cells properly. I assimilated all of my thoughts with nature, and abandoned myself. I repeated that every day, every hour, every minute. I continued to adjust it as I ate, as I slept. I might have told you once before, but—if you’re not a great masochist, then it would have been a maddening day-to-day existence.

My master must not have thought I would be able to bear it all. Somewhere along the way, he probably concluded that I would run off some day and self-destruct by becoming a nest for the ghosts that would penetrate me through my turbulent air ducts. However, I somehow managed to hold my ground. I endured it all.

Say, you.

Why… do you think that was?

A few years after that, I asked my master.

About why ‘that’ had happened.

By ‘that’, I had meant ‘that thing’ which had destroyed me and my family, and I tried asking about it indifferently.

『No one really knows.』

My master answered.

『It was called ‘Nine tails’ in Nara period literature, and in the Edo period, it was referred to as the ‘everlasting night stone’—however, in all likelihood, it must have been present inside humans of every era. Yes, it is something that continues to move from person to person.』

『Is that so?』

I kept an expression as if I wasn't interested anymore, but I engraved that name deep at the back of my mind.

With a soft smile, I grit my teeth so hard they might have bled, and recalled my mother’s face from that day.

It possesses people.

It amplifies people’s negative emotions and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing.

It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves.

The first one in my family who it possessed was me.

My once warm family, had before I realized, turned into a reflection of what I considered to be the worst possible family.

As it made me believe that I was killing time outside, it toyed with my mother as it pleased on a daily basis.

It casually made my father realize this abnormal relationship, destroyed his heart, and drove him to his death.

--Unforgivable, unforgivable.

I could not forgive the wandering ghost known as the ‘everlasting night stone’, but above all, I could not forgive myself.

However, my own punishment would be held off until the very end.

Before that, I had to annihilate it. For that reason, I—

Would be as brave as Amitabha Tathagata, who stayed at the left of Amitabha Tathagata.

Would be as wise as Gabrielle, who stayed at the left of God’s throne.

And—I would transform into the sword that cut down demons, like Futsunushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsunushi</ref>, who stayed at the left of Okuninushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckuninushi</ref>.

That’s right, I decided to become a demon that would devour demons.

That was why I erased all emotions, and was able to endure everything.

With the deity Futsunushi, enshrined at Okitachi Inari Shrine as my guardian deity, I received the surname of my master.

And that is how from that day forth… Nagito Yamada-kun, I took the name of Sako Takita.<ref>The kanji for Sako’s first name is 左居, with the first kanji meaning left and the next one meaning to be or exist, so Sako means being at the left.</ref>

◯

“….Perhaps because of that you see. I feel as if my face is getting thinner like a fox each year.”

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?<ref>As explained in the previous volume, he is asking how the kanji is written here.</ref>”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A *brrrrrr* sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said, “Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”

◯

“Where are you headed?”

On the bus, an elderly grandfather with a bamboo basket on his back asked us.

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi fiddling with her phone without saying anything, so having no choice, I answered him.

“Ummm… we’re going to a friend’s house for a bit.”

“Ooh, is that right?”

The elderly gentleman nodded with a good-natured expression, as if he were about to puff a cigarette, and sat down in the seat next to us.

The bus rattled and swayed as it leisurely moved along the mountain road with several passengers on board. I somehow looked outside the window, and saw that the houses were steadily becoming sparser, and all that lay beyond them were magnificent undulating mountains.

And at my feet was a large rucksack I had borrowed from a friend in the mountaineering club. I didn’t know if we would easily be able to find accommodation, so I borrowed as much camping gear as I could cram into the rucksack and brought it along.

The address Sako had written, K city. Y-Prefecture—

Yoishi and I were on our way there, having switched trains, and rode the only bus that came only once every hour.

The sun would soon be setting in the area. The mountain ridges were dyed in a golden colored light. The scenery alone was quite beautiful and nostalgic, but when I thought about the building we were headed towards, my buoyant mood continued to sink.

“Something terrible inhabits these mountains.”

The old grandad from earlier blurted out.

“You can't look them in the eye because if you do, you'll end up dead.”

It must have been a legend you’d often find passed down in rural areas.

“Um, what is it called?”

I asked, and the grandad replied, “…It’s called,” before falling into silence for a while.

“It’s called… No, it’s better if you don’t know. Because you might end up summoning it if you know it.”

In response, Yoishi suddenly opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about 『Gandame』or 『Yousen boy』?”

“Y, young lady, you shouldn’t. Don’t say the names.”

The grandad hurriedly warned Yoishi, but as for me, I wanted to rebuke him, ‘Grandpa, you're wrong.’

You must not tell her the things ‘she shouldn’t do’. And as expected, Yoishi’s eyes glittered,

“…Gandame, Yousen boy, Gandame, Yousen boy.” She began to repeat it.

‘Eek’, as the grandad recoiled backwards, I bonked her on the head.

“…..My apologies, she’s, a little strange.”

I apologized profusely, and gazed at Yoishi who had fallen silent in discontent—

I let out a sigh in my heart by myself at the troubles that were to come.

I say troubles, but I wasn’t sure if I completely understood the details of those troubles.

Krishna-san’s sudden disappearance—I was unbearably worried about that, but I had left it to Sako who said he would meet up with Yukihito-kun and deal with it. Apparently, according to Sako, heading to this address together with Yoishi had priority above all else. Well, I had a feeling I could leave it to him since Sako seemed to act properly when it came to Krishna-san, but—the biggest problem of all was the weight of his words: 『Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story』.

The problem was whether I could really do something like that.

I came this far trying countless times to do something about the darkness ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ carried. Despite being repeatedly told by Krishna-san that it was impossible, I recklessly stepped foot into the abyss of the world beyond, and each time, I would retreat with tears in my eyes. And what could I do now that I came here with no trump card? What could I possibly do by brazenly going to the ‘place Yoishi Mitsurugi was born’? Sako also told me that 『The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun』, but I had no idea why there was a race against time at all. However, it was also true that after hearing the story of ‘Sako Takita’, my image of him had ended up changing quite dramatically, and for once I had a feeling that it would be better to believe him.

That’s why after I parted ways with Sako at Kanda Myoujin, I gathered the camping gear and headed to the library for the time being.

Fear comes from ignorance. Those were Krishna-san’s words, but there was nothing scarier than going to a place called ‘hell’ without knowing anything. I looked up any articles I could get my hands on in the library corresponding to the incidents in ‘K city, Y-Prefecture’ and ‘Hanging mansion’. And then, I finally called Yoishi, but—

“Hey, Yoishi.”

“……..What?”

“I told you we were going to Y prefecture, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“I told you we probably won’t return for a few days so come prepared, didn’t I?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“So, why are you here empty-handed in your school uniform?”

Around two hours ago, I arrived at the station we were supposed to meet up at, and was exasperated.

I didn’t expect her to bring a rucksack like me, but I thought she would at least bring a small bag. But it was as usual with ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, she hadn’t changed even the slightest.

Wearing a black blazer, black tie, black skirt. Navy blue socks, and black leather shoes.

Yoishi Mitsurugi stood there in her dazzling Koumei high school uniform. She didn’t look as if she had brought a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush or a towel. With only her mobile phone in hand, she had the same unfriendly, or rather blank expression with her excessively well-proportioned beauty looking at me, and her long black hair danced in the wind.

“Don’t you think you’re travelling a little too light?”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Well…that might be the case but…”

Come to think of it, I was beginning to like an idiot for bringing such a large backpack.

“Leaving that aside, where are we headed in Y prefecture?”

She suddenly asked, “Eh?” I was at a loss for words.

“You only said we were going to Y prefecture.”

“….Ah, ahhh….ermmm.”

No, I had to say it sooner or later, and she might figure it out along the way, but it was still difficult to say face to face, that the place we were headed towards was the birthplace of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

“I mean, really. I don't think it's right to accept an invitation to stay overnight without asking what kind of place you're going to. That’s no good for a girl before marriage.”

I pretended not to notice that I was the one who invited her,

“Didn’t I become your property?”

Yoishi retorted, and this time I was absolutely speechless.

And, I recalled once more.

The thing that happened recently—in short, when I ended up telling Yoishi’s father in front of her, ‘Give Yoishi to me’.

Somehow even Krishna-san was flushed bright red in her nose and said something like, ‘You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness’, but was that taken as a proposal or something? No, Krishna-san was weak to sake and that kind of talk to the extreme, but did Yoishi end up interpreting it as such?

As she looked at me with her large black eyes, my cheeks suddenly became hot.

My perception of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had been sealed away by Sako, and that was removed by Yoishi herself through regression hypnosis—and now that I took a long hard look at her once more, I saw that she was truly beautiful. Her pale translucent skin was unnatural for someone of Japanese descent with nary a single blemish, and her face was lined with fairy like features. Her eyes were a little dark, but on the contrary, they promoted her seducing harmony, and I think her appearance made any passerby look back at her.

That kind of girl—a possession? No, would she be my fiancée as per societal norms?

Ahh, but her father did indeed say…’Do as you like’.

Which meant that in short, he approved….?!

When I remembered that, my cheeks abruptly became flush hot, and a fluffy feeling rose up at the pit of my stomach.

I coughed once exaggeratedly and looked away.

And then I was startled.

Before I’d realized, the old grandad sitting in the seat next to me had vanished.

Or rather, it was only me, Yoishi and the driver on the bus.

“What happened to that grandad?”

“…Who knows?”

“When did they all get off? It didn’t feel like the bus had stopped.”

In response Yoishi muttered somewhat enjoyably.

“Perhaps—the elderly man might have been Gandame.”

A cold shiver ran round my back all at once in response to that cold, piercing whisper.

Immediately, it felt as if I was completely in a dream, having been in the hustle and bustle of the city merely a few hours ago, and was now, travelling left and right on a dark mountain road at dusk.

“…..We didn’t miss our stop, did we? Did you listen to the announcements carefully?”

Anxious, I took out the piece of paper in my pocket, and as I was confirming the address,

“That place.”

Yoishi merely muttered, having peeked at the piece of paper.

“Are we going to that place?”

I was speechless for a moment—before I made up my mind and nodded.

“…Ahh, that’s right. We’re headed to this place now.”

“………………..”

“…Is it a problem?”

Yoishi closed her phone, and fell into silence for a while as she looked at the darkness beyond the window.

“I’m sorry I brought you along without telling you—but, I thought it was time to settle things.”

I carefully chose my words as I spoke.

In response—

“It’s fine, but--”

As she continued to gaze out of the window, Yoishi spoke in a whisper.

“It’s just, I thought I would go there a little later.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mansion is the last place I ever intended to visit in my life.”

“………………….”

“If I don't feel fear there... it's impossible for me to feel fear again.”

Her words gave me strange goosebumps all over my body.

….Which meant that, what?

That the mansion we were headed to now, was something at a level far above just bringing me to tears as had been the case up until now?

“How did you find out about that place?”

“Ummm….I heard about it from Sako.”

“….Is that so?”

“….Um…was…”

I gulped once, and dared to ask.

“Did you know Sako?”

In response, Yoishi slowly turned towards me, and looked at me inquisitively.

“He said he met you a long time ago.”

“………………..”

Something at the back of Yoishi’s eyes flickered, as if she were trying to remember something.

Something she didn’t want to remember. Something she shouldn’t remember. Fragments of dark, sedimented memories appeared and disappeared beyond her eyes, and she eventually gave a small nod.

“………….Ahh……that person……”

However, Yoishi said nothing more from there. And I too, couldn’t ask any further.

Just what happened to you ten years and eight months ago—Why did you take on the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’? That’s not your real name, is it? Asking that simple question was unbearably heavy.

“I don’t know why we’re going to that mansion, and what you’re trying to do.”

Yoishi eventually murmured in a whisper.

“But that is without a doubt the worst place for me.”

“………..”

“There’s no guarantee that I will be myself. I might not be able to help you if something happens to you. Are you still alright with that?”

Ahhh, I know already.

…..I couldn’t say it being the weak coward that I was, but I still nodded with all the courage I could muster.

“Going around haunted places is just like life….at your own responsibility, right?”

At that moment—

I noticed that the bus driver had been gazing at us all this time through the back mirror.

The dark area around his eyes seemed to be contorted in a sneer.

And, I felt as if I shouldn’t make eye contact even if it was through the back mirror.

I didn’t know about 『Gandame』, or 『Yousen boy』, but—

I thought that we were already in the world beyond.

◯

The mansion, illuminated by the pocket light, was already in a state of decay.

After getting off the bus, we climbed up the dark mountain road for a long time, and the mansion we reached at last was the very definition of a haunted house.

The mansion merely loomed jet black beyond the white fence.

We were silent for a while, standing still with lights in one hand in front of the iron gate.

“…Shall we go?”

I called out to Yoishi, who unusually didn’t try to enter, and I pushed the creaking gate open.

The large garden was already rampant with weeds, with nary a place to plant my feet. I raised my legs in exaggerated movements as I continued, until I eventually arrived close to the front door of the mansion. However, the door was boarded shut to deter anyone from entering. I shone my light to see a sign that read, 『Unauthorized entry is forbidden』. There were many large spiders and spiderwebs that hung all over, something you would never see in the city.

I moved a little further away and aimed my light here and there. Beyond the window on the second floor was a curtain drawn halfway that looked eerily like someone’s head would peek out if I continued looking. Ivy ran along the wall of the mansion extending all the way up to the roof.

“….This mansion is way beyond what I expected.”

I said so, but there was no reply.

I turned around, to see that Yoishi was silently staring at a section in the garden.

I approached and stood next to her, and aimed my light in the direction of Yoishi’s gaze. What lay there was an old camping grill. It was already rusted and fallen over. A small camping chair was also lying there. They might have been used for barbecuing here once in the past. I crouched down to shine my light at them, and found several firework cinders on the ground as well. These symbols of a peaceful summer holiday were saddening to see in the garden of a decayed mansion.

“…Are you alright?”

Seeing her shoulders slowly move up and down, I called out to her.

Yoishi nodded without a word, but she indeed did not have her usual vigor when she faced the occult.

“It’s probably a little late to enter this mansion right now. Let’s pitch our tent here, shall we?”

I raised my voice as cheerfully as I could, and lowered the rucksack on my back.

“I have a friend in university named Yamaoka. He’s in the mountaineering club, extremely fit despite his small size, and he has a great sense of humor to boot. He let me borrow a lot of stuff. A tent for three. Two sleeping bags. I brought a lot of food as well, and even a burner. Let’s grill something for dinner, shall we? Ahh, or maybe you’d like me to make some coffee?”

“If it’s a bedroom you need then there’s one inside.”

“….Eh?”

“On the second floor, there’s a room that is safe to use.”

“No…the inside is, um, it’s quite dangerous right? This isn’t the usual haunted spot investigation. It’s better that we go in when it’s bright.”

I said that, but Yoishi had already set off for the front door, used her foot as a pivot and audaciously began to remove the planks that had been hammered into place. She removed the planks one-by-one, causing cracking and scraping noises to echo loudly in the mountain that was deathly silent at night.

“It’s not a problem if we put a tent out here though.”

With her back towards me, Yoishi spoke as she removed the planks.

“There’s a dead person in that garden as well.”

“……….Eh?”

“If that’s alright with you, then you can set up camp there.”

“……Say that from the start.”

Having no choice, I helped her.

The planks had rotted considerably, probably from the many years of wind and rain, and were removed fairly easily.

“The key?”

“A, ahh, here.”

I took the key Sako gave to me out of my pocket and handed it over to Yoishi.

Yoishi stared at the key for a while—before slowly placing it into the keyhole. A pleasant click rang out, and the lock was opened. As the creaking door slowly opened, I felt something rustling beyond the darkness—and I closed my eyes in an instant. After taking a single deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

A thick, incredibly heavy darkness leaked out from behind the half open door.

But, Yoishi remained there, standing still as a rock. Her back, which would never hesitate to step forth into any darkness, wasn’t there. All that was there was the back of a young high school girl, who was unable to take one step ahead in the face of overwhelming darkness.

“Could it be—that you’re…scared?”

“……..I don’t know.”

Yoishi answered silently.

“I don’t know if this is what it means to be afraid. But, my feet are…”

I looked to see that Yoishi’s feet in her black leather shoes were quivering slightly.

I went back to pick up my rucksack, put it on my back and silently gripped Yoishi’s hand. The moment I gripped her soft and cold hand---Ahh, I realized.

The reason why I came all the way out here. And, what needed to be done here.

Wasn’t that, to confront the past together with Yoishi—And, to hear her true name from her own mouth?

Krishna-san had said it before. 『Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world』.

That’s right. There was only one thing for the disciples of the witch to do. That was to research the real names of all events and creatures in the world and their history, and once you take back your ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ should disappear.

Alright, I said to myself, and put strength into my stomach—

“…Let’s go. Alright?”

I asked, and Yoishi gave a small nod without a word.

For the first time since I’d gone with her through numerous paranormal events—I took the lead.

With a dull thud, I threw the door open.

I was greeted with the smell of dust assailing my nostrils, and a damp atmosphere that coiled around my body. With my right hand gripping Yoishi’s hand, I illuminated the mansion with the light in my left hand, and slowly took a step forward.

In front of the wide entrance hallway was a corridor, and it was dark to the point where my mini light could barely illuminate it. Nevertheless, I could see that the stairs to the second floor were on my right-hand side, and the spacious living room lay beyond the door to my left-hand side. At any rate, I felt countless presences everywhere, and I asked as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my feet.

“Where is the bedroom you said we could use?”

“Upstairs, at the back.”

“…Got it.”

I tried not to look anywhere, as I barged inside while still wearing my shoes, which was, sorry to say, always the case with haunted spots.

The stairs creaked as I climbed them one-by-one. I aimed my light up to see that the second floor looked even darker. The light formed a ceiling shadow of the handrail that moved, which felt extremely unsettling.

“The back of the second floor—that way, huh?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were doors on each side of the second-floor corridor, and a door in the back. I quickened my steps as if I would be in a safe zone once I reached there, and pulled Yoishi with me towards that door. There, I opened it in a single breath.

Inside was a simple guest room with two beds, a small table, and a closet installed on the wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoishi inside, and closed the door.

“It sure is a nice room.”

As I said that, I tried to twiddle with the switch on the wall, but as expected there didn’t seem to be any electricity, and it remained completely dark.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

I suddenly remembered and took out a portable lantern from my rucksack. I clumsily fiddled it with my shaky hands. As taught by Yamaoka from the mountaineering club, I thrust a rechargeable lighter in the hole and ignited it. Soon, a warm flame flared up and eventually grew, dimly illuminating the interior of the room.

“……….Ohh.”

“………….”

Yoishi and I, merely gazed at that light in a daze.

I had thought countless times that light was truly grand —but this was the first time I had been moved to the point of tears. Yamaoka insisted it when I borrowed the camping equipment, 『Camping is a completely different experience without it』, and forcibly crammed it in the rucksack over my objections….but, If I safely make it back, I have to express my profound thanks. If I didn’t have this, then the strange intimidating air that enveloped this mansion might have continued to weaken my spirit.

“This sure is good. It’s somehow really encouraging.”

“…Yeah.”

Yoishi sat on the bed, and unusually agreed with me.

I looked at her for some reason—and after that, I looked at the other bed.

I just now realized that it was only me and Yoishi here; We had sneaked in at night in an uninhabited house commonly known as the 『Hanging mansion』.

“Ermm.”

I cleared my throat once and asked.

“Is it a problem If I use any of the other rooms?”

Yoishi slightly cocked her head to the side.

“You know, it’s problematic for the two of us to sleep in the same room. Just now you said that this room was not a problem, but what about the other rooms….or to be more precise, what exactly is the problem with them?”

“It’s fine if you don’t mind, but.”

Yoishi answered dispassionately.

“The people who used the other two rooms are dead.”

“……………..”

...... I can't do it. I absolutely cannot do it.

In addition, this place was incomparably heavier and darker than all the haunted places we had visited so far. I nodded silently and sat down on the vacant bed after wiping away the dust on it. From there, we were both silent for a while. She had lied down with her back towards me, and I was clearly getting an aura from her that a conversation was impossible.

It was still just a little past 8 pm.

It was a time when you’d normally be awake and doing activities, but the mountains at night were a different story altogether. When the moon hid behind the clouds, there was no light anywhere besides this lantern. Everything was painted pitch black, and it made you believe that you were in a completely different world, a world where human rules no longer applied.

It was just the two of us alone in the ruins of a building that was deathly silent— not an unusual situation for us, and yet, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Perhaps because Yoishi was not her usual self.

Her eyes always glimmered in the face of the paranormal.

The more grotesque the situation trended towards, the stronger that dark light would shine.

But, right now, I—

I knew that the dark colored light at the back of her eyes was the thing I had to face. That knowledge made me feel as if there was someone else here besides the two of us, one more opponent, of an unknown nature.

But I had come mentally prepared with that in mind.

Determined, I calmly opened my rucksack. I took out copies of old newspaper and magazine articles I had obtained from the library before coming here, and spread them out under the light of the lantern.

It was commonly known as, 『The Hanging Mansion Family Massacre Case』. The major newspapers referred to it as 『K Lakeside Mountain Retreat Murder Case』, but the former was how it was referred to by the weekly magazines. And the source of that name came from the fact that the head of a household was found hanged in this mansion.

It happened around eleven years ago--- in short, it occurred on the 31st of July 2001.

I continued to read in sequence from a newspaper article to a weekly magazine article.

『Yesterday, inside a certain building in a mountain forest in K city, Y prefecture, the bodies of an active duty police officer and a Tokyo family that was staying at the house for a short period of time were discovered. The Y prefectural police have set up an investigation headquarters and have begun an investigation into the possibility of it being a crime or an accident. The connection between the family and the police officer is uncertain, but there is a possibility that the family was involved in some kind of trouble. According to the police statement, the bodies of the father and mother were discovered inside, and the body of the police officer and the family pet were discovered outside the building. The bodies of the eldest and younger daughter were discovered in the nearby K lake.』

『The father was discovered hanging by his neck in the living room.』『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room.』『The head patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police department was discovered stabbed to death in the garden.』『Next to the head patrol officer was the body of a dog which is believed to be the family pet.』『Around 1 kilometer below at K Lakeshore, the body of the elder sister was discovered. With lacerations at the base of her throat.』『The body of the second daughter was also discovered at the same location. She drowned to death.』

As I continued to read, my feelings became heavier and heavier.

According to one expert's theory in a weekly magazine, this incident was a family suicide carried out by the father: he killed the mother, the officer, the dog, and when the sisters ran away, he followed them and killed them at the lake, and then returned to the mansion where he killed himself. I see, it more or less made sense. However, there were still mysteries that remained, such as why a police officer belonging to the Metropolitan Police department happened to be present in a mountain retreat at Y prefecture? And why did the father decide to commit a family suicide?

Above all, what I was most concerned about was how Yoishi and Sako were involved in this incident.

If it were eleven years ago, Yoishi would have been six or seven years old.

I could deduce that she must have been the elder or the younger sister, but—before, umm, I think it was in the Koumei Institute’s ‘Clock Tower Incident’? It felt as if she had talked about her elder sister. Which meant, that Yoishi must have been the younger daughter.

Having racked my brains on it thus far--I read through one of the articles once more, and found a mention of ‘serious condition’ with regards to the status of the younger daughter. I also found an article that said, ‘She was transported to the hospital unconscious’ and, ‘The younger daughter in serious condition also passed away’. In short, the life and death status of the younger daughter was not mentioned clearly. There was no news of her whereabouts thereafter, as if she had dissolved into the darkness of this world. However, whether the culprit was her father or an outsider, the fact that the younger daughter survived, meant that she had gone through extreme hell--She had witnessed the entirety of what occurred in this mansion from beginning to end, and was probably aware of the identity of the true culprit.

And, thereupon,

I suddenly felt a strange tug at my heart.

It was as if I had overlooked an important path hidden by the vegetation in the dark forest.

I rearranged the scattered articles I had copied in order of date published. And then, I remembered what I felt when I was copying the articles in the library.

Yes—around two weeks after the incident, the number of reports on the incident dropped dramatically. After a month had passed, the verified reports were nowhere to be found. It is true that a wonder lasts but nine days, and even if the Japanese people had a capricious nature-- but this was such a sensational incident. And on top of that, it was still unresolved to the present day. Wasn't it forgotten about a bit too quickly?

It was as if... they were trying to pretend it never have happened.

“... Press restrictions, huh?”

As I recall, if an incident fulfilled certain criteria, then in accordance with press agreements, the media may refrain from reporting it.

But I heard that it was only limited to kidnapping cases, or anything relating to the imperial household or political issues—

---No.

No…that wasn’t all it was limited to.

I recalled an article I had read on an occult website. If I recalled correctly, there was an incident in which police rushed to the scene of the crime where a mother had been murdered, they found her infant daughter sitting there in a state of insanity and muttered, ‘A demon appeared from the wall’. There was much debate as to the true identity of the ‘demon’, but news reporting of that incident suddenly ceased all at once.

There were a lot of occultic theories on the internet surrounding people who lived in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, but one day, the thread was locked with a message from someone believed to be an insider.

It was, ‘The culprit was the daughter’, ‘Because she is an infant, press restrictions would be imposed.’

Something cold began to rise beneath my feet.

I slowly turned my head towards Yoishi who was lying on her side on the bed.

It can’t be—

The first time I met Yoishi--- Yes, back in the ‘Wish-fulfilling House’.

When I introduced myself, she merely said, 『I’m Yoishi』. I asked her, 『Isn't that a handle?』, and she denied it, saying,『My surname is Mitsurugi. Not that it matters』. Back then, I wondered if she was fine with revealing her real name on the internet, but—was it because it wasn’t her real name?

Come to think of it, I found out that the Noh-faced man who called himself Yoishi’s father belonged to the ‘Cabinet Information Research Office’. That meant it could influence the media to a greater or lesser extent— and not just that, it was also possible for it to take custody of a girl whose whereabouts were unknown….? No, what reason would someone in a government organization have for adopting the younger daughter?

Sako had been chasing the ‘everlasting night stone’ which was written in kanji as 「常夜石」. And he said that it was something that, 『Amplifies people’s negative emotions, and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing』, and that 『It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves』.

If ‘Mitsurugi’ was that man’s surname, but then, why did her first name become ‘Yoishi’…..?

Before I’d realized it, my legs had started shaking. Right now, I thought the black-haired girl sleeping in the bed next to me was someone truly terrifying, and I felt fear to the point where my blood was being drained.

---It can’t be, the true culprit from ten years ago was…..

“………..That’s right.”

At that moment, I jumped up with a start when Yoishi whispered as if she had read my heart. Yoishi slowly got up, moved to the edge of the bed and sat there. And, she gazed for a while at the countless photocopies of articles scattered near my hands—

Eventually, she moved her pale face towards me. I trembled at the appearance of the dark light in her large eyes.

“……Hey, are you scared?”

“……….”

“Are you…. Scared of me right now?”

I couldn’t answer instantly—

But eventually, Ahh, I managed to squeeze a voice from my stinging, parched throat.

“………I’m scared. Of course I’m scared. To be honest, if we’d just met, I think I would have run away.”

“…………..”

“But….it’s strange ---right now, I don’t care anymore.”

I forcefully put on a smile on my face.

Then, for some reason, I felt the back of my heart quietening into silence.

“If you are a survivor of this incident….and, if you’ve now taken the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, as someone who really does have another name. Then I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can’t see ghosts. I want to believe that they’re there, but to be honest I still can’t say for sure that they’re there. Even after witnessing countless paranormal things, I still can’t tell at all. But, what I truly believe is that there are souls. Warm souls, terrifying souls……. There must be countless souls in this world. They might dwell in buildings, in paintings, in music---they might be the strength of people’s thoughts, but I feel their presence and I believe in their existence. And, the shape of your soul-- which I can feel, which has gone through so much pain and suffering, I believe that it’s beautiful despite everything. And I love that shape.”

“…………………….”

Yoishi remained frozen in place, as she continued to gaze at my face---

And her beautifully shaped lips were about to say, ‘You--’, when they stopped.

“…………You?”

“You….you truly are a fool.”

Yoishi’s voice had a tinge of embarrassment in it, when--

……….*Plop*………..

That sound echoed.

It sounded like water dripping somewhere.

That sound, which seemed as if it was right next to my ears, made me shudder for some reason.

“Is there… a water leak somewhere?”

I somehow managed to say that, and Yoishi shook her head.

“….It’s calling me.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s in the bathroom.”

Declaring that, something flickered beyond Yoishi’s eyes that was illuminated by the lantern. Dark colored eyes and something I arbitrarily named was wriggling. And, that itself was the moment ‘Yoishi’ turned into the ‘everlasting night stone’.

「Say, don’t you want to go and take a look?」

Yoishi would probably whisper that from here.

And that was where the other world would begin. With a jerk, the world would flip upside down, and what would appear there would be a world you shouldn’t see. The ground beneath my feet would tremble, creating a floating sensation as if I had lost everything. But, I would not be able to fight against it. It would be unbearably scary, but I would end up heading there as if being dragged by Yoishi---

And.

However, Yoishi didn’t say anything no matter how much time passed.

Even though there was terror right next to her, she remained motionless as she continued to listen closely to the sound of water.

“…Yoishi?”

“This place is the reason why-- I hate baths.”

“…………”

“I… ended up making a mistake here I could never take back.”

“….What, happened here?”

I asked her, but Yoishi remained silent and did not answer. Her face was contorted in pain, and she merely hung her head down.

If I continued to gaze at that face, an unbearable sadness would sweep over me as well, and before I’d realized, I stood up and said, “Okay”. I drew closer to Yoishi and sniffed at her neck.

Yup, she stinks.

“Shall we take it, together?”

“………Eh………..?”

“The bath. If you know that this place is the cause, then that’s even more of a reason.”

“I, I refuse.”

“Shut up, just come. You haven’t taken a bath since you left my home, right?”

I was fully aware that I was saying something outrageous, but I was desperate when I decided to confront her.

I pulled Yoishi’s hand and made her stand, and spoke as if to conceal my embarrassment.

“I’ll wash your head. And this time—we’ll overcome it all.”

◯

“It’s boiling over, nice hot water!”

I shouted through the glass door as I pulled my hand out of the bathtub in the pitch-black darkness.

Then, after a few moments, the glass door opened with a clank. Yoishi Mitsurugi appeared in the bathroom stark naked….or so I thought. In the darkness, I only caught a glimpse, but naturally, I immediately averted my eyes out of courtesy.

There was no electricity in the mansion, but it was most fortunate that the water was from a well and that propane gas was still available. Right now, the bathroom was filled with warm steam. Even though there must be plenty of occult fans all over the world, we were probably the only ones to take a bath in a haunted place. As I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t it a worthy achievement to have performed a reckless act so effortlessly?’, Yoishi quietly sat down on the seat next to me, holding what looked like a towel in hand. In the pitch-darkness of the bathroom, where only the steam gently enveloped our bodies, we continued to sit in silence, naked.

“Ermm… Wash your body first.”

I desperately tried not to be conscious of Yoishi next to me, filled the tub with hot water, and rubbed a soap that was there onto the towel and lathered it.

“Look, you wash yours. It’s alright. I don’t see anything. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“……………………….”

Eventually, Yoishi placed something she was holding on the wash basin without saying a word.

“Hm…….? Wasn’t that a towel?”

I asked as I was scrubbing my body clean, but Yoishi seemed to have shaken her head without a word.

“Can I have a look at that?”

I washed the bubbles off my hand with hot water, turned off the faucet and then picked it up.

Checking it with my fingertips, I saw that it was something soft--- some kind of stuffed toy.

“Ah….this, could it be the thing you always have attached to your bag? The stuffed frog?”

“….Yes.”

“Hmmm, is it your good luck charm?”

I asked as I touched the body of the stuffed frog with my fingertips. It was quite old and frayed in places, but—that touch made me feel strangely nostalgic.

“It’s not a good luck charm.”

After a while, Yoishi whispered.

“He’s, my only friend.”

For some reason, those words made my heart ache deep in my chest.

“In the past, he used to talk.”

“In the past…? He can’t do it now?”

“He doesn’t talk anymore.”

“…………….”

In a way, such a cute line from a girl was a problem because when Yoishi said it, it instantly became occultic in nature. And moreover, since we were in an abandoned building where no one lived and people had died, I had to be careful not to let the atmosphere go into a creepy direction as much as possible, or else my spirit couldn’t handle it.

When—suddenly, I heard a splash.

I looked to see that Yoishi had already entered the bathtub.

Apparently, after only a couple of splashes of hot water on her body, she had moved there with the stuffed frog in hand.

“Did you wash yourself properly?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t. The soap is still the same as it was in front of me.”

“…..I don’t want to use that soap.”

“Why?”

“Because it's still there, just as it was that day.”

I didn't know how to retort back to those words.

I quietly looked in the direction of the bathtub, to see that Yoishi was soaked in the hot water up to her chin, playing with the stuffed frog in hand.

She hadn’t tied her long hair, so it was scary to see her hair spread out on the surface of the water.

“….I ended up doubting her.”

“…….Eh?”

“Back then, mama asked me if she could join me—and I refused.”

“What do you mean, you refused?”

I asked, but Yoishi fell silent once more.

Eventually, she carefully chose each word as she spoke.

“It was mama… but I ended up doubting that it wasn’t mama.”

Not understanding it well, I listened silently as I continued to wash my body.

“…If I had opened the door for her back then…. A lot of things might have turned out differently.”

That must have been when Yoishi was probably six or seven years old—when she came to visit this mountain retreat with her family. Does that mean that Yoishi was alone in the bath when her mother came? Does that mean that her mother died the next day?

I recalled the article that said,『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room』, and at the moment when bitterness overflowed in my chest—

I realized after all this time. I…. Ended up calling this mansion a ‘haunted place’ without consideration, but wasn’t it extremely rude to call it that, since it was a place where her family was? Once more, the words Krishna-san always told me stabbed my chest, ‘Have respect for the dead’, and I clutched my head in the darkness.

“….Regrets really are a thing, huh?”

After a while, I muttered.

“I always wonder after everything is over if I could have done a little bit more. I mean, my life is a repetition of that. I overslept, missed an important lecture and almost cried before the exam, I couldn’t properly teach the newcomer at my part time job, and he suddenly stopped coming, I ended up eating an extra-large portion of gyudon even though I don’t have money—No, what I have is nothing compared to what you are burdened with.”

--*Splash* As I poured hot water on my shoulders to wash away the foam, I spoke, “Sorry”.

“I’m sorry I ended up calling this house a ‘haunted place’.”

“….I don’t really mind.”

“No….but….”

Then, Yoishi merely muttered in the bathtub.

“What are ''grudges'', exactly?”

“….Eh?”

“What do ghosts, bear a grudge against, exactly….? For example, what if you were to die a horrific death because of me? What if you still had so many things you wanted to do, but your life ended because of me? Would you too wander this world with a grudge….?”

I suddenly imagined ---myself as a ghost, just wandering this world endlessly. But at that moment, a strange loneliness swept over my chest. A world like ice, where no one could perceive me, where my words never reached anyone.

There, all I was, was confused.

I was befuddled, in agony, and wished to die quickly and properly. Even though I was already dead, I was impatient to die properly.

“……No.”

I shook my head once, turned on the shower and poured hot water on my head.

“Rather than bearing a grudge, I think I’d be troubled.”

“Troubled….?”

“I think that ghosts are probably just troubled. The moment they understand that they’re dead, they're upset because they don't know what to do, having experienced that for the first time. Ahh--- I can’t explain it well, but rather than asking questions about why they died or wanting to come back to life, they would be restless about what to do with themselves, and have no time to bear grudges against other people. ….Look, isn’t that why they draw close to you? They might be relying on you since they realize that you can see ghosts. Maybe they think you might believe in the myth that telling ghost stories attracts them.”

I excitedly talked as if I had accidentally touched on a secret—

“You—”

Yoishi coldly declared.

“Really are a fool.”

‘What the hell did you say?’, I was about to retort, when I stopped, thinking that it was inappropriate. I silently lathered up the shampoo that was there in my hands and started washing my hair feeling good.

It was my first time talking about ghosts and not being afraid. For the first time, I felt as if I understood the meaning of what Krishna-san always said, ‘Perhaps some ghosts play tricks on people, while other ghosts say, 'Come on, stop it,' and step in to intervene, yet no one ever thinks of the latter possibility’.

“Even if they're dead, ghosts aren’t different than people.”

I tried to sound as cool as I possibly could, when it happened.

As I was scrubbing my head with the shampoo, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

As if the lathering was strangely sluggish — or rather, as if the amount of hair had strangely increased.

At that moment, I realized that there were long strands of hair dropping on both sides of my face. It was as if someone had drawn their face close to the back of my head with their long black hair, and trirf to get me to wash their hair as well.

--It must be Yoishi.

You sure had the nerve to come up with a funny idea, as I quickly reached both hands to the back of my head. I was trying to take hold of that head: Yoishi’s head, however.

“…………Eh?”

There was nothing there, and my hands were wandering in empty air.

''“Get out.”''

At the same time, a voice like a ringing bell echoed in the bathroom.

I looked to see Yoishi still immersed in the bathtub, gazing in my direction.

Her eyes in the darkness, were darker than darkness—

Her following words, directed towards something, made goosebumps run all over my body.

“You are already dead.”

◯

I'll never speak sagely of ghosts before her ever again.

I firmly made up my mind to do as I chanted the nembutsu<ref>Buddhist prayer</ref> all night--And it was the following day.

Before I'd realized, I was sound asleep in the bed and woke up to find myself in heavenly sunshine. The chirping of the birds reverberated around me, and the branches of lush green trees peeked through the window.

Did I come to some hotel resort somewhere? I couldn’t judge the situation right away and really thought that was the case, but--

No..... No, that wasn't it.

This was the mountain retreat where a mysterious massacre occurred eleven years ago.

With a start I raised my head, and saw that Yoishi was already awake and sitting on top of her bed, fiddling with her phone.

“...Ah... Good morning.”

When I greeted her, she fleetingly glanced my way with her large eyes,

“My phone has a connection.”

She spoke.

“Well, that's what it’s supposed to do.”

“There was no connection eleven years ago.”

She stood up and pointed her phone here and there.

“Is there a problem if you have a connection?”

“……………………….”

However, without answering, Yoishi put her phone away in her pocket, and turned her white face at me.

“What are we going to do from now on?”

“Well….”

No, I had no concrete ideas in mind.

I was under the impression that just coming here would be enough to settle something. I was told by Sako that I had to complete ‘Yoishi’s story’, and I thought that must have been ‘to hear Yoishi’s true name from her own mouth’. But— after thinking about it long and hard, that doesn't really need to be in this place, does it?

Which means….huh?

Why did Sako tell me about this place?

I raised my head, looked at the mansion walls, and thought of the room that was supposed to exist beyond it. After that, I pictured downstairs which was filled with far more creepiness than the second floor.

….Could it be?

Did it mean that there was something in this mansion that could finish this case?

“Let’s go.”

I declared, and Yoishi tilted her head slightly.

“We have to search this mansion.”

Yoishi asked, ‘For what?’, and in response:

“Something important.”

Without pause, I opened the door to the room.

All that was there on the other side of the creaking door was a corridor---but it wasn’t as dark as last night.

It was already bright with the light of the sun pouring in.

The stairs creaked as Yoishi and I descended to the ground floor. It was a building with many windows, and the warm sunshine poured in through all of them. It had lost the appearance of a haunted house and was now just an old mansion. Even so, the building still felt like a ruin, full of spider webs and dust-- but, as I thought that, I spotted something on the corridor floor. It was a yellow police tape. Apparently, it had been placed in front of the door leading to the living room.

Something bitter instantly rose up inside me, as I realized that this was a murder scene, and that the victims were Yoishi’s relatives.

“Are you alright?”

I turned around and asked, and Yoishi nodded, looking paler than usual.

The living room was spacious. It was at the very least, around 32 square meters in size.

It had leather covered sofas, a fireplace, withered houseplants, and torn wallpaper.

But—

I thought once more. I didn’t know why it was, but I didn’t feel as if this was my first time in this mansion. Come to think of it, I felt that when I first looked up at this mansion from the garden last night. As if someone had said to me, “Welcome back”. I recalled that feeling now once more and shuddered.

No--- I shook my head. No matter how much I turned the drawers of my memory upside down, I had never come to this mansion before. I only felt like I had been here before because this was a typical resort construction, and they all had a similar layout.

I continued to convince myself in that way, as I scooped off the piled-up dust on the sofa with my hands.

On the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room were three cups, and the tea or whatever that had been inside had already dried up and turned light brown. The family must have been enjoying their time here together. They had no idea that a conclusion far terrible than they could have imagined awaited them….

I became strangely sentimental, maybe because I thought that it was Yoishi’s family.

I was a weakling from the start, but I thought I had endurance with regards to the dead after their funeral had been completed. Once you die, there’s no coming back. No matter how much I grieved and moaned, I could not overturn that rule of life. That’s why, I didn’t mourn more than necessary. After all, I too would die one day. At that time, I would meet them again. And, in order to have lots to talk about when I meet them again in that world, I would live a fruitful life, that’s how I thought of it. That might have been the psychological coping mechanism I learned after the bitter separation from my mother.

But---

Something about this mansion was different.

I ended up thinking that maybe there was still something I could do about it.

Even though everyone was already dead….. and were no longer a part of this world, the vividness of the family pressed at me, a family that was not my own, but one that I could not think of as a stranger’s.

Are…they still here?

Are Yoishi’s mother, father, sister, and the policeman, still here in this mansion--?

I end up feeling like…. they entrusted me with something important that was left undone.

“….Huh?”

As I thought such things, I noticed that Yoishi was staring at something.

It was a small space above the hearth.

“What’s wrong?”

I called out to her and stood next to her---where I noticed.

It was a single photograph. A brown wooden photo frame had collapsed, and a discolored photograph lay beside it.

My heart beat out loud seeing the figures of the people in the picture.

“…..This……”

“My… family.’

“Is it alright…. if I take a look?”

“It’s fine, but—”

Yoishi added in a tone of voice that lacked emotion.

“It’s not really something pleasant.”

Hearing those words, I gulped.

Why hadn’t the police taken this picture away, even though they must have investigated the scene countless times? Come to think of it, why were all the cups I saw earlier still here? Suddenly, all sorts of questions crossed my mind, but in the end, I picked up that photograph.

It was a family photograph taken in the garden. The father, the mother, the elder sister, the younger sister, and the family dog—everyone was looking at the camera, and probably smiling in the polaroid picture. However, the moment I saw it, an intense chill ran down my back, causing me to almost let go of it.

For some reason….in that photograph of the father, the mother, the elder sister, and the dog—their faces were discolored white and stretched out in the air as if twisted by an invisible force so strong that they were about to disappear. Among them, only the young girl was smiling kindly. She looked this way with her beautiful white face, and her pretty, long black hair that swayed slightly in the wind.

“……U…..umm, you sure were cute.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, really….”

“It becomes this type of photograph when that takes your life.”

“By t…that…could you possibly mean?”

…The ‘everlasting night stone’ that Sako mentioned?

The moment I was about to mention that name, Yoishi put her finger on my lips to stop me.

“It would be better not to say that name.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

“Because it’s everywhere at all times.”

“S…say, why…why did you take the name of Yoishi? If that name itself was ominous, and if you were aware of that, then why---?”

Without answering, Yoishi silently took the photograph from my hand and carefully placed it back in its original place.

“The police abandoned it.”

“Abandoned?”

“This photograph is as you can see. But, it wasn’t abandoned because of an exposure error. This entire mansion was abandoned, and the investigation itself was abandoned.”

“W, why?”

“Because the state unofficially recognized that long ago.”

Yoishi’s cold words left me aghast.

“It exists in every age, appears at whim, and consumes humans—stealing their lives. That’s why it has been recognized as a natural disaster that possesses this country, like typhoons and earthquakes.”

“No…that’s—if it were a natural disaster, then why did you need to take that name?”

“Because—”

Yoishi stood stock still like a broken doll, and whispered.

“Because I’m the cause of all this.”

“……….What?”

“Because I was an unwanted child that was never wished for.”

“….There’s no way that’s true? There’s no way a child is unloved by their parents.”

“Thinking straightforwardly like that is a trait of yours, but—then, why does infanticide not cease in this world? What about the abuse that increases even now? And, what if… it was an unwanted pregnancy?”

………………………..

“What if….it was a life born from the violation of the mother by a complete stranger?”

“….Hey…it can’t be….”

“If that were the case, I would erase myself.”

Yoishi’s large eyes harbored a pale blue flame as she spoke.

“That’s why my face is white. Because of foreign blood. I didn’t resemble anyone in my family. I was--”

“Cursed ''before I was even born.''”

“That’s exactly why I was chosen by that.”

I….could not utter even a single word.

But from somewhere in the mansion that was as silent as death—something echoed as a substitute.

A biological, disgusting, whipping sound.

“….It has begun.”

“…….Eh?”

“It’s already begun.”

Yoishi looked me in the eyes, and spoke in a whisper.

“It’s going to be hell from now on.”

“….What?”

“If you want to go back, this is your last chance.”

“……………”

“You’re free to do whatever you wish, but from here on, I’m not sure that I will continue to be myself. To run away from here, to forget everything, and to live a cheerful life would be without a doubt the right thing to do.”

Yoishi spoke that much forlornly, and turned away from me.

With a mechanical gait in her step, she walked straight out of the living room.

“W…. wait a minute!”

I was a step behind, and ran after her.

I caught up to Yoishi who was proceeding in the corridor, and grabbed her hand.

“I’m going as well.”

I declared, and Yoishi looked at me with lonely eyes.

I nodded strongly, and Yoishi silently looked down, and spoke.

“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

“……Eh?”

“I know that’s completely unforgivable, but I can’t help but rely on you.”

“No……”

I spoke flustered.

“I don’t mind if you rely on me, you know? Well, although, I might be quite unreliable, but…”

In response, Yoishi bit her lips in irritation---

“Please, forgive me.”

She whispered that.

I stopped moving, not knowing what she meant—when Yoishi looked up at me and gazed at me. That white, unworldly, beautiful face declared as if melting into the darkness of this world.

“No matter what happens, no matter what you see… stay as you are. Stay as Nagito Yamada. Continue to stay that way--- that might be our only chance to win at the very last moment.”

It was an expression Yoishi Mitsurugi had shown me for the first time.

The girl who had never asked me for a single favor up until now, who had gleefully moved forward no matter what paranormal events she faced, the young girl who was acted coolly like a grand witch from antiquity even when faced with reality that would make you want to avert your eyes, showed me for the first time--- a sorrowful expression.

Please, forgive me.

She declared once more in a hoarse voice, and abruptly turned heel with a knock of her leather shoes.

After that, she didn’t look back, as she continued into the darkness.

I fell behind for a moment—before following her.

The mansion corridor which had not been ventilated for a long time, creaked strangely, perhaps due to the humidity.

It wouldn’t be strange if the floors collapsed at any given moment, and that instability was the same sensation I had whenever my legs froze from the sign of the world beyond.

The very back of the corridor.

The closer I got to the inconspicuous wooden door, the louder the whipping sound became.

“T...this sound.”

I was about to ask what it was, but I couldn’t say the words. Being the weakling that I was, my legs had already begun to tremble, and the root of my teeth didn’t connect.

Yoishi made it that far without hesitation, placed her hand on the sliding door, and with a single breath, threw it open.

It was a storage room around 10 sqm in size.

There was a mop, a place for a large vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, an unused chair and such.

And, in the center, I saw a familiar childish face.

“—K…”

I was at a loss for words.

“…..Kri…shna-san?”

◯

A petite figure was crouching in a dark corner of the room, devouring something.

Her short hair was messy, as if she hadn’t returned home for many days—and her blue spring dress was torn in places and dirty with mud, as if she had tumbled down a mountain.

“Umm….Krishna-san….is that you….?”

In response, the girl looked in my direction, still clutching something with her hands.

She sneered in a satisfied smile with her white, cloudy eyes. I shuddered at the sight of the thing that protruded from her lips. From those cute lips which were always preaching to me with sermons of love, now protruded a large, wriggling centipede. She bit it off with those white teeth of hers, and chewed it crunchingly.

As I watched, unable to say anything —Krishna-san slowly stood up.

She then brought her hands, still covered with the remains of centipedes and other small animals, to her large breasts and grasped them violently. She then rubbed them vigorously. It made me feel a sense of unease, as if a different personality was using Krishna-san’s arms to toy with her body. But, there was no eroticism in it. It was merely revolting; I felt disgust as if something precious was being defiled. it reminded me of a coven of witches – a sabbath that I had once seen illustrated in a book. That vulgar behavior was in no way the behavior of the Krishna-san I knew. She was so cute in all her actions that even when she had to be strict, she still lacked a sense of tension.

“What are you trying to do by moving to that person?”

Yoishi spoke coldly as she fixed her gaze on Krishna-san.

“Your place is inside me, isn’t it?”

With those words, I realized with a start.

“….Hey, it can’t be….?”

‘That’s right’, Yoishi gave a small nod.

“That person is Shiina Kurimoto, but it’s not her personality right now. The one who stands there is the one destroyed everyone precious to me: my best friend, my mother, my father, my elder sister, Leo, the detective-- The one who stands there… is the ‘Everlasting night stone’.”

Together with her words… I saw it.

Right now, in Krishna-san’s eyes, a dark light glimmered that was like the bewitching glimmer in Yoishi’s eyes in the face of the paranormal. Exposed to that dark light, countless scenes revived and connected in my mind. The countless mysteries, paranormal phenomenon which defied explanation that I had witnessed so far. Yoishi’s eyes would begin to glitter before them. But when she saw malice in the truth, Yoishi would always vomit. She would vomit in pain, as if trying to wipe away something inside her.

Was that---

Because this thing was inside her?

Was it because this thing was wriggling in delight inside Yoishi?

The sneering laughter that sounded like a man echoed in the dimly lit storage room and corridor.

The bobbed haired, baby face, the cheeks that would be described as adorable by a hundred out of a hundred people, Krishna-san contorted those cheeks—

And made a smile that was both broken and complacent.

“It crossed over from continental Asia in the past, was called ‘Nine tails’ at times, and ‘Everlasting night stone’ at times…. It moves freely from people to people, a natural disaster of this country that destroyed countless people all over, a hidden natural disaster—the purest ‘malice’ in this world.”

Yoishi’s words coldly reverberated in the room—

The earth shook. No, my torso was shaking in the face of being overwhelmingly powerless, and my knees were already shaking to the point of collapse.

Krishna-san….no, Shiina Kurimoto-san was the most reliable person for me since I moved to Tokyo alone. Her words were harsh at times, but even they were filled with love, because she was worried about me from the bottom of her heart, and she was the person who was the furthest away from the word ‘corrupted’. She was my holy mother, just making eye contact with her was enough to relax me and give me fluffy feelings at the pit of my stomach. No matter how close I came to breaking down, this person alone would always stand firmly on the ground, support me, and return me to myself. Now, there were no traces of that to be found anywhere. In its stead was malice bare to see, and it was as if just seeing her lurching figure was enough to distort the world.

「I’ll be right back. After I’ve enjoyed this one.」

As if declaring that, Krishna-san took the rat carcass she still held in her left hand, and plunged it headfirst into her mouth.

“S--”

Stop it. I was about to shout, when—

“Yo, there you are.”

I heard an aloof voice behind me.

After a few seconds—I turned around dumbfounded, to see the thin figure of Sako Takita.

Sako slipped past me who couldn’t even move, and affectionately called out to Krishna-san.

“Kurimoto-kun, you shouldn’t eat something like that. You’ll end up getting diarrhea.”

He was not dressed in his usual blue kinagashi. On his head he wore an eboshi<ref>Black cap https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90</ref>. His long hair, which was always unkempt had been neatly slicked back, and he was formally dressed in a black hakama and tall wooden clogs—but his appearance conversely made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Now, let’s go back, shall we? This is no place for you.”

In response, the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside Krishna-san vibrated its throat. I couldn’t clearly make out what it was saying—but it was clearly a sneering voice that rejected, disdained, and ridiculed Sako’s suggestion.

“….Hm.”

However, it seemed it had gotten through to Sako. He nodded several times and spoke.

“……..Ah, you shouldn't. Don't make a young woman use such indecent language. She is still a popular girl you see. You mustn’t make light of Krishna fans all over the country…Eh? Mmhmm, you say you’re not a fan? You’re saying everyone uses the occult as a pretext to see Kurimoto-kun’s body, and that they must be stripping her naked in their head?”

Sako spoke as if he were a proxy of a beast, and then turned my way.

“Are you like that?”

“………..Eh?”

“Well, you can’t clearly deny it as a man—but that’s not quite right.”

Sako turned to face the front once more.

“Hey, listen up, will you? Those large, large attractive breasts of Kurimoto-kun are comforting, you see. They are a symbol of her love that gently envelop everything. It's true that large breasts on a petite body can give off an unbalanced appeal, but what all men of this world instinctually crave is, the motherly love she exudes. Don’t be mistaken, not everyone in this world is a dark, malicious and perverse insect like you.”

As Sako declared that, the ‘everlasting night stone’ vibrated the back of her throat once more, but—

Sako ignored it on purpose, and quietly turned to Yoishi this time.

“Now then—let me say it once more.”

For some reason he made sure to straighten his back and politely sent those words to Yoishi.

“You did well to survive.”

Yoishi gazed back at Sako’s face without a word.

Was it my imagination, or did it feel as if her eyes were gently narrowed.

“I apologize for not being aware of your existence sooner --- Well, it is as you can see. Please forgive me.”

To Sako who bowed down, Yoishi merely muttered, “I don’t really mind.”

“…I only just realized it yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I was told by that person.”

She pointed at me, ‘Hoho’, Sako happily swung his shoulders.

….I didn’t know what was going on. But from the way Sako was acting so relaxed—did that mean that we and Krishna-san were alright now? Yoishi said something about how it was going to be hell from now on….Does that mean it will be averted?

“Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

Sako then put a friendly smile on his face and declared.

“Please allow me to declare this in advance. In the unlikely event that you become the ‘everlasting night stone’—I will kill you here.”

…………Huh?

“You may or may not have already realized, but I managed to cling to this uninteresting world and lived thus far to dispose of this trash known as the ‘everlasting night stone’. I will make it regret it so much that it curses itself for appearing in this world and for its continuing meddling with human beings —and I will tear it to pieces.”

“….I know.”

“—H, hey, hey ,hey, wait a second!”

I unconsciously butted in their conversation, when Sako simply stopped me from interrupting with his hand, and spoke.

“Now, now, please calm down, this was a talk of the worst-case scenario. There will be no casualties if we can deal with it now.”

At that moment---a piercing, sneering laughter reverberated, as if pounding the mansion. I looked to see Krishna-san…no, what was now the ‘everlasting night stone’ bending its petite body with tears in its eyes as it laughed.

“Something, is strange.”

Saying that coldly, Sako held up the three-pronged Gokosho<ref>https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/collection/665-0.html</ref> in his hand—and made several signs in midair. Krishna-san instantly stopped laughing as she coughed and collapsed while still bent backwards. The way she fell didn’t look safe at all, and I was reflexively about to rush over, but—

“Next, I will tear you to pieces.”

Sako cleanly cut the Kuji<ref>(Buddh) nine-character charm chanted with ritual gestures to ward off evil (esp. by mountain ascetics and adherents of Esoteric Buddhism)</ref> with his fingertips, and began to speak words I had never heard before.

It must have been a sort of ritual prayer I had no knowledge of—

The clear, resonant Kotodama that flowed from his mouth made Krishna-san’s petite body arch backwards in a bind.

“This mansion is closed by a barrier on all four sides. I will first remove the original fox soul of the ‘everlasting night stone’. Furthermore, I will get rid of the countless deep-seated grudges that have combined--- and finally separate them, leaving only the personality situated at the highest order.”

Sako dispassionately explained after finishing his ritual prayer, and began to draw some kind of pattern at Krishna-san’s feet with unrefined salt.

However—the guffawing, sneering laughter continued.

Krishna-san, having collapsed on the ground, still had a painful smile contorted as the tears streamed down her face. It was if she were witnessing something truly foolish—as if there was a mistake in front of her eyes which only she had realized—she merely convulsed with laughter as she pointed at Sako.

“It must be painful.”

Sako on the other hand, showed pity.

“But there's not the slightest chance I'd want to help you.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s eyes distorted more fiendishly than I had never seen before.

As if in reply— Sako’s pale face muttered in a whisper that horrified me as I watched.

“—You, devoured my mother.”

“………………”

“And you devoured my father. However, failing to devour me was a lethal mistake on your part.”

“Kokoko.”

The ‘everlasting night stone’ let out a strange, trembling voice.

It appeared as if it were somewhat perplexed.

It looked perplexed as if it had devoured so much it couldn't remember ---And , I saw Sako’s eyebrows furrow slightly in response. It was the first time I saw the emotion of anger emanate from Sako.

As soon as the pattern was finished, Krishna-san’s body crumpled even further into the ground as if it was crushed by gravity. This time, she indeed sounded as if she was in pain. But—even though it might have been the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside, it still appeared as Krishna-san. I couldn't stand it any longer, and at some point, I slowly drew closer, when—

“You’ll get devoured.”

Sako’s words stopped my movements with a jerk.

Sako swept his hakama as he sat in the seiza position, and with his eyes half-closed, began a sonorous ritual prayer once more.

It was as if to tighten the air to make invisible signs, and rearrange the sounds of the world as if to make a hidden rhyme.

It made Krishna-san’s collapsed body writhe in pain and bounce up and down as if it were billowing.

--Amazing.

I didn’t quite know what was happening, but it was overwhelming, I thought.

--Just a little more… with just a little bit more, would things really turn out alright?

My heart began to throb with anticipation, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel safe just yet.

But—at that moment.

I suddenly noticed Yoishi, who had been silent all this time.

Yoishi’s cold gaze, her unresponsiveness after having coexisted together with the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body since that incident eleven years ago, made me feel a terrible premonition. I then recalled Sako’s words.

….Huh…just now, Sako said that this building was inside a barrier. Could it be that the so-called ‘everlasting night stone’ that was now possessing Krishna-san, would after being severed from her, simply return to Yoishi once more who was inside the barrier? Or was the pattern Sako drew just now at Krishna-san’s feet a new, different barrier altogether?

“Well, you see.”

As he continued making the signs with his fingers, Sako answered with his back still turned toward me, as if he had sensed my concern.

“In the unlikely chance the ‘everlasting night stone’ that detaches from Kurimoto-kun breaks this barrier and possesses you, I will kill you. If it possesses Yoishi-kun, I will kill her. If I fail to sever it, I will kill Kurimoto-kun. I would be deemed a murderer according to this country, but that is of no concern to me. The only way to teach it the concept of ‘death’ is to let it experience it while it is bound to some kind of body. Having said that, you all might be a bit reluctant—well do forgive me for that.”

….H, hey, you can’t be serious.

“But—you see. Don’t you think it strange?”

As I was dismayed, Sako declared to me amused.

“Why do you believe Yoishi-kun didn’t die even though eleven years have passed since that incident?”

“…………..Eh?”

“Why do you believe she used illogical methods to save you at times?”

“…………”

“That is because—”

Sako’s mouth twisted into a happy smile, and he spoke.

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ failed in its incarnation long ago.”

“……………………….”

“Eleven years ago, in this mansion, under a devilish plan, the heart of a child it believed it had completely destroyed was protected by a certain accident.”

“…….Accident? What do you mean accident?”

But without answering my question, Sako continued to speak.

“Call it an accident, inevitability, or you could even call it a miracle--- at any rate, it set up several atrocities to crush the young girl’s heart and create a hollow vessel, but it failed. But—this gives birth to a question. There was no need at all for Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun to be the only body the ‘everlasting night stone’ incarnated itself in.”

“………Eh?”

“There are probably a great many beautiful boys and girls in this world who have had a sorrowful upbringing, who excel at a spiritual disposition. The ‘everlasting night stone’ is pure malice boiled down to its essence, and its actions are always shaped by calculated malice, and if it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more. Its behavioral pattern is, if anything, almost refreshing. Despite that, on this occasion, it possessed ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ for eleven long years. Why do you think that is?”

I looked at Yoishi.

I looked at her pale, extremely well proportioned, calm face once more.

“That is because she dared to take the name of 『Yoishi』herself.”

“…………Ah.”

“’Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’. Despite failing to incarnate, the reason it clung to Yoishi was because she christened herself as 『Yoishi』, and stitched it into her own body to prevent it from escaping anywhere.”

Why did Yoishi need to use that name?

When I asked her that just a while ago—Yoishi answered that it was because she was the cause of all this. Because she was a life born from the violation of her mother by a complete stranger, and that was exactly why she was cursed before she was even born.

But…that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is true that it is far safer for everyone to know where the everlasting night stone is than not to know where it is.”

Sako spoke sadly.

“The young girl who willingly became the den for the ‘everlasting night stone’ was under the custody of the state for that very reason. She was implanted with a GPS tracker in her body, and was kept under surveillance twenty four hours a day: not allowed to die, and placed in a condition where she couldn’t have been said to be alive either.”

I recalled the face of that tall Noh-faced man.

Since I first met him, he kept referring to Yoishi as ‘that’— was that what he meant?

Did he only see her as a box of calamity that could not be opened?

“Y…you’ve gotta be kidding me….”

I looked at Yoishi in response to Sako’s words, who was listening with a vacant expression, and I shouted out loud unable to bear it anymore.

“That…that’s, absolutely wrong!”

“It’s not wrong. Everything has fallen into place in a very rational way, and a state of equilibrium has finally been achieved.”

“No… that’s completely wrong….what about her being left in a state of uncertainty where she’s nether dead or alive? Did a bunch of adults who should have known better not think of Yoishi’s feelings at all?”

“And by thinking---what would they achieve?”

At that moment, Yoishi’s whisper reached my ears.

“Could anyone do anything? No, there’s nothing that could be done. That’s why I decided not to feel anything. What I saw, the words I was exposed to, my changing environment — I decided to accept none of it, and just let it wash over me.”

“…That’s…”

I recalled her slender back, she walked alone as if she carried a heavy burden all by herself.

I recalled the way she lived her life, her head hung down with a stooped back, as she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

I recalled the way she stood still in the depths of eternal darkness all by herself, as her eyes coldly gazed at the paranormal of this world.

“At that time, at that age, under those circumstances--”

Sako spoke as he looked at Yoishi, narrowing his narrow eyes even further.

“It was a terrifyingly excellent decision to make. It would have been impossible for me to do the same. How painful must that have been?”

Suddenly, I realized Yoishi was gripping something tightly.

It was the stuffed frog Yoishi treasured as if it were a good luck charm.

Sako too, looked down towards the stuffed animal, and suddenly smiled. Then, for some reason, he looked at me, and this time, put on a smile of a wicked disposition.

“Well, thanks to several accidents—the life of a man who disgracefully ran away has also been rewarded.”

It was the moment he declared that.

--*Snap* *Crack*, I heard the sound of something splitting open here and there in the mansion.

I looked up, and it soon turned into a sound like a sharp, cracking sound of a dead tree snapping off—

And it felt, as if it changed to a high-pitched laugh.

As I thought about the thing I heard just now, and the meaning behind it, I shifted my gaze back at Sako in a daze.

……..Eh?

I saw scarlet at the center of Sako’s pale face. Before I realized, a streak of blood was trickling down Sako’s tall nose. Sako must have also noticed it, as he wiped the nosebleed with a vacant expression. However, the nosebleed that was trickling from Sako’s right nostril had now begun to trickle from his left nostril as well. The gooey blood started trickled down.

“….Hey, Sako….”

No, it wasn’t just through both nostrils. From his ears, his mouth, his eyes….at some point, blood had begun to drip through the holes in his hair follicles to the point where his entire hair was black and wet. Blood gushed from every orifice of his body without stopping, wetting his whole skin.

“Ah….”

Sako’s fingers were trembling and unable to form seals. Ony mere words of delirium were emitted from his lips that were poor in complexion.

“…..H…Hey, Sako………!”

I supported Sako’s body, which was on the verge of collapse. Sako’s body, which was violently shaking and about to fall, felt as light as air. And his white clothes were dyed deep red as if they had been crimson from the start.

“……..H, hey Sako! Stay with me!!”

“….Hu…..”

Those faint words that escaped Sako’s lips reached my ears.

“…….Humans…… can ne…ver…..win…..”

What the hell are you saying….?

I was about to say that, but that grumble did not become my voice.

Sako gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face, as he continued to speak with the utmost effort.

“…They just… do… lose...... Don’t...... even think...of winning….”

Are you complaining now of all times?

His abrupt proclamation of defeat made the pit of my stomach churn.

However, it was not so much that I was disgusted with him – but rather, it a feeling of regret for Sako who had hunted down the ‘everlasting night stone’ to this point. And, at the same time, I didn’t know what the meaning of simply spouting such words here. Did he already assess victory or defeat? Or was there some other meaning behind them?

“Hey, Sako!!”

Without knowing what to do, I foolishly kept screaming at Sako.

“…There’s… no chance you will win …. Who, or what…. Are you going to win against…?”

Sako tried to scratch at midair with no strength in his fingers.

I realized that his fingertips were aimed at Yoishi—

And, the moment I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi coldly fixated at Sako who was lying there covered in blood – Sako coughed a spurt of blood from his mouth, and his strength quietly disappeared in my arms.

“……..There’s no way—right?”

I looked at Sako’s face, who was stock still with his eyes slightly open—

And then, I turned to Yoishi.

“…..Y, Yoishi, do something! What should we do about Sako?”

She silently glimpsed at Sako’s immobile body,

“You can’t incarnate in me by destroying this person.”

Yoishi spun her words towards midair.

“Showing me people dying… doesn’t make me feel anything anymore.”

In response, the mansion creaked once more. *Crrrreeeak*

That strange sound—made Yoishi’s eyes slightly widen.

As if she had realized something, she suddenly turned to look in my direction.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak*

The old mansion was creaking.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaeak**Crrrreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeak*

The timber was chafing together, and it sounded like someone’s sneering laughter.

That’s right--- right now, someone was sneering somewhere.

In a loud shrill laugh, as if everything was going according to plan.

And I-- was merely standing in a daze in a world that was rapidly changing.

No, Sako’s words repeatedly swirled in my head, and I kept thinking about their meaning in a daze.

『The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’.』

『It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice.』

『Its actions are always shaped by calculated malice.』

『If it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more.』

…..Say.

''If''---that’s right, it was a question of ‘if’.

The fact that I met Yoishi Mitsurugi one year ago in that family restaurant.

The fact that I alone coincidentally happened to run into ‘Yoishi’ by accident after the ‘Ikaigabuchi’ offline meeting.

If, that wasn’t an accident….what would happen?

No, what if everything began long before that, the day I lost my mother? What if Yoishi becoming involved in the resolution, and even how Krishna-san linked it by saying, ‘From its start, it never had any malice’, was not an accident….?

Having met Yoishi, and feeling a debt of gratitude towards her—

Didn’t I end up feeling romance for ghosts? I became attracted to the scenery of the world beyond, and began to excitedly venture into the spirt world, and jumped into the flames of darkness with glee, like a moth that knows that it is not a place a living person can deal with, but jumps into the flames and gets burned. And, before I’d realized, that continued to chip away at the thread of my spirit, gradually thinning my connection to this world and leading me straight to hell. Meeting Krishna-san, meeting Sako, and even meeting Takamura--- What if all those encounters were calculated by someone else, and they transformed the unknown realm of the occult into something fascinating one step before I rejected it? And what if it that was something that foolishly made me think that I could, or rather, that I had to save the young girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi?

In the world that was being painted pitch black—I pictured her lonely face.

『Next time, if we meet again-- I’ll become your friend.』

『if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.』

『That person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.』

Eleven years ago, the ‘everlasting night stone’ failed to destroy Yoishi’s heart, Sako said that it had been stitched to Yoishi because she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ herself. But that wasn’t it--- not at all.

Wasn’t the ‘everlasting night stone’ patiently waiting for someone to appear for eleven years?

Could the occult loving university student: Nagito Yamada, possibly be—

An existence created only for the girl whose heart failed to be crushed, to grow in her the heart to ‘Trust people’ once more?

……..A………………

“ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I realized that thundering scream was my own.

Someone who Yoishi trusted.

Someone who Yoishi acknowledged as a ‘friend’.

Then, one after the other, it would sow the seeds that would lead to that someone and Yoishi deepening their connection, and when they mutually acknowledged each other as ‘war comrades’, it would destroy that someone.

Possessing Krishna-san, destroying Sako—was it all to destroy Nagito Yamada into smithereens in front of Yoishi? After she barely escaped being crushed eleven years ago, it planned to crush the faintest hope budding in her heart in the most ruthless way imaginable – and would finally be able to incarnate Yoishi’s body at long last?

A fear pierced through my entire being, as if I faced the thing that killed me in a past life—and I, pissed myself disgracefully.

“……Hey…. scared?”

At that moment—

A familiar voice like a ringing bell reached my ears.

--Everything… is in reverse.

Next to me, the young girl who had lost her emotions sneered.

With long black hair that gently waved, a monster was there with a pale face and dark colored eyes.

The scenery I once saw,

The ghost stories I had once read.

Among them must have been illusions in my mind created by fear.

Before I realized, there was a staircase behind me. On the landing of the staircase was a middle-aged man in a gray, worn suit, staring at me with a hollow expression. Under the bed was a woman with a white face, and a bluish-white hand that sprouted from the dark mud wall. An old woman with clouded white eyes was leaning against my back, and countless white faces floated in the sky. Sinister words scrawled in an old book pointed to a graveyard that spread out all over, while a corpse that stood on the sea was connected to a pair of high heels placed behind a guard rail left by a woman laughing in the mountains. A broken doll turns into a wriggling thing at the water’s edge, the wheelchair of an abandoned hospital squeaks and squeals as it swirls and disappears into the sky, and the shiny thing in the tornado is an alien vehicle.

You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well neither do I. I was merely describing what I saw with my eyes, as my brain felt it. Aa—Ahh, that’s right. My mind must have been on the verge of breaking down. My head must have exceeded its allowed tolerance of fear. Up until now, Krishna-san solved most things for me. More dangerous things were somehow managed by Sako. And Yoishi vaguely dealt with things I didn’t quite understand. But, those were all events on a rail laid by an ancient entity acting through malice, and I was, according to expectation, according to plan, completely afraid, and with my collapse, Yoishi too would collapse, auspiciously allowing Yoishi to transform into the ‘everlasting night stone’. The cackling and sneering black haired young girl next to me was that.

Which meant that, everything was already---

Over---

--When.

….No.

….Wait a minute…..

If Yoishi was already broken, and ended up turning into the ‘everlasting night stone’….then... What of me who was thinking right now? Did being broken mean only this much? Were these the last few normal thoughts that remined in my illogical self-consciousness? I didn’t know, but what were these thoughts that I was still thinking and feeling anyway?

Those vague doubts—

Changed the scenery in an instant.

They continued to clear away the darkness, and slowly returned my vision back to the original world.

I was still standing still in the storage room, and in front of me was Krishna-san who lay collapsed, and a bloodstained Sako. And next to me was Yoishi, dumbfounded, her empty gaze wandering at midair. There was no sign of the ‘everlasting night stone’ anywhere in the dim, dark and cramped room.

“…..Yoishi.”

I reached out my wobbly hand, gripped her hand, and spoke.

“….C, can you walk?”

Yoishi looked at me in a daze, and shook her head thereafter.

“….Come on, just walk. Let’s get out of here… let’s go outside, and call for help. If we call for an ambulance, Sako might still be--”

“—It’s impossible.”

Yoishi spoke with an expression that was clear, and heartrendingly painful.

At that moment, I noticed it.

Next to Yoishi, a white haze hung over.

There were four mists there, as if they enveloped Yoishi. And in my retinas, they gradually formed some kind of shape—and stood silently as if encompassing Yoishi. I quickly understood that it was people for some reason. And, I had an intuition that I knew these people. It felt as if I had once, somewhere, watched over them as if they were my real family…but, ahh, I knew it, I’ve started to collapse again. I realized that fact somewhere in my consciousness, but I still couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That was because—

I could now see a gentlemanly gray-haired man next to Yoishi. Next to him, I saw was a cheerful woman, a tomboyish girl with a smile on her face, and a cute brown dog at her feet. As they gradually took form, my vision gradually blurred. And those words spontaneously came from my mouth.

--I’m sorry……

I felt an overwhelming regret and fell to my knees on the spot. If I had only—if I had only been a little bit smarter. If I could have done something a little better. The feeling of cursing myself for my helplessness continued to well up inside me. I wiped away the tears that overflowed, and raised my head—

“……………”

I saw what looked like a straw rope fastened around the man’s neck. Looking closely at the mother, I saw that her body was dismembered. The girl had a knife still stuck at the base of her throat, and the small dog’s stomach was split open, its entrails fallen out. Yet despite that, the four hazy figures that had taken form remained standing, as if they enveloped Yoishi.

…..Are…. they ghosts?

At last, was I-- seeing the ghosts I had once longed to see so much?

And I realized what an unbelievably sad thing they were. Ghosts were in no way a thing to be feared. They were not something terrifying. They were completely and utterly heartbreaking things. Unable to be seen, unable to speak, they are just there. And, just seeing Yoishi Mitsurugi at ease surrounded by those ghosts evoked a pain that was enough to split my heart into two.

As the tears flowed without end from my eyes--my right elbow suddenly tinged in pain. And that ache seemed to ache in and out as it grew more painful. It became an unbearable pain, and I finally realized that it was a furious rebuke. It felt as if I heard Karasu-san’s voice right by my ear.

“….Don’t….give up yet… Think…”

I wiped away my tears, and at the same time I gritted my teeth, frantically encouraged my brain.

In the boundary between reality and fiction, between this world and the world beyond, I still mobilized my full consciousness to think.

The reason I came here…The meaning of why Sako made me come here.

Wasn’t I yet to find out why that was?

Think, think. Think until your mind is scorched, me. Sako said, 『‘Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’』, and Krishna-san had said, 『To wear the W in witch, would ultimately mean to forget who you are』. Which meant that regaining one’s original name was supposed to erase the worn ‘W’—no, was it the other way around….? That’s right….When she christened herself as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ and bound the ‘everlasting night stone’, wasn’t she herself was bound at the same time?

Didn’t she end up defined as a dweller of this world and the world beyond?

“So that means I need to find her real name after all--”

In my cloudy consciousness, I told Yoishi, “Stay there”, and ran out.

I mustered all my remaining strength, ran through the corridor, and jumped into the living room.

It was possible—that Yoishi’s true name was written down on something in this mansion.

I went to the kitchen and turned over the cups. For example, I thought that there would be cups for each of the family members, and a young Yoishi would have her name inscribed on that—but there was nothing there. ‘All that remains is’, I turned to face the hearth. On top of it was the polaroid photograph taken of the family. It was creepy that the other family members who died had their faces warped white somehow, but I slowly drew close to that photograph.

In old family photographs, there would be stuff like dates and names of the people in the photo written on the back. That was how it was for my family. So maybe this one was the same. That must have been the reason why Sako made me come all the way here. I’m sure Yoishi’s true name is there. It had to be. I would find that, and tell it to her; She, who ended up losing her place in the boundary between this world and the world beyond. I would declare to her with all my strength that she was a dweller of this world.

I placed my hand on the photograph, suppressing my throbbing heartbeat and rushing emotions.

But, as I was about to slowly lift it up—

I suddenly felt weak.

What if it wasn’t here…..? No, no, it had to be here.

After all, if it wasn’t here… then there would be nowhere else to search in this mansion. Believe it….it, must be there.

I took a deep breath.

And the moment I flipped over the photograph.

--*Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek*… The mansion rang.

The sneering laughter of a manly voice coldly pierced me, and flooded inside me.

Reflected in my eyes, there was nothing in the back of the photograph.

I couldn’t even see a stain in the blank space that had turned yellow—

And the world dyed in darkness in an instant.

◯

Dark.

Darkness.

A dark world—no matter where you looked.

How much darkness did this world have, and how many colors of ‘black’ did it have…?

It felt as if I had seen a lot of ‘black’ in this one year.

Enough ‘black’ to stop my thoughts.

Enough ‘black’ that seemed to suck me in forever.

And, enough ‘black’ that seemingly melted my body and thoughts in it.

But the ‘black’ that now spread before my eyes was different from all of them.

To put it ostentatiously, the ‘black’ that was the primordial of this world, where nothing else existed yet—that might have been how it felt. But, there was a strange calmness and tranquility. A boundless ‘black’, as if I was in space, in what must have once had countless planets. It truly made me feel at ease. I didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to think about anything anymore—

「Did you have fun?」

Suddenly, I heard a low voice from somewhere. I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t fun at all, I answered.

「Isn’t hiding behind people, and tricking people so much fun?」

I was asked that once again, and I answered that it was just you.

But the truth is—from somewhere in my heart, I ended up thinking that it might have been a bit fun. If you were to trick someone with ease, if you were to continue tricking them for the rest of my life, then that might have indeed been a bit necessary. For example, say there was someone not really blessed with singing skills, yet they can’t help but sing because they love it, and you’d tell them for the fun of it, “You’re really talented”. They would be so happy and delighted, innocently believe those words and keeps on singing. People would laugh behind their back, but still that person would willingly believe it, and continue to sing willingly. They would willingly mistake people’s laughter as being happy at their singing. But here’s what I think. Is a song that continues to be willingly sung for the sake of others, even if it lacks talent, truly worthless? Does the pure feeling of love not reside in the song? Certainly, the first words may have been malicious. However, that which began as malice might be overturned by pure feelings, and might one day become the real thing?

「Then, let’s play a trick.」

The low voice spoke once more.

‘In this world, there are only those who dance and those who make others dance to their tune, and if one were to play the part of those who play the tune—if they were to learn the joy of playing the flute, then there would be no going back’, the voice spoke.

‘Ah, I see. That may be true’, I thought.

But, I---

I knew the joy of dancing, after all. I was always on the dancing side in the festivals in my hometown. I would empty my heart and match my movements with the people around me. The pleasure of synchronizing with others made me want to raise my voice in joy. When our eyes met, we would laugh at each other, and before I realized, I would be thankful for the friends I had. Under this vast, endless night sky, I would be thankful I had friends who laughed at the same things, and who were saddened at the same things. To trick such friends would surely pain my heart. I don’t think I would want to be on the side of those who play tricks, even if I were the one who was tricked.

‘Then I ask you’, the voice asked.

Do you think parents would happily give birth to a child, if they knew in advance that the child would be born handicapped? If they found out that the child was handicapped after birth, would the parents be able to love that child normally?

That was…

That was a difficult question.

Antitrypsin deficiency—I was born with that kind of body, and suffered from infantile asthma, and ended up causing a lot of trouble and worry to my parents and the people around me. Why was I alone born with such a body? When I was a child, I often wondered when I used to cry all by myself in the corner of the room. Knowing that pain, if I were asked whether I would give birth to a handicapped child… I think I would indeed hesitate to death.

In response, ‘Right?’, the voice said.

In times like that, to be completely tricked would be merciful. To abort the child, or to be told that it’s a lovely child even with the handicap. People do not act until there is a reward in front of them. They can’t even move their feet forward unless they have a feeling that there is something fun ahead. It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right? Or they’re narcissists who love themselves for trying.

Is that so….?

Was my mother like that as well….?

‘Obviously’, answers the voice.

「They really love themselves for trying. They are drunk on it. If that wasn’t the case, could she have taken care of your labored breathing be it mealtime or the middle of the night?」

….Is that so….? No…. That might have been the case.

‘Hey, tell me’, the voice said. ‘How many lives do you think are abandoned each year by those who are not ready to be parents? How many reported cases of parents killing their own children? A parent is nothing more than a title, a temporary designation. Everyone is just an animal that thinks first and foremost of their own happiness. Why should I have to raise a child I do not love? Why do I have to raise them even as they chip away against my time, my soul? Is it social responsibility? What you would call moral responsibility? Say, just what is society? Isn’t something like that nothing more than a system to reduce quarrels as much as possible? No matter how, and no matter how many lids you put on it, problems will always continue to happen. That is your history, problems happen by default. To accept that and to live, what is wrong with that? If that’s the case—wouldn’t it be smarter to be on the side that causes the problems?’

I…could understand that.

Human history is filled with problems, and even after all this time, the problems have only increased.

I know that there were as many definitions of parenthood as there were parents. And I know that there are broken parents in this world who have never even thought of the concept of parenthood. But—despite that, there is still one act that every parent definitely does for their child. That is: to give them a name filled with all their hopes and wishes, right? Isn’t that—why names are so precious?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha! The voice suddenly burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know. How many parents do you think are out there who give their children names that inspire neither hopes nor dreams? How many names do you think there are that have nothing but the malice of their parents? Hey, can you really turn a blind eye to that? You might say that it would be fine if you change your name once you become an adult? No, It’s useless. No matter how much you try to forget the name you’ve been christened with once, it will definitely be bound to you in some shape or form for the rest of your life. That is the curse of a name. You heard it too, didn’t you? She was cursed before she was born. A life born by the violation of her mother by brats abroad! She was never wanted, not in the least! Once born, the event they'd rather have forgotten takes a form that haunts them for the rest of their lives. There’s no way she would ever be wanted!’

I was-- at a loss of words in the end, with no rebuttal.

In this mansion….I thought I would try to learn her true name. I thought that if she were to at least reclaim her rightful name, the ‘W’ that coiled around her would be exorcised. But right now, to be honest….I was afraid. I was afraid to discover her true name.

If, by some chance, there was no feeling of hopes or dreams in it, and was instead a thing filled with malice, then what? What if her endless pain and torment continued the moment she took back her true name? There have been so many things done with good intentions that push people into distress. How could I say that I wasn’t making the same mistake right now? Moreover, Sako had said that she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ to bind the ‘everlasting night stone’, but….what if that wasn’t the case, and she instead took it because she actually detested her true name?

Thereupon…a thought suddenly came to mind.

Couldn’t she stay as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ as she had up until now?

That would mean she would still have that callous, Noh-faced father as a guardian in name only, not have a place at home where she belonged, would keep going around haunted places where her eyes would glow, would throw up at times, and would complicate complicated matters even further, but—even so, that wasn’t the worst outcome, right? I would be there, and Krishna-san too, as well as everybody in ‘Ikaigabuchi’. If she at least opened her heart properly, she could lead a fun occult life. There would be no need to remind her that she was born cursed and undesired—

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

Could it be, the thing Sako spoke of, 『You will be compelled to make a choice』…

And, the thing Takako Takamura spoke of, 『You’ll be forced to make the final choice』, it was—

About this…?

If she were to regain her true name, she would arrive in this world while still having the scent of the world beyond.

If she were to remain as Yoishi Mitsurugi, she would live in the world beyond while remaining in this world.

…What…should I do?

The world continued to grow darker. The darkness continued to silently spread out.

As if the ground beneath my feet were filled by dark colored water, I eventually came to believe that there was only one answer.

「I want… to stay with her like this forever.」

「I want to be together with Yoishi Mitsurugi.」

Right, I was about to say it out loud.

When the wound on my right elbow, throbbed with pain once more.

The pain kept repeating like a drum being beaten and became a rhythm as it throbbed and throbbed.

Definite sounds that formed words. They became a rhythm, and made me remember what Karasu-san had once said.

---Yes, deep breaths.

When I came to… I saw that Karasu-san was there, with that nostalgic smile of hers.

Her lustrous black hair dangled down to her cheeks, and she was leaning close to me crouched down, as if she were peering inside me.

--Take a dee—ep breath in, then hold. Yes, slowly let it out--- Repeat that three times.

My vision blurred with tears at those cheerful words that were out of place.

And, before long, I repeated my breathing as I was told. I breathed, and exhaled. I exhaled as much as I could, and inhaled as much as I could.

『You'd better remember.』

『Your fear most likely comes from forgetting to breathe.』

『If the fear inside you intensifies, then like now, make sure you're breathing properly.』

『No matter what kind of paranormal lies ahead of you, you’ll definitely make it through somehow.』

‘But’, I spoke. Despite that, I still don’t know if I’m supposed to find Yoishi’s true name. I end up thinking that it’s better not to find it.

—Eh? I think you already have the answer to that.

I was surprised I was somehow able to carry on a conversation with Karasu-san from my memories—

However, as if clinging to that, I added a question, “What do you mean?”

--After all, the two of us… in the world we peeked at in those hellish days. Didn’t you decide that you would bring that back with you? After having gone through so much, being unable to do anything but witness the cruel destruction of a family, there was still something you desperately brought back with you, right?

Brought back……? I did? What……?

--It should be firmly engraved on you, Nagi-kun.

--It should be engraved on your soul.

Despite that, I still didn’t know, and was in dismay, when….

Exasperated, Karasu-san’s voice echoed kindly for one last time.

---Then, I’ll do it one last time.

--''*Throb*''

My right elbow ached once more.

--*Throb*, *throb*, *throb*…. That throbbing continued to grow stronger.

It was as if— my adult-self was tired of searching, and my child-self pointed it out to me with a smile, and the warmth and stimulation grew.

“…Ah….ahhhhh.”

In an instant, I was struck by lightning together and a terrible sound rang inside me, with the light running through me.

Goosebumps ran through every cell in my body, an unspecialized base sequence in the genome that was called junk, awoke. As if guided by something, it synthesized in succession, and began to build that hidden meaning.

The hanging mansion that manifested in my vision.

The old and grubby living room. The dusty counter.

As I regained reality with my right eye, a different timeline of the same place was synchronized as white hazy scenery in my left eye.

Appearing hazily—as if gliding in midair, that scenery continued to flow through me.

Before I realized, I was running.

--It can’t be….it can’t be.

I ran to the front door with enough force that I almost fell down, and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that was there.

I rolled up my shirt, uncovered my right elbow, and—saw it through the mirror.

What I thought was an ugly scar that did not heal for a long time, was not a scar at all.

I thought it had ended up becoming a bruise, but it was not a bruise.

『Miko Hanamura』

The bruise that was inverted in the mirror—

Had been engraved on my skin, in letters.

In an instant, the scenery I had once seen somewhere with my left eye transformed into a torrent and rushed into my brain. The amount of information was so vast and extreme that it could not be processed by my brain specifications— it flowed past me from one scene to the next, with no time to recognize it. Even so, I was still able to burn several scenes in my mind. Among the endless flashes, a fatherly figure laughed as he held a baby in his arms. A motherly figure cried as she embraced a toddler. A tomboyish young girl who looked like a middle schooler laughed as she pulled the hand of a girl with black hair and fair skin. The baby, the toddler, the fair skinned young girl—I recognized all of them as 『Miko Hanamura』. Without a doubt, at every moment, 『Miko Hanamura』 was loved.

“…………….Ah.”

Before I realized, I was in the hanging mansion, but something was different.

It was not a dusty, cobwebbed ruin. It was a clean, brand new mountain retreat with the light of the sunlight shining in.

Feeling dazzled, I continued to the living room in a daze. I heard lots of laughter coming from the nearby garden. I opened the sash and stepped out to the garden—to see a family so happy they were clad in light. In front of the barbecue was a gentle looking man, a bright woman and a cheery young girl….and, Miko Hanamura who was a child. Miko had a kind, delighted smile on her face.

“—Miko.”

I called her name.

“You…were called Miko Hanamura?”

In response, the beautiful black haired young girl with fair skin looked in my direction. It felt like we met eye to eye after a long time, after a truly long time. I was so overjoyed, so relieved, that tears gradually swelled up and began to spill.

“Miko, let’s go back.”

I reached out my hand to her, and the young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She slowly took one look back, looked back at me and shook her head.

“Miko, listen to me. This place—it’s not here anymore. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

But, a young girl drew close next to Miko, and gripped her hand. For some reason, I knew that girl’s name was ‘Kii-chan’. She looked at me with a fierce expression, as if to say she wouldn’t let her precious best friend go anywhere.

Behind them, the father was smiling. The mother gently put her hand on Miko’s shoulder. The elder sister took one step ahead with her eyebrows raised as if to protect her younger sister from me. The dog at Miko’s feet growled at me.

Looking at that—

A gentle whisper escaped my lips, ‘I see.’

And, as I was tossed around mercilessly by the warm feelings that swept over, I declared.

“….I’m glad….You were really…loved after all.”

“…Yeah.”

“Miko—that’s a really nice name.”

The tears continued to spill.

“If I remember correctly... the word『Mi彌』 means the『light that shines universally』 in Buddhism.”
“…Is, that right?”

“Yeah. I know someone who knows a lot about that stuff, so there’s no doubt about it. That’s why…that’s why.”

My voice trembled with tears, but I desperately managed to squeeze it out.

“I’m sure that the person who gave you that name wished to maintain a relationship with you forever. Regardless of how you were born, they wished that connection would last for all of eternity.”

“…..Yeah.”

“…So, listen up.”

I wiped away the tears, and raised my voice as best as I could.

“You are in no way cursed. You’re not abhorred by anyone. Being cursed—is just being lost on the inside. So… let’s go back. This place is no longer here.”

“….But.”

Miko smiled once at Kii-chan, before letting go of her hand and took a step towards me, and spoke.

“I feel comfortable here; I think it’s the place I belong. Papa, mama, onee-chan, Kii-chan, Leo—and even Mr. Inspector is here.”

Hearing that, I looked towards the back, to see a somewhat nostalgic man with gray hair and a smile on his face.

Her father, mother, older sister, best friend and pet dog—everyone was smiling, and stood behind Miko as if protecting her. Then, I heard a click behind me. I turned around to see Sako in a gray, dull, worn-out suit, taking a picture with an old polaroid camera. He then took out the photo, and handed me the photograph that was exposed to the light.

The photograph must have been the original photograph placed atop the hearth in the real ‘hanging mansion’ earlier. However, the faces of the family had no longer disappeared. The faces that had been stretched and twisted in white in midair were now beautifully cropped, with the smiling faces in front of me.

“……..I see.”

I muttered once more.

It felt as if I had been listening to someone’s sneering laughter echo all this time—

I had even realized that it belonged to the ‘everlasting night stone’, but I thought there was nothing I could do.

I understood that Miko would be swallowed by the world beyond if this continued. But, there was nothing someone like me could do. To tear away Miko away from this warm world, was something—I couldn’t do.

And that's when it happened.

I noticed something emerging in the photograph.

The polaroid photograph still hadn’t been fully sensitized. Her father, mother, elder sister and Miko were smiling kindly, and the dog at their feet looked happy as well. But—there was something else there. On Miko’s left end, a white haze emerged, which should not have been in the picture. As if to embrace a young Miko, that white haze gradually continued exposing---and eventually, took on an impossible form.

….Ahh.

At that moment, I realized the true reason why I came here.

I realized the meaning of the vast swirl of information that came surging into my head.

I realized why Sako had called me to this mansion—and why he handed me this photograph just now.

In the picture that transcended generations—

Nagito Yamada stood there, as if protecting Miko Hanamura.

The figure that decided to stand by her side no matter what cruel reality he had to face, was as if looking in the mirror at a different me. For the first time, I felt pride at myself—it made me feel a sublime will. The answer to the question posed to me earlier in the darkness welled up in my chest as I saw my own face. An answer to the voice that said, ‘It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right?’ I lost sight of myself since I was asked that question, but--

No, there is one more impetus that drives people forward.

There was something else in this world that wasn’t just greed, reward, or narcissism.

“—I got it, Miko.”

The meaning of the scenery that swirled round and round my head, continued to dissolve. The me of eleven years ago and the me of the present dissolved and merged. I was thankful for that fate and spoke the answer that I extracted from my soul, without any doubts.

“Then, I’ll stay here as well.”

Miko looked at me again with a start.

“I will never leave you to die again. I won’t stand by and let you go through something like that again.”

“………”

“Why, you ask? Because you were the first person to call me a friend. Even when I was adrift in the sea of endless despair with nowhere to go, you gave me a place to stay.”

“………A.”

“Although my email got garbled midway through.”

“………A…aaaa…..”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely protect you.”

“Yes, I was Mr. Frog back then.”

The moment I declared those words.

The sky roared, and split apart.

Somewhere, it felt as if I heard an ear-splitting scream.

At the same time, a series of low rumbling sounds reverberated deep beneath my feet, and eventually turned into subterranean rumbling that overlapped with the beating of my heart. My teeth were rattling so hard I couldn’t breathe. And I understood that I had broken a rule established by a great, great being in a far higher dimension. This might be the end for me as well—but I was prepared for that.

Why was it….? Ah, dammit, I had tried to show off and ended up saying that, but as usual my teeth were clattering, and my legs were trembling on the verge of collapse. After all this time, I realized that I was the guy with the stinky pants who had pissed himself earlier. And, the place I stood was the ruins of a mountain retreat that was now called the hanging mansion—I was in front of the hearth, and I found that the one in front of me was the Yoishi Mitsurugi of the present---no, I knew she was Miko Hanamura.

The high school girl with porcelain-white skin, long black hair swaying in the air, and dressed in the funeral-like uniform of the Koumei Institute, was merely trembling.

In her vacant eyes, countless paranormal events were now swirling around. The hundreds, the thousands of paranormal events she had experienced in the past --- no, if you were to include the ones she had read on the internet or in books then it would be in the tens of thousands. Therein, was the horror she should have truly felt. Those emotions she had become numb to, which had been stored somewhere in her brain, were all surging into Miko’s small forehead all at once.

“…This…is the feeling of fear…..”

The irises of her eyes shook, welled up, and a trickle of tears spilled down.

“It’s disturbing… not knowing…. not being able to explain….it’s just…just….disturbing….”

I nodded.

“….I’m alive….I…am alive….”

Miko covered her face with both hands. At that moment, something she must have held back for a long, long, eternity, finally broke free.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, all her emotions broke free, and she cried out. Her voice was like that of a newborn, defenseless baby. I held her slender body close to me, as if to protect the pure soul that had just been born into this cruel world. I hugged her tightly, as if to show that to the pure malice that I could not see, which might have still been nearby. [[File:Phenomeno-vol6-3.jpg|thumb]]

“….I’m alive….I am… alive….”

“….Yes. You are truly alive. And you should keep on living step by step. Live as long as you can for the ones who have gone before you—”

And after that you can die in peace—I was about to say that.

“……..I’m scared.”

Miko whispered in my chest.

“I’m scared to go on living…the countless paranormal things are scary as well…the voice in the wall, the smiling dolls, shadows in the reflection, the person with only legs, the man in the gutter, the will -o’-the-wisp, the box in the storehouse, people disappearing in the sky—in this---in such a scary world….how did you live this far….how should I live…?”

“Hahaha.”

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like I could finally talk with her about the real paranormal things. It felt like I could teach her that while some ghost stories circulating this world were really dangerous, they were also full of romance and mysterious charm.

When—at that moment.

I thought the ground still felt like it was shaking because I was a coward, or because I was embracing a high school girl, but…. I realized that it was neither of those things.

“H….heyy, Yoi….no, Miko!”

I yelled seeing the creaking wall swell up and down.

“It’s an earthquake! Shit, it’s a big one.”

The building slowly swayed from side to side, and eventually began to rattle and shake little by little.

“Run away, Miko! This run-down building is dangerous. I’ll get Krishna-san.”

After saying that, I pushed Miko, whose face was still soggy in tears, toward the direction of the front door, and then staggered and swayed as I ran down the corridor. At the back of the corridor, the storage room floor was covered entirely with Sako’s blood. I bowed my head once to Sako who had already passed away, “I’m sorry”, and lifted Krishna-san’s body, who lay collapsed and unconscious, and carried her on my shoulder. I then furiously rushed toward the front door. The shaking quickly grew even more violent, and I staggered and hit the wall, but still clenched my teeth as I broke through the front door and jumped outside. I slowly laid Krishna-san a little further away from the building, and gasped.

There was no one in my surroundings.

Miko, who should have left the building before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey…Miko!”

I called out at the top of my voice, but there was no reply.

The shaking grew even more ferocious, and I understood that the building would completely flatten. I clicked my tongue once, left Krishna-san there and jumped back inside the building. “Miko!” As I yelled, I looked around and saw that she was in a daze in the living room.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get out of here!”

The moment I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, I realized that Miko was staring at that photograph in front of the hearth.

“The first picture… the two of us took together.”

“Well, that’s true but.”

“But…you were a ghost.”

“Shut it, let’s go, if you wanna take that photo then hurry up and do it!”

I called out to Miko who had been standing motionless in front of the photograph for who knows how long, when it happened.

A terrible *creeeeeak* rang out, and the building bent. It felt as if a giant hand grasped the building from the outside, and at the same time— a sound like a low male voice reverberated throughout the building.

--*Gigigigigigigigigigigigigi*

It was as if it were a sneering voice—as if it were a wailing voice.

Together with that detestable sound, the beams of the ceiling twisted to an absurd degree. Dust was rising and falling down like rain. There were five of them— they felt like giant fingers of something. From the depths of darkness—a malice-stained, corrupted hand reached out from the depths of this world called hell.

Give her back.

It reached straight for Miko—

“Don’t fucking mess with me.”

I howled.

“I will never let go again. She is a fragment of my soul. And, my--”

I yelled a scream that would not lose to the thunderous roar of the collapsing beams.

“My precious wife!”

In an instant—

My vision muddled white, and a sharp stinging pain ran down my shoulders. It was as if, I knew the building would collapse all at once, like in the Fafrotskies phenomenon. I instantly covered Miko’s body to protect her from the falling debris of the building. One after another, building material fell on my back, biting into my skin, and crushing my bones. In the midst of the sound that split my ears— it seemed to me as if I had been caught in the hand of the ‘everlasting night stone’.

“L-let go.”

The world continued to darken.

The faint hope was fading away.

The moment I screamed in the midst of overwhelming despair that filled my heart.

''“Ayana Takamura.”''

Under my arms, Miko Hanamura roared her last lines as “Yoishi Mitsurugi”.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

At that moment, somewhere far above in the sky, something opened its eyes.

“I’ll give you the best thing you wished for.”

“’Yoishi’ called out to those eyes.

“So-- don’t ever come close to this person, ever again.”

《OK》

That must have been the last illusion I saw in my fading consciousness.

Ayana Takamura’s giant head that appeared from the void—

--*Crunch*, it ate something.

And in the world that had grown dark once more, those clear, boyish words echoed through the air.

“The fear held by the root of fear or something ---it was truly a delicious meal.”

◯

In the silent, pitch-black rubble—

After finishing the long, endless story, she might have finally remembered everything.

Yoishi Mitsurugi, or rather, Miko Hanamura muttered, “…..Right….yeah…that’s right….”

“Did you remember?”

I managed to reply with that somehow as I put up with the pain in my immobile body.

But I felt somewhat embarrassed, even though I only talked about what happened just a while ago, about what might have been the biggest occultic thing to happen in my life, I ended up talking about it all the way to when I declared her my ‘wife’. For a while, we were both silent in the darkness.

“…You, really.”

“…….Hm?”

I thought she might have been embarrassed in her own way—

“….are a fool.”

She said so in his usual tone,

“S, shut up, jerk.”

I retorted in an instant, but I felt embarrassed once more, and was unable to say anything after that.

Darkness and silence fell once more, and I noticed that the pain was slowly getting worse. I slowly wiped the sweat off my forehead while trying to hide it from Miko, and clenched my teeth to endure the pain.

Thereupon, Miko muttered something to me.

“Back then—”

“…..Eh?”

“I understood how ghosts felt. When you were delirious in the hospital room, when you had your cognition of me sealed away.”

“….A, ahh.”

“To exist there and to not be recognized—it’s an unbelievable darkness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“….It was so dark. Pitch black darkness so awful… that it might be the most terrible darkness there is.”

“…I said I’m sorry.”

“……But.”

“……….”

“But if you hadn’t protected been in that way—you would have fallen apart. And perhaps my heart wouldn't have lasted either. In that sense…it might be something to be thankful for.”

“……….”

It was thanks to Krishna-san, and Sako. Come to think of it, Sako was…crushed underneath, huh? What about Krishna-san? I placed her a little further away from the building, but was she alright? As I thought such things, it suddenly felt like my head became misty white. I was still lying down, but I felt terribly dizzy as if had lost my sense of equilibrium.

--Damn, could this be….dehydration? Or an infection from the wounds in my legs, back or head. Dammit, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. In times like these, the worst thing to do would be to lose hope.

I thought that, but the only one who knew we were here was Sako, and unless Krishna-san, who was lying outside, didn’t regain consciousness safely and instantly grasp hold of the situation and call for help, then there was no hope for us. This was terrible. We finally managed to get rid of the ridiculously dangerous monster that scattered malice for so long, but our chances of survival were infinitesimally small.

“H-hey, Miko, try to smile.”

Impatient, I made that absurd request towards the other side of the darkness. And what came back to me in reply was a voice with a deep-seated reluctance, “Ehh?”

“Come on, I’m begging you.”

“Even if I were to smile in a place like this, you can't see it.”

“Well, that’s true, but—no, just try it! Smile for me. I’m scared. I'm so pathetic I can't help it, but I'm scared. If I were to be cheered up somehow…right, if I don’t see your smile, then I’m going to lose heart. Look, listen up. A smile is more precious than anything else in this world. Nothing bad happens to a person who is smiling happily. A nice smile is a present that will make everyone happy. So, please. My hopes are fading, so give me the best smile you can as a present! I’m begging you!”

In response, Miko kept silent for a while and spoke.

“………..Ah…..so that’s how it was….”

“……Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the same for ‘Gandame’.”

“…Ga, Gandame…?”

“’Gandame’ and ‘Yousen-boy’… they might have been trying to deliver us hope. Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.”

My impassioned speech took a strange turn, and I was about to give up.

“…..I’ll try to….smile.”

Suddenly, Miko agreed.

“…I don’t know if you’ll be happy though.”

“Ohh, really?”

“……….”

“…..Hey, did you smile already?”

“………”

“…Is it alright…if I can feel it?”

In my vague consciousness, I bumped my trembling hand against the wood here and there—and slowly reached out my hand. I reached out my arm in the direction of the voice, towards Miko’s cheeks. My fingertips touched something soft—

It happened at that moment.

Heeeeeeeey, I heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

For a moment, it was a voice so faint I thought it might have been an auditory hallucination—but, I definitely felt like I heard it.

I strained my ears,

“……Heyyyyyyyy, is anyone alive?!”

It was the voice of a man I didn’t recognize. And it was followed by the voice of a different man, “Make a voice, or even a sound! If you can make it, then do it!” I desperately twisted my head to face up, and I saw a flicker of light in between the gaps of the timber somewhere.

Ohh, my hopes skyrocketed in an instant.

“….Over here! We’re over here! We’re alive! We’re alive!!”

I desperately raised my voice, and instantly a huge amount of dust invaded my throat, and I coughed violently.

But, there were shouts of joy right near me, “Oooohh!”, “This way!”, it felt as if the sound of several footsteps drew closer.

In my fading consciousness—the roof and lumber were being moved aside one by one. The air suddenly began to move, and thick oxygen brushed against my nostrils. The light began to pour down on me, which must have been the flashlights of the rescue team. As I was illuminated by that light—I saw it. Just fifty centimeters or so away from me, I saw a face so beautiful and lovely that she felt out of this world.

Miko Hanamura was looking kindly at me with clear eyes that had lost their dark color.

“…Miko.”

The moment I spoke her name in embarrassment, the last piece of timber imprisoning us was removed. The rescue team clad in orange lifted it up with their thick arms.

“Are you alright? Are you conscious? Your wounds?”

I was asked in rapid succession, but I guess he knew right away.

“Lacerations on the left leg! This is terrible---Ah, large abrasions on the back and the arms …get a stretcher right away!”

--Hey, hey, don’t scare me now.

I mean, I'm going to cause my sister and the others to worry again, as I thought that, I spotted the adorable baby face beyond the rescue team. Her hair was a little disheveled, but the petite former occult site manager was looking my way with tears filled in her eyes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Foolish thought it might have been, that was all the greeting I could muster.

I then turned to look at Miko who was right below me. I was about to smile at her, to tell her that we had been saved, but-

Thereupon, I realized that Miko was slightly out of position from where I was. In her right hand, she clutched the stuffed frog as if to protect it, and in her left hand, she clutched that polaroid photograph. It seemed she had almost let go of them when the ceiling collapsed, but desperately shifted her body to take them back. No, I understood that much, but.

“…Hey, Miko, what is that?”

I asked, suddenly noticing a strange foreign object.

I stared at that strange object, and vaguely thought about its meaning.

It was—the sharp, pointed fragment of a broken pillar.

And, right now, it was growing like an object from Miko Hanamura’s chest.

“Hey…Miko….”

I asked her once more, when the rescue team pulled me out in a hurry, and shifted their attention to Miko.

“Wai…”

Wait a minute. Let me see her.

I wanted to say that, but my body ached all over, and no voice came out.

“CPR!! Hurry!!”

I heard that voice. Three members of the rescue party moved the timber, opened the hole even wider and pulled out Miko’s body. They then placed her in the stretcher meant for me, carried her to a level ground a short distance away, where the paramedics there began to perform CPR on her.

“It’s no good, Get the AED!”

Someone shouted that out loud, but an older paramedic stopped them.

With a somber look on his face, he gently shook his head and spoke.

“She—has already passed away.”

“…It must have been an instant death. Judging from the liver mortis that’s already set in, the time of death must have been around twenty-four hours ago….”

“….Inst….Twenty four hours….?”

I finally managed to let out a cry, and dragged my aching leg as I got up.

I dragged myself, and crawled towards Miko.

“Hey, there’s no need for that… doing something foolish like that….”

The rescue team were looking at me. The rescue team in orange rushed up to me. They didn’t know if they should help me, or stop me from walking, but I pushed back against them one after another, and reached Miko.

“What are you guys saying…. We were talking until just now. The two of us were trying our best not to lose against this darkness… We’ve been talking for the whole day, trying not to lose consciousness. Right?”

Before I’d realized, I was clutching the collar of the elder paramedic, when someone stopped me from behind.

“...Hey, I’m begging you, please…. Hurry up and help her! With that…with that machine right there! If you use that, then she’ll surely regain consciousness, right? She’ll be saved, right? If you can’t do it, then take her to a hospital right away! Hurry up, hey!!”

“Stop it, Nagi-kun!”

I turned around hearing that scream, to see that the tearful voice belonged to Krishna-san—

I realized that it was her who was desperately clinging to me to try and stop me.

“Ah…Krishna-san…After all, it’s strange, right? She…Miko was…until just now, telling me I was a fool, and she listened to me asking her to smile--”

I was about to say that.

I realized it for the first time.

Yoishi Mitsurugi—no, Miko Hanamura’s face, was curved in a faint smile.

To me, it was as if she desperately tried to remember and recreate the smile she had almost forgotten—

I screamed a voiceless scream, as I embraced her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Volume 6: Epilogue

2024-11-12T19:46:29Z

Pakkit:

==Epilogue==

It was a long tale—

This is the end of my recollections.

There might have been several things I might have forgotten to talk about, but at any rate, I tried to remember as much as I could in sequence, but—as expected, I end up thinking that it might have all been a dream.

The countless stories of wandering around the depths of the world beyond that began since encountering her—A world that shouldn’t be seen.

“There are some things that are better not to know if you don't have to know them.”

I was told that by a lot of people in the past. The story revolving the young girl known as ‘Miko Hanamura’, might have also been similar to that, but…in the end, I ended up knowing all of it. And, if you were to ask me if I regretted it, I would say no. She did her best to live at any moment, and I, who was close enough to catch her breath, was the same. Those countless strange, grotesque and hopeless adventures, even if you were to call them a taboo, the days in which I took them on, were even now—merely nostalgic.

The occult.

The realm of the inexplicable that’s called a pseudoscience, and is mostly lies, delusions or misunderstandings. The world that would at times, fill you with romance, and at times strike you down to the depths of fear.

I would probably never step foot into its threshold ever again. Ah, it’s not because I’m afraid. And it’s also not because I no longer feel fear. It’s just—at the moment when this world and the world beyond intersect, when heaven and earth flip upside down, I will surely feel an overwhelming sense of loss at the absence of her whisper that was like a ringing bell.

Three months had already gone by—

Since the collapse of that mansion, and since Miko Hanamura’s funeral.

The contents of the plastic tea bottle placed on the window danced to match the swaying of the train.

I gazed beyond the tea that glittered in the sunlight, towards the Pacific Ocean that dazzled even brighter in the sunlight—

“Just a little further to Fujieda.”

I addressed the backpack placed on my knee, and then shifted my eyes once more to the scenery flowing outside the window.

I was now headed to my hometown of Fujieda by myself for summer vacation. My father, whom I had not seen for quite some time, had threatened to cut off the parent-child relationship if I did not return this summer, and for some reason, that miserly former delinquent of an older sister bore the full costs of my trip back to Fujieda, so as expected, I couldn’t help but go back.

But, for me, going back to my parents’ home was always a secondary thing, and my main purpose was something else.

『Are you going to do that no matter what?』

A few days ago, during lunch break—

Krishna-san asked me in the Beatnik Research Society Room in the western club building of the Koumei Institute.

『Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.』

I nodded, and Krishna-san merely hung her head in response, “I see.”

She then walked towards the bookshelf and turned around in front of the neatly arranged collection.

『Say, Nagi-kun. Do you know the origin of the word ‘Demon’?』

『…Origin?』

‘No’, I shook my head, and Krishna-san began to narrate.

『I learned from my research on the Scholomance university of magic that the original word for ‘demon’ apparently comes from the Greek verb for ‘abuse’. In other words, when people looked down on other people, the existence known as ‘demons’ must have been born into this world. It wasn’t that there was an existence somewhere that transcended humanity… nor was it something born to worship God or as an antithesis to God. What I’ve recently come to think… is that they might just have been born purely from within humans.』

『Could that possibly be—?』

I asked.

『The case with the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

In response, Krishna-san tightly pursed her lips, and gave a slight nod thereafter.

『There is nothing in the laws of human thought that goes beyond the principles of life preservation.』

『…Eh?』

『I am not Dr. Freud, but in cases of split personalities, the first personality that manifests: the ‘Id’, is generally held to be a savagely aggressive and an exclusionary personality. The Id is more likely to emerge the more oppressive the environment one finds themselves in, and once it manifests, the Id always unconsciously rejects others— I once wondered if it might be a pure manifestation of life preservation, originally a personality-less ‘superego’. Well, Dr. Jung's theory of the collective unconscious -- in short, the collective consciousness of an ethnic or religious group that transcends the individual - explains areas that cannot be explained by that theory alone, but when I found about the existence of the ‘everlasting night stone’, I began to feel that the two did not contradict each other. So, returning to my original point… As long as people do not cease abusing other people, then surely, there will always be a possibility that ‘demons’ will be born.』

I couldn’t understand.

But, if Krishna-san’s theory was correct—

Then it meant that as long as people existed, that there would be no salvation?

『Ummm…no, of course, the living are far stronger than the dead.』

Krishna-san raised the tone of her voice to brighten the darkening club room.

『There are countless people who live their lives honestly and sincerely every day, without aiming to become saints or religious people. Which way the future of humanity will turn out depends on those of us living in the present.』

『Yes —you’re right.』

I smiled.

As if induced by my smile, Krishna-san too broke into a smile—

After that she folded her arms behind her back, and closed her eyes if reflecting on that smile.

At that moment—

It felt as if the lights in the clubroom dimmed for an instant, and I looked up at the ceiling. The fluorescent light bulb of the clubroom was working properly, and there seemed to be nothing wrong, so I returned my gaze and saw—

『In summary, aren’t humans themselves the ‘demons’?』

There stood Ayana Takamura.

『…Is what Kurimoto-kun probably wanted to say. You seemed to have noticed it as well.』

Before I’d realized, Ayana Takamura was wearing Krishna-san’s summer checked shirt, but her face, height, and body was her own, and she had a complacent smile on her face.

I merely nodded. I listened carefully to the words that came from her red mouth without being perturbed as to what was happening and without asking for an explanation.

『Have you heard ever of the ‘Qumran sect’? They have an interesting contradiction in that they believe that Jesus Christ himself was not a Christian, but a Jew, among other things, they also believe that he was a part of the Jewish Essenes—in short, it is a doctrine that believes he was a part of the ‘Qumran sect’. Their teachings are quite unusual. In that Book of Genesis, it is written, ‘In the beginning there was darkness’ which is the opposite of countless religions. Then, God created light. If darkness was the origin, and chaos was the beginning of this world, doesn't that mean that God is in no way an ally of humanity, nor a guide, but exists to weed out the ‘demons’ of man? If that’s the case, then you can understand why Jesus died on the cross as a symbol of humanity, and why natural disasters have not disappeared from the world.』

Takamura immediately sat directly on top of the work desk, and happily crossed her long legs.

I gazed at her—and after a while, I asked.

『Did you, understand everything?』

『By everything, you mean?』

『The current situation, all of it.』

Ayana Takamura let out a giggle, and she spoke with a smile, ‘Well yeah’.

『Do you plan on becoming a bigger monster than the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

When I asked her that, Takamura’s large eyes widened, and she looked at me in exasperation.

『Monster? Ha—do you think I would aim for something so small time?』

『…Small time?』

『That thing was never an ancient thing to begin with, Nagito Yamada. It was something that merely professed to be ancient—a ghost that must have been born somewhere in the closing years of the Taishō era <ref>Taishō era (1912.7.30-1926.12.25)</ref> at best. In every age, the smaller they are, the larger they will try to portray themselves as. But you see, ghosts merge with other ghosts. And in the end, they turn into something so large that they become unable to remember who they originally were. Darkness, abyss, chaos—it was certainly something that could no longer be called a person when it merged with them. It was merely something that called itself that delusional memory of the past. In that sense—that child was at a much higher level. To think that she made me devour that strange thing.』

Thereafter, Takamura narrowed her eyes nostalgically.

『Yoishi Mitsurugi a.k.a Miko Hanamura must have taken a gamble. Perhaps she had a plan in mind when she once declared that I would devour your fears. She would draw the ‘everlasting night stone’ to the limits of her heart and your heart, and the moment it was convinced of victory, she would turn the tables. She showed it something it itself did not understand, put fear in it, and made me devour it---a truly terrifying child.』

Takamura smiled happily, as if boasting about a lost friend.

『But you see Nagito Yamada. It was not something that child could have done had she not truly believed in you. That person won’t betray me to a fearsome degree- was it? Fufufu, I saw all of it. Those words, which you might not receive even if you were to live for thousands of years, there are truly no higher words of praise, right?』

Yeah, I nodded, and at the same time—

The tears that gathered in my eyes were about to spill, but I somehow managed to endure it.

Did she try not to look at me while I was that way?

『But—‘incarnation’, was it?』

Takamura spoke as she chuckled.

『I’m not one to speak having tried it once in the past—but, I can’t say I didn’t understand how it felt. It longed for ‘death’. You humans are nothing but afraid of your limited lives, but to something that walked in everlasting darkness, it is a word filled with endless comfort.』

『To die?』

『Ahh, that’s right. Well, to all of you who are trying your best to live now, that might be something difficult to comprehend.』

Takamura, looked up as if seeing through the ceiling, the sky above it—no, even higher, into space.

『The structure of this vast cosmos you see, is far more profound than you all believe, and frighteningly simple. In all probability, the first ones who will realize the truth behind that structure will not be physicists or mathematicians, but humans who are called imprudent phenomenologists. There lies the potential of humanity. That is what I felt when I met that child.』

I had no idea what she meant.

I didn’t understand, but—it was as if it was fine that I didn’t understand. The moment you to try and unravel the mysteries of this world, something would end up shifting slightly out of place. It felt if I were to continue my thoughts in the direction of that deviation, then the world would branch off at that moment. It was probably a world of multidimensions and parallel universes—My thoughts wouldn’t be able to keep up with that, they would get punctured to begin with.

『Now then.』

Thereupon, Takamura leapt off the work desk and stood on the ground.

『Let’s finish things there. Since I’ve been forbidden from following you around. I keep my promises.』

And after saying that,

『It’s been fun, Nagito Yamada.』

And she held out her long white fingers towards me.

After thinking it through—I shook my head, and declined to shake her hand.

『Don’t want to get along--? Fufufu, that’s just like you.』

The moment her red lips opened in a grin, and I felt I was being swallowed by that mouth—

I suddenly came back to my senses.

『…Say, are you listening to me, Nagi-kun?』

There stood Krishna-san, with her smooth bobbed hair, and she held her finger pointed towards me.

『Eh………Aah…..yes, of course.』

I didn’t immediately grasp hold of the situation, but--

Nevertheless, I was in the clubroom. Takamura’s presence was nowhere to be found.

『In short, humans are all driven by monsters in our unconscious.』

I nodded for the time being, as I wondered what she was talking about.

『Looking at this letter I received, Takita-san probably foresaw that he wouldn’t return alive. He had written in detail about the bitter trials experienced by Miko Hanamura over the past eleven years, but that’s fine. Read it later if you feel like it. It’s also a letter of apology. He truly apologizes for that day in the mansion, for being prepared to do the worst possible thing: using our bodies to make the ‘everlasting night stone’ feel the concept of death, but—Hm? But if we had died, then we wouldn’t have received it, right?』

『Ah, sure.』

I suddenly became nostalgic upon remembering the face of that that careless, aloof man.

『He is truly, loose in the head somewhere.』

I unintentionally ended up referring to him in the present tense, maybe because Sako still lived inside me.

Krishna-san too smiled seeming somewhat lonely, and, continued as if a bit perplexed.

『But you know, here’s what I don’t quite understand. The reason why he concluded the letter with this…Well, okay, I’ll read it from there anyway so listen.』

--*Cough*, Krishna-san cleared her throat once, and began to read aloud.

『’To not lose, is to fight. There is no contest without it. If you fight, you will not lose. You will never win. Humans can never win. They just don’t lose.’ ….Wait, I think… I know this from somewhere.』

…….Hm?

I thought I heard it somewhere before as well.

『Sorry, it goes on. ‘Don't even think about winning. There’s no chance you will win. Who, or what are you trying to win against?’ – Ah, I remember! Isn’t this Ango?!』

Krishna-san suddenly yelled as if a weight were lifted off her shoulders.

『--Ango?』

『That’s right, It’s a passage from Sakaguchi Ango’s 『The delinquent boy and Christ』.』

Sakaguchi Ango—ahh, now I remember. If I recall correctly, he was Sako’s favorite author in his high school days—and, the words at the end Krishna-san read just now were also his last words.

『Krishna-san, that… was something Sako muttered in the mansion.』

I talked about the last moments of his life,

『Only the part at the end--? Ahh…I see.』

Krishna-san spoke after biting her lips once.

『Maybe he was trying to anger you.』

…Eh?

『Back then, if your heart were to collapse, and Miko Hanamura’s heart were to collapse, then the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have won. He played the part of the clown on purpose in order to encourage your spirit. If you were to think that he shamefully ‘ran away’, you would get angry. You, the simpleton would be outraged, thinking that you were not like him, and that alone would prevent the ‘everlasting night stone’ from interfering—That’s what he might have thought.』

『…That’s.』

Back then, I had no time to be angry or sad.

I was merely flailing around in a miserable state of confusion over Sako’s death.

『Nagi-kun, you might not believe it, but Takita-san really thought highly of you.』

Krishna-san spoke as if appealing to the depths of my eyes.

『Humans are weak—extraordinarily weak. That was Takita-san’s pet theory, but that was the reason why he liked Ango so much. In the ‘Discourse on decadence’, it is written as such if I remember correctly: – ‘Humans will always fall, but they will never be able to fall completely. It is because humans are not strong enough to fall completely.’ Your tendency to be attentive to other people’s hearts to a foolish degree was highly appreciated by Takita-san. I think he believed that this quality, which worried me so much, was the only thing that could save those who were falling. Even though you can never win, you never lose—he saw the true nature of a struggling human being within you.』

『…I』

Thereupon, I managed to put it into words at last.

『Despite that, I—let Miko die.』

Anger had been smoldering deep in my heart since that incident. Anger at myself that was so intense that when I started to think about it, it drove me crazy and burned my stomach. Anger at my own incompetence. It made me raise my head once more— only to hang it back down and clench my teeth.

『Nagi-kun.』

Thereupon, Krishna-san spoke.

『I believe you might be mistaken, that is why I explained this story.』

『…Eh?』

『I want you to calm yourself and listen to me. Miko Hanamura, died eleven years ago.』

『…….』

『The moment she became Yoishi Mitsurugi, Miko Hanamura had already died.』

『…..No…..but……』

『She had already been deprived of the people precious to her, and was made to believe she was born cursed—her spirit had died. Her body lived on, but from that day on, she merely lived as if she were dead. Even so, the only reason she remained in this world was to seal the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body so that it would not spread any further. Just thinking about how painful and lonely that path must have been is enough to clog up your chest—but, even so, there was still one hope for such a girl. In the hellish days eleven years ago, there was only one thing that continued to snuggle close to her: a stuffed frog—the soul that resided within it. In Takito-san’s letter, he said that it might have been you, but…. I don’t know. I don’t know how such a thing would even be possible, and no matter how far one goes, one could never know. It’s just that-- 』

Thereupon, Krishna-san grasped my arm with her soft hands, and declared while massaging it.

『There’s one thing I can say with certainty. It’s that if the thing that existed inside the stuffed eleven years ago—and you, in the present, had abandoned her even once, the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have incarnated itself in this world.』

『……….』

『This photograph you brought back from that mansion.』

Krishna-san picked up the polaroid photograph of Miko Hanamura in the past that was placed on the work desk.

『I’ve seen a lot of ghost photography up until now, but I’ve never seen once that gives me so much courage. You who are projected on the edge—It’s not desire, reward, or narcissism that can make a face like this. It’s a face that can only be made by someone with a sense of duty, a face that says that you were born for that very reason.』

Finally, the tear glands of Krishna-san burst open.

As large tear drops flowed down her soggy face, she desperately continued to speak without even trying to wipe them away.

『I was always afraid of you getting involved with Yoishi. I always thought that Yoishi Mitsurugi’s darkness was too huge for anyone to face. But, you were different. The inclination in you was growing, and even though the paranormal events kept increasing in purity, you somehow continued to associate with Yoishi. I thought it wasn’t good for you—but it felt as if two souls that had split apart had a chance encounter once more, cuddling close to each other. I lost track of many things, and that was my hesitation, and because of that hesitation, I was taken advantage of—but, now that it’s all over, I am convinced that my premonition was correct. Miko Hanamura had died once and transformed into a living dead person named Yoishi Mitsurugi who wandered this world. But having met you, having regained the name of Miko Hanamura, wasn’t she finally able to rest at peace? Didn’t she see that life, and that humans, weren’t so bad? You never betrayed Yoishi Mitsurugi. You never ran away. That’s why, you don’t need to blame yourself. No more…』

Having desperately expressed herself that far,

『There was nothing more you could have done.』

Krishna-san finished speaking, and covered her face with both hands as she broke down in tears.

I was—

Merely repeating the words Krishna-san had said in my foggy head.

I certainly wavered in the face of two choices at that time. If ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ were to stay as she were, we could stay together. But I felt that if I returned her to ‘Miko Hanamura’, she would disappear. I didn’t know which was right. But I indeed ended up making the choice that kept her smiling. And, the words Krishna-san was trying so hard tried to tell me was -- The wind that blows through your chest is making you lonely, and you’re sad that you lost her, but isn’t it alright since you made her happy—? I finally understood what she was trying to tell me.

And as I looked at the petite, former occult site manager who was crying like a child in front of me—

The words she had said just now, 『There was nothing more you could have done.』, felt similar to the words Takamura spoke, 『There are truly no higher, words of praise, right?』. At the same time, I finally realized after all this time where Krishna-san got her boyish way of speaking from.

--Ayana Takamura is still alive and well in this person.

At the same time, I felt something cold go down my spine.

Takamura’s ‘vessel’ which ‘Yoishi’ once spoke of.

Could it be that it wasn’t ‘Takako Takamura’ she was speaking of—

『………….』

Thereupon, I shook my head.

No—that’s not it. Under the rubble, Miko imparted it to me.

「Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.」

If I were to explain that conversation in medical terms, it must have been an auditory hallucination in my half-conscious state, but even so, they were precious words given to me by Miko.

All things circle around. They circle around, and are simply there.

Even Takamura, Krishna-san and Sako.

Yes— everyone, including me, is simply part of that flow.

『--That’s right, Miko.』

『……Eh?』

I ended up muttering unintentionally, and Krishna-san turned to me with a face messed up with tears and snot.

I handed her the box of tissues that was there, and smiled, “It’s nothing.”

『By the way, Krishna-san.』

『….Hm?』

She took a deep sniff, as the former occult site manager looked up at me.

『When are you coming back as an occult site manager? Everyone is waiting, you know.』

『………』

『The living—are far stronger-- right?』

Krishna-san glared at me annoyed, and spoke.

『When it feels that way, that’s when. I need to be ready.』

I was satisfied with her answer.

『Nagi-kun.』

It was Krishna-san’s turn to ask me as I put my backpack on my shoulder.

『You’ll come back… won’t you?』

Those words stabbed my chest.

Come back—where?

Where was I supposed to come back to….?

I was suddenly enveloped with a feeling of loneliness as if I didn’t know where I was, but—

However, I deliberately smiled, and spoke, 『Of course.』

『Alright—okay. I’ll be waiting.』

Krishna-san smiled happily like a child.

◯

Once I arrived in Fujieda, I proceeded to my house, greeted my father and elder sister, was mobbed by the people in the neighborhood who had taken care of me since I was a child, shook off my friends who had begun to crowd around me, and got on the bus.

It wasn’t that far. The mountain was around fifteen minutes to the north.

It was a small mountain about a hundred meters above sea level that had long been known and loved by the people of Fujieda as Mount Eboshi.

I had promised Miko when she was still Yoishi that I would show it to her one day.

The sun was hotter than usual this year. As soon as I got off the bus, I walked under a myriad of trees. As a cool breeze blew down from the foot of the mountain, I pushed my way into the entrance of the mountain. I continued to climb up the narrow game trail that was around less than a meter wide as I wiped the sweat off my face.

I didn't look back on the way up. To really enjoy it you needed to see it when you reached the summit—I replenished myself with the plastic bottle at times as I continued to climb. I used to come here when I was a kid quite often and had always underestimated it, but visiting it now, I found it to be quite steep. I put my feet on the roots of the trees peeking out from the soil, and made my way steadily up the slope, step by step.

And, in less than twenty minutes—I finally reached the summit.

I lowered my backpack, and took out a small cremation urn and that stuffed frog. It was one part of the cremated ashes I had received of Miko Hanamura, and her precious ‘friend’.

“Look, see? This is Mount Eboshi. Amazing, isn’t it?”

I somehow managed to wring out my voice, and swung around at once.

It was—a scene far more spectacular than the one in my memory.

Mount Fuji soared over at the eastern side, and Fujieda city looked small in the bird’s-eye view down below. Beyond that, the ocean spread out, and the curve of the hazy Suruga Bay covered everything in a haze. On the horizon, gigantic columns of clouds billowed. To the trained eye, it might have been seen as nothing more than an insignificant little mountain in the sticks. But it had everything. The sky, the sea, the greenery, Mt. Fuji, and the city— all of these elements were indispensable to each other, miraculously forming a single landscape.

“My mother taught me about this place. Whenever I come here, I feel that everyone is not alone.”

Saying that, I placed the funerary urn gently on the ground, and propped the stuffed frog next to it.

And, I too, sat down next to them.

I thought I would talk about a lot of things with Miko here, but— nothing came out.

The view was far more eloquent than my boring speeches. I felt like Miko was telling me countless precious things that were unspoken.

“It’s nice to be under the sun, isn’t it?”

Despite that, I still tried to speak to her at times.

“Somehow, I feel like I only ever went to dark places with you, huh?”

The wind blew through me, but no answer came.

It was only in times like this that I thought I knew what I would say to Miko.

But, strangely enough, nothing came out. Telling her I missed her would be uncool, apologizing felt wrong as well, and thanking her felt a little out of place as well. There were just… too many different kinds of emotions that came pouring out, and I couldn't translate them into words.

I merely stayed silent—and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Although it was still hot, the strength of the sunlight had diminished.

I got up and pulled out a small shovel from the bottom of the backpack. I then thrust it at the base of a large camphor tree that my mother loved so dearly. I dug a hole as deep as I could there so as to not damage the roots. When my surroundings began to turn orange, I managed to dig a hole around a meter deep, and I softly placed the funerary urn and the stuffed frog in it. I thought I should say something, but I could not. All I could do was hold back the tears that were threatening to overflow the best I could.

After I carefully finished covering the hole with soil, I poured the remaining water from the plastic bottle on it.

I then closed my eyes, and clasped my hands toward the trunk of the camphor tree.

Countless memories drew themselves in the back of my eyelids. I engraved them all with none to spare into my chest, and simply declared as if to escape, “I’ll be back”, and took a few steps down the path—

That wind blew through me.

'''You are strong.'''

I picked up a nostalgic voice in the wind, stopping my breath, stopping my feet.

'''I understand.'''

'''The reason you came here.'''

'''How much your mother must have loved you.'''

'''Nagito(凪人) means'''

'''A person who is calm at all times.'''

'''A person who can treat everyone equally.'''

'''That was the name she wished for you.'''

The wind blows across me.

Under my feet, towards the sky, scattering the voice as it continues to rise.

'''To bear a child.'''

'''Was to live life anew.'''

'''Your mother lived once more through your eyes.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright to keep on living.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright that I had been born.'''

'''It was a question I kept asking myself.'''

'''And yet.'''

'''I was named Miko.'''

'''It was a name I was christened with.'''

'''You helped me find the meaning of that.'''

'''The moment I met Mr. Frog.'''

'''I felt relieved somehow.'''

'''I only thought that invisible things were simply something to be afraid of.'''

'''If you hadn't been the first ghost I saw.'''

'''I’m sure I would have given up on everything much sooner.'''

'''Even if I were to suddenly throw up.'''

'''Even if I didn’t take a bath.'''

'''You always tried to see the shape of my heart.'''

'''That was not easy.'''

'''Not something anyone could do.'''

'''To bear children.'''

'''And to pour your love into them.'''

'''Was a truly a wonderful thing.'''

'''「Thank you.」'''

'''Now.'''

'''At this moment where my existence fades away.'''

'''That's all I can think to say.'''

'''The words I wanted to say for a long long time'''

'''The words I should have said far sooner.'''

'''I loved you.'''

'''That’s why, from now on.'''

'''Like your mother.'''

'''I’ll become a being that prays for your happiness.'''

I was at the end of my patience.

I was about to turn around, about to answer that voice, when—

'''「It’s ‘forbidden’ to look.」'''

A shiver ran down my spine, as a nostalgic whisper reached my ears.

'''You shouldn’t involve yourself in the world beyond any further.'''

However, I turned around.

I had no regrets.

Even if the chapter of my life were to close here--- even if the darkness of the world beyond were to spread before my eyes once more.

I silently turned my body around, and faced the owner of that voice.

In an instant, her face, like a weeping smile, fills my retinas.

The wind swept through me.

A magnificent blue peeked through the rift between the golden clouds.

'''You.'''

'''Really are.'''

With those words as her last--

She melted away into the blue sky on the other side.

Goodbye, Thank you.

The next time we meet --- will be in the world beyond.

And, when I join hands with her, I will tell all of you.

With everything I have in my heart, I will say it to you:

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-4.jpg]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword

2024-11-12T19:03:44Z

Pakkit:

==Afterword==

After finishing the 『Phenomeno』 series, I realized that the simple textual medium of ‘novels’ were far deeper than I imagined. For the past few years, the more I wrote, the more I became afraid of ‘novels’. But one day, I asked a certain respected author, “Why is it that the first draft is so exhausting?”

After a moment of silence, the author eventually muttered a short reply, “Isn’t it because If one were to cut corners, then there would be no end to it?” His expression was etched with the somber shadow of a person who had gone through ‘the fight of never cutting corners’ many times, however at that moment, I thought to myself for the first time, “I too wanted to try and live in the same place this person stood.” Ever since my accidental debut, I had always thought that I wouldn’t be around next year, and often thought about running away, but that was the moment when I felt for the first time that “I loved novels.”

There are countless people I have to thank for this work, but along with thanking everyone who has accompanied me thus far, I would now like to express similar gratitude for this work.

Thank you, Yoishi. Thank you for your hard work, Nagito.

May 2015

Ninomae Hajime

Yoshitoshi Abe

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-5.jpg]]

This is based on the first rough sketch of Yoishi I made when I finished reading the first draft back in September 2011. When I read a text, I have a tendency to see images in my mind that are directly converted from the text, and these images can be like they are from live action, film, painting, manga, and most of all like the hazy scene of a dreamscape. It might differ based on the text I’m reading, but after reading through Phenomeno once, I had the impression that my sketch directly depicted it. It was a slightly strange sensation which I remember even now: not just your writing, but your drawing can also come at you with the feeling that it was not done by you. But, when I actually tried to draw the image with my hands, I often times felt frustrated that my hand couldn’t catch up with the image I had, even though I had the correct interpretation in my mind, and I had to redraw the image several times compared to my other works. When I finished the cover to the first volume and saved it, I looked at it again after a while, and when the difference between the image and the one in my head weighed on my mind, I touched it up more….And I repeated the process 13 times. The illustrations in the first volume were also exactly the same assembled line drawings that had to be discarded after being completed once, and were redrawn all over again.

I believe that this sense of groping around aiming for the correct interpretation that my unconsciousness launched into, in the end they successfully accompanied the atmosphere of this work.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 6

2024-11-12T18:33:04Z

Pakkit:

{{:Phenomeno: Volume 6 Prologue}}
{{:Phenomeno:Case 13}}
{{:Phenomeno:Case 14}}
{{:Phenomeno:Case 15}}
{{:Volume 6: Epilogue}}
{{:Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword}}
{{:Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword}}
{{:Bonus story}}

-----------------------------------

==Translator's Notes and References==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;" id="nav"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Volume_5|Volume 5]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno

2024-11-12T18:10:25Z

Pakkit:

Phenomeno

2024-11-12T17:53:07Z

Pakkit: /* Epub collection of Translated works so far */

{{Status|Active}}

[[File:Phenomeno 1 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|Phenomeno Volume 1 Cover]]

"Phenomeno" (フェノメノ) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ninomae Hajime (一肇) and illustrated by Abe Yoshitoshi. The series is complete with 6 volumes. There is also a free visual novel based on the first chapter of the first volume in the series. The updated translation for the visual novel has a link below.

Other Languages:
[https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Phenomeno_-_Fran%C3%A7ais French]
[https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Phenomeno_~Russian~ Russian]

==Story Synopsis==
Nagito Yamada is a university student living away from home. Needing a cheap place to live, he finds out about a mysterious “House that grants wishes” on the market for a ridiculously low rent; he snaps up the house and starts living there. A few nights in he starts hearing strange creaking noises. Each and every night he’s assaulted by these torturous noises. The last straw is when he finds the number 7 carved into the wall, as if counting down to something. Having an interest in the occult, Nagito seeks help from a website he frequently visits: “Ikaigabuchi”, which specializes in occult topics.

==Translation==

===Feedback===

<s>Visit the [https://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10488 forums] to give your feedback or discuss this series.</s>

2021 Edit : Since the forums above are more or less defunct, use the following myanimelist Phenomeno forum thread to discuss and give feedback regarding the series. https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1786335

Or join the Baka-tsuki Discord.

==Updates==

* 2nd September 2012
** First two cases (chapters) of volume 1 translated.
*4th February 2014
** Extra story "Raven Notes" from volume 4 translated.
*3rd May 2014
** First third of Case 03 (last chapter of volume 1) translated.
*14th April 2020
** Bonus story translated.
*20 July 2020
**Translation of Case 03 resumes after six years.
*15 October 2020
**Translation of Case 03 complete.
*18 December 2020
**First part of Case 04 uploaded.
*29 March 2021
**Translation of Case 04 complete.
*29 May 2021
**Translation of Case 05 complete.
*27 July 2021
**Translation of Case 06 complete.
*19 September 2021
**Translation of Case 07 complete.
*21 June 2022
**Translation of Case 08 complete.
*15 February 2023
**Translation of Case 09 complete.
*9 March 2023
**Translation of Case 10 complete.
*22 March 2023
**Editing and correction of Case 01 complete.
*25 March 2023
**Editing and correction of Case 02 complete.
*30 March 2023
**Updated Translation for Visual Novel released.
*24 April 2023
**Translation of Case 11 complete.
*21 June 2023
**Translation of Case 12 complete.
*13 August 2023
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 1 complete.
*31 October 2023
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 2 complete.
*12 February 2024
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 3 complete.
*7 April 2024
**Translation of Case 00, Chapter 4 complete.
*12 July 2024
**New afterwords from the digital volumes added, Raven notes split into two chapters as per digital volumes with translation edited and corrected, Translation of Case 00, Chapter 5 complete.
*25 August 2024
**Translation of Case 13 complete.
*12 October 2024
**Translation of Case 14 complete.
*12 November 2024
**Translation of Case 15 complete.
==The ''Phenomeno'' series by Ninomae Hajime==

[[File:Phenomeno 1 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_1|Volume 1. Yoishi Mitsurugi Does Not Fear]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Prologue|Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 01|Case 01: The Wish-fulfilling House]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 02|Case 02: Self-responsibility]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 03|Case 03: Beyond the Fusuma]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 01, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 01, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
 

[[File:Phenomeno Volume 2 Cover.jpg‎|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_2|Volume 2. Melting Fafrotskies]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Case 04|Case 04: The hole in the clock tower]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 05|Case 05: The Cat Mystery]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 06|Case 06: Rororo]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 02, Afterword|Afterword]]
 
 

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_3_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]

===[[Phenomeno:Volume_3|Volume 3. Shrinking Fafrotskies]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Case 07|Case 07: The Portrait of a Lily]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 08|Case 08: Does the Place Underground Exist, or not?]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 03, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 03, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
 
 
 

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_4_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_4|Volume 4. The Four Corridors Incident]]===
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 4 Prologue|Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 09|Case 09: Dear Nostradamus-sama]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 10|Case 10: The Invisible Friend]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 11|Case 11: The Melancholy of the Planet]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 12|Case 12: The Gravestone of a Sixteen-Year-Old]]
*[[Volume 4: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Raven Notes: Part One|Raven Notes: Part One]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 04, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 04, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_5_Cover.png|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_5|Volume 5. A Person Who Is Nothing]]===
*[[Phenomeno: Volume 5 Prologue| Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 1|Case 00: Chapter 1]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 2|Case 00: Chapter 2]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 3|Case 00: Chapter 3]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 4|Case 00: Chapter 4]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 00: Chapter 5|Case 00: Chapter 5]]
*[[Volume 5: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Raven Notes: Part Two|Raven Notes: Part Two]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 05, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 05, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]

[[File:Phenomeno_Volume_6_Cover.jpg|thumb|left|x120px]]
===[[Phenomeno:Volume_6|Volume 6. Yoishi Mitsurugi Does Not Smile]]===
*[[Phenomeno: Volume 6 Prologue| Prologue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 13|Case 13: Spiritual Paths]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: In the Mirror]]
*[[Phenomeno:Case 15|Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two]]
*[[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
*[[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
* [[Bonus story]]

==Epub collection of Translated works==
https://mega.nz/file/7c1iRaCQ#zKf0EmXrKCjFX8EIx6l8kb1VN_sZs-J1cPJsNk2wbd8

==Visual novel translation link==
Guide on how to download:

Download and extract the game: https://mega.nz/file/zRU02SiZ#0gVLa-Fosdbh4Q-H1P68zHn8lPqTjTTEy2aKDSB41rI

Run using Phenomeno_en.exe

Japanese locale is required to start the game. The game will ask you to switch to full screen in the first pop up message. Please give feedback in my talk page if there is any issue.

Edit: Some people are reporting that Microsoft Defender is flagging it as a trojan/virus. This is a false positive and it needs to be added to your exceptions in order to work.

Credits:

Suiminchuudoku for the original translation.

Editing and Correction:

pakkit

4digitmen

Ax1m

Special Thanks to:

Mortelight for helping me translate the VN files.

Пони for his moral support in translation efforts.

The original team who translated the old version of the VN.

==Project Staff==

*Project Administrator: [[user:Pakkit|Pakkit]]
*Project Supervisor:

===Translators===

:*Suiminchuudoku (inactive)
:*[[user:Pakkit|Pakkit]]

===Editors===
:*[[user:4digitmen|4digitmen]](inactive)

==Project Status==

Project Status: '''Completed'''

==Series Overview==
:* 美鶴木夜石は怖がらない (フェノメノ, #1) - published 2012, ISBN13 9784061388291
:* 融解ファフロツキーズ (フェノメノ, #2) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388550
:* 収縮ファフロツキーズ (フェノメノ, #3) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388611
:* 四回廊事件 (フェノメノ, #4) - published 2013, ISBN13 9784061388826
:* ナニモナイ人間 (フェノメノ, #5) - published 2014, ISBN13 9784061388956
:* 美鶴木夜石は微笑まない (フェノメノ, #6) - published 2015, ISBN13 9784061399129

[[Category:Ninomae Hajime]]
[[Category:Genre - Horror]]
[[Category:Genre - Mystery]]
[[Category:Genre - Supernatural]]
[[Category:Light novel (English)]]

Volume 6: Epilogue

2024-11-12T17:13:15Z

Pakkit:

==Epilogue==

It was a long tale—

This is the end of my recollections.

There might have been several things I might have forgotten to talk about, but at any rate, I tried to remember as much as I could in sequence, but—as expected, I end up thinking that it might have all been a dream.

The countless stories of wandering around the depths of the world beyond that began since encountering her—A world that shouldn’t be seen.

“There are some things that are better not to know if you don't have to know them.”

I was told that by a lot of people in the past. The story revolving the young girl known as ‘Miko Hanamura’, might have also been similar to that, but…in the end, I ended up knowing all of it. And, if you were to ask me if I regretted it, I would say no. She did her best to live at any moment, and I, who was close enough to catch her breath, was the same. Those countless strange, grotesque and hopeless adventures, even if you were to call them a taboo, the days in which I took them on, were even now—merely nostalgic.

The occult.

The realm of the inexplicable that’s called a pseudoscience, and is mostly lies, delusions or misunderstandings. The world that would at times, fill you with romance, and at times strike you down to the depths of fear.

I would probably never step foot into its threshold ever again. Ah, it’s not because I’m afraid. And it’s also not because I no longer feel fear. It’s just—at the moment when this world and the world beyond intersect, when heaven and earth flip upside down, I will surely feel an overwhelming sense of loss at the absence of her whisper that was like a ringing bell.

Three months had already gone by—

Since the collapse of that mansion, and since Miko Hanamura’s funeral.

The contents of the plastic tea bottle placed on the window danced to match the swaying of the train.

I gazed beyond the tea that glittered in the sunlight, towards the Pacific Ocean that dazzled even brighter in the sunlight—

“Just a little further to Fujieda.”

I addressed the backpack placed on my knee, and then shifted my eyes once more to the scenery flowing outside the window.

I was now headed to my hometown of Fujieda by myself for summer vacation. My father, whom I had not seen for quite some time, had threatened to cut off the parent-child relationship if I did not return this summer, and for some reason, that miserly former delinquent of an older sister bore the full costs of my trip back to Fujieda, so as expected, I couldn’t help but go back.

But, for me, going back to my parents’ home was always a secondary thing, and my main purpose was something else.

『Are you going to do that no matter what?』

A few days ago, during lunch break—

Krishna-san asked me in the Beatnik Research Society Room in the western club building of the Koumei Institute.

『Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.』

I nodded, and Krishna-san merely hung her head in response, “I see.”

She then walked towards the bookshelf and turned around in front of the neatly arranged collection.

『Say, Nagi-kun. Do you know the origin of the word ‘Demon’?』

『…Origin?』

‘No’, I shook my head, and Krishna-san began to narrate.

『I learned from my research on the Scholomance university of magic that the original word for ‘demon’ apparently comes from the Greek verb for ‘abuse’. In other words, when people looked down on other people, the existence known as ‘demons’ must have been born into this world. It wasn’t that there was an existence somewhere that transcended humanity… nor was it something born to worship God or as an antithesis to God. What I’ve recently come to think… is that they might just have been born purely from within humans.』

『Could that possibly be—?』

I asked.

『The case with the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

In response, Krishna-san tightly pursed her lips, and gave a slight nod thereafter.

『There is nothing in the laws of human thought that goes beyond the principles of life preservation.』

『…Eh?』

『I am not Dr. Freud, but in cases of split personalities, the first personality that manifests: the ‘Id’, is generally held to be a savagely aggressive and an exclusionary personality. The Id is more likely to emerge the more oppressive the environment one finds themselves in, and once it manifests, the Id always unconsciously rejects others— I once wondered if it might be a pure manifestation of life preservation, originally a personality-less ‘superego’. Well, Dr. Jung's theory of the collective unconscious -- in short, the collective consciousness of an ethnic or religious group that transcends the individual - explains areas that cannot be explained by that theory alone, but when I found about the existence of the ‘everlasting night stone’, I began to feel that the two did not contradict each other. So, returning to my original point… As long as people do not cease abusing other people, then surely, there will always be a possibility that ‘demons’ will be born.』

I couldn’t understand.

But, if Krishna-san’s theory was correct—

Then it meant that as long as people existed, that there would be no salvation?

『Ummm…no, of course, the living are far stronger than the dead.』

Krishna-san raised the tone of her voice to brighten the darkening club room.

『There are countless people who live their lives honestly and sincerely every day, without aiming to become saints or religious people. Which way the future of humanity will turn out depends on those of us living in the present.』

『Yes —you’re right.』

I smiled.

As if induced by my smile, Krishna-san too broke into a smile—

After that she folded her arms behind her back, and closed her eyes if reflecting on that smile.

At that moment—

It felt as if the lights in the clubroom dimmed for an instant, and I looked up at the ceiling. The fluorescent light bulb of the clubroom was working properly, and there seemed to be nothing wrong, so I returned my gaze and saw—

『In summary, aren’t humans themselves the ‘demons’?』

There stood Ayana Takamura.

『…Is what Kurimoto-kun probably wanted to say. You seemed to have noticed it as well.』

Before I’d realized, Ayana Takamura was wearing Krishna-san’s summer checked shirt, but her face, height, and body was her own, and she had a complacent smile on her face.

I merely nodded. I listened carefully to the words that came from her red mouth without being perturbed as to what was happening and without asking for an explanation.

『Have you heard ever of the ‘Qumran sect’? They have an interesting contradiction in that they believe that Jesus Christ himself was not a Christian, but a Jew, among other things, they also believe that he was a part of the Jewish Essenes—in short, it is a doctrine that believes he was a part of the ‘Qumran sect’. Their teachings are quite unusual. In that Book of Genesis, it is written, ‘In the beginning there was darkness’ which is the opposite of countless religions. Then, God created light. If darkness was the origin, and chaos was the beginning of this world, doesn't that mean that God is in no way an ally of humanity, nor a guide, but exists to weed out the ‘demons’ of man? If that’s the case, then you can understand why Jesus died on the cross as a symbol of humanity, and why natural disasters have not disappeared from the world.』

Takamura immediately sat directly on top of the work desk, and happily crossed her long legs.

I gazed at her—and after a while, I asked.

『Did you, understand everything?』

『By everything, you mean?』

『The current situation, all of it.』

Ayana Takamura let out a giggle, and she spoke with a smile, ‘Well yeah’.

『Do you plan on becoming a bigger monster than the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

When I asked her that, Takamura’s large eyes widened, and she looked at me in exasperation.

『Monster? Ha—do you think I would aim for something so small time?』

『…Small time?』

『That thing was never an ancient thing to begin with, Nagito Yamada. It was something that merely professed to be ancient—a ghost that must have been born somewhere in the closing years of the Taishō era <ref>Taishō era (1912.7.30-1926.12.25)</ref> at best. In every age, the smaller they are, the larger they will try to portray themselves as. But you see, ghosts merge with other ghosts. And in the end, they turn into something so large that they become unable to remember who they originally were. Darkness, abyss, chaos—it was certainly something that could no longer be called a person when it merged with them. It was merely something that called itself that delusional memory of the past. In that sense—that child was at a much higher level. To think that she made me devour that strange thing.』

Thereafter, Takamura narrowed her eyes nostalgically.

『Yoishi Mitsurugi a.k.a Miko Hanamura must have taken a gamble. Perhaps she had a plan in mind when she once declared that I would devour your fears. She would draw the ‘everlasting night stone’ to the limits of her heart and your heart, and the moment it was convinced of victory, she would turn the tables. She showed it something it itself did not understand, put fear in it, and made me devour it---a truly terrifying child.』

Takamura smiled happily, as if boasting about a lost friend.

『But you see Nagito Yamada. It was not something that child could have done had she not truly believed in you. That person won’t betray me to a fearsome degree- was it? Fufufu, I saw all of it. Those words, which you might not receive even if you were to live for thousands of years, there are truly no higher words of praise, right?』

Yeah, I nodded, and at the same time—

The tears that gathered in my eyes were about to spill, but I somehow managed to endure it.

Did she try not to look at me while I was that way?

『But—‘incarnation’, was it?』

Takamura spoke as she chuckled.

『I’m not one to speak having tried it once in the past—but, I can’t say I didn’t understand how it felt. It longed for ‘death’. You humans are nothing but afraid of your limited lives, but to something that walked in everlasting darkness, it is a word filled with endless comfort.』

『To die?』

『Ahh, that’s right. Well, to all of you who are trying your best to live now, that might be something difficult to comprehend.』

Takamura, looked up as if seeing through the ceiling, the sky above it—no, even higher, into space.

『The structure of this vast cosmos you see, is far more profound than you all believe, and frighteningly simple. In all probability, the first ones who will realize the truth behind that structure will not be physicists or mathematicians, but humans who are called imprudent phenomenologists. There lies the potential of humanity. That is what I felt when I met that child.』

I had no idea what she meant.

I didn’t understand, but—it was as if it was fine that I didn’t understand. The moment you to try and unravel the mysteries of this world, something would end up shifting slightly out of place. It felt if I were to continue my thoughts in the direction of that deviation, then the world would branch off at that moment. It was probably a world of multidimensions and parallel universes—My thoughts wouldn’t be able to keep up with that, they would get punctured to begin with.

『Now then.』

Thereupon, Takamura leapt off the work desk and stood on the ground.

『Let’s finish things there. Since I’ve been forbidden from following you around. I keep my promises.』

And after saying that,

『It’s been fun, Nagito Yamada.』

And she held out her long white fingers towards me.

After thinking it through—I shook my head, and declined to shake her hand.

『Don’t want to get along--? Fufufu, that’s just like you.』

The moment her red lips opened in a grin, and I felt I was being swallowed by that mouth—

I suddenly came back to my senses.

『…Say, are you listening to me, Nagi-kun?』

There stood Krishna-san, with her smooth bobbed hair, and she held her finger pointed towards me.

『Eh………Aah…..yes, of course.』

I didn’t immediately grasp hold of the situation, but--

Nevertheless, I was in the clubroom. Takamura’s presence was nowhere to be found.

『In short, humans are all driven by monsters in our unconscious.』

I nodded for the time being, as I wondered what she was talking about.

『Looking at this letter I received, Takita-san probably foresaw that he wouldn’t return alive. He had written in detail about the bitter trials experienced by Miko Hanamura over the past eleven years, but that’s fine. Read it later if you feel like it. It’s also a letter of apology. He truly apologizes for that day in the mansion, for being prepared to do the worst possible thing: using our bodies to make the ‘everlasting night stone’ feel the concept of death, but—Hm? But if we had died, then we wouldn’t have received it, right?』

『Ah, sure.』

I suddenly became nostalgic upon remembering the face of that that careless, aloof man.

『He is truly, loose in the head somewhere.』

I unintentionally ended up referring to him in the present tense, maybe because Sako still lived inside me.

Krishna-san too smiled seeming somewhat lonely, and, continued as if a bit perplexed.

『But you know, here’s what I don’t quite understand. The reason why he concluded the letter with this…Well, okay, I’ll read it from there anyway so listen.』

--*Cough*, Krishna-san cleared her throat once, and began to read aloud.

『’To not lose, is to fight. There is no contest without it. If you fight, you will not lose. You will never win. Humans can never win. They just don’t lose.’ ….Wait, I think… I know this from somewhere.』

…….Hm?

I thought I heard it somewhere before as well.

『Sorry, it goes on. ‘Don't even think about winning. There’s no chance you will win. Who, or what are you trying to win against?’ – Ah, I remember! Isn’t this Ango?!』

Krishna-san suddenly yelled as if a weight were lifted off her shoulders.

『--Ango?』

『That’s right, It’s a passage from Sakaguchi Ango’s 『The delinquent boy and Christ』.』

Sakaguchi Ango—ahh, now I remember. If I recall correctly, he was Sako’s favorite author in his high school days—and, the words at the end Krishna-san read just now were also his last words.

『Krishna-san, that… was something Sako muttered in the mansion.』

I talked about the last moments of his life,

『Only the part at the end--? Ahh…I see.』

Krishna-san spoke after biting her lips once.

『Maybe he was trying to anger you.』

…Eh?

『Back then, if your heart were to collapse, and Miko Hanamura’s heart were to collapse, then the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have won. He played the part of the clown on purpose in order to encourage your spirit. If you were to think that he shamefully ‘ran away’, you would get angry. You, the simpleton would be outraged, thinking that you were not like him, and that alone would prevent the ‘everlasting night stone’ from interfering—That’s what he might have thought.』

『…That’s.』

Back then, I had no time to be angry or sad.

I was merely flailing around in a miserable state of confusion over Sako’s death.

『Nagi-kun, you might not believe it, but Takita-san really thought highly of you.』

Krishna-san spoke as if appealing to the depths of my eyes.

『Humans are weak—extraordinarily weak. That was Takita-san’s pet theory, but that was the reason why he liked Ango so much. In the ‘Discourse on decadence’, it is written as such if I remember correctly: – ‘Humans will always fall, but they will never be able to fall completely. It is because humans are not strong enough to fall completely.’ Your tendency to be attentive to other people’s hearts to a foolish degree was highly appreciated by Takita-san. I think he believed that this quality, which worried me so much, was the only thing that could save those who were falling. Even though you can never win, you never lose—he saw the true nature of a struggling human being within you.』

『…I』

Thereupon, I managed to put it into words at last.

『Despite that, I—let Miko die.』

Anger had been smoldering deep in my heart since that incident. Anger at myself that was so intense that when I started to think about it, it drove me crazy and burned my stomach. Anger at my own incompetence. It made me raise my head once more— only to hang it back down and clench my teeth.

『Nagi-kun.』

Thereupon, Krishna-san spoke.

『I believe you might be mistaken, that is why I explained this story.』

『…Eh?』

『I want you to calm yourself and listen to me. Miko Hanamura, died eleven years ago.』

『…….』

『The moment she became Yoishi Mitsurugi, Miko Hanamura had already died.』

『…..No…..but……』

『She had already been deprived of the people precious to her, and was made to believe she was born cursed—her spirit had died. Her body lived on, but from that day on, she merely lived as if she were dead. Even so, the only reason she remained in this world was to seal the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body so that it would not spread any further. Just thinking about how painful and lonely that path must have been is enough to clog up your chest—but, even so, there was still one hope for such a girl. In the hellish days eleven years ago, there was only one thing that continued to snuggle close to her: a stuffed frog—the soul that resided within it. In Takito-san’s letter, he said that it might have been you, but…. I don’t know. I don’t know how such a thing would even be possible, and no matter how far one goes, one could never know. It’s just that-- 』

Thereupon, Krishna-san grasped my arm with her soft hands, and declared while massaging it.

『There’s one thing I can say with certainty. It’s that if the thing that existed inside the stuffed eleven years ago—and you, in the present, had abandoned her even once, the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have incarnated itself in this world.』

『……….』

『This photograph you brought back from that mansion.』

Krishna-san picked up the polaroid photograph of Miko Hanamura in the past that was placed on the work desk.

『I’ve seen a lot of ghost photography up until now, but I’ve never seen once that gives me so much courage. You who are projected on the edge—It’s not desire, reward, or narcissism that can make a face like this. It’s a face that can only be made by someone with a sense of duty, a face that says that you were born for that very reason.』

Finally, the tear glands of Krishna-san burst open.

As large tear drops flowed down her soggy face, she desperately continued to speak without even trying to wipe them away.

『I was always afraid of you getting involved with Yoishi. I always thought that Yoishi Mitsurugi’s darkness was too huge for anyone to face. But, you were different. The inclination in you was growing, and even though the paranormal events kept increasing in purity, you somehow continued to associate with Yoishi. I thought it wasn’t good for you—but it felt as if two souls that had split apart had a chance encounter once more, cuddling close to each other. I lost track of many things, and that was my hesitation, and because of that hesitation, I was taken advantage of—but, now that it’s all over, I am convinced that my premonition was correct. Miko Hanamura had died once and transformed into a living dead person named Yoishi Mitsurugi who wandered this world. But having met you, having regained the name of Miko Hanamura, wasn’t she finally able to rest at peace? Didn’t she see that life, and that humans, weren’t so bad? You never betrayed Yoishi Mitsurugi. You never ran away. That’s why, you don’t need to blame yourself. No more…』

Having desperately expressed herself that far,

『There was nothing more you could have done.』

Krishna-san finished speaking, and covered her face with both hands as she broke down in tears.

I was—

Merely repeating the words Krishna-san had said in my foggy head.

I certainly wavered in the face of two choices at that time. If ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ were to stay as she were, we could stay together. But I felt that if I returned her to ‘Miko Hanamura’, she would disappear. I didn’t know which was right. But I indeed ended up making the choice that kept her smiling. And, the words Krishna-san was trying so hard tried to tell me was -- The wind that blows through your chest is making you lonely, and you’re sad that you lost her, but isn’t it alright since you made her happy—? I finally understood what she was trying to tell me.

And as I looked at the petite, former occult site manager who was crying like a child in front of me—

The words she had said just now, 『There was nothing more you could have done.』, felt similar to the words Takamura spoke, 『There are truly no higher, words of praise, right?』. At the same time, I finally realized after all this time where Krishna-san got her boyish way of speaking from.

--Ayana Takamura is still alive and well in this person.

At the same time, I felt something cold go down my spine.

Takamura’s ‘vessel’ which ‘Yoishi’ once spoke of.

Could it be that it wasn’t ‘Takako Takamura’ she was speaking of—

『………….』

Thereupon, I shook my head.

No—that’s not it. Under the rubble, Miko imparted it to me.

「Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.」

If I were to explain that conversation in medical terms, it must have been an auditory hallucination in my half-conscious state, but even so, they were precious words given to me by Miko.

All things circle around. They circle around, and are simply there.

Even Takamura, Krishna-san and Sako.

Yes— everyone, including me, is simply part of that flow.

『--That’s right, Miko.』

『……Eh?』

I ended up muttering unintentionally, and Krishna-san turned to me with a face messed up with tears and snot.

I handed her the box of tissues that was there, and smiled, “It’s nothing.”

『By the way, Krishna-san.』

『….Hm?』

She took a deep sniff, as the former occult site manager looked up at me.

『When are you coming back as an occult site manager? Everyone is waiting, you know.』

『………』

『The living—are far stronger-- right?』

Krishna-san glared at me annoyed, and spoke.

『When it feels that way, that’s when. I need to be ready.』

I was satisfied with her answer.

『Nagi-kun.』

It was Krishna-san’s turn to ask me as I put my backpack on my shoulder.

『You’ll come back… won’t you?』

Those words stabbed my chest.

Come back—where?

Where was I supposed to come back to….?

I was suddenly enveloped with a feeling of loneliness as if I didn’t know where I was, but—

However, I deliberately smiled, and spoke, 『Of course.』

『Alright—okay. I’ll be waiting.』

Krishna-san smiled happily like a child.

◯

Once I arrived in Fujieda, I proceeded to my house, greeted my father and elder sister, was mobbed by the people in the neighborhood who had taken care of me since I was a child, shook off my friends who had begun to crowd around me, and got on the bus.

It wasn’t that far. The mountain was around fifteen minutes to the north.

It was a small mountain about a hundred meters above sea level that had long been known and loved by the people of Fujieda as Mount Eboshi.

I had promised Miko when she was still Yoishi that I would show it to her one day.

The sun was hotter than usual this year. As soon as I got off the bus, I walked under a myriad of trees. As a cool breeze blew down from the foot of the mountain, I pushed my way into the entrance of the mountain. I continued to climb up the narrow game trail that was around less than a meter wide as I wiped the sweat off my face.

I didn't look back on the way up. To really enjoy it you needed to see it when you reached the summit—I replenished myself with the plastic bottle at times as I continued to climb. I used to come here when I was a kid quite often and had always underestimated it, but visiting it now, I found it to be quite steep. I put my feet on the roots of the trees peeking out from the soil, and made my way steadily up the slope, step by step.

And, in less than twenty minutes—I finally reached the summit.

I lowered my backpack, and took out a small cremation urn and that stuffed frog. It was one part of the cremated ashes I had received of Miko Hanamura, and her precious ‘friend’.

“Look, see? This is Mount Eboshi. Amazing, isn’t it?”

I somehow managed to wring out my voice, and swung around at once.

It was—a scene far more spectacular than the one in my memory.

Mount Fuji soared over at the eastern side, and Fujieda city looked small in the bird’s-eye view down below. Beyond that, the ocean spread out, and the curve of the hazy Suruga Bay covered everything in a haze. On the horizon, gigantic columns of clouds billowed. To the trained eye, it might have been seen as nothing more than an insignificant little mountain in the sticks. But it had everything. The sky, the sea, the greenery, Mt. Fuji, and the city— all of these elements were indispensable to each other, miraculously forming a single landscape.

“My mother taught me about this place. Whenever I come here, I feel that everyone is not alone.”

Saying that, I placed the funerary urn gently on the ground, and propped the stuffed frog next to it.

And, I too, sat down next to them.

I thought I would talk about a lot of things with Miko here, but— nothing came out.

The view was far more eloquent than my boring speeches. I felt like Miko was telling me countless precious things that were unspoken.

“It’s nice to be under the sun, isn’t it?”

Despite that, I still tried to speak to her at times.

“Somehow, I feel like I only ever went to dark places with you, huh?”

The wind blew through me, but no answer came.

It was only in times like this that I thought I knew what I would say to Miko.

But, strangely enough, nothing came out. Telling her I missed her would be uncool, apologizing felt wrong as well, and thanking her felt a little out of place as well. There were just… too many different kinds of emotions that came pouring out, and I couldn't translate them into words.

I merely stayed silent—and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Although it was still hot, the strength of the sunlight had diminished.

I got up and pulled out a small shovel from the bottom of the backpack. I then thrust it at the base of a large camphor tree that my mother loved so dearly. I dug a hole as deep as I could there so as to not damage the roots. When my surroundings began to turn orange, I managed to dig a hole around a meter deep, and I softly placed the funerary urn and the stuffed frog in it. I thought I should say something, but I could not. All I could do was hold back the tears that were threatening to overflow the best I could.

After I carefully finished covering the hole with soil, I poured the remaining water from the plastic bottle on it.

I then closed my eyes, and clasped my hands toward the trunk of the camphor tree.

Countless memories drew themselves in the back of my eyelids. I engraved them all with none to spare into my chest, and simply declared as if to escape, “I’ll be back”, and took a few steps down the path—

That wind blew through me.

'''You are strong.'''

I picked up a nostalgic voice in the wind, stopping my breath, stopping my feet.

'''I understand.'''

'''The reason you came here.'''

'''How much your mother must have loved you.'''

'''Nagito(凪人) means'''

'''A person who is calm at all times.'''

'''A person who can treat everyone equally.'''

'''That was the name she wished for you.'''

The wind blows across me.

Under my feet, towards the sky, scattering the voice as it continues to rise.

'''To bear a child.'''

'''Was to live life anew.'''

'''Your mother lived once more through your eyes.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright to keep on living.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright that I had been born.'''

'''It was a question I kept asking myself.'''

'''And yet.'''

'''I was named Miko.'''

'''It was a name I was christened with.'''

'''You helped me find the meaning of that.'''

'''The moment I met Mr. Frog.'''

'''I felt relieved somehow.'''

'''I only thought that invisible things were simply something to be afraid of.'''

'''If you hadn't been the first ghost I saw.'''

'''I’m sure I would have given up on everything much sooner.'''

'''Even if I were to suddenly throw up.'''

'''Even if I didn’t take a bath.'''

'''You always tried to see the shape of my heart.'''

'''That was not easy.'''

'''Not something anyone could do.'''

'''To bear children.'''

'''And to pour your love into them.'''

'''Was a truly a wonderful thing.'''

'''「Thank you.」'''

'''Now.'''

'''At this moment where my existence fades away.'''

'''That's all I can think to say.'''

'''The words I wanted to say for a long long time'''

'''The words I should have said far sooner.'''

'''I loved you.'''

'''That’s why, from now on.'''

'''Like your mother.'''

'''I’ll become a being that prays for your happiness.'''

I was at the end of my patience.

I was about to turn around, about to answer that voice, when—

'''「It’s ‘forbidden’ to look.」'''

A shiver ran down my spine, as a nostalgic whisper reached my ears.

'''You shouldn’t involve yourself in the world beyond any further.'''

However, I turned around.

I had no regrets.

Even if the chapter of my life were to close here--- even if the darkness of the world beyond were to spread before my eyes once more.

I silently turned my body around, and faced the owner of that voice.

In an instant, her face, like a weeping smile, fills my retinas.

The wind swept through me.

A magnificent blue peeked through the rift between the golden clouds.

'''You.'''

'''Really are.'''

With those words as her last--

She melted away into the blue sky on the other side.

Goodbye, Thank you.

The next time we meet --- will be in the world beyond.

And, when I join hands with her, I will tell all of you.

With everything I have in my heart, I will say it to you:

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-4.jpg]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword

2024-11-12T17:12:26Z

Pakkit:

==Afterword To The Afterword==

I began to write this work simply because I liked the occult genre, but before I realized, it brought me a treasure trove of encounters.

Yoshitoshi Abe, who I had been a big fan of since ‘Serial Experiments Lain’, became in charge of the illustrations, The editor-in-chief of the magazine ‘Faust’ that was like a coursebook in novels for me, Katsushi Ota-san, became my editor in chief. In addition, the assistant editor Hirabayashi-san, Yamanaka-san who was in charge of the ‘New Moon Reading Hall’ event, Ishikawa-san who was in charge of the paperback edition, all the staff involved in the making of the visual novel version(I was able to work with everyone from nitroplus for the first time), the booksellers who supported me, the countless literary personalities who enthusiastically introduced the book in various media, Ellis-san of Schatzkiste who supported me in all kinds of ways, all the distinguished eminent persons who added their generous words to the paperback edition—

And most of all, the greatest encounter of all with all the readers who have taken the time to read this far.

I’d like to thank you once more.

Reading it back now, I believe there’s a long list of sentences that were unskillfully written, but at any rate, I desperately got through what was a true-to-life work that represented me in those days. I feel that the speed and earnestness of this work is not something that I will be able to aim for and write like in the future.

When I stand by the riverside at night, I can(somehow) feel the existence of something unworldly, and each time, I ask myself.

Did I succeed in portraying one part of you all?

Was it alright that I wrote it like that?

There was no answer of course, but instead, I realized that what I once always feared, now felt like a dear friend. It might have been thanks to this work.

And with that, I pray that we will soon meet again in a different work--

May 2016

Ninomae Hajime

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Bonus story]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword

2024-11-12T17:12:15Z

Pakkit:

==Afterword==

After finishing the 『Phenomeno』 series, I realized that the simple textual medium of ‘novels’ were far deeper than I imagined. For the past few years, the more I wrote, the more I became afraid of ‘novels’. But one day, I asked a certain respected author, “Why is it that the first draft is so exhausting?”

After a moment of silence, the author eventually muttered a short reply, “Isn’t it because If one were to cut corners, then there would be no end to it?” His expression was etched with the somber shadow of a person who had gone through ‘the fight of never cutting corners’ many times, however at that moment, I thought to myself for the first time, “I too wanted to try and live in the same place this person stood.” Ever since my accidental debut, I had always thought that I wouldn’t be around next year, and often thought about running away, but that was the moment when I felt for the first time that “I loved novels.”

There are countless people I have to thank for this work, but along with thanking everyone who has accompanied me thus far, I would now like to express similar gratitude for this work.

Thank you, Yoishi. Thank you for your hard work, Nagito.

May 2015

Ninomae Hajime

Yoshitoshi Abe

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-5.jpg]]

This is based on the first rough sketch of Yoishi I made when I finished reading the first draft back in September 2011. When I read a text, I have a tendency to see images in my mind that are directly converted from the text, and these images can be like they are from live action, film, painting, manga, and most of all like the hazy scene of a dreamscape. It might differ based on the text I’m reading, but after reading through Phenomeno once, I had the impression that my sketch directly depicted it. It was a slightly strange sensation which I remember even now: not just your writing, but your drawing can also come at you with the feeling that it was not done by you. But, when I actually tried to draw the image with my hands, I often times felt frustrated that my hand couldn’t catch up with the image I had, even though I had the correct interpretation in my mind, and I had to redraw the image several times compared to my other works. When I finished the cover to the first volume and saved it, I looked at it again after a while, and when the difference between the image and the one in my head weighed on my mind, I touched it up more….And I repeated the process 13 times. The illustrations in the first volume were also exactly the same assembled line drawings that had to be discarded after being completed once, and were redrawn all over again.

I believe that this sense of groping around aiming for the correct interpretation that my unconsciousness launched into, in the end they successfully accompanied the atmosphere of this work.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Volume 6: Epilogue

2024-11-12T17:12:01Z

Pakkit:

==Epilogue==

It was a long tale—

This is the end of my recollections.

There might have been several things I might have forgotten to talk about, but at any rate, I tried to remember as much as I could in sequence, but—as expected, I end up thinking that it might have all been a dream.

The countless stories of wandering around the depths of the world beyond that began since encountering her—A world that shouldn’t be seen.

“There are some things that are better not to know if you don't have to know them.”

I was told that by a lot of people in the past. The story revolving the young girl known as ‘Miko Hanamura’, might have also been similar to that, but…in the end, I ended up knowing all of it. And, if you were to ask me if I regretted it, I would say no. She did her best to live at any moment, and I, who was close enough to catch her breath, was the same. Those countless strange, grotesque and hopeless adventures, even if you were to call them a taboo, the days in which I took them on, were even now—merely nostalgic.

The occult.

The realm of the inexplicable that’s called a pseudoscience, and is mostly lies, delusions or misunderstandings. The world that would at times, fill you with romance, and at times strike you down to the depths of fear.

I would probably never step foot into its threshold ever again. Ah, it’s not because I’m afraid. And it’s also not because I no longer feel fear. It’s just—at the moment when this world and the world beyond intersect, when heaven and earth flip upside down, I will surely feel an overwhelming sense of loss at the absence of her whisper that was like a ringing bell.

Three months had already gone by—

Since the collapse of that mansion, and since Miko Hanamura’s funeral.

The contents of the plastic tea bottle placed on the window danced to match the swaying of the train.

I gazed beyond the tea that glittered in the sunlight, towards the Pacific Ocean that dazzled even brighter in the sunlight—

“Just a little further to Fujieda.”

I addressed the backpack placed on my knee, and then shifted my eyes once more to the scenery flowing outside the window.

I was now headed to my hometown of Fujieda by myself for summer vacation. My father, whom I had not seen for quite some time, had threatened to cut off the parent-child relationship if I did not return this summer, and for some reason, that miserly former delinquent of an older sister bore the full costs of my trip back to Fujieda, so as expected, I couldn’t help but go back.

But, for me, going back to my parents’ home was always a secondary thing, and my main purpose was something else.

『Are you going to do that no matter what?』

A few days ago, during lunch break—

Krishna-san asked me in the Beatnik Research Society Room in the western club building of the Koumei Institute.

『Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.』

I nodded, and Krishna-san merely hung her head in response, “I see.”

She then walked towards the bookshelf and turned around in front of the neatly arranged collection.

『Say, Nagi-kun. Do you know the origin of the word ‘Demon’?』

『…Origin?』

‘No’, I shook my head, and Krishna-san began to narrate.

『I learned from my research on the Scholomance university of magic that the original word for ‘demon’ apparently comes from the Greek verb for ‘abuse’. In other words, when people looked down on other people, the existence known as ‘demons’ must have been born into this world. It wasn’t that there was an existence somewhere that transcended humanity… nor was it something born to worship God or as an antithesis to God. What I’ve recently come to think… is that they might just have been born purely from within humans.』

『Could that possibly be—?』

I asked.

『The case with the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

In response, Krishna-san tightly pursed her lips, and gave a slight nod thereafter.

『There is nothing in the laws of human thought that goes beyond the principles of life preservation.』

『…Eh?』

『I am not Dr. Freud, but in cases of split personalities, the first personality that manifests: the ‘Id’, is generally held to be a savagely aggressive and an exclusionary personality. The Id is more likely to emerge the more oppressive the environment one finds themselves in, and once it manifests, the Id always unconsciously rejects others— I once wondered if it might be a pure manifestation of life preservation, originally a personality-less ‘superego’. Well, Dr. Jung's theory of the collective unconscious -- in short, the collective consciousness of an ethnic or religious group that transcends the individual - explains areas that cannot be explained by that theory alone, but when I found about the existence of the ‘everlasting night stone’, I began to feel that the two did not contradict each other. So, returning to my original point… As long as people do not cease abusing other people, then surely, there will always be a possibility that ‘demons’ will be born.』

I couldn’t understand.

But, if Krishna-san’s theory was correct—

Then it meant that as long as people existed, that there would be no salvation?

『Ummm…no, of course, the living are far stronger than the dead.』

Krishna-san raised the tone of her voice to brighten the darkening club room.

『There are countless people who live their lives honestly and sincerely every day, without aiming to become saints or religious people. Which way the future of humanity will turn out depends on those of us living in the present.』

『Yes —you’re right.』

I smiled.

As if induced by my smile, Krishna-san too broke into a smile—

After that she folded her arms behind her back, and closed her eyes if reflecting on that smile.

At that moment—

It felt as if the lights in the clubroom dimmed for an instant, and I looked up at the ceiling. The fluorescent light bulb of the clubroom was working properly, and there seemed to be nothing wrong, so I returned my gaze and saw—

『In summary, aren’t humans themselves the ‘demons’?』

There stood Ayana Takamura.

『…Is what Kurimoto-kun probably wanted to say. You seemed to have noticed it as well.』

Before I’d realized, Ayana Takamura was wearing Krishna-san’s summer checked shirt, but her face, height, and body was her own, and she had a complacent smile on her face.

I merely nodded. I listened carefully to the words that came from her red mouth without being perturbed as to what was happening and without asking for an explanation.

『Have you heard ever of the ‘Qumran sect’? They have an interesting contradiction in that they believe that Jesus Christ himself was not a Christian, but a Jew, among other things, they also believe that he was a part of the Jewish Essenes—in short, it is a doctrine that believes he was a part of the ‘Qumran sect’. Their teachings are quite unusual. In that Book of Genesis, it is written, ‘In the beginning there was darkness’ which is the opposite of countless religions. Then, God created light. If darkness was the origin, and chaos was the beginning of this world, doesn't that mean that God is in no way an ally of humanity, nor a guide, but exists to weed out the ‘demons’ of man? If that’s the case, then you can understand why Jesus died on the cross as a symbol of humanity, and why natural disasters have not disappeared from the world.』

Takamura immediately sat directly on top of the work desk, and happily crossed her long legs.

I gazed at her—and after a while, I asked.

『Did you, understand everything?』

『By everything, you mean?』

『The current situation, all of it.』

Ayana Takamura let out a giggle, and she spoke with a smile, ‘Well yeah’.

『Do you plan on becoming a bigger monster than the ‘everlasting night stone’?』

When I asked her that, Takamura’s large eyes widened, and she looked at me in exasperation.

『Monster? Ha—do you think I would aim for something so small time?』

『…Small time?』

『That thing was never an ancient thing to begin with, Nagito Yamada. It was something that merely professed to be ancient—a ghost that must have been born somewhere in the closing years of the Taishō era <ref>Taishō era (1912.7.30-1926.12.25)</ref> at best. In every age, the smaller they are, the larger they will try to portray themselves as. But you see, ghosts merge with other ghosts. And in the end, they turn into something so large that they become unable to remember who they originally were. Darkness, abyss, chaos—it was certainly something that could no longer be called a person when it merged with them. It was merely something that called itself that delusional memory of the past. In that sense—that child was at a much higher level. To think that she made me devour that strange thing.』

Thereafter, Takamura narrowed her eyes nostalgically.

『Yoishi Mitsurugi a.k.a Miko Hanamura must have taken a gamble. Perhaps she had a plan in mind when she once declared that I would devour your fears. She would draw the ‘everlasting night stone’ to the limits of her heart and your heart, and the moment it was convinced of victory, she would turn the tables. She showed it something it itself did not understand, put fear in it, and made me devour it---a truly terrifying child.』

Takamura smiled happily, as if boasting about a lost friend.

『But you see Nagito Yamada. It was not something that child could have done had she not truly believed in you. That person won’t betray me to a fearsome degree- was it? Fufufu, I saw all of it. Those words, which you might not receive even if you were to live for thousands of years, there are truly no higher words of praise, right?』

Yeah, I nodded, and at the same time—

The tears that gathered in my eyes were about to spill, but I somehow managed to endure it.

Did she try not to look at me while I was that way?

『But—‘incarnation’, was it?』

Takamura spoke as she chuckled.

『I’m not one to speak having tried it once in the past—but, I can’t say I didn’t understand how it felt. It longed for ‘death’. You humans are nothing but afraid of your limited lives, but to something that walked in everlasting darkness, it is a word filled with endless comfort.』

『To die?』

『Ahh, that’s right. Well, to all of you who are trying your best to live now, that might be something difficult to comprehend.』

Takamura, looked up as if seeing through the ceiling, the sky above it—no, even higher, into space.

『The structure of this vast cosmos you see, is far more profound than you all believe, and frighteningly simple. In all probability, the first ones who will realize the truth behind that structure will not be physicists or mathematicians, but humans who are called imprudent phenomenologists. There lies the potential of humanity. That is what I felt when I met that child.』

I had no idea what she meant.

I didn’t understand, but—it was as if it was fine that I didn’t understand. The moment you to try and unravel the mysteries of this world, something would end up shifting slightly out of place. It felt if I were to continue my thoughts in the direction of that deviation, then the world would branch off at that moment. It was probably a world of multidimensions and parallel universes—My thoughts wouldn’t be able to keep up with that, they would get punctured to begin with.

『Now then.』

Thereupon, Takamura leapt off the work desk and stood on the ground.

『Let’s finish things there. Since I’ve been forbidden from following you around. I keep my promises.』

And after saying that,

『It’s been fun, Nagito Yamada.』

And she held out her long white fingers towards me.

After thinking it through—I shook my head, and declined to shake her hand.

『Don’t want to get along--? Fufufu, that’s just like you.』

The moment her red lips opened in a grin, and I felt I was being swallowed by that mouth—

I suddenly came back to my senses.

『…Say, are you listening to me, Nagi-kun?』

There stood Krishna-san, with her smooth bobbed hair, and she held her finger pointed towards me.

『Eh………Aah…..yes, of course.』

I didn’t immediately grasp hold of the situation, but--

Nevertheless, I was in the clubroom. Takamura’s presence was nowhere to be found.

『In short, humans are all driven by monsters in our unconscious.』

I nodded for the time being, as I wondered what she was talking about.

『Looking at this letter I received, Takita-san probably foresaw that he wouldn’t return alive. He had written in detail about the bitter trials experienced by Miko Hanamura over the past eleven years, but that’s fine. Read it later if you feel like it. It’s also a letter of apology. He truly apologizes for that day in the mansion, for being prepared to do the worst possible thing: using our bodies to make the ‘everlasting night stone’ feel the concept of death, but—Hm? But if we had died, then we wouldn’t have received it, right?』

『Ah, sure.』

I suddenly became nostalgic upon remembering the face of that that careless, aloof man.

『He is truly, loose in the head somewhere.』

I unintentionally ended up referring to him in the present tense, maybe because Sako still lived inside me.

Krishna-san too smiled seeming somewhat lonely, and, continued as if a bit perplexed.

『But you know, here’s what I don’t quite understand. The reason why he concluded the letter with this…Well, okay, I’ll read it from there anyway so listen.』

--*Cough*, Krishna-san cleared her throat once, and began to read aloud.

『’To not lose, is to fight. There is no contest without it. If you fight, you will not lose. You will never win. Humans can never win. They just don’t lose.’ ….Wait, I think… I know this from somewhere.』

…….Hm?

I thought I heard it somewhere before as well.

『Sorry, it goes on. ‘Don't even think about winning. There’s no chance you will win. Who, or what are you trying to win against?’ – Ah, I remember! Isn’t this Ango?!』

Krishna-san suddenly yelled as if a weight were lifted off her shoulders.

『--Ango?』

『That’s right, It’s a passage from Sakaguchi Ango’s 『The delinquent boy and Christ』.』

Sakaguchi Ango—ahh, now I remember. If I recall correctly, he was Sako’s favorite author in his high school days—and, the words at the end Krishna-san read just now were also his last words.

『Krishna-san, that… was something Sako muttered in the mansion.』

I talked about the last moments of his life,

『Only the part at the end--? Ahh…I see.』

Krishna-san spoke after biting her lips once.

『Maybe he was trying to anger you.』

…Eh?

『Back then, if your heart were to collapse, and Miko Hanamura’s heart were to collapse, then the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have won. He played the part of the clown on purpose in order to encourage your spirit. If you were to think that he shamefully ‘ran away’, you would get angry. You, the simpleton would be outraged, thinking that you were not like him, and that alone would prevent the ‘everlasting night stone’ from interfering—That’s what he might have thought.』

『…That’s.』

Back then, I had no time to be angry or sad.

I was merely flailing around in a miserable state of confusion over Sako’s death.

『Nagi-kun, you might not believe it, but Takita-san really thought highly of you.』

Krishna-san spoke as if appealing to the depths of my eyes.

『Humans are weak—extraordinarily weak. That was Takita-san’s pet theory, but that was the reason why he liked Ango so much. In the ‘Discourse on decadence’, it is written as such if I remember correctly: – ‘Humans will always fall, but they will never be able to fall completely. It is because humans are not strong enough to fall completely.’ Your tendency to be attentive to other people’s hearts to a foolish degree was highly appreciated by Takita-san. I think he believed that this quality, which worried me so much, was the only thing that could save those who were falling. Even though you can never win, you never lose—he saw the true nature of a struggling human being within you.』

『…I』

Thereupon, I managed to put it into words at last.

『Despite that, I—let Miko die.』

Anger had been smoldering deep in my heart since that incident. Anger at myself that was so intense that when I started to think about it, it drove me crazy and burned my stomach. Anger at my own incompetence. It made me raise my head once more— only to hang it back down and clench my teeth.

『Nagi-kun.』

Thereupon, Krishna-san spoke.

『I believe you might be mistaken, that is why I explained this story.』

『…Eh?』

『I want you to calm yourself and listen to me. Miko Hanamura, died eleven years ago.』

『…….』

『The moment she became Yoishi Mitsurugi, Miko Hanamura had already died.』

『…..No…..but……』

『She had already been deprived of the people precious to her, and was made to believe she was born cursed—her spirit had died. Her body lived on, but from that day on, she merely lived as if she were dead. Even so, the only reason she remained in this world was to seal the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body so that it would not spread any further. Just thinking about how painful and lonely that path must have been is enough to clog up your chest—but, even so, there was still one hope for such a girl. In the hellish days eleven years ago, there was only one thing that continued to snuggle close to her: a stuffed frog—the soul that resided within it. In Takito-san’s letter, he said that it might have been you, but…. I don’t know. I don’t know how such a thing would even be possible, and no matter how far one goes, one could never know. It’s just that-- 』

Thereupon, Krishna-san grasped my arm with her soft hands, and declared while massaging it.

『There’s one thing I can say with certainty. It’s that if the thing that existed inside the stuffed eleven years ago—and you, in the present, had abandoned her even once, the ‘everlasting night stone’ would have incarnated itself in this world.』

『……….』

『This photograph you brought back from that mansion.』

Krishna-san picked up the polaroid photograph of Miko Hanamura in the past that was placed on the work desk.

『I’ve seen a lot of ghost photography up until now, but I’ve never seen once that gives me so much courage. You who are projected on the edge—It’s not desire, reward, or narcissism that can make a face like this. It’s a face that can only be made by someone with a sense of duty, a face that says that you were born for that very reason.』

Finally, the tear glands of Krishna-san burst open.

As large tear drops flowed down her soggy face, she desperately continued to speak without even trying to wipe them away.

『I was always afraid of you getting involved with Yoishi. I always thought that Yoishi Mitsurugi’s darkness was too huge for anyone to face. But, you were different. The inclination in you was growing, and even though the paranormal events kept increasing in purity, you somehow continued to associate with Yoishi. I thought it wasn’t good for you—but it felt as if two souls that had split apart had a chance encounter once more, cuddling close to each other. I lost track of many things, and that was my hesitation, and because of that hesitation, I was taken advantage of—but, now that it’s all over, I am convinced that my premonition was correct. Miko Hanamura had died once and transformed into a living dead person named Yoishi Mitsurugi who wandered this world. But having met you, having regained the name of Miko Hanamura, wasn’t she finally able to rest at peace? Didn’t she see that life, and that humans, weren’t so bad? You never betrayed Yoishi Mitsurugi. You never ran away. That’s why, you don’t need to blame yourself. No more…』

Having desperately expressed herself that far,

『There was nothing more you could have done.』

Krishna-san finished speaking, and covered her face with both hands as she broke down in tears.

I was—

Merely repeating the words Krishna-san had said in my foggy head.

I certainly wavered in the face of two choices at that time. If ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ were to stay as she were, we could stay together. But I felt that if I returned her to ‘Miko Hanamura’, she would disappear. I didn’t know which was right. But I indeed ended up making the choice that kept her smiling. And, the words Krishna-san was trying so hard tried to tell me was -- The wind that blows through your chest is making you lonely, and you’re sad that you lost her, but isn’t it alright since you made her happy—? I finally understood what she was trying to tell me.

And as I looked at the petite, former occult site manager who was crying like a child in front of me—

The words she had said just now, 『There was nothing more you could have done.』, felt similar to the words Takamura spoke, 『There are truly no higher, words of praise, right?』. At the same time, I finally realized after all this time where Krishna-san got her boyish way of speaking from.

--Ayana Takamura is still alive and well in this person.

At the same time, I felt something cold go down my spine.

Takamura’s ‘vessel’ which ‘Yoishi’ once spoke of.

Could it be that it wasn’t ‘Takako Takamura’ she was speaking of—

『………….』

Thereupon, I shook my head.

No—that’s not it. Under the rubble, Miko imparted it to me.

「Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.」

If I were to explain that conversation in medical terms, it must have been an auditory hallucination in my half-conscious state, but even so, they were precious words given to me by Miko.

All things circle around. They circle around, and are simply there.

Even Takamura, Krishna-san and Sako.

Yes— everyone, including me, is simply part of that flow.

『--That’s right, Miko.』

『……Eh?』

I ended up muttering unintentionally, and Krishna-san turned to me with a face messed up with tears and snot.

I handed her the box of tissues that was there, and smiled, “It’s nothing.”

『By the way, Krishna-san.』

『….Hm?』

She took a deep sniff, as the former occult site manager looked up at me.

『When are you coming back as an occult site manager? Everyone is waiting, you know.』

『………』

『The living—are far stronger-- right?』

Krishna-san glared at me annoyed, and spoke.

『When it feels that way, that’s when. I need to be ready.』

I was satisfied with her answer.

『Nagi-kun.』

It was Krishna-san’s turn to ask me as I put my backpack on my shoulder.

『You’ll come back… won’t you?』

Those words stabbed my chest.

Come back—where?

Where was I supposed to come back to….?

I was suddenly enveloped with a feeling of loneliness as if I didn’t know where I was, but—

However, I deliberately smiled, and spoke, 『Of course.』

『Alright—okay. I’ll be waiting.』

Krishna-san smiled happily like a child.

◯

Once I arrived in Fujieda, I proceeded to my house, greeted my father and elder sister, was mobbed by the people in the neighborhood who had taken care of me since I was a child, shook off my friends who had begun to crowd around me, and got on the bus.

It wasn’t that far. The mountain was around fifteen minutes to the north.

It was a small mountain about a hundred meters above sea level that had long been known and loved by the people of Fujieda as Mount Eboshi.

I had promised Miko when she was still Yoishi that I would show it to her one day.

The sun was hotter than usual this year. As soon as I got off the bus, I walked under a myriad of trees. As a cool breeze blew down from the foot of the mountain, I pushed my way into the entrance of the mountain. I continued to climb up the narrow game trail that was around less than a meter wide as I wiped the sweat off my face.

I didn't look back on the way up. To really enjoy it you needed to see it when you reached the summit—I replenished myself with the plastic bottle at times as I continued to climb. I used to come here when I was a kid quite often and had always underestimated it, but visiting it now, I found it to be quite steep. I put my feet on the roots of the trees peeking out from the soil, and made my way steadily up the slope, step by step.

And, in less than twenty minutes—I finally reached the summit.

I lowered my backpack, and took out a small cremation urn and that stuffed frog. It was one part of the cremated ashes I had received of Miko Hanamura, and her precious ‘friend’.

“Look, see? This is Mount Eboshi. Amazing, isn’t it?”

I somehow managed to wring out my voice, and swung around at once.

It was—a scene far more spectacular than the one in my memory.

Mount Fuji soared over at the eastern side, and Fujieda city looked small in the bird’s-eye view down below. Beyond that, the ocean spread out, and the curve of the hazy Suruga Bay covered everything in a haze. On the horizon, gigantic columns of clouds billowed. To the trained eye, it might have been seen as nothing more than an insignificant little mountain in the sticks. But it had everything. The sky, the sea, the greenery, Mt. Fuji, and the city— all of these elements were indispensable to each other, miraculously forming a single landscape.

“My mother taught me about this place. Whenever I come here, I feel that everyone is not alone.”

Saying that, I placed the funerary urn gently on the ground, and propped the stuffed frog next to it.

And, I too, sat down next to them.

I thought I would talk about a lot of things with Miko here, but— nothing came out.

The view was far more eloquent than my boring speeches. I felt like Miko was telling me countless precious things that were unspoken.

“It’s nice to be under the sun, isn’t it?”

Despite that, I still tried to speak to her at times.

“Somehow, I feel like I only ever went to dark places with you, huh?”

The wind blew through me, but no answer came.

It was only in times like this that I thought I knew what I would say to Miko.

But, strangely enough, nothing came out. Telling her I missed her would be uncool, apologizing felt wrong as well, and thanking her felt a little out of place as well. There were just… too many different kinds of emotions that came pouring out, and I couldn't translate them into words.

I merely stayed silent—and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Although it was still hot, the strength of the sunlight had diminished.

I got up and pulled out a small shovel from the bottom of the backpack. I then thrust it at the base of a large camphor tree that my mother loved so dearly. I dug a hole as deep as I could there so as to not damage the roots. When my surroundings began to turn orange, I managed to dig a hole around a meter deep, and I softly placed the funerary urn and the stuffed frog in it. I thought I should say something, but I could not. All I could do was hold back the tears that were threatening to overflow the best I could.

After I carefully finished covering the hole with soil, I poured the remaining water from the plastic bottle on it.

I then closed my eyes, and clasped my hands toward the trunk of the camphor tree.

Countless memories drew themselves in the back of my eyelids. I engraved them all with none to spare into my chest, and simply declared as if to escape, “I’ll be back”, and took a few steps down the path—

That wind blew through me.

'''You are strong.'''

I picked up a nostalgic voice in the wind, stopping my breath, stopping my feet.

'''I understand.'''

'''The reason you came here.'''

'''How much your mother must have loved you.'''

'''Nagito(凪人) means'''

'''A person who is calm at all times.'''

'''A person who can treat everyone equally.'''

'''That was the name she wished for you.'''

The wind blows across me.

Under my feet, towards the sky, scattering the voice as it continues to rise.

'''To bear a child.'''

'''Was to live life anew.'''

'''Your mother lived once more through your eyes.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright to keep on living.'''

'''I wondered if it was alright that I had been born.'''

'''It was a question I kept asking myself.'''

'''And yet.'''

'''I was named Miko.'''

'''It was a name I was christened with.'''

'''You helped me find the meaning of that.'''

'''The moment I met Mr. Frog.'''

'''I felt relieved somehow.'''

'''I only thought that invisible things were simply something to be afraid of.'''

'''If you hadn't been the first ghost I saw.'''

'''I’m sure I would have given up on everything much sooner.'''

'''Even if I were to suddenly throw up.'''

'''Even if I didn’t take a bath.'''

'''You always tried to see the shape of my heart.'''

'''That was not easy.'''

'''Not something anyone could do.'''

'''To bear children.'''

'''And to pour your love into them.'''

'''Was a truly a wonderful thing.'''

'''「Thank you.」'''

'''Now.'''

'''At this moment where my existence fades away.'''

'''That's all I can think to say.'''

'''The words I wanted to say for a long long time'''

'''The words I should have said far sooner.'''

'''I loved you.'''

'''That’s why, from now on.'''

'''Like your mother.'''

'''I’ll become a being that prays for your happiness.'''

I was at the end of my patience.

I was about to turn around, about to answer that voice, when—

'''「It’s ‘forbidden’ to look.」'''

A shiver ran down my spine, as a nostalgic whisper reached my ears.

'''You shouldn’t involve yourself in the world beyond any further.'''

However, I turned around.

I had no regrets.

Even if the chapter of my life were to close here--- even if the darkness of the world beyond were to spread before my eyes once more.

I silently turned my body around, and faced the owner of that voice.

In an instant, her face, like a weeping smile, fills my retinas.

The wind swept through me.

A magnificent blue peeked through the rift between the golden clouds.

'''You.'''

'''Really are.'''

With those words as her last--

She melted away into the blue sky on the other side.

Goodbye, Thank you.

The next time we meet --- will be in the world beyond.

And, when I join hands with her, I will tell all of you.

With everything I have in my heart, I will say it to you.

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-4.jpg]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 6

2024-11-12T17:11:08Z

Pakkit:

{{:Phenomeno: Volume 6 Prologue}}
{{:Phenomeno:Case 13}}
{{:Phenomeno:Case 14}}
{{:Phenomeno:Case 15}}
{{:Volume 6: Epilogue}}
{{:Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword}}
{{:Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword}}
{{:Bonus story}}

==Translator's Notes and References==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;" id="nav"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Volume_5|Volume 5]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 15

2024-11-12T17:09:50Z

Pakkit:

==Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two==

'''Everything in this world is like a ghost story. It is full of stories with no known sources or anything. Looking at an incident from the other side shows a different aspect. Each person involved has their own story. And yet we condemn them only from a certain point of view.

'''It’s foolish to do so, but I dare ask—'''

'''Are you gods?'''
'''

That happened three days ago.

I ran into Takako Takamura in front of the main university gate, and she handed me a piece of paper with those incomprehensible words written on it. “What the hell is this?” I asked her, and she cocked her head in reply, “Who knows?”

Incidentally, this girl named Takako Takamura, who stood with her hair was dancing in the wind and her tall body leaning to one side, was the half-sister of ‘Ayana Takamura’, a Koumei institute student who had mysteriously disappeared several years prior.

A super-extreme denpa(net slang referring to those who repeat occult-like words and actions without regard for their surroundings) who tried to incarnate with malicious intent by spreading taboo words all over the school. To me who knew about her in detail, Takako Takamura who had been called a ‘vessel’ by her half-sister and who bore a life-like resemblance to her despite only sharing half their blood, was a little creepy.

『It was there beside my pillow when I woke up this morning.』

『Huh?』

『I was the one who probably doth write it.』

『Doth write it?』

『And, they were probably the words doth by my sister.』

『Did…your way of speaking become abnormal?』

I asked her that, and in response, Takako Takamura distorted her well-shaped facial features into a grin.

『I’ve recently become addicted to classic literature. In summary, I think my sister is warning you of danger.』

『Danger?』

『I think something bad will happen to you from now on.』

『W…wait a second.』

『You’ll be forced to make the final choice very soon, and on top of that, you’ll be buried alive in the mountains.』

◯

--The final choice? Buried alive?

At the time I thought, are you kidding me? She went ahead and said something creepy again, but I let it slide.

Now that I think of it, Takako Takamura’s words turned out to be completely true.

That’s right, now--- I was in complete darkness, unable to move my arms or legs.

“…………..Ptch……..Hey, are you alive?”

I chocked out the dust I had inhaled and called out, and a familiar voice rang out beyond the darkness.

“….What…is this place? Hell? Kokytos….?”

“Ahhh, you’re alive. Thank goodness. ….Ummm, this isn’t hell, we’re in the mountains. We got buried in a lot of collapsed timber--”

I spoke that far, when an intense pain ran down my right leg.

It was in the area around my right knee. And, ahead of that--- I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even tell if I still had legs given that I couldn’t move my body. Even though my head already understood it, but my right leg was continuing to send signals of throbbing pain, as if to say, “It’s an emergency”. It hurt, and it was dark, I suddenly felt scared and was on the verge of panicking.

However, I took a deep breath and told myself, “Calm down”.

…How long, have we been here since then? In the darkness, I gently turned the watch on my left arm in the direction of my face while trying not to hurt my hand on the broken wood. Similarly, I slowly moved my right arm, and somehow managed to turn on the light of my watch.

Monday, 16 April 2012, 19:17.

…Ah, it’ll be almost a full day soon. Had I been in this condition for almost twenty-four hours? The moment I realized this, I remembered how intensely parched my throat was. A stinging pain stuck to the back of my throat. Water, water….isn’t there water somewhere?

“….I can’t move my body.”

At that moment, I heard her voice beyond the darkness.

“Yeah…my leg is trapped, and I can’t move either.”

“Why did something like this happen?”

“Why? --- You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember… coming here with you.”

“Can you stop being so informal. It’s like we’re married.”

I couldn't help but laugh as we ended up doing the usual back and forth with no regard for the location.

And, laughing calmed my heart down a little. I was able to ask, “You’re not injured, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

-- I was about to say that my legs were in a bit of bad shape, but I stopped myself. There was no use in saying it, and she might get a little worried.

“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. I’m sure help will come soon.”

“…When?”

“…How should I know? It’ll be here soon.”

“………..”

“………..”

But, I was at a loss for words when I realized that help would not come anytime soon.

My surroundings fell dead silent.

Without even the cries of mountain birds, it felt as if the world had ended.

“It’s emotionally taxing if it stays like this.”

I spoke, trying to rouse my dark, crushing heart.

“Let’s do something else…right, don’t you have some riddles in mind?”

After a moment's silence, she spoke.

“If it’s interesting stories you want to hear, then.”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered simply, when suddenly, I shuddered.

The things she thought of as ‘interesting’ were a little different than what one would ordinarily think of as interesting.

“….Never mind! It’s fine, don’t tell me. I can’t even run away if I listen to a scary story in this situation.”

I said that, but she had already begun to slowly narrate in a whisper.

“Why did ‘Gandame’ smile, I wonder?”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Being smiled at means you die— the lineage of mountain goddess ghost stories is found all over Japan, but why is smiling linked with death I wonder?”

“I told you! We’re in the middle of the mountain where that ‘Gandame’ is said to appear, so stop it. If a smiling woman with cloudy eyes appears in the darkness, I can’t run away even if I wanted to!”

I retorted sharply, and she fell silent.

My surroundings returned to dark silence once more, and somewhere beyond the dark mountains, I heard a crunching sound.

Was It an animal—or a monster from the mountain?

I didn’t know, but either one was fine, as long as it could me forget the pain in my right leg. As if to shake off the stinging pain, I thought back. Everything that led us here. Everything that led us to this point, to the dark abyss we passed through.

That’s right—that day, Friday the 13th of April.

I was in a hurry.

I had regained recognition of Yoishi Mitsurugi once more, and was told by Krishna-san.

『If you’ve decided to walk together with Yoishi, then go and meet Takita-san.』

I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as I finished my lectures, I ran out of the university. However, I ran into Takako Takamura at the front fate, and was given a strange message or prophecy, but I made light of it and ran off to the station.

It was all to uncover the truth behind the darkness that enveloped the girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi.

◯

“Hey, Sako! Come out!”

The door to Sako Takita’s antique store ‘Kouroudou’(Bone Tower Shrine) in Sotokanda, Tokyo, was locked.

I peeked in through a gap in the dark curtains behind the frosted glass, but as usual, objects I didn’t really understand were all crammed in a line. A headless Buddhist statue, a mummified Kappa, and a hanging scroll covered in what appeared to be blood stains. Beyond those suspicious items that he considered merchandise, I raised my voice towards the inner parlor.

“Hey, Sako! Are you asleep?!”

I wonder how long I kept knocking on the door and calling out to him like that.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I was called out to from behind and looked back to see a short old woman dressed in a kimono that was a light cherry color with a slight grayish tinge.

Although her back was rounded to a large degree, she was a small and cute old woman. Come to think if it, my deceased grandma was short as well. As I recalled those kinds of things, I bowed down to greet the old woman who looked up at me with an elegant face.

“Ah, sorry for being so noisy.”

In response, the old woman gave me a friendly grin and asked, “Do you have some business with the owner of that shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“That nice man who’s always wearing an indigo dyed kimono.”

“It’s doubtful whether he’s nice or not, but he is indeed always wearing a navy-blue kimono.”

“We’re always gossiping about whether he is still single.”

Saying that, the old woman giggled like a maiden.

“Um, that’s fine….but, do you know where he is now? I have some urgent business with him.”

“Isn’t it the 13th today?”

“…Yes?”

“That person goes to Myoujin-san on the 13th of each month.”

“Myoujin-san?”

“It’s Kanda Inari Gongen-sama.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sako’s day job was being the head priest of a shrine in Aomori— I think it was called ‘so-and-so Inari Shrine’.

“Myoujin-san is just ahead up the stairs from there.”

“Thank you so much.”

After thanking her, I broke into a run.

I climbed the long, narrow stairs, slipped through a narrow alley, and soon saw several red nobori<ref>long, narrow banner attached to a pole on one side and a horizontal rod along the top</ref>.

There were souvenir shops lined on the path to the shrine, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people. As a country boy who loved festivals, I ended up getting excited just by visiting these kinds of places.

I read the stone monument in a touristy mood, Kanda Myoujin was a shrine dedicate to Daikoku, the god of wealth, Ebisu the god of fishing and commerce, and ‘Taira No Masakado’, who was popular among us occult maniacs because of certain reasons.

“Hmmm.”

I looked up at the main shrine once more.

I had passed it once or twice before, but to tell the truth, it was my first time stepping foot inside.

“…Wait, no, no, I don't have time for this.”

Right away, I searched around the area for Sako. However, there was no sign of the man in the navy-blue kimono anywhere around the main shrine, or in any tea house or souvenir store. Having no choice, I went around the main shrine to look around the subordinate shrines. As I walked along, stepping on the gravel under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, I found that there were various subordinate shrines at the back of the main shrine. I was happy to see that each shrine was neatly swept with bamboo brooms, and was being properly looked after. It made me sad just seeing small shrines in disrepair—when, I spotted a familiar man in a kimono in front of one of the small shrines.

“—Sako?”

I called out to him, but Sako Takita remained seated directly on the ground in a daze with his back turned towards me.

I quietly approached his side and peeked at him from the front. And— noticed something. There were several empty sake bottles near his knees.

“Of all the…are you drunk?”

“…Hngh.”

Sako turned around at last, and greeted me, ‘Yoo’.

His complexion, which was normally pale, had a slight red tinge to it.

“Yo? really?”

“Haha…umm, you are—of course I remember. Ehhh, your name, it was that.”

“It’s Nagito Yamada. Come on, get up. You’ll get reported if you drink in a place like this.”

“…Erm, it’s alright, the chief priest here is an acquaintance.”

Sako Takita looked like a complete bum as he foolishly laughed. I tried to make him stand up, but his legs were unsteady having drunk so much, and on top of that he had no desire to stand up himself, so things didn’t go the way I wanted. Suddenly feeling foolish, I let go of his arm around mine.

He sloppily toppled on the gravel with his arms and legs outstretched.

“….Oooh. How cruel, what are you doing?”

“I just remembered what you did and let my anger take care of the rest. You had the nerve to make Yoishi imperceptible to me, didn’t you?”

I returned to the point of discussion.

“It’s already been undone. That’s why you came to me, right?”

Sako chuckled and started to laugh.

“I told her that it was merely a stopgap solution. You were out of control back then to the point where even Kurimoto-kun couldn’t handle. Please don’t hold it against her.”

“Yeah yeah, Krishna-san already gave me a rough rundown on what happened. That I was delirious and went berserk at the hospital. That was my fault--- but, there was no reason to make me unable to see her, was there? Or rather, why did I do that when I saw Yoishi…? Do you know why?”

In response, Sako fell silent.

He continued to look at midair in a daze with the occasional *hiccup*.

I continued to wait for him, but there was no sign that Sako would start talking, so I looked around to make sure no one was around. —and I, too, sat cross-legged on the spot.

“In the first place, this subordinate shrine is the home of some deity, isn't it? Why are you drinking at a place like this?”

“…Hm.”

Sako slowly looked up towards the shrine right in front of him, and grinned broadly.

“Today is the monthly anniversary of her death.<ref>Monthly death anniversaries of a death are known as tsuki meinichi in Japan</ref>”

“Anniversary? Whose?”

“My mother's.”

“..... Eh?”

Thereafter, I looked at the signpost next to the entrance of the supplementary shrine. On it was inscribed, ‘Ukanomitama (god of rice), and Suehiroinari (god of harvests, wealth, fertility) as well.

“My mother you see, was kind, courteous, and beautiful. Well, I can’t deny that I might be glorifying her because of her early passing. But, you understand, right? A mother who is the personification of affection is clearly different from a father. A unique existence to all children that shared her flesh and blood.”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, and Sako stayed silent for a while.

After staring vacantly at empty space as if chasing something invisible—

“My mother, she killed herself you see.”

“………….”

“Well, that’s what the world thinks.”

“…What the world thinks?”

“Right. She was thought to have severed her own life, but in reality… she was murdered.”

After that, Sako laughed: heh, heh, heh—he then picked up one of the sake bottles that had been lying around and brought it to his mouth. But it seemed its contents were already empty, so he carelessly threw it away.

“You know, you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things even if you’re drunk.”

“…Drunk? Yes, I might be drunk, but I only speak the truth.”

Then Sako gazed at me in a stance where he used his knees to support his arms,

“It happened before my very eyes—And, I could do nothing at all. There was no point in asking people about it, and there was no point in talking about it. It’s not something people should know about, and it’s definitely not a story that should be readily known by an ordinary person. But still, all stories are connected. In the end, it feels like all karma bounces from one place to the next. Now then—will you hear that kind of story?”

Suddenly—

The words that have been said countless times in countless situations came back to me.

A story that should not be heard. A story people should not know.

If you found out, you would become involved and entangled in them—a story woven with Kotodama.

If it had been me up until now, I might have shaken my head and said, “I’ll pass.”

However—

“That karma or whatever, is it connected to her—to Yoishi Mitsurugi?”

I asked.

“If it’s a story that has some power to clear away the darkness inside her….then let me hear it.”

I said that, and the smallest—the truly faintest of smiles appeared on Sako’s face.

And then, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before, an expression most transparent, and pure.

“It happened…back when I was still in high school.”

“I saw a monster—in broad daylight.”

◯

Monsters—now then, what is a monster?

Do they spit fire? Do they devour humans? Do they possess supernatural powers which ordinary humans can’t fight against? Well, those kinds of definitions vary from person to person, but there’s one thing that can be said with certainty. Once you encounter them, you can't escape their influence for the rest of your life —that exactly is what I believe monsters are.

With that meaning in mind, what I encountered could be called a monster.

It happened on a day when the sun was still high in the sky, and yet the moon’s pale light also loomed. Thinking back on it now, bad things have usually happened on days like that. Well although, I can only speak of my own life. On that day, I quickly left after my high school classes had ended, just like any other day. I was never the type of person to get along with my classmates, nor was I the type to rejoice in the springtime of youth by engaging in sweaty club activities. High school life to me was really nothing more than just a means to kill time. In other words, I was a gloomy high school student, the type that would go to a coffee shop after leaving school in violation of school regulations, and would set up camp at a seat in the back to read Chekhov, Ango and so on. I’ll explain later, but I had circumstances which made me not want to return home right away. What you might find laughable is that I had been given an unconditional command to return home as late as possible.

So, that day as well, I headed to the cafe named ‘Windmill’ with a book in my hand which I had almost finished reading -- but on that day alone, there was a noisy customer who had taken up camp at the seat at the back where I always sat. I, on the other hand, was the type who was unable to concentrate on books unless my surroundings were quiet. So, having no choice, I headed to the park.

Ahh, that’s right—my house at the time was not in Aomori where I currently reside. I was originally born in Kobe, moved to Kyoto afterward, and was living in Fukuoka at the time. The reason why was because my father was involved in the trading business, but it wasn’t a good thing for a child to move around so often in their childhood. Even now, I believe that was the reason I became shy and had problems making friends--- but I digress. Anyway, I lived in the east of Fukuoka. Well, you might know of it being an occult lover and all, but it was famous for the Jizo statue where the Kappas are sealed.<ref>https://kappapedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kappa-jizo.html</ref>

There was a vast, lush green place known as the T-park.

I headed there, but it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. There were a lot of mothers with their children. No matter how many times I looked around, I couldn’t find an empty bench anywhere. I walked all the way to the back of the park and found an empty bench at last, where I sat down, but I had lost all motivation to read, probably because it had taken me so long to get there. For a while, I merely sat there in a daze.

Before I knew it, I was biting my nails.

Well, I guess you could call it a psychological state you often see in high schoolers in puberty. I was strangely irritated. Perhaps it was because the plans I had made for the day didn’t go well, or perhaps it was the peaceful, warm scenery which made it appear as if time had stopped— I continued to sit on the old bench, and continued to chew my nails without changing places.

It was at that moment.

A toddler shakily walked toward me.

A boy—probably, I think it was a boy. I don’t remember exactly. An innocent-looking toddler approached me with some kind of toy in hand. He was a friendly child. He already trusted completely in someone like me. I, who was a stranger from who knows where, a high schooler with dark eyes and with a book like ‘Discourse on decadence’ in hand. He had a friendly grin on his face as he offered me the toy. I ignored that and merely looked around in dismay. I wondered where the mother went, taking her eyes off a child this young. However, there was no sign of a mother-like figure close by. That child sidled up to me alone. He held out his precious favorite toy to me, with a “Yes”. For a moment, I wondered if I was even pitied by such a young child, but that wasn’t the case. In all likelihood, the child was living a life filled with love. That must be why he didn’t even think of the possibility that some humans can be evil.

When I realized that, something like a thin mist rose somewhere in my heart.

--What would happen if a dark malice were unleashed upon this pure being?

I was surprised at myself for thinking something like that. I didn't think I was capable of such sadistic thoughts. And, it was an irresistibly bewitching idea. There was a defenseless creature in front of me; There was no one around. It was just me, him and the toy. For the time being, I picked up the toy the boy had placed at my feet and put it in my pocket. Eventually, that child came to pick up the toy that he had placed at my feet and stopped moving. He started looking around, behind my legs, as if searching for the toy, then looked up at me. I merely grinned at him. The child continued to search for the toy after that, but I couldn’t help but feel an irresistible rush of pleasure rising up my spine. I was getting an almost nauseating pleasure from the anxiety that was enveloping his tiny back.

What kind of face would he make if I were to pluck the toy’s head and throw it away? The plastic doll of some transforming hero. Would he start crying? What would happen if this pure creature were to be showered with malice?

As he had his back turned to me, I secretly took out the toy. I dangled it towards his back. He was anxiously digging up the sandpits close by. As if he thought he might have buried it somewhere. I put my hand on the doll’s neck. I put a little power and tried to twist its neck, when—

I finally noticed that gaze.

With a start, I looked diagonally to my right, to see a woman with a kind expression. She was sitting on a bench covered by ivy in the shade, staring at me and the child. In an instant, I understood that she was the mother of the child.

Sweat slowly formed on my hands, and I removed my hand from the doll’s neck.

--What was it? How long had she been there? Did this woman see everything I had done?

My heart was pounding violently, as if it was about to burst from my mouth.

Eventually, I called out “Boy”, in a shaky voice and handed the toy back to him. The boy’s face immediately lit up, and he took the toy in hand. And at the same time, he spotted his mother, and happily ran towards her. The mother slightly bowed to me and left, holding hands with the child.

--There was no way a mother would take her eyes off her young child.

I chided myself for my foolishness after all that time, but it was already too late.

It felt as if the daytime moon was smirking down at me, and I quickly left that park.

I was embarrassed that the mother had seen through me. It was most fortunate that I managed to notice her at the last moment and hadn’t plucked the doll's head off. Even though it was a provincial city, there was more regional unity there than in a place like Tokyo. I was patting myself on the chest, thinking that if I had done that, I might not be able to live in this city anymore.

However, as I left the park, I realized my heart continued to throb violently.

Yes— I was still excited.

I was excited at the thought of trampling that which was pure.

It was as if I had become something other than myself—no, as if the real me that kept itself hidden in my heart somewhere had revealed itself. It was also a sense of freedom at being my true self. The irritating feeling I had just thirty minutes ago was no longer there.

I wonder if that was the reason why.

Even though it was not yet time to go back home—I ended up getting ready to return home.

Now then, why didn’t I return home straight away after school?

It’s about time I explained that. What? It’s not something big. In short, it was because my mother's lover was at home. He was ostensibly the man my mother was learning to paint from. I told you my father was involved in the trading business, so he was often away from home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for weeks. And when he did come home, he would do so late at night. When my father was home, my mother was very diligent and devoted to him. She bathed him, cooked for him, and listened to his stories with a round of laughter. To an outsider, she must have looked like the ideal, wise housewife. And that's what I always thought too.

However, it was around the time I entered middle school. My mother said that she wanted to learn how to draw. My father agreed. My mother had a small interest in oil painting in her student days, and my father might have felt guilty for being away from home so often. And so, the one who eventually came was that man. I was able to hate him with just one glance. He must have been five or so years younger than my mother, but —ah, I just can't remember his face no matter what. I don't know why, but he always looked like he was wearing a fox's face. Not literally a fox’s face, but truly a fox mask. It didn't look like that to the people around me including my mother, probably because my strong rejection against that man made me feel that way. The fox masked man was polite, eloquent and graceful in his speech, and he often gave me gifts. But to me, it looked like a red tongue peeking out of a mouth with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear. My mother and the man were silently painting in her room. And before long I was told, “Play outside on the day sensei comes”, And I was made to realize that I was not allowed to stay at home.

That must have been like ink that dropped on the surface of water that was my family. When that man started coming in and out of my house, my family was stained with an indelible stain. My father not being home became the norm, and I too had come to think that I shouldn’t stay at home—and above all, the man started visiting my house not just once a week, but with one thing or another, he started visiting every day.

Every day.

In the afternoon.

A man who was not a member of our family would definitely be there.

I thought my family had been taken over by something suspicious.

My father died soon afterward.

He returned to Japan after going to Guangzhou for work and was on his way home when we lost contact with him, and he was found at Matsuyama harbor, Shikoku. It seems he was found floating in the sea by a couple on a date. Why did he go to Matsuyama from Fukuoka? Was it an accident, a suicide, or did he get involved in some trouble? We had no idea. The police visited my mother almost every day, but it appeared they eventually stopped investigating it as a murder case. That was because the body of another woman was found on the harbor. That woman was an office worker in my father's company. It seemed she had been going out with my father. The police tried to conclude the case by saying it was a double suicide spurred on by a lovers talk.

However, I can say it with almost complete certainty.

That my father was murdered.

And the culprit was that fox masked man.

After that, for the next three years of high school—a strange situation developed in which I, lived together with my mother and that fox masked man.

I stopped coming home.

I only returned home to sleep and spent the rest of the day killing time outside.

However, on that day—

On the day I felt delight in aiming malice towards a child.

I decided to return home after a long time while the sun was still high up in the sky.

I unlocked the door, entered inside, declared that I was home, and entered the tatami room.

The scene I saw there would perhaps never be erased from my memory for as long as I live.

On the tatami mats was my mother, naked and bound. The rope painfully bit into her flesh, but my mother sobbed with joy. Next to her was the fox masked man. He merely sat there quietly on his knees, staring motionlessly at my mother.

The man slowly turned towards me, who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tatami room.

The white, fox masked man with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear, sneered to me.

How long—

Just how long did I stand there, motionless?

How much time did it take for me to realize what was happening in the tatami room?

Before I realized, I was sneering as well.

And, I realized at last.

The man was ‘malice’. He was the ‘malice’ inside me.

I don’t recall the specifics of what happened after that.

All I remember is that I staggered out of the house, and continued around wandering the city—and when I came to, I was in Hakata station.

There, I bought a train ticket to the furthest place possible.

When I reached Aomori station, what I saw on the news was that my house had burned down completely, and that the corpse of a naked woman had been discovered inside. I didn’t even think about had happened. I had become numb to all emotions. I didn't know why I was in Aomori. Nor did I know what I should do from here. I was overwhelmed by the scenery of Tohoku that I was seeing for the first time, and collapsed in front of the station.

When I came to, I found myself riding in the car of a strange gray-haired man. The old man merely called himself the ‘Chief priest’. I had run out of money and had not eaten anything, so he said to me.

『You’re possessed by a terrible ghost.』

『It’s a very powerful ghost, and you might not be able to do anything about it yourself.』

『You may run out of strength midway through and die, but if left alone, you’ll die anyway.』

『I’m sure your stomach must be empty, but it would be better if you didn’t eat anything. Let’s begin right away.』

After that, I was taken to a shrine somewhere deep in the mountains, and made to change into a white kimono. I don’t know how much time passed after that. I was abandoned in a room that was like a dungeon, and was subjected to ritual prayer every day. There was nothing left for me to vomit, yet the intense feeling of wanting to throw up welled up inside me over and over again. Ahh-- Thinking back on it now, I had never been in so much pain. I would fall backwards and repeatedly slam my body against the hard floor. Having not even been given enough food for excrement, I realized at the depths of what little consciousness that remained that I was going to die. I felt the end of my life was right at hand. At that moment, I felt something leave my thin, frayed consciousness. It cried out loud in a high, frustrated whine, and disappeared as if it melted away.

『It’s over.』

At last, I heard the old man's voice near me.

I saw a light beyond my hazy vision.

Tears spilled from my eyes seeing the beauty of the grass and trees illuminated by the sun.

『You’re saved. However, you won't be able to lead a normal life from now on.』

The old man spoke as I greedily devoured the rice gruel I was eating after several days.

『If you don't retighten your body that an oversized ghost passed through every day, you'll quickly end up becoming an abode for countless ghosts.』

The old man didn't have to tell me that, I knew that it was just a short distance away.

I knew that it would quietly continue to stare at me from somewhere—until I died.

『Abandon everything, and spend the rest of your life here.』

That place was called ‘Okitachi Inari Shrine’—

I would later find out that it was a shrine that guarded one of the veins of this island country, that defended against the northern demon gate.<ref> https://donnykimball.com/kimon-7f7a28291d51</ref>

After that, I became a disciple of that old man, and began to study Shintoism. It was a little different, however, and in no way what you would generally define as ‘modern Shintoism’, it was a severe unrelenting study. Well, that's a long story, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was forced to abandon my name, my family name, my past, and completed my training to completely become ‘nothing’ all at once. I had to rearrange and fix the air ducts in my spine, and recompose all of my cells properly. I assimilated all of my thoughts with nature, and abandoned myself. I repeated that every day, every hour, every minute. I continued to adjust it as I ate, as I slept. I might have told you once before, but—if you’re not a great masochist, then it would have been a maddening day-to-day existence.

My master must not have thought I would be able to bear it all. Somewhere along the way, he probably concluded that I would run off some day and self-destruct by becoming a nest for the ghosts that would penetrate me through my turbulent air ducts. However, I somehow managed to hold my ground. I endured it all.

Say, you.

Why… do you think that was?

A few years after that, I asked my master.

About why ‘that’ had happened.

By ‘that’, I had meant ‘that thing’ which had destroyed me and my family, and I tried asking about it indifferently.

『No one really knows.』

My master answered.

『It was called ‘Nine tails’ in Nara period literature, and in the Edo period, it was referred to as the ‘everlasting night stone’—however, in all likelihood, it must have been present inside humans of every era. Yes, it is something that continues to move from person to person.』

『Is that so?』

I kept an expression as if I wasn't interested anymore, but I engraved that name deep at the back of my mind.

With a soft smile, I grit my teeth so hard they might have bled, and recalled my mother’s face from that day.

It possesses people.

It amplifies people’s negative emotions and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing.

It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves.

The first one in my family who it possessed was me.

My once warm family, had before I realized, turned into a reflection of what I considered to be the worst possible family.

As it made me believe that I was killing time outside, it toyed with my mother as it pleased on a daily basis.

It casually made my father realize this abnormal relationship, destroyed his heart, and drove him to his death.

--Unforgivable, unforgivable.

I could not forgive the wandering ghost known as the ‘everlasting night stone’, but above all, I could not forgive myself.

However, my own punishment would be held off until the very end.

Before that, I had to annihilate it. For that reason, I—

Would be as brave as Amitabha Tathagata, who stayed at the left of Amitabha Tathagata.

Would be as wise as Gabrielle, who stayed at the left of God’s throne.

And—I would transform into the sword that cut down demons, like Futsunushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsunushi</ref>, who stayed at the left of Okuninushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckuninushi</ref>.

That’s right, I decided to become a demon that would devour demons.

That was why I erased all emotions, and was able to endure everything.

With the deity Futsunushi, enshrined at Okitachi Inari Shrine as my guardian deity, I received the surname of my master.

And that is how from that day forth… Nagito Yamada-kun, I took the name of Sako Takita.<ref>The kanji for Sako’s first name is 左居, with the first kanji meaning left and the next one meaning to be or exist, so Sako means being at the left.</ref>

◯

“….Perhaps because of that you see. I feel as if my face is getting thinner like a fox each year.”

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?<ref>As explained in the previous volume, he is asking how the kanji is written here.</ref>”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A *brrrrrr* sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said, “Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”

◯

“Where are you headed?”

On the bus, an elderly grandfather with a bamboo basket on his back asked us.

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi fiddling with her phone without saying anything, so having no choice, I answered him.

“Ummm… we’re going to a friend’s house for a bit.”

“Ooh, is that right?”

The elderly gentleman nodded with a good-natured expression, as if he were about to puff a cigarette, and sat down in the seat next to us.

The bus rattled and swayed as it leisurely moved along the mountain road with several passengers on board. I somehow looked outside the window, and saw that the houses were steadily becoming sparser, and all that lay beyond them were magnificent undulating mountains.

And at my feet was a large rucksack I had borrowed from a friend in the mountaineering club. I didn’t know if we would easily be able to find accommodation, so I borrowed as much camping gear as I could cram into the rucksack and brought it along.

The address Sako had written, K city. Y-Prefecture—

Yoishi and I were on our way there, having switched trains, and rode the only bus that came only once every hour.

The sun would soon be setting in the area. The mountain ridges were dyed in a golden colored light. The scenery alone was quite beautiful and nostalgic, but when I thought about the building we were headed towards, my buoyant mood continued to sink.

“Something terrible inhabits these mountains.”

The old grandad from earlier blurted out.

“You can't look them in the eye because if you do, you'll end up dead.”

It must have been a legend you’d often find passed down in rural areas.

“Um, what is it called?”

I asked, and the grandad replied, “…It’s called,” before falling into silence for a while.

“It’s called… No, it’s better if you don’t know. Because you might end up summoning it if you know it.”

In response, Yoishi suddenly opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about 『Gandame』or 『Yousen boy』?”

“Y, young lady, you shouldn’t. Don’t say the names.”

The grandad hurriedly warned Yoishi, but as for me, I wanted to rebuke him, ‘Grandpa, you're wrong.’

You must not tell her the things ‘she shouldn’t do’. And as expected, Yoishi’s eyes glittered,

“…Gandame, Yousen boy, Gandame, Yousen boy.” She began to repeat it.

‘Eek’, as the grandad recoiled backwards, I bonked her on the head.

“…..My apologies, she’s, a little strange.”

I apologized profusely, and gazed at Yoishi who had fallen silent in discontent—

I let out a sigh in my heart by myself at the troubles that were to come.

I say troubles, but I wasn’t sure if I completely understood the details of those troubles.

Krishna-san’s sudden disappearance—I was unbearably worried about that, but I had left it to Sako who said he would meet up with Yukihito-kun and deal with it. Apparently, according to Sako, heading to this address together with Yoishi had priority above all else. Well, I had a feeling I could leave it to him since Sako seemed to act properly when it came to Krishna-san, but—the biggest problem of all was the weight of his words: 『Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story』.

The problem was whether I could really do something like that.

I came this far trying countless times to do something about the darkness ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ carried. Despite being repeatedly told by Krishna-san that it was impossible, I recklessly stepped foot into the abyss of the world beyond, and each time, I would retreat with tears in my eyes. And what could I do now that I came here with no trump card? What could I possibly do by brazenly going to the ‘place Yoishi Mitsurugi was born’? Sako also told me that 『The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun』, but I had no idea why there was a race against time at all. However, it was also true that after hearing the story of ‘Sako Takita’, my image of him had ended up changing quite dramatically, and for once I had a feeling that it would be better to believe him.

That’s why after I parted ways with Sako at Kanda Myoujin, I gathered the camping gear and headed to the library for the time being.

Fear comes from ignorance. Those were Krishna-san’s words, but there was nothing scarier than going to a place called ‘hell’ without knowing anything. I looked up any articles I could get my hands on in the library corresponding to the incidents in ‘K city, Y-Prefecture’ and ‘Hanging mansion’. And then, I finally called Yoishi, but—

“Hey, Yoishi.”

“……..What?”

“I told you we were going to Y prefecture, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“I told you we probably won’t return for a few days so come prepared, didn’t I?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“So, why are you here empty-handed in your school uniform?”

Around two hours ago, I arrived at the station we were supposed to meet up at, and was exasperated.

I didn’t expect her to bring a rucksack like me, but I thought she would at least bring a small bag. But it was as usual with ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, she hadn’t changed even the slightest.

Wearing a black blazer, black tie, black skirt. Navy blue socks, and black leather shoes.

Yoishi Mitsurugi stood there in her dazzling Koumei high school uniform. She didn’t look as if she had brought a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush or a towel. With only her mobile phone in hand, she had the same unfriendly, or rather blank expression with her excessively well-proportioned beauty looking at me, and her long black hair danced in the wind.

“Don’t you think you’re travelling a little too light?”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Well…that might be the case but…”

Come to think of it, I was beginning to like an idiot for bringing such a large backpack.

“Leaving that aside, where are we headed in Y prefecture?”

She suddenly asked, “Eh?” I was at a loss for words.

“You only said we were going to Y prefecture.”

“….Ah, ahhh….ermmm.”

No, I had to say it sooner or later, and she might figure it out along the way, but it was still difficult to say face to face, that the place we were headed towards was the birthplace of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

“I mean, really. I don't think it's right to accept an invitation to stay overnight without asking what kind of place you're going to. That’s no good for a girl before marriage.”

I pretended not to notice that I was the one who invited her,

“Didn’t I become your property?”

Yoishi retorted, and this time I was absolutely speechless.

And, I recalled once more.

The thing that happened recently—in short, when I ended up telling Yoishi’s father in front of her, ‘Give Yoishi to me’.

Somehow even Krishna-san was flushed bright red in her nose and said something like, ‘You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness’, but was that taken as a proposal or something? No, Krishna-san was weak to sake and that kind of talk to the extreme, but did Yoishi end up interpreting it as such?

As she looked at me with her large black eyes, my cheeks suddenly became hot.

My perception of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had been sealed away by Sako, and that was removed by Yoishi herself through regression hypnosis—and now that I took a long hard look at her once more, I saw that she was truly beautiful. Her pale translucent skin was unnatural for someone of Japanese descent with nary a single blemish, and her face was lined with fairy like features. Her eyes were a little dark, but on the contrary, they promoted her seducing harmony, and I think her appearance made any passerby look back at her.

That kind of girl—a possession? No, would she be my fiancée as per societal norms?

Ahh, but her father did indeed say…’Do as you like’.

Which meant that in short, he approved….?!

When I remembered that, my cheeks abruptly became flush hot, and a fluffy feeling rose up at the pit of my stomach.

I coughed once exaggeratedly and looked away.

And then I was startled.

Before I’d realized, the old grandad sitting in the seat next to me had vanished.

Or rather, it was only me, Yoishi and the driver on the bus.

“What happened to that grandad?”

“…Who knows?”

“When did they all get off? It didn’t feel like the bus had stopped.”

In response Yoishi muttered somewhat enjoyably.

“Perhaps—the elderly man might have been Gandame.”

A cold shiver ran round my back all at once in response to that cold, piercing whisper.

Immediately, it felt as if I was completely in a dream, having been in the hustle and bustle of the city merely a few hours ago, and was now, travelling left and right on a dark mountain road at dusk.

“…..We didn’t miss our stop, did we? Did you listen to the announcements carefully?”

Anxious, I took out the piece of paper in my pocket, and as I was confirming the address,

“That place.”

Yoishi merely muttered, having peeked at the piece of paper.

“Are we going to that place?”

I was speechless for a moment—before I made up my mind and nodded.

“…Ahh, that’s right. We’re headed to this place now.”

“………………..”

“…Is it a problem?”

Yoishi closed her phone, and fell into silence for a while as she looked at the darkness beyond the window.

“I’m sorry I brought you along without telling you—but, I thought it was time to settle things.”

I carefully chose my words as I spoke.

In response—

“It’s fine, but--”

As she continued to gaze out of the window, Yoishi spoke in a whisper.

“It’s just, I thought I would go there a little later.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mansion is the last place I ever intended to visit in my life.”

“………………….”

“If I don't feel fear there... it's impossible for me to feel fear again.”

Her words gave me strange goosebumps all over my body.

….Which meant that, what?

That the mansion we were headed to now, was something at a level far above just bringing me to tears as had been the case up until now?

“How did you find out about that place?”

“Ummm….I heard about it from Sako.”

“….Is that so?”

“….Um…was…”

I gulped once, and dared to ask.

“Did you know Sako?”

In response, Yoishi slowly turned towards me, and looked at me inquisitively.

“He said he met you a long time ago.”

“………………..”

Something at the back of Yoishi’s eyes flickered, as if she were trying to remember something.

Something she didn’t want to remember. Something she shouldn’t remember. Fragments of dark, sedimented memories appeared and disappeared beyond her eyes, and she eventually gave a small nod.

“………….Ahh……that person……”

However, Yoishi said nothing more from there. And I too, couldn’t ask any further.

Just what happened to you ten years and eight months ago—Why did you take on the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’? That’s not your real name, is it? Asking that simple question was unbearably heavy.

“I don’t know why we’re going to that mansion, and what you’re trying to do.”

Yoishi eventually murmured in a whisper.

“But that is without a doubt the worst place for me.”

“………..”

“There’s no guarantee that I will be myself. I might not be able to help you if something happens to you. Are you still alright with that?”

Ahhh, I know already.

…..I couldn’t say it being the weak coward that I was, but I still nodded with all the courage I could muster.

“Going around haunted places is just like life….at your own responsibility, right?”

At that moment—

I noticed that the bus driver had been gazing at us all this time through the back mirror.

The dark area around his eyes seemed to be contorted in a sneer.

And, I felt as if I shouldn’t make eye contact even if it was through the back mirror.

I didn’t know about 『Gandame』, or 『Yousen boy』, but—

I thought that we were already in the world beyond.

◯

The mansion, illuminated by the pocket light, was already in a state of decay.

After getting off the bus, we climbed up the dark mountain road for a long time, and the mansion we reached at last was the very definition of a haunted house.

The mansion merely loomed jet black beyond the white fence.

We were silent for a while, standing still with lights in one hand in front of the iron gate.

“…Shall we go?”

I called out to Yoishi, who unusually didn’t try to enter, and I pushed the creaking gate open.

The large garden was already rampant with weeds, with nary a place to plant my feet. I raised my legs in exaggerated movements as I continued, until I eventually arrived close to the front door of the mansion. However, the door was boarded shut to deter anyone from entering. I shone my light to see a sign that read, 『Unauthorized entry is forbidden』. There were many large spiders and spiderwebs that hung all over, something you would never see in the city.

I moved a little further away and aimed my light here and there. Beyond the window on the second floor was a curtain drawn halfway that looked eerily like someone’s head would peek out if I continued looking. Ivy ran along the wall of the mansion extending all the way up to the roof.

“….This mansion is way beyond what I expected.”

I said so, but there was no reply.

I turned around, to see that Yoishi was silently staring at a section in the garden.

I approached and stood next to her, and aimed my light in the direction of Yoishi’s gaze. What lay there was an old camping grill. It was already rusted and fallen over. A small camping chair was also lying there. They might have been used for barbecuing here once in the past. I crouched down to shine my light at them, and found several firework cinders on the ground as well. These symbols of a peaceful summer holiday were saddening to see in the garden of a decayed mansion.

“…Are you alright?”

Seeing her shoulders slowly move up and down, I called out to her.

Yoishi nodded without a word, but she indeed did not have her usual vigor when she faced the occult.

“It’s probably a little late to enter this mansion right now. Let’s pitch our tent here, shall we?”

I raised my voice as cheerfully as I could, and lowered the rucksack on my back.

“I have a friend in university named Yamaoka. He’s in the mountaineering club, extremely fit despite his small size, and he has a great sense of humor to boot. He let me borrow a lot of stuff. A tent for three. Two sleeping bags. I brought a lot of food as well, and even a burner. Let’s grill something for dinner, shall we? Ahh, or maybe you’d like me to make some coffee?”

“If it’s a bedroom you need then there’s one inside.”

“….Eh?”

“On the second floor, there’s a room that is safe to use.”

“No…the inside is, um, it’s quite dangerous right? This isn’t the usual haunted spot investigation. It’s better that we go in when it’s bright.”

I said that, but Yoishi had already set off for the front door, used her foot as a pivot and audaciously began to remove the planks that had been hammered into place. She removed the planks one-by-one, causing cracking and scraping noises to echo loudly in the mountain that was deathly silent at night.

“It’s not a problem if we put a tent out here though.”

With her back towards me, Yoishi spoke as she removed the planks.

“There’s a dead person in that garden as well.”

“……….Eh?”

“If that’s alright with you, then you can set up camp there.”

“……Say that from the start.”

Having no choice, I helped her.

The planks had rotted considerably, probably from the many years of wind and rain, and were removed fairly easily.

“The key?”

“A, ahh, here.”

I took the key Sako gave to me out of my pocket and handed it over to Yoishi.

Yoishi stared at the key for a while—before slowly placing it into the keyhole. A pleasant click rang out, and the lock was opened. As the creaking door slowly opened, I felt something rustling beyond the darkness—and I closed my eyes in an instant. After taking a single deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

A thick, incredibly heavy darkness leaked out from behind the half open door.

But, Yoishi remained there, standing still as a rock. Her back, which would never hesitate to step forth into any darkness, wasn’t there. All that was there was the back of a young high school girl, who was unable to take one step ahead in the face of overwhelming darkness.

“Could it be—that you’re…scared?”

“……..I don’t know.”

Yoishi answered silently.

“I don’t know if this is what it means to be afraid. But, my feet are…”

I looked to see that Yoishi’s feet in her black leather shoes were quivering slightly.

I went back to pick up my rucksack, put it on my back and silently gripped Yoishi’s hand. The moment I gripped her soft and cold hand---Ahh, I realized.

The reason why I came all the way out here. And, what needed to be done here.

Wasn’t that, to confront the past together with Yoishi—And, to hear her true name from her own mouth?

Krishna-san had said it before. 『Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world』.

That’s right. There was only one thing for the disciples of the witch to do. That was to research the real names of all events and creatures in the world and their history, and once you take back your ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ should disappear.

Alright, I said to myself, and put strength into my stomach—

“…Let’s go. Alright?”

I asked, and Yoishi gave a small nod without a word.

For the first time since I’d gone with her through numerous paranormal events—I took the lead.

With a dull thud, I threw the door open.

I was greeted with the smell of dust assailing my nostrils, and a damp atmosphere that coiled around my body. With my right hand gripping Yoishi’s hand, I illuminated the mansion with the light in my left hand, and slowly took a step forward.

In front of the wide entrance hallway was a corridor, and it was dark to the point where my mini light could barely illuminate it. Nevertheless, I could see that the stairs to the second floor were on my right-hand side, and the spacious living room lay beyond the door to my left-hand side. At any rate, I felt countless presences everywhere, and I asked as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my feet.

“Where is the bedroom you said we could use?”

“Upstairs, at the back.”

“…Got it.”

I tried not to look anywhere, as I barged inside while still wearing my shoes, which was, sorry to say, always the case with haunted spots.

The stairs creaked as I climbed them one-by-one. I aimed my light up to see that the second floor looked even darker. The light formed a ceiling shadow of the handrail that moved, which felt extremely unsettling.

“The back of the second floor—that way, huh?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were doors on each side of the second-floor corridor, and a door in the back. I quickened my steps as if I would be in a safe zone once I reached there, and pulled Yoishi with me towards that door. There, I opened it in a single breath.

Inside was a simple guest room with two beds, a small table, and a closet installed on the wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoishi inside, and closed the door.

“It sure is a nice room.”

As I said that, I tried to twiddle with the switch on the wall, but as expected there didn’t seem to be any electricity, and it remained completely dark.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

I suddenly remembered and took out a portable lantern from my rucksack. I clumsily fiddled it with my shaky hands. As taught by Yamaoka from the mountaineering club, I thrust a rechargeable lighter in the hole and ignited it. Soon, a warm flame flared up and eventually grew, dimly illuminating the interior of the room.

“……….Ohh.”

“………….”

Yoishi and I, merely gazed at that light in a daze.

I had thought countless times that light was truly grand —but this was the first time I had been moved to the point of tears. Yamaoka insisted it when I borrowed the camping equipment, 『Camping is a completely different experience without it』, and forcibly crammed it in the rucksack over my objections….but, If I safely make it back, I have to express my profound thanks. If I didn’t have this, then the strange intimidating air that enveloped this mansion might have continued to weaken my spirit.

“This sure is good. It’s somehow really encouraging.”

“…Yeah.”

Yoishi sat on the bed, and unusually agreed with me.

I looked at her for some reason—and after that, I looked at the other bed.

I just now realized that it was only me and Yoishi here; We had sneaked in at night in an uninhabited house commonly known as the 『Hanging mansion』.

“Ermm.”

I cleared my throat once and asked.

“Is it a problem If I use any of the other rooms?”

Yoishi slightly cocked her head to the side.

“You know, it’s problematic for the two of us to sleep in the same room. Just now you said that this room was not a problem, but what about the other rooms….or to be more precise, what exactly is the problem with them?”

“It’s fine if you don’t mind, but.”

Yoishi answered dispassionately.

“The people who used the other two rooms are dead.”

“……………..”

...... I can't do it. I absolutely cannot do it.

In addition, this place was incomparably heavier and darker than all the haunted places we had visited so far. I nodded silently and sat down on the vacant bed after wiping away the dust on it. From there, we were both silent for a while. She had lied down with her back towards me, and I was clearly getting an aura from her that a conversation was impossible.

It was still just a little past 8 pm.

It was a time when you’d normally be awake and doing activities, but the mountains at night were a different story altogether. When the moon hid behind the clouds, there was no light anywhere besides this lantern. Everything was painted pitch black, and it made you believe that you were in a completely different world, a world where human rules no longer applied.

It was just the two of us alone in the ruins of a building that was deathly silent— not an unusual situation for us, and yet, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Perhaps because Yoishi was not her usual self.

Her eyes always glimmered in the face of the paranormal.

The more grotesque the situation trended towards, the stronger that dark light would shine.

But, right now, I—

I knew that the dark colored light at the back of her eyes was the thing I had to face. That knowledge made me feel as if there was someone else here besides the two of us, one more opponent, of an unknown nature.

But I had come mentally prepared with that in mind.

Determined, I calmly opened my rucksack. I took out copies of old newspaper and magazine articles I had obtained from the library before coming here, and spread them out under the light of the lantern.

It was commonly known as, 『The Hanging Mansion Family Massacre Case』. The major newspapers referred to it as 『K Lakeside Mountain Retreat Murder Case』, but the former was how it was referred to by the weekly magazines. And the source of that name came from the fact that the head of a household was found hanged in this mansion.

It happened around eleven years ago--- in short, it occurred on the 31st of July 2001.

I continued to read in sequence from a newspaper article to a weekly magazine article.

『Yesterday, inside a certain building in a mountain forest in K city, Y prefecture, the bodies of an active duty police officer and a Tokyo family that was staying at the house for a short period of time were discovered. The Y prefectural police have set up an investigation headquarters and have begun an investigation into the possibility of it being a crime or an accident. The connection between the family and the police officer is uncertain, but there is a possibility that the family was involved in some kind of trouble. According to the police statement, the bodies of the father and mother were discovered inside, and the body of the police officer and the family pet were discovered outside the building. The bodies of the eldest and younger daughter were discovered in the nearby K lake.』

『The father was discovered hanging by his neck in the living room.』『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room.』『The head patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police department was discovered stabbed to death in the garden.』『Next to the head patrol officer was the body of a dog which is believed to be the family pet.』『Around 1 kilometer below at K Lakeshore, the body of the elder sister was discovered. With lacerations at the base of her throat.』『The body of the second daughter was also discovered at the same location. She drowned to death.』

As I continued to read, my feelings became heavier and heavier.

According to one expert's theory in a weekly magazine, this incident was a family suicide carried out by the father: he killed the mother, the officer, the dog, and when the sisters ran away, he followed them and killed them at the lake, and then returned to the mansion where he killed himself. I see, it more or less made sense. However, there were still mysteries that remained, such as why a police officer belonging to the Metropolitan Police department happened to be present in a mountain retreat at Y prefecture? And why did the father decide to commit a family suicide?

Above all, what I was most concerned about was how Yoishi and Sako were involved in this incident.

If it were eleven years ago, Yoishi would have been six or seven years old.

I could deduce that she must have been the elder or the younger sister, but—before, umm, I think it was in the Koumei Institute’s ‘Clock Tower Incident’? It felt as if she had talked about her elder sister. Which meant, that Yoishi must have been the younger daughter.

Having racked my brains on it thus far--I read through one of the articles once more, and found a mention of ‘serious condition’ with regards to the status of the younger daughter. I also found an article that said, ‘She was transported to the hospital unconscious’ and, ‘The younger daughter in serious condition also passed away’. In short, the life and death status of the younger daughter was not mentioned clearly. There was no news of her whereabouts thereafter, as if she had dissolved into the darkness of this world. However, whether the culprit was her father or an outsider, the fact that the younger daughter survived, meant that she had gone through extreme hell--She had witnessed the entirety of what occurred in this mansion from beginning to end, and was probably aware of the identity of the true culprit.

And, thereupon,

I suddenly felt a strange tug at my heart.

It was as if I had overlooked an important path hidden by the vegetation in the dark forest.

I rearranged the scattered articles I had copied in order of date published. And then, I remembered what I felt when I was copying the articles in the library.

Yes—around two weeks after the incident, the number of reports on the incident dropped dramatically. After a month had passed, the verified reports were nowhere to be found. It is true that a wonder lasts but nine days, and even if the Japanese people had a capricious nature-- but this was such a sensational incident. And on top of that, it was still unresolved to the present day. Wasn't it forgotten about a bit too quickly?

It was as if... they were trying to pretend it never have happened.

“... Press restrictions, huh?”

As I recall, if an incident fulfilled certain criteria, then in accordance with press agreements, the media may refrain from reporting it.

But I heard that it was only limited to kidnapping cases, or anything relating to the imperial household or political issues—

---No.

No…that wasn’t all it was limited to.

I recalled an article I had read on an occult website. If I recalled correctly, there was an incident in which police rushed to the scene of the crime where a mother had been murdered, they found her infant daughter sitting there in a state of insanity and muttered, ‘A demon appeared from the wall’. There was much debate as to the true identity of the ‘demon’, but news reporting of that incident suddenly ceased all at once.

There were a lot of occultic theories on the internet surrounding people who lived in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, but one day, the thread was locked with a message from someone believed to be an insider.

It was, ‘The culprit was the daughter’, ‘Because she is an infant, press restrictions would be imposed.’

Something cold began to rise beneath my feet.

I slowly turned my head towards Yoishi who was lying on her side on the bed.

It can’t be—

The first time I met Yoishi--- Yes, back in the ‘Wish-fulfilling House’.

When I introduced myself, she merely said, 『I’m Yoishi』. I asked her, 『Isn't that a handle?』, and she denied it, saying,『My surname is Mitsurugi. Not that it matters』. Back then, I wondered if she was fine with revealing her real name on the internet, but—was it because it wasn’t her real name?

Come to think of it, I found out that the Noh-faced man who called himself Yoishi’s father belonged to the ‘Cabinet Information Research Office’. That meant it could influence the media to a greater or lesser extent— and not just that, it was also possible for it to take custody of a girl whose whereabouts were unknown….? No, what reason would someone in a government organization have for adopting the younger daughter?

Sako had been chasing the ‘everlasting night stone’ which was written in kanji as 「常夜石」. And he said that it was something that, 『Amplifies people’s negative emotions, and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing』, and that 『It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves』.

If ‘Mitsurugi’ was that man’s surname, but then, why did her first name become ‘Yoishi’…..?

Before I’d realized it, my legs had started shaking. Right now, I thought the black-haired girl sleeping in the bed next to me was someone truly terrifying, and I felt fear to the point where my blood was being drained.

---It can’t be, the true culprit from ten years ago was…..

“………..That’s right.”

At that moment, I jumped up with a start when Yoishi whispered as if she had read my heart. Yoishi slowly got up, moved to the edge of the bed and sat there. And, she gazed for a while at the countless photocopies of articles scattered near my hands—

Eventually, she moved her pale face towards me. I trembled at the appearance of the dark light in her large eyes.

“……Hey, are you scared?”

“……….”

“Are you…. Scared of me right now?”

I couldn’t answer instantly—

But eventually, Ahh, I managed to squeeze a voice from my stinging, parched throat.

“………I’m scared. Of course I’m scared. To be honest, if we’d just met, I think I would have run away.”

“…………..”

“But….it’s strange ---right now, I don’t care anymore.”

I forcefully put on a smile on my face.

Then, for some reason, I felt the back of my heart quietening into silence.

“If you are a survivor of this incident….and, if you’ve now taken the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, as someone who really does have another name. Then I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can’t see ghosts. I want to believe that they’re there, but to be honest I still can’t say for sure that they’re there. Even after witnessing countless paranormal things, I still can’t tell at all. But, what I truly believe is that there are souls. Warm souls, terrifying souls……. There must be countless souls in this world. They might dwell in buildings, in paintings, in music---they might be the strength of people’s thoughts, but I feel their presence and I believe in their existence. And, the shape of your soul-- which I can feel, which has gone through so much pain and suffering, I believe that it’s beautiful despite everything. And I love that shape.”

“…………………….”

Yoishi remained frozen in place, as she continued to gaze at my face---

And her beautifully shaped lips were about to say, ‘You--’, when they stopped.

“…………You?”

“You….you truly are a fool.”

Yoishi’s voice had a tinge of embarrassment in it, when--

……….*Plop*………..

That sound echoed.

It sounded like water dripping somewhere.

That sound, which seemed as if it was right next to my ears, made me shudder for some reason.

“Is there… a water leak somewhere?”

I somehow managed to say that, and Yoishi shook her head.

“….It’s calling me.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s in the bathroom.”

Declaring that, something flickered beyond Yoishi’s eyes that was illuminated by the lantern. Dark colored eyes and something I arbitrarily named was wriggling. And, that itself was the moment ‘Yoishi’ turned into the ‘everlasting night stone’.

「Say, don’t you want to go and take a look?」

Yoishi would probably whisper that from here.

And that was where the other world would begin. With a jerk, the world would flip upside down, and what would appear there would be a world you shouldn’t see. The ground beneath my feet would tremble, creating a floating sensation as if I had lost everything. But, I would not be able to fight against it. It would be unbearably scary, but I would end up heading there as if being dragged by Yoishi---

And.

However, Yoishi didn’t say anything no matter how much time passed.

Even though there was terror right next to her, she remained motionless as she continued to listen closely to the sound of water.

“…Yoishi?”

“This place is the reason why-- I hate baths.”

“…………”

“I… ended up making a mistake here I could never take back.”

“….What, happened here?”

I asked her, but Yoishi remained silent and did not answer. Her face was contorted in pain, and she merely hung her head down.

If I continued to gaze at that face, an unbearable sadness would sweep over me as well, and before I’d realized, I stood up and said, “Okay”. I drew closer to Yoishi and sniffed at her neck.

Yup, she stinks.

“Shall we take it, together?”

“………Eh………..?”

“The bath. If you know that this place is the cause, then that’s even more of a reason.”

“I, I refuse.”

“Shut up, just come. You haven’t taken a bath since you left my home, right?”

I was fully aware that I was saying something outrageous, but I was desperate when I decided to confront her.

I pulled Yoishi’s hand and made her stand, and spoke as if to conceal my embarrassment.

“I’ll wash your head. And this time—we’ll overcome it all.”

◯

“It’s boiling over, nice hot water!”

I shouted through the glass door as I pulled my hand out of the bathtub in the pitch-black darkness.

Then, after a few moments, the glass door opened with a clank. Yoishi Mitsurugi appeared in the bathroom stark naked….or so I thought. In the darkness, I only caught a glimpse, but naturally, I immediately averted my eyes out of courtesy.

There was no electricity in the mansion, but it was most fortunate that the water was from a well and that propane gas was still available. Right now, the bathroom was filled with warm steam. Even though there must be plenty of occult fans all over the world, we were probably the only ones to take a bath in a haunted place. As I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t it a worthy achievement to have performed a reckless act so effortlessly?’, Yoishi quietly sat down on the seat next to me, holding what looked like a towel in hand. In the pitch-darkness of the bathroom, where only the steam gently enveloped our bodies, we continued to sit in silence, naked.

“Ermm… Wash your body first.”

I desperately tried not to be conscious of Yoishi next to me, filled the tub with hot water, and rubbed a soap that was there onto the towel and lathered it.

“Look, you wash yours. It’s alright. I don’t see anything. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“……………………….”

Eventually, Yoishi placed something she was holding on the wash basin without saying a word.

“Hm…….? Wasn’t that a towel?”

I asked as I was scrubbing my body clean, but Yoishi seemed to have shaken her head without a word.

“Can I have a look at that?”

I washed the bubbles off my hand with hot water, turned off the faucet and then picked it up.

Checking it with my fingertips, I saw that it was something soft--- some kind of stuffed toy.

“Ah….this, could it be the thing you always have attached to your bag? The stuffed frog?”

“….Yes.”

“Hmmm, is it your good luck charm?”

I asked as I touched the body of the stuffed frog with my fingertips. It was quite old and frayed in places, but—that touch made me feel strangely nostalgic.

“It’s not a good luck charm.”

After a while, Yoishi whispered.

“He’s, my only friend.”

For some reason, those words made my heart ache deep in my chest.

“In the past, he used to talk.”

“In the past…? He can’t do it now?”

“He doesn’t talk anymore.”

“…………….”

In a way, such a cute line from a girl was a problem because when Yoishi said it, it instantly became occultic in nature. And moreover, since we were in an abandoned building where no one lived and people had died, I had to be careful not to let the atmosphere go into a creepy direction as much as possible, or else my spirit couldn’t handle it.

When—suddenly, I heard a splash.

I looked to see that Yoishi had already entered the bathtub.

Apparently, after only a couple of splashes of hot water on her body, she had moved there with the stuffed frog in hand.

“Did you wash yourself properly?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t. The soap is still the same as it was in front of me.”

“…..I don’t want to use that soap.”

“Why?”

“Because it's still there, just as it was that day.”

I didn't know how to retort back to those words.

I quietly looked in the direction of the bathtub, to see that Yoishi was soaked in the hot water up to her chin, playing with the stuffed frog in hand.

She hadn’t tied her long hair, so it was scary to see her hair spread out on the surface of the water.

“….I ended up doubting her.”

“…….Eh?”

“Back then, mama asked me if she could join me—and I refused.”

“What do you mean, you refused?”

I asked, but Yoishi fell silent once more.

Eventually, she carefully chose each word as she spoke.

“It was mama… but I ended up doubting that it wasn’t mama.”

Not understanding it well, I listened silently as I continued to wash my body.

“…If I had opened the door for her back then…. A lot of things might have turned out differently.”

That must have been when Yoishi was probably six or seven years old—when she came to visit this mountain retreat with her family. Does that mean that Yoishi was alone in the bath when her mother came? Does that mean that her mother died the next day?

I recalled the article that said,『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room』, and at the moment when bitterness overflowed in my chest—

I realized after all this time. I…. Ended up calling this mansion a ‘haunted place’ without consideration, but wasn’t it extremely rude to call it that, since it was a place where her family was? Once more, the words Krishna-san always told me stabbed my chest, ‘Have respect for the dead’, and I clutched my head in the darkness.

“….Regrets really are a thing, huh?”

After a while, I muttered.

“I always wonder after everything is over if I could have done a little bit more. I mean, my life is a repetition of that. I overslept, missed an important lecture and almost cried before the exam, I couldn’t properly teach the newcomer at my part time job, and he suddenly stopped coming, I ended up eating an extra-large portion of gyudon even though I don’t have money—No, what I have is nothing compared to what you are burdened with.”

--*Splash* As I poured hot water on my shoulders to wash away the foam, I spoke, “Sorry”.

“I’m sorry I ended up calling this house a ‘haunted place’.”

“….I don’t really mind.”

“No….but….”

Then, Yoishi merely muttered in the bathtub.

“What are ''grudges'', exactly?”

“….Eh?”

“What do ghosts, bear a grudge against, exactly….? For example, what if you were to die a horrific death because of me? What if you still had so many things you wanted to do, but your life ended because of me? Would you too wander this world with a grudge….?”

I suddenly imagined ---myself as a ghost, just wandering this world endlessly. But at that moment, a strange loneliness swept over my chest. A world like ice, where no one could perceive me, where my words never reached anyone.

There, all I was, was confused.

I was befuddled, in agony, and wished to die quickly and properly. Even though I was already dead, I was impatient to die properly.

“……No.”

I shook my head once, turned on the shower and poured hot water on my head.

“Rather than bearing a grudge, I think I’d be troubled.”

“Troubled….?”

“I think that ghosts are probably just troubled. The moment they understand that they’re dead, they're upset because they don't know what to do, having experienced that for the first time. Ahh--- I can’t explain it well, but rather than asking questions about why they died or wanting to come back to life, they would be restless about what to do with themselves, and have no time to bear grudges against other people. ….Look, isn’t that why they draw close to you? They might be relying on you since they realize that you can see ghosts. Maybe they think you might believe in the myth that telling ghost stories attracts them.”

I excitedly talked as if I had accidentally touched on a secret—

“You—”

Yoishi coldly declared.

“Really are a fool.”

‘What the hell did you say?’, I was about to retort, when I stopped, thinking that it was inappropriate. I silently lathered up the shampoo that was there in my hands and started washing my hair feeling good.

It was my first time talking about ghosts and not being afraid. For the first time, I felt as if I understood the meaning of what Krishna-san always said, ‘Perhaps some ghosts play tricks on people, while other ghosts say, 'Come on, stop it,' and step in to intervene, yet no one ever thinks of the latter possibility’.

“Even if they're dead, ghosts aren’t different than people.”

I tried to sound as cool as I possibly could, when it happened.

As I was scrubbing my head with the shampoo, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

As if the lathering was strangely sluggish — or rather, as if the amount of hair had strangely increased.

At that moment, I realized that there were long strands of hair dropping on both sides of my face. It was as if someone had drawn their face close to the back of my head with their long black hair, and trirf to get me to wash their hair as well.

--It must be Yoishi.

You sure had the nerve to come up with a funny idea, as I quickly reached both hands to the back of my head. I was trying to take hold of that head: Yoishi’s head, however.

“…………Eh?”

There was nothing there, and my hands were wandering in empty air.

''“Get out.”''

At the same time, a voice like a ringing bell echoed in the bathroom.

I looked to see Yoishi still immersed in the bathtub, gazing in my direction.

Her eyes in the darkness, were darker than darkness—

Her following words, directed towards something, made goosebumps run all over my body.

“You are already dead.”

◯

I'll never speak sagely of ghosts before her ever again.

I firmly made up my mind to do as I chanted the nembutsu<ref>Buddhist prayer</ref> all night--And it was the following day.

Before I'd realized, I was sound asleep in the bed and woke up to find myself in heavenly sunshine. The chirping of the birds reverberated around me, and the branches of lush green trees peeked through the window.

Did I come to some hotel resort somewhere? I couldn’t judge the situation right away and really thought that was the case, but--

No..... No, that wasn't it.

This was the mountain retreat where a mysterious massacre occurred eleven years ago.

With a start I raised my head, and saw that Yoishi was already awake and sitting on top of her bed, fiddling with her phone.

“...Ah... Good morning.”

When I greeted her, she fleetingly glanced my way with her large eyes,

“My phone has a connection.”

She spoke.

“Well, that's what it’s supposed to do.”

“There was no connection eleven years ago.”

She stood up and pointed her phone here and there.

“Is there a problem if you have a connection?”

“……………………….”

However, without answering, Yoishi put her phone away in her pocket, and turned her white face at me.

“What are we going to do from now on?”

“Well….”

No, I had no concrete ideas in mind.

I was under the impression that just coming here would be enough to settle something. I was told by Sako that I had to complete ‘Yoishi’s story’, and I thought that must have been ‘to hear Yoishi’s true name from her own mouth’. But— after thinking about it long and hard, that doesn't really need to be in this place, does it?

Which means….huh?

Why did Sako tell me about this place?

I raised my head, looked at the mansion walls, and thought of the room that was supposed to exist beyond it. After that, I pictured downstairs which was filled with far more creepiness than the second floor.

….Could it be?

Did it mean that there was something in this mansion that could finish this case?

“Let’s go.”

I declared, and Yoishi tilted her head slightly.

“We have to search this mansion.”

Yoishi asked, ‘For what?’, and in response:

“Something important.”

Without pause, I opened the door to the room.

All that was there on the other side of the creaking door was a corridor---but it wasn’t as dark as last night.

It was already bright with the light of the sun pouring in.

The stairs creaked as Yoishi and I descended to the ground floor. It was a building with many windows, and the warm sunshine poured in through all of them. It had lost the appearance of a haunted house and was now just an old mansion. Even so, the building still felt like a ruin, full of spider webs and dust-- but, as I thought that, I spotted something on the corridor floor. It was a yellow police tape. Apparently, it had been placed in front of the door leading to the living room.

Something bitter instantly rose up inside me, as I realized that this was a murder scene, and that the victims were Yoishi’s relatives.

“Are you alright?”

I turned around and asked, and Yoishi nodded, looking paler than usual.

The living room was spacious. It was at the very least, around 32 square meters in size.

It had leather covered sofas, a fireplace, withered houseplants, and torn wallpaper.

But—

I thought once more. I didn’t know why it was, but I didn’t feel as if this was my first time in this mansion. Come to think of it, I felt that when I first looked up at this mansion from the garden last night. As if someone had said to me, “Welcome back”. I recalled that feeling now once more and shuddered.

No--- I shook my head. No matter how much I turned the drawers of my memory upside down, I had never come to this mansion before. I only felt like I had been here before because this was a typical resort construction, and they all had a similar layout.

I continued to convince myself in that way, as I scooped off the piled-up dust on the sofa with my hands.

On the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room were three cups, and the tea or whatever that had been inside had already dried up and turned light brown. The family must have been enjoying their time here together. They had no idea that a conclusion far terrible than they could have imagined awaited them….

I became strangely sentimental, maybe because I thought that it was Yoishi’s family.

I was a weakling from the start, but I thought I had endurance with regards to the dead after their funeral had been completed. Once you die, there’s no coming back. No matter how much I grieved and moaned, I could not overturn that rule of life. That’s why, I didn’t mourn more than necessary. After all, I too would die one day. At that time, I would meet them again. And, in order to have lots to talk about when I meet them again in that world, I would live a fruitful life, that’s how I thought of it. That might have been the psychological coping mechanism I learned after the bitter separation from my mother.

But---

Something about this mansion was different.

I ended up thinking that maybe there was still something I could do about it.

Even though everyone was already dead….. and were no longer a part of this world, the vividness of the family pressed at me, a family that was not my own, but one that I could not think of as a stranger’s.

Are…they still here?

Are Yoishi’s mother, father, sister, and the policeman, still here in this mansion--?

I end up feeling like…. they entrusted me with something important that was left undone.

“….Huh?”

As I thought such things, I noticed that Yoishi was staring at something.

It was a small space above the hearth.

“What’s wrong?”

I called out to her and stood next to her---where I noticed.

It was a single photograph. A brown wooden photo frame had collapsed, and a discolored photograph lay beside it.

My heart beat out loud seeing the figures of the people in the picture.

“…..This……”

“My… family.’

“Is it alright…. if I take a look?”

“It’s fine, but—”

Yoishi added in a tone of voice that lacked emotion.

“It’s not really something pleasant.”

Hearing those words, I gulped.

Why hadn’t the police taken this picture away, even though they must have investigated the scene countless times? Come to think of it, why were all the cups I saw earlier still here? Suddenly, all sorts of questions crossed my mind, but in the end, I picked up that photograph.

It was a family photograph taken in the garden. The father, the mother, the elder sister, the younger sister, and the family dog—everyone was looking at the camera, and probably smiling in the polaroid picture. However, the moment I saw it, an intense chill ran down my back, causing me to almost let go of it.

For some reason….in that photograph of the father, the mother, the elder sister, and the dog—their faces were discolored white and stretched out in the air as if twisted by an invisible force so strong that they were about to disappear. Among them, only the young girl was smiling kindly. She looked this way with her beautiful white face, and her pretty, long black hair that swayed slightly in the wind.

“……U…..umm, you sure were cute.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, really….”

“It becomes this type of photograph when that takes your life.”

“By t…that…could you possibly mean?”

…The ‘everlasting night stone’ that Sako mentioned?

The moment I was about to mention that name, Yoishi put her finger on my lips to stop me.

“It would be better not to say that name.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

“Because it’s everywhere at all times.”

“S…say, why…why did you take the name of Yoishi? If that name itself was ominous, and if you were aware of that, then why---?”

Without answering, Yoishi silently took the photograph from my hand and carefully placed it back in its original place.

“The police abandoned it.”

“Abandoned?”

“This photograph is as you can see. But, it wasn’t abandoned because of an exposure error. This entire mansion was abandoned, and the investigation itself was abandoned.”

“W, why?”

“Because the state unofficially recognized that long ago.”

Yoishi’s cold words left me aghast.

“It exists in every age, appears at whim, and consumes humans—stealing their lives. That’s why it has been recognized as a natural disaster that possesses this country, like typhoons and earthquakes.”

“No…that’s—if it were a natural disaster, then why did you need to take that name?”

“Because—”

Yoishi stood stock still like a broken doll, and whispered.

“Because I’m the cause of all this.”

“……….What?”

“Because I was an unwanted child that was never wished for.”

“….There’s no way that’s true? There’s no way a child is unloved by their parents.”

“Thinking straightforwardly like that is a trait of yours, but—then, why does infanticide not cease in this world? What about the abuse that increases even now? And, what if… it was an unwanted pregnancy?”

………………………..

“What if….it was a life born from the violation of the mother by a complete stranger?”

“….Hey…it can’t be….”

“If that were the case, I would erase myself.”

Yoishi’s large eyes harbored a pale blue flame as she spoke.

“That’s why my face is white. Because of foreign blood. I didn’t resemble anyone in my family. I was--”

“Cursed ''before I was even born.''”

“That’s exactly why I was chosen by that.”

I….could not utter even a single word.

But from somewhere in the mansion that was as silent as death—something echoed as a substitute.

A biological, disgusting, whipping sound.

“….It has begun.”

“…….Eh?”

“It’s already begun.”

Yoishi looked me in the eyes, and spoke in a whisper.

“It’s going to be hell from now on.”

“….What?”

“If you want to go back, this is your last chance.”

“……………”

“You’re free to do whatever you wish, but from here on, I’m not sure that I will continue to be myself. To run away from here, to forget everything, and to live a cheerful life would be without a doubt the right thing to do.”

Yoishi spoke that much forlornly, and turned away from me.

With a mechanical gait in her step, she walked straight out of the living room.

“W…. wait a minute!”

I was a step behind, and ran after her.

I caught up to Yoishi who was proceeding in the corridor, and grabbed her hand.

“I’m going as well.”

I declared, and Yoishi looked at me with lonely eyes.

I nodded strongly, and Yoishi silently looked down, and spoke.

“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

“……Eh?”

“I know that’s completely unforgivable, but I can’t help but rely on you.”

“No……”

I spoke flustered.

“I don’t mind if you rely on me, you know? Well, although, I might be quite unreliable, but…”

In response, Yoishi bit her lips in irritation---

“Please, forgive me.”

She whispered that.

I stopped moving, not knowing what she meant—when Yoishi looked up at me and gazed at me. That white, unworldly, beautiful face declared as if melting into the darkness of this world.

“No matter what happens, no matter what you see… stay as you are. Stay as Nagito Yamada. Continue to stay that way--- that might be our only chance to win at the very last moment.”

It was an expression Yoishi Mitsurugi had shown me for the first time.

The girl who had never asked me for a single favor up until now, who had gleefully moved forward no matter what paranormal events she faced, the young girl who was acted coolly like a grand witch from antiquity even when faced with reality that would make you want to avert your eyes, showed me for the first time--- a sorrowful expression.

Please, forgive me.

She declared once more in a hoarse voice, and abruptly turned heel with a knock of her leather shoes.

After that, she didn’t look back, as she continued into the darkness.

I fell behind for a moment—before following her.

The mansion corridor which had not been ventilated for a long time, creaked strangely, perhaps due to the humidity.

It wouldn’t be strange if the floors collapsed at any given moment, and that instability was the same sensation I had whenever my legs froze from the sign of the world beyond.

The very back of the corridor.

The closer I got to the inconspicuous wooden door, the louder the whipping sound became.

“T...this sound.”

I was about to ask what it was, but I couldn’t say the words. Being the weakling that I was, my legs had already begun to tremble, and the root of my teeth didn’t connect.

Yoishi made it that far without hesitation, placed her hand on the sliding door, and with a single breath, threw it open.

It was a storage room around 10 sqm in size.

There was a mop, a place for a large vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, an unused chair and such.

And, in the center, I saw a familiar childish face.

“—K…”

I was at a loss for words.

“…..Kri…shna-san?”

◯

A petite figure was crouching in a dark corner of the room, devouring something.

Her short hair was messy, as if she hadn’t returned home for many days—and her blue spring dress was torn in places and dirty with mud, as if she had tumbled down a mountain.

“Umm….Krishna-san….is that you….?”

In response, the girl looked in my direction, still clutching something with her hands.

She sneered in a satisfied smile with her white, cloudy eyes. I shuddered at the sight of the thing that protruded from her lips. From those cute lips which were always preaching to me with sermons of love, now protruded a large, wriggling centipede. She bit it off with those white teeth of hers, and chewed it crunchingly.

As I watched, unable to say anything —Krishna-san slowly stood up.

She then brought her hands, still covered with the remains of centipedes and other small animals, to her large breasts and grasped them violently. She then rubbed them vigorously. It made me feel a sense of unease, as if a different personality was using Krishna-san’s arms to toy with her body. But, there was no eroticism in it. It was merely revolting; I felt disgust as if something precious was being defiled. it reminded me of a coven of witches – a sabbath that I had once seen illustrated in a book. That vulgar behavior was in no way the behavior of the Krishna-san I knew. She was so cute in all her actions that even when she had to be strict, she still lacked a sense of tension.

“What are you trying to do by moving to that person?”

Yoishi spoke coldly as she fixed her gaze on Krishna-san.

“Your place is inside me, isn’t it?”

With those words, I realized with a start.

“….Hey, it can’t be….?”

‘That’s right’, Yoishi gave a small nod.

“That person is Shiina Kurimoto, but it’s not her personality right now. The one who stands there is the one destroyed everyone precious to me: my best friend, my mother, my father, my elder sister, Leo, the detective-- The one who stands there… is the ‘Everlasting night stone’.”

Together with her words… I saw it.

Right now, in Krishna-san’s eyes, a dark light glimmered that was like the bewitching glimmer in Yoishi’s eyes in the face of the paranormal. Exposed to that dark light, countless scenes revived and connected in my mind. The countless mysteries, paranormal phenomenon which defied explanation that I had witnessed so far. Yoishi’s eyes would begin to glitter before them. But when she saw malice in the truth, Yoishi would always vomit. She would vomit in pain, as if trying to wipe away something inside her.

Was that---

Because this thing was inside her?

Was it because this thing was wriggling in delight inside Yoishi?

The sneering laughter that sounded like a man echoed in the dimly lit storage room and corridor.

The bobbed haired, baby face, the cheeks that would be described as adorable by a hundred out of a hundred people, Krishna-san contorted those cheeks—

And made a smile that was both broken and complacent.

“It crossed over from continental Asia in the past, was called ‘Nine tails’ at times, and ‘Everlasting night stone’ at times…. It moves freely from people to people, a natural disaster of this country that destroyed countless people all over, a hidden natural disaster—the purest ‘malice’ in this world.”

Yoishi’s words coldly reverberated in the room—

The earth shook. No, my torso was shaking in the face of being overwhelmingly powerless, and my knees were already shaking to the point of collapse.

Krishna-san….no, Shiina Kurimoto-san was the most reliable person for me since I moved to Tokyo alone. Her words were harsh at times, but even they were filled with love, because she was worried about me from the bottom of her heart, and she was the person who was the furthest away from the word ‘corrupted’. She was my holy mother, just making eye contact with her was enough to relax me and give me fluffy feelings at the pit of my stomach. No matter how close I came to breaking down, this person alone would always stand firmly on the ground, support me, and return me to myself. Now, there were no traces of that to be found anywhere. In its stead was malice bare to see, and it was as if just seeing her lurching figure was enough to distort the world.

「I’ll be right back. After I’ve enjoyed this one.」

As if declaring that, Krishna-san took the rat carcass she still held in her left hand, and plunged it headfirst into her mouth.

“S--”

Stop it. I was about to shout, when—

“Yo, there you are.”

I heard an aloof voice behind me.

After a few seconds—I turned around dumbfounded, to see the thin figure of Sako Takita.

Sako slipped past me who couldn’t even move, and affectionately called out to Krishna-san.

“Kurimoto-kun, you shouldn’t eat something like that. You’ll end up getting diarrhea.”

He was not dressed in his usual blue kinagashi. On his head he wore an eboshi<ref>Black cap https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90</ref>. His long hair, which was always unkempt had been neatly slicked back, and he was formally dressed in a black hakama and tall wooden clogs—but his appearance conversely made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Now, let’s go back, shall we? This is no place for you.”

In response, the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside Krishna-san vibrated its throat. I couldn’t clearly make out what it was saying—but it was clearly a sneering voice that rejected, disdained, and ridiculed Sako’s suggestion.

“….Hm.”

However, it seemed it had gotten through to Sako. He nodded several times and spoke.

“……..Ah, you shouldn't. Don't make a young woman use such indecent language. She is still a popular girl you see. You mustn’t make light of Krishna fans all over the country…Eh? Mmhmm, you say you’re not a fan? You’re saying everyone uses the occult as a pretext to see Kurimoto-kun’s body, and that they must be stripping her naked in their head?”

Sako spoke as if he were a proxy of a beast, and then turned my way.

“Are you like that?”

“………..Eh?”

“Well, you can’t clearly deny it as a man—but that’s not quite right.”

Sako turned to face the front once more.

“Hey, listen up, will you? Those large, large attractive breasts of Kurimoto-kun are comforting, you see. They are a symbol of her love that gently envelop everything. It's true that large breasts on a petite body can give off an unbalanced appeal, but what all men of this world instinctually crave is, the motherly love she exudes. Don’t be mistaken, not everyone in this world is a dark, malicious and perverse insect like you.”

As Sako declared that, the ‘everlasting night stone’ vibrated the back of her throat once more, but—

Sako ignored it on purpose, and quietly turned to Yoishi this time.

“Now then—let me say it once more.”

For some reason he made sure to straighten his back and politely sent those words to Yoishi.

“You did well to survive.”

Yoishi gazed back at Sako’s face without a word.

Was it my imagination, or did it feel as if her eyes were gently narrowed.

“I apologize for not being aware of your existence sooner --- Well, it is as you can see. Please forgive me.”

To Sako who bowed down, Yoishi merely muttered, “I don’t really mind.”

“…I only just realized it yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I was told by that person.”

She pointed at me, ‘Hoho’, Sako happily swung his shoulders.

….I didn’t know what was going on. But from the way Sako was acting so relaxed—did that mean that we and Krishna-san were alright now? Yoishi said something about how it was going to be hell from now on….Does that mean it will be averted?

“Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

Sako then put a friendly smile on his face and declared.

“Please allow me to declare this in advance. In the unlikely event that you become the ‘everlasting night stone’—I will kill you here.”

…………Huh?

“You may or may not have already realized, but I managed to cling to this uninteresting world and lived thus far to dispose of this trash known as the ‘everlasting night stone’. I will make it regret it so much that it curses itself for appearing in this world and for its continuing meddling with human beings —and I will tear it to pieces.”

“….I know.”

“—H, hey, hey ,hey, wait a second!”

I unconsciously butted in their conversation, when Sako simply stopped me from interrupting with his hand, and spoke.

“Now, now, please calm down, this was a talk of the worst-case scenario. There will be no casualties if we can deal with it now.”

At that moment---a piercing, sneering laughter reverberated, as if pounding the mansion. I looked to see Krishna-san…no, what was now the ‘everlasting night stone’ bending its petite body with tears in its eyes as it laughed.

“Something, is strange.”

Saying that coldly, Sako held up the three-pronged Gokosho<ref>https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/collection/665-0.html</ref> in his hand—and made several signs in midair. Krishna-san instantly stopped laughing as she coughed and collapsed while still bent backwards. The way she fell didn’t look safe at all, and I was reflexively about to rush over, but—

“Next, I will tear you to pieces.”

Sako cleanly cut the Kuji<ref>(Buddh) nine-character charm chanted with ritual gestures to ward off evil (esp. by mountain ascetics and adherents of Esoteric Buddhism)</ref> with his fingertips, and began to speak words I had never heard before.

It must have been a sort of ritual prayer I had no knowledge of—

The clear, resonant Kotodama that flowed from his mouth made Krishna-san’s petite body arch backwards in a bind.

“This mansion is closed by a barrier on all four sides. I will first remove the original fox soul of the ‘everlasting night stone’. Furthermore, I will get rid of the countless deep-seated grudges that have combined--- and finally separate them, leaving only the personality situated at the highest order.”

Sako dispassionately explained after finishing his ritual prayer, and began to draw some kind of pattern at Krishna-san’s feet with unrefined salt.

However—the guffawing, sneering laughter continued.

Krishna-san, having collapsed on the ground, still had a painful smile contorted as the tears streamed down her face. It was if she were witnessing something truly foolish—as if there was a mistake in front of her eyes which only she had realized—she merely convulsed with laughter as she pointed at Sako.

“It must be painful.”

Sako on the other hand, showed pity.

“But there's not the slightest chance I'd want to help you.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s eyes distorted more fiendishly than I had never seen before.

As if in reply— Sako’s pale face muttered in a whisper that horrified me as I watched.

“—You, devoured my mother.”

“………………”

“And you devoured my father. However, failing to devour me was a lethal mistake on your part.”

“Kokoko.”

The ‘everlasting night stone’ let out a strange, trembling voice.

It appeared as if it were somewhat perplexed.

It looked perplexed as if it had devoured so much it couldn't remember ---And , I saw Sako’s eyebrows furrow slightly in response. It was the first time I saw the emotion of anger emanate from Sako.

As soon as the pattern was finished, Krishna-san’s body crumpled even further into the ground as if it was crushed by gravity. This time, she indeed sounded as if she was in pain. But—even though it might have been the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside, it still appeared as Krishna-san. I couldn't stand it any longer, and at some point, I slowly drew closer, when—

“You’ll get devoured.”

Sako’s words stopped my movements with a jerk.

Sako swept his hakama as he sat in the seiza position, and with his eyes half-closed, began a sonorous ritual prayer once more.

It was as if to tighten the air to make invisible signs, and rearrange the sounds of the world as if to make a hidden rhyme.

It made Krishna-san’s collapsed body writhe in pain and bounce up and down as if it were billowing.

--Amazing.

I didn’t quite know what was happening, but it was overwhelming, I thought.

--Just a little more… with just a little bit more, would things really turn out alright?

My heart began to throb with anticipation, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel safe just yet.

But—at that moment.

I suddenly noticed Yoishi, who had been silent all this time.

Yoishi’s cold gaze, her unresponsiveness after having coexisted together with the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body since that incident eleven years ago, made me feel a terrible premonition. I then recalled Sako’s words.

….Huh…just now, Sako said that this building was inside a barrier. Could it be that the so-called ‘everlasting night stone’ that was now possessing Krishna-san, would after being severed from her, simply return to Yoishi once more who was inside the barrier? Or was the pattern Sako drew just now at Krishna-san’s feet a new, different barrier altogether?

“Well, you see.”

As he continued making the signs with his fingers, Sako answered with his back still turned toward me, as if he had sensed my concern.

“In the unlikely chance the ‘everlasting night stone’ that detaches from Kurimoto-kun breaks this barrier and possesses you, I will kill you. If it possesses Yoishi-kun, I will kill her. If I fail to sever it, I will kill Kurimoto-kun. I would be deemed a murderer according to this country, but that is of no concern to me. The only way to teach it the concept of ‘death’ is to let it experience it while it is bound to some kind of body. Having said that, you all might be a bit reluctant—well do forgive me for that.”

….H, hey, you can’t be serious.

“But—you see. Don’t you think it strange?”

As I was dismayed, Sako declared to me amused.

“Why do you believe Yoishi-kun didn’t die even though eleven years have passed since that incident?”

“…………..Eh?”

“Why do you believe she used illogical methods to save you at times?”

“…………”

“That is because—”

Sako’s mouth twisted into a happy smile, and he spoke.

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ failed in its incarnation long ago.”

“……………………….”

“Eleven years ago, in this mansion, under a devilish plan, the heart of a child it believed it had completely destroyed was protected by a certain accident.”

“…….Accident? What do you mean accident?”

But without answering my question, Sako continued to speak.

“Call it an accident, inevitability, or you could even call it a miracle--- at any rate, it set up several atrocities to crush the young girl’s heart and create a hollow vessel, but it failed. But—this gives birth to a question. There was no need at all for Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun to be the only body the ‘everlasting night stone’ incarnated itself in.”

“………Eh?”

“There are probably a great many beautiful boys and girls in this world who have had a sorrowful upbringing, who excel at a spiritual disposition. The ‘everlasting night stone’ is pure malice boiled down to its essence, and its actions are always shaped by calculated malice, and if it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more. Its behavioral pattern is, if anything, almost refreshing. Despite that, on this occasion, it possessed ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ for eleven long years. Why do you think that is?”

I looked at Yoishi.

I looked at her pale, extremely well proportioned, calm face once more.

“That is because she dared to take the name of 『Yoishi』herself.”

“…………Ah.”

“’Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’. Despite failing to incarnate, the reason it clung to Yoishi was because she christened herself as 『Yoishi』, and stitched it into her own body to prevent it from escaping anywhere.”

Why did Yoishi need to use that name?

When I asked her that just a while ago—Yoishi answered that it was because she was the cause of all this. Because she was a life born from the violation of her mother by a complete stranger, and that was exactly why she was cursed before she was even born.

But…that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is true that it is far safer for everyone to know where the everlasting night stone is than not to know where it is.”

Sako spoke sadly.

“The young girl who willingly became the den for the ‘everlasting night stone’ was under the custody of the state for that very reason. She was implanted with a GPS tracker in her body, and was kept under surveillance twenty four hours a day: not allowed to die, and placed in a condition where she couldn’t have been said to be alive either.”

I recalled the face of that tall Noh-faced man.

Since I first met him, he kept referring to Yoishi as ‘that’— was that what he meant?

Did he only see her as a box of calamity that could not be opened?

“Y…you’ve gotta be kidding me….”

I looked at Yoishi in response to Sako’s words, who was listening with a vacant expression, and I shouted out loud unable to bear it anymore.

“That…that’s, absolutely wrong!”

“It’s not wrong. Everything has fallen into place in a very rational way, and a state of equilibrium has finally been achieved.”

“No… that’s completely wrong….what about her being left in a state of uncertainty where she’s nether dead or alive? Did a bunch of adults who should have known better not think of Yoishi’s feelings at all?”

“And by thinking---what would they achieve?”

At that moment, Yoishi’s whisper reached my ears.

“Could anyone do anything? No, there’s nothing that could be done. That’s why I decided not to feel anything. What I saw, the words I was exposed to, my changing environment — I decided to accept none of it, and just let it wash over me.”

“…That’s…”

I recalled her slender back, she walked alone as if she carried a heavy burden all by herself.

I recalled the way she lived her life, her head hung down with a stooped back, as she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

I recalled the way she stood still in the depths of eternal darkness all by herself, as her eyes coldly gazed at the paranormal of this world.

“At that time, at that age, under those circumstances--”

Sako spoke as he looked at Yoishi, narrowing his narrow eyes even further.

“It was a terrifyingly excellent decision to make. It would have been impossible for me to do the same. How painful must that have been?”

Suddenly, I realized Yoishi was gripping something tightly.

It was the stuffed frog Yoishi treasured as if it were a good luck charm.

Sako too, looked down towards the stuffed animal, and suddenly smiled. Then, for some reason, he looked at me, and this time, put on a smile of a wicked disposition.

“Well, thanks to several accidents—the life of a man who disgracefully ran away has also been rewarded.”

It was the moment he declared that.

--*Snap* *Crack*, I heard the sound of something splitting open here and there in the mansion.

I looked up, and it soon turned into a sound like a sharp, cracking sound of a dead tree snapping off—

And it felt, as if it changed to a high-pitched laugh.

As I thought about the thing I heard just now, and the meaning behind it, I shifted my gaze back at Sako in a daze.

……..Eh?

I saw scarlet at the center of Sako’s pale face. Before I realized, a streak of blood was trickling down Sako’s tall nose. Sako must have also noticed it, as he wiped the nosebleed with a vacant expression. However, the nosebleed that was trickling from Sako’s right nostril had now begun to trickle from his left nostril as well. The gooey blood started trickled down.

“….Hey, Sako….”

No, it wasn’t just through both nostrils. From his ears, his mouth, his eyes….at some point, blood had begun to drip through the holes in his hair follicles to the point where his entire hair was black and wet. Blood gushed from every orifice of his body without stopping, wetting his whole skin.

“Ah….”

Sako’s fingers were trembling and unable to form seals. Ony mere words of delirium were emitted from his lips that were poor in complexion.

“…..H…Hey, Sako………!”

I supported Sako’s body, which was on the verge of collapse. Sako’s body, which was violently shaking and about to fall, felt as light as air. And his white clothes were dyed deep red as if they had been crimson from the start.

“……..H, hey Sako! Stay with me!!”

“….Hu…..”

Those faint words that escaped Sako’s lips reached my ears.

“…….Humans…… can ne…ver…..win…..”

What the hell are you saying….?

I was about to say that, but that grumble did not become my voice.

Sako gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face, as he continued to speak with the utmost effort.

“…They just… do… lose...... Don’t...... even think...of winning….”

Are you complaining now of all times?

His abrupt proclamation of defeat made the pit of my stomach churn.

However, it was not so much that I was disgusted with him – but rather, it a feeling of regret for Sako who had hunted down the ‘everlasting night stone’ to this point. And, at the same time, I didn’t know what the meaning of simply spouting such words here. Did he already assess victory or defeat? Or was there some other meaning behind them?

“Hey, Sako!!”

Without knowing what to do, I foolishly kept screaming at Sako.

“…There’s… no chance you will win …. Who, or what…. Are you going to win against…?”

Sako tried to scratch at midair with no strength in his fingers.

I realized that his fingertips were aimed at Yoishi—

And, the moment I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi coldly fixated at Sako who was lying there covered in blood – Sako coughed a spurt of blood from his mouth, and his strength quietly disappeared in my arms.

“……..There’s no way—right?”

I looked at Sako’s face, who was stock still with his eyes slightly open—

And then, I turned to Yoishi.

“…..Y, Yoishi, do something! What should we do about Sako?”

She silently glimpsed at Sako’s immobile body,

“You can’t incarnate in me by destroying this person.”

Yoishi spun her words towards midair.

“Showing me people dying… doesn’t make me feel anything anymore.”

In response, the mansion creaked once more. *Crrrreeeak*

That strange sound—made Yoishi’s eyes slightly widen.

As if she had realized something, she suddenly turned to look in my direction.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak*

The old mansion was creaking.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaeak**Crrrreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeak*

The timber was chafing together, and it sounded like someone’s sneering laughter.

That’s right--- right now, someone was sneering somewhere.

In a loud shrill laugh, as if everything was going according to plan.

And I-- was merely standing in a daze in a world that was rapidly changing.

No, Sako’s words repeatedly swirled in my head, and I kept thinking about their meaning in a daze.

『The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’.』

『It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice.』

『Its actions are always shaped by calculated malice.』

『If it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more.』

…..Say.

''If''---that’s right, it was a question of ‘if’.

The fact that I met Yoishi Mitsurugi one year ago in that family restaurant.

The fact that I alone coincidentally happened to run into ‘Yoishi’ by accident after the ‘Ikaigabuchi’ offline meeting.

If, that wasn’t an accident….what would happen?

No, what if everything began long before that, the day I lost my mother? What if Yoishi becoming involved in the resolution, and even how Krishna-san linked it by saying, ‘From its start, it never had any malice’, was not an accident….?

Having met Yoishi, and feeling a debt of gratitude towards her—

Didn’t I end up feeling romance for ghosts? I became attracted to the scenery of the world beyond, and began to excitedly venture into the spirt world, and jumped into the flames of darkness with glee, like a moth that knows that it is not a place a living person can deal with, but jumps into the flames and gets burned. And, before I’d realized, that continued to chip away at the thread of my spirit, gradually thinning my connection to this world and leading me straight to hell. Meeting Krishna-san, meeting Sako, and even meeting Takamura--- What if all those encounters were calculated by someone else, and they transformed the unknown realm of the occult into something fascinating one step before I rejected it? And what if it that was something that foolishly made me think that I could, or rather, that I had to save the young girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi?

In the world that was being painted pitch black—I pictured her lonely face.

『Next time, if we meet again-- I’ll become your friend.』

『if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.』

『That person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.』

Eleven years ago, the ‘everlasting night stone’ failed to destroy Yoishi’s heart, Sako said that it had been stitched to Yoishi because she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ herself. But that wasn’t it--- not at all.

Wasn’t the ‘everlasting night stone’ patiently waiting for someone to appear for eleven years?

Could the occult loving university student: Nagito Yamada, possibly be—

An existence created only for the girl whose heart failed to be crushed, to grow in her the heart to ‘Trust people’ once more?

……..A………………

“ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I realized that thundering scream was my own.

Someone who Yoishi trusted.

Someone who Yoishi acknowledged as a ‘friend’.

Then, one after the other, it would sow the seeds that would lead to that someone and Yoishi deepening their connection, and when they mutually acknowledged each other as ‘war comrades’, it would destroy that someone.

Possessing Krishna-san, destroying Sako—was it all to destroy Nagito Yamada into smithereens in front of Yoishi? After she barely escaped being crushed eleven years ago, it planned to crush the faintest hope budding in her heart in the most ruthless way imaginable – and would finally be able to incarnate Yoishi’s body at long last?

A fear pierced through my entire being, as if I faced the thing that killed me in a past life—and I, pissed myself disgracefully.

“……Hey…. scared?”

At that moment—

A familiar voice like a ringing bell reached my ears.

--Everything… is in reverse.

Next to me, the young girl who had lost her emotions sneered.

With long black hair that gently waved, a monster was there with a pale face and dark colored eyes.

The scenery I once saw,

The ghost stories I had once read.

Among them must have been illusions in my mind created by fear.

Before I realized, there was a staircase behind me. On the landing of the staircase was a middle-aged man in a gray, worn suit, staring at me with a hollow expression. Under the bed was a woman with a white face, and a bluish-white hand that sprouted from the dark mud wall. An old woman with clouded white eyes was leaning against my back, and countless white faces floated in the sky. Sinister words scrawled in an old book pointed to a graveyard that spread out all over, while a corpse that stood on the sea was connected to a pair of high heels placed behind a guard rail left by a woman laughing in the mountains. A broken doll turns into a wriggling thing at the water’s edge, the wheelchair of an abandoned hospital squeaks and squeals as it swirls and disappears into the sky, and the shiny thing in the tornado is an alien vehicle.

You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well neither do I. I was merely describing what I saw with my eyes, as my brain felt it. Aa—Ahh, that’s right. My mind must have been on the verge of breaking down. My head must have exceeded its allowed tolerance of fear. Up until now, Krishna-san solved most things for me. More dangerous things were somehow managed by Sako. And Yoishi vaguely dealt with things I didn’t quite understand. But, those were all events on a rail laid by an ancient entity acting through malice, and I was, according to expectation, according to plan, completely afraid, and with my collapse, Yoishi too would collapse, auspiciously allowing Yoishi to transform into the ‘everlasting night stone’. The cackling and sneering black haired young girl next to me was that.

Which meant that, everything was already---

Over---

--When.

….No.

….Wait a minute…..

If Yoishi was already broken, and ended up turning into the ‘everlasting night stone’….then... What of me who was thinking right now? Did being broken mean only this much? Were these the last few normal thoughts that remined in my illogical self-consciousness? I didn’t know, but what were these thoughts that I was still thinking and feeling anyway?

Those vague doubts—

Changed the scenery in an instant.

They continued to clear away the darkness, and slowly returned my vision back to the original world.

I was still standing still in the storage room, and in front of me was Krishna-san who lay collapsed, and a bloodstained Sako. And next to me was Yoishi, dumbfounded, her empty gaze wandering at midair. There was no sign of the ‘everlasting night stone’ anywhere in the dim, dark and cramped room.

“…..Yoishi.”

I reached out my wobbly hand, gripped her hand, and spoke.

“….C, can you walk?”

Yoishi looked at me in a daze, and shook her head thereafter.

“….Come on, just walk. Let’s get out of here… let’s go outside, and call for help. If we call for an ambulance, Sako might still be--”

“—It’s impossible.”

Yoishi spoke with an expression that was clear, and heartrendingly painful.

At that moment, I noticed it.

Next to Yoishi, a white haze hung over.

There were four mists there, as if they enveloped Yoishi. And in my retinas, they gradually formed some kind of shape—and stood silently as if encompassing Yoishi. I quickly understood that it was people for some reason. And, I had an intuition that I knew these people. It felt as if I had once, somewhere, watched over them as if they were my real family…but, ahh, I knew it, I’ve started to collapse again. I realized that fact somewhere in my consciousness, but I still couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That was because—

I could now see a gentlemanly gray-haired man next to Yoishi. Next to him, I saw was a cheerful woman, a tomboyish girl with a smile on her face, and a cute brown dog at her feet. As they gradually took form, my vision gradually blurred. And those words spontaneously came from my mouth.

--I’m sorry……

I felt an overwhelming regret and fell to my knees on the spot. If I had only—if I had only been a little bit smarter. If I could have done something a little better. The feeling of cursing myself for my helplessness continued to well up inside me. I wiped away the tears that overflowed, and raised my head—

“……………”

I saw what looked like a straw rope fastened around the man’s neck. Looking closely at the mother, I saw that her body was dismembered. The girl had a knife still stuck at the base of her throat, and the small dog’s stomach was split open, its entrails fallen out. Yet despite that, the four hazy figures that had taken form remained standing, as if they enveloped Yoishi.

…..Are…. they ghosts?

At last, was I-- seeing the ghosts I had once longed to see so much?

And I realized what an unbelievably sad thing they were. Ghosts were in no way a thing to be feared. They were not something terrifying. They were completely and utterly heartbreaking things. Unable to be seen, unable to speak, they are just there. And, just seeing Yoishi Mitsurugi at ease surrounded by those ghosts evoked a pain that was enough to split my heart into two.

As the tears flowed without end from my eyes--my right elbow suddenly tinged in pain. And that ache seemed to ache in and out as it grew more painful. It became an unbearable pain, and I finally realized that it was a furious rebuke. It felt as if I heard Karasu-san’s voice right by my ear.

“….Don’t….give up yet… Think…”

I wiped away my tears, and at the same time I gritted my teeth, frantically encouraged my brain.

In the boundary between reality and fiction, between this world and the world beyond, I still mobilized my full consciousness to think.

The reason I came here…The meaning of why Sako made me come here.

Wasn’t I yet to find out why that was?

Think, think. Think until your mind is scorched, me. Sako said, 『‘Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’』, and Krishna-san had said, 『To wear the W in witch, would ultimately mean to forget who you are』. Which meant that regaining one’s original name was supposed to erase the worn ‘W’—no, was it the other way around….? That’s right….When she christened herself as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ and bound the ‘everlasting night stone’, wasn’t she herself was bound at the same time?

Didn’t she end up defined as a dweller of this world and the world beyond?

“So that means I need to find her real name after all--”

In my cloudy consciousness, I told Yoishi, “Stay there”, and ran out.

I mustered all my remaining strength, ran through the corridor, and jumped into the living room.

It was possible—that Yoishi’s true name was written down on something in this mansion.

I went to the kitchen and turned over the cups. For example, I thought that there would be cups for each of the family members, and a young Yoishi would have her name inscribed on that—but there was nothing there. ‘All that remains is’, I turned to face the hearth. On top of it was the polaroid photograph taken of the family. It was creepy that the other family members who died had their faces warped white somehow, but I slowly drew close to that photograph.

In old family photographs, there would be stuff like dates and names of the people in the photo written on the back. That was how it was for my family. So maybe this one was the same. That must have been the reason why Sako made me come all the way here. I’m sure Yoishi’s true name is there. It had to be. I would find that, and tell it to her; She, who ended up losing her place in the boundary between this world and the world beyond. I would declare to her with all my strength that she was a dweller of this world.

I placed my hand on the photograph, suppressing my throbbing heartbeat and rushing emotions.

But, as I was about to slowly lift it up—

I suddenly felt weak.

What if it wasn’t here…..? No, no, it had to be here.

After all, if it wasn’t here… then there would be nowhere else to search in this mansion. Believe it….it, must be there.

I took a deep breath.

And the moment I flipped over the photograph.

--*Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek*… The mansion rang.

The sneering laughter of a manly voice coldly pierced me, and flooded inside me.

Reflected in my eyes, there was nothing in the back of the photograph.

I couldn’t even see a stain in the blank space that had turned yellow—

And the world dyed in darkness in an instant.

◯

Dark.

Darkness.

A dark world—no matter where you looked.

How much darkness did this world have, and how many colors of ‘black’ did it have…?

It felt as if I had seen a lot of ‘black’ in this one year.

Enough ‘black’ to stop my thoughts.

Enough ‘black’ that seemed to suck me in forever.

And, enough ‘black’ that seemingly melted my body and thoughts in it.

But the ‘black’ that now spread before my eyes was different from all of them.

To put it ostentatiously, the ‘black’ that was the primordial of this world, where nothing else existed yet—that might have been how it felt. But, there was a strange calmness and tranquility. A boundless ‘black’, as if I was in space, in what must have once had countless planets. It truly made me feel at ease. I didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to think about anything anymore—

「Did you have fun?」

Suddenly, I heard a low voice from somewhere. I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t fun at all, I answered.

「Isn’t hiding behind people, and tricking people so much fun?」

I was asked that once again, and I answered that it was just you.

But the truth is—from somewhere in my heart, I ended up thinking that it might have been a bit fun. If you were to trick someone with ease, if you were to continue tricking them for the rest of my life, then that might have indeed been a bit necessary. For example, say there was someone not really blessed with singing skills, yet they can’t help but sing because they love it, and you’d tell them for the fun of it, “You’re really talented”. They would be so happy and delighted, innocently believe those words and keeps on singing. People would laugh behind their back, but still that person would willingly believe it, and continue to sing willingly. They would willingly mistake people’s laughter as being happy at their singing. But here’s what I think. Is a song that continues to be willingly sung for the sake of others, even if it lacks talent, truly worthless? Does the pure feeling of love not reside in the song? Certainly, the first words may have been malicious. However, that which began as malice might be overturned by pure feelings, and might one day become the real thing?

「Then, let’s play a trick.」

The low voice spoke once more.

‘In this world, there are only those who dance and those who make others dance to their tune, and if one were to play the part of those who play the tune—if they were to learn the joy of playing the flute, then there would be no going back’, the voice spoke.

‘Ah, I see. That may be true’, I thought.

But, I---

I knew the joy of dancing, after all. I was always on the dancing side in the festivals in my hometown. I would empty my heart and match my movements with the people around me. The pleasure of synchronizing with others made me want to raise my voice in joy. When our eyes met, we would laugh at each other, and before I realized, I would be thankful for the friends I had. Under this vast, endless night sky, I would be thankful I had friends who laughed at the same things, and who were saddened at the same things. To trick such friends would surely pain my heart. I don’t think I would want to be on the side of those who play tricks, even if I were the one who was tricked.

‘Then I ask you’, the voice asked.

Do you think parents would happily give birth to a child, if they knew in advance that the child would be born handicapped? If they found out that the child was handicapped after birth, would the parents be able to love that child normally?

That was…

That was a difficult question.

Antitrypsin deficiency—I was born with that kind of body, and suffered from infantile asthma, and ended up causing a lot of trouble and worry to my parents and the people around me. Why was I alone born with such a body? When I was a child, I often wondered when I used to cry all by myself in the corner of the room. Knowing that pain, if I were asked whether I would give birth to a handicapped child… I think I would indeed hesitate to death.

In response, ‘Right?’, the voice said.

In times like that, to be completely tricked would be merciful. To abort the child, or to be told that it’s a lovely child even with the handicap. People do not act until there is a reward in front of them. They can’t even move their feet forward unless they have a feeling that there is something fun ahead. It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right? Or they’re narcissists who love themselves for trying.

Is that so….?

Was my mother like that as well….?

‘Obviously’, answers the voice.

「They really love themselves for trying. They are drunk on it. If that wasn’t the case, could she have taken care of your labored breathing be it mealtime or the middle of the night?」

….Is that so….? No…. That might have been the case.

‘Hey, tell me’, the voice said. ‘How many lives do you think are abandoned each year by those who are not ready to be parents? How many reported cases of parents killing their own children? A parent is nothing more than a title, a temporary designation. Everyone is just an animal that thinks first and foremost of their own happiness. Why should I have to raise a child I do not love? Why do I have to raise them even as they chip away against my time, my soul? Is it social responsibility? What you would call moral responsibility? Say, just what is society? Isn’t something like that nothing more than a system to reduce quarrels as much as possible? No matter how, and no matter how many lids you put on it, problems will always continue to happen. That is your history, problems happen by default. To accept that and to live, what is wrong with that? If that’s the case—wouldn’t it be smarter to be on the side that causes the problems?’

I…could understand that.

Human history is filled with problems, and even after all this time, the problems have only increased.

I know that there were as many definitions of parenthood as there were parents. And I know that there are broken parents in this world who have never even thought of the concept of parenthood. But—despite that, there is still one act that every parent definitely does for their child. That is: to give them a name filled with all their hopes and wishes, right? Isn’t that—why names are so precious?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha! The voice suddenly burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know. How many parents do you think are out there who give their children names that inspire neither hopes nor dreams? How many names do you think there are that have nothing but the malice of their parents? Hey, can you really turn a blind eye to that? You might say that it would be fine if you change your name once you become an adult? No, It’s useless. No matter how much you try to forget the name you’ve been christened with once, it will definitely be bound to you in some shape or form for the rest of your life. That is the curse of a name. You heard it too, didn’t you? She was cursed before she was born. A life born by the violation of her mother by brats abroad! She was never wanted, not in the least! Once born, the event they'd rather have forgotten takes a form that haunts them for the rest of their lives. There’s no way she would ever be wanted!’

I was-- at a loss of words in the end, with no rebuttal.

In this mansion….I thought I would try to learn her true name. I thought that if she were to at least reclaim her rightful name, the ‘W’ that coiled around her would be exorcised. But right now, to be honest….I was afraid. I was afraid to discover her true name.

If, by some chance, there was no feeling of hopes or dreams in it, and was instead a thing filled with malice, then what? What if her endless pain and torment continued the moment she took back her true name? There have been so many things done with good intentions that push people into distress. How could I say that I wasn’t making the same mistake right now? Moreover, Sako had said that she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ to bind the ‘everlasting night stone’, but….what if that wasn’t the case, and she instead took it because she actually detested her true name?

Thereupon…a thought suddenly came to mind.

Couldn’t she stay as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ as she had up until now?

That would mean she would still have that callous, Noh-faced father as a guardian in name only, not have a place at home where she belonged, would keep going around haunted places where her eyes would glow, would throw up at times, and would complicate complicated matters even further, but—even so, that wasn’t the worst outcome, right? I would be there, and Krishna-san too, as well as everybody in ‘Ikaigabuchi’. If she at least opened her heart properly, she could lead a fun occult life. There would be no need to remind her that she was born cursed and undesired—

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

Could it be, the thing Sako spoke of, 『You will be compelled to make a choice』…

And, the thing Takako Takamura spoke of, 『You’ll be forced to make the final choice』, it was—

About this…?

If she were to regain her true name, she would arrive in this world while still having the scent of the world beyond.

If she were to remain as Yoishi Mitsurugi, she would live in the world beyond while remaining in this world.

…What…should I do?

The world continued to grow darker. The darkness continued to silently spread out.

As if the ground beneath my feet were filled by dark colored water, I eventually came to believe that there was only one answer.

「I want… to stay with her like this forever.」

「I want to be together with Yoishi Mitsurugi.」

Right, I was about to say it out loud.

When the wound on my right elbow, throbbed with pain once more.

The pain kept repeating like a drum being beaten and became a rhythm as it throbbed and throbbed.

Definite sounds that formed words. They became a rhythm, and made me remember what Karasu-san had once said.

---Yes, deep breaths.

When I came to… I saw that Karasu-san was there, with that nostalgic smile of hers.

Her lustrous black hair dangled down to her cheeks, and she was leaning close to me crouched down, as if she were peering inside me.

--Take a dee—ep breath in, then hold. Yes, slowly let it out--- Repeat that three times.

My vision blurred with tears at those cheerful words that were out of place.

And, before long, I repeated my breathing as I was told. I breathed, and exhaled. I exhaled as much as I could, and inhaled as much as I could.

『You'd better remember.』

『Your fear most likely comes from forgetting to breathe.』

『If the fear inside you intensifies, then like now, make sure you're breathing properly.』

『No matter what kind of paranormal lies ahead of you, you’ll definitely make it through somehow.』

‘But’, I spoke. Despite that, I still don’t know if I’m supposed to find Yoishi’s true name. I end up thinking that it’s better not to find it.

—Eh? I think you already have the answer to that.

I was surprised I was somehow able to carry on a conversation with Karasu-san from my memories—

However, as if clinging to that, I added a question, “What do you mean?”

--After all, the two of us… in the world we peeked at in those hellish days. Didn’t you decide that you would bring that back with you? After having gone through so much, being unable to do anything but witness the cruel destruction of a family, there was still something you desperately brought back with you, right?

Brought back……? I did? What……?

--It should be firmly engraved on you, Nagi-kun.

--It should be engraved on your soul.

Despite that, I still didn’t know, and was in dismay, when….

Exasperated, Karasu-san’s voice echoed kindly for one last time.

---Then, I’ll do it one last time.

--''*Throb*''

My right elbow ached once more.

--*Throb*, *throb*, *throb*…. That throbbing continued to grow stronger.

It was as if— my adult-self was tired of searching, and my child-self pointed it out to me with a smile, and the warmth and stimulation grew.

“…Ah….ahhhhh.”

In an instant, I was struck by lightning together and a terrible sound rang inside me, with the light running through me.

Goosebumps ran through every cell in my body, an unspecialized base sequence in the genome that was called junk, awoke. As if guided by something, it synthesized in succession, and began to build that hidden meaning.

The hanging mansion that manifested in my vision.

The old and grubby living room. The dusty counter.

As I regained reality with my right eye, a different timeline of the same place was synchronized as white hazy scenery in my left eye.

Appearing hazily—as if gliding in midair, that scenery continued to flow through me.

Before I realized, I was running.

--It can’t be….it can’t be.

I ran to the front door with enough force that I almost fell down, and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that was there.

I rolled up my shirt, uncovered my right elbow, and—saw it through the mirror.

What I thought was an ugly scar that did not heal for a long time, was not a scar at all.

I thought it had ended up becoming a bruise, but it was not a bruise.

『Miko Hanamura』

The bruise that was inverted in the mirror—

Had been engraved on my skin, in letters.

In an instant, the scenery I had once seen somewhere with my left eye transformed into a torrent and rushed into my brain. The amount of information was so vast and extreme that it could not be processed by my brain specifications— it flowed past me from one scene to the next, with no time to recognize it. Even so, I was still able to burn several scenes in my mind. Among the endless flashes, a fatherly figure laughed as he held a baby in his arms. A motherly figure cried as she embraced a toddler. A tomboyish young girl who looked like a middle schooler laughed as she pulled the hand of a girl with black hair and fair skin. The baby, the toddler, the fair skinned young girl—I recognized all of them as 『Miko Hanamura』. Without a doubt, at every moment, 『Miko Hanamura』 was loved.

“…………….Ah.”

Before I realized, I was in the hanging mansion, but something was different.

It was not a dusty, cobwebbed ruin. It was a clean, brand new mountain retreat with the light of the sunlight shining in.

Feeling dazzled, I continued to the living room in a daze. I heard lots of laughter coming from the nearby garden. I opened the sash and stepped out to the garden—to see a family so happy they were clad in light. In front of the barbecue was a gentle looking man, a bright woman and a cheery young girl….and, Miko Hanamura who was a child. Miko had a kind, delighted smile on her face.

“—Miko.”

I called her name.

“You…were called Miko Hanamura?”

In response, the beautiful black haired young girl with fair skin looked in my direction. It felt like we met eye to eye after a long time, after a truly long time. I was so overjoyed, so relieved, that tears gradually swelled up and began to spill.

“Miko, let’s go back.”

I reached out my hand to her, and the young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She slowly took one look back, looked back at me and shook her head.

“Miko, listen to me. This place—it’s not here anymore. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

But, a young girl drew close next to Miko, and gripped her hand. For some reason, I knew that girl’s name was ‘Kii-chan’. She looked at me with a fierce expression, as if to say she wouldn’t let her precious best friend go anywhere.

Behind them, the father was smiling. The mother gently put her hand on Miko’s shoulder. The elder sister took one step ahead with her eyebrows raised as if to protect her younger sister from me. The dog at Miko’s feet growled at me.

Looking at that—

A gentle whisper escaped my lips, ‘I see.’

And, as I was tossed around mercilessly by the warm feelings that swept over, I declared.

“….I’m glad….You were really…loved after all.”

“…Yeah.”

“Miko—that’s a really nice name.”

The tears continued to spill.

“If I remember correctly... the word『Mi彌』 means the『light that shines universally』 in Buddhism.”
“…Is, that right?”

“Yeah. I know someone who knows a lot about that stuff, so there’s no doubt about it. That’s why…that’s why.”

My voice trembled with tears, but I desperately managed to squeeze it out.

“I’m sure that the person who gave you that name wished to maintain a relationship with you forever. Regardless of how you were born, they wished that connection would last for all of eternity.”

“…..Yeah.”

“…So, listen up.”

I wiped away the tears, and raised my voice as best as I could.

“You are in no way cursed. You’re not abhorred by anyone. Being cursed—is just being lost on the inside. So… let’s go back. This place is no longer here.”

“….But.”

Miko smiled once at Kii-chan, before letting go of her hand and took a step towards me, and spoke.

“I feel comfortable here; I think it’s the place I belong. Papa, mama, onee-chan, Kii-chan, Leo—and even Mr. Inspector is here.”

Hearing that, I looked towards the back, to see a somewhat nostalgic man with gray hair and a smile on his face.

Her father, mother, older sister, best friend and pet dog—everyone was smiling, and stood behind Miko as if protecting her. Then, I heard a click behind me. I turned around to see Sako in a gray, dull, worn-out suit, taking a picture with an old polaroid camera. He then took out the photo, and handed me the photograph that was exposed to the light.

The photograph must have been the original photograph placed atop the hearth in the real ‘hanging mansion’ earlier. However, the faces of the family had no longer disappeared. The faces that had been stretched and twisted in white in midair were now beautifully cropped, with the smiling faces in front of me.

“……..I see.”

I muttered once more.

It felt as if I had been listening to someone’s sneering laughter echo all this time—

I had even realized that it belonged to the ‘everlasting night stone’, but I thought there was nothing I could do.

I understood that Miko would be swallowed by the world beyond if this continued. But, there was nothing someone like me could do. To tear away Miko away from this warm world, was something—I couldn’t do.

And that's when it happened.

I noticed something emerging in the photograph.

The polaroid photograph still hadn’t been fully sensitized. Her father, mother, elder sister and Miko were smiling kindly, and the dog at their feet looked happy as well. But—there was something else there. On Miko’s left end, a white haze emerged, which should not have been in the picture. As if to embrace a young Miko, that white haze gradually continued exposing---and eventually, took on an impossible form.

….Ahh.

At that moment, I realized the true reason why I came here.

I realized the meaning of the vast swirl of information that came surging into my head.

I realized why Sako had called me to this mansion—and why he handed me this photograph just now.

In the picture that transcended generations—

Nagito Yamada stood there, as if protecting Miko Hanamura.

The figure that decided to stand by her side no matter what cruel reality he had to face, was as if looking in the mirror at a different me. For the first time, I felt pride at myself—it made me feel a sublime will. The answer to the question posed to me earlier in the darkness welled up in my chest as I saw my own face. An answer to the voice that said, ‘It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right?’ I lost sight of myself since I was asked that question, but--

No, there is one more impetus that drives people forward.

There was something else in this world that wasn’t just greed, reward, or narcissism.

“—I got it, Miko.”

The meaning of the scenery that swirled round and round my head, continued to dissolve. The me of eleven years ago and the me of the present dissolved and merged. I was thankful for that fate and spoke the answer that I extracted from my soul, without any doubts.

“Then, I’ll stay here as well.”

Miko looked at me again with a start.

“I will never leave you to die again. I won’t stand by and let you go through something like that again.”

“………”

“Why, you ask? Because you were the first person to call me a friend. Even when I was adrift in the sea of endless despair with nowhere to go, you gave me a place to stay.”

“………A.”

“Although my email got garbled midway through.”

“………A…aaaa…..”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely protect you.”

“Yes, I was Mr. Frog back then.”

The moment I declared those words.

The sky roared, and split apart.

Somewhere, it felt as if I heard an ear-splitting scream.

At the same time, a series of low rumbling sounds reverberated deep beneath my feet, and eventually turned into subterranean rumbling that overlapped with the beating of my heart. My teeth were rattling so hard I couldn’t breathe. And I understood that I had broken a rule established by a great, great being in a far higher dimension. This might be the end for me as well—but I was prepared for that.

Why was it….? Ah, dammit, I had tried to show off and ended up saying that, but as usual my teeth were clattering, and my legs were trembling on the verge of collapse. After all this time, I realized that I was the guy with the stinky pants who had pissed himself earlier. And, the place I stood was the ruins of a mountain retreat that was now called the hanging mansion—I was in front of the hearth, and I found that the one in front of me was the Yoishi Mitsurugi of the present---no, I knew she was Miko Hanamura.

The high school girl with porcelain-white skin, long black hair swaying in the air, and dressed in the funeral-like uniform of the Koumei Institute, was merely trembling.

In her vacant eyes, countless paranormal events were now swirling around. The hundreds, the thousands of paranormal events she had experienced in the past --- no, if you were to include the ones she had read on the internet or in books then it would be in the tens of thousands. Therein, was the horror she should have truly felt. Those emotions she had become numb to, which had been stored somewhere in her brain, were all surging into Miko’s small forehead all at once.

“…This…is the feeling of fear…..”

The irises of her eyes shook, welled up, and a trickle of tears spilled down.

“It’s disturbing… not knowing…. not being able to explain….it’s just…just….disturbing….”

I nodded.

“….I’m alive….I…am alive….”

Miko covered her face with both hands. At that moment, something she must have held back for a long, long, eternity, finally broke free.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, all her emotions broke free, and she cried out. Her voice was like that of a newborn, defenseless baby. I held her slender body close to me, as if to protect the pure soul that had just been born into this cruel world. I hugged her tightly, as if to show that to the pure malice that I could not see, which might have still been nearby. [[File:Phenomeno-vol6-3.jpg|thumb]]

“….I’m alive….I am… alive….”

“….Yes. You are truly alive. And you should keep on living step by step. Live as long as you can for the ones who have gone before you—”

And after that you can die in peace—I was about to say that.

“……..I’m scared.”

Miko whispered in my chest.

“I’m scared to go on living…the countless paranormal things are scary as well…the voice in the wall, the smiling dolls, shadows in the reflection, the person with only legs, the man in the gutter, the will -o’-the-wisp, the box in the storehouse, people disappearing in the sky—in this---in such a scary world….how did you live this far….how should I live…?”

“Hahaha.”

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like I could finally talk with her about the real paranormal things. It felt like I could teach her that while some ghost stories circulating this world were really dangerous, they were also full of romance and mysterious charm.

When—at that moment.

I thought the ground still felt like it was shaking because I was a coward, or because I was embracing a high school girl, but…. I realized that it was neither of those things.

“H….heyy, Yoi….no, Miko!”

I yelled seeing the creaking wall swell up and down.

“It’s an earthquake! Shit, it’s a big one.”

The building slowly swayed from side to side, and eventually began to rattle and shake little by little.

“Run away, Miko! This run-down building is dangerous. I’ll get Krishna-san.”

After saying that, I pushed Miko, whose face was still soggy in tears, toward the direction of the front door, and then staggered and swayed as I ran down the corridor. At the back of the corridor, the storage room floor was covered entirely with Sako’s blood. I bowed my head once to Sako who had already passed away, “I’m sorry”, and lifted Krishna-san’s body, who lay collapsed and unconscious, and carried her on my shoulder. I then furiously rushed toward the front door. The shaking quickly grew even more violent, and I staggered and hit the wall, but still clenched my teeth as I broke through the front door and jumped outside. I slowly laid Krishna-san a little further away from the building, and gasped.

There was no one in my surroundings.

Miko, who should have left the building before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey…Miko!”

I called out at the top of my voice, but there was no reply.

The shaking grew even more ferocious, and I understood that the building would completely flatten. I clicked my tongue once, left Krishna-san there and jumped back inside the building. “Miko!” As I yelled, I looked around and saw that she was in a daze in the living room.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get out of here!”

The moment I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, I realized that Miko was staring at that photograph in front of the hearth.

“The first picture… the two of us took together.”

“Well, that’s true but.”

“But…you were a ghost.”

“Shut it, let’s go, if you wanna take that photo then hurry up and do it!”

I called out to Miko who had been standing motionless in front of the photograph for who knows how long, when it happened.

A terrible *creeeeeak* rang out, and the building bent. It felt as if a giant hand grasped the building from the outside, and at the same time— a sound like a low male voice reverberated throughout the building.

--*Gigigigigigigigigigigigigi*

It was as if it were a sneering voice—as if it were a wailing voice.

Together with that detestable sound, the beams of the ceiling twisted to an absurd degree. Dust was rising and falling down like rain. There were five of them— they felt like giant fingers of something. From the depths of darkness—a malice-stained, corrupted hand reached out from the depths of this world called hell.

Give her back.

It reached straight for Miko—

“Don’t fucking mess with me.”

I howled.

“I will never let go again. She is a fragment of my soul. And, my--”

I yelled a scream that would not lose to the thunderous roar of the collapsing beams.

“My precious wife!”

In an instant—

My vision muddled white, and a sharp stinging pain ran down my shoulders. It was as if, I knew the building would collapse all at once, like in the Fafrotskies phenomenon. I instantly covered Miko’s body to protect her from the falling debris of the building. One after another, building material fell on my back, biting into my skin, and crushing my bones. In the midst of the sound that split my ears— it seemed to me as if I had been caught in the hand of the ‘everlasting night stone’.

“L-let go.”

The world continued to darken.

The faint hope was fading away.

The moment I screamed in the midst of overwhelming despair that filled my heart.

''“Ayana Takamura.”''

Under my arms, Miko Hanamura roared her last lines as “Yoishi Mitsurugi”.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

At that moment, somewhere far above in the sky, something opened its eyes.

“I’ll give you the best thing you wished for.”

“’Yoishi’ called out to those eyes.

“So-- don’t ever come close to this person, ever again.”

《OK》

That must have been the last illusion I saw in my fading consciousness.

Ayana Takamura’s giant head that appeared from the void—

--*Crunch*, it ate something.

And in the world that had grown dark once more, those clear, boyish words echoed through the air.

“The fear held by the root of fear or something ---it was truly a delicious meal.”

◯

In the silent, pitch-black rubble—

After finishing the long, endless story, she might have finally remembered everything.

Yoishi Mitsurugi, or rather, Miko Hanamura muttered, “…..Right….yeah…that’s right….”

“Did you remember?”

I managed to reply with that somehow as I put up with the pain in my immobile body.

But I felt somewhat embarrassed, even though I only talked about what happened just a while ago, about what might have been the biggest occultic thing to happen in my life, I ended up talking about it all the way to when I declared her my ‘wife’. For a while, we were both silent in the darkness.

“…You, really.”

“…….Hm?”

I thought she might have been embarrassed in her own way—

“….are a fool.”

She said so in his usual tone,

“S, shut up, jerk.”

I retorted in an instant, but I felt embarrassed once more, and was unable to say anything after that.

Darkness and silence fell once more, and I noticed that the pain was slowly getting worse. I slowly wiped the sweat off my forehead while trying to hide it from Miko, and clenched my teeth to endure the pain.

Thereupon, Miko muttered something to me.

“Back then—”

“…..Eh?”

“I understood how ghosts felt. When you were delirious in the hospital room, when you had your cognition of me sealed away.”

“….A, ahh.”

“To exist there and to not be recognized—it’s an unbelievable darkness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“….It was so dark. Pitch black darkness so awful… that it might be the most terrible darkness there is.”

“…I said I’m sorry.”

“……But.”

“……….”

“But if you hadn’t protected been in that way—you would have fallen apart. And perhaps my heart wouldn't have lasted either. In that sense…it might be something to be thankful for.”

“……….”

It was thanks to Krishna-san, and Sako. Come to think of it, Sako was…crushed underneath, huh? What about Krishna-san? I placed her a little further away from the building, but was she alright? As I thought such things, it suddenly felt like my head became misty white. I was still lying down, but I felt terribly dizzy as if had lost my sense of equilibrium.

--Damn, could this be….dehydration? Or an infection from the wounds in my legs, back or head. Dammit, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. In times like these, the worst thing to do would be to lose hope.

I thought that, but the only one who knew we were here was Sako, and unless Krishna-san, who was lying outside, didn’t regain consciousness safely and instantly grasp hold of the situation and call for help, then there was no hope for us. This was terrible. We finally managed to get rid of the ridiculously dangerous monster that scattered malice for so long, but our chances of survival were infinitesimally small.

“H-hey, Miko, try to smile.”

Impatient, I made that absurd request towards the other side of the darkness. And what came back to me in reply was a voice with a deep-seated reluctance, “Ehh?”

“Come on, I’m begging you.”

“Even if I were to smile in a place like this, you can't see it.”

“Well, that’s true, but—no, just try it! Smile for me. I’m scared. I'm so pathetic I can't help it, but I'm scared. If I were to be cheered up somehow…right, if I don’t see your smile, then I’m going to lose heart. Look, listen up. A smile is more precious than anything else in this world. Nothing bad happens to a person who is smiling happily. A nice smile is a present that will make everyone happy. So, please. My hopes are fading, so give me the best smile you can as a present! I’m begging you!”

In response, Miko kept silent for a while and spoke.

“………..Ah…..so that’s how it was….”

“……Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the same for ‘Gandame’.”

“…Ga, Gandame…?”

“’Gandame’ and ‘Yousen-boy’… they might have been trying to deliver us hope. Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.”

My impassioned speech took a strange turn, and I was about to give up.

“…..I’ll try to….smile.”

Suddenly, Miko agreed.

“…I don’t know if you’ll be happy though.”

“Ohh, really?”

“……….”

“…..Hey, did you smile already?”

“………”

“…Is it alright…if I can feel it?”

In my vague consciousness, I bumped my trembling hand against the wood here and there—and slowly reached out my hand. I reached out my arm in the direction of the voice, towards Miko’s cheeks. My fingertips touched something soft—

It happened at that moment.

Heeeeeeeey, I heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

For a moment, it was a voice so faint I thought it might have been an auditory hallucination—but, I definitely felt like I heard it.

I strained my ears,

“……Heyyyyyyyy, is anyone alive?!”

It was the voice of a man I didn’t recognize. And it was followed by the voice of a different man, “Make a voice, or even a sound! If you can make it, then do it!” I desperately twisted my head to face up, and I saw a flicker of light in between the gaps of the timber somewhere.

Ohh, my hopes skyrocketed in an instant.

“….Over here! We’re over here! We’re alive! We’re alive!!”

I desperately raised my voice, and instantly a huge amount of dust invaded my throat, and I coughed violently.

But, there were shouts of joy right near me, “Oooohh!”, “This way!”, it felt as if the sound of several footsteps drew closer.

In my fading consciousness—the roof and lumber were being moved aside one by one. The air suddenly began to move, and thick oxygen brushed against my nostrils. The light began to pour down on me, which must have been the flashlights of the rescue team. As I was illuminated by that light—I saw it. Just fifty centimeters or so away from me, I saw a face so beautiful and lovely that she felt out of this world.

Miko Hanamura was looking kindly at me with clear eyes that had lost their dark color.

“…Miko.”

The moment I spoke her name in embarrassment, the last piece of timber imprisoning us was removed. The rescue team clad in orange lifted it up with their thick arms.

“Are you alright? Are you conscious? Your wounds?”

I was asked in rapid succession, but I guess he knew right away.

“Lacerations on the left leg! This is terrible---Ah, large abrasions on the back and the arms …get a stretcher right away!”

--Hey, hey, don’t scare me now.

I mean, I'm going to cause my sister and the others to worry again, as I thought that, I spotted the adorable baby face beyond the rescue team. Her hair was a little disheveled, but the petite former occult site manager was looking my way with tears filled in her eyes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Foolish thought it might have been, that was all the greeting I could muster.

I then turned to look at Miko who was right below me. I was about to smile at her, to tell her that we had been saved, but-

Thereupon, I realized that Miko was slightly out of position from where I was. In her right hand, she clutched the stuffed frog as if to protect it, and in her left hand, she clutched that polaroid photograph. It seemed she had almost let go of them when the ceiling collapsed, but desperately shifted her body to take them back. No, I understood that much, but.

“…Hey, Miko, what is that?”

I asked, suddenly noticing a strange foreign object.

I stared at that strange object, and vaguely thought about its meaning.

It was—the sharp, pointed fragment of a broken pillar.

And, right now, it was growing like an object from Miko Hanamura’s chest.

“Hey…Miko….”

I asked her once more, when the rescue team pulled me out in a hurry, and shifted their attention to Miko.

“Wai…”

Wait a minute. Let me see her.

I wanted to say that, but my body ached all over, and no voice came out.

“CPR!! Hurry!!”

I heard that voice. Three members of the rescue party moved the timber, opened the hole even wider and pulled out Miko’s body. They then placed her in the stretcher meant for me, carried her to a level ground a short distance away, where the paramedics there began to perform CPR on her.

“It’s no good, Get the AED!”

Someone shouted that out loud, but an older paramedic stopped them.

With a somber look on his face, he gently shook his head and spoke.

“She—has already passed away.”

“…It must have been an instant death. Judging from the liver mortis that’s already set in, the time of death must have been around twenty-four hours ago….”

“….Inst….Twenty four hours….?”

I finally managed to let out a cry, and dragged my aching leg as I got up.

I dragged myself, and crawled towards Miko.

“Hey, there’s no need for that… doing something foolish like that….”

The rescue team were looking at me. The rescue team in orange rushed up to me. They didn’t know if they should help me, or stop me from walking, but I pushed back against them one after another, and reached Miko.

“What are you guys saying…. We were talking until just now. The two of us were trying our best not to lose against this darkness… We’ve been talking for the whole day, trying not to lose consciousness. Right?”

Before I’d realized, I was clutching the collar of the elder paramedic, when someone stopped me from behind.

“...Hey, I’m begging you, please…. Hurry up and help her! With that…with that machine right there! If you use that, then she’ll surely regain consciousness, right? She’ll be saved, right? If you can’t do it, then take her to a hospital right away! Hurry up, hey!!”

“Stop it, Nagi-kun!”

I turned around hearing that scream, to see that the tearful voice belonged to Krishna-san—

I realized that it was her who was desperately clinging to me to try and stop me.

“Ah…Krishna-san…After all, it’s strange, right? She…Miko was…until just now, telling me I was a fool, and she listened to me asking her to smile--”

I was about to say that.

I realized it for the first time.

Yoishi Mitsurugi—no, Miko Hanamura’s face, was curved in a faint smile.

To me, it was as if she desperately tried to remember and recreate the smile she had almost forgotten—

I screamed a voiceless scream, as I embraced her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 6

2024-11-12T17:08:32Z

Pakkit: Created page with "{{:Phenomeno: Volume 6 Prologue}} {{:Phenomeno:Case 13}} {{:Phenomeno:Case 14}} {{:Phenomeno:Case 15}} {{:Volume 6: Epilogue}} {{:Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword}} {{:Phenomeno..."

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword

2024-11-12T17:05:48Z

Pakkit:

After finishing the 『Phenomeno』 series, I realized that the simple textual medium of ‘novels’ were far deeper than I imagined. For the past few years, the more I wrote, the more I became afraid of ‘novels’. But one day, I asked a certain respected author, “Why is it that the first draft is so exhausting?”

After a moment of silence, the author eventually muttered a short reply, “Isn’t it because If one were to cut corners, then there would be no end to it?” His expression was etched with the somber shadow of a person who had gone through ‘the fight of never cutting corners’ many times, however at that moment, I thought to myself for the first time, “I too wanted to try and live in the same place this person stood.” Ever since my accidental debut, I had always thought that I wouldn’t be around next year, and often thought about running away, but that was the moment when I felt for the first time that “I loved novels.”

There are countless people I have to thank for this work, but along with thanking everyone who has accompanied me thus far, I would now like to express similar gratitude for this work.

Thank you, Yoishi. Thank you for your hard work, Nagito.

May 2015

Ninomae Hajime

Yoshitoshi Abe

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-5.jpg]]

This is based on the first rough sketch of Yoishi I made when I finished reading the first draft back in September 2011. When I read a text, I have a tendency to see images in my mind that are directly converted from the text, and these images can be like they are from live action, film, painting, manga, and most of all like the hazy scene of a dreamscape. It might differ based on the text I’m reading, but after reading through Phenomeno once, I had the impression that my sketch directly depicted it. It was a slightly strange sensation which I remember even now: not just your writing, but your drawing can also come at you with the feeling that it was not done by you. But, when I actually tried to draw the image with my hands, I often times felt frustrated that my hand couldn’t catch up with the image I had, even though I had the correct interpretation in my mind, and I had to redraw the image several times compared to my other works. When I finished the cover to the first volume and saved it, I looked at it again after a while, and when the difference between the image and the one in my head weighed on my mind, I touched it up more….And I repeated the process 13 times. The illustrations in the first volume were also exactly the same assembled line drawings that had to be discarded after being completed once, and were redrawn all over again.

I believe that this sense of groping around aiming for the correct interpretation that my unconsciousness launched into, in the end they successfully accompanied the atmosphere of this work.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword

2024-11-12T17:05:36Z

Pakkit:

After finishing the 『Phenomeno』 series, I realized that the simple textual medium of ‘novels’ were far deeper than I imagined. For the past few years, the more I wrote, the more I became afraid of ‘novels’. But one day, I asked a certain respected author, “Why is it that the first draft is so exhausting?”

After a moment of silence, the author eventually muttered a short reply, “Isn’t it because If one were to cut corners, then there would be no end to it?” His expression was etched with the somber shadow of a person who had gone through ‘the fight of never cutting corners’ many times, however at that moment, I thought to myself for the first time, “I too wanted to try and live in the same place this person stood.” Ever since my accidental debut, I had always thought that I wouldn’t be around next year, and often thought about running away, but that was the moment when I felt for the first time that “I loved novels.”

There are countless people I have to thank for this work, but along with thanking everyone who has accompanied me thus far, I would now like to express similar gratitude for this work.

Thank you, Yoishi. Thank you for your hard work, Nagito.

May 2015

Ninomae Hajime

Yoshitoshi Abe
[[File:Phenomeno_v6-5.jpg]]

This is based on the first rough sketch of Yoishi I made when I finished reading the first draft back in September 2011. When I read a text, I have a tendency to see images in my mind that are directly converted from the text, and these images can be like they are from live action, film, painting, manga, and most of all like the hazy scene of a dreamscape. It might differ based on the text I’m reading, but after reading through Phenomeno once, I had the impression that my sketch directly depicted it. It was a slightly strange sensation which I remember even now: not just your writing, but your drawing can also come at you with the feeling that it was not done by you. But, when I actually tried to draw the image with my hands, I often times felt frustrated that my hand couldn’t catch up with the image I had, even though I had the correct interpretation in my mind, and I had to redraw the image several times compared to my other works. When I finished the cover to the first volume and saved it, I looked at it again after a while, and when the difference between the image and the one in my head weighed on my mind, I touched it up more….And I repeated the process 13 times. The illustrations in the first volume were also exactly the same assembled line drawings that had to be discarded after being completed once, and were redrawn all over again.

I believe that this sense of groping around aiming for the correct interpretation that my unconsciousness launched into, in the end they successfully accompanied the atmosphere of this work.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword

2024-11-12T17:05:21Z

Pakkit:

After finishing the 『Phenomeno』 series, I realized that the simple textual medium of ‘novels’ were far deeper than I imagined. For the past few years, the more I wrote, the more I became afraid of ‘novels’. But one day, I asked a certain respected author, “Why is it that the first draft is so exhausting?”

After a moment of silence, the author eventually muttered a short reply, “Isn’t it because If one were to cut corners, then there would be no end to it?” His expression was etched with the somber shadow of a person who had gone through ‘the fight of never cutting corners’ many times, however at that moment, I thought to myself for the first time, “I too wanted to try and live in the same place this person stood.” Ever since my accidental debut, I had always thought that I wouldn’t be around next year, and often thought about running away, but that was the moment when I felt for the first time that “I loved novels.”

There are countless people I have to thank for this work, but along with thanking everyone who has accompanied me thus far, I would now like to express similar gratitude for this work.

Thank you, Yoishi. Thank you for your hard work, Nagito.

May 2015

Ninomae Hajime

Yoshitoshi Abe:

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-5.jpg]]

This is based on the first rough sketch of Yoishi I made when I finished reading the first draft back in September 2011. When I read a text, I have a tendency to see images in my mind that are directly converted from the text, and these images can be like they are from live action, film, painting, manga, and most of all like the hazy scene of a dreamscape. It might differ based on the text I’m reading, but after reading through Phenomeno once, I had the impression that my sketch directly depicted it. It was a slightly strange sensation which I remember even now: not just your writing, but your drawing can also come at you with the feeling that it was not done by you. But, when I actually tried to draw the image with my hands, I often times felt frustrated that my hand couldn’t catch up with the image I had, even though I had the correct interpretation in my mind, and I had to redraw the image several times compared to my other works. When I finished the cover to the first volume and saved it, I looked at it again after a while, and when the difference between the image and the one in my head weighed on my mind, I touched it up more….And I repeated the process 13 times. The illustrations in the first volume were also exactly the same assembled line drawings that had to be discarded after being completed once, and were redrawn all over again.

I believe that this sense of groping around aiming for the correct interpretation that my unconsciousness launched into, in the end they successfully accompanied the atmosphere of this work.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword

2024-11-12T17:05:12Z

Pakkit:

After finishing the 『Phenomeno』 series, I realized that the simple textual medium of ‘novels’ were far deeper than I imagined. For the past few years, the more I wrote, the more I became afraid of ‘novels’. But one day, I asked a certain respected author, “Why is it that the first draft is so exhausting?”

After a moment of silence, the author eventually muttered a short reply, “Isn’t it because If one were to cut corners, then there would be no end to it?” His expression was etched with the somber shadow of a person who had gone through ‘the fight of never cutting corners’ many times, however at that moment, I thought to myself for the first time, “I too wanted to try and live in the same place this person stood.” Ever since my accidental debut, I had always thought that I wouldn’t be around next year, and often thought about running away, but that was the moment when I felt for the first time that “I loved novels.”

There are countless people I have to thank for this work, but along with thanking everyone who has accompanied me thus far, I would now like to express similar gratitude for this work.

Thank you, Yoishi. Thank you for your hard work, Nagito.

May 2015

Ninomae Hajime

Yoshitoshi Abe:

[[File:Phenomeno_v6-5.jpg]]

This is based on the first rough sketch of Yoishi I made when I finished reading the first draft back in September 2011. When I read a text, I have a tendency to see images in my mind that are directly converted from the text, and these images can be like they are from live action, film, painting, manga, and most of all like the hazy scene of a dreamscape. It might differ based on the text I’m reading, but after reading through Phenomeno once, I had the impression that my sketch directly depicted it. It was a slightly strange sensation which I remember even now: not just your writing, but your drawing can also come at you with the feeling that it was not done by you. But, when I actually tried to draw the image with my hands, I often times felt frustrated that my hand couldn’t catch up with the image I had, even though I had the correct interpretation in my mind, and I had to redraw the image several times compared to my other works. When I finished the cover to the first volume and saved it, I looked at it again after a while, and when the difference between the image and the one in my head weighed on my mind, I touched it up more….And I repeated the process 13 times. The illustrations in the first volume were also exactly the same assembled line drawings that had to be discarded after being completed once, and were redrawn all over again.

I believe that this sense of groping around aiming for the correct interpretation that my unconsciousness launched into, in the end they successfully accompanied the atmosphere of this work.

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Bonus story

2024-11-12T17:04:53Z

Pakkit:

==Bonus Story: What was in the tunnel==

I'd like to tell a ghost story on Twitter to commemorate the completion of "Phenomeno." Please lend me your TL for a while. The story is named " What was in the tunnel."

I heard this story from my friend T in college.

T had a family friend, Mr. N, whom T had known since he was in elementary school. It seems the man often spoiled him. One day, however, uncle N was involved in a car accident and was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Surprised, T went to visit him, and was surprised to find him in better shape than he was expecting. T was so relieved he forgot he was in the hospital and started pleading, "Uncle N, tell a scary story!"

Usually, N would say, "All right, all right, I'll tell you one," and start telling a lot of stories, but that day, he fell silent.

After a while, N curtly said, "I could tell you one, but I don't know if now is the right time."

T was still curious and continued pestering the uncle, but the man was unyielding.

"Maybe one day, when you're older."

When T became a university student, he had a chance to meet uncle N for the first time in years.

He hadn't forgotten about uncle's promise, so he asked, "That scary story you told me about when you were in the hospital long ago? Can you tell it now?"

The uncle, who had been cheerful until then, suddenly clouded his face and said,

"Well, I can tell you, but you should know that I haven't wrapped my head around it myself yet," he said.

It happened on the day of the accident. Mr. N had gone golfing with four coworkers. On the way home, Mr. N was in the front passenger seat with one of the coworkers at the wheel and two bosses in the back. However, just as they were approaching a particular tunnel, they were caught in a traffic jam.

They stared at the tail light of the car in front of them, "It's not moving. Must be an accident..."

Just after those words were uttered, something strange happened.

Suddenly, the whole area went completely dark. N said that all the lights in the tunnel had gone out, and it was so dark he couldn't even see his fingers.

".......Ugh," an unfamiliar voice, not one of their own, could be heard in the darkness.

"Power outage....?" asked someone sounding slightly frightened. It was pitch dark, but Mr. N soon realized that something wasn't right. If the lights in the tunnel went out due to a power outage, why would the tail lights of the car in front of them go out as well?

For a while, an uncomfortable silence prevailed. Mr. N said that the reason no one said anything was because they all felt the situation wasn't exactly normal.

Only the sound of ragged breathing echoed through the car. However, inaction wouldn't solve anything, so Mr. N used the lighter he had found in his pocket.

As soon as the flame ignited...

"Ugh!"

The four of them simultaneously screamed. Behind the windshield, lit by the light of a lighter, several bloody people were clinging to each other. Some of them had countless shards of glass stuck all over their faces. Startled, N dropped the lighter, the fire went out, and the car went back into darkness again.

"What the hell was that?!" the boss's trembling voice resounded from the back seat. "Should I try again?" asked Mr. N, but no answer followed. They were scared shitless, not wanting to see that horrible sight again. They were only human after all, with pitiable expressions on their blue scared faces at that.

However, Mr. N took the lighter and tried to light it again. That very moment, a loud horn sounded from somewhere. In just a moment, the tunnel lights were on, and there were no cars in front of them. Before long, the traffic was clearing up, and they realized the car behind was vigorously honking its horn.

The colleague hurriedly drove off. After a while, he said, "...What the heck was that I wonder?"

"What were those bloody people we saw I don't know till this day," Mr. N told T with an awkward smile.

After hearing this story from T, I went on a certain occult site and made a thread about it, but didn't receive the reaction I was expecting.

"What's scary about it?"

"It's so common I heard it a million times already."

Those were the replies I was getting.

I felt down and was about to leave the site for the day when someone with a nickname Yoishi wrote their reply.

"The story omits the real ending."

What?..

"Hey, didn't you notice?"

N-notice what?..

"The story starts with the uncle N getting in a car accident, right?"

I don't know why, but the moment I read the message, I felt goosebumps all over my body.

"It means he got in an accident soon after seeing those bloody people in the tunnel."

"And he was so badly injured he was hospitalized."

"Someone who's usually more than willing to tell a scary story has been immensely shocked by something."

"Well, that's because... he knew that the "bloody humans" they saw looked exactly like them from the future."

I couldn't take my eyes off of this person's strange handle name and their messages.

"Who the hell are you?" That was the only question on my mind, but I couldn't even ask it.

"Listen..."

"Next time you see Mr. T, ask him."

"Is the car that Mr. N was driving still around? And..."

After a short pause, the next message arrived.

"If any of his colleagues or superiors are still alive."

The end.

Thanks for your time!

'Phenomeno' is a collection of similar stories (although there's about one heroine mixed in there).

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Volume 06, Afterword To The Afterword|Afterword To The Afterword]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Phenomeno:Case 15

2024-11-12T17:04:39Z

Pakkit: Undo revision 583801 by Pakkit (talk)

==Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion: Part Two==

'''Everything in this world is like a ghost story. It is full of stories with no known sources or anything. Looking at an incident from the other side shows a different aspect. Each person involved has their own story. And yet we condemn them only from a certain point of view.

'''It’s foolish to do so, but I dare ask—'''

'''Are you gods?'''
'''

That happened three days ago.

I ran into Takako Takamura in front of the main university gate, and she handed me a piece of paper with those incomprehensible words written on it. “What the hell is this?” I asked her, and she cocked her head in reply, “Who knows?”

Incidentally, this girl named Takako Takamura, who stood with her hair was dancing in the wind and her tall body leaning to one side, was the half-sister of ‘Ayana Takamura’, a Koumei institute student who had mysteriously disappeared several years prior.

A super-extreme denpa(net slang referring to those who repeat occult-like words and actions without regard for their surroundings) who tried to incarnate with malicious intent by spreading taboo words all over the school. To me who knew about her in detail, Takako Takamura who had been called a ‘vessel’ by her half-sister and who bore a life-like resemblance to her despite only sharing half their blood, was a little creepy.

『It was there beside my pillow when I woke up this morning.』

『Huh?』

『I was the one who probably doth write it.』

『Doth write it?』

『And, they were probably the words doth by my sister.』

『Did…your way of speaking become abnormal?』

I asked her that, and in response, Takako Takamura distorted her well-shaped facial features into a grin.

『I’ve recently become addicted to classic literature. In summary, I think my sister is warning you of danger.』

『Danger?』

『I think something bad will happen to you from now on.』

『W…wait a second.』

『You’ll be forced to make the final choice very soon, and on top of that, you’ll be buried alive in the mountains.』

◯

--The final choice? Buried alive?

At the time I thought, are you kidding me? She went ahead and said something creepy again, but I let it slide.

Now that I think of it, Takako Takamura’s words turned out to be completely true.

That’s right, now--- I was in complete darkness, unable to move my arms or legs.

“…………..Ptch……..Hey, are you alive?”

I chocked out the dust I had inhaled and called out, and a familiar voice rang out beyond the darkness.

“….What…is this place? Hell? Kokytos….?”

“Ahhh, you’re alive. Thank goodness. ….Ummm, this isn’t hell, we’re in the mountains. We got buried in a lot of collapsed timber--”

I spoke that far, when an intense pain ran down my right leg.

It was in the area around my right knee. And, ahead of that--- I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t even tell if I still had legs given that I couldn’t move my body. Even though my head already understood it, but my right leg was continuing to send signals of throbbing pain, as if to say, “It’s an emergency”. It hurt, and it was dark, I suddenly felt scared and was on the verge of panicking.

However, I took a deep breath and told myself, “Calm down”.

…How long, have we been here since then? In the darkness, I gently turned the watch on my left arm in the direction of my face while trying not to hurt my hand on the broken wood. Similarly, I slowly moved my right arm, and somehow managed to turn on the light of my watch.

Monday, 16 April 2012, 19:17.

…Ah, it’ll be almost a full day soon. Had I been in this condition for almost twenty-four hours? The moment I realized this, I remembered how intensely parched my throat was. A stinging pain stuck to the back of my throat. Water, water….isn’t there water somewhere?

“….I can’t move my body.”

At that moment, I heard her voice beyond the darkness.

“Yeah…my leg is trapped, and I can’t move either.”

“Why did something like this happen?”

“Why? --- You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember… coming here with you.”

“Can you stop being so informal. It’s like we’re married.”

I couldn't help but laugh as we ended up doing the usual back and forth with no regard for the location.

And, laughing calmed my heart down a little. I was able to ask, “You’re not injured, are you?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

-- I was about to say that my legs were in a bit of bad shape, but I stopped myself. There was no use in saying it, and she might get a little worried.

“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. I’m sure help will come soon.”

“…When?”

“…How should I know? It’ll be here soon.”

“………..”

“………..”

But, I was at a loss for words when I realized that help would not come anytime soon.

My surroundings fell dead silent.

Without even the cries of mountain birds, it felt as if the world had ended.

“It’s emotionally taxing if it stays like this.”

I spoke, trying to rouse my dark, crushing heart.

“Let’s do something else…right, don’t you have some riddles in mind?”

After a moment's silence, she spoke.

“If it’s interesting stories you want to hear, then.”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered simply, when suddenly, I shuddered.

The things she thought of as ‘interesting’ were a little different than what one would ordinarily think of as interesting.

“….Never mind! It’s fine, don’t tell me. I can’t even run away if I listen to a scary story in this situation.”

I said that, but she had already begun to slowly narrate in a whisper.

“Why did ‘Gandame’ smile, I wonder?”

“Hey, stop it.”

“Being smiled at means you die— the lineage of mountain goddess ghost stories is found all over Japan, but why is smiling linked with death I wonder?”

“I told you! We’re in the middle of the mountain where that ‘Gandame’ is said to appear, so stop it. If a smiling woman with cloudy eyes appears in the darkness, I can’t run away even if I wanted to!”

I retorted sharply, and she fell silent.

My surroundings returned to dark silence once more, and somewhere beyond the dark mountains, I heard a crunching sound.

Was It an animal—or a monster from the mountain?

I didn’t know, but either one was fine, as long as it could me forget the pain in my right leg. As if to shake off the stinging pain, I thought back. Everything that led us here. Everything that led us to this point, to the dark abyss we passed through.

That’s right—that day, Friday the 13th of April.

I was in a hurry.

I had regained recognition of Yoishi Mitsurugi once more, and was told by Krishna-san.

『If you’ve decided to walk together with Yoishi, then go and meet Takita-san.』

I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as I finished my lectures, I ran out of the university. However, I ran into Takako Takamura at the front fate, and was given a strange message or prophecy, but I made light of it and ran off to the station.

It was all to uncover the truth behind the darkness that enveloped the girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi.

◯

“Hey, Sako! Come out!”

The door to Sako Takita’s antique store ‘Kouroudou’(Bone Tower Shrine) in Sotokanda, Tokyo, was locked.

I peeked in through a gap in the dark curtains behind the frosted glass, but as usual, objects I didn’t really understand were all crammed in a line. A headless Buddhist statue, a mummified Kappa, and a hanging scroll covered in what appeared to be blood stains. Beyond those suspicious items that he considered merchandise, I raised my voice towards the inner parlor.

“Hey, Sako! Are you asleep?!”

I wonder how long I kept knocking on the door and calling out to him like that.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I was called out to from behind and looked back to see a short old woman dressed in a kimono that was a light cherry color with a slight grayish tinge.

Although her back was rounded to a large degree, she was a small and cute old woman. Come to think if it, my deceased grandma was short as well. As I recalled those kinds of things, I bowed down to greet the old woman who looked up at me with an elegant face.

“Ah, sorry for being so noisy.”

In response, the old woman gave me a friendly grin and asked, “Do you have some business with the owner of that shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“That nice man who’s always wearing an indigo dyed kimono.”

“It’s doubtful whether he’s nice or not, but he is indeed always wearing a navy-blue kimono.”

“We’re always gossiping about whether he is still single.”

Saying that, the old woman giggled like a maiden.

“Um, that’s fine….but, do you know where he is now? I have some urgent business with him.”

“Isn’t it the 13th today?”

“…Yes?”

“That person goes to Myoujin-san on the 13th of each month.”

“Myoujin-san?”

“It’s Kanda Inari Gongen-sama.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Sako’s day job was being the head priest of a shrine in Aomori— I think it was called ‘so-and-so Inari Shrine’.

“Myoujin-san is just ahead up the stairs from there.”

“Thank you so much.”

After thanking her, I broke into a run.

I climbed the long, narrow stairs, slipped through a narrow alley, and soon saw several red nobori<ref>long, narrow banner attached to a pole on one side and a horizontal rod along the top</ref>.

There were souvenir shops lined on the path to the shrine, and even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people. As a country boy who loved festivals, I ended up getting excited just by visiting these kinds of places.

I read the stone monument in a touristy mood, Kanda Myoujin was a shrine dedicate to Daikoku, the god of wealth, Ebisu the god of fishing and commerce, and ‘Taira No Masakado’, who was popular among us occult maniacs because of certain reasons.

“Hmmm.”

I looked up at the main shrine once more.

I had passed it once or twice before, but to tell the truth, it was my first time stepping foot inside.

“…Wait, no, no, I don't have time for this.”

Right away, I searched around the area for Sako. However, there was no sign of the man in the navy-blue kimono anywhere around the main shrine, or in any tea house or souvenir store. Having no choice, I went around the main shrine to look around the subordinate shrines. As I walked along, stepping on the gravel under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, I found that there were various subordinate shrines at the back of the main shrine. I was happy to see that each shrine was neatly swept with bamboo brooms, and was being properly looked after. It made me sad just seeing small shrines in disrepair—when, I spotted a familiar man in a kimono in front of one of the small shrines.

“—Sako?”

I called out to him, but Sako Takita remained seated directly on the ground in a daze with his back turned towards me.

I quietly approached his side and peeked at him from the front. And— noticed something. There were several empty sake bottles near his knees.

“Of all the…are you drunk?”

“…Hngh.”

Sako turned around at last, and greeted me, ‘Yoo’.

His complexion, which was normally pale, had a slight red tinge to it.

“Yo? really?”

“Haha…umm, you are—of course I remember. Ehhh, your name, it was that.”

“It’s Nagito Yamada. Come on, get up. You’ll get reported if you drink in a place like this.”

“…Erm, it’s alright, the chief priest here is an acquaintance.”

Sako Takita looked like a complete bum as he foolishly laughed. I tried to make him stand up, but his legs were unsteady having drunk so much, and on top of that he had no desire to stand up himself, so things didn’t go the way I wanted. Suddenly feeling foolish, I let go of his arm around mine.

He sloppily toppled on the gravel with his arms and legs outstretched.

“….Oooh. How cruel, what are you doing?”

“I just remembered what you did and let my anger take care of the rest. You had the nerve to make Yoishi imperceptible to me, didn’t you?”

I returned to the point of discussion.

“It’s already been undone. That’s why you came to me, right?”

Sako chuckled and started to laugh.

“I told her that it was merely a stopgap solution. You were out of control back then to the point where even Kurimoto-kun couldn’t handle. Please don’t hold it against her.”

“Yeah yeah, Krishna-san already gave me a rough rundown on what happened. That I was delirious and went berserk at the hospital. That was my fault--- but, there was no reason to make me unable to see her, was there? Or rather, why did I do that when I saw Yoishi…? Do you know why?”

In response, Sako fell silent.

He continued to look at midair in a daze with the occasional *hiccup*.

I continued to wait for him, but there was no sign that Sako would start talking, so I looked around to make sure no one was around. —and I, too, sat cross-legged on the spot.

“In the first place, this subordinate shrine is the home of some deity, isn't it? Why are you drinking at a place like this?”

“…Hm.”

Sako slowly looked up towards the shrine right in front of him, and grinned broadly.

“Today is the monthly anniversary of her death.<ref>Monthly death anniversaries of a death are known as tsuki meinichi in Japan</ref>”

“Anniversary? Whose?”

“My mother's.”

“..... Eh?”

Thereafter, I looked at the signpost next to the entrance of the supplementary shrine. On it was inscribed, ‘Ukanomitama (god of rice), and Suehiroinari (god of harvests, wealth, fertility) as well.

“My mother you see, was kind, courteous, and beautiful. Well, I can’t deny that I might be glorifying her because of her early passing. But, you understand, right? A mother who is the personification of affection is clearly different from a father. A unique existence to all children that shared her flesh and blood.”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, and Sako stayed silent for a while.

After staring vacantly at empty space as if chasing something invisible—

“My mother, she killed herself you see.”

“………….”

“Well, that’s what the world thinks.”

“…What the world thinks?”

“Right. She was thought to have severed her own life, but in reality… she was murdered.”

After that, Sako laughed: heh, heh, heh—he then picked up one of the sake bottles that had been lying around and brought it to his mouth. But it seemed its contents were already empty, so he carelessly threw it away.

“You know, you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things even if you’re drunk.”

“…Drunk? Yes, I might be drunk, but I only speak the truth.”

Then Sako gazed at me in a stance where he used his knees to support his arms,

“It happened before my very eyes—And, I could do nothing at all. There was no point in asking people about it, and there was no point in talking about it. It’s not something people should know about, and it’s definitely not a story that should be readily known by an ordinary person. But still, all stories are connected. In the end, it feels like all karma bounces from one place to the next. Now then—will you hear that kind of story?”

Suddenly—

The words that have been said countless times in countless situations came back to me.

A story that should not be heard. A story people should not know.

If you found out, you would become involved and entangled in them—a story woven with Kotodama.

If it had been me up until now, I might have shaken my head and said, “I’ll pass.”

However—

“That karma or whatever, is it connected to her—to Yoishi Mitsurugi?”

I asked.

“If it’s a story that has some power to clear away the darkness inside her….then let me hear it.”

I said that, and the smallest—the truly faintest of smiles appeared on Sako’s face.

And then, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before, an expression most transparent, and pure.

“It happened…back when I was still in high school.”

“I saw a monster—in broad daylight.”

◯

Monsters—now then, what is a monster?

Do they spit fire? Do they devour humans? Do they possess supernatural powers which ordinary humans can’t fight against? Well, those kinds of definitions vary from person to person, but there’s one thing that can be said with certainty. Once you encounter them, you can't escape their influence for the rest of your life —that exactly is what I believe monsters are.

With that meaning in mind, what I encountered could be called a monster.

It happened on a day when the sun was still high in the sky, and yet the moon’s pale light also loomed. Thinking back on it now, bad things have usually happened on days like that. Well although, I can only speak of my own life. On that day, I quickly left after my high school classes had ended, just like any other day. I was never the type of person to get along with my classmates, nor was I the type to rejoice in the springtime of youth by engaging in sweaty club activities. High school life to me was really nothing more than just a means to kill time. In other words, I was a gloomy high school student, the type that would go to a coffee shop after leaving school in violation of school regulations, and would set up camp at a seat in the back to read Chekhov, Ango and so on. I’ll explain later, but I had circumstances which made me not want to return home right away. What you might find laughable is that I had been given an unconditional command to return home as late as possible.

So, that day as well, I headed to the cafe named ‘Windmill’ with a book in my hand which I had almost finished reading -- but on that day alone, there was a noisy customer who had taken up camp at the seat at the back where I always sat. I, on the other hand, was the type who was unable to concentrate on books unless my surroundings were quiet. So, having no choice, I headed to the park.

Ahh, that’s right—my house at the time was not in Aomori where I currently reside. I was originally born in Kobe, moved to Kyoto afterward, and was living in Fukuoka at the time. The reason why was because my father was involved in the trading business, but it wasn’t a good thing for a child to move around so often in their childhood. Even now, I believe that was the reason I became shy and had problems making friends--- but I digress. Anyway, I lived in the east of Fukuoka. Well, you might know of it being an occult lover and all, but it was famous for the Jizo statue where the Kappas are sealed.<ref>https://kappapedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kappa-jizo.html</ref>

There was a vast, lush green place known as the T-park.

I headed there, but it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. There were a lot of mothers with their children. No matter how many times I looked around, I couldn’t find an empty bench anywhere. I walked all the way to the back of the park and found an empty bench at last, where I sat down, but I had lost all motivation to read, probably because it had taken me so long to get there. For a while, I merely sat there in a daze.

Before I knew it, I was biting my nails.

Well, I guess you could call it a psychological state you often see in high schoolers in puberty. I was strangely irritated. Perhaps it was because the plans I had made for the day didn’t go well, or perhaps it was the peaceful, warm scenery which made it appear as if time had stopped— I continued to sit on the old bench, and continued to chew my nails without changing places.

It was at that moment.

A toddler shakily walked toward me.

A boy—probably, I think it was a boy. I don’t remember exactly. An innocent-looking toddler approached me with some kind of toy in hand. He was a friendly child. He already trusted completely in someone like me. I, who was a stranger from who knows where, a high schooler with dark eyes and with a book like ‘Discourse on decadence’ in hand. He had a friendly grin on his face as he offered me the toy. I ignored that and merely looked around in dismay. I wondered where the mother went, taking her eyes off a child this young. However, there was no sign of a mother-like figure close by. That child sidled up to me alone. He held out his precious favorite toy to me, with a “Yes”. For a moment, I wondered if I was even pitied by such a young child, but that wasn’t the case. In all likelihood, the child was living a life filled with love. That must be why he didn’t even think of the possibility that some humans can be evil.

When I realized that, something like a thin mist rose somewhere in my heart.

--What would happen if a dark malice were unleashed upon this pure being?

I was surprised at myself for thinking something like that. I didn't think I was capable of such sadistic thoughts. And, it was an irresistibly bewitching idea. There was a defenseless creature in front of me; There was no one around. It was just me, him and the toy. For the time being, I picked up the toy the boy had placed at my feet and put it in my pocket. Eventually, that child came to pick up the toy that he had placed at my feet and stopped moving. He started looking around, behind my legs, as if searching for the toy, then looked up at me. I merely grinned at him. The child continued to search for the toy after that, but I couldn’t help but feel an irresistible rush of pleasure rising up my spine. I was getting an almost nauseating pleasure from the anxiety that was enveloping his tiny back.

What kind of face would he make if I were to pluck the toy’s head and throw it away? The plastic doll of some transforming hero. Would he start crying? What would happen if this pure creature were to be showered with malice?

As he had his back turned to me, I secretly took out the toy. I dangled it towards his back. He was anxiously digging up the sandpits close by. As if he thought he might have buried it somewhere. I put my hand on the doll’s neck. I put a little power and tried to twist its neck, when—

I finally noticed that gaze.

With a start, I looked diagonally to my right, to see a woman with a kind expression. She was sitting on a bench covered by ivy in the shade, staring at me and the child. In an instant, I understood that she was the mother of the child.

Sweat slowly formed on my hands, and I removed my hand from the doll’s neck.

--What was it? How long had she been there? Did this woman see everything I had done?

My heart was pounding violently, as if it was about to burst from my mouth.

Eventually, I called out “Boy”, in a shaky voice and handed the toy back to him. The boy’s face immediately lit up, and he took the toy in hand. And at the same time, he spotted his mother, and happily ran towards her. The mother slightly bowed to me and left, holding hands with the child.

--There was no way a mother would take her eyes off her young child.

I chided myself for my foolishness after all that time, but it was already too late.

It felt as if the daytime moon was smirking down at me, and I quickly left that park.

I was embarrassed that the mother had seen through me. It was most fortunate that I managed to notice her at the last moment and hadn’t plucked the doll's head off. Even though it was a provincial city, there was more regional unity there than in a place like Tokyo. I was patting myself on the chest, thinking that if I had done that, I might not be able to live in this city anymore.

However, as I left the park, I realized my heart continued to throb violently.

Yes— I was still excited.

I was excited at the thought of trampling that which was pure.

It was as if I had become something other than myself—no, as if the real me that kept itself hidden in my heart somewhere had revealed itself. It was also a sense of freedom at being my true self. The irritating feeling I had just thirty minutes ago was no longer there.

I wonder if that was the reason why.

Even though it was not yet time to go back home—I ended up getting ready to return home.

Now then, why didn’t I return home straight away after school?

It’s about time I explained that. What? It’s not something big. In short, it was because my mother's lover was at home. He was ostensibly the man my mother was learning to paint from. I told you my father was involved in the trading business, so he was often away from home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for weeks. And when he did come home, he would do so late at night. When my father was home, my mother was very diligent and devoted to him. She bathed him, cooked for him, and listened to his stories with a round of laughter. To an outsider, she must have looked like the ideal, wise housewife. And that's what I always thought too.

However, it was around the time I entered middle school. My mother said that she wanted to learn how to draw. My father agreed. My mother had a small interest in oil painting in her student days, and my father might have felt guilty for being away from home so often. And so, the one who eventually came was that man. I was able to hate him with just one glance. He must have been five or so years younger than my mother, but —ah, I just can't remember his face no matter what. I don't know why, but he always looked like he was wearing a fox's face. Not literally a fox’s face, but truly a fox mask. It didn't look like that to the people around me including my mother, probably because my strong rejection against that man made me feel that way. The fox masked man was polite, eloquent and graceful in his speech, and he often gave me gifts. But to me, it looked like a red tongue peeking out of a mouth with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear. My mother and the man were silently painting in her room. And before long I was told, “Play outside on the day sensei comes”, And I was made to realize that I was not allowed to stay at home.

That must have been like ink that dropped on the surface of water that was my family. When that man started coming in and out of my house, my family was stained with an indelible stain. My father not being home became the norm, and I too had come to think that I shouldn’t stay at home—and above all, the man started visiting my house not just once a week, but with one thing or another, he started visiting every day.

Every day.

In the afternoon.

A man who was not a member of our family would definitely be there.

I thought my family had been taken over by something suspicious.

My father died soon afterward.

He returned to Japan after going to Guangzhou for work and was on his way home when we lost contact with him, and he was found at Matsuyama harbor, Shikoku. It seems he was found floating in the sea by a couple on a date. Why did he go to Matsuyama from Fukuoka? Was it an accident, a suicide, or did he get involved in some trouble? We had no idea. The police visited my mother almost every day, but it appeared they eventually stopped investigating it as a murder case. That was because the body of another woman was found on the harbor. That woman was an office worker in my father's company. It seemed she had been going out with my father. The police tried to conclude the case by saying it was a double suicide spurred on by a lovers talk.

However, I can say it with almost complete certainty.

That my father was murdered.

And the culprit was that fox masked man.

After that, for the next three years of high school—a strange situation developed in which I, lived together with my mother and that fox masked man.

I stopped coming home.

I only returned home to sleep and spent the rest of the day killing time outside.

However, on that day—

On the day I felt delight in aiming malice towards a child.

I decided to return home after a long time while the sun was still high up in the sky.

I unlocked the door, entered inside, declared that I was home, and entered the tatami room.

The scene I saw there would perhaps never be erased from my memory for as long as I live.

On the tatami mats was my mother, naked and bound. The rope painfully bit into her flesh, but my mother sobbed with joy. Next to her was the fox masked man. He merely sat there quietly on his knees, staring motionlessly at my mother.

The man slowly turned towards me, who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the tatami room.

The white, fox masked man with the corners of his mouth slit from ear to ear, sneered to me.

How long—

Just how long did I stand there, motionless?

How much time did it take for me to realize what was happening in the tatami room?

Before I realized, I was sneering as well.

And, I realized at last.

The man was ‘malice’. He was the ‘malice’ inside me.

I don’t recall the specifics of what happened after that.

All I remember is that I staggered out of the house, and continued around wandering the city—and when I came to, I was in Hakata station.

There, I bought a train ticket to the furthest place possible.

When I reached Aomori station, what I saw on the news was that my house had burned down completely, and that the corpse of a naked woman had been discovered inside. I didn’t even think about had happened. I had become numb to all emotions. I didn't know why I was in Aomori. Nor did I know what I should do from here. I was overwhelmed by the scenery of Tohoku that I was seeing for the first time, and collapsed in front of the station.

When I came to, I found myself riding in the car of a strange gray-haired man. The old man merely called himself the ‘Chief priest’. I had run out of money and had not eaten anything, so he said to me.

『You’re possessed by a terrible ghost.』

『It’s a very powerful ghost, and you might not be able to do anything about it yourself.』

『You may run out of strength midway through and die, but if left alone, you’ll die anyway.』

『I’m sure your stomach must be empty, but it would be better if you didn’t eat anything. Let’s begin right away.』

After that, I was taken to a shrine somewhere deep in the mountains, and made to change into a white kimono. I don’t know how much time passed after that. I was abandoned in a room that was like a dungeon, and was subjected to ritual prayer every day. There was nothing left for me to vomit, yet the intense feeling of wanting to throw up welled up inside me over and over again. Ahh-- Thinking back on it now, I had never been in so much pain. I would fall backwards and repeatedly slam my body against the hard floor. Having not even been given enough food for excrement, I realized at the depths of what little consciousness that remained that I was going to die. I felt the end of my life was right at hand. At that moment, I felt something leave my thin, frayed consciousness. It cried out loud in a high, frustrated whine, and disappeared as if it melted away.

『It’s over.』

At last, I heard the old man's voice near me.

I saw a light beyond my hazy vision.

Tears spilled from my eyes seeing the beauty of the grass and trees illuminated by the sun.

『You’re saved. However, you won't be able to lead a normal life from now on.』

The old man spoke as I greedily devoured the rice gruel I was eating after several days.

『If you don't retighten your body that an oversized ghost passed through every day, you'll quickly end up becoming an abode for countless ghosts.』

The old man didn't have to tell me that, I knew that it was just a short distance away.

I knew that it would quietly continue to stare at me from somewhere—until I died.

『Abandon everything, and spend the rest of your life here.』

That place was called ‘Okitachi Inari Shrine’—

I would later find out that it was a shrine that guarded one of the veins of this island country, that defended against the northern demon gate.<ref> https://donnykimball.com/kimon-7f7a28291d51</ref>

After that, I became a disciple of that old man, and began to study Shintoism. It was a little different, however, and in no way what you would generally define as ‘modern Shintoism’, it was a severe unrelenting study. Well, that's a long story, so I’ll spare you the details, but I was forced to abandon my name, my family name, my past, and completed my training to completely become ‘nothing’ all at once. I had to rearrange and fix the air ducts in my spine, and recompose all of my cells properly. I assimilated all of my thoughts with nature, and abandoned myself. I repeated that every day, every hour, every minute. I continued to adjust it as I ate, as I slept. I might have told you once before, but—if you’re not a great masochist, then it would have been a maddening day-to-day existence.

My master must not have thought I would be able to bear it all. Somewhere along the way, he probably concluded that I would run off some day and self-destruct by becoming a nest for the ghosts that would penetrate me through my turbulent air ducts. However, I somehow managed to hold my ground. I endured it all.

Say, you.

Why… do you think that was?

A few years after that, I asked my master.

About why ‘that’ had happened.

By ‘that’, I had meant ‘that thing’ which had destroyed me and my family, and I tried asking about it indifferently.

『No one really knows.』

My master answered.

『It was called ‘Nine tails’ in Nara period literature, and in the Edo period, it was referred to as the ‘everlasting night stone’—however, in all likelihood, it must have been present inside humans of every era. Yes, it is something that continues to move from person to person.』

『Is that so?』

I kept an expression as if I wasn't interested anymore, but I engraved that name deep at the back of my mind.

With a soft smile, I grit my teeth so hard they might have bled, and recalled my mother’s face from that day.

It possesses people.

It amplifies people’s negative emotions and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing.

It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves.

The first one in my family who it possessed was me.

My once warm family, had before I realized, turned into a reflection of what I considered to be the worst possible family.

As it made me believe that I was killing time outside, it toyed with my mother as it pleased on a daily basis.

It casually made my father realize this abnormal relationship, destroyed his heart, and drove him to his death.

--Unforgivable, unforgivable.

I could not forgive the wandering ghost known as the ‘everlasting night stone’, but above all, I could not forgive myself.

However, my own punishment would be held off until the very end.

Before that, I had to annihilate it. For that reason, I—

Would be as brave as Amitabha Tathagata, who stayed at the left of Amitabha Tathagata.

Would be as wise as Gabrielle, who stayed at the left of God’s throne.

And—I would transform into the sword that cut down demons, like Futsunushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsunushi</ref>, who stayed at the left of Okuninushi<ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckuninushi</ref>.

That’s right, I decided to become a demon that would devour demons.

That was why I erased all emotions, and was able to endure everything.

With the deity Futsunushi, enshrined at Okitachi Inari Shrine as my guardian deity, I received the surname of my master.

And that is how from that day forth… Nagito Yamada-kun, I took the name of Sako Takita.<ref>The kanji for Sako’s first name is 左居, with the first kanji meaning left and the next one meaning to be or exist, so Sako means being at the left.</ref>

◯

“….Perhaps because of that you see. I feel as if my face is getting thinner like a fox each year.”

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?<ref>As explained in the previous volume, he is asking how the kanji is written here.</ref>”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A *brrrrrr* sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said, “Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”

◯

“Where are you headed?”

On the bus, an elderly grandfather with a bamboo basket on his back asked us.

I looked to my side, to see Yoishi fiddling with her phone without saying anything, so having no choice, I answered him.

“Ummm… we’re going to a friend’s house for a bit.”

“Ooh, is that right?”

The elderly gentleman nodded with a good-natured expression, as if he were about to puff a cigarette, and sat down in the seat next to us.

The bus rattled and swayed as it leisurely moved along the mountain road with several passengers on board. I somehow looked outside the window, and saw that the houses were steadily becoming sparser, and all that lay beyond them were magnificent undulating mountains.

And at my feet was a large rucksack I had borrowed from a friend in the mountaineering club. I didn’t know if we would easily be able to find accommodation, so I borrowed as much camping gear as I could cram into the rucksack and brought it along.

The address Sako had written, K city. Y-Prefecture—

Yoishi and I were on our way there, having switched trains, and rode the only bus that came only once every hour.

The sun would soon be setting in the area. The mountain ridges were dyed in a golden colored light. The scenery alone was quite beautiful and nostalgic, but when I thought about the building we were headed towards, my buoyant mood continued to sink.

“Something terrible inhabits these mountains.”

The old grandad from earlier blurted out.

“You can't look them in the eye because if you do, you'll end up dead.”

It must have been a legend you’d often find passed down in rural areas.

“Um, what is it called?”

I asked, and the grandad replied, “…It’s called,” before falling into silence for a while.

“It’s called… No, it’s better if you don’t know. Because you might end up summoning it if you know it.”

In response, Yoishi suddenly opened her mouth.

“Are you talking about 『Gandame』or 『Yousen boy』?”

“Y, young lady, you shouldn’t. Don’t say the names.”

The grandad hurriedly warned Yoishi, but as for me, I wanted to rebuke him, ‘Grandpa, you're wrong.’

You must not tell her the things ‘she shouldn’t do’. And as expected, Yoishi’s eyes glittered,

“…Gandame, Yousen boy, Gandame, Yousen boy.” She began to repeat it.

‘Eek’, as the grandad recoiled backwards, I bonked her on the head.

“…..My apologies, she’s, a little strange.”

I apologized profusely, and gazed at Yoishi who had fallen silent in discontent—

I let out a sigh in my heart by myself at the troubles that were to come.

I say troubles, but I wasn’t sure if I completely understood the details of those troubles.

Krishna-san’s sudden disappearance—I was unbearably worried about that, but I had left it to Sako who said he would meet up with Yukihito-kun and deal with it. Apparently, according to Sako, heading to this address together with Yoishi had priority above all else. Well, I had a feeling I could leave it to him since Sako seemed to act properly when it came to Krishna-san, but—the biggest problem of all was the weight of his words: 『Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story』.

The problem was whether I could really do something like that.

I came this far trying countless times to do something about the darkness ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ carried. Despite being repeatedly told by Krishna-san that it was impossible, I recklessly stepped foot into the abyss of the world beyond, and each time, I would retreat with tears in my eyes. And what could I do now that I came here with no trump card? What could I possibly do by brazenly going to the ‘place Yoishi Mitsurugi was born’? Sako also told me that 『The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun』, but I had no idea why there was a race against time at all. However, it was also true that after hearing the story of ‘Sako Takita’, my image of him had ended up changing quite dramatically, and for once I had a feeling that it would be better to believe him.

That’s why after I parted ways with Sako at Kanda Myoujin, I gathered the camping gear and headed to the library for the time being.

Fear comes from ignorance. Those were Krishna-san’s words, but there was nothing scarier than going to a place called ‘hell’ without knowing anything. I looked up any articles I could get my hands on in the library corresponding to the incidents in ‘K city, Y-Prefecture’ and ‘Hanging mansion’. And then, I finally called Yoishi, but—

“Hey, Yoishi.”

“……..What?”

“I told you we were going to Y prefecture, didn’t I?”

“Right.”

“I told you we probably won’t return for a few days so come prepared, didn’t I?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“So, why are you here empty-handed in your school uniform?”

Around two hours ago, I arrived at the station we were supposed to meet up at, and was exasperated.

I didn’t expect her to bring a rucksack like me, but I thought she would at least bring a small bag. But it was as usual with ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, she hadn’t changed even the slightest.

Wearing a black blazer, black tie, black skirt. Navy blue socks, and black leather shoes.

Yoishi Mitsurugi stood there in her dazzling Koumei high school uniform. She didn’t look as if she had brought a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush or a towel. With only her mobile phone in hand, she had the same unfriendly, or rather blank expression with her excessively well-proportioned beauty looking at me, and her long black hair danced in the wind.

“Don’t you think you’re travelling a little too light?”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Well…that might be the case but…”

Come to think of it, I was beginning to like an idiot for bringing such a large backpack.

“Leaving that aside, where are we headed in Y prefecture?”

She suddenly asked, “Eh?” I was at a loss for words.

“You only said we were going to Y prefecture.”

“….Ah, ahhh….ermmm.”

No, I had to say it sooner or later, and she might figure it out along the way, but it was still difficult to say face to face, that the place we were headed towards was the birthplace of Yoishi Mitsurugi.

“I mean, really. I don't think it's right to accept an invitation to stay overnight without asking what kind of place you're going to. That’s no good for a girl before marriage.”

I pretended not to notice that I was the one who invited her,

“Didn’t I become your property?”

Yoishi retorted, and this time I was absolutely speechless.

And, I recalled once more.

The thing that happened recently—in short, when I ended up telling Yoishi’s father in front of her, ‘Give Yoishi to me’.

Somehow even Krishna-san was flushed bright red in her nose and said something like, ‘You two have my blessing. I’ll pray for your happiness’, but was that taken as a proposal or something? No, Krishna-san was weak to sake and that kind of talk to the extreme, but did Yoishi end up interpreting it as such?

As she looked at me with her large black eyes, my cheeks suddenly became hot.

My perception of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ had been sealed away by Sako, and that was removed by Yoishi herself through regression hypnosis—and now that I took a long hard look at her once more, I saw that she was truly beautiful. Her pale translucent skin was unnatural for someone of Japanese descent with nary a single blemish, and her face was lined with fairy like features. Her eyes were a little dark, but on the contrary, they promoted her seducing harmony, and I think her appearance made any passerby look back at her.

That kind of girl—a possession? No, would she be my fiancée as per societal norms?

Ahh, but her father did indeed say…’Do as you like’.

Which meant that in short, he approved….?!

When I remembered that, my cheeks abruptly became flush hot, and a fluffy feeling rose up at the pit of my stomach.

I coughed once exaggeratedly and looked away.

And then I was startled.

Before I’d realized, the old grandad sitting in the seat next to me had vanished.

Or rather, it was only me, Yoishi and the driver on the bus.

“What happened to that grandad?”

“…Who knows?”

“When did they all get off? It didn’t feel like the bus had stopped.”

In response Yoishi muttered somewhat enjoyably.

“Perhaps—the elderly man might have been Gandame.”

A cold shiver ran round my back all at once in response to that cold, piercing whisper.

Immediately, it felt as if I was completely in a dream, having been in the hustle and bustle of the city merely a few hours ago, and was now, travelling left and right on a dark mountain road at dusk.

“…..We didn’t miss our stop, did we? Did you listen to the announcements carefully?”

Anxious, I took out the piece of paper in my pocket, and as I was confirming the address,

“That place.”

Yoishi merely muttered, having peeked at the piece of paper.

“Are we going to that place?”

I was speechless for a moment—before I made up my mind and nodded.

“…Ahh, that’s right. We’re headed to this place now.”

“………………..”

“…Is it a problem?”

Yoishi closed her phone, and fell into silence for a while as she looked at the darkness beyond the window.

“I’m sorry I brought you along without telling you—but, I thought it was time to settle things.”

I carefully chose my words as I spoke.

In response—

“It’s fine, but--”

As she continued to gaze out of the window, Yoishi spoke in a whisper.

“It’s just, I thought I would go there a little later.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mansion is the last place I ever intended to visit in my life.”

“………………….”

“If I don't feel fear there... it's impossible for me to feel fear again.”

Her words gave me strange goosebumps all over my body.

….Which meant that, what?

That the mansion we were headed to now, was something at a level far above just bringing me to tears as had been the case up until now?

“How did you find out about that place?”

“Ummm….I heard about it from Sako.”

“….Is that so?”

“….Um…was…”

I gulped once, and dared to ask.

“Did you know Sako?”

In response, Yoishi slowly turned towards me, and looked at me inquisitively.

“He said he met you a long time ago.”

“………………..”

Something at the back of Yoishi’s eyes flickered, as if she were trying to remember something.

Something she didn’t want to remember. Something she shouldn’t remember. Fragments of dark, sedimented memories appeared and disappeared beyond her eyes, and she eventually gave a small nod.

“………….Ahh……that person……”

However, Yoishi said nothing more from there. And I too, couldn’t ask any further.

Just what happened to you ten years and eight months ago—Why did you take on the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’? That’s not your real name, is it? Asking that simple question was unbearably heavy.

“I don’t know why we’re going to that mansion, and what you’re trying to do.”

Yoishi eventually murmured in a whisper.

“But that is without a doubt the worst place for me.”

“………..”

“There’s no guarantee that I will be myself. I might not be able to help you if something happens to you. Are you still alright with that?”

Ahhh, I know already.

…..I couldn’t say it being the weak coward that I was, but I still nodded with all the courage I could muster.

“Going around haunted places is just like life….at your own responsibility, right?”

At that moment—

I noticed that the bus driver had been gazing at us all this time through the back mirror.

The dark area around his eyes seemed to be contorted in a sneer.

And, I felt as if I shouldn’t make eye contact even if it was through the back mirror.

I didn’t know about 『Gandame』, or 『Yousen boy』, but—

I thought that we were already in the world beyond.

◯

The mansion, illuminated by the pocket light, was already in a state of decay.

After getting off the bus, we climbed up the dark mountain road for a long time, and the mansion we reached at last was the very definition of a haunted house.

The mansion merely loomed jet black beyond the white fence.

We were silent for a while, standing still with lights in one hand in front of the iron gate.

“…Shall we go?”

I called out to Yoishi, who unusually didn’t try to enter, and I pushed the creaking gate open.

The large garden was already rampant with weeds, with nary a place to plant my feet. I raised my legs in exaggerated movements as I continued, until I eventually arrived close to the front door of the mansion. However, the door was boarded shut to deter anyone from entering. I shone my light to see a sign that read, 『Unauthorized entry is forbidden』. There were many large spiders and spiderwebs that hung all over, something you would never see in the city.

I moved a little further away and aimed my light here and there. Beyond the window on the second floor was a curtain drawn halfway that looked eerily like someone’s head would peek out if I continued looking. Ivy ran along the wall of the mansion extending all the way up to the roof.

“….This mansion is way beyond what I expected.”

I said so, but there was no reply.

I turned around, to see that Yoishi was silently staring at a section in the garden.

I approached and stood next to her, and aimed my light in the direction of Yoishi’s gaze. What lay there was an old camping grill. It was already rusted and fallen over. A small camping chair was also lying there. They might have been used for barbecuing here once in the past. I crouched down to shine my light at them, and found several firework cinders on the ground as well. These symbols of a peaceful summer holiday were saddening to see in the garden of a decayed mansion.

“…Are you alright?”

Seeing her shoulders slowly move up and down, I called out to her.

Yoishi nodded without a word, but she indeed did not have her usual vigor when she faced the occult.

“It’s probably a little late to enter this mansion right now. Let’s pitch our tent here, shall we?”

I raised my voice as cheerfully as I could, and lowered the rucksack on my back.

“I have a friend in university named Yamaoka. He’s in the mountaineering club, extremely fit despite his small size, and he has a great sense of humor to boot. He let me borrow a lot of stuff. A tent for three. Two sleeping bags. I brought a lot of food as well, and even a burner. Let’s grill something for dinner, shall we? Ahh, or maybe you’d like me to make some coffee?”

“If it’s a bedroom you need then there’s one inside.”

“….Eh?”

“On the second floor, there’s a room that is safe to use.”

“No…the inside is, um, it’s quite dangerous right? This isn’t the usual haunted spot investigation. It’s better that we go in when it’s bright.”

I said that, but Yoishi had already set off for the front door, used her foot as a pivot and audaciously began to remove the planks that had been hammered into place. She removed the planks one-by-one, causing cracking and scraping noises to echo loudly in the mountain that was deathly silent at night.

“It’s not a problem if we put a tent out here though.”

With her back towards me, Yoishi spoke as she removed the planks.

“There’s a dead person in that garden as well.”

“……….Eh?”

“If that’s alright with you, then you can set up camp there.”

“……Say that from the start.”

Having no choice, I helped her.

The planks had rotted considerably, probably from the many years of wind and rain, and were removed fairly easily.

“The key?”

“A, ahh, here.”

I took the key Sako gave to me out of my pocket and handed it over to Yoishi.

Yoishi stared at the key for a while—before slowly placing it into the keyhole. A pleasant click rang out, and the lock was opened. As the creaking door slowly opened, I felt something rustling beyond the darkness—and I closed my eyes in an instant. After taking a single deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

A thick, incredibly heavy darkness leaked out from behind the half open door.

But, Yoishi remained there, standing still as a rock. Her back, which would never hesitate to step forth into any darkness, wasn’t there. All that was there was the back of a young high school girl, who was unable to take one step ahead in the face of overwhelming darkness.

“Could it be—that you’re…scared?”

“……..I don’t know.”

Yoishi answered silently.

“I don’t know if this is what it means to be afraid. But, my feet are…”

I looked to see that Yoishi’s feet in her black leather shoes were quivering slightly.

I went back to pick up my rucksack, put it on my back and silently gripped Yoishi’s hand. The moment I gripped her soft and cold hand---Ahh, I realized.

The reason why I came all the way out here. And, what needed to be done here.

Wasn’t that, to confront the past together with Yoishi—And, to hear her true name from her own mouth?

Krishna-san had said it before. 『Names are what bind the entirety of living things to the world』.

That’s right. There was only one thing for the disciples of the witch to do. That was to research the real names of all events and creatures in the world and their history, and once you take back your ‘true name’, the worn ‘W’ should disappear.

Alright, I said to myself, and put strength into my stomach—

“…Let’s go. Alright?”

I asked, and Yoishi gave a small nod without a word.

For the first time since I’d gone with her through numerous paranormal events—I took the lead.

With a dull thud, I threw the door open.

I was greeted with the smell of dust assailing my nostrils, and a damp atmosphere that coiled around my body. With my right hand gripping Yoishi’s hand, I illuminated the mansion with the light in my left hand, and slowly took a step forward.

In front of the wide entrance hallway was a corridor, and it was dark to the point where my mini light could barely illuminate it. Nevertheless, I could see that the stairs to the second floor were on my right-hand side, and the spacious living room lay beyond the door to my left-hand side. At any rate, I felt countless presences everywhere, and I asked as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my feet.

“Where is the bedroom you said we could use?”

“Upstairs, at the back.”

“…Got it.”

I tried not to look anywhere, as I barged inside while still wearing my shoes, which was, sorry to say, always the case with haunted spots.

The stairs creaked as I climbed them one-by-one. I aimed my light up to see that the second floor looked even darker. The light formed a ceiling shadow of the handrail that moved, which felt extremely unsettling.

“The back of the second floor—that way, huh?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were doors on each side of the second-floor corridor, and a door in the back. I quickened my steps as if I would be in a safe zone once I reached there, and pulled Yoishi with me towards that door. There, I opened it in a single breath.

Inside was a simple guest room with two beds, a small table, and a closet installed on the wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief, pulled Yoishi inside, and closed the door.

“It sure is a nice room.”

As I said that, I tried to twiddle with the switch on the wall, but as expected there didn’t seem to be any electricity, and it remained completely dark.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

I suddenly remembered and took out a portable lantern from my rucksack. I clumsily fiddled it with my shaky hands. As taught by Yamaoka from the mountaineering club, I thrust a rechargeable lighter in the hole and ignited it. Soon, a warm flame flared up and eventually grew, dimly illuminating the interior of the room.

“……….Ohh.”

“………….”

Yoishi and I, merely gazed at that light in a daze.

I had thought countless times that light was truly grand —but this was the first time I had been moved to the point of tears. Yamaoka insisted it when I borrowed the camping equipment, 『Camping is a completely different experience without it』, and forcibly crammed it in the rucksack over my objections….but, If I safely make it back, I have to express my profound thanks. If I didn’t have this, then the strange intimidating air that enveloped this mansion might have continued to weaken my spirit.

“This sure is good. It’s somehow really encouraging.”

“…Yeah.”

Yoishi sat on the bed, and unusually agreed with me.

I looked at her for some reason—and after that, I looked at the other bed.

I just now realized that it was only me and Yoishi here; We had sneaked in at night in an uninhabited house commonly known as the 『Hanging mansion』.

“Ermm.”

I cleared my throat once and asked.

“Is it a problem If I use any of the other rooms?”

Yoishi slightly cocked her head to the side.

“You know, it’s problematic for the two of us to sleep in the same room. Just now you said that this room was not a problem, but what about the other rooms….or to be more precise, what exactly is the problem with them?”

“It’s fine if you don’t mind, but.”

Yoishi answered dispassionately.

“The people who used the other two rooms are dead.”

“……………..”

...... I can't do it. I absolutely cannot do it.

In addition, this place was incomparably heavier and darker than all the haunted places we had visited so far. I nodded silently and sat down on the vacant bed after wiping away the dust on it. From there, we were both silent for a while. She had lied down with her back towards me, and I was clearly getting an aura from her that a conversation was impossible.

It was still just a little past 8 pm.

It was a time when you’d normally be awake and doing activities, but the mountains at night were a different story altogether. When the moon hid behind the clouds, there was no light anywhere besides this lantern. Everything was painted pitch black, and it made you believe that you were in a completely different world, a world where human rules no longer applied.

It was just the two of us alone in the ruins of a building that was deathly silent— not an unusual situation for us, and yet, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Perhaps because Yoishi was not her usual self.

Her eyes always glimmered in the face of the paranormal.

The more grotesque the situation trended towards, the stronger that dark light would shine.

But, right now, I—

I knew that the dark colored light at the back of her eyes was the thing I had to face. That knowledge made me feel as if there was someone else here besides the two of us, one more opponent, of an unknown nature.

But I had come mentally prepared with that in mind.

Determined, I calmly opened my rucksack. I took out copies of old newspaper and magazine articles I had obtained from the library before coming here, and spread them out under the light of the lantern.

It was commonly known as, 『The Hanging Mansion Family Massacre Case』. The major newspapers referred to it as 『K Lakeside Mountain Retreat Murder Case』, but the former was how it was referred to by the weekly magazines. And the source of that name came from the fact that the head of a household was found hanged in this mansion.

It happened around eleven years ago--- in short, it occurred on the 31st of July 2001.

I continued to read in sequence from a newspaper article to a weekly magazine article.

『Yesterday, inside a certain building in a mountain forest in K city, Y prefecture, the bodies of an active duty police officer and a Tokyo family that was staying at the house for a short period of time were discovered. The Y prefectural police have set up an investigation headquarters and have begun an investigation into the possibility of it being a crime or an accident. The connection between the family and the police officer is uncertain, but there is a possibility that the family was involved in some kind of trouble. According to the police statement, the bodies of the father and mother were discovered inside, and the body of the police officer and the family pet were discovered outside the building. The bodies of the eldest and younger daughter were discovered in the nearby K lake.』

『The father was discovered hanging by his neck in the living room.』『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room.』『The head patrol officer from the Metropolitan Police department was discovered stabbed to death in the garden.』『Next to the head patrol officer was the body of a dog which is believed to be the family pet.』『Around 1 kilometer below at K Lakeshore, the body of the elder sister was discovered. With lacerations at the base of her throat.』『The body of the second daughter was also discovered at the same location. She drowned to death.』

As I continued to read, my feelings became heavier and heavier.

According to one expert's theory in a weekly magazine, this incident was a family suicide carried out by the father: he killed the mother, the officer, the dog, and when the sisters ran away, he followed them and killed them at the lake, and then returned to the mansion where he killed himself. I see, it more or less made sense. However, there were still mysteries that remained, such as why a police officer belonging to the Metropolitan Police department happened to be present in a mountain retreat at Y prefecture? And why did the father decide to commit a family suicide?

Above all, what I was most concerned about was how Yoishi and Sako were involved in this incident.

If it were eleven years ago, Yoishi would have been six or seven years old.

I could deduce that she must have been the elder or the younger sister, but—before, umm, I think it was in the Koumei Institute’s ‘Clock Tower Incident’? It felt as if she had talked about her elder sister. Which meant, that Yoishi must have been the younger daughter.

Having racked my brains on it thus far--I read through one of the articles once more, and found a mention of ‘serious condition’ with regards to the status of the younger daughter. I also found an article that said, ‘She was transported to the hospital unconscious’ and, ‘The younger daughter in serious condition also passed away’. In short, the life and death status of the younger daughter was not mentioned clearly. There was no news of her whereabouts thereafter, as if she had dissolved into the darkness of this world. However, whether the culprit was her father or an outsider, the fact that the younger daughter survived, meant that she had gone through extreme hell--She had witnessed the entirety of what occurred in this mansion from beginning to end, and was probably aware of the identity of the true culprit.

And, thereupon,

I suddenly felt a strange tug at my heart.

It was as if I had overlooked an important path hidden by the vegetation in the dark forest.

I rearranged the scattered articles I had copied in order of date published. And then, I remembered what I felt when I was copying the articles in the library.

Yes—around two weeks after the incident, the number of reports on the incident dropped dramatically. After a month had passed, the verified reports were nowhere to be found. It is true that a wonder lasts but nine days, and even if the Japanese people had a capricious nature-- but this was such a sensational incident. And on top of that, it was still unresolved to the present day. Wasn't it forgotten about a bit too quickly?

It was as if... they were trying to pretend it never have happened.

“... Press restrictions, huh?”

As I recall, if an incident fulfilled certain criteria, then in accordance with press agreements, the media may refrain from reporting it.

But I heard that it was only limited to kidnapping cases, or anything relating to the imperial household or political issues—

---No.

No…that wasn’t all it was limited to.

I recalled an article I had read on an occult website. If I recalled correctly, there was an incident in which police rushed to the scene of the crime where a mother had been murdered, they found her infant daughter sitting there in a state of insanity and muttered, ‘A demon appeared from the wall’. There was much debate as to the true identity of the ‘demon’, but news reporting of that incident suddenly ceased all at once.

There were a lot of occultic theories on the internet surrounding people who lived in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, but one day, the thread was locked with a message from someone believed to be an insider.

It was, ‘The culprit was the daughter’, ‘Because she is an infant, press restrictions would be imposed.’

Something cold began to rise beneath my feet.

I slowly turned my head towards Yoishi who was lying on her side on the bed.

It can’t be—

The first time I met Yoishi--- Yes, back in the ‘Wish-fulfilling House’.

When I introduced myself, she merely said, 『I’m Yoishi』. I asked her, 『Isn't that a handle?』, and she denied it, saying,『My surname is Mitsurugi. Not that it matters』. Back then, I wondered if she was fine with revealing her real name on the internet, but—was it because it wasn’t her real name?

Come to think of it, I found out that the Noh-faced man who called himself Yoishi’s father belonged to the ‘Cabinet Information Research Office’. That meant it could influence the media to a greater or lesser extent— and not just that, it was also possible for it to take custody of a girl whose whereabouts were unknown….? No, what reason would someone in a government organization have for adopting the younger daughter?

Sako had been chasing the ‘everlasting night stone’ which was written in kanji as 「常夜石」. And he said that it was something that, 『Amplifies people’s negative emotions, and manipulates them from the inside without them even knowing』, and that 『It makes people believe that people don’t deserve to exist, it makes them destroy their surroundings, and themselves』.

If ‘Mitsurugi’ was that man’s surname, but then, why did her first name become ‘Yoishi’…..?

Before I’d realized it, my legs had started shaking. Right now, I thought the black-haired girl sleeping in the bed next to me was someone truly terrifying, and I felt fear to the point where my blood was being drained.

---It can’t be, the true culprit from ten years ago was…..

“………..That’s right.”

At that moment, I jumped up with a start when Yoishi whispered as if she had read my heart. Yoishi slowly got up, moved to the edge of the bed and sat there. And, she gazed for a while at the countless photocopies of articles scattered near my hands—

Eventually, she moved her pale face towards me. I trembled at the appearance of the dark light in her large eyes.

“……Hey, are you scared?”

“……….”

“Are you…. Scared of me right now?”

I couldn’t answer instantly—

But eventually, Ahh, I managed to squeeze a voice from my stinging, parched throat.

“………I’m scared. Of course I’m scared. To be honest, if we’d just met, I think I would have run away.”

“…………..”

“But….it’s strange ---right now, I don’t care anymore.”

I forcefully put on a smile on my face.

Then, for some reason, I felt the back of my heart quietening into silence.

“If you are a survivor of this incident….and, if you’ve now taken the name of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’, as someone who really does have another name. Then I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can’t see ghosts. I want to believe that they’re there, but to be honest I still can’t say for sure that they’re there. Even after witnessing countless paranormal things, I still can’t tell at all. But, what I truly believe is that there are souls. Warm souls, terrifying souls……. There must be countless souls in this world. They might dwell in buildings, in paintings, in music---they might be the strength of people’s thoughts, but I feel their presence and I believe in their existence. And, the shape of your soul-- which I can feel, which has gone through so much pain and suffering, I believe that it’s beautiful despite everything. And I love that shape.”

“…………………….”

Yoishi remained frozen in place, as she continued to gaze at my face---

And her beautifully shaped lips were about to say, ‘You--’, when they stopped.

“…………You?”

“You….you truly are a fool.”

Yoishi’s voice had a tinge of embarrassment in it, when--

……….*Plop*………..

That sound echoed.

It sounded like water dripping somewhere.

That sound, which seemed as if it was right next to my ears, made me shudder for some reason.

“Is there… a water leak somewhere?”

I somehow managed to say that, and Yoishi shook her head.

“….It’s calling me.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s in the bathroom.”

Declaring that, something flickered beyond Yoishi’s eyes that was illuminated by the lantern. Dark colored eyes and something I arbitrarily named was wriggling. And, that itself was the moment ‘Yoishi’ turned into the ‘everlasting night stone’.

「Say, don’t you want to go and take a look?」

Yoishi would probably whisper that from here.

And that was where the other world would begin. With a jerk, the world would flip upside down, and what would appear there would be a world you shouldn’t see. The ground beneath my feet would tremble, creating a floating sensation as if I had lost everything. But, I would not be able to fight against it. It would be unbearably scary, but I would end up heading there as if being dragged by Yoishi---

And.

However, Yoishi didn’t say anything no matter how much time passed.

Even though there was terror right next to her, she remained motionless as she continued to listen closely to the sound of water.

“…Yoishi?”

“This place is the reason why-- I hate baths.”

“…………”

“I… ended up making a mistake here I could never take back.”

“….What, happened here?”

I asked her, but Yoishi remained silent and did not answer. Her face was contorted in pain, and she merely hung her head down.

If I continued to gaze at that face, an unbearable sadness would sweep over me as well, and before I’d realized, I stood up and said, “Okay”. I drew closer to Yoishi and sniffed at her neck.

Yup, she stinks.

“Shall we take it, together?”

“………Eh………..?”

“The bath. If you know that this place is the cause, then that’s even more of a reason.”

“I, I refuse.”

“Shut up, just come. You haven’t taken a bath since you left my home, right?”

I was fully aware that I was saying something outrageous, but I was desperate when I decided to confront her.

I pulled Yoishi’s hand and made her stand, and spoke as if to conceal my embarrassment.

“I’ll wash your head. And this time—we’ll overcome it all.”

◯

“It’s boiling over, nice hot water!”

I shouted through the glass door as I pulled my hand out of the bathtub in the pitch-black darkness.

Then, after a few moments, the glass door opened with a clank. Yoishi Mitsurugi appeared in the bathroom stark naked….or so I thought. In the darkness, I only caught a glimpse, but naturally, I immediately averted my eyes out of courtesy.

There was no electricity in the mansion, but it was most fortunate that the water was from a well and that propane gas was still available. Right now, the bathroom was filled with warm steam. Even though there must be plenty of occult fans all over the world, we were probably the only ones to take a bath in a haunted place. As I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t it a worthy achievement to have performed a reckless act so effortlessly?’, Yoishi quietly sat down on the seat next to me, holding what looked like a towel in hand. In the pitch-darkness of the bathroom, where only the steam gently enveloped our bodies, we continued to sit in silence, naked.

“Ermm… Wash your body first.”

I desperately tried not to be conscious of Yoishi next to me, filled the tub with hot water, and rubbed a soap that was there onto the towel and lathered it.

“Look, you wash yours. It’s alright. I don’t see anything. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“……………………….”

Eventually, Yoishi placed something she was holding on the wash basin without saying a word.

“Hm…….? Wasn’t that a towel?”

I asked as I was scrubbing my body clean, but Yoishi seemed to have shaken her head without a word.

“Can I have a look at that?”

I washed the bubbles off my hand with hot water, turned off the faucet and then picked it up.

Checking it with my fingertips, I saw that it was something soft--- some kind of stuffed toy.

“Ah….this, could it be the thing you always have attached to your bag? The stuffed frog?”

“….Yes.”

“Hmmm, is it your good luck charm?”

I asked as I touched the body of the stuffed frog with my fingertips. It was quite old and frayed in places, but—that touch made me feel strangely nostalgic.

“It’s not a good luck charm.”

After a while, Yoishi whispered.

“He’s, my only friend.”

For some reason, those words made my heart ache deep in my chest.

“In the past, he used to talk.”

“In the past…? He can’t do it now?”

“He doesn’t talk anymore.”

“…………….”

In a way, such a cute line from a girl was a problem because when Yoishi said it, it instantly became occultic in nature. And moreover, since we were in an abandoned building where no one lived and people had died, I had to be careful not to let the atmosphere go into a creepy direction as much as possible, or else my spirit couldn’t handle it.

When—suddenly, I heard a splash.

I looked to see that Yoishi had already entered the bathtub.

Apparently, after only a couple of splashes of hot water on her body, she had moved there with the stuffed frog in hand.

“Did you wash yourself properly?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t. The soap is still the same as it was in front of me.”

“…..I don’t want to use that soap.”

“Why?”

“Because it's still there, just as it was that day.”

I didn't know how to retort back to those words.

I quietly looked in the direction of the bathtub, to see that Yoishi was soaked in the hot water up to her chin, playing with the stuffed frog in hand.

She hadn’t tied her long hair, so it was scary to see her hair spread out on the surface of the water.

“….I ended up doubting her.”

“…….Eh?”

“Back then, mama asked me if she could join me—and I refused.”

“What do you mean, you refused?”

I asked, but Yoishi fell silent once more.

Eventually, she carefully chose each word as she spoke.

“It was mama… but I ended up doubting that it wasn’t mama.”

Not understanding it well, I listened silently as I continued to wash my body.

“…If I had opened the door for her back then…. A lot of things might have turned out differently.”

That must have been when Yoishi was probably six or seven years old—when she came to visit this mountain retreat with her family. Does that mean that Yoishi was alone in the bath when her mother came? Does that mean that her mother died the next day?

I recalled the article that said,『The mother was found dismembered in the storage room』, and at the moment when bitterness overflowed in my chest—

I realized after all this time. I…. Ended up calling this mansion a ‘haunted place’ without consideration, but wasn’t it extremely rude to call it that, since it was a place where her family was? Once more, the words Krishna-san always told me stabbed my chest, ‘Have respect for the dead’, and I clutched my head in the darkness.

“….Regrets really are a thing, huh?”

After a while, I muttered.

“I always wonder after everything is over if I could have done a little bit more. I mean, my life is a repetition of that. I overslept, missed an important lecture and almost cried before the exam, I couldn’t properly teach the newcomer at my part time job, and he suddenly stopped coming, I ended up eating an extra-large portion of gyudon even though I don’t have money—No, what I have is nothing compared to what you are burdened with.”

--*Splash* As I poured hot water on my shoulders to wash away the foam, I spoke, “Sorry”.

“I’m sorry I ended up calling this house a ‘haunted place’.”

“….I don’t really mind.”

“No….but….”

Then, Yoishi merely muttered in the bathtub.

“What are ''grudges'', exactly?”

“….Eh?”

“What do ghosts, bear a grudge against, exactly….? For example, what if you were to die a horrific death because of me? What if you still had so many things you wanted to do, but your life ended because of me? Would you too wander this world with a grudge….?”

I suddenly imagined ---myself as a ghost, just wandering this world endlessly. But at that moment, a strange loneliness swept over my chest. A world like ice, where no one could perceive me, where my words never reached anyone.

There, all I was, was confused.

I was befuddled, in agony, and wished to die quickly and properly. Even though I was already dead, I was impatient to die properly.

“……No.”

I shook my head once, turned on the shower and poured hot water on my head.

“Rather than bearing a grudge, I think I’d be troubled.”

“Troubled….?”

“I think that ghosts are probably just troubled. The moment they understand that they’re dead, they're upset because they don't know what to do, having experienced that for the first time. Ahh--- I can’t explain it well, but rather than asking questions about why they died or wanting to come back to life, they would be restless about what to do with themselves, and have no time to bear grudges against other people. ….Look, isn’t that why they draw close to you? They might be relying on you since they realize that you can see ghosts. Maybe they think you might believe in the myth that telling ghost stories attracts them.”

I excitedly talked as if I had accidentally touched on a secret—

“You—”

Yoishi coldly declared.

“Really are a fool.”

‘What the hell did you say?’, I was about to retort, when I stopped, thinking that it was inappropriate. I silently lathered up the shampoo that was there in my hands and started washing my hair feeling good.

It was my first time talking about ghosts and not being afraid. For the first time, I felt as if I understood the meaning of what Krishna-san always said, ‘Perhaps some ghosts play tricks on people, while other ghosts say, 'Come on, stop it,' and step in to intervene, yet no one ever thinks of the latter possibility’.

“Even if they're dead, ghosts aren’t different than people.”

I tried to sound as cool as I possibly could, when it happened.

As I was scrubbing my head with the shampoo, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.

As if the lathering was strangely sluggish — or rather, as if the amount of hair had strangely increased.

At that moment, I realized that there were long strands of hair dropping on both sides of my face. It was as if someone had drawn their face close to the back of my head with their long black hair, and trirf to get me to wash their hair as well.

--It must be Yoishi.

You sure had the nerve to come up with a funny idea, as I quickly reached both hands to the back of my head. I was trying to take hold of that head: Yoishi’s head, however.

“…………Eh?”

There was nothing there, and my hands were wandering in empty air.

''“Get out.”''

At the same time, a voice like a ringing bell echoed in the bathroom.

I looked to see Yoishi still immersed in the bathtub, gazing in my direction.

Her eyes in the darkness, were darker than darkness—

Her following words, directed towards something, made goosebumps run all over my body.

“You are already dead.”

◯

I'll never speak sagely of ghosts before her ever again.

I firmly made up my mind to do as I chanted the nembutsu<ref>Buddhist prayer</ref> all night--And it was the following day.

Before I'd realized, I was sound asleep in the bed and woke up to find myself in heavenly sunshine. The chirping of the birds reverberated around me, and the branches of lush green trees peeked through the window.

Did I come to some hotel resort somewhere? I couldn’t judge the situation right away and really thought that was the case, but--

No..... No, that wasn't it.

This was the mountain retreat where a mysterious massacre occurred eleven years ago.

With a start I raised my head, and saw that Yoishi was already awake and sitting on top of her bed, fiddling with her phone.

“...Ah... Good morning.”

When I greeted her, she fleetingly glanced my way with her large eyes,

“My phone has a connection.”

She spoke.

“Well, that's what it’s supposed to do.”

“There was no connection eleven years ago.”

She stood up and pointed her phone here and there.

“Is there a problem if you have a connection?”

“……………………….”

However, without answering, Yoishi put her phone away in her pocket, and turned her white face at me.

“What are we going to do from now on?”

“Well….”

No, I had no concrete ideas in mind.

I was under the impression that just coming here would be enough to settle something. I was told by Sako that I had to complete ‘Yoishi’s story’, and I thought that must have been ‘to hear Yoishi’s true name from her own mouth’. But— after thinking about it long and hard, that doesn't really need to be in this place, does it?

Which means….huh?

Why did Sako tell me about this place?

I raised my head, looked at the mansion walls, and thought of the room that was supposed to exist beyond it. After that, I pictured downstairs which was filled with far more creepiness than the second floor.

….Could it be?

Did it mean that there was something in this mansion that could finish this case?

“Let’s go.”

I declared, and Yoishi tilted her head slightly.

“We have to search this mansion.”

Yoishi asked, ‘For what?’, and in response:

“Something important.”

Without pause, I opened the door to the room.

All that was there on the other side of the creaking door was a corridor---but it wasn’t as dark as last night.

It was already bright with the light of the sun pouring in.

The stairs creaked as Yoishi and I descended to the ground floor. It was a building with many windows, and the warm sunshine poured in through all of them. It had lost the appearance of a haunted house and was now just an old mansion. Even so, the building still felt like a ruin, full of spider webs and dust-- but, as I thought that, I spotted something on the corridor floor. It was a yellow police tape. Apparently, it had been placed in front of the door leading to the living room.

Something bitter instantly rose up inside me, as I realized that this was a murder scene, and that the victims were Yoishi’s relatives.

“Are you alright?”

I turned around and asked, and Yoishi nodded, looking paler than usual.

The living room was spacious. It was at the very least, around 32 square meters in size.

It had leather covered sofas, a fireplace, withered houseplants, and torn wallpaper.

But—

I thought once more. I didn’t know why it was, but I didn’t feel as if this was my first time in this mansion. Come to think of it, I felt that when I first looked up at this mansion from the garden last night. As if someone had said to me, “Welcome back”. I recalled that feeling now once more and shuddered.

No--- I shook my head. No matter how much I turned the drawers of my memory upside down, I had never come to this mansion before. I only felt like I had been here before because this was a typical resort construction, and they all had a similar layout.

I continued to convince myself in that way, as I scooped off the piled-up dust on the sofa with my hands.

On the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room were three cups, and the tea or whatever that had been inside had already dried up and turned light brown. The family must have been enjoying their time here together. They had no idea that a conclusion far terrible than they could have imagined awaited them….

I became strangely sentimental, maybe because I thought that it was Yoishi’s family.

I was a weakling from the start, but I thought I had endurance with regards to the dead after their funeral had been completed. Once you die, there’s no coming back. No matter how much I grieved and moaned, I could not overturn that rule of life. That’s why, I didn’t mourn more than necessary. After all, I too would die one day. At that time, I would meet them again. And, in order to have lots to talk about when I meet them again in that world, I would live a fruitful life, that’s how I thought of it. That might have been the psychological coping mechanism I learned after the bitter separation from my mother.

But---

Something about this mansion was different.

I ended up thinking that maybe there was still something I could do about it.

Even though everyone was already dead….. and were no longer a part of this world, the vividness of the family pressed at me, a family that was not my own, but one that I could not think of as a stranger’s.

Are…they still here?

Are Yoishi’s mother, father, sister, and the policeman, still here in this mansion--?

I end up feeling like…. they entrusted me with something important that was left undone.

“….Huh?”

As I thought such things, I noticed that Yoishi was staring at something.

It was a small space above the hearth.

“What’s wrong?”

I called out to her and stood next to her---where I noticed.

It was a single photograph. A brown wooden photo frame had collapsed, and a discolored photograph lay beside it.

My heart beat out loud seeing the figures of the people in the picture.

“…..This……”

“My… family.’

“Is it alright…. if I take a look?”

“It’s fine, but—”

Yoishi added in a tone of voice that lacked emotion.

“It’s not really something pleasant.”

Hearing those words, I gulped.

Why hadn’t the police taken this picture away, even though they must have investigated the scene countless times? Come to think of it, why were all the cups I saw earlier still here? Suddenly, all sorts of questions crossed my mind, but in the end, I picked up that photograph.

It was a family photograph taken in the garden. The father, the mother, the elder sister, the younger sister, and the family dog—everyone was looking at the camera, and probably smiling in the polaroid picture. However, the moment I saw it, an intense chill ran down my back, causing me to almost let go of it.

For some reason….in that photograph of the father, the mother, the elder sister, and the dog—their faces were discolored white and stretched out in the air as if twisted by an invisible force so strong that they were about to disappear. Among them, only the young girl was smiling kindly. She looked this way with her beautiful white face, and her pretty, long black hair that swayed slightly in the wind.

“……U…..umm, you sure were cute.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“No, really….”

“It becomes this type of photograph when that takes your life.”

“By t…that…could you possibly mean?”

…The ‘everlasting night stone’ that Sako mentioned?

The moment I was about to mention that name, Yoishi put her finger on my lips to stop me.

“It would be better not to say that name.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

“Because it’s everywhere at all times.”

“S…say, why…why did you take the name of Yoishi? If that name itself was ominous, and if you were aware of that, then why---?”

Without answering, Yoishi silently took the photograph from my hand and carefully placed it back in its original place.

“The police abandoned it.”

“Abandoned?”

“This photograph is as you can see. But, it wasn’t abandoned because of an exposure error. This entire mansion was abandoned, and the investigation itself was abandoned.”

“W, why?”

“Because the state unofficially recognized that long ago.”

Yoishi’s cold words left me aghast.

“It exists in every age, appears at whim, and consumes humans—stealing their lives. That’s why it has been recognized as a natural disaster that possesses this country, like typhoons and earthquakes.”

“No…that’s—if it were a natural disaster, then why did you need to take that name?”

“Because—”

Yoishi stood stock still like a broken doll, and whispered.

“Because I’m the cause of all this.”

“……….What?”

“Because I was an unwanted child that was never wished for.”

“….There’s no way that’s true? There’s no way a child is unloved by their parents.”

“Thinking straightforwardly like that is a trait of yours, but—then, why does infanticide not cease in this world? What about the abuse that increases even now? And, what if… it was an unwanted pregnancy?”

………………………..

“What if….it was a life born from the violation of the mother by a complete stranger?”

“….Hey…it can’t be….”

“If that were the case, I would erase myself.”

Yoishi’s large eyes harbored a pale blue flame as she spoke.

“That’s why my face is white. Because of foreign blood. I didn’t resemble anyone in my family. I was--”

“Cursed ''before I was even born.''”

“That’s exactly why I was chosen by that.”

I….could not utter even a single word.

But from somewhere in the mansion that was as silent as death—something echoed as a substitute.

A biological, disgusting, whipping sound.

“….It has begun.”

“…….Eh?”

“It’s already begun.”

Yoishi looked me in the eyes, and spoke in a whisper.

“It’s going to be hell from now on.”

“….What?”

“If you want to go back, this is your last chance.”

“……………”

“You’re free to do whatever you wish, but from here on, I’m not sure that I will continue to be myself. To run away from here, to forget everything, and to live a cheerful life would be without a doubt the right thing to do.”

Yoishi spoke that much forlornly, and turned away from me.

With a mechanical gait in her step, she walked straight out of the living room.

“W…. wait a minute!”

I was a step behind, and ran after her.

I caught up to Yoishi who was proceeding in the corridor, and grabbed her hand.

“I’m going as well.”

I declared, and Yoishi looked at me with lonely eyes.

I nodded strongly, and Yoishi silently looked down, and spoke.

“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

“……Eh?”

“I know that’s completely unforgivable, but I can’t help but rely on you.”

“No……”

I spoke flustered.

“I don’t mind if you rely on me, you know? Well, although, I might be quite unreliable, but…”

In response, Yoishi bit her lips in irritation---

“Please, forgive me.”

She whispered that.

I stopped moving, not knowing what she meant—when Yoishi looked up at me and gazed at me. That white, unworldly, beautiful face declared as if melting into the darkness of this world.

“No matter what happens, no matter what you see… stay as you are. Stay as Nagito Yamada. Continue to stay that way--- that might be our only chance to win at the very last moment.”

It was an expression Yoishi Mitsurugi had shown me for the first time.

The girl who had never asked me for a single favor up until now, who had gleefully moved forward no matter what paranormal events she faced, the young girl who was acted coolly like a grand witch from antiquity even when faced with reality that would make you want to avert your eyes, showed me for the first time--- a sorrowful expression.

Please, forgive me.

She declared once more in a hoarse voice, and abruptly turned heel with a knock of her leather shoes.

After that, she didn’t look back, as she continued into the darkness.

I fell behind for a moment—before following her.

The mansion corridor which had not been ventilated for a long time, creaked strangely, perhaps due to the humidity.

It wouldn’t be strange if the floors collapsed at any given moment, and that instability was the same sensation I had whenever my legs froze from the sign of the world beyond.

The very back of the corridor.

The closer I got to the inconspicuous wooden door, the louder the whipping sound became.

“T...this sound.”

I was about to ask what it was, but I couldn’t say the words. Being the weakling that I was, my legs had already begun to tremble, and the root of my teeth didn’t connect.

Yoishi made it that far without hesitation, placed her hand on the sliding door, and with a single breath, threw it open.

It was a storage room around 10 sqm in size.

There was a mop, a place for a large vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, an unused chair and such.

And, in the center, I saw a familiar childish face.

“—K…”

I was at a loss for words.

“…..Kri…shna-san?”

◯

A petite figure was crouching in a dark corner of the room, devouring something.

Her short hair was messy, as if she hadn’t returned home for many days—and her blue spring dress was torn in places and dirty with mud, as if she had tumbled down a mountain.

“Umm….Krishna-san….is that you….?”

In response, the girl looked in my direction, still clutching something with her hands.

She sneered in a satisfied smile with her white, cloudy eyes. I shuddered at the sight of the thing that protruded from her lips. From those cute lips which were always preaching to me with sermons of love, now protruded a large, wriggling centipede. She bit it off with those white teeth of hers, and chewed it crunchingly.

As I watched, unable to say anything —Krishna-san slowly stood up.

She then brought her hands, still covered with the remains of centipedes and other small animals, to her large breasts and grasped them violently. She then rubbed them vigorously. It made me feel a sense of unease, as if a different personality was using Krishna-san’s arms to toy with her body. But, there was no eroticism in it. It was merely revolting; I felt disgust as if something precious was being defiled. it reminded me of a coven of witches – a sabbath that I had once seen illustrated in a book. That vulgar behavior was in no way the behavior of the Krishna-san I knew. She was so cute in all her actions that even when she had to be strict, she still lacked a sense of tension.

“What are you trying to do by moving to that person?”

Yoishi spoke coldly as she fixed her gaze on Krishna-san.

“Your place is inside me, isn’t it?”

With those words, I realized with a start.

“….Hey, it can’t be….?”

‘That’s right’, Yoishi gave a small nod.

“That person is Shiina Kurimoto, but it’s not her personality right now. The one who stands there is the one destroyed everyone precious to me: my best friend, my mother, my father, my elder sister, Leo, the detective-- The one who stands there… is the ‘Everlasting night stone’.”

Together with her words… I saw it.

Right now, in Krishna-san’s eyes, a dark light glimmered that was like the bewitching glimmer in Yoishi’s eyes in the face of the paranormal. Exposed to that dark light, countless scenes revived and connected in my mind. The countless mysteries, paranormal phenomenon which defied explanation that I had witnessed so far. Yoishi’s eyes would begin to glitter before them. But when she saw malice in the truth, Yoishi would always vomit. She would vomit in pain, as if trying to wipe away something inside her.

Was that---

Because this thing was inside her?

Was it because this thing was wriggling in delight inside Yoishi?

The sneering laughter that sounded like a man echoed in the dimly lit storage room and corridor.

The bobbed haired, baby face, the cheeks that would be described as adorable by a hundred out of a hundred people, Krishna-san contorted those cheeks—

And made a smile that was both broken and complacent.

“It crossed over from continental Asia in the past, was called ‘Nine tails’ at times, and ‘Everlasting night stone’ at times…. It moves freely from people to people, a natural disaster of this country that destroyed countless people all over, a hidden natural disaster—the purest ‘malice’ in this world.”

Yoishi’s words coldly reverberated in the room—

The earth shook. No, my torso was shaking in the face of being overwhelmingly powerless, and my knees were already shaking to the point of collapse.

Krishna-san….no, Shiina Kurimoto-san was the most reliable person for me since I moved to Tokyo alone. Her words were harsh at times, but even they were filled with love, because she was worried about me from the bottom of her heart, and she was the person who was the furthest away from the word ‘corrupted’. She was my holy mother, just making eye contact with her was enough to relax me and give me fluffy feelings at the pit of my stomach. No matter how close I came to breaking down, this person alone would always stand firmly on the ground, support me, and return me to myself. Now, there were no traces of that to be found anywhere. In its stead was malice bare to see, and it was as if just seeing her lurching figure was enough to distort the world.

「I’ll be right back. After I’ve enjoyed this one.」

As if declaring that, Krishna-san took the rat carcass she still held in her left hand, and plunged it headfirst into her mouth.

“S--”

Stop it. I was about to shout, when—

“Yo, there you are.”

I heard an aloof voice behind me.

After a few seconds—I turned around dumbfounded, to see the thin figure of Sako Takita.

Sako slipped past me who couldn’t even move, and affectionately called out to Krishna-san.

“Kurimoto-kun, you shouldn’t eat something like that. You’ll end up getting diarrhea.”

He was not dressed in his usual blue kinagashi. On his head he wore an eboshi<ref>Black cap https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90</ref>. His long hair, which was always unkempt had been neatly slicked back, and he was formally dressed in a black hakama and tall wooden clogs—but his appearance conversely made me feel the urgency of the situation.

“Now, let’s go back, shall we? This is no place for you.”

In response, the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside Krishna-san vibrated its throat. I couldn’t clearly make out what it was saying—but it was clearly a sneering voice that rejected, disdained, and ridiculed Sako’s suggestion.

“….Hm.”

However, it seemed it had gotten through to Sako. He nodded several times and spoke.

“……..Ah, you shouldn't. Don't make a young woman use such indecent language. She is still a popular girl you see. You mustn’t make light of Krishna fans all over the country…Eh? Mmhmm, you say you’re not a fan? You’re saying everyone uses the occult as a pretext to see Kurimoto-kun’s body, and that they must be stripping her naked in their head?”

Sako spoke as if he were a proxy of a beast, and then turned my way.

“Are you like that?”

“………..Eh?”

“Well, you can’t clearly deny it as a man—but that’s not quite right.”

Sako turned to face the front once more.

“Hey, listen up, will you? Those large, large attractive breasts of Kurimoto-kun are comforting, you see. They are a symbol of her love that gently envelop everything. It's true that large breasts on a petite body can give off an unbalanced appeal, but what all men of this world instinctually crave is, the motherly love she exudes. Don’t be mistaken, not everyone in this world is a dark, malicious and perverse insect like you.”

As Sako declared that, the ‘everlasting night stone’ vibrated the back of her throat once more, but—

Sako ignored it on purpose, and quietly turned to Yoishi this time.

“Now then—let me say it once more.”

For some reason he made sure to straighten his back and politely sent those words to Yoishi.

“You did well to survive.”

Yoishi gazed back at Sako’s face without a word.

Was it my imagination, or did it feel as if her eyes were gently narrowed.

“I apologize for not being aware of your existence sooner --- Well, it is as you can see. Please forgive me.”

To Sako who bowed down, Yoishi merely muttered, “I don’t really mind.”

“…I only just realized it yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“I was told by that person.”

She pointed at me, ‘Hoho’, Sako happily swung his shoulders.

….I didn’t know what was going on. But from the way Sako was acting so relaxed—did that mean that we and Krishna-san were alright now? Yoishi said something about how it was going to be hell from now on….Does that mean it will be averted?

“Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

Sako then put a friendly smile on his face and declared.

“Please allow me to declare this in advance. In the unlikely event that you become the ‘everlasting night stone’—I will kill you here.”

…………Huh?

“You may or may not have already realized, but I managed to cling to this uninteresting world and lived thus far to dispose of this trash known as the ‘everlasting night stone’. I will make it regret it so much that it curses itself for appearing in this world and for its continuing meddling with human beings —and I will tear it to pieces.”

“….I know.”

“—H, hey, hey ,hey, wait a second!”

I unconsciously butted in their conversation, when Sako simply stopped me from interrupting with his hand, and spoke.

“Now, now, please calm down, this was a talk of the worst-case scenario. There will be no casualties if we can deal with it now.”

At that moment---a piercing, sneering laughter reverberated, as if pounding the mansion. I looked to see Krishna-san…no, what was now the ‘everlasting night stone’ bending its petite body with tears in its eyes as it laughed.

“Something, is strange.”

Saying that coldly, Sako held up the three-pronged Gokosho<ref>https://www.narahaku.go.jp/english/collection/665-0.html</ref> in his hand—and made several signs in midair. Krishna-san instantly stopped laughing as she coughed and collapsed while still bent backwards. The way she fell didn’t look safe at all, and I was reflexively about to rush over, but—

“Next, I will tear you to pieces.”

Sako cleanly cut the Kuji<ref>(Buddh) nine-character charm chanted with ritual gestures to ward off evil (esp. by mountain ascetics and adherents of Esoteric Buddhism)</ref> with his fingertips, and began to speak words I had never heard before.

It must have been a sort of ritual prayer I had no knowledge of—

The clear, resonant Kotodama that flowed from his mouth made Krishna-san’s petite body arch backwards in a bind.

“This mansion is closed by a barrier on all four sides. I will first remove the original fox soul of the ‘everlasting night stone’. Furthermore, I will get rid of the countless deep-seated grudges that have combined--- and finally separate them, leaving only the personality situated at the highest order.”

Sako dispassionately explained after finishing his ritual prayer, and began to draw some kind of pattern at Krishna-san’s feet with unrefined salt.

However—the guffawing, sneering laughter continued.

Krishna-san, having collapsed on the ground, still had a painful smile contorted as the tears streamed down her face. It was if she were witnessing something truly foolish—as if there was a mistake in front of her eyes which only she had realized—she merely convulsed with laughter as she pointed at Sako.

“It must be painful.”

Sako on the other hand, showed pity.

“But there's not the slightest chance I'd want to help you.”

At that moment, Krishna-san’s eyes distorted more fiendishly than I had never seen before.

As if in reply— Sako’s pale face muttered in a whisper that horrified me as I watched.

“—You, devoured my mother.”

“………………”

“And you devoured my father. However, failing to devour me was a lethal mistake on your part.”

“Kokoko.”

The ‘everlasting night stone’ let out a strange, trembling voice.

It appeared as if it were somewhat perplexed.

It looked perplexed as if it had devoured so much it couldn't remember ---And , I saw Sako’s eyebrows furrow slightly in response. It was the first time I saw the emotion of anger emanate from Sako.

As soon as the pattern was finished, Krishna-san’s body crumpled even further into the ground as if it was crushed by gravity. This time, she indeed sounded as if she was in pain. But—even though it might have been the ‘everlasting night stone’ inside, it still appeared as Krishna-san. I couldn't stand it any longer, and at some point, I slowly drew closer, when—

“You’ll get devoured.”

Sako’s words stopped my movements with a jerk.

Sako swept his hakama as he sat in the seiza position, and with his eyes half-closed, began a sonorous ritual prayer once more.

It was as if to tighten the air to make invisible signs, and rearrange the sounds of the world as if to make a hidden rhyme.

It made Krishna-san’s collapsed body writhe in pain and bounce up and down as if it were billowing.

--Amazing.

I didn’t quite know what was happening, but it was overwhelming, I thought.

--Just a little more… with just a little bit more, would things really turn out alright?

My heart began to throb with anticipation, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel safe just yet.

But—at that moment.

I suddenly noticed Yoishi, who had been silent all this time.

Yoishi’s cold gaze, her unresponsiveness after having coexisted together with the ‘everlasting night stone’ in her body since that incident eleven years ago, made me feel a terrible premonition. I then recalled Sako’s words.

….Huh…just now, Sako said that this building was inside a barrier. Could it be that the so-called ‘everlasting night stone’ that was now possessing Krishna-san, would after being severed from her, simply return to Yoishi once more who was inside the barrier? Or was the pattern Sako drew just now at Krishna-san’s feet a new, different barrier altogether?

“Well, you see.”

As he continued making the signs with his fingers, Sako answered with his back still turned toward me, as if he had sensed my concern.

“In the unlikely chance the ‘everlasting night stone’ that detaches from Kurimoto-kun breaks this barrier and possesses you, I will kill you. If it possesses Yoishi-kun, I will kill her. If I fail to sever it, I will kill Kurimoto-kun. I would be deemed a murderer according to this country, but that is of no concern to me. The only way to teach it the concept of ‘death’ is to let it experience it while it is bound to some kind of body. Having said that, you all might be a bit reluctant—well do forgive me for that.”

….H, hey, you can’t be serious.

“But—you see. Don’t you think it strange?”

As I was dismayed, Sako declared to me amused.

“Why do you believe Yoishi-kun didn’t die even though eleven years have passed since that incident?”

“…………..Eh?”

“Why do you believe she used illogical methods to save you at times?”

“…………”

“That is because—”

Sako’s mouth twisted into a happy smile, and he spoke.

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ failed in its incarnation long ago.”

“……………………….”

“Eleven years ago, in this mansion, under a devilish plan, the heart of a child it believed it had completely destroyed was protected by a certain accident.”

“…….Accident? What do you mean accident?”

But without answering my question, Sako continued to speak.

“Call it an accident, inevitability, or you could even call it a miracle--- at any rate, it set up several atrocities to crush the young girl’s heart and create a hollow vessel, but it failed. But—this gives birth to a question. There was no need at all for Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun to be the only body the ‘everlasting night stone’ incarnated itself in.”

“………Eh?”

“There are probably a great many beautiful boys and girls in this world who have had a sorrowful upbringing, who excel at a spiritual disposition. The ‘everlasting night stone’ is pure malice boiled down to its essence, and its actions are always shaped by calculated malice, and if it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more. Its behavioral pattern is, if anything, almost refreshing. Despite that, on this occasion, it possessed ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ for eleven long years. Why do you think that is?”

I looked at Yoishi.

I looked at her pale, extremely well proportioned, calm face once more.

“That is because she dared to take the name of 『Yoishi』herself.”

“…………Ah.”

“’Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’. Despite failing to incarnate, the reason it clung to Yoishi was because she christened herself as 『Yoishi』, and stitched it into her own body to prevent it from escaping anywhere.”

Why did Yoishi need to use that name?

When I asked her that just a while ago—Yoishi answered that it was because she was the cause of all this. Because she was a life born from the violation of her mother by a complete stranger, and that was exactly why she was cursed before she was even born.

But…that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is true that it is far safer for everyone to know where the everlasting night stone is than not to know where it is.”

Sako spoke sadly.

“The young girl who willingly became the den for the ‘everlasting night stone’ was under the custody of the state for that very reason. She was implanted with a GPS tracker in her body, and was kept under surveillance twenty four hours a day: not allowed to die, and placed in a condition where she couldn’t have been said to be alive either.”

I recalled the face of that tall Noh-faced man.

Since I first met him, he kept referring to Yoishi as ‘that’— was that what he meant?

Did he only see her as a box of calamity that could not be opened?

“Y…you’ve gotta be kidding me….”

I looked at Yoishi in response to Sako’s words, who was listening with a vacant expression, and I shouted out loud unable to bear it anymore.

“That…that’s, absolutely wrong!”

“It’s not wrong. Everything has fallen into place in a very rational way, and a state of equilibrium has finally been achieved.”

“No… that’s completely wrong….what about her being left in a state of uncertainty where she’s nether dead or alive? Did a bunch of adults who should have known better not think of Yoishi’s feelings at all?”

“And by thinking---what would they achieve?”

At that moment, Yoishi’s whisper reached my ears.

“Could anyone do anything? No, there’s nothing that could be done. That’s why I decided not to feel anything. What I saw, the words I was exposed to, my changing environment — I decided to accept none of it, and just let it wash over me.”

“…That’s…”

I recalled her slender back, she walked alone as if she carried a heavy burden all by herself.

I recalled the way she lived her life, her head hung down with a stooped back, as she tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

I recalled the way she stood still in the depths of eternal darkness all by herself, as her eyes coldly gazed at the paranormal of this world.

“At that time, at that age, under those circumstances--”

Sako spoke as he looked at Yoishi, narrowing his narrow eyes even further.

“It was a terrifyingly excellent decision to make. It would have been impossible for me to do the same. How painful must that have been?”

Suddenly, I realized Yoishi was gripping something tightly.

It was the stuffed frog Yoishi treasured as if it were a good luck charm.

Sako too, looked down towards the stuffed animal, and suddenly smiled. Then, for some reason, he looked at me, and this time, put on a smile of a wicked disposition.

“Well, thanks to several accidents—the life of a man who disgracefully ran away has also been rewarded.”

It was the moment he declared that.

--*Snap* *Crack*, I heard the sound of something splitting open here and there in the mansion.

I looked up, and it soon turned into a sound like a sharp, cracking sound of a dead tree snapping off—

And it felt, as if it changed to a high-pitched laugh.

As I thought about the thing I heard just now, and the meaning behind it, I shifted my gaze back at Sako in a daze.

……..Eh?

I saw scarlet at the center of Sako’s pale face. Before I realized, a streak of blood was trickling down Sako’s tall nose. Sako must have also noticed it, as he wiped the nosebleed with a vacant expression. However, the nosebleed that was trickling from Sako’s right nostril had now begun to trickle from his left nostril as well. The gooey blood started trickled down.

“….Hey, Sako….”

No, it wasn’t just through both nostrils. From his ears, his mouth, his eyes….at some point, blood had begun to drip through the holes in his hair follicles to the point where his entire hair was black and wet. Blood gushed from every orifice of his body without stopping, wetting his whole skin.

“Ah….”

Sako’s fingers were trembling and unable to form seals. Ony mere words of delirium were emitted from his lips that were poor in complexion.

“…..H…Hey, Sako………!”

I supported Sako’s body, which was on the verge of collapse. Sako’s body, which was violently shaking and about to fall, felt as light as air. And his white clothes were dyed deep red as if they had been crimson from the start.

“……..H, hey Sako! Stay with me!!”

“….Hu…..”

Those faint words that escaped Sako’s lips reached my ears.

“…….Humans…… can ne…ver…..win…..”

What the hell are you saying….?

I was about to say that, but that grumble did not become my voice.

Sako gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his pale face, as he continued to speak with the utmost effort.

“…They just… do… lose...... Don’t...... even think...of winning….”

Are you complaining now of all times?

His abrupt proclamation of defeat made the pit of my stomach churn.

However, it was not so much that I was disgusted with him – but rather, it a feeling of regret for Sako who had hunted down the ‘everlasting night stone’ to this point. And, at the same time, I didn’t know what the meaning of simply spouting such words here. Did he already assess victory or defeat? Or was there some other meaning behind them?

“Hey, Sako!!”

Without knowing what to do, I foolishly kept screaming at Sako.

“…There’s… no chance you will win …. Who, or what…. Are you going to win against…?”

Sako tried to scratch at midair with no strength in his fingers.

I realized that his fingertips were aimed at Yoishi—

And, the moment I noticed Yoishi Mitsurugi coldly fixated at Sako who was lying there covered in blood – Sako coughed a spurt of blood from his mouth, and his strength quietly disappeared in my arms.

“……..There’s no way—right?”

I looked at Sako’s face, who was stock still with his eyes slightly open—

And then, I turned to Yoishi.

“…..Y, Yoishi, do something! What should we do about Sako?”

She silently glimpsed at Sako’s immobile body,

“You can’t incarnate in me by destroying this person.”

Yoishi spun her words towards midair.

“Showing me people dying… doesn’t make me feel anything anymore.”

In response, the mansion creaked once more. *Crrrreeeak*

That strange sound—made Yoishi’s eyes slightly widen.

As if she had realized something, she suddenly turned to look in my direction.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak*

The old mansion was creaking.

*Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeak**Crrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaeak**Crrrreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeak*

The timber was chafing together, and it sounded like someone’s sneering laughter.

That’s right--- right now, someone was sneering somewhere.

In a loud shrill laugh, as if everything was going according to plan.

And I-- was merely standing in a daze in a world that was rapidly changing.

No, Sako’s words repeatedly swirled in my head, and I kept thinking about their meaning in a daze.

『The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’.』

『It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice.』

『Its actions are always shaped by calculated malice.』

『If it failed once, it would spread malice elsewhere once more.』

…..Say.

''If''---that’s right, it was a question of ‘if’.

The fact that I met Yoishi Mitsurugi one year ago in that family restaurant.

The fact that I alone coincidentally happened to run into ‘Yoishi’ by accident after the ‘Ikaigabuchi’ offline meeting.

If, that wasn’t an accident….what would happen?

No, what if everything began long before that, the day I lost my mother? What if Yoishi becoming involved in the resolution, and even how Krishna-san linked it by saying, ‘From its start, it never had any malice’, was not an accident….?

Having met Yoishi, and feeling a debt of gratitude towards her—

Didn’t I end up feeling romance for ghosts? I became attracted to the scenery of the world beyond, and began to excitedly venture into the spirt world, and jumped into the flames of darkness with glee, like a moth that knows that it is not a place a living person can deal with, but jumps into the flames and gets burned. And, before I’d realized, that continued to chip away at the thread of my spirit, gradually thinning my connection to this world and leading me straight to hell. Meeting Krishna-san, meeting Sako, and even meeting Takamura--- What if all those encounters were calculated by someone else, and they transformed the unknown realm of the occult into something fascinating one step before I rejected it? And what if it that was something that foolishly made me think that I could, or rather, that I had to save the young girl known as Yoishi Mitsurugi?

In the world that was being painted pitch black—I pictured her lonely face.

『Next time, if we meet again-- I’ll become your friend.』

『if you intend to associate with this person any longer, I won’t show you mercy.』

『That person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.』

Eleven years ago, the ‘everlasting night stone’ failed to destroy Yoishi’s heart, Sako said that it had been stitched to Yoishi because she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ herself. But that wasn’t it--- not at all.

Wasn’t the ‘everlasting night stone’ patiently waiting for someone to appear for eleven years?

Could the occult loving university student: Nagito Yamada, possibly be—

An existence created only for the girl whose heart failed to be crushed, to grow in her the heart to ‘Trust people’ once more?

……..A………………

“ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I realized that thundering scream was my own.

Someone who Yoishi trusted.

Someone who Yoishi acknowledged as a ‘friend’.

Then, one after the other, it would sow the seeds that would lead to that someone and Yoishi deepening their connection, and when they mutually acknowledged each other as ‘war comrades’, it would destroy that someone.

Possessing Krishna-san, destroying Sako—was it all to destroy Nagito Yamada into smithereens in front of Yoishi? After she barely escaped being crushed eleven years ago, it planned to crush the faintest hope budding in her heart in the most ruthless way imaginable – and would finally be able to incarnate Yoishi’s body at long last?

A fear pierced through my entire being, as if I faced the thing that killed me in a past life—and I, pissed myself disgracefully.

“……Hey…. scared?”

At that moment—

A familiar voice like a ringing bell reached my ears.

--Everything… is in reverse.

Next to me, the young girl who had lost her emotions sneered.

With long black hair that gently waved, a monster was there with a pale face and dark colored eyes.

The scenery I once saw,

The ghost stories I had once read.

Among them must have been illusions in my mind created by fear.

Before I realized, there was a staircase behind me. On the landing of the staircase was a middle-aged man in a gray, worn suit, staring at me with a hollow expression. Under the bed was a woman with a white face, and a bluish-white hand that sprouted from the dark mud wall. An old woman with clouded white eyes was leaning against my back, and countless white faces floated in the sky. Sinister words scrawled in an old book pointed to a graveyard that spread out all over, while a corpse that stood on the sea was connected to a pair of high heels placed behind a guard rail left by a woman laughing in the mountains. A broken doll turns into a wriggling thing at the water’s edge, the wheelchair of an abandoned hospital squeaks and squeals as it swirls and disappears into the sky, and the shiny thing in the tornado is an alien vehicle.

You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well neither do I. I was merely describing what I saw with my eyes, as my brain felt it. Aa—Ahh, that’s right. My mind must have been on the verge of breaking down. My head must have exceeded its allowed tolerance of fear. Up until now, Krishna-san solved most things for me. More dangerous things were somehow managed by Sako. And Yoishi vaguely dealt with things I didn’t quite understand. But, those were all events on a rail laid by an ancient entity acting through malice, and I was, according to expectation, according to plan, completely afraid, and with my collapse, Yoishi too would collapse, auspiciously allowing Yoishi to transform into the ‘everlasting night stone’. The cackling and sneering black haired young girl next to me was that.

Which meant that, everything was already---

Over---

--When.

….No.

….Wait a minute…..

If Yoishi was already broken, and ended up turning into the ‘everlasting night stone’….then... What of me who was thinking right now? Did being broken mean only this much? Were these the last few normal thoughts that remined in my illogical self-consciousness? I didn’t know, but what were these thoughts that I was still thinking and feeling anyway?

Those vague doubts—

Changed the scenery in an instant.

They continued to clear away the darkness, and slowly returned my vision back to the original world.

I was still standing still in the storage room, and in front of me was Krishna-san who lay collapsed, and a bloodstained Sako. And next to me was Yoishi, dumbfounded, her empty gaze wandering at midair. There was no sign of the ‘everlasting night stone’ anywhere in the dim, dark and cramped room.

“…..Yoishi.”

I reached out my wobbly hand, gripped her hand, and spoke.

“….C, can you walk?”

Yoishi looked at me in a daze, and shook her head thereafter.

“….Come on, just walk. Let’s get out of here… let’s go outside, and call for help. If we call for an ambulance, Sako might still be--”

“—It’s impossible.”

Yoishi spoke with an expression that was clear, and heartrendingly painful.

At that moment, I noticed it.

Next to Yoishi, a white haze hung over.

There were four mists there, as if they enveloped Yoishi. And in my retinas, they gradually formed some kind of shape—and stood silently as if encompassing Yoishi. I quickly understood that it was people for some reason. And, I had an intuition that I knew these people. It felt as if I had once, somewhere, watched over them as if they were my real family…but, ahh, I knew it, I’ve started to collapse again. I realized that fact somewhere in my consciousness, but I still couldn’t do anything to stop it.

That was because—

I could now see a gentlemanly gray-haired man next to Yoishi. Next to him, I saw was a cheerful woman, a tomboyish girl with a smile on her face, and a cute brown dog at her feet. As they gradually took form, my vision gradually blurred. And those words spontaneously came from my mouth.

--I’m sorry……

I felt an overwhelming regret and fell to my knees on the spot. If I had only—if I had only been a little bit smarter. If I could have done something a little better. The feeling of cursing myself for my helplessness continued to well up inside me. I wiped away the tears that overflowed, and raised my head—

“……………”

I saw what looked like a straw rope fastened around the man’s neck. Looking closely at the mother, I saw that her body was dismembered. The girl had a knife still stuck at the base of her throat, and the small dog’s stomach was split open, its entrails fallen out. Yet despite that, the four hazy figures that had taken form remained standing, as if they enveloped Yoishi.

…..Are…. they ghosts?

At last, was I-- seeing the ghosts I had once longed to see so much?

And I realized what an unbelievably sad thing they were. Ghosts were in no way a thing to be feared. They were not something terrifying. They were completely and utterly heartbreaking things. Unable to be seen, unable to speak, they are just there. And, just seeing Yoishi Mitsurugi at ease surrounded by those ghosts evoked a pain that was enough to split my heart into two.

As the tears flowed without end from my eyes--my right elbow suddenly tinged in pain. And that ache seemed to ache in and out as it grew more painful. It became an unbearable pain, and I finally realized that it was a furious rebuke. It felt as if I heard Karasu-san’s voice right by my ear.

“….Don’t….give up yet… Think…”

I wiped away my tears, and at the same time I gritted my teeth, frantically encouraged my brain.

In the boundary between reality and fiction, between this world and the world beyond, I still mobilized my full consciousness to think.

The reason I came here…The meaning of why Sako made me come here.

Wasn’t I yet to find out why that was?

Think, think. Think until your mind is scorched, me. Sako said, 『‘Names’ in this world hold the meaning of ‘place’』, and Krishna-san had said, 『To wear the W in witch, would ultimately mean to forget who you are』. Which meant that regaining one’s original name was supposed to erase the worn ‘W’—no, was it the other way around….? That’s right….When she christened herself as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ and bound the ‘everlasting night stone’, wasn’t she herself was bound at the same time?

Didn’t she end up defined as a dweller of this world and the world beyond?

“So that means I need to find her real name after all--”

In my cloudy consciousness, I told Yoishi, “Stay there”, and ran out.

I mustered all my remaining strength, ran through the corridor, and jumped into the living room.

It was possible—that Yoishi’s true name was written down on something in this mansion.

I went to the kitchen and turned over the cups. For example, I thought that there would be cups for each of the family members, and a young Yoishi would have her name inscribed on that—but there was nothing there. ‘All that remains is’, I turned to face the hearth. On top of it was the polaroid photograph taken of the family. It was creepy that the other family members who died had their faces warped white somehow, but I slowly drew close to that photograph.

In old family photographs, there would be stuff like dates and names of the people in the photo written on the back. That was how it was for my family. So maybe this one was the same. That must have been the reason why Sako made me come all the way here. I’m sure Yoishi’s true name is there. It had to be. I would find that, and tell it to her; She, who ended up losing her place in the boundary between this world and the world beyond. I would declare to her with all my strength that she was a dweller of this world.

I placed my hand on the photograph, suppressing my throbbing heartbeat and rushing emotions.

But, as I was about to slowly lift it up—

I suddenly felt weak.

What if it wasn’t here…..? No, no, it had to be here.

After all, if it wasn’t here… then there would be nowhere else to search in this mansion. Believe it….it, must be there.

I took a deep breath.

And the moment I flipped over the photograph.

--*Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek**Kek*… The mansion rang.

The sneering laughter of a manly voice coldly pierced me, and flooded inside me.

Reflected in my eyes, there was nothing in the back of the photograph.

I couldn’t even see a stain in the blank space that had turned yellow—

And the world dyed in darkness in an instant.

◯

Dark.

Darkness.

A dark world—no matter where you looked.

How much darkness did this world have, and how many colors of ‘black’ did it have…?

It felt as if I had seen a lot of ‘black’ in this one year.

Enough ‘black’ to stop my thoughts.

Enough ‘black’ that seemed to suck me in forever.

And, enough ‘black’ that seemingly melted my body and thoughts in it.

But the ‘black’ that now spread before my eyes was different from all of them.

To put it ostentatiously, the ‘black’ that was the primordial of this world, where nothing else existed yet—that might have been how it felt. But, there was a strange calmness and tranquility. A boundless ‘black’, as if I was in space, in what must have once had countless planets. It truly made me feel at ease. I didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to think about anything anymore—

「Did you have fun?」

Suddenly, I heard a low voice from somewhere. I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t fun at all, I answered.

「Isn’t hiding behind people, and tricking people so much fun?」

I was asked that once again, and I answered that it was just you.

But the truth is—from somewhere in my heart, I ended up thinking that it might have been a bit fun. If you were to trick someone with ease, if you were to continue tricking them for the rest of my life, then that might have indeed been a bit necessary. For example, say there was someone not really blessed with singing skills, yet they can’t help but sing because they love it, and you’d tell them for the fun of it, “You’re really talented”. They would be so happy and delighted, innocently believe those words and keeps on singing. People would laugh behind their back, but still that person would willingly believe it, and continue to sing willingly. They would willingly mistake people’s laughter as being happy at their singing. But here’s what I think. Is a song that continues to be willingly sung for the sake of others, even if it lacks talent, truly worthless? Does the pure feeling of love not reside in the song? Certainly, the first words may have been malicious. However, that which began as malice might be overturned by pure feelings, and might one day become the real thing?

「Then, let’s play a trick.」

The low voice spoke once more.

‘In this world, there are only those who dance and those who make others dance to their tune, and if one were to play the part of those who play the tune—if they were to learn the joy of playing the flute, then there would be no going back’, the voice spoke.

‘Ah, I see. That may be true’, I thought.

But, I---

I knew the joy of dancing, after all. I was always on the dancing side in the festivals in my hometown. I would empty my heart and match my movements with the people around me. The pleasure of synchronizing with others made me want to raise my voice in joy. When our eyes met, we would laugh at each other, and before I realized, I would be thankful for the friends I had. Under this vast, endless night sky, I would be thankful I had friends who laughed at the same things, and who were saddened at the same things. To trick such friends would surely pain my heart. I don’t think I would want to be on the side of those who play tricks, even if I were the one who was tricked.

‘Then I ask you’, the voice asked.

Do you think parents would happily give birth to a child, if they knew in advance that the child would be born handicapped? If they found out that the child was handicapped after birth, would the parents be able to love that child normally?

That was…

That was a difficult question.

Antitrypsin deficiency—I was born with that kind of body, and suffered from infantile asthma, and ended up causing a lot of trouble and worry to my parents and the people around me. Why was I alone born with such a body? When I was a child, I often wondered when I used to cry all by myself in the corner of the room. Knowing that pain, if I were asked whether I would give birth to a handicapped child… I think I would indeed hesitate to death.

In response, ‘Right?’, the voice said.

In times like that, to be completely tricked would be merciful. To abort the child, or to be told that it’s a lovely child even with the handicap. People do not act until there is a reward in front of them. They can’t even move their feet forward unless they have a feeling that there is something fun ahead. It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right? Or they’re narcissists who love themselves for trying.

Is that so….?

Was my mother like that as well….?

‘Obviously’, answers the voice.

「They really love themselves for trying. They are drunk on it. If that wasn’t the case, could she have taken care of your labored breathing be it mealtime or the middle of the night?」

….Is that so….? No…. That might have been the case.

‘Hey, tell me’, the voice said. ‘How many lives do you think are abandoned each year by those who are not ready to be parents? How many reported cases of parents killing their own children? A parent is nothing more than a title, a temporary designation. Everyone is just an animal that thinks first and foremost of their own happiness. Why should I have to raise a child I do not love? Why do I have to raise them even as they chip away against my time, my soul? Is it social responsibility? What you would call moral responsibility? Say, just what is society? Isn’t something like that nothing more than a system to reduce quarrels as much as possible? No matter how, and no matter how many lids you put on it, problems will always continue to happen. That is your history, problems happen by default. To accept that and to live, what is wrong with that? If that’s the case—wouldn’t it be smarter to be on the side that causes the problems?’

I…could understand that.

Human history is filled with problems, and even after all this time, the problems have only increased.

I know that there were as many definitions of parenthood as there were parents. And I know that there are broken parents in this world who have never even thought of the concept of parenthood. But—despite that, there is still one act that every parent definitely does for their child. That is: to give them a name filled with all their hopes and wishes, right? Isn’t that—why names are so precious?

Ahahahahahahahahahaha! The voice suddenly burst into laughter.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know. How many parents do you think are out there who give their children names that inspire neither hopes nor dreams? How many names do you think there are that have nothing but the malice of their parents? Hey, can you really turn a blind eye to that? You might say that it would be fine if you change your name once you become an adult? No, It’s useless. No matter how much you try to forget the name you’ve been christened with once, it will definitely be bound to you in some shape or form for the rest of your life. That is the curse of a name. You heard it too, didn’t you? She was cursed before she was born. A life born by the violation of her mother by brats abroad! She was never wanted, not in the least! Once born, the event they'd rather have forgotten takes a form that haunts them for the rest of their lives. There’s no way she would ever be wanted!’

I was-- at a loss of words in the end, with no rebuttal.

In this mansion….I thought I would try to learn her true name. I thought that if she were to at least reclaim her rightful name, the ‘W’ that coiled around her would be exorcised. But right now, to be honest….I was afraid. I was afraid to discover her true name.

If, by some chance, there was no feeling of hopes or dreams in it, and was instead a thing filled with malice, then what? What if her endless pain and torment continued the moment she took back her true name? There have been so many things done with good intentions that push people into distress. How could I say that I wasn’t making the same mistake right now? Moreover, Sako had said that she took the name of ‘Yoishi’ to bind the ‘everlasting night stone’, but….what if that wasn’t the case, and she instead took it because she actually detested her true name?

Thereupon…a thought suddenly came to mind.

Couldn’t she stay as ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ as she had up until now?

That would mean she would still have that callous, Noh-faced father as a guardian in name only, not have a place at home where she belonged, would keep going around haunted places where her eyes would glow, would throw up at times, and would complicate complicated matters even further, but—even so, that wasn’t the worst outcome, right? I would be there, and Krishna-san too, as well as everybody in ‘Ikaigabuchi’. If she at least opened her heart properly, she could lead a fun occult life. There would be no need to remind her that she was born cursed and undesired—

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

Could it be, the thing Sako spoke of, 『You will be compelled to make a choice』…

And, the thing Takako Takamura spoke of, 『You’ll be forced to make the final choice』, it was—

About this…?

If she were to regain her true name, she would arrive in this world while still having the scent of the world beyond.

If she were to remain as Yoishi Mitsurugi, she would live in the world beyond while remaining in this world.

…What…should I do?

The world continued to grow darker. The darkness continued to silently spread out.

As if the ground beneath my feet were filled by dark colored water, I eventually came to believe that there was only one answer.

「I want… to stay with her like this forever.」

「I want to be together with Yoishi Mitsurugi.」

Right, I was about to say it out loud.

When the wound on my right elbow, throbbed with pain once more.

The pain kept repeating like a drum being beaten and became a rhythm as it throbbed and throbbed.

Definite sounds that formed words. They became a rhythm, and made me remember what Karasu-san had once said.

---Yes, deep breaths.

When I came to… I saw that Karasu-san was there, with that nostalgic smile of hers.

Her lustrous black hair dangled down to her cheeks, and she was leaning close to me crouched down, as if she were peering inside me.

--Take a dee—ep breath in, then hold. Yes, slowly let it out--- Repeat that three times.

My vision blurred with tears at those cheerful words that were out of place.

And, before long, I repeated my breathing as I was told. I breathed, and exhaled. I exhaled as much as I could, and inhaled as much as I could.

『You'd better remember.』

『Your fear most likely comes from forgetting to breathe.』

『If the fear inside you intensifies, then like now, make sure you're breathing properly.』

『No matter what kind of paranormal lies ahead of you, you’ll definitely make it through somehow.』

‘But’, I spoke. Despite that, I still don’t know if I’m supposed to find Yoishi’s true name. I end up thinking that it’s better not to find it.

—Eh? I think you already have the answer to that.

I was surprised I was somehow able to carry on a conversation with Karasu-san from my memories—

However, as if clinging to that, I added a question, “What do you mean?”

--After all, the two of us… in the world we peeked at in those hellish days. Didn’t you decide that you would bring that back with you? After having gone through so much, being unable to do anything but witness the cruel destruction of a family, there was still something you desperately brought back with you, right?

Brought back……? I did? What……?

--It should be firmly engraved on you, Nagi-kun.

--It should be engraved on your soul.

Despite that, I still didn’t know, and was in dismay, when….

Exasperated, Karasu-san’s voice echoed kindly for one last time.

---Then, I’ll do it one last time.

--''*Throb*''

My right elbow ached once more.

--*Throb*, *throb*, *throb*…. That throbbing continued to grow stronger.

It was as if— my adult-self was tired of searching, and my child-self pointed it out to me with a smile, and the warmth and stimulation grew.

“…Ah….ahhhhh.”

In an instant, I was struck by lightning together and a terrible sound rang inside me, with the light running through me.

Goosebumps ran through every cell in my body, an unspecialized base sequence in the genome that was called junk, awoke. As if guided by something, it synthesized in succession, and began to build that hidden meaning.

The hanging mansion that manifested in my vision.

The old and grubby living room. The dusty counter.

As I regained reality with my right eye, a different timeline of the same place was synchronized as white hazy scenery in my left eye.

Appearing hazily—as if gliding in midair, that scenery continued to flow through me.

Before I realized, I was running.

--It can’t be….it can’t be.

I ran to the front door with enough force that I almost fell down, and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror that was there.

I rolled up my shirt, uncovered my right elbow, and—saw it through the mirror.

What I thought was an ugly scar that did not heal for a long time, was not a scar at all.

I thought it had ended up becoming a bruise, but it was not a bruise.

『Miko Hanamura』

The bruise that was inverted in the mirror—

Had been engraved on my skin, in letters.

In an instant, the scenery I had once seen somewhere with my left eye transformed into a torrent and rushed into my brain. The amount of information was so vast and extreme that it could not be processed by my brain specifications— it flowed past me from one scene to the next, with no time to recognize it. Even so, I was still able to burn several scenes in my mind. Among the endless flashes, a fatherly figure laughed as he held a baby in his arms. A motherly figure cried as she embraced a toddler. A tomboyish young girl who looked like a middle schooler laughed as she pulled the hand of a girl with black hair and fair skin. The baby, the toddler, the fair skinned young girl—I recognized all of them as 『Miko Hanamura』. Without a doubt, at every moment, 『Miko Hanamura』 was loved.

“…………….Ah.”

Before I realized, I was in the hanging mansion, but something was different.

It was not a dusty, cobwebbed ruin. It was a clean, brand new mountain retreat with the light of the sunlight shining in.

Feeling dazzled, I continued to the living room in a daze. I heard lots of laughter coming from the nearby garden. I opened the sash and stepped out to the garden—to see a family so happy they were clad in light. In front of the barbecue was a gentle looking man, a bright woman and a cheery young girl….and, Miko Hanamura who was a child. Miko had a kind, delighted smile on her face.

“—Miko.”

I called her name.

“You…were called Miko Hanamura?”

In response, the beautiful black haired young girl with fair skin looked in my direction. It felt like we met eye to eye after a long time, after a truly long time. I was so overjoyed, so relieved, that tears gradually swelled up and began to spill.

“Miko, let’s go back.”

I reached out my hand to her, and the young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She slowly took one look back, looked back at me and shook her head.

“Miko, listen to me. This place—it’s not here anymore. It’s a world that doesn’t exist anymore.”

But, a young girl drew close next to Miko, and gripped her hand. For some reason, I knew that girl’s name was ‘Kii-chan’. She looked at me with a fierce expression, as if to say she wouldn’t let her precious best friend go anywhere.

Behind them, the father was smiling. The mother gently put her hand on Miko’s shoulder. The elder sister took one step ahead with her eyebrows raised as if to protect her younger sister from me. The dog at Miko’s feet growled at me.

Looking at that—

A gentle whisper escaped my lips, ‘I see.’

And, as I was tossed around mercilessly by the warm feelings that swept over, I declared.

“….I’m glad….You were really…loved after all.”

“…Yeah.”

“Miko—that’s a really nice name.”

The tears continued to spill.

“If I remember correctly... the word『Mi彌』 means the『light that shines universally』 in Buddhism.”
“…Is, that right?”

“Yeah. I know someone who knows a lot about that stuff, so there’s no doubt about it. That’s why…that’s why.”

My voice trembled with tears, but I desperately managed to squeeze it out.

“I’m sure that the person who gave you that name wished to maintain a relationship with you forever. Regardless of how you were born, they wished that connection would last for all of eternity.”

“…..Yeah.”

“…So, listen up.”

I wiped away the tears, and raised my voice as best as I could.

“You are in no way cursed. You’re not abhorred by anyone. Being cursed—is just being lost on the inside. So… let’s go back. This place is no longer here.”

“….But.”

Miko smiled once at Kii-chan, before letting go of her hand and took a step towards me, and spoke.

“I feel comfortable here; I think it’s the place I belong. Papa, mama, onee-chan, Kii-chan, Leo—and even Mr. Inspector is here.”

Hearing that, I looked towards the back, to see a somewhat nostalgic man with gray hair and a smile on his face.

Her father, mother, older sister, best friend and pet dog—everyone was smiling, and stood behind Miko as if protecting her. Then, I heard a click behind me. I turned around to see Sako in a gray, dull, worn-out suit, taking a picture with an old polaroid camera. He then took out the photo, and handed me the photograph that was exposed to the light.

The photograph must have been the original photograph placed atop the hearth in the real ‘hanging mansion’ earlier. However, the faces of the family had no longer disappeared. The faces that had been stretched and twisted in white in midair were now beautifully cropped, with the smiling faces in front of me.

“……..I see.”

I muttered once more.

It felt as if I had been listening to someone’s sneering laughter echo all this time—

I had even realized that it belonged to the ‘everlasting night stone’, but I thought there was nothing I could do.

I understood that Miko would be swallowed by the world beyond if this continued. But, there was nothing someone like me could do. To tear away Miko away from this warm world, was something—I couldn’t do.

And that's when it happened.

I noticed something emerging in the photograph.

The polaroid photograph still hadn’t been fully sensitized. Her father, mother, elder sister and Miko were smiling kindly, and the dog at their feet looked happy as well. But—there was something else there. On Miko’s left end, a white haze emerged, which should not have been in the picture. As if to embrace a young Miko, that white haze gradually continued exposing---and eventually, took on an impossible form.

….Ahh.

At that moment, I realized the true reason why I came here.

I realized the meaning of the vast swirl of information that came surging into my head.

I realized why Sako had called me to this mansion—and why he handed me this photograph just now.

In the picture that transcended generations—

Nagito Yamada stood there, as if protecting Miko Hanamura.

The figure that decided to stand by her side no matter what cruel reality he had to face, was as if looking in the mirror at a different me. For the first time, I felt pride at myself—it made me feel a sublime will. The answer to the question posed to me earlier in the darkness welled up in my chest as I saw my own face. An answer to the voice that said, ‘It’s mere hypocrisy to continue doing bitter things that will only continue to get worse, right?’ I lost sight of myself since I was asked that question, but--

No, there is one more impetus that drives people forward.

There was something else in this world that wasn’t just greed, reward, or narcissism.

“—I got it, Miko.”

The meaning of the scenery that swirled round and round my head, continued to dissolve. The me of eleven years ago and the me of the present dissolved and merged. I was thankful for that fate and spoke the answer that I extracted from my soul, without any doubts.

“Then, I’ll stay here as well.”

Miko looked at me again with a start.

“I will never leave you to die again. I won’t stand by and let you go through something like that again.”

“………”

“Why, you ask? Because you were the first person to call me a friend. Even when I was adrift in the sea of endless despair with nowhere to go, you gave me a place to stay.”

“………A.”

“Although my email got garbled midway through.”

“………A…aaaa…..”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely protect you.”

“Yes, I was Mr. Frog back then.”

The moment I declared those words.

The sky roared, and split apart.

Somewhere, it felt as if I heard an ear-splitting scream.

At the same time, a series of low rumbling sounds reverberated deep beneath my feet, and eventually turned into subterranean rumbling that overlapped with the beating of my heart. My teeth were rattling so hard I couldn’t breathe. And I understood that I had broken a rule established by a great, great being in a far higher dimension. This might be the end for me as well—but I was prepared for that.

Why was it….? Ah, dammit, I had tried to show off and ended up saying that, but as usual my teeth were clattering, and my legs were trembling on the verge of collapse. After all this time, I realized that I was the guy with the stinky pants who had pissed himself earlier. And, the place I stood was the ruins of a mountain retreat that was now called the hanging mansion—I was in front of the hearth, and I found that the one in front of me was the Yoishi Mitsurugi of the present---no, I knew she was Miko Hanamura.

The high school girl with porcelain-white skin, long black hair swaying in the air, and dressed in the funeral-like uniform of the Koumei Institute, was merely trembling.

In her vacant eyes, countless paranormal events were now swirling around. The hundreds, the thousands of paranormal events she had experienced in the past --- no, if you were to include the ones she had read on the internet or in books then it would be in the tens of thousands. Therein, was the horror she should have truly felt. Those emotions she had become numb to, which had been stored somewhere in her brain, were all surging into Miko’s small forehead all at once.

“…This…is the feeling of fear…..”

The irises of her eyes shook, welled up, and a trickle of tears spilled down.

“It’s disturbing… not knowing…. not being able to explain….it’s just…just….disturbing….”

I nodded.

“….I’m alive….I…am alive….”

Miko covered her face with both hands. At that moment, something she must have held back for a long, long, eternity, finally broke free.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, all her emotions broke free, and she cried out. Her voice was like that of a newborn, defenseless baby. I held her slender body close to me, as if to protect the pure soul that had just been born into this cruel world. I hugged her tightly, as if to show that to the pure malice that I could not see, which might have still been nearby. [[File:Phenomeno-vol6-3.jpg|thumb]]

“….I’m alive….I am… alive….”

“….Yes. You are truly alive. And you should keep on living step by step. Live as long as you can for the ones who have gone before you—”

And after that you can die in peace—I was about to say that.

“……..I’m scared.”

Miko whispered in my chest.

“I’m scared to go on living…the countless paranormal things are scary as well…the voice in the wall, the smiling dolls, shadows in the reflection, the person with only legs, the man in the gutter, the will -o’-the-wisp, the box in the storehouse, people disappearing in the sky—in this---in such a scary world….how did you live this far….how should I live…?”

“Hahaha.”

I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like I could finally talk with her about the real paranormal things. It felt like I could teach her that while some ghost stories circulating this world were really dangerous, they were also full of romance and mysterious charm.

When—at that moment.

I thought the ground still felt like it was shaking because I was a coward, or because I was embracing a high school girl, but…. I realized that it was neither of those things.

“H….heyy, Yoi….no, Miko!”

I yelled seeing the creaking wall swell up and down.

“It’s an earthquake! Shit, it’s a big one.”

The building slowly swayed from side to side, and eventually began to rattle and shake little by little.

“Run away, Miko! This run-down building is dangerous. I’ll get Krishna-san.”

After saying that, I pushed Miko, whose face was still soggy in tears, toward the direction of the front door, and then staggered and swayed as I ran down the corridor. At the back of the corridor, the storage room floor was covered entirely with Sako’s blood. I bowed my head once to Sako who had already passed away, “I’m sorry”, and lifted Krishna-san’s body, who lay collapsed and unconscious, and carried her on my shoulder. I then furiously rushed toward the front door. The shaking quickly grew even more violent, and I staggered and hit the wall, but still clenched my teeth as I broke through the front door and jumped outside. I slowly laid Krishna-san a little further away from the building, and gasped.

There was no one in my surroundings.

Miko, who should have left the building before me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey…Miko!”

I called out at the top of my voice, but there was no reply.

The shaking grew even more ferocious, and I understood that the building would completely flatten. I clicked my tongue once, left Krishna-san there and jumped back inside the building. “Miko!” As I yelled, I looked around and saw that she was in a daze in the living room.

“Hey, what are you doing! Get out of here!”

The moment I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, I realized that Miko was staring at that photograph in front of the hearth.

“The first picture… the two of us took together.”

“Well, that’s true but.”

“But…you were a ghost.”

“Shut it, let’s go, if you wanna take that photo then hurry up and do it!”

I called out to Miko who had been standing motionless in front of the photograph for who knows how long, when it happened.

A terrible *creeeeeak* rang out, and the building bent. It felt as if a giant hand grasped the building from the outside, and at the same time— a sound like a low male voice reverberated throughout the building.

--*Gigigigigigigigigigigigigi*

It was as if it were a sneering voice—as if it were a wailing voice.

Together with that detestable sound, the beams of the ceiling twisted to an absurd degree. Dust was rising and falling down like rain. There were five of them— they felt like giant fingers of something. From the depths of darkness—a malice-stained, corrupted hand reached out from the depths of this world called hell.

Give her back.

It reached straight for Miko—

“Don’t fucking mess with me.”

I howled.

“I will never let go again. She is a fragment of my soul. And, my--”

I yelled a scream that would not lose to the thunderous roar of the collapsing beams.

“My precious wife!”

In an instant—

My vision muddled white, and a sharp stinging pain ran down my shoulders. It was as if, I knew the building would collapse all at once, like in the Fafrotskies phenomenon. I instantly covered Miko’s body to protect her from the falling debris of the building. One after another, building material fell on my back, biting into my skin, and crushing my bones. In the midst of the sound that split my ears— it seemed to me as if I had been caught in the hand of the ‘everlasting night stone’.

“L-let go.”

The world continued to darken.

The faint hope was fading away.

The moment I screamed in the midst of overwhelming despair that filled my heart.

''“Ayana Takamura.”''

Under my arms, Miko Hanamura roared her last lines as “Yoishi Mitsurugi”.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

At that moment, somewhere far above in the sky, something opened its eyes.

“I’ll give you the best thing you wished for.”

“’Yoishi’ called out to those eyes.

“So-- don’t ever come close to this person, ever again.”

《OK》

That must have been the last illusion I saw in my fading consciousness.

Ayana Takamura’s giant head that appeared from the void—

--*Crunch*, it ate something.

And in the world that had grown dark once more, those clear, boyish words echoed through the air.

“The fear held by the root of fear or something ---it was truly a delicious meal.”

◯

In the silent, pitch-black rubble—

After finishing the long, endless story, she might have finally remembered everything.

Yoishi Mitsurugi, or rather, Miko Hanamura muttered, “…..Right….yeah…that’s right….”

“Did you remember?”

I managed to reply with that somehow as I put up with the pain in my immobile body.

But I felt somewhat embarrassed, even though I only talked about what happened just a while ago, about what might have been the biggest occultic thing to happen in my life, I ended up talking about it all the way to when I declared her my ‘wife’. For a while, we were both silent in the darkness.

“…You, really.”

“…….Hm?”

I thought she might have been embarrassed in her own way—

“….are a fool.”

She said so in his usual tone,

“S, shut up, jerk.”

I retorted in an instant, but I felt embarrassed once more, and was unable to say anything after that.

Darkness and silence fell once more, and I noticed that the pain was slowly getting worse. I slowly wiped the sweat off my forehead while trying to hide it from Miko, and clenched my teeth to endure the pain.

Thereupon, Miko muttered something to me.

“Back then—”

“…..Eh?”

“I understood how ghosts felt. When you were delirious in the hospital room, when you had your cognition of me sealed away.”

“….A, ahh.”

“To exist there and to not be recognized—it’s an unbelievable darkness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“….It was so dark. Pitch black darkness so awful… that it might be the most terrible darkness there is.”

“…I said I’m sorry.”

“……But.”

“……….”

“But if you hadn’t protected been in that way—you would have fallen apart. And perhaps my heart wouldn't have lasted either. In that sense…it might be something to be thankful for.”

“……….”

It was thanks to Krishna-san, and Sako. Come to think of it, Sako was…crushed underneath, huh? What about Krishna-san? I placed her a little further away from the building, but was she alright? As I thought such things, it suddenly felt like my head became misty white. I was still lying down, but I felt terribly dizzy as if had lost my sense of equilibrium.

--Damn, could this be….dehydration? Or an infection from the wounds in my legs, back or head. Dammit, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. In times like these, the worst thing to do would be to lose hope.

I thought that, but the only one who knew we were here was Sako, and unless Krishna-san, who was lying outside, didn’t regain consciousness safely and instantly grasp hold of the situation and call for help, then there was no hope for us. This was terrible. We finally managed to get rid of the ridiculously dangerous monster that scattered malice for so long, but our chances of survival were infinitesimally small.

“H-hey, Miko, try to smile.”

Impatient, I made that absurd request towards the other side of the darkness. And what came back to me in reply was a voice with a deep-seated reluctance, “Ehh?”

“Come on, I’m begging you.”

“Even if I were to smile in a place like this, you can't see it.”

“Well, that’s true, but—no, just try it! Smile for me. I’m scared. I'm so pathetic I can't help it, but I'm scared. If I were to be cheered up somehow…right, if I don’t see your smile, then I’m going to lose heart. Look, listen up. A smile is more precious than anything else in this world. Nothing bad happens to a person who is smiling happily. A nice smile is a present that will make everyone happy. So, please. My hopes are fading, so give me the best smile you can as a present! I’m begging you!”

In response, Miko kept silent for a while and spoke.

“………..Ah…..so that’s how it was….”

“……Eh?”

“Perhaps it was the same for ‘Gandame’.”

“…Ga, Gandame…?”

“’Gandame’ and ‘Yousen-boy’… they might have been trying to deliver us hope. Ghosts, yōkai, monsters and everything else simply existed. They simply existed—but the moment humans feared them, they might have turned into monsters.”

My impassioned speech took a strange turn, and I was about to give up.

“…..I’ll try to….smile.”

Suddenly, Miko agreed.

“…I don’t know if you’ll be happy though.”

“Ohh, really?”

“……….”

“…..Hey, did you smile already?”

“………”

“…Is it alright…if I can feel it?”

In my vague consciousness, I bumped my trembling hand against the wood here and there—and slowly reached out my hand. I reached out my arm in the direction of the voice, towards Miko’s cheeks. My fingertips touched something soft—

It happened at that moment.

Heeeeeeeey, I heard a person’s voice from somewhere.

For a moment, it was a voice so faint I thought it might have been an auditory hallucination—but, I definitely felt like I heard it.

I strained my ears,

“……Heyyyyyyyy, is anyone alive?!”

It was the voice of a man I didn’t recognize. And it was followed by the voice of a different man, “Make a voice, or even a sound! If you can make it, then do it!” I desperately twisted my head to face up, and I saw a flicker of light in between the gaps of the timber somewhere.

Ohh, my hopes skyrocketed in an instant.

“….Over here! We’re over here! We’re alive! We’re alive!!”

I desperately raised my voice, and instantly a huge amount of dust invaded my throat, and I coughed violently.

But, there were shouts of joy right near me, “Oooohh!”, “This way!”, it felt as if the sound of several footsteps drew closer.

In my fading consciousness—the roof and lumber were being moved aside one by one. The air suddenly began to move, and thick oxygen brushed against my nostrils. The light began to pour down on me, which must have been the flashlights of the rescue team. As I was illuminated by that light—I saw it. Just fifty centimeters or so away from me, I saw a face so beautiful and lovely that she felt out of this world.

Miko Hanamura was looking kindly at me with clear eyes that had lost their dark color.

“…Miko.”

The moment I spoke her name in embarrassment, the last piece of timber imprisoning us was removed. The rescue team clad in orange lifted it up with their thick arms.

“Are you alright? Are you conscious? Your wounds?”

I was asked in rapid succession, but I guess he knew right away.

“Lacerations on the left leg! This is terrible---Ah, large abrasions on the back and the arms …get a stretcher right away!”

--Hey, hey, don’t scare me now.

I mean, I'm going to cause my sister and the others to worry again, as I thought that, I spotted the adorable baby face beyond the rescue team. Her hair was a little disheveled, but the petite former occult site manager was looking my way with tears filled in her eyes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Foolish thought it might have been, that was all the greeting I could muster.

I then turned to look at Miko who was right below me. I was about to smile at her, to tell her that we had been saved, but-

Thereupon, I realized that Miko was slightly out of position from where I was. In her right hand, she clutched the stuffed frog as if to protect it, and in her left hand, she clutched that polaroid photograph. It seemed she had almost let go of them when the ceiling collapsed, but desperately shifted her body to take them back. No, I understood that much, but.

“…Hey, Miko, what is that?”

I asked, suddenly noticing a strange foreign object.

I stared at that strange object, and vaguely thought about its meaning.

It was—the sharp, pointed fragment of a broken pillar.

And, right now, it was growing like an object from Miko Hanamura’s chest.

“Hey…Miko….”

I asked her once more, when the rescue team pulled me out in a hurry, and shifted their attention to Miko.

“Wai…”

Wait a minute. Let me see her.

I wanted to say that, but my body ached all over, and no voice came out.

“CPR!! Hurry!!”

I heard that voice. Three members of the rescue party moved the timber, opened the hole even wider and pulled out Miko’s body. They then placed her in the stretcher meant for me, carried her to a level ground a short distance away, where the paramedics there began to perform CPR on her.

“It’s no good, Get the AED!”

Someone shouted that out loud, but an older paramedic stopped them.

With a somber look on his face, he gently shook his head and spoke.

“She—has already passed away.”

“…It must have been an instant death. Judging from the liver mortis that’s already set in, the time of death must have been around twenty-four hours ago….”

“….Inst….Twenty four hours….?”

I finally managed to let out a cry, and dragged my aching leg as I got up.

I dragged myself, and crawled towards Miko.

“Hey, there’s no need for that… doing something foolish like that….”

The rescue team were looking at me. The rescue team in orange rushed up to me. They didn’t know if they should help me, or stop me from walking, but I pushed back against them one after another, and reached Miko.

“What are you guys saying…. We were talking until just now. The two of us were trying our best not to lose against this darkness… We’ve been talking for the whole day, trying not to lose consciousness. Right?”

Before I’d realized, I was clutching the collar of the elder paramedic, when someone stopped me from behind.

“...Hey, I’m begging you, please…. Hurry up and help her! With that…with that machine right there! If you use that, then she’ll surely regain consciousness, right? She’ll be saved, right? If you can’t do it, then take her to a hospital right away! Hurry up, hey!!”

“Stop it, Nagi-kun!”

I turned around hearing that scream, to see that the tearful voice belonged to Krishna-san—

I realized that it was her who was desperately clinging to me to try and stop me.

“Ah…Krishna-san…After all, it’s strange, right? She…Miko was…until just now, telling me I was a fool, and she listened to me asking her to smile--”

I was about to say that.

I realized it for the first time.

Yoishi Mitsurugi—no, Miko Hanamura’s face, was curved in a faint smile.

To me, it was as if she desperately tried to remember and recreate the smile she had almost forgotten—

I screamed a voiceless scream, as I embraced her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<noinclude>

==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Phenomeno:Case 14|Case 14: Spiritual Paths]]
| Return to [[Phenomeno|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Volume 6: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>