Editing Horizon:Volume 10C Chapter 53 (section)

==Chapter 53: Sparks in an Unseen Place==

''That is that

''And this is that

''Um, and that…

''Is that and that?

'''Point Allocation (You Can Just Say You Don’t Know)

●

Masazumi heard everything suddenly grow quiet.

She was still within the Asama Shrine’s grounds. Fires formed a birth canal below the night sky, the Aoi Sister played music and sang on the shrine stage, and the others were eating their fill at the food stalls, simply sharing this time and these feelings with each other.

More and more people were gathering, mistaking it for a festival.

They were probably students. She had to say “probably” because everyone had been living a different life since coming to the Udon Kingdom and there was a lot less order in how people dressed. The Musashi had charged a weight tax and everyone had more or less worn the same thing, but there was no such tax on the surface. She supposed this must have happened in the wide block city built in Mito before, but she hadn’t noticed it at the time. Had she failed to pay sufficient attention, or had she simply not had many options to observe the people? Either way, she had been otherwise occupied at the time. But things were different now.

“It’s weird that Aoi’s death has made some things easier.”

Crossunite, who had been explaining to Mary how to cook the food at a nearby stall, glanced her way. His eye contact had a clear message: ''Aoi’s situation is a secret.

She was of course being careful there.

…''I kept my voice down so no one else could hear.

Crossunite had only heard because of his sharp ears, not because she had spoken loudly.

Aoi had died and was being resurrected.

The only people who knew were the students of Class Plum, the Asama Shrine’s people, and officers at the committee head level. The teachers had been informed too, but Oriotri wasn’t here. If the teachers joined them in this wake, it would become an academy event, which would give it political meaning.

This was instead a personal gathering using the Asama Shrine as a venue.

Masazumi noticed several small lights surrounding the Asama Shrine in its atrium space.

Stalls had begun to appear on the multilevel corridors making up the walls of the atrium space and Asama’s father was taking sake around with the shrine maidens.

“You see, my daughter and her friends are trying to manifest a god here! You’ll see what that means tomorrow morning, so make sure to give them a round of applause if it works!”

…''So is Aoi a god now?

Masazumi glared over at the man, but maybe that was the best option. It was safer for everyone if they included a kernel of truth than if they tried to hide it entirely.

She heard laughter coming from the fires on the starboard side…she could tell she had grown accustomed to life on the Musashi when that was the way she ended up thinking about it. Anyway, the laughter wasn’t from any of their people. So maybe the residents of Sanuki or Imabari had shown up.

They had quite a party going.

The five fireworks bursting overhead had likely been launched in Aoi’s honor.

They were pulling out all the stops here, so…

“Make sure you come back.”

She opened a sign frame. She had reports coming in from Crossunite as well Urquiaga and the Date Vice Chancellor who were acting as guards, but quite a few divine mails from Ookubo had piled up.

None of them were complaints or grumbling. It was all progress reports on the accumulated work and proposals for the other committee heads based on the current situation. Impressive.

Ookubo had recovered only recently. No, it had only just happened this evening, so even “recently” was underselling it.

And she was picking up speed.

…''Because I made her cry.

''Now is probably the time to give her all the work I want done,'' thought Masazumi, but there was one task she really wanted to give Ookubo, who the adults were so fond of.

''Above''.

A few people were waiting in the academy’s small schoolyard up on the hill at Udon Okutama.

Yoshiyasu, Naomasa, and Musashi’s other god of war pilots.

Those two had set up a rotation with Righteousness and Suzaku with the others providing support.

They made sure they always had a pseudo anti-ship cannon aimed at the opposite shore to north.

●

“Those are some dangerous sparks,” sighed Naomasa on the schoolyard which wasn’t lit by any fires.

It was currently her shift. The only light came from the academy’s first floor entrance. That acted as a temporary base as she aimed a pseudo anti-ship cannon into the northern sky.

Their target was K.P.A. Italia. Or more precisely, M.H.R.R.

An M.H.R.R. aerial fleet was assembling on the opposite shore.

K.P.A. Italia controlled most of the Seto Inland Sea’s northern coast, but they were allied with M.H.R.R.

“And they’re letting them use the coast.”

She could make some good guesses about M.H.R.R.’s purpose there, but she couldn’t be certain.

…''If we’re lucky, they’re only visiting and shipping to K.P.A. Italia.

Hashiba was providing support and aid to the other nations in preparation for the Genesis Project.

But there weren’t enough transport ships across all the nations, so even warships were being used for shipping at the moment.

The Genesis Project had changed everything.

It would nullify any expansions attained through war.

So the world was analyzing the Genesis Project and working to avoid the wars or conflicts that could arise from conflicting interests.

The nations and regions that supported the Genesis Project were asking the ruling student councils for a way to ensure their safety and the necessities of life after the project was executed.

Opening a sign frame now would show the PR committees from Sanuki and across the inland sea broadcasting endless special programs. It was kind of annoying.

She had also disliked the “Status of the Far East with Musashi Contained” specials the Kantou PR committees had played when the Musashi had withdrawn to Ariake.

…''At least then Edo Broadcasting still played normal dramas and videos.

At any rate, a fleet of warships was assembling on the opposite shore. It wasn’t a large enough fleet to destroy a nation, but it was large enough to blockade the Seto Inland Sea which acted as the Mediterranean Sea.

So if they were less lucky…

“A naval blockade.”

That would be a problem. Why was that? Because Musashi’s economy was currently reliant on trade with the opposite shore and the Shikoku groups like Sanuki and Imabari.

The restoration of their urban functions and their general recovery were supported by two pillars: self-sufficiency and trade.

If they lost one of those, the internal pressure would grow and Musashi couldn’t last.

A naval blockade would also affect trade with the Shikoku groups. Those groups traded with the opposite coast and it was possible M.H.R.R. would agree to let the Shikoku groups pass the blockade if they agreed to end all trade with Musashi.

“And if we’re truly unlucky…”

The worst case.

“M.H.R.R. is preparing an attack.”

●

Naomasa thought it was possible.

The Musashi was gone. If Hashiba wanted to crush Musashi, now was their chance. Everyone had been aware of that threat ever since they arrived in Shikoku, which was why they had prepared an anti-air defense.

Of course, Musashi lacked the anti-ship equipment needed to take on an entire fleet.

They had lost the Musashi and both Naito and Naruze were trapped in M.H.R.R. Catholic territory.

Musashi did have Righteousness and some pseudo anti-ship cannons which could act as anti-air weapons, but that wasn’t enough to win.

The biggest factor Musashi had to keep in mind was that Surface Musashi was ''immobile''.

They couldn’t respond to an attack with mobility. That would be the greatest problem facing them.

The enemy would understand that.

So if they were going to attack, it would be now. No…

“They can attack whenever they want. They just need a reason.”

Both M.H.R.R. and P.A. Oda could easily make up an official reason since the Testament Union was currently under Hashiba’s control.

That wouldn’t be an obstacle.

And would they have a hard time finding a personal reason?

“There just has to be someone inside M.H.R.R. who wants to destroy us.”

Who would that be?

Naomasa didn’t think it would be Hashiba or the Ten Spears. They had only been trying to “stop” Musashi. Not destroy them.

Then who? Who would even temporarily have greater authority than Hashiba or the Ten Spears, giving them free use of a fleet?

Hashiba’s upperclassmen would have been worn down by the Battle of Shizugatake and Naomasa doubted they had a personal grudge against Musashi.

●

“It’s true, Ma-chan! Musashi has built an immobile surface city spread out from the coast to the mountains of Sanuki, so we could totally win if we attacked now! So let’s do it, Ma-chan! Let’s get back at them for defeating us with curry so many times!”

“Toshiie-kun? The Udon Kingdom is bound to have udon curry, you know?”

“Dammiiiiiit!!”

●

Naomasa tilted her head. She couldn’t think of a single M.H.R.R. or P.A. Oda upperclassman who would hold a personal grudge against them.

Sure, they had probably earned some small grudges here and there after the few times they had clashed with and messed with them, but this was an entire fleet mobilizing.

“Who could it be?”

●

“Heh heh heh. No one would ever expect a teacher to mobilize a fleet over a personal grudge.”

“Probably because it’s wrong for a teacher to do that.”

Angie glared at her surroundings after landing on Fukashi Castle, the aerial ship which acted as Ishikawa Kazumasa’s residence. She was nominally there to resupply.

Fukashi Castle was enormous for an aerial ship, ranking at the upper end of the Jormungandr-class.

Seeing as Ishikawa was the Ten Spears’ teacher, it was a training ship. There were cannons on the deck, but they were small caliber and few in number. The training ground on the rear deck was the ship’s most notable feature.

It wasn’t just used for regular training. When an assault mission was necessary in a hurry on the battlefield, the simulation and training was often carried out atop and within this ship as it flew to the scene. The Ten Spears were familiar with the ship’s interception system using its secondary cannons, so they had been trained in their use, teaching them how to act as interceptors.

Thanks to all that, this deck was a familiar place for Angie and the ship’s position as a training ship meant it could never act as a flagship.

'''AnG:''' “But using the Fukashi Castle as the flagship here makes it look like we’re using the ship to train for an assault.”

'''Kimee:''' “Angie, that would make you look like the leader of the assault team.”

'''AnG:''' “C’mon, no one would think that.”

●

'''Nagaya-Stable:''' “Huh? Wakisaka Angie of the Ten Spears landed on their training ship?”

'''10ZO:''' “Judge! Naomasa-dono caught it with her pseudo anti-ship cannon’s targeting spell. I reviewed it and that was definitely the black one of their Technohexen with those big schale besens.”

'''Nagaya-Stable:''' “Wait a second! Did you say a pseudo anti-ship cannon’s targeting spell!? You mean you’re aiming a cannon right at them!? Cut that out!!”

'''Vice President:''' “Ookubo, Crossunite is your upperclassman by a year, so you shouldn’t talk to him like that.”

'''Uqui:''' “Tenzou, which do you prefer: a casual tone that leaves it ambiguous if she actually respects you, or polite speech built on a foundation of pure disrespect?”

'''10ZO:''' “Could I maybe get another option?”

●

“Anyway,” said Angie, asking a question of Ishikawa on the deck and awaiting an all nighter. “Will you be joining the attack?”

“With our hold over the M.H.R.R. Catholics, we can come up with an excuse for it. I could go myself, or I could send my own people…but it would be faster and more precise if I go myself.”

…''So she’s going.

Angie honestly wished they could end all this trouble with Musashi. The Ten Spears had already achieved a decisive enough victory there.

Musashi no longer had a real fighting force. Their Chancellor’s Officers were still active, but her mothers were missing and, while she was terribly worried about that, it also meant Musashi had no one capable of taking on her and Yoshiaki.

Attacking them now felt like overkill.

“Teacher.”

“You used to call me Ishikawa or Sensei, so what is this, Wakisaka-san?”

“Testament. I don’t really feel like you deserve the Sensei title right now.”

“Then should I become a student?”

She pictured it. And after around five seconds…

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“I kind of agree with you.”

A moment later, Ishikawa was right in front of her.

The woman stood blocking the view of Shikoku, a straight line at the center of her body reflecting the lights of the night.

That was a sword.

The vertically drawn blade’s tip stabbed right into Angie’s Technohexen hat.

It had pierced through from below using the rapid drawing motion.

●

Angie hadn’t seen the motion. There hadn’t been any movement of the air.

It was like the blade had been like that from the start. And Angie…

…''Ugh.

She pulled back. Emotionally, not physically. She also let her emotions guide the question she asked.

“Do you hold that much of a grudge against her?”

“A grudge? I am merely taking back my rightful position.”

“Then was it wrong for us to kick out the old Ten Spears?”

“That was fine because you were stronger.”

“Then what about ''her''?”

The corners of Ishikawa’s lips curled up.

“Wakisaka-san, I have a lesson for you.”

Ishikawa pulled her blade back. She simply pulled it back and down with a tight grip.

And…

…''Oh.

There had to be a hole in the Technohexen hat, but Angie couldn’t see it. There was no apparent cut or hole where the silver line had left the hat.

She would have to touch the hat to find the hole, but she chose not to touch it as Ishikawa turned her back.

And spoke.

“You must never forgive the sin of carelessness.”

“Teacher, I think you’re taking this too seriously.”

“The thing is…I love myself a lot.”

“That I’m well aware of.”

People who loved themselves saw their own mistakes as a defeat.

So they refused to allow them. Could you call this a trial needed to love herself once more?

“Is there anyone else you love? Or respect?”

“Principal Sakai! Such a wonderful man.”

Angie didn’t know much about him. But Ishikawa kept going regardless.

“I never could defeat him.”

“If you love yourself so much, then go stalk ''him'' until you can defeat him.”

“You just don’t get it.” Ishikawa gave a rare, albeit small, smile. “Principal Sakai might let himself get distracted in a battle, but he never brings ''outside thoughts'' into it. I think he too simply wants to see the outcome of a pure test of strength. So no matter how much I win or lose, I only sense my own inadequacies. And as long as I have someone to hold up as a goal, I can love myself as I try to reach that goal and the person who sets that up for me is wonderful.”

“Sorry, I’m kind of dumb, so I lost you partway through.”

“I am saying Oriotri brought outside thoughts into our battle. She wasn’t focused solely on victory. She had some other reason to win and focused on that instead.”

“That’s how it was for us too.”

“Which is why the old Ten Spears left P.A. Oda, isn’t it?”

Now that she mentioned it, that was probably true, but this also felt like forcing this interpretation onto the outcome.

…''Will I ever have a chance to talk with the old Ten Spears?

She didn’t actually know what she would do if she had that chance, but she felt like it could bring new meaning to what happened back then.

Kiyomasa had changed some after visiting Sanada.

Now she was more outgoing. ''Or was she already like that? Whatever.

But this teacher in front of Angie now was a pain, but also really strong. She was easily at the Special Duty Officer level and her skill probably reached the Vice Chancellor level. Even Fukushima at her current level would only be able to defeat her by using the element of surprise.

What would happen if that teacher joined the attack?

“Tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow at dawn. That seems more polite.”

Angie wasn’t sure what that meant, but held her tongue to avoid earning another hole in her hat. And…

“Ah.”

Lights flashed on the opposite shore. They weren’t enough light to be anti-ship cannon blasts aimed this way, but then what were they?

“Fireworks? Aren’t they awfully low?”

“They sent out a broadcast saying ‘In honor of my foolish brother!’, whatever that means.”

Angie’s mothers weren’t there, but what were the rest doing?

●

…''I hope none of the sparks fly this way…

Masazumi was awash in the light of the fireworks bursting so close they felt directly overhead.

The sound and the smell of gunpowder were strong. The smoke sank into the atrium space, so several ventilation spell sign frames opened and blew wind from the side passageways and up overhead.

It was far from a calm night.

A lot had happened this summer, but had they ever had an obvious festival like this?

…''Actually, we had a lot, didn’t we?

She had just been so busy since the Musashi sank – no, since Honnouji – that time had been flying by.

At any rate, the ritual had only just begun, but everyone was already pretty drunk and they were starting to collect the trash bags from the trash cans installed around the shrine grounds. However…

“It seems quiet inside… What’s going on in there?”

●

Asama and Mitotsudaira hurried along a white field.

It was pure white. But not from snow. And not from fog.

There was simply a white field with a path through it and there were shadows. The shadows were colored a bluish-black and the two of them occasionally came across barriers so thin they seemed to be made of water. She knew they could just break through those.

At first, she thought she had simply fallen asleep.

After the falling sensation that came with sudden sleep, her falling body had passed through some water, but that water had seemed shallow.

The bottom had seemed directly below her and she had quickly pushed her elbows out to catch herself just before finding herself here.

A sign frame opened behind her saying <Turn around and advance to go back>. That somewhat contradictory message likely meant that was the way to return home.

Mitotsudaira had fallen right next to her and now they just had to follow the path.

But they hurried.

“Tomo, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

“No, the relationship between distance and time feels kind of messed up here. I don’t think we’ve been moving for even a full minute.”

She regathered her strength by filling her lungs with air that was unusually warm for how clear it was.

This was the afterlife, another world, and the “realm” where the gods lived. They had arrived so easily, but the place really was only a single barrier away, meaning it was easy to get here with the right conditions and preparations.

As they moved, she checked on their condition using a sign frame.

Asama wore her shrine maiden outfit and Mitotsudaira her knight outfit. Their appearance, mood, and condition were identical to when they had fallen asleep, but the health management spell told her everything was fine.

…''Zero impurities? Are you serious!?

“What’s the matter, Tomo?”

“Oh, um, I’ve had a bodily impurity reading of zero ever since I arrived here.”

“Zero?”

“Yes.” Asama nodded. “No matter how hard I tried, I never could get down to zero in the world of the living.”

Mitotsudaira glared over at her with pursed lips.

“Um, Mito?”

“Oh, uh, it isn’t that I thought of you as the impure type. Honest.”

“So, you see, in the world of the living you never can get it down zero due to the food you eat, the air you breathe, and the activities of the people around you. Ordinary life brings a variety of worldly thoughts that lead to impurity.”

You just had to accept it as a part of life.

Even when people lived alone, they were influenced by their surroundings. Even if they slept the whole time, the biological processes within their body would create some slight impurity.

“So when you get into Shinto, everyone tries getting it down to zero at least once.”

“Did you, Tomo?”

“Yes, just before starting middle school. You know how you want to try being more grown up around then? So I asked my dad to prepare things for me.”

“Did he agree to that?”

“He did. He laughed and said he tried it when he was around that age but it only increased his impurity level. Long story short, I think it might just not be possible for guys.”

“What about for you?”

She had worked pretty hard at it.

“I tried a bunch of different things.”

“Such as?”

“Focusing my mind by rapidly firing several purifying arrows from one end of the shrine’s grounds to the other.”

“What else?”

“Meditating under the waterfall out back.”

“What else?”

“Reciting prayers and reading through an especially thick scroll-type sign frame.”

“Did it work?”

“To purify it down to zero, I drank an impurity-washing divine sake called Strong Soul – Ginger. After all that hard work, the way it burned going down felt so refreshing.”

“In other words, you failed?”

“Why does overdrinking divine sake ''increase'' your impurity!? That feels like a bug in the system to me!”

Mitotsudaira held her hands out toward Asama, telling her to calm down.

“We need to hurry to my king.”

Asama realized their pace had slowed. ''We can’t have that,'' she thought, picking up her pace along the white field. Mitotsudaira turned to look at her.

There was no sun in the bluish-black sky that darkened to full black in the distance. ''Because we’re underwater here,'' realized Asama as the gold-eyed wolf asked a question.

“Is my impurity down to zero too?”

“Eh? Oh…yes, it is.”

Asama opened Mitotsudaira’s health management sign frame and confirmed it.

Nonhumans were impure beings, but…

“Has my basic structure changed?”

“You were remade into an ether being when you arrived here, so either your impurity was removed or it is being ‘treated as nonexistent’. Also…”

This next part was a little tricky. The health management sign frame had a field that hadn’t been there in the world of the living: '''<Spiritual Link: Nature – Synced / Category – Support>''' Asama, Mitotsudaira, Horizon, and Kimi’s names were all listed there.

●

When she heard the word “synced”, Mitotsudaira recalled something Asama had mentioned before.

“That means our souls are linked, doesn’t it?”

And they would be forever.

That was obviously a big deal, but the feelings that had led them to make the decision were what mattered. By recalling that moment, she would be ready for anything.

And she was glad her nonhuman impurity had been removed from her body. That impurity was usually fine, but she didn’t want to be a burden on the others here in the impurity-free afterlife.

“Did you know my impurity would be reduced to zero?”

“I was pretty sure you would be fine since there are wolf gods and Shinto is fairly welcoming to furry stuff.”

“Do you have to look so proud of that?”

Shinto was one hell of a religion.

“Oh, to be clear, Shinto has gods born from excrement, spit, and vomit, meaning just about any combination technique can qualify as divine, so you need to be careful.”

“That’s getting awfully freaky, but why do I need to be careful exactly?”

“Well, sometimes there are accidents… Like newlyweds forgetting they still have a celebratory protection active and doing a combination technique they can’t imagine would qualify. Then a celebration sign frame appears along with a rooster crowing and their god commenting how they’re honoring a really minor god by reenacting the god’s manner of birth. Next thing they know, the entire neighborhood has heard. Really, anything people can think up is already covered.”

“So people had already done what my king and Horizon did?”

“Now that you mention it, no fanfare played then, did it?”

Asama opened a sign frame to see if she could access the Shinto database from here. Mitotsudaira glanced at the sign frame and saw there were some “guest” restrictions in places, but other parts were marked “IZUMO HQ”.

…''Oh, we must be inside the Izumo Grand Shrine.

The business side must have been linked to the world of the living because it looked like Asama could do most of the same things here. She ran a search on birth notifications and sent a “User Feedback” request.

“I submitted to have the Somersault Senton added as a new combination technique, so it should be fine now.”

“What about this is ‘fine’?”

“…I’m not sure exactly, but it is.”

Mitotsudaira went ahead and glared at Asama, but she was also a little curious about something.

“What about our minds?”

“Huh? Are you asking how they are linked back to our bodies?”

Well, that was a question. But for now…

“No, have our minds been purified too?”

“Yes, they will have been.”

Asama seemed to understand now. She reopened her health data on a sign frame and checked the mental status at the top.

“With our bodies’ impurity down to zero, our minds will be perfectly clean as well.”

The mental status filled with pink and a Shinto alert played while rotating and flashing.

●

Asama clapped her hands to shatter the sign frame from both sides.

●

Asama had to come to a stop here.

She lowered her gaze a little, viewing the white ground and holding her palms out toward Mitotsudaira.

“So, um.”

“Yes?”

“Can I check yours too?”

Silence. In Asama’s lowered gaze, Mitotsudaira twisted her right heel and tapped her toes two or three times.

“W-well, if you want. Yes.”

“Um, thank you.”

She wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say, but when she raised her head, she saw Mitotsudaira blushing and glaring back at her. It was a little awkward, but she had permission. So…

“In that case.”

“Go right ahead.”

With that extra push, she checked.

She already had access to Mitotsudaira’s data, so she went ahead and checked the mental side.

The phrase “Late February” rotated on the screen.

“…”

Asama breathed in. Hearing that, Mitotsudaira used a burst of speed to direct her right palm Asama’s way. Asama nodded at the sound of the hand striking the air.

“Go ahead.”

“What is this about February?”

“Mating sea- I mean, um that is usually from January to March, isn’t it?”

“I-I am not a wild animal!”

The text changed to say “Early March”.

“…”

They both fell silent. Eventually, Mitotsudaira held out her palm again and…

“Go ahead.”

“Does this mean you really will become like your mom?”

“I think we’re skipping several steps in this conversation!”

“Well, it just seemed to be heading in that direction. Yes.”

“And it isn’t something that happens at a certain time of year! Isn’t that obvious looking at my mother? She’s like that year round.”

They looked over again to see “Early March” spinning.

They both watched the spinning text while Asama spoke up.

“Maybe that’s when it starts and it doesn’t end afterwards?”

“I…certainly hope…that isn’t the case.”

Mitotsudaira started to hang her head, so Asama moved to stop her.

And to sum up…

“Let’s call this a draw.”

“Tomo, I am not at all on the same level as your pink typhoon!”

“Yes, well.” Asama tilted her head. “I really don’t think I’m that bad.”

“But do you have anything prepared?”

“Like I said in the spring beforehand, I don’t want to rely on spells. See?”

She showed off her sign frame’s spell stocker, which was packed to the limit with spells bearing the Shinto 18+ label.

“Tomooooo!”

“No, this was my dad’s doing! He put these in here!”

“What the hell is this!? These are all Asama Shrine products!”

“I mean, we do specialize in matters related to giving birth…”

Then an idea occurred to her.

“Oh! Half! Half of these are for you, Mito! That must be it! Dad gave me enough for you too!”

“Oh, really?” quietly said the wolf as Asama sweated and checked Mitotsudaira’s spell stocker on her sign frame.

It was packed to the limit with spells bearing the Shinto 18+ label.

“Tomoooooo!”

“How strange. Why are you yelling at me? These clearly belong to you.”

“You converted my sign frame on the way here, so you must have stuck these in here then!”

“My stocker is packed full of sex prod- that is, with the Asama Shrine’s highly unique products, so I couldn’t have given you those. I would have some empty space if I had.”

“Then who did?”

“Maybe my dad?”

“Hmm,” groaned Mitotsudaira, tilting her head and crossing her arms.

After a few seconds of that, Asama pointed forward and spoke.

“Mito, you can think while we walk.”

“Judge, you’re right. We need to reach my king.”

When they looked forward, there was a wall there.

●

Mitotsudaira noted the complete lack of a scent.

Buildings always had a scent from the materials used to build them, the paint, and so on. But while this afterlife had gravity, light, wind, temperature, and humidity, it had no scent.

Asama’s scent was faint despite her proximity. Mitotsudaira’s own scent was faint. They likely only had the scent of what hadn’t counted as impure.

And the horizontal wall that had suddenly appeared up ahead also had no scent.

Structures would smell of hardened wood on the Musashi or of dirt on the surface. Paint would also have a noticeable scent if it was plaster based.

…''So a lack of scent feels weird.

Strangely, this threw off her sense of distance.

While living on the Musashi or on the surface, she had used scent to judge her distance from buildings.

While judging how close she could get, she approached the wall about a half step later than Asama. She noticed something once she did.

“What is that…beyond the wall?”

In front of her was a castle wall extending endlessly to either side with a tile roof on top.

But past it…

She could see something fading behind the bluish air, making it look impossibly far away.

She saw a wall.

But not like the wall right in front of her. And at first glance, it looked like something else entirely.

…''A cliff?

Not a mountain. A cliff – a precipice. The stony wall was dark, water was erupting from it in places, and trees were growing from it.

It was tall.

Endlessly tall.

She looked up, tilting her head to look straight up, and saw its upper edge. But that might not actually be the top. Like the horizon, it might just be as far as she could see.

This was odd for another reason too.

This wall was massive, yet she was certain she had seen the bluish-black sky there before.

And despite it blocking everything out front, there was no wind.

On the Musashi, winds descending a wall were eliminated through atmospheric interference, but no such system seemed to exist here.

There was simply an impossibly large cliff wall far beyond the white wall here.

“Tomo, what is this?”

“This is our perception of the world of Yomi based on our Shinto viewpoint.”

“Perception?”

“Each religion and other belief systems have their own view of the afterlife.”

What did this mean? Half a step ahead of where Mitotsudaira was tilting her head, the shrine maiden turned around with a smile.

“In the Age of Gods, several worlds were combined by ‘harmonizing’ them together. Any equivalent ‘realms’ between those worlds were combined in the process, but perception of them was kept separate to leave open a path toward harmony.”

“You mean…how someone sees this depends on their religion?”

“Yes.” Asama nodded. “The afterlife and the divine realm were especially similar but also had large differences, so a basic environment was created as an archetype and then the interior was harmonized through the creation of different perceptions and different laws for each religion and world. So this looks like the entrance to the Shinto Yomi for us and that should be what we would see if we entered it, but the Catholic and the Mlasi afterlives also exist here with their data harmonized on top of each other.”

So…

“Think of it like a storage medium containing multiple formats. When you enter, your religion acts as the key to the appropriate format for you.”

“Then you can’t move back and forth between, say, Catholic and Shinto?”

“The partition density of the basic ‘mold’ as a data world is identical. It’s only the surface-level format that’s different. So either the format of the person moving between them could be rewritten, or similarities in the formats could be used to create a ‘portal’ between them… I have heard it’s similar to the relationship between the Far East and the Harmonic Divine States in that sense.”

Mitotsudaira nodded in understanding.

“Then.” She indicated the giant wall that look far too distant to call “right in front of them”. “Could we not see that earlier because the afterlife still wasn’t close enough to pick up on our perception?”

“Yes. And…” Asama raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Toori-kun is past this white wall but just before reaching Yomi.”

“Exactly. I didn’t expect you so soon, my shrine maiden…and a wolf girl?”

A voice spoke out of nowhere.

Lowering her gaze from the cliff of Yomi, Mitotsudaira saw a gate acting as an entrance for the white wall and someone stood in front of it. It was…

“Tomo?”

A woman who resembled Asama stood there.

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