ShinSekai Yori:Part 3 Chapter 3
Chapter 3
I don't remember very well how I was able to calm Maria down after that. At any rate, it was necessary to explain in great detail how Shun was not in any immediate danger. I was not blessed with a talent for lying like Satoru but, It must be that as they say "necessity is the mother of invention".* Everyone promised to go look for Shun the next morning and, somehow, we were able to send Maria back home.
I understood that rather than alone, going with two people is more reassuring. However, from the perspective that coming back alive was not certain, I could not go so far as to compromise the life of a good friend.
After seeing her off, I quickly changed my clothing. I put a wind blocking jacket on over a sweater and tied my hair back with a barrette.* Having spent much time on outdoor activities, I had a compass and first aid supplies such as bandages and salves ready to go. After cramming all of it into my backpack, The idea suddenly hit me to wear the protective charm I had recieved from Shun.
I secretly left through the window and across the roof. Levitation like Maria's was something I was still not capable of. While reciting my 'Mantra' within my mouth, I resolutely lept. The instant I invoked my Jyuryoku, the air resistance became viscous like that of water, suddenly reducing my body's momentum. It was a feeling like that of falling in a dream. As I came to the ground, I was unable to maintain my balance, and though it gave me a chill, I was relieved that my leg was not seriously injured.
I could not allow myself to hesitate. Quickly standing up, I suppressed the sound of my footsteps as I turned to the back of the house. Prompty setting my boat loose from the mooring post, I proceeded into the pitch dark waterway. At first I made the utmost effort not to make a sound. But once I considered myself far enough from the house, I cruised along at full speed.
I was by no means sure that I would make it in time. On the contrary, despite having a limited field of vision, I was moving at a speed so excessive that, if I made even a tiny mistake in handling the boat with my Jyuryoku, there was a serious risk that I would crash into something and sink.
Even so, I felt no hesitation. Whatever else might happen, I would save Shun. I would definately be in time. There was nothing in my mind except the determination to make it in time.
While gliding across the top of the dark waterway, I was suddenly hit with a strange feeling of deja vu.
It was back in the first day of summer camp. At the time when I was alone with Shun riding a canoe at night. Because Shun had suppressed the waves, the river surface reflected all the stars in the heavens like the surface of a pitch black mirror.
As Shun accelerated the Hakuren VI* again, the starry sky broke into countless fragments, melting away on the waves.
The river current and the scenery on both sides could not clearly be seen, vaguely melting into the darkness. In this way, the sensation of speed completely vanishes while moving. That is exactly how it now is with my boat.
I gave my own boat the same name as the canoe we had at that time, 'Hakuren VI'. I could not register it with the same name, or even write it in on the hull but, to me, any name other than "Hakuren No.VI" was unthinkable.
Because I had left at a speed bordering on the limits of common sense, I arrived at the junction of the waterway to Matsukaze village in no time. I temporarily stopped the boat. During the day, several ships had been keeping watch over this place but, perhaps because it was already close to midnight, only a single ship was now remained here. A watch fire was burning atop the ship but, I could see no sign of any people.
I did not have the time to take a detour by land as we had durring the day. There was no choice but to break through here. Once more, I slowly began to advance. Concentrating every ounce of my Jyuryoku, I devoted myself entirely to erasing the sound of my wake. The Hakuren VI advancing as though gliding on the light, passed below the entry prohibited rope.
If someone on the ship showed their face now, everything would be over.
I held my breath until I was confident that Hakuren No.VI's shape had completely sunk away into the darkness from that vantage point.
Those on the guard boat probably assumed that no one would even try to violate the ban and enter Matsukaze village. Were that not the case, It is certain that breaking through the watch point so easily would not have been possible.
Quietly crusing along, the Hakuren VI soon encountered a second boundary, and passed below the Sacred Rope of the Holy Barrier. At this location, no guard ships remained at all.
Illuminated by the moonlight, I could see two large pine trees directly in front of me. It seemed I was already arriving at a place close to the central area. Peering into the darkness, I could make out the shadows of the houses lined up along the bank but, Matsukaze village, all of it's lighting having died away, seemed to have changed into a no-man's-land.
I turned North, entering another waterway.
I did not have a good understanding of Shun's exact wherabouts. However, I did have a rough estimate of what direction to go in. The location of Shun's home was at the northern edge of Matsukaze village. If I were to make a cabin in a place where the surrounding area contained no people and remove myself to it, there was a strong possibility that I would also avoid passing through heart of the village, or other villages where many people lived. If I had headed directly north, I likely would not have crossed the Holy Barrier at all. As far as the direction, I could get by as long as I had a compas. The problem however, was knowing how far to go in that direction.
Having gone about 500 meters down the narrow waterway, I came to a stop. Coming across a small dock with quite a few boats present, I moored the Hakuren VI at post recessed into the wall of the waterway and disembarked. On the way, a splendid looking torch affixed to one of the ships caught my eye. Unlike the pine wood we always used, it was made from torn bamboo tied together to make a tube, and packed with old rags, straw, magnesium wire and such as fuel. Igniting it by Jyuryoku, it lit up to produce a beautiful flame, suddenly opening up my field of vision.
Although I was unfamiliar with the exact layout of Matsukaze village, and had only a rough idea of my present locaiton, I continued heading North.
Walking along the street, the things illuminated by my torch were literally in ruins. Only a short amount of time should have passed since Matsukaze village's residents had evacuated. In spite of this, trash and scrap were scattered about along the road and all of the buildings looked seriously rotted.
However, when forced to pause in such an ominous neighborhood, I was quickly hit with an anxiety attack.
Because the torchlight's intensity was too weak to illuminate the area completely, my field of vision was limited to a sphere of a few meters. The road continued into a field the end of which I could not clearly make out. On the other hand, the form of me walking along with that dazzling torch could probably be seen from as much as a few kilometers away.
Feeling a sense of forboding hinting at danger, with great effort I acted against my instinctive desire not to let go of the light in my possession. I wanted to use Jyuryoku to weaken the light enough to see the other side but, while brightening the flame or extinguishing it completely would be easy, dimming it while preserving a moderate amount was something I understood to be next to impossible.
I picked up a withered pine branch that happened to be laying near my feet. With this I should be able to constantly maintain a small source of light. While thinking it would have been better to choose such a thing from the start, I extinguished the torch.
For a moment, my field of vision was plunged into a complete darkness within which red and green scribble like patterns danced about.
After that, I ignited the end of the pine branch.
Before my eyes, was a large black cat.
That is not to say that it was larger than should be expected. Just as Maria had said, the animal's body length was about that of a lion. It had an exceedingly long neck and limbs, and a relatively small head that was still about as large as a leopards. It's eyes glittered in the phosphorescent light at a height not particularly different from that of my own.
Purring contentedly from deep in its throat as it approached, the black cat stretched up and took hold of my shoulders.
In the time that I was taken aback unable to think, it bit down on my neck with its large mouth.
The cat's fangs made the slightest of grating sounds. My mind went completely blank as though trapped by hypnotism, and I was unable to recite my 'Mantra'.
Was this, an Impure Cat?...... Fragments of such thoughs ran through my terror-numbed brain.
I vaguely felt the sensations of its hot breath disturbing my hair, and it's drool slugishly flowing along my neck. The ammonia-like stink characteristic of the felines made my nose curl.
After that, I felt myself still begining to regain control of my senses.
The ImpureCat's fangs tightened on my neck with tremendous force but, my carotid artery was not stopping. It was the anti-cat Good Luck Charm given to me by Shun. The sturdy collar of thick leather woven through metal hoops protected the blood flow to my brain, allowing me to avoid loosing consciousness.
The instant I returned to myself, I reflexively muttered my mantra.
I attempted to pry open the jaws of the ImpureCat that solidly gripped my neck. It seemed that its upper and lower fangs were held in place by some kind of lock joint jaw structure that would not easily open but, boosting my strength with the limitless power of Jyuryoku, it came apart with a hateful sound of cracking bone. With the ImpureCat's shattered lower jaw dangling loosely below it's head, my neck was finally free.
Taking a few steps back, I help up the flaming pine branch. Illuminated by the small flame, the ImpureCat's features were fully visible to me. Glaring at me with its large eyes, its throat produced a menacing sound remaniscent of that made by a snake. Quite a lot of blood was trickling down the Saber-Tooth Tiger like upper jaw fangs that had just been gripping my neck.
I visualized two burly arms like those of "Two guardian Deva kings"* in the air before me. With one arm gripping the ImpureCat's neck, and the other firmly grasping its body, they twisted it as though wringing out a towel. Its cervical vertebrae broke with a dry crackin sound. After a violent full-body convulsion, the ImpureCat's body became completely still.
I sat down for a short while, my breathing rough. I was unable to stop the tears from flowing. I examined my aching neck by touch and, even that sturdy collar seemed to have been crushed. The deformed metal fixtures would not come unfastened so I forcibly tore it off using Jyuryoku.
After that, I finally forced myself to stand up and went over to confirm the ImpureCat's body. It was a perfectly matched descriptions of the TricksterCat passed down in schoolyard stories. Its body was approximately three meters long. Its slim psysique was comperable to that of a Lion or Tiger with abnormally long neck and limbs. At a glance, its facial structure would have been identical to that of a housecat but for the mouth torn far to the back.
I examined the fangs jutting out of its arching large mouth by touch. They seemed to be at least fifteen centimeters long. They had a rough texture like that of sharkskin, with an eliptical cross-sectional shape. The structure seemed such that they could normally be concealed by folding up into the upper jaw. One point in which it differed from the Saber-Tooth Tiger was that its lower jaw also possessed fangs of a similar length. Both the upper and lower fangs had rounded ends. These were not used to pierce the prey, but to hold the neck and apply pressure to the carotid artery, making the prey faint before killing it by strangulation.
I could only think of one reason for a creature to kill by such a method. In accordance with the legend of the TricksterCat carrying off children, it would leave no blood at the scene, and by carrying off the victim's corpse, would eliminate all evidence of their having been killed. However I looked at it, I could think of no other reason than that the ImpureCats had been created specifically to kill humans.
I vomited by the side of the road. Despite being this big, I nevertheless felt a physiological sense of disgust facting the fact that I had killed another warm-blooded creature. However, moreso than that, I was undergoing a serious shock at the knowledge of this cursed living thing's existance.
After walking for a little more than an hour, I finally arrived at Shun's home, which was shaped like the edge of a half-burried mortar. I had to hurry. From my chest to my underwear and even my socks, I was saoked with not only sweat, but the ImpureCat's sticky saliva. Moreso than the cold, I was bothered by the terribly disgusting feeling of it but, regrettably, I did not have the time to stop and dry myself off.
Nearly being killed earlier had taught me a lesson, and I no longer carried a light. If ones eyes are adapted to the light, and that light is extinguised, ones eyesight is snatched away completely. This being the case, even if one can only see imperfectly, it is better to be adapted to the darkness.
Though watching the compass intently to continue heading north, my confidence that I was going in the correct direction, came from the sight of a spiderweb that stood out in the dim moonlight. The mesh pattern was distorted, and at some parts, features resembling human faces and letters were visible. Though I did not know it at that time, in such situations, the part of the natural world most susceptible, where mutations first become apparant, is in the webs of spiders.
Furthermore, starting near where I crossed the Holy Barrier, the deformation of the surrounding trees began to become striking. It was as though it were an area where strong winds blow all year round, causing most of the trees to twist and lean in a single direction.
Starting a short while earlier, I had begun to be attacked by vague feelings of anxiety and discomfort.
‘I want to turn back.’
‘Right now, I want to run away from here.’
That was the voice of instinct.
I felt that I did not want to linger in this place for even a single second.
But, thinking about Shun, I desperately encouraged myself.
‘I must not allow myself to turn back now.’
The only person able to help him, was none other than myself.
Somehow or other, I continued advancing. Upon closer inspection, the strangely twisted vegetation also served the role of guideposts. I had the feeling that, were I able to see the entire forest as a whole, it would be twisted into a whirlpool-like shape. If that were the case, Shun must be at the heart of it.
The trees, countless tentacles possessing demonic octapus like silhouette were transforming into. I constantly crawl forward continuing, those tentacles as though beckoned to, hastened my steps.
Without my noticing, a dense milk-like fog had descended upon my surroundings. Now, however much I might strain my eyes, I could not see more than 10 centimeters in front of me. I could constantly hear what sounded like a voice whispering in my ear. The wind sounded like a laughing voice from which I was sometimes able to hear words but, could never make out their meaning.
The information I was recieving from all five of my senses seemed degenerate, becoming increasingly vague. Even the sensation of the ground beneath my feet became strangely soft, airy, and unreliable. Without my realizing, the compass's needle had begun spinning round and round in circles.
Before long, my vision had become entirely ineffective. I could no longer even distinguish whether it was dark or light, and lost my sense of direction entirely.
Where, exactly is this place?
I was hit with an intense headache. I felt as though a vice were tightening around my head. Eventually, the act of thinking itself became difficult. I was unable to move from that spot. But now, even my bodily sensations seemed to be vanishing and, I could no longer even tell if I was standing or sitting.
Where exactly is this?
"Shun! Where are you?"
I cried out in a loud voice.
In the moment that my own voice reached my ears, my senses worked clearly but, immediately after became hazy again. In this situation, as I wondered if my mind had gone somewhere far away, I was able to hear a voice.
"Saki! what are you doing in this kind of place?"
"I don't know. I'm not even sure where here is......"
In the next moment, the mist that had been obscuring my vision disappeared as though somehow absorbed. While beneath my feet, the firm ground was restored.
"Shun!"
I could see a young man standing at a spot about 20 meters from me. For some reason, he was wearing one of the "Masks of Purity" worn by the 'Shinshi' in the 'Tsuina' ceremony but, when I heard his voice, I knew without a doubt that it was my dear Shun.
"You mustn't come to a place like this. Return home, quickly."
"No way!"
I shook my head.
"Have a look at this"
Shun, pointed to the ground. At first, I could not see what he was pointing at in the darkness, but our surroundings began glowing with a faint luminescence, allowing me to clearly see the countless bugs wrigging about on ground.
Every one of them had some remarkable abnormality. Various sized moths had wings reduced to witherednetworks of eye shapes, while their bodies were strangely bloated such that there was honestly no way they could fly. A 'TrashBug' looked as though it were walking on stilts, random limbs having become absurdly long and, with the left side longer than the left, could not walk straight, instead going round and round tracing a large circle. Another bizzare case was a centipede. It's head and tail had been fused forming a sad looking complete loop. It's countless legs flailed about trying to walk, but could do no more than rotate around in place.
"If you don't want to end up like them, get out of here right now."
"No."
I firmly stated.
"Give me an Explination. What in the world is going on? I'm not moving an inch from this place without that much."
"Don't be stupid!"
Shun said sharply.
"Stupid is fine by me. I came all the way out to this place for the sole reason of helping you. Along the way, I was nearly killed when attacked by an 'ImpureCat.' I said in a choked voice.
"You encountered a cat?"
"Yes, I only survived thanks to the 'Good Luck Charm' I recieved from you. But, there is probably another cat out there."
"I see....."
Shun said with a deep sigh.
"I understand. 10 Minutes. You can stay here, but only for 10 minutes. I'll explain as best I can in that time. But, when that time is up, you must return home."
Having no other option but to continue arguing here, I nodded in agreement.
With that, our surroundings were suddenly bathed in illumination as though stage lights had been turned on. As I looked up, an Aurora appeared spanning the entire sky. Pale green light formed a shape reminiscent of an enormous curtain draped across the sky, while red, pink, and violet lights spread out above it.
"How did.....? Shun, Is this your doing?
I knew for a fact that the Aurora was a phenomenon unique to the areas surrounding the North and South Magnetic Poles. The details regarding things called Solar Wind and Plasma were beyond my understanding but, a stunt such as summoning an Aurora anywhere in Japan, let alone the Kanto region, was a feat no one but Kaburagi Shisei should have been capable of.
"......In light of how you were attacked by an ImpureCat on the way, we should probably withdraw. Shall we talk in the bungalo?"
Shun gestured to a small building standing behind him with his chin. I hadn't even noticed its existance until that moment. Illuminated by the dim light of the Aurora, the entirety of the cabin was strangely distorted, as though I were seeing it through a crude lens. Looking from the outside, one could easily notice the bent pillars and twisted beams. Furthermore, individual long pieces of hay from the thatched roof were standing on end as if to defy gravity, giving the structure the appearance of an angry porcupine.
"How did this house end up in such a strange condition?"
"Even this is merely what was left after my continuing attempts to restore its original form."
Shun went inside through the distoreted door. I followed soon after.
"Ten minutes..... I should at least be able to suppress it for that long."
Numerous 'HachiBalls'* that had been rolling about the floor rose into the air. Suddenly, the space around us was filled with noisy buzzing, as though we had entered a beehive.
"What are these noisy things?"
"There's no other choice. Just put up with them for a short while."
Crossing the dreary room, Shun sat down facing a large wooden table. The tables corners were all warped, creating a terribly uneven surface upon which were 10 or so books and many sheafs of paper.
"Would you like to sit down as well?"
He said, offering me a chair sitting on the opposite side of the room. I shook my head, looking around at the room's interior. Everywhere I looked, wood and stone that should originally have been solid seemed to have become weak and flexible. Looking at it all was only getting on my nerves, and even my sense of reality seemed to be growing weaker.
"Where should I begin, I wonder if that's okay. ......All problems, arise from the human mind."
Not undersanding what Shun was even talking about, I raised my eyebrow.
"Out of the whole of the human mind, the thing called consciousness is like the tip of an iceberg. The subconscious portion beneath the surface of the water is so much larger as to be beyond comparison. As a result, the mechanisms behind one's own thoughts and emotions are beyond understanding by any means.
"I didn't come here to listen to a psychology lecture. What I want to know, is what is happening to you."
"That is exactly what I was just trying to explain." Shun said in a muffled voice.
"Hey, why are you wearing that maks? Take it off. Won't you feel more at easy that way?"
"No way" Shun said curtly.
"We don't have time to worry about that. ......alright? However we might try, Humans cannot completely control their own emotions. Even if you achieved perfect control of your conscious mind, things completely unknown to you are still happening in your subconscious. Our Jyuryoku is the most obvious manifestation of this.
"What do you mean?"
"When one initiates a physical action, there are several stages between picturing the action in the mind and it's actual occurance. Motivation is transmitted from the subconscious, but before action is taken, it must pass through the domain of the conscious, allowing one to stop or correct the action in accordance with reason and logic. However, in the case of Jyuryoku, the impetus and implementation of an action can be said to occur almost simultaneously. Because of this, there is too little time to make corrections if a mistake is made."
"But, don't all of us abide by the chosen process, calling a clearly defined image into mind, and then invoking Jyuryoku to put it into action?"
"Even that image, despite having been clarified by the conscious, still contains elements shrouded in the darkness of the subconscious."
I got the feeling that the pitch of many buzzing 'HachiBalls' floating about the room had increased slightly.
"I don't understand what you're talking about. Even if an image unknown to oneself exists within the mind, it must surpass a powerful restraint before its manifestation. If ones Mantra is not recited, Jyuryoku cannot be invoked."
"You don't understand. However much rigid control we try to impose through the use of Mantras and (Hypnotic)Suggestion,* Once a gateway is opened to the subconscious, leakage occurs without fail."
"Leakage?"
"Ah. Jyuryoku, always leaks out to some extent. In some sense, we are constantly altering the world around us as our subconscious mind commands."
"Such a.......!"
I was rendered speechless. What a stupid idea I began thinking but, then realized I could not come up with any rebuttal.
"Saki, for what purpose exactly did you think that the "Holy Barrier" existed for? Do you think that "Sacred Shrine Rope" will do any good against something attacking from the outside?"
"I don't know. What are you trying to say?"
My mind had been through into a state of confusion.
"The Holy Barrier was not created to deal with outside enemies, but those that come from within. The enemy in this situation, is our own constantly leaking Jyuryoku. Considering 'Fiends' or 'Karmic Demons', what we truely fear is that which comes from within ourselves."
Shun's voice was calm but, the 'HachiBalls' that had been rotating in place began to sway irregularly within the air.
"Of course, this leaking Jyuryoku is normally quite faint so, it isn't something one needs to worry about over short periods of time. But, if exposed to the thoughts of many people over a long period of time, the extent of their influence becomes unfathomable. That is why, no matter what, it must be directed outward."
"How?"
From repetition starting at a very young age, a fear of facing the outside world is inserted in our minds, reaching even the subconscious. This enormous image of a world of darkness, comes to resonate with the other dark space that exists within our subconscious minds. By creating a direct link between the subconscious and the outside world within the mind, leaking Jyuryoku is directed to the outside of the Holy Barrier. The Holy Barrier is a mental tool that exists so that "Impurity", or Leaked Jyuryoku, will be released outside.
The things Shun spoke of were difficult, not at all something that I could easily comprehend.
"......Then, what happens to this Jyuryoku that is released outside?"
..........
Translation Notes
I'll Add proper translation notes and references when I finish the rest of the chapter. the *'s indicate points where I plan to add references. -Dusanh
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